D. Jackson - A Plunder of Souls

When Greenleaf didn’t respond, Ramsey nodded. “I thought as much. So after he shot Stip, I saw Pryce’s man go tumbling across the wharf, and then lie still. It was almost like God himself reached down and gave us the justice you won’t offer.”

The sheriff recoiled. “You dare claim it was God who killed him?”

“You dare to accuse me,” Ramsey said with a shrug. “Yet you have no more or less proof than I.”

Greenleaf rounded on Ethan. “You saw what happened! Say something!”

“Aye,” Ramsey said, drawing out the word. “Tell us what you saw, Kaille. And spare no detail.”

What could Ethan say? I saw precisely the same thing Ramsey saw, but I also felt the spell he cast to kill Nigel. He might as well have tied his own noose and handed the rope to Greenleaf.

He looked the sheriff in the eye. “As he said, two men died today. And from all I saw, Captain Ramsey and Sephira Pryce bear equal blame for both deaths. We need to get this ship and her crew away from Boston, or there will be more bloodshed. I’m certain of that.”

“That’s not good enough, damn it!” Greenleaf said, growling the words. He faced Ramsey again, his pistol aimed at the captain’s heart. “You’re under arrest, I say. I’ll sort out the details later. If nothing else, I’ll see you hanged for the murders of Deron Forrs and Isaac Keller.”

Ramsey’s laugh was dry and mirthless. Ethan reached for his blade.

“Don’t do it, Kaille,” the captain said, still staring at Greenleaf.

“Sheriff, you need to leave,” Ethan said. “Right now.”

“The hell I-”

“Sheriff, please.”

“I want him to stay,” Ramsey said.

Greenleaf looked from one of them to the other. “You are working together. Why else would he want me to leave while you stay?”

The captain laughed. “You really are a fool, aren’t you? You understand nothing. Kaille knows that I can kill both of you with a thought. He believes he’s safe because he has summoned the ghost of my father. He may be right. But you? I have nothing to fear from killing you.”

“Don’t do it, Ramsey!” Ethan said. “Let him go. If you kill him, every soldier in this city will come for you.” And if they kill you, the souls you control will be lost.

“I’m not afraid of the king’s men. I’m not afraid of any of you.” He eyed the ghost of his father. “My father’s spirit is the only thing keeping you alive right now. You betrayed me, Kaille. That wasn’t smart. And now one of my men is dead.”

“I had nothing to do with what happened here today. Ask the sheriff: Sephira and I despise each other. If she wasn’t trying to kill you, she’d probably be trying to kill me. We don’t work together.”

For several seconds, Ramsey held himself still. Ethan felt a pulse of power and saw the captain’s ancient spectral guide appear on the deck, faint and insubstantial in the sunlight.

The sheriff let out a sharp cry and jerked his hand back. His pistol fell to the deck and discharged, the report drawing the stares of Ramsey’s men. The shot hit the base of the rail near the ship’s prow, gouging the wood.

“I want you both off of my ship right now.”

“Ramsey-”

“Go, Kaille, before I do something more than burn the sheriff’s hand. I don’t want your help, and I don’t trust you. I’d kill you both now, but…” The captain eyed his father’s ghost and then Greenleaf. “Well, let’s just say that it would complicate matters.” He flashed a smile. “Besides, before the end, I want you to see how powerful I’ve grown.”

Before the end … Ethan suppressed a shudder at the threat in those words. Still, he held the man’s gaze before turning to Greenleaf.

“Come along, Sheriff. There’s nothing more to be done here.”

Greenleaf stared at the captain, but Ethan could see that his confidence had evaporated. He looked frightened as he bent to retrieve his pistol. He hesitated with his hand mere inches from the weapon, and finally snatched it up and shoved it back into his pocket.

Ethan led him to the gangplank, and they both left the ship.

“He used witchery against me!” Greenleaf said, as they reached the wharf once more. “He made my pistol … One moment it was normal, and the next it was too hot for me to hold.”

Ethan kept walking. Reg and the ghost watched him, expectant, their eyes glowing, but Ethan wasn’t yet ready to dismiss the one advantage he had over Ramsey.

“He didn’t do anything,” the sheriff said. “I thought he would have to wave his hands around in all manner, or speak some sort of magicking nonsense. But he did nothing. It just happened.”

Ethan thought it likely that Ramsey had drawn blood by biting the inside of his cheek, or perhaps he had used some of the mullein Ethan carried. But he didn’t respond.

“This is your fault, Kaille.”

He halted, turned. “My fault?”

Greenleaf and the regulars caught up with him.

“That’s right. You let him get away all those years ago. At the time you said yourself that you had made a mess of things, and you were right. Now he’s back and you need to clean up your mess.”

They had reached the street. Ethan halted and faced the sheriff, a denial on his tongue. But he clamped his mouth shut. As much as he hated to admit it, Greenleaf was right, even more than he knew. Six years ago, Ethan had failed to protect Forrs and Keller, and last night he had failed to rid the world of Nate Ramsey. This was his fault as much as anyone’s.

“All right,” he said. “That’s what I’ll do.”

Greenleaf looked surprised, but he recovered quickly and nodded. “Do what you have to. I know you’re a witch; I don’t give a damn. Not right now. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Aye.”

“Good. Tell me when he’s been dealt with.”

Greenleaf started away.

“What if I fail again?” Ethan called after him.

“I’ll find another of your kind to help me.” The sheriff looked back at him. “It sounds as though Miss Pryce might know someone.”

Right. Mariz wouldn’t be happy about that. If their new friendship survived this week, it would be nothing short of miraculous.

Then again, if Ethan himself survived, that would be something of a miracle in and of itself. He was at a loss as to how to combat Ramsey’s growing power, particularly when his own spells were so unreliable.

It occurred to him that as long as he considered this a battle between himself and Ramsey, he could not prevail. Ramsey had gathered a force of shades who were working on his behalf, albeit against their will. Ethan needed allies as well. A year before, Ethan pitted himself against what he thought was the most powerful conjurer he had ever encountered. In the end, it turned out to be two conjurers who had learned to cast as one and thus combine their might. What if he could do the same?

It seemed that every conjurer in the city was having trouble casting spells. But perhaps if several of them worked together they could be both stronger and more certain that their conjurings would work.

For the second time that day, Ethan walked to the Fat Spider, only dismissing Reg and Ramsey’s ghost when he reached the tavern.

“What are you doin’ back here?” Janna demanded as soon as he entered her tavern. “You can’t be out o’ mullein already.”

“No, I’m not. I need your help, Janna.”

“My help,” she repeated. “I thought we were through with you comin’ in here an’ asking me questions an’ offerin’ nothin’ in return.”

“I’m not here for information. I’m here to ask you if you’ll help me fight Nate Ramsey.”

She straightened, her face like stone. “I already told you I would. Do you know how to make our spells work?”