Tales of the Caravan

by J. Avarez

  Charlotte stared at the pages in front of her, and found herself lost between the letters. A great tremor shook the table, and moved the plates in the kitchen to fall and shatter. Charlotte and her father rose from the desk and ran outside. Motorcars blocked the street in front of their home. The drivers stood out their vehicles and pointed toward the sky.

  Charlotte saw the massive war balloon hovering over One Blue, and unleashing cannon fire upon the buildings below. The Jolly Roger on the side of the balloon was Blackbeard's, a detail that angered Charlotte even more.

  "Blackbeard," Mr. Black yelped. "This is an Imperial island, has he lost his mind?"

  Charlotte wondered the same. Pirates were dead men to the Darken Empire, these were islands where pirates came to die...so why then would one come here?

  "Find a place to hide," said Charlotte. "Away from the buildings, he's targeting them," she turned to her father and tossed him a key. "Unlock my boat by the dock, sail as far away from here as you can."

  "Are you crazy?" Mr. Black shouted. "You're coming with me!"

  Charlotte opened her mouth to argue, but felt someone bump her shoulder. She spun and saw a young woman sprinting toward Blackbeard's airship.

  "Sarah, wait up!" said Cookie. The tall beauty ran across the street and stopped an incoming motorcar with her bare hands. Her strength completely crushed the front of the vehicle. "Oh, I’m so sorry."

  Cookie continued after Sarah, and left the disgruntled driver to yell after her. Charlotte stood amazed at the power the redhead had shown. She blinked her way out of her thoughts and ran after the ladies down the street.

  "Charlotte, come back!" Mr. Black's fear kept him paralyzed in front of the door.

  "Just go to the boat," Charlotte shouted. "I'll be fine!"

  She turned the corner and found the two ladies standing in the middle of the street. The war balloon was directly above them and began to bombard Town Square. Several citizens ran from the streets and into a brown cathedral nearby. The laughter of the pirates onboard echoed across the sky, with their cannons pointed toward the cathedral.

  Sarah bit into her other thumb nail and drank the last of her merwater. One of the cannons fired and shot a cannonball toward the cathedral. Sarah extended her hand toward a water canal, and shot a large jet of water toward the sky. With a swipe of her hand, the jet of water soared and smacked the cannonball back toward the airship.

  The explosion knocked out one of the cannons, and sent it hurtling down toward the street. The pirates quickly took notice of the girls below, and fired another cannon aimed toward Sarah. Cookie activated her Secreto and jumped in front of her captain. She threw her arms together and caught the cannonball in her hands. The impact pushed the tall redhead several feet back.

  She wobbled a bit and dropped the cannonball in front of her, the weight forced the street to crater beneath it. Cookie dropped to her knees, her lungs working hard to catch her breath. Charlotte watched Sarah run to her friend, her eyes wide with concern.

  "Hey, are you alright?" Asked Sarah, she put Cookie's arm around her neck and tried to lift her up.

  "Aye aye, captain!" Cookie let out a weak chuckle.

  A loud boom echoed across the sky once more, the pirates fired another cannonball toward them. Sarah stood stunned, the cannonball was too close for them to dodge. Charlotte's eyes glowed as she teleported in front of them. She and Sarah locked eyes, both said nothing as she grabbed them by the collar.

  Charlotte and the others vanished in a cloud of black smoke, narrowly missing the cannonball by an inch. The attack shattered a section of the street. Cobblestone bricks and a huge cloud of smoke hurtled into the air. Charlotte brought the ladies several meters away from the impact. Sarah looked down and felt her body, her panicked breath began to ease...she was almost sure that they'd been hit.

  "You two alright?" Asked Charlotte, her hand pressed against her beating chest.

  "Yeah," said Cookie. Her eyes gazed at the burning hole in the street. "I'm just glad we weren't in the middle of that."

