By Colin Alexander
“Perhaps the necromancer’s asleep?” asked One-Legged Val.
From a distance, the necromancer’s ship looked abandoned, dark except for the giant glowing diamond shining from the masthead like a full moon. The crew of Nevermore floated in deep water off the coast of Dogshead Isle, their lanterns doused and sails tied down, transfixed by that eerie light. The diamond’s radiance cut through the fog, illuminating the ship’s empty deck.
Khal the Black was already rubbing coal on his cheeks. Thad the Red was stretching.
Dennis was worrying.
“Do necromancers sleep?” asked Dennis.
One-Legged Val tapped his way forward. “Everyone sleeps.”
“How many necromancers have you known?”
“Enough to know they need sleep,” One-Legged Val said.
“Couldn’t he raise corpses from the bottom of the ocean?”
“We’re in the middle of a trench.” Thad tucked one arm under the other as he twisted. “It’d take them all day to surface.”
“Still,” said One-Legged Val, tightening the strap on his peg. “We should probably steal the diamond fast, to be sure.”
Khal grunted, his white teeth the only thing visible in the darkness of the Nevermore deck. “Might have abandoned ship.”
“Abandon a diamond the size of a globe?” asked Dennis.
Khal shrugged. “We’ve watched the ship for days without seeing nobody.”
“Could the diamond be cursed?” asked Dennis, picking the dreadlock at the nape of his neck.
“Could be,” said One-Legged Val, slapping Dennis on the back. “We’ll want to sell it fast, to be sure.”
“If the necromancer appears from below deck during the raid,” asked Dennis, “what do we do?”
“If it’s just him, you mean?” asked Khal.
Dennis nodded.
“Try not to get killed, I suppose. Don’t want to give him troops to work with.”
“If he’s alone, we can just conk him on the head and tie him up,” said One-Legged Val.
“Or kill him,” said Thad.
“Can’t kill him,” said Khal. “He’ll just rise again.”
One-Legged Val snorted. “Need another necromancer for that. Can’t just raise yourself once you’re dead.”
“How many necromancers did you say you’ve known?” asked Dennis.
“Enough,” said One-Legged Val, holstering his curved silver blade in its sheath.
Two-Legged Val climbed down from the crow’s nest. “Best be gettin’ into the away-boats,” he said. “We be within range soon.”
Nevermore’s crew rowed through the fog in three separate boats with only the glowing diamond to guide them. Had the necromancer suddenly appeared and shrouded the shining beacon, they’d all have been lost at sea.
As they approached, a cold wind blew. The fog thickened, swirling around the oars like smoke. The crew realized they’d reached the necromancer’s ship when the prow of Dennis’s away-boat thwacked into its hull at full speed.
“Dammit,” hissed Thad, freezing. “It’s a surprise raid. You don’t knock!”
Nothing stirred. Unable to see more than the bent and broken noses on their faces, the crew pawed at the hull of the necromancer’s ship, searching for a rope or chain.
“Feels like the whole thing is made of driftwood,” said Two-Legged Val. “One big patch job.”
“We’re not here for the ship,” said Khal. “We’re here for the diamond.”
Blindly, Khal hefted himself up the hull toward the gunports. The rough-hewn surfaces, likely unwieldy at speed in the open ocean, made for fine grips. The crew followed, quickly making their way up the sides of the ship.
Dennis was the last to make it over the railing and onto the deck. Once there, the fog lifted slightly. He was pleased to see no one about—nothing but yards of dark, gnarled surfaces, cast in shadows by the glowing diamond. Still, the air’s chill raised gooseflesh on his forearms, and his guts clenched like a fist.
He stared up at the diamond and pulled his dreadlock, thinking of the life his shares would buy. A home by the sea. A garden. A woman who’d look past his scars.
He took one step toward that life and fell.
On his way down he realized something on the pitted and craggy deck had tripped him. Splayed out, he felt the deck shift and sway.
A dark figure blotted out the light of the diamond.
Thad screamed as he pitched forward.
Dennis rose to his knees and saw the ocean remained calm. Rather, the necromancer’s ship had begun to move.
To unravel.
To come alive?
The three masts began to melt and crawl. The deck dissolved at the center, creating a dark pit.
Dennis heard a high-pitched echoing laugh envelop the ship. The shadow-wreathed necromancer walked toward the raised quarterdeck, exposing the diamond. It glowed like a lighthouse, illuminating the ship’s metamorphosis.
What had felt like driftwood in the thick fog revealed itself as femurs and ribs and mandibles. They were not white, like the bones of the desert, but green and black, the rot-soaked bones of the deep.
Dennis looked down at his leg and saw what had tripped him. It was not an uneven piece of wood, but the rotted black hand of a waterlogged sailor, clenched around his ankle. He followed the hand to the face, where empty eye sockets were animated by small pink crabs and the soft, reflective glow of the diamond.
Dennis struggled. They all did. But how could they resist the destiny of all sailors when that destiny rose up to meet them with open arms?
Raven’s crew surveyed the necromancer’s ship, enveloped in fog.
“Bigger than we were told,” said Booth.
“The diamond?” asked the first mate, Vlad the Pale.
“Diamond’s as advertised,” said Booth.
Vlad looked up from sharpening his spear.
“The ship.” Booth held out the spyglass to Vlad.
Vlad brought the necromancer’s ship to the center of the glass, its bulk a glowing shadow in the fog.
“What am I looking at?” asked Vlad.
“The masts. Told it was a three-fer.”
“I count four.”
Booth took back the glass. “No matter. We’re not in for a chase. Deck’s completely empty.”
“Perhaps the necromancer’s asleep?” asked Vlad.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
And so the trend continues. Great story! Loved One-legged Val and Two-legged Val!
Given a few more pages I might have introduced a three legged Val, so flash fiction has saved us from vulgarity. Thanks for reading!
stunning ending, creepy thru and thru! great story.
Thank you for reading!
Great story. Nice blend of humour and creepy
Thanks for reading! I’ve found myself described the same way.
Oh that was GOOD
Thanks!
Terrific. Loved the mixture of humor and darkness.
Loved your descriptions. Really helped set the mood. Great story!
I love the characters. I’m in awe that you were able to give us such a sense of their personalities with so few lines. They feel fully fleshed out. It’s truly masterful.
What an incredible compliment! Thanks, Ryan!
The fact that you introduced 8 unique characters in <1,000 words is astonishing. Not only that, but each of their lines felt like unique. Sometimes, when I read stories (even those written by very well established authors), the voices of the characters blend together and many lines could have been said by anyone.
But in your story; One-Legged Val, Dennis, Khal, and Thad all feel so different and yet they said very so little. Each of their lines is distinctly their own. I liked the reveal of their traits through beats, actions, and interactions.
Also, the story itself is very tight and controlled. The descriptions are great without being indulgent and the action hits fast. And, of course, the ending is fantastic, lol.
Ryan–
I’ll note that while some of this was present in the first version I sent to Havok, editors helped coax out more via suggestions to insert beats and actions, or to tighten dialogue. The collaborative process was a lot of fun, and I’m glad the fine tuning comes across in the finished product. Thanks again for reading!