By: Bryant R. Haake, Honors College, Presidential Honors Student, English Major
Men and women of different shapes and sizes moved quickly across the rubble and ruins of Brokenbeaux, swarming like ants whenever one of them yelled. Crimson, Georgiana, and Jacob watched carefully through the cover of the bog, hiding behind trees and cages of roots.
“You have a plan?” Jacob asked.
“I do,” Georgiana said before Crimson could speak. “Last time I summoned the shades there were way more of them than there are pirates. We could take them all on right now and then take the ship.”
“That’s a terrible plan, sweet cheeks,” Crimson stated.
“What she means,” Jacob interrupted, “is that you don’t really know how to use your abilities yet. It’d be an incredible plan if you could use them efficiently, but we should probably figure out something a bit less… problematic, I think the word is?”
Georgiana huffed, “Well, what’s your plan, then?”
Crimson pulled them both down into the bushes a bit more as the pirates neared the edge of the bog. They waited for a minute for them to all pass, then relaxed.
“My plan is a bit more… bloody, so if we’ve got more ideas I’d love to hear them before I reveal mine.”
Jacob twiddled his fingers, pulling out the vial of gunpowder and the note. He contemplated telling them about the note before they possibly lost their lives to a crew of pirates, but decided against it on the principle of positive thinking. He tucked the note away and instead raised the vial of gunpowder.
“I’ve got something with a little more… pizzazle.”
Jacob had hoped they could use some sort of shade to plant the vial, but Georgiana couldn’t even see the shades anymore. Instead, he had to do it himself. Since the day was almost over, they waited until the cover of night when the pirates all flocked back to their ship. Jacob left his companions behind and scurried into the town. He began stacking loose boards together, building a small four-sided box, then placed the vial of gunpowder in the middle.
Jacob, watch out! Ren said.
Jacob wheeled around just in time to see a man and a woman walking slow in his direction, the man holding a lantern in one hand and the woman’s hand in his other. Jacob looked for somewhere to hide but he was too far into the open. He grabbed his bolo rope and prepared to fight before his tentacles acted on their own.
My apologies in advance.
The tentacles encapsulated him, forming a ball. As they moved, they began to change color, blending in with the sand and timbers. Jacob waited silently, just barely peeking through the tentacles. He watched as the pair got closer, closer… closer… and then passed without so much a second glance. As soon as they were far enough away, Jacob recalled the tentacles and went back to his project.
“Why do you want to teach me more about my gift if you can just do that whenever you want?” Jacob asked as he tore a small bit of hemp from his bolo rope and attached it to the vial like a fuze.
I don’t have full control of the tentacles, Jacobson, Ren answered. It takes… a lot of focus and energy which I do not possess. You will not receive more of my help tonight, for that is the extent of what I can do for now.
Jacob nodded, not caring to question the loose logic of Ren’s answer. Instead he gathered as many loud objects as he could find: a broken bell, tools from the blacksmith, broken glass. He stacked the metal objects on the outside of the box and laid the glass around them. He then took a match—one of the finds from the alchemist shop—and lit the fuze, then ran like a basilisk was after him back to the bog.
He just made it into the trees before a loud ka-BOOM thundered behind him, an explosion brightening up the night with fire, followed by the loud sounds of crashing metal and breaking glass. Jacob watched the explosion in Georgiana’s eyes, amber reflecting orange with glee. She grinned at him.
“What?”
“You used the word pizzazle,” she explained. “I thought it was funny.”
“Glad I could make you laugh,” Jacob replied with a smirk.
“You’re both pretty, ladies,” Crimson said with a hard look, staring at the ship. “Meanwhile, you’ve failed to notice that the plan is working. Look.”
She was right. Pirates streamed from the ship onto dry land, splashing through the shallower waters due to the lack of piers, courtesy of Jacob. They climbed onto the sand and crawled over the broken rubble, most carrying cutlasses, firearms, or other weaponry of some sort. A man shouted commands at them from the deck of the ship. The man was halfway in pajamas but still sported a dark green jacket, black captain’s hat, and a thin, twirly mustache which just barely reached the edges of his face.
“That must be their captain,” Crimson noted, “and if I had to guess, he’s probably got a gift of some kind on his side. Not something to be scared of, kiddos; just keep your guards up. Let’s go.”
The trio took off, sprinting through the foliage until they reached the beach, then bursting onto the sand and barreling straight towards the ship. Crimson suddenly began to grow larger, skin becoming like gray sandpaper, and she grew fins to match. Claws—teeth, actually— grew from the tips of her fingers, and she used them to dig into the side of the ship and began climbing. Jacob grabbed Georgiana and flung them to the deck with his tentacles.
