by David Talon
Then Sally put her fingers to her mouth and gave the most piercing whistle I’d ever heard, forcing everyone to cover their ears. When she stopped, Pepper stepped out in the open area away from everyone. “Am I a daemon as well, Luc?”
“None of us think that,” Lucky Luc answered, several of the Buccan translating for the rest as they remained where they were for the moment. “We know what you suffered both under ze Papists and ze Shadowmen was against your will, and for your sake we will not see you suffer it again.”
“His actions will tell us ze truth of his nature,” Master Le’Vass said. “If he is a daemon then his depravity will soon show us what he truly is.” He began speaking in French. “Bide your time; the Olde World will pay us well for a Dragon as strong as he will become.”
Lucky Luc gave the Quartermaster a calculating look as Captain Hawkins said, “English if you please, Jean.”
Master Le’Vass gave the captain a slight bow. “Pray forgive my oversight, mon captain. I was merely counseling patience to the Buccan.”
The captain’s eyes narrowed as Mr. Smith said in his deep rumble, “Jeremiah, why don’t you tell the crew of the times you and Tomas spent together in St. Augustine. All know you as a brother of the crew, and your word’s been trusted for months now.”
“I can tell stories about him too,” Pepper piped up, tapping the side of her head. “Smoke’s up here now until we merge for good, and we’re speaking mind to mind.” I saw much of the crew trade looks as she went on. “Everyone knows a Dragon always tells the truth, and I’ve been trusted longer than Jeremiah.” She looked at me and grinned. “I promise I won’t reveal anything too shameful.” I winced, and most of the crew laughed.
But the Buccan continued watching me with dark eyes as a large, bare chested African stepped out from the crew. Most of the Africans had congregated in a group near Mr. Smith, but he seemed to be part of a group of Europeans, all twenty or so wearing a red bandana around their necks or tied on their upper right arm. The African had very dark skin, but oddly had patches of white, like the dark skin had flaked off somehow. To my surprise, he spoke with an English accent. “What about you, girl? You’re the ship’s luck, and we’re not going to lose you to a dragon-ghost.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Pepper replied. “I met with Victoria, the harpy we fought today, briefly for a time after she’d given in to the Dark Sisters. She was still herself, albeit twisted by the dragon-ghost, and naïve about the strangest things. She told me everything was new to her again.”
“I nae want you to be anything like that harpy,” Redbeard said, giving her a sharp look.
“I won’t. Smoke’s a fighter, and when Tomas goes into battle I’m going to be flying overhead as an eagle, swooping down on our enemies...”
“Who will be shooting at you...”
“I’ll be flying fast...”
Pepper was shouted down by the Buccan, who didn’t want her to become something unnatural, and the rest of the crew, who didn’t want her anywhere near the fighting, for fear she’d perish and take their luck with her. But everyone quieted as Master Khan stepped out of the shadows near the wall separating the crew’s hold from the main one, and walked up beside Pepper. “No one wishes little Pepper to be hurt, yes? But we will no more be able to stop her from fighting than we would Jade or the little ones who came with Tomas, and are now filling our sails. But I have a solution.”
Captain Hawkins folded his arms over his chest. “We’re listening.”
“The land I was born in has been ruled by China for many years. We always had a tradition of protecting Dragons, and part of our agreement with the Ming dynasty was to provide Dragons, merged with a dragon-ghost, as part of their personal guard. The merged Dragons would use the herbs Jade spoke of to prolong his life and wore a suit of thin Artifact plates against his skin, so when a ‘son or daughter of Tengri’, as they were called, changed his shape, he would absorb those plates into his skin and thus gain their protection. Then, when the fighting was over, he would change back and would be wearing the suit of plates again.” Master Khan turned his hooded face towards Pepper. “If you are determined to become a daughter of Tengri then I will instruct you in how this is done, as well as the correct dose of the herbs you will need.”
I suddenly understood more about the wolf and jaguar shape-changers I’d run from. “Master Khan, how do you know so much about this?”
