Vampirates 6: Immortal War (45 page)

The three figures came to the center of the deck and stood before Obsidian and Sidorio. If Lorcan looked on them in wonder, he saw that Sidorio registered their arrival with even greater surprise.

Though Sidorio was still held firm by whatever force
field had been thrown about him, he was still able to speak.

“Who are you?” he asked of the new arrivals, his voice full of wonder.

There was silence for a moment. The capes of the three masked captains billowed in the breeze, the material sparking here and there with indigo light. Then they began to speak—with just one voice. It was a familiar whisper, reminiscent of lapping waters.

“We are Cardinals North, East, and West. Together with Cardinal South, we provide safe harbor for Nocturnals across the oceans.”

“Cardinals?” Sidorio grunted, his voice now devoid of its former respect. “Are you some kind of religious sect?”

“No.” Lorcan found himself answering the question. “They each represent a cardinal point on the compass.”

“That is correct.” The Cardinals nodded, then spoke again. “We are the four leaders of the Nocturnal fleet. Each of us takes responsibility for one cardinal point on the compass.”

“North, East, and West,” Sidorio said, finding he could move his hands, but only within a certain radius. “So where is Cardinal South?”

The three Cardinals did not answer his question but moved to stand beside Obsidian, who shook his head slowly at Sidorio. “You always were a little slow on the uptake,” he said, “but surely this isn’t beyond your understanding.”

“
You
,” Sidorio said. “You’re Cardinal South.”

“I am…” Obsidian suddenly faltered, his eyes turning from Sidorio to the three masked captains at his side. “Or, at least, I was.”

There was another pause, in which all that could be heard was the movement of the ship’s sails and the Cardinals’ capes, blending with the ocean breeze and the churning of the waters deep below. Then the three Cardinals spoke once more. “It is a very long time since the four of us have been in one place. We come together now in order to give you a clear message.” Though the masks covered their eyes, there could be no doubt the three were addressing Sidorio. “This conflict is over. Go back to your ships and start dismantling your war machine. You and your kind will never gain dominion over the oceans.”

Sidorio shook his head, then attempted to lunge forward at Obsidian. The force field around him was too strong and he found himself further humiliated.

“Admit your defeat,” the Cardinals continued. “Take your crews back to the ships you have plundered and never think to set foot here, from where you were exiled, ever again.”

As the Cardinals finished speaking, Lorcan glanced across the deck, looking for the reactions from both the crew of
The Nocturne
and Sidorio’s own force. It seemed that everyone was poised, waiting to see what Sidorio would do next. Lorcan’s eyes turned back to his erstwhile
comrade, the first rebel Vampirate and now commander in chief of the empire of night.

Still imprisoned, Sidorio lifted his head to the skies and let out a roar. The sound was deafening. It seemed to echo not only across the deck but out over the oceans and back again. Lorcan realized this was no war cry; this was a cry of disappointment and abject defeat. Now Sidorio lowered his head and called across the deck. “We are defeated,” he cried. “Back to the ships!”

At these words, the force field around Sidorio disappeared. Lorcan saw that the same had happened to Stukeley and all of Sidorio’s followers, who had been held in paralysis across the deck until the renegade admitted defeat.

Now the surrendering army began its way, as if hypnotized, across the deck. Only then did Lorcan see that there were no longer three ships surrounding
The Nocturne
but six. And each of the three ships that had lately arrived bore the same strange winglike sails he had come to know and love. He smiled to himself at the confirmation that he was part of a greater force.

Sidorio watched his forces drifting away, then turned back to Obsidian once more. “I underestimated you,” he said. “I won’t make that mistake again. Though, just so we’re clear about this, I’d have won the night if you hadn’t summoned reinforcements.”

Lorcan smiled ruefully. No one would have expected
Sidorio to be gracious in defeat, and he had not disappointed.

Obsidian glanced from the three Cardinals back to Sidorio. “I didn’t summon them,” he said, at length.

