Vampirates 4: Black Heart (16 page)

Grace smiled. She had felt it was love at first sight for her parents, and her mother's words confirmed it.

"Over the next few days," Sally continued, "we talked of little else, and we all agreed that we had to leave the world beyond the ship behind. It was, after all, the deal we had made when we become donors. We all had our reasons for coming aboard, though we didn't necessarily choose to share them with each other. And though it was nice to daydream, we knew that we could never go back to the other world. It had been fun to visit, but that was the end of it."

Grace frowned. "But it wasn't the end. It couldn't have been."

Sally smiled at her daughter. "No, my darling, of course it wasn't. Life, as they say, is what happens to you while you're making other plans."

"So how and when did you see Dad again?"

Sally stroked Grace's hair as she continued. "It was a few days later. And in those days and nights, I felt such sadness -- as if I were in mourning. But for what? For my past life? For the path I hadn't taken? For a man I had met in the middle of the ocean and swum with for, what, half an hour? It seemed too ridiculous, but my feelings were deeper and truer than any I had previously experienced." She sighed.

"Even Sidorio noticed something was wrong. I remember him asking me about it at Feast Night. Just before we began to share, he asked if I was all right. It was such a shock that I burst into tears. I couldn't stop sobbing." Sally shook her head. "I'm sure Sidorio regretted having said anything, but you know, he did his best to comfort me. And then he took my blood. That night, for the first and last time, he offered to stay. But I said no. I wanted to be on my own."

Grace thought of her mother, alone in her cabin. It was heartbreaking.

Sally continued her tale. "The following day, I woke up feeling even more wretched. The girls were intent on distracting me. The ship was docking on land to pick up fresh food supplies for us donors. And, well" -- she paused -- "it turns out that it wasn't just food that we picked up that day, but also a new kitchen porter."

Grace turned to face her mother, her eyes wide with expectation. "Dad?" she asked.

Sally confirmed with a nod. "I didn't find out until the next day, mind you. I was walking along the corridor, minding my own business, and a voice suddenly says, 'Hello again, beautiful Sally.' I nearly jumped out of my skin! I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked him what he was doing, how he had found me, how much he knew about the ship -- and, oh, about a hundred more questions." Her eyes were bright as she recalled the encounter.

"And what did he answer?" asked Grace.

Sally shook her head, a soft smile playing across her lips. "He said, 'I told you I'd find you, Sally. I said I'd find a way for us to be together.'"

"Go, Dad!" Grace said. She was so proud of him. He had been so romantic and so bold to hunt out the Vampirate ship and join its crew. There were few roles for mortals on board, but she remembered her own first days aboard the Nocturne and her time in the kitchen with the young kitchen porter Jamie. How strange to think that her own father had once worked on the Nocturne. It was wonderful to know that at varying times Sally, Dexter, Connor, and Grace had all traveled on the same ship.

"You must have been so happy," Grace said, turning back to her mother.

Sally considered this. "Happy? Perhaps. Excited, certainly. But I was also frightened -- very frightened. Don't get me wrong, Grace. I was thrilled to see Dexter again, but I felt like we'd boarded a roller coaster together. And I couldn't help wondering where it would end."

Grace saw the look of remembered fear in her mother's face. She also saw tiredness there. It seemed as if telling her story was depleting her energy reserves again.

"I'd better go," she said. "I should sort out my things for our trip."

"Yes," Sally said, the thought restoring the light to her face. "Oh, I'm so looking forward to seeing all the places that are special to you, Grace."

Grace nodded, planting a kiss on her mother's cheek. "And I'm looking forward to showing them to you. I'll see you later."

"I gather we're all going on a voyage," Grace said, stepping into Mosh Zu's chambers. "Back to Crescent Moon Bay."

"Yes, indeed," Mosh Zu said. "There's no time to lose. We set sail on the Nocturne tonight, after sunset. Darcy and Lorcan are coming, too."

"What about the captain?" Grace asked, full of hope. "Is he going to meet us there?"

Mosh Zu shook his head. "No, Grace. The captain will not be joining us on this voyage. I shall stand in for him."

Grace couldn't mask her disappointment. "How is he?" she asked. "I really miss him."

"You have a special relationship, don't you?" Mosh Zu said.

Grace nodded. "We always have, from the first time I joined the Nocturne. It will be strange traveling without him."

Mosh Zu nodded. "For us all."

Grace paused, barely daring to ask the next questions. "Is he going to recover? Will he ever return?"

Mosh Zu reached out his hands and laid them on Grace's shoulders. "I hope and believe that he will, Grace. I know that he wants to. But he was very sick, and we have to give him the time and space to heal properly."

"I understand," Grace said. "And I know you'll do a great job of commanding the ship."

Mosh Zu nodded gratefully. "It's very generous of you to say so," he said. Then he frowned. "If I could have postponed this voyage, I would have. But it's very important for Sally to make this journey now."

"I know," Grace said. She saw Mosh Zu hesitate. "Is there something else?" she asked.

"Your mother is in a fluctuating state," said Mosh Zu. "She's been talking to you about her past, hasn't she?"

"Yes," Grace said. "I've been asking her about it. She's been telling me about her time on the Nocturne. And I've been able to channel some of it for myself."

"Yes, I heard that," Mosh Zu said. "It seems that your powers are continuing to develop, Grace."

"It's all right, isn't it?" Grace asked. "My mother does seems very frail. I want so much to hear my story from her, but is it okay? Or is it weakening her? Because if it is, I'll stop."