He turned towards me slightly, only his chin with the tuft of a white beard visible under the hood. “That is a long story for another night. Tonight, the stories must be about you, and I for one am curious to hear what Jeremiah has to say.”
All eyes went to Jeremiah, who looked at me as he shook his head. “When Tomas doesn’t have someone to rein him in, he tends to leap first and think about where he’s going as he’s falling.” The crew laughed as I gave him an embarrassed shrug, and Jeremiah’s look of exasperation with me turned into a smile. “But Tomas was the only free man in St. Augustine who looked at me as a friend and not as a slave.”
The tall Frenchman Claude spoke up in accented English. “What is St. Augustine like?”
“St. Augustine? It’s hard to say what it’s like now, since the Draco Dominus just sacked it, but a couple years ago...”
Captain Hawkins made a head motion towards the stairs leading out of the crew’s hold, and I followed him out.
“Is all well?” Selene looked at me with concern in her eyes. “I heard shouting.” I was standing with the captain and Mr. Smith on the quarterdeck, Ezekiel still manning the tiller, his one hand holding the grey-wood, carved mermaid by her waist while the other held her above the back fin, where the carving became smooth and rounded once more. By this time the sun had truly gone down and the stars were out, blazing across the night sky as the Blackjack Davy continued on the course Ezekiel set, like a prophet leading his people to the Promised Land.
Selene had been waiting for us there with her back to the sea, and as we stopped beside her the captain gave me a dark look. “Yes, there was a lot of shouting.”
“It wasn’t my fault, sir,” I said quickly. “Pepper had matters well in hand, but then Hob told Redbeard I was the one in Pepper’s vision, and...” The captain’s expression grew darker and I faltered.
“And that’s when the shouting started,” Mr. Smith finished for me. I nodded, and Captain Hawkins pinched the bridge of his nose as Mr. Smith gave a rumbling chuckle. “The only thing a goblin likes better than rotten fish is making mischief.”
Selene gasped. “You truly have a goblin on board?”
Captain Hawkins let go of his face and gestured with his hand towards the tiller. “Examine it, or look anywhere else on the ship and tell me if you see nail holes.”
Selene and I knelt down to examine the tiller. It connected to the ships rudder, which dropped down below deck, but as I ran my hand along it my fingers couldn’t find evidence of a single hole where a nail had been hammered in. Ezekiel glanced down at us. “Search de ship and you not gonna find one. De goblin, he fuse de wood together after he done turn it grey.” He looked forward again. “Strange shitte, you know? But this de strangest ship anyone ever sail on.”
Selene stood up and I followed suit as she faced the captain. “The stories I have heard about the Blackjack Davy echo his words.”
Captain Hawkins gave her a sardonic smile. “That the Davy is haunted? Or that if you ever sail with her you’ll never age a day, those stories?” Selene nodded, and the captain’s smile went away. “They’re true, up to a point. While you’re aboard the Davy you age but slowly, so it seems to men you’ve never aged at all.”
Selene’s eyes were as wide as I knew mine were. “But how is that possible? Pray tell me, is it some sort of sorcery from this goblin?”
“It isn’t the goblin,” Mr. Smith said in his rumbling voice. “Time lost its grip on us the moment the Chinese Dragon died aboard the Davy, close to seve
nteen years ago.”
“Ask Redbeard for the long version,” Captain Hawkins said, “and he’ll tell it down to the last sword stroke. In short, many years ago, Maccabee,” gesturing towards Mr. Smith, “and I sailed with Sir Francis Drake when he sailed around the world. When we made our port of call in China, Sir Francis became acquainted with a powerful Dragon of the Imperial court, who years later found a way to contact Sir Francis, no doubt through a dragon-ghost, and inform him she was pregnant and fleeing China for some unknown reason.”
“Politics would be my guess,” Selene said. “I understand the Ming dynasty has been going through a difficult period.”
