Page 91 of Night's Reckoning
“That’s kind of the point though. We’re not safe. None of us are safe.”
“Are you quitting on me?”
“No.” She settled her face into a resolute mask. “But this is the last vampire archaeology project I’ll be working on.”
She walked back to Professor Chou and continued comparing notes while Ben walked up to the bridge.
He felt like a punching bag that morning, hit by the students’ grief, Fabia’s anger, and his own guilt. Had there been something he’d missed? Did he need to contact Zhang about this? Would this be seen as a failing on his part? He had no control over vampires. Most days, he felt like he was herding cats just trying to get everyone to cooperate.
He opened the door to the bridge and waited for the proper announcements to be made. “Mr. Lu, good morning.”
“Good morning, Mr. Vecchio.” Mr. Lu looked as calm and competent as ever. “How are the young people this morning?”
“They’re sad, of course. But also grateful to the crew for your thorough search of the ship and the water.”
Mr. Lu nodded slightly. “That poor girl.”
“They’re taking the day off work.”
“I understand.” He glanced over and snapped an order to his first in command. “Mr. Vecchio, I would appreciate a word in private if you have the time.”
“Of course.” Ben followed Mr. Lu out the door and back to the map room.
Once they were alone, he asked, “What did you need to speak to me about?”
Mr. Lu said, “I know what happened to the girl, though not the details. Kadek told me.”
“Do you think it was him?” Ben knew he was risking his safety by asking the question, but something about Mr. Lu inspired trust.
“I do not have an opinion about that. I believe it could be one of three people, but my speculation adds nothing.”
“Then why did you ask me down here?”
“Because we have a saboteur on the ship.”
Ben blinked. “Excuse me?”
“A saboteur is on the ship. There have been attempts to damage one of the remote vehicles the researchers use while they are diving, and I found an artifact hidden in the engine room.”
“Have you shared this with Kadek or Cheng?”
He shook his head. “I discovered these things this morning. The attempt at damaging the ROV was clumsy. The person did not understand the technology.”
“Vampire?”
“Possibly.”
“And the artifact?”
Mr. Lu reached in his pocket. “It is small, but I am quite certain that it came from theQamar Jadid.”
It was a bar a little larger than the slim gold bars they’d found the day before. Only, this bar wasn’t made of gold, but of glass. Mr. Lu handed it to him.
“Where did you find it?”
“In an isolated part of the engine room. It was wrapped in a rag and tucked behind a pipe.”
“How—?”
