Immortal War

be only fifty percent accurate.”

Stukeley had heard enough and now stepped in to defend his comrade. “Johnny fought hard to prevent the pirates taking The Diablo—he was nearly killed in the process. I think he deserves a little more gratitude. Now, I know how important that alliance was to you—to all of us—but Eternal DeWinter was always going to be an unpredictable ally. There are others that Johnny has been working on for months now…”

“Too slow!” Lola said. “That’s the problem with all of you men. You plot and you plan and you scratch your… heads, but you just can’t get the job done! You were flailing about on The Blood Captain until I arrived and turned you into a force to be reckoned with.”

“We were doing just fine until you came along,” Stukeley said huskily.

“What did you say?” There was hot lava in her voice. It left no doubt in anyone’s mind that Mount Lola was about to erupt.

“I said…” Stukeley began, feeling suddenly liberated from caution.

“She heard you,” Sidorio said, his voice utterly commanding, as he stepped forward. His eyes took in all of those gathered in the room. “You all have a right to your own opinions, but this isn’t helping matters. The events of the past twenty-four hours have stretched our emotions as taut as piano wire. Our feelings are running high. But what kind of an army are we if we fall apart at the first sign of trouble?” His imperious eyes swept the room once more. “No kind of army, that’s what! We all need some time out to take stock. Johnny, you lost your ship and your crew this morning. You nearly lost your life—again. That shouldn’t have happened but it did. We learn from it and we move on.” Now his eyes settled on Lola. “Lola, we lost momentum in a key alliance today. Again, it’s regrettable, but our power grows all the time. We can still win this war—Stukeley’s right when he says there are other, better, allies just waiting for us to call.”

He brought a reassuring hand to his wife’s shoulder. There was a strange look on her face, impossible to decipher. She opened her mouth and from her lips came an earsplitting scream. It lasted well over a minute. Sidorio, who hadn’t merely heard the scream but felt it tearing through every fiber of his being, turned toward her. “Please, darling, try to keep things in perspective. I know Johnny messed up, but…”

Lola seemed a little unsteady on her feet. She stumbled, reached both hands to her belly, then opened her mouth once more. The others all braced themselves for a second scream. Mercifully, it did not manifest.

“My labor has begun,” she said, with quiet composure. Pushing past Sidorio, she reached out her arms for Holly and Camille. They immediately offered their support and led her back inside her bedchamber.

25

BIRTHING PAINS

The deck boards of The Nocturne glowed red under the light of the lanterns and the stars. All around the deck, Nocturnals were engaged in their nightly bouts of combat practice. As usual, an array of weaponry was employed. Over the past six months, this largely pacifist crew had transformed itself into a mean, merciless, and often highly inventive fighting machine. At the center of the deck, right at the heart of the clashing metal, were the two men responsible for this metamorphosis—Obsidian Darke and Lorcan Furey. As had become their custom, the two men were sparring with each other.

“A good blow,” Darke said, nodding circumspectly in acknowledgment as Lorcan withdrew his sword and readied himself for a fresh bout.

Darke and Furey circled each other for a time. Of all the Nocturnals, they were the finest fighters and therefore the most closely matched. Lorcan had benefited from intensive training by Cate since the commencement of the Alliance. Darke, on the other hand, was a strong and instinctive swordsman who could pull seemingly impossible moves out of thin air.

It was Darke who struck now, his rapier clashing against Lorcan’s in a sharp succession of volleys as they moved back and forth through the limited space they had carved out for themselves on the deck. As he pushed forward, Darke spoke. “I thought after the recapture of The Diablo you might have granted yourself a rest. On the contrary, it seems it has only sharpened your desire for the fight.”

Lorcan’s eyes remained steadfastly trained on Darke’s as he fought back. “This is no time to rest on our laurels, Captain,” he said. “The taking of The Diablo may have given the Alliance fresh momentum, but it came at great cost. I for one cannot allow that to go unpunished.” So saying, he swung his sword hard at Darke’s. The captain was momentarily unsettled. Lorcan took full advantage and pressed in closer.

“We need to talk again about the other ships in the Nocturnal fleet,” Lorcan said. He had Darke cornered up against the mast. He stared into his opponent’s face. It was impossible to read. It was still an adjustment to be able to look at the captain’s face, rather than at the opaque mask he had hidden behind for so many years. It was a fact both curious and frustrating that, though his features were now visible to the eye, if anything his thoughts and moods were harder to read than ever.

Darke met Lorcan’s stare, keeping his counsel, his eyes giving nothing away. Then the captain executed a seemingly impossible turn and regained the advantage. “There is no need for us to discuss this matter again,” Darke said, his sword whistling through the air, close to Lorcan’s shoulder.

“I disagree,” Lorcan responded, turning his own sword expertly to derail Darke’s attack. “Now is the best chance we have for victory—but we must boost our force. By calling on the additional ships in the Nocturnal fleet, you could ensure lasting victory.”

“You know nothing of this,” Darke said, biding his time, assessing his options. “You must heed me when I tell you that calling upon my former comrades is not an option. You would do well to stop this line of questioning.”

“I’ll stop asking when you give me a valid reason,” Lorcan said. His sword met Darke’s and steel clashed upon steel with the force of both men’s wills.

“No,” said Darke, gaining the advantage once more. “You’ll just stop asking or we will be in danger of becoming legitimate adversaries.”

Lorcan shook his head. He couldn’t accept the captain’s stance on this matter. The Alliance was not in the luxurious position of having many cards up its sleeve. The mysterious fleet of other Nocturnal ships was a key advantage and it was surely time to play it.

“Every time I raise this, you just shut me down,” Lorcan said.

“Yes,” answered Darke, “and I will continue to do so. And so, Commander”—he paused and then raised his sword aloft once more—“you would do well to let this matter rest.”

The captain’s intransigence had lit the touchpaper on Lorcan’s anger. Their swords met once more but now Lorcan put aside all knowledge of this man as his ally. To him, this was no longer a training fight, and he renewed his attack for real.

Obsidian realized the change and lifted his own game accordingly. As Lorcan pushed in with renewed urgency, the captain drew on all his reserves to power Furey’s sword away. The strength of his blow was such that the rapier was dislodged from Lorcan’s hands. As he turned to recapture it, Darke’s sword swung past Lorcan’s shoulder and the razor-sharp steel sliced through his hair and the skin of his neck.

Lorcan turned, stunned, letting his sword fall to the deck. It fell alongside his fallen locks. Looking at Obsidian Darke with new wariness, Lorcan raised his hand to the back of his neck. As he drew it away again, it was bright with blood.

This turn of events was sufficiently unusual to send shock waves across the deck. The fighters on either side of them drew down their weapons and turned to stare at their two leaders.

“I’m sorry,” Darke said. “Believe me, it was never my intention to wound you.” Immediately he dropped his own weapon and leaped forward, laying his hand across the back of Lorcan’s neck, right across the cut. Darke kept the contact with Lorcan’s neck for a minute or so. As he did so, his eyes met Lorcan’s once more. When Darke withdrew his hand, the wound had already sealed itself.