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  "That flies in the face of all our research," Connor said, shaking his head again.

  "You can't trust what you read," Stukeley said. "Sidorio and Lola break all the rules. The closer they come to destruction, the more powerful they seem to emerge."

  This struck a chord with Connor. He thought of how the captain of The Nocturne had once counseled Connor to attack the renegade Vampirates with fire. The captain had said that fire would be fatal to Sidorio, but, though it had destroyed some of his fledgling crew, it had left Sidorio--and indeed Stukeley--somehow stronger. Like metal, forged in the flames. Connor could see the hungry fire in front of his eyes now, and in it the faces of Sidorio and Stukeley and Lola.

  "I can't come with you," Connor said.

  "No such word as 'can't'!" Stukeley said, grinning.

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  "Think about it," Connor said. "I'm the one who attacked Lola. I tried to destroy her. She can't possibly want to see me." He had a fresh thought. "Unless she wants to take revenge."

  Stukeley shook his head. "She wouldn't dream of taking revenge on you. You're much too important to Sidorio. And, before you go there, I can assure you that revenge is the furthest thing from his mind. He genuinely wants to get to know you, father to son."

  Far-fetched as they sounded, Stukeley's words rang true. Connor remembered the last time he and Sidorio had faced one another, on that other beach, after the pirates' disruption of the Vampirate wedding. Sidorio had drawn Connor toward him, his twin incisors bearing down toward Connor's thorax, poised to kill. Then Cheng Li had spoken and everything had changed. Not just for Connor, but for Sidorio, too. He remembered the look in Sidorio's eyes as he had stared at Connor and declared, "He's my son."

  "Trust me," Stukeley said now, "Sidorio only wants the best for you, and for Grace, too. He talks about you both as heirs to his empire."

  "Grace?" Connor said, feeling a flash of fear for his sister. "Are you going to invite her, too?"

  "Already on it," said Stukeley with a wink. "Same invite, different postman."

  Connor scolded himself for his knee-jerk reaction of fear for Grace. When it came to the Vampirates, she was far more comfortable in their company than he was. Then

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  another thought occurred to him. "Grace doesn't know," he said. "She doesn't know that Sidorio is her father. I have to tell her. I have to be the one..."

  Stukeley shook his head. "Grace knows," he said. "She found out before you did." His eyes met Connor's. "That shouldn't surprise you. Grace was always a step or two ahead of you with the Vampirates."

  Stukeley turned away. He crouched down and reached for a pebble, then took a swing and sent it skimming across the water. Connor smiled. This was something he'd watched Jez do many times before.

  As Stukeley turned to reach for another stone, he caught Connor watching him. "What?" he asked, one eyebrow raised inquiringly.

  "Nothing," Connor said.

  Stukeley clasped the stone but instead of skimming it, he crouched down in front of Connor. "Talk to me, old buddy. Tell me how you feel about all this."

  "I feel numb," Connor said, though as he started talking, he already felt some sense of relief. "I don't know who I am anymore. There was a kid called Connor Tempest, but I feel like he's still in the lighthouse in Crescent Moon Bay. I left him behind when Grace and I headed out to sea and got caught in the shipwreck." He sighed. "Ever since I landed up on The Diablo , I feel like I've been growing up at an accelerated rate. That was fine. At last, I began to see who I really was--who I might be. Connor Tempest--the pirate." He was aware that Stukeley was

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  watching him carefully. "There were some jolts along the way, like when I killed for the first time." Stukeley's gaze remained steady, even with this fresh information. "But I guess I just had to wake up to what being a pirate meant. And to make sure I was signed up to the right captain." He stopped speaking, turning from Stukeley and looking out at the dark, lapping water.

  "And now?" said Stukeley.

  "Now I'm back to square one," Connor said. "Turns out that I'm not Connor Tempest, pirate, but Connor Tempest, Vampirate. Everything is turned upside down. My true father is a Vampirate that I tried to kill at least once before. And the only time I met my stepmother, I stabbed her and sliced her head off." He gazed back at the saloon door. "The people I thought were my friends are back inside this tavern, but they don't know who or what I really am." This, he realized, wasn't quite true. But he saw no need to share with Stukeley that Cheng Li, alone of the pirates, was in on his dark secret.

