by Ryan Gilbert
As much as she tried to fight it, an unseen force thrust her forward while yanking her arms wide. The mermaid tried to curl her fingers to regain control, but the strain caused her fingernails to be ripped clean off. The winds whirling around the Dutchman had picked up once again, whipping the mermaid’s hair through the air. Her brightly glowing eyes shot red light out of them, forcefully expelling mist. Blood and that very same mist oozed from her fingers as they hung frozen on the deck, just like the rest of her body. Ororis let out a scream of pain as she spit out blood and mist.
There was nowhere for her to run.
There was nothing she could do.
Twirling Hades’ sword, Riggs made his way over to where the villain stood, the magic still seeping from her nearly paralyzed body.
“You were right when ye said you were more powerful than me,” he said to Ororis, gripping the weapon tightly, “There was only one problem.”
Looking over at Julia, Riggs brought his arm back, saying to Ororis, “Ye ain’t more powerful than me family.”
As the lights shooting from the mermaid’s eyes moved to face him, Riggs knew Ororis was staring at him.
It was just what he wanted.
With a mighty swing, Riggs sliced through his archenemy’s neck, cutting through muscle and bone. The head of Ororis fell to the deck, spurting blood onto the wood as it bounced and rolled until it came to a stop. The mermaid’s body crumpled to the ground, lying amongst the shattered bits of her golden sword.
The last bits of Old Magic flew upwards into the sky, disappeared in a flash of light. Nothing more remained inside the corpse of the mermaid.
As Riggs slowly made his way to where the mermaid’s head lay, he began to mutter the words to his song to himself.
“Steal and lie…”
Following the trail of blood, it led him to a smashed longboat.
“Steal and lie…”
Right beside the longboat laid the severed head of Ororis. Her mouth was still open in an eternal scream with blood pouring from her lips. Her eyes were no longer glowing. They were instead a dull gray.
“There are no rules…”
Grabbing the head by the hair, Riggs picked it up, even as the blood still dripped from its neck. Without a second thought, he heaved it over the side of the ship, watching as it splashed into the water and sank down to the depths.
“… so you just died.”
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Riggs and Julia could feel the Flying Dutchman rocking beneath their feet as the cannons did their job. The entire ship lurched to one side as water started to flow into the bow, courtesy of a blast from Ripper and his gunners.
“I think it’s time to get off this ship,” said Riggs.
“You think?” asked Julia as they both started running toward the rail.
With each step, the deck seemed to tilt upward, forcing the two to run even faster. Pretty soon, they could not even see the main deck of the Red Sky. They could only see the blood red sails.
“Jump!” shouted Riggs.
Both he and Julia planted their feet on the rail and jumped into the air as the Flying Dutchman capsized and sank. As they started to fall down to the water, they felt two hands grab onto them from above. Looking up, they were happily relieved to see Sapphire as she flew them both down to the deck of the Red Sky.
The three landed on the deck just as the captain’s quarters of the Dutchman sank below the surface. All across the pirate ship, there were sounds of rejoicing. On the outskirts of the battle, Riggs could see the remnants of the English Navy being chased away by the remaining pirates.
It was a wonderful sight to behold.
Their freedom had been restored.
“Welcome back, Captain,” said Coral Jack, greeting his friends as soon as he saw they had returned, “I take it the witch is dead?”
“Deader than she ever was, mate,” Riggs said, clapping his boatswain on the back.
Turning back to his crew, Riggs asked, “How’s everyone doin’?”
In response, Coral Jack answered, “We lost a good amount of men, and we’re still picking up survivors. Right now, we’re trying our best to take care o’ the wounded.”
“To hell with wounds. I’m just glad that evil wench is gone,” said the gruff voice of Clint.
Helped by Valera, the navigator hobbled forward, eager to congratulate his friend and captain. His stub of a calf was tightly wrapped with cloth and a tourniquet, stopping most of the bleeding.
“You need to be restin’, you old coot,” said Riggs.
