The Lost Phantom

[Tiberius Fireskull]

Ehh... not my best chapter, but here it is anyway...

Chapter 8: Ghost Ship

The sails were lowered, and the Shadow King began sailing straight towards the Cove, straight towards the ghost ship. Within a few minutes, their broadsides would be lined up. Davy knew that it was going to be extremely risky, but it was their only chance. Staying to fight the thing would just get them destroyed. Davy only hoped that the hull of his ship was strong enough to survive one or two broadsides from the ghostly monster. Davy bit his lip as Sam and Matt came up beside him.

“Davy, what the hell are we doing?!” Matt cried out. “You’re going to get us killed!”

“We’ll probably be killed anyway,” Davy commented. “But this is our best chance.”

“What’s your genius plan then?” Sam asked.

Davy gulped, “The Shadow King is slightly narrower than this ghost ship. See the entrance to the cove there? I think, if we move fast enough, we can get past that ship and only be hit with one broadside, which we should be able to survive. Once we are past it, she’ll not have time to turn around before we are out of range of her broadsides. By the time she has turned around, I’m hoping that we will almost be in the cove. We can get through the entrance to Raven’s Cove, but I think that our foe is too wide to fit through the narrow opening. We’ll be safe inside Raven’s Cove, and this ghost ship won’t be able to follow us.”

“This had better work Davy,” Matt muttered.

“Or it’ll be the end of the Shadow Sorcerors,” Sam finished.

“Captain!” someone shouted. “Ghost ship closing in fast! We’ll be lined up in about two minutes!”

“Not much time…” Davy said worriedly. “Matt, take your men down below and ready the broadsides!”

“Aye, aye Captian!” Matt said. He jogged off, yelling to some of his men to follow. They disappeared under the deck, to the broadsides.

The ships were getting closer to each other. Davy pulled out his spyglass, and looked towards his enemy. It was as he expected; a massive Ship of the Line. On board, he could see red orbs moving about, acting as if they were regular crew aboard a regular ship, but they weren’t.

Rage Ghosts… Davy thought. A ship full of Rage Ghosts. No wonder this beast is so powerful.

Davy examined the crew for a few more seconds, and turned his attention to a particular orb that was standing near the steering wheel, probably the captain. He examined it for a while, but after a few seconds, the form of a captain like figure materialized out of it. He saw him give an order, waving his ghostly arm, and then he turned to Davy. Davy caught his breath. He could feel the ghost looking directly at him. Into his eyes, into his mind, into his very being. His eyes glowed bright red, and instantly Davy felt the effects.

He cried out, dropping the spyglass, and falling to his knees. Fear flew through his mind, a fear with no particular source, but was worse than any that had one. Horrible pain went through his whole body, that maddening pain. It was just like what happened to him when he had been attacked by Joanna ten years ago on Raven’s Cove. He bit his lip so hard that it bled, trying to overcome the horrific effects of looking the ghost in the eye.

“Davy!” Sam said, kneeling over. “Are you okay?”

Davy groaned and sat up. The effects were gone, but he knew that if he looked at the ghost much longer he could have been hurt badly. He felt a wet object moving across his body, and looked up to see Smelly regarding him with a worried expression. He smiled weakly at the dog.

“I’m fine,” Davy muttered. “Just made the mistake of looking at that ghost in the—”

“CAPTAIN!” Dog Gunmorgan shouted. “BROADSIDES LINING UP IN SEVERAL SECONDS!!!”

Davy stood, and shouted, “FULL COLORS! GET TO THE COVE! WAIT FOR MY ORDERS TO FIRE A BROADSIDE!”

The two ships came closer. And closer.

“Davy!!!” Sam shouted.

“FIRE!!!” Davy roared.

The Shadow King fired her broadsides. Time seemed to slow down, and Davy watched as the cannonballs flew from the King and into the Ghost Ship. The cannonballs hit, but they didn’t penetrate. Not exactly. Once the cannonballs touched the hull of the enemy ship, they were instantly absorbed into the ship, not delivering a scratch.

“Good God,” Davy breathed. “This can’t be happening.”

Davy looked back at the ship, and then heard a horrible, ghostly howl, but this one wasn’t just moaning. It seemed to be giving a command. A command to broadside. Davy watched as cannons emerged from little holes in the side of the ship. The cannons were a horrible sight to see. They had a long, narrow tube, lined with spikes, varying in size. At the head of it was a large skull, its mouth open, where the cannonball would come out.

“TAKE COVER!!!” Davy cried out. The crew barely had time to react before the sound of the cannons firing was heard. The cannons firing sounded not like a boom, but like the screaming of a tortured soul. The sound was so horrible, that the crew of the Shadow King dropped to the deck with their hands on their ears, crying out in pain.

