Page 77 of A Steeping of Blood
The Ram would learn at some point that Arthie had returned to her homeland. And when she did, Arthie wanted the Ram to know the heart of her trade route had fallen, that her vampires were gone, that the land had been returned to the people it belonged to.
And she would be afraid.
Arthie remembered the red canisters lining the perimeter of the fort, gathered neatly to fuel the EJC ships. She was going to give them a new purpose.
“I need oil,” Arthie said, standing up. The others looked at her. Jin looked concerned. “Lots of it.”
“Whatever for?” Matteo asked.
“I know how I’m going to leave my mark and hurt the EJC. Jin, you wanted to free your parents. Matteo, you wanted to free the vampires,” Arthie said. “I’m going to burn this entire operation to the ground.”
Matteo burst into a broad grin.
“I know they’re colonizers, but you can’t mean to kill them,” Jin said, brow furrowed.
“Oh, no,” Arthie said. “I intend to drive them into the sea, as they did with my parents and my people.”
“And make a statement,” Matteo said. “I like it.”
“They can scramble on board their ships and go back to where they came from, if they’ve enough fuel for it. Or into the wilderness if they so choose,” Arthie said. “The fort is stone. The fire will be contained. There are plenty of shops and goods outside the fort, yes, but why havea fort if not to protect what’s important? When it burns, we’ll be setting them back years, from reserves to fuel, and in the meantime, my people will rebuild. If Ettenia finds itself starved of Ceylani resources, they can forge agreements, establish contracts, and act civil as civilized people are wont to do.”
Arthie had not returned to leave the island as she had left it before. She wasn’t a child anymore. She wasn’t torn between the living and the dead.
She never felt more alive.
“Ceylanisthe heart of the EJC’s trade route. If there’s one thing we have no shortage of, it’s fuel for the ships, imported and safely stored here in the fort, since we’re close enough to the harbor. We’ll get you what you need,” Shaw said with a nod.
Arthie hadn’t expected Jin’s parents to leap on board so quickly, but she was grateful for it. The Siwangs had said it had taken them ten years to build their way to this point—Arthie intended to bring it all down in a night.
“Now, the vampires,” she continued, beckoning them closer and gesturing to Matteo’s sketches.
“I must say,” Shaw interjected, “this is well done for the time you spent on it, Matteo.”
Matteo inclined his head. “Thank you.”
“A good portion of our vampires will be angry, possibly violent,” Shaw added. “We can feed them and free them, thus ensuring they’re clearheaded, but many of them have been confined for a very long time.”
“A number of the vampires are Athereum members who will recognize me. I can’t imagine someone not wanting to side with us if we promise vengeance,” Matteo said.
“And how exactly are we going to feed and unlock all the vampires at once?” Jin asked, ever pragmatic.
“Funny you should ask,” Shaw said with a grin. “Actually, it’s best if we show you, and it’s right next door, so we won’t need to worry about being seen. Grab your things.”
Arthie shook her head. “We don’t have time to—”
But Shaw was already unlocking a door tucked into the side of the laboratory. He stepped into the hall, peering every which way before he beckoned for them to follow.
This had better be worth it.
They crossed the short corridor and he pulled out a different key from his pocket, one that wasn’t connected to the ring hanging from his side. The door swung open to a room as large as Spindrift’s floor, and a scent she craved hit her like a wave.
Arthie prided herself in rarely being taken by surprise, but in this case, her jaw dropped. “So that’s where they went.”
25JIN
Jin’s jaw dropped beside Arthie’s. This was one of his parents’ stashes. The space was unfurnished and unadorned, chilling him to the bone, and like the emperor in a fairy tale hoarding gold in a room to near bursting, it was full of coconuts. King coconuts, oblong and golden.
In addition to making excellent weapons, coconuts make you happy, his father had once said, and Jin remembered he had been certain they could do more than that. He had hoped vampires could subsist on coconut, and it wasn’t until Jin had discovered that Arthie was a vampire herself that he’d learned his father was right.
