They had now all risen to their feet, above their fallen comrades, to watch as the enemy ships set sail into the dying night. Lorcan knew that each and every Nocturnal and donor had hoped for victory in this fight, but none could have anticipated this outcome.
“Captain.” Lorcan addressed his comrade. “The night is beginning to fade. We must tend to our dead and injured swiftly and get the crew belowdecks once more.”
“Yes,” Obsidian agreed. “Please give your orders, Commander Furey.” Standing there, between Grace and the three Cardinals, Obsidian seemed trapped in a force field of his own, though there were no indigo sparks to bind him.
Lorcan sought out his deputies and the cleanup of the deck began. Already, his head was full of practical issues. The ship had been stormed at the outset of the Feast. The surviving Nocturnals were now in greater need of blood than ever. Once the cleanup was complete, they would need to resume the Feast or, at least, the sharing. But with many casualties sustained, the established pairings of Nocturnal and donor had been wrecked. It was an unholy mess, but, he reminded himself, at least this was an end to the conflict. Whatever challenges lay ahead, they couldn’t be worse than what they had lately endured.
Satisfied that everything was under control, Lorcan began making his way back to the center of the deck. As he did so, a hand reached out to him. Glancing up, Lorcan saw Oskar and smiled.
“You fought well tonight,” he told him. “You did all that was asked of you and more.”
Oskar smiled, but only briefly. Lorcan’s donor usually lapped up any praise, but it was entirely understandable if the intensity of the night’s events had taken its toll on his usual high spirits. He realized that Oskar was looking at him curiously.
“You’ve taken blood from someone else,” Oskar said. There was a look of hurt and panic in the donor’s eyes. Then he turned and hastened inside. Lorcan reached out a hand to reassure him, but they were separated by the movement of others. The crews brought by the three Cardinals were making their own way back to the three ships. Oskar disappeared behind the stream of Nocturnals.
The exodus of the three other Nocturnal crews was as swift and seamless as that of Sidorio and the renegades. Soon the crews stood ranked across their decks, like statues of warriors lit silver by the moonlight. They appeared to be waiting for their captains to join them.
The three Cardinals were no longer ranked in a line. Instead, they were clustered, facing Obsidian, as if the four of them were indeed points on a compass. Grace stood to one side. Lorcan found his way over to her and stood beside her.
“You did a wonderful thing tonight,” he said.
“No.” Obsidian spoke without turning toward them. “She did a foolish thing.”
Lorcan was amazed at his words, and even more stunned as Obsidian turned his angry face toward them both. “I warned you many times that we had no allies upon which to call. But you chose to ignore me.”
“What do you mean?” Lorcan retorted. “If it wasn’t for Grace, we’d have certainly been defeated by Sidorio and his rebel army. As it is, we have sustained more losses than ever before in this last battle.”
“That is your perspective, Commander Furey,” Obsidian said. “Not mine.” He turned back to address the three Cardinals. “I apologize for my comrades. I’m sorry that you were summoned here tonight.”
Cardinals North, East, and West answered in their strange, united whisper: “It is not on your comrades’ behalf that you should apologize, Cardinal South—or whatever you now care to call yourself.” Their capes sparked with light once more. “Any blame in this matter must be carried by you and you alone. You broke the ways of our ancient code and enabled rebellion.”
Despite being spoken in a whisper, their words were no less brutal.
“I knew you would feel that way,” Obsidian began, only to be swiftly interrupted.
“It is not a matter of feeling but of fact. You have consistently broken the code.”
Obsidian’s voice was cracked as he responded. “I have always tried to do my best as captain of my ship. To provide sanctuary to the outsiders among the outsiders, as was our ancient accord.”
The Cardinals were merciless. “You overstepped the bounds of your power. You confused being captain with being a god. You are too much in thrall to humanity. Your role, like ours, was to care for Vampirates who needed haven. Yet you remain fascinated by mortals, though they are frail and transitory in comparison to us. You made yourself weak by allowing yourself to become a vessel for the lost souls you gathered like flies to your web. You failed to contain the threat on board your ship and within your quadrant. And, instead of turning to us, you sought the help of Mosh Zu Kamal. It was he, no doubt, who persuaded you to remove your mask and take a human face. At that point, you ceased all entitlement to the name of Cardinal South. And now—now you have entered an alliance with mortals! How could this have ended anything but badly?”
“I had to change,” Obsidian said, a note of pleading in his voice. “I felt the world,
There was a moment of silence, then the Cardinals resumed. “Sidorio is not the biggest rebel on board
Obsidian bowed his head. “I repeat,” he said, his voice retaining a stubbornness and pride, “that it was not I who called you here tonight. You have my word that your help will not be called upon again.”
Lorcan exchanged an anxious glance with Grace as the Cardinals made their response.
“Call or do not call. We have our own quadrants to attend to. Next time yours is under threat, you must face the consequences alone.”
Obsidian nodded. “We understand one another.”
“It is time for us to depart,” the Cardinals said. They moved into an approximation of a circle, reaching out their arms until the tips of their gloves met. A mist began to rise around them and their capes began to spark once more. It rapidly became hard to distinguish one figure from another. Then a fog of incandescent light enveloped them. It was a light so bright that both Lorcan and Grace covered their eyes. When they opened them again, the Cardinals had vanished and so, too, had their three ships.
Now Obsidian, Grace, and Lorcan were alone on the ship’s deck. Above them,
“We must go inside,” Obsidian said, his head bowed. “The light is on its way.” He strode away from the others without meeting their eyes.
Lorcan turned to Grace and saw there were tears on her cheeks.
“Grace, whatever Obsidian says, you were amazing tonight,” Lorcan told her. He reached out and pulled her toward him. “By reuniting the Four Cardinals, you defeated Sidorio and pretty much single-handedly brought this terrible war to an end.”
“Then why does it feel like I’ve lost everything?” she asked. “Why is Obsidian angry with me?”
“You’ve become so powerful,” Lorcan said. “He used to be your mentor but it’s clear your powers now outstrip his. The prophecy said that you and Connor would win this war, and so you have.”
Grace shook her head. “The prophecy said that one of us would die. I don’t think this war is over, and if Sidorio and Lola attack again, we’re on our own. There are no more allies to reach out to. What if I played this card too soon?”
Lorcan brought her closer. “We don’t need any more allies,” he said. “They won’t attack again. This war ended tonight. You saw the look on Sidorio’s face. It’s over, Grace. And it’s all thanks to you.”
Grace brought her head to rest on his shoulder. “I really wish I could believe you,” she said. “But I can’t, Lorcan. I just can’t.”
He held her in his arms, trying to bring her comfort. But suddenly, in her head, she heard that whisper again. It seemed that the Three Cardinals had one further message for her.
