“What?” Catheryn finally managed to ask.
“You heard me,” he said. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same.”
“I…I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never been in love before. And…and I can’t think about this!” She took a few steps back, putting some distance between them, moving herself closer to the boat. “People are dying, Rainier. This isn’t just about us.”
“What people?” Rainier asked, a dark storm in his eyes. “Pirates? Strangers? People who’d no sooner see you dead? Why do you care?”
“Because my sister is out there,” Catheryn said. Tear flooded her eyes. Tears she didn’t have time to cry.
“What?” Rainier asked.
“My sister, Eva,” she said, her voice nearly a choked whisper now. “I told you about her. She’s out there. She’s alive. She’s calling to me.”
“What do you mean?” Rainier stepped closer, but Catheryn stepped back again. “What are you talking about?”
“When I was drowning,” Catheryn said, “she came to me. She said I still had work to do, that we would meet again.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He didn’t advance on her again. Just reached his arm toward her, then let it float back to his side.
“I…I wasn’t sure it was real. I thought I was dying. But it was so clear. I saw her face. Felt her hand. And ever since I woke up, I can’t get her out of my mind. I can hear her; her voice is calling to me.”
Rainier ran his hand over his jaw. “Yeah…” he mumbled.
“What?” Catheryn asked.
“What did she look like?” he asked. “When you saw her?”
“I…I don’t know,” Catheryn said. “The vision was…abstract. It was dark, but I could feel her. I knew she was there before I saw her… And when I did see her, through the darkness, she looked sort of like me. We were close in age. She was wearing all white, like an angel. But her hair. It was cut short, really short.”
Rainier nodded. “I saw her,” he said. “In one of my visions.”
This time, Catheryn stepped toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was a while back. When I woke, you were asleep, so I slipped out of the room. I forgot to tell you later. I thought it was you I saw, but there was something not quite right about you. The face I saw was not quite the same and the hair was short.”
Catheryn urged him on with a roll of her hand. “Okay, and? Tell me more. Tell me what happened.”
“She was leading an assault on the Hoodoo House.”
Catheryn felt the world spin. She stared past Rainier, into the shadows between the trees, and shook her head. “She can’t,” she whispered. “She could be killed. She can’t do that.”
“You could be killed, too,” Rainier said, gripping her shoulders. “Catheryn, think with your brain and not with your heart for just one moment. This whole thing is madness.”
“I have to go back,” Catheryn said. “My sister needs me. Even if I didn’t care about anyone else in NOLA, I have to go back for her.”
Rainier sighed and stepped back. “Well, I’ll not help you,” he said. “If you go, you go on your own.”
“I thought you loved me,” she said.
“I do,” he said, turning away from her.
At this angle, it almost looked as if…as if a tear was sliding down his face. But before Catheryn could be sure, he turned further away.
“And that’s why I can’t go,” he said. “I can’t watch you be killed.”
“Then help me,” she said. “I need you. I need someone I can trust. Someone who will have my back.”
Rainier shook his head.
“I’ll not come back,” she said. “If you go with me and we survive, we will be together. I’ll come live on this silly island with you until I die. But if you don’t go and I live, I’ll not come back. I wouldn’t be able to look you in the face.”
“Love or life, Catheryn,” he said. “Which do you think a pirate would choose?”
Catheryn felt her heart sink. She had never been so disgusted with another person. He was being cowardly. Some pirate. She shook her head, unable to believe what he was saying.
“You are not the man I thought you were, Rainier Dulocke,” she said.
He shrugged. “Then you must have never known the real me.”
How childish! Catheryn though, overcome by hurt and anger. She ground her teeth together and reached her hand out toward the back of his head.
“Sleep,” she whispered.
“What the…” Rainier started to turn back to face her, but as his body twisted, he fell to the sand.
“Thanks for fixing the boat,” she said as he passed out.
Catheryn walked over and pushed the little boat into the water, then jumped in and tossed the tools out onto the ground. She didn’t know much of anything about sailing aside from what she had seen Rainier do earlier, but she hoped it was enough. She unfurled the sail and tied it taught. Then she blew out into the sail.
“Take me to NOLA,” she whispered.
The wind gently picked up and carried her out to sea. She watched as the little island faded from view. It was a pretty dream, the one Rainier had of them living on it safely, peacefully for the rest of their days. But that’s all it was. A dream. The visions she had been having since her powers started manifesting were so much more. The task before her was bigger than she was, it was bigger than Rainier, and it was bigger than the two of them together.
She had to go back, even if it meant leaving the man she loved behind forever.
Chapter 22
Rainier sat on the beach and watched the sunrise. Get ready for a lot of lonely mornings, he thought to himself. He couldn’t believe she left. And that she took the boat. Well, actually he could. How did he think she was going to get off the island? At least she left him the tools. He might be able to build another boat. If he lived that long. Did she realize that, by leaving, she had sentenced him to death? How would he survive without blood?
He sighed as the waves lapped at his toes. She had been right to leave. He had acted like a coward. He didn’t think he was being cowardly, though. Just pragmatic. Going back was suicide. But it probably looked like cowardice to her. Why couldn’t she see he was only trying to protect her? He loved her and wanted to keep her safe.
