Era of a Red Sky

by Ryan Gilbert

  Pointing toward the Hamonds, the Admiral continued, saying, “If it were not for this traitor, then I would have had you and your crew in my grasp months ago.”

  “Traitor?” asked Riggs, “I’ve seen me fair share of traitors… and I don’t really think he fits the mold.”

  “Do not try to defend him, pirate. Your fate will be the same as his… the hangman’s noose.”

  “Delightful,” Riggs sighed, rolling his eyes.

  A displeased look appeared on Carter’s face as he motioned for one of the soldiers to unlock the cell. With the other soldier aiming his musket at Riggs, the Admiral stepped into the cell, standing directly in front of the pirate. He did not look like he was going to attack Riggs, but there was always that possibility. If the Captain was intimidated, then he hid it quite well.

  “One of the men that brought you here said that you would tell me where your ship was hidden,” said Carter, his hands folded in front of his waist.

  Riggs chuckled a bit, unnerving even Hamond. He had no idea what to expect any more.

  “Do ye really think that I would tell you anythin’? My crew is the only family I know, and there is no chance in hell that I’d betray them,” said Riggs, suddenly getting serious.

  “You forget, Captain, that your ruffian crew includes my son.”

  Riggs shook his head.

  “No, I ain’t forgotten that,” he said.

  It was then that the tables turned.

  “Tell me, Admiral. How does it feel to have your own flesh and blood torn away from ye? How does it feel knowin’ your son threw in his lot with a crew of scoundrels?”

  Standing right in front of the grizzled, old Navy officer, Riggs stood his ground, trying not to be intimidated. The Admiral was not wavering, and neither was the pirate.

  “Eli has been a part o’ my crew for years now, Admiral, and there ain’t nothin’ ye can do to change that,” Riggs hissed.

  Not one single word left Carter’s mouth as he stood there, glaring at the pirate. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, surprisingly maintaining his composure. Hamond had expected to see his superior knock his insubordinate prisoner to the ground, or at the very least slap him. The Admiral did neither.

  Not breaking eye contact with Riggs, Carter said, “I will relish watching you hang.”

  The Navy officer made his way to the cell door, motioning to the soldier to close it and lock it. Once he was on the opposite sides of the bars as Riggs, Carter cast a glance at him, a glance that actually frightened the pirate.

  Or did it just seem to frighten him?

  “You will die without a single ally at your side. Your crew cannot save you. Your final ally has come to blows with you, and even he cannot save you.”

  Directing his attention to all three of the prisoners, Admiral Carter said, “Enjoy your last night alive.”

  Without saying another word, Carter pivoted on his feet, throwing his coat behind him as he strode down the hall, away from the two cells. Riggs stepped closer to the door, watching intently as his enemy walked away from him.

  “That night ain’t comin’ for a while, ye old bastard.”

  Hidden along the shores bordering Yorktown, the Red Sky sat on the ocean, the crew watching the sun set in the sky. As the reds, oranges, and yellows streaked across the horizon, each of the pirates remained alert. With the ship anchored so close to the settlement, there was always the possibility of a Navy ship noticing them and pursuing them.

  Even as the sun fell below the horizon, the crew remained on deck, preparing the ship to attack if the situation called for it. Few pirates were sleeping below deck, but those who were had been awake for nearly a whole day.

  Looking up at the sky as the stars peeked between the clusters of clouds, Sapphire sat down on the stairs to the helm, her usual smile missing from her face. In its place was a dejected frown.

  The fairy reached down to her waist, pulling out her broken wand. In the weeks spent sailing to Yorktown, she had managed to find the other half of the broken weapon, but there was one problem.

  She had no idea how to fix it… if she even could fix it.

  With the exception of her wings to help her fly, Sapphire was powerless. It was a feeling that she had never expected to encounter. As each day passed, she had felt like she was growing even more worthless to the crew. They were all rushing about, trying to make things work for Riggs’ plan to succeed, and she was stuck there, unable to do anything. It felt horrible to have one of her crewmates look to her for help and then turn away once he realized that her powers were gone.

