Grace realized that the souls who had risen had gathered around them, watching as they were joined by their fellow travelers.
“Will they survive?” she wondered. “Are they real people? Or just ghosts? Will they survive now they have been released from the captain?” She ached to ask Mosh Zu these questions but she could not disturb him from his chant.
Seeing her discomfort, Connor drew near once more. He put his arm around her shoulder. She realized she wasn’t the only one experiencing this intense wave of emotion. Darcy and Lorcan were crying, too. They were holding each other tightly.
They all watched as another face came into view before their eyes. It was a young woman. Grace could tell she was going to be beautiful as the first lines of her nose and cheekbones sketched themselves in the air. Her flesh was pale and lightly freckled. Shoulder-length auburn hair came into focus, tendrils floating out in the breeze. And then her eyes opened. Grace caught her breath. At the same instant, Lorcan gasped. Grace felt Connor’s hand clasp hers all the more tightly. The woman’s eyes were green, a deep emerald green.
As the woman lifted her head, Mosh Zu spoke at last. “She is the last,” he said, stepping back, evidently drained from his work.
Grace looked at Connor. He too was transfixed by the woman in front of them. She was sitting up now, pushing her unruly hair back behind her ears and blinking as she took in her new surroundings.
Grace could not contain herself any more. She addressed the woman directly.
“Look over here!” she said.
It took a moment for the woman to respond. It was as if she were still some distance from them and could only see and hear them faintly. But at last she turned and her eyes settled upon Grace and Connor.
Grace was crying. Connor was frowning, shaking his head in disbelief.
The woman rose. Surely she couldn’t walk away, out into the mist like the others, thought Grace. She couldn’t go.
But she wasn’t going anywhere. She seemed to be growing more alive, more vibrant with every moment. And now she stood up and, rather than turning away, began walking toward them. Her emerald-green eyes were wet with tears, but they were happy tears. She held out her arms to Grace.
“Mother!” Grace said, unable to hold back the word. “Mother, it’s you, isn’t it?”
The woman nodded, as Grace thudded into her, wrapping her arms around her. She was surprised to feel the touch of living, breathing flesh. And then she felt the brush of the woman’s lips on her forehead. She kissed her.
“Mother!” Grace said again.
“You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that, Grace.” The woman’s voice was warm and gentle.
“Mother! Mother! Mother!” Grace repeated, overcome. She wanted to carry on saying it for all those times she had thought about her or wished she was there at the lighthouse. For all the times she had dreamed of her mother, then woken to find no trace of her.
The woman hugged her and kissed her again, then held out an arm to her son.
“Connor,” she said, looking across at him.
He was uncertain at first but then he let go of any doubts and ran to her, flinging his arms around her and Grace until they were one compact bundle.
The woman hugged her children tightly and lifted her head.
Grace noticed then that Lorcan was watching them intently.
“Hello, Sally,” he said at length.
Grace was taken aback. How did Lorcan know her mother’s name?
She looked from Lorcan to her mother and back again. They were smiling at each other — a smile that spoke of deep friendship, maybe more.
“It’s grand to see you again, Sally,” Lorcan said.
“And you, Lorcan,” she said. “Thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of my babies.”
Grace looked at Connor. Like her, he was gazing curiously at his mother and Lorcan.
Suddenly Grace wondered about the others. She glanced around the room for Mosh Zu and Darcy. They were nowhere to be seen. All the other souls had disappeared too. And there, visible in the thinning mist, was the slab the captain had lain on. But there was no sign of him, either. Even the pillow had disappeared. Where had they all gone? What was happening?
She would find out soon enough, she decided. She held tight to her mother and her brother, as Lorcan too came forward and joined them. As the four of them stood there, hands connecting, Grace felt a moment of perfect peace. She knew it couldn’t last. Why, it might even be some kind of dream. But however fleeting the moment might be, whether a dream or not, she didn’t care. It was the moment she had waited for all her life and nothing, nothing, was going to spoil it for her.
Table of Contents
THE YEAR 2512
Chapter 1: THE CROW’S NEST
Chapter 2: THE EXPEDITION PARTY
Chapter 3: BROTHERS
Chapter 4: DARK JOURNEY
Chapter 5: ANOTHER KIND OF DANCE
Chapter 6: ARRIVAL
Chapter 7: NIGHT WATCH
Chapter 8: THE HEALER’S ART
Chapter 9: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
Chapter 10: THE LOST BUCCANEER
Chapter 11: SNOW
Chapter 12: SEVEN WORDS
Chapter 13: THE IN-BETWEENS
Chapter 14: THE TYPHON
Chapter 15: EXEUNT
Chapter 17: THE WELCOME
Chapter 18: MOONSHINE’S LAIR
Chapter 19: THE RIBBON
Chapter 20: NIGHT MISSION
Chapter 21: THE RIBBON CEREMONY
Chapter 22: BLOOD TAVERN
Chapter 23: AN ALTERNATIVE TO BLOOD
Chapter 24: ROOM FOUR
Chapter 25: THE REC ROOM
Chapter 26: LOST
Chapter 27: THE VAQUERO
Chapter 28: THE PLEA
Chapter 29: LORCAN’S RIBBON
Chapter 30: THE GUILTY PARTY
Chapter 31: THE BLOCK
Chapter 32: THE PASSAGE TO INDIA
Chapter 33: THE BERRY PICKERS
Chapter 34: NO HEROES
Chapter 35: GIRL TALK
Chapter 36: COMPLICATIONS
Chapter 37: STUKELEY’S FEAST
Chapter 38: HERO OF THE HOUR
Chapter 39: THE BLOOD CAPTAIN
Chapter 40: TWO LETTERS
Chapter 41: THE BOAT ON THE WATER
Chapter 42: MAGIC NIGHT
Chapter 43: RETURN TO PIRATE ACADEMY
Chapter 44: COLLAPSE
Chapter 45: THE MENTOR
Chapter 46: EYES WIDE OPEN
Chapter 47: TO LANTAO
Chapter 48: THE LARIAT
Chapter 49: THE SWORDSMITH AND HIS DAUGHTER
Chapter 50: THE DANGER ZONE
Chapter 51: THE JOURNEY ON
Chapter 52: THE STORMING OF THE CITADEL
Chapter 53: THE TIES THAT BIND
Chapter 54: THE LIBERATOR
Chapter 55: THE COLLECTOR OF SOULS
Chapter 56: BEHIND THE MASK
Chapter 57: REUNION