by Ryan Gilbert
“No… no, no, no…”
Once she saw the spattering of blood on her love’s face and chest, Valera started to weep. She was barely able to stand as she stumbled to where he lay propped against the side of a cannon. Ripper had to try his best to carry her as her legs collapsed underneath her.
Even the master gunner was holding back his emotions.
Easing the mermaid to her knees, Ripper took a step back, his eyes still fixated on his best friend, beaten and mutilated. When Riggs laid his hand on the gunner’s shoulder to try to comfort him, Ripper abruptly grabbed onto his captain’s hand, squeezing it tightly. The Captain had never seen him this shaken before.
“Jack, you can’t do this to me. You can’t leave me,” cried the mermaid.
As she knelt next to Coral Jack, Valera brought her trembling hands to the pirate’s face. Red smeared across her hands as she gently ran her fingers across his cheeks. Tears ran down her face as she bit down on her lip, trying to rouse her lover back to consciousness.
“Please…”
Holding Jack’s head in her hands, she could feel his strained breaths beating against her wrists and her face as she leaned close to him. She shut her eyes, letting the tears flow as she brought her lips to Jack’s, giving the pirate a gentle kiss.
“I… I love you,” Valera whispered.
Though it seemed like an eternity, the wounded boatswain’s left eye fluttered open mere moments after the mermaid ended her kiss.
“And I… love you,” he said groggily.
As he fully regained consciousness, the pain from his wounds hit him with its full force. He clenched his fingers and gritted his teeth, grabbing onto Valera’s hand. A violent fit of spasms hit Coral Jack as he tried to move the slashed right side of his face.
“Why… why can’t I see? Why can’t I see out o’ this eye?” he asked, panicking.
Taking a deep breath, Valera reached for the bandage that covered Jack’s wound. Carefully, she peeled it away, trying to keep from adding to her love’s pain.
The sight that awaited her was horrifying.
The wound ran straight through Jack’s eye, cutting through both the eyelid and the eye itself. The outer skin peeled back from the wound like a dry leather hide, exposing red muscle tissue underneath all of the darkening, drying blood. There was no chance of him being able to see out of his right eye again.
As Valera wept and held on to Coral Jack, Riggs stepped to the side, motioning for Clint to come to him. His friend hurried to his side, wringing his hands in uncertainty.
“Riggs, what happened in that cave?”
The Captain shook his head, biting at his fingernails.
“I ain’t got a clue. Everythin’ was goin’ just as I thought it would. Every was on the defensive, and we were wearin’ ‘im down. Hades and I fought him… he lost his sword… and both he and I ended up hangin’ from a cliff.”
Clint took out his flask and handed it to his captain. Riggs received it graciously.
“It all went downhill from there, mate,” he said, taking a gulp of rum.
Continuing, he said, “Ororis killed the bastard with his own sword, and it… it seemed like his power transferred to her. She turned on us, and we all barely escaped with our lives. Now, Hades is with her… stuck with one o’ the most powerful creatures to ever live.”
Clint’s eyes opened wide, like a sudden realization had just hit him.
“Come to think of it, just before we sent out the longboat, the hunters saw something over on the Flying Dutchman… like a sign. They disappeared from the ship right after that. None of us knew why they had gone, but they did,” he explained.
Cursing under his breath, Riggs said, “That witch must’ve summoned them.”
“What’re we gonna do, Riggs?”
Before the Captain could answer, the fluttering of fairy wings reached his ears. Spinning around, he saw Eli and Sapphire barely flying through the air, heading straight towards the deck. From the looks of it, Sapphire was just barely going to make it. The fairy clipped her foot on the rail as she fell, sending her crashing to the ground as Eli used his momentum to roll rather awkwardly across the deck.
Riggs and Clint rushed to the aid of their friends as the exhausted carpenter and fairy tried to stand. Eli stood without an issue. Sapphire, on the other hand, tried to get to her feet, but could not, falling right back down to the deck.
