Pirates of the Caribbean 04 The Sword of Cortes (4 page)

Gripping his sword, Jack backed away from the terrifying figures."One more thing, Jack Sparrow," Morveren said. "That sword in your hands is powerless against creatures who reside in Davy Jones's locker--including your opponents."The three Blue-tails smiled, then addressed Jack in unison. "
Good luck, Jack Sparrow."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jack looked at the closed gate behind him. Then he looked to either side of him. The only place he couldn't bring himself to look was dead ahead. The creatures were there, and they looked hungry. Their growls rang out like the roars of jaguars, echoing in the cavernous chamber.Finally, Jack was forced to face the creatures as they lunged forward to attack. One of the beasts took a quick sw
ipe at Jack, just missing him.
Jack examined his arm to make sure it was still attached to the rest of his body."Can't we act like civilized beasties?" he asked them.The beasts roared."Guess not."

Jack sprang forward brandishing the Sword. Even though its mystical powers wouldn't work against the creatures, it still had a sharp blade. If Jack could steady his hand well enough to take aim, he'd have the beasts down in no time.But landing the Sword on a slithering creature was not easy, and Jack was having difficulty even coming close. The beasts, on the other hand, had little problem cornering Jack.

Jack jumped back, escaping just in time as one of the beasts clawed at his legs. Jack had to come up
with a plan. He couldn't keep
darting around simply to stay alive. It wouldn't be long before he grew tired and fell prey to the two slobbering creatures.As the two beasts closed in on him from either side, he sprang out from between them to the far end of the cell. They slammed their heads together and roared."Aha!" Jack shouted. "That's it!"

"Come and get me, beasties," Jack called, luring the beasts to the center of the chamber.The creatures stalked over. As they sprang at him, Jack nimbly leaped from their paths. The beasts slammed into each other once again, this time with such force that they bounced off and hit the floor. Wearily, they made their way back to their feet.They turned their attention to Jack once more. The beast to his right was crouched on its haunche
s, ready to pounce. The one on
his left had its maw opened wide, prepared to devour Jack whole.

"If this doesn't work out, know that it was not very nice knowing you, mates," Jack said to the beasts.Taking a deep breath, Jack vaulted off a nearby boulder and threw himself toward the open
mouthed monster. The other beast ran stealthily after him. But, just before both creatures came down on him, the nimble sailor jumped out of their paths. The two beasts fell upon each other clawing and tearing. In fact, it looked as if they had forgotten all about Jack. Before long, the battle was over. The beasts had finished each other off, and Jack was victorious.Jack wiped his hands and smiled. He calmly walked over to the chamber gate.

"Well, that's sorted out now, isn't it?" he said to
his captors.
Morveren did not look pleased. Her expression turned from disappointment to resignation. She nodded to the Red-tails, who pulled on the heavy chains and raised the gate."Thanks, lasses," Jack said smoothly, winking at them.Jack stepped before the three Blue-tailed mermaids and turned to Morveren."Now, where were we?" Jack said, "Oh, yes, you were about to let me leave here with my sword, my freedom, and my stone.""We are bound by our agreement. You have won these things fairly, and so you are free to leave. You may take the Sword," Morveren said."Wonderful! And my stone eye?" Jack asked."That item is being held
by Tia Dalma," Morveren said.
"Excuse me? Come again? Pardon moi?"

"We are no longer in possession of the eye. It is with the great mystic Tia Dalma, in her shack on the Pantano River," Morveren said. "To retrieve it, you must go there.""And she'll just h
and it over? Just like that?"

"She will abide by the rules of this fair duel. That is all we will say," the mermaid at Morveren's right said. "Tell her you were sent by Morveren, Aquala, and Aquila, and that the stone is yours by right. She has ways of knowing this is true.""Let me guess," Jack said, pointing to the mermaid at Morveren's right, who had the distinction of a pair of wings growing from her back. "You're Aquala, and your friend over there is Aquila.""Incorrect," she hissed. "I am Aquila." "Yes, well, to-may-toe, to-mah-toe .
. ." Jack said.
The mermaids were not amused.The three chairwomen glared at Jack. It was clear they'd had enough of him."Leave at once," Morveren said."Very well, if you insist. I will reluctantly leave this lair where I was almost killed by raging beasties and nearly taken prisoner for the rest of my mortal days. Yes, it will be very difficult to leave," Jack said sarcastically. "Now, would someone be kind enough to show me out? And, if possible, can we take a back exit or something? Not to be rude, but that tunnel I came in by is a little dilapidated and unceremonious."

