by Ryan Gilbert
“They’re real,” said Julia.
Everyone stopped laughing and stared straight at her.
“They’re real. I’ve seen them.”
Commodore Hamond addressed her directly, “Julia, you know there are no such things. There were never any such creatures in God’s creation.”
“You’re wrong, father.”
The shock showed on her father’s face. Julia had never spoken back to him to tell him that he was wrong. He did not know how to respond.
Julia got up from her chair and walked over to Riggs, standing directly beside his chair. She gently nudged the chair, catching Riggs’ attention. In the palm of her hand, she had the tiny crucifix, which she dropped into the Captain’s lap. Quickly, he covered it with his chains and started to try to break free.
“What he says is true, father. There is a mermaid, and she’s named Ororis. She has magical powers, which are capable of horrible things. I’ve seen them with my own eyes.”
Still stunned, Commodore Hamond said, “That cannot possibly be true. I’ve sailed the seas for more years than he ever has, and I have never seen any of these things.”
“Father, I’ve seen a whole island nearly erupt with an extraordinary flash of red blasts and lightning. Whether you like it or not, there are things that you know nothing about.”
Riggs could feel the lock about to give way in his shackles. Just a few more seconds was all he needed.
“Enough! I am your father, Julia, and you will listen to me… not some pirate.”
Her father was breathing heavy and his temper was about to boil over. Trying in vain to calm himself, he laid his gun on the table to keep him from wanting to kill Riggs. He could not bear to think about how much his daughter’s mind had been corrupted by the pirates.
Jonathan was getting irritated as well. Riggs could see the poorly concealed anger in his face. The interrogation was not going as he had hoped.
“Enough wasting time,” Jonathan said as he pulled a gun out from the recesses of his coat.
He rushed around the table and stopped directly in front of Riggs. He pointed the barrel of the pistol at the pirate’s head and cocked the trigger. The Commodore and his soldiers had just noticed the previously concealed gun.
“Mr. Warner, control yourself!” Hamond ordered.
Jonathan ignored him, his full attention focused on Riggs.
“Are you ready to die?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
Riggs flung his unlocked shackles in Jonathan’s face and grabbed the gun from his hands. Julia screamed in surprise and jumped back, but Riggs grabbed her and held the gun to the side of her head.
“Just go along with it,” he whispered.
Speaking louder, he ordered, “Commodore Hamond, ‘less ye want your daughter to have a hole through her head, you’ll do as I say. Have everyone lay down their weapons now.”
Gesturing to his soldiers and Jonathan to stand down, the Commodore growled, “You monster, you’ll never get away with this.”
“I already have. Now, sweets, don’t make any sudden moves. Wouldn’t want to blow yer head off. Commodore, have your men go down to the brig and let my crew go free. Hop to it.”
Cursing himself, the Commodore ordered his soldiers to get the pirates from the brig. He would not let Riggs out of his sight, not even for a moment.
Riggs and his captive shuffled to the door, and the pirate captain kicked it open. Keeping the gun trained on Julia, Riggs led her up to the helm, followed by dozens of armed soldiers.
“Was there a plan that didn’t involve me with a gun to my head?” asked Julia, a little frightened.
“Not really,” he whispered.
Soon, his crew joined him on the deck, free from the brig and in a hurry to escape the ship. Behind them, Garrett and his crewmates followed.
“Garrett, why are you here?”
“The man set us free. Who am I to turn down such a gift?”
Riggs could see the Commodore’s frustration growing with every word. The Captain relished every moment of it.
“You’re not a part of my crew.”
“Aye, but apparently I am. Will ye let me and my crew join you?”
Shrugging, Riggs nodded and said, “Why not? I could use some extra hands. Follow Clint onto the ship and get it ready to sail.”
Now speaking to the Commodore and his soldiers, Riggs said, “If ye don’t want your daughter’s death on your hands, you’ll back off. I will shoot her… if I need to.”
