![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
"Killers of the Sargasso"
"Killers of the Sargasso"
4/19/2013
I.
Standing at the stern of the ninety-foot yacht LOLA DEAR, Demrak Jin watched the cutter sail away into the distance. It was good to be out at sea again, with no land in sight. For the first time since she had left her own realm, she felt at ease. The young Geldydra had one foot up on a ledge as she gazed out at the horizon. How tempting it would be to simply dive overboard, to swim down until the surface was just a dim lighter area far overhead, to hunt some fish and to wander this world's waters. Ah, but she had sworn allegiance to her captain, and duty ruled her life.
Standing at the wheel of the eighty-foot craft, Mandate agent Don Crispino glanced over his shoulder to watch her. Jin was not pretty, with a pug nose in a roundish face, strange cloudy blue eyes and a head of thick bristly white hair. In fact, she made him a little uneasy. Demrak Jin was only a few inches over five feet tall, slim and even boyish in build. He was a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, and he had both combat training and a 9mm in a shoulder holster. Yet, a few times, he had caught her looking at him as if deciding where to cut him first. The odd machete she wore strapped to her back seemed to have a blade made of sharp bone. Her skintight outfit was made of a rough dark material that he swore looked like sharkhide. All in all, she gave him a serious case of the willies. If someone had told him he would be spooked by a petite twenty-year-old blonde, he would have laughed but he wasn't laughing now.
Turning, Demrak Jin walked along the polished mahogany deck toward the cabin, past the buffet and open bar and tanning couch. Luxury was wasted on her. She came up behind Carpino and said, "Your agency's ship is out of sight. They towed us this far and now they flee home."
The Mandate agent replied, "They have their orders. This craft could not get this far out on its own. Say, isn't your partner about due to wake up?"
"My captain was awake for twenty-four hours on another mission. He said he would need four hours sleep below." Demark Jin studied the cold grey North Atlantic. "I was told by my previous master that the Sargasso Sea was but a legend."
"Your previous master...? Never mind." Carpino opened the throttle a little more. "Yeah, there is an area of dense tangled seaweed but it's not much like the legends say. The Sargasso of the old stories was a graveyard of hundreds of ships that got caught in the weed and never escaped. Sailors have a lot of wild tales."
"And yet," said the strange blonde girl, "here we are."
"We are here," explained Don Carpino patiently, "because small craft keep disappearing here. It's not like an urban legend that doesn't stand up to examination. Over the past six years, eleven boats have sailed into this area in calm weather and never been heard of from again."
"The sea has many mysteries. What do you think has happened here?"
"Me? I have no idea. My chief just ordered me to pilot you and your partner below decks out here. Apparently, your pal has quite the reputation for handling the weird and the so-called supernatural."
Demrak Jin was staring off the port side. "Something... I sense something happening. Quite close."
A red fog was gathering over the sea. It grew thicker and brighter, a mist the color of fresh blood. The fog boiled and churned, and drew closer. Carpino worked the controls to take evasive action, but the red fog engulfed them in an instant. When it cleared, they both were stunned to find themselves somewhere different. Under an overcast misty sky, clumps and tangles of dark red weed stretched in all directions. It did not look so much like the ocean as it did a prairie.
"The Sargasso Sea...?" said Carpino in a small voice.
But Demark Jin had spotted the pirates. A dozen men climbed over the rail from two rowboats on either side. They wore a bizarre motley of mismatched clothing, and carried a variety of weapons... everything from cavalry sabres to assegai stabbing spears. They were bearded and scarred and had long greasy hair tied up with bandanas. Without exception, they watched the two on the yacht the way cats watch mice.
"Ah," said the oldest pirate, with a drooping grey mustache and a nose with a deep gash across its bridge. "The red fog has brought us a prize this time. This boat looks to have some useful items. Mind the champagne bottles there, Will. The man seems like he can do some work before he dies. And the girl, well, we can raffle her off each night. Methinks Filthy will be pleased."
Demark Jin had her hand on the hit of her bone-bladed sword, and Carpino edged his own hand toward his concealed holster. But at that instant, a man in black rushed like lightning up from below decks and dove headlong into the pirates.
II.
With a silver dagger in each hand, the Dire Wolf sliced away in tight precise patterns, cutting open stomachs and slashing throats and plunging deep in chests. He was moving so fast that it seemed the pirates were meekly allowing him to cut them down when actually they were fighting for the lives. One managed to score at the man in black's exposed back with a cutlass but the weapon only rebounded as it could not pierce the tough material. In less than a minute, all the pirates were dead and blood was splattered in all directions. Jeremy Bane lowered his daggers suspiciously, as if he thought there might be one or two more hidden on the deck somehow. Then he knelt and carefully cleaned the silver blades on a relatively clean turban before sheathing them.
"God. DAMN," said Carpino. "I thought I'd seen skilled fighters before..."
Bane turned toward the man. He was wearing all black.. boots, pants and a waist-length field jacket, with a visored helmet on his head. Now he raised that visor to reveal pale grey eyes in a narrow feral face. "I came on deck just to hear them announce their plans. Agent Carpino, we have to get rid of these bodies. There's a clear patch of water just ahead of this boat. Help Jin and me." Bane began tying the corpses together with their own belts and baldrics and scarfs. Demrak Jin and Carpino helped.
"Won't the bodies float?" Carpino asked.
"Not if their lungs fill up when they hit the water," Bane said casually. As the Mandate agent watched, the Dire Wolf and the young Gelydra picked up swords and started piercing the bodies on both sides of the chest, then began pitching them overboard. It was a gruesome process and the matter-of-fact way they went about it just made things worse in Carpino's opinion. Finally every pirate had been jettisoned. Bane went below and came up with an armful of towels. "Now to scrub. Come on, Carpino, pitch in." Dipping the towels over the side in the salt water, the three of them got up every bit of blood. It took quite some time before Bane was satisfied.
Finally, the towels were tied to a couple of cutlasses Bane had put aside for the purpose and tossed in the clear area. Only then did the Dire Wolf take in his surroundings. "The real Sargasso...." he said at last. "The source of the legends."
"You don't seem that surprised," Carpino said.
"I had my suspicions, that's all," Bane said. "Was there a red fog?"
"Yeah, that's right. It moved toward us and covered this boat, and when it lifted, here we were."
"I've seen that red fog before. It's a snare sent to draw people into another realm." Bane lifted the lid of an ice chest and took out a bottle of club soda. He unscrewed the top and took a swallow. "There is a warlock involved in this, maybe the leader and maybe not."
Demrak Jin was leaning over the side of the LOLA DEAR. "Captain, look at these rowboats. Clever."
Bane and Carpino looked down and saw the front of the rowboats had been fitted with rotating blades, wide and sharp as machetes. Poles were tied to the bench. As some of the pirates pushed the rowboat along with the poles, two sat up front and turned cranks that made the blades rotate, cutting through the tough red seaweed.
"Ingenious," Bane admitted. "But still a lot of hard work. It must take them forever to get anywhere. We'll take the bigger boat to go exploring."
"Exploring? What? What we should be doing is getting out of this weed and back on the open sea," Carpino sputtered. "There may be more of those cutthroats out there right now."
"Oh, I'm sure there are hundreds of them. They are why we came here. My plan is to find the leader of the Sargasso pirates and eliminate him and whatever sorcerer is creating the red fog. We'll free any captives we can find and end this threat."
Agent Carpino was staring. "You've got confidence, I'll say that for you. I intend to call for a rescue chopper on the radio and have my agency come back with a full strength strike force. That's the logical approach."
Bane had the faintest of smiles on his face, barely noticeable. "Good luck. You don't realize it yet, but we are no longer in the world you know. We are in an adjacent realm, and we can't just sail out back to the Atlantic."
"What? Are you telling me we've crossed over into the Twilight Zone or something?"
"Yep. Jin, let's pack some supplies. Food and fresh water for us. That rowboat held six men so we can take plenty. Bring the wine and champagne as well, we prepared that stuff specially."