  She felt so alone.

  Taking a deep breath, the fairy took the two bits of her wand and held them in her hand, covering the broken segment in her palm. She closed her eyes, trying to channel her magic into the wand. She almost thought she could feel the power rushing through her hand, almost like it was about to burst.

  “Please let it have worked,” she murmured under her breath as she slowly opened her fist.

  The wand was still broken.

  In frustration, Sapphire tossed the two pieces onto the step next to her. Not even bothering to look at the wand, she rested her elbows on her knees, slouching her shoulders in dejection. She looked like a fairy who had just given up.

  Behind her, she could hear footsteps gradually getting closer. Not wanting to be in the way, she scooted closer to the railing, resting her head on the wood. Much to her surprise, Clint sat right down next to her, presumably getting his first rest of the day.

  “Couldn’t help but notice you were looking a bit down, Saph,” said the navigator.

  Letting out a slight chuckle, Sapphire said, “I didn’t realize you could tell.”

  Clint laid a hand on the fairy’s shoulder, trying to reassure her.

  “Of course I could tell. I’m the navigator. It’s my job to notice things… even small things.”

  Sapphire nodded her head, forcing a pitiful smile.

  “I guess it is.”

  As Clint turned his head, he saw the two broken pieces of the fairy’s wand. As soon as he saw those, he knew the cause of the fairy’s downtrodden look. Even a pirate like Coral Jack would have been able to tell.

  “Is that the reason why yer like this?” Clint asked, pointing at the shattered weapon.

  He already knew the answer before his friend could even say it.

  Sapphire nodded again.

  Turning to face the fairy, Clint sighed. He had seen the look on her face many times during his life as a pirate. There was always one crewmate who seemed left out… the one crewmate who seemed weak… the one crewmate who wanted desperately to make a difference.

  “Sapphire, look at me,” Clint said calmly.

  As she sniffled and rubbed her eyes, the fairy slowly brought her eyes to meet Clint’s gaze. He could see the shimmering look in her eyes as she tried to hide how she was really feeling.

  Unfortunately for her, she was not very good at deception.

  “I wasn’t crying,” she said, wiping her cheeks.

  “Liar,” Clint chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Yeah… yeah, I guess so.”

  Picking up the broken pieces of Sapphire’s wand, the navigator held them out to her, letting her take them from his hand.

  “Clint, I… I don’t know what to do. I can’t stay a part of this crew if I’m just going to be useless,” the fairy cried.

  Shocked, Clint said, “Who said that?”

  Sniffling once more, Sapphire replied, “No one needs to say anything. I can see it in their faces. Me and my damn wings can’t do anything except get in the way.”

  “But…”

  Sapphire kept talking, saying, “Ripper can shoot, Jack can take care of the ship, Valera can ambush our enemies, and Eli can build stuff. Even you can do something!”

  “Saph, you have to…”

  Interrupting Clint and talking over him again, the fairy said, “I’m just a failure, aren’t I?”

  “Sapp
hire!”

  Clint’s exclamation surprised the fairy, so much so that she jolted herself nearly to her feet.

  “Yes?” she asked.

  Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said, “You’re not a failure, Saph, and you’re not useless. I’ve seen useless crewmembers, and they never last. You want to know what sets ye apart from ‘em?”

  “What?”

  “You are taking action.”

  A bit confused, Sapphire said, “I don’t understand.”

  Sighing, Clint pressed his fingers against his forehead. He had really hoped he would not have to explain it, but evidently, he would.

  “Has Riggs ever told you how he became captain?” he asked.

  A bit perplexed by the question, Sapphire shook her head, saying, “No… no, I don’t believe he has.”

  “Well now you’re going to hear that story. I’ve seen the look on yer face before. That same look was stuck on the face of Riggs, several years ago. Our captain at the time, William Richardson, had started leading the crew down a path o’ least resistance. He’d gotten cowardly, something a pirate should never do. It was starting to anger some of us, but we never did anything about it.”

