The moment Queen Anne’s Revenge reached Barbados, everyone paid attention.

  How could they not? A Pirate King showing up at your doorstep was seldom seen.

  Especially of Blackbeard’s caliber.

  Normally, Teach would’ve passed numerous checkpoints, perhaps even fought some of the guards if the need arose.

  But his trusty ship made that a thing of the past.

  “Are you sure coming alone is wise?” his first mate said, tone too calm for the subject matter.

  “Don’t fret, Arthur,” Blackbeard assured him. “Hendrik wouldn’t have ruled for as long as he did had he been unreasonable.”

  In truth, most pirates would’ve never dared to talk to Blackbeard so informally.

  But Arthur was far from most.

  The pair had been through thick and thin. The man even saw Teach at his lowest. And that earned him enough respect.

  Evidently, it didn’t take long for Hendrik’s men to approach.

  “Good evening, King Teach,” the head of the Republican Guard said. “Could you kindly inform us of the purpose of your visit?”

  And that’s how most speak to me.

  “Pardon the lack of ceremony,” Blackbeard replied. “But I seek an audience with your president.”

  “Pardon my curiosity,” the guard said nervously. “But what would warrant such an occasion?”

  Teach replied by jumping off his ship, followed by Arthur. Such a fall should’ve hurt, but Fragments existed for a reason. “The tides are changing, and I figured you’d want to be on the side that floats.”

  To his credit, the head of the guards simply nodded. “I see. Well, please follow us.”

  Protocol. Always protocol.

  Was he not able to raze their island to the ground? Was he not able to undermine both law and man?

  Still, Blackbeard complied for the sake of simplicity.

  As the procession walked to the presidential palace, Teach couldn’t help but admire how vibrant the Free City of Barbados was. It even put Havana to shame.

  Not to mention London.

  “I would’ve never left my hometown if it were this lively,” Arthur said, seemingly reading his thoughts.

  “Nonsense,” Blackbeard replied with a scoff. “You’d combust if you didn’t sail for a week.”

  Arthur, in turn, smiled. “You know me too well, Captain.”

  “Of course I do. You wouldn’t be my first mate otherwise.”

  As the group entered the bowels of the city, Teach noticed the eyes on him.

  Some admiring, most weary.

  And some glared daggers.

  It was to be expected, however. He was the infamous Blackbeard. The most wanted man in the world. The tyrant terrorizing young and old.

  And he casually set foot in their city.

  As much as Teach sought thrill, the pedestrians simply went ahead with their business. Something that was undoubtedly ingrained in them from a young age.

  “You’d think we killed their whole bloodline,” Arthur said with a chuckle.

  “We probably did, Arthur. We probably did.”

  Truth be told, the Pirate King lost count of the corpses he made on his way to his throne. But it didn’t matter, not when keeping said throne was proving more troublesome.

  Mercifully, the Presidential Guard reached the palace at long last, sparing Teach the trouble of further Ozymandian poetry.

  “Right this way, Your Highness,” the head of the guards said as they ascended the stairs.

  The way such a title left his mouth wasn’t lost on Blackbeard. The man might have feigned reverence. But all who knew such types knew that contempt ran in their blood.

  Especially for so-called pirates.

  Oh, but of course. We all need a villain in our story.

  Was Blackbeard any different from the king of England? Was he any less brutal than the king of Iberia? The distinction was nonsense. Such parasites only had legitimacy because their subjects wished so.

  And because they protected the civilized world from his violence.

  Serves me right for rejecting Morgan LeFay’s offer.

  As the guards ushered Teach and his first mate inside, the audience hall grew quiet.

  Servants scurried around, with some even freezing on the spot.

  None spoke.

  The silence was brief, however, as Hendrik swiftly entered the picture.

  “Teach!” the president shouted in unnecessary enthusiasm. “Good to know you haven’t kicked the bucket yet.”

  Such banter visibly made his subjects uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to care.

  “Almost did, if we’re being honest,” Teach replied flatly.

  Hendrik, in turn, gave a hearty laugh. “Didn’t expect our dear Pirate Emperor to be so competent.”

  “I’m sure you know the intricacies better than most,” Teach replied. “Not much escapes your network, after all.”

  The tension must’ve proven suffocating, as all but Teach, Arthur, and Hendrik left the room. In hindsight, the guards abandoning their president were careless. But the Saint could protect himself just fine.

