8. Emerick, fix this travesty, and fix it now! #3
“From what I saw of the footage, you were more of a wraith than a woman on your hunts, all skin and bones—beyond the point most vampires would have succumbed to bloodlust and death.” My father sighed.
“I will pay Breckenan back extra for that. But yes, I knew all along you did not die because you were never part of his brood; you were quietly part of mine, and when Breckenan did as he did, I kept the bonds low and fragile. When your dessert decided to swoop in, I could sense his nature—and I permitted him to establish a bond with you and drown mine out. He, however, did not realize he actually battled two instead of one.” My father’s expression turned bemused.
“He also did not realize I was the one who ultimately broke the bindings, allowing him to do as he wished and claim you as his.”
Emerick scowled. “That is quite irritating.”
I jabbed my husband with my elbow. “I might even rethink abstinence in the comfort of our cruise ship suite once we’re sailing.”
“Take us to the Eclipse, please,” Emerick requested.
I laughed while my father shook his head but complied.
Upon boarding the Eclipse , we stepped back through time to a world of ballrooms, crystal chandeliers, elegant crown moldings, and simpler yet somehow more extravagant times.
Instead of casinos offering gambling and fleeting entertainment, tea parlors, bars reminiscent of saloons, dinner theaters, showrooms, and card rooms offered amusement for travelers.
The upper deck boasted a cigar bar for the men, a spa for the women, and shuffleboard, chess, and other board games for everyone to enjoy.
In order to board the Eclipse , passengers needed to be at least twenty-one years of age.
Pets were welcome aboard, and every cabin had the option to rent an electric litter box which housekeeping would attend to daily.
As though confirming the truth of our guide’s words, a vampire named Adelmo paid us a visit with a scraggly kitten with orange and white fur, who bounded down the hallway mewing all the while.
Over a thousand years ago, my father had turned Adelmo following an accident that would have otherwise taken his life—an accident my father held responsibility for. Much like an adoring puppy, Adelmo lurked in my father’s shadow, or so my father claimed.
I remembered the man from my childhood, one of many who’d kept an eagle eye on me in the hotel playground.
Adelmo grimaced at the appearance of the kitten, waited for the small fluff to get closer, and scooped it up. “I’m sorry, Charlie. We have a kitten infestation. We’re trying to catch them all, but the crew loves them, and people keep bringing female strays aboard when in port.”
My father crossed his eyes, lifted his hand, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “There best not be rats or mice.”
“The cats are doing their job admirably.”
The kitten mouthed at Adelmo’s hand, and giggling over the animal’s antics, I claimed the baby from him and gave it a kiss on the nose. “Have they had their shots?”
“All but the kittens have been given their shots, as it’s a requirement for bringing the strays aboard.
They must be clean of disease, given their vaccinations, and purged of fleas and other pests,” the old vampire admitted.
“The kittens should be clean of disease; we haven’t had any other animals on board, and all the females who were pregnant were given the chance to give birth and nurse before they were taken in to be spayed.
All the females are now spayed, however. ”
“It is what it is, and we are a cat friendly vessel. How many cats?”
“We believe we have twenty-seven females, fifteen males, and eighty kittens. We have captured sixty-two kittens, and they have been altered.” Adelmo gestured to the one I held. “That one has avoided capture until now. Hand it back, please.”
I scowled but obeyed, and he checked between the kitten’s legs. “While orange ones are usually male, this one is a female.”
I reclaimed the kitten, gave her another kiss on the nose, and cuddled with her. “Does the ship have a vet?”
“We do. We always have a qualified vet on board, and we have a clinic for humans and animals alike. A great many elderly travel on board, and we provide health services to them. We charge an extra two hundred dollars for full medical services should people wish to purchase in advance, and should anyone suffer a medical emergency requiring significant care, they are billed two hundred dollars. At last check, over ninety percent of our passengers opt to pay for medical services in advance, and many of them book checkups with one of our physicians.” Adelmo grinned at me.
“If you wish to keep the kitten, no one has claimed that one yet. The one who catches the kitten decides if they keep the kitten. All kittens wearing ribbons or collars have been selected by a member of the crew or a dockworker from the yard.”
Only one man could stop me from keeping the kitten, and I regarded him with wide eyes, hoping he translated my expression as beseeching.
“Your limit is five kittens. After that, our penthouse would become overrun. Your minimum is two kittens, because I will not have lonely kittens in our penthouse when we are gone and cannot play with them every moment. I’m going to insist on another female kitten, however, because I do not wish masculine competition in my own home. ”
I laughed at his restriction. “We should see if we can catch more kittens while we’re touring the ship. If we can’t, we’ll go to a shelter and snatch up unwanted female cats and make them princesses of our penthouse. We should ask Breanna if she wants a pet. She might not feel like she can ask.”
My spouse raised a brow at me. “You mean like you felt like you couldn’t ask?”
Well, I was so busted I may as well go dig out the cuffs and hold out my hands to be escorted to my cell. “Maybe.”
“Definitely,” he replied in a tone indicating he’d find some way to make me pay if I didn’t confess my sins immediately.
Color me unsurprised. Ruthless man.
“Fine. I definitely did not feel like I could ask. I mean, I took over the entire brood. And I even knew people had dogs, since I had a present wrapped in a dog biscuit box.”
“You can keep the kitten. Let’s just make this easy, Charlie. Are there any suites on board this ship capable of handling two vampires and five kittens?”
“As a matter of fact, there are,” my father said, and he pointed up.
“The upper level smokestack suites are all suitable for two people and numerous cats. The stern stack is the largest of them and covers two floors. It also boasts the best view. The forecastle smokestack also covers two floors but it’s a little smaller.
Some spaces are for the captain’s quarters and navigation bridge.
That is my personal suite as well. The captain’s quarters are below mine. ”
“Show us the stern suite,” I requested. “Perhaps being on the opposite end of the ship from you will keep us from attempting to murder each other—or shocking everyone around us should we decide to show any affection.”
Emerick snickered. “You’re just mad because you’ve decided you actually like your father.”
“I might even confess some love for my father should he help us find unclaimed female kittens to take home with us.”
My father sighed. “Very well. Do you want to see the suite before or after you catch your kittens?”
I didn’t need to think about that in the slightest. “Kittens first, suite second. We can use the suite to contain the kittens until we get cat carriers.”
Adelmo snickered. “We have spare carriers. I will get five, and I will inform the crew we are to catch all the strays. Are we permitted to shapeshift, Charlie?”
“That’s the only way we’re going to be catching a bunch of semi-feral kittens tonight. All I ask is that all venomous and poisonous shifters take care. If my daughter starts crying because of a hurt kitten, we will never hear the end of it.”
That much I could confirm to be the complete and total truth. “We should shift, too, Emerick.”
“If you feel a need to stretch your furry legs, then we can work on your shapeshifting lessons. Perhaps your father will have better luck getting you to shift intentionally.”
“It’s no fault of yours or hers, Emerick,” my father said with a smile.
“You have been trying to teach a bird to be a cat, and while you’ve done an admirable job with such things, she will have an easier time learning from me.
She is the light to your darkness, and a few simple changes in her teaching should make it easier on her.
Fur the color of sun and fire, for example, will be much easier for her to embrace than your sleek black. ”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. We’ll call this beauty Sunshine, Emerick. She certainly has a sunny disposition.”
The kitten, who was hard at work chewing on my hand, purred.
“I think she’s hungry and expecting you to feed her,” my husband replied in a doubtful tone.
“If my place in this world is to be a feeder of kittens, then so be it.”