Vampirates: Tide of Terror (24 page)

34

AFTER THE STORM

Connor slept fitfully and, when Jacoby knocked on his door the next morning, he was still in his nightclothes, his head as heavy as lead.

“Wow! You look awful!” Jacoby said, bounding into Connor’s room, full of beans in his Academy tracksuit. “Better get a move on, man. It’s already quarter to seven.”

“I don’t think I can do SSM today,” Connor said.

“Why not?” asked Jacoby. “Are you feeling sick?”

Connor shook his head. “It’s Grace,” he said. “She tried to take her own life last night.”

Jacoby’s jaw dropped open. “No! Why? How?”

“It’s a long story,” Connor told him. “But it ended with her throwing herself off the harbor wall.”

Jacoby shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I saw her. I was up in her room. I ...I saw her jump. And I ran . . .”

He was shaking at the memory. Jacoby put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You did good, mate. You did real good.”

It took a moment for Connor to steady his breathing. He was determined not to cry in front of Jacoby. “She left this,” he said, passing Grace’s note to his friend.

Jacoby scanned the words. “Wow, that’s heavy, man. And look at the way the writing is all blotchy. It looks like she was crying when she wrote it.”

Connor nodded. He had noticed that, too, of course.

“I don’t understand,” Jacoby said. “I know that Grace wasn’t having the best of times here. And I know she’s been a bit sick. But why would she want to do something like this?”

“Like I say,” Connor said, “it’s a long story. And it’s time you were off on your run.”

Jacoby shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere, mister. I’m not leaving you like this. So, now you have plenty of time to tell me
exactly
what’s been going on.”

Connor looked into his friend’s eyes. It would be a relief to tell him about Grace’s obsession with the Vampirates. Even if it was a betrayal of her trust, so be it. She had betrayed him in the worst way last night. Now it was every man for himself.

Jacoby walked with Connor to the infirmary. They pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the long room, lined with rudimentary iron beds. Only one, in the center of the row, was occupied. As they began walking toward it, a figure stepped briskly from the shadows.

“Oh, hello,” Connor said.

“Good morning,” said Nurse Carmichael, not quite smiling. “How did you sleep?”

“Not well,” Connor said.

“I’m not surprised,” replied Nurse Carmichael, shaking her head. “What a night!”

“How is she today?” Connor said.

“Still sleeping.” The nurse smoothed her starchy uni-form. “Best thing for her.”

“Let’s go and see her,” Jacoby said.

“Not much to see,” said Nurse Carmichael.

“All the same.” Jacoby nudged Connor forward. They walked past the nurse to the bed where Grace was tucked under the tight white bedsheets.

“She looks pale,” said Jacoby.

She did. Connor looked at his sister. She was peaceful now at least, her hair fanned out on the pillow, her hands crossed over her chest like an old statue in a churchyard. Connor couldn’t help listening out for her breath. It was faint, and it came like a distant breeze.

“Like I told you, not much to see.” Nurse Carmichael appeared at the bedside.

“When will she wake up?” Jacoby asked. “Are you
sure
she’s okay?”

The nurse fixed him with angry eyes. “Are you questioning my expertise, Jacoby Blunt?”

He shook his head. “I just —”

“Because it isn’t so long now since I was rubbing witch-hazel on your grazed knees and elbows, young man. I think I’m just a bit better qualified to judge the situation, don’t you?”

Jacoby raised his hands in defeat and stepped back from the bed.

“Will you let me know when she wakes up?” Connor asked.

“Of course,” said the nurse in a gentler tone. “I shall send word immediately. But it could be a while yet. You’re best getting on with the business of your day. A busy mind can’t dwell.”

Connor nodded. He took a last look at his sister’s deceptively peaceful face, then turned away. “We’d better get to lessons,” he said to Jacoby.

The two of them walked back to the door.

“Well, at least this decides one thing,” Jacoby said.

Connor turned to him quizzically.

“You can’t leave the Academy until she’s better, can you? No matter what Captain Wrathe thinks about it.”

