Free Vampirates 5: Empire of Night by Justin Somper Page B

to know you, father to son."
    Far-fetched as they sounded, Stukeley's words rang true. Connor remembered the last time he and Sidorio had faced one another, on that other beach, after the pirates' disruption of the Vampirate wedding. Sidorio had drawn Connor toward him, his twin incisors bearing down toward Connor's thorax, poised to kill. Then Cheng Li had spoken and everything had changed. Not just for Connor, but for Sidorio, too. He remembered the look in Sidorio's eyes as he had stared at Connor and declared, "He's my son."
    "Trust me," Stukeley said now, "Sidorio only wants the best for you, and for Grace, too. He talks about you both as heirs to his empire."
    "Grace?" Connor said, feeling a flash of fear for his sister. "Are you going to invite her, too?"
    "Already on it," said Stukeley with a wink. "Same invite, different postman."
    Connor scolded himself for his knee-jerk reaction of fear for Grace. When it came to the Vampirates, she was far more comfortable in their company than he was. Then
    95
    another thought occurred to him. "Grace doesn't know," he said. "She doesn't know that Sidorio is her father. I have to tell her. I have to be the one..."
    Stukeley shook his head. "Grace knows," he said. "She found out before you did." His eyes met Connor's. "That shouldn't surprise you. Grace was always a step or two ahead of you with the Vampirates."
    Stukeley turned away. He crouched down and reached for a pebble, then took a swing and sent it skimming across the water. Connor smiled. This was something he'd watched Jez do many times before.
    As Stukeley turned to reach for another stone, he caught Connor watching him. "What?" he asked, one eyebrow raised inquiringly.
    "Nothing," Connor said.
    Stukeley clasped the stone but instead of skimming it, he crouched down in front of Connor. "Talk to me, old buddy. Tell me how you feel about all this."
    "I feel numb," Connor said, though as he started talking, he already felt some sense of relief. "I don't know who I am anymore. There was a kid called Connor Tempest, but I feel like he's still in the lighthouse in Crescent Moon Bay. I left him behind when Grace and I headed out to sea and got caught in the shipwreck." He sighed. "Ever since I landed up on The Diablo , I feel like I've been growing up at an accelerated rate. That was fine. At last, I began to see who I really was--who I might be. Connor Tempest--the pirate." He was aware that Stukeley was
    96
    watching him carefully. "There were some jolts along the way, like when I killed for the first time." Stukeley's gaze remained steady, even with this fresh information. "But I guess I just had to wake up to what being a pirate meant. And to make sure I was signed up to the right captain." He stopped speaking, turning from Stukeley and looking out at the dark, lapping water.
    "And now?" said Stukeley.
    "Now I'm back to square one," Connor said. "Turns out that I'm not Connor Tempest, pirate, but Connor Tempest, Vampirate. Everything is turned upside down. My true father is a Vampirate that I tried to kill at least once before. And the only time I met my stepmother, I stabbed her and sliced her head off." He gazed back at the saloon door. "The people I thought were my friends are back inside this tavern, but they don't know who or what I really am." This, he realized, wasn't quite true. But he saw no need to share with Stukeley that Cheng Li, alone of the pirates, was in on his dark secret.
    "Connor," Stukeley said softly. "I know exactly what you're going through, mate. I've been on this exact same voyage myself. You have to let me help you." He brought his arm around Connor's shoulder once more. "We'll get you through this, old pal. You see if we don't."
    Connor wasn't sure how long they'd been standing there, when he heard the door squeak open behind them. As he turned, Stukeley disappeared into the shadows. He
    97
    hid behind the door as two figures stepped onto the beach: Jasmine Peacock and Bo Yin.
    "Here he is!" Bo