The young Gelydra got a canvas sack and started putting food from the cooler in it. "I can drink salt water safely, captain. I am a sea creature, after all."
Bane went below and came up with a water-tight clear bag holding clothing and a blanket. "You can stay here if you want, agent. Someone should guard this boat for when we want to leave. I notice the AR-15 beneath that tarp, so I imagine you brought lots of ammo."
"Yes," Carpino said. "If you're positive you want to go wandering in this mess."
"It's why we came here," Bane said. He leaped lightly down in the rowboat and started turning the cranks, studying how the rotating blades worked. Climbing down behind him, Demrak Jin grabbed a pole and shoved the rowboat forward as the Dire Wolf began cutting through the tough seaweed that surrounded them.
"We're not going to set any speed records," Bane grumbled. "See you later, agent."
II.
Hours passed as they laboriously cut their way through the weed. Occasionally a fish splashed or a crab could be seen scuttling over the dense growth. Overhead, the sky remain a bleak overcast haze with no sign of the sun. Finally, Bane called for a break and moved his aching shoulders in circles. "If I had planned this expedition, I would have brought a gas-powered chainsaw," he said. "Are you sorry you came along, Jin?"
"Not at all. Your friends of the KDF have given me a clean bed in which to sleep and good food whenever I want. After slaying Dr Vitarius, I thought my life was over. I will go with you on any missions you ask of me."
"Good to know. This particular case does seem best suited for you. You ARE a water-breathing Gelydra more at home under the sea than in Manhattan, so I asked you to help out..."
"Captain, another boat is approaching," Demrak Jin broke in. "It's coming from that open area we are headed toward."
As she spoke, one of the rowboats came gliding through a corridor in the red seaweed that had been obviously prepared beforehand. There were four of the pirates in this boat, two of them with black skin and wearing bright silk garments. One in the front lifted a long slim spear with a hooked barb. "Ahoy there! Whoever you may be, you are now under the command of Filthy McSwine and must answer to his laws!"
"So you say," answered Bane. "I didn't vote for him."
"You don't vote for King of the Sargasso!" roared the black pirate. "You will come with us, and Filthy will decide your fate."
The Dire Wolf said over to his shoulder to Jin, "Time to follow our plan. We could spend days hacking through this weed and not find what we're looking for." She agreed and he turned back to the pirates. "Very well. Take us to your leader."
The rowboat slid closer and the lead pirate threw them a line, which Bane tied to a ring in his own craft. With some tugging and some more rotating of the cutting blades, Bane's boat came loose and it was quicker going. The pirates pushed against the surrounding red seaweed with poles, but one pulled up a paddle and added its effect. The clear pathway through the weed was wide enough for one rowboat at a time.
"How do you guys keep these pathways through the seaweed clear?" Bane called.
"You'll find out soon enough," one pirate laughed. Another one explained, "The new prisoners spend each day hacking through the weed. That's the first year. Then they are allowed to join a crew, if they prove doughty enough."
"Not much to look forward to. Where are you fellows from?"
"I was born on the SOUTHERN CROSS," said one and a black pirate answered, "And I, aboard the MINNESOTA, a fine ship."
"Wait, you were all born in this sea? None of you came from the world outside?"
"Of course! We are pirates to the tenth generation, born of pirates and reared by the Code of the Brotherhood. Outsiders are only fit to be servants."
One of the older-looking pirates, who had grey in his scraggly beard, added, "Well, there is Yellow Tom. He fought his way up into a crew. The same for Hooknose Pete. But such are rare."
By now, they were passing ships which were hopelessly entangled in the tough red weed. One looked to be a New England clipper from the early 19th Century and a few pirates lined up on its deck to watch them pass. More derelicts appeared, closer together as they passed. A rusty tramp steamer with its prow tilted, a Viking longboat, a sleek schooner. Each seemed to have its own two of three pirates. No women were to be seen, only bearded men bristling with weapons.
"Some of these ships have been here for centuries," Bane observed.
"Since the world began," said a pirate. "There are them what says a whirlpool is at the center of the Sargasso and for every new ship what is brought here, an older one goes to the bottom where Davy Jones welcomes it."
They were approaching a caravel, a classic 17th Century ship with its mast still bearing tattered sails and a black Jolly Roger flying from the forecastle. Gold letters near the stern read NEMESIS. Dozens of armed men watched their approach. Standing on the forecastle, arms folded, was a giant of a man. Bane estimated he stood six foot seven and would weigh three hundred pounds, little of it fat. His garments, breeches and stockings and red silk shirt, were in better condition than those of his men. But his beard and long greasy hair were tied carelessly with ribbons. At the sash around his ample gut was sheathed a curved Middle Eastern scimitar. As the two boats approached, this giant stepped forward and the crowd scrambled to get out of his way.
"You need not ask permission to come aboard," he roared down at them. "Welcome to the service of Filthy McSwine, that be me. Each of you will serve in your own way. Lower a ladder, my boys." A rope ladder was immediately flung over the side and Bane snagged it. The quickness with which both he and Jin went up that ladder seemed to surprise everyone. The pirates in the other rowboat took a few minutes to secure their craft to rings set in the side of the NEMESIS both scrambling up the ladder themselves.
On the deck, Bane and Jin were surrounded by forty men, although no one had touched them as yet. No one had even patted them down. The .38 Bane wore holstered behind his left hip was concealed the field jacket. The pirates seemed to be waiting for a word from their huge leader. Filthy McSwine studied Bane the way he might study a horse he was about to buy.
"You are no sailor," he said at last. "You are a fighting man. I know the look. How many men have you killed?"
"I did not keep count," Bane said. "They call me the Dire Wolf."
"Seems to me you will be poor labor material," said the pirate chief. He scratched the back of his neck with long nails. "I expect naught but trouble from you. Ah, but the lass there. We will hold a raffle each night for her company in the Cabin of Whispers. In time, I expect she will bear many young'uns to fill our ranks."
Demrak Jin growled deep in her chest and went into a crouch. Bane put a hand on her shoulder and told Filthy, "This is no common woman. Do you not know a Selkie when you see one?"
Some of the pirates drew back at that word. Their giant chief peered at Jin's bristling hair and strange eyes. "Aye, she does have an uncanny look to her. Still, I daresay she has woman parts where they should be..."
"Time to hit the water, Jin," said Bane. In a flash, the young Gelydra wheeled and took three running steps to vault over the side of the NEMESIS. She hit squarely on the clump of thick red weed. The pirates expected her to become hopelessly entangled in the mesh but somehow she slid cleanly through it and was gone beneath the surface. Every one on deck watched, waiting for her to surface.
"No maid can hold her breath that long," Filthy said at last. "Tis a shame. I would have claimed the first night for myself as is my privilege. Our last woman died over a week ago."
"Look!" cried a pirate.
Jin's white-haired head broke the surface right next to the NEMESIS. She threw Bane a salute and dove again.
"Some of you fetch her! Jacob! Yellow Tom! Take a few others and get in those boats and bring her back." As his crew hurried to obey, Filthy turned to the calmly waiting Bane. "And you...! I have no use for you, Dire Wolf."
"Do you follow the Code of the Brotherhood?" asked Bane in a loud clear voice.
"Aye, of course, but what be that to the likes of you, as-"
"Then I challenge you to single combat for mastery of your crew! If you still are man enough to defend your title."
"Man enough? Me? Why, you rot-headed simpleton. I am twice your size. I offer you choice of weapons, that's how confident I am!"
"I do not need weapons," Bane said as he stepped to the center of the deck and stood with arms lowered.
III.
Filthy McSwine drew his scimitar. "You make your death all the quicker," he said as he lunged forward. Despite his size, the pirate chief was quick on his feet. The blade whistled as it swung in a backhanded arc intended to lop off the challenger's head but Bane stepped back and plunged in after the edge had hissed past. He blasted a left cross-backfist combination that rocked Filthy's head from side to side. The giant pirate swung his weapon up behind him to bring it down, but while that blade was still raised, Bane moved in close and threw twelve body punches in just over a second, alternating left-right hooks to the ribs that dealt tremendous punishment. Filthy swayed, the scimitar loosened in his grip and Bane yanked it away to toss it aside.