Mosh Zu smiled tenderly at Grace. "Don't blame yourself," he said. "Yes, talking about the past and sharing her secrets is, I think, weakening her, as you phrase it." He paused, reaching out his hand once more. "Grace, I told you before that the other souls were fading more quickly than your mother. That she was holding on for you."

"Yes." Grace said, her heart feeling now as heavy as a stone. "So what now? Can she not hold on any longer?"

"What I have observed in the other souls is this," said Mosh Zu. "When they emerged during the healing catharsis, their torment, which the captain had been sheltering them from, was still fresh. Perhaps you remember how startled they seemed?"

"Yes." Grace nodded, vividly picturing the scene of the disoriented shades wandering through the mist.

"My assistants and I have worked with them to bring peace to each of their troubled souls. What we have found in every case so far is that, as they release their torment, they grow lighter." He paused. "They fade faster." He smiled softly at Grace. "They are letting go of their torment, but also of their physical self. At long last, each of the souls is journeying toward a lasting peace."

Grace felt herself trembling. Mosh Zu pressed his hand a little more firmly onto hers, sharing some of his strength with her.

"And that's what's happening to my mother," Grace said, feeling the tears well up. "As she shares her secrets with me and comes to terms with what happened to her, she, too, is moving toward peace."

"Exactly so," Mosh Zu said, his voice calm and serene.

"And the more she tells me, the lighter she becomes. And once she has told me everything, she'll -- she'll fade from here." Grace's eyes filled with tears.

Mosh Zu gazed at her for a long time before answering. "That is what I think," he said at last.

Grace frowned. "So I have a choice. Either I let her tell me everything and she finds peace and ... I lose her." She trembled. "Or I stop her from sharing these things and prevent her from ever finding true peace, selfishly keeping her here with me." She shook her head and sighed. "It's not much of a choice, is it?"

"No," Mosh Zu said. "No, not really."

Grace rubbed her eyes. "Tell me one thing," she said. "Does she know what's happening? This voyage to Crescent Moon Bay -- is it her last request?"

Mosh Zu weighed the question up carefully. "I think so," he said. "I think she is holding on to make things right with you. And then I think she will have the most long and beautiful rest, safe in the knowledge that her life, her dreams, continue in you. And in Connor, too, of course."

"But I've only just found her," Grace said, shaking her head. "I really don't know if I'm strong enough to let her go."

Mosh Zu leaned forward. "You know what I think, Grace? I think you are a whole lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. And though it may be hard for you to accept this now, I believe that everything is unfolding just as it should."

Grace sighed. She wanted to believe him, but it seemed to her that, this time, he was asking the impossible.

16THE NEW CAPTAIN

Cheng Li's heart was beating fast as she made her way down the hillside steps toward the Pirate Academy harbor. As a student at the academy, she had watched this scene many times before: the stands filling up with the great and the good and the notorious of the pirate world, dressed up in all their finery, the royal blue carpet stretching out on the quayside, running up to and over the central platform. She could hardly believe that this time all the fuss and bustle was in her honor. But it was! By the time she climbed into her bed tonight, she would finally bear the title of captain, and more important, the responsibilities.

"Mistress Li!"

She turned to find Commodore Kuo bounding down the steps from his study. He cut an elegant figure in his full commodore's uniform, his waistcoat emblazoned with medals indicating his elevated rank and a long blue tailcoat swishing about his tight britches. In his hands he held his legendary sword, the Toledo blade. Cheng Li was surprised and delighted. Usually, the sword only appeared once a year, at Swords Day. It was a great honor that Commodore Kuo had broken protocol to use it to perform her investiture.

"Well!" said John Kuo, catching up with Cheng Li and pointing to the bustling scene on the harborside. "Is it everything you hoped it would be?"

Cheng Li followed his gaze, watching the men in their dress coats and the women in feathered hats making their way to their seats as the academy orchestra played the fourth movement of Rubinstein's Ocean symphony, a Federation favorite. "It's perfect," she said, her eyes glittering like the afternoon sun on the harbor waters. "Absolutely perfect."

"The Pirate Federation never scrimps on its brightest stars," said Commodore Kuo with a wink. "And how are you, Captain?"

"Now don't be premature." She smiled, finding it easy to relax in John Kuo's company. "There's the small matter of my investiture."

"Procedure, that's all. Pomp and circumstance. You've been a captain since the day you arrived here at the academy, when you were knee-high to a sea horse."

His words pleased her greatly. She felt as if she were walking on water. "I do feel as if every event of my life has been a stepping-stone to this moment," she said as they descended the hillside together.

"You're excited but nervous, yes? Raring to go but wondering if you can live up to everyone's expectations -- to your own expectations?"

She nodded. "Yes!" How clever of him to put it into words. "Yes, that's exactly how I feel."

He smiled. "That's just how I felt, all those years ago, when I took my first command. And it was the same for Platonov and Grammont and Lisabeth Quivers and the rest. There's no need to be fearful. As I said before, you're more than ready. But the fear shows me how much you care about this. It proves how passionately you want to make this work. The fear confirms that the Federation has put its faith in the right pirate."

"Thank you, John. That means a lot. Especially coming from you."

He smiled and stretched out his arm, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll always be here for you, Cheng Li. Just remember that. That was always the case, and nothing changes now."

"Thank you, John," she said as they arrived at the quayside. "Oh, and I should have said so before, but good luck in the race."