Jacoby smiled but shook his head. “This is key stuff,” he said. “When these kids return to their parents’ ships, they have to be able to defend themselves.”
“Well, yes,” said Grace, “I understand that. But these children are only, what, seven and eight years old? Shouldn’t they be allowed to just play, like normal children?”
Jacoby shook his head once more. “They’re not normal children, Grace. These kids have been chosen to be the future leaders of the oceans. One day each of them will control a fleet! They have to start young. Besides, do they look like they’re having a bad time?”
Far from it! That was perhaps what bothered Grace the most. In front of her eyes, Mika, Samara, Nile, Luc, and all the others had mutated from the joyful young kids of the morning class into tiny killing machines. As they swung their twin bamboo sticks up and down, they looked like lethal clockwork toys.
“What do you reckon to all this, Connor?” Jacoby asked.
Connor said nothing. He was watching the kids intently, using his own hands to mirror the maneuvers Cheng Li demonstrated with her katana blades.
Jacoby smiled, but Grace frowned. She leaned back into her seat, continuing to watch the lesson in silence. As she did so, she reflected on her own actions. She had brought Connor here to the Academy, to rescue him from certain death aboard The Diablo. She had wanted him to fall under the spell of the Academy and he was showing every sign of doing so. But, Grace thought with a shiver, had she taken him out of the frying pan and into the fire? Was there no escape anywhere from death at the hand of another’s sword?
It wasn’t, she reminded herself, sword fighting in itself with which she had a problem. She had brought Connor here because the Academy reared its pirates to act in a strategic, coordinated way. If Connor stayed here and embraced the Academy’s teachings, he would become a more thoughtful pirate. He would almost certainly return to the oceans as a captain, not as mere rapier fodder. But still, Grace found little comfort in the thought. Whether Connor stayed on board The Diablo or took up residence at Pirate Academy, the same fate ultimately awaited him. He would be engaged in swordsmanship on a daily basis and his life would be endangered with the same frequency. Her only chance to save him was to dissuade him from being a pirate altogether. But that seemed a remote possibility now.
“Isn’t this amazing?” he said, suddenly turning to her. “The Academy is such a cool place. I’m so grateful you persuaded me to come here. It’s really opened my eyes.”
Grace smiled, though she felt sick. But worse was to come.
“This is excellent work,” Cheng Li said, facing her students. “You have learned our teachings well. Do not for a moment grow complacent, however. You are like young birds at the beginning of a long journey. Though today takes you a step closer to your destiny, there is still far to fly.”
At these words, the gymnasium doors opened once more and in strode Commodore Kuo, dressed in an elaborate red silk robe, bearing the Academy insignia of the dagger, compass, anchor, and pearl. Behind him came two students of the upper class, pushing a tall lacquered chest on wheels.
The young children on the mats turned around excitedly. There was a buzz of chatter but Cheng Li silenced it with a glance.
“Commodore Kuo,” she said. “We have just seen exemplary work from the lower class.”
“I’m delighted to hear this,” said Commodore Kuo, smiling. He strode forwards to address the young students himself, but not before giving a friendly nod in Grace and Connor’s direction.
“Now, my young warriors,” he said, addressing the chil-dren on the mats, “the time has come for you to step up to the next level of your learning here. The prefects will now pass among you with silk sashes. These must be bound tightly across your eyes.”
As he spoke, the two older students who had arrived with him moved across the mats, drawing each small child to his or her feet and blindfolding them. In a moment or two, all the younger students were blindfolded with red silk sashes, of the exact same hue as the head-master’s robe.
“Now, remember what I told you before,” Cheng Li said, “there is observation and there is seeing. The lids of your eyes do not need to be open to see. You must sense your enemy’s sword even when you cannot observe it.”
As she spoke the words, the headmaster took a key and opened up the lacquered chest that had been brought with him. The two prefects helped him to open it and it fell away, revealing rows of gleaming swords.
“Now,” Cheng Li said, “using your all-seeing-eye, and making no sound, make yourself ready.”