"Do you yield?" the Dire Wolf asked.
A furious roar was his answer. Filthy McSwine rushed directly into a high side kick that picked him up off his feet and sent him crashing full length on his back. As he struggled to a sitting position, Bane knelt and cracked a backfist that twisted the man's face as far to the side as it could go without the neck breaking. The pirate slumped senseless to the grimy deck.
Bane stood up, not even breathing hard, and swung to face the crew. "All right! I know at least one of you wants to try his luck. Now is your chance. Let's go."
One of the pirates stepped forward, a blond man with his front teeth missing. He was barefoot and he swung a vicious length of hawser with a rope handle. That thick flexible metal cable would break bone wherever it struck. "I always felt Filthy had lost his edge. I aimed to challenge him meself."
The Dire Wolf raised a hand palm upward and wiggled his fingers in a 'come on' gesture. The pirate twirled his length of cable and rushed forward, as Bane spun on one heel to blast a reverse crescent kick squarely to the side of the man's face. That pirate did a sloppy cartwheel and almost went overboard.
"I think I've made my point," Bane announced. "You men have a new captain today. The Dire Wolf!"
Cries of "Dire Wolf!" echoed. Some of the men went to loot the stunned Filthy, but Bane ordered, "Leave him be. I have plans for him. First, we celebrate. There is wine and champagne in that boat I arrived in, as well as fresh meat and fruit. Distribute it fairly. It is only the beginning of the good times to come."
As some of the pirates started down the rope ladder, Bane found an older man with grizzled sideburns and wire-rimmed eyeglasses. He leaned on a staff for support. "I take it you're the first mate," he said to the man.
"Aye, true enough. They call me Smedes, and I reckon I can be of use to you."
Bane watched the pirates squabbling over the wine and champagne, and was suprised to see they were just as eager to get at the bananas, apples and pears. But fruit was a rare treat here, he realized. "Smedes, my first priority is to establish control over the red fog. Who summons it?"
"Why, that would be Impratellus, the mage. He bides in his own little raft over there. See. That's his private domain."
Following Smede's pointing finger, Bane saw a raft thirty feet across, made of beams and timbers lashed together. Tied to its center was a framework holding a tarp with a flap opening. Strange cabalistic symbols had been scrawled on the tarp with pitch, none of which Bane recognized.
"Very well," the Dire Wolf said. "Send a few men to bring this Impratellus here. I want to speak with him."
"Oh, captain, the magician does not leave his tent. We must go see him."
Bane's voice had a sudden edge to it. "You have your orders. If the magician does not wish to obey, we shall see how long he can tread water. Go send three men to fetch him, now."
IV.
As he watched from the deck, the crew brought up kegs of rum from below and tapped them. The cases of wine and champagne from Bane's boat had long been guzzled, the fresh meat and fruit were devoured with glee. The singing and dancing were vigorous if not pleasing, as many of the lyrics involved torture and rape.
Filthy McSwine groaned and moved his arms as if trying to get up. Bane quietly knelt, took a syringe from a kit inside his field jacket and injected the huge man in the back of the hand. "Another couple of hours for you," he said. As he rose, he saw three pirates escort a sullen old man up the rope ladder. This must be Impratellus. The magician looked the part, with a bald crown and a ring of white hair around his ears and the lower back of his head. In a wrinkled, severe face a beaklike nose stood out prominently. He wore loose white robes gathered at the waist, and lots of jewelry including three rings on each hand.
"This will not bode well for thee," Impratellus announced. "An enchanter is not to be summoned without gifts."
"Oh, relax a little," answered Bane. He reached behind him and poured a glass of red wine from a bottle he had been guarding. At the sound, Impratellus straightened and could not conceal his interest. "This is fairly expensive stuff," Bane said as he held out the glass. "But with me as captain, the looting is going to be of a higher quality."
Impratellus took a tentative sip, then a good-sized swallow. "By the Dread One, that has a fine bouquet. I had never thought to taste a true Kirschner again."
"Indulge," said Bane, "I have three bottles put aside here. Smedes, you and the three who went to fetch the magician had better see if there's any wine left on deck. No reason for you to miss out."
It was hard to judge time in that hazy light, and the sky had not gotten any darker or brighter. This realm seemed to exist in a sort of perpetual twilight. As Bane stood and chatted with Impratellus, the pirates started lying down one by one. Sleepiness came over them quickly and they wearily found corners to curl up in or nodded off sitting up back to back.
"They are not used to good wine," Bane observed.
"True," said the sorceror. "I myself feel like a nap would do me good." He almost dropped the wine glass but Bane took it from him.
"Why not grab forty winks?" asked the Dire Wolf. "But first, I want to know where the prisoners are held."
"Prisoners? From the outside world? There are but three left. Filthy McSwine works them too hard, he could get more labor from them if he did not whip them so freely. They are in irons beneath our feet."
"Any women among them?"
"No, sad to say. He and the men vent their lust so freely that female prisoners do not live long either. The last girl we had bled to death a week ago. My head spins- I feel strange." The sorceror dropped limply and Bane let him fall.
The Dire Wolf surveyed the scene and counted thirty-six sleeping pirates, one doped captain and a snoring enchanter. He stared at them sourly. His hope had been to rescue more of the outsiders taken by the killers. According to the maritime records, more than fifty people had been on the ships that disappeared into the red fog in the past few years. He exhaled sharply and almost wished he had injected poison into the food and drink he had brought here instead of the harmless anesthetic.
IV.
Clicking the visor of his helmet shut, he could see clearly as the light amplifiers cut in. Bane went below decks and down a central passage between stacks of wooden crates and barrels. From a stool, a pirate jumped to his feet where he was guarding three men in chains. A candle stub on a tin plate provided the only light. Three men in rags stirred feebly, weighed down by manacles around their wrists.
"I'm told you're our new captain," the man said. He was missing his left hand, with a leather covering over the stub. "I welcome thee, sir. My name is Lefty."
"Only three prisoners?" Bane said angrily. "What happened to them all?"
"Worked to death, I fear, sir. Filthy was too fond of the whip. We need more prisoners. The women did not survive their duties in the Cabin of Whispers, either. I fear the last one managed to open her wrists with a bit of broken glass and bled out afore she was found. Pity that, my turn was next and she was a winsome lass."
"Yeah, too bad about that." Bane had folded his arms and as he straightened them, one hand gripped a silver dagger that had been sheathed beneath his sleeves. The blade sliced cleanly through Lefty's windpipe and the man died within seconds.
The Dire Wolf glared down at the body. "I feel bad you didn't get your chance to rape a terrified prisoner." He cleaned the blade on the man's shirt and resheathed it.
The three men in chains tried to sit up. Bane lit an oil lantern that hung from the rafters, using the candle stub, and went over to them. "I've come to rescue you fellows," he said. "Are you strong enough to walk?"
"Just give us a chance," one said. "Oh my God, we had given up hope. Are you from a Navy SEAL team?"
"Something similar," Bane answered. He found a ring of heavy keys on the dead pirate and unfastened the manacles. The men were weak and had to be helped to their feet. Bane smacked open a keg of brandy and gave each of them a swallow from a tin cup on a chain.
"What a nightmare," gasped one of the men. "Pirates like this! In this day and age. They have us in the boats cutting that red weed until we drop, then they give us just enough bread and water to keep us alive."
"Well, it's over now. You men are coming with me. Up these stairs."
"I was on the schooner LIBERTY BELLE with my fiancee," said a prisoner with light brown hair. "The pirates bragged what they did to her. They need to die. We have to come back here with Marines and wipe them out, they're the scum of the Earth!"
