Immortal War

now surrounded by two men and a woman—none of them familiar to Lorcan. The Vampirate did not move. It looked as if he were still alive but frozen somehow. One of the men glanced down at Lorcan and smiled. Suddenly, Lorcan felt sensation again in his shoulder. His numbness gave way to a fresh wave of nausea. He saw the stranger lifting Stukeley’s sword away. Despite the intense rush of pain, he could feel the fibers deep beneath his skin fusing back together. Now he was in no doubt. This was not oblivion. He had, somehow, been saved. The second of the two men reached out his hand to help Lorcan to his feet while the woman crouched down and returned his sword.

Standing up, Lorcan saw drifts of fog moving across the deck. He realized that it must have encircled not only him but the entire deck of the ship. It was thinning now and he began to make sense of what was happening right across the deck. The Vampirates had been disarmed and their swords turned against them by a fresh influx of men and women. Though the newcomers’ faces were unfamiliar, nonetheless Lorcan recognized some kind of union with them, as if they were from the same tribe.

His eyes skimmed the deck, seeking out each of his comrades, Nocturnal and donor. Those who had fallen earlier in the battle still lay motionless, and Lorcan sensed that their stories were at an end. But, as the wisps of remaining mist streamed across the deck, like coils of muslin, Lorcan watched others rise up to their feet again. At last, his anxious eyes located Obsidian, who, to Lorcan’s great relief, was now standing tall at the center of the deck. Lorcan began making his way over to join his leader.

In front of them stood Sidorio. He, too, was surrounded. But now Lorcan saw that it was not merely the threat of force that had held the Vampirates in abeyance. His hands were raised before him, as if pushing against an invisible wall. It seemed as if there were a force field around them. It glowed indigo in the darkness of the night.

As Lorcan reached Obsidian’s side, he saw further movement across the deck. At first he thought it was more of his comrades, come to determine for themselves what miracle had happened here. But then he saw the most mysterious sight his eyes had ever borne witness to. Three imposing figures were making their way toward the center of the deck. One came from the starboard side; the next from the prow; the third from the port side. They were each clad identically in masks and capes. Their attire was exactly that which The Nocturne’s own captain had formerly worn, before he assumed the identity of Obsidian Darke.

The three figures came to the center of the deck and stood before Obsidian and Sidorio. If Lorcan looked on them in wonder, he saw that Sidorio registered their arrival with even greater surprise.

Though Sidorio was still held firm by whatever force field had been thrown about him, he was still able to speak.

“Who are you?” he asked of the new arrivals, his voice full of wonder.

There was silence for a moment. The capes of the three masked captains billowed in the breeze, the material sparking here and there with indigo light. Then they began to speak—with just one voice. It was a familiar whisper, reminiscent of lapping waters.

“We are Cardinals North, East, and West. Together with Cardinal South, we provide safe harbor for Nocturnals across the oceans.”

“Cardinals?” Sidorio grunted, his voice now devoid of its former respect. “Are you some kind of religious sect?”

“No.” Lorcan found himself answering the question. “They each represent a cardinal point on the compass.”

“That is correct.” The Cardinals nodded, then spoke again. “We are the four leaders of the Nocturnal fleet. Each of us takes responsibility for one cardinal point on the compass.”

“North, East, and West,” Sidorio said, finding he could move his hands, but only within a certain radius. “So where is Cardinal South?”

The three Cardinals did not answer his question but moved to stand beside Obsidian, who shook his head slowly at Sidorio. “You always were a little slow on the uptake,” he said, “but surely this isn’t beyond your understanding.”

“You,” Sidorio said. “You’re Cardinal South.”

“I am…” Obsidian suddenly faltered, his eyes turning from Sidorio to the three masked captains at his side. “Or, at least, I was.”

There was another pause, in which all that could be heard was the movement of the ship’s sails and the Cardinals’ capes, blending with the ocean breeze and the churning of the waters deep below. Then the three Cardinals spoke once more. “It is a very long time since the four of us have been in one place. We come together now in order to give you a clear message.” Though the masks covered their eyes, there could be no doubt the three were addressing Sidorio. “This conflict is over. Go back to your ships and start dismantling your war machine. You and your kind will never gain dominion over the oceans.”

Sidorio shook his head, then attempted to lunge forward at Obsidian. The force field around him was too strong and he found himself further humiliated.

“Admit your defeat,” the Cardinals continued. “Take your crews back to the ships you have plundered and never think to set foot here, from where you were exiled, ever again.”

As the Cardinals finished speaking, Lorcan glanced across the deck, looking for the reactions from both the crew of The Nocturne and Sidorio’s own force. It seemed that everyone was poised, waiting to see what Sidorio would do next. Lorcan’s eyes turned back to his erstwhile comrade, the first rebel Vampirate and now commander in chief of the empire of night.

Still imprisoned, Sidorio lifted his head to the skies and let out a roar. The sound was deafening. It seemed to echo not only across the deck but out over the oceans and back again. Lorcan realized this was no war cry; this was a cry of disappointment and abject defeat. Now Sidorio lowered his head and called across the deck. “We are defeated,” he cried. “Back to the ships!”

At these words, the force field around Sidorio disappeared. Lorcan saw that the same had happened to Stukeley and all of Sidorio’s followers, who had been held in paralysis across the deck until the renegade admitted defeat.

Now the surrendering army began its way, as if hypnotized, across the deck. Only then did Lorcan see that there were no longer three ships surrounding The Nocturne but six. And each of the three ships that had lately arrived bore the same strange winglike sails he had come to know and love. He smiled to himself at the confirmation that he was part of a greater force.

Sidorio watched his forces drifting away, then turned back to Obsidian once more. “I underestimated you,” he said. “I won’t make that mistake again. Though, just so we’re clear about this, I’d have won the night if you hadn’t summoned reinforcements.”

Lorcan smiled ruefully. No one would have expected Sidorio to be gracious in defeat, and he had not disappointed.

Obsidian glanced from the three Cardinals back to Sidorio. “I didn’t summon them,” he said, at length.

Sidorio’s eyes narrowed. “If that’s true, then who did?”

“I did,” came a voice from behind Lorcan. Grace walked up to join the group gathered at the center of the deck. Turning, thrilled beyond measure to see her, Lorcan smiled. His smile froze as he saw Johnny, following in her wake, looking as dazed as his comrades as he joined the lines flowing off the deck back onto the rebel ships.

As Grace took her place next to Obsidian, Sidorio smiled at her. “My all-powerful daughter,” he said, with obvious pride. “If only I could have persuaded you to join my side, this conflict might have had a very different outcome.”

Standing beside Obsidian and the three masked Cardinals, Grace seemed in possession of a new authority as she responded to Sidorio. “My powers are a gift beyond measure,” she said. “I will never use them for wanton destruction.”

Sidorio gazed at her thoughtfully, perhaps still thinking of what might have been. Behind him, the line of his disembarking crew had come to an end.

“It’s time to go now, Father,” Grace told him. There was a measure of mercy in her voice.

Sidorio nodded. He seemed about to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he turned and joined the exodus.

Lorcan reached out and squeezed Grace’s hand. He was gratified she did not resist. She might be some incredible—and growing—force of nature, but, when all was said and done, she was also his girl.

The surviving crew of The Nocturne seemed as dazed as Sidorio and his troops.