by Rob Kidd
“Not that I don’t appreciate the effort,” Carolina said, smiling at him from under the pirate hat she had stolen in Tortuga, “but this isn’t exactly the most subtle way to rescue me.”
“At least I’m here, right?” Diego said with a grin. “And I have a ship. What were you going to do, force all the soldiers to take you back to Tortuga with that one pistol?”
“Well, I thought I might also use my charming personality,” Carolina said, batting her eyelashes at him.
“How did you get out of your cell?” Diego asked.
“This blackguard here had me brought to his cabin so he could convince me to put on this,” Carolina said with disgust, holding up a long, frilly, white lace dress in her free hand. “He wanted me to arrive in Florida ‘looking like a lady,’ he said. I decided to use it to tie him up instead.” She pointed to the captain’s bound hands, which Diego realized were tied with several strips of Spanish lace.
“Nice work,” he said admiringly.
“You know how much I hate dresses,” Carolina said. “Especially frilly ones.”
Diego dragged the captain onto the deck and fired the pistol into the air. The fighting stopped all over the ship, and everyone turned to look.
“We have your capitan!” Diego shouted in Spanish. “We have won the battle! Throw down your weapons!”
Jack jumped off the barrel and sidled over to him. “Is that the captain? Splendid. Tell them we’ve won the battle and to throw down their weapons.”
“Yes, sir,” Diego said, exchanging a smile with Carolina. The soldiers were already dropping their swords all over the galleon. Diego raised his voice, and again in Spanish he declared, “Now lead these men to your gold!”
“Oh, and tell them to show us where their gold is,” Jack added.
“Yes, sir,” Diego said with a straight face. “Now!” he called in Spanish. “You and you and you.” He pointed to the three closest soldiers. Gritting their teeth, they led the way down into the hold with Barbossa and a few of Jack’s other pirates following right behind.
“Carolina, this is Captain Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow, this is Carolina.” Diego made introductions as Billy took charge of the Spanish captain. Jack saw a girl of about fifteen with long black hair and dark flashing eyes. She was disguised as a boy, in long trousers and a shirt that was too big for her, and there were smudges of dirt on her face, but she was still strikingly pretty. Jack could see right away why Diego had been so intent on saving her from marrying someone else. He also noticed that Carolina didn’t seem to recognize the adoring look on the boy’s face.
“Thank you for your assistance,” she said in beautifully accented English, holding out her hand regally to Jack. “I would have escaped on my own, but this is certainly more convenient, and I appreciate your gallantry.”
Jack made a low bow and kissed her hand. “Well, I am quite a gallant fellow, love,” he said. “Never say no to a noble mission. Always…doing the right thing, that’s me.” His gaze slid sideways to the open hatch. Both Carolina and Diego knew he was thinking of his pirates down there with all that gold.
“I’ll take Carolina back to the Pearl,” Diego offered.
“Excellent,” Jack said, taking a step toward the hatch. “An excellent—fine—splendid—” He darted down the steps and disappeared into the hold.
“Your capitan seems a little odd,” Carolina observed. Diego nodded as they wove through the surrendering soldiers to reach the rail, where the two ships were bobbing within easy reach of each other.
“He is odd, but he is brave in his way,” Diego said. He hopped up on the rail and reached down for Carolina. She put her small, smooth hand in his, and he felt a jolt of joy in his heart. Only a day earlier he’d thought he’d lost her forever. He put his arm around her to steady her as they stepped across to the Pearl ’s rail, and then he jumped down and lifted her to the deck of the pirate ship. She put her hands on his shoulders for a minute, and he resisted the urge to wrap his arms around her.
“A pirate ship!” she said with great curiosity, stepping back and looking around. “This is so thrilling. I’ve always wanted to sail with pirates! Can we stay with them, do you think?”
“I’ll show you the captain’s cabin,” Diego said. “I’m sure Jack will want you to have it.”