"Easy there," Bane said as he helped them up onto the deck. "They're going to get what they deserve. That's a promise."
As they came out into the hazy half-light, the prisoners gasped at the sight of every pirate lying senseless. "What- happened to them? Are they dead?"
"Not yet," said Bane. "They drank a lot of blended anesthetic, though." He looked over the sides of the NEMESIS but did not see any of the rowboats. "Hmm." He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a long sharp whistle. A blonde head popped up from the middle of a clump of the red weed and Demrak Jin waved.
"Did you save us a boat?" Bane called down.
"Yes, captain! I shall bring it now." The Gelydra jackknifed, her butt in the air for an instant and was gone.
"How she moves through that awful weed is beyond me," Bane said. "But she IS a sea creature."
One of the prisoners gasped, "Filthy!"
Bane turned slowly to face the giant. The man must have immense recuperative powers. Filthy seemed unsteady but he was on his feet and pointing an old Smith & Wesson .357 right at the Dire Wolf.
.
"I knew...you would be trouble," mumbled the pirate captain. "You've poisoned me crew! Good thing... I have kept a few bullets for this infernal device. I should have killed you as soon as you came aboard."
"You could have tried," Bane answered. He drew and fired faster than any gunfighter of the Old West, and the slug plowed a tunnel into Filthy's chest. As the pirate swayed, the Dire Wolf aimed for a second shot but decided it wasn't necessary. The huge man dropped to his knees and then slumped face down.
"Any of you know how to use a gun?" asked Bane.
"I do, I'm from Texas," answered one man. He limped over and tugged the pistol from the dead hand, then inspected it. "This thing hasn't been cleaned in years," he said with disgust. "It's more likely to blow up in your hand than to fire."
"Never mind, then. Each of you find a sword or knife or something you're comfortable with. There are other pirates in the Sargasso besides these." Bane watched as the men picked up weapons, and stopped one who was about to drink from a wine bottle. "Hold it, unless you want a nap for a few hours. That's what put these pirates out of commission."
Demrak Jin vaulted lightly over the rail, her bone-bladed knife in one hand. "I heard a shot, captain."
"It was me taking care of Filthy," Bane said. "Are we set to go?"
"Yes. Down this ladder to the largest rowboat!" She regarded the starved men who were watching her with open mouths. "Only three?"
"I'm afraid so. These pirates have a lot to answer." He helped the weakened prisoners over the railing, with Jin below in case they slipped. Bane went over and dragged the snoring Impratellus and carried him down the ladder.
"What are you taking him for?" asked a prisoner.
"He'll have his uses," Bane said. "Let's move. Shove off with the poles and follow the path cut through the weed." Finding a single-person paddle underfoot, the Dire Wolf began to use it. They glided quickly through the murky water. Behind him, Jin sighed and he glanced over his shoulder.
"I regret there was not more combat," she explained. "The three men who came after me were no challenge. I pulled them into the water and cut their throats so I could bring this boat back. A ship full of enemies and I slew only three."
"We're not home safe yet," Bane said. "What about the sabotage?"
"As you instructed," she replied. "Using an iron bar I found in the boat, I pried loose a dozen boards on both sides of the ship. I could feel the water rush in. The NEMESIS will tilt soon and go under."
The Dire Wolf looked back and wasn't sure if the ship was in fact listing yet. "The cold water should wake up some of them. If they can swim away, maybe they can make it to some of the other ships. But I can't feel too sorry for them after what they've bragged about doing."
"Drowning is too good for them!" yelled a former prisoner. "My poor Caitlyn. Those bastards deserve to suffer."
They had covered distance quickly, and Bane spotted the white yacht still sitting at the edge of the miles-long surface of red weed. "Carpino!" he yelled. "Hey, agent Carpino!"
The Mandate agent appeared on deck, cradling at AR-15 in his hands. "Good God, you made it! It feels like days." He put the weapon down and helped everyone on board. "I get nothing but static on the radio and my satellite phone doesn't work either."
Bane threw the sleeping magician in a corner with no attempt at gentleness. He told the prisoners, "Open that ice chest over there. There's wrapped sandwiches, soda and beer. Take it slowly, your stomachs have shrunken." The Dire Wolf went to where Carpino stood watching."Only three prisoners to rescue, I'm afraid."
"Three out of almost fifty," Carpino said sadly. "If we had come here sooner... but my bosses had to approve the mission and they voted to recruit you."
"I know, I know. We do what we can with what we have. Jin! Any sign of pursuit?"
"Not yet, captain." The young Gelydra was standing by the stern, searching intently. "I will let you know."
"Good," Bane said. He checked on the three freed men and saw they were sipping soda and eating the sandwiches slowly. Then he went to crouch over Impratellus. Bane removed all the jewelry, the rings and the amulet and the armband, and took them over to one side. He studied them for a few minutes. While he did not know any gralic magick himself, not having the slightest aptitude for it, thirty years in the Midnight War had given him a working knowledge of how to deal with it. He decided the amulet was the source of the red fog, based on what he had read in Kenneth Dred's journals.
The Dire Wolf slung the amulet over one shoulder and knelt beside the drugged sorceror. From an inside pocket of his jacket, he took out a metal case holding three small syringes labelled REVIVE. This was the antidote to the anesthetic that he had put in the food and wine the pirates had consumed. It wasn't gentle on the system. Bane injected the magician high on the forearm, rubbed the skin and put the empty syringe away carefully. In a few minutes, Impratellus twitched and then convulsed. Bane held him down. The sorceror gasped and struggled and finally his eyes opened. It was a few minutes before he could catch his breath.\
"Time to wake up," the Dire Wolf said. "Here's the situation. By now, the NEMESIS is at the bottom of the Sargasso, taking its crew with it. You're our prisoner. I spared you because you're needed to create the red fog to take us home."
"What? Are you telling the truth? You killed everyone on the NEMESIS? You murderer!"
"Coming from you, that's funny. They were pirates born to pirates for generations. They killed and tortured, enslaved and raped as a way of life." Bane leaned closer, fixing those grey eyes coldly on the sorceror. "Now, you can still keep your own life. You can bring us home and I will release you. How you make a living is not my concern, but you do have some gralic abilities and you'll find a way."
"No! No! There are other pirates on smaller ships. I will find sanctuary with them." Impratellus struggled but was too weak to rise.
Bane said, "I calculate it's five miles back to the nearest pirate ship. You don't look like you could swim one mile. Should we throw you overboard and find out?"
Impratellus seemed to deflate and become a tired old man, head sagging. "Very well. You swear to release me unharmed?"
"As a knight of Tel Shai, I swear it." He handed the sorceror the golden amulet. "Let's get going."
Holding the amulet, Impratellus closed his eyes and concentrated. Nothing happened for a long moment, then a patch of the red fog appeared far off over the Sargasso. It drifted toward them, growing larger and more defined.
"We'll be back in the real world in a few minutes," Bane told the others. "I don't know what kind of story you three ae going to tell the authorities but the Mandate will help. Isn't that right, Carpino?"
"Huh? Oh absolutely," the agent said. "We'll cover for them. They were in fact abducted by modern-day pirates after all, and my agency will handle everything."
As the red fog swept over the LOLA DEAR and everything went scarlet for a minute, Demrak Jin asked, "What is going to happen to the surviving pirates?"
Bane said, "They can't leave the Sargasso and they can't bring in any more captives. I suppose they will get old and die off one at a time."
"They deserve worse," the blonde Gelydra said. She sighed, "I wish I could have slain a few more."
The fog dissipated, Impratellus gasped and almost passed out. They were back in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, with not a trace of the thick mass of seaweed to be seen. Bane said, "Agent Carpino, the radio and your satellite phone should be working again. You might want to contact your agency."
Carpino paused in the doorway to the cabin and looked back."I'm sorry I didn't go with you two. Sounds like I missed out on an interesting experience."
Demrak Jin snorted. Bane said, "We work with the Mandate once in a while. I'll ask next time if you can be assigned."