Connor hadn’t thought of that. “I suppose not,” he said.

Jacoby smiled. “I’m not going to say that every cloud has a silver lining. But, at least she’s okay. And this will give you some more thinking time.”

Connor nodded. As they stepped out into the sunshine, he felt a little lighter of heart.

Behind him, the heavy door of the infirmary swung shut.

As it did so, the heels of two other visitors — who had entered via the opposite door — clicked across the marble floor toward Grace’s bedside.

“Headmaster, Mistress Li,” said Nurse Carmichael, nodding to them.

“How is our patient today?” Commodore Kuo asked the nurse.

“As well as can be expected,” she said. “Her body is still in shock. I’ve given her something to kill the pain.”

“Very good,” said the headmaster. He and Cheng Li looked down at Grace. Nurse Carmichael leaned in closer. For a while, the three of them said nothing, observing her breathing.

Then Nurse Carmichael stole a sidelong glance to Cheng Li. “The girl said something strange before she went to sleep,” she said.

“Oh?” Cheng Li met Nurse Carmichael’s stare straight on. She was one person the nurse would not intimidate.

“She said that you knew all about this — all about her
plan
.”

“She said this to you?” Cheng Li asked.

Nurse Carmichael made sure she had both visitors’ attention. “Not to me, specifically. She was talking to her brother.”

“I see.” Cheng Li nodded. Nurse Carmichael thought she saw an uneasy look pass between Mistress Li and the headmaster. She made her face a mask.

“I told them, of course, that it was nonsense. That you were sleeping . . .”

The headmaster and Cheng Li were still locked in a glance.

“I was right, wasn’t I? You
were
sleeping, Mistress Li?”

Cheng Li opened her mouth to speak, but it was Commodore Kuo’s smooth voice that filled the air.

“I don’t think Mistress Li has any need to explain herself to you or anyone else,” he said. “This has been a distressing incident, but Grace is safe now.” He turned the full beam of his gaze upon Nurse Carmichael. “The best thing would be for all of us to take good care of her and create the minimum of fuss.”

“Oh, yes,” said the nurse, her eyes darting away. “I quite agree. No fuss.”

“Then we all understand each other,” Commodore Kuo said. “And now, if you’ll excuse us, we have students to teach. We’ll leave you to your ...gentle healing.”

He gave her a formal bow and then swiftly ushered Cheng Li toward the door.

Nurse Carmichael watched them go. Thoughts were popping in her head like fireworks. She glanced down at the sleeping girl. What secrets could she tell, she wondered. What secrets lay beneath that smooth unconscious mask?

A busy mind can’t dwell.
The nurse’s words of wisdom proved true. Once the day’s lessons were underway, Connor felt himself start to regain a sense of normality. The weather returned to calm sunshine and for Captain Grammont’s Practical Piracy and Ocean-faring class the students took to the boats in the harbor to practice maneuvers. Connor felt a tug at his heart as he caught his first glimpse of the wall in the daylight. Jacoby squeezed his friend’s shoulder. And, as Connor looked up, the harbor wall was bone dry and the waters were low on either side, like mirrors reflecting the bright sun. It was as if last night had never happened — as if it had all just been a nightmare.

“Come on,” Jacoby said, “Grammont’s dividing us into threes . . . Jasmine! Jasmine, wait up!”

The morning raced by and, now that the fine weather had returned, they were able to lunch on the terrace once more.

“Any word on Grace?” Jacoby asked Connor.

Connor shook his head. “But I’m going to check on her before afternoon class.”

“Cool,” said Jacoby, “I’ll come with you.”

“Me, too,” said Jasmine.

Connor nodded and smiled. It was good knowing he had his friends around him at a time like this.

As he was finishing up dessert, Connor saw Commodore Kuo approaching from the end of the terrace. He glanced up, expecting the headmaster to stop and talk to him. They hadn’t seen each other since the previous evening. Kuo must have known about Grace, and Connor felt sure that he would have something to say on the matter.

But the headmaster didn’t seem to notice him, walking past their table at a brisk pace and entering his study from the door on the terrace. It slammed behind him.