“Mine as well,” Captain Hawkins replied. “She also told him she had to repeat his voyage, but in reverse, so Sir Francis organized an expedition to meet up with her in the New World. Once we were underway she sent word she was not only close to delivering but Olde Roger was on her trail and closing fast. Sir Francis made all haste to find her but Olde Roger found her first. We came upon the small Chinese fleet being overwhelmed by Olde Roger’s larger one and we smashed him in turn, sinking all of his ships and taking no prisoners. The last we saw of Olde Roger, he was fleeing on the back of his last remaining Artifact golem, a black vulture.”
“Was the Chinese Dragon still alive?”
Captain Hawkins grimaced. “She was, but only by a thread. Maccabee carried her back to the Davy, as Sir Francis was locked in combat with Olde Roger’s ship, and she died before he could spare one of his dragon-ghosts to heal her. Sir Francis in turn was overcome with grief, and soon after caught the fever that killed him. We gave his body to the strongest of his dragon-ghosts...” He looked at Mr. Smith. “Storm, wasn’t it?” Mr. Smith nodded. “Storm took Sir Francis away and we never saw him again.”
Selene lightly touched the captain’s arm. “I have never heard that tale before. Did you give the woman’s body to the sea?”
The captain shook his head, and after a moment Mr. Smith spoke. “We never had the chance. We laid her here,” Mr. Smith pointing down at the spot between my bare feet, “where she looked up at us and said our voyage would continue until her enemy was dead. The captain told her we’d all most likely be dead of old age before that happened, and she replied the voyage would continue a thousand years if it had to, and he would remain at the helm. Then her body flowed like water and she melted into the ship.”
Selene and I both stared at Mr. Smith in disbelief, and the captain gave us a sardonic look. “Sounds like a sailor’s tale, but Maccabee speaks the truth. Jade was her dragon-ghost, and she joined us after her mistress became part of my ship.” He pointed up towards the rigging above us. “Once in a while you’ll see strings of lights begin to wind themselves around the lines. The crew calls them ‘ghost lights’, and after they appear, the spirit of the Chinese Dragon will walk the upper deck. Most of the crew goes below when the ghost lights appear, but if you approach her she will speak to you, as men have done from time to time.”
“It’s considered a sign of courage with the old hands,” Mr. Smith said in his deep rumble as his eyes met mine. “Jeremiah spoke to her once, showing her a wood carving he’d made of a sea-bird. She told him to be ready to carve weapons soon, but then smiled at him and vanished.” I nodded, although I would’ve expected no less from my friend as Mr. Smith dug a gold coin out of the pouch at his belt. “Now I have a question for you. When I sorted through the contents of your travel bag, I found this.”
He tossed the coin to me and I caught it in mid-air. I opened my fist to see the familiar gold coin with oriental markings stamped into the metal, which I hadn’t thought to ever see again. “It’s my mother’s...my real mother, not my foster mother, Johanna. She told me my true mother gave her a bag of these in return for Johanna taking care of me, and Belle-M’ere saved the last one as a memento.”
Captain Hawkins plucked it from my hand. “As per the Articles, it goes into the common pot.”
“Whoever gets it will be told where it came from, and they may well give it back.” I nodded, refusing to get my hopes up as Mr. Smith gave me a thoughtful look. “From what I’ve pieced together, you were born a fortnight before the battle, which took place off the Carolina coast in mid-December.”
Captain Hawkins stabbed a finger towards my face. “That doesn’t look very Chinese.”
“Sir,” I said, wondering if I was speaking the truth or not, “when Captain Cholula investigated me, she claimed she’d found an old document stating I’d been brought to St. Augustine wearing a face with Chinese features, but after Johanna put me to her breast my face changed to a mirror image of hers.” Captain Hawkins’s eyes narrowed, and I quickly added, “I know it’s impossible, but that’s what Captain Cholula said she’d found.”
Selene spoke before the captain could respond. “There are stories... legends, really, of the children born to a mated pair of Dragons being able to change their shape to something else without being merged with a dragon-ghost, though not easily. Bartholomew always thought they were just stories...but then, he thought goblins were just stories as well.”
