Page 92 of Night's Reckoning
“This is my ship, Mr. Vecchio. None of my sailors would leave a rag out of place.”
“Understood. Is that…” Ben squinted. “Is it writing?”
“Yes, but I do not read Arabic.”
“Oh, itisArabic.” He didn’t read Arabic either. He wondered if he could video call Giovanni from the ship.
“I believe Tenzin could offer a translation,” Mr. Lu said. “If you would be willing to consult with her.”
“Right.”
Right.
* * *
The exteriorof the glass had been corroded by saltwater, leaving the small tablet looking frosted. Luckily, the writing—which had been etched into the glass—was still legible.
Tenzin handed the glass bar back to him. “It’s a manifest.”
“A what?”
“A list of what was stored on theQamar Jadid. It has a list of glass pieces. It also has a date and the name of the ship, which should be useful. Fabia will want it for her report.”
“So it’s nothing…?”
She rolled her eyes. “If you were hoping it said ‘Watch out for that Zanzibari vampire,’ I’m sorry to say it does not. I don’t know why anyone would take it.”
“So this could have nothing to do with Meili’s death?”
“It probably doesn’t. It is mostly likely that one of Cheng’s human crew found it or thought it was interesting and pocketed it to keep as a souvenir. It’s not valuable except for historical interest.”
“Okay.” Ben put the glass bar back in his pocket. “Why would a manifest be written on a glass tablet?”
“Because it’s waterproof?” Tenzin shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Did Harun write it?”
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s possible that he included a list of his pieces to distinguish them from the rest of the gifts Arosh was sending to Zhang. A glass tablet would be… a bit of a flourish, which would not have been out of character. He was very proud.”
“Okay.” He closed his hand over the tablet. “I’m going to keep this with me for now. Whoever hid it, I don’t want them knowing who has it or who discovered it. The last thing we need is another vampire targeting humans.”
“I don’t think she was targeted, Benjamin.” Tenzin’s voice was sad. “I think she was simply convenient.”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “You’re the one who taught me there is no such thing as coincidence.”
“I don’t think I ever said that.”
“Pretty sure you did.” He walked to the door. “If you didn’t say it, you showed it. A hundred times over.”
“Benjamin.”
He stopped at the door and turned. “What?”
She sat on her pallet, cross-legged, with music playing from her tablet. “I do not understand your anger.”
His chest felt hollow. “I’m not angry anymore.”I just love you.
“I have tried to be honest with you.”
