Page 4 of A Descent Into Darkness

“We’ll make a fine bo’sun out of you yet, my boy.” His words were punctuated with another lash from his whip. My whole body tensed as the pain gripped me. This time, I’d been able to stifle the sob that lingered at the back of my throat. That fucker was enjoying every minute of this. I could easily picture the smug smile on his face as he attempted to take me down a peg. I had to remind myself that fate had led me here for a reason. This was the path the Divine had set me on.

“Cut him down, and clean up this mess. Only one thing left to seal the deal, Jas. And then we shall feast.”

The young cabin boy scurried into the rigging to cut my bindings. The weight of my body was too much in my weakened state, and I collapsed on the deck in a slippery puddle of my own blood.

Shit.

I had to get to my feet. I couldn’t show weakness. Not in front of this man. I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. It wasHenry who’d braved Teach’s wrath and stepped up to help me to my feet. The roar of a single gunshot pierced my ears, sending a wave of adrenaline pumping through my veins.

“Nobody touches him! He gets to his feet on his own, or he’ll rot on the deck with a bullet hole in the back of his head.”

Teach loomed over me, his pistol still aimed at the sky, smoke rolling from the barrel. I shrugged Henry’s hand from my shoulder, lest he end up with a few matching lashes of his own. He was about the only honorable man on the ship, and I wasn’t about to let him suffer for the likes of me. My body was spent, but the drive that burned deep within me refused to give up, and I managed to scramble to my feet on shaky legs.

“Are you ready to pledge the oath now?”

I grunted my agreement.

“Alright, boys, hold him tight,” Teach called to the surrounding crew. The moment the order was dropped, they descended on me, grabbing my limbs, pulling at my hair until I was completely immobilized. Teach grabbed a hold of my right wrist, binding it with a rope, the coarse fibers digging into the wounds already present. He pulled my arm tight, stretching it until I felt like my shoulder might pop out of its socket. When he was satisfied, he handed the rope off to his first mate, a vile man they called Drake.

“Can’t have you moving, now can we?” Teach chuckled to himself, before pulling a ring from his finger. “You see this?” he asked, holding the heavy ring in front of my face. Itspolished silver glinted in the setting sun, catching on a raised skull and crossbones at the center. “This is my mark,” he swiped his hand away, palming the ring in a white knuckled grip, “and once it’s imbedded in your skin, you’re mine.” He took a step toward me, his imposing figure still several inches taller than I was, and I had to tilt my chin up to look him in the eye. He studied me for a moment, and it was almost as though I could feel him probing into my soul. “And if you ever cross me… May Manann, the mighty god of the sea, find you before I do.” He drew out each word, ensuring that I captured the gravity of what he said. An impossible heat radiated from his hand, the one still clutching the ring, but I couldn’t break his stare to see what was happening.

“So what’ll it be, Jas? Do you vow fealty to me as your captain?”

“Yes, Captain,” I forced the words from my throat and braced myself.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He broke my gaze and focused on my right forearm, the ring reappearing in his fingers, only it glowed red like a hot ember that had just been fished from the fire. Before I could ponder the curiousness of how he’d heated the metal with the only fire being in the galley below deck, he planted the scalding ring on my forearm. A deep, visceral scream bubbled up from my lungs and broke free of my lips as my skin melted beneath the metal of his ring. The pain radiated from my arm, and it felt like my whole body was being charred in the pits of hell. Icould feel the bond between Teach and I fuse into my bones, as if some arcane magic had bound my very soul to his.

Teach pulled the ring from my skin, the smell of burnt flesh thick in my nostrils. He examined it briefly, the ring now returned to a polished silver, and placed it on his finger again. I tried in vain to slow my breathing. It was fear that gripped me, rather than the pain. Had I just sold my soul to the devil… or something even worse?

“You’ve done good, Jas. Boys, show some respect for your bo’sun! Get the man a drink. Now we celebrate.”

I was usheredto my new cabin. Each of the crew taking turns to clap my shoulders as they acknowledged my new status. I didn’t let it go to my head. Most of them would slit my throat if it meant a raise in ranks. But I couldn’t blame them. That’s exactly how I’d gotten the promotion myself. When the latch clicked behind me, I took in the space that was now my private quarters. A room that was mine alone, with an actual bed that appeared long enough to fit my tall form. A notable perk of my new position, and a decided upgrade from the hammock I’d had in the main cabin with the rest of the crew. Steam rose from a washbasin that had been set upon the small desk in the corner. There, laid out on the bed, was a neatly folded coat in a rich navy blue with gold details. A fresh pair of twill breeches and a stark white linen shirt. A pair of well-oiled boots had been placed at the foot of the bed with a new belt coiled around them. I’d neverhad such fine clothes before. I ran my fingers over the coat, finding a note slipped into the breast pocket.