  Charlotte then found Sarah's gaze again. The auburn hair, the glasses, and the amber eyes...Sarah was sure she had seen her before.

  "You're Charlotte Black, aren't you?" Asked Sarah, her voice rife with excitement.

  Charlotte scrunched her face and gave Sarah a suspicious look. "How do you know my name?"

  Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of an explosion stopped her. They looked up and saw the airship flying further into Town Square.

  "He's heading for the Chancellor," said Charlotte. "Come on, we can stop them if we fight together."

  Blackbeard's war balloon continued to rain cannonballs down below. The large shadow from the airship slowly traveled through the streets, leaving a trail of fire and ruined buildings in its wake. The Imperial soldiers created a barricade in front of the town hall. Several men stood on the front steps and fired their rifles at the airship.

  The pirates aimed all of their cannons and bombarded the Imperial resistance. Chunks of the stairs and sidewalks were blown into the air, and men flew aside like rag dolls onto the streets. Several ropes were lowered from the main deck of the airship, and pirates came down firing pistols from the hip. The pirates all wore the same outfit, black leather armor and red bandanas with Blackbeard's Jolly Roger.

  Charlotte, Sarah and Cookie arrived at the town hall just as the pirates landed. The airship did not proceed any further and was left hovering in the sky above. Blackbeard was the last pirate to set his black boots on the ground. His size shocked Sarah, he was much larger than she had remembered.

  He was taller than Cookie, had large broad shoulders, and had the mass of three men. His black pirate hat looked like a triangular bowl, and underneath were a pair of menacing green eyes upon his scared face. His black beard was thick and unkempt, and he had two lit fuses that stuck out on either side of his hat.

  "Mr. Green," said Blackbeard, his voice deep and husky. "We have a few guests with us. Bring them to me, please."

  A man in blonde dreadlocks stepped in front of Blackbeard's crew. He smiled and showed a few of his teeth were riddled with holes.

  "Aye. Right away, sir." Said Mr. Green.

  His blue eyes began to glow, and his scarred hand stretched out toward Charlotte. She and the others were pulled from their spot and left suspended in front of Blackbeard. They all tried to move their limbs, but Mr. Green's Secreto kept their bodies stiff. His power was similar to one that Sarah had seen before.

  "What the hell is going on?" Sarah shouted. "That Secreto belongs to my friend."

  "Mr. Williker is dead, little one," replied Blackbeard, with a smile. "I killed everyone on that pathetic island. Mr. Green ate your friend's heart and gained his power. It was a gruesome thing to watch. I could feel each nail clawing into me as I ripped it out of his chest."

  "Shut up!" Charlotte screamed, Sarah's frightened face made her stomach turn. "She's heard enough from you, you sick freak."

  "Sick freak?" Blackbeard echoed. "You and I aren't so different, Ms. Black. Your love for women and my love for piracy, the empire hates us both for it. Everything we stand on was built with their hatred, and the world is full of hate because of it. I'm here to build a new world, one that favors freedom over all else."

  Charlotte looked past Blackbeard and toward the destruction he left in his wake. The crackles of the burning streets mixed with the screams of the people.

  "And this is how you're going to do it," Charlotte retorted. "By killing others?"

  Blackbeard smirked and stood face to face with Charlotte, his voice was just above a whisper. "In a world of hate, the only weapon you have left is pain."

  Charlotte looked down and noticed a blue pearl shining brightly beneath Blackbeard’s garbs. A muffled scream darted her eyes away from his chest. Jayden had arrived and pushed Mia into Blackbeard's crew. Her body struggled, her mouth was gagged, and her hands were bound with chains.

&n
bsp; Sarah gaped at the sight of her former captain, the weight of her heart seemed to numb her chest. "Jayden?"

  He didn't look at her...he didn't look at anyone. Jayden was silent, his face emotionless, and his silver eyes stuck toward the blue sky.

  "What are you doing with that girl?" Asked Cookie, her eyes wide with fright.

