Vampirates 6: Immortal War (56 page)

“No!” Cheng Li cried, falling toward the deck. “Not yet! There’s so much more to do!”

Her fall was broken by a pair of strong arms, which reached out from behind her. They broke her fall and lowered her gently down onto the deck boards, but still the hands kept hold of Cheng Li.

“Don’t worry, daughter,” whispered a voice in her ear. “You’re safe now.”

On the deck of
The Typhon
, Barbarro shook his head with relief and delight. “We did it!” he said. “Together, we won this.”

“Yes,” Molucco said, squeezing his brother’s shoulder. “Another victory for the Brothers Wrathe!” He turned to Porfirio. “We should be getting back, don’t you think?”

Porfirio nodded. “I think so.”

“Wait!” Barbarro said, reaching out to Molucco. “Moonshine is on
The Diablo
, brother. Let me call him over so he can thank you in person for giving him the chance to be captain. It’s been the making of the lad.”

Molucco smiled. “I knew he’d pull through,” he said. “There’s a lot of me in that kid, I always thought.”

Now Trofie addressed her erstwhile brother-in-law. “I have to ask you this,” she said. “If you have such a high opinion of Moonshine, why did you apportion the majority share of your inheritance to Connor Tempest?”

“Trofie!” Barbarro exclaimed in shock. “This is hardly the time…”

“I have to ask,” Trofie repeated. “When will I get another chance,
min elskling
?”

Unfazed by her question, Molucco shrugged. “It felt like the right thing to do,” he said. “Moonshine has all the advantages of
your
wealth and status. I thought Connor deserved a leg up.” A strange look came over his eyes. “It doesn’t really matter now.”

“On the contrary,” Trofie said. “It matters very much.”

Porfirio turned to Barbarro. “We really should say our good-byes now, brother.”

“Won’t you stay until I can get word to Moonshine?” Barbarro asked. “He’d love to see you again, and I’d so like you to meet him now that he’s all grown up.”

“I would have liked that, too,” Porfirio said with evident sadness, “but it’s not possible. Jack Tar’s is calling us back.” He turned to Molucco. “Come on, brother, the clock is ticking. We must take our leave.”

Molucco nodded. The two brothers hugged Barbarro and Trofie good-bye. There were tears in Barbarro’s eyes as he finally released Molucco.

“We’ll see each other again,” Molucco said.

“Not too soon, I hope!” Trofie said.

Porfirio and Molucco laughed at that. “Quite right,” Molucco said. “Not too soon—for all our sakes!”

Bart and Cate stood together at the deck rail of
The Diablo
. They had stood there many times before, but they both knew this would be the very last time.

“I have to go now,” Bart told Cate, stroking her cheek. “But before I do, there’s something I want to say to you.”

She looked up at him, her eyes already filled with tears. “I wish I could come with you. I wish I had died tonight—”

“Cate! Darling Cate, you have everything to live for. Please don’t live a life of regret or dwell on what could have been. Know that I loved you, and always will, but open up your heart so that you can let someone else in.”

“It’s too soon,” Cate said, shaking her head. “You’re a bloody tough act to follow, Bart Pearce.”

“Fair enough.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t want you to get over me in a heartbeat. In fact, I don’t want you to get over me at all, but I
do
want you to get on with your life.” Then his expression changed. “I’m sorry, Catie, but I really do have to go now.” He opened his arms and drew her into a lingering embrace.

As they reluctantly parted once more, Bart took Cate’s hand in his. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight. “You’re wearing my gran’s wedding ring! How on oceans…”

“Connor found it and gave it to me,” Cate told him. “He told me the question you were going to ask me.”

Bart shook his head, beaming broadly though his eyes were wet. “No flies on that Tempest kid, eh?”

Cate nodded, smiling.

“Well.” Bart looked suddenly at a loss. “I’m rubbish at good-byes, and there is no harder good-bye than this.” He began to turn.

“Wait!” Cate said, reaching out her hand. “I know you have to go and I know I won’t be seeing you again anytime soon. I want you to know that I heard what you said and
I’ll do my best.” She nodded. “It may take some time, but I’ll do my best, truly.”

Their gaze met once more and the love in both their eyes was luminous.

