A Red Sky Rising

by Ryan Gilbert

  “Oh yes,” she said, “I see.”

  A moment of silence followed as Riggs let Sapphire get accustomed to the feel of the ship. For the fairy, it was like taking a step back into her memories.

  “So how did you come across Kidd?” asked Riggs.

  Ever since they had first encountered Sapphire, Riggs had wanted to find out more about what exactly the two had to do with each other. The only information that the fairy had told him was that Kidd was a father figure to her. There had to be more to know.

  After trying to remember, Sapphire said, “I honestly can’t tell you.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Can’t. One of my earliest memories is just a bunch of sand and a vast ocean spread all around me. I was alone. The next thing I remember was waking up on this ship with Will sitting beside me. He told me I was sick and I needed to eat something, which I did. From that day forward, the nicer men of his crew would call me ‘the captain’s little angel.’ He was the only father I ever knew.”

  “And how do ye know of Old Magic then?” asked Riggs.

  “Will explained it to me. Don’t ask me how he found the bracelet because I don’t remember. I just know that he taught me everything that he knew about it and told me it would be extremely dangerous if the magic fell into the wrong hands.”

  “Why is that?” asked Riggs. He already knew how the magic could be used for evil, but he still needed to learn more about it.

  “Well… I remember Will teaching me some of the spells. A great deal of them sounded just plain ghastly.”

  “How’d Kidd learn them?”

  “He said that they had just appeared in his mind… like he had known them for his whole life.”

  The Captain glanced down at Jonathan, sulking on the main deck as he generated faster winds with his magic.

  “Are you really going to kill him when you reach your ship?” Sapphire asked, reading the expression on Riggs’ face.

  Toying with the bracelet in his pocket, Riggs said, “I have no doubt of it.”

  “You must really hate him.”

  “You have no idea,” he said, remembering their first encounter. It was in that same moment that the pirate had met Julia, only to be challenged by the selfish braggart. The two had been at odds with each other from the first second that Jonathan had seen him. The fact that Riggs loved Julia and Jonathan was infatuated with her did not help their already antagonistic relationship.

  Riggs snapped out of his memory when Eli appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Mind helping me load the cannons, Captain?”

  “What for?”

  “If we come across a Navy ship, I’d rather we were prepared for a fight,” said Eli.

  “Very well. Saph, think you can handle navigatin’?” he asked.

  She nodded, holding tightly to the wheel. With a grin, Riggs strode down the stairs to follow his crewmate down to the lower deck.

  Below deck, Riggs and Eli walked down the line of cannons, each one with a neatly stacked selection of cannonballs next to it. From the looks of it, these cannons had not even been shot once. Whatever Kidd had used to preserve his ship had yielded fantastic results.

  Examining a cannon, Eli said, “So far as I can tell, there’s nothing in these cannons that could lead to a premature firing. Might as well load them now.”

  “Smart thinkin’,” said Riggs.

  The two went from cannon to cannon, loading them one by one. Riggs had almost forgotten how long it had been since he had actually loaded a cannon. The last time he had done that was before he had been captain.

  As he and Eli prepared for a battle that might never come, Riggs felt a soothing feeling rush through his tortured body. There was something calming about having so few people onboard a ship. No ruckus. No shouting. No noise except for that of the vessel and the sea.

  It was relaxing.

  As the huge HMS Salvation arrived at her side, Valera started to question Julia’s plan. The mermaid could hold her own, but she was not powerful enough to fight a battleship full of men.

  “Man overboard,” she heard the sailors shouting. She put on her most distressed face possible and tried to act like she was in trouble. In seconds, a rope was tossed down to her, hauling her aboard with little effort.

  Draping a coat over the mermaid, one sailor said, “Tell me m’ lady. How is it you find yourself stuck in the ocean of all places?”

  Valera pretended to shiver, clutching the coat closer to her body.

  “It was those… those pirates. They threw me off the ship and left me to die,” she wailed, grabbing onto the nearest person and acting as scared as possible.