“Come on, Saph. You can do it,” urged Eli, holding onto the fairy’s hand.
“No, Eli… I can’t,” she said as Riggs and Clint reached her side.
As soon as he crouched down, Riggs could see the red splotch on Sapphire’s dress. She was weak, and he could tell. As carefully as he could, he slipped his hands underneath her wings and helped her to her feet. He picked her up in his arms, ignoring his own pain from his shoulder and back. In the state that she was in, Sapphire could not even stand if she tried her hardest.
“Welcome back to the Red Sky, Saph,” Riggs said with a smile, masking his feelings about everything that was happening.
“I thought we’d never get back to this ship,” she said faintly.
“We just tried to take on the Salvation,” Eli interjected.
“The Admiral’s ship?” Riggs asked in shock, “What were ye thinkin’?”
“It was the only option we had. We weren’t going to let the armada take down the Red Sky without a fight… and neither was Commodore Hamond.”
“My father? You saw my father?” asked Julia, overhearing the conversation.
“Aye… we all fought until we couldn’t hold out any longer. We wanted to stay longer and help him, but he ordered us to leave. He… he told me to tell you that he loved you, Julia,” said Eli as a knot caught in his throat.
A shiver ran down the girl’s spine. Trying not to comprehend it all, she brought her hand to her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she started to pace the deck.
“Riggs, we need to head to Yorktown,” she mumbled, “We need to go there right now.”
Watching the crew break down all around him, Clint asked, “Well, Captain… what should we do?”
Still carrying Sapphire in his arms, Riggs looked around at his fellow pirates. Coral Jack was blinded in one eye, courtesy of another traitor. Valera was beside herself with concern, sending her spiraling out of control. On an emotional level, Ripper was affected more than ever before. Eli stood in front of his captain, bruised and weakened. Julia was pacing in front of him, obviously worried about her father. Everyone was in a state of panic.
There was only one thing that the pirates of the Red Sky could do.
Turning to Clint, Riggs said, “Full speed to Yorktown, Clint. After that, we’re goin’ to war with Ororis… and this time, we will make sure that she stays dead.”
“Where… where am I?”
Hades’ vision gradually became clearer as the seconds ticked away. He looked around, seeing the familiar trappings of his quarters onboard the Flying Dutchman.
He tried to move his head to the side, but pain instantly burrowed through his skull. He let out a shriek of discomfort, grabbing onto his face. Even as he lay there, he could not describe what he felt.
Underneath his fingers, he felt the blackened enamel of his teeth, the layers of skin that had peeled away from his skull, the muscles that were so charred that they could not even move a centimeter without the nerves feeling like they had been stabbed. The left side of his lips was gone and he could feel his breath against his hands, sneaking out from in between his teeth.
“It’s good to see that you’ve woken up.”
Jerking his head to the side, Hades saw Ororis sitting on a chair next to the bed. A slinky dress hung from her waist, flowing wistfully down to her ankles. Covering her chest was a tight black shirt with the top several buttons unclasped. For the moment, the god of death did not even notice her attire. He just wanted answers.
“What happened?” he asked in a gruff voice.
Deliberately
crossing her legs, the mermaid replied, “We were betrayed.”
Hades fell silent for a moment. He could not believe it. They could not have been betrayed.
“How did it happen?”
Ororis stood up from the chair, walking over to the side of the bed. As she sat down on the edge of the bed, the side of her dress fell away from her leg, exposing her pale skin. Hades did not know why, but it seemed to catch his eye.
“Whenever Every wounded you, Captain Riggs took up the battle against him. While I can say he fought valiantly, I found out that he was only fighting for himself. He wanted Every’s power.”
“He would never do that.”
“But he did… and I was able to stop him. You see, just as he was about to kill Every, I snatched this from him.”
