Demons of the Ocean Read Online Free PDF

somehow, though the words were not what he wanted to hear. But what did he want to hear? That she would take the dinghy and scour the icy waters for Grace? He knew, deep down, that it would be a fruitless task. There was just no way she could have survived. He had always been the stronger one, physically. Years of playing sports had given him the vital endurance he'd required to tread water until his rescue. Grace was smarter than him. Grace had been smarter than him, he corrected himself. There was no present tense for Grace anymore. She had been smarter than him, but she had not been physically strong. And now that had cost her her life."Drowning," Cheng Li said. "Drowning is not such a bad way to die."
    "How do you know?"
    "It's common knowledge among pirates. We live our lives on the water. Once, I myself came close to the brink of death. It was much like going to sleep--a gradual release. Drowning is a gentle way to die. Your sister would not have endured much pain."Again the words were brutal but he drew some comfort from them. They seemed true to him. He remembered the sensation of falling, his possessions cascading down over him. It hadn't been an altogether unpleasant sensation. He had felt a sense of calm. Perhaps that had been his own death beckoning to him, but somehow he had escaped its clutches."There was a ship," he said, suddenly feeling compelled to share with Mistress Li what he had seen. "Another ship, before you rescued me. It sailed out of the mist. An old galleon. Ancient..."His own words unlocked other memories deep inside, but he could not yet make sense of them."The ship turned around. It changed direction, in the middle of the ocean. As if it had stopped for some reason. I thought it was going to rescue me. I cried out to it. But nobody heard me. Nobody saw me."Then a fresh thought occurred to him, exploding in his brain like a firework."Maybe it had already made a rescue! Maybe it had rescued Grace! What do you think?"He turned to Cheng Li. Her dark eyes watched him closely."The mist began to rise. I caught sight of the ship's figurehead--a beautiful woman. It was almost as if she was watching. And then, the ship set sail. It had amazing sails. More like wings..."At last, something clicked inside his troubled mind. "Tattered sails that flap like wings in flight."
    He wanted to cry out and punch the air. Once more, he caught Cheng Li's eyes. Once more, they were impossible to read."Don't you see?" he said, laughing with joy. "The ship did rescue Grace. She didn't drown. She's been rescued by an ancient ship that sails through all eternity. She's been rescued by the Vampirate ship."He had tired himself and now his heavy eyelids fell shut. Yet, in the darkness of his mind, he could see everything perfectly clearly. There was that ship once more, sailing away in the golden light. Its figurehead was smiling sweetly and the tattered sails beat softly into the gathering night. And standing at the helm, all alone but unafraid, was Grace.

CHAPTER 7
    LORCAN FUREY
    When Grace awoke, the first thing she saw was sky. Dazzling blue above her. Then something strange happened. The piercing blue contracted, then began to stretch and separate out into two blue circles. As her senses began to settle, she realized that she had not been looking at the sky at all, but into a pair of deep blue eyes.Connor's eyes were green, like hers. These eyes were unfamiliar. They stared at her intently.As they pulled back further, she saw that they belonged to a boy. He looked older than her and Connor--maybe seventeen or eighteen. He had long black hair with eyebrows to match. Looking down at her, he frowned."You're going to get me into trouble," he said.The words made as little sense to her as everything else, but she recognized a strong Irish brogue in his voice. He leaned forward and brushed her hair back out of her eyes. He was wearing a Claddagh ring on his finger. She had always wanted one of those rings, with the design of the