Vampirates 5: Empire of Night (13 page)

Grace shook her head, feeling a little guilty at her charade. She closed the notebook and placed it and the pen back on her nightstand.

Darcy closed the door behind her and swept into the room with characteristic drama. "I've been sorting through some of my old jewelry boxes--you know what a magpie I am--and I found these." She extended her right arm toward Grace's face, her hand clenched in an upturned fist. As she opened her fingers, Grace gasped. Lying there in Darcy's doll-like palm was the most stunning pair of aquamarine drop earrings. They seemed to contain an infinite depth and variety of blues and greens, as if they had been distilled from the ocean waters themselves.

"They're a little too classic for me," Darcy said. "But the minute I saw them, Grace, I thought of you. Now, lift up your hair and let's see how they look!"

"They're beautiful!" Grace exclaimed, obediently lifting her hair. She realized she had let it grow quite long of late. Darcy fastened the earrings for her, and Grace let her hair fall down again behind her ears.

"Perfection!" proclaimed Darcy with a smile. "Stand up and have a look in the mirror!"

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Grace approached the mirror. She felt a momentary jolt. It was as if her mother was looking back at her. She had never looked so grown-up before. Behind her, Darcy smiled and lifted a hand to Grace's shoulder. "The earrings are pretty, Grace, but
you
are beautiful," she said. "No wonder Lorcan has fallen so hard for you."

Grace couldn't hold back the solitary tear that slid across her cheek.

"Grace, darling. Why are you crying?" Darcy asked, busily searching for a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry," Grace said as fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. "I'm trying really hard not to get emotional, but there's an awful lot going on at the moment."

"There, there!" Darcy dabbed away the remnants of Grace's tears. "Why don't you sit down and tell Auntie Darcy all about it?"

"Auntie?" Grace said, laughing through her tears and lying back down on the bed. "You're a bit young to be my auntie! I mean you
look
too young. Oh, you know what I mean...."

"I'm laying it on a bit thick, aren't I?" Darcy said, lying down beside Grace. "I'll level with you, pal. I know something's going on with you. The earrings were..."

"A pretext?" Grace asked, amused.

"A Trojan horse, if you like," Darcy said. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, and jewelry seemed a good way in."

"Oh, Darcy," Grace said. "You didn't need jewelry,

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though I do love the earrings, so don't even think about taking them back! But you're my friend. In fact, you're more like the sister I never had."

"Oh, Grace!" Darcy said, raising the hankie to her own eyes. "That's the nicest thing... just the nicest thing."

Grace smiled. Darcy's arrival was a blessing. She could talk things through with her and get a better idea of how to approach both Lorcan and Mosh Zu. Darcy had proved an excellent sounding board in the past.

"Well?" Darcy said, her chocolate-brown eyes wide open and her bow-shaped mouth pursed. "I think it's about time I heard what's on your mind, don't you?"

Grace opened her mouth to speak, but she was silenced by another knock on the door. Before she could say anything further, Lorcan strode into the cabin.

"Aha!" he said with a smile. "Two for the price of one!"

"Lorcan," Grace said. "Come on in. Darcy and I were just having a chat."

"That's right," Darcy mumbled, sitting up straight and unruffling her hair. "Just a little chat. Nothing important. Nothing that can't wait until later." She began tapping her fingers on the bedspread, in a display of feigned, or indeed strained, patience.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, ladies," Lorcan said. "But I need you both to come with me. Mosh Zu wishes to see all three of us at once."

"What for?" Grace asked, sliding off the bed.

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Lorcan looked them both in the eye and spoke in measured tones. "I don't know any details except that it concerns the captain."

"The captain!" Grace's heart missed a beat. Her first thought at hearing his name was excitement. But then she felt fear. It had been some time since Mosh Zu had shared any news about the captain. Her mind was racing now, and she saw that Darcy was trembling. Grace reached out her hand once more to her friend.

"Now, Darcy, don't look so worried," Lorcan said. "You too, Grace. It could very well be good news."

