by Toby Tate
The twin Volvo engines hummed, nearly putting him to sleep. But Hunter knew it would be impossible to doze. He had too much on his mind. His thoughts once again turned to Lisa, where they seemed to stay most of the time. He tried his best to avoid thinking about the bizarre nature of all that had transpired in the past few days. If he thought about it too much, it made him crazy. And it made him worry about Lisa even more. He had to maintain rationality if he was to be of any help to her.
He wondered how he would ever be able to make a story out of all this, what he would tell his editor. That they had been chasing after a demon? Hunter could see no way to frame the story so that it would be believable or even make sense. He decided that maybe it would be best not to dwell too much on it for the time being. If and when he found Lisa and stopped Blackbeard from doing whatever it was he was determined to do with that book, he would sort it all out somehow. In the meantime, all he could do was wait, and try to enjoy the ride.
Hunter glanced over at Jason, who was steering the boat with a faraway look in his eyes. He wondered if his friend had ever taken Lisa on this yacht. He doubted it, though. The boat was obviously new, probably purchased just before Jason‘s father had died. Still, he was curious.
“Did you ever take Lisa out on this boat, you know, back in the day?”
Jason looked as if he had just snapped out of a coma and glanced over at Hunter, blinking his eyes.
“Back in the day? You mean when we were dating?” He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. We didn’t own a boat then. What brought this on?”
“Just curious. How far would you say we can go before we have to refuel?” he asked.
“We’ll stop to refuel in Miami, then go on from there. It will probably be another fifteen hours before we stop. You might want to take advantage of the time to get some sleep. You can take the main stateroom if you want. There’s some food in the galley, as well, if you’re hungry.”
Though Hunter was grateful for the offer, he was too wound up to either eat or sleep. All he could think about was Lisa. Still, it would be nice to lie down for a while, just to try and relax, if nothing else. “I guess you talked me into it,” he said. “I’ll take over for you in a few hours, just come and get me up. I want a chance to drive this baby, too, you know.”
They both laughed, and Hunter got up and went down to the stateroom. In less than an hour, he was asleep.
He dreamed of Lisa, pirate ships, and vile, red-eyed demons.
Fifty-five
He was back in her stateroom.
The lights were out, and the huge figure of Edward Teach stood like a monolith over Lisa’s bed. She was a confident woman, prided herself on her fearlessness, but this was something else altogether. This was supernatural, otherworldly, and she couldn’t understand how he could just appear and disappear at will. She found it unnerving, and it filled her with anxiety.
And yet, he had rescued her, protected her when she was about to be molested by Aiden. Something about the pirate, a complexity of character that pointed to something deeper, something mysterious that was more than just pure evil. Somewhere in there was a man, Edward Teach.
Then he spoke to her. “Why do you fear me?”
Lisa shuddered under the blanket like an insecure child. “Because I don’t understand you,” she said.
“Didn’t I help you in your time of need? You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t harm you.”
“Then what do you want from me? Why are you here?”
Blackbeard turned and walked slowly to the starboard portal. He gazed out at the darkness, considering her question. Then he turned to look at her. “I‘m here because I want to be here.”
At least he was direct, Lisa thought.
“Why do you want to be here?” she asked.
“I wanted to look at you. You’re very beautiful. John Aiden is a fool. He takes by force what should be won through seduction.”
Lisa thought she saw a sly smile cross Teach’s lips. She decided it might be a good time to change the subject, and she had many questions for the pirate. “Why did you kill those people in the swamp and on the island? Did they threaten you, or did they just get in the way?”
Once again Teach turned and stared through the open portal at the passing sea. “We needed them, their…essence…to sustain our life until we could grow a new body.”
Lisa noticed the reference had changed from I to we, and made a mental note of it.
“What do you mean, their essence? Do you mean their souls?”
Teach turned his eyes toward her. “If you wish.”
“What do you do with their souls?”
“They stay here with us, seeing through our eyes, becoming part of us. We learn from them, gain understanding of the world around us.”
Lisa was horrified to think that inside the body of Blackbeard, the souls of all those he had killed were held captive like prisoners in a dungeon. It must be hell. She imagined them, watching as if looking through a window, as the demon-possessed Teach went on his blood-drenched rampage, helpless to stop it. She wondered how many were in there.
Then, a thought occurred to her.
“Are you, Blackbeard, Edward Teach, also a prisoner?”
Teach took a step towards her, and a flash of rage darkened his face.
“We have an agreement, and the agreement stands,” he bellowed. Lisa did not flinch. “We are powerful, and shall become more powerful still, and in time, you will learn to love me.”
Once more, the reference had changed from we to me, this time in the same sentence.
“I’m a married woman. I already have a man to love. His name is Hunter. You almost killed him.”
The pirate’s face softened, and a subtle look of confusion seemed to creep in momentarily.
“He...tried to attack me. I defended myself.”
Lisa was gaining more confidence in her ability to reason with Teach, to get through to the man inside. She moved closer to the edge of the bed, looking the pirate in the eyes, which were glowing a faint red. She thought that they resembled the eyes of some feral dogs she had seen on her travels as a park ranger.
