Page 66 of Voyage of Death and Desire

“Have you been on this ship the entire time?” I ask, hoping to clear the thoughts from my mind.

“No. After I was turned, Kragen left me alone on an island in the Atlantic.”

“He left you? How did you eat?”

“Animal blood, mostly. Rats, mice…anything warm.” He looks off at a distant memory. “I don’t know how long I was there before he returned. When he found me still alive, he said I’d earned a place with his crew.”

“I’m so sorry, Bert.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, me, too. It wasn’t all bad. It taught me how to survive.”

The air between us becomes awkward. “Do you want to get away from Kragen?”

He slides back into his chair. “For the longest time, I did. Now, I don’t know.” He looks up. “Until I saw you, I didn’t have a reason to leave.”

I slide my hand on top of his. “We have each other.”

“Aye, we do.” Large fingers squeeze into mine.

“We have to stop Kragen and the games. As long as he’s alive, he will continue finding ways to destroy lives.”

Bertram stares at me in silence. His eyes close, and he takes a deep breath. “I know where the treasure is.”

“The humans? Where?”

“A small warehouse not far from here.”

I stand, pulling him with me. “Let’s go. We have to save them.”

“Slow down, Elsie. They’re being guarded and bled by vampires around the clock. We can’t just walk in there and free them. We’re not prepared for that.”

“There’s no time to waste.” The sun peeks over the horizon with my words. “Today is the day they’re being sold.”

“Elsie, sit down.” Bert pulls me back to the chair. “The men who are purchasing the treasure aren’t taking them for food.” He closes his eyes and sighs. “Kragen calls it a game for a reason.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“The humans will be brought here to the inlet and set free.”

Oh, my God. The realization of what Kragen’s games are hits me. “The vampires hunt them for sport?” I fill in the blanks.

“Aye.”

“Shit.”

“Aye,” he agrees. “It’s nostalgic for the older vampires, and they pay quite well for the experience.”

“How do we stop them?”

Bert runs a hand through his messy hair. “There are others who believe like I do.”

“Will they help?”

“Truthfully, I don’t know.”

“They have to.” I stand, moving toward a window. “How many?”

“It’s not like we hold weekly meetings.” He scratches his head again. “Three maybe.”

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