Dawn of a Red Sky

by Ryan Gilbert

  “Oh, I remember that punch, precious… hardly hurt me then… hardly hurts me now,” he laughed.

  Frozen in fear, the woman asked, “Why are you here?”

  “Because, precious, there is one more thing that you have that I need,” he said with a disgusting smile.

  “W-what?” she asked, trembling in front of the fearsome pirate.

  She did not even notice the golden glow coming from his hand.

  “A heart.”

  “Get away from him!” Eli shouted, trying to warn her.

  He was too late.

  Every drove his hand straight through Eleanor Stephenson’s chest. Eli and Maggie could hear the woman’s sternum shatter and her ribs splinter as the pirate captain forced his hand all the way through her body. Eleanor vomited blood as Every’s hand burst through her back, his fingers clutching her heart and surrounding it in a glowing aura.

  Eli ripped out his sword and held Maggie as close to him as he could, ready to protect her. As she heard her mother’s lifeless body collapse on the floor, the girl screamed in terror.

  Still holding the heart, Every stared down at it, muttering, “Quae genuit filius eius laetetur cor meum…”

  He pressed the bloody heart against his chest as it started to glow gold and purple. Slowly, the heart began to push into his body like it was hollowing out clay.

  “… ut possis vivere rursis ingredi.”

  Pulling his hands away from the heart, Every watched as his skin reformed around his new heart. He could feel blood pumping through his veins once more. It felt invigorating.

  “Why?”

  Every turned his attention to Eli and Maggie as he heard their meek, feeble voices.

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  “Just why?” said Eli, “Why did you have to kill her? She meant you no harm.”

  Bringing his hand to his chest to feel the beating of his heart, Every said, “You of all people should know why, you pathetic wretch. Why has your captain been pursuing me? I am bringing about my own rebirth. It just turns out that I needed a specific heart.”

  Staring down at the girl, he said, “I needed the heart of the wench who bore my child.”

  Even blind, Maggie could feel Every’s glare bearing down on her. Neither she nor Eli could believe what they had just heard.

  “No… t-that’s not possible,” she stuttered in shock.

  “Ah, but it is, lass. You see, I am… your father,” said Every with a devilish grin.

  Neither Eli nor Maggie could say a single word. As Every motioned to his skeleton crew to take them prisoner, Eli tried his best to fight them off, but it felt like he was fighting in slow motion. In mere seconds, the skeletons had beaten him down, tossing his sword into the farthest corner of the store. Every and his crew dragged the pirate and the blind girl into the street.

  With no one to stop Every, Eli and Maggie were about to encounter the rough accommodations of her father’s ship. The carpenter could only hope that his crewmates would reach them in time.

  Minutes later, the crews of the Red Sky and the Flying Dutchman arrived at the Stephenson’s store. When he saw the door busted down, Riggs knew something was amiss. Not waiting to form a plan, he rushed into the building, immediately spotting the bleeding corpse of Ms. Stephenson. The puddle of blood had spread across the floor, spurting out of the hole in her chest.

  “Search the buildin’. Find them,” Riggs shouted.

  The two crews quickly spread throughout the store, finding no one.

  “Captain, there ain’t nobody upstairs,” Coral Jack yelled from the stairwell.

  Reporting to Hades, Grimm said in a raspy voice, “There is no one here except the deceased woman in front of you.”

  There had to be some way to find Eli and Margaret. With each second that passed, there was no telling what Every was doing to them.

  “Use your powers, Hades. Tell us where he’s taken ‘em,” ordered Riggs.

  All Hades could do was shake his head.

  “Captain Riggs, you forget that my powers in your world are limited. In the Underworld, I would have no trouble, but here, it’s impossible.”

  Facing the god, Riggs asked, “Can you at least tell us that they’re still alive?”

  With a nod, Hades knelt down, touching his hand to the ground.

  “That I can do.”

  The ground underneath his hands started to glow with a pale green light. After several seconds, the light spread outward in a thin band, canvasing the entire room.

  “Eli may still be alive. The only blood I detect is the blood from this woman’s body and a small amount from Every himself.”