“If you truly are her son,” Mr. Smith said, “then it may be more possible than you imagine. I was the cabin steward for Francis Drake when we sailed around the world, and I clearly remember when we found ourselves tethered between two Imperial warships of the Ming. Sir Francis and the leader of the delegation sent to meet us, who is now our infamous ghostly Dragon, became quite close, and after the celebration held to honor us upon our departure,” he glanced at the captain, “which was when Khan stowed away with us, she and Sir Francis shared his cabin. I was a curious lad, and when Sir Francis forgot to lock his door, I snuck inside to watch. His cabin was quite large, with a parlor opening into the bedroom, and I hid behind his large travel chest as he and the Chinese woman began to carnally enjoy themselves.”
“He would’ve had you flogged, had he known,” Captain Hawkins remarked.
“It was my good fortune he did not. But at one point she began to dance for him, and as she did her body changed from mortal to something strange, all pale and thin like a creature from the realm of Fairie. Sir Francis wasn’t the least bit upset, eagerly taking her back to his bed, and being frightened I snuck back out until they were finished, and Sir Francis called for me. When I went back inside, the woman had returned to her normal appearance once more.”
Captain Hawkins gave him a strange look. “Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”
“Would you have believed me? After we left I told myself I’d imagined it, but now, in light of what Tomas just said, I felt the tale finally needed to be told.”
“Mr. Smith,” I said, trying to keep the quaver out of my voice, “who was she?”
My heart sank like the Dutch Flyte had when he shook his head. “I don’t know and neither does the captain nor anyone else aboard. Sir Francis never said anything about her, and Jade’s never said.”
“Her name was Long-Mu,” Jade’s voice said quietly from a spot beside my ear. “She was one of the last True Dragons...and Tomas shares half her nature.”
Captain Hawkins folded his arms as he stared at me. “Who was the father?”
“I do not know. I only tell you this much to warn you about letting any more of the crew know than you have to. As events stand now, all Olde Roger will hear from Captain Thorne is how he missed an opportunity to capture a strong Dragon.”
“But if he hears Tomas is the son of his enemy, as I assume Long-Mu was, he will try to kill him.”
“Or twist Tomas to his side. I knew him a very long time ago, when he went by a different name, but his nature has not changed. He would take delight in having the son of his worst enemy serve him, to whatever end he means to accomplish.”
“I’ll never serve him,” I said to Jade, “no matter what.”
“Not as long as you’re under Dragon-oath to me, you won’t,” Captain Hawkins replied. “Jade, since Tomas shares h
alf of Long-Mu’s nature and since it seems he changed his form once, can he learn to do it again?” Before she could answer he looked at me. “I assume you cannot?”
“I’ve tried, sir. Back when I was a young boy, I got the notion in my head that I could make myself into a real dragon, and Smoke and I did everything we could think of to make it work.” I shrugged. “But nothing did.”
“You would need the training of one of the last true Dragons, and the only one I know of is Olde Bone Woman, the Maya Dragon of the Yucatan in New Spain.”
“Out of the question,” Captain Hawkins said before anyone could speak. “We aren’t going anywhere near her or the Draco Magistris. Can you teach him?”
“Can a hawk teach the wolf to hunt? Tomas and I exist in two separate states of being, and neither I nor any other of my sisters would have any notion where to begin. If it is of any consolation, young Tomas will be far more beneficial to you as a fighter and nothing more. All Dragons have a piece of the True Dragons within them, which is why they can change their form when they permanently merge with one of my sisters. But Tomas has far more of the True dragon within him than anyone not a True Dragon themselves. Think of it like copper and steel: copper is easily twisted into another form, but steel has to be molded... and steel is far stronger than copper,”
Captain Hawkins eyes locked onto mine. “You will say nothing of this to anyone, not to Redbeard, not to Jeremiah, and definitely not to your newly betrothed, Pepper. Are we clear?”
I told him aye as Selene gave me a startled look. “Betrothed? That was a hasty courtship.”
I gave her an embarrassed shrug as Captain Hawkins said, “I told him to make Pepper happy and he has. As for you,” his hand reaching out to cup her chin in an iron grip, “I will have your silence in this matter as well, or I will give you to the crew for sport until you are dead. Am I clear?”