by Justin Sloan
“So you intercepted him and put a stop to it?” the sailor asked.
“After a pirate attack on the way over, finding out that people were hunting vampire blood and putting a stop to a large portion of that, and making a few friends along the way, yes. I had a small army by the time my brother arrived, and with their help we took him out the moment he got there.”
There were several mumbles of excitement about this. Valerie lost herself for a moment, thinking back to the moment Michael had arrived, interceding to level the playing field between her and her brother. Without Michael, the fight would have been one-sided, and she was pretty sure she would have died. He liked to keep his secrets, though, so she left that part out.
“One would think a city would implode after witnessing a battle between vampires like you’re talking about,” the sailor said, frowning. “I mean, hell, how’d you keep everyone from losing their minds?”
Valerie thought about that. “Most of the population wasn’t around. It took place at night, and I remember lightning and rain, so they were probably inside. Most of the police and whatnot had suspicions, or there were the Enforcers. Many of them were actually part of the hunt for vampire blood.”
This brought on new questions and Valerie relaxed, diving into the rest of her journey. By the time she told them of her final take-down of the corrupt and evil CEOs, the sun was setting and the sky was covered in streaks of purple and orange clouds. She left out key moments, such as meeting Robin and what followed with her. This crowd didn’t need all the details, and the topic was certainly still too raw for Valerie to feel comfortable even hinting at.
She had excused herself and gone to the side of the ship to watch the sunset, leaving the others to discuss everything she had just told them. Some were skeptical about all of that being possible in such a short amount of time, but many of them were in awe.
A laugh snuck its way up and escaped. When had she gone from ultimate vampire warrior lady to storyteller extraordinaire? As long as it served to motivate them, she supposed it all worked out in the end.
“Land ho!” William shouted, stepping out of the control room and glaring at all of them for just sitting around. “You all want to get to work, or will we have naptime after story time?”
The sailors laughed at that and thanked Valerie for the tale before getting back to business.
“Story?” she asked no one in particular.
“Well, none of that really happened, right?” River asked. She hadn’t noticed that he was still there, leaning against a barrel of food stores. “I mean, it’s all pretty ridiculous.”
“Is it?” She smiled, nodding to herself. “I guess you’ll just have to wonder then.”
He frowned, then nodded. “Okay, I’m done wondering. You were pretty badass on the island, but everything you just told us? No way. Not believing it.”
“Hey, it happened. I did everything I just said.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He winked and ran off, jumping out of her reach as she playfully tried to swat him.
“Get back to work!”
Stupid kid, she thought in amusement, and then turned to look out over the rail. They were sailing in smoothly, the land growing larger as they approached. Judging by the direction they had been traveling and assuming their guesses were right about what was where, this had to be it.
They had found Norway.
CHAPTER FOUR
Norwegian Coast
Sailing blindly across an unknown land wasn’t first on anyone’s list of suggested things to do. They all figured their best option was to sail over the land closest to the coast to see if they could find any cities.
At first it was amazing: the endless green, the fjords that rose like steep hills, intersected by beautiful lakes and rivers that shimmered like gold as they reflected the sunlight.
Sailors pointed out different colors of flowers and stared in awe at the land, and William started to sing again. The others listened for a moment, then some joined in. It was a melancholy song, but beautiful. One that brought Valerie to a time before all this conflict and responsibility. Images rushed through her mind of a day when she had been recently turned into a vampire and had felt lost, but had stumbled across an old tavern where men were singing. At the time, it had reminded her of her human side—maybe even helped her to not lose touch with that part of herself.
Of course, when her brother had slaughtered those men and smiled as he bragged about it later, she had spiraled into a state of confusion, but focusing on the part of the memory right before that and ignoring the horrible part brought a smile to her face. Ignoring the horrible parts had been the key to existing in her world before Sandra came along. Not anymore, though. She was done.
Cammie came and stood beside Valerie, smiling, hands in her coat pockets as she listened. She wore one of the pirate coats, a long black one with silver buttons, and it fit her nicely.
“How do they all know the words?” Valerie asked. “I mean, so well, and all at the same flow, or whatever you call it.”
Cammie chuckled. “That’s their way. It suits them, you know…the island.”
“Sounds like they aren’t the only ones island life suits.” Valerie glanced at her, curious. “You talk like you might be considering never going back to New York.”
“Guilty as charged,” Cammie admitted. “Thing is, a big city like that just reminds me of everything I left behind from the old me. Out on the island, just sailing and keeping the peace, it’s like I’ve finally discovered who I am, where I’m meant to be.”
“And Royland has nothing to do with that?”
Cammie laughed. “Royland has a damn lot to do with that, and you know it. But I’ll tell you, I doubt I’d feel any differently about it if he weren’t in the picture. Much lonelier, yes, but no less fulfilled.”
“Interesting,” Valerie mumbled, totally lost in thoughts of Robin at that point.
Cammie just chuckled. “Okay, then.”
