MEET THE CREW
We have to try. We can’t give up before we even begin.” Grace Tempest
GRACE TEMPEST
Grace’s adventures begin when she and her brother Connor are shipwrecked as they flee from Crescent Moon Bay.
She’s rescued by Lorcan Furey and finds herself on a mysterious ship with red deckboards and a circling mist, not to mention a figurehead who comes to life at sunset.
Grace is too brave to cower in her cabin, even when the things she overhears on the deck outside convince her that she is indeed on board a ship of vampire pirates.
Grace wants answers and she’s not afraid to seek out the Vampirate Captain himself to find them. Grace is a smart and sensitive person and she quickly realises that there’s more to this crew than meets the eye. Some of them may fit the description “demons of the oceans” but others defy it.
Soon, Grace is making good friends and deep allegiances amongst this intriguing band but is she in danger of getting in out of her depth? Only time will tell.
I’m part of all this. I choose this and I’d choose it again and again and again, whatever the dangers.” Connor Tempest
CONNOR TEMPEST
Connor and his sister Grace are separated in a shipwreck after they flee from Crescent Moon Bay. He’s rescued by Wu Cheng Li and taken aboard notorious pirate ship The Diablo.
Soon Connor is embroiled in the life of a young pirate. Though he misses Grace deeply and fears for her safety, he takes to the pirate life as smoothly as a duck to water.
He earns his stripes defending Captain Molucco Wrathe against a surprise attack. Then, as he begins sword fighting lessons, he marks himself out as a pirate of great potential. He’s a popular member of the crew and becomes best buddies with Bart and Jez.
In Tide of Terror, Connor comes to the attention of the Pirate Federation, who want to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Then, in Blood Captain, the reality of what it means to be a pirate really comes home to Connor.
These are testing times for the young hero as he questions his allegiances and debates just where his future lies.
Doesn’t it scare you being surrounded by people like me?” Vampirate Captain
VAMPIRATE CAPTAIN
According to the old shanty, the Vampirate Captain “wears a veil, so as to curtail your fright at his death-pale skin and his lifeless eyes and his teeth as sharp as night.”
Yet when Grace meets the captain, she finds that there is no veil; instead, he wears a mesh-like mask. But what does it conceal?
As the captain of a ship of vampires, you might expect him to be the most fearful of creatures and yet he seems to rule the ship with fairness and discipline, looking after all the members of his crew – whether vampires, donors or visitors like Grace and Connor Tempest.
The Captain even appears to have Grace and Connor’s best interests at heart. Can he be trusted? And, if so, what is his true connection to the twins?
The Vampirate Captain is a true enigma and it’s going to take all of Grace’s courage and persistence to find out what’s really going on behind the mask.
It’s my way or the highway.” Wu Cheng Li
WU CHENG LI
When we first meet Wu Cheng Li, she is already a Deputy Captain at just nineteen years-old. She’s second-in-command aboard notorious pirate ship, The Diablo, but to say that she and Captain Molucco Wrathe are at odds is a gross understatement.
Cheng Li has been trained by the Pirate Federation and graduated with flying colours from Pirate Academy. The daughter of Chang Ko Li – revered as “the best of the best” but killed in a common brawl – Cheng Li has a lot to live up to and she’s not wasting any time in building a reputation as one of the smartest and most ruthless new-wave of pirate warriors.
With the twin katanas on her back always poised for action, you don’t want to mess with her.
Can she be trusted? Well, the jury’s out on that but you’d better watch your back while she’s around. With an ambition as vast as the oceans, this tough cookie is definitely going places!
I’m the stuff of your nightmares . . . Actually, I’m the stuff your nightmares wake up screaming about.” Sidorio
SIDORIO
There’s nothing enigmatic about Sidorio. He was a villain in his mortal life – a pirate who kidnapped Julius Caesar and paid for this deed with his life. Now, centuries later, he’s just about the most ruthless Vampirate of them all.
He has twin gold teeth and he’s not afraid to use them – attacking wantonly whenever and wherever to feed his insatiable appetite for blood and mayhem.
He seems to bounce back from every apparent defeat, only to grow in strength and wickedness and yet he has a dark charisma which helps him recruit followers to his cause. After his rebellion forces his expulsion from the Vampirate ship, he begins a fresh journey, finding other disgruntled vampires to join his band – and soon he finds his stride and two trusty lieutenants, who stand ready to help him grow his evil empire.
These are dangerous times on the darkest of oceans but is Sidorio as unstoppable as he appears?
The only rule is that there are no rules.” Captain Molucco Wrathe
CAPTAIN MOLUCCO WRATHE
Love him or hate him, you’d have to agree that Molucco (pronounced Mo-luck-o) Wrathe is one of the most notorious and flamboyant captains ever to sail the high seas. With his rainbow-coloured dreadlocks and his pet snake Scrimshaw (who somehow lives among those dreadlocks!), Molucco Wrathe is a larger-than-life character.
Born into a pirate dynasty, he has two brothers, Barbarro and Porfirio, who are both captains themselves.
Molucco believes in a “short life but a merry one”. He’s a traditional, rock ‘n’ roll pirate, who has no time for the more strategic approach advocated by the Pirate Federation and the likes of Wu Cheng Li, his Deputy Captain (who he loathes!).
At first, Connor sees Captain Wrathe as a benevolent father-figure but as events unfold, he starts to question that view. Is Molucco Wrathe selfish, evil or just a little misguided? We’ll let you decide. One thing’s for sure, life’s never dull when he’s around.
With the last of my breath, I shall fight to protect her.” Lorcan Furey
LORCAN FUREY
It is enigmatic Irish sailor Lorcan Furey who rescues Grace from the icy seas in Demons Of The Ocean.