Darcy's voice was strained. "Mosh Zu wants to see the three of us--the last three people who saw the captain at Sanctuary." She shook her head. "Oh, don't you see? It can't be good news. It just can't..."

"Darcy!" Grace pressed her friend's hand tightly. "Keep calm. Please. Mosh Zu needs us to be strong. The captain does, too." She drew Darcy into a hug, wrapping her arms around her. "Oh, Darcy, I know how much the captain means to you. He means so much to us all. But we have to go on together--no matter what Mosh Zu has to tell us."

Lorcan nodded. "She's right, Darcy. We're in this together, and we'll get through it together." He turned to Grace. "I think we should go now. We'll only fill our heads with needless fears if we drag our heels here."

Grace nodded. In spite of the brave face she was showing to the others, cold shivers ran up and down her spine. She was unable to tell whether it was this new worry

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about the captain or a fresh manifestation of the state of flux within her. As she followed the others out of the room, she glanced over her shoulder at the painting of her parents. As she did so, she heard her dad's voice. "Trust the tide!"

She nodded, feeling a current of calm cut through her rising panic. Turning, she followed the others out into the corridor.

Hand in hand, the three of them approached Mosh Zu's cabin--the suite of interlocking rooms that had formerly been inhabited by the nameless captain of
The Nocturne
. Grace thought back to the first time she had come to this door and sought out the captain, determined to find out just how much danger she was in aboard the ship. It seemed so long ago now--a world away. She had been surprisingly brave then, under the circumstances. If only she felt half as brave now, coming as she was to learn the captain's fate. It would be such a terrible blow to lose him, she reflected. To lose him and never to have even known his name. With these thoughts rushing around her head, Grace wasn't even conscious of Lorcan knocking on the door or Mosh Zu calling for them to enter. Before she knew it, she was inside the cabin, still holding tightly onto the hands of her friends. Mosh Zu stood up to greet his guests.

"It's good to see you all," he said. His expression was, as usual, impossible to read. "Perhaps you'd like to sit down?"

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"Well, now we know!" Darcy cried. "It can't be good news. That's what people always say when they have something bad to tell you. Sit down. Have a cup of sweet tea! As if it will somehow cushion the blow!"

Grace saw her own fear reflected back through Darcy. Turning to Mosh Zu, she saw him smile softly and shake his head. "I just thought you'd like to be comfortable," he said. "We have much to discuss."

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15 A COUNCIL OF WAR

"Thank you for coming so swiftly," Mosh Zu said. He remained standing as Grace and Darcy sat down, side by side, on a long couch. Lorcan settled himself in the adjacent chair as Mosh Zu continued. "I can see in your faces how concerned you are for our dear friend, the captain. I know how much he means to you all. So I am very happy to bring you news of him."

With these words, Grace's fears subsided. Lorcan was glowing with relief. Grace glanced at Darcy, seeing that she too was alert and poised for Mosh Zu to continue.

"The captain is in the final stages of his recovery," Mosh Zu said. "Very soon, he will begin his journey back to us."

"Where is he now?" Grace asked, but Mosh Zu raised the palm of his hand to still this and further questions. "The captain and I have been in regular communication

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these past few nights, and we are agreed that things are coming to a severe pass. We need to take decisive action, and that's why I have gathered the three of you here tonight, our most loyal and trusted crew members."

Grace felt a deep sense of pride at his words. Tears pricked her eyes once more, this time from relief, but she fought them back and steadied herself. She needed to focus. Clearly, Mosh Zu had important information to share.

"The world of the Vampirates is changing," Mosh Zu said. "In former times, we kept to ourselves and our presence went generally unnoticed by the mortal world. We created a sea shanty to strike fear into the hearts of mortals and persuade them to keep their distance. But, at the same time, we never sought to harm them."

Grace thought of the shanty her dad had sung to her and Connor throughout their childhood.

You'd better be good, child,

Good as gold,

As good as good can be.

Else I'll turn you into the Vampirates

And wave you out to sea!

Yes, you'd better be good, child,

Good as gold,

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Because--look, can you see?

There's a dark ship in the harbor tonight

And there's room in the hold for thee.

