Vampirates 3: Blood Captain

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Vampirates 3: Blood Captain Page 39

by Justin Somper


  Grace realized that the souls who had risen had gathered around them, watching as they were joined by their fellow travelers.

  “Will they survive?” she wondered. “Are they real people? Or just ghosts? Will they survive now they have been released from the captain?” She ached to ask Mosh Zu these questions but she could not disturb him from his chant.

  Seeing her discomfort, Connor drew near once more. He put his arm around her shoulder. She realized she wasn’t the only one experiencing this intense wave of emotion. Darcy and Lorcan were crying, too. They were holding each other tightly.

  They all watched as another face came into view before their eyes. It was a young woman. Grace could tell she was going to be beautiful as the first lines of her nose and cheekbones sketched themselves in the air. Her flesh was pale and lightly freckled. Shoulder-length auburn hair came into focus, tendrils floating out in the breeze. And then her eyes opened. Grace caught her breath. At the same instant, Lorcan gasped. Grace felt Connor’s hand clasp hers all the more tightly. The woman’s eyes were green, a deep emerald green.

  As the woman lifted her head, Mosh Zu spoke at last. “She is the last,” he said, stepping back, evidently drained from his work.

  Grace looked at Connor. He too was transfixed by the woman in front of them. She was sitting up now, pushing her unruly hair back behind her ears and blinking as she took in her new surroundings.

  Grace could not contain herself any more. She addressed the woman directly.

  “Look over here!” she said.

  It took a moment for the woman to respond. It was as if she were still some distance from them and could only see and hear them faintly. But at last she turned and her eyes settled upon Grace and Connor.

  Grace was crying. Connor was frowning, shaking his head in disbelief.

  The woman rose. Surely she couldn’t walk away, out into the mist like the others, thought Grace. She couldn’t go.

  But she wasn’t going anywhere. She seemed to be growing more alive, more vibrant with every moment. And now she stood up and, rather than turning away, began walking toward them. Her emerald-green eyes were wet with tears, but they were happy tears. She held out her arms to Grace.

  “Mother!” Grace said, unable to hold back the word. “Mother, it’s you, isn’t it?”

  The woman nodded, as Grace thudded into her, wrapping her arms around her. She was surprised to feel the touch of living, breathing flesh. And then she felt the brush of the woman’s lips on her forehead. She kissed her.

  “Mother!” Grace said again.

  “You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that, Grace.” The woman’s voice was warm and gentle.

  “Mother! Mother! Mother!” Grace repeated, overcome. She wanted to carry on saying it for all those times she had thought about her or wished she was there at the lighthouse. For all the times she had dreamed of her mother, then woken to find no trace of her.

  The woman hugged her and kissed her again, then held out an arm to her son.

  “Connor,” she said, looking across at him.

  He was uncertain at first but then he let go of any doubts and ran to her, flinging his arms around her and Grace until they were one compact bundle.

  The woman hugged her children tightly and lifted her head.

  Grace noticed then that Lorcan was watching them intently.

  “Hello, Sally,” he said at length.

  Grace was taken aback. How did Lorcan know her mother’s name?

  She looked from Lorcan to her mother and back again. They were smiling at each other — a smile that spoke of deep friendship, maybe more.

  “It’s grand to see you again, Sally,” Lorcan said.

  “And you, Lorcan,” she said. “Thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of my babies.”

  Grace looked at Connor. Like her, he was gazing curiously at his mother and Lorcan.

  Suddenly Grace wondered about the others. She glanced around the room for Mosh Zu and Darcy. They were nowhere to be seen. All the other souls had disappeared too. And there, visible in the thinning mist, was the slab the captain had lain on. But there was no sign of him, either. Even the pillow had disappeared. Where had they all gone? What was happening?

  She would find out soon enough, she decided. She held tight to her mother and her brother, as Lorcan too came forward and joined them. As the four of them stood there, hands connecting, Grace felt a moment of perfect peace. She knew it couldn’t last. Why, it might even be some kind of dream. But however fleeting the moment might be, whether a dream or not, she didn’t care. It was the moment she had waited for all her life and nothing, nothing, was going to spoil it for her.

  Table of Contents

  THE YEAR 2512

  Chapter 1: THE CROW’S NEST

  Chapter 2: THE EXPEDITION PARTY

  Chapter 3: BROTHERS

  Chapter 4: DARK JOURNEY

  Chapter 5: ANOTHER KIND OF DANCE

  Chapter 6: ARRIVAL

  Chapter 7: NIGHT WATCH

  Chapter 8: THE HEALER’S ART

  Chapter 9: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

  Chapter 10: THE LOST BUCCANEER

  Chapter 11: SNOW

  Chapter 12: SEVEN WORDS

  Chapter 13: THE IN-BETWEENS

  Chapter 14: THE TYPHON

  Chapter 15: EXEUNT

  Chapter 16: THE EMPEROR

  Chapter 17: THE WELCOME

  Chapter 18: MOONSHINE’S LAIR

  Chapter 19: THE RIBBON

  Chapter 20: NIGHT MISSION

  Chapter 21: THE RIBBON CEREMONY

  Chapter 22: BLOOD TAVERN

  Chapter 23: AN ALTERNATIVE TO BLOOD

  Chapter 24: ROOM FOUR

  Chapter 25: THE REC ROOM

  Chapter 26: LOST

  Chapter 27: THE VAQUERO

  Chapter 28: THE PLEA

  Chapter 29: LORCAN’S RIBBON

  Chapter 30: THE GUILTY PARTY

  Chapter 31: THE BLOCK

  Chapter 32: THE PASSAGE TO INDIA

  Chapter 33: THE BERRY PICKERS

  Chapter 34: NO HEROES

  Chapter 35: GIRL TALK

  Chapter 36: COMPLICATIONS

  Chapter 37: STUKELEY’S FEAST

  Chapter 38: HERO OF THE HOUR

  Chapter 39: THE BLOOD CAPTAIN

  Chapter 40: TWO LETTERS

  Chapter 41: THE BOAT ON THE WATER

  Chapter 42: MAGIC NIGHT

  Chapter 43: RETURN TO PIRATE ACADEMY

  Chapter 44: COLLAPSE

  Chapter 45: THE MENTOR

  Chapter 46: EYES WIDE OPEN

  Chapter 47: TO LANTAO

  Chapter 48: THE LARIAT

  Chapter 49: THE SWORDSMITH AND HIS DAUGHTER

  Chapter 50: THE DANGER ZONE

  Chapter 51: THE JOURNEY ON

  Chapter 52: THE STORMING OF THE CITADEL

  Chapter 53: THE TIES THAT BIND

  Chapter 54: THE LIBERATOR

  Chapter 55: THE COLLECTOR OF SOULS

  Chapter 56: BEHIND THE MASK

  Chapter 57: REUNION

 

 

 


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