  Teach’s words appeared to stir something in the president, as his mood instantly turned somber. “What happened to you and Every was indeed peculiar. How come?”

  “Blast me to bits if I know,” Teach replied with a shrug. “The lad turned to a kraken.”

  “A kraken?”

  “If the massive tentacles were any indication, yes.”

  Teach’s response gave Hendrik pause momentarily, before he sat on his presidential “throne.”

  “Not even a Saint of Metamorphosis could do such a thing,” the president said at last.

  “Hence why I came to you,” Teach explained. “Such a threat shouldn’t be allowed to continue existing.”

  Regrettably, Hendrik appeared to recoil slightly. “What would be in it for me and my city?”

  Blackbeard didn’t expect such shortsightedness from the president, but he afforded him the benefit of the doubt. “Hendrik, the man is expanding. Florida became his not long ago.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Hendrik replied as he paced. “I also heard that he attacked one of your bases.”

  You’re starting to see it.

  “Considering what I went through, what makes you think you won’t be next?” Teach asked, perhaps boldly.

  Thankfully, the Saint took no offense. “Me and Every aren’t so different, however. So what makes you think my involvement would alter the outcome?”

  “Three Saints are better than two,” Teach answered. “And that’s assuming it’s only the three of us.”

  The president scoffed at that. “You don’t genuinely expect Morgan LeFay to intervene, do you?”

  “Not far-fetched,” Blackbeard replied. “Our dear Pirate Emperor did display certain traits that the Apostolic See deems heresy of the highest order.”

  The Pirate King’s words gave Hendrik pause once more. “Imagination, I take it?”

  “Imagination,” Teach confirmed solemnly.

  “Should I even be privy to this?” Arthur whispered.

  “Relax,” Teach reassured the first mate. “You’re a part of my inner circle, are you not?”

  “You are indeed raising a good point, Edward,” Hendrik interrupted. “But I have to think about it further, if that’s fine by you.”

  “Take your time,” Teach shrugged. “Not like that buffoon is going to appear in a few hours.”

  “Considering what he was bestowed, that wouldn’t be an impossibility,” Hendrik remarked.

  “Then I’d rather die fighting than kneel,” Teach replied with a grin.

  ***

  Teach half expected the president of Barbados to spend days weighing his options.

  Yet he got an audience less than a day after the proposition.

  “Didn’t expect you to make up your mind so soon,” Teach said in genuine amazement.

  “Well. I didn’t expect the situation to be so dire, either,” Hendrik replied in contemplation.

  In truth, it was even more dire, but that was a correction for another day.

  “You’re right, Edward,” the president added. “Such a threat shouldn’t be allowed to fester.”

  Teach understood Hendrik’s line of thought, but he still preferred a direct explanation. “Elaborate.”

  “This is the first time we have witnessed a Saint of Dominion operating in broad daylight,” Hendrik explained. “Do you really think the Apostolic See would let it go?”

  Surprisingly, Teach didn’t account for such an angle. “Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”

  “Indeed,” the president said with an uneasy nod. “An artifact bearing Imagination would bring an end to everything we stand for.”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “What makes you think he reached such a rank organically?” Teach asked. “It could simply be the work of that… thing.”

  The Pirate King naturally avoided mentioning the creature’s name, lest he sought retribution.

  “Do you want to make a bet?” Hendrik replied calmly.

  “Fair enough,” Teach said with a deep sigh. “We’d better get to him before LeFay does.”

  “Or worse.”

  That gave Teach pause. “What do you mean?”

  “There appear to be rumors of a Saint of Dominion acting incognito.”

  “We both know what rumor means in this context,” Teach said, unease creeping in.

  “Far too well,” Hendrik confirmed. “Someone has already reached such a status. We just don’t know who they are and what they stand for.”

  If the so-called Pirate Emperor’s behavior was anything to go by, said Saint was certainly a benevolent force.

  “Let’s just hope they will join our cause,” Teach said at last.

  The president raised a brow at those words. “I doubt a Saint of Dominion would be fond of the existence of another.”

  With the second alliance out of the way, Teach moved to what was next. With the inclusion of Hendrik, the coalition’s odds definitely rose. Yet it still left much to be desired.

  The target was, after all, an alleged Dominion Saint, making a direct confrontation an unpredictable affair.

  LeFay aside, this only leaves Jean-David and Bartholomew.

