Page 86 of Tin God

They rounded the cove as the rain poured down, and Clovis shut off the lights as he approached the turn where the land met the water.

“I’ll fly over,” Ben said. “Go lower and scope things out.”

“Good.”

Clovis nodded. “And we’ll wait for Gus.”

Carwyn walked out to the bow of the ship and waited in the darkness as Ben took off into the night. He saw the vampire circle the barge, which was lit with dim blue lights along the deck. There were three lights glowing from portholes, and the faint sound of music drifted across the surface of the water.

He squinted through the rain and watched Ben fly lower. “What are you seeing, boy?”

Ben was freezing cold,but he didn’t let it distract him from surveying the converted barge. The deck was flat and broad and had to be at least a hundred and fifty feet long. It had been altered from its original job as an industrial vessel to a pleasure craft with attractively lit walkways, raised container gardens bursting with evergreen plants, line-fishing stations, and freshly painted storage containers that must have been the cabins.

Near the bow, a cedar-sided sauna pumped steam through a round chimney; in the center, what looked like an outdoor kitchen sat cold and lifeless under a large cover. On the other end, opposite the sauna, five steel containers sat on the deck, not a window visible from the outside but each bearing outdoor stairs that led to a wood deck atop the industrial-chic cabins.

Ben didn’t want to get too close in case someone was watching, so he flew at a distance, waiting to see any sign of life. But though there were lights on and Ben could hear music, there was no movement atop the barge.

He flew to the shelter of a nearby cedar that hugged the edge of the cove and sat to wait in silence. The faint sounds that emerged from the vessel gave no indication of anything other than general habitation. He could smell food cooking, but that could mean either human or vampire inhabitants.

Henri Paulson had bought this barge from a salvage ten years ago, renamed it the Sea King Alpha, and then it had disappeared from all commercial enterprise, at least officially. Unofficially, Katya suspected that this boat was one of Paulson’s shadow fleet of sea havens for vampires who wanted to disappear from modern life.

Disappear in luxury, of course.

Ben heard movement in the forest behind him, but when he turned, all he could see was the head of a bright red fox popping out from behind a fallen, moss-covered log.

The fox ducked down, spooked by something to Ben’s left.

When he followed the animal’s gaze, he saw her.

Perched in a pine tree and cloaked in black with her hair covered in what looked like a balaclava, her storm-grey eyes watched him across the lush green expanse.

Tenzin.

Ben blinked, and in the space of a heartbeat, she disappeared.

Without a word, he pushed off from the cedar, ignoring the crack of the branch beneath his feet, and took to the air in pursuit.

ChapterTwenty

It was her own fault for tracking him. The lure of his amnis had been too much to bear at nightfall. She knew he was close, and she allowed herself to take flight, her blood drawing her to him like the proverbial moth to a flame.

And just like a flame, his anger was burning.

She could feel it as he pursued her. In proximity, she could feel the desperation, longing, and pure rage in his blood.

He chased her, and the dark, competitive part of Tenzin reveled in it.

She darted through the treetops, leading her mate on a wild chase in the dark shadows laden with the heavy scent of rain and animal musk.

A crashing sound followed her, and she knew he was breaking tree branches in his pursuit. He was bigger than her, his shoulders wider, and his amnis a broadsword instead of a rapier.

She turned in midair, twisting around a moss-laden outcropping of rock to swiftly change direction, leading Ben away from the water and into the dense forest that blanketed the Alaskan coast. She flew over rushing creeks, dipping low over the water to hide her scent, knowing that it was ultimately useless. At this proximity, her mate’s pursuit would only be stopped by daylight or violence.

You want him.

She did want him.

Fly!

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