44
GOOD-BYES AT DAWN
Sidorio was frozen to the spot above Connor’s fallen body. From three sides, swords now pressed against his neck—from Jacoby, from Cheng Li, and from Obsidian. Sidorio was trapped but still he managed to cry out to his son.
“Open your eyes, Connor!”
Meanwhile, Jasmine called to her comrades. “Come… Captain Tempest. He is wounded! He needs urgent medical assistance.”
Connor’s eyes opened but her relief was short-lived. His eyes seemed different to her somehow—focused somewhere far off.
Jasmine fell to her knees at his side. “Connor!” she cried. “Connor! Stay with me!” Seeing the pool of blood fanning out from underneath him, she glanced up at Cheng Li. “There’s so much blood… I’m not sure how much longer he can last.”
Jasmine’s hands moved across Connor’s chest, then she steadied herself and drew Sidorio’s sword out from Connor’s chest. As she cleared the entry wound, Connor’s blood spattered up onto her face. Instinctively, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw that Connor’s eyes were now closing. “No,” she cried. “Don’t go, Connor. Don’t go!”
Her words seemed to take effect. His eyelids fluttered and briefly opened. She leaned over him, placing her hand against his cheek. But then his eyes began to close once more, and, somehow, she knew that they were never going to open again. She gazed up at Cheng Li, feeling utterly bereft.
“I’m so sorry, Jasmine,” Cheng Li said, her own voice deep with emotion. “But there’s nothing more we can do for him.”
Rising to her feet, Jasmine spat at Sidorio. “You monster!” She had never felt more pain, nor felt more intensely the desire to inflict it. Seeing the tips of her three comrades’ swords pressing into Sidorio’s thick neck, she cried out, “What are you waiting for? Send him to oblivion!”
As she finished speaking, the air was suddenly riven with the sound of screams. They filled the sky. It was disconcerting at first, but then the pirates understood. The screams were sirens, coming from the Vampirate ships.
One of Sidorio’s last remaining crew members called out to him from the edge of the deck. “Sire, we must retreat! Dawn is coming!”
“Save yourself!” Sidorio responded. “I can take care of myself!”
With a worried expression, the Vampirate nodded and jumped ship.
“Dawn?” Jasmine confronted Jacoby. “You have to get inside. Now! I’ll take your place.” She extended her own sword to Sidorio’s neck as Jacoby, with obvious reluctance, stood down.
“That’s it! Run away, little
Irritated in the extreme, Jasmine pushed her sword deeper into Sidorio’s flesh. He flashed her a murderous look but was powerless, for now, to do anything more.
“That odious sound is the Vampirates’ call to retreat,” Lorcan told Grace, on board
Grace punched the air with delight. “I knew it!” she said. “I can’t wait to see Connor again and tell him we’re going to be okay.”
Lorcan hugged her. “I need to clear the deck of our own crew before it gets any lighter,” he said. “I’ll come and find you inside.”
She nodded, flushed with relief and exhilaration as she saw the enemy ships filling up in preparation for their urgent retreat. She leaned against the deck rail, thinking of everything she and her comrades had accomplished. This victory had been hard-won.
“Grace!” said an urgent voice, close behind her. It was immediately familiar but it wasn’t Lorcan, nor Oskar. Turning, she found Johnny at her side. In his arms was a bundle, which, on closer inspection, looked very much like a baby.
“Johnny!” Grace exclaimed. “What are you doing here? It’s almost dawn. You should be safe inside.”
“I know,” he said. “We don’t have much time, but I needed to see you.”
Grace nodded, leaning closer toward him. “Is that one of Lola’s twins?” she asked.
“His name is Evil,” Johnny said. “Would you like to hold him?” He didn’t give Grace a chance to decline before thrusting baby Evil into her arms.
“Poor baby!” Grace said as the infant made himself comfortable. “As if the odds weren’t already stacked against him! What kind of a name is Evil?”
“You can change it if you like,” Johnny said.
Grace glanced up at him. “What do you mean?” She gazed at him intently. “Why did you bring him to me?”
“I stole him,” Johnny said. “Stukeley wanted me to kill him.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t do that, Grace. But I had to get him away from Lola and Sidorio. He’ll have a better chance at life with you.” His dark eyes met hers. “With you and Lorcan, I mean.”
Grace’s eyes narrowed. “You want me and Lorcan to bring up Lola’s baby?”
Johnny nodded. “I would have brought them both to you if I had the chance, but Hunter… well, I couldn’t get Hunter away. But you can save this little guy. You’ll do it, won’t you, Grace? You understand why he needs to be kept away from them?”
She nodded with grim conviction. “Everyone is better off away from those two. But Johnny,
Johnny considered her proposition for a moment. Then he shook his head. “The die is cast for me,” he said. “I have to get back before the light scalds me. But I’ll sleep a little more easy knowing I did something good at last.”
He stepped closer in order to directly address baby Evil. “Be a good boy for your new folks,” he said. “Or you’ll have Uncle Johnny to answer to!” Grinning, he turned back to Grace. “I’d best get going now.”
Grace looked into his eyes imploringly. “Please stay,” she said.
He shook his head again. “I appreciate the offer, truly I do. It just wouldn’t work out, Grace, not for any of us.”
A tear escaped from Grace’s eye. “I really wish I could help you,” she said. “Ever since I met you, I’ve wished I could find a way to help you change. There’s so much goodness inside you, but you just can’t seem to see it.”
Johnny was genuinely moved. “You’d best stop right there,” he said, “or I’m going to start blubbering myself.” Letting out a sigh, he resumed in a more pragmatic tone, “There is something I need from you before I head back. Do you happen to have in your possession a book? Some kind of magic book about being a dhampir?”
Grace frowned. “No,” she lied. “I don’t.”
“I really need that book,” Johnny said, a note of pleading in his voice.
“I did have it, but I gave it to someone else,” Grace said. “Someone who needs it more than me.” Before Johnny could make a further appeal, Grace nodded toward the sky. “If you’re going, you need to go right now,” she