  "Connor," Stukeley said softly. "I know exactly what you're going through, mate. I've been on this exact same voyage myself. You have to let me help you." He brought his arm around Connor's shoulder once more. "We'll get you through this, old pal. You see if we don't."

  Connor wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there, when he heard the door squeak open behind them. As he turned, Stukeley disappeared into the shadows. He

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  hid behind the door as two figures stepped onto the beach: Jasmine Peacock and Bo Yin.

  "Here he is!" Bo Yin declared.

  "Yes," Jasmine said. "Go back inside and tell the others we'll be along in a minute."

  Bo Yin nodded. With obvious reluctance, she ducked back inside again as Jasmine strode across the beach to join Connor.

  "Hey, stranger," said Jasmine. "We wondered where you'd wandered off to."

  Connor turned, his heart racing. "I just needed some air and some time to myself. It's kind of claustrophobic in there."

  Jasmine smiled. "Whatever Captain Li says, it's no Ma Kettle's!"

  Connor returned her smile.

  "There you go," Jasmine said, reaching her arms around him. "I knew there was a smile buried somewhere deep inside."

  Connor noticed Stukeley watching from the shadows. His smile faded. "We should get going."

  "Are you okay, Connor?" Jasmine asked. "You look really tired."

  Connor smiled weakly. "I am really tired, actually."

  Jasmine looked into his eyes searchingly. "You seem kind of wired at the moment," she said. "You were like a coiled spring during that attack the other day. Tonight,

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  it's like all your energy has left you, but you don't seem relaxed at all. Just drained."

  Connor nodded. "That's about right," he said.

  Jasmine's voice was uncharacteristically small as she continued. "Are we okay, Connor?"

  "Sure," he said robotically, his hands resting on her shoulders. "We're fine. We're good."

  She looked unconvinced. "I'm not going to push you," she said. "I know you have a lot going on right now. And I'm patient enough to know it's worth waiting for you to work through whatever it is." She sighed. "But Connor, please remember that I'm here for you. We all are. You have to learn to lean on your friends when you need to."

  He nodded and drew her into a hug. But as she burrowed into his chest, his eyes were met once more by Stukeley's. His old comrade began walking toward him. The alarm must have been evident in Connor's eyes, for Stukeley smiled and shook his head, walking past Connor and Jasmine and soundlessly blending back into the night.

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  10 PERSUASION

  "Johnny, what are you doing here?" Grace asked. "No, before we get to that, how did you get here?"

  Johnny smiled at Grace but did not answer either of her questions. Instead, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans. "Got a little something for you," he said, lifting out an envelope and handing it over to her.

  "What's this?" Grace asked, taking the envelope. She saw her name, written in ink on the front, but she did not recognize the handwriting.

  "An invitation," Johnny said. "Why don't you open it up and read it?"

  Shrugging, Grace turned the envelope over. It had been sealed with wax, into which had been pressed some kind of crest, with writing--in Latin, she guessed--that she did not understand. She peeled away the wax and

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  lifted the flap, then took out the letter and unfolded it. As she began to read, Johnny wandered over to stand beside her, leaning against the deck rail and lighting a cigarillo.

  When Grace turned to him, he was concentrating hard on blowing a perfect smoke ring over the guardrail. He glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow.

  "Sidorio," she said, almost lost for words. "Sidorio wants me to go and stay with him. To get to know him better."

  Johnny nodded. "He is your father, Grace."

  "In name only," Grace said crossly, thinking of Dexter Tempest, her real father.

  "Like it or not," Johnny said, "Sidorio is your blood kin. You always knew there was something different, special, about you. We all did. We just didn't realize quite how special."

  Grace frowned, glancing down at the letter once more. "Sidorio has a wife now? He got married?"

  Johnny nodded once more, taking another pull on the cigarillo and then breathing out the smoke into the night air. "Lady Lola Lockwood. Quite a lady! The invitation is from both of them." He grinned. "If this was a fairy tale, I reckon Lola would be your wicked stepmother."