  The pair were naturally far inferior to Blackbeard and Every, but every Saint counted when facing… whatever that was.

  “Say,” Teach said abruptly. “Which Warlords do you think could make a difference?”

  “Hard to say,” the president replied in thought. “Henry Morgan and Anne Bonny sound promising enough. But I doubt they would do much against the main target.”

  “It matters not,” Teach said. “The fraud would most definitely have subordinates that need taking care of.”

  Hendrik’s horizons appeared to widen in that instant. “El Draque and William Kidd might have quite the impact then.”

  The prospect of the entire pirate world attacking the supposed Emperor at once was an amusing one, but Teach doubted it would go anywhere.

  “I should probably attempt to recruit the Royal Navy as well,” Teach added absent-mindedly.

  “Assuming you fancy sharing the cake with the King of England, yeah,” Hendrik said with a shrug.

  The atmosphere quickly turned introspective, at least before the ruler of Barbados spoke once more. “Say. What do you think about a sparring session?”

  “A sparring session?” Blackbeard replied flatly.

  “Yeah,” Hendrik doubled down. “It would announce our cooperation to half the Atlantic.”

  The idea sounded wrong on so many levels. Then again, gaining the good graces of a Saint was never a bad idea.

  “By all means.”

  The moment Blackbeard agreed, Hendrik jumped off a window.

  Actually jumped.

  Blackbeard then quickly remembered that the president of the island had Levitation.

  And so did he.

  Blackbeard followed, hoping that the Saint of Untether would hold back in the beginning.

  No such luck.

  The moment the two reached a sufficient altitude, Hendrik transformed into an enormous dragon. The appearance wasn’t different from that of Every, save for the golden scales.

  “Someone is too eager,” Teach shouted with a delighted smile, before reaching for his Ruin artifact.

  Hendrik didn’t stand on ceremony, as he breathed a column of flames a moment later. The attack was futile, however, as Teach instantly erased it using Plunder.

  Unsurprisingly, Hendrik had more up his sleeve.

  Far more.

  But to Blackbeard, that was half the fun.

  The moment Hendrik’s flames vanished, he unleashed a lightning strike.

  This time, the attack was far too fast for Plunder, leading Blackbeard to counter with Fragmentation.

  Despite Hendrik’s lightning being that of a Saint, it was no match for an actual saintly miracle, leading it to dissipate.

  The Stanza didn’t stop, however.

  Seconds after the lightning vanished, Fragmentation rushed straight towards Hendrik’s dragon form, hitting the Saint square in the chest.

  The damage was minimal, though, as the Shanty of Untether offered the president ridiculous endurance.

  And that’s assuming he’s not using Rejuvenation on top of it.

  “Not bad, Blackbeard,” Hendrik said, voice booming louder than thunder. “Seems like your new artifact is no joke.”

  Blackbeard acknowledged the praise silently before releasing a lightning storm of his own.

  This time, the attack appeared to have an effect, as each volt made the Saint flinch ever so slightly.

  Eventually, the onslaught became too much to bear, leading him to fly away.

  Had Teach been using a Fragment, he would’ve worried about his Levitation failing him at any moment. But his Venerable-grade artifact was far better than that. And so he followed.

  The moment Blackbeard got close enough, Hendrik swung his gigantic tail. The attack wasn’t the fastest, but since the distance between the two was negligible, it struck Teach in an instant.

  The swing sent the Pirate King flying for a dozen meters, but the mixture of Rejuvenation and his Untether artifact rendered the hit survivable.

  I would’ve probably died if it weren’t for my artifact.

  Blackbeard was known by many as the paranoid kind, but in that instance, he never felt more proud of his caution.

  “Sturdier than I thought,” Hendrik shouted.

  “I wouldn’t be a Pirate King otherwise,” Teach replied, before sending a wave of Disintegration in Hendrik’s way.

  The Saint’s insufferable endurance helped him completely ignore the attack, as he flew towards Blackbeard with a speed unbefitting of his size.

  Which was the point.

  The moment the two were close to collision, Blackbeard activated Traversal, allowing him to access the spirit world.

  Most would’ve marveled at the tapestry of colors, but he saw the realm a hundred times, leading him to focus on Hendrik instead.

  On that side, the dragon was nowhere to be seen, helping Teach immensely as he unleashed a lightning barrage at his target.

  This time, Hendrik felt it.