"You don't need us to show you the way," all three Blue-tails hissed. Aquila motioned to the Sword."Ah, right," Jack said. He lifted the Sword above his head and looked around cautiously. All eyes we
re on him. He had to make this
work. Without hesitation, he conjured up the most powerful wish he could think of.

"Remove me from these Scaly Tail freaks presently!"

To Jack's amazement, the room began to glow. It became brighter and brighter, until Jack was enveloped in a sea of light too bright for his eyes. He shut them tightly against the glare. When he opened them again, he was back aboard the Grand Barnacle. Looking around, Jack realized the ship was sailing toward a familiar place: the mouth of the Pantano River.He took a deep breath. He never liked going to see Tia Dalma, but he knew that he had no choice if he wanted to return to Isla Fortuna with everything he might need to save his crew. And he was beginning to realize that the stone eye might have a crucial role in any p
ower play he'd be engaging in.
He climbed aboard one of the Grand Barnacle's longboats and waved the Sword. With the help of the Sword's power, the boat fell softly onto the water. Then Jack began to row up the swampy terrain
toward Tia Dalma's shack.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“
Jack Sparrow," Tia Dalma said, welcoming him to her home. "What do you have for me?" She was a beautiful woman of the islands, who spoke with a Caribbean
accent. Jack
climbed out of his longboat and onto Tia Dalma's porch, which was surrounded by swamp water. Because he didn't have any payment, which Jack knew she would request, he tried to steer the conv
ersation in another direction.

"What, no 'Hello. How are you? Been a long time'?" he asked.

"Come inside," Tia Dalma said. Jack stepped into the candlelit shack. It was filled all over with jars of herbs and spices, bottles full of
potions, caged animals, bones
everything the greatest mystic in the Caribbean could need.Tia Dalma stared at Jack with her wild eyes, and she smiled when she saw the Sword. "I see you've gotten yourself into a mess again, have you?" Tia Dalma said.

"The word on the winds is that you are drowning.""Drowning?" Jack asked. "No, no, there's no drowning going on here. I was always a good swimmer," he said, placing a hand on the Sword."You can drown in things other than water. The Sword is full of power that is most difficult
to balance, Jack Sparrow." As
she spoke, she moved about her shack, arranging curiosities and petting a kind of animal that Jack had never seen before."Well, I have no choice. There are things I need to do with it."

"The waves say it has done things already. Have those things not been enough?" Tia Dalma asked.Jack was silent for a moment, thinking about all the things the Sword had done. It was supposed to have been his greatest treasure. It was supposed to have granted him freedom. And yet all it had accomplished was alienating him from his crew and enslaving him to the will of Cortes."Look, I'm here because Morveren, Aquila, and Aquala sent me," Jack said. "They gave you something that was not theirs to give--being that it was actua
lly mine--and I want it back."
Tia Dalma sighed, walked over to a shelf, and lifted a small bottle containing a greenish liquid. She filled a bowl with water and placed a drop of the green stuff into the bowl.

She stared into the bowl briefly and then turned to Jack."It is so," she said, standing up and walking toward the rear of the shack. Presumably to retrieve the eye, Jack thought."The one you left has been looking for you," Tia Dalma said while she gracefully searched her canisters and containers."Oh, everyone's looking for me, love," Jack winked."But it is not all of them that you want to avoid--and the one I speak of is one who you do."

"Can't you ever just sta
te something clear and concise
like?" Jack asked.Tia Dal
ma smiled. "Just be warned him
came here looking for you. Him wants him ring back."Jack gasped. Now he knew who she was talking about. And it was someone Jack really did not want to see. In fact, it was someone he had been running from for a while. Talking about it was giving him a knot in his stomach. He once again decided to change the subject, though he knew Tia Dalma would eventually turn the conversation back to a difficult topic of some sort or other.

