Then, Dani was back. He climbed over the railing and stood still on the deck. He had Charlie in his arms, and I stared in horror. Charlie was paler than I had ever seen him. His lips looked almost blue, and he was unconscious. In fact, the only reason I could tell he was alive was that he was shivering violently. Dani wasted no time drying him off.

"Oh god," Thomas cried. "Will he live?"

Dani looked up for the first time, and I took a step backward in horror. His eyes were black. They were so dark I couldn't even see his pupils, just furiously crashing black waves.

"No thanks to you," he snarled. His voice was lower and more menacing than I had imagined it could get.

"I'm sorry," Thomas stammered. "Jesus, I'm so sorry."

"I don't want to hear it," Dani said. He stormed over to Thomas. I had known that Dani was taller, but he never seemed to tower over Thomas before. "I am done arguing with you. We are not going to die because you're too stubborn and foolish to take care of yourself. You're not a goddamn child, so stop acting like one. I don't even want to see you until you grow the hell up." With that, he turned and stomped toward the stairs.

"Danio, I-" Thomas began.

Dani spun around, eyes still churning. "I said I don't want to hear it. And stay the fuck out of my room, Thomas. You're not welcome there."

Thomas couldn't have looked more stunned if Dani had slapped him. Mariana and TS both gasped. Dani went up the stairs, Thomas staring after him in shock. Mariana inched over to him.

"I should go... Do you need me to..."

"No, I'll be fine," Thomas said.

"Okay."

Mariana hurried up the stairs after Dani. After a long moment, Thomas turned to me.

"We should get inside. It's not safe out here."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He gingerly rolled the shoulder of his broken arm.

The three of us went up the stairs in silence and through the door to Deck Four. The long corridor was empty all the way to the other end of the ship. Dani and Mariana were already in their room. I could hear Thomas and TS whispering softly behind me as we walked. Before I could demand to know what they were talking about, Thomas spoke.

"It's probably safest in Dani and Mariana's room, but... Well, we'll see." His voice sounded a bit strained. I thought about suggesting he go to the doctor, but wasn't sure how he'd explain the injuries.

TS knocked on the door to Dani and Mariana's room. I looked up and down the hall nervously, half expecting the vampire to jump out. The door opened, and Mariana stuck her head out.

"Is he okay?" Thomas whispered.

"Charlie or Dani?" Mariana said. "Charlie is still unconscious, but I think he'll be okay. And Dani... He's still pretty upset, but he's calming down."

"Do you feel safe in here?"

"What? We haven't invited anybody in. Of course we're safe."

"I meant... I meant with Dani."

Mariana looked shocked. "Yes! How can you even say that?"

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"He's not himself right now," TS said.

"He's fine, and so am I!"

Thomas still looked concerned, and I was, too. "He's an elemental, Mariana. You never know if—"

"He's not even typhooning anymore," Mariana snapped. "And even if he was, it wouldn't matter. He'd never hurt me."

I chewed my lip nervously. Thomas actually thought that Dani would hurt Mariana? It seemed like there were some important things about elementals that I didn't know.

Thomas nodded. "And Jennifer?"

Mariana sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "Yes. Thomas, Charlie almost died! The last thing Dani is going to do tonight, even if he isn't in control, is hurt someone else he cares about."

"Okay. Jennifer?" Thomas gestured for me to go inside.

Mariana moved so that I could fit by her, and I went into the room. I turned back to Thomas and TS.

"Will you be okay, Thomas?" I couldn't tell if his chest was still bleeding or not, but there was a lot of blood. He looked like he was breathing a little hard, and I was worried the stake had punctured a lung.

He nodded and put a hand over his broken arm. "I'll live. Goodnight, Jennifer. I... I'm sorry you had to experience that."

"Night, Jen," TS said. "Things will work out. And I'll look after Tom, don't worry about him."

They started to turn when Mariana spoke.

"Thomas? You know Dani didn't mean it. He'd never..."

Thomas sighed. "I know. We'll be by in the morning."

Mariana closed the door, and we went into her room. Charlie was in the bed, and Dani sat in a chair beside him. Dani didn't even glance up at us as we came in. Mariana and I sat down on the couch. The minutes dragged by, but I worried about setting Dani off if I said anything. The conversation Thomas and Mariana had worried me. Charlie was still horribly pale, but it looked like a little color was returning to his cheeks. When Dani leaned forward to brush a lock of hair off of Charlie's forehead, Mariana broke the silence.

"Dani? How is he?"

"Warming up."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Dani's shoulders suddenly tensed. He turned around. His eyes were still and gray, and he looked ashamed. "I've never typhooned in front of you before. I'm sorry."

Mariana shook her head. "Don't be! It's okay."

"No, it's not. You shouldn't have had to see me like that. And I — Oh, God." He buried his face in his hands. "Tell me I didn't really say that to Tom."

"He knows you didn't mean it."

"I'm such a... Man, I feel horrible." Dani sighed heavily. "Jen, I'm so sorry. I haven't even asked if you're okay."

"I'm fine. I'm a bit freaked out, but... I'll be okay."

Dani smiled weakly. "Good. Do you have your wand?"

I shook my head, feeling guilty. Maybe if I had it on deck, I could have done something. I wasn't powerful enough to set anybody on fire, but maybe sparks could have distracted the vampire.

To my surprise, Dani stood. "Let's go get it. I'm not sure how much it would help, but I think Char could use a warming spell, if not some flames." He studied me for a moment. "Plus, we need to get your things."

I didn't like the idea of leaving the room. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'll feel guilty letting you go to sleep in bloody clothes." As he spoke, I realized that there were, indeed, blood spots on my shirt. I suppressed a shudder. "You could always borrow something, but I think that after what happened, you'll be a lot happier getting to change into your own clothes. Maybe take a shower, brush your teeth with your own toothbrush. It doesn't sound like much, but you'd be surprised how little things like that can really help in these situations." He glanced at Charlie. "And I'd really like that warming spell."

"Okay."

Dani kissed Charlie on the forehead and whispered something in Greek. Then, he headed for the door. "We'll be right back, Mariana. Keep an eye on him."

"Of course. Be careful."

"We will."

I joined Dani by the door, and he stuck his head out into the hallway and looked around. "We're going right to your door, no stopping." He took my arm, and we hurried down the empty corridor. When we got to my room, I realized that there was no lanyard around my neck.

"Oh my god," I gasped. "I don't have my key!" What on earth had I done with it? Had I lost it out on deck?

"That's okay. We got them rigged while we were in Ecuador." Dani swiped his own on my door, and it clicked open.

I used the light from my phone to get to my nightstand and pulled my wand out, then cast my night vision spell. I didn't want to wake Laurie by turning on the light.

Dani came up behind me and whispered, "Get what you need. Toiletries, something to sleep in, and a change of clothes for tomorrow. If you have any comfort stuff, grab that too."

"Okay."

I was about to squeeze by him, when he sucked in a sharp breath and flung his arm out in front of me. Before I could say anything, he backed up a step. He pushed me back so far that I ended up sitting on my nightstand. My shoulder bumped into the light switch and flipped it on. The light was blindingly bright. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and opened them just in time to see Dani snap his knife out.

"Stay right with me, we're leaving," he said. His voice sounded odd, strained.

He started forward and, worried, I stood and followed. I glanced at Laurie to see if the light had woken her and saw what Dani must have. She was pale, and there were two scabs on her throat. The vampire had been in my room.