by Ryan Gilbert
“As much as I hate to say it, I have to thank you, Captain Riggs. Thanks to you, I can now deliver two of the most dangerous pirate ships to the English Navy. I’ll be a hero. Oh, and how could I forget Commander Carter…”
Another bit of mist floated over to Eli, dragging him to his feet and coiling around his neck as well. With the magic firmly on his side, Jonathan held each of the pirates by their necks and brought them to the rail.
The pirates on board the Red Sky were just now getting to their feet from Jonathan’s shockwave attack. When they saw him holding their captain and crewmate captive, they did not know how to respond. The image of Warner with magic on his side was a nightmare for the crew of the pirate ship.
“Behold, pirates, your conquered leader…”
He dropped Riggs to the ground, leaving him to gasp for breath.
“… and the son of your mortal enemy.”
Audible gasps echoed across the deck of the pirate ship. To demonstrate his power, Warner threw Eli to the ground with extreme force. None of the pirates could do anything but endure the abuse.
Grabbing Riggs and Eli by the hair, a sadistic Jonathan forced their heads to look to the horizon. The sun was rising, but in front of it laid the shadowy outline of the HMS Salvation, coming to claim its thieving prey.
“I can already imagine the nooses being placed around your necks,” Jonathan laughed gleefully.
CHAPTER TWELVE
In no time, the Red Sky was stuck between the Adventure Prize and the HMS Salvation. The pirates had been stripped of their weapons, the magic forcibly ripping swords out of scabbards and guns out of belts. With Jonathan and his magic powers on one side and the ruthless Navy Admiral on the other, nothing short of a miracle could get Riggs, Julia, and their crewmates out of this mess.
As the gangplanks were lowered, Warner saluted the Admiral, proud to show off his catch. His glowing eyes drew some sideways stares, but he was too excited to notice them. His arrogance blinded him to everyone’s fear of him.
“Welcome aboard the elusive Red Sky,” he proclaimed as the boarding party crossed the gangplanks.
Calmly stepping onto the main deck, Admiral Carter said, “Good work, Mr. Warner. The Navy will handle the rest.”
Carter turned to one of his attendants and said something to him, too quiet for anyone else to hear. The soldier nodded as the Admiral continued with his inspection.
One by one, Carter began to examine each of the pirates. He glared into each man’s eyes, frightening some with his intensity and scaring others with his lack of emotion. The tension between the two sides of the law could have been sliced with a cutlass.
“So this is the band of pirates that I’ve heard so much about. The foulest blackhearts to ever sail the seas. The most evil raiders to feed upon the hard work of the innocent. The darkest villains who corrupt honest minds with talk of fame and fortune.”
Turning his nose up at them, he said, “But I do not see any of those here.”
He glared, unblinking, at the crew with a voice that just grew louder, saying, “All I see is a bunch of worthless criminals, criminals who happened to get lucky several times in a row. You should have known that it would come to this at some point. My boot will come down on your neck and squeeze the life out of you until I get what I desire.”
“And what is that?” asked Riggs, daring to speak.
Slowly turning his head to the pirate captain, Admiral Carter answered, “Eradication of all pirates.”
Turning his back to the crew, Carter continued, “But first, I believe the Commodore has a request for you.”
He stood aside to let Hamond pass. To any normal person, they would have seen a man yearning to see his daughter again. Riggs saw a man burdened with regret.
Both Riggs and the Commodore stepped forward, coming face to face once again on the deck of the Red Sky. Neither of them had wanted this day to come. They had tried so hard to keep it from happening, but they had failed.
“Commodore,” Riggs said, greeting him with a slight nod of the head.
“Captain,” said Hamond, returning the greeting.
The two didn’t even have to exchange any more words. Riggs knew what the Commodore wanted. If the crew were heading to the gallows, Julia would not be joining them. Reaching back into the crowd of pirates, Riggs took Julia by the hand and led her out to her father.
As a knot caught in his throat, Hamond embraced his daughter. Holding Julia once again, he gave Riggs a look that the pirate interpreted as thanks for keeping her safe.
