Page 113 of Tin God

Ben shook his head. “As far as I know, none of the sea-steading environments that have been proposed are anything more than theories. And I definitely don’t see anything of that type surviving an Alaskan winter.”

Carwyn laughed a little. “It’s obvious what he saw.”

“A floating city is obvious?” Jennie asked.

Carwyn smiled. “What’s a common sight around here? Something one of the old ones might see as a floating city.”

Jennie shook her head. “I don’t?—”

“Large enough to survive the winter,” Carwyn said. “Might be a little unusual this time of year, but not unheard of. And in the summer you wouldn’t think twice.”

“A cruise ship,” Brigid answered. “Paulson must have a cruise ship.”

Tenzin remembered Brigid talking about them before.

“Cruise ships?”

“Humans all grouped together on large boats. I’m talking massive boats.”

“Yachts?”

“Bigger than yachts. Hundreds of bedrooms. Restaurants. Swimming pools. Nightclubs and pubs. Theaters sometimes.”

Tenzin repeated her thought at the time. “It is a floating city.”

Carwyn nodded. “And one that would blend into the background in a place like Alaska.”

“It wouldn’t in the winter,” Ben said. “Don’t the cruise ships float south in the winter?”

“Yes, but that elder was attacked in the summer months,” Jennie said. “Maybe he saw something he shouldn’t. Maybe that’s why Zasha tried to kill him.”

Tenzin looked at the many islands and peninsulas dotting the map. “Could you hide something that big?”

Everyone in the room spoke at once. “It’s a big ocean.”

She narrowed her eyes. Yes, the ocean was big, but vampires still had to drink human blood, and humans had to eat and sleep. If Paulson had created a floating city, there would be trails leading back to it.

If Paulson, Zasha, and all these vampires were hiding out on a giant boat somewhere, Tenzin would be able to find it.

She was wrappingherself in every warm layer she could find when Ben walked into their room.

“What are you doing?”

Tenzin looked at him. “It’s cold.”

“In our bedroom?” He frowned. “Why do you have a wool blanket tied around your torso, Tiny?”

She looked out the window of the house where they were sleeping. “There are at least five hours of darkness left. I love the winter here, but it’s cold. Why are all the really dark places so cold?”

Ben leaned against the doorframe. “Sometimes I really question if you listen to yourself speak.”

Fine. Whatever. She wasn’t looking for a scientific answer. “A boat that could be mistaken for a floating city would be massive,” she told him. “And it wouldn’t be easy to hide even in a place like this.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s a big ocean, but they’ll need fuel, they’ll need to hunt. They’ll need food if they’re keeping humans. Anything that big will have lights. I can find lights.”

“Not necessarily,” he said. “That barge I was watching had very few lights visible.”