Vampirates 4: Black Heart Read Online Free PDF

Stukeley said. The three of them turned and looked along the beach at the row of surfboards planted in the sand. Here was Sidorio's crew -- the growing tide of Vampirates recruited from the disaffected travelers aboard the Nocturne and those languishing at Sanctuary, as well as some recent inmates of a prison ship. Fresh converts, thought Stukeley. And how readily they had crossed; more readily in many ways than he had. How could this be? How could they have crossed so easily, while he was still struggling? He gazed along the line at their expectant faces.
    "They're waiting for you," Johnny whispered in his ear.
    Stukeley heard the words, and it was like a switch had been flicked inside his brain. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do, what he had to say. Suddenly, he knew who he was.
    "Okay." Stukeley clapped his hands, assuming authority, and with it the semblance of confidence. "Welcome to Santa Demonica, guys. It's a friendly little town, so they say. But I can't promise that the locals will be too welcoming to you at this time of night. Or, to be frank, any old time." He waited for their responsive laughter to settle before continuing. "You know the drill, guys. Do what you want. Take what you need." He zeroed in on a few choice faces within the crowd. "But try to play nice. No fighting between one another!" He addressed them all once more. "And, most important, be back here, ready for the ship, three hours from now."
    Stukeley stood back. The ranks of Vampirates still lingered on the sand. Stukeley turned to Sidorio. "If you'd care to give them the command, Captain," he said.
    Sidorio stepped forward without hesitation. "What are you waiting for?" he cried out. "Go forth and feast!"
    At his command, they began to run like hungry wolves released into the wild. Some ran together, in a pack. Others found their own way, preferring to track and take their prey alone.
    Stukeley heard the first door being broken down, the first window being smashed. The first scream. These sounds had their immediate echoes, before the familiar discordant notes grew louder, swelling into a sustained and violent rhapsody.
    He shivered briefly, then turned to see Johnny standing at his side. "Where's the captain?" he asked.
    "Gone already," said Johnny. "Gone to feast with the others."
    Another crescendo of breaking glass. Another chorus of screams.
    "We should go, too," Johnny said. "We need it as much as they do. We are all the same."
    "Yes," Stukeley agreed. "Yes, we are all the same." Together, he and Johnny wandered off across the sand.
    They hadn't gotten very far when Johnny nudged Stukeley. "Look," he said, nodding toward the dunes. "Looks like we could be hunting closer to home tonight."
    Stukeley followed Johnny's sight line. Over the dunes were two figures -- two women dressed elegantly in long, fitted dresses and, somewhat impractically under the circumstances, high-heeled shoes. One of them was wearing a broad-brimmed hat and an extravagant ruby necklace, constructed rather like a spiderweb. Both, rather curiously, had on large sunglasses.
    "Good evening, ladies!" Johnny called, raising a hand. "You look like you're dressed for a party."
    The woman wearing the hat turned to him. "A party," she said. "Yes, indeed. Do you know where we can find one?"
    "Right here!" Johnny said emphatically. "Right about here!"
    The woman smiled. Johnny could see his grinning face reflected in her dark glasses.
    "Why are you wearing those shades at night?" Johnny asked.
    The women laughed at this. Then they spoke simultaneously. "Fashion, darling!"
    The way they said "darling" sent shivers up Stukeley's spine. This was going to be easy. It so often was. Few could resist a charm offensive by Sidorio's two charismatic lieutenants.
    "So," said Stukeley, deciding to move things on. "Care to walk with us for a bit? I'm Stukeley, by the way, and this handsome fellow here is Johnny." At that, Johnny removed his Stetson and bowed grandly.
    The women smiled once