He’s a seventeen year-old Irish lad, with piercing blue eyes and jet black hair, but exactly how long has he been seventeen for?
From the very beginning, there’s a powerful connection between Lorcan and Grace. But there are secrets too and hidden dangers for both of them. As the story unfolds, we find that the connection between them goes back a whole lot further than we originally thought.
Can their special relationship withstand the explosive truth?
You’re not on my crew. And if you’re not on my crew, you’re the enemy.” Cutlass Cate Morgan
CUTLASS CATE MORGAN
Cutlass Cate is, as the sequence begins, head of weaponry and strategy aboard pirate ship The Diablo. She is well-liked and hugely respected by the crew and when, in Tide Of Terror, the position of Deputy Captain suddenly comes up for grabs, she’s the natural choice.
But one fateful day, Cate’s glittering career stumbles when The Diablo comes up against rival pirate ship The Albatross and its ruthless Captain Narcisos Drakoulis – a man with an ancient grudge towards Molucco Wrathe. As Drakoulis and his crew attack, Cate’s command is called into question. In the wake of the terrible events of that day, her authority is undermined and her relationship with Captain Molucco Wrathe takes a tumble. Worse still, she loses a dear comrade and friend.
In Blood Captain, a fresh campaign gives Cate the opportunity to display her tactical mastery and claw back the respect she lost.
But, once again, things do not exactly go to plan and Cate has to think – and act – fast to avert disaster.
It’s rude to stare, don’t you know? Even if I am quite beautiful.” Darcy Flotsam
DARCY FLOTSAM
Darcy was a 1920s flapper, who died aboard ill-fated ocean liner The Titania (not to be confused with The Titanic). Darcy was on board the ship as a singer, entertaining “the posh gents and ladies”. When the vessel was struck by freak lightning and sank to the ocean floor, Darcy’s spirit became fused with that of the ship’s figurehead and she is now a supernatural creature who is, in her own words, “a figurehead by day and a figure of fun by night”. It is Darcy’s job to sound both the nightfall and dawning bells aboard The Nocturne.
Darcy is a dedicated follower of fashion and has a seemingly bottomless closet aboard the ship, judging by the amount of outfits she loans to Grace and other fellow travellers. As bottomless as her closet, is Darcy’s heart. A hopeless romantic, she dreams of one day meeting her “Mr Jetsam”. When (Jez) Stukeley comes aboard The Nocturne, a whirlwind romance ensues and Darcy becomes convinced that he is the one she’s been waiting for.
A loyal friend to Lorcan and Grace, amongst others, Darcy shows signs of greater strength and bravery when she takes control after the Captain collapses. There are strong signs that there are hidden depths to the figurehead, which are just beginning to emerge.
Do not confuse immortality with being free of limits. It’s much more complicated than that.” Mosh Zu Kamal
MOSH ZU KAMAL
Mosh Zu Kamal is the guru of the Vampirates and a close advisor to, and friend of, the Vampirate Captain.
He is based at Sanctuary, the mountaintop retreat for Vampirates in crisis as well as Vampirates and Donors being prepared for their first voyage aboard The Nocturne.
Mosh Zu performs many mysterious healing rituals – including the powerful Ribbon Ceremony, which Grace witnesses in Blood Captain.
In spite of his exalted reputation, surprisingly little is known about Mosh Zu himself.
I’ve done such terrible, terrible things.” Stukeley
STUKELEY A.K.A. JEZ STUKELEY
Jez, a Mancunian by birth, forged an impressive early career as a pirate on board The Diablo, where he was much loved and prized by his comrades and Captain Molucco Wrathe. He was particularly close friends with Bart Pearce and, latterly, Connor Tempest. Indeed, the three young pirates became such a tight unit that Cate came up with the nickname “The Three Buccaneers”.
Jez was one of the strongest and bravest fighters aboard the ship and when the crew were tricked by Captain Narcisos Drakoulis and the crew of The Albatross, Jez stepped forward to take part in a duel to save Captain Wrathe’s honour and his comrades’ lives. Sadly, Jez died in that duel. He was given a burial at sea and his coffin thrown into the ocean. It washed up on a beach where the exiled Sidorio found it and opened it up. Finding Jez’s corpse inside, he sired him. Jez crossed over into the Vampirate realm and Stukeley was born, instantly becoming Sidorio’s second-in-command. Never an easy gig.
After a bumpy start, Stukeley has grown more accustomed to life as a Vampirate, especially after he is joined as fellow deputy by Johnny Desperado. There are some indications that Stukeley regrets his violent lifestyle and craves his old, simpler life back. But will the good or bad side of Stukeley’s character win out? Only time will tell.
It ain’t that I can’t be good. It’s just that I’m so much better at being bad.” Johnny Desperado
JOHNNY DESPERADO
When we first meet him, Johnny is one of the troubled Vampirates under Mosh Zu’s care at Sanctuary. Grace befriends him and finds him a charismatic and intriguing companion.
Johnny had a short and troubled life as a vaquero – a Mexican cowboy – before being killed for cattle rustling and crossing over into the Vampirate realm. As Johnny tells Grace, “It ain’t that I can’t be good. It’s just that I’m so much better at being bad.”
When Sidorio storms Sanctuary, looking for fresh recruits, Johnny is quick to sign up. Sidorio spots leadership potential in him in Johnny and makes him his joint second-in-command.
In life and afterwards, Johnny has consistently demonstrated a knack for making the wrong decisions and “backing the wrong horses”. How is that going to play out now that he’s in a position of power on board the aggressive new Vampirate ship, The Blood Captain?
