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Chapter 3

Jack felt Ashe's eyes on him as he walked away, boring into his back. He turned the corner and leaned against the wall, not daring to believe that what he had just seen had been real.

A frown crossed Jack's face as he pictured the woman he had just met in his mind. Small, shy, very pretty, seemed to have some major self-assurance issues. He had taken a moment to study her in the way only one cursed like he was could– he had looked through her eyes into her very soul.

Being a soul collector, Jack considered himself somewhat familiar with what a human soul looked like. Each had a spark of intelligence and a set of morals and ideas, as well as the flip side, their instinct and intuition, as well as their emotions. Each had a set of memories and a past, however short or long, and that had some effect on their present personality and temperament.

Jack had seen a great deal of souls in his time as a collector, and each and every one of them had had all of these things, to varying degrees. But just now, when he had looked into Ashe's eyes, he had seen none of this. Her soul, her mind, had been completely blank to him, as if she was blocked off from him by an invisible wall.

Some people he had encountered in the past, those who were used to hiding their emotions and thoughts from others, had had some kind of natural defense system, making it harder for Jack to see their souls for what they really were. These were about the equivalent of a mental curtain, and physical contact usually corrected that. Never had he met a person whose soul was hidden by what resembled a mental brick wall, like Ashe's.

In fact, the strongest defense Jack had ever encountered had belonged to the soul of Maureen Epps. Hers had been the equivalent to flimsy drywall. It had caused him to underestimate her, to let her get far enough ahead of him that she had been able to blow up his ship before he had a chance to stop her.

Jack clenched his fists at the thought of the scheming bitch that had wrecked his plans. He had let her escape after she had destroyed the 'Antonia Graza' thinking that she would either drown or freeze before she could reach land. Fortunately, she was still alive. Jack grinned, the evil malice inside him shining forth momentarily. He would have his revenge when the time came.

Besides, he had had other things on his mind that night. Like the thousands of Marked ghosts that the bitch had freed.

Of course, Epps hadn't understood that once a passenger was Marked, they were his, no matter where they were. Only two souls had escaped that night: Epps herself, and that snotty little brat Katie. The rest had barely had a minute to think they were free before he had drawn them back to him and, no longer having a place to keep them, took them back with him to where Management had been waiting, none too pleased.

This being Jack's first major fuck-up, and since he had brought in his current load regardless, Management had graciously given him a second chance to fill his quota. But only one. And Jack was determined not to mess up this time. He couldn't let anything stop him now, when he was so close.

But now there was this girl, this young woman, who, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't be accessed the way the others had been, even with physical contact. This worried him.

With a sigh, Jack resolved that he couldn't get rid of her yet, not without attracting far too much unwelcome attention. He wanted his plans, whatever they would be, to go smoothly, and the best way to insure that was to carry them out without anyone noticing his presence until it was too late.

From what he had gathered just from observing the girl, Ashe seemed socially insecure, and more than a little self-conscious. Maybe if he hung around her for a bit, got to know her, she would open up – at least to him. That was, if she had any trust left in her at all.

Jack let out a sharp laugh. He was always up to a good challenge, and this Ashe kid would most certainly be that. It would take some work, but until he insured that she wouldn't cause him any trouble, he didn't want to take the chance of leaving her at large. And besides, she was cute. Maybe, if he was already in the process of getting to know her, Jack could get away with some extra 'physical contact'. This thought caused a smirk to creep across his face.

His mind made up, Jack retrieved his bags and made his way to his cabin, feeling that this voyage would be much more successful than his last.

Ashe leaned on the railing that ran the perimeter of the 'Arctic Pearl's two uppermost decks, deep in thought and more than a little relieved to be out in the open air again, with no one in her immediate vicinity. Just her and the sea, the way she liked it.

