Chapter 17
Authors Notes: For those of you who get confused on the showing of a character look to the first chapter and you'll see that he was really there for the whole time. No, Rough Wind and High Tide is NOT a prequel to this one, although there IS one in the making. Thanks everyone for the comments, especially Jackfan2, Yakkorat, ChaosLightning, and J.L Dexter for all the help! Thanks so much! I post so much because I mostly have them all written anyway. Why should I make you wait if I have them? I write during school when all the teachers lecture. Besides, my main goal is to try and do one a day, I've always wanted to see if that was possible. Usually I start a story and then I end up procrastinating and it stops my train of thought, I don't want that to happen to this one so without further ado. . .
"Will?" Elizabeth walked to the left of him knowing he'd need to draw his sword at the slightest provocation.
"We're taking a detour. I don't think Anamaria is locked up." He shortened his stride and looked cautiously around the corner of the inner rail. Three men stood looking out toward the ocean. Will grabbed a long piece of rope and motioned at them. Elizabeth caught on, took the other end of the rope and together they knocked the three men overboard.
"Three down, sixty-seven to go."
Will sighed and then continued walking down the planks of the ship. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but there was a feeling he had to follow.
"Isn't that comforting." Will arched a brow at Elizabeth's sarcastic answer. All she wanted to do right now was leave this part of the ship. Chills ran up and down her spine from the cold, it was warmer outside than inside! He kept walking though deeper into the belly of the ship.
"Nope. There's nobody here." He remarked.
"Nobody where?" Elizabeth was highly confused, just what exactly was he looking for?
"This is where the brig is and nobody's guarding the doors. If Anamaria was here then they would have somebody here watching to make sure she stays out of sight."
"I thought you said we were taking a detour." Elizabeth remembered Jack explaining the ship's interior. The brig was on the aft side of the ship and had stairs leading downwards, they were nowhere near it.
"I took the back way. The entry doors aren't covered either, I saw them when Jack sailed around it."
"Then we'd better get back to him, right? He can use all the help he can-" a sharp noise rang through the air and Bloods' Revenge shook and rocked unsteadily. Elizabeth grabbed onto Will's arm to keep from losing balance. "What was that. . .?"
"Cannon fire. The battle's just begun. You're right, Jack can use all the help he can get."
* * *
So far he'd killed around fifteen men. If Will and Elizabeth had done their part there shouldn't be many left, at least to his calculations. At Jack's signal Norrington fired three cannons at various agreed-upon places on the ship. Those demolished at least twenty more people and grievously injured the ship. No big loss to him, he could care less about this ship. Ill deeds and mishandling were written all over it.
The back of his neck prickled in warning. He turned in time to parry a blow and return another that sent his attacker careening off the side into the dark ocean below. Two more charged him, one he got through the heart and the other he stabbed in the throat with his dagger. Both were dead and with precise aim another hit the deck. As he walked past he pulled the dagger out of the mans' chest then wiped it on the navy blue shirt.
Will and Elizabeth weren't back yet. Jack took that to mean they had yet to locate Anamaria. For all of Will's swordsmanship, he could use a lesson or two in navigation. Everything was quiet, he didn't know why they would be swarming his from all sides. What was going on?
As he rounded the corner his question was abruptly answered. Anamaria lay on the floor of the ship, her hat covering her face. He forced his mind to quiet, she wasn't dead, it could be a ruse. Jack remained calm through sheer force of will.
"Welcome, Jack. It's too bad that you didn't come earlier to rescue your lady love." Turak nudged her with his foot, "as it was, we all had a bit of fun with her while waiting for you."
Anguish and pain ran through his body burning and leaving him short of breath. The feeling was crippling, he wanted to drop to his knees on the deck, rail at the gods for their cruelty.
Anamaria was dead? She was gone? The thoughts ran through his mind echoing and getting louder. He turned in time to see four men approaching with raised swords.
He screamed wordlessly pulling rage and hate from the depths of his being. He beheaded two of them, the others he viciously stabbed through without thinking about it. This was all his fault, he'd let her venture onto Turak's ship not knowing the danger she was in. She had died because he hadn't protected her from harm. He had willingly let her walk into a trap and now she was dead. Was it as Elizabeth said? Petty revenge?
"Very nice, Jack, but what are you going to do now? You can't kill me and all of my crew are lined up to kill you."
"Why?" was all Jack asked, he wanted to know how Turak could kill her so callously.
"I needed your pain to rival my own. To leave you as staggering and senseless as I could for what you did. Barbossa was legendary and-"
"Barbossa was a bloody coward, boy." Jack snarled, "I don't know what he sent you in those ruddy letters, but that wasn't the man who served on the Pearl. Barbossa was ruthless, unmindful, and a right sorry captain."
"You usurped his position, took his ship, and then killed him. As far as I'm concerned you are the mutineer, the murderer, not him."
"That's not true." Elizabeth came forward and crossed her arms. "Barbossa attacked Jack. He marooned him on an island where there was no chance of escape. It was murder, Jack had no food, no water, a pistol with one bullet. There was no way off that island except in death."
"But he escaped, didn't he." Turak's eyes flared hatred anew. "And he looks very much alive. Barbossa can't say the same."
"Whose ship is that, Captain?" one of Turak's crewmen inquired looking into the distance. A full rigged ship was pulling up toward Bloods' Revenge, the lettering on the side named the ship the Intrepid Valor.
A dagger flew through the air and lodged itself in Turak's shoulder. Turak laughed at first, but when the blade was removed stained with blood horror replaced the arrogant confidence.
"Dead men tell no tales, eh Turak?" someone yelled from the Intrepid Valor.
"It can't be. . ." Turak whispered looking towards the ship all color fading from his face.
"Thought you killed me off, body lying at the bottom of the ocean to rot away leaving you free did you? I'm Robert DeRyat and I'll not be killed so easily."
A cannon ripped it's way through part of the mast, Jack looked toward Norrington in time to see his sheepish look, one hand on a cannon.
The Intrepid was now next to Bloods' Revenge. Robert stepped onboard gracefully. He held another bloodstained dagger and Jack could see that his shirt partially concealed two rough-hewn bandages
"Kill him!" Turak screamed. Robert threw the dagger, Jack watched as Turak crumpled to the deck, his breath escaping in one final gasp.
"He can not be killed unless a dead man comes back to repay his due. His blood will mix through yours and the damage will be undone." Robert smiled humorlessly down at Turak's body, "Serves him right, he whispered that to me just as he plunged one of the daggers into my heart."
Without anyone to stop him Jack knelt by Anamaria's side and took her hand. He removed the hat so he could take one last look into her beautiful face before he would leave her at peace. Anamaria deserved so much more than this.
"You were the best friend, first mate, and love a man could ask for." He whispered, "Be at peace. . . one day I will find you." He closed his eyes against the wrenching agony in his soul.
He unthread one of the golden coins from his hair and rested it over her heart. Two more coins went over her eyes, "may death's passage be easy for you, love. Fair wind and good weather to be yours forever more."
Authors Note: Don't all kill me, there's more in store for them never fear. But the question on your minds must be… what happened to Cilfre?! I'll get to that, too. I'm working on another chapter right now, it's only 9:17 I think I can get another post up tonight.