  Just then, Admiral Carter pushed his way through the men, followed by Commodore Hamond. The instant Hamond saw the mermaid, she could see his face become visibly tense.

  “Are you quite alright, young lady?” asked Carter.

  “Yes, I… I think so. Thank you so very much.”

  “All in a day’s work. If all goes well, we will catch those vile cretins by midday, and you will never have to worry about them again,” he said.

  Leading the mermaid to Hamond, he said, “The Commodore will show you to where you can rest. Surely, you need some time to calm your nerves after such a horrid experience.”

  “Bless you, Admiral,” she said, taking Hamond’s nervously outstretched arm.

  Much to the Commodore’s chagrin, Carter ordered the sailors back to their stations, leaving no one to cover him. None of the other men knew what the supposed victim of the Red Sky was capable of doing. Hamond had watched her slaughter an entire ship of his soldiers. Even just having her touch his arm was horrifying.

  As soon as they were out of earshot of Carter, the Commodore, with a shaky voice, whispered, “Are you going to kill me?”

  Valera gave a slight shake of her head.

  Relieved, Hamond asked, “Then why are you here?”

  Passing by a soldier on their way down to the lower levels of the ship, she said under her breath, “The Red Sky needed a distraction… so here I am.”

  At long last, the Commodore was able to ask the one question that he had been hearing in his head for days.

  “Is my daughter safe?”

  “Yes, your daughter is safe… for now.”

  “For now?”

  “Well, I can’t tell what will happen if your admiral gets his hands on that ship.”

  Commodore Hamond stopped abruptly, looking around him to see if there were any soldiers paying attention to the two. None were. They were either readying the ship for battle or scrambling around to try to get somewhere. As quickly as he could, Hamond pulled Valera along behind him, leading her even deeper into the ship.

  “Where are you taking me, Commodore?”

  Without a word, Hamond pointed to a pile of boxes and barrels near the rear of the ship. It was a dark area with only one lantern to light the way. Nobody was around.

  “Tell me what you smell,” he ordered.

  After a quick sniff, Valera replied, “I smell gunpowder.”

  Nodding, the Commodore said, “If we catch up to your friends and my daughter, I want you to hurry down here and use these to blast a hole in this godforsaken ship.”

  “But the Red Sky is already far away.”

  Commodore Hamond grabbed Valera by her wrists and pulled her closer to him so that she could see the torment and anger on his face.

  “Carter will find a way to catch that ship. At every turn, I seem to be running into one of your crew, whether it be Riggs or you. Everything is falling into that madman’s lap, and I will do anything I can to stop it. I will not have my daughter sentenced to the gallows.”

  Pulling her hands free, Valera said, “Well it looks like we’ve got some work to do, doesn’t it? Go and deal with your admiral. I’ve got some ideas of my own on how to stop this ship.”

  Not saying anything more, the Commodore bounded up the stairs, leaving the mermaid to her own devices… and the explosive p
ower of several boxes of gunpowder.

  Onboard the Adventure Prize, Riggs and Eli were just finishing with the loading of the cannons. It was a long task for only two people, especially since Coral Jack and Ripper were charged with keeping watch of Jonathan.

  “That was definitely tiring,” said Eli, wiping his brow.

  “Aye,” said Riggs, stretching out the kinks in his neck, “Now I know how the rest o’ the crew feels durin’ a battle.”

  Eli laughed, “It’s not quite as bad… just with another ship shooting at us is all.”

  The two pirates made their way back to the stairs. To Riggs’ surprise, Eli actually seemed to be getting more cheery. It was nothing like a couple days ago when he was just downright sickly. Perhaps the finding of Captain Kidd’s treasure had lightened his attitude. It had certainly worked for Riggs.

  Just above them, Coral Jack shouted, “Ships ahoy.”

  Riggs yelled up to his crewmate, “Is one of them the Red Sky?”

  “Aye. She’s heading straight toward us, Captain.”

