A Red Sky Rising Read online

  “That… was not smart, Julia,” he snarled.

  *crash*

  A bottle broke over Jonathan’s head, stunning him. Before he could react, Sapphire shot a stream of magic out of her wand, throwing Jonathan against the wall so hard that he cracked the boards. With the broken bottle in his hand, Petey helped Julia to her feet and pushed her out onto the main deck, quickly followed by Sapphire.

  Rushing to the rail, they saw the Red Sky catching up to them, but it needed to sail faster. The bowsprit was just barely reaching the stern of the Prize. Even with the ship going as fast as it was, Jonathan would kill all of them before the cannons could even start firing.

  Julia ran to the wheel and tried to turn it to slow down the ship, but it would not budge. Jonathan must have been controlling the ship, and his powers would not allow the ship to deviate from its path.

  As she kept trying to pull at the wheel, the three heard footsteps coming from below them. Jonathan had recovered from his surprise beatdown and was lurking around, hungry for another challenge.

  “I’ll hold him off. Keep trying to get control of the ship,” said Sapphire, spreading her wings and flying into the air.

  Once Warner appeared on the deck, she flew at him as fast as she could. She crashed into him, sending them both tumbling across the deck. Jonathan threw her off of him, skidding to a halt near the bow. Sapphire flew back to the middle of the deck, placing herself between him and the pirates.

  “Don’t make me kill you… whatever you are,” he snarled, a ball of white light appearing in his hand and slowly growing larger.

  “I won’t let you. You’ve defiled Captain Kidd’s ship, and for that, you have to pay, Mr. Warner.”

  Toying with the fairy, Jonathan said, “This is my ship now. I control it with my power. Where is your magic when you need it?”

  He tossed some balls of light at Sapphire, but she deflected them away from herself.

  “Your weak defenses are no match for me,” he said, blasting a glowing beam at her.

  She cast a field of magic around her just in time, absorbing the effects of Jonathan’s spell. He merely cackled at her.

  “Let’s see how you stand up to this, you little runt,” he said, holding the glowing ball of light in front of him.

  “Dam ad Inferos!” he shouted, a beam of fire blasting out of the glowing ball.

  At the same time, Sapphire summoned all of the power that she could muster, blasting a stream of magic at Jonathan.

  The two attacks collided, spewing bits of molten goo in every direction. The New Magic of the fairy fought back against the Old Magic of Vices. The very air itself crackled with energy as the two powers battled for control. The wind picked up, swirling around Sapphire and Jonathan. Neither was giving up, even as the fairy started to feel blood dripping from her nose.

  With great difficulty, Jonathan stepped forward, pushing his attack closer to Sapphire. Another step and the flames of the Old Magic moved closer. At the helm, Julia and Petey hid behind the wheel as bits of energy flew through the air, striking everything like tiny hail.

  “Give in to your weakness, Sapphire. You pale in comparison to me!” Jonathan taunted, his confidence growing with every step.

  The power of his attack was growing stronger, forcing Sapphire to one knee. Blood ran from her mouth as she tried to keep him from coming any closer.

  He stepped forward again, the force pinning her to the ground. The Old Magic inched closer, nearly reaching her. Jonathan stood over her with the wind swirling around the ship, almost drowning out his voice.

  “Time to meet your end,” he yelled over the chaos and destruction.

  Just as he was about to drive the attack straight into Sapphire’s chest, the fairy drove her wand into the melded magics. Immediately, a blast of red mist threw Jonathan away, knocking him into the mast like he had just been caught in an explosion.

  In that instant, Jonathan’s control of the ship was broken, and Julia grabbed the wheel. She ripped it back and forth, forcing the ship to serpentine. At last, she was able to slow the Adventure Prize so that the Red Sky could catch up.

  As Jonathan picked himself up from Sapphire’s surprise attack, Julia tried to escape back to the Red Sky. With Petey helping the fairy to the side, Julia snatched a rope and prepared to swing over to Riggs’ ship.

  “Not so fast,” Jonathan shouted, severing the rope with a glowing knife.