2/22/2014
4/19/2013
I.
Standing at the stern of the ninety-foot yacht LOLA DEAR, Demrak Jin watched the cutter sail away into the distance. It was good to be out at sea again, with no land in sight. For the first time since she had left her own realm, she felt at ease. The young Geldydra had one foot up on a ledge as she gazed out at the horizon. How tempting it would be to simply dive overboard, to swim down until the surface was just a dim lighter area far overhead, to hunt some fish and to wander this world's waters. Ah, but she had sworn allegiance to her captain, and duty ruled her life.
Standing at the wheel of the eighty-foot craft, Mandate agent Don Crispino glanced over his shoulder to watch her. Jin was not pretty, with a pug nose in a roundish face, strange cloudy blue eyes and a head of thick bristly white hair. In fact, she made him a little uneasy. Demrak Jin was only a few inches over five feet tall, slim and even boyish in build. He was a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, and he had both combat training and a 9mm in a shoulder holster. Yet, a few times, he had caught her looking at him as if deciding where to cut him first. The odd machete she wore strapped to her back seemed to have a blade made of sharp bone. Her skintight outfit was made of a rough dark material that he swore looked like sharkhide. All in all, she gave him a serious case of the willies. If someone had told him he would be spooked by a petite twenty-year-old blonde, he would have laughed but he wasn't laughing now.
Turning, Demrak Jin walked along the polished mahogany deck toward the cabin, past the buffet and open bar and tanning couch. Luxury was wasted on her. She came up behind Carpino and said, "Your agency's ship is out of sight. They towed us this far and now they flee home."
The Mandate agent replied, "They have their orders. This craft could not get this far out on its own. Say, isn't your partner about due to wake up?"
"My captain was awake for twenty-four hours on another mission. He said he would need four hours sleep below." Demark Jin studied the cold grey North Atlantic. "I was told by my previous master that the Sargasso Sea was but a legend."
"Your previous master...? Never mind." Carpino opened the throttle a little more. "Yeah, there is an area of dense tangled seaweed but it's not much like the legends say. The Sargasso of the old stories was a graveyard of hundreds of ships that got caught in the weed and never escaped. Sailors have a lot of wild tales."
"And yet," said the strange blonde girl, "here we are."
"We are here," explained Don Carpino patiently, "because small craft keep disappearing here. It's not like an urban legend that doesn't stand up to examination. Over the past six years, eleven boats have sailed into this area in calm weather and never been heard of from again."
"The sea has many mysteries. What do you think has happened here?"
"Me? I have no idea. My chief just ordered me to pilot you and your partner below decks out here. Apparently, your pal has quite the reputation for handling the weird and the so-called supernatural."
Demrak Jin was staring off the port side. "Something... I sense something happening. Quite close."
A red fog was gathering over the sea. It grew thicker and brighter, a mist the color of fresh blood. The fog boiled and churned, and drew closer. Carpino worked the controls to take evasive action, but the red fog engulfed them in an instant. When it cleared, they both were stunned to find themselves somewhere different. Under an overcast misty sky, clumps and tangles of dark red weed stretched in all directions. It did not look so much like the ocean as it did a prairie.
"The Sargasso Sea...?" said Carpino in a small voice.
But Demark Jin had spotted the pirates. A dozen men climbed over the rail from two rowboats on either side. They wore a bizarre motley of mismatched clothing, and carried a variety of weapons... everything from cavalry sabres to assegai stabbing spears. They were bearded and scarred and had long greasy hair tied up with bandanas. Without exception, they watched the two on the yacht the way cats watch mice.
"Ah," said the oldest pirate, with a drooping grey mustache and a nose with a deep gash across its bridge. "The red fog has brought us a prize this time. This boat looks to have some useful items. Mind the champagne bottles there, Will. The man seems like he can do some work before he dies. And the girl, well, we can raffle her off each night. Methinks Filthy will be pleased."
Demark Jin had her hand on the hit of her bone-bladed sword, and Carpino edged his own hand toward his concealed holster. But at that instant, a man in black rushed like lightning up from below decks and dove headlong into the pirates.
II.
With a silver dagger in each hand, the Dire Wolf sliced away in tight precise patterns, cutting open stomachs and slashing throats and plunging deep in chests. He was moving so fast that it seemed the pirates were meekly allowing him to cut them down when actually they were fighting for the lives. One managed to score at the man in black's exposed back with a cutlass but the weapon only rebounded as it could not pierce the tough material. In less than a minute, all the pirates were dead and blood was splattered in all directions. Jeremy Bane lowered his daggers suspiciously, as if he thought there might be one or two more hidden on the deck somehow. Then he knelt and carefully cleaned the silver blades on a relatively clean turban before sheathing them.
"God. DAMN," said Carpino. "I thought I'd seen skilled fighters before..."
Bane turned toward the man. He was wearing all black.. boots, pants and a waist-length field jacket, with a visored helmet on his head. Now he raised that visor to reveal pale grey eyes in a narrow feral face. "I came on deck just to hear them announce their plans. Agent Carpino, we have to get rid of these bodies. There's a clear patch of water just ahead of this boat. Help Jin and me." Bane began tying the corpses together with their own belts and baldrics and scarfs. Demrak Jin and Carpino helped.
"Won't the bodies float?" Carpino asked.
"Not if their lungs fill up when they hit the water," Bane said casually. As the Mandate agent watched, the Dire Wolf and the young Gelydra picked up swords and started piercing the bodies on both sides of the chest, then began pitching them overboard. It was a gruesome process and the matter-of-fact way they went about it just made things worse in Carpino's opinion. Finally every pirate had been jettisoned. Bane went below and came up with an armful of towels. "Now to scrub. Come on, Carpino, pitch in." Dipping the towels over the side in the salt water, the three of them got up every bit of blood. It took quite some time before Bane was satisfied.
Finally, the towels were tied to a couple of cutlasses Bane had put aside for the purpose and tossed in the clear area. Only then did the Dire Wolf take in his surroundings. "The real Sargasso...." he said at last. "The source of the legends."
"You don't seem that surprised," Carpino said.
"I had my suspicions, that's all," Bane said. "Was there a red fog?"
"Yeah, that's right. It moved toward us and covered this boat, and when it lifted, here we were."
"I've seen that red fog before. It's a snare sent to draw people into another realm." Bane lifted the lid of an ice chest and took out a bottle of club soda. He unscrewed the top and took a swallow. "There is a warlock involved in this, maybe the leader and maybe not."
Demrak Jin was leaning over the side of the LOLA DEAR. "Captain, look at these rowboats. Clever."
Bane and Carpino looked down and saw the front of the rowboats had been fitted with rotating blades, wide and sharp as machetes. Poles were tied to the bench. As some of the pirates pushed the rowboat along with the poles, two sat up front and turned cranks that made the blades rotate, cutting through the tough red seaweed.
"Ingenious," Bane admitted. "But still a lot of hard work. It must take them forever to get anywhere. We'll take the bigger boat to go exploring."
"Exploring? What? What we should be doing is getting out of this weed and back on the open sea," Carpino sputtered. "There may be more of those cutthroats out there right now."
"Oh, I'm sure there are hundreds of them. They are why we came here. My plan is to find the leader of the Sargasso pirates and eliminate him and whatever sorcerer is creating the red fog. We'll free any captives we can find and end this threat."
Agent Carpino was staring. "You've got confidence, I'll say that for you. I intend to call for a rescue chopper on the radio and have my agency come back with a full strength strike force. That's the logical approach."
Bane had the faintest of smiles on his face, barely noticeable. "Good luck. You don't realize it yet, but we are no longer in the world you know. We are in an adjacent realm, and we can't just sail out back to the Atlantic."
"What? Are you telling me we've crossed over into the Twilight Zone or something?"
"Yep. Jin, let's pack some supplies. Food and fresh water for us. That rowboat held six men so we can take plenty. Bring the wine and champagne as well, we prepared that stuff specially."
