The Last Passenger (28 page)

XLIX

Kate found that climbing up a ladder while holding a bawling baby was much more difficult than she’d expected. She needed to use one of her hands to hold the little boy, leaving only one hand free to hold on to the bars as she climbed up. Her head still hurt, and she suspected her swollen ankle might be broken. Every time she put weight on it, a flash of pain crept up her leg.

The ladder was part of a service duct that seemed endless. It was illuminated every few feet by a flickering light that trembled like drunken fireflies. The heat was absolutely stifling. Kate was unable to do anything about the sweat running down her face except close her eyes, which only made it worse.

Each time she shut her eyes, a new image greeted her upon opening them again. It felt like someone with a remote control was wildly changing the channel in her head. In one moment Kate was able to see a well-lit tunnel with pipes that were painted bright colors and the glinting metal of the ladder’s rungs. But in the next, the lights were covered in layers of cobwebs, and the pipes were broken and riddled with rust. Every time that happened, the steel ladder was substituted for a rotting, swollen wooden one that was on the verge of crumbling like sand.

All of it should have disturbed Kate, but she found herself calmer than ever. Her fright had faded and was hidden in some remote corner of her mind, far too weak to come out. She was in a state of tranquility that she hadn’t felt since before she’d been handed Robert’s remains in an urn.

Confident, she saw everything clearly, and she knew she wasn’t on the
Valkyrie
by coincidence. She had a specific role to play. Kate no longer felt like the events controlled her. The story had already been written, but she knew that, thanks to Robert’s help, she could change the ending.

She’d taken the initiative and confused the shadow.

The movement of the baby against her chest broke her thoughts. He was still wrapped in a blue-and-white
tallit
, and a gold chain hung from his neck, lost in the rolls of his baby fat. Kate didn’t need to look to know that the end of the chain had a small Star of David—the same one Feldman had shown her a few days before.

She paused a moment to catch her breath and looked at the baby’s scrunched-up face. She stroked the top of his head down to his chin.

“One day you’re going to be a very important man, Isaac,” she whispered to him sweetly. The boy began hungrily moving his mouth toward her finger in search of nourishment. “That is, if this shadow doesn’t get us. I think your grandpa set free something quite dangerous.”

His last words continued ringing in her ears:
Pulsa Dinura
.

Kate knew exactly what it meant.

A few years ago she’d worked with Robert on a story about ultraorthodox settlements in Israel. In the course of their investigation, they came across the fact that in certain parts of Jerusalem a few very unusual groups had retained the values and customs that reigned in central Europe in the nineteenth century. The groups were quite hermetic and turned their backs on the state of Israel. In order to maintain their rich cultural identity, they harbored Kabbalists who practiced the Jewish equivalent of black magic. For those practitioners their most powerful weapon was the
Pulsa Dinura
.

Invocation of the Shadows.

The only problem was that such power required a spell caster of equal magnitude to control it. Someone who was able to see the future and prevent letting the shadows take over. Very few people in the world had the knowledge, which took decades of study, to do it, and even fewer ever called on the dark power. These ancient and prudent individuals knew better than to wake such a monster if it were not absolutely necessary.

The man who had invoked
Pulsa Dinura
now lay dead on the boiler room floor, several floors below, having been killed by his own handiwork. The monster he’d summoned, free for the first time in eons, no longer had a master. It found itself ravenous and full of hate and pain.

Kate had never believed in such mysticism. As far as she was concerned, it was no more than folktales and legends for those who lived in a fantasy world of superstition. Tales that were quaint but imaginary. But now she believed.

A thunderous boom sounded from one side of the
Valkyrie
. The ship tilted sharply about ten degrees, and the lights flickered out for a moment, leaving Kate in total darkness. Amid a chorus of metal scraping, the
Valkyrie
slowly righted itself as Kate clung to the ladder to avoid falling. The ship was pitching and heaving. Without the propulsion of the engines, the
Valkyrie
was no more than a hunk of metal and wood floating on the vastness of the ocean, mercilessly rocked by the waves.

Kate looked down and immediately regretted doing so. Below her was a drop of nearly one hundred feet with boiling hot pipelines all around. One wrong step and she would end up being no more than a pile of broken bones at the bottom of a pit. She clutched the child closer and began climbing up the ladder again until she was forced to stop once more to catch her breath.

She looked up to see a hatch door no more than six feet above her head. She blinked several times before sighing hopefully. That had to be the exit. But Kate could only see the door when she was in 1939, so she was forced to wait for the rocking motion of the ship to sync up with the correct moment in time.

The next time the door entered her vision, she jumped for it. Her ribs smacked hard against the door, knocking the wind out of her, but it opened. She balled herself up to protect the child and found herself rolling on a carpeted floor before hitting a wall.

Kate was dazed, and it took awhile for her to stand. When she did, she recognized the passage as belonging to first class. She walked down the hall with the baby held tight and looked around. Most of the hall lights were still working, but some hallways were no more than pits of darkness. Kate avoided them, making a wide circle in order to get to the outside deck of the
Valkyrie
.