  The Saint’s dragon form instantly disappeared as he plummeted down, with Teach following closely behind.

  Hendrik’s unconsciousness was short-lived, however, causing Blackbeard to quickly retreat.

  Hendrik closed the distance in a flash, before punching Blackbeard in the stomach.

  The impact sent the Pirate King’s insides flying instantly, leading him to widen the distance once more as he healed.

  Had it not been a spar, the president would’ve aimed for the head, and they both knew it.

  Teach half expected his opponent to wait for him to finish healing. But Hendrik offered no such luxury.

  What he offered instead was a charge faster than the eye could track.

  This time, however, Blackbeard was prepared.

  The moment Hendrik came within range, the Pirate King unleashed a column of flames using his Dominion artifact, scorching the president in the process.

  The damage posed no hurdle to the Saint, though, as his charge remained uninterrupted.

  Left with no other choice, Teach deactivated Levitation, causing him to free-fall.

  The Pirate King fell faster than Hendrik could keep up, yet the nuisance still found a way to strike him using his lightning.

  The hit forced Blackbeard to activate Levitation again, before evading the rest of the onslaught horizontally.

  The escape created quite a distance between the two, making most of Teach’s attacks insufficient. A third saintly miracle would’ve probably sufficed, but their ripples must’ve already reached Ireland.

  Sadly, his opponent didn’t appear to care much for the sentiment.

  Something that he made clear by turning into a golden dragon once more.

  The transformation appeared to serve a strategic purpose, however, as it swiftly closed the gap between the two.

  Blackbeard twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding Hendrik’s clawed swipe.

  Predictably, the attack was far from the only one.

  Hendrik unleashed another of his infernal blasts.

  Teach barely had time to counter it with his own flames before a lightning storm descended upon him.

  Does this guy not get tired?

  Saints of Untether were truly a different breed.

  Especially when wielding complementary artifacts.

  Blast it. This isn’t worth the effort.

  “I think it’s about time to stop,” Blackbeard shouted, distance still maintained.

  “Huh?” Hendrik replied. “Things just got interesting!”

  “I think we unleashed enough ripples for today,” Blackbeard explained, which seemed to resonate with the president.

  “Fair enough. We wouldn’t want Morgan LeFay to appear in my office, after all,” Hendrik said with a laugh.

  In truth, the fight was never about proving who was stronger, seeing how a fight to the death would’ve entailed different tactics.

  No. The objective was to send a message.

  And they achieved it perfectly.

  “Say,” Hendrik shouted from beside Teach as they descended to the palace. “What did you make of my skills?”

  “Oh, you’d be one nasty adversary if it were a serious fight,” Teach admitted.

  Hendrik laughed at that. “I’ll take it as a compliment.”

  The implication hit not long after, however. “You mean to tell me such prowess was directed at the New York fraud and you still lost?”

  “Precisely,” Teach replied. “Hence why I’m attempting to form a coalition.”

  “Yeah,” the president said, unease drawn across his face. “Him breaking the balance of power is an understatement.”

  Such words might have sounded puzzling to the untrained ear. But Blackbeard knew what it meant far too well.

  Saints weren’t the ones upholding order. Institutions did.

  Until now.

  Moments later, the two reached a window. Teach wasn’t sure if it was the one they used to leave, and it didn’t matter.

  What waited for them inside did, however.

  “Gentlemen!” a gigantic spider said as they entered the room. “Quite the spar you had.”

  What?

  “It was quite the show, honestly,” the arachnid added while approaching the two. “It makes one itch for the thrill of battle.”

  For the first time since they met, Hendrik looked terrified. “What are you doing here?”

  The spider, in turn, laughed.

  An ugly, ear-deafening laugh.

  “Said the Saint who flaunted his ripples like a lighthouse,” the figure said, now meters away from the two.

  Teach was far from the most knowledgeable about the Shanty of Metamorphosis, but he figured that the amount of webs the creature created was rather unnecessary.

  Unless it was for show.

  “Mind introducing your friend over here, Hendrik?” Teach said, curious to know who would make the president react in such a manner.

  “And here I thought you had a sophisticated intel network, Teach,” the arachnid said, eying him with her six asymmetrical orbs. “Perhaps I overestimated you.”

  Her answer made him indignant. “Who are you to speak to me in such a manner?”

  “Edward,” Hendrik cut off, unease filling his voice. “You’re speaking to Saint Morgan LeFay.”

