Ghosts ⚔️ Blackbeard's Treasure

Chapter 10

We saw the future, or what we thought that it would be. But even dreams are mysteries. —Generdyn ft. Krigare-Destiny

"I don't know if there's a treasure, but I'm sure these bells are haunted." I look Roy square in the face. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"I don't believe in ghosts, but I believe the sea has a spirit. A female spirit."

"Close enough—we need to find Blackbeard's Treasure." Blair paces the room like a caged tigress.

Roy steps in front of her and she comes to a halt. "That's easier said than done. Despite popular opinion, pirates didn't leave maps lying around with an "x" marking the spot."

"Of course they didn't. Did I say, it would be easy?" She assesses his shop. "You have the necessary equipment. That's what matters." Roy glances at his crotch and then nods.

"I'm not a large salvage operation, but there's something I have that the other, more competitive, recovery enterprises don't." He clasps his stubbled chin between two fingers.

"Blair looks up from the deep sea diving suit she's examining. "What's that?"

Roy's focus turns inwards, as if he's making a private decision, then looks up. "I'll show you." He crosses the wooden floor and goes into a small office. Through the cluttered room's supervising window, we see him rooting through an old wooden file cabinet.

"We don't know what this spirit wants." I remind Blair. "Or what it is."

"Lizzie, something on the ghost walk frightened  you into going to the Pirate Republic where you were offered that loft. That spirit was guiding you."

"It wanted to kill me."

"If that was the case, you'd already be dead. A bell can signal death in a church, but in Wicca, when a bell rings, it indicates a change in the fabric of the universe. Used correctly, a ringing bell changes the energy of a space and vanquishes evil spirits." She holds up her finger. Each of her perfectly manicured black nails sport an intricate, lacy constellation. "Now I see that Bloody Mary never would have hurt you. The bell is a talisman. You were under a stronger spirit's protection and driven to the Pirate's Republic for a reason."

"Why don't we jump into in a barrel and joyride over Niagara Falls while we're at it? We're in way over our heads." Why is she always rushing into danger?

Roy returns, handling an ancient letter. The faded paper is falling apart at the seams. "I picked this up this overseas, just like your grandmother found those tocsins. "Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard wrote this letter in 1718. He was corresponding with a Caribbean woman, Trinika."

He carefully unfolds the torn, stained piece of parchment paper covered with round hand script. "According to this, Blackbeard, had a secondary 'treasure' which he called his 'real' treasure. Before he was hung, he said his stolen wealth lay in a location known only to him and the Devil."

Some of the individual letters are heavily underscored in a repeating pattern. "What about these?" I ask pointing to the uppercase letters appearing randomly throughout the letter. "They look like a pattern" Roy nods. "I don't understand why Blackbeard would reveal this information in a letter when it could be intercepted by his enemies."

"When he and his crew captured a ship full of fine madeira wine, they pulled into shore and went on a days-long bender. They caroused until all the alcohol was gone. I think these wild binges made him sentimental towards his family. Maybe he wrote the letter after one of these shore leaves.

"Was this woman his wife?"

"No. Blackbeard was already married to Mary Ormond. A young, but extremely powerful voodoo priestess. Some said her black magic was reason he was invincible. Her only offspring with Blackbeard was a child named Bethany."

He points to the faded writing. "But this letter refers to someone named, Delamar. That's a girl's name of French origin. He reads a passage from the letter. This name, meaning "of the sea," is perfect for our little sea goddess."

He picks up two of the six bells and points to their underside. "Here." The bells tinkle as he turns them over and holds them up to the sunlight. "When a child was born on a ship, their name was caved on the ship's bell." Del is carved on the inside of one of these bells and -mar inside the other. "I think this is the key to finding the treasure."