Connor looked up and saw that Jacoby and Jasmine had both been watching, too.

“What’s eating the Kuo?” asked Jacoby.

Connor shrugged.

“Beats me,” Jasmine said, finishing the last mouthful of chocolate pudding. “Mmm, that was delicious. I’m going to be on a sugar high all afternoon!”

“Me, too,” Jacoby said. “Combat Workshop should be fun today!” He turned to Connor. “Right, shall we go and check on your sister?” he said.

Connor was lost in thought.

“Calling Mister Tempest! Earth to Mister Tempest!”

“Sorry?”

“I said, how’s about we take a stroll down to the infirmary and check how Grace is doing? We could even take her some cake. I’m sure that witch Carmichael won’t be feeding her anything but liquid nasties.”

“That sounds good,” Connor said. “But first I think I’m going to go and have a quick word with Commodore Kuo.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” said Jasmine. “He doesn’t seem in a great mood for a chat.”

“That’s just it,” Connor said, “I think his mood might have something to do with me and Grace. If I talk to him, I might be able to smooth it over.”

He could see from their expressions that the other two didn’t think this was a good idea. But he knew his own mind. Besides, they hadn’t been privy to the discussions he and Commodore Kuo had been having. He knew that the headmaster would have thoughts about what had happened with Grace and he wanted to hear them. He stood up and tucked his chair back under the table.

“I’ll only be five minutes,” he said.

“Okeydokey,” Jacoby said, “I guess I’ll just have to endure five minutes alone with Peacock.” He feigned bore-dom. As he yawned, Jasmine threw a raspberry at him. It bounced on his nose, leaving a blood-red stain.

Connor grinned and walked across the terrace. He had planned to go to the headmaster’s door off the Rotunda but, as he passed the study, he saw that the glass door onto the terrace was ajar. It must have bounced open again after Kuo had slammed it. As Connor headed toward it, he heard the headmaster’s voice.

“Things are getting out of hand.”

He had never heard such steel in the headmaster’s tone. It brought him to an immediate standstill.

“I thought this was what you wanted.”

It was Cheng Li. Now, Connor froze to the spot.

“It’s a very delicate situation,” he heard Kuo say. “We had him just where we wanted him — but it’s a fine line.”

Were they talking about
him
? They must be. Or was it just arrogance to think that?

“I really don’t see what has changed,” Cheng Li said. “If anything, we’re closer to the result we want.”

Connor felt his head begin to pound. If they were talking about him, what did this mean? Had they had something to do with what had happened to Grace? He remembered in a flash Grace saying that Cheng Li had known her plan. Nurse Carmichael had dismissed this as madness but Grace and Cheng Li had certainly spent enough time together. He felt as if he was putting together a jigsaw but didn’t yet have all the pieces.

“Connor . . .”

It was Kuo’s voice. So they
were
talking about him.

“Connor!”

No, they weren’t talking
about
him. They were talking
to
him. The French door to Kuo’s study opened and the headmaster leaned out and stared at him with a curious expression.

Connor was trapped and exposed.

“I think you’d better come inside,” said Commodore Kuo, beckoning him from the bright terrace into the darkness.

35

LETTING GO

Connor’s heart was beating wildly as Commodore Kuo closed the door behind him. His friends were only a couple of feet away on the terrace — he could see their backs through the window — and yet he sensed extreme danger, as if he was willingly walking into a cage at the zoo.

“Take a seat,” said Kuo.

Connor sat down in the chair opposite Commodore Kuo’s desk. Kuo sat down in his own chair, but Cheng Li remained standing, her hand resting on the globe.

“It goes without saying,” said Commodore Kuo, “that we’re extremely shocked and distressed by what happened last night. And I can only imagine how you must be feeling.”

Connor heard the words and waited. Wasn’t the head-master going to say anything about catching him outside, listening in on the conversation? Wasn’t he going to try to explain away the words he must know Connor had over-heard?

