“On the contrary,” Trofie said. “It matters very much.”
Porfirio turned to Barbarro. “We really should say our good-byes now, brother.”
“Won’t you stay until I can get word to Moonshine?” Barbarro asked. “He’d love to see you again, and I’d so like you to meet him now that he’s all grown up.”
“I would have liked that, too,” Porfirio said with evident sadness, “but it’s not possible. Jack Tar’s is calling us back.” He turned to Molucco. “Come on, brother, the clock is ticking. We must take our leave.”
Molucco nodded. The two brothers hugged Barbarro and Trofie good-bye. There were tears in Barbarro’s eyes as he finally released Molucco.
“We’ll see each other again,” Molucco said.
“Not too soon, I hope!” Trofie said.
Porfirio and Molucco laughed at that. “Quite right,” Molucco said. “Not too soon—for all our sakes!”
Bart and Cate stood together at the deck rail of The Diablo. They had stood there many times before, but they both knew this would be the very last time.
“I have to go now,” Bart told Cate, stroking her cheek. “But before I do, there’s something I want to say to you.”
She looked up at him, her eyes already filled with tears. “I wish I could come with you. I wish I had died tonight—”
“Cate! Darling Cate, you have everything to live for. Please don’t live a life of regret or dwell on what could have been. Know that I loved you, and always will, but open up your heart so that you can let someone else in.”
“It’s too soon,” Cate said, shaking her head. “You’re a bloody tough act to follow, Bart Pearce.”
“Fair enough.” He grinned. “I wouldn’t want you to get over me in a heartbeat. In fact, I don’t want you to get over me at all, but I do want you to get on with your life.” Then his expression changed. “I’m sorry, Catie, but I really do have to go now.” He opened his arms and drew her into a lingering embrace.
As they reluctantly parted once more, Bart took Cate’s hand in his. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight. “You’re wearing my gran’s wedding ring! How on oceans…”
“Connor found it and gave it to me,” Cate told him. “He told me the question you were going to ask me.”
Bart shook his head, beaming broadly though his eyes were wet. “No flies on that Tempest kid, eh?”
Cate nodded, smiling.
“Well.” Bart looked suddenly at a loss. “I’m rubbish at good-byes, and there is no harder good-bye than this.” He began to turn.
“Wait!” Cate said, reaching out her hand. “I know you have to go and I know I won’t be seeing you again anytime soon. I want you to know that I heard what you said and I’ll do my best.” She nodded. “It may take some time, but I’ll do my best, truly.”
Their gaze met once more and the love in both their eyes was luminous.
“And that question you never got around to asking me…” Cate lifted her finger, so that the light of the new morning caught the beautiful ring. “Just in case you were in any doubt, my answer would have been a resounding yes.”
“Yes!” Bart cried, smiling and punching the air as he began to fade from view.
John Kuo helped Cheng Li back onto her feet. She surveyed the deck, wondering where Jasmine and Jacoby had got to. Though the battle was only just over, her head was already buzzing with thoughts of what she should do next. Ahab Back would want a detailed debrief, no doubt, and she would have to organize a fitting memorial for Connor. So much to do, so little time—just like always!
She turned to Commodore Kuo. “John,” she said. “It was so wonderful to see you again, and fight alongside you, but now I have to get back to my crew.”
Commodore Kuo smiled at her softly as Chang Ko Li joined him at his side.
“Your crew is going to be just fine without you,” said Kuo. “Jasmine and Jacoby will do you proud.”
“Without me?” Cheng Li asked, confused for a moment. Then it dawned on her. “John, am I dead?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “I thought you realized when the pain went away.”
Cheng Li shook her head. “No, I just assumed I’d made a remarkable recovery.” She sighed. “Well, this is quite a blow, I must say.” She turned to her father.
“It’s always a blow,” he said. “And, doubtless, you’ll be thinking of everything you had yet to achieve.”
