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Cayenne Pepper Powder: You want more Rowan and Jack? You can havemore Rowan and Jack. Hope you like thischapter.
Ellennar: You want that bathroom? You can have that bathroom- but only with Alf as asseccory. I still need Jack.
14. Isla de Muerta
Santiago scratched his chin thoughtfully while his eyes followed Jack who seemed to be a bit too eager to get away from him. Though that was understandable to a certain degree- after all, there had been many nasty words between them recently- he was still wondering about his strange behaviour. Usually Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't lost at a loss for a stupid remark and usually he didn't creep through corridors when he could swagger and sway. Also, he was always ready for mischief, so what nonsense had he done that he was trying to keep from him?
Oh, he couldn't conceal it for long, Santiago thought, following the trail of wet footprints back to the bathroom and opening the door. The room looked flooded. There were puddles of water all around the platform with the pool, reflecting the light of the candles that were still lit. The air was damp and smelled of oriental scents, sandalwood, and… lust. Then he understood why two towels lay on the floor. He could have banged his head to the wall because he'd been so dense. Of course Jack hadn't taken a bath just because he was a filthy pirate who'd definitely needed one- no, he'd seen Rowan in that bathtub and taken advantage of the situation; he'd seduced her. He'd lived up his unchaste, dirty fantasies in my house, under my roof! If I ever get hands on that wanton pirate, that old lecher, I'd… I would make him lick the bath clean and not bother my servants with cleaning up a place of obscene debauchery.
He chuckled at that thought but then he felt guilty because of it. What a grumpy old man he'd become, still bearing a grudge for things that had been said or done a long time ago, still unwilling to forgive him like Rowan had done. She should be the one who bore the grudge for whatever happened to her because of Jack's follies but apparently she'd decided otherwise and had fallen in love with that rake instead. Also it wasn't fair to blame Jack alone for whatever had transpired between the two of them here since Rowan was definitely all but an innocent virgin. He suddenly remembered the day he wanted to explain the facts of life to her and had realized that she already knew that babies weren't found under the gooseberry bush, so all she wanted to know was how to avoid getting them and chastity was surely not the word she was thinking of. A shiver ran down his spine; she surely hadn't thought of rape and miscarriage either, and he hadn't been there to protect her, he'd failed in taking care of her. All those years he'd blamed Jack for his very own failure, wounded in his pride because Jack hadn't wanted his help. Not after he'd helpfully arranged his recruitment with Morgan…
Santiago shuddered again, feeling colder than he should on a warm Caribbean night, in a room with so many candles lit. He pondered about the transitoriness of time for those who are mortal and that he really shouldn't begrudge Jack and Rowan their fun; they had so little time to enjoy life and life hadn't been too kind to either of them.
Something made him turn around. He felt watched and though there was no one to see the hair at the nape of his neck stood on end. Another shiver ran down his spine as he sensed a weird, almost eerie aura.
Suddenly there was a sound. It was no audible sound, rather something like a disturbing rumble in the balance of the powers of the universe that only he could hear. At once he knew that the cold he'd felt was of no natural origin. It had begun. The evil force had risen.
The Spaniard left the bathroom through its backdoor and stepped in his garden behind the house from which he had a splendid view across Cayona town and the moonlit sea. But he didn't care for the beauty of that nightly scenery, for golden and silvern lights that sparkled beneath him like diamonds in the velvet darkness of the night. His eyes were focussed on a distant point. He looked over the sea, looked over far more miles than any mortal man could do and despite all the hindrances that would have blocked his view, he could see straight into a very special room in Port Royal. There, a golden chalice was seething with whirling clouds of impenetrable blackness and those clouds were even getting darker.
We can't wait any longer. We have to go and stop it now by finding and destroying that statue of Nirrti before Anirvan gains all his power back. He's already stronger than I thought he'd be and changing his form was just a simple trick, playing with illusions. But how strong is he really? Will I be able to stop him? Am I strong enough to finish what Khadim had failed to do? Well, I won't figure it out if I just relax and take it easy. No, I have to proceed, react to that change of balance…
With that in mind he hurried to pack up a few things before he scribbled down a short note for Will and Elisabeth. He told them a bit of a white lie about some unexpected business that cannot be put off, and was quite glad that they apparently weren't in at the moment. It would have been much harder to tell them straight. Maybe they'd even feel obliged to join the pirates and that was something Santiago wanted to avoid since they'd be much safer here. But were they really safe here? He remembered that eerie aura of doom he'd felt before and wondered where Will and Elisabeth were at all. Should he call them? Yet if he'd called them he would have to explain things they didn't need to know, therefore he called Mai-Lin instead, asking her. She calmed his sudden worries by telling him that his dear guests were just out for a walk in the hills like they usually did after dinner. So there was no reason to worry.