“I’ll rest when I’m dead. Right now, I’ve got to shake hands with the best damn pirate I’ve ever sailed with.”
Using Valera to balance himself, Clint extended his hand to Riggs, but the Captain was not having any of it. He stepped right past his navigator’s hand and gave him a hearty embrace.
“I’d be nothin’ if I ain’t had you by my side,” said Riggs.
Helping his friend sit down on a barrel, Riggs said to his crew, “I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without all of you… and for that, ye will always have my utmost gratitude.”
“Can we have some rum too?” asked Coral Jack.
Laughing, Riggs replied, “Aye, ye can have rum too. Ye’ve earned it.”
The Captain walked back over to Julia and instantly pulled her into a kiss. Neither of them cared as the crew whistled and cheered them. They had just survived their toughest battle yet. A nice, long, passionate kiss was exactly what they needed at that moment.
Staring wistfully into his love’s eyes, Riggs said, “I love you, Julia Briggs.”
With a slight giggle, she replied, “And I love you, Robert.”
Grinning, Riggs stepped up onto a cannon, holding onto Julia’s hand. With the sword of Hades in his hand, he raised the weapon high in the air. The triumphant gesture caught the attention of every member of his crew as they waited intently for his next words.
“Gentlemen, this is the era of the Red Sky. There is nothin’ on these seas that can bring us down. We will forever be free men… or we will die tryin’. These are our seas once more. Now… let’s go and find somethin’ to plunder,” said Riggs with a grin on his face.
With a raucous roar, the crew rushed to their positions. The sails of the Red Sky filled with a strong wind as Riggs, Julia, and his crew sailed off into the afternoon sun that was just peeking through the clouds overhead.
There would never be another ship like her.
There would never be another crew like that ragtag bunch of pirates.
There would never be another captain like Riggs.
Nine Years Later
“Father, tell another story.”
“Oh, I think ye’ve had plenty of stories for now, little man,” said Riggs.
“Pleeeeease?” begged the child.
“Give your father a little time, Matthew. There will be plenty of time for stories later,” said Julia, taking their six-year-old son by the hand.
It had been nearly a half hour since they had left their home. Matthew Briggs had been woken by his parents just as the sun was rising, and he was still rather tired. Riggs had tried telling him all of the stories that he could think of, but they were getting close to where they needed to be.
Right beside them, waves broke on the beach, rolling across the sand. Riggs laughed as he watched his son temporarily forget about his sleepiness and instead start frolicking in the breaking tide.
“You really shouldn’t encourage him,” Julia scolded her husband.
“I would’ve done the same if I were his age,” he said.
“Then you’re cleaning his clothes when we get home.”
Riggs and Julia walked hand in hand, watching as their son ran ahead of them, picking up seashells and rocks as he found them on the ground. It was peaceful, just as it should be.
As the family reached a cluster of rocks outside of what looked like a cave, Matthew suddenly dropped what he was doing and started hopping up and do
wn in jubilation, pointing at something. Sitting on the rocks was a long-haired man with an eye patch over one eye. From where he stood, Riggs could already see Coral Jack taking a swig of rum from his flask.
“What is it?” Riggs asked, kneeling down next to his son and pretending he did not see the boatswain.
“It’s Uncle Jack. It’s Uncle Jack,” the boy squealed with glee.
“Aye, that it is. Go and see if ye can knock him down,” said Riggs, patting his son on the back.
Matthew ran to where Coral Jack was sitting. Quickly hiding his flask, the boatswain caught the boy in his arms, hoisting him up in the air.
“It’s gonna take a bit more than that to take me down, kid,” he said, teasing him as he put the child down and adjusted his eye patch.
At Jack’s side, Valera sat with their four-year-old son John propped up against her, fast asleep.
“Mattie, you’ve grown so much since we last saw you,” she said.
“Aye, Auntie Val, I’ve grown a lot,” Matthew exclaimed, standing on the tips of his toes.