Connor turned to Jacoby. “Wow!” he said. “What’s going on?”
Jacoby simply smiled. “Watch and learn, my friend. Watch and learn!” At these words, a shiver shot down Grace’s spine. She felt a deep sense of foreboding. In spite of this, she could not remove her eyes from Commodore Kuo.
The headmaster beckoned Connor over. Instinctively, Connor stood up and padded toward him. Grace watched as the headmaster whispered something in Connor’s ear. Connor nodded and Commodore Kuo lifted a pair of small swords from the lacquered chest. Connor carried the swords over to one of the children on the mats, extending them toward the child by the hilt.
After a moment, the small hands suddenly shot out, each seizing a sword by the hilt. Connor let go. Now, the child held a daisho in each hand and a broad smile broke across his face.
Between them, the older kids and adults bestowed the same gift upon each of the children. At last, they all stood in a row, still blindfolded, their small fists gripping the hilts of their sharp, steel blades. Grace could see them struggling to suppress their excited smiles.
The prefects closed the lacquered case. Connor sat back down next to Grace. Commodore Kuo stood before his diminutive warriors as Cheng Li passed swiftly behind them, removing their blindfolds. The children’s eyes shone like jewels as they had their first sight of the daisho in their hands.
“Let these blades be your most treasured possessions,” said Commodore Kuo. “These swords represent our trust in you and our belief that you are the future of piracy. Use these weapons not in sudden anger nor for quick gain but with precision and with honor in the way that your teachers show you. These blades in your hands now connect each of you back through time to the noble line of pirates who came before you. They connect you forward into the future to the line of pirates to come. But, most importantly, your daisho connects each of you to one another — to your comrades at the Academy and also in the Pirate Federation.”
He bowed toward the kids, then walked over to Connor and Grace.
“I’m so glad you could be here to see this,” he said, “It’s one of the most exciting moments in the Academy year.”
Grace nodded, unable to speak for the risk of saying the wrong thing.
In front of her, the prefects were lining the kids back up again.
“What’s happening now?” she asked.
“Ah, well,” said Commodore Kuo, “now, they’re being taken to the sword store. They don’t keep their swords with them at this age. We wouldn’t want any mishaps!”
Her work done, Cheng Li padded forward across the mats to join them.
“I was just saying how pleased I was that Grace and Connor could be here to witness this,” said the head-master.
“Yes, indeed,” Cheng Li said.
“Why,” said Commodore Kuo, “it seems only yesterday that an especially talented young seven-year-old was standing on that mat, stretching out her arms to receive her daisho.” He smiled. “And now look at you, Cheng Li.”
She smiled in the way she did when she was just a little embarrassed.
Now, Commodore Kuo turned to the twins. “So, Connor and Grace. You may not have come here in time to receive all the training we can offer, but there is still plenty to share with you, should you want to stay.”
Grace glanced at Connor. What was he thinking? She no longer knew which way she wanted him to jump. Perhaps it was time to stop interfering
and let him make his own choice. She remembered thinking that he had made a mess of things by signing Captain’s Wrathe’s articles. And how she had believed that she was better at making decisions for the two of them. And where had it led them? To an Academy which created killing machines out of seven-year-olds. And then there was the small matter of her unfinished business with the ‘ship of demons.’ Oh yes, she thought. Yes, I really am blessed with great decision-making skills.
“Grace, you’re looking a little peaky,” said Cheng Li.
She turned to see Cheng Li smiling at her.
“Would you like to go for a walk?” Cheng Li asked.
Grace considered for a moment. She knew that Cheng Li was offering more than a walk. They’d have a chance to talk about things and for her to tell Cheng Li about her latest journey to the Vampirate ship. It was a tempting offer, but suddenly Grace hungered to be alone.
“Thank you,” she said. “Actually, I thought I might go for a swim before supper.”
“A swim?” Cheng Li said, amused.
“Yes,” replied Grace. “I missed out on Captain Platonov’s run this morning and I could really do with some exercise.”