  "Ms. Rose has something I need very dearly," said Blackbeard. "Don't worry though, I try not to harm women when I can. Alright you lot, let's get moving."

  Mr. Green took Mia and grabbed onto one of the hanging ropes. One by one, the pirates were pulled back up to Blackbeard's airship. The notorious captain patted Jayden on the back, and started to walk toward one of the ropes.

  "Jayden!" Sarah shouted. She tried to move her limbs, but to no avail. She and the others were still stuck, floating above the ruined street. She watched helplessly as Jayden walked toward one of the hanging ropes, her anger finally erupted in full force. "Look at me! I know you can hear me, Jayden! Is this what you're doing, working with the guy that killed Bonny's father? She was your friend! Jayden, look at me!"

  Her words finally reached his ears. Jayden turned his eyes toward her with his hand on the hanging rope. His face was frighteningly empty…he was nothing like the man she remembered.

  "Why are you doing this?" Her voice was more pleading than questioning.

  Jayden's eyes shifted to floor and darted about for a moment. He then looked up at her with his eyebrows clenched. "Because I want to."

  Blackbeard and Jayden were both pulled up toward the airship. Sarah's eyes followed them till they became fading dots in the air. The war balloon slowly spun around, and started a straight course for the sea. The effects of Mr. Green's Secreto began to fade as the ship got further away. Charlotte wiggled her fingers at first, and then felt movement in her toes.

  Finally they were released, and the ladies fell hard onto the street. They rose together on their knees, and watched Blackbeard's airship fly over the wall that guarded Port Ruby. Sarah punched the cobblestone and watched her tears fall in front of her. She wanted to fix things with Jayden...deep down inside of her, she had always wanted to find some way to forgive him. She knew at that moment she had been foolish.

  She didn't want to forgive Jayden...she wanted to kill him.

  Chapter 7 Life and Death

  Mia's eyelids had begun to feel heavy, but she wouldn't dare fall asleep around pirates. Blackbeard had ordered his men to bring her to his cabin. To his credit, he at least unshackled her, gave her food, and offered his bed to rest. A gentleman's move or a pirate's play, she hadn't the means to know.

  However, this wasn't freedom. There were no windows in her wooden cell, and the only door was locked from the outside. Her Secreto would do her no good either. She watched a pirate lock a choker around her neck, a choker encrusted with blue diamonds. Though she had no way to prove it, she was sure the diamonds stripped her of her powers.

  The sound of keys against the lock caused her to shoot up from the bed. The door opened and Blackbeard stumbled inside, with a bottle of wine firmly in his hand. The drunken pirate collapsed into the chair behind his desk and chuckled.

  "Still afraid I see, come," Blackbeard nodded at the seat across his desk. "Sit down and have a talk with me."

  Mia felt her heart beating fast. Blackbeard's temper was as notorious as his murderous career. She thought it best not to refuse him and sat in the chair, the old wood creaked even underneath her petite body.

  "Are you going to tell me why I'm here?" Asked Mia.

  "Aye, in due time," replied Blackbeard. "I rather ask you for your help when you've grown to like me a bit more."

  "Like you?" Mia laughed, softly. "As if I would ever be friends with a pirate, especially a killer like you."

  "But you're a Royal," Blackbeard reached down, and brought out two glass cups from beneath his desk. "The most terrible people in the world. You've kicked nearly everyone out of Darkonia. The poor, the strange, the dastardly. All because they didn't meet your standards of perfection."

  "And now you see why," Mia retorted. "Why in the world would we ever want to share our lands with killers and thieves?"

  "Perhaps you hate us because you're afraid of us," he poured wine into the two glasses as he spoke. "It's natural of course, to be afraid of what you don't understand."

  Mia watched Blackbeard slide her a glass of wine. She left it on the desk and crossed her arms.

  "The higher born don't need to envy those beneath us." She sneered.