Ororis held up the golden sword of Henry Every, letting the light of the lanterns shimmer across the blade. To his surprise, the god of death felt relieved. He had thought that he would be anxious about seeing that sword again, but something about seeing it in the mermaid’s hands made it seem safe.
She continued, “I took this sword and drove it straight through Every’s heart. Now, his power is inside me… and I realize just how much of a burden that is to bear.”
It was then that Hades saw the red eyes of Ororis, glowing in the eerie light of the lanterns. What she said was true. She had stolen Every’s power.
“And what else happened?” he asked, still needing to know.
With a sigh, Ororis reached down and lifted up the bottom of her shirt. Underneath the black fabric was the wound from where Riggs had stabbed her in the abdomen. It had been cleaned, but it still looked rather nasty.
“Captain Riggs stabbed me, Hades. He tried to kill me out of greed… and his friends went along with it. I barely escaped with my life… and with you.”
She laid her hand on the god’s chest, sending a tingling feeling running throughout Hades’ body. He had never felt this way before.
“Are you certain that Riggs betrayed us?” he asked.
Without a word, Ororis reached under the bed, pulling something out and showing it to Hades.
It was Riggs’ sword. The blade was still covered with her blood.
“Does this prove to you that he is a traitor?” asked Ororis.
Hades could say nothing. The evidence was right in front of him. Even with the sword right in front of him, he still had a hard time believing Ororis. As his eyes surveyed the sword and her wound, he felt something inside him trying to convince him to turn to her side.
Trying to convince him to listen.
A saddened look appeared on the mermaid’s face.
“I only wish I had heeded the signs. I saw the distrust on his face when you were around. I saw the hesitation when you offered to help. I watched a man that you dared to call a friend try to steal power so that he could become more powerful than you. Why else would he do that?”
Ororis brought her hand down and grasped Hades’ hand.
“He wanted to kill you.”
As the mermaid spoke, Hades’ thoughts followed everything that she said. He remembered the distrust. He remembered the hesitation. There was strange feeling in his head like he had known that this was going to happen. Had he tried to ignore the signs?
No. No, there was no way that he had ignored them.
However, something inside his head was telling him otherwise. With the countless times that Riggs had shown his distrust for the god of death, was it really that implausible that he would betray them?
Hades sighed.
Yes.
He had ignored the signs.
The anger built up inside him with each passing moment. As he thought of Riggs and the crew of the Red Sky, he grew to hate them. They were no better than Marcus Garrett or Henry Every. They were the true evil in the world. They were a rotten infestation, spreading deceit and treachery over land and sea.
“I will stop them,” Hades declared, “I will destroy every single man and woman who sails under the Red Sky’s flag. I won’t stop until every single one o’ them tastes the fires of the Underworld and the pits of Hell. They will be eradicated… even if I have to end every pirate’s life to do it.”
Leaning down closer to the face of the god, Ororis said, “Can I ask you a favor?”
“Of course.”
With an innocent, begging look in her glowing eyes, Ororis asked, “Can I join you on your mission?”
Immediately, Hades answered, “If ye wish to, ye may stand at my side.”
A smile spread across the mermaid’s face.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
Before Hades could react, Ororis planted a kiss on what remained of his lips. As she did so, a bit of her own delicate lips brushed against his teeth, but it did not seem to matter to her. The god of death was caught unaware, pulled into unfamiliar territory. He did not know how to react, but at the same time, he almost felt like he did.
Ororis climbed onto the bed, pulling her dress to the side and straddling Hades’ waist. He let his hands fall to her hips, feeling every curve of her tempting body. The tips of his fingers ran along the underside of her thighs as she started to unbutton his shirt.
The mermaid wrapped her arms around Hades’ shoulders, slowly moving her kisses down to his neck. With each kiss, the god felt his heart skip a beat. Was this what love felt like?
Ororis pressed her body against Hades, her seduction working its magic. As the excitement in the room built, she reached underneath the pillow and pulled out the ruby necklace.