  Eli ran up the stairs, closely followed by Riggs. Right at the top of the stairs, the Captain heard something snap. He had just barely heard it, but he saw something drop onto the wooden boards of the deck. His excited crewmate did not seem to notice it. As it rolled back and forth with the Prize’s movements, Riggs reached down and clasped his hand around it.

  When he opened his hand, he saw a wooden eye, painted blue and white.

  It was just like Margaret’s necklace.

  Exactly like it, in fact.

  The realization hit Riggs like a brick as the pieces of the puzzle started to reveal themselves to him. This was the reason Eli had gone to Margaret when they arrived in New York. It was the reason he wanted to disguise himself in front of a blind girl. It was the reason he had become so sickly. It was the reason the Admiral froze in his tracks when they saw each other back on Block Island.

  As his crewmate walked away from him, all Riggs had to say was one thing.

  “Eli Carter.”

  His crewmate, his friend, stopped in midstep. Even Coral Jack, Ripper, and Jonathan stopped what they were doing once those two words left Riggs’ mouth. All eyes focused on the carpenter.

  “I’m sorry, Captain. What did you say?” asked Eli.

  “Ye know damn well what I said,” Riggs snapped.

  He tossed the piece of the necklace to his crewmate. As it fell into his hands, Eli tried to hide his lies, but Riggs had already seen through it.

  “Oh, this? It was just a harmless gift. Nothing more,” Eli stammered, shoving the eye into his pocket.

  “Your fiancée says otherwise, ye twofaced wretch.”

  Riggs did not even notice his ship fast approaching the Prize. His focus was solely on Eli. In that moment, he did not know what to think.

  Once Eli stepped forward to try to explain himself, Riggs grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back against the rail. He needed to know why a man he had called his friend for years had decided to deceive them, even when their lives depended on it. Eli clawed at Riggs’ arms, but he was not letting go.

  “Let me go, Riggs,” he croaked.

  “Not until you tell me the truth,” said Riggs, pushing even harder.

  “Captain, just let ‘im go. We’ll worry ‘bout it later,” Coral Jack pleaded, not wanting to start a fight with so little time to escape.

  “Not now, Jack,” Riggs shouted.

  For a second, the Captain relaxed his grip. Eli tried to push away from the rail, but Riggs was too quick. He tightened his grip again, flipping his crewmate over and smashing his back against the rail. Eli fell onto the ground in a crumpled mess.

  “Tell… me… now,” Riggs ordered.

  Eli crawled to his knees and propped himself up against a cannon. There was no way he was escaping Riggs now.

  “You want to know? Fine. I’ll tell you my real story.”

  With his crewmates listening attentively, Eli began, “I wasn’t born a pirate. I was born a Carter. Whenever I was old enough, I started training for the English Navy, just as my father had done before me. Because of my father’s high rank, I rose through them pretty quickly. I was a commander before I had even encountered pirates for the first time.”

  “So what happened then?” asked an impatient Riggs, tapping his foot.

  “My ship was set upon by a band of pirates, not unlike us aboard the Red Sky. We were taken prisoner, but through a stroke of luck, I was left untouched, the only one on my ship to not suffer. When we were all set free, people started accusing me of being a pirate. To clear my name, I went in search of those pirates to kill them, but I marooned myself and was brought to Rebelde.”

  “Was that when you found us?” asked Coral Jack, unable to remain silent any longer.

  “No, that would not come for quite a while. At the beginning, I wanted to return to New York so bad that I was willing to do anything… even if that meant becoming a criminal. As time went on, I gradually found myself enjoying my newfound freedom. I could do whatever I wanted without the shadow of my father hanging over me. I could be my own person… as a pirate.”

  “So everythin’ that you’ve told me… everythin’ you’ve told this crew was all a stinkin’ lie?” Riggs shouted in Eli’s face.

  Downtrodden, the pirate quietly said, “Aye.”

  “How does that poor girl fit into all of this, Eli? How?” asked Riggs.

  Starting to tear up, Eli said, “Maggie and I… we were sweethearts. For the longest time, nothing could come between us. Even when she lost her sight, I was right there by her side. When I became a commander in the Navy, I proposed to her. I wanted to give her a better life, Riggs. Then… that incident with the pirates occurred… and I was no longer trusted in New York. Her mother would not let her marry me until… until I could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was not a heartless cretin like those pirates.”

