by Ryan Gilbert
“Ah, there she be,” said Hades, looking upon his ship as if he were relieved to finally see it.
With plenty of room to avoid the patch of sand, the Dutchman glided through the water, still firing away at the Fancy. The cannonballs tore into the wood of the Pirate King’s ship, blasting holes in the hull.
As the Flying Dutchman finally exited the cluster of islands, the Red Sky aimed its cannons at the stranded Fancy. The gunners were ready to fire once their captain gave the order.
“Orders, Captain?” asked an eager Ripper.
“Try to avoid hittin’ the deck… for Maggie’s sake. Aim fer the cannons.”
“Does dat mean…”
“Yes, fire!” Riggs shouted as the light from the sky disappeared.
BOOM
BOOM
BWOOM
BWOOM
The cannons from both ships erupted with the fury of two crews, both living and dead. At last, they were putting to rest the threat of Henry Every. The crews could see bones flying over the sides of the Fancy as the assault tore into the legendary ship.
Riggs watched as his ship and the Dutchman let loose an unrelenting attack on Every and his ship. It was going to feel so great to finally have the Arch Pirate out of his life.
“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,
So you just died.”
As Riggs ended his brief song, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Clint standing there with a concerned look on his face.
“Uh… Captain?”
“What is it, mate?”
“I think we’ve got a bit of a problem,” said the navigator, pointing out over the stern of the ship.
Peering out over the sea, Riggs saw exactly what Clint was meaning. At the edge of the cluster of islands, there was a large group of ships that were beginning to appear.
Ships with white sails.
Navy ships.
Riggs’ hands dropped to his sides.
“Oh, bugger.”
Onboard the HMS Regality, Eli watched through the windows of the Commodore’s quarters as the whole scene unfolded. Sapphire sat crouched behind a table just in case a soldier happened to come through the door. The situation looked grim as the Regality followed the Salvation and several other Navy vessels around the islands. There was no chance the Red Sky would survive an attack from all of those ships, not even with help from the Flying Dutchman.
As his nerves started to take hold of him, Eli started to pace. There was no way that he was going to let the Admiral kill his friends. There was no way.
“Sapphire, we’ve got to do something. We’ve got to do something now,” he said frantically.
Peeking out from behind the table, the fairy replied, “Do you have any suggestions? I can’t think of any that don’t involve us getting killed.”
Inside his mind, Eli had never seen this situation happening. The Red Sky was supposed to be the fastest ship on the seas. The carpenter had been so confident that Riggs would have taken care of Every by now. How was it taking that long?
“Saph, how much magic do you have?”
The fairy seemed a bit puzzled, perhaps because she had never thought of an answer to that kind of question. For a moment, she did not even know how to respond.
“I… I don’t know,” was all she could say.
“How much do you think you have?” he asked, his voice gradually becoming more hurried with each passing second.
“I’ve never had to know,” she said, anxiety starting to creep into her speech.
“Do you think you could control this ship with your magic? We need to destroy my father’s ship before he gets to the Red Sky.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, Eli!” she exclaimed.
“Saph, I saw you controlling the damned Adventure Prize. You… we can take this ship,” said Eli, grabbing the fairy by her shoulders.
Sapphire pulled away from him, unsure of what to do.
“I could only control parts of the Prize because Kidd left it to me. This ship… I don’t know if I could do anything to it.”
“You’ve got to try,” said Eli, almost growling.
*knock* *knock*
Commodore Hamond pushed open the doors, hurrying into the room. From the look on his face, he was having the same thoughts as Eli.
“We’re closing in on your ship right now. If you have a plan, I need to know it now,” he said.
Eli turned to Sapphire, silently begging her to try something. She was their last hope to save the rest of their crewmates. Anxiety poked and prodded at the fairy’s mind, forcing her to doubt herself even as she held her wand in her hands. With Eli and the Commodore staring at her in a panic, it was certainly not helping with her doubt.
“Commodore, new orders from the…”
FCHOW
Before the soldiers could even push open the doors, Sapphire whipped her wand towards the entrance and blasted a blue shockwave at the noise. Her magic ripped the doors from their hinges and tossed the soldiers halfway across the deck.
The Commodore and Eli watched the worried look on Sapphire’s face turn to determination. She looked down at the wand in her hand and gripped it tight.
Looking directly at both men, the fairy said, “I’ll try my hardest.”
Soldiers rushed towards the entryway, their guns and swords at the ready.
“Commodore, are you hurt?”
BANG
The man was met with a shot from Hamond’s pistol, sending him crumpling to the deck. By the time the other soldiers realized what was happening, another blast from Sapphire’s wand had catapulted them across the deck. Hamond grabbed a cutlass from the table and tossed it to Eli as they followed the fairy out of the cabin. Letting out an animalistic cry, the carpenter rushed out onto the deck, slashing his sword at anyone who came into his path. He gritted his teeth, trying to shut out the pain from his injuries as he launched into battle.