Her exploration of the three main passenger decks had been a little overwhelming. The ship was divided into five decks, with the bottom two being devoted to cabins and the smoke-filled pub/restaurant, the 'Blue Oyster'. The next deck up had housed an indoor pool complex and spa, an exercise room, and a cute little coffee shop that reminded her of the one she had worked at through high school, called the 'Java Shack'. On this deck was also a small mall, with boutiques selling souvenirs, clothing, shoes, and all sorts of overpriced items that any idiot would have packed anyway. The mall had been full of people, so Ashe had stayed too far away to get a good look. The fourth level up on the ship had a small exterior deck around its perimeter, and the interior had held a huge lounge, filled with cozy chairs, card tables, pool tables, a video arcade and other things to amuse the mind. Also on this deck was the formal dining room, complete with live entertainment, a dance floor, and quite a few giant chandeliers. The fore of the uppermost deck was mostly an outdoor viewing area, with lots of lounge chairs, telescopes and an outdoor bar. The aft section held an information center and another small indoor lounge.

After exploring, Ashe had felt herself starting to get dizzy from the presence of so many chattering, excited people, and had fled to a deserted area of railing on the fourth level, away from the crowds of people. Now she stared out at the water as the ship sped out towards the open sea, leaving the port behind. She smiled and inhaled a deep breath of fresh, cool ocean air. After nearly two years away from it, it was good to be back on the ocean. It was like coming home. The scent of the sea brought back memories both bitter and sweet, and she stood there for a long time, reminiscing.

Suddenly, Ashe felt a presence near her. She snapped out of her peaceful reverie and looked to her left. Leaning over the railing a few meters away was the same guy she had bumped into in the corridor earlier. Jack, was it? He, too, was staring out at the water, seemingly quite as blind to the world as she had been. Not wanting to have to be polite and start up a conversation, Ashe pretended she hadn't noticed him and started to move away toward the interior of the ship, thinking she would go and find something to eat. But before she could even turn around completely, he startled her by speaking.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he commented, motioning to the water and to the lush, forested islands they were passing through, "Beautiful, eh? You ever been to Alaska before?" Jack turned to look at her, a friendly smile on his face. His eyes held no trace of that tracing quality they had before, only polite curiosity. All possibility of a hasty escape was quickly disappearing.

"No," Ashe responded, almost too quietly to be heard above the noise of the splashing water below, "But I know the coast. I grew up on Vancouver Island, south of here."

He nodded. "So…you here alone? Or are you with someone?"

"Alone," she responded, "I like to be on my own." If she had hoped Jack would take the hint, she was sorely disappointed.

He nodded again. 'Yeah, I gathered that. Otherwise why would you be out here instead of inside with everyone else?" He grinned at her, displaying a row of white teeth.

Ashe knew it was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway. "I like the water…" she trailed off and looked back out at the scenery, hoping he would leave if she showed him she didn't want to talk.

No such luck. "Hey, why don't we go in and get a drink or something?" he offered, and seeing the look of panic on her face, he amended, "We don't have to go where it's crowded. Just a quiet spot. I want to hear why an attractive young woman such as yourself is here on a cruise all alone."

Blind panic stirred in Ashe's stomach. She didn't want to talk to Jack alone. Even the attention he was paying her now unnerved her. Usually, people didn't even notice her, let alone express an interest in talking to her. And besides, she couldn't tell him why she was here. She couldn't tell anyone that. She sought futilely for a plausible excuse that wasn't too rude, but Jack wasn't waiting for an answer. He grabbed her arm and began to lead her toward the hatch that led to the interior of the ship. Knowing she couldn't pull away without embarrassing herself further, and wondering if she should care, Ashe reluctantly followed. Once they reached the door Jack let go of her arm, to her great relief, and let her pass ahead of him.

Ashe had to fight the impulse to flee and leave him there. 'Remember,' she told herself firmly, 'one of the reasons you're here is to learn to be social. And besides, all I have to do is talk to him. I don't even half to get close to him.' Somewhat placated, Ashe breathed a deep sigh and followed Jack down the stairs to the third deck.