Sidorio’s eyes narrowed. “If that’s true, then who did?”

“I did,” came a voice from behind Lorcan. Grace walked up to join the group gathered at the center of the deck. Turning, thrilled beyond measure to see her, Lorcan smiled. His smile froze as he saw Johnny, following in her wake, looking as dazed as his comrades as he joined the lines flowing off the deck back onto the rebel ships.

As Grace took her place next to Obsidian, Sidorio smiled at her. “My all-powerful daughter,” he said, with obvious pride. “If only I could have persuaded you to join my side, this conflict might have had a very different outcome.”

Standing beside Obsidian and the three masked Cardinals, Grace seemed in possession of a new authority as she responded to Sidorio. “My powers are a gift beyond measure,” she said. “I will never use them for wanton destruction.”

Sidorio gazed at her thoughtfully, perhaps still thinking of what might have been. Behind him, the line of his disembarking crew had come to an end.

“It’s time to go now, Father,” Grace told him. There was a measure of mercy in her voice.

Sidorio nodded. He seemed about to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he turned and joined the exodus.

Lorcan reached out and squeezed Grace’s hand. He was gratified she did not resist. She might be some incredible—and growing—force of nature, but, when all was said and done, she was also his girl.

The surviving crew of
The Nocturne
seemed as dazed as Sidorio and his troops. They had now all risen to their feet, above their fallen comrades, to watch as the enemy ships set sail into the dying night. Lorcan knew that each and every Nocturnal and donor had hoped for victory in this fight, but none could have anticipated this outcome.

“Captain.” Lorcan addressed his comrade. “The night is beginning to fade. We must tend to our dead and injured swiftly and get the crew belowdecks once more.”

“Yes,” Obsidian agreed. “Please give your orders, Commander Furey.” Standing there, between Grace and the three Cardinals, Obsidian seemed trapped in a force field of his own, though there were no indigo sparks to bind him.

Lorcan sought out his deputies and the cleanup of the deck began. Already, his head was full of practical issues. The ship had been stormed at the outset of the Feast. The surviving Nocturnals were now in greater need of blood than ever. Once the cleanup was complete, they would need to resume the Feast or, at least, the sharing. But with many casualties sustained, the established pairings of Nocturnal and donor had been wrecked. It was an unholy mess, but, he reminded himself, at least this was an end to the conflict. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they couldn’t be worse than what they had lately endured.

Satisfied that everything was under control, Lorcan began making his way back to the center of the deck. As he did so, a hand reached out to him. Glancing up, Lorcan saw Oskar and smiled.

“You fought well tonight,” he told him. “You did all that was asked of you and more.”

Oskar smiled, but only briefly. Lorcan’s donor usually lapped up any praise, but it was entirely understandable if the intensity of the night’s events had taken its toll on his usual high spirits. He realized that Oskar was looking at him curiously.

“You’ve taken blood from someone else,” Oskar said. There was a look of hurt and panic in the donor’s eyes. Then he turned and hastened inside. Lorcan reached out a hand to reassure him, but they were separated by the movement of others. The crews brought by the three Cardinals were making their own way back to the three ships. Oskar disappeared behind the stream of Nocturnals.

The exodus of the three other Nocturnal crews was as swift and seamless as that of Sidorio and the renegades. Soon the crews stood ranked across their decks, like statues of warriors lit silver by the moonlight. They appeared to be waiting for their captains to join them.

The three Cardinals were no longer ranked in a line. Instead, they were clustered, facing Obsidian, as if the four of them were indeed points on a compass. Grace stood to one side. Lorcan found his way over to her and stood beside her.

“You did a wonderful thing tonight,” he said.

“No.” Obsidian spoke without turning toward them. “She did a foolish thing.”

Lorcan was amazed at his words, and even more stunned as Obsidian turned his angry face toward them both. “I warned you many times that we had no allies upon which to call. But you chose to ignore me.”