“Maybe you didn’t want to kill him,” she said.
With that, Teach was gone, as if he had never been there. Again, Lisa was left alone, wondering for the second time if what she had seen was real.
* * *
Lisa stood on a grassy mountainside overlooking a valley under a clear, blue sky. In the valley was a city, perhaps the largest city she had ever seen, with shiny steel-and-glass buildings that literally seemed to touch the clouds, filling the landscape as far as the eye could see. It could have been any city, anywhere in the world. She could see roads and bridges full of automobiles and huge jetliners making their way above the skyline to unknown destinations. Though Lisa lived in the country, she had always loved the city, with its busy streets and crowds of people going about their daily lives, interacting and communicating with one another about business, about love, about the future, the past. It excited her. Her life was so mundane compared to theirs, or so she had always believed.
“Well, what do you think?”
The voice startled her and she turned to see who stood behind her. It was Teach. Lisa looked down at her clothes and found that she was no longer dressed in jeans, but in a long, flowing white dress made of silk and lace. Probably worth a fortune, she thought. She also noticed she was barefoot.
“Well?” Teach repeated.
Lisa looked up, saw that he wore all black leather. It fit his personality, Lisa thought. She also thought about Teach’s glowing charisma. Captivating, like a movie star, something that hadn’t really crossed her mind before. Not at all something she really wanted to think about.
“Well, what?” she said.
Teach took a few steps in her direction. “What do you think of the city?”
Lisa turned back and looked at the scene once again, then glanced back at Teach. “It’s beautiful. And so is this,�
� she said, indicating the dress.
Teach nodded. “I thought you might like it. I had it made especially for you. I must say it fits perfectly...in all the right places.”
Teach stopped only inches away.
Lisa could smell the musky scent of his breath. His black hair blew around his face in the light mountain breeze. She could see tiny red ribbons braided into his black beard. She felt dizzy and disoriented, like she was in a freefall. An intense wave of moist heat radiated through her belly and breasts, an exquisite feeling. She floated, on the brink of an orgasm. How was this possible? How could a walking dead man give her so much pleasure? Lisa knew she had to be strong here. She knew she couldn’t surrender to his blatant seduction.
“So why did you bring me here?” she asked, trying to slow his advances. “Is this a dream, or is this all real?”
Teach smiled and Lisa found it disarming. “Both,” he said.
Teach reached up a hand and smoothed Lisa’s hair back from her brow. She didn’t try to stop him.
“I’ve never met a woman like you. You make me feel things, do things to me that I don’t understand. But I want to understand.”
Lisa looked into Teach’s eyes, but said nothing. He reached down and put a hand on each of her shoulders, turned her back towards the city and its spectacular view. Lisa found herself mesmerized by its strange, hypnotic beauty. The chaotic sound of it was like music, with a driving, sensual rhythm that thrilled her.
Then Teach leaned down and whispered in her ear, his breath hot upon her neck, causing her to shiver.
“This can all be yours, Lisa. All of it. I will give you the world and, in return, all I ask for is your loyalty. In time, you will learn to love me.”
Lisa turned to look at Teach, considering his words, letting them rattle through her mind like balls on a pool table. His pupils were green, yet bright like stained glass, as if fire blazed through them from behind.
Without warning, he leaned down and kissed her, more gently than she ever thought possible. It felt good, and that frightened her. In spite of the fear, she could feel the heat rising up inside her, and she turned to face Teach, slowly falling to her knees before him. She could see the bulge of his erection and thought about how good it would feel inside of her.
But something stopped her. As she was staring at Teach, she quickly closed her eyes as tightly as she could and began whispering over and over again, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!”
She put her hands up to her ears and pressed her palms down on them, blocking out the sound of the city that beckoned to her from the valley.
“I don’t have to do this. It’s a dream; it’s my dream!”
She kept her eyes shut for several more seconds, concentrating her mind on one thing, willing herself to be strong, to not give in to temptation.
Slowly, Lisa lowered her hands and opened her eyes.
Hunter stood before her in a faded pair of blue jeans and an old T-shirt, smiling the same sweet smile that always made her melt.
Lisa nodded, as if this latest vision was acceptable, and smiled back at the man of her dreams.
“That’s better,” she said.
Fifty-six
Just after dawn, fishing boats, Coast Guard cutters, and leisure craft started making their way to and fro in the busy Miami port as the Gertrude headed back out to sea. After refueling and taking on potable water, Hunter grabbed a quick shower and ate a bowl of stale corn flakes without milk for breakfast. Luckily, there was still enough coffee left to make a fresh pot, which he did. He took a sip and made a face as the strong brew took its toll on his sluggish brain, then went to meet Jason in the pilot-house.
