Vampirates 4: Black Heart (46 page)

"Well, I didn't ask you here to talk about Bart or Cate. I wanted to talk to you about the mission."

"Sure," he said, nodding.

"I'm making some changes to the attack plan," Cheng Li said.

"Changes? What kind of changes?"

"Personnel ones," Cheng Li said. "It's absolutely vital that this mission is successful. The eyes of the whole pirate world are watching us. And the Vampirate world, too. Our success -- or failure -- will echo across the oceans."

"We won't fail," Connor said.

"Of course not," Cheng Li agreed. "Especially as I'm moving you into position one."

Connor hesitated. "Position one?" he said. "That means that I'll be the one to assassinate the target."

"Correct," Cheng Li nodded. "You will eliminate Lady Lockwood."

Connor was shocked. For a moment, he said nothing.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "I thought you'd be ecstatic to have this responsibility -- a thrusting young fighter like you. This is the break you've been waiting for. You'll be the hero of the Federation if you pull this off, or rather, when you pull this off."

"I don't understand," Connor said. "Why me? Jacoby's your deputy. It was always going to be his position."

Cheng Li shook her head. "The plans were fluid. I've been mulling things over." She caught a glance of the corner of the envelope peeping out from beneath the leather notebook. "And Cate and I have been talking. It's clear to us that you are the stronger fighter. Oh, make no mistake, Jacoby's good. But you, well, you really are something of a prodigy, Connor."

"Thank you," he said. "But how's Jacoby going to feel about this?"

"That's not your concern. Leave Jacoby to me. I'll make him understand that there are bigger concerns here than personal pride. He's the deputy captain. He will understand that the success of the crew, the success of the mission, comes before everything."

She spoke with passion, but Connor remained dubious. He was thinking guiltily of the kiss he and Jasmine had shared. First, he had stolen Jacoby's girlfriend, and now he was usurping his role on the ship, too. What a great friend he was turning out to be!

Cheng Li stared at Connor inquisitively. Above her, the portrait of her father, Chang Ko Li, seemed to stare down at him with the same penetrating eyes.

"Is there a problem, Connor? Something I should know about?"

Connor hesitated. He shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm just really uncomfortable about taking Jacoby's position from him."

Cheng Li ran her finger along the top of the envelope. Was now the time to play her trump card? It would be a gamble. The letter could work in one of two ways. It could prove deeply motivational to Connor, or else it could send him completely over the edge. Though she knew Connor Tempest well, it was just too close to call. She decided to try another course.

"You've killed before, Connor."

"I know," he said. "That isn't the problem."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because if you do have a problem with our mission, I need to know right now." She was pushing him hard, but she had to get the measure of him.

"I don't have a problem with killing," he stammered. "For a good reason."

Cheng Li nodded. "All right, then. And you understand the reason here?"

Connor nodded.

"So humor me," said Cheng Li.

Connor frowned again. "The target, Lady Lockwood, is a cold-blooded killer. She murdered Commodore Kuo, and Varsha and Zak, in cold blood. She's on the verge of making an alliance with Sidorio. She must be stopped."

"Correct," Cheng Li said. "Connor, I know that at the outset of the mission, you were concerned on account of Grace's allegiance to some of the Vampirates. Is that what's holding you back?"

"No," he said. "No, I'm not keeping anything from you."

"I think perhaps I need to reassure you that our current mission does not, in any way, target the specific Vampirates with whom Grace is close. Therefore, your sister is in no immediate danger."

"I know that," he said.

Cheng Li glanced down at the notebook once more.

"What's that notebook?" Connor asked. "I'm sorry to be impertinent, but you keep looking at it as if it's really important."

Cheng Li shook her head, lifting it up in her fingers. "This old thing? Just some battered old diary Jasmine dug up in the archives. She thought I'd be interested to see it, but," she shook her head, "it's nothing of consequence."

Suddenly, she froze, realizing that in holding up the notebook she had uncovered the envelope. Glancing down, she saw that the word Grace was clearly visible. Had Connor seen it? Cheng Li set the notebook down once more, covering the envelope. He didn't seem to have noticed, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure.

"Connor," she said, "I have a good deal of paperwork to crunch through before suppertime. I've told you my intentions. Go now and think things through. If you aren't happy with what I'm suggesting, then it's imperative you tell me by nightfall."

Connor remained in the chair. He was thinking about Grace. About her attachment to Lorcan and the other Vampirates. About her deranged idea that they were Vampirates themselves, that their dad had been a vampire. He had to bring her to her senses, to tear her out of their vile clutches. He had tried gentle persuasion, but it had gotten him nowhere. Nowhere at all. This mission, while not endangering Grace in any way, might finally show his sister the dangers she was facing. This in itself was good enough reason to take part.

"Connor," Cheng Li said, "this isn't some kind of zen meditation chamber. If you have thinking to do, take it out onto the deck, please."

He brought his eyes back to hers. "I don't have any more thinking to do," he said. "I'll do as you ask. I'll take position one. I'll be the one to assassinate Lady Lockwood."

Cheng Li smiled. "I'm very pleased to hear it. Well, off you go then. Go polish your sword and lay out your best clothes. We have a wedding to prepare for."

"Aye, aye, Captain," he said, standing up and giving her a salute.

"That reminds me," Cheng Li said. "I trust Bo Yin and that grotesque pet of hers are settling in all right?"

"Yes." Connor grinned. "Sinbad seems especially happy with his new home. Perhaps you'd like to join us for his evening playtime later?"

"You're dismissed," Cheng Li said, sliding on her glasses and dipping her hands into her drawer once more.

"I do so enjoy these chats," he said.