  Just as Riggs was about to respond, Valera spun around, sniffing the air. Something seemed to have caught the mermaid’s attention.

  “What’s goin’ on, Val?”

  She ignored her captain, weaving in between the members of the group.

  “Valera, what in the bloody hell are you doin’?” asked Riggs, demanding an answer.

  Shoving past one of the Dutchman’s crewmates, Valera stopped at the entrance of the store. When she saw that she had everyone’s attention, she pointed directly to her side. Right about waist-level, a barely noticeable, bloody handprint was plastered on the wall, smeared downwards like the person was exiting the building.

  “I’m finding Every for you,” said the mermaid, leading them all out into the street.

  “How did… how did you…”

  “I’ve tasted human blood many times before. Do you really think I don’t know what it smells like?”

  With Valera leading the way, the two crews hurried through New York. They ducked down alleyways, weaving in and out of streets. Wherever they went, they seemed to encounter carnage left behind by Every and his skeletons. At one point, the group found an English soldier who had been left in the street. His skull had been penetrated by his own bayonet, propping him in a slouched, standing position. Unfortunately for the crew, they did not have time to meddle with the gruesome displays. They had to hurry if they wanted to keep their friend from becoming one of those monstrosities.

  The pirates did not notice it, but little by little, the fog was starting to disperse. The closer that they got to the docks, the more they started to pick up on the change in the environment. The corpses became fewer and fewer until they were soon seeing none. The fog was gone, instead showing the cloudy skies. In front of them sat several dozen ships at the docks, but only one stuck out to the pirates and the hunters.

  The ship with the black sails.

  Riggs saw the black fabric dropping, filling with wind. Every was fleeing. The Fancy was already halfway down the dock.

  Even if he ran as fast as he could, the Captain knew that he could not make it to the ship in time, but he had to try. All he had to do was find something that could run faster. Spotting a broken carriage in the fogless street with several horses tethered to it, he knew he had found a way.

  Rushing over to the carriage, he cut the leading horse loose, climbing onto its bare back. A swift kick in the ribs sent the animal galloping down the street and onto the docks.

  With the sound of hooves clomping over wooden planks ringing in his ears, Riggs pushed the horse to its limit. He could still see the Fancy as it sailed towards the end of the dock. It was not out of reach yet.

  Yanking on the reins, the pirate captain spun the horse onto the portion of the docks where Every’s ship was just leaving. Riggs squeezed his heels against the horse’s sides, sending it sprinting down the straight path.

  By now, the ship had gathered enough wind to pick up significant speed. He would need to hurry.

  As carefully as he could, Riggs pulled himself fully onto the horse’s back. He tried to keep his balance as he placed his feet on the animal’s back, ready to jump. His only hope was to somehow reach the ship.

  Even if he just managed to grab a stray rope, he could not afford to lose his enemy’s vessel.

  The Captain steadied his breath as
he was quickly running out of room. The Fancy just reached the end of the dock with Riggs following closely on its heels.

  Once the horse’s hooves reached the last plank of wood, the Captain leapt into the air, reaching out his hands to grab the windowsill of the cabin.

  He missed it by a foot.

  Riggs fell down into the water, powerless to stop the Fancy from escaping. As he swam up to the surface of the water, he could do nothing but watch as Every’s ship sailed away with Eli and Margaret held captive aboard it.

  “Don’t fret, mate. We’ll get ye back.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Onboard the Red Sky, Clint, Ripper, and Sapphire rushed onto the deck as shouts rang out from all over the ship. Beside them, the Flying Dutchman was turning away from its allies, heading further into the fog. One of the creepy hunters stood at the wheel, quickly spinning it towards their target. Either Hades needed help or Every was escaping.

  “Should we follow after them?” asked Sapphire.

  “What did ye think we were gonna do? Of course we’re going to follow ‘em,” said Clint, hurrying to the wheel.

  Trying to keep up with the supernatural vessel, the navigator spun the Red Sky around, just barely keeping the stern of the Dutchman in sight. The fog nearly encompassed the whole ship, only showing the shimmering outline of it.

