Chapter 17
(VANE'S POV)
At first, Vane had cursed his bad luck with Sparrow and Swann, and he was almost glad that he had decided to serve some kind of revenge for it.
Although he should have sailed as soon as possible for Saint Martin, he had decided to do some business with a few French and Spanish pirates to encourage them to shoot and attack Port Royal, giving them some knowledge about the place. That way, he could steal some merchants to get some money back to make up for what he had lost in Tortuga. That would also allow his partner some entertainment while he waited for that precious stone he desired.
During that time, he had also learned that Captain Swann was still on that damn island and Vane decided to head there and see if he had a chance to pierce or hit her in some way. Unfortunately for him, she hadn't been there and, enraged, he had killed some people and had ordered the island to be shot before getting bored and leaving, knowing that the magic dagger was more important.
After that disappointment at Tortuga, he had set sail with his crew for Saint Martin. Luckily, thanks to the storm and the winds blowing in the right direction, that journey took them a month and a half.
When they had reached the island, Vane had gone to his table, looking for the notes he had made about the magic dagger and about the witch who had said object in her possession. While he had been rummaging around the table, he had realized that a piece of paper was missing… A letter he had received from his partner almost half a year ago about his dealings in Port Royal and his permission to be around there. It was a very powerful letter in the wrong hands and Vane was pretty sure who had the damn letter at hand and he bit back a groan.
"At least the name of our partner wasn't in the letter." he muttered to himself.
It was, in any case, a strange thing for what good would that letter do to Jack Sparrow? Had he used it to buy his pardon? What were his goals?
"I'm starting to understand why everyone hates him…" he clicked his tongue, annoyed.
Anyway, Vane knew that he had to deal with Sparrow much later and he started to look for the supposed witch, since he was in a hurry for that.
The one who was going to grant them immortality if they killed the captain of the Flying Dutchman had said that they would find the woman in some kind of cave, a bit beyond the main island. Luckily for Vane, it wasn't difficult to find it and he took some of his men in a boat to enter the place and search for the witch.
The cave was dark enough that their eyes had to adjust to it; however, there was light at the end and they finally found where it came from, on a piece of rocky ground that was surrounded by candles, most of them of a deep red color.
"You've taken your time, Charles Vane." a voice of a woman spoke.
Vane turned his head to watch a figure quietly approaching the scene. The young woman was quite short, with light brown skin, and tattoos covering most of her arms and upper body. They looked as Indian as she was, with her head covered by a veil.
"I imagine you must be Sansa."
"Indeed." she nodded as she led them to a row of pillows and told them to sit down "He told me that it was possible that you might come here. The king of the seas has long been in power over everything, and now that she is free, he refuses to surrender without a fight." she commented as if she was talking about the weather.
"Well, if we're being honest, according to the Greeks, Poseidon is the only ruler of the seas." he shrugged at that.
The young woman smirked "That's not completely true… There are more gods related to the power of the seas in many cultures, no matter how much he dislikes it… But, in most cases, Poseidon has more power." she turned to them "What I do wonder is… What do you expect to win from him?"
Vane looked at her disdainfully and got closer to her "What do you win from him?" he asked in turn.
The other seemed to laugh a little at his boldness, but didn't answer the question "What has he entrusted to you?" she decided to ask after a while.
"A magic dagger that can consume some of the power of the philosopher's stone, so that we can kill the captain of the Flying Dutchman." he told her.
"Ah… So that it's his plan." she smiled "Eliminate her captain and probably win that territory that way. A good tactic."
Sansa walked over to a table at the back and returned with a long dagger. Even from where they were sitting, they could feel that there was something on that dagger.
She sat down on the ground and put the dagger in the center, letting them see it.
"This is Carnwennan, a dagger from Arthur's time apparently; it is said that the owner of this one can become one with the shadows." she told them "As any object with magical properties, it requires a price and since my domain is blood magic, that's what you'll have to pay so you may take it with you."
"That's what he told us." Vane nodded at that "He also told us that you needed an item from the person who was going to pay for it, but does it matter which person pays for it? And is it immediate?"