The first thing Captain Rowan Scarlett saw when boarding her Jewel Star was Marris and Anamaria sitting together, chatting. Well, they didn't sit together closely, since each of them sat on the rail of their own ship, yet they seemed to be quite familiar with each other by now. She heard Anamaria laugh about a joke Marris had cracked and felt immediately pissed off. Slightly annoyed she called her first mate, telling him that they were about to set sail at sunrise before informing the rest of the crew. Then she asked him about their supplies of food, water and ammunition, but she didn't ask what was going on between him and Anamaria though that was somehow of quite a bit more interest to her. Nevertheless she didn't mention what was bothering her.
In the galley she had that same old argument with Rashid as always. In his opinion he couldn't cook any decent meals with the inadequate supplies they had aboard and then he foamed again that the Caribbean was an awful place anyway due to the lack of spices. Oddly enough, when he got excited about his favourite topic he could speak English properly and fluently instead of mixing it with a smattering of Spanish like he usually did. Yet that didn't cheer up Rowan, quite the reverse. She felt tempted to roast him and feed him to the crew in order to prove him wrong. When would he get the simple fact that he wasn't cooking at a Maharaja's court anymore but on a pirate ship and pirates in general didn't need nor expect exquisite menus if they sailed straight towards a deadly adventure- and it would probably be just like that. She didn't fool herself regarding the danger of this adventure they're heading to since she knew that simply finding and destroying the statue of Nirrti sounded much too easy. Therefore, she wanted to be as prepared as possible for all the things that could happen, might it be a naval battle, a hasty retreat, whatever…
"Hey, we both know Rashid can be a pain in the arse when it comes to what he calls culinary arts but let's face it. Actually you're more mad at me than at him, aye?" Marris grabbed her arm and forced her to face him. "Now, what's wrong?"
"I'm just sick and tired of the same discussion with Rashid." Rowan snorted, ignoring his allusion that she might be mad at him because she definitely wasn't. Well, maybe a little bit... she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes and saw him smile cheekily, smiling like only Marris could. It was also a knowing smile as he knew her better than anyone else ever since the day they first met; two orphans stealing fruits at Tortuga's market place. They'd shared their loot at the docks then as well as they'd shared their hopes and dreams ever since. So it really wasn't hard for him to figure her out. "Damned! I really can't believe that ye're flirting with a woman who'd tried to stab me!"
"Ah, that. Well then wouldn't it be great if she falls in love with me instead of still chasing the stupid idea of being in love with Captain Jack Sparrow?"
"Now, that sounds like a typical Marris solution to put things right." she replied sarcastically and shook her head. "Yet I'm not sure if I really wanna ask that sacrifice of ye."
Marris smirked. "Maybe it's not…" All of a sudden he winced and writhed as if someone had punched him in the stomach, only that there wasn't anyone but Rowan and she wasn't to blame for once.
"What's wrong?" Her voice sounded worried when she gazed at him and saw him nervously looking in all directions.
"I dunno…" Again he made sure that there was really nothing unusual to see, then he shrugged and shook his head. "Haven't ye noticed anything?"
"Marris, are ye sure ye're alright?"
"Well I… I feel a bit dizzy but..." Marris paused and thought about it once more yet he still came to the conclusion that it hadn't just been his imagination running wild. He tried to explain it to her. "You know, it wasn't really like noticing something you can see or hear. It was actually more like sensing that there's something- invisible, inaudible and even in quite a distance- but it was there like some sort of weird, eerie aura that hit me outta the blue. It almost made my hair stand on end."
"Ah, I see." Rowan looked at his tousled, backcombed mass of white-blonde hair and thought that he always looked like his hair stood on end. But the expression on his face was much too serious to crack a joke now, actually she'd never seen him that serious before. He had sank to the floor and buried his head in his hands as if suffering a really bad headache. She kneeled down beside him, placing a supporting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are ye sure ye're alright?" she asked again, more concerned this time. "Maybe ye should talk to Santiago- after all, he's the one in charge with supernatural affairs. D'ye want me to fetch him?"