“Pretty soon, you’re going to be taller than your father,” said the mermaid.
“Don’t count on it,” said Riggs.
Looking around, Riggs asked, “Where is everybody else?”
“Ovah here, Captain,” said an unmistakeable Jamaican voice.
Ripper climbed over the rocks, joining the group. Even though he was among friends, he still had two pistols hanging from his belt. Who knew where he had others hidden?
“Good ta see ya two,” the master gunner said to Riggs and Julia.
“Likewise to you, Ripper,” said Julia.
Looking around, Riggs could tell they were still missing someone.
“Has anyone seen Sa…”
“I’m here, Captain,” said Sapphire, gracefully flying down from the air above, “My apologies. I was a bit late.”
Even though he saw her rather often, Riggs could not see any indication that the fairy had aged one bit in the past several years.
“Great to see ye again, Saph,” said Riggs.
“Great seeing you too, Captain,” said Sapphire, hugging the pirate.
At that moment, Riggs knelt down on the rock and called his son over to him. Matthew hurried over to his father, yawning a tiny bit.
Placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, Riggs said, “Matthew, do you remember all o’ the stories that I told you about a ship called the Red Sky?”
The boy nodded his head vigorously.
“Now listen carefully,” urged Riggs, “What you are about to see will change how you see those stories. Do you understand?”
“Yes, father,” said the boy, taking Riggs’ outstretched hand.
Motioning for his crew to follow him, Riggs led his son toward the cave. Once they rounded the corner to go inside, the boy’s eyes lit up in surprise.
Inside the cave lay anchored a large ship with a black hull. Red sails were strung up, yearning to feel the wind pushing against them once again. It was exactly how Riggs had described it to his son and ten times better than the boy had imagined it.
“Feast yer eyes on the Red Sky, son.”
Matthew could not believe it, even as the crew boarded the legendary ship once more. During the dozens of times that his father had told him stories, he had never imagined that they were true.
Riggs, his crew, and their newest additions to the families made their way to the helm of the ship. For the first time in several months, the Captain laid his hands on the wheel, pulling out a knife. With everyone watching, he carved a name into the wood.
Clint Wayko
“Still can’t believe it. The old codger dying in his sleep? He would o’ hated knowing that’s how he would die,” said Coral Jack, sneakily taking a swig of rum.
“I thought da old man would live through any’ting. Guess we was wrong.”
Running his hand across the newly carved name, Riggs let a single tear drip from his eye before he rubbed it away.
“I’m goin’ to miss you, mate,” he whispered.
He knew his navigator could hear him.
Turning around, Riggs asked, “Saph, would ye mind?”
The smile on the fairy’s face said it all.
With a wave of her wand, the red sails unraveled. The anchor rose out of the water, and magical winds filled the canvas. The Red Sky gently lurched forward as Riggs grabbed hold of the wheel, directing it out of the cave. The red sails bathed in the sunlight as the pirate ship sailed once again.
Slowly getting his sea legs, Matthew stumbled over to his father, who stood him right next to the wheel. Bidding his son to hold on to the spokes, Riggs tustled his son’s brown hair as the boy laughed.
Taking Julia by the hand, Riggs said, “Let me tell you a tale, Matthew… a tale of the most notorious pirate crew ever known to sail the seas.”
Giving his wife a kiss, Riggs said, “It all started like this…”
“Give me the sea;
Give me the wind.
Give me a ship
To plunder the land.
Steal and lie;
Steal and lie;
There are no rules,
But you will not die.
Raise the skull and crossbones;
Bring fear into a man’s soul.
Shoot and loot, steal his gold;
Send him down to the depths below.
A life of freedom and piracy,
A life for which many men would die.
Our story will live on,
Just like our dear Red Sky.”
The End… For Now
The Red Sky Series
A Red Sky Is Upon Us
A Red Sky Has Fallen
A Red Sky Rising
Dawn of a Red Sky
Era of a Red Sky