Cheng Li nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But how did you know?”
The corners of Chang Ko Li’s eyes crinkled. “Not far from the tree falls the fruit,” he said with a smile. “But in time you will come to see that your achievements were many and your place in the annals of pirate history is assured.”
“It is?” Cheng Li’s eyes brightened.
Both men nodded and then extended their arms toward her, ready to lead her away from the deck of The Tiger and toward her next big adventure. Cheng Li found herself walking down through the ocean itself, arm in arm with her father and her mentor. She stole one last lingering glance at her beautiful ship, then turned to find John Kuo and Chang Ko Li both smiling serenely at her. Together, the three pirate legends disappeared beneath the silver waves.
SEVEN
DAYS
LATER…
45
NEW BEGINNINGS
MA KETTLE’S TAVERN
“No words,” Barbarro said, “can do justice to what we have all experienced these past seven months—the wounds we have sustained, the losses we have endured. We came perilously close to losing not just this war but our whole world.” He looked out across the tavern, his dark eyes full of woe. Ma’s was full to the rafters with pirates tonight, just like the best of the old days. But no one made so much as a sound and all eyes were trained on Barbarro, standing on the small stage in the center of the tavern.
“But we won,” he said, a smile creeping across his face. “We came together as an incredible force—an unprecedented alliance between the pirate world and the realm of the Nocturnals—and we won! I want you—each and every one of you—to remember how you’re feeling tonight. I want you to pass on the story to your children and grandchildren and their children. Remind them of the war that we had to fight for our sakes but, more important, for theirs. But, more than anything, I want each of your hearts to be filled with pride at what we have all achieved.”
There were tears in his eyes as he finished. Trofie stepped across the stage and took his hand as a wall of noise erupted from all around. Pirates were standing on their tables and chairs, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, and cheering at the pirate captain. Of the three Brothers Wrathe, Barbarro was the least given to public speaking. He stood there, greatly humbled by the response to his few inadequate words.
When the clamor finally subsided, Barbarro raised his hand aloft.
“Thank you, my dear friends,” he said. “And now, I would like to call up Deputy Jasmine Peacock to say a few words about her lost comrades.”
As Barbarro beckoned to her, Jasmine felt Jacoby squeeze her shoulder supportively, then release his hand so she could walk across to the stage. She realized she was trembling. It was a short distance in steps but it felt like the longest journey of her life.
As Jasmine joined Barbarro on the stage, the captain and his wife stepped aside. Jasmine looked up, feeling awestruck by the number of faces gazing at her expectantly. What if she let them down? But, in that moment, some rare alchemy occurred and her fear somehow gave way to a calm energy. She knew she had the support of each and every pirate in that room. They were willing her to succeed.
“When Captain Wrathe asked me to say a few words tonight, my first reaction was no,” she began. There was a ripple of warm laughter across the pirate ranks. It was reassuring. Jasmine fixed on Jacoby’s face. He gave her a nod. “But, when I gave it some thought,” she continued, “I knew that I wanted to stand up and speak briefly about two of my lost comrades, Captain Connor Tempest and Commodore Cheng Li.”
At the mere mention of their names, there was thunderous applause throughout the tavern. Jasmine waited patiently until, once more, a hush descended throughout the tavern and all eyes were trained upon her.
“It’s very simple, really,” Jasmine said. “They were two of the bravest, most dedicated pirates you could ever hope to meet. They came from strikingly different beginnings. Cheng Li was born into a famous pirating family and, like many of us, was educated at the Pirate Academy. Connor, on the other hand, only came into the world of piracy by chance, exactly a year ago tonight.” She sighed. “I wish he could be here to mark that anniversary. I wish they were both here. Every choice of word feels like a cliché under these circumstances, but I can’t help thinking that these two bright lights of our universe were taken away from us much too soon.”
“Hear, hear!” came a voice from the crowd. It was Lisabeth Quivers’s familiar cut-glass tones.
