It had happened too quickly; everyone was sat still and relatively quiet in the peaceful gardens of Sanctuary, enjoying the warm midsummer night, until the ambience of it all was brutally shattered: a high piercing screech of metal being wrenched into a hideous position sliced through the air, followed by ugly shouts and cries of large, rugged men, and the metallic scrape of unsheathing blades and the crackle of flaming torches.
Only one word came to Grace Tempest's mind as she rose from the dainty wooden bench that sat amidst a pretty pink sea of blooming fig trees: Sidorio. It wasn't going to have lasted forever, everyone secretly knew he would return.
"It's him, isn't it?" She whispered to herself, praying she was wrong.
Lorcan rose too, firmly grasping Grace's hand and pulling her close as Mosh Zu stood up from his seat. He looked to the direction of the front gate that was concealed by a thick line of trees and frowned.
"Lorcan!" Oskar's voice echoed over the noise, "Come with me."
Oskar approached them, running, his sword unsheathed, "Lorcan!" He shouted again, more urgently this time.
After all that had happened, Mosh Zu had allowed certain people within Sanctuary to carry weapons - but only those that he trusted. Still suffering from the blow Sidorio had last inflicted, Mosh Zu and the vampirates were unfit to properly tackle the problem of Sidorio so early, so strategies and plans had been devised to protect Sanctuary should it ever be attacked. At the time, it was deemed as unlikely; no one thought Sidorio could govern himself so quickly.
Lorcan looked into Grace's eyes for a moment, "Look after yourself." He whispered, kissing her softly on the head.
Grace remained speechless.
In a swift movement, Lorcan unsheathed his own sword, giving Grace's hand a squeeze before he let go, running up to help Oskar.
Shouting Lorcan, Oskar, and the people of Sanctuary began. People were commanded to get themselves armed, others told to help in other ways. It was the resounding noise that had just begun, and the same kinds of shouts could be heard from behind the trees.
Grace stood in the midst of it all, perplexed. Why would Sidorio's team make such an obvious entrance? Was it a distraction? Feeling unsure, Grace looked over to Mosh Zu, knowing he'd probably have a much better knowledge of the situation than anyone. She caught his eye and threw him a look that best expressed her confusion, he took it in.
"Gentlemen," Mosh Zu's placid voice slid over the shouts in the distance, and the commotion stirring up with the vampirate patients, cooling everything down, "there is no need. Put your weapons away, and no one will get hurt."
Both Lorcan and Oskar threw themselves about, standing before the healer with a demanding look. Grace's heart quickened its pace with anxiety, but she believed Mosh Zu; that weighty feeling, pulling at your heartstrings just before something bad happens was entirely absent from Grace's chest. She was worried, not scared, and that had to count for something.
"No need?" Oskar demanded, "The front gates have been ripped from their hinges by the sounds of it, and you think it's what? A new patient?"
"Put your sword away." Mosh Zu repeated, "Don't give them an excuse to hurt you."
"What?" Oskar yelped hopelessly, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Put it away. Now."
Still, Oskar stood in profound confusion, his sword remaining firm in his grasp.
"Oskar," Lorcan said quietly, sheathing his own sword, "please."
Shaking his head with desperation, Oskar obliged, "Sure...die without a fight. I can really see the attraction in that."
Mosh Zu ignored him, walking forward, slowly, his eyes fixed on the tree line.
Grace caught Lorcan's eye, and he walked over to her. Silent, he wrapped an arm about her, just to keep her close, then waited, watching the tree line and Mosh Zu, a million and one questions filling his head.
"It isn't Sidorio, is it?" Grace breathed.
Lorcan looked at her, "Then who is it?"
Grace thought for a moment, then, with no conclusion, pressed closer to Lorcan.
There was then a prolonged silence, that echoed into forever. The fall of a thousand bare feet drummed onto the soft earth among the trees, and they got closer, the orange flicker of their torches winking through the vegetation.
"Mosh Zu Kamal." A distinctly feminine voice came from up ahead, "I think we need to talk."
A strange accent was entwined with her words. It sounded predominantly English, but there were foreign sounding flecks across her voice.