  “Whaddaya think it’s doin’?” asked Ripper.

  Clint shook his head, saying, “I have no idea. Ripper, ye might want to head below deck. Make sure the men are ready to fire when ready.”

  SHOOM SHOOM

  All of the pirates were caught by surprise. With no warning, the Flying Dutchman’s cannons lit up with green light. For a moment, it seemed like Hades’ ship was blasting away at some unseen entity. Carefully, Clint tried to bring the Sky as close to the stern of the Dutchman as possible, wanting to see what was happening. As the fog dissipated, the crew of the Red Sky saw the elusive Fancy just barely slipping out of the port.

  As he watched the Dutchman pursue the Fancy, Clint said in a hurried voice, “Ripper, get below deck and get those cannons ready NOW.”

  The master gunner needed little persuasion.

  KEBOOM

  Every was returning fire, turning his cannons on both of the pursuing ships. Luckily for the Red Sky’s crew, the Dutchman took the brunt of the impact, shielding the pirate ship for the time being. None of Hades’ hunters even seemed to react to the cannonballs flying past them.

  With the Red Sky gaining on both ships, Clint yelled, “Haul out the cannons.”

  One by one, the portholes opened and the crew pushed the cannons into place. Each one was ready to fire at Ripper’s command.

  SHOOM SHOOM

  KEBOOM

  The last shot forced the Dutchman to cut in front of the Red Sky, its stern nearly scraping against the bowsprit of the pirate ship. With little time to react, Clint jerked the wheel to the side, turning the ship sideways. The entire starboard side faced the Fancy.

  “Fire the cannons,” he shouted down to Ripper.

  “Fire!” commanded the Jamaican.

  BOOM

  BOOM

  BOOM

  The assault burst through the hull of the Fancy before Every even saw the Red Sky. With Hades’ vessel blocking his view, the Arch Pirate had no idea what was going to hit him.

  “Ready the cannons, ye cockroaches. Prepare for another atta…”

  SHGUNK

  The Red Sky came to a sudden halt, like it had run aground. It was so sudden that nearly the entire crew flew forward several feet. Clint jammed his chest against the wheel, and Sapphire came close to tumbling down the stairs.

  “What in God’s name was that?” the confused navigator mumbled to himself.

  KEBOOM

  SHOOM

  The battle raged on with the Dutchman and the Fancy drawing ever farther away from the pirate ship. Even as Clint crawled to his feet, Every’s ship started to pull away from the supernatural vessel, barely dodging the cannonballs that were flying at it. By now, they were too far away for the pirates to effectively attack.

  Clint tried to pull the wheel to the side, desperately trying to free them from whatever had stopped them, but it was to no avail. They were stuck.

  Hurrying over to the fairy’s side, Clint helped her to her feet. With the Red Sky unable to move and Every on his way to escaping from two of the most notorious ships on the sea, Clint needed Sapphire to do something. It was going to be extremely dangerous, but they at least needed to try.

  “Think ye can fly, lass?” he asked.

  She nodded her head, still trying to regain her bearings from the sudden stop.

  “I need to ask a favor of you,” Clint said.

  “What is it?” she asked, not knowing what to expect.

  Peering over at Every’s ship, the navigator said, “We need ye to get aboard that ship.”

  In a second, the look on the fairy’s face changed from confusion to fear. She shook her head vigorously, clutching tightly to her wand.

  “Nuh-uh… Clint, I can’t do that,” she said quickly.

  Grabbing her by her shoulders, he said, “Listen to me, Sapphire. We’re not doing any good when we’re stuck ‘ere.”

  “But… but I can’t handle them all.”

  “I’m not asking you to attack ‘em. We just need someone aboard that ship so we know what that monster’s up to.”

  Looking into the fairy’s eyes like he would a child, Clint asked, “Do you think you can do it for all of us… your friends?”

  The fairy peered over at the fleeing ship of the Pirate King. Clint could tell that she was frightened. With everything that Every had done, she had a right to be scared. Thankfully, after a bit of hesitation and a deep breath, Sapphire nodded her head. As Clint let go of her shoulders, she reached out and gave him a hug. Before he could return it, she waved her wand in the air, shrinking herself and flying over the sea.