  Oh.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Teach said, voice as uneasy as he felt.

  The world might have called her a “Saint”. But she was to an actual Saint what they were to someone who never used a Stanza.

  Utterly irrelevant.

  And she knew it.

  “That’s more like it,” Saint Morgan LeFay said with her unnatural voice. “Besides, you threw quite the fit. I’d be living under a rock if I didn’t notice.”

  The fact that the abomination spoke so casually only added to Blackbeard’s unease. One would’ve expected a relic from the past to be rather formal.

  Yet there she was, using a diction akin to that of a sailor.

  “Is there anything we can help you with?” Hendrik asked meekly, undoubtedly dreading the prospect of offending her.

  “Multiple, as a matter of fact,” Saint Morgan replied with a horrendous chuckle.

  “We’re all ears,” Teach said defiantly.

  “Edward!” Hendrik hissed. “Show some respect.”

  Why should he? He was under the English Crown, not the Iberians. LeFay had no power over him.

  And even if she did, the English certainly wouldn’t let it slide.

  Or at least, that was the hope.

  “I’m here to guarantee neutrality in the upcoming conflict,” LeFay began explaining. “For a price.”

  Morgan LeFay making a deal? We’re in for a treat.

  “What is it?” Teach asked, still petulant. He was not going to kneel to her.

  “Your Ruin artifact,” LeFay replied while fixing her eyes on him.

  “Pardon?” Teach said, her words catching him by surprise.

  “I don’t have a habit of repeating myself, Edward.”

  What else did Teach expect? Did he genuinely expect that his heist was going to go unnoticed forever? He stole from the Apostolic See, for heaven’s sake. They were going to collect eventually.

  Yet, that didn’t stop it from being abrupt.

  “May I offer an alternative?” Teach replied, hoping the Matriarch would covet something else.

  “The only alternative is joining your little war, but I suspect that would be… disagreeable.”

  Blast it.

  Teach half thought about fighting her for the artifact. But that would’ve been a death wish. If his intel was to be trusted, the woman had at least half a dozen Saint-grade artifacts in her possession. Making her a walking calamity.

  A walking calamity staring him in the eye.

  He then looked at the president, hoping for a semblance of support at least. There was none to be found.

  To his credit, Hendrik appeared calm considering the situation. But it was still a low bar for a Saint of Untether.

  “Have it your way,” Teach said, lamenting the concession.

  “Excellent. I knew you had enough sense in you,” LeFay replied, voice as inhuman as ever.

  Teach in turn summoned the blade, then threw it next to where she stood. Filling the room with echoes.

  He hoped the woman would take offense at the gesture. Instead, she made it vanish without a word.

  She has Plunder too?

  “Word of advice, Edward,” LeFay said as she moved farther away. “Don’t antagonize my See again, lest you find yourself in a newspaper.”

  Every muscle in Teach’s body urged him to react to the taunt. But he knew better.

  She wanted it. Making refraining the better act of defiance.

  And just like that, months of planning and manipulation faded into thin air.

  Yet, somehow, it was the best thing Teach could’ve hoped for.

  Looks like I need a new weapon.

  Teach expected the abomination to go on her way now that she acquired her prize.

  Yet, she lingered.

  In silence.

  Not many things were unnerving to the Pirate King. But being in the presence of the leader of the Apostolic See in total silence? That was certainly one of them.

  “Say,” LeFay said at last, turning her attention to the two of them once more. “Care for a spar?”

  Is she mocking us?

  “I believe that wouldn’t be necessary, Your Eminence,” Hendrik replied, undoubtedly dreading the prospect.

  “I second that,” Teach said.

  He couldn’t for the life of him understand the purpose behind such a proposal, but he knew how the battle would go.

  “Very well,” LeFay said, before she vanished.

  “Of course, she has the Stanza of Teleportation as well,” Hendrik said, seemingly more relaxed.

  “I mean, how else would she get here?” Teach retorted.

  “What I don’t understand is why she would use a saintly miracle,” the president said as he walked to his seat.

  “Perhaps our own miracles gave her enough cover to use hers,” Teach replied in thought. “Assuming she even cares about the consequences.”

  Hendrik sighed deeply. “I suppose that entails that nowhere is safe.”

  Assuming she knows the place, that is.

  Although knowing the Matriarch, she must have already found a solution to that as well.