Immortal War

Lola looked thoughtful, then turned to Stukeley. “Rest assured, it’s under investigation,” she said.

Stukeley gave a precise salute, turned, and marched back into the melee.

“That boy is like a son to me,” Sidorio said.

Lola smiled. “I confess I didn’t take to him at first. Neither him nor the Cowboy. But now I find my feelings have shifted.”

Such words were balm to Sidorio’s ears. His group had now completed a full circuit of the atoll. Their inspection of the troops was concluded. Everything appeared to be in order.

Lola pointed to a row of ships illuminated by the moon. “Do you remember when we first met, Sid? We only had but two ships to our name. Now, consider our growing fleet.”

Sidorio nodded, smiling and feeling a river of warmth run through him. He noticed that Jacqueline and Nathalie had fallen back, allowing their two leaders a rare moment of privacy.

“Over a hundred Vampirate ships and more recruited by the night!” Lola gazed up at Sidorio, her eyes bright. “At last, my dear, you have the empire you always craved.”

“I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said, truthfully. “I was nothing but a lonely drifter before I met you.”

Lola shook her head. “Don’t sell yourself short, Sid. I hate it when you do that.”

He circled his arms around her, his hands caressing the small of her back as he gazed at her in love and awe. “What I mean to say is, all this”—he gestured from the line of ships to the horde of skirmishing Vampirates —“everything we have now, is because of you.”

“No,” Lola said. “Because of us. We planned all this—on our honeymoon. During those long, deliciously bitter Siberian nights, when the virgin snow ran red with the blood of our victims. Remember? Then we came home and made it happen. That’s the wonder of us, Sid. Others merely dream but we know the alchemy that turns dreams into reality.”

She moved one of his hands around to place it on her swollen belly. Beaming at her, Sidorio waited until he felt the now familiar tremors of movement beneath her clothes and skin.

“Not long now,” he said.

“Not long indeed,” she said, “until your two boys are born.”

Sidorio’s eyes were ablaze. “Boys? Our babies are both boys?”

“Why, yes,” Lola said, her dark eyes narrowing. “I thought I’d already told you that?”

He shook his head. His mind was racing. For some reason, he had expected the twins to be one boy and one girl. Now he realized the folly of his thinking. Why should history repeat itself so precisely?

It was a mental adjustment to think that he would soon be the father to two sons; two true heirs to this empire he and Lola had built. He thought of Johnny and Stukeley. His deputies had become like sons to him, but blood heirs were different. In twenty or so years’ time—no more than an inhalation and exhalation to him—he could watch his own sons spar with each other as they warmed themselves up for the fight. He could watch his boys command equal fleets that circled the oceans. Such thoughts made his heart burst with pride and anticipation.

Turning back to Lola, he was ambushed by an unexpected emotion. It took him a moment to recognize it as sadness. Sadness that Lola was not having a girl. Because he would have loved to have seen Lola’s rare beauty replicated in a daughter. Perhaps, he reflected, it was better this way. Lola was one of a kind. After her, the mold was broken.

“What is it, my darling?” Lola’s eyes looked up at him, questioningly. “Aren’t you happy to know you will soon have two blood-hungry sons?”

He smiled down at her. “Lola, you have made me the happiest man in the realms of the undead.”

Lola stared deep into her husband’s eyes. “You can’t keep things hidden from me, Sid. You know that, don’t you? I see all your secrets.”

He knew her words were the truth. “I couldn’t be happier at this news,” he said. “If my deep joy is countered by a small sadness, it is simply that I would have loved to have created a daughter with you.”

Lola’s face dissolved into a smile. “My darling, I understand—of course I do. But don’t you see? These twins are only the first fruits of our eternal union. There will be many other children in the years to come. Our own empire within an empire.”

Sidorio found himself beaming from ear to ear, positively swelling with happiness. “I almost forgot,” he said. “I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Lola’s eyes twinkled in the moonlight. “Not more jewelry, surely?”

“Well, it does involve silver,” Sidorio said, excitedly. “Wait here!” He ran off across the sand. Lola watched him, thinking how puppyish he sometimes seemed. She folded her arms as he made his way back to her. In his huge hands was a sleek and shiny crossbow.

Lola smiled as he extended the streamlined weapon, a pouch of arrows, and a pair of gloves toward her. “For me? It’s absolutely beautiful, darling!” She weighed the crossbow in her hands. It was surprisingly light but Lola was instantly alive to its deadly power.

“I thought it would come in handy against the Nocturnals,” Sidorio said. “All the arrows are silver, of course. So you’ll need to wear these gloves whenever you handle them. Rest assured, they are deadly when shot with precision.”

Smiling, Lola lifted the sight to her eyes. “Oh Sid, how marvelous. Shall I have a little practice?”

“Why not?” Sidorio nodded.

Lola gazed through the sight until it settled on a coconut tree. The moonlight illuminated a ripe coconut at the center of her sight. Lola was about to fire the arrow when, feeling rather more playful, she adjusted her position so that the crossbow was directed at one of Sidorio’s weaker crew members. A moving target was so much more of a challenge.

Lola took aim and sent the silver arrow on its deadly trajectory. As the surprised Vampirate slumped to the ground, causing a hubbub around him, Lola turned and kissed her dumbfounded husband. “Thank you, darling. It’s a truly wonderful gift. And so much more practical than another pair of earrings!”

12

THE TURNING OF THE TIDE

The Tiger, The Typhon, and The Muscovite—the last having lately been brought out of retirement—were all moored together. On the top deck of The Tiger, the crews of three of the most valued Alliance vessels were still engaged in combat training as night closed in around them. The sky was full of stars and the sea seemed the calmest it had been in recent memory. Standing outside her cabin, Cheng Li was flanked to her port side by Barbarro and Trofie Wrathe and to starboard by her former teacher Pavel Platonov. They each watched with relish the dazzling skills of their crews. Each of these leaders seemed to be lost in thought when Trofie broke the silence.

“As terrible as this war is, it has brought about some pleasing changes.” She lifted her golden hand to gesture to the deck. “Commodore Li, I must commend you. The work you have done to raise our fighting skills is nothing short of extraordinary. Your close contact with the Nocturnals has certainly borne fruit.”

“Thank you, Deputy Wrathe.” Cheng Li nodded graciously. “Yes, you’re right about these changes.” Her eyes narrowed in on one combatant in particular. “Look at your son, for instance. He is utterly transformed.”

Trofie nodded, smiling softly as she, too, observed Moonshine’s almost balletic maneuvers as he clashed swords with Connor Tempest.

There was a discreet cough at Cheng Li’s side. She turned to find Jasmine.

“Captain, I have important news from our tracking teams.” All the leaders’ eyes turned to Jasmine as she continued. “The Diablo has finally separated from the Vampirate fleet.”