Chapter Four
Cordelia Marin
A pounding on my door yanks me from the haze of sleep. The knock is frantic, not the kind to ignore. I stumble out of bed, wrenching open the door to find Zara, her face pale and eyes wide.
“Cor, Jake Gordon is gone. And his cabin mate. Their cabin... it’s not right. They’re both Orca shifters. Jake’s bunkmate, he’s new this cruise. Shit. I don’t remember his name. I haven’t even met him yet.”
“Slow down, Zara. What do you mean, gone? Even if he needed to go off ship out into the Inner Passage to shift, his bio monitor would give the bridge his position so that we can bring him back onboard.”
“Gone means not on the ship and no biometric signal. Vanished.”
We rush down the narrow corridor, the ship’s gentle sway doing nothing to calm my nerves. Zara and I burst into Jake’s cabin. The room is a mess—sheets tangled on the floor; personal items scattered everywhere. The air feels wrong, thick with an unspoken dread.
Zara kneels by the bed, fingers tracing a jagged tear in the fabric. “There was a struggle.”
I look around, desperate for some clue, something that tells me Jake just left in a hurry and not... I can’t even finish the thought. My gaze lands on a faint shimmer near the window—an aura of magic dissipating.
“Zara, look here. Is this blood?”
She looks at the wall, where I’m pointing and picks up a small item from nearby on the floor, holding it up for me to see. “This is what’s left of a bio monitor implant.” She grabs a cracked pair of eye glasses from the floor and uses the lens to peer at the tiny metal tube. “This belonged to the new guy. I remember recording the serial number—it has my Dad’s birthdate in it.”
Captain Voss strides in. She scans the room with a critical eye before joining me in time to hear Zara’s discovery.
“How? The implant is subdermal.”
“It was removed deliberately. By whom, I have no idea.” Zara hands the damaged implant to the captain. “I don’t believe any crewman would voluntarily remove the implant. My bio monitoring technology allows us to man this ship and experience the human world.”
“I agree, Zara. There is no way for a crewman with a bio monitor embedded to leave this ship unnoticed.”
“Chief Engineer.”
“Aye, captain?”
“You will investigate this along with the Security Chief and Zara. And I want Basil Jenks included. He has resources we may need..”
My jaw tightens. Involving Basil feels like handing a loaded gun to someone who doesn’t know it’s pointed at their own foot. But Captain Voss’s tone leaves no room for argument. What do you know, Captain, that we don’t?
I nod reluctantly and turn towards Zara. “Stay here, keep looking for clues.” I instruct before heading out.
The walk to Basil’s suite feels endless. My mind races with every possible scenario—none of them good—and steel myself as knock sharply on his cabin door.
Seconds later, the door swings open. My eyes widen as I take in the sight before me—he’s wearing only a pair of sleek, silky black boxer underwear. His torso is sculpted, every muscle defined and glistening faintly in the low light. For a moment, I forget to breathe, my cheeks flushing with heat that has nothing to do with the temperature of the corridor.
I struggle to mask my reaction, but the flicker of amusement in his eyes tells me I’ve failed miserably. He leans casually against the open door, a smirk playing at the edges of his lips.
“Didn’t expect company.” His voice drips humor and sensual promise. The way his gaze lingers on me sends a hot bolt to my core. “Is this a social call?”
I clear my throat, to regain my composure. “We need to talk.” My voice is steadier than I feel. Not waiting for an invitation, I push past him into his suite. The heat radiating from his body burns in my cheeks, and I fight the urge to glance back.
The door closes behind me with a soft click. The room is opulent, a stark contrast to the disrupted crew cabin I just left. Basil arches an eyebrow, head cocked, and arms crossed over his chest as he watches me. “This must be important if it dragged you here this early. Business, then. Not pleasure?” His smirk deepens. He’s enjoying my discomfort.
“Two crewmen are missing. Including second lieutenant Jake Gordon, who escorted you onto this ship yesterday.” I blurt out my news in a voice taut with urgency.
His eyes narrow, assessing me. “And you think I am involved or can help? Which?”
“The coincidence is difficult to accept. You come on board and strange things happen. So yes, I think you are involved. To what extent and for what reason, I don’t pretend to know. The captain believes you will help us. I’m not convinced.”
“Alright then. I’ll get dressed. Let’s find Lieutenant Jake.”