Slowly, the crew filtered through the tree line, and, indeed, there were hundreds. Most of them were men - tall, broad men. The ones without shirts displayed huge ropes of muscle, heavily scarred, the ones with them on displaying a glare so intense, it could have singed the skin from your face.
Before the crew of bodybuilders was the woman - about a third of their height, and an eighth of their weight, but her glare was magnified a thousand times stronger, and she looked the most menacing of them all.
With a flick of a hand, the vast, muscular bodies behind her ground to a halt, but she continued forth, leaving the shadow behind her and entering the moonlight.
The woman, or girl, for she looked very young, was dressed in plain cottons - a white, loose shirt, a dark cotton jacket and tailored jeans. Nothing was on her feet. Her hair was thick and dark, two braids at the side of her head keeping it out of her face. Her face was pale, but her eyes an intense green, and bound about the wrist she held her sword in was a leather thong, beads and pendants dripping from it.
Suddenly, whispers and hums exploded from the group of vampires behind Grace and Lorcan, and even Oskar had a marveled expression on his face.
Grace, Darcy and Lorcan stood, still confused.
"What do they know we don't?" Darcy whispered under her breath to Grace.
"Mosh Zu," The woman repeated, tapping the side of her blade to her palm, "well?"
"It's good to see you again." Mosh Zu said, expressionlessly.
"Yes...well, perhaps not so good, considering the circumstances." She replied.
At that, her crew grumbled to themselves. With another jerk of her hand, they obediently hushed to silence.
"Who are they?" Darcy pressed again, "Am I the only one that doesn't know?"
Grace and Lorcan looked at each other, then back at Darcy. "We don't know either." Grace reassured her, quietly.
Overhearing this, Oskar coughed, getting the three friends' attention.
"That is the crew of the Dhambi." Oskar said, "There are stories of her -"
"Come with me." Mosh Zu said, cutting off Oskar's quiet explanation, "Though, I must request that you keep your crew in order. Not all of my patients will be able to handle many more surprises tonight."
Suddenly, she laughed loudly, as did her crew. "I do not believe you're in a position to be talking about that, sir."
Mosh Zu raised his eyebrow, clearly caught off guard.
"I am here," The woman said more seriously, "because you're people are out of control."
There was silence for a moment.
Mosh Zu turned his back to the woman and to her crew, facing his people.
"Darcy, Oskar. I want you to keep things in order," He eyed Oskar closely, "to make sure things don't get out of hand."
Oskar nodded certainly, as did Darcy.
Glancing back at the woman and her crew, Mosh Zu then turned to Grace.
"Lorcan, Grace. You are coming with us." He said plainly.
Mosh Zu, Grace, Lorcan and the mysterious woman captain had gone right into Sanctuary, leaving the patients and the newly arrived macho crew behind, and Oskar and Darcy were charged with keeping the peace. The woman had objected to Lorcan and Grace going with them, but Mosh Zu had overruled it.
Now, the woman was shouting, shouting something about a deal, and something being unacceptable. Neither Grace nor Lorcan could follow their aggresive conversation.
"I must ask you to calm yourself down and begin again; I've lost you entirely." Mosh Zu said slowly, taking a deep breath.
The woman captain followed the suit: with a deep intake of air, she sat down in a comfy chair opposite a coffee table. Mosh Zu sat on the other side of the table, Grace and Lorcan to his left hand side, close.
"Very well," The woman said, slowing herself down. Grace still struggled to put her finger on an accent.
"My crew and I were returning from...well, some business, and we encountered something rather unsavoury on our return home." The woman paused to glare for a moment, "The ship was called the Blood Captain."
The mention of the name created an unpleasant tension in the air.
"What happened?" Mosh Zu inquired, granting her his undivided attention.
"They invaded us, obviously under the impression we were just some ship. At first we thought they were just a bunch of helpless, useless mortal pirates...but they weren't." She sneered, "As soon as the first uninvited foot fell upon my decks, the entire crew could smell the reeking scent of a bloodthirsty vampire, and it was then I noticed a few people...Johnny Desperado, Aaron Hutchins, Harry Duff...and Sidorio."