“No way,” Carolina said. “I don’t want to be treated like a princess anymore. I want to be a regular pirate, like everyone else. Maybe they’ll teach me to sword fight, Diego! We could learn to sail and battle and plunder just like they do! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
Diego pulled her out of the way as a bag of gold came flying across from the other ship and crashed to the deck where she’d been standing. “Let’s try not to get killed by flying loot first,” he said with a smile.
Pirates were starting to emerge bearing chests of jewels and gold coins, just as Diego had promised. He led Carolina up to the wheel to keep her out of the way. With great interest she picked up Jack’s spyglass, which was leaning against the rail.
“My father would never let me touch these,” she said, lifting the glass to peer through it. “He said ladies shouldn’t be involved in ships or sailing or anything at all interesting. I’m sure el Cruel would have been the same way.” El Cruel was their name for the governor she’d been betrothed to. Carolina adjusted the rings of the spyglass for a moment and then sharply drew breath.
“What is it?” Diego asked.
“Do you see it?” Carolina asked, pushing the spyglass toward him. He looked through it in the direction in which she was pointing. For a moment all he could see was the dark mass of clouds reaching down to touch the black sea at the horizon’s edge.
Then he felt a shiver of fear as a shape cut through the darkness, an unmistakable outline against the rest of the shadows.
Being Spanish, he and Carolina knew all too well what that shape meant.
“It’s the Centurion,” he breathed. “The Pirate Lord Villanueva is coming.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Captain Sparrow!” Diego shouted, leaping down to the deck. “Captain Sparrow! Sir!”
“I like it, I like it,” Jack said, popping up from behind a barrel he was rolling down the Spanish ship toward the Pearl. “See, Barbossa, that’s how everyone should address me. You could learn a thing or two.”
“Sir, it’s the Centurion!” Diego called. “Villanueva is heading straight for us!”
All the pirates turned pale. Several of them grabbed as much gold as they could hold and hurled themselves over the railings back onto the Black Pearl.
“Villanueva! First he steals my crew and now he wants to steal my gold,” Jack grumbled. “Bloody pirate.”
“Let us stand and fight, gents!” Barbossa said in ringing tones. “Let us defend our prize! Let us show that we are true pirates, brave and bold and—”
“Or,” Jack interrupted, “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s run away.”
“What?” Barbossa bellowed.
“Why fight when we can outrun them easily?” Jack said. He didn’t mention it, but his strange pain, which had faded during the battle, had suddenly returned. He no longer felt energetic and light on his feet. The mossy anchors were back in his chest, weighing him down. The last thing he wanted was another battle, especially with one of the more fearsome Pirate Lords. Besides, they had the loot and the girl—there was nothing to gain, and quite a bit to lose, once Villanueva discovered what lovely piles of gold they had liberated from the galleon.
“All right, men!” Jack cried, waving his sword. “Back to the Pearl ! And away! Set sail for New Orleans!” The crew began to cast off from the Spanish ship, leaving nothing but tied-up soldiers and an empty hold. Fuming, Barbossa followed Jack onto the ship.
He wasn’t the only one who was mad. “New Orleans!” Billy protested. “Why New Orleans? What happened to North Carolina?”
“Yes, yes,” Jack said reassuringly. “Not to worry. Just one quick stop on the way! Give the fellows a cha
nce to spend some of this gold while I run a brief errand. Maybe pick up a little more rum while we’re there, since we always seem to be out of it for some reason.”
“I hope you’re planning to dump these two troublemakers there,” Barbossa growled, pointing to Diego and Carolina. “We can’t even understand half of what they’re saying. They could be Spanish spies…they could be working for Villanueva himself !”
“We most certainly are not!” Carolina said indignantly.
“That man is a villain and a scoundrel,” Diego insisted. “He has no honor—not even the honor among pirates.”
“Oh, really? That’s rather a dramatic accusation,” Jack observed.
“We could tell you something—something that would interest you very much,” Carolina said, putting her hands on her hips. “But only if you agree to let us stay with you.”
“On the Pearl ?” Jack said, furrowing his brow. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
Diego raised his hands. “Nowhere. We are fugitives. Where better for us than a pirate ship, where you are always staying one step ahead of the law?”