  Grabbing a spyglass, Clint watched the tiny, blue ball of light shoot across the vast amount of ocean between the Red Sky and the Fancy. The fairy quickly disappeared out of sight, but that did not stop him from watching through the spyglass. As the cannon fire between Hades’ and Every’s ships diminished, Clint scoured the Fancy for signs that Sapphire had reached it.

  He searched up and down the entire ship several times before he finally saw a sign. Right outside the cabin windows, a miniscule blue light flashed three times, each time no more than a split second.

  Taking the spyglass away from his eye, Clint said, “Ye never cease to surprise me, lass.”

  “Longboat approaching,” announced one of the pirates.

  “Who is it?” Clint asked frantically.

  “It looks like Captain Riggs and the rest o’ them.”

  “Good. Hopefully, they’re bringing back some good news fer once.”

  Before long, the longboat came alongside the ship, allowing both the pirates and the hunters that had accompanied them to climb aboard. At first, the crew rushed to help their fellow crewmates aboard, but once they laid eyes on the horrid hunters, they started to back away from the rail. The mere appearance of Hades and his hunters caught the pirate crew by surprise. Seeing those creatures onboard the Dutchman was scary enough, but experiencing those grotesque bodies up close was enough to terrify most of Riggs’ crew.

  The crew watched as Riggs, Julia, Coral Jack, Valera, and Ororis climbed aboard, followed by Hades and his intimidating lot. Befuddled, Clint cast a quick glance over the rail. Nobody was left in the longboat.

  “Did ye lose Eli?”

  “We didn’t lose him,” Riggs said, “He tried to be a hero.”

  “Captain, don’t tell me Every got ‘im,” he said.

  Riggs replied, “Unfortunately, they did. He’s still alive, but none of us can say for how long.”

  “Do ye have a plan?”

  Riggs did not even bother to wait.

  “The only plan I have is to catch that ship and get me friend back.”

>   “Well, uh… that might be a problem,” said Clint, “The Sky’s not moving.”

  Turning his attention to the god of death, Riggs asked, “Do ye mind lettin’ go o’ my ship now, Hades?”

  “Not at all, Captain Riggs.”

  With a swish of his hand, Hades released the ship from his control. The bow lurched forward, knocking most of the pirates to their knees. Only the hunters remained standing.

  Getting back to their feet, Riggs and Clint looked out over the clouded horizon. They could just barely see the Fancy and the Flying Dutchman. With how fast they were moving, there was more than just wind pushing them forward. Every had to be using magic. If he was, then the delay could cost the pirates dearly.

  “We’ve already lost a lot o’ time, Captain. It’ll be mighty hard catching up to Every now,” said the navigator.

  A hand clapped down on Clint’s shoulder, causing him to jump. The yellow eyes of Hades stared down at him, giving him chills.

  “Ye don’t have to worry, Mr. Wayko. The Dutchman will pursue Henry Every to the ends of the earth. There’s no way we’ll lose him,” said the god.

  “Good,” was all that Clint could say.

  After Hades regrouped with his hunters, Clint followed his captain up to the helm. He could see a grim determination in Riggs’ eyes, not unlike the kind he had seen when the Red Sky had first battled Ororis. He was going to destroy Henry Every.

  “Riggs, are you sure we should accept his help?” asked Clint, subtly jerking his head towards Hades.

  Grabbing the wheel, Riggs said, “Right now, he’s the best chance we’ve got to end Every’s reign. After what I’ve seen that monster do, I’ll take whatever help I can get.”

  Every cackled as he glared back at the Flying Dutchman. The Fancy had just pulled out of range of the cannons of the supernatural vessel. The cannonballs splashed harmlessly into the water in the wake of the ship. There was nothing they could do to stop the powerful Henry Every.

  “They seem to be falling behind, Cap’n,” said Johnson.

  “Yes, it would seem so,” Every said with a smug smile on his face.

  “Should we maintain our speed, Captain?” asked Morrison.