It was glowing… and quite ready to release its magic.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Days passed before the Red Sky reached Yorktown. Thankfully for them, the ship was still the fastest to ever sail the seas, so there was no chance that the armada would catch them. So far as they knew, they only had to worry about the Flying Dutchman. With Hades in Ororis’s clutches, there was no telling what she could do.
During the entire trip, Julia could never bring herself to tell Riggs why she insisted they needed to go.
“I’ll explain it all when we get there,” was the best that she could manage.
As the ship weighed anchor, Riggs looked around at where they were, taking in his surroundings. They were in the exact same place where they had hidden the ship after they had defeated Garrett.
Not much had changed about the place, but the crew had changed drastically.
Sapphire, now with her wound bandaged, had joined the band of pirates. Coral Jack now wore the very same eyepatch that once belonged to the deceased Petey One-Eye. Valera, Ripper, and Clint had all experienced overwhelming anxiety and fear. Julia had been stranded on an island of nightmares for a whole year, returning to the crew with someone who would ultimately betray them. Riggs had dealt with an internal battle between himself and his dark side, and he had watched two of his friends die in front of him.
Not one person felt ready for what was to come.
“Prepare a longboat,” Riggs ordered, “Julia and I need to go ashore.”
“You think that’s wise, Captain?” asked Clint.
Sighing, Riggs said, “Mate, just give me a little time to sort things through. That’s all I’m askin’.”
“Aye. I’ll find some men to accompany ye.”
As Clint turned away to get some crewmembers, Julia pulled at his arm, stopping him.
“What is it, Ms. Hamond?”
“Um… would it be alright if Riggs and I went by ourselves?”
“But you…”
“… can take care of ourselves. We just need time alone. That’s all I’m asking.”
Bowing his head, Clint reluctantly acquiesced, saying, “As ye wish.”
Before long, a longboat was lowered into the water. Riggs and Julia climbed down into it, rowing themselves to shore. All that the crew could do was wait.
As the pirates roamed about the ship, they always kept watch over their shoulders, always looking to the horizon to see
what was coming for them. In the span of a few weeks, their situation had grown quite serious. They no longer had a place to call home, with the exception of the ship itself. It seemed like the world was crushing down on them… constricting them… choking them.
It was maddening.
Resting his arms against the rail, Eli watched the shoreline, contemplating what he was going to do. He would stick by Riggs to the end, but he had never imagined that he would end up like this. His eyes ran up and down the sandy patch, up in front of the ship and back behind the ship, curving around the stern.
As he looked around for what seemed like the hundredth time, something caught his eye. Someone had appeared on the beach, right where the shoreline jutted out from the mainland.
“Clint… hand me a spyglass,” Eli said cautiously.
“Do ye see something?” asked his friend, suspicious as usual.
“I don’t know yet. I need a chance to see,” Eli replied sarcastically.
Taking the spyglass from Clint, the carpenter raised it to his eye and directed it toward the figure on the beach. So far as he could tell, it did not look like the figure was armed. Perhaps it was not a threat. When the figure turned her head and looked directly into the spyglass, Eli knew she was not an enemy.
It was Maggie.
Seeing the joy on his friend’s face, Clint asked, “What’s got you all cheery now?”
Eli ignored the navigator, climbing onto the rail and diving into the water below.
“Eli! Damn it, mate. What’s gotten into yer head?” Clint yelled down to him.
“Shut it, Clint,” Eli shouted back, “I’ll be alright.”
The carpenter’s arms tore through the water, and in little time, he was trudging through the rippling tide with sand underneath his feet. With how bleak the Red Sky’s future seemed, Eli was focusing on one thing right now, and that was the beautiful girl standing right in front of him on the beach.
As soon as he was able, he ran to Maggie. He did not stop to take a breath. He did not feel his lungs nearly bursting. All he wanted to do was hold her once again.
