Page 125 of Night's Reckoning
Would she have gone south?
The Philippines.
Hainan.
Once she reached the South China Sea, all bets would be off. Power in that region shifted constantly. If Johari reached the Indian Ocean, she and the sword would be lost. The ocean was too big. There were too many ports in Southeast Asia as it was, and Tenzin had connections there. She had to stop Johari before she reached the Indian Ocean.
Cheng entered his office and caught her staring at the map.
“Tell me Sina has something,” Tenzin said.
“I don’t think she went that far south.” Cheng sat on the corner of his desk.
“So we have nothing?” Tenzin cut her eyes to Cheng. “How can we have nothing?”
“Think, Tenzin. Johari once drew her strength from the water, but she’s an earth vampire now. She’s comfortable in the ocean, but swimming will eventually drain her energy.”
“So she can’t have gone far.”
Cheng toyed with the cuff of his shirt. “I sent a message to Jimmu. I had a feeling he might know something.”
“Jimmu doesn’t owe me any favors,” Tenzin said. “How much does he want?”
“Don’t worry about it; Jimmu owes me a favor.”
“Cheng—”
“I was hired to do a job, and I’m going to do it. Jimmu gave me a tip. A yacht owned by a Kenyan businessman docked in Taipei over a week ago. The businessman’s name has been linked to a company that is vampire-owned. They were there for about a week, and no one presented themselves to Jimmu’s daughter, who runs the island.”
Taiwan was an independent human state, but in the vampire world it was a prefecture under Jimmu’s control.
“Taipei.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s what? An hour to fly?”
“If that.”
“Johari could have swum there in one night,” Tenzin said. “Especially if she was desperate.”
“You can see the lights of Taipei in the distance. Even without a water ability, she’s still a vampire. She wouldn’t have to surface. She wouldn’t have to worry about predators. She could have swum to the north end of Taiwan from here before dawn.”
“Is the boat still there?”
“No. The yacht departed last night. Since whatever immortal was on the ship never disembarked, Jimmu’s daughter didn’t pursue it. Their human crew bought fuel and supplies only.”
“The name of the ship?”
“Arion’s Flight,” Cheng said. “I’m already asking.”
“They took on supplies in Taipei?”
“Yes.”
“How far could they get?”
Cheng was clearly frustrated. “Jimmu didn’t give me enough information about the ship, and there are too many factors to even guess. We don’t know how many or where—”
“They’ll be headed to the Mediterranean,” Tenzin said. “They’re taking it to Saba.”
“Why would Saba want this sword?” Cheng said. “It makes no sense, Tenzin.”