Composing herself, Jasmine glanced about the tavern once more. “I do not intend to dwell on my personal losses. I know that every one of you has lost valued comrades and dear friends through this war. Tonight is a time for celebrating not only our success in achieving this victory but also the enduring friendships we made along the way. I will never forget Cheng Li or Connor. I am confident that their names will be spoken of in our circles for many years to come. But, as important, they will live on in my heart as I know your lost comrades will in each of yours.”
She couldn’t help the sob that came as she reached her last words. It didn’t matter. She had gotten through this, said what she had come here to say. The response to her brief speech was even more rapturous than to Barbarro’s. Jasmine stood, rooted to the spot, as applause and cheers came at her from every angle. Embarrassed, she began walking off the stage, but Barbarro gestured for her to remain and it seemed churlish not to do so.
Jasmine scanned the crowd for her dearest friends and comrades. Somehow, seeing their faces made it all a bit less overwhelming. She saw Ma Kettle herself and Sugar Pie waving and cheering at her. Then her eyes met those of Lisabeth Quivers and René Grammont, who stood at the front of the pack of captains who doubled up as teachers at Pirate Academy. She nodded in gratitude at their applause, then found herself breaking into a smile as her eyes turned to where Moonshine Wrathe stood, with Cate on one side and Bo Yin on the other. All three were cheering loudly. She hoped she had spoken adequately on their behalf about the comrades who had touched all their young lives.
Jasmine’s eyes moved on—past Commodore Black, who had ceased clapping but nodded at her formally as their eyes met—until, at last, she found Jacoby again. No one was clapping or cheering her more loudly than he was. For a moment, she felt guilt at the complex emotions she had experienced for Jacoby and for Connor. Then, she felt her spirits lift. All that was in the past now. Tonight was a new beginning. A time to honor lost comrades and then to begin again, anew. She didn’t know what lay ahead for her, or for any of them, but she was confident that together they would embark on exciting new adventures. Together, there was no need to be afraid.
THE VAGABOND
“This end is not the end,” Lola declared, pacing up and down her cabin. She stopped abruptly and turned to face her comrades. “This hasn’t been in vain. We may have lost this bout, but we’ll be back.” She wasn’t sure whose benefit these words were for—her own or the surviving members of her crew? Now that Sidorio was gone, she was commander in chief of the Empire. They were, she knew, all looking to her to lead them forward, but she had nothing left to give. Feeling cold and rather claustrophobic, she scanned the room, wondering if any of them could sense just how lost she felt.
If anything, the others seemed grateful for the end to the current conflict and for the time and space in which to come to terms with their losses. They seemed calm in a way she found to be utterly at odds with her own tortured state of mind.
Nathalie was sitting on the chaise, reading a picture book to baby Hunter. “We’re all going on a pirate hunt,” she heard Nathalie recite. It was the boy’s favorite.
Olivier sat opposite, smiling and refreshing Mimma’s glass. Stukeley and Johnny, who had only lately arrived in her cabin, were still standing in the doorway, chatting quietly. The room was full of people, but it was full of the wrong people. Where were Jacqueline and Holly? Where were Angelika and Camille? Where were Sidorio and Evil?
Lola began to shake. Her first thought was that she was in need of a drink. She reached for her glass and lifted it to her lips, but her hand was shaking too much and the glass slipped through her fingers. It fell to the floor and shattered, dark blood pooling on the Persian carpet below. Ordinarily, the loss of an antique glass and a stain on her fine carpet would have upset her deeply, but these were no more than trifles in the present scheme of things. She didn’t make any move to clear up the debris; she just stood there shaking uncontrollably. She had never felt more empty or alone.
To her surprise, she saw Stukeley making his way toward her. She was even more surprised when he folded his arms around her. “You’re not alone,” he said. “Whatever you might think, however you might be feeling, you are not alone.”