And then came the cannonballs. Even Jolly Roger would have feared the broadside that was fired. The cannonballs were bright red, glowing like miniature suns. They sparked with energy as they flew across the sea, leaving no trail behind them, and Davy could have sworn that he saw faces in them, the faces of the dead. And then they hit.

The damage was catastrophic. When they hit, they seemed to explode, obliterating a large chunk of the hull, and then releasing large bolts of red lightning, which flew in all directions. The ship shook violently, and Davy could feel that they couldn’t take another broadside, but Davy saw that they may not be able to get away before another was fired.

He could see his crew was quite scared, but they remained at their stations. They knew that they would follow orders until death. Davy looked quickly at the ghost ship, and saw his only opportunity. It might just buy them enough time to get away before they were sunk. He grabbed a nearby musket, and aimed directly at the figure at the helm of the ghost ship.

“This had better work,” Davy muttered. He had never been the best shot, which is why he preferred swords to guns. Guns were what Billy had been good at. He aimed as carefully as he could, and fired. He heard a screech of pain from the other ship, and he knew that he had hit the captain of the ghost ship. That would distract them, and buy them just enough time to get out of there alive.

“FULL SPEED AHEAD!” Davy cried. “PROPEL US WITH CURRENTS AND GET US INTO THE COVE!”

The crew lowered any last sails that hadn’t been lowered already, and another group of them used their voodoo powers to control the currents, pushing the Shadow King even faster, leaving the ghost ship behind them. By the time it had turned around and begun sailing towards them, the Shadow King was already entering Raven’s Cove.

~~~~~~~~~~

The damage was significant. As they entered the Cove, Davy peered off the side of the ship and at the side where they were hit. The hull had been ripped open, exposing at least half of the interior of the deck. Davy guessed that the Invincible had stayed and tried to fight this ship, which is why they ended up taking far worse damage. Either way, the Shadow King would need major repairs before they left for the open seas again, or they would be sunk by the first hostile ship they passed.

“At least we lived,” Zolina said to Davy. “We should be grateful for our lives. A ship can be repaired, but a life cannot be.”

Davy nodded. The Shadow King had fully entered the Cove now, and they would soon be dropping anchor. The whole crew was celebrating their escape of the Ghost Ship, and crewmates were coming to slap Davy on the back for his good plan. Davy was starting to feel happy again, when he saw a group of men come up from below deck, carrying a body.

“Oh no,” Zolina said. Davy, Sam, and Zolina rushed towards the group. The rest of the crew slowly gathered around. The Sorcerors were holding the broken body of one of his cannoneers, Basil Blastdavis. With tears in their eyes, they set him down. Davy was speechless. Basil had been one of his best cannoneers, and a very good friend of Davy’s. He had saved them on a number of occasions from sinking by hitting the enemy in just the right spot. The whole crew owed him their lives. Davy kneeled over, examining the body.

He had been badly burnt on the right side of his body from the cannonball’s lightning after they hit, turning his clothes into rags and leaving horrible burns across his body. His face was streaming with blood from a wound in his head, and his left arm was badly mutilated. He was covered with dirt and grime, and a piece of wood about a foot long and four inches wide was penetrating through his stomach.

“Oh my God,” Davy said, a tear streaming down his face.

Basil moaned lightly, and everyone gathered even closer. Everyone was silent now, as Basil moved slightly. Then he spoke in a weak, damaged voice.

“Davy…” he muttered.

“I’m here Basil,” Davy choked.

“Did… did we make it?”

Davy nodded. “Aye, we did.”

“Is… is the crew safe? Is everyone safe?”

He nodded again.

“Good,” he muttered. “Have… have I served well…?”

“One of the best aboard this vessel,” Davy said, choking up.

“Then I die in peace,” Basil said. He winced a bit, but gave a little smile before his head fell back limply, and he gave out his last breath. The crew was quiet for several moments, before one took off her hat. The people around her followed suit, and soon, the whole crew had their hats held to their chests, tears in their eyes. Basil had been well loved by the crew, and it was horrifying to see one of the crew’s most beloved simply go.

Davy put his hand on Basil’s forehead, and muttered some incantations. The body dissolved into mist, which floated towards the figurehead of the ship, absorbing into it, to become one with the ship forever.

“He was a good man,” Matt said with tears in his eyes. The crew mumbled their thoughts, and after a few more minutes, they began to disperse. Tomorrow morning, they would set foot on the dreaded island of Raven’s Cove.

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Here it is... *poof*