Vampirates 6: Immortal War (18 page)

Olivier’s hands were another matter. They were burnt to a crisp, worse now than when he had arrived at Sanctuary. He looked at them in horror.

“I’d offer you some salve,” Grace said. “But you don’t seem to value my healing efforts. So I think it’s best if you take your leave now.”

He nodded.

Suddenly the door opened and Mosh Zu appeared on the threshold.

Olivier shook his head. “Come to gloat?”

Mosh Zu looked sadly at his former deputy. “No,” he said. “Not to gloat. Just to remind myself why I must quell any feelings of pity I have for you, Olivier. You have lost your way and there is nothing I can do to change that.” As he spoke, two guards moved into the room and approached Olivier. One brought Olivier’s arms around his back. The other snapped handcuffs around his wrists. They wasted no time in leading Olivier toward the door.

“I’ll go now,” he said, his voice brighter again, despite the intense pain he must be experiencing. “I’ll leave you two to discuss the book and the prophecy.” He smiled now. “I’m sure Grace is keen to know why you have been keeping secrets from her… again.” With a glint in his eye, Olivier allowed himself to be led away.

Mosh Zu shut the door.

“I have some questions for you,” Grace said.

Mosh Zu nodded. “I’m sure you do.” His voice was as composed as usual. Somehow this irritated her.

“The first concerns Olivier,” Grace said. “Is he a dhampir, like me?”

Mosh Zu’s limpid eyes met hers. “He
is
a dhampir, Grace. But not like you or your brother. A dhampir has the power to be an unparalleled force for good or for evil. You and your brother have chosen to use your powers for good. I think it’s clear now that Olivier has chosen otherwise.”

“So,” Grace said, “his power is for evil. But when we dueled, my powers outstripped his.”

“Your powers are very sharp,” Mosh Zu said. “Once, Olivier’s were
almost
as sharp. But he is dissolute. You must see that. He spends too much time thinking of allegiances and hurts and vengeance. All these impulses weaken him. True, he still has certain exceptional powers, but he is no rival to you—or to me, for that matter.”

Grace nodded. “My other question concerns the prophecy.”

Once more, Mosh Zu nodded. “You want to know what it means and why we kept it from you.”

Grace shrugged. “Those are valid questions, but let’s cut to the chase. All I want to know is whether it’s me or Connor who will die. I want to prepare myself, or help him to prevent it.”

Mosh Zu was silent for a time as he weighed her words. “Perhaps neither of you need die,” he said.

“But the book was very clear on the matter,” Grace persisted. “It said that the time of the prophecy had arrived and one of the warmonger’s twin children must die. Connor and I are the warmonger’s children, are we not?”

It was Mosh Zu’s turn to nod. “Yes, you are. And it may be that to achieve lasting peace one of you
must
enter the realm of the dead. We are in a state of bitter war now and sacrifices must be made.” There was a callousness to
his words. It was not the first time she had observed this quality in the Nocturnal guru. When he spoke next, his tone was somewhat softer. “I think your own future is assured now, Grace.”

Her eyes narrowed.
What did he mean? Why did he always cloak his words in riddles, just when you most needed clarity from him?
“Are you telling me that it will be Connor who is sacrificed?”

Mosh Zu looked deeply pained. Grace had the feeling he was keeping vital information back from her. “Grace, I have shared with you all that I can. Please try not to worry about the prophecy.”

“Don’t
worry
? How can you say that when the prophecy predicts a death sentence for either me or my brother?”

Mosh Zu stepped closer toward her. “Please try to be calm. These things all happen for a good reason. This is the direction your life was meant to take, whatever the outcome. Everything is unfolding just as it should.” His words were like a key turning in a lock—cold and metallic. “And now, I must meditate. I need to be released of Olivier’s toxicity. Join me, if you wish.”

Grace didn’t want to be anywhere near him. He was supposed to be her friend, her mentor. But she was starting to lose sight of him as both of these. “I’m going back to my own room,” she said in measured tones. “It’s been a long night and I could do with a rest before the next ambulance arrives.”