He nearly laughed out loud. He couldn’t believe he told her he loved her. It was true, but he shouldn’t have admitted such a thing. It made him look weak, and now was when he needed to be strong. The Hoodoo Queen was dangerous, and she was killing anyone and anything that stood in her path. If Catheryn decided to fight against her instead of allying with her, Catheryn wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Damnit,” he muttered.
He had to help her. He should have gone with her. He knew she would go, with or without him. He should have gotten in the damn boat!
Rainier narrowed his eyes as something came into view. There was something floating on the water, heading toward the island. A boat!
“Hey!” he yelled, waving his arms. “Over here!” He jumped up and down, hoping the boat’s owner would see him. As the boat floated nearer, though, he realized there was no owner. It was his boat. The one he had repaired. The one Catheryn had stolen.
He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Catheryn had sent the boat back. Maybe she did love him too.
But if she’d used her magic to send the boat back, that meant she’d reached NOLA. And if she’d reached NOLA, alone, then she was in danger.
He could hear the city before he could see it. The music, the laughter, the sounds of thousands of people in one of the oldest cities in the Division.
It was late, the moon in full bloom above the shore, but the city was lit up like noon. Shops and homes and streetlamps all burned brightly. Rainier pulled up at one of the city’s countless docks and walked freely among the throngs of people.
For a city that could soon be facing extermination, everyone sure seemed chipper. People were going about th
eir daily lives, drinking, dancing, shopping like they didn’t have a care in the world. But that was NOLA for you. The people here loved life.
He walked past a restaurant where the spice wafted out the window and just begged you to go inside. Like most cities, the population of NOLA mostly lived separate lives, with witches, vampires, and humans occupying different communities. But there was another side to NOLA as well—the Mardi Gras Coast, what was left of the former French Quarter.
In the Mardi Gras, all of the races mixed freely. It was a dangerous place, with skirmishes breaking out with fair regularity. Drugs, sex, black-market goods—anything could be bought and sold in the Mardi Gras. But it was also where a person could hide, blend in with the throngs of unwashed souls. If Catheryn had returned but didn’t want the queen to find her, this is where she would hide.
“Tell your fortune, deary?” a young woman on a street corner asked Rainier as he passed. He smiled at her but shook his head.
“Maybe there is something else you’d rather buy?” a woman standing next to her asked as she ran her fingers over her amble breasts seductively.
Rainier shook his head again.
“Or someone else?” a svelte young man suggested, rubbing up against him.
Rainier smiled and tossed the man a coin. “There is someone I’m looking for,” he said. “A young witch, dark skin, long hair. Goes by the name of Catheryn.”
The young fellow ran the coin between his fingers, then it miraculously disappeared. “Can’t say that I’ve seen her. But if you want any information about anyone, I’d check in the Bawdy Wench—the tavern up the road. Barnaby there knows anything you’d want to ask.”
“Thanks, friend,” Rainier said.
“Anything you need, handsome,” the young man replied, followed by a playful air kiss.
Rainier shook his head as he walked away and headed toward the tavern.
The tavern was as lively as ever. The drinks were flowing. People were playing games of chance. There were plenty of prostitutes—male, female, vampire, witch, and human. If there was anywhere on earth all people lived together in harmony, it was in a tavern.
Rainier sidled up to the bar and ordered a drink.
“As I live and breathe!” a familiar female voice said as a smooth hand slid its way over his shoulder. “Rainier Dulocke.”
“Rene,” Rainier said, removing her hand from his person and resting his hand on his sword.
“Now, now,” she said, pouting. “Is that any way to greet me?”
“Nice to see you’ve managed to dry yourself off,” he said.
“Oh, you know me,” she said. “I was made to be wet.” She licked her lips.
Rainier rolled his eyes. “What are you doing here, Rene?”
“Normally I’d get mad at you for not speaking to me captain to captain,” she said. “You never could accept that I was your equal. But you aren’t a captain anymore, are you?”
Rainier took a swig from his glass. “What do you know about it?”
She shrugged. “I know your men sailed into port without you. Well, limped into port is more like it. Not sure how they made it with their ship in that condition. I know they had thrown you overboard after you killed your first mate. I know your men marched straight up to the Hoodoo House like they had some urgent business. And I know they haven’t been seen since.”
“They didn’t throw me overboard,” he said into his cup.
“Oh, of course not,” she said. “You jumped over to save your lady love. Is that your version?”
Rainier looked at her but didn’t reply. She just stared back with a goofy grin on her face. “And I know the Hoodoo Queen is looking for you.”
Rainier gulped his drink down. “Is she paying you to deliver me?”
“Not me,” she said. “I’d never betray a fellow vampire, even one as repulsive as you, to a witch.”
Rainier eyed her, not sure if he could trust her words.
“I was always a better pirate and a better vampire than you, Rainier. Even if you don’t want to admit it. Consider this fair warning on two counts. Firstly, that the queen is looking for you. So watch your back.”
“And secondly?” he asked.
“If you find yourself on a ship again, I’ll sink it,” she said. “I wouldn’t be so uncouth as to run you through on dry land. But if you find yourself at sea again, I’ll kill you.”