She had never been in such close physical proximity to Stukeley before. He was somewhat shorter and leaner than Sidorio, and he was surprisingly strong. As their bodies met, she drew fresh strength from his. She felt a wave of calm flowing through her. When he gently released her, she nodded gratefully. “Thank you,” she said.
“We’re all here for you, Lola,” he said. “And we all share in your loss. Sidorio was like a father to me.”
His intent, no doubt, was to comfort her, but the mere word father made her turn toward Hunter. Seeing him, sitting happily on Nathalie’s knee, reaching out with his pudgy little hands to the pictures on the page of his book, Lola couldn’t help but think about her other son. She turned back to Stukeley.
“I need your help,” she said.
“Anything,” he readily agreed. “You can count on me, Lola.”
“I cannot do anything, I cannot go on, until I have found my other son,” she said. “I intend to search the seven oceans for baby Evil if that’s what it takes.”
Stukeley nodded somberly. “I’ll be there, with you,” he said. “Every step of the way.” He paused. “But you need to be prepared for the worst. We may never find Evil. Whoever took him may already have done the unthinkable.”
Lola’s eyes clouded and she shook her head. “He’s alive,” she said. “I’m certain he’s alive.” Her hand came to rest over her heart as her eyes met Stukeley’s once more. “A mother knows,” she said.
JACK TAR’S CAVERN
Cheng Li made her way across to the bar. How many nights had it been since her arrival here? She had lost count. She was still coming to grips with the size of Jack Tar’s Cavern. At first she had thought she’d be restless, eager to return to the fray, but, strangely, this was not the case. Ever since her arrival here, in this vast cathedral-like cavern, she had felt something new. A sense of peace, perhaps.
As she waited to order drinks for herself and her father, she turned and found a familiar face at her side.
“Captain Wrathe,” she said with some formality.
He smiled. “Why don’t you call me Molucco?” he said.
“All right,” she agreed, though whether she could pull this off was another matter indeed.
“So, how are you settling in?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Very well, thank you, Molucco.” The word wasn’t quite so strange on her tongue as she had anticipated. “It’s a very relaxing kind of place, isn’t it?”
Her companion grinned and nodded. “Very relaxing,” he said, his eyes taking in the room. “And you’re never lost for good company down here. As I was just saying to Eddie Teach—”
Before he got started on what promised to be a lengthy anecdote, Cheng Li cut him off. “Can I get you a drink?” she asked.
He smiled agreeably. “Why thank you. I won’t say
no to a Dark and Stormy.”
“Coming up!” she said as she reached the front of the queue.
“Yes, young lady. What’ll it be?”
Cheng Li opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her attention had been distracted by a face across the bar. There was someone she had been looking for ever since her arrival in Jack Tar’s Cavern. And now, at last, she saw him—right across the bar from her.
“Connor!” she called across the vast circular bar. “Connor, it’s me! Cheng Li!”
The young man turned toward her, prompted by nudges from those at his side. In a flash, she saw that though he was of a similar age and build, it was not Connor. Her heart fell. She saw that she had lost the bartender’s attention now, too.
Molucco pushed through to stand beside her. “You thought that lad was Connor Tempest, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she admitted dolefully. “I’ve been searching for him ever since I arrived here, but I can’t seem to find him. I suppose Jack Tar’s is a bigger place than I realized, but, even so…”
Molucco reached out and put his hand on her wrist. It was the kind of gesture that previously might have enraged her, but now it merely silenced her as she lifted her eyes to his face. He was looking at her with genuine kindness and patience.
“Connor Tempest isn’t here,” he said.
AT SEA
Connor and Grace sat in the small boat making its way across the dark velvet waters.
“Just like old times, eh?” he said with a grin.
She nodded. “Just like old times.”
They had already left the coast behind them and were out in the ocean waters. But the vessel was steady and making good progress through the night. Grace watched as Connor busied himself expertly with the ropes.
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