Marris grimaced almost painfully, hugging her. "No thanks. Definitely he's the one who'd landed myself in it and besides, he's gonna be here in a few minutes anyway."
"What're ye talking 'bout?"
"I don't understand it either. Damned, I need a drink."
"Well, and ye could be damned happy, mate, that I'm the one who's got a drink to offer even though I'm not sure whether I like what I see here."
Rowan looked up to see Jack and rolled her eyes- she just hated it when he was so possessive and the last she needed was a lover who's jealous at Marris of all people. Maybe he saw that too because he joined them on the planks now, handing around the bottle he carried. After they all had a good gulp of rum he inquired what was going on and she tried to explain it to him as good as possible.
"Wait a second." Jack interrupted, cautiously eying Rowan. Somehow he felt mucked around and he didn't like that at all. "Are ye seriously trying to tell me that yer first mate got attacked by something invisible and inaudible in the far distance?"
"Rowan's telling the truth, Jack." Marris said mediating, and though he was tempted to remind the infamous pirate captain that he'd found him in a much more embarrassing situation than just hugging a close friend yesterday, he didn't speak it out loud. Nevertheless, Jack was clever enough to understand him even without words since he lowered his head, biting his lips.
"Aye, never doubted that. It just sounds so weird…"
"You mean weird in the sense of pirates turn to skeletons in the moonlight because of an Aztec's curse, or rather weird in a way that Chalice of Doom is, enslaving souls in order to sacrifice them to an evil Indian Goddess? Of course you can also call Santiago weird, a once fanatic Christian who's become a mighty magician during his 246 years of life." Rowan replied sarcastically but Jack just started to chuckle and bend over to kiss her.
"Ye're absolutely right, luv. Seems there's nothing normal nowadays." Jack ran his fingers through her hair; even in the light of the ship lanterns it shimmered like a glass of red wine held to the light. He snuggled up closer to her, after all these days still fascinated by her and that was something he'd also call weird.
"Did you just say Santiago's a mighty magician or am I hearing voices again?" Marris asked Rowan.
"Oh, haven't I told you yet?"
"Well, we hadn't much time to talk recently since you were… um, busy with Jack. Probably you just forgot to mention that minor detail."
"Sorry, Marris. It was never my intention to conceal it from you." Rowan let go of her lover and hugged her best friend instead. Meanwhile Jack gulped down some rum to celebrate a formerly unknown feeling called jealousy, and though he knew that there was no reason to be jealous at Marris nor at any other man- after all, he was Captain Jack Sparrow- he just couldn't stand the thought of anyone else touching her.
"Funny, why doesn't that surprise me? There'd always been something odd about our good old Santiago. All the strange things he used to do- now they make sense… I think I'm beginning to understand…." Marris mused, tearing at his hair until it really stuck from his head in all directions. "… guess it's because of the reindeer bones…"
Rowan stared at him confused and frowned, so did Jack. But he coughed and spit a good mouthful of rum on the planks.
"Reindeer bones?"
"Aye, reindeer bones…" Marris looked from Rowan to Jack and back. "Remember that I told Santiago about my ancestors once?"
She shuddered. He'd been born in a county which was even colder than England, and she couldn't think of any colder and more unfriendly place than London in winter.
"Well, my ancestors stem from somewhere high up in the north, close to the polar circle, and they breed reindeers for their living." the blonde tousle-head explained Jack, who nodded knowingly, pretending to know all about reindeers though he'd never seen one, "Allegedly there was a shaman in my mother's family, generations ago, and allegedly he'd been able to read the future from said reindeer bones thrown in trance while beating his spirit drums." He shrugged. "I thought that's a funny story and that's why I told it to Santiago, but I never believed in it. Bloody reindeer. Never ever seen one in my life yet the bloody Spaniard looked at me as if… if…"
"… as if he's found a perfect magician-apprentice?" Jack interjected helpfully. "Ah, that's typically Alf- always looking for innocent orphans he can teach all his knowledge."
Marris continued. "Bullshit, if ye ask me. I'm definitely not skilled with any spiritual hocus-pocus…"
Rowan frowned. If he wasn't, what was it then that had happened to him just a few minutes ago? To her it was quite obvious that her best friend was indeed susceptible for what he called spiritual hocus-pocus and besides, he'd always had a knack for doing the right things at the right time. Why did he do almost everything to see her and Jack happy together, even flirting with her best foe to distract her, if it wasn't for an unknown reason only he had in mind. Well, of course it definitely was because he really wanted her to be happy and also because he had an incomprehensible crush for Anamaria, but that surely wasn't the whole truth…
"… and I even wouldn't have told him about my ancestors if I'd known about him then what I know now, savvy? Bloody reindeer!"
