Page 81 of Voyage of Death and Desire

“Guilt? Pity? Self-loathing? Any of those emotions will fill in the blank.” He moves closer toward Thorne. “It’s fitting that your captain be here to see this. After all, he’s the reason I found you in the first place.”

“I know the reason you found Elsbeth. My first officer sold information to your men. He admitted the truth right before I killed him.”

Kragen laughs. “That imbecile couldn’t find his asshole from his nose. He wasn’t even capable of finding one of my men to speak with. No, Captain,you’rethe reason I took Elsbeth. The burden lies solely with you.”

“What are you talking about?” Thorne asks.

“Do you remember the sea creature your men brought on board not long before you picked up Elsbeth’s family?”

Thorne looks confused. “You’ll have to be more specific, Kragen. My men did quite a bit offishing.”

“Your men thought she was sick. They pulled her in with their nets.”

“The injured dolphin?” Thorne asks, connecting the dots.

“That’s the one,” Kragen confirms.

“My men put it out of its misery. She was deformed and dying.”

“Your menkilledher,” Kragen shouts. For the first time since I’ve known him, he loses his demeanor.

“My men killed a sick dolphin. What does that have to do with you taking Elsie?”

“That was no dolphin, Captain.” Spit flies from his mouth as he speaks. “That dolphin was Eudora,” Kragen answers, his voice softer.

“Eudora? The sea witch? The one that turned you into a vampire?” I ask, remembering the book Francis read from.

“Shewas my wife. That dolphin was my wife.”

“You were married to Eudora?”

“For many years,” he adds. “We were lovers inallsense of the word.” Kragen gets lost in a memory. “She often took on the form of sea animals when she swam. A dolphin was one of her favorites.” Tears form in his eyes. “Your men drug her on board, and you ordered her death, Captain.”

“I…I didn’t realize,” Thorne answers.

“Of course, you didn’t. You were only a stupid mortal.” He looks at me. “That’s why I tookher.”

“You took me because Eudora died?”

Kragen closes his eyes. “She didn’t just die, my dear. She was murdered.”

“I’m sorry—” Thorne starts.

“Save your meaningless apologies for someone else. Your words mean nothing,” Kragen interrupts.

“Kragen, I’m sorry for Eudora, but what did that have to do with me?” I ask the obvious question.

“Someone had to suffer. Why not take the man responsible for her death’s true love? After all, he took mine. It was the perfect revenge.”

“Then why turn me into a vampire? Why not kill me in front of him?”

Kragen smiles, lifting one side of his mouth higher than the other. “Torture is so much more convincing. What’s the point of torturing your human body for a few short weeks, or possibly a month, when I can make that torture last an eternity?” He turns toward Thorne. “Imagine my surprise when I discovered your true love, had sought after and succeeded in turning himself into one of us. What is the saying? Two birds with one stone?”

“Eudora cursed you to walk the earth for eternity, only able to die at the hands of a woman you created. What kind of love was that?” I spew.

“You know nothing, young one.”

“Enlighten us,” Thorne interrupts.

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