“Great idea!” Connor said. “We’ll come with you, won’t we, Jacoby?”
“Sure,” Jacoby said. “We might even ask Jasmine to come along.” He whispered to Connor, “I never pass up the chance to see her in a bikini.”
Commodore Kuo beamed at the three of them. “Excellent,” he said, “excellent. Have fun, guys.”
They turned and walked out of the gym. As the door swung shut behind them, Commodore Kuo turned to Cheng Li. “It’s good to see Connor and Grace making new friends, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, Headmaster,” said Cheng Li, smiling. “Yes, isn’t it?”
“I don’t suppose I can tempt you to a bout of swordsplay before dinner?” he asked. “For old time’s sake.”
“I’d make mincemeat of you, John,” she said, smiling.
Commodore Kuo laughed. “At least, I’d die a happy man.”
“Death is death, John. Whether you die smiling or with tears in your eyes, it amounts to the same thing. A whole heap of nothing.”
24
EXILE
Grace went through the motions of swimming and, later, dinner with Connor, Jacoby, and Jasmine. It wasn’t as elaborate as the previous night’s dinner with the captains, but it was more relaxing and the Academy food was still delicious. However, Grace wasn’t there — not really. She felt herself withdrawing from the Academy and letting all her thoughts drift to the Vampirate ship. Perhaps if she made things right there, then she’d be able to settle in properly here. Wasn’t that how karma was supposed to work?
After dinner, Jacoby suggested a pool tournament. Connor was keen and Jasmine said she’d join them later, after she’d finished some reading she had to do for the next day’s classes.
“Brains as well as beauty, you see,” Jacoby said to Connor as Jasmine departed for her room. “What about you, Grace? You’ll join us to shoot some pool, won’t you?”
Grace smiled but shook her head. “I’m exhausted,” she said. “I think I’ll have an early night.”
Jacoby looked a little disappointed. “Just us then,” he said to Connor. Grace bid them both good night. And as she headed off toward the accommodation block, she heard Jacoby saying to Connor, “Let’s make this more interesting with a wager . . .” She smiled. The two of them were incorrigible.
As Grace crossed the terrace, she saw a familiar silhouette standing there, looking out to the harbor.
“Cheng Li.”
Cheng Li turned toward her. “Hello, Grace. Off to bed already?”
“Yes,” said Grace. “It’s been a long day.”
Cheng Li shook her head. “You’re not talking to the headmaster now, Grace. There’s no pulling the wool over my eyes. We share everything, remember.” She reached out her hand to Grace’s shoulder.
“Come on, a quick walk round the Academy gardens won’t kill you. You can get it off your chest — whatever’s bothering you. And the fresh air will ensure you get a great night’s sleep. Come along.”
“Cheng Li, I’m just not sure I fit in here. Connor does, but I don’t think I do. And I’m worried for Connor — I thought if I got him away from The Diablo he’d be safe. But since we’ve been here, he seems even more set on being a pirate. So we’re no safer here than we were with Captain Wrathe!”
“We brought Connor here because we both know this is what’s best for him,” Cheng Li said. “He’ll have a glorious future if he stays at Pirate Academy. In a few years, he’ll return to sea as a deputy captain, just like I did.”
“But will he be safe?” Grace persisted.
Cheng Li came to a standstill, smiling. “You each have such an admirable desire to protect the other. It’s under-standable after everything you’ve been through. But don’t you see, Grace, there’s no such thing as safety in this world, our world?”
“You mean the pirateworld,” Grace said. “But we weren’t born into that world. Maybe it isn’t for us.”
“What then?” Cheng Li said. “Tell me what other plan you have? Would you prefer it if you and Connor headed back to a life of drudgery in Crescent Moon Bay? Really? Is that what you’d like? Because if it is I can borrow one of the Academy tenders and sail you down the coast tomorrow morning. We can have you checked into the orphanage by teatime!”
Grace looked hard at Cheng Li.
“No,” she said, after a lengthy pause.