The crew had started shuffling across the ropes, back to the Red Sky. Riggs held the soldiers at bay, careful to not slip and pull the trigger.
Once the last pirate had made it across the gap, Riggs muttered, “Well… I clearly didn’t think this through.”
He was stranded, and the soldiers knew it. They started to move closer, but Riggs again pushed the pistol against Julia’s head.
“Ow!” she exclaimed.
Riggs looked back to the Red Sky and waved his arm to the left, hoping someone would see it as an order to turn to port.
The soldiers continued to inch closer.
Riggs looked back and forth anxiously. He was cornered, Julia being his only defense against at least twenty muskets.
*creeeck*
The pirate ship began to turn rather quickly, ripping some of the ropes off of the Magistrate’s rail.
Grabbing onto a rope, Riggs said, “Gents… Commodore… the era of the Red Sky is upon you, and as you know… legends can’t spread from a prison cell.”
In a desperate effort to stop the pirates from escaping, Commodore Hamond leapt forward and tried to grab the gun from Riggs. At the last second, the pirate dropped it to the ground and grabbed Julia’s waist. Both of them fell backwards just as the rope ripped off of the wooden rail. They were launched off the Magistrate and into the water as the two ships tore apart. Riggs could hear garbled voices shouting to not shoot at the escaping pirates.
A rope was lowered down to Riggs and Julia, and, within seconds, they were back on the deck of the Red Sky. Dragging Julia along with him, Riggs ran to the wheel and turned the ship away from the HMS Magistrate as fast as he could. Now that they had the wind on their side, they could outrun the Navy in no time. By the time that the Magistrate had even turned around, the Red Sky was long gone. The Navy ship tried to fire its cannons at them, but they were not even close.
“They’re fallin’ behind,” shouted Coral Jack.
The crew let out a cheer. They had actually escaped the gallows.
All of the men turned to Riggs, waiting for his orders.
Before the Captain could say a single thing, Eli pushed to the front of the group and asked, “What’s she doing here?”
Wiping his wet hair out of his eyes, Riggs said, “She’s here ‘cause she’s the only reason we’re all here again. She’s riskin’ just as much as we are, so consider her a new member o’ the crew.”
At first, the crew was quiet. They did not know how to react.
Jack and Ripper came forward. What their intentions were, Riggs had no clue.
Taking a deliberately eccentric bow, Jack said, “Welcome to the crew, Ms. Hamond.”
“Aye, same ‘ere. Welcome to da crew.”
Riggs smiled and shouted, “Alright, ye mangy rats, we need to get to Rebelde as quick as possible. We’ve got a mermaid to kill.”
The crew rushed around on the ship, glad to be free again. Even Garrett’s men seemed to fit in with the crew. Garrett, on the other hand, took a little longer to adjust.
Following his new captain, he asked, “Riggs, why is it ye want to kill this thing so bad? I’ve seen many a mermaid, and none of ‘em were as dangerous as yer makin’ this ‘n out to be.”
Snatching a pistol with dry powder, Riggs said, “Garrett, a couple days ago, we… accidentally awakened the most dangerous bein’ in all the sea.”
“And what was that being?” he asked, smirking.
“Ororis.”
Garr
ett burst out laughing.
“That washed up, old legend?”
“A legend that happened to be true.”
“And we’re gonna just go and… kill this Ororis? How can this ship and ragtag crew even stand a chance against somethin’ that powerful?”
Reloading his pistol, Riggs answered, “We’ve survived one encounter, and we’ll do it again. Now help get the ship ready. We’ve got to have the ship in fightin’ shape if we want to win.”
Muttering to himself, Garrett said, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Commodore Hamond had gathered everyone on the deck of the HMS Magistrate for an emergency meeting. After they had all failed to stop the Red Sky from escaping, he was angrier than he had ever been. He had to watch the pirates sail away while he could do nothing to stop them.