  Still recovering and a bit weak, Warner shoved Petey and Sapphire out of the way, his focus now solely on the girl. Trying to protect herself, Julia planted her boot in Jonathan’s face, briefly staggering him. In anger, he swung his arm at her leg, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the deck.

  Placing his tattered boot on her chest, he asked, “How did we ever come to this? I loved you, Julia.”

  She did not answer, struggling in vain to free herself.

  “Carpi Lamina,” he said, his eyes not leaving Julia.

  The white blades sprouted from his wrists again. Staring down at the girl, he rested the magical weapon against her neck and, with a demented look on his face, asked one question.

  “Do you love me now?”

  “Warner!”

  Jonathan looked up just in time to see Riggs swing across the gap between the ships. Letting go of the rope, Riggs tackled his rival to the side. The two rolled across the deck before the pirate captain leapt to his feet, ripping his sword from his scabbard. He needed to draw the monster’s attention away from Julia.

  “Get away from her, Warner. She’s mine now.”

  “She’ll never be yours!” Jonathan wailed, swinging his blades at Riggs.

  The pirate blocked them, holding off the attack. He drove his fist into Jonathan’s face, but it did little to affect him. Physical assault did nothing when Warner expected it, so Riggs would have to resort to mind games. Hopefully, it would work against his magically powered enemy.

  Pushing back against Jonathan, Riggs taunted him, saying, “At least now ye’ll actually stand a chance against me in a fight.”

  “What?” Jonathan growled, his eyes glowing brighter in his fury.

  “That duel that we fought was just far too easy for me to win,” Riggs laughed, hiding his uncertainty behind a cocky grin as he ducked underneath Jonathan’s swinging blades.

  “You cheated,” Warner said through his teeth, “You never won.”

  Ignoring his enemy, Riggs continued, “I would’ve relished drivin’ my sword through yer thick skull.”

  Jonathan was squirming in frustration, totally caught up in the Captain’s insults. His fingers were starting to drip with red sparks.

  “Enough of this,” he shouted, “Acer Mor…”

  Before Jonathan could finish the spell, Riggs slashed at him with his sword, causing the nobleman to lose his concentration. The red sparks disappeared as he countered with his wrist blades.

  “Let’s finish this… right… now, Warner,” said Riggs, pushing his sword forward.

  “Yes… let’s,” Jonathan growled.

  Just as Riggs was about to drive his sword into his rival’s neck, Warner spun to the side, causing the Captain to lose his balance. In that brief moment of confusion, Jonathan wrapped his arm around Riggs’ neck in a chokehold and hoisted him into the air.

  As Jonathan brought back his blade to drive it through the pirate’s back, Riggs kicked his legs forward, throwing off the weight distribution of the two. Both pirate and nobleman fell forward, their momentum sending them crashing down the stairs to the lower decks. Before Jonathan could recover, Riggs rolled out of the light and into the shadows that the morning sun provided.

  Warner got to his feet, swinging his blade around, but there was nobody around him. The deck was silent and dark, the perfect place to hide.

  “I know you’re down here, Riggs.”

  No one answered.

  Jonathan strode through the line of cannons, bringing his blade down in each of the spaces between them. He knew that his nemesis w
as down there with him. The hatred between the two was palpable.

  “Present yourself to me, and I will give you a quick death,” Jonathan proclaimed, waving his blade around the dark crevices of the ship.

  A cannonball rolled by his foot. He shot a beam of light at where it had appeared, but Riggs was not there.

  BANG

  Jonathan cried out as one of his fingers went flying across the room. In shock, he blasted another beam of light at the stairs, sending a hiding Riggs scurrying down another level.

  With blood dripping from where his finger had been, Warner muttered his healing spell one more time. The wound closed up, but to his dismay, his finger did not grow back. He did not give much thought to it as the pain subsided. The finger would have to wait until after he had killed Riggs.

  “I know where you are, you pathetic rat. I will use this magic to tear you limb from limb.”

  Still, no one answered.

  Cautiously, Warner hurried down the steps to the next level of the ship. There was nothing to light the rooms but a couple of lanterns. Not even the morning sun shone down that far. The creaking of the ship grew even louder as he moved on.