“What was that, Grace? I’m a little hard of hearing.”
“I said NO,” Grace repeated. “That isn’t what I want.”
“Of course it isn’t!” exclaimed Cheng Li. “You may not have been born into the pirate world but it has claimed you...well, it’s claimed Connor at least. We still have to work out exactly where you fit in. But we will. We will.”
Grace sighed. Cheng Li’s words were invigorating as well as reassuring.
“Get some sleep,” Cheng Li said. “It’s been a long day and tomorrow won’t be any different. Life at the Academy is no free ride. Maybe tomorrow you’d like to do some combat practice with me? I heard a rumor that you’re actually pretty talented in that area, and it might help you work out some of your tension.”
Grace smiled. “Could be fun,” she agreed.
“All right. Well, let’s see how you feel in the morning. Off you go, now. And promise me, you’ll stop worrying about Connor. Everything is working out just as I planned.”
“Just as we planned,” Grace corrected her.
“Yes, of course, that’s what I said.”
Up in her room, Grace tried to sleep but, tired as she was, the minute she changed into her nightclothes and got into bed, she felt wide awake. She closed her eyes, willing her mind to come to rest, but it was just no good. Instinctively, she reached for Lorcan’s Claddagh ring. It had helped to calm her before. Before the visions had begun. But now, as she pressed it between her thumb and forefinger, nothing changed. The temperature remained constant. There was no vision of any kind. It seemed as if Cheng Li was right. The ring had served its purpose. Nevertheless, touching it brought her closer to Lorcan in her own mind and that, she concluded, could only be a good thing.
She remembered someone saying that if you couldn’t get to sleep, the worst thing to do was to stay in bed. So she threw back the covers and walked across the room toward the balcony. She opened up the shutters and stepped out into the cool night air, lifting her face into the breeze, then looking out across the grounds, down to the harbor. The Academy looked so beautiful by night. Some of the students had taken musical instruments out onto the terrace and were playing now. They were actually pretty good — their haunting, rhythmic, almost tribal music both calming and utterly suited to the hot night. Grace watched them play, then shut her eyes, letting the music flood her senses and conjure its own pictures.
Suddenly, Grace’s head was full of a different, but similar, music �
� the music that she had heard on board the Vampirate ship as an overture to the Feast. She stood dead still, recognizing the start of another vision. Every time, it seemed, the vision came a little differently.
Now her mind’s eye was full of the vampires and donors making their way to the banqueting hall, several decks below sea level, dressed in all their finery. This didn’t seem to be a fresh vision, but rather a memory. She remembered the elaborate sense of ceremony and etiquette. She remembered the fine china, crystal, and linens and the strange lack of symmetry of a table set along only one side. And the hundreds of faces she had never seen before — the pairings of vampires and donors talking softly together across the table and then leaving the banquet to go to their cabins, where “the sharing” would begin. Connor had been appalled at the idea of “sharing.” Was it really so repellant? The vampires simply had a need that had to be met and the captain, in his infinite wisdom, had devised a humane way for this to happen.
A peal of laughter brought her attention back down to the kids on the terrace below. They were talking between songs. Then, once more, her head was filled with the strange rhythmic music and her thoughts raced back to the Vampirate ship. Was it possible, she wondered, that a Feast was taking place there this very night?
She felt a sudden jolt. Her body lurched forward, against the balcony. Using the railing to steady herself, she drew upright again. As she did so, she realized that the balcony had torn itself away from the building and that she was now hovering in midair above the terrace, looking down at the musicians. One of them looked up and smiled, but he did not appear to really notice her. She clung on tightly as the balcony began to swoop through the air, out toward the harbor and through the night.
This time, she had more of a sense of the exhilaration of motion. She actually enjoyed the journey. The wind raced through her hair and she felt as if she were hurtling on her own private chariot through space and time. The sky was setting and all around her were the hot oranges and pinks of the dying light, as if the earth and sea were on fire and she was riding through the flames — a part of it, yet disconnected.
Vampirates: Tide of Terror Page 17