Holding her tight, he whispered, “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to be able to do this again.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” said Julia, trying to keep from crying.
The Commodore noticed this and asked, “Whatever is the matter? You’re safe now.”
“I know, father,” she said, wiping her eyes.
She looked around at the captured crew, letting it all sink into her mind. For her to turn her back on them now would be like driving a dagger through her own heart. These were her friends, her family. If the man she loved was going to die for his crimes, then she would die for hers.
“I’m sorry,” she said, backing away from her father and returning to Riggs’ arms.
Beside the gangplank, Jonathan was caught in utter disbelief. Everyone watched him flounder around, trying to grab ahold of something to contain his shock. Everything that he had wished for had just crumbled to pieces.
“What is the matter, Commodore?” asked Carter, moving to his officer’s side.
“It… it’s…” Hamond tried to say something, but he could not form any words.
“Take a breath and say something,” ordered the Admiral.
Still Hamond could not say anything.
“Damn it, Matthew. Say something.”
“He can’t say it,” said Julia.
Holding onto Riggs’ hand, she said, “Admiral, I am a pirate, and I am not leaving this crew. If they walk to the gallows… then so shall I.”
Carter stared at her with a solemn look on his face. It was hard to tell what he was thinking or what he was going to say. Riggs and Julia could almost hear their hearts beating as silence permeated the ship. Walking over to a soldier, the Admiral grabbed a pair of shackles and returned to the Commodore’s side.
Handing them to Hamond, he said, “Bring her aboard and lock her with the rest of that pitiful band of nothings.”
“I… I can’t,” Hamond replied, his hands shaking as he held the shackles.
“Commodore, I order you to arrest her.”
Julia’s father looked back down at the cold metal that he held in his hands. He saw how Riggs held onto his daughter. It reminded him of how he held his own wife.
Clenching his fists, Hamond dropped the shackles to the ground and said, “No.”
Admiral Carter folded his arms, asking, “What did you say, Commodore?”
“I said no, Carter. I am not going to arrest my own daughter. I will not let her be sent to the gallows.”
“You must, Commodore. If she is a pirate, she must suffer the consequences.”
“Is that so?” yelled a voice from inside the crowd of pirates.
Once he heard the voice, Admiral Carter froze. As Eli pushed his way through the rest of the crew, a look of fear appeared on Carter’s face. For the first time on this expedition, the intimidating leader was petrified. The moment that a scowling Eli appeared in front of his friends, the Admiral almost looked like he was going to faint. For the first time in a decade, he once again laid eyes on his son.
“Elijah… is that really you, son?” he asked, cautiously taking a step forward.
“Aye, father… it is.”
Unable to contain his joy any further, Admiral Carter rushed forward to give his long-lost son a loving embrace. Eli did not return it, pushing his father away from him.
Hurt by the gesture, the Admiral asked, “What has come over you?”
“Nothing has co
me over me. I have found myself.”
“You are not one of these wretched…”
“Yes, I am, father!” he exclaimed, “I am no longer Commander Elijah Carter. I am Eli, a simple pirate.”
He took a step closer to his father, picking his words carefully and slowly so that the Admiral could hear him.
“I… am… a… pirate.”
Pointing to the shackles at Commodore Hamond’s feet, Eli said, “Father, you might want to pick those up and lock them on my wrists because that is what you do to criminals like me.”
When his father did not make a move to take the shackles, Eli continued, “If you don’t want to arrest me, then we can just end it right here.”
He snatched the pistol from the Admiral’s belt, grabbing his father’s wrist as well. The soldiers leveled their weapons at Eli, but Carter shouted, “Hold your fire.”
Staring at the barrel of the pistol, Carter turned his attention to his son, asking, “What are you going to do, son? Kill me?”
“No, father…”
Eli swung the gun around, pressing it against his forehead. With the other hand, he rammed the butt of the gun into his father’s hand, forcing the Admiral’s fingers around the trigger.