“I’m terribly sorry not to have come and seen you earlier,” said Kuo, “but I’m afraid I was distracted by urgent Federation business. It’s really no excuse but I feel I must offer it.”

“Thanks,” Connor said.

Cheng Li stepped across the room, moving to the head-master’s side. “We came here from the infirmary, Connor. Grace seems to be stable now.”

Connor nodded.

The headmaster smiled at him. “How are
you
doing, Connor?”

Connor shrugged. “I’m okay, I guess. It was a big shock.”

Commodore Kuo nodded.

“I mean, first of all, finding the note.”

“The note?”

Commodore Kuo clearly hadn’t heard this part. Connor reached into his jacket and produced the folded note. Commodore Kuo slipped on his glasses and read Grace’s blotchy handwriting. “May I?” he asked Connor, before offering it to Cheng Li. Connor nodded. What did it matter? Let them all read it. Let them all see the fragile state of his sister’s mind.

“So you found this note and then . . .” Commodore Kuo raised his eyebrows, inviting Connor to continue.

“I had gone to her room to talk to her. The shutters had been closed all day. I suppose I wanted to try and talk some sense into her. To get her to try to take part in life at the Academy. So I got to her room, but there was no answer. I knew she had to be inside — where else would she have gone? When she didn’t answer, I panicked. The door wasn’t locked so I went inside and then I saw the note. The storm was so bad that the latch on her shutters had broken. They were flapping in the gale. The moon was bright on the harbor and as the shutters opened I saw a silhouette on the harbor wall. I knew it was her. And I knew what she was going to do . . .”

He was shaking again. Commodore Kuo stood up and moved swiftly to Connor’s side of the desk, placing his hands on Connor’s shoulders for support. “It’s okay,” he said, “there’s no need to tell us any more.”

There was silence in the study as Connor struggled to regain his composure.

“Except,” said Cheng Li, “why you think she did it?”

Connor could sense a look passing between the head-master and Cheng Li over his head.

“You’re more likely to know that than me,” he said, the words tumbling out before he had time to censor them. “You’ve spent far more time with her than I have since we got here.”

Cheng Li nodded. “That’s true. And, I confess, I do feel partly to blame for what happened.”

Connor was surprised. Such an admission was uncharacteristic. He looked up, eager for Cheng Li to continue.

“As you know, Grace was profoundly affected by what happened to her on the Vampirate ship,” said Cheng Li. “She feels a strong bond with its crew.”

This was not exactly breaking news. “It’s not good for her,” Connor said. “Look where it’s led her.”

Cheng Li nodded. “I agree. It’s not good for her, but it’s natural enough.”

Commodore Kuo left Connor’s side and returned to his seat. Once seated, he addressed Connor. “Perhaps you are aware of Stockholm syndrome?”

Connor shook his head. The headmaster slipped his spectacles down his nose and took their stalks in his hands. “In simple terms, Stockholm syndrome refers to the strong emotional attachments we can form with the very people who threaten our lives. It’s a survival mechanism — a way to endure terrible violence. It only takes a matter of three or four days to occur. It is precipitated when we are placed, like Grace was, in a life-threatening situation where the threat of death is then removed. The victim is then flooded with feelings of relief and comes to see her captors as the ‘good guys’ — as people who have not threatened her but in fact saved her.” He paused. “We rather think that this is what Grace is suffering from.”

“Since her arrival here,” Cheng Li said, “I’ve been letting her talk through her experiences on that ship. I’ve encouraged her to do so. I know that you felt uncomfortable hearing about such things — and who could blame you? — but I felt it was important that Grace had somepirateone to tell them to.”

“Getting them out of her system,” said Commodore Kuo, “was the first step in curing her.”

“But,” Cheng Li continued, “things took a very different turn last night. Grace’s state of mind was clearly more fragile than I realized. And, as I say, I feel that by encouraging her to talk about the Vampirates, I may have unwittingly led her to take extreme action.”

Connor nodded. “You mean like trying to kill herself?”

The headmaster and Cheng Li were clearly surprised by the starkness of his words. But then they nodded.