"Ah, and what do you think to know about me, lad?"
Three heads raised to stare at Miguel Alfonso de Santiago who'd apparently emerged out of nowhere, but obviously had planted himself in front of them at least long enough to hear Marris' last statement.
"If you'd know me as well as you think, why haven't you spread the message I sent you? Didn't I make it clear enough that I wanted both ships ready to sail right now?" The Spaniard look around dissatisfied and sighed. "But you just loll around. Well, maybe I've just overrated your talents. Anyway…"
"Hey, what have you done to Marris?" Rowan jumped up to her feet, facing Santiago straight. Let others be moral cowards because he'd recently become known as a magician but she wasn't scared of him, therefore she didn't see why she shouldn't treat him like she usually did.
"I didn't harm him, if that's what you mean, my dear. I've only tried to send him a telepathic message in order to save time, because we really have to sail right now. I can't explain it to you but there is something happening that throws the balance of the universe in a heavy turmoil. So please, tell your crew to set sails. We have to hurry."
Rowan looked frustrated at Jack who also wasn't very pleased with the change of plans; they'd hoped to spend this night together before sailing on different ships to an island that cannot be found. "How long does it take to get to the Isla de Muerta?"
Jack shrugged, actually he'd never cared about the time it took him to get there- until now. "Probably a day and a half, plus or minus a few hours…"
Santiago couldn't bear the longing looks they exchanged any longer so he showed some sympathy for the two of them. "Well then, I'm only a passenger so I'm off to my cabin now. Take your time to say goodbye but please remember that we're really in a hurry to get to the Isla de Muerta."
Rowan grabbed Jack and kissed him thoroughly, then she made her way to the helm, barking orders to her crew. She just hated long goodbyes- especially when the crew's watching her curiously.
"To work, ye scabby dogs!"
Captain Jack Sparrow was in a really bad, gloomy mood. He stood at the helm, navigating the Black Pearl through the starless and quite unfriendly night since the weather had changed about an hour after they've left the channel of Tortuga and reached the open sea. Now, it was raining. It wasn't one of those typical Caribbean showers that usually ended as abruptly as it had begun and purified the air from the day's heat, but it was a constant drizzle. Although Jack could hardly feel a drop on his skin, his clothes stuck damply to his body as the air was just extremely humid.
Jack let off steam by barking orders at his crew, showing off about being the captain, although they surely weren't to blame for his mood; as usual they did a good job. And usually he was a fair captain if only… Damned, a woman should stand by her man and keep his bed warm, she should be loving and adoring, assuring him her affection. She shouldn't command her own ship when she could be with him instead, and most of all, she shouldn't run away from him all the time. She shouldn't leave him behind and slam the door in his face whenever she felt like, leaving him longing for her nevertheless; just like a daft fool in love. But he was Captain Jack Sparrow, he could have any other woman if he wanted to… and exactly that was the problem. To hell with her! For a moment he closed his eyes and remembered…
…she arched her spine and threw back her head, the most sensual expression on her face. Her hair swirled around her shoulders like cascades of red wine, flowing down to her firm breasts; breasts that were made to fit perfectly into my hands. My head bent to lick a sparkling drop of water off her nipple as she claws her fingers into my back, causing such delicious pain. My hands grabbed her hips, thrusting deeper, harder, faster until she groaned my name like a prayer and sent me straight to heaven. A final flood of water splashed over the edges of the pool… Then she cuddled in my arms and nuzzled my chest like a sweet little kitten but never forgetting the hellcat she sometimes could be. It felt so right to hold her, running my fingers through her hair and wondering why she could make me feel so complete, so completely at peace with myself each time we're together…
Jack sighed. No, he didn't want any other woman than Rowan. He'd tried many and none of them could give him what Rowan gave him; they'd just satisfied his needs. They didn't touch him the way she did, they didn't grant him that feeling of complete and utter bliss that only she could give him. Most women were obsequious, obedient and pale to the point of lacking any colour, not having any opinions of their own. Though that was how the majority preferred women- pretty to look at but otherwise unobtrusive- they were no real match, no challenge for him. But Rowan… his lips curled to a smile when he thought about her.