Plenty of room for thee!

So the familiar shanty had been penned by the Vampirates themselves! Grace's head was filled with the comical image of Mosh Zu at the piano, working away at the tune while the captain scribbled down lyrics. She smiled to think of it, then dismissed this highly inappropriate thought as Mosh Zu resumed speaking.

"
The Nocturne
provided a refuge for vampire outsiders--those who did not fit in with conventional vampire society, based as it is on a mania for blood. In the beginning, there were other ships besides
The Nocturne
. This is a subject for another time. For now, my point is this. These ships sailed through eternity, providing safe harbor at last to those vampires oppressed, persecuted, and experiencing the very worst of times since crossing over from mortality into the vampire realm."

Lorcan nodded in recognition at this.

"The same was true at Sanctuary, where I have worked for many centuries now, helping vampires to understand their appetites and, if not control them, then at least break through the feeling that they are being controlled
by
them. I have prepared crew members there, both Vam

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pirates and donors, prior to them joining these ships." Mosh Zu's eyes ranged across the three members of his audience. "But now things are changing--and fast."

"Sidorio," Grace said. "And his new empire. The empire of night."

Lorcan glanced curiously at her. She wasn't ready to meet his eyes and turned back to Mosh Zu, who nodded. "It all began to change when Sidorio rebelled against the captain and went into exile. We hoped that would be the end of him, but it wasn't. We underestimated him. In his time of exile, he has only grown stronger."

Mosh Zu shook his head sadly. "Sidorio's rebellion has provided a magnet for other Vampirates who cannot make peace with what they are, who see their condition as license to behave like demons. They live up to the horror story we spun through the shanty. Their way is not our way, but we cannot expect mortal eyes to draw a distinction."

Mosh Zu had come to stand in front of the hearth. The fire in the grate was unlit, but there was hot anger in his eyes as he continued. "A time of war is coming, my friends. We did not invite this war. Nor do we welcome it. But, make no mistake, we will fight it. And we will win it. This message comes to you from me and from your captain. It is the reason why he had to go away. Before, he was too weak to fight the growing forces of darkness. When he returns, things will be very different."

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"This war," said Lorcan. "So it's between us and Sidorio's force? Between us and this empire of night?"

"In part," said Mosh Zu. "But Sidorio's actions have opened up a further rift between us and the mortal pirate world, which even now is preparing to attack us."

Grace thought of Connor and shook her head. "The pirates won't attack us," she said. "It's Sidorio they have in their sights.
They
must be able to draw the distinction, surely?"

"This is how wars begin," Mosh Zu said, "but not how they end. We will do what we can to avoid war with the pirates but, at the same time, we must make ready for it."

"How?" Lorcan asked.

"Each of you will play a key role," Mosh Zu said. "That is why I summoned you here tonight."

"Us?" Darcy said. "What can
we
do?" She glanced at her friends. "I'm not putting you two down, but given the general doomsday scenario, what hope do we have?"

"Plenty," Mosh Zu said, breaking into a smile. "The immortal future begins with the three of you. Your captain and I have complete faith in you."

He turned toward Lorcan. "Lorcan, your mission relates to combat.
The Nocturne
has always been a ship of pacifists. Because we have steered clear of trouble and kept to ourselves, we have not had to fight before. Now, however, we are in a position where we must defend ourselves. You will develop combat techniques and train the crew to

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fight, both against Sidorio's forces and, if required, against the pirates."

"That's quite a job!" Lorcan exclaimed.

"Which is why we need someone of your talent and character in charge," said Mosh Zu. "I will work with you, of course, and the captain, too, once he returns."

Lorcan nodded. "I shall do what I can," he said, "and gladly."

"Very good." Now Mosh Zu turned to Darcy. She crossed and uncrossed her legs nervously, then began twisting a strand of her hair.

"Darcy, you are much stronger than you think. Why, you saved the captain's life when he was at his weakest. You must have greater belief in yourself." He smiled. "Now, no one could disagree that you are a great communicator, Miss Flotsam. You like to talk, am I right? To gossip and chat with all of the crew?"