“Do you think you could find him?”
Enoch’s lips tightened into a thin line. Maybe we didn’t want Enoch to find him.
I rushed to explain, “I think the three of us have to jump together in order to get back home. But before we do, we need to find a way to land a couple days before we travelled. That’ll give us enough time to stop Victor and Kael without them suspecting what we’re up to.”
Titus scratched his head. “You might be right about all of us jumping at the same time, since that’s how we went back in the first place. Maybe it’s the only way to move us forward through time. As far as the timeline, Kael wouldn’t have set a return date. We were supposed to control when we made it back by jumping. But maybe it can be done. Let me think about the best way to go about this. In the meantime, I’ll go look for Abram. But… I need some clothes to cover my suit.”
Enoch motioned further into the room. “Take what you need.”
Titus was thicker than Enoch and not nearly as tall, but he grabbed a few things and strode outside. He returned a few minutes later, looking like a child who’d dressed in his father’s clothing. The pants were too long and the shirt gaped open awkwardly. A laugh bubbled up my throat, but I covered my smile with my hand.
“Shut up, Eve.”
Enoch’s eyes fastened on Titus’s. “What did I warn you about disrespecting her?”
I pictured the knife wobbling from where he’d skewered the table in front of Titus. From the look on his face, Titus was remembering it, too. He paled a shade before clearing his throat. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay safe,” he instructed, giving me a meaningful glance before striding across the room.
“Do you know about the clones?” I stopped him.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he groaned.
I ticked my head back. “What happened?”
He glanced from me to Enoch. “Tell you later.”
Titus collected a few of the coins that littered the floor before walking out into the storm. “I’m starving,” he said with a wink before dashing outside.
While the doors were parted, Edward tried to scamper out behind him. “Thatch,” Enoch warned. “I don’t believe my sister is finished with you yet.”
The pirate held out two placating hands. “Look – I found and returned your Eve. Now, I’d appreciate it if you would dismiss my debt and allow me to take my leave.”
“Consider your debt to me forgiven,” Enoch answered graciously, his words holding the merest hint of a bite.
Edward started to bow, but stopped midway. “To you only?”
“Your quarrel with my sister is not mine. You took enough treasure from me to buy a small country. I release you from your debt, but you took something far more precious from Terah, something I can’t forgive on her behalf.”
“She can have the sloop,” Edward capitulated. “If that’s all she wants, tell her I wish her well,” he said, walking to the door. “I can easily steal another.”
“Wait. Are you serious? You stole Terah’s ship?” I laughed. His name would crown her shit list for a very long time.
Edward shot me a derisive look and extended his hand to the brass handle of the double door.
Enoch shifted his weight from one foot to the next, a board groaning underfoot. The wind swirled through the room, extinguishing the few candles that provided light. “I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.” The doors slammed closed in front of him and suddenly Enoch was there. “And you’ll have to wait for her below deck. Your presence here is distracting to my guests.”
Edward’s eyes widened. “No. Please. I won’t try to escape. Just let me stay here.”
“I don’t trust you, Edward. I made that mistake once, and will never repeat it again.” Enoch grabbed him by the back of his jacket and escorted him out into the torrential rain.
I followed them down a wide set of steps that led into the dark heart of his ship. It was exactly as I expected: barrels of goods, burlap bags filled with food, coiled lengths of rope, cots tucked into corners, and hammocks tied where there was enough space. They swayed as the choppy waves pushed the ship to and fro. Cannon lined each side of the cavernous ship, but even with the substantial space they required, there was plenty of room to move around.
We walked farther below deck where it quickly became dark and damp, smelling of steel, soaked wood, and gunpowder. Something rattled from within the dark hull. I sharpened my vision, sucking in a gasp when I saw her. One of my clones stared back at me.
She smiled, whispers of dim daylight leaking into the room and reflecting off her fangs.
I couldn’t breathe. It was me, but it wasn’t. It was me – as a vampire. She stared at me as intently as I did her.
Edward laughed under his breath. “I’m not sure she likes what you’ve done, Enoch.”
“Keep wagging your jaw, Thatch. The vampire is thirsty,” Enoch threatened.
The pirate’s smug smile melted away and he didn’t laugh again. Instead, he stayed close enough that Enoch was comfortable, but far enough away that the shadows concealed him. His heart drummed loudly against his ribs.
The clone looked between me and Edward, her eyes sharp and desperate. She wanted me to get close, just close enough so she could pull me against the iron cage. She could easily feed on me from there. Enoch wouldn’t even have to open the door. I couldn’t read her mind, but could see that we even thought alike.
The clone grabbed hold of the bars. “Why haven’t you turned her?”
“She isn’t one of you,” he answered.
Her hair was slightly lighter, highlighted by days in the sun, and her face was plumper beneath the chin and in the cheeks. Other than that, we were so much alike it was scary. Even her voice was mine.
The clone sized me up. From head to toe, she took inventory of our similarities and differences. I could see her eyes hang on each one. My hair. The stakes at my side. The way my tech suit fit. “What year are you?”
“I’m Eve.”
The clone threw her head back with a laugh. “We are all Eve.”
“No, I’m the first. I am one of the top three Assets.”
She rolled her eyes. “And I’m the Queen of England.”
“I don’t care what you think,” I told her.
She snickered. “Then we have another thing in common.”
Enoch moved to the wall of the wooden hull and took a pair of shackles off a spike. He walked to Edward. “We can do this civilly or not, but you will be shackled for the time being.”
“And then what?”
“You know the penalty for mutiny,” Enoch replied with a voice of stone. “Since Terah is the wronged party, she will be the one to mete out your punishment. These will ensure you stay until she returns.”
“Which will be when?”
“Soon,” Enoch answered vaguely.
Edward looked from me to the shackles. His eyes hardened. He wasn’t going down without a fight.
“She’s not worth my life?” he asked, nodding toward me. “I brought her to you. I could’ve sent her in the opposite direction, you know. I could’ve let her drown.”
I swallowed, remembering the crushing weight of the water.