…well, she's dressed in colours even if she wears nothing at all. She's got her own will, so damned stubborn sometimes but the next moment she cuddles affectionately in my arms, touching me gently… her hands are rough though, calloused from hard work on a pirate ship and handling a sword. Unlike other women, she lacks any shyness in touching a man's body- some may call this shameless or even wantonly but that's alright to me. Who am I not to be pleased with a wantonly woman who enjoys touching me, exploring my body… She's skilled like a whore but not with a whore's ambition; she doesn't hear the coins in my pockets jingle when we make love. She's just very sensual… she loves to feel, to touch, to taste, to nibble and bite, to kiss and lick…
He remembered that night Rowan had invited him for dinner; her cabin had smelled of exotic spices and sandalwood incense, and she had looked like an Indian princess in her green sari.
So breathtaking beautiful and seductive, and seduction was indeed what she had in mind… ah, her fingertips dances delicately across my chest, teasing me, as her hot mouth travels down my neck and further down, kissing these old scars, leaving a moist trail on my skin. Her tongue touches my nipple and the desire to throw her on the back and screw her is just overwhelming…She knows what I'm up to and props herself on her elbows, saying, 'it's my turn now, savvy?', before continuing to drive me wild, feverish with lust, groaning for more. She knows how to please a man and seems to like it; every touch, every kiss is just for the joy of touching and kissing me, so pure and yet so wonderfully wantonly…my body trembles uncontrollably as the blood rushes to my head, throbbing heavily, causing red golden flashes to twinkle behind my closed eyelids. A shiver runs down my spine…
Jack winced startled when he felt a big, clumsy hand clutching his shoulder.
"Captain Sparrow! Jack, ye're alright?" Mr. Gibbs asked a bit worried.
Jack lifted his head, suddenly aware that he had been dreamily leaning against the Pearl's wheel for- how long already?- completely lost in erotic thoughts.
"Please forgive me for interfering, Captain, I surely won't doubt yer competence, but it seems to me that we're just heading towards a nasty shallows and I…"
Jack stared at the shallows ahead and then at his compass. The Pearl had deviated from her course quite a lot without him even noticing. Immediately he corrected course and barked some orders at his crew, wondering for how long he hadn't looked at his compass anymore. Then he glanced at Gibbs. "Just wanted to check yer attention, savvy?"
"Aye, Captain." The elder man replied, but he kept eying his captain cautiously, hoping that he wasn't in one of his odd moods again like that night he thought to be cursed; he definitely didn't want to relive that. He turned away a little in order to take a surreptitious quick swig from his flask.
"Joshamee Gibbs, drinkin' on yer own just gets ye drunk, so ye should at least offer yer Captain a swig too." Jack slurred and pinched the flask from his first mate's hands, gulping down almost half of its content. The golden liquid tickled his throat and warmed his stomach, soothing a desire that would remain unfulfilled tonight. He looked at astern. Damned, a woman should really stay with her man and not be aboard a ship that followed in the Pearl's wake like a shadow, barely visible but for the white foam spraying at her bow. Sighing he addressed Mr. Gibbs again, holding up the small flask. "Why don't ye get me a decent bottle of rum 'n help me finishing it, what d'ye say?"
Gibbs said 'aye' and hurried to comply with his captain's wishes, so a few minutes later Jack held the wished for bottle in his hands, uncorking it with his teeth. Yet he only took a mouthful of rum before he passed the bottle to his mate, since he had rather looked for company than for booze. Actually, anything or anyone would be welcome if only he could distract his thoughts from the woman he couldn't have right now and from the destination of their voyage. Though he would never admit it to himself- let alone to others- but returning to the damned Isla de Muerta was something that could even scare stiff the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Too many nights he'd woken up, soaked with cold sweat because of yet another nightmare haunted by Barbossa. Too many nights he'd been tossing and turning in his sleep, reliving the mutiny, being marooned on that godforsaken island again and again. An icy cold shiver ran down his spine when he thought about what they might find in the caves of Isla de Muerta and what possibly not- and he didn't refer to that statue of Nirrti now. Although he'd seen Barbossa die, killed by that single shot he'd carried in his pistol for ten years, he really wasn't sure if Barbossa's corpse would still lie where he'd left him, at the feet of that huge chest filled with Aztec Gold.