“True,” Jack said, tilting his head. “I am very good at that myself.”
“You can’t be thinking of agreeing to this,” Barbossa spat. “They’ll just get underfoot and be in our way.”
A few of the other pirates muttered in agreement, exchanging dark glances. They had left the Spanish galleon behind them and were skimming quickly over the waves, keeping the ship dark, and putting as much distance between them and Villanueva as they could.
“We won’t be in the way,” Carolina said, tossing her head proudly. “We learn quickly. We’ll be useful.”
“We can help translate,” Diego pointed out. “If you capture any Spanish prisoners you want to question—or desire Parlay with Spanish crews—or want to spy on Spanish sailors…”
“Hmm,” Jack said, stroking his chin. “And you say you have some interesting information for me, darling?”
“Very interesting,” Carolina said.
Jack knew that Barbossa—and probably most of the rest of his crew—would disapprove, but his curiosity always got the better of him. Besides, nobody said he couldn’t change his mind later, once he knew what he wanted to know.
“Very well then,” he said. “Welcome aboard!”
Carolina clapped her hands excitedly and hugged Diego.
“Now,” Jack went on quickly, before Barbossa could start his bellowing and bellyaching, “what were you going to tell me?”
“It’s about Villanueva,” Carolina said. “I overheard some of the soldiers talking while they had me locked up. The Pirate Lord is working for the Spanish now. He made a deal with them so he can eventually retire into the Spanish aristocracy. They’re planning to take over the whole Caribbean together and then divide it up between them.”
“What?” Jack cried.
“What?” Barbossa bellowed.
“That’s what I said,” Jack pointed out.
“You see?” Diego said. “No honor! He does not even follow the Pirate Code!”
“What do you know of the Pirate Code, boy?” Barbossa snarled. “Your grandfather wasn’t even born when captains Morgan and Bartholomew set down the Code for the Second Brethren Court. Some of us have been living by it for our whole lives.”
“Not Villanueva, apparently,” Diego said.
“If this is true,” Billy said seriously, “then it’s a good thing we ran. He was coming not just to steal our gold but to free the soldiers…and probably sink us, if he could.” He shook his head.
“That is their plan,” Carolina said. “To sink every pirate ship in the Caribbean and drive out the English and the French forever. The Spanish once controlled these waters completely, and they want to control them again.”
Jack set his jaw. “Not while I’m alive,” he said. “I am the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean.”
“Yes,” Barbossa muttered, “and after tonight’s dazzling display of courage, I’m sure Villanueva is absolutely terrified.”
New Orleans!
The city glittered in the distance as they sailed closer—although not as much, of course, as it had glittered when it was made entirely of silver.
“I’m counting on you, Billy, old chap,” Jack said, pulling his friend close. The wind tugged at his long hair, but he knew it wasn’t just the wind; it was the strange shadows lurking in the corners of his vision as well. He needed to get rid of them as quickly as possible, before he went truly mad. “It’s up to you to keep an eye on the Pearl and the crew while they stagger about spending their ill-gotten loot. My advice is to get them as drunk as possible. That should keep ’em busy while Barbossa and I go see Tia Dalma.”
“I don’t trust that mystic,” Billy said. “I don’t know why you need to go see her.”
“Ah, she’s not so bad,” Jack said, ruffling Bill’s hair. “We go way back. Old friends. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see me. Probably forgotten all about last time. I don’t think she’s the type to hold a grudge.”
“Say, Jack,” Barbossa said, joining them at the bow with an apple in his hand. “You know, I could stay with the Pearl instead. Wouldn’t be any trouble. Happy to keep an eye on it for you.” He winked and took a large bite of the apple.
“Quite all right,” Jack said breezily. “Billy can handle it. And remember, it’s Captain Jack.” He tapped Barbossa lightly on the nose and swiped the apple from him.
Barbossa scowled and stalked away, muttering something about mangy bilge rats.