Staring into his father’s eyes, Eli calmly said, “If you really want to destroy piracy, then start with your own son.”
The Admiral tried to pull his finger away from the trigger, but Eli just pressed it back against the mechanism even harder.
“Just think, father. A pistol is much quicker than a noose. All it takes is one second and a well-placed shot.”
Beads of sweat started to appear on the Admiral’s forehead as his hand started to shake. This was all too much for him to handle.
“At least this way you can look into my eyes when you kill me.”
In one last effort, Carter fought back against Eli’s strength, finally wrenching his hand free from the pistol. The gun dropped to the ground between the two, a shot still in the barrel.
With a pained look on his face, Carter said, “Don’t ever ask me to do that. I will not kill you… but I will imprison you. Hopefully, you’ll return to your right mind after that.”
“That will change nothing, father,” said Eli as the Admiral made his way back to the gangplank.
Ignoring his son, Carter ordered his troops, “Seize them all. Lock them in the brig until we reach the mainland…”
He cast a quick glance at the stunned Jonathan and said, “… including Mr. Warner.”
Several men grabbed onto Jonathan, hauling him to his feet. He did not even really know what was going on. He was still fixated on Julia and Riggs. The fact that he was being led away to the brig again did not even register until they actually started moving.
Just as they reached the gangplank, Jonathan started fighting back, pulling at the soldiers. Surprisingly, they managed to keep him at bay as he glared at his rival.
“No… no, this isn’t how it ends,” he snarled.
“Stand down, Mr. Warner,” one of the men ordered him.
Jonathan ignored him, pulling even harder. His hands started to glow, but the soldiers did not notice it.
“I will not be robbed of my freedom again,” he growled under his breath.
The glowing quickly got brighter as he focused on Julia and Riggs.
“I will not watch you be with him again.”
One soldier grabbed a musket to try to forcibly calm Jonathan. Stepping in front of him, he raised the butt of the weapon, ready to crack it across the nobleman’s head.
Just before the soldier attacked, Jonathan shouted, “Carpi Lamina!”
White blades burst out of Jonathan’s arms, cutting through his captors’ arms like butter. Caught by surprise, the man shot the musket, but Jonathan blocked the lead ball with his new weapons. A second later, blood spurted out of the soldier’s stomach as the blade cut him in half.
FABOOM
All of a sudden, an explosion rocked the ships. Fire burst out of the portholes of the Salvation and blasted a hole in the stern. A second explosion shot through the floor of the captain’s quarters, shattering all of the windows and raining down bits of glass onto the Red Sky. The force of the explosion knocked Hamond and Carter across the deck, along with a dozen other soldiers. Valera ran onto the deck, dodging through the soldiers as she bounded to her friends’ aid.
Everyone was in a state of confusion. The pirates ran around their own ship, trying to get back to their weapons. On the Salvation, sailors were hurrying to extinguish the fire. With the Admiral and the Commodore temporarily out of commission, the Navy ship’s leadership was crippled, opening the door for the pirates to escape.
Jonathan mumbled something and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Grabbing a discarded sword, Riggs dashed to the helm, pulling Julia along behind him. They needed to get out of there while they still had the element of surprise.
Throwing a soldier down the stairs, Riggs kicked the wheel, turning the ship away from the Salvation. Still tethered to the Prize, the Red Sky swung to the port side, scraping its bow against Kidd’s ship.
K-BOOM K-BOOM
The cannons of the Navy ship lit up the morning sea, but Valera’s sabotage had knocked them loose, throwing off their aim. A couple stray shots smashed through the windows of the Prize while the pirates narrowly avoided the rest.
“Full canvas,” Riggs shouted, spouting as many orders as he could conceive, “Somebody get over onto the Prize and find a way to cut us loose.”
“Aye, Captain,” replied Petey, swinging over to the other ship with several other pirates. For the oldest pirate in the crew, he still got around.
Behind them, Riggs could see the sailors of the Salvation still struggling to extinguish the fires as the ship turned to pursue the fleeing pirates.