  Getting to his feet and looking his captain straight in his eyes, Eli asked, “Do you know… what I found, Riggs?”

  The Captain did not say a word, watching a tear fall from his crewmate’s face.

  “I found… that I may not have been a heartless cretin, but I was a pirate. I… was… a bloody… pirate. A girl like Maggie shouldn’t have to lower herself to my level.”

  “Then go back and let her make her own choice about that.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I told her I was dead!” Eli yelled at Riggs.

  Silence spread across the ship as they neared the Red Sky. Eli’s dark side was laid out for the crew to see, and it was a side of him that none of them had even believed existed.

  “Why? Why would you tell her that?” Riggs asked.

  Unable to meet his captain’s eyes, Eli said, “She deserves better than me.”

  The carpenter lowered his gaze, stepping past Riggs and starting his shameful walk over to the rail. He knew that the rest of the crew would have to know, and now, he was prepared to tell them.

  On the other side of the Adventure Prize, Riggs seethed in anger. If Eli had even given them a hint of what his father was able to do, then the whole search for Kidd’s treasure could have gone a lot smoother. All of the trouble could have been avoided. All of the pain would have never happened. They would have known exactly how to plan to avoid the Navy.

  As Riggs glared at his crestfallen crewmate, he wanted to hate him. He wanted to hate him with all his being. Little by little, thoughts started to seep into Riggs’ mind, forcing him to see things from Eli’s perspective. Even though Eli had been living a life of lies ever since he had stepped foot on the vessel, Riggs could not bring himself to hate him. He was still a friend… a scared, confused friend. He had probably kept his past a secret because he was afraid of an outburst like what had just happened.

  “Eli?” asked Riggs, trying his best to calm down.

  “Yes, Riggs.”

  “Look at me, mate.”

  Sighing, Riggs he
ld out his hand to Eli.

  “From now on, no more lyin’ to me. Capische?”

  A bit hesitant at first, Eli took his captain’s hand, immediately pulled into an embrace as the Red Sky pulled up alongside the Adventure Prize.

  “I’m sorry, Riggs. I’m so sorry,” Eli wept.

  “Get a hold o’ yerself. We’ll work through it.”

  FWABAM

  A shockwave blasted through the air, knocking down everyone aboard both ships. Riggs and Eli were blown violently over a cannon and several pirates on the Red Sky were thrown overboard.

  Frantically looking around to see what had happened, Riggs heard the pounding of footsteps as they raced past him. The Captain thrust his hand into his pocket, feeling around for the bracelet.

  It was no longer there.

  Riggs’ eyes scoured the deck, searching for the relic of Old Magic. Within seconds, he had spotted it, rolling into the middle of the deck. Immune to the shockwave, Warner ran toward the bracelet, intent on getting all of his power back.

  The Captain flipped himself onto his stomach, hauling himself to his feet just as Jonathan reached the magical item. As fast as he could, he ripped his pistol out of his belt and pulled the trigger.

  BANG

  He was too late.

  The bracelet slid onto Jonathan’s wrist half a second before Riggs shot the pistol. The shot ricocheted harmlessly into the air as the power surged through Jonathan Warner once more.

  As his eyes began to glow white again, he laughed maniacally, saying, “You know, Riggs, I couldn’t have asked for a better distraction.”

  Before anyone onboard the Red Sky could even react, Jonathan threw his arms toward it, shouting, “Ligans simul.”

  White tendrils shot out of his arms, tethering the two ships together. Neither could move without the other. They were both trapped.

  Sapphire tried to attack Jonathan, but this time, he was prepared. Blocking her magic strike, he shot a beam at her, blasting her through the doors of the captain’s quarters. The force of it knocked her unconscious.

  Riggs tried to run, but Jonathan grabbed him. A white mist swirled out of his hands, wrapping around the pirate’s neck like a snake.