Immortal War

He wondered whether, as a dhampir, Grace’s blood was more potent than Oskar’s, or whether the power stemmed from the electrifying intimacy of sharing her blood for the first time. These thoughts faded the moment he set foot on the upper deck. In their place came panic, fear, and dismay. There was no question that the Nocturnals were outnumbered. Worse still, he alone of the crew had benefited from a shot of blood. The others were at their weakest and it showed in their lackluster efforts. He could still see the signs of their intensive combat training, but they might as well have been fighting with blunt weapons. The Nocturnals were off their game, just when they faced their most critical fight.

In comparison, the donors had thrown themselves into the battle. Lorcan caught sight of Oskar, far across the deck, squaring up to a young-looking female Vampirate. Judging from her extravagant uniform, Lorcan surmised she must be a captain. Her movements were lithe as a serpent and Lorcan found himself uttering a prayer for his donor and hoping he hadn’t overextended himself.

Suddenly a familiar voice boomed in his ear. “Midshipman Furey!”

Lorcan looked up to find Sidorio bearing down upon him, sword drawn. “You’re out of touch,” Lorcan cried, readying his own sword. “I’m a commander now.”

“You?” Sidorio laughed. “Dress it up as much as you like, Furey. We all know that you’re a pacifist. Like your captain and the rest of your crew.”

“Take a look around!” Lorcan cried, as he and Sidorio exchanged blows. “Does this look like a ship of pacifists to you?”

Sidorio did not take his eyes away from Lorcan, but this didn’t prevent him from declaring his verdict. “Looks like a ship of losers to me!” They circled each other, their mutual dislike evident in their eyes. “Looks to me like a weakened, dying force,” Sidorio continued. “Why draw this out? Why pretend you can fight? Call over your captain and sound the defeat. You never know—I might take pity on you, for old times’ sake.”

Lorcan shook his head. “We don’t want your pity!” he said.

“And by the way,” Sidorio continued, “while I’ve got you on your own, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now. Keep your bloodless hands off my daughter!” He nodded. “I know you’ve been sniffing around Grace for months now, but she’s out of your league, understand?” He smiled unpleasantly. “From this night forward, she won’t be having anything more to do with you.”

Sidorio was smirking at Lorcan, as he had done many times before. Holding his nerve as firmly as his sword, Lorcan smiled back. He had seen what Sidorio was as yet blissfully unaware of.

Obsidian had heard Sidorio’s rantings and was making his way swiftly across the deck—in his anger, easily dispatching several of Sidorio’s squad en route.

“I suggest we let Grace be the one to decide whom she does and doesn’t want in her life,” Lorcan said, watching Obsidian approach, sword raised.

“A father knows best,” Sidorio said, shaking his head and puffing out his chest smugly as he made a jab at Lorcan.

Lorcan stepped neatly to one side as Obsidian brought his sword up against his rival’s neck. The look of surprise on Sidorio’s face was something to savor.

“Turn around, renegade,” Obsidian commanded. “I will not be cheated of my fight with you.”

Sidorio was quick to recover. “Nor I with you!” he exclaimed, turning to face his ancient foe.

As Obsidian and Sidorio squared up to each other, Lorcan hastened across the deck, taking stock of the overall situation. It was bad. Really bad. Many Nocturnals and donors had fallen, and the predominance of serge uniforms proclaimed the full extent of the dominating Vampirate force.

Lorcan caught sight of Oskar once again. His donor was now locked in one-to-one combat with a figure Lorcan recognized as Stukeley, Sidorio’s joint deputy. In the split second it took to assess the situation, Lorcan felt equal parts pride for his donor’s extraordinary bravery and fear for Oskar’s life. Letting out a roar, he charged at Stukeley, causing the Vampirate to turn away from Oskar and defend himself.

“Aha!” Stukeley cried out with pleasure as their swords clashed. “At last, a worthy opponent. Though you might just wait while I finish off this mortal.”

“I’ll finish you first,” Lorcan cried, his sword once more meeting Stukeley’s and leaving his adversary in no doubt as to the threat.

“Go!” Lorcan commanded Oskar. Gratefully, the donor ran off as Lorcan took over from him.

“I’ll give him his due,” Stukeley said. “He fought well for a mere mortal.”

“You were a mortal not so long ago,” Lorcan said. “Have you conveniently forgotten that, or have you been brainwashed by Sidorio and Lola?”

Stukeley shook his head. “We don’t go in for brainwashing on our side, Commander. We leave that up to you and your masked captain.”

“He’s not masked anymore, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Lorcan said gruffly. His blade met Stukeley’s and they parried back across the deck.

“Masked or not,” rasped Stukeley, “he’d better watch out—Sidorio will make mincemeat of him!”

“It’s Sidorio who had better watch out,” Lorcan snarled. “Obsidian is a far more powerful Nocturnal.”

“Pah!” Stukeley spat onto the deck between them. “There’s no such thing as Nocturnals! You’re a Vampirate, Furey, no different from Sidorio and me—only you’re the self-hating kind, just like your pathetic excuse for a captain.”

Stukeley made a fresh lunge at Lorcan. He was incredibly fast. Lorcan swerved to his side in the nick of time.

“Very good!” Stukeley nodded approvingly as they held each other’s gaze once more. “You have more fight in you than I’d expected.”

“You have no idea!” Lorcan cried, launching himself at Stukeley once more. “I’ll finish you off and then turn my attentions to your pal Johnny. Where is he, by the way? I can’t see him in the melee.”

“Johnny?” Stukeley shrugged. “His mission is very cut and dried on this occasion,” he said. “He only has one target in his sights.” He smiled. “I wonder if you can guess who that is?”

There was no need for Stukeley to say the name. When had Johnny’s target been anyone other than Grace? Lorcan felt a terrible ache in his head and a chill race along his spine. He had to dispatch Stukeley and find a way to get to Grace. His eyes darted over Stukeley’s shoulder, looking for Oskar. He had a momentary thought that he could send Oskar to warn her. But where had Oskar gone?

Suddenly Lorcan felt a searing heat coming from his shoulder. Glancing down, he saw that Stukeley’s sword had sliced through his uniform and penetrated his skin.

Stukeley drew back his sword with evident satisfaction. “She really is your Achilles’ heel, isn’t she, Furey?”

“No,” Lorcan said, preparing his own attack. “Not my Achilles’ heel. The love of my life. And I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”

Johnny pushed open the cabin door to find Grace staring at him in shock.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came for you,” he said. “Don’t be alarmed, Grace. My brief is to escort you to The Blood Captain, unharmed. Sidorio has plans for you.”

“I’m not interested in his plans,” she said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

“You have no choice,” Johnny said, not without a certain kindness. “This battle is all but won. The Vampirates outnumber the Nocturnals by at least three to one. Sidorio is certain to overpower Obsidian and claim The Nocturne for our fleet. The war is coming to an end. Well, this phase of it at least. The southern quadrant is locked down, and then we move on.”

“No!” Grace cried.

“Yes!” Johnny persisted, reaching out his hand. “Face facts, Grace. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Grace took his hand in her own. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Johnny looked askance at her. “What do you have to be sorry about?”

“This,” she said, expertly pinpointing the pressure points in his hand and watching him instantly slump to the