AN/ I'm sorry this chapter is shorter then the others so far. It's also going to be some time before I'll be able to update again as I have exams coming up, so please be patient with me. Although I know that I gave away the future between Nikita and Serro, don't think I gave it all away. I still have some surprises up my sleeves regarding those two. They may not happen in this fic, but they will happen eventually. Thank you to my reviewers of the last chapter; Samyo, Jinxeh, Funky In Fishnet and ToTaKeKe13. Please review!
We left Dorian's home without bothering to attempt to clean up the mess. Dorian insisted that his housekeeping staff had dealt with worse in the past. No one asked for any details. The team exited out through a back door that opened onto a staircase that led down to the docks.
"So what's our next point of call?" Dorian asked.
"Paris," Captain Nemo replied as we descended the stairs. I had to hold on to the railing, as the steps were a bit rickety. "Just one last member to recruit."
"Capture is more the word," Quatermain remarked. "And it will be quite the hunt." I imagined that the hunt for Mr Hyde would provide a good challenge for Quatermain, and that he was looking forward to it. I knew that he was going to turn the hunt into a training exercise for Tom Sawyer, which was good. Tom was eager, but inexperienced.
Mina didn't quite like or completely understand what she was hearing. "You make him sound like some sort of animal."
"Oh, speaking thus, Mrs Harker," Alan said, addressing the question that was not only burning in his mind, but in Skinner's, and Nemo's. I had a strong suspicion that Dorian already knew Mina's secret. "Your conduct a moment ago…?" He gestured back up to the house with his rifle, to where her bloody victim lay.
"Indeed." Skinner grinned and took a leery step towards Mina. "We're all aquiver with curiosity."
I put a hand on the invisible man's arm and hissed "Skinner, hush!" He was on the borderline of being rude. Mina didn't deserve to be embarrassed, and Skinner didn't care about her feelings.
Mina took a few steps towards the water, contemplating what she should say. Serro followed her, ready to offer his support. When Mina spoke, her voice was sad, reminiscent. "Well, my husband was Jonathan Harker. Together with a professor named Van Helsing we fought a dangerous evil." Her voice hardened. "It had a name, Dracula. He was Transylvanian."
"Oh, European?" Skinner said. I tried once again to hush him, but to no avail. "One of those radicals the newspapers love to report on?"
Mina took off a glove and slowly turned to the invisible man. "I don't know, Mr Skinner." She pulled down her ever-present red scarf and the collar of her coat, exposing her pale neck and two faint puncture marks along her right jugular. They were the unmistakeable evidence of a careful vampire bite. "Is the vampiric sicking of people's blood radical behaviour?"
Skinner shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "Well, you asked for it," I whispered to him. "Just be lucky she has enough self-control not to attack you!"
I looked up and saw Tom Sawyer also shift his weight and look away. Quatermain squinted at the bite marks. I'm not sure his he realised right away what they meant. Dorian didn't appear too fazed, but it did please him to see Mina's neck. It was impossible to guess Nemo's feelings. I supposed in his travels, he had come across many oddities and so was able to accept Mina's story with ease. Mina carefully replaced her collar, once again hiding the scars.
There was a quiet pause, then Nemo cocked his head towards the water. "Ah." Suddenly, we could hear the water bubbling, as if something very large was surfacing. Nemo boldly walked to the end of the dock. "Our transportation is forthcoming," he said.
Serro and I shared a look and a smile. We both knew what he meant, and what was coming next. We, along with the rest of the League, followed Nemo to the water.
"A boat?" Tom asked, the only water craft he was the most familiar with being crude rafts, canoes and ferries on the Mississippi.
"It travels on water if that's what you mean," Nemo said.
A massive black structure rose abruptly out of the river. Nemo turned, facing us and crossing his arms over his chest. "And beneath it."
I knew before coming to this world that Nemo's ship was big, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. The black observation deck was just the tip of the iceberg. A solid grey wall erupted from the river with a speed that seemed impossible for something so colossal. I recognised images of Hindu deities decorating the submarine as it grew of the water. I had never seen anything this spectacular before. My mouth dropped open in awe.
"Oh," Sawyer muttered, astounded.
"Holey cow," I breathed.
"Behold Naulitus," Nemo declared proudly, turning and raising his hands to his beautiful ship. "The Sword of the Ocean." He dropped his hands to his hips in a pose that expressed one thing: as far as this ship was concerned, Nemo was king.
"'Sword of the Ocean'… good name," I remarked, taking in the rest of the ship's bulk. It did look a little bit like a giant sword. I glanced at Skinner, who looked impressed, but a little bit weary of the Naulitus.
Serro approved greatly of the ship. "This is incredible," he whispered with a grin. Everyone else just stared, astounded, but taking it all in. The Naulitus was going to be great to travel in, and now it was understandable that yes, reaching Venice in four days would be more then possible.
"Think of all the places inside we'll be able to sneak around!" I said to Skinner in an attempt to make him smile. It worked, perhaps not was well as I had hoped, but it still worked.
"Next stop, Paris," Nemo announced to the group.
A gangplank splitted away from the seamless hull and lowered gracefully onto the dock. Ishmael was standing at the top, ready to welcome the League onto the ship. I spared one glance backwards as we bordered. I could not describe the emotions brewing inside of me. Apprehension, excitement, fear…and I realised that most of the others must have felt the same, except for Nemo, who would be confident, and Dorian. Dorian would be smug because he was going to be able to carry out his plan with M. I pushed those lingering thoughts out of my mind. Instead I focused on not getting lost inside Nemo's staggering submarine and doing my job for Skinner.