The Isla de Muerta was an island made of steep shores and deeply fissured rocks on which scarcely anything grew except for a few greenish alga right above the water-line. In the centre of that inhospitable island the crater of a volcano rose, emitting grey clouds of smoke, and these clouds hovered across the sea like fog. All sounds were dulled, absorbed to distant echoes, and the wind had died down.
The planks creaked, the sails flapped idly against the masts and occasionally a rattle in the rigging could be heard. No one aboard the Jewel Star spoke a word as the ship approached the island, all pirates were stunned about the eerie and yet somehow unrealistic atmosphere that welcomed them here.
Rowan was the first to break the silence. "Lovely. Looks like we've reached the forecourt of hell, aye?"
Her crew started murmuring, some crossed themselves while others surreptitiously made the sign against evil. Rowan didn't know which of them was wiser. Most probably the few ones who pretended to be neither impressed nor influenced by the eerie atmosphere and the slightly sulphurous smell in the air, the ones that still managed to keep a sharp eye on more important things.
"Watch out, Captain! Wrecks ahead!" McCoy, an unusually dark-haired Irishman, warned her, pointing ahead to what seemed to be a graveyard of scuttled ships.
Rowan left the helm to Marris and hurried at McCoy's side to have a closer look. It was amazing. Though clouds of smoke covered the sky the sea was nevertheless so clear that she could glance deep down to the ground, seeing many wrecks of what once had been majestic ships. Now they rotted at the bottom of the sea, only populated by swarms of sharks. What had happened to them? From a very far distance she could hear Cotton's parrot caw: 'Dead men tell no tales.'
Then she saw the Black Pearl drop anchor right in front of an opening in the rocks that looked like the jaws of hell to her. She gave orders to get the longboat ready.
"Marris, Santiago and I are going ashore now." she informed McCoy and told him to double the watch while she was away. Somehow she had a feeling something would happen sooner or later. Neither Norrington nor that Rakshasa/Anirvan/Ratbone guy would just let them walk into the caves of Isla de Muerta and destroy the statue of Nirrti.
Meanwhile Jack worried whether it was safe to leave his Black Pearl in the hands of his crew while he was away. After all, they had deserted him once before at exactly the same place and fact was, that he still owed Anamaria a ship. Fact was also that they hadn't looted any ships for more than a week now, so his crew could get impatient, and impatience often leads to discontentment… there are always many reasons for a mutiny. One reason surely was, that he was about to go into a legendary treasure cave only to destroy a magical statue of an Indian Goddess, therefore he would return to them empty-handed, although everybody aboard knew that a fortune was hidden there. Yet none of them could possibly imagine how many treasures had been actually hoarded in the caves of Isla de Muerta- it was probably enough to buy the whole Caribbean twice and- Jack chuckled secretly at that thought- transform it into a pirate nation…
"What are you waiting for Captain Sparrow? We don't have all day." Santiago shouted mockingly from the longboat that had just docked at the Pearl, interrupting Jack's daydreams of a pirate nation where he'd be king and Rowan his queen. A damned sexy queen by the way. Today she was dressed in tight black clothes that hardly disguised her slender, muscular but yet feminine form, and though he loved to see her hair flowing uncombed and unruly across her shoulders, these two plaits looked somehow irresistible to tug on… But Captain Jack Sparrow had never been a man who could resist and so he almost scuttled the boat in his enthusiasm to pull her closer by her plaits and kiss her.
"Damned! Are you trying to drown us?" Santiago cursed after the heavy swaying had stopped and the boat became more balanced again. He tossed the oars to Jack. "Row! You seem to have too much surplus energy so I give you the fantastic chance to let off steam by making yourself useful."
"Yer too kind mate." Jack snarled, thinking of a much better way to let off steam. He looked at Rowan and when their eyes met, he knew that she just had the same idea. Unfortunately Alf wouldn't be too pleased with what they had in mind, so he better concentrated on rowing. It would have been much easier though if Rowan hadn't kept staring at him, admiring his strength, perhaps even imagining the way his muscles flexed under his shirt- or simply laughing up her sleeve that he had to do the hard work and not her.
A little while later torches were lit as the boat entered the caves of Isla de Muerta. Although they hadn't spoken much before, they all went quiet now, speechlessly glaring up and down the walls of a subterranean channel. That passage had not been built by human hands but resulted from the forces of nature; the walls were rough, eaten by the ravages of time and deeply fissured.
