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"STOP! STOP NOW!" Finn roared, leaping atop a barrel and shouting down at theone another for their lives He cried out, using the poithin hiaphone of his voice, a sound so loud that it shuddered with the breeze and see with it a sudden ind
"Now!" he thundered
As fierce as the noise on deck had been, the sudden silence that followed his shout was just asWhile swords ceased to clash, thetheir eyes, their grips still taut on their weapons
"You&039;ve becoe of what you&039;re doing Where did this start? Damn you, men, speak up! When did it start?"
Grissom cleared his throat and nervously ent Dunne All I know is that Richard Anderson was suddenly upon me and I shoved him off, and LondonRichard Anderson!" London said, stepping out of the group
"I wasn&039;t attacking hirily
"Who was below?" Finn de started-"
"No! Who was there when it started?" Finn demanded
Grissom spoke up "It was me and London, Richard Anderson, Billy, the Doc and Lafferty"
"Where are the others?" Finn demanded "Step forward,around his latest combatant
"Where are the captain, the doctor and Billy Seabold?" Finn demanded
No one spoke; everyone looked around
"I think I saw the captain He ounded," Lafferty said
Wounded, and now not to be seen Richard was in the cabin with Tara?
"Stop your fighting It&039;s not a h them to reach her quarters
He didn&039;t knock, or call out; he threw the door open
And there he saw theon the bed, bleeding MacKay was at his side, holding a cloth to the captain&039;s chest, staring across the cabin with stricken eyes
Richard still lay trussed on the floor
And Billy Seabold No longer looking like a fresh, young seaman
He had Tara He had his hands on her, and there was now no ed entirely, as if he had cast off a costuer, his muscles far more heavily honed And his features had shifted, too His face was narrower
Cruel
And he had long, long fangs, and they dripped the saliva of expectation over Tara&039;s neck
He had to knohat she was! He had to know that he would sicken if he drank the blood of another vampire, even a half-breed
But he had to be old, old and powerful, to wear such a co that such rules no longer applied to him
Maybe he didn&039;t care
Maybe he just an, thinking and playing for time
Billy ss were so grossly visible It was a terrible grimace of amusement, power and cruelty
Tara&039;s eyes met Finn&039;s She didn&039;t appear to be afraid, and yet, he could see she treent Dunne! Ah, yes, Agent Dunne, the great detective What a race you have run, eh? Convinced that youfor a Southern spy, a mad patriot to the Southern cause! It&039;s been soyou Fun, actually, since I joined the Union Navy, and hunted here and there, planting my newly made comrades where they could best serve Some of them were quite happy, you know-they enjoyed their newfound power And, of course, I did find a few old friends to jointhe way"
"A few old friends," Finn said "Very old friends, I&039; I believe we met a few of the to Key West?"
Billy laughed, never ers ainst him His mouth remained close to the alabaster flesh, and Finn could see where her pulse pounded against a pale blue vein
"I believe old Cutthroat Bennigan was aone by Met hio, off the coast of Bermuda"
Finn shook his head, as if bewildered "So, where did you really come from, Seabold?"
"I was born in the midst of Revolution,fathers were putting together a country, and now, the Northern autocrats would dictate the freedo a hu on blood, it&039;s the cause that sends ent Dunne, you will not stop me!"
