Ghosts ⚔️ Blackbeard's Treasure

Chapter 28

I see the apparition, but I'm looking at Jack's body lying still on the floor. "Is he dead?" The smell of roses grow stronger as if to answer my question.

Blair points to Blackbeard's daughter. "He's dead. Delamar wouldn't be free to appear if he hadn't left this earth." She makes a protective gesture in front of her face to ward off evil.

"How do we end the curse?"

"You don't end it until the spirits understand what happened. Then they can pass through to the other side."

I sigh with relief, focusing on Delamar. The young ghost is beautiful. She has dancing brown eyes with flecks of green and deep dimples in her heart-shaped face. Her honey skin is accented by the rose colored dress, the satin as fresh and crisp as the day she donned it. She's not wearing a hint of jewels, just an elegant pearl necklace around her swan-like neck. "Were you trapped here by the curse?" She points to the bell as if she is trying to communicate something. "Blackbeard's been waiting for you all this time. You were his treasure." She sits down and starts weeping. This time with joy. "If we can see you, does this mean you're free to leave?" She smiles and then nods. I feel a lump in my throat." I think your father's been waiting for you over three hundred years." She laughs, her mocha-green eyes dancing. Her voice is like tinkling bells.

The lovely floral scent starts to fade and Delamar grows more ethereal. Her fairy-like form fades until only a faint glow is left illuminating the bell. I painfully stand up as Dylan and Roland squeeze into the cavern and rush to our sides. Their flashlights sweep the cavern until they land on Jack's bleeding form and the gun lying by his hand. Dylan sweeps me into his arms as if I'm his treasure. "Lizzie, what happened?"

"Jack tried to kill us." I lay my head on his shoulder. "He killed Nathan. They were working together to locate Blackbeard's treasure, but they must have had an argument when they couldn't find it."

Blair looks at the body and shakes her head. 'What a waste. He was such a good looking man. We have to call the police."

Roland looks at the deceased man and his lip curls. "So there's no treasure? He killed that young man for nothing?"

Before I can answer, Blair stiffens, her eyes dilating until they're solid black. Alarmed, Paco jumps back and lifts his crucifix from between his shirt collar. "Miss Blair! Mon Dios." Dylan, Roland, Paco and I all cringe against the wall in front of my possessed best friend.

Horrified, I remember what Blair told me. Mary Ormond's voodoo transcends the fabric of space and time. She has possessed Blair. I ring the bells to ward off her spirit, but she laughs at my feeble gesture. "Have no fear, little one. I mean you no harm. I only come to thank you." Her voice is a rich, hypnotic contralto. Her smile as charismatic as a panther as she flashes white teeth in the dark. She moves like a large marionette as Blair navigates towards the church bell. Bending over like a puppet on a string, she clasps the flashlight near Jack's body. The beam swings wildly until it lands on the two inch scar left by the bullet. "As above, so below." The gash in the bell's side reveals the relic is made of solid gold. I cover my ears as her laughter fills the cavern and resonates with the large bell's deafening rings.