“Sorry. I just need a bit of time to pull my head out of my ass.”
“It’s a big head, so that might take a while.”
“Hey, shut your mouth about my head size.” Valerie felt her head, pouting. It felt fine.
“I didn’t mean literally,” Cammie replied. “I meant your ego. I’m not the only one who has changed since we met.”
Valerie nodded, smirking. “When you got it, flaunt it.”
“I believe I will then,” Cammie replied with a laugh, walking back to the hatch that led below. “And on that note, I think I’ll go see how Royland is doing.”
“Ah, rubbing it in my face, are you?”
“Yup.”
Valerie shook her head, smiling. It was good to have Cammie back. It bothered her, though, that the woman fit in with her new surroundings so well. Not that she should feel bad about it, but she had kind of hoped that if she did go to space someday she would bring her closest friend and best fighters with her. Cammie certainly fit the bill in both regards.
The singing suddenly came to a stop and all were silent, simply staring overboard. Wondering what was going on, Valerie walked over and looked down. She understood.
It was their first sunken city, marked by underwater buildings whose upper stories protruded here and there. The coasts must’ve been hit pretty badly out here, she realized, wondering how much of where she had been so far, in New York and elsewhere, had once been occupied land that was now underwater.
The sight, combined with her talk with Cammie, got her thinking of New York. She lingered a moment, then retreated to the captain’s quarters. Valerie pulled out the comm device and initiated a call to Sandra. When the other side picked up, a huge weight lifted from Valerie’s chest.
“Still awake?” she asked.
“Val, you can call whenever you want. You have that privilege.”
“This is crazy, right?” Valerie couldn’t help but chuckle. “I mean, here I am across the ocean, talking with you.”
“It wasn
’t that long ago the two of us crossed that same ocean.”
“Yeah, I thought about that quite a lot on the way over.” Valerie cocked her head, listening to the sailors play silly games. They must have passed the depressing scene below and one of them had been smart enough to find a way to lift their spirits. Good; she needed smart people under her. “I prefer not to think about the past. You know, because it’s in the past and all.”
“I hope you don’t include me in that statement.”
“You? Girl, you’re my past, present, and now future, in a sense.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Sandra laughed. “So…what’s next for you?”
“We’re looking for bandits out here, in part. Or, I guess, hoping we come across them as we try to find this boy’s home.”
“Remember what I said about being here for the baby’s birth.” Sandra’s voice was stern.
“I don’t come back in time, you kill me. Check.” She paused, and then added, “We lost a ship.”
“Excuse me? How does one simply lose a ship?”
“A massive storm will do it.”
Sandra paused this time. “Oh. Damn. Wait, I see what you’re doing here, no. You can die, lose another ship, whatever—I don’t care. You will find a way to come back from the dead or swim across the ocean, whatever it takes.”
“Noted.” Valerie chuckled. “So you really mean it? No matter what?”
“No matter what.”
The two talked some more about everything else in their lives, about Bronson and the children, and of course the café. Valerie was glad to hear it was thriving like always, but pulled back from the comm slightly at the mention of Jackson.
“He doesn’t hold any hard feelings, you know,” Sandra added, sensing the discomfort.
“I kinda left him stranded,” Valerie argued. “I’d have hard feelings.”
“Well, I guess that makes him better than you.”
Valerie laughed. “Shut up, jerk.”
“But no, really. He’s been dating. And that girl you sent down, Clara?”
“Yeah?”
“He hired her for this charity thing he does.”
Valerie just shook her head. “I don’t think I’d recognize New York at this point.”
“That’s the goal.” Sandra continued, talking about something to do with politics and trade, but Valerie stopped paying attention when she noticed something out of place on the horizon.
She squinted as she stepped over to the window, hand to the glass.
It was dark, but that had never affected her vision as a vampire. Whoever was out there had probably counted on it, because they were sailing in, fast, likely hoping for the element of surprise.
“Sandra, dear, I’m sorry,” Valerie whispered, the immediacy of the moment clear. “Tell everyone I miss them.”
“You okay?”
“Just unwanted company. Nothing I can’t handle.”
They said good-bye, then Valerie stowed the comm device and made for the deck. She found William and Reems at the door to the control room. William was clapping along as one of the sailors performed a dance that involved a lot of strange kicking.
At her signal, William and Reems followed her into the control room.
“I don’t want to alarm everyone, but how much faster can this blimp go?”
William frowned with a shake of his head. “Not much faster, I’m afraid.”
“I imagine there’s a reason for that question,” Reems said. “That’s the part that makes me afraid.”
“Without enhanced vision, you won’t be able to see them yet,” she told them, “but there are at least three airships headed our way.”
“Hostile?” William asked.
“Could just be coming to check us out, but they’re out in the dark, moving in fairly quickly.” She frowned. “My guess is yes, they want us dead and looted.”
“We can take ‘em. We have you, and we have Cammie and Royland.”