Sansa smirked at that, as if she knew what he already had planned. It sent a shiver down his spine, even though he never feared anything. It made him hate her, since she was only a woman… A witch.
"It doesn't matter who this person is and, no, it doesn't have to be immediate." she smiled "That would be stupid if, for example, instead of your entire crew you were alone."
"I preferred to know." Vane shrugged.
She smiled, satisfied "I have no doubt about that... But no, I can put the date until that dagger has served its purpose or until it's destroyed." At the incredulous look he was giving her, Sansa nodded, thinking it was quite funny "Yes, Charles Vane, the dagger, despite being magical, can be broken. It is, after all, only a normal blade."
"That's a pity, but I guess that something bad had to come with this." he sighed "Very well," he pulled out a pocket watch that he had stolen from his partner "would this work as payment?"
Sansa frowned a little, but took it in her hands and looked through it. She opened the lid and, with two fingers, pulled what appeared to be a thread… It was almost invisible to the human eye, but there were moments when something could be seen coming out of the watch.
"Ah… I see." she closed the lid and smiled "It'll work, Charles Vane."
Getting up, she walked over to a small cage that had some birds in it. She grabbed one of them and pulled a knife from her skirt. The bird began to chirp frantically, trying to escape, but Sansa had it securely restrained.
She put the bird on top of the magic dagger and the pocket watch, and brought the knife closer to the bird, opening it with a clean cut. The blood began to fall, the insides falling into the dagger and the pocket watch, as she recited something in a language that no one could understand.
Both the dagger and the pocket watch glowed red for a short second, but it was gone before they could wonder if it had been real.
Sansa then opened her eyes, put the bird aside, saved the pocket watch, and offered the dagger to them.
"Be careful with it and hide it well." she advised them. Vane nodded, knowing that the object in that moment was tied to a destiny of killing that cursed captain "Oh, by the way, if you really want to win some revenge against that woman you're thinking about so much, you may want to head southeast of here, towards the largest pirate haven."
Vane frowned, but suddenly he seemed to understand what that meant "That woman is going to Shipwreck Island." he spat, upset.
Sansa smirked "You better hurry or you won't find her again, captain Vane. And you better pray to Poseidon for it… I don't think Tyche will help you with it. After all, she only has one favorite."
When they left the cave and were back on the ship, his first mate approached him carefully "I hope that this god won't make us visit her again, captain." he honestly commented "I'm not sure that I would survive another encounter in that place."
Vane huffed at that "I'm almost sure that we won't need her anymore, but let's not bet on it just in case." And he turned to the helmsman. "Set course for Shipwreck Island!"
"Aye, captain!" this one replied, turning the helm in his hands.
His first mate grimaced "We're not really going to enter that place, are we, Captain?"
"Of course not, idiot!" Vane huffed "We'll intercept any ship heading there. The witch hasn't told us if she's going to be in her ship, although it would be the most logical thing, but since we don't know that, I won't risk the possibility of taking revenge on her."
"... Right." the other nodded "But we'll be quite far from Teague's territory, I imagine?"
"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to get that close?" Vane said scornfully, annoyed "I have no desire to meet him and be punished for who knows what law is in that damn code. Damn the day they created that thing!"
His first mate drew back a bit, but seemed to suddenly think of something and turned to Vane, questioningly.
"How are we going to find the heart of the captain of the Flying Dutchman?" he asked "Has… Did Poseidon tell you something about that?"
Vane sighed but shook his head "No, but I suppose that he will let us know soon… Or maybe we have to think in how to find it, without using that witch again. I have no intention in paying with blood or using someone from the crew for that."
"I'm sure we'll think on something." the first mate said, almost convinced.
Vane seemed to agree, but if he was honest with himself, he was looking forward to find Captain Swann more than the damned heart of that cursed captain. After all, he wasn't the one in a hurry and Vane refused to work as a dog for anyone, not even a mighty god of the sea, regardless of the promises of immortality he had made to them.
"Aye… You better come to us if you want our cooperation, Poseidon." he smirked.