The Black Pearl sailed grandly into the port, and Jack remembered his visit to the town long ago, when he was captain of the Barnacle. Now things were very different. Now he had a whole crew and a ship to be reckoned with. Not to mention a quite excellent hat.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes. Was he seeing things again?
“Jean, mate!” he called down as the Pearl dropped anchor.
A freckled, green-eyed young man with curly red-brown hair looked up from the line he was tying to the dock. “Jack!” he cried in delight, smiling broadly.
“Captain Jack!” Jack reminded him, waving.
“Of course,” Jean Magliore said brightly. “Captain Jack.” Jean had been one of the first crew members Jack ever had, back when there were just a handful of them sailing the Barnacle around the Caribbean. Jack hadn’t seen him in years.
Jack didn’t even have to offer a place aboard the Pearl; Jean was anxious to leave the ship he was working on. “The captain is so boring, Jack,” he said as they stood together on the dock, watching the hustle and bustle of ships loading and unloading around them. “You’d barely even know he was there. Not one grand adventure in all the time I’ve been with him. Not a single ghost or mermaid trying to kill us, not one cursed amulet turning things to bronze. I’m afraid once you’ve sailed with Captain Jack Sparrow, nothing else quite measures up. You’re sure you have room for me on the Pearl ?”
Jack beamed. “Absolutely,” he said. “Especially now that you don’t have that dreadful feline, Constance, following you around anymore. I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but I quite loathed her.”
“Oh, you’ve always made that much perfectly clear, Jack,” Jean said. “Non, mon ami, my sister is back in human form and having a very normal human life, finally.”
“Excellent,” Jack said. “Then you’re welcome aboard!”
“But…” Jean said nervously.
“No, no, no buts,” Jack said, waving his hands.
“I do have one tiny problem,” Jean said. “That is, not really a problem, more like a—companion—a duty, kind of—I mean, she has nowhere else to go, so…I’m kind of responsible for her.”
“Oh, no,” Jack said, burying his head in his hands.
“She won’t be a bother!” Jean assured him. “It’s my, uh, cousin Marcella, you see. She’s been, um, orphaned, and she needs a protector, so that’s me, and…oh, Jack, say you don’t mind. She won’t be any trouble at all; s
he’s only a brat to me, really, I’m sure.”
“I HEARD THAT.”
Jack and Jean whirled around. A skinny girl stood on the dock behind them with her hands on her hips, glaring at Jean. She looked about the same age as Carolina, more elegantly dressed in a long gray gown, but not half so pretty. Jack blinked and rubbed his face. Her eyes looked brown—but then they looked yellow when she turned her head. Yellow eyes? His curse must have been making him see things again.
“Jean!” Marcella said, stamping her foot. “I am not a brat! I’m not! You must stop saying things like that! It’s mean and it’s not fair!”
“I’m sorry,” Jean said penitently. “Listen, I’m getting us a place on this fine ship here, isn’t that splendid?”
Marcella’s gaze swept over the Black Pearl, from one end to the other. She wrinkled her nose. “It looks like a pirate ship,” she said disapprovingly. As if the Jolly Roger at the top didn’t make that obvious.
“And so it is, love,” Jack said. “The fastest, most glorious pirate ship ever to sail the Seven Seas.”
The girl gave him the same long, considering gaze she’d given the ship, and her expression of disapproval didn’t change. “Hey, wait,” she said. “You look like…aren’t you…Jack?”
Jack was startled. Surely he’d never seen this young lady before in his life.
“Er,” Jean said quickly. “Give us a moment, Jack.” He seized Marcella’s arm and drew her away behind a stack of crates, while he talked quickly in French.
Jack gave Diego and Carolina a puzzled look as they came down the gangplank, admiring the busy madness of New Orleans. “No chance one of you speaks French, is there?” Jack asked. They shook their heads. “No, that’d be far too useful. All right, forget it, carry on.” He sidled closer to the crates as the Spanish pair walked away, but he couldn’t make out anything Jean was saying. He could hear Marcella stamping her foot and saying “NON! ” every now and then, though. That was rather worrisome. Not exactly what he was looking for in a new crew member.