“And that question you never got around to asking me…” Cate lifted her finger, so that the light of the new morning caught the beautiful ring. “Just in case you were in any doubt, my answer would have been a resounding yes.”

“Yes!” Bart cried, smiling and punching the air as he began to fade from view.

John Kuo helped Cheng Li back onto her feet. She surveyed the deck, wondering where Jasmine and Jacoby had got to. Though the battle was only just over, her head was already buzzing with thoughts of what she should do next. Ahab Back would want a detailed debrief, no doubt, and she would have to organize a fitting memorial for Connor. So much to do, so little time—just like always!

She turned to Commodore Kuo. “John,” she said. “It was so wonderful to see you again, and fight alongside you, but now I have to get back to my crew.”

Commodore Kuo smiled at her softly as Chang Ko Li joined him at his side.

“Your crew is going to be just fine without you,” said Kuo. “Jasmine and Jacoby will do you proud.”

“Without me?” Cheng Li asked, confused for a moment. Then it dawned on her. “John, am I dead?”

He nodded. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “I thought you realized when the pain went away.”

Cheng Li shook her head. “No, I just assumed I’d made a remarkable recovery.” She sighed. “Well, this is quite a blow, I must say.” She turned to her father.

“It’s always a blow,” he said. “And, doubtless, you’ll be thinking of everything you had yet to achieve.”

Cheng Li nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But how did you know?”

The corners of Chang Ko Li’s eyes crinkled. “Not far from the tree falls the fruit,” he said with a smile. “But in time you will come to see that your achievements were many and your place in the annals of pirate history is assured.”

“It is?” Cheng Li’s eyes brightened.

Both men nodded and then extended their arms toward her, ready to lead her away from the deck of
The Tiger
and toward her next big adventure. Cheng Li found herself walking down through the ocean itself, arm in arm with her father and her mentor. She stole one last lingering glance at her beautiful ship, then turned to find John Kuo and Chang Ko Li both smiling serenely at her. Together, the three pirate legends disappeared beneath the silver waves.

SEVEN

DAYS

LATER…

“No words,” Barbarro said, “can do justice to what we have all experienced these past seven months—the wounds we have sustained, the losses we have endured. We came perilously close to losing not just this war but our whole world.” He looked out across the tavern, his dark eyes full of woe. Ma’s was full to the rafters with pirates tonight, just like the best of the old days. But no one made so much as a sound and all eyes were trained on Barbarro, standing on the small stage in the center of the tavern.

“But we won,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “We came together as an incredible force—an unprecedented alliance between the pirate world and the realm of the Nocturnals—and we won! I want you—each and
every one of you—to remember how you’re feeling tonight. I want you to pass on the story to your children and grandchildren and their children. Remind them of the war that we had to fight for our sakes but, more important, for theirs. But, more than anything, I want each of your hearts to be filled with pride at what we have all achieved.”

There were tears in his eyes as he finished. Trofie stepped across the stage and took his hand as a wall of noise erupted from all around. Pirates were standing on their tables and chairs, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, and cheering at the pirate captain. Of the three Brothers Wrathe, Barbarro was the least given to public speaking. He stood there, greatly humbled by the response to his few inadequate words.

When the clamor finally subsided, Barbarro raised his hand aloft.

“Thank you, my dear friends,” he said. “And now, I would like to call up Deputy Jasmine Peacock to say a few words about her lost comrades.”

As Barbarro beckoned to her, Jasmine felt Jacoby squeeze her shoulder supportively, then release his hand so she could walk across to the stage. She realized she was trembling. It was a short distance in steps but it felt like the longest journey of her life.

As Jasmine joined Barbarro on the stage, the captain and his wife stepped aside. Jasmine looked up, feeling awestruck by the number of faces gazing at her expectantly.
What if she let them down? But, in that moment, some rare alchemy occurred and her fear somehow gave way to a calm energy. She knew she had the support of each and every pirate in that room. They were willing her to succeed.

“When Captain Wrathe asked me to say a few words tonight, my first reaction was no,” she began. There was a ripple of warm laughter across the pirate ranks. It was reassuring. Jasmine fixed on Jacoby’s face. He gave her a nod. “But, when I gave it some thought,” she continued, “I knew that I wanted to stand up and speak briefly about two of my lost comrades, Captain Connor Tempest and Commodore Cheng Li.”