Immortal War

“It’s blank,” Darcy said.

Drying her eyes, Grace smiled wryly at her friend. “It’s blank to you because you’re not its custodian. I know it sounds crazy, Darcy, but it speaks to me.”

Darcy closed the book. She knew Grace well enough to believe her story, however far-fetched it might seem. “I presume you’ve talked to Mosh Zu about this?”

Grace nodded. “I did, when I first found the book. And he told me not to worry.”

“Well, then…” The relief was evident on Darcy’s face.

“The book told me to trust no one. And when you think about it, Darcy, Mosh Zu has kept things from me before. So has Obsidian. They both conveniently forgot to tell me that I was Sidorio’s daughter, though they knew it from the very first.”

Darcy’s eyes fell. “To be fair, Lorcan knew it, too.”

Grace shrugged. Maybe she was even more alone than she had figured. “I didn’t want to believe the prophecy,” she said. “I’ve tried to shut it out of my mind and focus on my work here, but I can’t do it. I think the time is coming when either me or Connor is going to die.”

Darcy pointed to the book. “Has it said something else to you to make you think that?”

Tears coursing down her cheeks, Grace nodded.

“What did it say?” Darcy asked, putting her arms around Grace. “You have to tell me.”

Grace bit back her tears. “It said that we’re approaching the end of the war. That when Lola’s twins are born, the end is in sight.” She trembled in Darcy’s arms. “I have this feeling I can’t seem to shake that, for some reason, the world cannot contain both pairs of Sidorio’s twins.”

Darcy felt a sudden tightening in her chest. Usually, Grace was so strong and resolute. Despite everything she had been through, it was rare to see her so vulnerable. She had offered Darcy comfort on many occasions and now, more than anything, Darcy wanted to be the strong one, but she wasn’t sure what solace she could offer. She had a sudden vision of the first time she and Grace had met, on the deck of The Nocturne. She had been lighting the lamps when she’d become aware of this strange girl staring at her. Grace had been wide-eyed with wonder back then. Now, her eyes were shadowed with deep fear.

“I don’t want you to go,” Darcy said, “but I think you’re right. You need to see Lorcan.”

Grace nodded, crumpling into Darcy’s embrace.

Just then, there was the familiar sound of bells. They both registered it like a shock of icy water. They stood, locked in each other’s arms, frozen for a time as the bells continued, summoning the healers and nurses to their positions.

“You can still go,” Darcy said as Grace began shaking her head. “Yes, you can, Grace. Let the other healers take the brunt this time. You’re in no fit state to heal, anyway.”

Grace drew herself back upright and dusted herself down. “I can’t do that,” she said.

Darcy was resolute. “Sometimes, you have to put yourself first,” she said.

Grace hesitated, catching sight of the book. She was desperate to see Lorcan, but could she really abandon her colleagues at this time?

She stood stock-still on the floor, unable to commit to a movement in either direction. Just then, there was a loud knocking on the door.

“Grace! Grace, are you in there?” It was Tooshita.

Grace darted to the door and opened it. She saw Tooshita’s relief, then surprise at seeing Grace in tears.

“I’m glad I found you,” Tooshita said. “It’s all hands on deck, I’m afraid. We have some bad casualties coming our way.”

Darcy came to the doorway and asked Tooshita, “Another attack?”

Tooshita nodded. “A victory for us, though,” she said with a smile. “The Alliance has taken back an important ship. The Diablo, I think…”

“The Diablo!” Grace exclaimed. Immediately, she thought of Johnny. “You say the Alliance was successful?”

Tooshita nodded. “Come on, Grace, we’ll walk and talk.”

Grace found herself propelled along the corridor. Darcy hurried after her and Tooshita.

“Do you know any other details?” Grace asked, unable to prevent herself from asking the next question. “Do you know if the captain of The Diablo escaped?”

“The Vampirate incumbent, you mean?” Tooshita asked.

Grace nodded. Johnny, she thought. Kind, handsome Johnny. Poor, misguided Johnny. The most contrary man she had ever met. Her enemy. Her friend. He was so many things to her. What if… She found herself unable to complete the thought.

Tooshita’s eyes were dark. “There was a terrible fight,” she said. “A duel between him and one of our leaders, Commodore Li. They crashed through his cabin windows and into the ocean together. But only one of them came back up for air.”

They had walked so fast that they were already at the entrance to the compound. Grace was aware of Darcy hanging back behind them as Tooshita pushed open the doors into daylight. The other healers were already waiting outside.

“Who came back?” Grace asked as she and Tooshita strode out into the bracing light. “Cheng Li or John— Cheng Li or the Vampirate?”

Tooshita smiled softly at her friend. “Good news,” she said. “Commodore Li is making an amazing recovery. He tried to take her down with him, but he failed.” Evidently, she didn’t notice Grace’s expression as she marched on into the waiting area. Grace stumbled after her, feeling suddenly weak. It was an effort putting one foot in front of the other. Not Johnny. Not Johnny. Not Johnny. But she knew, deep down, that it must be true. War was raging and its fire would consume them all.

19

REUNION

Grace watched, feeling wretched and numb, as three ambulances arrived at the top of the hill. Three ambulances meant a lot of casualties for her and her fellow healers to attend to. She should have followed Darcy’s advice and disappeared when she had the chance. Now there was no escape. Darcy’s words rang in her head. You’re in no fit state to heal. Darcy’s words were even truer now than they had been when she’d spoken them.

Although Grace felt numb, she knew that deep within her was a maelstrom of turbulent emotions. She was in profound mourning for Johnny—for everything he had been and everything he might have been. She had always felt that, with time, she could save him from himself. Now it seemed that time had run out. How could she possibly heal the wounded from the battle to regain The Diablo when all her thoughts and feelings were with the man they had killed?

Grace watched the scene in front of her with a sense of disconnection. Moments of crisis like this had somehow become commonplace. The rescue workers made up a well-oiled team; they all knew their places and responsibilities. The ambulance doors were opening, and there was Dani, clipboard in hand, ready to classify the casualties and assign them to the healers. The staff began passing the patients over to the stretcher-bearers. Grace waited, with a mounting sense of dread, for her patient to be assigned and her name to be called.

She started when she recognized an ashen-looking Jasmine stumbling out of the back of one of the ambulances. What is Jasmine doing here? Obviously, she would have been involved in the attack on The Diablo. Is she wounded? Grace watched as Jasmine walked purposefully