With each step, Sapphire could feel the power surging through her body and into her wand. A rush of lead balls flew towards the fairy, but she deflected them to the side with a swish of her wand. Focusing a little bit more, she pointed her wand directly at one of the attackers and shot a concentrated beam of magic at him. It bore straight through his chest in a second, leaving behind a smoking hole.
It almost felt good… empowering… dangerous.
A soldier scooted past a furious Eli, focusing on taking down the unfamiliar creature that was attacking his ship. He swung his sword at Sapphire’s chest, but she flew into the air, just barely dodging the sharp blade. Hovering in the air, she drove her knee into the man’s face, breaking his nose. A second later, the blade of a sword pierced the soldier’s skull, courtesy of Eli.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it now,” the Commodore ordered, trying to hold off several of his soldiers at once.
Nodding, Sapphire let herself drop to the deck, driving her wand straight into the wooden boards at her feet. Instantly, a blue glow started to seep into the space between the boards. It spread slowly at first as Eli and the Commodore kept the angry soldiers from reaching Sapphire, but it quickly grew in speed. She had never tried to channel this amount of power before. It became even more evident when Sapphire felt the droplets of blood starting to run down from her nose to her lips.
“Saph, could you get it going a little faster?” Eli shouted as soldiers started to overrun him.
Sapphire’s breathing started to quicken, and her grip on her wand tightened. Licking her lips, she tasted the blood on them as it dripped from her nose. Within a second, the blue glow shot all throughout the ship, covering cannons, sails, and anything that was part of the vessel.
The fairy looked up at the Navy soldiers with a mischievous grin on her face.
The ship belonged to her now.
As
Riggs and the crew watched, a blue wave of magic exploded from the inside of the HMS Regality, throwing dozens of soldiers into the water. Looking through the spyglass, Riggs could see the faint glow of his fairy crewmate as she assumed control of the Navy vessel.
“Now that’s how ye make a pirate out of a fairy,” he said, grinning.
Turning his attention back to the Fancy, Riggs surveyed the ship as the cannonballs rained down on the marooned vessel. The cannons of Every’s ship had long since ceased firing, unable to even return the barrage of cannonballs that had bashed countless holes in its hull.
“Captain, look!” exclaimed Coral Jack, pointing up in the air.
Directing his spyglass to where Jack was pointing, Riggs saw the red fabric of the Fancy’s skull and crossbones being lowered down to the deck. As he watched, the remainder of the skeleton crew tore the flag from its rope, their respect and awe for their leader now reduced to nothing. A white flag soon announced the skeleton crew’s surrender.
Cheers erupted all across the deck of the Red Sky. Valera latched onto Jack and hugged him tight. Ripper and Clint thrust their flasks together, toasting their victory. Julia gave Riggs a quick kiss. Even Ororis celebrated with a reluctant Hades.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, “We won.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure o’ that,” said the god, looking out past the rail and past the Fancy.
“What do you mean?” asked Riggs, overhearing what Hades had said.
Turning his head towards the Captain, Hades replied, “Henry Every never surrenders.”
Riggs’ stomach immediately dropped. Even as the rest of his crew cheered around him, he grabbed the spyglass again and raised it to his eye.
Focusing on the area around the beached Fancy, the Captain could see nothing out of the ordinary at first. It was nothing but sand and water.
However, as his eyes moved down the side of the island, he saw several figures running across the sand as fast as they could. The first that he could see was the skeleton of Lewis Johnson, following closely behind Morrison and several other loyal crewmembers. Then, to Riggs’ horror, he saw Henry Every leading the pack. Focusing on the ground on which they were running, Riggs saw an opening in the rocks that lined the beach.
Every was trying to escape to a cave.
Throwing the spyglass to the ground, Riggs growled, “There’s no chance in Hell that I’m goin’ to let you get away, Every.”
Without even thinking, Riggs rushed to the rail and leapt into the water below. There was no time for planning. He needed to end Every now.
With adrenaline flowing through his body, Riggs swam for the shore as fast as he could, trying to keep his sights on his fleeing foes. The weight of his clothes and weapons did little to hamper him from trying to catch up to his enemy. The anger that was driving him seemed like it was enough.
All of a sudden, he felt two hands grab the undersides of his arms. Looking back, he saw red eyes staring back at him from behind black hair.
“Thought you might need some help, Riggs,” said Ororis.
“I don’t need help. Just get to shore,” the drenched Captain ordered.
Ororis rolled her eyes, not releasing her grip.
As a cloud of green smoke shot through the air overhead, the mermaid leaned forward and said in Riggs’ ear, “If you want to catch up to Hades, then you’ll do best to let me help you.”
Not even waiting for a response, Ororis dove beneath the water, dragging Riggs along with her. They both soared through the water like birds in the air, reaching the shore just as the green smoke started to dissipate. Hastily scrambling to get to his feet, Riggs trudged through the water as Ororis gracefully made her way to dry land beside him. In front of them, Hades, Julia, and Coral Jack stepped out of the green smoke, their weapons already in their hands.
“Are ye ready, Riggs?” asked Julia.
Ripping his sword free of its scabbard, the pirate captain said, “I’m ready to end this.”
