I'm baaaaaaaack!

Conner stared out at the open ocean. Cheng Li had received news of the whereabouts of the Blood Captain and had briefed them shortly after. That had been hours ago Now, he looked out over the darkening, endless water. He had been awake the whole day, more or less, but he felt wide awake. He should have been exhausted but he wasn't. The hunger pangs had been getting stronger and stronger but the very thought of "sharing", as Grace had put it so many times, made him feel sick to his stomach.

At the feel of arms wrapping around him from behind, he was forced from his thoughts. Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder to be met by the sight of raven black hair and sharp green eyes.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," he replied, just as quietly.

"Are you ok?" Was it that obvious?

"Yeah. Why?"

"You just seem distant lately," she told him. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"Yeah, just… worried about Grace," he said.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Just… a feeling." He hated lying to her but he couldn't possibly tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her what was truly wrong. He couldn't tell her that he was becoming a monster and that the person, no, the thing they were going after was his father.

She smiled weakly and ran a hand up and down his back soothingly. Leaning up, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "It's going to be ok. I'm sure she's fine, wherever she is. She's resourceful, she's strong and smart. Plus she's got her friends looking out for her. I'm sure she's safe."

Even though he hadn't been truly concerned for Grace, he was less concerned for her than he had been. Jasmine was right. Grace was fine. He wouldn't be once his vampire side really started to show itself, but his sister was safe.

But, even as they sailed through the dusk, he caught sight of something that made his breath catch in his throat. There was a ship up ahead, maybe five miles away. Even in the pale light and at such a distance, he recognized the ship.

XXX

Grace watched, her heart racing with anxiety, as Johnny stood by the window, his body rigid and his right index finger constantly tapping against his pant leg. It was obvious that she had hurt him, but she couldn't lie to him. There was no chance for anything between them. He was evil. Well, not necessarily evil but he wasn't good. He had said it himself. It wasn't that he couldn't be good, it was just that he was so much better at being bad.

"Why? What does he have that I don't?" His sudden voice made her jump, startled. She hadn't expected him to speak.

"It's not that," she told him. "You both have good things about you, but you're too different to compare, at least to compare that way."

Johnny turned to face her, his brown eyes boring into her. She held his gaze for a moment before looking down at her hands which were folded and resting on her lap. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, even after all he'd done. He had done bad things, but he was good at heart.

She heard him swallow and looked up at him. He opened his mouth to say something but his words were drowned out by a loud commotion coming from the deck. They both looked over at the door a moment before it burst open. Sounds of battle assaulted Grace's senses. She could hear cannons going off and could hear battle cries.

The man that had just burst in had a large gash on his shoulder and was bleeding from a long cur across his forehead. "Johnny, we're under attack," he said, his eyes wide with fear. "Humans. The same ones that killed Lola Lockwood."

Looking back at Johnny, she saw his eyes narrow. He hurried over to the door, pushed the man out and left himself, closing the door behind him.

XXX

Lorcan watched in horror as battle broke out on the deck of the Blood Captain. No! Grace was on that ship! All their plans went out the window. The entire crew of the Nocturne watched as all their planning and preparation became useless.

Kat appeared to be the only calm one among them. She stood next to Lorcan, eyes narrowed. "Guess we'll have to fight our way through," she said. How could she be so damn calm?! He looked over at her. She was watching the Blood Captain but there was something in her eyes.

A loud bang caught Lorcan's attention and he looked back to the Blood Captain. He felt like he was going to throw up. The attacking crew was firing cannons at the Blood Captain. "We have to act now! Before Grace is blown to pieces!" His voice seemed pull those around him from their shocked daze.

In the next minute, the deck of the Nocturne was a mass of action. The ship slid through the water on the other side of the Blood Captain as the attacking crew. Parts of the large ship had caught fire and everywhere Lorcan looked, humans and Vampirates were locked in battle. He wished that he had practiced his sword fighting more lately, but there was no time for that. Grace needed him.

Short, I know, but at least I did update… finally! I know, I know. My bad. I only plan to have two or three more chapters, just a warning. Read and review!