“We are servants of the Crown, yes?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” the sailors responded.
Frowning, the Commodore asked, with the volume of his voice increasing with every word, “Then can anyone tell me how those pirates managed to get away?”
The men were silent, looking to each other for support.
“Don’t look to your neighbor. He cannot help you answer the question.”
A soldier shrugged, “We don’t know, sir. Even the best of us could not have guessed any of this would happen.”
His face turning red, the Commodore shouted, “Jonathan Warner to the front, please.”
At first, the crowd was quiet. Soon, however, the people parted as Jonathan strode to face Commodore Hamond. He was the only person on that ship that still had an air of confidence about him.
“I am here, Commodore. What is it you ask of me?”
Ignoring him, Hamond turned to the soldiers and said, “Seize him.”
Confusion covered Jonathan’s face as the soldiers grabbed his arms. Instantly, he struggled to get away, but the soldiers held him tightly.
“What is the meaning of this, Commodore? What have I done?”
Grabbing the man by his collar, Hamond growled, “You’re the main reason they escaped, you blithering idiot. If it hadn’t been for your thirst for blood, then we would still have them all locked in the brig… and my daughter would still be here.”
Trying to force himself free, Jonathan pleaded, “But sir, I was doing it for Julia. She would have wanted those pirates dead as well.”
“If you were half the man that I thought you were, then you would have just let us hang the pirates when we got back to Yorktown.”
To the soldiers, he said, “Lock him in the brig. I don’t want to hear him again for the rest of the voyage.”
The soldiers dragged Jonathan, kicking and yelling, to the brig. All the way down to the brig, he was yelling and pleading, claiming that he was the only true man to take action. When the cell doors slammed shut, the Commodore was slightly less angry.
“Sir?” asked Lieutenant Travers, trying to get his superior’s attention.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Not to be assuming anything, sir, but don’t you think your daughter might have been part of the reason they escaped?”
“Of course, she was part of the reason. That monster had a gun to her head.”
Rubbing his hands nervously, the Travers said, “That wasn’t what I meant, Commodore.”
Commodore Hamond’s hands began to shake with frustration as the Lieutenant continued.
“Didn’t it seem like she was taken captive a bit too easily? I would’ve thought she’d put up more of a fight.”
“She was in shock. There was nothing she could do.”
“If you say so, sir, but don’t you think there might be a possibility?”
Through gritted teeth, the Commodore said, “My daughter… is not… a pirate. She would never betray me or the Crown like that. She is a respectable young woman, and I will not have you talking about her like she is some sort of traitor. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly, sir, but…”
Waving his hand in disgust, the Commodore said, “But nothing. I am not going to concern myself with your conspiracy theories, Lieutenant. All I want is to get my daughter back… and for good this time! If I need to send the Doomsday Angel to the depths of the sea, I will get her back.”
He dismissed Travers, not noticing the grin on the Lieutenant’s face.
After he had finished his outburst, the Commodore stomped back into his cabin to try to plan for the next attack on the pirates. The emotions that were running through his head were nearly driving him crazy. He knew he would find those pirates again. They did not have that far of a lead. Their next meeting would be their last.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Red Sky spent the night hiding from the HMS Magistrate. Since they had the greater speed, it was much easier to get the ship hidden with plenty of time. All they had to do was wait for the Navy ship to sail right by them. Riggs was certain that the Commodore would think that the pirates would try to outrun the navy ship, rather than hide from it. They did have the fastest ship on the seas, after all.
As it turns out, Riggs was right. The Commodore was so consumed with rage that he had completely forgotten everything that Garrett had told him about pirates. All he saw was the direction that the ship had gone, and that was where he directed all of his focus. The Magistrate sailed past the Red Sky’s hiding place with no conflict at all. The sailors did not even notice the pirates. Once the Navy vessel had disappeared on the horizon, the pirates could rest easy. They were safe for the time being.