“As you wish,” Mosh Zu said. He opened the door and they went their very separate ways.

Outside, guards hurled Olivier out through the doors of Sanctuary, then closed the tall iron gates against him. They clanged shut with finality.

Olivier took the path down the hill. He lifted his hands up to the moonlight and was gratified to note that they were already beginning to heal.

His return to Sanctuary had been as eventful as he had anticipated. More so, in some respects. He had come with two missions. His first—to recover the book—had failed spectacularly. But his second had been rather more successful. Smiling to himself, he looked forward to bringing Sidorio and Lola fully up to speed with what he had learned.

Back in her room, Grace felt suddenly dog-tired. Darcy was already fast asleep in the bunk beside her, and Grace kicked off her shoes and lay down, too exhausted even to contemplate stripping off her healer’s uniform. Before she lay down, she checked her pillowcase and was relieved to find the weight of the book still inside. She took it out and couldn’t resist flicking through it again.

She turned to the first blank page and watched as the words began to emerge.

You are an excellent custodian of the book
.

Thank you for hiding me from the patient
.

You did well to defeat him, but his threat is not yet over
.

He has business with the Warmonger and the Fury
.

Grace frowned. It was uncomfortable information but not a complete surprise. Yawning, she was about to close the page when fresh text began to appear.

Regarding the prophecy, remember that

Mosh Zu has lied to you before
.

No, she thought. He hadn’t actually lied. Kept things from her, but not lied. As she reflected on this, fresh lines scurried across the page.

Keep me safe, Grace, and I will return the favor
.

Dark times are coming
.

Darker than you can ever imagine
.

I will guide you as best I can
.

Trust no one but me
.

Not even Lorcan?
Grace waited for the book to answer this thought. But the page remained unchanged. Feeling absolutely shattered, despite everything spinning around her head, Grace slipped the book into a new hiding place under her mattress. Then she extinguished the candle in the glass by her bed and focused all her energy on summoning sleep.

Three dinghies made their way stealthily across from
The Tiger
to
The Diablo
. An hour after dawn, the sea was rougher than the pirates had been hoping for. While the bulky
Tiger
was able to maintain a strong and steady course, the smaller, lighter dinghies were lifted high on each swell. The waves were burnished gold, reflecting the intensity of the new day’s sun and the halo of cirrus clouds surrounding it.

Connor stood at the helm of his dinghy, fighting the waves’ determination to separate his craft from the two others on either side. The conditions were giving both his mind and body a workout and his face and arms were already coated in sweat. Connor’s six crewmates worked soundlessly at his side. The only sound was the thundering ocean beneath them and the cawing of gulls above.

Having brought his dinghy back into line, Connor glanced across to check how Moonshine was faring in his neighboring vessel. Connor found it almost impossible to connect this athletic and focused youth to the acne-ridden kid who had hurled starfish
shuriken
at Connor and his buddies, for no apparent reason, the first time they’d met. Similarly, there was no trace here of the self-serving jerk who had endangered the success of the pirates’ heist on the Sunset Fort and incited Connor to make his first kill. Moonshine suddenly turned and looked over at him. Their eyes met now not as adversaries, nor thorns in each other’s sides, but as comrades and equals.

If he was honest, Connor had been waiting for Moonshine’s restrained new persona to crack and the capricious, egomaniacal monster they were all too familiar with to emerge. But, to his surprise, this hadn’t happened. It truly seemed that war had worked some alchemy on Moonshine Wrathe, transforming base metal into gold. Raising his hand, Connor gave his comrade the thumbs-up.

Cheng Li’s vessel was the first to reach
The Diablo
. As one of her crew secured the dinghy to the ship, the captain moved to the front of the vessel and swiftly calculated the distance to the deck of the galleon. Wasting no time, she took aim and hurled a weight up onto the deck. It met its
target first time. Rather pleased with herself, Cheng Li adjusted what looked like two kite strings. As if miraculously, a discreet but strong wire ladder now connected Cheng Li’s dinghy to the main deck of
The Diablo
.