The young Gelydra got a canvas sack and started putting food from the cooler in it. "I can drink salt water safely, captain. I am a sea creature, after all."
Bane went below and came up with a water-tight clear bag holding clothing and a blanket. "You can stay here if you want, agent. Someone should guard this boat for when we want to leave. I notice the AR-15 beneath that tarp, so I imagine you brought lots of ammo."
"Yes," Carpino said. "If you're positive you want to go wandering in this mess."
"It's why we came here," Bane said. He leaped lightly down in the rowboat and started turning the cranks, studying how the rotating blades worked. Climbing down behind him, Demrak Jin grabbed a pole and shoved the rowboat forward as the Dire Wolf began cutting through the tough seaweed that surrounded them.
"We're not going to set any speed records," Bane grumbled. "See you later, agent."
II.
Hours passed as they laboriously cut their way through the weed. Occasionally a fish splashed or a crab could be seen scuttling over the dense growth. Overhead, the sky remain a bleak overcast haze with no sign of the sun. Finally, Bane called for a break and moved his aching shoulders in circles. "If I had planned this expedition, I would have brought a gas-powered chainsaw," he said. "Are you sorry you came along, Jin?"
"Not at all. Your friends of the KDF have given me a clean bed in which to sleep and good food whenever I want. After slaying Dr Vitarius, I thought my life was over. I will go with you on any missions you ask of me."
"Good to know. This particular case does seem best suited for you. You ARE a water-breathing Gelydra more at home under the sea than in Manhattan, so I asked you to help out..."
"Captain, another boat is approaching," Demrak Jin broke in. "It's coming from that open area we are headed toward."
As she spoke, one of the rowboats came gliding through a corridor in the red seaweed that had been obviously prepared beforehand. There were four of the pirates in this boat, two of them with black skin and wearing bright silk garments. One in the front lifted a long slim spear with a hooked barb. "Ahoy there! Whoever you may be, you are now under the command of Filthy McSwine and must answer to his laws!"
"So you say," answered Bane. "I didn't vote for him."
"You don't vote for King of the Sargasso!" roared the black pirate. "You will come with us, and Filthy will decide your fate."
The Dire Wolf said over to his shoulder to Jin, "Time to follow our plan. We could spend days hacking through this weed and not find what we're looking for." She agreed and he turned back to the pirates. "Very well. Take us to your leader."
The rowboat slid closer and the lead pirate threw them a line, which Bane tied to a ring in his own craft. With some tugging and some more rotating of the cutting blades, Bane's boat came loose and it was quicker going. The pirates pushed against the surrounding red seaweed with poles, but one pulled up a paddle and added its effect. The clear pathway through the weed was wide enough for one rowboat at a time.
"How do you guys keep these pathways through the seaweed clear?" Bane called.
"You'll find out soon enough," one pirate laughed. Another one explained, "The new prisoners spend each day hacking through the weed. That's the first year. Then they are allowed to join a crew, if they prove doughty enough."
"Not much to look forward to. Where are you fellows from?"
"I was born on the SOUTHERN CROSS," said one and a black pirate answered, "And I, aboard the MINNESOTA, a fine ship."
"Wait, you were all born in this sea? None of you came from the world outside?"
"Of course! We are pirates to the tenth generation, born of pirates and reared by the Code of the Brotherhood. Outsiders are only fit to be servants."
One of the older-looking pirates, who had grey in his scraggly beard, added, "Well, there is Yellow Tom. He fought his way up into a crew. The same for Hooknose Pete. But such are rare."
By now, they were passing ships which were hopelessly entangled in the tough red weed. One looked to be a New England clipper from the early 19th Century and a few pirates lined up on its deck to watch them pass. More derelicts appeared, closer together as they passed. A rusty tramp steamer with its prow tilted, a Viking longboat, a sleek schooner. Each seemed to have its own two of three pirates. No women were to be seen, only bearded men bristling with weapons.
"Some of these ships have been here for centuries," Bane observed.
"Since the world began," said a pirate. "There are them what says a whirlpool is at the center of the Sargasso and for every new ship what is brought here, an older one goes to the bottom where Davy Jones welcomes it."
They were approaching a caravel, a classic 17th Century ship with its mast still bearing tattered sails and a black Jolly Roger flying from the forecastle. Gold letters near the stern read NEMESIS. Dozens of armed men watched their approach. Standing on the forecastle, arms folded, was a giant of a man. Bane estimated he stood six foot seven and would weigh three hundred pounds, little of it fat. His garments, breeches and stockings and red silk shirt, were in better condition than those of his men. But his beard and long greasy hair were tied carelessly with ribbons. At the sash around his ample gut was sheathed a curved Middle Eastern scimitar. As the two boats approached, this giant stepped forward and the crowd scrambled to get out of his way.
"You need not ask permission to come aboard," he roared down at them. "Welcome to the service of Filthy McSwine, that be me. Each of you will serve in your own way. Lower a ladder, my boys." A rope ladder was immediately flung over the side and Bane snagged it. The quickness with which both he and Jin went up that ladder seemed to surprise everyone. The pirates in the other rowboat took a few minutes to secure their craft to rings set in the side of the NEMESIS both scrambling up the ladder themselves.
On the deck, Bane and Jin were surrounded by forty men, although no one had touched them as yet. No one had even patted them down. The .38 Bane wore holstered behind his left hip was concealed the field jacket. The pirates seemed to be waiting for a word from their huge leader. Filthy McSwine studied Bane the way he might study a horse he was about to buy.
"You are no sailor," he said at last. "You are a fighting man. I know the look. How many men have you killed?"
"I did not keep count," Bane said. "They call me the Dire Wolf."
"Seems to me you will be poor labor material," said the pirate chief. He scratched the back of his neck with long nails. "I expect naught but trouble from you. Ah, but the lass there. We will hold a raffle each night for her company in the Cabin of Whispers. In time, I expect she will bear many young'uns to fill our ranks."
Demrak Jin growled deep in her chest and went into a crouch. Bane put a hand on her shoulder and told Filthy, "This is no common woman. Do you not know a Selkie when you see one?"
Some of the pirates drew back at that word. Their giant chief peered at Jin's bristling hair and strange eyes. "Aye, she does have an uncanny look to her. Still, I daresay she has woman parts where they should be..."
"Time to hit the water, Jin," said Bane. In a flash, the young Gelydra wheeled and took three running steps to vault over the side of the NEMESIS. She hit squarely on the clump of thick red weed. The pirates expected her to become hopelessly entangled in the mesh but somehow she slid cleanly through it and was gone beneath the surface. Every one on deck watched, waiting for her to surface.
"No maid can hold her breath that long," Filthy said at last. "Tis a shame. I would have claimed the first night for myself as is my privilege. Our last woman died over a week ago."
"Look!" cried a pirate.
Jin's white-haired head broke the surface right next to the NEMESIS. She threw Bane a salute and dove again.
"Some of you fetch her! Jacob! Yellow Tom! Take a few others and get in those boats and bring her back." As his crew hurried to obey, Filthy turned to the calmly waiting Bane. "And you...! I have no use for you, Dire Wolf."
"Do you follow the Code of the Brotherhood?" asked Bane in a loud clear voice.
"Aye, of course, but what be that to the likes of you, as-"
"Then I challenge you to single combat for mastery of your crew! If you still are man enough to defend your title."
"Man enough? Me? Why, you rot-headed simpleton. I am twice your size. I offer you choice of weapons, that's how confident I am!"
"I do not need weapons," Bane said as he stepped to the center of the deck and stood with arms lowered.
III.
Filthy McSwine drew his scimitar. "You make your death all the quicker," he said as he lunged forward. Despite his size, the pirate chief was quick on his feet. The blade whistled as it swung in a backhanded arc intended to lop off the challenger's head but Bane stepped back and plunged in after the edge had hissed past. He blasted a left cross-backfist combination that rocked Filthy's head from side to side. The giant pirate swung his weapon up behind him to bring it down, but while that blade was still raised, Bane moved in close and threw twelve body punches in just over a second, alternating left-right hooks to the ribs that dealt tremendous punishment. Filthy swayed, the scimitar loosened in his grip and Bane yanked it away to toss it aside.