He shook his head. “I don’t think she
was
trying to kill herself,” he said. Commodore Kuo leaned forward, fascinated.

“I did at first,” Connor continued, “it was the obvious explanation. But I’ve been thinking it over. It just isn’t something Grace would ever consider. I know how much my sister wanted to return to the Vampirate ship. I’ve been trying
not
to think about it, but I know it’s true. Perhaps you’re right and it is that syndrome you mentioned. Whatever, she feels she has unfinished business there. I think that, last night, she was simply trying to get back onto the ship.”

Cheng Li and Commodore Kuo looked at him curiously.

“By jumping into the harbor in the middle of a storm?” said the headmaster after a pause.

Connor nodded. “Of course. That’s how she ended up on the ship in the first place. We were shipwrecked in the middle of a storm and one of the Vampirates, a guy named Lorcan, fished her out of the water. I think that Grace was hoping that history would repeat itself.”

“That seems a little far-fetched to me,” Commodore Kuo said.

Connor noticed that Cheng Li was silent. She had spent time with Grace.
She
knew that it wasn’t far-fetched, he could sense it.

“When she came to after I rescued her,” Connor continued, “she was calling for Lorcan. In fact, for a moment, she thought I
was
Lorcan.” He smiled. “Grace wasn’t trying to end her life. Like she wrote in this note, she was just trying to continue on her journey.”

Commodore Kuo shook his head slowly. “You’re made of stronger stuff than I thought, Connor. You’re really fine with this?”

Connor nodded, smiling. It was as if, while he had been talking, something had clicked into place inside his brain. He
hadn’t
been fine with it — not at all. From the moment he and Grace had been reunited on the deck of the Vampirate ship, he’d been trying to erase all thoughts of what had happened to her there. He’d avoided hearing her talk about it, denied her the chance to get it out. And, all the time she’d been closeted with Cheng Li he had just kept his head down and busied himself with life at the Academy. But now, suddenly, he saw the situation for what it was. Since the shipwreck, they had both embarked on journeys. And, just as he could not turn back the clock and walk away from piracy, now he understood that her journey was equally unstoppable. He hadn’t wanted to let Grace go. But now, at last, he could.

“So where does this leave us?” Commodore Kuo asked him. “Do you still want me to work out an agreement with Captain Wrathe — to free you from his articles so you can stay here? And begin both your Academy and Federation training?”

Connor nodded. “Nothing has changed.”

“Of course he must stay here,” Cheng Li said. “He can’t leave Grace now.”

“This has nothing to do with Grace,” Connor said, surprised at his own steel. “Of course, I’ll do what I can to help her recover. But we have to start making our own decisions. We want different things from life. We’re set on different paths. She can stay here with me or she can go back to
The Diablo
. She can even go back to the Vampirate ship — if she can find it. It’s up to her to decide.”

Outside, a bell began to chime. Through the window, Connor could see Jacoby and Jasmine getting ready to return to class.

“Afternoon class,” said Cheng Li.

Connor stood up, feeling strangely powerful. “I’d better catch up with the others.”

The headmaster nodded, chewing on the arm of his spectacles.

Connor excused himself and exited through the terrace door, closing it securely behind him. After he had gone, the headmaster and Cheng Li looked toward each other.

“I must confess,” said Cheng Li, “he surprised me.”

Commodore Kuo smiled. “You must learn to trust the tide, Mistress Li,” he said. “Sometimes all you have to do is sit back and wait.”

The final lesson of Connor’s day was Combat Workshop. At four o’clock, he and Jacoby arrived in the gym dressed in their tracksuits, along with the rest of their class. Captain Platonov was waiting for them, but he was not alone. At his side was Cheng Li.

As the students assembled, Platonov clapped his hands. “Attention, everyone. Attention. In a moment, we will resume our usual practice. But today, we must make do without Mister Blunt and Mister Tempest.”

Connor and Jacoby turned to each other in puzzlement. Their fellow students were equally surprised.

“Mister Blunt, Mister Tempest, perhaps you would go with Mistress Li?”