Her goal was to get to the walkway that surrounded first class, find one of the lifeboats, and hide inside. It was better to risk her life in the middle of the ocean on one of those boats than to spend one more second aboard this cursed ship. On the other hand, the
Valkyrie
was not going anywhere. The storm had become a beast. Bolts of lightning flashed all around. The thunder was loud enough to shake everything. There were no windows where she was, and Kate was unable to see the sea, but she figured the waves had to be monumental, judging from the way the ship was swaying.

Everything appeared deserted. The floor was covered with confetti and empty bottles rolling from side to side. It looked like the celebration there had ended just minutes ago. Rows of KDF paper flags along with swastikas lined the ceiling. But nobody was in sight.

Several claps of thunder rumbled outside. The ceiling above her head shook, and the chandeliers jingled. Kate looked up in confusion. It was not thunder she heard. It sounded more like a continuous series of staccato explosions. It stopped. Those had been gunshots.

Her resolve began slipping away. What was going on up there? Who was shooting? Who were they shooting at?

Something moved behind her. She spun around and felt a chill down her back. Shreds of shadows were whirling in the corners, each fragment stretching out to link with another and form ever-larger blocks of darkness. A nervous whispering could be heard, getting louder by the second. It was already taking up the entire end of the hallway and was slowly growing as it advanced. The shadow seemed to be waiting for something.

Kate heard footsteps approaching. She looked around but saw nothing that could be used as a weapon, and she could not recede into the shadows. Suddenly, a trapdoor above her head opened, and a drop ladder crashed down in the middle of the hall. Through the opening, gusts of frigid wind brought in sheets of rain that soaked the carpet below. A man came down the ladder, taking care not to slip. He was wearing military boots, a wide-brimmed helmet, and a uniform with the insignia of the British Home Guard.

The weathered-looking, thickset man of about forty jumped to the floor and turned to look at Kate. His face twisted into a look of surprise.

“What the hell are you doing here, ma’am?” he shouted. “The Germans are up there. The entire southern section of the port has been razed, and more airstrikes are coming. This is a combat zone.”

Kate looked up through the trapdoor opening. Through the rain and lightning, she could make out about half a dozen men huddled around an antiaircraft gun that was launching heavy artillery into the sky. Above the howling wind Kate could hear the distant drone of aircraft. When far-off explosions echoed over the ship, the sailors crouched behind their weapons, hands on helmets, in search of a nonexistent safety.

“It’s seriously not safe here.” The man’s tone was paternal and conciliatory. “Go back on land and search for shelter. If the Germans bomb the ship, we’ll all be dead. You and your baby.”

Kate shook her head as if she were on board a train that had been derailed. Everything was spiraling out of control.

“You need to get off this ship, all of you.” Kate grabbed the man’s jacket and spoke carefully. “There’s something on board this ship that is far worse than a German bomb. Get out of here, or it will finish you off.”

“Ralph! Bring that goddamn ammunition right now.” A voice, tinged with terror, came down through the hatch opening. The soldier who responded to the name Ralph looked up and then at Kate. His face was full of doubt and panic.

“Get out of here,” he finally sputtered, pushing Kate out of the way politely but firmly. “Right now. If you don’t, I’ll have you arrested. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ammunition for our guns.”

The man walked straight toward the shadows. He removed a flashlight from his pocket, awkwardly fumbling to turn it on, as he entered into the tatters of darkness swirling at the end of the hallway. Far too busy with his flashlight, Ralph did not notice how the impenetrable darkness closed in all around him. The explosions from outside drowned out the impatient sounds the shadow was making.

After a few steps Ralph disappeared entirely. That watery vacuum noise was followed by a gurgle and the sound of something falling to the floor. The ship rocked again, and out of the shadows rolled Ralph’s burnt-out flashlight.

The growing shadows advanced toward Kate. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and pursed her lips before turning around and running away from the evil presence. The shadows had already climbed up the ladder and visited those on the outside, entangling themselves around the unsuspecting men on the deck.

As Kate ran she could hear screaming and the hiss of the darkness as it grew louder and moved closer.

L

Moore was furious. The Jewish whore had barely escaped. There was no way of opening that door. He howled with rage and pounded on the door with his bare fists. Waves of unnatural anger washed over him, and all he was capable of doing was making unintelligible noises as he banged against the steel. The door became splattered with his blood as his knuckles split open, but he continued to punch.

Otto.

The voice. Her voice—a soothing balm to calm his feverish state. With her everything made sense. Moore stopped hitting the door and let his hands fall to his sides. Blood dripped from his knuckles as he tilted his head and listened. He drank in each and every word.

The other bitch is history, Otto, but this one’s different. She’s dangerous. You’ll have to work for it.

Moore frowned. He sensed blame in her voice, but there was something else. Urgency, maybe? He was reminded of his mother’s tone when she would head off to work at the factories, yelling out her good-byes as she checked her watch.

She has something, Otto. Something that makes her special and dangerous. You have to find him and get rid of him.