"Do you yield?" the Dire Wolf asked.
A furious roar was his answer. Filthy McSwine rushed directly into a high side kick that picked him up off his feet and sent him crashing full length on his back. As he struggled to a sitting position, Bane knelt and cracked a backfist that twisted the man's face as far to the side as it could go without the neck breaking. The pirate slumped senseless to the grimy deck.
Bane stood up, not even breathing hard, and swung to face the crew. "All right! I know at least one of you wants to try his luck. Now is your chance. Let's go."
One of the pirates stepped forward, a blond man with his front teeth missing. He was barefoot and he swung a vicious length of hawser with a rope handle. That thick flexible metal cable would break bone wherever it struck. "I always felt Filthy had lost his edge. I aimed to challenge him meself."
The Dire Wolf raised a hand palm upward and wiggled his fingers in a 'come on' gesture. The pirate twirled his length of cable and rushed forward, as Bane spun on one heel to blast a reverse crescent kick squarely to the side of the man's face. That pirate did a sloppy cartwheel and almost went overboard.
"I think I've made my point," Bane announced. "You men have a new captain today. The Dire Wolf!"
Cries of "Dire Wolf!" echoed. Some of the men went to loot the stunned Filthy, but Bane ordered, "Leave him be. I have plans for him. First, we celebrate. There is wine and champagne in that boat I arrived in, as well as fresh meat and fruit. Distribute it fairly. It is only the beginning of the good times to come."
As some of the pirates started down the rope ladder, Bane found an older man with grizzled sideburns and wire-rimmed eyeglasses. He leaned on a staff for support. "I take it you're the first mate," he said to the man.
"Aye, true enough. They call me Smedes, and I reckon I can be of use to you."
Bane watched the pirates squabbling over the wine and champagne, and was suprised to see they were just as eager to get at the bananas, apples and pears. But fruit was a rare treat here, he realized. "Smedes, my first priority is to establish control over the red fog. Who summons it?"
"Why, that would be Impratellus, the mage. He bides in his own little raft over there. See. That's his private domain."
Following Smede's pointing finger, Bane saw a raft thirty feet across, made of beams and timbers lashed together. Tied to its center was a framework holding a tarp with a flap opening. Strange cabalistic symbols had been scrawled on the tarp with pitch, none of which Bane recognized.
"Very well," the Dire Wolf said. "Send a few men to bring this Impratellus here. I want to speak with him."
"Oh, captain, the magician does not leave his tent. We must go see him."
Bane's voice had a sudden edge to it. "You have your orders. If the magician does not wish to obey, we shall see how long he can tread water. Go send three men to fetch him, now."
IV.
As he watched from the deck, the crew brought up kegs of rum from below and tapped them. The cases of wine and champagne from Bane's boat had long been guzzled, the fresh meat and fruit were devoured with glee. The singing and dancing were vigorous if not pleasing, as many of the lyrics involved torture and rape.
Filthy McSwine groaned and moved his arms as if trying to get up. Bane quietly knelt, took a syringe from a kit inside his field jacket and injected the huge man in the back of the hand. "Another couple of hours for you," he said. As he rose, he saw three pirates escort a sullen old man up the rope ladder. This must be Impratellus. The magician looked the part, with a bald crown and a ring of white hair around his ears and the lower back of his head. In a wrinkled, severe face a beaklike nose stood out prominently. He wore loose white robes gathered at the waist, and lots of jewelry including three rings on each hand.
"This will not bode well for thee," Impratellus announced. "An enchanter is not to be summoned without gifts."
"Oh, relax a little," answered Bane. He reached behind him and poured a glass of red wine from a bottle he had been guarding. At the sound, Impratellus straightened and could not conceal his interest. "This is fairly expensive stuff," Bane said as he held out the glass. "But with me as captain, the looting is going to be of a higher quality."
Impratellus took a tentative sip, then a good-sized swallow. "By the Dread One, that has a fine bouquet. I had never thought to taste a true Kirschner again."
"Indulge," said Bane, "I have three bottles put aside here. Smedes, you and the three who went to fetch the magician had better see if there's any wine left on deck. No reason for you to miss out."
It was hard to judge time in that hazy light, and the sky had not gotten any darker or brighter. This realm seemed to exist in a sort of perpetual twilight. As Bane stood and chatted with Impratellus, the pirates started lying down one by one. Sleepiness came over them quickly and they wearily found corners to curl up in or nodded off sitting up back to back.
"They are not used to good wine," Bane observed.
"True," said the sorceror. "I myself feel like a nap would do me good." He almost dropped the wine glass but Bane took it from him.
"Why not grab forty winks?" asked the Dire Wolf. "But first, I want to know where the prisoners are held."
"Prisoners? From the outside world? There are but three left. Filthy McSwine works them too hard, he could get more labor from them if he did not whip them so freely. They are in irons beneath our feet."
"Any women among them?"
"No, sad to say. He and the men vent their lust so freely that female prisoners do not live long either. The last girl we had bled to death a week ago. My head spins- I feel strange." The sorceror dropped limply and Bane let him fall.
The Dire Wolf surveyed the scene and counted thirty-six sleeping pirates, one doped captain and a snoring enchanter. He stared at them sourly. His hope had been to rescue more of the outsiders taken by the killers. According to the maritime records, more than fifty people had been on the ships that disappeared into the red fog in the past few years. He exhaled sharply and almost wished he had injected poison into the food and drink he had brought here instead of the harmless anesthetic.
IV.
Clicking the visor of his helmet shut, he could see clearly as the light amplifiers cut in. Bane went below decks and down a central passage between stacks of wooden crates and barrels. From a stool, a pirate jumped to his feet where he was guarding three men in chains. A candle stub on a tin plate provided the only light. Three men in rags stirred feebly, weighed down by manacles around their wrists.
"I'm told you're our new captain," the man said. He was missing his left hand, with a leather covering over the stub. "I welcome thee, sir. My name is Lefty."
"Only three prisoners?" Bane said angrily. "What happened to them all?"
"Worked to death, I fear, sir. Filthy was too fond of the whip. We need more prisoners. The women did not survive their duties in the Cabin of Whispers, either. I fear the last one managed to open her wrists with a bit of broken glass and bled out afore she was found. Pity that, my turn was next and she was a winsome lass."
"Yeah, too bad about that." Bane had folded his arms and as he straightened them, one hand gripped a silver dagger that had been sheathed beneath his sleeves. The blade sliced cleanly through Lefty's windpipe and the man died within seconds.
The Dire Wolf glared down at the body. "I feel bad you didn't get your chance to rape a terrified prisoner." He cleaned the blade on the man's shirt and resheathed it.
The three men in chains tried to sit up. Bane lit an oil lantern that hung from the rafters, using the candle stub, and went over to them. "I've come to rescue you fellows," he said. "Are you strong enough to walk?"
"Just give us a chance," one said. "Oh my God, we had given up hope. Are you from a Navy SEAL team?"
"Something similar," Bane answered. He found a ring of heavy keys on the dead pirate and unfastened the manacles. The men were weak and had to be helped to their feet. Bane smacked open a keg of brandy and gave each of them a swallow from a tin cup on a chain.
"What a nightmare," gasped one of the men. "Pirates like this! In this day and age. They have us in the boats cutting that red weed until we drop, then they give us just enough bread and water to keep us alive."
"Well, it's over now. You men are coming with me. Up these stairs."
"I was on the schooner LIBERTY BELLE with my fiancee," said a prisoner with light brown hair. "The pirates bragged what they did to her. They need to die. We have to come back here with Marines and wipe them out, they're the scum of the Earth!"
"Easy there," Bane said as he helped them up onto the deck. "They're going to get what they deserve. That's a promise."
