Chapter 288
Katelina laid spread-eagle on the lower deck of the ship, her chest heaving and her heart pounding. She didn't understand what had just happened, and she didn't care. She just wanted to hide in a dark room and never come out.
Slowly, the use of her limbs returned, and she crawled to her feet. The door said Staff Only in a variety of alphabets, but she didn't care. She stumbled inside and leaned against the wall. Her body trembled, and the sudden heat was like stepping into a blast furnace.
A man came around the corner and stopped. He blinked at her and then shouted something in Russian. When Katelina stared blankly he followed it with Japanese and finally, "Passengers are not allowed here!"
She nodded numbly, pushed herself off the wall and forced her feet to move down the corridor, one in front of the other. The crewman glared at her all the way to the door, and she was sure he was glaring after her even when she'd gone.
She found her dark cabin by instinct more than memory. Kai was in bed, so she flipped on the light, then shook him awake. Her words were panicky gasps. "Senya- she's here! On the deck- looking for Jorick- Need to tell him- She tried to kill me!"
Kai rolled over, and his hair fell out of his face. A jagged scar ran across his forehead but, if it hadn't been there, the boy would have looked like an angel. Even with the scar, he looked like he'd stepped from a painting and fallen on his way out of the frame.
He blinked at her and said slowly, "But she didn't kill you."
Katelina stepped back from his logic. "She tried! She's looking for Jorick!"
"If she finds him he will defeat her." Kai yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You should rest."
"Rest? After that? I can't believe they left us to travel on our own!"
Kai tilted his head to one side, as if studying her. "Why? Do you need taken care of?" His blunt question turned her cheeks pink and left her floundering for an answer. He shrugged, then rolled over and snuggled under the blankets.
When his breathing turned soft and even, she grabbed her luggage and slammed into the bathroom. The shower was small but hot. She let the heat seep into her and tried to remind herself that Jorick was stronger than Senya. Plus, he had five vampires with him.
The bathroom was steamy by the time she climbed out of the shower. She wiped the mirror and examined herself. A cut on her cheek, painful now that she was warm, was scabbed, and her back was scraped where she'd slid down the side of the ship.
She hadn't packed any first aid items. Secretly, she'd figured that if she got hurt, she could drink some of Jorick's blood for an instant heal. Maybe it was a twisted attitude, but it was easier. The broken wrist she'd had in December had taught her to use her resources. Why suffer if she didn't need to? And though drinking his blood might sound a little gross, she was apparently doing it when they had sex anyway.
Dressed in her new burgundy pajamas, she climbed into her bunk. The bed was uncomfortable and nightmares fluttered at the edge of her consciousness. The ship sank. Senya reappeared. Someone opened the shipping container - in her mind it looked like something from Rubbermaid - and all the vampires fried in the sunlight.
***
It was midafternoon when Katelina woke up. She found Kai dressed and silent on his bunk. The cord to his laptop stretched across the room like a tripwire, and the screen flashed another movie.
She waited until she'd gone to the bathroom and dressed to bother him. A tap on his shoulder was all it took for him to pop his headphones off and turn towards her.
"If they stick to the schedule in the pamphlet, they should be about finished boarding," she said. "Let's go see if the restaurant serves anything edible."
With a nod he snapped his laptop shut and swung off the bed. In the corridor, he stopped to lock the door, and then let Katelina lead the way.
It was off-season, but there were other passengers. At least ten of them were in the restaurant, though most of them were men. Kai led her to a buffet that was heaped with odd looking food. Most of the labels named Asian dishes that Katelina didn't recognize. She'd had Chinese takeaway before, but that was the American version.
She heaped a plate with the safest looking items and then tried to figure out how to eat it with only a pair of chopsticks and a large flat spoon.
The people around them talked in a soft sing-song of rising and falling voices, but Kai ate silently. When Katelina tried to start a conversation, his only responses were to nod or shake his head. It was like having dinner with a sock puppet.
After lunch, they roamed the corridors and Katelina pointed out where Senya had been. Then she led the boy to the observation deck and, despite the cold that sent another couple shivering back inside, she detailed the fight. She was in the middle of her story when the boat pulled out of the dock and into the icy sea. The cold white and gray surface, patiently parting to allow their progress, unsettled her, and they quickly retreated inside. Ice and ships were a combination that nightmares were made of.
The ferry claimed a handful of entertainments, including karaoke and a sauna, but none of them appealed to Katelina. When she was back in the room, Kai offered to watch a movie with her. It beat the alternative, so they turned one of the unused bunks into a couch and spent the afternoon watching his laptop.
By the time they surfaced for supper, the sun was down. Katelina walked slower and her eyes darted erratically from door to door. If Sorino had bribed his way on board, what was to stop someone else from doing the same; someone like Senya? Mentioning Boris had saved her last time, but she doubted it would work twice.
Dinner was buffet style again, though it had more seafood. Not that she liked seafood. She piled her plate with rice and vegetables and steered clear of anything that had eyes. She didn't like the idea of her dinner staring back at her.
A sightseeing couple joined them at their table and chatted. Katelina nodded politely and tried to carry a conversation, but she had nothing to say. She hadn't seen any of the landmarks they mentioned, she didn't have a particular itinerary for Japan, and she knew nothing about foreign travel. She couldn't even talk about her "normal" life, or introduce Kai. What excuse would a woman in her mid-twenties have for traveling with a teenage boy? And Kai was no help. He ate mutely, attention on his plate, as if no one else existed. Luckily, the couple didn't seem to notice anything amiss, or if they did they were too polite to comment.
What happens on the ferry, stays on the ferry. Right.
They invited Katelina and Kai to the on board nightclub, but she declined politely by feigning exhaustion. The pair left with a cheerful, "Maybe we'll see you tomorrow!" and Katelina heaved a sigh of relief.