“We found their cabin in disarray. It looks like there was a struggle.”
His expression hardens. “Ms. Marin, if there’s foul play on my future ship, I need to know everything.”
If only you knew how little you actually know, Basil Jenks. I push the thought aside. “You’ll be involved, but there are things—details—you don’t need to know.”
His eyes narrow. “I’m not a fan of half-truths. If we’re going to find him, I need full disclosure.”
I cross my arms, matching his intensity. “And what makes you think you’re equipped to handle everything?”
He steps closer, his presence overwhelming. “I didn’t get where I am by shying away from the unknown.”
Great, now he’s self-righteous too. My frustration boils over. “This isn’t about business acumen, Jenks. There are layers here you can’t even begin to comprehend.”
He tilts his head slightly, studying me like a puzzle he’s determined to solve. “Try me.”
The tension between us crackles like static electricity. I hold his gaze, unwilling to back down.
“Fine. But we do this my way.”
“Agreed.”
I glance around the suite, taking in the luxurious furnishings and the understated elegance that screams wealth and power. It’s almost enough to distract me from our mission.
“We’ll start with the ship’s security footage.” I say briskly, heading for the door as he pulls on a hoody that cost more than my monthly salary. It’s easy to forget just how entitled and rich he is.
Hold it together, I tell myself as I step into the ship’s security office. Focus on finding Jake.
The air has a coconut scent tinged with the faint hum of electronics. The security chief has a fondness for Pina Coladas and uses an air freshener with a tropical essence. The office is small, cramped, and every surface glows with the blue-light of monitors displaying various angles of the ship.
The security officer is a grizzled walrus shifter named Hal. He nods at us and gestures off to the side. “I have the footage from the cameras near Lieutenant Gordon’s cabin. You will see it better on that monitor over there.” He points to a larger screen set on a desk with two chairs. With a few keystrokes, Hal brings the corridor outside Jake’s cabin into view.
We lean in, watching as the timestamp rolls forward. But something’s off. The image flickers and then skips several minutes ahead.
“Rewind that.” Hal does, but the same thing happens again. A clean cut in the footage.
“Someone tampered with this. Mr. Gordon, can you restore the video?”
He grunts and knuckles down with the keyboard and mouse. Making adjustments, he restores a few frames and shows us the footage again, this time at a snail’s pace. I catch a glimpse of movement—a shadow in front of Jake’s cabin, a door that opens a crack—but it’s too distorted to make out clearly.
As I lean closer, my shoulder brushes against Basil’s arm. He smells faintly of cedar and rich dark leather. Intoxicating and a distraction I do not need or want. He’s too close. Every inch of space between us is charged with tension.
“An inside job?” Basil murmurs, turning slightly to face me. His breath brushes my cheek, making my skin prickle.
“It’s possible. Someone who knows their way around our systems for certain.”
Basil’s gaze locks onto mine, intense and probing. “You don’t trust easily, do you?”
“That’s rich coming from you.”
He smirks but doesn’t pull away. “Maybe we’re more alike than you think.”
Before I can respond, Hal’s phone rings, and he hands it to me after saying hello.
“Cor, I need you in the forward environmental pool. How soon can you get away and join me?”
“On my way.” I hand the phone receiver back to Hal. “Thank you, Hal. I’m needed in the ECR. If Mr. Jenks has any further questions, please assist him in any way you can.”
Basil steps aside as I head for the door, his voice following me out. “This isn’t over.”
No, I think as I make my way forward and down to where most of the crew cabins and social spaces are located. It’s just the beginning.
The ship’s lower decks are shrouded in an unsettling quiet. Zara and I move through the dim corridors, our flashlights cutting through the darkness. The hum of the engine room pulses beneath our feet, a familiar, almost comforting rhythm.
“Cor, look here…” Zara whispers, her voice barely audible over the mechanical hum.
We crouch near the hull, in the maintenance area for the largest of the aquatic shifter pools Zara manages for crew use. I add my beam of light to hers, revealing symbols etched into the metal. They pulse with an eerie light, casting a sickly glow. I run my fingers over them, feeling a faint vibration.
What is this? The magic is familiar but not quite right…
“These markings…. They shouldn’t be here.”
Zara shifts uneasily beside me. “Do you think it’s connected to the disappearances?”