  Smiling a bit as he remembered the past, Clint continued, “At that time, Riggs was a nobody. He was a lowly pirate stuck swabbing the decks. There were many days when I’d see him peering out over the sea.”

  The navigator pointed to Sapphire’s glistening eyes, trying to hold back tears.

  “I could swear I saw that same dejected look in his eyes, without the crying, o’ course,” he said with a smile.

  Sapphire let out a quick giggle at Clint’s joke, wiping her eyes.

  “What’d he do?” she asked.

  Clint gave his friend a knowing look as the memories from several years ago flooded back into his mind.

  “He did what his heart told him to do. He came to me, asking about mutiny and all o’ this bollocks, and I didn’t take ‘im seriously at first. He was just a young pirate with delusions of grandeur. When he actually started turning some of the crew to his side, I knew Riggs was serious. There came a time whenever we had just captured a vessel… and it was at that moment that he decided to launch his mutiny. Now he’s the captain o’ the fastest ship to sail the seas, and it’s all because he took that chance and did something.”

  Looking down at Sapphire’s belt, Clint asked, “Do ye still have that wood that Alystor gave to ye?”

  The fairy reached down into one of the pockets on her belt, pulling out the hunk of wood. Handing it to the navigator, she watched as he took a knife and pushed it into the block of wood. With a quick jerk of the knife, the wood splintered with the grain, dropping a long, thin piece of the wood into Clint’s hand. Standing up, he handed the piece of wood and the knife to Sapphire, sticking the rest of the block back in his friend’s pocket.

  “You’re not the first one on this ship to feel powerless, Saph. You just need to find out how to seize that power back.”

  With a smile, Clint pulled out his flask and took a gulp of rum before he resumed his post at the wheel. Silently, he hoped Sapphire would figure out what to do. Her guess was as good as his.

  The fairy looked down at the wood and the knife in her hands. Even in the dark of the night, she could see tiny splinters poking out from the side where Clint had broken the wood away from the block. Pressing her legs together to keep bits of the wood from falling to the ground, Sapphire started to run the knife across the Gicmae wood, shaving off tiny bits and pieces of it.

  If Alystor had said that the wood would channel her magic, then the fairy would have to try to believe her.

  It was her only chance.

  As the first rays of sunshine shone in through the bars, Riggs awoke to voices. The sounds of a crowd gathering in the fort had started to drift through the windows of the cells. At first, he had no idea what was happening, but all it took was a few seconds.

  The hangman’s noose was a spectacle to behold. The executions of a disgraced commodore and a notorious pirate were certainly worthy of a large crowd. Men and women from all over Yorktown and the surrounding areas would be there to see their Navy sailors triumph yet again.

  At that moment, Riggs started to doubt that his plan would work.

  No… no, his plan had to work. He had thought things through. He had planned it as best as he could. There was no way that the Navy could predict his plan. He had the ultimate surprise for them, and it would result in both his and the Hamonds’ freedom.

  He hoped.

  “I see you slept well.”

  The former commodore was leaning against the bars separating the cells, watching the pirate. Calmly, Riggs sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. Time seemed to drag as he stood up, waiting for the familiar sound of clomping feet coming down the hall.

  “I don’t really think a hard floor much suits me,” said Riggs.

  Looking past Hamond, the Captain saw Julia’s mother tossing and turning on the floor.

  “How is she holdin’ up?” he asked.

  “Not well,” replied Hamond, “She’s not used to the accommodations of a prisoner.”

  “And you are, Commodore?” asked Riggs.

  Pointing to his own beaten and scruffy face, Hamond said, “Does this seem like the face of someone who isn’t used to being kept in this prison?”

  “When were you even arrested?” asked a surprised Riggs.

  “Right after Carter destroyed the Regality.”

  The shock must have been showing on Riggs’ face as Hamond said, “Yes, Riggs, I’ve been locked in this fort for that long.”