Moore shook his head, confused. He had begun to bleed from one ear, but he paid no mind. He felt a light push within his mind, and he was suddenly able to picture Kate’s cabin door shining like a neon sign right in front of his eyes.

“No,” Moore yelled, hitting the door once more. “I want to find her now. Open the door. I know you can do it.”

The pressure within his head became more intense, and Moore let out a howl of pain. A portion of his brain died instantly, and Moore lost all feeling in his face and right arm. But he didn’t care. A wave of orgasmic feelings ran up and down his body like a series of electric shocks. It was the most wonderful feeling he’d ever experienced in his life.

You’ll have that, Otto. You’ll have it whenever you want it. All you’ll have to do is wish for it. But right now you have to obey me.

“Yes.” A bit of spit dribbled out of Moore’s mouth. “Yes, I will.”

Inspect the cabin up and down, Otto. That’s where you can find what’s protecting her. If you get rid of it, she will be defenseless.

With the determination of a shark tracking the scent of blood, Moore headed for the elevator. He noticed that the shadows surrounding him lost some of their intensity. He sniffed at the air like a restless hound and tried to determine what had happened. It was her. Moving. Receding. Moore could feel her doubts and concerns. The connection between his mind and the shadow was so powerful that he was able to perceive the thoughts and feelings of his new mistress with total clarity. They were not thoughts in the literal sense, or at least, Moore wasn’t able to perceive them as such. Still, they were clear, complex impulses that flowed through his mind and viciously laid siege to his rationality.

She’s worried about something,
Moore thought and shivered.
Something’s happening to the ship that isn’t in her plans.

He had no time to contemplate his discernment of her master plan because an impulse forced him to walk toward the elevator. As his boots kicked through the scattered remains of the explosion and as the sounds of sirens and bells echoed throughout the ship, the voice in his head continued to provoke him.

In her cabin. You have to go there. Search him out. End him.

Moore entered the damaged elevator, and as it rattled up, Moore wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. A mixture of grease and blood covered his skin like a macabre disguise. His shirt was completely ruined. By reflex he threw it to the ground. He was naked from the waist up. He checked the magazine in his gun and waited patiently for the elevator to come to a stop.

The doors opened up on the
Valkyrie
’s main deck. The pits of darkness had multiplied all around the ship. It was as if some fungus had attacked the ship and was meticulously colonizing every last corner of it. Some areas were darker than oil, while others were still full of light and life. The shadows spread without any intelligent design. Rather, the darkness was something organic, growing around what it encountered.

The only thing certain was that when the shadows reached somewhere, they took root and stayed there.

They prowled and waited for something to happen. Lurking.

Moore stumbled through the halls. The waves outside were getting stronger, and the hallway bucked like a wild stallion. From time to time he heard something crashing in the distance. Not even the slightest noise, however, could be heard coming from the areas that had been touched by the shadows, which were like black holes that consumed sound along with light. Somehow, Moore knew that absolute stillness reigned in those bleak patches.

Nothing moved in the shadows. Ever.

His ears picked up the muffled sounds of the cooks struggling with the stovetops when he passed by the kitchens. In one corner he watched as several tendrils of darkness seeped into the room like thick smoke, slipping through the vents. The lights grew dimmer until they vanished altogether. The last thing Moore heard as he rounded the corner were screams of surprise and agony coming from the kitchen staff as the shadows established their empire.

After five interminable minutes he arrived at the hallway that contained Kate’s cabin. Moore didn’t even bother to grab his set of master keys jingling from his belt. He simply placed his hand on the doorknob and turned. He knew it would be open for him.

He walked inside the cabin, while the shadows huddled in the hall behind him. They were anxious but dared not pass through this particular doorway. Moore looked around before he opened the closet and emptied it systematically. He tossed Kate’s clothes over his shoulders after thoroughly inspecting each garment. When he finished with the clothes, he started in on the suitcases, and once he was through with those, he tore down the framed pictures off the wall.

Next, he turned to the bed and tore off all the sheets. He sank his knife into the mattress, cut a huge hole, and proceeded to rip out all of the stuffing. He did the same with the couch and Kate’s suitcase, completely destroying it. Once finished, he stood straight up in the middle of the room and heaved for breath. He felt dizzy. His eyes hurt, and shapes were shifting all around him. He had the feeling that something was moving on the other side of the bathroom door, but when he opened it no one was there.

Feeling defeated, he dropped down onto what remained of the mattress. His eyes fell on a black ceramic urn that he hadn’t seen before. The waves must have caused it to roll into a corner and be hidden by a curtain.

Moore’s heart began to race as he walked across the cabin and crouched down to pick up the urn.

He shook it next to his ear. Something was inside. With great trepidation he uncorked the container and looked down inside. It was sand. He sank his fingers into the contents and then removed them. No, it was ash.

That’s it. You’ve found it.

Her voice sounded triumphant, jubilant, and relieved. Another pang of trepidation shook him briefly, but he had no time to react. The voice, eager and breathy, glided into his head once more.

You have to get rid of those ashes, Otto. That’s his only physical connection. Without them he has no way of holding on to this side. It’s his bridge. You have to get them off the ship right away.