Read Online Vampirates 3: Blood Captain by Justin Somper - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Justin Somper
Tags: General, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Children: Grades 4-6, Ghost Stories, Horror & Ghost Stories, Healers, Pirates, Juvenile Horror, Seafaring life, Action & Adventure - Pirates
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him.
Suddenly Bart grabbed Connor and lifted him up across his shoulders, spinning him around his head.
“Stop!” Connor cried.
“Know what they call this?” Bart said. “The windmill! Can’t think why, can you?”
“Stop!” Connor wailed. “I’m getting dizzy! And I feel . . . sick!”
“Say please!” Bart said, mercilessly spinning him even faster.
Connor was weak with laughter and dizziness. Finally he managed to push out the word. “Please!” he moaned. “Please . . . put me down !”
“Well, since you asked nicely!” Bart dropped Connor into one of the safety boats. He landed with a thud and lay there, sprawled on the tarpaulin and rope, dazed for a moment. He still felt like he was spinning.
Bart towered over him, waggling his finger. “Now, there’s a lesson see, young Tempest. You may be growing faster than a macaranga tree but you’re not ready to take on Bartholomew Pearce just yet.”
Connor regained his breath, finally sitting up again in the safety boat. He was trying to come up with a witty retort but no inspiration was forthcoming. Suddenly, he saw something that took away not only his words, but also his breath.
“What’s the matter?” Bart looked concerned. “You’re shaking again. Oh . . .” He grinned. “I get it. You can’t play that trick twice in one night!”
All Connor could do was shake his head, his eyes wide with fear and incomprehension.
Behind Bart, a pale face loomed closer. A face he had never expected to see again.
Trembling, Connor pointed.
Bart turned.
There, standing on the deck before them, was Jez.
“How do, lads,” he said. “How’s about a smile for an old friend?”
8
THE HEALER’S ART
“Follow me,” Mosh Zu said. “Lorcan, your room is on the next level.”
As they followed the path down still further, Grace realized that this was not so different from being on a ship and going down to the cabins. Perhaps, she thought, the underground nature of Sanctuary was not merely designed to prevent the vampires from exposure to the light, but also to prepare them for life aboard The Nocturne .
“Very good, Grace,” said Mosh Zu. She had the feeling he was watching her intently, yet when she glanced his way, his face was not looking at her at all, only forward. She still couldn’t get over how young he was . . . or, at least, how young he seemed. He carried himself with strength and vigor. The skin on his face was as smooth as a mask. You could, if you chose, describe it as handsome. He was not at all what she had expected.
“Thank you,” Mosh Zu said, smiling. “I shall take that as a compliment.”
Grace blushed. She had grown used to the captain reading her thoughts, but now Mosh Zu, too? He was a stranger to her. It made her feel exposed. Even now, he could be reading these thoughts. Where was she supposed to hide her secrets?
“Don’t try to hide from me,” Mosh Zu said. “It’s good you are so open. Others’ minds are like overgrown forests, full of writhing branches. You are uncluttered, like the fresh mountain air. Trust me, Grace, this is good. This is very good indeed.”
She blushed once more, in spite of herself. If only he would direct his attentions elsewhere. Whether in response to this, or of his own volition, he did.
“Lorcan Furey,” Mosh Zu announced, coming to a stop. “This is your room.”
He opened up a small chamber. It was, like the other rooms they had walked through, dimly lit. There was a single bed in the center of the room and a chair in the corner. Above the bed and on one of the side walls were hangings, similar to those in the hall above. They were, Grace supposed, where windows might have been.
“All the rooms are more or less the same,” Mosh Zu said. “Plain and simple. I hope you will be comfortable here.”
Lorcan found his way to the bed and sat down. He let out a long sigh and reached down to untie his boots.
“Some rest will do you good,” Mosh Zu said. “Soon, the sun
Suddenly Bart grabbed Connor and lifted him up across his shoulders, spinning him around his head.
“Stop!” Connor cried.
“Know what they call this?” Bart said. “The windmill! Can’t think why, can you?”
“Stop!” Connor wailed. “I’m getting dizzy! And I feel . . . sick!”
“Say please!” Bart said, mercilessly spinning him even faster.
Connor was weak with laughter and dizziness. Finally he managed to push out the word. “Please!” he moaned. “Please . . . put me down !”
“Well, since you asked nicely!” Bart dropped Connor into one of the safety boats. He landed with a thud and lay there, sprawled on the tarpaulin and rope, dazed for a moment. He still felt like he was spinning.
Bart towered over him, waggling his finger. “Now, there’s a lesson see, young Tempest. You may be growing faster than a macaranga tree but you’re not ready to take on Bartholomew Pearce just yet.”
Connor regained his breath, finally sitting up again in the safety boat. He was trying to come up with a witty retort but no inspiration was forthcoming. Suddenly, he saw something that took away not only his words, but also his breath.
“What’s the matter?” Bart looked concerned. “You’re shaking again. Oh . . .” He grinned. “I get it. You can’t play that trick twice in one night!”
All Connor could do was shake his head, his eyes wide with fear and incomprehension.
Behind Bart, a pale face loomed closer. A face he had never expected to see again.
Trembling, Connor pointed.
Bart turned.
There, standing on the deck before them, was Jez.
“How do, lads,” he said. “How’s about a smile for an old friend?”
8
THE HEALER’S ART
“Follow me,” Mosh Zu said. “Lorcan, your room is on the next level.”
As they followed the path down still further, Grace realized that this was not so different from being on a ship and going down to the cabins. Perhaps, she thought, the underground nature of Sanctuary was not merely designed to prevent the vampires from exposure to the light, but also to prepare them for life aboard The Nocturne .
“Very good, Grace,” said Mosh Zu. She had the feeling he was watching her intently, yet when she glanced his way, his face was not looking at her at all, only forward. She still couldn’t get over how young he was . . . or, at least, how young he seemed. He carried himself with strength and vigor. The skin on his face was as smooth as a mask. You could, if you chose, describe it as handsome. He was not at all what she had expected.
“Thank you,” Mosh Zu said, smiling. “I shall take that as a compliment.”
Grace blushed. She had grown used to the captain reading her thoughts, but now Mosh Zu, too? He was a stranger to her. It made her feel exposed. Even now, he could be reading these thoughts. Where was she supposed to hide her secrets?
“Don’t try to hide from me,” Mosh Zu said. “It’s good you are so open. Others’ minds are like overgrown forests, full of writhing branches. You are uncluttered, like the fresh mountain air. Trust me, Grace, this is good. This is very good indeed.”
She blushed once more, in spite of herself. If only he would direct his attentions elsewhere. Whether in response to this, or of his own volition, he did.
“Lorcan Furey,” Mosh Zu announced, coming to a stop. “This is your room.”
He opened up a small chamber. It was, like the other rooms they had walked through, dimly lit. There was a single bed in the center of the room and a chair in the corner. Above the bed and on one of the side walls were hangings, similar to those in the hall above. They were, Grace supposed, where windows might have been.
“All the rooms are more or less the same,” Mosh Zu said. “Plain and simple. I hope you will be comfortable here.”
Lorcan found his way to the bed and sat down. He let out a long sigh and reached down to untie his boots.
“Some rest will do you good,” Mosh Zu said. “Soon, the sun
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