  Blackbeard drank his wine and stared at her over his glass. His green eyes gleamed from the lights in his cabin. "Tell me little one, has the Chancellor taught you much of the gods?"

  She thought it was a joke at first, but Blackbeard continued to wait eagerly. Does he really think I'm that stupid? She thought.

  "Of course he has," said Mia, looking a bit offended. "Tyserra and Unaqlus. The sun and moon. Life and death."

  He nodded to her words impatiently, as if he'd heard them countless times before.

  "Aye, of course, but did you know the gods had children?" He smiled at her shocked expression. He then took another sip of wine and went on. "It's in the original passages, so I'm not surprised you haven't been told. It's said that when the gods created the world, they split the waters into nine seas. As a gift, they gave one to each of their nine children, the original draguns."

  "Draguns," Mia repeated, in disbelief. "You mean those beasts that pull the caravan ships?"

  "Aye, the same," replied Blackbeard, wiping the wine off his lips. "The original draguns were gorgeous angels, so precious that the gods deemed them too perfect to die. They gave them immortality, on the one condition that they leave the whirlpools alone. They were told it was a place of unrivaled power, but a place they were not allowed to go. Their children defied them, little one. They drank from the whirlpools and grew their wings to become water dragons. The gods were displeased with the transformation. They didn't recognize them anymore and so they took their immortality away."

  He finished his wine and slammed the cup onto his desk. The glass shattered beneath his hand, but Blackbeard didn't flinch. He simply stared coldly at Mia's frightened eyes.

  "You see it now, don't you?" Asked Blackbeard. "That's why dragons throw out the young who don't grow wings, not because they're ashamed of them...but because they envy them."

  Her eyes darted toward the pistols strapped on his waist. Her lips quivered at the thought of his rage.

  "Why are you telling me this?" Her voice was soft and trembling.

  He said nothing for a moment, only the muffled laughter of Blackbeard's crew echoed into the room. The captain sighed through his nose and gave her a small smile.

  "I'm just curious, Ms. Rose," said Blackbeard, glaring at her with narrow eyes. "What that story reminds you of?"

  Mia's eyes shifted to the floor, a flicker of pain had passed across her face. The captain rose from his chair and approached her. His steps were heavy, forcing the wood to creak beneath his feet. Mia looked up at his half lit face. The captain smirked and gently grabbed her shoulder.

  "I need your red mist," his rough voice was smooth, but still boomed in her ears. "Just a bit of your cooperation, that's all. Give me that and I'll return you to Port Ruby unharmed. Now, I think I'll get some rest down below the decks. You enjoy my cabin for the night, eh?"

  Mia said nothing, her eyes simply shifted toward her glass. The subtle rumbles of the airship drove the wine to ripple in her cup. She heard the creaks from the wooden door and the jingling of keys that locked it. A sigh of relief.

  Being on a pirate ship was like her worst nightmare realized. She wanted to be home, back to her father, and back to the familiar. She hoped whatever Blackbeard wanted from her would be dealt with in the morning. The fear she felt had almost given her no time to dwell on her pain.

  Jayden. She couldn't believe that he betrayed her. All those months of talking and writing let
ters, all of it was just a lie. Calow may have been arrogant, but at least his feelings were genuine.

  Mia drank her glass of wine and threw herself onto Blackbeard's bed. Normally she would have cared about her favorite white dress, but her own life was in question now. Her tears drifted her to sleep that night, her dreams being the only escape she had left.

  Into the night, the sound of the lock stirred her from her dreams. She couldn't hear the laughter of Blackbeard's crew, and assumed the pirates had fallen asleep. Her eyes were wide as the door slowly creaked open, frightened that a pirate had taken Blackbeard's key. She saw a pair of eyes stare at her, silver and familiar. Jayden closed the door behind him and took a seat near Blackbeard's desk.

  He leaned forward, his face was long and tired. His eyes shifted toward the wooden floor, with his hands rested on his knees.