  "This isn't a fairy tale," said Grace. "This is my life."

  "Exactly," said Johnny. "Which is why you owe it to yourself to get to know Sidorio. He's really quite something when you get close to him."

  "I've been close to him," Grace said with a shudder.

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  "When I first arrived on The Nocturne , he got it into his head that I was going to be his donor." She paused, then added bitterly, "Just like my mother before me."

  "Just like Sally," said Johnny with a nod.

  Grace leaned closer to him. "You know about my mother?"

  "Sure, I know some stuff. The captain told me and Stuke--Stukeley, that is--we're joint deputies to Sidorio. He told us both about your mother. How much he loved her. How she was taken away from him, and you and Connor, too."

  Grace was dumbstruck. " Sidorio told you about us? He told you he was in love?"

  Johnny smiled. "I know you, Grace. I know your head is just spinning with questions. Questions about Sidorio and Sally; about yourself and Connor, too. Don't you owe it to yourself to accept the captain's invitation to come and spend some time with us?" He smiled. "And, might I add, I'd certainly enjoy the opportunity to renew the pleasure of your acquaintance."

  Grace stared back down at the letter. Johnny knew her well. Her head was so full of thoughts that she could no longer focus on the words Sidorio had written on the page. Part of her was tempted by the invitation. Johnny was right. Sidorio was an undeniable part of her history, a vitally important piece, and she owed it to herself to get some answers from him. Maybe it would help her to understand herself better. But the thought of journeying

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  right into the heart of the renegade empire was crazy, wasn't it? She'd be throwing herself into the path of danger. Even if she was reckless enough to do so, there was no way that Mosh Zu or Lorcan would agree to let her go.

  She shook her head. "Tell Sidorio, thanks for the invitation, but no thanks."

  "Grace," Johnny said, shaking his head. "Please don't do this to me. If I go back without you, he's going to be really mad at me."

  "Sorry, Johnny, but that's not my problem." Grace folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. She pressed the wax down again over the join. It looked as if it had never been opened. Grace held the envelope out to Johnny. "It was good to see you again, but I don't want to detain you here unnecessarily."

  "It's okay, I'm not in any kind of hurry." Johnny didn't take the envelope. He didn't even reach out his hand. Instead, he took another pull on his cigarillo.

  His butter-wouldn't-melt demeanor was starting to enrage Grace. "I need to go back inside," Grace said. "My boyfriend is waiting for me." She waited, hoping that he would pick up on her hint.

  Infuriatingly, Johnny remained as cool as a watermelon. "Boyfriend, eh? I guess you're talking about good ol' Lorcan. Well, I'm happy for you, Grace. I know you always had strong feelings for him. After all, it's why nothing ever transpired between us."

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  Grace couldn't believe his arrogance. "Johnny, nothing could have ever happened between us. Lorcan has no bearing on that!"

  Johnny shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I know I enjoyed all our late-night chats and, without wanting to parade this ol' heart of mine on my sleeve, I've missed you." His eyes bore into hers. "Besides, from what I can see, you've done quite a bit of growing up, since last we met."

  Grace couldn't help smiling at his familiar boldness. He didn't give up without a fight. "Johnny, it's always fun seeing you, but I really do have to go. We're not part of the same world now. You made your choice the night you hitched your star to Sidorio's. There's no place for you here on The Nocturne ."

  Johnny had come to the end of his cigarillo. He dropped the stub to the deck and ground it into the deck boards with the toe of his boot. "I never was a man to outstay my welcome. I'll get going and go break the unhappy news to Sidorio." He hung his head, lifting his Stetson. But before he slipped it onto his head, a fresh thought occurred to him. His words were mumbled, but Grace caught every one. "I'll be sure to send Connor your regards."

  "When will you be seeing Connor?" she asked, suddenly on red alert.

  "Later tonight, maybe," said Johnny with a grin. "I got the job of delivering the invitation to you. And Connor's old mate Stukeley went to hand over his invite. Only, unlike you, Connor is bound to say yes ."