The captain whirled around as the three privateers landed on the deck, but he hid his bewilderment and began to laugh quietly.
“Well done,” he said with a few mocking claps. “Well done, indeed. You three intend to take my ship? The great ship of Captain Leafy?”
He stopped and posed as if waiting for his own applause. Jacob stood up straight and set Georgiana down.
“Uh, yeah, and we’re gonna do so pretty easily considering your entire crew is gone.”
“Oh, you think they’re gone?” He laughed heartily this time. “That’s cute, you three, that you thought that little explosion trick would work on us. Honestly, I think the only surprising event was how you entered my ship. Oh crew?”
Captain Leafy clapped his hands and the pirates on the shore disappeared. Along the deck, firearms, swords, and spears were raised to their throats as the actual crew appeared.
“An illusionist…” Crimson growled. “How did you know we were coming?”
“Oh, a little birdy told me you three would be arriving promptly. He was a little vague on who exactly you all were, but oh well. He didn’t even gamble for more money, so the compensation for his information was… less than what he gave, anyhow.”
Jacob, you know who-
“Sergi,” Jacob whispered.
Jacob’s vision grew dark. They’d accepted his help so many times at this point that he had almost wanted to ask if he would come with them. Hadn’t Sergi been Georgiana’s mentor? Did that mean nothing to him?
Jacob glanced at Georgiana. She hadn’t seemed to put together the clues yet, but it was only a matter of time. Crimson was clearly trying to form a plan of attack, and he didn’t like the look in her eyes. He had to get the pirate talking to give her time.
“Okay, so you’ve got us. Now what? Why do you want us?”
“Oh, I don’t care about the mayor’s daughter,” Captain Leafy replied. “She’s got no bounty on her head, and no father to pay a ransom. In fact, she’s got no one so far as I know, so we’ll just dump her in the sea. As for Miss Crimson here-”
“Captain,” Crimson grumbled under her breath instinctively.
“-she has quite the heavy bounty on that pretty little red head of hers. We’ll be cashing in that pay day, don’t you worry. You however, Jacob Tempest, are a child of prophecy, one which we can’t let come true. So, we’ll gut you like a fish, then turn in your body for however much we can bargain for.”
“Prophecies are fake, ye’ daft swab,” Jacob retorted. “And another thing, what makes ye’ think I’m the guy you’re looking for? Is it the tentacles? Cause there are better reasons to be part of a prophecy than having tentacles.”
Jacob saw Crimson tense up, then relax suddenly. She had never retracted her talons or fins, and she was still almost twice the size of any of the other pirates. In fact, he thought she may have more than she started with.
“Au contraire, Sir Tempest.” The captain’s posh way of talking was starting to really annoy Jacob. “Your tentacles are precisely why you are the child of prophecy. You see, when the proph-”
“Okay, stop it,” Jacob interrupted. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
“What, child of prophecy?”
“No, Jacob Tempest. I don’t have a last name. Where are you getting Tempest from?”
Captain Leafy looked confused.
“You… you’re not Jacob Tempest? The one with the tentacles who will bring about the destruction of our world by releasing the monsters from their captivity?”
“Sorry to break it to you, bucko, but only about half of that description fits me. I don’t have a last name, and I’m not in the business of releasing monsters, so how about you just let us go, and…”
“Sorry, no can-do, Jacob Whateveryournameis. We spent too many resources and time on this raid, and we’re not leaving without a reward of some kind. I’m sure Dr. Cleary could at least use you youngins for his experiments, and of course there’s the bounty on Crimson’s head… Yes, that will do nicely.”
“Wait, who?” Jacob asked in surprise, reeling from the mention of the doctor Ren had told him about.
“What, you’ve never heard of Dr. Aldus Cleary? Genius inventor, geneticist, scholar, historian, founder of the Cleary Academy, probably about a billion years old now… none of that?”
Jacob shook his head just as Georgiana cried out in surprise.
“Sergi told you about us!” Fury was evident in her tone. “That double-crossing half-talent alchemist! How could he?”
“Hmm, yes, it was the alchemist,” Captain Leafy replied, clearly enjoying being on top of the conversation again. “Does it hurt to be betrayed by those close to you, darling? How deep does the wound go-”
Just then Crimson flung her arms from her chest, sending razor-sharp teeth flying across the deck. She grabbed both Jacob and Georgiana and pivoted, running full-speed to the back of the ship where they’d come from. She jumped overdeck as gunfire echoed through the night behind them. Jacob looked back and saw lassos flying towards them. A few hit his legs but didn’t wrap around him. Georgiana wasn’t so lucky. Two hit her at the same time, one around her leg and the other around her torso. The sudden pullback caused Crimson to lose her grip on her, and Georgiana went flying back into the ship.
