Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Or the fact that my house was a church.”
“Perhaps it’s best to tell them as little as possible. Vampyres are an ornery bunch, and I imagine pirates even more so. You’ll fit right in.”
It doesn’t take long for the ship to come close. Soon, she’s dropping anchor not far from shore, and a small rowboat is lowered to the water with a man aboard. The ship itself is impressive in both height and girth, and it hums with magical energy, giving it a life of its own, like a sentient being. I have to wonder how Vampyres happened to get their hands on enough magic to bespell a ship. Perhaps they might even have a witch on board. Vampyre witches are rare, but they aren’t unheard of.
The rowboat gets closer, a Black man at the oars, who pulls in a few yards from shore.
“Ahoy there,” the man says in English, casting a suspicious eye over us. “And who might you be?”
“Doctor Van Helsing and Aragon,” Abe announces with a flourish of his hands, speaking the language fluently, just as I can.
“Aragon what?” the man asks. “Or does he only have one name?”
I raise my brows. It had always been Father Aragon, but now that I’m not a priest…
“Aragon Alcaraz,” Abe says without hesitation, using the name I was born with. It doesn’t sound terrible. “We’ve been waiting for your ship for six months. I sent your captain correspondence last year.”
“Aye,” the man says with a shrug. “Schedules are hard to keep in these parts. Well, I suppose you check out.”
He starts rowing the rest of the way until the hull scrapes against the sand. Abe and I quickly walk to the boat, throwing our satchels over before climbing aboard. I wade in the water to my knees in order to push the tender out of the shallows.
Abe takes his seat on the wooden plank across from me and makes a disgruntled noise. The hem of his pants is wet.
You’re not going to last a day, I think to myself.
I’d tell him so, but I don’t want this man to kick Abe off for being unseaworthy, even though the man is shooting me a look that says, And this man wants to be a pirate?
“I’m Cruz, by the by,” the man says, rowing us toward the ship.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Abe says. “May I ask how many crew members you have? Are they all Brethren?”
“We have thirteen, including one human.” Then he shakes his head. “Pardon me, two humans.”
“Two humans?” Abe asks. “How is that possible? Oh, I see. You keep them as food. I was wondering how you would all feed while at sea. You can’t possibly come across that many food sources in the middle of the ocean.”
“It can be challenging,” he says carefully. “But no, the humans on board are part of the crew. We make a point not to eat them.” He sounds utterly serious, but he flashes a grin at us.
“What do they do?” I can’t help but ask. “As crew. Do they know what you are?”
“Very much so,” he says. “It’s not an easy thing to hide. One of them, Sedge, is our cook. The other, Maren, she’s the captain’s wife.”
“A woman on board,” Abe says. “That’s not bad luck?”
Cruz gives him a knowing smile. “Oh, not this lady. She’s very much good luck.”
“So what do you use as sustenance?” Abe asks. Always with the questions, and he’s like a dog with a bone if he doesn’t get his answers.
“We have our ways” is his simple reply.
“Hunting Syrens,” I comment.
Cruz’s gaze slides over to mine and holds it for a second. “Bones told me you know something about them. Or that’s what your letter said. Is it true?”
I give him a cautious nod. “I do. I’ve hunted and caught one myself.”
His eyes widen. “Pray tell.”
“I’ll wait until I talk to Captain Bones,” I say. “Would hate to have to tell the same story twice.”
Cruz absorbs that with a nod and keeps rowing until we’re at the side of the ship. Up close, her energy hums even greater, the great height of her rising from the sea like a behemoth.
The Nightwind.
Heads poke over the railing and drop ropes down, which Cruz quickly attaches to either end of the skiff before it’s hauled up out of the sea.
Then, our boat becomes level with the deck of the ship.
Standing there are a dozen grim-looking men with swords and pistols pointed our way.
The last thing I see is an oar heading toward my face.
Then, all the world goes black.
Chapter Twenty-Three
PRIEST
Idon’t know where I am.
But my head is slumped over, throbbing with a million, pain-filled stars.
Aragon, Abe whispers inside my head. Aragon, wake up.
Vampyres have always been able to communicate telepathically, but Abe and I haven’t really felt the need to, since it’s usually just the two of us alone.