Vampirates 5: Empire of Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

hall. Darcy took Grace's arm, and they stepped across the threshold together.
    Inside the spacious cabin, the music was louder and there was a hubbub of conversation amongst the well-dressed diners. As usual, a long table stretched down the center of the room. It was laid with damask tablecloths, fine china, sparkling crystal, and shiny silver cutlery. But there were place settings only on the far side of the table. Standing behind this side of the table, ready to be served a delicious, nutrient-rich dinner, were the donors.
    For every Vampirate who traveled aboard The Nocturne --with the exception of Mosh Zu--there was a
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    donor. These men and women, of a variety of ages and backgrounds, had each made a pact with the Vampirates to give a weekly portion of their blood in exchange for bed, board, and one further gift: immortality. For, in return for their blood, the donors remained as ageless as their Vampirate partners.
    Looking along the line of faces, Grace remembered attending her first Feast and thinking that she herself was to be a donor. She had even taken her place on the donor side of the table. Initially it had looked as if she was to be Sidorio's donor, or the captain's. But though it was the captain who had led her out of the banquet hall that night, he had had no plans to take her blood. Like Mosh Zu, the captain was a highly evolved Vampirate--a pranic vampire--who had no need to feast on blood. Grace had been let off the hook that night; and, though she continued to attend every Feast and to sit on the donor side of the table, it had always only been as a guest.
    As the Vampirates arrived in the room, each sought out his or her donor. The pairs bowed before one another, then sat down, ready for the Feast.
    "I'll see you later," Darcy said to Grace, gently squeezing her arm. "Enjoy your dinner!"
    Grace watched as her friend strode off to meet her donor, James--or "My Jim," as Darcy fondly referred to him. It was easy to misinterpret the relationship between Vampirate and donor as a romantic one but, in the main, this was not the case. The relationships were intimate,
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    certainly, and, for the most part, tender. Every Vampirate and his or her donor were aware of the great gift that the Sharing bestowed upon each party. But there was a marked gulf between gratitude and romance. Indeed, thought Grace, the only instances she knew of in which the Vampirate/donor relationship had become more complicated had ended in tragedy.
    Grace's thoughts turned to Sidorio and his original donor, Sally--Grace's own mother--and then to Stukeley and his donor, Shanti. Both Sally and Shanti had since passed on. Sidorio and Stukeley were forging their own dark command. And the captain was missing. So much change but, inside Grace's head, the five of them lingered in the room like ghosts at the feast.
    "Grace! About time!" Grace turned her head and saw Oskar, Lorcan's handsome donor, smiling and gesturing toward the seat next to his. Nodding, Grace made her way over to join him.
    As Grace slipped into the space beside Oskar, he cast an approving glance over her. "You look amazing !" he said. "Great dress! It really brings out the color of your eyes."
    "Thank you," she said, her spirits instantly lifting, as they invariably did in Oskar's sunny company.
    Oskar was poised to launch into further conversation, but a hush had begun to descend upon the room. Mosh Zu had arrived and was making his way toward the table. At his side was his trusty lieutenant, Lorcan Furey.
    Lorcan reached the table first. He bowed to Oskar, then
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    reached out and took Grace's hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing her fingers. His lips were as soft and cool as a mountain stream.
    "Hello," she said, suddenly as nervous as if they were meeting for the first time.
    "Hello, you," he said in his warm Irish brogue. "I swear, Grace, you look more beautiful every time I see you."
    Grace beamed up at him. He was dressed in a tuxedo, a crisp white shirt with