Vampirates 6: Immortal War (26 page)

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” he said. “Johnny and me, we were like brothers. Blood brothers.” His body began to shake. It was a familiar sensation. “I can’t bear it, Mim. I’ve lost too many others. But not Johnny. Not John…”

“I know,” Mimma said, stroking his hair tenderly. “I know how close you were and I can imagine how I’d feel if I lost Nathalie or Jacqui.”

Stukeley rearranged himself on the bunk and pulled Mimma in closer to kiss her. As their lips parted, he held her close. “Thank you for agreeing to stay,” he said. “I’m not sure I could get through this without you.”

“Hush now!” Mimma said. “Don’t say such things. We’ll get through this, together.” As she spoke she interlaced her fingers with Stukeley’s. She was strong, like a force of nature. Stukeley looked into her fiery eyes, then found his attention diverted. If he wasn’t very much mistaken, Grace Tempest was standing at the foot of his bed, dressed in a very strange pinafore creation.

“Grace,” he blustered, starting to sit up. “What on oceans are you doing here?”

Mimma turned around, equally dumbstruck to find Grace in the cabin.
How come they hadn’t heard the door open?
“Howdy, stranger!” she said. “I’d like to say you’re looking good, but, honestly, I don’t think that’s a great look for you, sweetie.”

Grace’s eyes coolly met Mimma’s, then turned back to Stukeley.

“I’ll fast-track this,” she said, “because time is of the essence. I’m not physically here. This is an astral visit…”

“Of course!” Stukeley nodded in understanding. “Johnny told me you could do that.” His face fell. “Are you here because of him? You’ve heard the news, then? That he’s dead?”

Grace shook her head. “He’s not dead,” she said.

“What?” chorused Stukeley and Mimma, both clambering out of bed, while trying to protect their modesty.

“He’s here at Sanctuary,” Grace said. “I’m sure you know by now that we have a treatment facility here for wounded Nocturnals. One of our rescue squads picked Johnny up by mistake this morning, after the attack on
The Diablo
.” She paused, wanting to be sure they’d understood what she had said.

“I’ve begun his healing, but he can’t stay. Stukeley, I need you to come and fetch him tonight.”

Stukeley was already standing up and buttoning his shirt. “I’ll come right away,” he said.

“Come alone,” Grace said. “And don’t try anything clever. I’m doing this for Johnny’s sake, you understand? Don’t make me regret this.”

Mimma couldn’t believe her ears. “
You’ve
certainly grown up since we last clapped eyes on you, Gracie.”

“I didn’t have any choice,” Grace said, turning her attention back to Stukeley. “Now listen carefully. This is what I need you to do…”

At the appointed hour, Grace and Noijon walked side by side along the Corridor of Ribbons, then turned into the Corridor of Discards. As they passed Dani, Grace nodded politely and exchanged a relieved glance with her trusted nurse. Noijon smiled back at her. She rather thought he was enjoying their clandestine mission. She wasn’t—not in the slightest. It had set all her nerves on edge. And, as they turned into the Corridor of Lights, an unwelcome surprise lay in wait.

“Grace!” exclaimed Darcy. “And Noijon.” She nodded in greeting. “Where are you both off to?”

“Just out to get some air between shifts,” Grace said as casually as she could muster under the circumstances.

“You know how rare it is to get any free time around
here,” added Noijon. “And even the quickest draft of fresh air does wonders for your concentration and stamina. Wouldn’t you agree, Nurse Flotsam?”

Darcy nodded. Already, she smelled a rat. She could read Grace’s body language pretty expertly by now and she knew something was amiss. Was it possible that Grace was making another attempt to leave Sanctuary, only this time without a bag and without letting Darcy in on the secret?

“You know, I could do with some air myself,” Darcy said chirpily, “and, as luck would have it, I’m on a break, too. Mind if I come along with you?”

Grace wanted to protest, but she didn’t want to create any more of a scene. Nor did she want to miss their appointed rendezvous.

“Of course,” she said. “We’d be happy to have your company.” She really ought to give Darcy some warning of what—or rather who—lay in wait in the courtyard, but she could hear footsteps behind them in the Corridor of Discards. There was simply no more time.

Noijon pushed open the door and the three healing staff strolled out into the courtyard. In the distance, the security guards were changing over shifts—Grace had timed this very precisely. She continued walking across the
courtyard, where she caught sight of him, leaning against the wall outside, lost in the shadows. Seeing Grace and her companions, Stukeley stepped forward.

Darcy gasped in surprise, then said in cool tones, “What are you doing here?”

He lifted his head and looked at her rather nervously.

Grace spoke up. “I asked him to come.”

Once he overcame his own shock, Stukeley smiled at Darcy warmly. “It’s great to see you again,” he said.

Darcy shook her head, finding herself completely wrong-footed. “Please, will someone explain what he’s doing here?”

There was a brief but awkward silence as the others exchanged a glance. Then, softly, Grace whispered in Darcy’s ear. “He’s come for Johnny. He was brought here by mistake after the attack on
The Diablo
. I’ve been healing him in secret.”

“Grace!” Darcy exclaimed, shocked. “How could you? He’s our sworn enemy! If Mosh Zu found out…”

Grace turned to face Darcy square on. “He’s not going to find out,” she said firmly. “We are the only ones who know. And it’s going to stay that way. Noijon and I will bring Johnny out to Jez and then they’ll go on their way.”