  The Captain shook his head, thinking about the months that he, Julia, and his crew had been pirating, trying to keep themselves safe. While they had been doing that, the man responsible for letting them escape the Navy was withering away in a jail cell like a common criminal.

  With downcast eyes, Riggs said, “Commodore Hamond, I’m sorry.”

  Julia’s father placed his hand on the pirate’s shoulder. Even in their dire situation, it gave Riggs reassurance.

  Hamond looked down at the pirate and said, “I didn’t ask for an apology. I made a choice, and that was my burden to bear. If it would keep my daughter… and your crew safe, then I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

  Riggs did not know why, but he remembered back to his first meeting with Commodore Hamond. He was a spry, young captain of a ragtag group of pirates, and Hamond was a stern, vengeful Navy officer bent on getting his daughter back. Now, they were both standing in the same prison, awaiting the same sentence.

  Death.

  “Commodore Hamond… um… can I ask ye somethin’?”

  The look on Riggs’ face was one that Hamond had never seen before. The normally cocky pirate seemed like he was actually feeling nervous.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  Neither of the men even seemed to hear the rhythmic footsteps of the soldiers coming down the hall. Riggs motioned for Hamond to lean forward a bit as he asked his question in a quiet voice. Not even a waking Catherine could hear what he said.

  “Ay! You two, get away from the bars,” ordered the soldiers as they fidgeted with the keys to unlock the cell doors, “We cannot have you planning an escape.”

  Hamond and Riggs ignored them as the pirate ended his question, his eye contact with his true love’s father unbroken. Matthew Hamond looked down at a nervous and vulnerable Riggs and almost seemed to smile.

  “Yes.”

  Even as two soldiers hauled him away from the bars, Riggs shot Hamond a grin.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “Silence, pirate,” ordered one of the soldiers, jabbing the butt end of his musket into the back of Riggs’ leg.

  The Captain grimaced and merely shrugged it off, saying, “Careful there, mate. I still need to be able to walk.”

  “You will not be walking far, vermin,” said one of the soldiers entering the Hamonds’ cell, “The hangman’s noose is just outside, and w
e have orders from the Admiral himself to get you there in one piece. He never said what condition that piece had to be in, so you would best be quiet.”

  “Try me,” said Riggs, testing the soldier.

  Immediately, the soldier at his side walloped him in the face. As the pirate staggered a couple steps, the other man seized his wrists, clapping him in irons. Riggs tried to swing at the soldiers with both hands, but he just received a knee to the gut for his efforts.

  “Get up, you pathetic pirate,” said one of the soldiers, grabbing Riggs by the back of his shirt and dragging him to the cell door.

  In stark contrast to Riggs, both Matthew and Catherine put up no fight when the soldiers confronted them. With little strength left in their bodies, there was no way that fighting could actually help them. Silently, they held out their arms so that the soldiers could lock the shackles around their wrists.

  Now, there was nothing left but the walk.

  The soldiers led each of the prisoners down the hall, one soldier in front, two beside each prisoner, and one to bring up the rear. A chill ran down Riggs’ spine as each step seemed to bring him closer to what he feared most. He knew what he needed to do, but now was not the time to question it. He had faced Garrett. He had faced a sea serpent. He had faced Henry Every. He had even faced Ororis.

  The one thing he had not faced was the gallows.

  It did not take long to reach the courtyard. As the bright sun glared down at them, it forced the three to squint, their eyes gradually adjusting to the shift out of the darkness. From all sides, they could hear jeering and gasping as they were led through the crowd. More soldiers formed a narrow path, curving toward the instrument of death.

  It was a terrifying sight to behold.

  The wooden structure reached high into the air, the platform several feet higher than Riggs’ head. At one end of the platform stood a large, frightening man with a hood covering his head. Riggs had never seen an executioner before, but he had definitely seen worse. The fact that the unknown man literally held life and death in the palm of his hand once he pulled the lever next to him was what made him rather scary.