“Let those sails loose,” he ordered, “We need more wind in those sails if we want to live.”
“Riggs, look out!” Julia screamed.
He spun around and was hit hard in the chest, knocking him over the wheel. Tearing his gun out of his belt, he shot at whatever had hit him, but the ball just ricocheted off of a white blade.
Jonathan stepped out of his cloud of smoke, roughly grabbing Julia by the arm. She tried to punch him, but he just caught her hand.
“How does it feel to have her stolen from right under your nose? Eh, Captain?”
Riggs launched himself to his feet, but Jonathan and Julia disappeared in the smoke, flying over to the Adventure Prize. Instantly, Warner’s tethers disappeared, and the two ships separated.
Kidd’s vessel directed itself out to sea, its sails filling with Jonathan’s magical wind. In desperation, Riggs ripped the wheel to port, following every move that his hated enemy made. He was so focused on Warner and the Prize that he did not even notice Clint running to his side.
“What’re we gonna do, Captain?” the navigator asked frantically.
“We’re goin’ to catch that bloody ship.”
“How do ye propose to do that?”
Eyes focused straight ahead, Riggs replied, “I still have the fastest ship on the seas, Mr. Wayko. We’re not lettin’ that ship escape even if I have to die tryin’.”
Jonathan made short work of the pirates that had come aboard the Adventure Prize. He had reached a new level of ferocity. The magic made him feel even more powerful than he had before. Julia watched in horror as he flew around the ship, slaughtering the pirates. Petey was nearly decapitated, diving below deck just in time to save himself.
As the last man on the deck was brutally killed, Julia felt a hand pull her inside the captain’s quarters. With a blue flash, the collapsed doors repaired themselves and slammed shut.
“Listen, I don’t have much time to explain. My name is Sapphire and I’m a friend of your captain. I can try and hold off that monster with magic, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work,” said the young girl standing in front of Julia.
All Julia could do was nod.
It was a lot to
absorb in a couple seconds, especially when Sapphire turned around and Julia saw the wings of an insect sticking out of her back. There was no time for shock, just blind acceptance. Julia grabbed a sharp piece of wood from the ground and prepared herself for the inevitable.
“Repellandum!”
The doors blasted open, flying across the room in a heap of splintered wood. A faint white light shone on the walls as Jonathan’s glowing eyes lit up the room.
Sapphire held her wand out in front of her and Julia, trying to protect both of them. With each step that Jonathan took towards them, she took a step back.
“Don’t take another step,” the fairy warned.
Mocking her, he disregarded the warning. Warner took one step and received a blast of magic to the side of his head. To Sapphire’s surprise, he just shook it off, cackling as he cracked his knuckles, ready to fight.
“So it was you who interrupted my duel with the good captain. That attack felt familiar,” he laughed.
He threw his hand at the fairy, shooting a white beam at her. Flicking her wand, she deflected the beam into the window, shattering through the glass. Jonathan tried throwing several balls of light at her, but Sapphire managed to protect both herself and Julia with a shield of magic. He kept pounding away at the shield, gradually weakening it with every blast.
Just as the fairy tried to strengthen the shield, Jonathan raised his hands and shouted, “Exitiabilis malum.”
A massive force shot out of his hands, obliterating the shield and knocking Sapphire to the ground. Kicking the little fairy to the side, Jonathan caught Julia by the neck and drove her back against the wall.
“What are you doing?” she choked.
“What am I doing? What am I DOING? I’m doing what should have been done before.”
He released his grip, letting the girl fall to her knees as she gasped for breath. Placing his hand underneath her chin, he made her look into his glowing eyes as he locked his gaze with her.
“I’m bringing us together, dear Julia.”
Just as he pulled the girl to her feet, she drove the sharp piece of wood into his neck, catching him by surprise for the time being. Julia searched for another weapon as Warner screamed in pain, ripping the makeshift blade from his neck. He mumbled a spell, mending the wound as blood seeped out of it until it closed.