“None of these scans from the Scrolls of the Dead mention a way to control spiritual energy. I’m missing something.”
Department 13 maintained the largest library of rare books and scrolls documenting all aspects and mythologies of paranormal phenomenon in the world. The Scrolls of the Dead not only discussed necromancy, but also provided the most detailed description of spells to accomplish the task. If there was a way to control the spirits of the dead, it should’ve been here.
David stared out the window at the sunset coloring the sky. “My gut says this isn’t a spell. If this coven is still recruiting, then they haven’t completed their sacred circle yet. If they can already control the spirits, it’s got to be through using a relic or a charmed object of some kind. They wouldn’t have enough power to generate a strong enough spell without a complete circle.”
“Devil’s advocate,” Kingsley countered with one of his old standbys. “They could be lying in order to gain recruits.”
“No.” David waved off the suggestion. “Heather saw the spirit of a boy who died before Oatland Island was ever inhabited. He wasn’t a local haunt tied to the location, and he told her the witches pulled him from the sea.”
Kingsley cleared his throat. “If that were true, how could a coven of witches steal his spirit from Davy Jones? The legendary keeper of souls lost at sea wouldn’t give one up without a fight.”
There were countless nautical tales of Davy Jones from the days when sea monsters and sirens haunted the dreams of superstitious sailors. But working for Department 13 had taught David that lurking behind every myth was often an unexplainable reality.
“You gave me an idea. Send me all the documentation we have on sightings of the Flying Dutchman.”
“Beyond the Jack Sparrow movies?”
David rolled his eyes. “I’m serious, King. Get me the information.”
He ended the call and reached for his coat. If he hurried, he might be able to make it to the maritime museum before they closed.
In the basement of the Ships of the Seas Maritime Museum, David found Dr. Charlotte Sinclair. As usual, she was the last to leave. “Dr. Sinclair?”
Her head snapped up from her paperwork, her expression changing from surprise to…annoyance. “Agent Bale. I thought you were finished with us.”
Charlotte narrowed her dark eyes as she removed her reading glasses. Her long black hair was tied back, neat and tidy like her gray business suit. No one would imagine this historian was also a new member of the Sea Dog pirate crew. Kingsley’s daughter was full of surprises.
David stepped into her office and took the chair across from her desk. “I’m not here for the crew. I think my friend Heather might be in danger. I’m looking for information about Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman. Perhaps the maritime museum has something that might help?”
“Wow. So Davy Jones is…real?” She got up, speaking as she left her office. “We do have an antique book.”
When she returned, she handed David a worn, water-stained book of sea tales. “I think there are some stories about the Flying Dutchman in this book. I’ve got some scans of captains’ journals, too. I can skim those and see if I find anything.”
“Thank you,” David mumbled, already exploring the text on his lap.
“You know,” she mused as she sat behind her desk again. “We both happen to know a pirate captain from the 1700s.” She paused for a second. “I could call Ian Flynn. He’s still the Captain of the Sea Dog crew even though they don’t all see eye-to-eye. Maybe he remembers some legends about relics that might control ghosts.”
“No.” David didn’t lift his head from the text. “The Sea Dog crew has screwed with me for the last time.”
“Excuse me.” Dr. Sinclair cleared her throat and set her glasses on the desk. “Have you forgotten I’m also part of the Sea Dog crew?”
He sighed and raised his eyes from the tattered pages. “I haven’t, but they’re not what I need. Right now, it’s after hours at the museum, and a historian makes more sense than a pirate.”
“But Flynn was alive when all these legends were born.”
David narrowed his eyes. “Do you know that Flynn has been trying to locate the leader of the Digi Robins ring? We’ve intercepted some of his communications, and your ‘captain’ has been offering to work with the thieves and hackers who nearly cost me my entire career.”
The Digi Robins were a different brand of pirates altogether. They stole relics and sold them on the dark web to the highest bidder regardless of how dangerous the artifact might be.
But when they’d taken Pandora’s Box, it also resurrected the Serpent Society, religious fanatics prepared to bring about doomsday in a misguided belief it would reopen the doors to the Garden of Eden. He’d tried to stop both groups during the confrontation at the Bonaventure Cemetery a few months ago, lost more than he bargained for in the fight. He damned well wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
Judging by the way Charlotte was gaping at him, he had all the answers he needed. She wielded a powerful psychic gift, being able to astral project her spirit and manipulate matter, but she was a horrible liar.
Her reaction made it clear Flynn hadn’t told the crew what he’d been working on. Interesting.
Since the showdown at the Bonaventure Cemetery, Department 13 had a couple of agents surveilling the Sea Dog’s captain. Flynn’s offices were based in Atlanta, but recently he’d been spending a curious amount of time in Savannah, and when one of their agents visited Flynn Enterprises under the guise of a Geek Squad tech to fix a network issue, he found a cache of digital files on the Digi Robins group, including a list of potential leaders of the dark web thieves.
David didn’t know the motive behind the attempts to contact the leader yet, but it couldn’t be for anything good. He tapped the