"So, this mate I'm sailing with says you turned his sister into a cat. Is it true?" Jack asked."You sail with a powerful crew, Jack Sparrow," Tia Dalma said, clearly evading Jack's question. "Do they know you are here?""I've not e
ven told them I know you. Kept
it quiet, actually even pretended on a few occasions that I didn't know you," Jack said."Wise. But they have proven worthy. They will convene here soon," Tia Dalma said. To Jack it seemed this was both a request and a statement of fact.

"Yes, yes, of course. Now, where is my Stone-Eyed Sam-eye-stone-thing?" Jack asked, growing impatient."You know I demand payment," Tia Dalma said, smiling widely and staring at the Sword. "Even for this stone, which you say is yours.""You want this here thing?" Jack asked, motioning to the Sword. "No, no, no, you don't want this. It's rather useless. Hardly works.""I will accept no other payment," Tia Dalma said, crossing her arms.

"There
is a minor complication," Jack
said. "I need it to save the crew you want to so badly meet."Tia Dalma was clearly becoming annoyed. She walked to her table and slammed a bucket of crab claws down on it.

"Sorry, love, not very hungry right now," Jack said.Tia Dalma shot Jack a warning glance and poured the claws onto the tabletop. She arranged them in different configurations. Jack knew then that she was reading a message in them. Once she had received a satisfying answer, Tia Dalma sighed. She walked back to Jack and handed him the stone eye.

"You will give me fair payment," she said, "when you have done all you set out to do and learned all you were meant to learn. This I cannot interfere with. This stone holds great power--greater even than that of the Swor
d. But its power is not easily
unlocked. The stone itself is locked. It is a prison cell far smaller than any you have ever known."Jack's head was reeling and, as he often did, Jack looked at Tia Dalma as if she were crazy. In truth, he knew she was anything but. She just spoke in a way that needed to be decoded."You will need these." She handed Jack two beads, one white and one red. "When you are ready to
unleash the power of this eye and only at that time
know it is red over white. And they must be tied to your person. Do this all and hold the eye. Only when you are ready, only when you know you need to. No sooner."Jack placed the beads in separate pockets of his vest, just to make sure they wouldn't accidentally catch on a thread and touch, thereby
unleashing the stone's power
whatever that power might be. As unlikely as that seemed, Jack didn't want to risk it."Thank you, milady," Jack said, bowing.

He moved to leave, but Tia Dalma grabbed his arm."Do not be fooled. Do not be arrogant. You are not safe yet, Jack Sparrow," she said, looking him in the eyes. She stared at him a moment and raised her eyebrows warningly."Very well," Jack said uncomfortably. "I will be seeing you soon.""Yes," Tia Dalma said, "you will, surely. And you will bring with you my payment."Jack grimaced."Take this as a parting gift," Tia Dalma said, handing Jack a bundle of dried herbs."What is it?" Jack asked."A rare magical herb called catnip," Tia Dalma answ
ered. "It can undo what it has
done. And it can redo what it has undone," Tia Dalma said, winking.Jack smiled, then quickly left Tia Dalma's shack. He jumped into his longboat and rowed toward the Grand Barnacle, a
t the mouth of the river.

CHAPTER NINE

In what seemed like no time at all, Jack was again in sight of the shores of Isla Fortuna. The island was a sight to behold. From a mile away at sea, Jack could see the sandy beaches and tall palms covered in a thick blanket of snow. The sun shone brightly on the surrounding sea, but over the island hung a thick covering of
grey
clouds. The snow was still falling heavily, and dr
ifts blanketed the sand dunes.
The small town of Puerto San Judas was still empty of people. Only the small inn near the town square was active. A thick plume of smoke billowed from the chimney. Jack knew his crew was still holed up in there. He also knew that apart from his crew there was at least one other soul upon the island--the phantom of Cortes himself. Jack wondered if Cortes was still standing upon the hilltop cemetery where Jack had left him.