  A door swung open behind Jonathan and he blasted it with some magic, but it was just a door. Even with all of his power, he was starting to get a bit paranoid. Riggs seemed to have disappeared.

  Taking his pursuit one step at a time, Jonathan peered into the room, seeing all of Kidd’s treasure laid out in front of him. The gold, jewels, linens, and cloths were piled high, right where he thought they would be.

  “Come out and fight me like a man, Riggs,” he yelled into the air.

  As he turned to walk away, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made him take another look in the room full of treasure.

  The tips of two shoes stuck out from a mound of treasure in the corner. The mound looked just high enough to be Riggs’ body. Jonathan laughed to himself as he stepped into the room, his feet and ankles sinking into the gold that filled the room.

  Readying his blade, Jonathan glared at the hiding Riggs, saying, “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to be able to do this to you…”

  He stepped closer, ready to drive his blade into the pirate captain. He could feel his hand twitching in excitement.

  “… to run you through and watch you bleed out right in front of me.”

  Jonathan brought the blade back and drove it into the pile and into Riggs. The blade hit the wall behind the Captain as the mound of treasure shifted ever so slightly.

  Nothing moved. No flailing. No screaming for mercy. No nothing. It was a quick death.

  Almost squealing with glee, Jonathan fell to his knees in joy, raising his eyes to the ceiling and praising God. His long-time enemy was finally dead. There would be no more battles with that law-breaking scum. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

  “And now, my dearly departed Captain Riggs, let’s have one final look at those devilish, corrupting eyes of yours as you fade into nothing more than a despicable memory,” said Jonathan, clearing away the gold that covered his adversary’s body.

  That was when the shoes simply flopped to the ground, empty.

  In a flurry of coins and jewels, Riggs leapt to his feet from his real hiding spot behind Jonathan. With a ferocious yell, he drove his sword through Warner’s back and pinned the nobleman to the wall. As quickly as he could, he grabbed a piece of cloth and wrapped it around Jonathan’s neck. In seconds, the pirate was strangling him, pressing his boot against his rival’s spine for leverage.

  Surprisingly, Warner thought fast, using his magic to melt through Riggs’ sword. He pushed against the wall, sending both men flying backwards. In the scuffle, the Captain lost his grip on the cloth, forcing him to dash out of the room. Jonathan was not far behind.

  Riggs bounded up the stairs, bolts of light hitting the ground at his feet. With no weapon, all he could hope for was Jonathan being slowed by his ambush.

  A beam of light blasted through the railing that he was using to climb, almost knocking Riggs off the stairs. Regaining his footing, he tried to stay at least one step ahead of Jonathan as he reached the final staircase.

  Just as he was about to run out onto the main deck of the Adventure Prize, a beam shot through the step below him, catapulting the Captain into the air. He landed hard on the deck, twisting his ankle as well as agitating his other previous wounds. He had no weapons to protect himself as he struggled to scoot across the deck.

  Taking his time, Jonathan walked up the steps, staring straight at his mortal enemy. He dropped Riggs’ useless sword to the ground as the wound stitched itself together in front of the pirate’s eyes.

  “It’s over, Riggs. There is no one to save you… no one to stand by your side as you die at my hand,” Warner said, raising his hand high in the air as it started to glow with red sparks again.

  Riggs grinned.

  “I wouldn’t be too sure ‘bout that one, mate.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  KABOOM

  A cannon rigged by Julia, Petey, and Sapphire shot from the cover of the captain’s quarters. The cannonball obliterated Warner’s arm, sending him tumbling head over heals across the deck.

  Magic blasted all over the ship as Jonathan failed to control it. Beams of light shot through the deck. One split through the bow, immediately allowing the sea to slowly start to sink the Prize.

  Jonathan’s body skidded across the deck, smacking into a wall. He made one pitiful attempt to get to his feet and fell, lying motionless on the ground as his chest heaved.

