The Black Quill Cruise Ship Novels & Stories

He punctuated that last bit with a leer and a waggle of his eyebrows. Ruby glanced behind him toward the open water. There were two cruise ships docked here today - the one she'd just come from, the Queen Aquaria, and then the Ocean Jamboree, which featured a tangle of water slides on the main deck and was blaring electronic dance music so loud that she could hear it from here. She had an idea where these guys belonged. "Sorry," she said with a shrug. "I'm on the Queen Aquaria." "No way," one of the other frat guys said with a laugh. "That's the old person cruise."

Jago ran toward us, his face grimy with oil and sweat. "Zora! We’ve got the 'Void-Mines' set in the water, but they’ve got 'Pulse-Burners' on those ships!" Jago yelled over the roar of the ocean. "We're holding a knife to a gunfight!" "Then we change the rules of the fight," I said, stepping off the shuttle. I looked up. The clouds were parting, revealing the massive, white-gold hull of the South Spire flagship, the Ascension. It was beautiful and terrible, a floating mountain of corporate arrogance. And I knew she was on the bridge. Elena.

[The Cradle of Shadows] The Vane interceptor groaned as it banked sharply away from the Highlands Vault, its thrusters screaming in protest against the manual override. Below them, the fleet of black gunships—Lucien’s personal hounds—scattered like startled crows, their formation broken by the sudden, erratic maneuver of the courier ship.

I said and it was like the lightbulb finally turned on. Just then there was a ripple in the air and this dude walked right to it. I wasn’t sure if Jax saw it or not but we sure as hell did. As soon as we passed it or walked threw it, whatever we did, Koa stopped dead in her tracks. There were 6 ships lined along the coast and there were men and women all hanging around on the deck. “Can anybody hear us outside this…this…bubble?” Koa asked the guy and he shook his head.

Forty-eight hours. The countdown to the end of the world began not with a roar, but with the synchronized thrumming of a massive, joint-force armada crossing the Arctic Circle. It was a sight that should not exist in nature. A fleet of state-of-the-art, nuclear-powered icebreakers from the Blackwood Corporation, painted in matte-black tactical paint, plowed through the twenty-foot-thick glacial ice, creating a path of dark water. Behind them sailed the Crimson Court’s ancient, reinforced war galleons, their black sails bearing the silver crest of the bleeding bat, looking like ghost ships emerging from the endless fog.

Adrian stood on the deck and looked ahead. Then, he leaped into the sea. One of the large ships was brightly lit. It was at the backmost position and it was the command center of the enemies. These ships were carrying Black Nergal’s banner, instantly revealing them as Black Nergal’s members.

It was Cassandra Vance’s personal biometric digital signature. She had not just authorized these trades; her digital stamp was attached to every single rogue delivery from the past two years. The files proved that she was the absolute mastermind behind the black-market network. She had used the academy's official transport trucks to move the stolen items straight to the rogue wolf borders.

My fingers gripped the quill against my will and scrawled across the glowing page: ‘Where is the next powerful pack from here?’ “The Zareth’s Brood,” I read aloud from the glowing page, my voice trembling slightly. “A rogue pack. They roam the cursed pine barrens of the North. Travel five nights beneath the northern stars, and you will arrive.” Xareth’s lips curled in satisfaction. “Good,” he said coldly. “Now give me the book.” I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. My fingers moved of their own accord, like a marionette dangling on invisible strings.

Two hours later, we arrived at the private city harbor. Even from a distance, the cruise ship looked like a floating palace. It was huge, shining bright white against the dark water. The word EMPIRE was painted in huge gold letters on the side. Caleb held my arm tightly as we walked up the red carpet to board the ship. His grip was a painful reminder that I was his property. "Don’t forget to smile, darling.” Caleb whispered in my ear. "There are cameras everywhere. Today is a very important day for Sterling Industries."

"My hands are itching to mark him. I need to bleed someone before I lose my head." Gideon caught his arm, a firm, grounding grip. "You think he’s the third? For real?" "I don't think. I know." Kan’s eyes flashed a toxic, glowing green. "We’ll bring him home. And when we do, we won't be gentle. He’s built for it. He’s a Blackwell ghost, a shadow of the Nash Rebellion. He can take everything we give." Kan walked out the door, the hunt already singing in his veins.