Without thinking, Jacob wrenched himself from Crimon’s grasp and flung himself back to the ship as well. The captain had taken Georgiana and was holding a gun to her head, and the rest of the crew had their weapons pointed at Jacob.
“Come quietly or the girl gets it,” Captain Leafy snarled.
The boat sat in silence as everyone waited for his response. He stared daggers at the captain but didn’t know what else to do.
Close your eyes, Jacobson. Focus.
Jacob rolled his eyes and did as he was told. He focused on his hearing, slowly picking up the struggling gasps of Georgiana being gagged and dragged over the wooden deck, which didn’t match up with what he’d seen. His eyes shot back open. He couldn’t fight them all, but he could do one thing.
“Fine!” he shouted, throwing his hands up. “You’ve got me. I actually am Jacob Tempest,” he lied, “and if you don’t let us all go, I’ll destroy you all and your boat.”
The sound of dragging stopped and the illusion dispersed. The captain stood in front of two of his crew members who had Georgiana by the arms. They looked between each other, then to Captain Leafy. The captain seemed to be contemplating his choices.
“What, you didn’t think this through?” Jacob asked mockingly, back sweating. “You tried to capture and kill the guy who’s supposed to destroy everything and didn’t expect him to be able to kill your crew? What kind of an idiot are you? Fool of a sea crab if I say so m’self.”
The whole boat was silent as Jacob and Captain Leafy stared each other down. Crimson pulled herself on deck with a loud THUMP, breaking the silence for a moment, but quickly got up and squared up behind Jacob, still in her massive shark-hybrid form.
“How can I be sure you’re not bluffing, Tempest?” Captain Leafy raised a brow.
“How can you be sure I’m not bluffing, Leafy?” Jacob retorted. “We could go through this whole song and dance all night, but in the end it comes down to this: do you want to die or not?”
Leafy gave a single, angry nod and the crew tore off Georgiana’s gag, throwing her to the deck between Jacob and the captain. Georgiana quickly got up and walked over to Jacob and Crimson, taking his hand and glaring at the pirates.
“Good decision,” Jacob smirked. “Now, we still need a ship, so you and your crew will be deserting this ship right here and-”
“Captain!” a crew member shouts from the crowd.
“What is it?” Captain Leafy asks, sighing in relief.
“If he could really destroy all the pirates, why didn’t he just do so the other day when the main raid happened?”
Jacob froze. Captain Leafy slowly turned back towards him, glare getting hotter and evil grin growing wider.
“Well, boys, what’re you waiting for? KILL ‘EM! KILL ‘EM ALL!”
Spears flew at the trio, followed by a volley of gunfire and the charging of melee-bound pirates. Jacob had previously seen about twenty total pirates, and only a few had guns. Two seemed to have misfired just now, and the other two had glanced off Crimson’s tougher scales. Jacob lashed out a tentacle for each, whacking their guns into the harbor.
Crimson was flinging everyone in distance into the harbor as well, She’d already displaced two pirates and was reaching for another when the spears hit her. They didn’t pierce her skin, but she reeled back in pain anyways. Jacob could already see bruises forming where she’d been struck.
Georgiana had picked up a fallen spear and was using it to stab at the cutlass-wielding pirates who got close, but that wouldn’t last long against seasoned fighters.
Jacob turned away from his comrades and flung out his tentacles, summoning as many as he could. He began to bound across the deck to the captain, who was furiously trying to make more illusions despite Jacob constantly dispersing them with a single strike of his tentacles. They felt like sea mist.
A cry echoed from behind him, and he turned once more to see Georgiana getting surrounded by three pirates, one of whom was wielding a spear. Crimson tried to reach for her but was busy with seven of her own enemies, all of whom were keeping her at bay with spears of their own.
One of the pirates lunged for Georgiana. The world seemed to slow down. Jacob could feel his tentacles moving as his real hand went for his bolo rope. With a flick of his wrist, he set it flying out, weaving through the pirates and his own tentacles, finally striking the pirate in the back of the head. He flicked it back to him, winding it up on the way with a tentacle. It hit his palm just as the limp body of the pirate flopped on deck.
The fight continued around him, but he stared at the fallen pirate. His first kill. Tentacles wailed on the others around him, running on his own instincts, protecting him from any incoming onslaughts.
