The Curse of Blackbane - Chapter 8
Meeting Beelzebub
Only 2 chapters of free reading left for this story.
Chapter 8
It was late at night. A thin, grizzled man half-dozed in a sitting position with his body leaning against the wooden wheel. An experienced pirate who came with Blackbane from Jamaica several years before, Little Mike held a half-filled mug in his hands. With the ship at anchor, he felt little need to pay attention to the dark waters around the vessel. As he dreamed of taverns and the beautiful wenches, the man failed to hear the noise of something sliding up from the water below.
A dark form skillfully crawled up the stern as tentacle suckers softly popped when they released from the wood. The demon expertly flipped across the railing, landing on the wooden deck. Two red eyes noticed the man leaning against the ship’s wheel.
The drips of seawater softly raining down his head slowly got the helmsman’s attention. When he looked up, Little Mike froze under Beelzebub’s gaze. The man could only let out a feeble grunt when his iris and cornea immediately melted into a solid black pit. As the dead body twitched several times, Beelzebub turned his attention toward the faint outline of a lookout who was smoking his pipe on the other end of the ship. The demon listened to the whistling for a moment before going forward. Behind the monster, the dead helmsman slowly rose to follow his master.
Although he wanted to sleep, Blackbane remained at his small desk by the foot of his bed. Focused on the navigation charts, he worked for the best route to Sweden while cursing his lack of recent maps. The shuffling of feet along the deck slowly caught his attention. The noise grew closer and sounded unnatural to him. With the calmness of the wind and closeness to the island shore, he became suspicious. Mutiny and treachery were always upon a captain’s mind.
Instantly, Blackbane went to the cabin door with his pistol and rapier in hand. The golden dagger remained nestled in his belt. He slowly opened the door to see movement in the middle of his ship. Under the moonlight, he saw a large and tall figure coming up the ladder to the quarterdeck. The captain thought it was a strange shadow until he noticed the line of men visible behind it. Blackbane stepped from his cabin quietly to confront the men coming.
“Stop there, or I’ll shoot the first traitor,” the captain ordered.
The line of figures stopped, and the tall leader stepped closer. Blackbane turned cold, even though the creature’s face remained partially hidden under the shadows of the sails above. Like the moss on the side of a pier, a green sheen of loose skin forced the captain to raise his pistol. The demon’s eyes beckoned him, but the captain stared at the creature’s open mouth. It drooped down into his neck like a giant grouper. Blackbane could almost imagine the lower jaw might disconnect like a python to swallow his prey. The moon’s pale light momentarily strengthened to show him the creature’s red robe and breeches intertwined in gold trimming.
“What are you?” Blackbane’s mouth stumbled for the words when he saw the faces of his crew. Black pits for eyes and pasty faces told him they were no longer among the living. The scene reminded him of stories of ghouls in graveyards.
“Beelzebub comes for your soul, Marshall,” the demon’s voice warbled. “You want gold and blood? I’ll give you a fleet of ships crewed by this undead to fill the seas with the blood of your enemies. You will go after the golden cross again. Once you retrieve it, you’ll have enough gold to make the Beylik look like a pauper.”
“What have you done to my men? Release them now,” Blackbane ordered as he carefully avoided the gaze of Beelzebub.
“That’s impossible, human. This crew of ghouls is no longer yours to ” the fiend told him. “Their souls belong to me, for I’ve promised them a touch of your immortality. Step forward to accept your new role as the immortal terror of the seas.”
Blackbane slowly paced while Beelzebub watched him with his black beady eyes. The captain casually placed his hand over the gold dagger in his belt.
“I see a problem in your offer,” he told the demon. “You give me a soulless existence working for you. I see no humanity in those things behind you. It is not enough.”
“What else can you expect? I save you an eternity of painful misery as each of my brothers and sisters come for you,” the demon croaked out. “The crew behind me still lusts for the same things in life. They’ll rape and kill, then eat their fill of human flesh. However, there’s no pain or hardship anymore. It’s the perfect life for a doomed pirate.”
