by J. Avarez
“What's wrong, Kyla?” Asked Cookie, her voice pulled Sarah away from her useless muttering.
The dragun let a roar into the air. Her body shifted so much, the ship had begun to tremble beneath Sarah's feet. The captain met the glowing gaze of her dragun, and felt strongly the creature was trying to tell her something.
“I think she knows the way.” Said Charlie.
“What makes you say that?” Asked Charlotte, joining the others that stood behind Sarah.
Charlie set his heavy saber against the wooden rail and approached Kyla. The dragun turned her head over and splashed water from her chin onto the ship.
“I remember this dragun from Crescent Island, your friend Zahweh sold her to you, right?” Charlie looked toward Sarah eagerly. She nodded, which seemed to excite Charlie further. “I remember him trying to sell her to another captain. He told him that she’s blind, but could navigate with her other senses.”
Kyla hummed a beautiful melody and looked up toward the night sky. Mia looked up as well, careful not to gaze at the blue moon shining behind them. Etched into the clouds, she could see a thick, black trail of smoke. Her memories of being trapped on Blackbeard’s ship came rushing back to her. She remembered dozens of sweaty pirates, all of them lugging black rocks into a room filled with fire.
“The coal to fuel their war balloon,” said Mia happily, she grabbed Sarah’s shoulders and pulled her close. “She can smell it, Sarah! She can smell it!”
The captain looked up at her dragun, who met her gaze with a watery smile.
“Is that true, girl?” Asked Sarah.
The dragun nodded her slippery blue head. Sarah let out a shaky sigh of relief. She couldn't believe what stroke of luck the gods had given her. Without hesitation, Kyla followed the scent of the Black Cloud, and sped across the Red Sea in pursuit of Blackbeard. As the dragun raced across the water, Sarah commanded her caravan to change into their armored outfits and prepare for battle. They would have the element of surprise, a factor Merla often advised was most valuable in a fight.
It took a few hours before Kyla arrived at a raging storm in the distance. The wall of dark clouds hovered so close to the sea surface, Sarah had mistook them for mountains. Blackbeard would be somewhere inside, perhaps he had already located the site of the next blue moon temple. She urged Kyla to press through the wall of dark clouds, and ordered everyone to brace themselves. She knew she’d have to be quick. Sarah trusted Blackbeard less than a crooked gunner, and Drake less so. The idea of her fate in their hands was disturbing, she’d sooner share a shower with Gizmo.
“What’s with the storm?” Asked Cookie, shielding her ears from the sound of thunder cracking above them.
“The gods must have surrounded the temple with it,” replied Charlie, holding Cookie with his long arms. “We usually sail around places like this, only someone with a map could get through such a storm.”
“Or a clever dragun!” Said Mia, smiling toward Kyla.
Sarah herself did her best to hold onto the front of her ship, even though the dark mist blocked her vision. All of them did their best not to fly off as Kyla continued through the raging storm. The blind dragun followed the charred scent of coal and used her skin to follow the waves that thrashed around her. Soon they found themselves out of the storm. The breath of clear air was a relief to them all.
“Unaqlus have mercy.” Said Daisy in awe, rising up from behind a wooden barrel.
The ladies gathered and were mesmerize by the sight in front of them. The raging storm circled a wide area all around them, like a wall made of dark thunderstorms. The seawater ahead fell downward in a perfect circle, and formed a massive hole in the sea. At the very center of the hole was a tall, stone pillar, which stood just a few stories above the sea surface. Sarah’s eyes trailed downward to find the bottom of the pillar, but the massive stone structure continued endlessly into the blackness below.
“Tyserra’s tits, that's deep!” Charlotte yelped.
“It probably goes straight to the seabed.” Said Sarah.
“There is no seabed,” Charlie returned Sarah’s shocked face with a grim grin. “You were in Drake's office, Sarah, I know you must have seen it.”
The confrontation at the Oasis had nearly caused her to forget. The golden letters over Drake’s desk flashed through her mind.
“Nine Worlds, One Sea.” Sarah recited, softly.
“This one sea connects them all,” said Charlie. “The commoners believe there's a seabed beneath the water, but the truth is that the sea is far deeper.”
“So, how deep does the hole go?” Asked Daisy, her green eyes were wide trying to find the bottom of the watery canyon.
“Who knows,” replied Mia, as she too gazed into the gap in the sea. “It probably never ends.”
Kyla stopped their ship just off the edge of the water hole, her strong flippers kept their ship anchored in place. The dragun then lifted her head and roared toward the Black Cloud. The war balloon hovered above the stone tower. A few dozen dark hawks followed Drake through the storm, all of them circled Blackbeard’s flying ship like bees near a hive. Though they were quite a distance away, Sarah could see small dots climbing down the ropes beneath Blackbeard's ship.
“They're heading for the peak,” she said, pointing toward the Black Cloud. “He must be ready to start the sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Cookie repeated, looking toward Sarah.
It was a truth she learned from Jayden, during the nights that he spent tutoring her about the many treasures of the world.
“Not everyone that got turned to stone can come back,” replied Sarah, with a frown. “Some of them have to be used to rebuild the temple, so the blue moon can be put back where it belongs.”