“How’s our boy doing?” Stukeley asked Grace now. “I can’t wait to see him.”

“He’s still in a bad way,” said Grace. “I’ve started his healing, but he can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous for all of us.”

Stukeley nodded. “It’s okay. We have our own treatment facility now.”

“I’m sure you do,” Grace said, somewhat bitterly. “And I’ll bet I know who’s running it.”

Before Stukeley could answer, Noijon interrupted. “We shouldn’t lose any more time. There’s movement over at the guards’ station.”

Grace nodded, suddenly all business once more. “Darcy, why don’t you take Stukeley to the kitchen garden and wait for us there? We’ll bring Johnny out to you.”

Darcy turned to Grace. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable being an accomplice in this,” she said. “You know I’d do anything for you, Grace, but…”

“Please,” Stukeley said. “Would you do it for me, Darcy? Look, I know I’m not in any position to ask a favor of you. But would you do it for what we once were to each other—before I destroyed that?”

Darcy looked across at Stukeley. It had been a long time. There he stood, framed by moonlight. She couldn’t deny that he was still handsome—perhaps, to her chagrin, even more so than she remembered. He was dressed in the Alliance uniform—all part of Grace’s master plan, no doubt—and it lent him a new gravitas.

“All right then,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll do this.” Turning to Grace and Noijon, she added, “But be quick.”

As Grace and Noijon headed back inside, Darcy turned to Stukeley, catching him gazing at her a bit too dreamily for her liking.

“Are you at all pleased to see me?” he asked. “Have you thought about me much?”

Darcy shook her head. “I’m far too busy to dwell on the past,” she said. “My work here is very important to me.”

“You always did have a strong sense of duty,” he said. “It’s one of the things that I loved most about you.”

Despite the “L” word, she didn’t crack. “Come on,” she said. “We can’t dawdle here. I’ll take you to the garden, like Grace said.”

He nodded, smiling softly. “Lead the way!”

She set off with him at her side. He felt dangerously close. At any moment, he might reach out for her. But he didn’t. He was the perfect gentleman.

When they reached the kitchen garden, he smiled. “Well, this is a pretty spot and no mistake. What do you say we sit down for a moment by this fountain, while we wait for Grace and the others?”

Darcy shrugged, and, as she did so, her cardigan slipped from her shoulders. She reached out behind her to catch it but Stukeley was already there. His hand met hers. The touch sent shivers along her spine. She removed her hand and allowed him to settle the soft fabric of the cardigan back on her shoulders.

“There you are,” he said, remaining close.

“Thanks.” Darcy stepped away from him and sat down on the wooden bench.

“So, you’re a nurse now?” he said.

“Yes.” She nodded. “But I think it’s best not to discuss my work here with you. I’m sure you understand.”

He nodded. As he did so, she saw the deep sadness in
his eyes. Once more, she was struck by how handsome he was. And how vulnerable. She’d forgotten this quality but it was one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. He had always seemed a little unsure of his place in this world, just like her.

“Is there anyone special in your life?” he inquired. “Because, though it would hurt me a bit to think of it, I do want you to be happy, Darcy.”

“My work comes before everything right now,” she replied.

He nodded, seeming rather pleased by her answer.

“How about you?” she asked. “Are
you
seeing anyone?”

“There’s a lovely girl,” he said, his honesty taking her by surprise. “One of Lola’s officers. She’s Italian by birth, from the South. Full of spirit…”

Darcy was unnerved by the wave of sadness that swept over her as he talked about this other girl. She drew on all her strength to prevent it from showing. Whether Stukeley had seen it or not, he reached out his hand for hers and this time she did not resist his touch.

“She makes me laugh,” he said. “But you take my breath away, Darcy. You always did and you always will.”

Darcy slipped her hand free from his and rose from the bench. She took a few steps toward the fountain, feeling its spray dampen her face like raindrops—or tears.

When he spoke again, there was a note of pleading in his voice. “I wonder,” he said. “Do you think you could ever entertain the possibility of giving me another chance?”
His eyes sought an answer in hers, but Darcy kept her expression veiled.

Stukeley sighed. “It gets lonely, don’t you find? I realized that, when I thought Johnny was… gone, there are so few people I trust these days. I know you have your work, and so do I, but there’s all this eternity stretched out before us. It scares me sometimes.”

“I won’t be your cure for loneliness,” she said sharply, staring into the fountain.

“No,” he said, standing close beside her, his face glowing in the light of the moon and its reflection in the water. “You’d be so much more than that.”

Darcy felt a fresh wave of sadness break within her. “We can never be together,” she said. “Your words are like diamonds, Jez. They always were, but your actions fall short.” He looked at her forlornly as she continued. “The reason I didn’t run away with you that night was because of the hideous way you treated the captain—the very man who’d rescued you from the abyss.” It pained her to think of that night but now that Pandora’s box was open, it could not be closed. “You whispered sweet nothings to me, but after you’d gone I learned that you had murdered Shanti in cold blood.” She paused but he didn’t deny it. “I’m sure you’ve murdered many others since then. And now you’re one of Sidorio’s trusted deputies, so you’re just as responsible for this war as he is. It’s your fault your best friend is in the state he’s in.”