Immortal War

eyes.

“Nice try!” Lola said dismissively. “But I’ve come back for your hand tonight and I don’t intend to leave without it.”

“Maybe it’s your turn to leave here limbless,” Trofie said as her sword whipped through the air toward Lola’s shoulder. Lola moved aside, just in time, but Trofie’s sword nicked Jacqueline, who was fighting beside her.

Jacqueline’s wound swiftly sealed but her ire had been stoked and now she, too, turned her attention to Trofie as Nathalie took her place. Lola and Jacqueline were both stalking her with malicious intent.

“Seems like I’ll be getting my wedding bouquet back after all,” Lola sneered.

“Think again!” cried Barbarro, descending from the crow’s nest and landing between the combatants. He took advantage of his surprise arrival to skewer Jacqueline, who fell to the deck boards, her body buckling in response to the poison on his sword.

Though shocked to have lost such a close ally, Lola kept her focus—still stalking Trofie. Now it was Lola Lockwood-Sidorio who faced two adversaries as the captain and deputy captain of the ship looked for an opening to effect their long-harbored desire for revenge.

Johnny tentatively pushed open the door to the nursery and stepped inside. This was going to be easier than he’d thought. Up ahead were the two bassinets, with nothing and no one standing in his way. But, as he strode up to them, he found they were both empty. His first thought was that someone had beaten him to it. Relief flooded through his bones.

“Johnny?”

He turned slowly, to see Holly walking into the nursery. She had one of the babies in her arms. Where was the other one?

“What are you doing here?” she asked, already suspicious.

“I’ve come for the babies,” Johnny said. So far, so truthful.

“Why?” Holly asked, drawing the infant in its swaddling clothes more closely toward her.

“Captain’s orders,” he said.

Holly’s eyes narrowed. “Which captain?”

Johnny ignored the question. “Which little fellow is that, anyhow?” he asked, stepping closer. “Hunter or Evil?”

“It’s Evil,” Holly said, as Johnny’s hands reached out for the child. “Hunter’s not here.”

“Where is he, sugar? I need them both.”

“Why?” Holly asked again, steadfastly refusing to let go of Evil.

“I told you before.” Johnny smiled sweetly. “Captain’s orders. I’m taking them both to safety.” Both Vampirates clutched at baby Evil now. The infant, not surprisingly, began to wail.

“Give him to me, Holly.”

There were tears in her eyes, too. “I can’t, Johnny. You have to go.”

“Please don’t make me do something I might regret.”

“I’d give my life for these babies,” Holly said through her tears.

She just got out the words before Johnny’s silver dagger pierced her clean through the heart. As she slumped to the floor, Johnny retrieved baby Evil from her arms. “I’m sorry, sugar,” he said as Holly’s body writhed in rapid response to the toxic silver blade. “But you left me no choice. Now tell me where baby Hunter is.”

She shook her head, clearly in pain. “Never. I won’t…” Her head turned to one side and a glazed look came over her eyes. Then the silver began to work its way deeper into her system and her flesh began to burn.

“Come on, little Evil,” Johnny said, clutching the crying babe to him. “It’s okay, buddy. You’re coming with Uncle Johnny.” He shook his head. “If only you could talk, you could tell me where your brother is.”

“Are you looking for Hunter?”

Johnny hadn’t heard any footsteps, but now he found the threshold to the nursery was blocked by Olivier, who nonchalantly carried Lola and Sidorio’s other baby in his arms. Smiling at Johnny, Olivier glided into the room, carrying Hunter over toward the twin bassinets. Olivier was about to lower Hunter into his crib but seemed suddenly to think better of it.

Turning, Olivier wrinkled his nose. “I smell burning,” he said. Glancing down, he caught sight of Holly and shook his head at Johnny.

“Oh, dear, Cowboy. Was that really necessary? That bighearted girl was rather keen on you, you know.” He hugged Hunter more closely to him. “Now then, I think you had better tell me just exactly what’s going on.”

The Nocturne had been infiltrated on port and starboard by members of the rebel Vampirate crews coming over from the sterns of The Diablo and The Tiger. Lorcan and his squad raced into position to defend the ship. Lorcan worried about what this meant. Had Sidorio and his comrades won out? Were the other two ships now overtaken by the Vampirates? As he watched more of the rebel crews leaping across, his blood ran cold. Had the unthinkable finally happened?

Suddenly, Lorcan felt a hand on his shoulder. Reflexively, he turned and saw Mimma standing, grinning, in front of him. The hand remained on his shoulder, but as he moved, it slid down his front and fell to the deck in front of him.

“Don’t you like my gift?” Mimma said. “It’s freshly severed. I had a little suck on the arteries on my way over.”

Lorcan glanced with revulsion from the severed hand to the equally repellent Mimma.

“Let’s play a little game, shall we?” Mimma said. “It’s called guess whose hand it is… or, rather, was!”

“No games,” Lorcan said, preparing to charge at her.

“Johnny told me you were a no-fun zone, and he was right,” Mimma said, leaping into action. “Well, if you won’t play, I may as well just tell you. It’s your mate, Cate’s. See what I did there, Furey? Your mate, Cate! I’m a poet!”

“That’s not Cate’s hand,” Lorcan said with a shudder.

Mimma shrugged. “Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t! And maybe I just dispatched her to a better place and maybe I sent off that Moonshine bloke along with her.”

“You’re full of talk,” Lorcan said. “Why don’t we see if you can walk the walk?”

Mimma winked at him. “You’re on! I’ve heard all about your fancy moves. Let’s see if you live up to all the hype!”

Not far away from where Lorcan fought, Grace opened her eyes and found herself inside her cabin, looking up into Oskar’s face.

“Thank goodness!” he cried. “Grace, I’ve been so worried about you.”

Grace seemed disconcerted. She raised herself up on her elbows and looked curiously about her surroundings. Below her, she saw the open book. As she lifted her hand, the writing swiftly dissolved.

Breathing rapidly, she looked up at Oskar once more. “Did I succeed?” she asked. “Have they arrived?”

Oskar shook his head slowly. “You’re not making sense,” he said. “You’ve been out cold for almost an hour.”

“No,” she said. “I’ve been on a journey—a mission to fetch reinforcements.”

Oskar shook his head. “You fell,” he said. “And I think you may have concussed yourself. Wait! Don’t get up too quickly. Let me check your head for wounds.”