“So why are we even here?” Asked Daisy. “Is becoming a captain really that important to you? I mean, you don’t really want to sacrifice those people yourself, do you?”
“The sacrifices have to be chosen,” said Mia, remembering Blackbeard's words. “This is about more than who gets credit for ending the curse. I mean, who do you think a vile pig like Drake is going to choose? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to stand around and let him sacrifice just the women and commoners. If the temple has to be built then it should be built with everyone’s blood, Royal and commoner, man and woman.”
A loud crackle snapped across the sky followed by a shower of thunderbolts. The blue strings of lightning scattered over the sea as Blackbeard started the ritual. The captain stood with his hand raised to the sky, and the glowing blue pearl clenched within his grip. The sacrifices had started all across the Red Sea. In mere moments they witnessed the horror of the sacrifice with their own eyes.
Several rocks, the size of cannonballs, slowly flew toward the pillar from all angles, and combined together to create whole chunks of the temple floor. Everyone watched as thousands of stone faces flew past them to become one with the temple. Some faces were sadly familiar to those onboard.
“Abigail?” Mia whispered, recognizing her maid’s face as it floated by her own.
“Zahweh.” Said Sarah softly, moving out of the way as his stone face floated past her.
The pieces continued to gather. Sarah’s heart to ached more with each face. None of them deserved such a death.
“We have to stop this, Sarah,” said Cookie, with tearful eyes. “There just has to be another way.”
Sarah wanted there to be another way too, but the gods demanded payment. The floor beneath Blackbeard had begun to expand, as the temple slowly took shape at the peak of the pillar. The stone bits of sacrificed statues continued to combine and gather just above the hole in the sea. In minutes, several large pieces of the temple were left to float slowly over the water.
The young captain approached the front of her ship and faced the harsh winds with a hardened look. Her crew assembled close behind her, all of them with brave and calm faces.
“I can shoot him now if y
ou want,” said Charlotte, with one eye shut and the other over the barrel of her pistol. “I’ll put a hole straight through his stupid beard, just say the word.”
“Not from here,” said Sarah, gently lowering Charlotte's gun with her hand. “I need you to warp us onto the pillar, see if the four of us can catch them off guard. Three Secretos at once, they won't know what to do. I know I don't have one, but I’ll sacrifice myself for your escape if it comes to that. I need all of you. I know it isn't my place to ask for it, but I'm begging you to help me bring justice for the dead.”
Her green eyes rested upon Cookie, Charlotte and Mia. All of them looked taken aback for a moment, but eventually each of them grinned and nodded for Sarah.
“And we’ll give y'all some firepower from the ship.” Said Gizmo, setting his wine bottle and glass cup onto the floor. He then patted the tiny pistol that hung by his hip. “Ten diamonds says I get Drake in one of his beady little eyes!”
“We’ll take care of those dark hawks in the sky,” Charlie told Sarah, he then turned to a startled Daisy and handed her a silver rifle. “Your sisters shoot better drunk than most Imperials do sober, I hope the talent runs in the family.”
Daisy took the rifle and noticed Gizmo struggling to open the bottle of wine with his claws. With a grin, the blonde beauty slung the rifle over her arm and aimed for the teddy bear. There was a sudden roar from the rifle. Gizmo watched with a gaped mouth. His wine fell into the glass he had set underneath, Daisy had managed to shoot the cork off and leave the glass intact.
“Sure,” said Daisy, giving Charlie a bright smile. “I’ll try and do my best.”
Cookie, Mia, Charlotte and Sarah gathered, and stacked their hands in the center between them. Charlotte's amber eyes glowed and the ladies vanished in a cloud of black smoke. They appeared again through the dark mist that hovered over the temple. All of them landed on their feet against the white polished floor.
Darlan and Boggy were the first to notice them. The pair of drunken pirates stood just behind where Mia had landed. The Royal rose to her feet and widened her hazel eyes upon Darlan’s face.
“Lady Rose?” He said, looking bewildered.
Boggy took notice of Sarah and reached for his pistol, but Cookie had already seized his shoulder. The freckled beauty flung Boggy into one of the walls of the temple, his upper body vanished inside the hole and his legs were left to dangle. Charlotte moved on Darlan and warped toward his front. Her fist collided with his face and brought the kind pirate to the floor. Mia softly apologized to the unconscious Darlan, remembering the moments of kindness the pirate had shown her.
The attack had sprung the other pirates to action, all of them gathered to block Sarah's path up the trail of stairs that led to Blackbeard. Mia activated her Secreto and used her red mist to sweep many of the pirates out of their way. Sarah led them up the stairs, and bit into her thumbnail to drain the golem’s juice from it. As the last drop of black liquid fell down her throat, Sarah raised her hand in front of five pirates that hindered her path. A massive stone hand, eerily similar to her own, rose up from the steps. The massive hand lifted the pirates up to hang on each finger, like coats on a rack.
As they continued forward, the Black Cloud took notice of them and fired cannonballs toward the steps. Mia protected them from the barrage, her Secreto hovered above them as a red glittering shield. At the top of the stairs Sarah met eyes with Blackbeard and Drake. The two captains stood by a pedestal, slowly forming at the base from the pieces of gathered stone.