Georgiana is safe, Jacobson. Now, move so you remain that way as well.
Jacob snapped back to reality just as Captain Leafy raised his own blades.
“You’ll never get this ship, boy,” the captain snarled. “I’ll take it to my grave if it’s the last thing I do. Now, time to show you what a real Goldblood can do.”
Dozens of copies of Leafy ran from him, all growing more arms and swords, including whichever was the original. They all ran at Jacob, who barely had time to think. He jumped into the air, boosting himself with his tentacles, as the illusions converged. He grabbed onto the mast and flung himself back to Georgiana, who was staring intently at the dead body, face red.
Captain Leafy and his illusions kept running at him, followed by his crew. Crimson had taken care of the seven, but that still left around nine for them to take on.
“Did you kill any of the ones back there?” Georgiana asked suddenly.
“Uh… yeah, kiddo, I had to,” Crimson replied uncharacteristically sheepishly.
“Good.” Georgiana said, shocking both Jacob and Crimson. “I’ve got an idea.”
Suddenly, Georgiana thrust her hand into the empty space in front of her, and the ship momentarily lit up in a red glow. Jacob blinked away red spots, doing a double take when he saw what had happened. There, standing before Georgiana, was the ghostly red visage of the fallen pirate, expression blank and sword raised.
“Attack!” Georgiana shouted. The ghost sprinted forward past the closest enemies and through several illusions, swinging its spectral blade at the nearest real enemy. Another red shade rose as the second pirate fell.
Georgiana sprinted behind Crimson and began to materialize more shades, all of whom joined the fight. In less than a minute, only the Captain remained, facing off against more than a dozen shades of the disgraced dead.
“Stop,” Georgiana directed them, wiping red from her face. Her blood was gray like his. “Crimson, what do you want to do with him?”
Crimson glared at the cowering captain. Leafy’s green coat was in ruins, and his hat had fallen off to reveal a balding spot of gray. Jacob hadn’t been able to tell earlier, but Leafy was pretty old, probably even older than Captain Vexx. His hair was graying, and he had a few prominent wrinkles carved into his face. Either that, or they were bad scars which had never healed properly. He wasn’t sure which.
“Well, Leafy, what do you think?” Crimson asked sarcastically. “What do you deserve for causing a friend to betray us, almost killing my crew, and threatening to cash in the bounty on my ‘pretty little red head.’ That is how you phrased it, aye?”
“You-you can hardly blame me, ma’am!” he stammered. “You’ve got a bounty of over a’ thousand whales on yer’ head. Why, that’s the largest bounty we’ve ever had an opportunity at! Full respect of course, but you can’t blame-”
“Oh, but I can,” she said, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up. “No one will ever be collecting that bounty of mine, ‘cause no one can kill Captain Crimson. Get that through yer’ big, ugly skull, pipsqueak. Now, how’s ‘bout you join your skeleton crew?”
With that, she squeezed and twisted, breaking his neck with a resounding SNAP. Gold liquid began to flow from his wounds, coalescing at his feet in the shape of a spearhead. The remaining blood turned red, flying everywhere as Crimson threw his body overboard.
Jacob took a moment to look at Georgiana, earning a snicker from Ren. Lines of ghostly red energy ran from her hands to each shade like horse reins. She was grasping them firmly, a few in each hand. Her eyes drooped a little, but otherwise were keeping their amber ferocity, snake-like slits narrow and focused.
She turned her gaze to him, making him blush. She grinned.
“Are you really going to keep doing that? We’ve known each other forever, Jakey.”
“Oh, uh… my bad,” he stammered.
“Oh, gosh, you two’s cuteness is intoxicating!” Crimson complained, making them both blush. “C’mon, help me with the bodies. It’s not a fun task, but I doubt we’re gonna want a bunch of rotting corpses on board when we leave.” She stopped. “Where exactly is it that we want to go, anyways?”
“The Cleary Academy,” Jacob said. “Wherever that is.”
“Hmm, I’ve heard of the Cleary Academy,” Crimson admitted. “It’s that place Captain Leaves or whatever-his-name was talking about, right?”
“Aye,” Jacob said. “I wanna ask him some questions. I don’t believe in prophecies, but if there’s people after me who want me for a prophecy or something, then I’d like to go to the only lead we have on whatever it is this prophecy thing is.”
Crimson nodded.
“Well then, we’re going to need a crew. This boat won’t sail itself.”
“Actually,” Georgiana grinned, cracking her knuckles and tugging on the red shade reins, “I think it just might, Captain Crimson.”