"You saw Sidorio?" Mosh Zu raised his eyebrows, "I can imagine that didn't go down too well."
"All you need to know is that my ship was damaged in the process," She snapped, "all you need to know is that it is you who caused all this. You've failed to keep up your half of the deal, and it's when you fail, I have to do the dirty work. I don't appreciate that, Mosh Zu."
"Sidorio is not my fault." Mosh Zu said simply.
"You're supposed to train these helpless vampires, Mosh Zu. That's your job. I've done mine. You know I have."
"What you do is irrelevant."
"What I do is entirely relevant. Especially since it's me that's going to be saving your arse."
"We don't need saving."
"You will."
"For heaven's sake," Mosh Zu abruptly stood, "what do you want of me? You don't expect me to believe you travelled thousands of miles to inform me of my mistakes, do you?"
"No." The woman frowned, also standing, "I came here because I need you to fix my ship...and, other things."
"Please explain."
"No." She said, "Not with them about. I don't trust strangers, even if you do."
"What you can tell me, you can tell them."
It was then the woman looked over to them. She glanced disapprovingly at Lorcan, and then did the same to Grace. She did a double take.
"Who are you?" She suddenly asked Grace, stepping towards her, "What is your name?"
Grace jumped at the sudden question, discreetly shifting closer to Lorcan.
"Does she look familiar?" Mosh Zu smiled, "I wondered when you'd notice."
"My name's Grace." Grace said, feeling Lorcan's hand enclose around hers, "Grace Tempest."
The woman gazed at her for a moment, her expression incomprehensible, "Tempest?" She uttered.
"She's Sally's daughter." Mosh Zu explained, sitting back down. He paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Sidorio's biological daughter."
"Oh dear." She murmured, turning away from Grace, and sitting back down, "What are you playing at, Mosh Zu? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"She's Sidorio's daughter!"
"Is that a problem?" Grace protested, "I am not Sidorio."
The woman glared at Mosh Zu, "Yes, I have a problem with that."
"Why?" Mosh Zu frowned, crossing his arms.
"The fact that she is still breathing bothers me."
At that, Lorcan stood, walking as far forward as Grace would let him.
"How dare you -" He began.
"Lorcan, please." Grace sighed, pulling him back, "please."
The woman looked over to him, almost amused, "You merely misunderstand me, boy,"
Grace thought that was odd; the woman looked not much older than Lorcan himself.
"I meant that your girlfriend there presents us with a problem; Sidorio will soon begin searching for her, and her siblings, if she has any."
"Connor..." Grace whispered.
"For what reason?" Lorcan inquired.
"Pah!" The woman spat, "I haven't the time for such questions."
"What were you going to say?" Mosh Zu asked, impatient.
"I was going to say that Sidorio's power is growing. That boat was full to the very brim with failed vampirates. If he's planning an invasion, he's going to be getting to it soon. You need to start aborting your group therapy and get something productive sorted out, you understand?"
Mosh Zu sat still, his face creased with thought, "What kind of sorting out?"
"Well, they're not coming for a god damned party, Mosh Zu. I'm not asking for home-made cakes and a decent music line-up, am I?"
"How many men will we need? How much time do we have?" He asked, ignoring her sarcasm.
"I'd say a couple of months, at a push. All the men you can get." The woman glanced out of the window. The sky was lightening. She stood. "That is all. I am finished."
"Wait." Mosh Zu stood, "We'll need your help."
"You won't for now."
"I need strategies...there are some on this site that have never even wielded a sword."
"Then God help them."
"Anne!" Mosh Zu had lost it now, "Whether you like it or not, we're in this together."
"Are we?" The woman now named Anne looked up, "Are we really in this together, Mosh Zu?"
Mosh Zu gave her a disapproving stare.
A few moments passed and Anne nodded her head, "Be at my ship tomorrow evening. As soon as you mend what needs to be mended, we will decide on what to do."
Mosh Zu nodded, then sat down. Anne left.
The room stayed silent for a further few moments.
"I don't like her," Lorcan frowned, "who is she?"
Mosh Zu sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Anne is many things. Anne is what might make defeating Sidorio possible."