As they came out into the hazy half-light, the prisoners gasped at the sight of every pirate lying senseless. "What- happened to them? Are they dead?"
"Not yet," said Bane. "They drank a lot of blended anesthetic, though." He looked over the sides of the NEMESIS but did not see any of the rowboats. "Hmm." He put two fingers in his mouth and let out a long sharp whistle. A blonde head popped up from the middle of a clump of the red weed and Demrak Jin waved.
"Did you save us a boat?" Bane called down.
"Yes, captain! I shall bring it now." The Gelydra jackknifed, her butt in the air for an instant and was gone.
"How she moves through that awful weed is beyond me," Bane said. "But she IS a sea creature."
One of the prisoners gasped, "Filthy!"
Bane turned slowly to face the giant. The man must have immense recuperative powers. Filthy seemed unsteady but he was on his feet and pointing an old Smith & Wesson .357 right at the Dire Wolf.
.
"I knew...you would be trouble," mumbled the pirate captain. "You've poisoned me crew! Good thing... I have kept a few bullets for this infernal device. I should have killed you as soon as you came aboard."
"You could have tried," Bane answered. He drew and fired faster than any gunfighter of the Old West, and the slug plowed a tunnel into Filthy's chest. As the pirate swayed, the Dire Wolf aimed for a second shot but decided it wasn't necessary. The huge man dropped to his knees and then slumped face down.
"Any of you know how to use a gun?" asked Bane.
"I do, I'm from Texas," answered one man. He limped over and tugged the pistol from the dead hand, then inspected it. "This thing hasn't been cleaned in years," he said with disgust. "It's more likely to blow up in your hand than to fire."
"Never mind, then. Each of you find a sword or knife or something you're comfortable with. There are other pirates in the Sargasso besides these." Bane watched as the men picked up weapons, and stopped one who was about to drink from a wine bottle. "Hold it, unless you want a nap for a few hours. That's what put these pirates out of commission."
Demrak Jin vaulted lightly over the rail, her bone-bladed knife in one hand. "I heard a shot, captain."
"It was me taking care of Filthy," Bane said. "Are we set to go?"
"Yes. Down this ladder to the largest rowboat!" She regarded the starved men who were watching her with open mouths. "Only three?"
"I'm afraid so. These pirates have a lot to answer." He helped the weakened prisoners over the railing, with Jin below in case they slipped. Bane went over and dragged the snoring Impratellus and carried him down the ladder.
"What are you taking him for?" asked a prisoner.
"He'll have his uses," Bane said. "Let's move. Shove off with the poles and follow the path cut through the weed." Finding a single-person paddle underfoot, the Dire Wolf began to use it. They glided quickly through the murky water. Behind him, Jin sighed and he glanced over his shoulder.
"I regret there was not more combat," she explained. "The three men who came after me were no challenge. I pulled them into the water and cut their throats so I could bring this boat back. A ship full of enemies and I slew only three."
"We're not home safe yet," Bane said. "What about the sabotage?"
"As you instructed," she replied. "Using an iron bar I found in the boat, I pried loose a dozen boards on both sides of the ship. I could feel the water rush in. The NEMESIS will tilt soon and go under."
The Dire Wolf looked back and wasn't sure if the ship was in fact listing yet. "The cold water should wake up some of them. If they can swim away, maybe they can make it to some of the other ships. But I can't feel too sorry for them after what they've bragged about doing."
"Drowning is too good for them!" yelled a former prisoner. "My poor Caitlyn. Those bastards deserve to suffer."
They had covered distance quickly, and Bane spotted the white yacht still sitting at the edge of the miles-long surface of red weed. "Carpino!" he yelled. "Hey, agent Carpino!"
The Mandate agent appeared on deck, cradling at AR-15 in his hands. "Good God, you made it! It feels like days." He put the weapon down and helped everyone on board. "I get nothing but static on the radio and my satellite phone doesn't work either."
Bane threw the sleeping magician in a corner with no attempt at gentleness. He told the prisoners, "Open that ice chest over there. There's wrapped sandwiches, soda and beer. Take it slowly, your stomachs have shrunken." The Dire Wolf went to where Carpino stood watching."Only three prisoners to rescue, I'm afraid."
"Three out of almost fifty," Carpino said sadly. "If we had come here sooner... but my bosses had to approve the mission and they voted to recruit you."
"I know, I know. We do what we can with what we have. Jin! Any sign of pursuit?"
"Not yet, captain." The young Gelydra was standing by the stern, searching intently. "I will let you know."
"Good," Bane said. He checked on the three freed men and saw they were sipping soda and eating the sandwiches slowly. Then he went to crouch over Impratellus. Bane removed all the jewelry, the rings and the amulet and the armband, and took them over to one side. He studied them for a few minutes. While he did not know any gralic magick himself, not having the slightest aptitude for it, thirty years in the Midnight War had given him a working knowledge of how to deal with it. He decided the amulet was the source of the red fog, based on what he had read in Kenneth Dred's journals.
The Dire Wolf slung the amulet over one shoulder and knelt beside the drugged sorceror. From an inside pocket of his jacket, he took out a metal case holding three small syringes labelled REVIVE. This was the antidote to the anesthetic that he had put in the food and wine the pirates had consumed. It wasn't gentle on the system. Bane injected the magician high on the forearm, rubbed the skin and put the empty syringe away carefully. In a few minutes, Impratellus twitched and then convulsed. Bane held him down. The sorceror gasped and struggled and finally his eyes opened. It was a few minutes before he could catch his breath.\
"Time to wake up," the Dire Wolf said. "Here's the situation. By now, the NEMESIS is at the bottom of the Sargasso, taking its crew with it. You're our prisoner. I spared you because you're needed to create the red fog to take us home."
"What? Are you telling the truth? You killed everyone on the NEMESIS? You murderer!"
"Coming from you, that's funny. They were pirates born to pirates for generations. They killed and tortured, enslaved and raped as a way of life." Bane leaned closer, fixing those grey eyes coldly on the sorceror. "Now, you can still keep your own life. You can bring us home and I will release you. How you make a living is not my concern, but you do have some gralic abilities and you'll find a way."
"No! No! There are other pirates on smaller ships. I will find sanctuary with them." Impratellus struggled but was too weak to rise.
Bane said, "I calculate it's five miles back to the nearest pirate ship. You don't look like you could swim one mile. Should we throw you overboard and find out?"
Impratellus seemed to deflate and become a tired old man, head sagging. "Very well. You swear to release me unharmed?"
"As a knight of Tel Shai, I swear it." He handed the sorceror the golden amulet. "Let's get going."
Holding the amulet, Impratellus closed his eyes and concentrated. Nothing happened for a long moment, then a patch of the red fog appeared far off over the Sargasso. It drifted toward them, growing larger and more defined.
"We'll be back in the real world in a few minutes," Bane told the others. "I don't know what kind of story you three ae going to tell the authorities but the Mandate will help. Isn't that right, Carpino?"
"Huh? Oh absolutely," the agent said. "We'll cover for them. They were in fact abducted by modern-day pirates after all, and my agency will handle everything."
As the red fog swept over the LOLA DEAR and everything went scarlet for a minute, Demrak Jin asked, "What is going to happen to the surviving pirates?"
Bane said, "They can't leave the Sargasso and they can't bring in any more captives. I suppose they will get old and die off one at a time."
"They deserve worse," the blonde Gelydra said. She sighed, "I wish I could have slain a few more."
The fog dissipated, Impratellus gasped and almost passed out. They were back in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, with not a trace of the thick mass of seaweed to be seen. Bane said, "Agent Carpino, the radio and your satellite phone should be working again. You might want to contact your agency."
Carpino paused in the doorway to the cabin and looked back."I'm sorry I didn't go with you two. Sounds like I missed out on an interesting experience."
Demrak Jin snorted. Bane said, "We work with the Mandate once in a while. I'll ask next time if you can be assigned."
2/22/2014