Carter
Excitement quickens through him as he studies the Santorini lights.
It fuels his impatience. His dad will be on the island by now.
He’s staying in a hotel on those cliffs tonight, and they’ll meet him at the dock in the morning.
He cannot wait to tell Dad about their trip so far, and show him his notebook of suspicious happenings.
Maybe Dad is the one adult he can still rely on.
After all, he flew all this way. For him and Mom.
He knows the lounge is one deck down, toward the back of the ship. He checked the ship layout. Two side doors lead from the outside deck into the foyer.
He creeps along the deck, hugging the wall, staying in the shadows, telling himself he’s Harry the Spy. He’s Sherlock. He’s on a top-secret mission. He’s brave.
There are lights ahead, beyond the shadows cast by a lifeboat hanging from a davit. He remembers from his Black Orchid Passport lessons that the metal arms that swing lifeboats over the side of a ship are called davits.
He nears the lifeboat. The area is partially roped off, but suddenly Carter spots a faint blue-white glow in the shadows behind the lifeboat.
He stills. Watches.
The light glows brighter, then fades. It’s not a flashlight—too dim. More like a strange flickering glowworm in the dark. The ship lurches, and the glow briefly illuminates a thin vapor trail rising. Carter realizes it’s a man vaping.
Not just any man.
He’s tall and wears a black cloak with a high collar—like Count Dracula. Carter’s heart hammers.
Carefully, he inches closer until he can see more of the man. His heart pounds even faster. His hair is black and shiny, slicked back. Silver rings glint on his fingers. Tiny sequins sparkle like starlight on his cloak.
It’s him.
Sorin the Magnificent.
Alone, deep in the shadows of the lifeboat, vaping.
Carter’s mouth goes dry. Excitement rushes through him. He hesitates only a moment—one has to grab opportunities fast, with both fists, when fate presents them. He sucks in a humongous breath and steps forward to introduce himself.
But just as he’s about six feet away from Sorin the Magnificent, he senses movement. Carter spins around, freezes, as a huge, hulking shape materializes out of the darkness and surges toward Sorin. The ship’s light flashes across the hulk’s face.
He wears the mask of Thanatos—the silent death.