“Besides, I know you’ve had that whore, Naamah, tempt you. No doubt she’s waiting at the next dock for you. This deal suits you better, man.”
Beelzebub laughed when he recognized Blackbane’s surprised expression at the comment.
“Yes, I saw her on the pier when your ship left. Why do you think she didn’t come aboard? Seawater stops her powers,” he told the captain. “If you don’t understand such things, how do you expect to survive? Come to me, and you will no longer suffer uncertainty and doubt.”
“My life is worth more to me than becoming a dead follower of a demon,” he said. “You bargain with me like I have no choice.”
“In that, you’re correct,” the demon told him after his lower jaw opened wide with a hideous type of smile and razor-sharp teeth. “I tell you what will happen tonight. Once you look into my eyes, the dead men will have their small prize to live forever. I’ll have you lead them into glorious destruction across the seas. You will burn, loot, maim, and kill anything you want. Think of it, all the women you desire, along with holds full of gold and treasure. When you enter cities, the self-righteous fools will bow before you. You can mount the severed heads of rulers on the masts of this vessel. It will be as you dream at night.”
The captain suddenly remembered those unfulfilled dreams. They came to him before his encounter with Remiel. The unsettling thought that the entire demon world knew of his ambitions struck the pirate like a bullet. He stepped back in hesitation.
“And you will still rule over me,” Blackbane declared. “I’ll stand before you like the dead men on the deck. There is no hope in those eyes. I’m the captain of the Diano Marina, not a scurvy ship rat who spends eternity bowing before you.”
Beelzebub sighed as more tentacle arms suddenly appeared from behind his deformed body. The large sucker-covered hands held crude instruments of battle and torture.
“It’s unfortunate you have such little wisdom. I guess I’ll find another subject to lead my followers. As your men tear into your body, you will beg me to take your soul. Only then will I take away your suffering so your crew can feed in peace.”
The crowd of dead pirates closed around their captain. Blackbane backed up to his cabin door, pulling his pistol. He quickly shot at Beelzebub. The bullet slammed into the chest of the demon, passing through with no effect. However, the walking dead helmsman behind fell to the deck, with half of his skull shot away. The ghouls closed in on their captain. Blackbane used the massive pistol grip to strike at the closest dead man, who grabbed his arm. The man’s cheekbone shattered at the strike, leaving a deep indentation. However, the creature tried to bite Blackbane, who desperately struggled to pull away.
Behind the crowd, a shot rang out when Bingham joined the fray. His bullet shattered the skull of one dead crewman. Then, the first mate attacked the ghouls with his sword on the moonlight-covered deck. A second creature fell at Bingham’s feet as Druda joined in the fray. The fair-haired woman carried a short sword in which she swung with amateurish vigor at a crewmember. She dispatched the ghoul in her bloody frenzy.
Bingham’s attack helped his captain to escape the initial onslaught. Blackbane spun away from one ghoul, decapitating the former crewmate with a swing of his sword. Hurrying across the deck, the captain attacked the demon. His furious stroke at Beelzebub missed the mark. The beast moved aside with blinding speed. As Blackbane passed, he felt a fire sweep across his back. Beelzebub struck the captain with razor-sharp claws, ripping through the man’s skin. Forced to endure the pain while he fended off two ghouls, Blackbane searched for an escape. The captain’s vicious swings on the undead creatures only slowed them. Parts of their bodies fell, and blood flowed across the slippery deck.
A scream rose from Druda, who watched Bingham go overboard when a ghoul slammed its body into her lover. Out of the corner of his eye, Blackbane caught sight of the woman running to the rail. However, he was too busy to notice her jump overboard after the first mate.
The last of the undead crew got to Blackbane as he backed into the ship’s wheel. A ghoul wrapped its massive arm around the captain’s neck while another pinned his sword arm against the wheel. Blackbane felt the bite on his arm, and he yelled in agony. He smelled the rancid breath of the large crewman at his neck, struggling to get his teeth through the captain’s collar. Blackbane cursed out in desperation.
“No! Leave him for me,” Beelzebub suddenly ordered the two ghouls.
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