“I look forward to seeing you soon then, Captain Lacroix,” he said, toasting her with his mug.
“Sweet talker,” she said before walking out of the tavern, a group of her men behind her.
“What a woman,” the bartender said as he watched Rene leave appreciatively. “Can I top you off, sir?” he asked, turning to Rainier.
Rainier handed him his glass. “Sure thing. Been a long time since I’ve had a good ale.”
“I thank you, sir,” he said as he filled the glass.
“Are you the one they call Barnaby?” Rainier asked.
“Aye, that’s me,” he said. “What can I do ya for?”
“I heard you are the man who knows things,” Rainier said.
The bartender shrugged as he wiped down the bar. “People get chatty when they drink. I’m a good listener. It is what it is.”
“I’m looking for someone. A young woman.”
The bartender’s cleaning slowed a bit. “Lots of young women here,” he said. “We have one for every taste…” He motioned to the prostitutes across the room.
“Not that kind of woman,” Rainier said, annoyed. “Catheryn Beauregard. A young witch. She would be looking for a girl named Eva.”
The room got noticeably quieter, and the bartender’s head beaded with sweat. “You must be Captain Dulocke.”
“I am,” Rainier said, not seeing a reason to hide it.
“I don’t want no trouble,” the bartender said, his eyes darting around. Rainier could feel some of the other patrons moving in closer.
“I’m not here to cause any,” Rainier said, his senses coming alive. “I’m just looking for the girl.”
“She’s not here,” the bartender said. “But she was. She was seen heading west on Dauphine.”
Dauphine? Rainier thought to himself. West? That would be toward the Hoodoo House. She wasn’t thinking about heading straight there, was she? She wouldn’t be that stupid. She said she was going to look for her sister, Eva. She would need help if she was going to confront the queen.
The bartender’s eyes opened as he stepped back, and Rainier ducked to the side just as a wooden club crashed down onto the bar. Rainier turned and grabbed the man who had just tried to bash his head in. He slammed the man’s head into a barstool.
Then Rainier turned and saw that he was surrounded. Four men came at him at once. Thankfully Rainier had fed just before Catheryn fled, so he still had some strength and some of his vampire vigor. The men swung at him with their fists and with swords and wooden stakes, but he bested them all, seamlessly gliding from one to the other. A snap of the neck there, a punch to the gut here. It was like a dance, if one of the dancers ended up dead as the climax. It was a dance Rainier had missed performing.
After he was done, Rainier stood panting. The other patrons stood back, horrified. Rainier wiped the blood off his face and tossed the barkeep a gold coin.
“For the damage,” he said.
Then he stomped out the door and headed down Dauphine.
It was now getting into the wee hours of the morning, and the people were finally quieting down and heading to their homes or wherever they were planning to sleep for a few hours before the day began.
Rainier couldn’t believe he was heading to the Hoodoo House. He was just as crazy as Catheryn was, or at least crazy for her. He’d follow her anywhere, though, even if it was into the jaws of death.
Rainier heard a few steps behind him—the soft, light steps of a woman. He turned.
“Catheryn?” he called out, but he saw nothing.
He turned back, but he could
feel his senses tingling. It wasn’t the warning sense of a bunch of clumsy humans like back at the bar, but the acute subtle sense you get when you know something is wrong.
A shadow blinked up ahead. He looked to the side, but saw only a black cat leap away. Then he heard a soft giggling. They were coming for him.
Witches.
He wasn’t sure if they were in the thrall of the Hoodoo Queen or from a rival coven, but it didn’t seem to matter. Both were equally bad options.
In a puff of black smoke, a woman appeared in front of him. He quickly drew his cutlass and sliced across her belly, but the sword went right through her like she wasn’t even there. She laughed. Then he heard more laughter.
Once again, he was surrounded.
He hacked at them, one and then the other, but his sword had no effect. They moved in closer, and black smoke enveloped him. It went down his throat and pinned his arms to his sides.
Rainier fell to his knees, chocking all the while.
Chapter 23
Catheryn avoided the busy parts of the city, but that was hard to do. The city was alive, teeming with people. But she had not been in NOLA proper since she was sold into slavery and entered the Hoodoo House. She hoped that no one would recognize her or know who she was.
She had no plan as she walked the dark streets. What was she doing here? Was she just going to waltz up to the queen and demand she stop killing people? She should have waited for Rainier to change his mind. He would have come around eventually. He wouldn’t really just sit on the sidelines on his little island and let people die.
Would he?
She didn’t think so. But if he did, he certainly wasn’t the kind of man she wanted in her life. She would be better off without him. Or she would be dead. At least then it wouldn’t matter.
Catheryn sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a disaster.
If only she could find Eva. Then she would have at least one ally in the city. She was certain Eva was alive, but she had no idea where she was or how to find her. She might not even use the name Eva anymore. What if she wasn’t in NOLA? The Division was huge, encompassing most of the southeast of what was the United States and the Caribbean Islands, which were too numerous to count. She could be anywhere.
Pirate's Curse: Division 1: The Berkano Vampire Collection Page 15