  With Warner seemingly defeated, Petey and Sapphire rushed below deck to retrieve the treasure before the ship sank. Riggs grabbed his leg, forcing himself to stand even as pain shot through his leg. He hobbled over to the body of one of his dead crewmates and took the corpse’s sword, making his way over to his enemy’s side.

  “Riggs, we have to get off the ship,” said Julia, pulling at her lover’s arm.

  “Just give me a minute,” he said, hearing the waters rushing into the lower decks of the ship, “I’m gonna take care of this bugger first.”

  Limping over to his enemy’s side, Riggs saw the destruction that the cannonball had done. Jonathan lay on his stomach, his left side pressed against the wall. His eyes were still glowing, but only a little bit, instead showing the psychotic, malicious eyes of a crazy person. Bits of his arm lay splattered across the deck, his blood staining the wood. The bracelet lay at Riggs’ feet, shattered beyond recognition. The Captain knew what would soon happen.

  Without warning, the ship tilted forward, ripping a cannon free of its restraints. Its wheels crushed Jonathan’s legs, pinning him to the ship. What was left of the nobleman cried out in pain as he tried to pull himself free with one arm.

  It did not work.

  In a panic, Warner turned to Riggs and weakly begged, “Help… me…”

  He reached his hand out for the pirate to take it, but Riggs just swatted it away.

  “You really think I’d help you. After everythin’ that we’ve been through, you’re gonna get what’s comin’ to ye… a trip to Davy Jones’ Locker.”

  Trying to concentrate and use his magic, Jonathan succeeded in getting the tips of his fingers to glow, but Riggs just stepped on the man’s hand.

  Directing Jonathan’s attention to the bracelet, Riggs saw it start to glow a dark gray color.

  “What happens next… it ain’t gonna be pretty, mate,” said the pirate, taking a step back on the slanting deck of the ship.

  At that instant, what remained of Jonathan Warner’s body started to shake and spasm on the ground. Mist and smoke poured out from his wounds. The few fingernails that he had left spouted white clouds as the Old Magic began to leave his body.

  Petey and Sapphire rushed out from the lower decks, joining Julia at the rail. The three watched from the rail as the magic flowed into the sky, so close to being gone forever that they could almost feel it. Riggs knelt at a convu
lsing Jonathan’s side as his cries of pain forcibly stopped.

  The mists of the magic wrenched his mouth open, pouring out of his bloodied throat. His glowing eyes seemed to dissolve into the air with each passing second. It was a gruesome sight to behold for the victor.

  “Good riddance, Mr. Warner,” said Riggs, giving his enemy a mocking salute.

  The mists started to swirl around Jonathan, just like they had when Riggs and Julia defeated Ororis. The Captain started walking back to his friends as they stood at the rail, waiting to leave the vessel behind for the Red Sky. Even Sapphire was ready to leave. There was nothing more to see from Jonathan.

  Or was there?

  As the mists continued to swirl, the ship jerked violently, tripping the limping Captain. Julia and Petey caught on to the rigging just in time while Sapphire hovered in the air with her wings.

  Riggs looked down at the mists, spinning faster and faster. Suddenly, he heard Jonathan’s pained but angry voice coming from inside.

  “If I can’t have her… then neither can you.”

  A ball of red appeared right where Jonathan’s body would have been.

  “Acer Morte!”

  Time slowed for Riggs.

  He watched as the red lightning shot out of the mists, heading straight toward Julia. His mouth screamed “No!” but he could not even hear himself. The only sound that he could hear was the crackling of the lightning.

  The instant that the killing spell hit her, Julia threw her head back as the lightning buried itself in her chest. Her scream echoed in Riggs’ head as he scrambled to get to his feet.

  The girl’s bones lit up with the spell, showing through her perfect skin like it was paper held up to a lantern. Her flesh glowed with veins of bright red light as her eyes rolled back in her head.

  Just as the girl started to convulse from the lightning, Petey threw himself in front of her, drawing the spell toward himself instead. As the current ran through his body, the tips of his fingers burned. Saliva spewed out of his mouth as his old muscles contracted. Even as he watched the horror unfold before his eyes, Riggs could not even begin to imagine the pain.