‹ Prequel: Dark Tides
Sequel: Rising Shadows

Blurred Horizons

Chapter Three

Ben caught Scarlett as she swooned, his concern increasing tenfold. The only time he'd ever seen Scarlett ill was when he himself had given the entire crew a bout of food poisoning. He told the crew to look after poor Donovan and that he'd back soon to check on him. He took Scarlett back to her quarters, gently laying her in the bed. He watched anxiously, worried he'd start seeing cuts and gashes appear on her body too.

Fortunately none appeared. She just looked a bit pale and clammy. Ben fetched a damp cloth and dabbed her forehead with it. There didn't seem to be anything else wrong with her, aside from her sudden dizziness. Reluctantly Ben left her tucked into bed and went in search of Donovan. One of the newer crew members they had recruited had medical training and was hard at work trying to stop the blood flow and patch him up.

"What do you make of it, Doc?" Ben asked.

"I don't know what to make of it," Doc said, shaking his head and frowning. "It's like nothing I've ever seen. These cuts and lacerations are like those made by daggers and swords. They don't just appear on a man's body out of nowhere, Ben. It's not possible."

Donovan convulsed suddenly, choking as blood spewed out of his mouth. The other men gathered around him jumped back. The wild jerking ceased abruptly, and Donovan's body went limp. Doc reached over and closed Donovan's now lifeless eyes. He looked up at Ben with a grave expression.

"He's dead," he said, as if Ben needed further clarification on that point. Ben nodded.

"Wrap up the body. Donovan always said he wanted to be buried at sea, and so that's what we'll do. I'll be back momentarily to help clean up." He caught the eye of the six remaining men who were part of the Spirit's original crew and nodded to them. They followed him below decks where they could speak privately.

"What the devil is going on?" Irving demanded, looking shaken. "Donovan can't be dead."

"I don't know what's going on," Ben sighed, running a hand over his face. "We're dealing with a magical force of some kind here, there's no manual or guide book for it. I promise I'll try to get to the bottom of this, though I don't know what I'll be able to do about it."

"Maybe the magic of the amulet doesn't last forever," Elliott suggested anxiously. "I mean the legend doesn't really say, does it? All we know is that it's supposed to grant the wearer and anyone who offers it blood immortality. But what if it only makes you immortal for a short time?"

"Then we'll all be pretty fucked, won't we?" Irving grumbled. "Ruddy waste of magic of you ask me. Who wants to be immortal for less than a year just to drop dead before their time anyway?"

"All right, settle down," Ben said. "We'll get it all sorted out. In the meantime try not to panic. The rest of the crew will wonder why you six are the only ones worried about dying like Donovan and we don't need those kinds of questions. Help get the ship out to sea again so we can give Donovan a proper send off."

They did as he said, muttering nervously among each other until they reached the deck again, and then they went silent and helped release the sails and raise the anchor. Ben often wondered if the original six crew members resented him. He had, after all, started out as a prisoner aboard the Silver Spirit, spending his first weeks locked in the brig and doing his best to antagonize their lovely captain. Now he was their new First Mate, giving orders and making decisions about the ship and its crew. He was fairly certain it still baffled them all how he had won Scarlett over, becoming her right hand and her lover. He still wasn't completely sure how it had happened himself.

He went to help Doc and a few of the other men scrub the blood out of the deck. He thought they may need to replace some of the wood, if they truly wanted it gone. No matter how hard or long they scrubbed, blood tended to stain everything and leave it darker than it used to be. Ben finally murmured to Doc that he was going to go check on Scarlett, since she seemed to be feeling a bit under the weather.

"Go on," Doc nodded. "I'll take a look at her later, when she's feeling up to it. Make sure she's not running a fever or anything."

"Thank you." Ben rose and returned to the captain's quarters, finding Scarlett now sitting up in bed. She was still a little pale, but otherwise seemed fine and Ben was so relieved he felt downright lightheaded. He went and sat beside her, pulling her close and kissing her cheek.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked. "You gave us a bit of a scare, fainting like that."

"I don't know what came over me," Scarlett said, her brows knitted in confusion. "I was fine and then...I wasn't so fine anymore, I guess."

"Maybe it has something to do with what happened to Donovan," Ben suggested. "You're the official keeper of the amulet and we're all technically bound to you because of it. So maybe when...whatever happened happened, it had an effect on you."

"That could make sense," Scarlett nodded. "How is he doing, anyway?"

Ben grimaced. He didn't really want to share the news with her, especially if she wasn't feeling well. But it wasn't something he could exactly keep secret, and Scarlett wouldn't want him trying to sugarcoat things for her sake anyway.

"Scarlett," he said quietly, "Donovan is dead."