Billy lifted his head; he looked like a cobra about to strike
Finn used all of his strength in his ht And yet, even with her for bullet, they h to save her
It was Richard who suddenly kicked out with his still-bound legs Richard ith his infected power, had s against Billy Seabold&039;s, and as he did, Tara swung around with an elbow, catching Billy Seabold in the soft flesh beneath his ribs Finn was i the lash of his fangs and lifting hi him headfirst into a wall
Now a distance fro from his lips He kicked Richard where he lay on the floor, and Finn was sure that he heard a rib crack
Richard cried out
Tara dived for a sword
Finn drew his weapon and advanced on Billy
But the vampire saw that his cause here was lost
He reached for a decanter on the desk, threw it and cried out, "Death to you all, death to tyrants! You will not stop one
Finn knew that he hadn&039;t vanished But his speed had been such that he had seemed to disappear into thin air, and now he couldn&039;t be seen Billy Seabold had lost the ship, and he knew it He had tried to get theto change just enough to sail the ship straight into a destination where he could tear apart the country But he hadn&039;t succeeded Alone, and with his battle a the others lost, he had to abandon the ship
Finn raced out on deck, but the va those they had battled just moments before; Charles Lafferty had taken the hel for the naval yards of DC
"Agent Dunne!" Lafferty roared to him, a question in his voice
"It&039;s over, Charles Keep your heading steady!" Finn called back
He turned, quickly heading back into the cabin Tara was on her knees by Richard MacKay, a little unsteady, had risen "I needand his pulse is steady, and already, the wound see But I&039;ll stitch him up"
"No need," Finn told hi already" He hesitated because MacKay was looking at him in surprise "The captain has Tara&039;s blood now He will heal"
Finn cao," he told her "Billy Seabold is off the ship and headed to Washington"
She shook her head, tears in her eyes "Richard! Richard needs blood," she said
He set a hand on her shoulder "Dr MacKay can do a transfusion We know that Richard will do well-even infected, he wouldn&039;t kill you You stay with hiton"
"No You need o without old, and her chin was set stubbornly
"Tara, you&039;ll have to stay here if you want to save Richard And I should face Gator oninto her eyes "He&039;s older and o alone You can&039;t!"
"He doesn&039;t need to go alone"
The voice startled hi around
Captain Tre up He patted his chest, and then ainst it Barely a scratch seemed to remain He looked down on his wounds incredulously and then looked at the "I have your blood inpower in yours has now taken root in mine I can help to save your Richard, with the assistance of the good doctor here"
Tara stood, facing Richard "I o with you, Finn Surely, you can see that He is powerful You need me"
He walked over to where she stood by Richard, who lay with his eyes closed, scarcely breathing "He needs you," he told her softly, pulling her to her feet "And I need you to stay with the ship, because if I fail, you will be all that&039;s left to stop hi to take one route, and you&039;re going to stay with the ship When I reach land, I&039;ll put the call out for help But we know exactly where he&039;s going I believe that he&039;ll reach land, find hiht back to the shipyards You must stay with the Freedoets to ether, but we can&039;t"
She stared back at hi his eyes to discover the truth of his words
"Please," he added softly "Ti now I could ht with you in the capital Or we could coether, and both be killed, and there would be no hope"
She nodded slowly, but the look in her eyes showed hi her soul He didn&039;t know if he could tear hi her
He had to
He pulled her to him, heedless of anyone around him, and he dared take a moment to hold her close, and kiss her lips, and savor the touch and scent of her, beautiful id waters that awaited hi to live for
They kissed, and kissed, and he felt her arms and her lips and the heat of her body
And then he pulled away, his hands still holding hers "Captain Treton Naval Yard"
He dropped her hands and hurried out on deck He judged the distance froed into the water The Atlantic see; the sea was bitterly cold
TARA WAS IN AGONY
While Tremblay insisted that he could afford the blood to save Richard, she could not allow it The captain had healed reth that was hers, nor had he been born with the blood that could save She fought hi hi them to their destination with all speed
And so, she lay quietly while Dr MacKay gingerly performed the operation with needles and tubes that would send her blood through Richard&039;s veins, and save his life When it was over, she eak, and she rested on the cot, just thinking about Finn, and still reeling at the fact that Billy Seabold, who had see, earnest and normal, could have proven to be such a monster
She could hear the co with Charles Lafferty as his right hand, and that Dr MacKay was busy patching up the men who had been injured
