Read Online Vampirates 5: Empire of Night by Justin Somper - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Justin Somper
Tags: Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Horror, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Brothers and sisters, Twins, Vampires, Horror & Ghost Stories, Pirates, Seafaring life
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him.
"All right now?" asked a familiar voice, presumably belonging to the slowly retracting hands.
Connor nodded. "Yes," he said. "Yes, thank you." He twisted around to face his rescuer.
As he did so, his heart missed a beat and he felt dizzy again. Even though he had suspected it, the reality was nevertheless a body shock.
There, standing beside him in the ocean, was his old friend and former comrade Jez Stukeley.
82
8 THE SHARING
Grace waited for a bowl of cherry pie to be cleared from her place. She had barely touched her food at tonight's Feast. It had looked and smelled as delicious as usual, but she had taken only a mouthful or two of first the scallops, then the lamb, and maybe half a spoonful of dessert. The rest of the food had ended up being pushed around her plate or lingering uneaten in the bowl, under her cutlery. None of this escaped eagle-eyed Oskar's notice.
"Still not hungry, I see," he said, a dark eyebrow raised interrogatively.
Grace shook her head. "Not for food, anyhow."
Oskar looked her directly in the eye and nodded, slowly, thoughtfully. He understood. Leaning closer, he spoke in confidential tones. "Remember what we talked about before? You should join us--Lorcan and me--
83
tonight. I have more than enough blood for both of you." His brown-black eyes seared into Grace's. "Share me."
Since he had first made this proposition at the previous week's Feast, Grace had turned the idea over constantly in her head. It was unthinkable, wasn't it, to take blood? If she did, there would be no turning back. She was accepting that she was a dhampir--half-vampire, half-mortal--and that this was the way she lived now.
On many levels, she did accept it. What was the point in even trying to deny it? She was not, as she had thought for the first fourteen years of her life, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper from a dead-end coastal town. No, she was the daughter of a Vampirate, Sidorio--the result, like her brother, of a spell cast by Sidorio on their poor mother, Sally.
Grace looked down to find that the long banquet table had been cleared. The servers had disappeared back to the kitchens. She had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed any of this. At once, the musicians took up their instruments again, playing more and more loudly. Glancing along the table at the faces reflected in the warm glow of the candlelight, she saw that the men and women on both sides of the table were waiting silently. The Feast--at least this phase of the Feast--was over.
At the far end of the table, nearest to the door, Darcy and her donor, James, rose together from their seats and began walking away from the table, their footsteps beating time with the percussive music. Their neighbors
84
followed, moving in unison. The exodus continued like a wave as each Vampirate and his or her donor left the banquet hall--no one hurrying, no one missing a beat. Though Grace had seen it many times before, it still fascinated her--now perhaps more than ever.
The wave reached them, and now it was Lorcan and Oskar who rose; and each began walking along his side of the table toward the exit. Then, Mosh Zu and Grace stood. Though they were not Vampirate and donor, they would exit the cabin together, so as not to break the symmetry.
As Grace followed in Oskar's path alongside the table, she couldn't help smiling at the irony that she still sat on the donor side of the table. She was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even register leaving the banquet hall, and was surprised to find herself out in the corridor. Was this what it was like for the Vampirates? She had seen the distant, empty look in Lorcan's eyes when his hunger was most urgent. Like now.
Glancing over at him, Grace saw that his normally blue eyes had changed. They now looked like deep pits of fire. It didn't scare her or freak her out. She had seen him in this condition before. All he needed was the gift of Oskar's blood to satisfy his hunger. Grace
"All right now?" asked a familiar voice, presumably belonging to the slowly retracting hands.
Connor nodded. "Yes," he said. "Yes, thank you." He twisted around to face his rescuer.
As he did so, his heart missed a beat and he felt dizzy again. Even though he had suspected it, the reality was nevertheless a body shock.
There, standing beside him in the ocean, was his old friend and former comrade Jez Stukeley.
82
8 THE SHARING
Grace waited for a bowl of cherry pie to be cleared from her place. She had barely touched her food at tonight's Feast. It had looked and smelled as delicious as usual, but she had taken only a mouthful or two of first the scallops, then the lamb, and maybe half a spoonful of dessert. The rest of the food had ended up being pushed around her plate or lingering uneaten in the bowl, under her cutlery. None of this escaped eagle-eyed Oskar's notice.
"Still not hungry, I see," he said, a dark eyebrow raised interrogatively.
Grace shook her head. "Not for food, anyhow."
Oskar looked her directly in the eye and nodded, slowly, thoughtfully. He understood. Leaning closer, he spoke in confidential tones. "Remember what we talked about before? You should join us--Lorcan and me--
83
tonight. I have more than enough blood for both of you." His brown-black eyes seared into Grace's. "Share me."
Since he had first made this proposition at the previous week's Feast, Grace had turned the idea over constantly in her head. It was unthinkable, wasn't it, to take blood? If she did, there would be no turning back. She was accepting that she was a dhampir--half-vampire, half-mortal--and that this was the way she lived now.
On many levels, she did accept it. What was the point in even trying to deny it? She was not, as she had thought for the first fourteen years of her life, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper from a dead-end coastal town. No, she was the daughter of a Vampirate, Sidorio--the result, like her brother, of a spell cast by Sidorio on their poor mother, Sally.
Grace looked down to find that the long banquet table had been cleared. The servers had disappeared back to the kitchens. She had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed any of this. At once, the musicians took up their instruments again, playing more and more loudly. Glancing along the table at the faces reflected in the warm glow of the candlelight, she saw that the men and women on both sides of the table were waiting silently. The Feast--at least this phase of the Feast--was over.
At the far end of the table, nearest to the door, Darcy and her donor, James, rose together from their seats and began walking away from the table, their footsteps beating time with the percussive music. Their neighbors
84
followed, moving in unison. The exodus continued like a wave as each Vampirate and his or her donor left the banquet hall--no one hurrying, no one missing a beat. Though Grace had seen it many times before, it still fascinated her--now perhaps more than ever.
The wave reached them, and now it was Lorcan and Oskar who rose; and each began walking along his side of the table toward the exit. Then, Mosh Zu and Grace stood. Though they were not Vampirate and donor, they would exit the cabin together, so as not to break the symmetry.
As Grace followed in Oskar's path alongside the table, she couldn't help smiling at the irony that she still sat on the donor side of the table. She was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't even register leaving the banquet hall, and was surprised to find herself out in the corridor. Was this what it was like for the Vampirates? She had seen the distant, empty look in Lorcan's eyes when his hunger was most urgent. Like now.
Glancing over at him, Grace saw that his normally blue eyes had changed. They now looked like deep pits of fire. It didn't scare her or freak her out. She had seen him in this condition before. All he needed was the gift of Oskar's blood to satisfy his hunger. Grace
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