Alastor Ships Novels & Stories

"I want the live marrow harvest. We do it right here, in the secondary transport vehicle. Logan, bring the boy." "No!" I screamed, trying to run toward Leo, but Alexander caught me by the waist, pinning me against his side. "Elena, look at the river," Alexander whispered into my ear, his voice so low it was barely a vibration against the wind. From the dark fog covering the canal, three massive, black commercial shipping vessels were silently gliding toward the pier. They didn't have lights on. They didn't have flags. But the deep, rhythmic thrum of their massive diesel engines was vibrating through the concrete beneath our feet.

“You can accept it. I can’t.’ Bash wildly growled and shifted on all fours. He broke out of the constrain Blaze had over him. The beast within him was released. Blaze lost against Bash’s wild side. Enraged, Bash rammed his paws into the ground and ran straight towards Alpha Cole. “I, Alpha Cole Westbrook, banish you, Lilith Venerelli from the Blood Moon pack.” Alpha Cole declared. Bash staggered before stopping all together. He whined and furiously scratched at the ground. He defeatedly shifted back. It was too late. Alpha Cole had already announced her banishment. Lilith stumbled as she felt a jolt in her chest. Her ties within the pack were cut off.

We skipped the slow, heavy dreadnoughts because Kaelen only had about thirty-six hours left before his heart turned to ice. Those bulky ships wouldn’t have been able to navigate the mountain winds quickly enough. Instead, Alaric and Marcus had geared up four small, nimble arcane cutters—basically just engines bolted onto reinforced steel frames, designed for speed. They were risky and a bit unstable, but nothing else in the sky could touch their speed. ​Kaelen insisted on walking up the boarding ramp of the lead cutter. He was fully geared in his dark Alpha armor, his massive broadsword strapped to his back. To any soldier watching from the courtyard, he looked ready for war.

Not from the predator. It was a hum. A single, resonant, harmonious note. A ship dropped out of a jump directly between us and the void-predator. It was the vessel we had seen once before, the one woven from a basket of light. Elara's ship. But it was not alone. Flanking it were a dozen other vessels—Kael's Stalwart Friend, now scarred and battle-hardened, and others we recognized from the freed worlds. Ships of crystal, of living wood, of solidified sound. The First Chapter.

The “fire” that killed Alicia’s grandfather wasn’t in any official file. It took Zara 36 hours to find it. “Private maritime registry,” she said over video call at 3 a.m. Geneva time. Her face was pale from lack of sleep and blue light. “Kessler Shipping and Dickson Shipping dissolved their partnership in December 1994. Two weeks later, the _Maris Stella_ went down off the coast of Norway. Your grandfather was on board.” Alicia sat up in bed. Alex was already awake, watching her face.

The lead Alden war ship drew up parallel, close enough that the captains could shout across the gap between the ships. “We are Estrean merchants,” the Concordian vampire captain called out with a good approximation of the Estrean accent. “On our way to collect fabrics and other merchandise from Concordia.” “We see the flag. Concordia is a dangerous place at this time. It is advisable for you to reconsider your destination,” the Alden captain called back.

“Lady Ever—” “No names.” Becky lifted a hand without slowing. “Not mine. Not yours. Not tonight.” The man bowed his head. “As you wish.” “Is the ship ready?” “Aye.” He jerked his chin toward the vessel moored at the far end of the dock. It was a weather-beaten cargo ship, hull patched, sails rolled, the Eastwind insignia freshly painted over with a darker, unfamiliar crest. “False flag, false registry, false manifests. No one’ll track where she’s goin’.”

I started to lean forward again, greedy for more of his lips on mine when the car came to a halt. "We are here." Alpha Cole muttered, his voice husky and making my womanhood clench. Then he cleared his throat and pushed a button, surprise flickering in my eyes as I took in the view in front of us. We were on a shore, and the most luxurious white ship I ever set my eyes on stood before us. On the body was inscribed the words, 'Roman.' Hell, a date on a ship?

Until now, it is still unbelievable that their ships are sailing in the sky, not on the water. I knew that Armageddon was still not fixed so I expected our car to be different. I expected it right because our car is different. It's a black ship with red sails and a canopy. Three ships were there and two appeared to be sentinels. Elijah is bringing a larger troupe right now than we previously had in Waldorf. Sushi was also there and had boarded the ship that seemed to be our car. It doesn't even pay attention to me and I don't know why. This necromancer is switching moods from time to time.

Added one more line, because the evidence demanded it even if I wasn't ready for what it meant: Which means they knew I was coming. Before Alastor did.