I had full faith that you’d earn a place of honor amongst my men. A prodigy in the making. Now clean up, get dressed, and meet me on the castle deck. It is time to celebrate. We have much to discuss.

Now that I’dbeen brought into Teach’s inner circle, I could start probing him for answers. My inner demon squirmed with the possibilities. Ever since that day atThe Gilded Filly, I’d known Teach was more than he presented to be. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I knew he wasn’t human. I’d bet my life on it. The way he’d taken a seemingly ordinary ring and used it to burn my flesh without so much as a fire to heat it, only further confirmed my suspicions. I’d been patient. The vengeance within me maturing like a fine wine. I would be a nightmare realized when I finally unleashed this well-honed fury on Pan. Today, I felt closer to realizing that dream thanever before.

Solid groundbeneath my new boots was a welcomed reprieve from the sea. My initiation, or rather the two weeks of hell Teach had subjected me to, had been perfectly planned to coincide with our arrival at port. As much as it pained Teach, the deep heat of summer had brought on a particularly nasty storm season, and we’d been forced to return to South Carolina. It couldn’t have come at a better time. The ship was overrun with the spoils of victory and the men had begun to grow restless. It was a volatile combination. Simple-minded men with unfathomable wealth at their fingertips and nothing to show for their efforts. But Teach was a smart man. He knew how to push the men to the edge of madness before manipulating them with his perceived generosity.

“To loyalty.” Teach held up his glass of rum, a smirk tugging at his bearded face. I gave him a weary glance, my shoulders hunched over the table we shared, and I made no move to clink glasses with him. My whole body ached from the torment I’d endured, and the darkness inside me was spiteful. I wanted something in return, some penance from him for the lengths he’d gone to in order to procure my loyalty. “Come on, boy. It’s time to celebrate. And as I figure it, you owe me.”

“Owe you?” The words broke through the brooding silence I’d been holding on to. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“You were little more than a sack of useless bones when I found you. You would have been dead in a fortnight if Ihadn’t taken your pathetic little deal. Look at you now. I’d say I’ve raised a damn fine man from the worthless boy that you were.”

“I made my fate happen, not you. If you think the countless days of grueling work, the murdering… the unspeakable evils that happen to a young boy on a ship full of heathens in the darkness, somehow makes you a father figure to me?—”

“Yes!” he barked at me with indignation in his voice. “The world isn’t soft, and soft men get eaten alive. I made you into a weapon. I’ve seen the notches you carve above your hammock. Each tick of the wood is a debt owed to me. Each life taken means you lived another day. And I’m the one who gave you the skills to accomplish it.” He waited for me to respond. To deny the truth of his words, but I couldn’t. “That is what you really wanted, isn’t it? To become a killer?” He continued, “You think I haven’t seen the look in your eye? I know a man hell bent on revenge, and it’s been simmering inside you since the moment I laid eyes on your scrawny form.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I barked at him. I’d gone to great lengths to keep my personal vendettas with Pan a secret. Not that anyone would believe that I’d traveled between worlds and lived for a time amongst the fae.

Teach laughed, slamming his glass of rum on the table, the spiced alcohol splashing the both of us. “Another lesson for you, Jas. Don’t underestimate anyone… ever. I know you’ve seen things, been places you can’t explain. I know you understand the world is more than just what’s on the horizon before us. And only I can deliver to you what you desire the most. Show some fucking respect. Hold up your glass and toast to the future I’m offering you.”

A part of me hated Edward Teach down to the marrow of my bones. The man had left his own black mark on my soul. But he was a necessary evil and without him, I never would have gotten this far. It was time to fully embrace what he was offering.

“It’s not Jas anymore. That wretched boy dies today. It’s James,” I spat at him. Jas was too weak to do the truly dark things required to exact my revenge, but the new man emerging from his ashes was more than capable.

This time I raised my glass. The delicate clink as we toasted the future rang in my ears, despite the boisterous crowd around us. I shot back the rum. The comforting burn coated my throat before he could even get his glass to his lips.

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