Dawn's Dusk on the High Seas
Chapter 7

The three ships pulled quietly into Nassau with the moon bathing the land and water in its faint rays. It had taken hours, and his children had fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, but he’d finally finished through the journal’s ramblings. It spoke of a story he’d heard of before. The Eyes of Poseidon. The story told of two gems that could control the tides, and of a ruthless pirate captain that wielded a cursed sword that gave him and his crew eternal life, but the only way was for the sword to constantly feed off of life. Or blood. The only way to defeat them was to use the power of the tides to break the sword, but if the captain gained them, the sword could feed forever. Luckily, the captain hadn’t found them yet.

He believed it just another legend of the sea. But the way the journal spoke of it, the man’s ship was attacked by the pirate captain to sate the sword’s hunger. He’d been branded a traitor when the captain tore his sleeves, but when they saw the ship arise out of the water and obliterate his ship. By his luck, he managed to grab onto a piece of debris. The last entry of his journal was written in blood, likely from the tip of a broken fingernail.

Once the ship had docked, he tried to wake Alice, but she waved him off. Chuckling, Jack went down to the where the crew slept and offered some extra gold to his first and second mates to watch his cabin while he went out for a little while and to talk to Colton. They gladly agreed before yawning and grabbing their swords and two lanterns. Jack also gave them a small amount of rum to wake them up. He was soon walking down the gangplank onto the docks. The stores were luckily still open late.

Once the Mortis and Vitae had docked for the night, Colton kissed a sleeping Laura before giving similar orders to his first and second mates before also descending to the docks, but to a tavern. Arriving, it was quiet, but he could see the drunkenness on many faces. Ordering a normal ale from the bartender, he placed a copper on the table before taking a gulp. He’d finally found a tavern that didn’t water down their alcohol. Taking a seat, he joined in the quiet gulping that engulfed the tavern.

“Hey men. It’s the infamous Captain Colton Daybreak. Taking a drink at this backwater tavern. Haven’t you heard? After his buddy Captain Jack Dusk blew the fort of Santa Ana to Hell, the king of England raised a large reward on anyone on the crew of The Jackal or Daybreak’s ships,” a man chortled to his several colleagues.

“You know, I clawed my way to the top with Captain Dusk, and we’ve spilled enough blood to make every demon in Hell quench their thirst,” Colton replied, hoping to make them back down; he just wasn’t in the mood to fight.

“Why don’t we turn your head in to the king on a platter. I saw that one harlot you got on yer ship and I bet she won’ mind slippin’ into bed with a real man,” the man sneered.

The bartender shook his head and went to get a mop for what was to come. The men had drunken anger burning in their eyes and drew their weapons. Colton wouldn’t be able to beat them all that quickly, and might get severely injured in the process. So, he used his abilities. Gathering his power together, his eyes glowed for an instant before light as radiant as the sun flashed from his body for a few moments and he took off running. His assailants had been rendered blind. The flash was so bright that it woke Laura and Alice from their slumbers, but luckily nothing more. Grumbling and slightly curious, they turned over and returned to sleep.

After purchasing clothes for his wife and children that would be more useful than decorative, he left the store with the clothes in a parcel and shadow covered his eyes just before a bright light blasted. Colton was in trouble. Sprinting with the parcel still in hand, he arrived at the tavern to replace four men groping blindly around for support before hearing hurried footsteps to his left. Following them, he saw Colton sprinting away.

“Colton! Stop running!” he hissed.

He stopped, and Jack caught up to him a minute later.

“What’d you do this time?” Jack questioned.

“A group of curs tried to turn me into the king and planned on hurting Laura. I made them as blind as bats,” Colton informed, chuckling.

Jack sighed before beginning to tell him what he found in the man’s journal, but not about the amulet. That, he’d stashed safely away in his cabin.

“Let’s replace those gems! We’d rule the seas!” he whispered.

“We leave in two days. We resupply and let our loved ones have their feet on solid ground for a bit before we begin after them. Plus, we’re going through the Siren’s Pass. I know much about sirens from the myths. And assuming that this story is true, what I’ve read on them is true as well. Make sure your men put wax in their ears when we start to sail,” Jack retorted.

“Fine,” Colton grumbled before starting back to the Vitae to join Laura in bed.