Sometime during the night, Hunter had taken his turn at the helm, marveling at the maneuverability of the boat. The vessel practically drove itself. In fact, with the autopilot switched on, it did drive itself. He had little to do but sit back and watch the waves go by and gaze at the stars. He also kept his eye on the GPS tracker, imagining the little dot to be Lisa, willing the boat to go faster, and then reminding himself of the virtue of patience.
Hunter glanced at Jason. The sun glinted off his blond mane, accentuating his sharp features and reminding him of some Norse god, with tanned skin nearly as dark as his own, and khaki pants and a button-down shirt that were the epitome of preppy. With Jason‘s wealth and youthful good looks, Hunter understood what a young college girl like Lisa might have seen in him. The man even had a decent personality, if a little bookish.
Hunter began to once again feel the pangs of jealousy and quickly shook it off.
“Well, we’re making pretty good time,” Jason said. “Weather report says all the storms are staying off to the east, so it should be smooth sailing. As long as we don’t meet up with a giant squid or a killer sperm whale, that is.”
Hunter smirked at his friend’s literary humor and nodded.
“Right, Captain Ahab. Or, should I just call you Ishmael?”
Jason returned his attention to the open water ahead, his mood darkening. “Maybe you can just call me crazy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. This whole adventure is crazy. I mean, here we are heading out into the middle of the Atlantic—”
“Caribbean,” Hunter interrupted.
“Right, Caribbean...with nothing to go on but a hunch. I could be wrong about this whole thing, you know.”
Hunter thought for a minute, sipping his coffee, looking off into the blue horizon. “You’re not wrong. I know you’re not...we’re not. Especially after the things we’ve seen. Nothing human could have made me move across the floor like that, or picked me up by the throat with one hand. As much myth as there is surrounding Blackbeard, I know he was once human, but now he has superhuman strength. Whatever he is now, he’s changed, acquired powers beyond those of a man. The fact that he’s even alive proves that.”
Jason nodded, seeming to accept this. “Maybe it’s just me, then.”
Hunter glanced at him. “Having doubts about our mission?”
“Mission? Is that what this is?”
“What else would you call it?”
Jason frowned and adjusted the wheel, keeping to the right and maintaining their heading out of the harbor. “Not doubts, necessarily. Just reservations. Reservations about bringing you into all this. And Lisa. I feel bad that you both had the chance to finally reconcile your differences and now...well...now you’ve been forced apart.”
Hunter smiled and took another drink of coffee. “Believe me, there’s no force in the universe that will keep us apart, at least as far as I’m concerned. I’d follow her to the ends of the earth, if that’s what it takes. I’ll even fight demons.”
Now it was Jason‘s turn to smile as he focused his attention on the sea ahead. The boat picked up speed and the engines thrummed as water sprayed up in a rooster-tail from beneath the stern. They rocked gently from side to side and bounced from wave to wave like a flat stone skimming the water’s surface.
“I’m sure you’ll have your chance to do just that,” he said.
Fifty-seven
Caesar and Jonathan sat in the pilothouse of Aiden’s yacht as Jonathan piloted the boat and nursed a cup of lukewarm coffee. He wished he and his grandfather could have been fishing, or something other than what they were doing: accompanying a madman, or two madmen, on a journey to Hell.
Down below, Teach sat watching TV and soaking up everything he could about the new world he found himself suddenly thrust into. Jonathan found the demon-man’s curiosity amusing, his ability to learn and remember new things astounding. He wondered what the pirate would eventually try to do with Lisa, and hoped that he would be able to somehow stop it. Those thoughts slowly morphed into fantasies of Lisa and Jonathan together, sitting in the cabin below, staring into each other’s eyes, he caressing her face, her hair, telling her it would be all right.
A smile crept up on Jonathan’s face before he was snapped back to reality by his grandfather’s v
oice.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
Jonathan blinked. “Believe me, you don’t want to know what I was thinking.”
Caesar smiled slyly. “She’s spoken for, my son, and by more than one man. I don’t think Teach is going to let her go that easily, not even to return to her own husband. She’s a very brave woman, that one, to do what she did. Offer herself in his place. Hunter is a lucky man.”
Jonathan slowly nodded in agreement. “And she’s beautiful.”
“Forget it. You’ll be better off.”
Jonathan watched as the early-morning sun crawled up over the eastern horizon. “Caesar, tell me why this is happening. Why, after three-hundred years, has Teach decided that now is the time to return, to find this magical book. There has to be something more here that we’re not seeing, something that we’re missing. How could he have simply willed himself out of the grave, from under tons of water and sand at the bottom of the ocean? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Caesar’s smile faded as he digested the question, one he knew was bound to come from his hyper-observant grandson. He did his best to frame an answer. “Remember the dreams, Jonathan? Those were not just coincidence. They came from him.”
Jonathan couldn’t argue with his grandfather. He knew it was true.
“The Death Defier was also known by other names besides Diablero and Obeah. He is also called the Nightmare Walker. He walks in our dreams, sends us thoughts while we sleep, even shapes them to his own. And we are none the wiser.”
“Even from beyond the dead?”
Caesar blew out a breath. “Dead? What is death for one who has never died?”
