The Eighth Sea

Chapter 3

Levi

The sound of exploding cannons reverberated around Levi's office. He could feel the crack of cannonballs hitting rock reverberating in his chest. Shouting could be heard in the distance, but Levi knew he could do nothing about it. Instead, with the help of Uncle Tobias and a few other ghosts, he gathered his most important possessions and stowed them safely away in the chest under his bed. Perhaps it wasn't the most heroic of moves, but he'd be damned if his prized first-edition copy of the Book of Legends got trampled by some idiots attacking the city.

As he puttered around his room, desperately trying to save his belongings, a loud knock sounded out as someone pounded on his door.

"I'm a little busy here!" he snapped, hitting his head on the swinging chandelier as the whole palace seemed to sway with every resounding explosion. Glaring at Uncle Tobias, who was laughing at Levi's expense as he massaged his sore head, he replied, "Come back later!"

"Her Majesty, Queen Aria, demands your presence!"

"Right now?" Levi groaned at the queen's terrible timing. "Doesn't she have more important things to do? Like, maybe commanding her troops to save the city?"

"Shall I tell her that you refuse to see her?"

"Gods, no!" The last thing Levi needed was an angry queen sending her guards to drag him out of his room. "I'll be there in just a moment!"

Tossing a few last items safely under his bed, he rushed to answer the queen's summons.

"I'll stay here and keep your books safe for you," Uncle Tobias promised as he led Levi to the door where the messenger was waiting.

Levi followed the sound of the messenger's footsteps as he was led to the throne room, his own steps echoing off the wooden floors. He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread with every step he took. Soon, he heard the sound of creaking wood transform into a gentle click-clack of his boots hitting the marble tiles.

The queen was standing by her throne as usual, but it seemed as though she was not alone. Levi could hear her pacing back and forth, and could practically hear the agitation in her tone.

"Levi," she said, her voice barely masking her irritation. "Tell me why this man claims that you have stolen his belongings and—"

"—Treasure," The queen was rudely interrupted by some man with a familiar voice; one which Levi could have sworn he'd heard before. "Don't make it seem like he stole a sock."

Out of habit, Levi turned to face the direction from which the voice was coming from and found himself staring face-to-face with some hazy apparition.

"What the hell?" he murmured under his breath, squinting to try to see it better. All of the ghosts he had ever seen before were clear-cut and distinct; this new spectre was different.

"Is this the man who stole your... treasure?" Queen Aria asked, as though it pained her to say.

"I don't know, I've never seen him before," the ghostly man retorted. "I'm just going off of a name and description that one of my skeletons told me about."

"Your skeletons? Plural?" Levi was still gaping, which probably looked really bad in front of the queen. "Don't most people only have one?"

"Well?" Queen Aria sounded terribly impatient. "What do you have to say for yourself, Levi?"

"I don't even know exactly what you're asking," Levi was struggling to stay on topic by now.

"Yeah! You're blind, right?" the blurry ghost asked, to which Levi could only nod in reply. "See! This is what I'm talking about! You've been cursed."

"I want to hear from Levi," Queen Aria snapped. "Be quiet, pirate. Let him talk."

"Yes, I'm blind. Everyone knows that. What of it?" Levi returned.

"That's not all. You're blind, and?" the pirate pressed.

"And nothing!" Levi shouted, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Look, I can't see. That's all there is to it. Now, would you stop with this nonsense?"

"Really? Then how would you know how to do this?" Before he could react, the pirate lunged at him with his sword, and Levi had no choice but to duck, or else he would have had his head cut off. Levi could hear the guards clamouring to restrain the man before the only sound in the throne room was his own heavy breathing.

"I'm just blind, you numbskull! I can still hear your footsteps and your breathing, you know," Levi snapped, desperately trying to cover for himself while pretending his heart wasn't hammering out of his chest.

"Would you kindly try not to kill my scribe?" Queen Aria somehow sounded both irate and exhausted at the same time. "As difficult as he may be, I do still need my letters written."

"Yeah, fine, fine, just let me go," the ghost said, struggling against the grasp of the soldiers.

"Release him," the queen commanded.

"So you're really just blind? No visions, no ghost-seeing? No nightmares of a cursed cave?"

"Nope, not at all," Levi lied. "You know, these are some really weirdly specific questions. Are you experiencing any paranormal events? Maybe you should see an exorcist or a priest."

"Right. And I can see the sweat on your brow, the trembling of your hand," the pirate laughed.

"The city is under attack! Isn't it normal to be terrified? I can still feel the palace shaking from the cannons out there!"

"Oh, would you two just please stop your bickering?" Queen Aria demanded. "Levi, am I correct in assuming you know nothing about this pirate or his treasure?"

"Yes, your majesty," Levi returned. "I have never met this man in my life, and I have no idea what treasure he's talking about."

"There you have it, Captain Fields. Go look elsewhere for your thief and leave my kingdom out of it."

"You actually believe that liar?" Captain Fields sounded incredulous. "I am most familiar with this curse. Don't you remember what I told you earlier? I was the one who put the curse on the treasure. Of course I know what it does, and which person is affected by it. This is the thief, no doubt about it!"

So this was the man who had left him with a lifelong curse. This was the man who killed all of his friends who had adventured with him. He was the reason that Levi could no longer have a normal job, or live without fear of someone discovering his ghosts. Levi was standing barely four strides away from the man who had cursed him all those years ago. His heart was filled with a rage that had been buried so deep for so long that he had forgotten its existence. How could this man before him, this pirate, this sorcerer, live a life so carefree and laid back? It wasn't fair. As he glared at the pirate, who stared right back, Queen Aria's patience came to an end.

"Guards! Take this pirate to the prisons. He will be publicly executed tomorrow morning," Queen Aria commanded.

A chorus of "Yes, m'lady" could be heard through, quickly followed by the guards' heavy footsteps and the obnoxious scuffing of the pirate's boots on the nice quartz floors. Levi pitied the cleaners who would have to rub off the marks later.

"Levi, we have much to discuss, but I will speak with you later." Queen Aria waved Levi off dismissively, and he bowed respectfully before darting out the door as quickly as he could.

Levi rushed back in the direction of his room, heart pounding and breaths coming out in short bursts. He nearly ran into two servants discussing something about the queen's anger toward the lack of radishes and hung his head in shame, remembering how it had been his responsibility to write to the head chef, asking him to keep the radishes well-stocked. Not that it would have done anything; there was a general crop shortage across the kingdom. Really, it seemed like everything was falling apart.