Shrugging, Jacoby and Connor stepped to the front of the class. Cheng Li smiled and led them out of the gymnasium door. Behind them, Connor heard Platonov barking out commands to Jasmine and the others.

“What’s up?” Jacoby asked Cheng Li. “Where are you taking us, Mistress Li? Are there some secret Academy dungeons we didn’t know about until now?”

There was a broad grin on his face. Nothing seemed to faze him, thought Connor.

Cheng Li seemed equally amused. “What a feverish imagination you have, Jacoby. Perhaps one day you will write a book? No, there are no dungeons — not to my knowledge, at least.”

Indeed, she was leading them
up
stairs rather than down. They emerged into another corridor, and then Cheng Li pushed open a door and they found themselves in a second, smaller gym.

Connor was puzzled. It was dark in here. Then, as Cheng Li hit the lights, he saw, in the center of the room, two sword stands and, on each one, a glass case.

The three of them walked across the matting on the floor to the stands. As they did so, Jacoby gasped and Connor felt his heart begin to race.

“It’s the Toledo Blade,” he said. “Commodore Kuo’s Toledo Blade.”

Cheng Li smiled.

“And Molucco Wrathe’s Sapphire Rapier,” said Jacoby. “It’s even more beautiful up close!”

Connor was confused. “But the headmaster said that these only ever come out of their cases on Swords Day.”

Cheng Li nodded, as she took a pair of keys from the chain around her neck and unlocked the two cases. “That is correct, ordinarily. But it has hardly been an ordinary few days, has it? The headmaster wished to make a gift to you.”

“The blade?” Connor could barely speak as Cheng Li opened up the case, revealing the sword in all its magnificence.

“No, not the blade itself. But the chance to use it, once.”

Both Jacoby and Connor focused on Cheng Li’s every move as she took both swords from their cases and laid them on a velvet-covered rest on a nearby table.

“Tomorrow night, there will be another dinner in your honor. It was to have marked the end of your stay, but now it will mark the beginning of your becoming a full-time student here.”

This, of course, was news to Jacoby. He let out a cheer and slapped Connor on the back. But Cheng Li did not wait before continuing.

“All of the captains will attend. And, prior to the dinner, the entire student body will gather to watch you and Mister Blunt perform an exhibition of swordplay with these blades. This will take place on the practice deck...on the ‘lagoon of doom.’ ”

“Wicked!” cried Jacoby. “I claim the Toledo Blade!”

Both Connor and Cheng Li glared at him.

“I’m joking, I’m joking! I’ll take Molucco’s rapier.”

“That’s quite enough of your clowning,” Cheng Li said. “We have barely twenty-four hours until you perform in front of the entire Academy. It has fallen to me to choreograph your swordplay. And I have to show you some very complicated moves.” She put on her gauntlets. “Connor, you chose to join the Academy as a full-time student? Well, this is where your real Academy training begins!”

“I think I’ll sleep for a week after that,” said Connor, as he emerged from the showers after sparring with Jacoby for two hours solid.

“No rest for the wicked,” Jacoby said, vigorously drying his hair. “Didn’t you hear Mistress Li? She wants us back in that gym at seven sharp tomorrow morning. You know what that means?”

“No Saturday morning lie-in?”

“Worse than that, mate. No swimming class —
ergo
, no chance to ogle Jasmine in her bikini.”

Connor laughed. Jacoby Blunt was incorrigible.

After their extended sword workout, Connor was dog-tired that evening. By the time he’d eaten dinner, he was ready for bed. Incredibly, Jacoby came to life again after eating and suggested a pool tournament. Connor couldn’t face it and was thankful when Aamir and a couple of their other classmates took up the challenge. They all wished him good night and headed off to the games room, leaving him on the terrace.

Connor looked down to the harbor. It was so tranquil tonight — amazing what a change twenty-four hours could bring. He yawned and stretched out his legs. They were as heavy as lead. He could fall asleep right here, right now — only, there was one last thing he needed to do before bed. Drawing himself to his feet, he walked across the terrace and down the steps through the gardens.