The small group made their way closer to the cave in which Every had hidden himself. Each of them was feeling a mixture of emotions with every step that they took. Calmness mixed with anger. Pride mixed with embarrassment. Fear mixed with confidence.
As they stood at the entrance to the cave, none of the group could hear anything coming from the inside. Every knew that they were coming… and he was planning something.
Taking a large gulp of air, Riggs stepped forward, ready to enter the cave, but he was stopped by a strong hand. Hades stood at the Captain’s side, shaking his head.
“This will not follow the same pattern as the last time you led us into a trap, Riggs,” said the god in a stern voice.
“I need to kill that monster.”
“We’ll kill ‘im… but we’ll do it with me at the head of the group,” Hades said, stepping in front of the pirate.
With a frown on his face, Riggs raised his hand, reluctantly directing Hades to lead. After a brief nod to the Captain, Hades led the way into the cave, ready to confront Henry Every for the final time.
As the battle raged on the HMS Regality, the other Navy ships were starting to take notice. The blue glow of the ship was enough to give them the hint that something was wrong, but when Sapphire took control of the cannons and fired them on what had been the comrades of the vessel, the armada knew that foul play was afoot.
The soldiers still tried to fight back against the magic of the fairy, but she was too powerful with Eli and Commodore Hamond at her side. No matter what the soldiers would throw at her, she would repulse it, foiling their attack. Nearly a third of the sailors had fallen to the fairy, the carpenter, and the Commodore.
K-BOOM
K-BOOM
K-BOOM
As soon as Sapphire let loose another blast of magic, the Salvation turned its attention to the Regality. Cutting in between the other ships in the armada, the Admiral’s vessel shot its cannons directly at the glowing ship. Carter did not care about the soldiers on the ship. They were as good as dead to him.
Commodore Hamond had been right.
He would stop at nothing to destroy pirates.
Flying up to the highest sail, Sapphire grabbed onto the ropes at the top of the mast and pointed her wand toward the Salvation. She had to keep the armada at bay for as long as her friends needed.
PECHOOM
PECHOOM
The cannonballs blasted through the hull of the Salvation, leaving behind a trail of blue light. It did little to phase the gigantic ship, even as Sapphire tried to intensify the attack.
K-BOOM
With each successful blast, the fairy’s power over the ship seemed to get weaker and weaker. She could barely keep herself steady as the Regality swayed side to side, rocking with the flagship’s attacks.
Again, she flicked her wand toward the Admiral’s vessel, letting the cannons tear into the huge hull. As she watched the holes appear on the Salvation, Sapphire noticed that her hands were shaking. Looping her arm around the ropes, she grabbed onto her wrist with her other hand and tried to keep it steady.
She could not lose control now.
BANG
A pain shot through the fairy’s side, a pain that she had never felt before. She grabbed at her side, immediately feeling the warmth of her own blood smeared across her palm. The red splotch was already running through her clothes.
Gritting her teeth, Sapphire flung a spell at the first sailor that she saw, watching him get knocked to the ground. She needed to keep fighting. Weakly fluttering her wings to keep her balance, she let go of the ropes and stood on the mast. With one hand holding her bleeding side, she held her wand in her other hand and threw an arcing beam of energy across the deck of the Salvation. Soldiers flew this way and that, hit by the fairy’s magic.
She would not give up. Even as she grew weaker, she could not stop.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
With Hades leading the way, the group carefully made their way into the cave. With each step that the
y took, the cave grew darker. Each of the pirates knew that they did not have time to wait for their eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
“Is there any way ye could help us to see?” Riggs asked Hades.
“Ah, yes,” said the god.
Waving his hand over his sword, the eyes in the skull lit up with bright lights in either socket. It shined far into the cave, much farther than any lantern.
“I sometimes forget mortals can’t see as well as I can in the dark,” he said.
He followed his statement with a half-hearted chuckle, trying to ease the tension of the situation. Hades knew as well as anyone that Every could be in the cave, just waiting to ambush the crew.
Soon, the passageway opened up to a large chamber, the footsteps of the crew echoing throughout the entirety of the room. It was useless to try to conceal their movements. The sound of their feet hitting the stone floor rang against the walls like cymbals.
Hades directed his illuminated sword toward the middle of the chamber. Everyone was hoping to see something, but there was no one there. The light from the skull shined on nothing more than the random formation of fallen rocks. Looking at the walls, the crew could that they formed a sharp slant upwards. Large, withering roots poked through massive cracks in the ceiling, letting an eerie breeze blow through the room. It sounded like a ghostly whistle.
“I see you have come to fight me.”
Every’s booming voice filled the room, startling the pirates. Try as they might, they could not tell where the noise had originated. He could be anywhere. The rocks gave him plenty of places to hide, and with the golden sword under his control, he was still quite dangerous.
“We’ve come to end this,” Riggs shouted, peering around the room, watching for any movement.
“Boy, neither you nor your friends have any chance of killing me,” the voice laughed, “I am far too powerful.”
“We’ve fought against monsters like you before, and we’ve won,” said Riggs.
Before the Captain could say any more, Every said, “Monsters, Captain? I would hardly call myself a monster.”