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  "You really think Connor would accept Sidorio's invitation to come and stay on his ship?" Grace shook her head. "There's no way Connor would do that. He can't stand the company of any Vampirate, let alone Sidorio...."

  "That was before," Johnny said. "All bets are off now that Connor's found out he's one of the team." He glanced at his watch. "Which should be happening around about now. I'm sure Connor and Stukeley--who you might remember as Jez--are having quite a heartfelt reunion. And seeing as Stukeley has recently been on the journey from mortality into the after-death himself, I'm sure you'd agree that he's the ideal person to act as Connor's guide to Vampireville ." Johnny grinned once more. "You know what I think? I don't think you realized that Connor even knew he was a dhampir. But you see, Sidorio and Connor had another run-in--at Sidorio and Lady Lola's wedding, as it goes. And that's when it came out that Connor was Sidorio's son... and heir to his building empire. At least, that's how the captain's been talking it up."

  "Sidorio thinks of Connor as his heir?" Grace was incredulous.

  " One of his heirs," said Johnny. "Though I guess if you aren't interested in getting to know him, he'll just have to make do with the one blood heir."

  "I'm not interested in getting to know Sidorio," Grace said vehemently. "And I certainly don't want a part of whatever empire he's building. Besides, do the math, Johnny. Sidorio and Lady Lola are immortal and are

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  never going to die, so there's no logic in talking about heirs, is there?"

  "Grace, you're very new to this world. It's true that vampires don't exactly die, but they can be destroyed. Why, poor Lola almost perished on her wedding day. Imagine that! Besides, maybe Sid and Lola will want to retire someday. Find a place in the moon and kick back for a few centuries. Then you and Connor--and me and Stuke--could have our run of things. I reckon we could have some fun with that, don't you?"

  "No!" Grace said. "How many times do I have to tell you: Sidorio is nothing to me. Less than nothing." She exhaled deeply. "I have nothing against Vampirates and I'm proud to be a dhampir. It's all very new, but I'll adapt; I always have before. But the one thing I can tell you with complete and utter clarity is that I abhor everything Sidorio stands for and I don't want any part of his empire now... or ever."

  "Bravo!" said Johnny, bringing his hands together, clapping and whooping as if he was at a rodeo. "All right, Grace, I get the message. Guess I'll be on my way." He set his Stetson back on the crown of
his head and climbed up onto the guardrail, standing there proudly as if he was lord of all the oceans. Clearly spending so much time with Sidorio was rubbing off on him. He nodded at Grace before executing a double backflip over the side of the ship.

  "Wait!" she cried. "You forgot something." She waved

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  the envelope containing the invitation from Sidorio and Lola. Grace tore the envelope in two and tossed it over the side in Johnny's wake.

  "Grace!" Turning, she saw Lorcan striding across the deck toward her. Her heart was racing from her encounter with Johnny and all that he had told her.

  Lorcan came to a standstill before her. His cravat was unfastened but, other than that, he looked as pristine as when he had arrived at the feast earlier that evening. He was always meticulous about removing every last trace of blood post-sharing, although this time Grace noticed a dot of red on his dress shirt. The spot of blood took her back to the image now imprinted in her brain of the dark, claustrophobic cabin below. Lorcan reached out his hand to her. "Grace, what is it? Are you okay?"

  "I'm a little shaken up," she said. It was nothing less than the truth.

  "By what you saw earlier?" he asked. "I knew it was too soon. Oskar was trying to be helpful, but he lets his wild ideas run away with him." Lorcan opened his arms and drew Grace into them, enfolding her. He kissed her on the head. "Everything's changed so fast for you. For me, too. It's going to take us some time to make sense of this."

  Grace nodded.

  "But we will adjust," he said with conviction. "And remember, however strange things seem to you now--however scary, however impossible--I'm here for you. I'll be with you every step of the journey."

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  Again, she nodded. She felt safe now, protected. She looked up into Lorcan's eyes. All traces of his rampaging hunger were gone now. His eyes were as blue and infinite as the oceans. Just like the first time she'd seen him. Just like the first night he'd kissed her.