“What do you mean?” Lorcan retorted. “If it wasn’t for Grace, we’d have certainly been defeated by Sidorio and his rebel army. As it is, we have sustained more losses than ever before in this last battle.”

“That is your perspective, Commander Furey,” Obsidian said. “Not mine.” He turned back to address the three Cardinals. “I apologize for my comrades. I’m sorry that you were summoned here tonight.”

Cardinals North, East, and West answered in their strange, united whisper: “It is not on your comrades’ behalf that you should apologize, Cardinal South—or whatever you now care to call yourself.” Their capes sparked with light once more. “Any blame in this matter must be carried by you and you alone. You broke the ways of our ancient code and enabled rebellion.”

Despite being spoken in a whisper, their words were no less brutal.

“I knew you would feel that way,” Obsidian began, only to be swiftly interrupted.

“It is not a matter of feeling but of fact. You have consistently broken the code.”

Obsidian’s voice was cracked as he responded. “I have always tried to do my best as captain of my ship. To provide sanctuary to the outsiders among the outsiders, as was our ancient accord.”

The Cardinals were merciless. “You overstepped the bounds of your power. You confused being captain with being a god. You are too much in thrall to humanity. Your role, like ours, was to care for Vampirates who needed haven. Yet you remain fascinated by mortals, though they are frail and transitory in comparison to us. You made yourself weak by allowing yourself to become a vessel for the lost souls you gathered like flies to your web. You failed to contain the threat on board your ship and within your quadrant. And, instead of turning to us, you sought the help of Mosh Zu Kamal. It was he, no doubt, who persuaded you to remove your mask and take a human face. At that point, you ceased all entitlement to the name of Cardinal South. And now—now you have entered an alliance with mortals! How could this have ended anything but badly?”

“I had to change,” Obsidian said, a note of pleading in his voice. “I felt the world,
our
world, changing, and I had to respond.” He shook his head. “The rest of you haven’t faced a rebel like Sidorio on board your ships, within your quadrants.”

There was a moment of silence, then the Cardinals resumed. “Sidorio is not the biggest rebel on board
The Nocturne
. You are! You chose to disregard the old ways—
the ways that have ensured peace for many centuries. You endangered not only the Vampirates in your quadrant but those across the oceans as a whole.” The Cardinals paused. “And so, when we were called to help you, we came. But we come only once.”

Obsidian bowed his head. “I repeat,” he said, his voice retaining a stubbornness and pride, “that it was not I who called you here tonight. You have my word that your help will not be called upon again.”

Lorcan exchanged an anxious glance with Grace as the Cardinals made their response.

“Call or do not call. We have our own quadrants to attend to. Next time yours is under threat, you must face the consequences alone.”

Obsidian nodded. “We understand one another.”

“It is time for us to depart,” the Cardinals said. They moved into an approximation of a circle, reaching out their arms until the tips of their gloves met. A mist began to rise around them and their capes began to spark once more. It rapidly became hard to distinguish one figure from another. Then a fog of incandescent light enveloped them. It was a light so bright that both Lorcan and Grace covered their eyes. When they opened them again, the Cardinals had vanished and so, too, had their three ships.

Now Obsidian, Grace, and Lorcan were alone on the ship’s deck. Above them,
The Nocturne
’s sails flapped and crackled with light. It was as if the ship had been restored of its dwindling energy. Only the darker stains upon the
red deck boards indicated that a terrible battle had taken place here tonight.

“We must go inside,” Obsidian said, his head bowed. “The light is on its way.” He strode away from the others without meeting their eyes.

Lorcan turned to Grace and saw there were tears on her cheeks.

“Grace, whatever Obsidian says, you were amazing tonight,” Lorcan told her. He reached out and pulled her toward him. “By reuniting the Four Cardinals, you defeated Sidorio and pretty much single-handedly brought this terrible war to an end.”

“Then why does it feel like I’ve lost everything?” she asked. “Why is Obsidian angry with me?”