She heard the sad sound of Lafferty&039;s harmonica after the captain&039;s words over those who hadn&039;t been saved, but had to be sent to watery graves, heads separated from their bodies, just in case
Then the precious darkness of sleep overcaht of the president He had been sleeping, just as she had been He was in a long nightdress, and he lay next to his Mary, as resting at his side Seeing her, the president rose, and walked to o to the hallway, shall we? Sleep is essential to Mary It is the only tirieve"
They stepped into the hallway
"We&039;re almost here, sir," she told him "Finn has left us, because he is in pursuit of Gator, and you can&039;t iine what that one man can do He is extremely powerful He can turn the city into a sea of traitorous monsters, heedless for their own lives Finn believes he will reach land and find another ship, and he will make it into the naval yard and, fro the them his followers, one by one I a here, as well"
The president set his hand on her hair gently "As the war dies down, the capital is now, at last, very well defended"
"No, sir, you must understand This one man can infect hundreds, and quickly"
"I&039;ve been aware, ht such wretched disease and insanity before They will be there to help you" He smiled "I know your sister and your brother, and they have both done their share, along with others, in this war" Like a father, he pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head "We&039;ll be ready"
She stared at him, still so afraid But he smiled "It&039;s the country that reater than the country"
He began to fade, and she aith a start
She discovered that Richard was sitting by her side She al her expression "It&039;s over, Tara I a herself a little s, Mr Richard Anderson Under the worst of circuht the killer instinct And you actually ed to save the day, you know"
He was pleased with the compliment "We all need one another in this world, I think" He rose to answer a knock at the door It was Dr MacKay, and he carried a tray There was a delightful scent of so cooked over their brazier, dried beef freshened with salt and pepper in boiling water, hardtack coconut meat and a small tankard that she was pretty sure was filled with blood
"How&039;s our patient?" he asked
"Strong and rested," she assured him
"Good The captain says we&039;ll make the naval yard by tomorrow dusk You&039;ll need to be rested," he said, and leaving the tray, he went out to attend to his other patients
Richard followed him, but paused at the door He looked back at her and smiled "You know, Miss Fox, we all do need one another in this world And it&039;s rare when a man or woovernether So,you this as one who loves you deeply-stop being a stubborn fool and stop being afraid that you may love someone more than a person loves you For God&039;s sake, Tara, marry that man!" he said
"He hasn&039;t asked rinned "Then ask hi seize her and she was surprised when she spoke with quivering lips "Richard, we "
"All the more reason, Tara," he said seriously, "that if you do, you be honest with yourself, and with him, and seize the happiness you are both surely due"
With that, he left the cabin
FINN MADE LAND IN Northern Virginia Exhausted, he lay on the ground, breathing, gathering his strength again He closed his eyes, and the thunder of his breath was so loud, and he was so exhausted, that he didn&039;t hear the approaching men
When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by soldiers
Union ratitude
Someone poked him with the business end of a rifle "Get up, man! Identify yourself!"
"Phineas Dunne," he said, "Pinkerton agent It&039;s imperative that I reach the capital as quickly as possible" He tried to get to his feet, but he staggered A eneral," he was told "Have you credentials?"
"Who is the general in charge here?" he asked
"Ulysses S Grant, and he&039;ll know the truth of you, that&039;s for sure And if you&039;re lying, and you&039;re a Reb spy, you&039;ll hang, sir! General Grant shows pity on fightingfroet me to hi!"
Finn chafed at any time spent away from his pursuit, but the swim across miles of ocean had cost him dearly Nor did he wish to cause harm to these officers He allowed himself to be escorted and seated atop one on the soldier&039;sat the time it took to reach the federal encaued his position, and then finally agreed that Grant must have the final say By the tieneral sat with ar before hi the return of warmth and power to his nized him ieneral had been sent to the Western can, years before Grant actually rose, and reached for his hand "A glass, lass," he ordered his aide "This man is in sound need of a drink!"
Yes, a sht
But he accepted a whiskey instead
"I eneral," Finn said "There is a spy about to land in the area, and I believe he will have killed so the coast to acquire a ship for access into the capital I need to send a special warning to the president, and to certain men in the capital who have dealt with such a raph out for rave, I can send eneral replied