The Rise of the Sea Ghosts (from The Gelid Times Trilogy)

Chapter 11

To the East; Ghost Ship Lewis

As the Ghost Ship Lewis broke the surface of the Saltum Sea, Erebus coughed up the salty water, heaving and vomiting until his stomach felt as if it had been churned inside out. His crew struggled with the transition from the Underworld and some, he noticed, did not wait long enough before returning themselves to the depths of the sea.

Aerona, on the Ghost Ship Octavia, recovered more quickly than he had. Of course she had. Her superiority always edged ahead ever so slightly in everything they did, and, yet again, Erebus graciously acquiesced to her. Equal in title, unequal in practice.

He watched as she raised her hand in the air, quietening her crew...and his. His fulmar weighed even heavier, sea water dripping from its limp feathers and pooling at his feet. He waited while she spoke.

Aerona's voice cut through the air, 'Deception is the key to all successful wars, and we have the element of surprise on our side...' Their crews listened to the power of her words, watched her assured stance and, Erebus could see that on her word alone they were roused and ready to fight. She was a natural leader. And while Aerona whipped their two crews into a frenzy, Erebus reminded himself that winning the supreme battle would be without an actual fight but rather that battle that is won in the mind. As much as she irritated him, acting on his irritation too early would result in him revealing his true intentions. This, and this alone, would compromise his strategy.

So – he listened as she said, 'Now is our time. We come together...' reminding them that this was the day all Sea Ghosts had dreamed of. As her voice swelled so did the support of their crews as they shrieked and clapped for her. Erebus found, despite his face being frozen in a permanent state of being startled, it was hard to intercept the small twitch that occurred at the corner of his lips. This small slip could betray his plan to kill Aerona and take sole control of all the Sea Ghost ships. Erebus shifted his weight, pursed his lips to stop the twitch and encouraged his fulmar to sway slightly against his leg. Its weight was reassuring, and it reminded him to hold his tongue and wait for his moment.

The skilful leader would win the war because they would have waited for their enemy to be unprepared. Erebus would ensure that Aerona was unprepared for his attack. She had focused her full attention on her rousing pre-war speech, her voice carring clearly across the void between the two ships, 'Refuse to be defeated. I tell you – refuse to be defeated. As we sharpen our swords, we must sharpen our wits.' With this she was indeed right, Erebus thought taking the advice to heart. He would refuse to be defeated. He would sharpen his sword. He would sharpen his wits. He would rise above Aerona.

He watched as Aerona pointed across the sea towards the Kingdom and the crew's startled, excited response. It begins now, he thought, he knows his enemy as much as himself and there was no fear as to the outcome of their battle. He would reign victorious over Aerona with his power and authority unquestioned. However, while his permanent state of startlement was a distinct advantage, he could not control the shift in the shade of his skin now that he was above the sea nor the rising power that gave his eyes as sense of silent supremacy. In this moment, Aerona was almost omnipotent and he knew that in war you must never attack what is strong, but to wait until the enemy has weakened. And Aerona would weaken. He just needed to watch – watch and wait. It was with this thought, his face changed, almost imperceptivity, but not quite – his eyes revealed a glimmer and the side of his mouth curled ever so slightly upwards betraying a hint of a smirk. This expression did not last long as the remaining fleet of ghost ships broke the surface of the Saltum Sea behind them.

Erebus' crew cheered enveloping him in their celebrations of the rise of the Sea Ghosts.

As Erebus slipped away from his crew, their celebrating was too exuberant to notice that he had made a hasty exit descending the few steps to his captain quarters crouching through the small doorway shutting it behind him. Erebus lay on his bunk with his fulmar against his leg contemplating how the life of the living would be without the heavy dead bird tied to his waste. To be able to move fast – to leap – to run – to be free of weight that he dragged around and around was, for the longest time, nothing more than a dream. But now – the reality was so close he could almost taste it and with this freedom – power. The thoughts were so overwhelming that Erebus caught his breath and sat up knocking the fulmar off the bunk. It pulled on the rope and cut into his waist.

'Arrrh – damn bird,' he muttered as he pulled it back onto his bunk and rubbed his hip where the rope dug into his flesh.

Erebus laid back on his bunk and closed his eyes. He imagined the Tree of Lux Brumalis. He imagined reaching before Aerona. He imagined circling the tree and retrieving as many gemstones as he could possibly carry. And finally, he imagined returning from the other side, removing his axe, and cutting down the Tree of Lux Brumalis into logs of firewood where the silver glistening was nothing more than the burning of ash.

From there, his imagination soared where nothing was impossible: the curse lifted; Aerona destroyed and the Kingdom his to rule. He played the long game, and he knew that he must not relent to impatience now – not now that he was so close. With his ambition growing by the minute, Erebus began to imagine ruling the Kingdom with all the Sea Ghosts as his army and the people of the Kingdom, his servants. The thoughts came fast and fanciful and Erebus fell into a dream like trance where he created a prophesy of his own uncompromising success.

The door to his captain's quarters rattled jarring him out of his fantasies.

'Come!' Erebus shouted sternly as he sat up.