"Don't be cheeky," she said. "You may be in position one, but I'm still Captain around here, until further notice."

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm not in any danger of forgetting that." He nodded, then pushed open the door and exited into the corridor.

As the doors swung shut behind him, Cheng Li removed her hands from the drawer and lifted the notebook and envelope once more. Standing up, she approached her father's portrait and raised her fingers to the small but distinctive scar above her father's right eyebrow. As she pressed lightly against the canvas, the painting began moving to one side, revealing a safe. Cheng Li deftly maneuvered the gears until the safe door clicked open. She placed her father's diary and Sally's letter inside, then closed the door and reset the combination -- the latitude, longitude, and geodesic height of the Pirate Academy. Smiling at her ingenuity, she touched the painting once more, this time at the center of the stud in her father's left ear, and it slid obediently back into position.

As it did so, she found herself staring once more at her father's face. It was as if he was smiling at her. "Very good, Cheng Li," he seemed to say.

In life, Chang Ko Li had been decidedly short on words of encouragement for his prodigiously talented daughter. Nonetheless, she felt sure he would have been swelling with pride now at how her career was shaping up. Turning away from his image, she settled back down at her desk and opened the attack plans for Operation Black Heart.

46BLOOD WEDDING

In some respects, at least, it would be a conventional wedding. The bride had chosen the setting -- the ruins of a small chapel perched close to the edge of the cliff above Martyr's Cove.

"A chapel?" Sidorio had initially bristled at the thought.

"I know, " Lady Lola had said in her most soothing tones. "I know. But it's deconsecrated, darling, and trust me, we'll make it our own." And she had not lied.

The chapel no longer had a roof or complete walls, but the light of the moon revealed the skeleton of its former shape. Glimpses of the original stonework glowed silver in the moonlight, but relatively little of the stone was visible. Around each column and architrave, lavish amounts of ivy and black roses, interspersed with a variety of tribal fetishes, animal pelts, and small skulls were coiled. Lady Lockwood's wedding designer had certainly risen to the occasion. Nature supplied the rest -- the night sky, sprinkled with bright stars and a perfect full moon, made a dazzling canopy.

According to tradition, the groom arrived first. He was dressed in a striking outfit. To call it a morning suit was to utterly fail to do it justice. A custom-made creation by Lady Lockwood's tailor, it had the approximate shape of a suit. But the main part of the jacket was made of chain mail, the collar and tails of fur, and once again there were thick leather shoulder pads from which emerged metal spikes. "I think we've found your signature style," the tailor had said, presenting Sidorio with one final touch: a crown fashioned of bone and metal, which sat on his head rather like a laurel wreath. "Perfect!" the tailor had declared, and Sidorio could only agree. He looked not only like a groom but like a king -- King of the Vampirates, as indeed he was.

Sidorio's dark eyes sparkled and his gold teeth glinted as he arrived at the ruined chapel. A string quartet were playing pleasingly discordant music -- a rhapsody apparently inspired by the human scream -- as Sidorio appeared at the top of the red carpet, accompanied by his ring bearer. Johnny had been dressed by the same tailor, but from his off-the-rack section. He cut a dashing figure in leather and chain mail. He wore his trademark Stetson, of course, but this had been glammed up with bone claws and feathers.

Sidorio was to have had two ring bearers, but the man originally scheduled to be his second ring bearer, Stukeley, now stood at the other end of the carpet. From here, he would conduct the marriage service. He looked very much the part in a custom-made cassock. It was simple and black, with a line of small buttons, fashioned from bones, down the front. Around his neck, he wore a long gold chain, suspended from which was a pair of shrunken heads.

This was a strictly intimate and exclusive affair. A small, select, and exquisitely dressed crowd sat on either side of the aisle. Their chairs were covered in animal hide and had legs made from antlers. A table had been set up at the back of the chapel with an array of antique Venetian glassware and a line of bottles, supplied of course by the Black Heart Winery. The hand-picked congregation would be treated to some of Lady Lockwood's finest vintages to toast the happy couple.

Later, there would be a party for the masses, beginning on board the Blood Captain, moored below in the bay. Then the party would continue off the ship, wherever the happy couple decreed.

The groom and his ring bearer strode purposefully down the aisle, attracting smiles and admiring gasps from the assembled guests.

Sidorio nodded to Stukeley as he and Johnny arrived at the altar. "All set, 'Reverend?'" he asked.

"Yes, Captain." Stukeley nodded, exchanging a knowing glance with Johnny. "I was up all day learning the service."

"I trust you're prepared," Sidorio said. "Everything must be just right for my Lola."

"Don't worry," Stukeley said. "This will be a night to remember." His dark eyes glinted. "We'll make absolutely sure of that."

"Very good," Sidorio said, turning to Johnny. "Stetson, you have the ring?"

Johnny nodded, patting the pocket of his long coat. "Right here, Capitán."

The music changed to the traditional wedding march, signaling the arrival of the bride. All eyes turned as she made her entrance, flanked by her two ring bearers. The three women looked stunning in couture outfits. Angelika and Marianne were clothed simply but elegantly in tight-fitting sleeveless gowns. They both wore long gloves, and their hair had been swept up and adorned with wildflowers and jeweled combs. Lady Lockwood's dress was more elaborate and tightly corseted, in the style she favored, with the whalebones exposed on the outside, and tight-fitting sleeves coiled with snakeskin. The bottom part of the dress was a fairy-tale skirt composed of billowing layers of bloodred taffeta, which her two companions watched closely as she began walking down the aisle. Her face and upper body were covered by a black lace veil. On her head she wore a crown fashioned to match that of the groom, but a touch smaller and more delicate, shimmering with rubies and black opals.