Vampirates: Tide of Terror Read Online Free PDF Page B

Drakoulis dismissively. “The Pirate Federation is cutting you loose, Wrathe. They’ve grown weary of your transgressions. Lord knows that they’ve tried their best to correct you. Even sending one of their spies into your crew —”
    “A spy?”
    Molucco stopped in his tracks, aghast.
    “Yes — a spy!” Drakoulis imitated Molucco’s wide-eyed confusion. “Chang Ko Li’s daughter. You thought she was in training to be a captain, but all the time she was spying on you and reporting back to the Feds.”
    This was news not only to Captain Wrathe. Connor watched the troubling accusation ricochet around his crewmates. It hit him hard too. He had experienced at close hand Cheng Li’s frustrations with Captain Wrathe, but he had never thought she was a spy . As his mind frantically rewound their conversations, he realized that it all fit. If only she were here to explain herself . . . but he hadn’t seen her in almost three months.
    Captain Wrathe shook his head. “This is more of your madness, Drakoulis,” he said. “Mistress Li was completing her academy training. And the Federation chose The Diablo for her apprenticeship.”
    “So where is she now?” Drakoulis asked, with a sneer.
    “She’s back at the academy, on a teaching assignment.”
    “Oh, that’s right, isn’t it? She resigned from your command due to an exceptional offer from the Federation. Or was it, perhaps, because she had failed in her mission to bring you into line?”
    “No!” shouted Molucco.
    “Why not ask her yourself, next time you bump into her at Ma Kettle’s? I think you’ll find Mistress Li to be full of interesting stories. That is, of course, if she still deigns to speak with you.”
    Molucco looked thunderstruck. Connor felt equally be-wildered. He knew only a little of the Pirate Federation. Was it true that the Federation was spying on Molucco Wrathe and his pirates? Was Narcisos Drakoulis acting independently or had he been contracted as an assassin? Had Cheng Li really tried — and failed — to contain Molucco’s roguish ways? It seemed as if all Molucco’s chickens had come home to roost this time.
    “We’ve talked enough,” Drakoulis spat. “It’s time to settle the matter. Which of your crew will fight the duel with Sarakakino here?”
    As he spoke, his chosen combatant let slip his shirt, revealing a taut, muscle-bound chest and arms, channeled with thick veins. As Sarakakino’s shirt fell to the deck, he turned around and clenched his biceps. Across the tanned skin of his back was a vast tattoo of a bird, its long wings stretching out over his shoulder blades. Another albatross, Connor realized. If ever there was a portent of doom, this bird tattoo was it.
    “I told you before,” Molucco said, “I’ll put no pirate of mine to the sword.”
    “And I told you ,” Drakoulis said, exploding with rage, “to put one man forward or I’ll unleash hell on the entirety of your crew!”
    All about the deck, the curved scimitars were raised.
    The two captains stood, face to face, in deadlock.
    Then, to Connor’s surprise — and horror — he heard a familiar voice cry out.
    “I’ll fight him, Captain Wrathe. Let me fight him!”

4
    THE VISITOR
    Grace lay on the bed in her cabin. Above her, the deck of The Diablo was quiet. That meant they’d gone — all of the pirates involved in the attack. Now, those that were left behind could only wait. This was the time she hated. She could just about cope with the idea of Connor going into battle — there was precious little she could do to prevent it — so long as she didn’t have time to dwell on it too much. While he was away, she liked to keep busy. Whenever possible, she used this time to do her duties, but today she’d been on the early roster and now she had a couple of hours to herself. She could always go and offer to help with more of the work, but time off aboard The Diablo was a luxury not to be wasted. Besides, she had slept badly the night before,