“If we can get to them, yes. But that would mean this ship had been shot down, in which case the rest of you could have been killed or badly injured. The other scenario is the three of us boarding the other ships and making a fight of it, but even then the chances of them not getting a critical strike against our ship are fairly low. They would have to get close enough for us to board, after all.”
Reems ran a hand through his slick black hair, considering the situation. “We have to outrun them. It’s dark, so we put out the lights, get the mountains on the other side of us so there’s no silhouette, and we hide.”
With a glance at William to confirm he had no arguments, Valerie nodded. “If it’s doable, that sounds like our best bet. William on controls, Reems leading the sailors. I’ll prepare Cammie and Royland in case there’s trouble.”
They agreed, and got to it.
Valerie found Royland and Cammie at the stern, teaching Kristof how to wield a knife. Possibly inappropriate in normal times, but considering the circumstances, Valerie found it fitting. She told them what was going on as she joined them, and the three of them stood at the back rail after Kristof had been sent back to their room.
“You don’t need enhanced vision to see them now,” Cammie noted.
“No,” Valerie agreed. “They were much farther back before.”
“You have a plan?”
Valerie told them what the captains were up to, casting her eyes to the clouds, only to see that they were mere wisps across the moon. They wouldn’t be much help—not for long, anyway.
“I imagine they’ll set down at some point, when they’ve given up finding us, and then we’ll strike.”
Royland looked from the ships to her, his eyebrow raised. “Strike?”
“One ship for each of us,” she told him. “When they’re down, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You’ve grown…vicious,” Cammie noted. “And I’m not sure I mean that in a good way. What if they’re just defending their home?”
Valerie frowned and turned to Royland.
“Don’t look at me.” He held his hands up in surrender, but not to her. “I know better than to speak against my better half.”
“Wow.” Valerie just shook her head, unable to comprehend these two. “You’ve both gone soft. Fine, let them blow us out of the sky first, then we can decide if we want to hold hands and sing lullabies with them or rip their heads off.”
“That’s not what we’re saying,” Royland argued. “Just, maybe we should scout them. If they touch down, we get in there and see what they’re about.”
Valerie felt her brow furrow instinctively. “Deal. I’ll get in there while you two stand by to defend the crew, if it comes to that. Once all parties are on the ground I don’t want to leave them undefended, especially if we haven’t decided our response level yet.”
She could tell they didn’t like the idea of her going out by herself, but if they didn’t want to get their hands dirty, that was how it had to be.
A glance over the ship showed that all lights were out and the sailors were moving about their business, preparing hand weapons in case it came to that, and readying the ship’s guns. It only had four cannons; no Gatling gun, as the Prince’s ship had carried.
She breathed in the cool, clean air. It was nothing like the air in New York or anywhere else she had been, really. It was fresh; it filled her, made her more alert. Finding mountains to sail toward wasn’t a problem, or at least large hills, which abounded around the fjords they were now passing over.
A glance down showed steel and rock and the ruins of other building materials sticking out of the water, and she wondered how many other cities had found themselves under water after the Collapse.
Moving through this terrain was going to be a challenge, but she looked forward to exploring new ground and finding out what these pursuers were after.
If they were the bandits who had taken Kristof from his home, which she certainly hoped they were, she looked forward to doling out justice.
&n
bsp; CHAPTER FIVE
New York
Sandra stared at the comm device in her hands, thinking how much she appreciated Garcia and TH for bringing this into her life. The thought of Valerie out there saving the world without any means of communication was terrifying. She still needed that crazy-ass vampire in her life, even if she couldn’t be at her side.
There were others at her side, now. Garcia, Diego, Platea and Clara, even Bronson and his family. All of them together made her feel complete, like she belonged in this city. Like this world had finally accepted her.
What a long way she had come since her days as a slave to vampires back in France. Even if Valerie had treated her better than the rest, almost as an equal at times, she had always felt like an outsider, always known her true place.
But here? Here she was a leader, one of the people the city of New York looked up to. Not only had they seen her take down what they were referring to as a terrorist, but she had personally made the official proclamation that the city would once again carry the name New York. Technically it only referred to the area that had once been Manhattan; this New York was much smaller than the one from the days before the Great Collapse. Regardless, it was a great accomplishment for her, their soldiers, and the people of New York.
She had big plans for the city too, to be executed when pregnancy-brain wasn’t getting in the way. There was so much she wanted to do, but her energy was at an all-time low. Being able to compare notes with another woman in her situation would have been great, but she didn’t know any other pregnant women outside the crazy parts of town, and having conversations with anyone there was likely to end in a fight.
Instead she had taken to meeting with Platea over tea, an old tradition the woman had brought to the city. They were trying out the new shops that had popped up all over the city, what with trade improving as the city found stability after the piracy had been stopped. It was also, Garcia pointed out, good practice to not always be found at the same café. Change up the routine, so that if anyone did mean harm to Sandra or the others they couldn’t spot a pattern.