I nod, my mind racing. The markings pulse again, and a wave of nostalgia washes over me, mingling with a deep unease. This magic is ancient and twisted, not like the protective enchantments I’m used to.
“I think yes but can’t say why.” I stand and flip my flashlight off, closing my eyes for a minute to adjust to the dark. “Lights out for a sec, please Zara.”
As I open my eyes, I shift in part, calling on my dolphin to see through her eyes. The transition is seamless, a familiar glide into a primal awareness. My vision sharpens, blues and greens take on amazing depth while my eyes provide the red and yellow spectrum missing for dolphins. The edges of everything become defined and clear. Scanning the walls of the corridor, I’m shocked by what is revealed.
The walls are alive with a swirling, iridescent residue, a chaotic tapestry of colors that pulse and shift with a malevolent energy. Where once there was the clean, metallic sheen of the ship’s interior, now there are streaks of deep purples and sickly greens, interwoven with flashes of crimson that throb like a heartbeat. It’s as if the essence of the ship is being twisted and corrupted by this perverse magic.
The markings are not random; they form a pattern, an intricate web of runes and symbols that speak of ancient power and dark intentions. The magic energy is brutal, asserting its will over the ship with a sentient malice. I feel it pressing against my magic, testing, looking for a way to seep into my core and unravel me from within.
My dolphin senses recoil, but I force our focus to remain steady. We need to understand this if we’re to have any hope of countering it. This is not the protective enchantment I’m used to, the kind that nurtures and guards. This is sinister, a force seeking to dominate and consume.
The corridor suddenly is colder, the air thick with the scent of ozone and decay. As I take it all in, my body trembles, waves of raw fear run down my spine. This magic is ancient and twisted, a dark stain on the fabric of reality.
With a gasp, I close my eyes and allow my terrified marine companion to retreat, wrapping her in my embrace as she trembles along with me.
“The ship’s magic is being attacked, Zara. We must find out who’s behind this before this evil presence spreads further.”
Zara frowns. “If someone’s tampering with the ship’s magic...”
“We’ll stop them.” I finish for her. “Do we have a mage in the crew?”
A noise startles us both—a faint clatter echoing through the hallway. We exchange a quick glance and slip into the shadows behind a large crate.
Footsteps approach, slow and deliberate. My heart pounds in my ears as we hold our breath. The footsteps stop near the markings, and I hear a low murmur, words I can’t quite make out.
Who is that?
The figure lingers for a moment longer before moving away, their footsteps fading into silence.
Zara exhales sharply beside me. “That was close.”
“Come on. Keep the lights off.” I am already following, moving towards where the figure disappeared.
“Cor—“
“No arguments. We need answers.”
I inch along the narrow corridor, Zara beside me, our breaths barely audible. The darkness envelops us, and we’ve lost the trail of the figure we pursued into this passageway. Straining our senses, we find no trace of our quarry, only an oppressive silence and a fading stench in the stifling blackness.
As we emerge from the maintenance tunnels and return to the crew pool, footsteps echo, drawing nearer. I pull Zara into the shadows as the steps halt just ahead. Basil’s silhouette is stark against the dim light.
What is he doing down here?
Zara’s grip tightens on my arm. Her eyes are wide with alarm.
I nudge her with my elbow and put a finger against my pursed lips in the universal signal to stay quiet, and then peer into the darkness to focus on Basil.
He is shaking his head, muttering under his breath, and turning in a slow circle before choosing a direction and continuing down the corridor. His footsteps fade, but my mind races.
I need answers. And I can’t get them with Zara here; she’s too valuable to risk further.
“Zara. Roust the mage out of bed. Get him to the pool maintenance tunnel where we saw the magic residue.”
Her eyes widen in protest. “Cordelia—Baby doc? He is such a stick in the mud.”
“I know. But he’s a damn good mage. Use the rank card. Tell him it’s on my order and I want a full report, including options for fighting or getting rid of this malignant magic.”
“You following Jenks?”
I nod. She hesitates but nods back, her loyalty unwavering. She slips away silently, leaving me alone in the shadows.
I trail after Basil, or rather, I follow the glow of his flashlight, maintaining a safe distance. I linger in the darkness, keeping him within my sightline. Every noise is magnified in the silence, and Basil halts now and then, glancing around as if sensing a disturbance.
What are you looking for?