“What is this Blackbeard?” Shouted Drake. “I see Royals among these sacrifices, focus on the commoners as we planned!”
Blackbeard looked calmly into his eyes, but a striking emerald gaze caught his attention.
“Dreamstead?” Said Blackbeard, his voice between shock and amusement.
The pirate captain let out a hearty laugh and continued to focus on the ritual. His massive body trembled from the pearl, which resembled a blue sun in his hand. Drake stepped between the ladies and Blackbeard, with the ends of his white overcoat trailing with the wind.
“Persistent bitch,” he spat out furiously toward Sarah, his dark eyes then turned to the pirates around him. “Send her body back into the sea.”
The men obeyed Drake’s command, moved for their pistols and fired. Sarah quickly raised her hands up into the sky, and formed several slabs of stone to emerge from the floor. The roar of the rifles echoed, but the bullets were caught within the stone slabs she’d risen between them. She then jabbed the air in front of her, which made stone fists erupt out the slabs of white stone. The faces of the pirates collided against the stone fists, the impact flung her opposition off the edge of the temple.
“Enough!” Drake shouted, raising his hand into the air.
The captain made a motion with his fingers, which signaled action from the flying ship above. The largest of the Black Cloud’s cannons turned downward and aimed its muzzle toward Sarah. The great cannon fired, and the force fractured off bits of the ship's wooden hull. Charlotte watched the massive cannonball as it soared toward her captain.
She disappeared in a cloud of smoke and warped by Sarah's side.
Sarah saw only the leopard tattoos, as Charlotte swung her arm across and pushed her out of the way. She lifted her amber eyes and muttered a curse, the massive cannonball was just seconds from her.
“No!” Cookie screamed.
The freckled beauty leaped in front of Charlotte and kept her guarded behind her tall legs. Her blue eyes glowed like sapphires in the sun, her back was straight and unnerved. Cookie caught the cannonball in one hand, with such force that her fingers dug into the steel. With a pant, she swung her arm and threw the cannonball back toward the Black Cloud. The metal ball flew into hull of the ship, breaking through boards of wood, and triggered a bright explosion within the boiler room.
The impact engulfed the flying pirate ship in a great inferno, which lit up the night sky. Drake looked frustrated. His teeth gritted together, as he watched the Black Cloud fall into the sea in several fiery pieces. Blackbeard was more in awe. The pain of losing his ship did not match up to his wonder at Cookie’s sheer might.
“Tyserra’s tits,” Blackbeard whispered, his green eyes shining from the flames falling out of the sky. “I've never seen a Secreto so strong, it's as if she has the blood of a god.”
Drake scoffed at Blackbeard, unamused by the wonder on his face.
“I've had about enough of these games.” Drake snarled.
Charlotte noticed his dark eyes had begun to glow and raised her pistol. The shot fired, but his head exploded into hundreds of scattered water drops. The captain used his Secreto to become water itself, and zigzagged along the floor as a glowing puddle. Before Sarah could assist, Drake had already appeared in front of her vice-captain and grabbed her by the throat.
Charlotte punched and clawed at Drake’s chest, but his grip kept her face firmly in front of his. Without a shred of fear she spat into his face, and kept a fierce glare toward his dark brooding eyes.
“Get out of my face, you prick.” Said Charlotte, coldly.
Drake looked livid for a moment, but soon cracked a grin. His grip loosened slightly upon her neck.
“Gladly.” Replied Drake.
The pirate captain tilted his head and allowed the blue moon behind him to shine over Charlotte's face. What an idiot, Sarah thought to herself. Drake clearly was unaware of Charlotte's immunity to the curse. However, just as that boastful thought crossed her mind, the scene in front of her had grown grim. Sarah watched as her vice-captain’s eyes went from amber to grey.
Charlotte's entire body had been turned to stone, with her stone fingers balled into a fist. Drake looked delighted as he dropped her, waiting to see her shatter into a thousand pieces.
“Charlotte!” Mia shouted, extending her hand outward.
Her red mist shot out of her palm and swept Charlotte toward her. Her stone body rested com
fortably upon the cloud of red glitter. Mia took care and slowly lowered her onto the floor. She knelt over Charlotte and wept. Sarah was left bewildered, her eyes simply forced to dart helplessly over her friend’s petrified face.
“I don't understand…” Said Sarah, softly.
“No, I didn't think you would,” replied Drake, looking as gleeful as ever. “You four have been running about thinking there was something special about you. What fools you all have been. The only thing extraordinary about all of you is the amount of times you've been saved by good fortune. This pendant for example,” Drake surprised Cookie, who hadn't noticed that he had slowly been walking toward her. The freckled beauty flashed her eyes to release her Secreto, but Drake quickly grabbed her with his blue diamond gauntlet. His eyes tore away from her frightened face and laid upon the diamond pendant around her neck. “This pendant was given as a gift, was it not? How curious, being that it's made of red diamond, the only thing that protects and cures the curse of the blue moon. You're catching on now, aren't you? Your friend wasn't saved by some special immunity. She was saved because you touched her with this.”