Riggs and the crew breathed a sigh of relief and continued on their voyage to Rebelde.
Ripper and Eli were put in charge of cleaning and repairing the lower decks, which were a mess after the Navy’s attack. Cannons lay on their sides. Barrels were shattered and overturned. Everything was in desperate need of repair.
Coral Jack’s duty was repairing the holes on the sides of the ship. It was not a job that he wanted because he had to do it while they were sailing. He had recruited several of the new crewmembers to help him in the hope that they would be the ones to get soaked and not him.
Petey One-Eye was given his regular job of organizing things. None of the new crewmembers knew how he was helping the situation until he explained his methods. Even then, they still could not figure out what was where. In an effort to have Doc do something useful, Riggs just had him follow Petey for a while and help the new recruits find things. If anyone needed medical attention, then he could take care of it, but until that actually happened, he would be assisting the quartermaster.
Riggs, Clint, and Garrett all worked together with the navigational charts and steering the ship. The young captain could feel some tension from his new crewmate, but he did not think anything of it. It seemed like he was just a little uneasy, what with having control of his crew taken from him. Riggs brushed it off as nothing. When it would come time for the battle against the Black Fog, he was sure the new recruits would hold their own.
Within a couple days, they had arrived at Rebelde. The ports were less crowded than they usually were, leading to a quicker docking. Most of the crew left the ship to go and grab supplies for their mission, but Coral Jack, Eli, and their helpers stayed on board the ship to repair it. Eli worked to reinforce the woodwork on the inside of the boat to prevent anything from collapsing, even from a cannonball. Coral Jack worked on finishing the repairs to the outside of the ship. Some men painted. Some men sealed. Some men nailed. Everything was going according to plan.
Julia fell asleep in her usual room, finally getting some rest from the action. Though it had been a surprise to her, Riggs’ escape plan had helped resolve her dilemma of having to choose between him and her father. Now, she could be with Riggs while her father still believed that she had been kidnapped again. Sure, some things were a little suspicious, but she knew her father all too well. He would never assume that she had become a pirate. There would have to be insurmountable evidence to support it.
Her fingers rest
ed on the chain of the necklace. The emerald was still tucked away in the pocket of her dress. All was quiet.
But not all was well.
If the pirates had seen what lurked underneath the water that flowed beneath the Red Sky, they would have been horrified. They would have grabbed their guns and shot at the water like their lives depended on it.
Ororis’s black fin propelled her forward, directly underneath the pirate ship. Peeking out of the water, she could see Coral Jack’s boots hanging over the side of ship, obviously not paying attention to the sea below. None of the other men were any better at observing their surroundings.
Ororis sneered to herself. They were expecting the Black Fog to show up and have a gigantic battle. None of the crew had thought about the mermaid coming alone.
Hiding in the shadows, she could hear the thump of the pirates’ boots as they left the ship. They seemed like they were in a hurry. If she had not been trying to be stealthy, then she would have laughed. Even their hurrying could not stop her from getting the emerald back.
Once the thumping stopped, the mermaid swam to the other side of the ship, the side that none of the pirates could see from the dock. All of the repairs had been done for that side, so there was no one even paying attention. Transforming her fin into legs, Ororis began climbing up the side of the ship.
As she slipped on the grimy wooden planks, she found herself tempted to use a spell to make it easier. She shook the thought out of her head. What if the emerald was not there? What if she used the only remaining magic that she had? She did not know what she could do and what she could not do. It was all up to trial and error now. Still, she did not want to take that chance.
After several failed attempts, the mermaid climbed over the railing and onto the ship. She ducked behind the stairs, just barely avoiding detection as a pirate walked by, carrying a box of supplies. Once the pirate left the ship, she sneaked down to the lower decks.
She had to be especially careful down there. Her pale skin would give her away easily. If anyone saw her, they would surely raise an alarm, which would not be good if she did not know how much magic she was able to use.