Soon the torchlight got reflected by a golden sparkle and that didn't come from Jack's golden teeth, though he grinned broadly about his companions' flabbergasted faces when they passed a skeleton sitting on a ledge next to the channel, wearing a crown on its skull. The golden sparkle increased even more the deeper they advanced into the caves. There were golden coins covering the bottom of the channel now and more skeletons of unknown men resting forever on piles of treasures. Their names had been forgotten and their fame had faded in the course of years, decades, centuries, but their fortune remained.
Yet all treasures they passed on their way were nothing in comparison to what the main cave had to offer. Rowan, Marris and even Santiago had to blink their eyes in disbelief since none of them had ever seen so many treasures hoarded at one place. It was incredible, indescribable- nevertheless it was real; they weren't dreaming.
The cave was huge and had several side caves, each of them stuffed with silver and gold, coins and jewellery, crowns and diadems, chalices and chandeliers. Some of it was rising over the edges of big chests, some was just piled carelessly in a corner. There were also paintings in rich carved golden frames, portraying a king long dead or a hero forgotten by now, precious carpets, broad armchairs with covers of the finest damask, tables made of marble and gold, and even more coins, necklaces, rings, strings of pearls, bangles. And scattered between this overwhelming mess of treasures jutted a statues here and there, representing all different kinds of deities, whether it was Buddha, the Virgin Mary, a popular Hindu God, or someone unknown.
Rowan sighed. It would probably take days to search the caves for that statue of Nirrti since there was just too much of everything here. It wasn't very helpful either that Jack tried to flatter her by holding a precious necklace made of gold and sapphires to her neck, looking critically at her before throwing it carelessly away, mumbling something about the wrong colour. Then he rummaged through another pile of treasures as if he wanted to find something more suitable for her by all means. Oddly enough, she thought he was rather trying to distract her from whatever… when her eye fell on a huge stone chest atop of a hill of piled gold in the middle of the cave, surrounded by a subterranean pond. A few stone slabs led to that island and she headed towards it with curiosity, knowing that this chest contained the infamous Aztec Gold.
"Don't go there!" Jack grabbed her arm in order to prevent her from stepping closer to that damned chest, but she stubbornly tear herself away of his grip.
"Stop that! D'ye really think I'm keen on cursed Aztec Gold?" she snapped, since she was rather keen on the truth behind a story told to her in the 'Prancing dragon' once. Did he want to hold her back now because he'd lied to her then? She had to find out.
Rowan hurried along the stone slabs with Jack hard on her heels, brandishing his arms.
"You don't really wanna go there." he warned her.
"What are they up to now?" Santiago wondered and looked at Marris for an answer, but the blonde pirate just frowned. "Do we have to worry?"
"Mayhap…"
At that moment Rowan stumbled over something and immediately froze in her tracks, staring with a disturbing mixture of shock and hate at Barbossa's corpse. There wasn't much left of him but pale bones and his dirty scruffy clothes, and yet she knew that it was definitely him; no doubt about that. No one else could raise such a hatred, such a wild fury inside her.
"Ah, I just knew ye don't wanna see it… him." Jack said a bit helpless, misinterpreting the tear that ran down her cheek. He wanted to give her a comforting hug when he saw that expression on her face, and then he heard the crashing sound of splintering bones.
"No, Jack." She lifted her boot and glanced at grinded bones that used to be a hand, a weird smile playing about her lips. "I had to see it with my own eyes. I only wish he'd had to suffer more… at least I would have made him really suffer."
Jack had to swallow hard. Though he knew that she wasn't cruel by nature it was quite disconcerting to hear her say the really awful things she would have done to Barbossa. He hadn't known that such a pretty head could think up such sick thoughts, but on the other hand he couldn't blame her for that- not after all Barbossa had done to her.
Rowan stood shifting her weight from foot to foot and again bones crashed.
"Christ! Stop that! That's desecration of a corpse!" Santiago gasped utterly shocked, suddenly remembering his Christian background again rather shocked. But Rowan neither came to her senses nor did she show any sign of piety.
"Ha! Ye can't desecrate a man like Barbossa, no matter how hard ye try." She snarled, whirling around on one foot and sending Barbossa's skull into the dark waters of the subterranean pond with a single, well-placed kick.
There was a loud splash, followed by a moment of embarrassed silence. Everybody stared at the circling whirl in the water where the skull had sunk, thus they avoided staring at Rowan in consternation. While Santiago let show his horror about her sacrilege, Jack was completely taken aback because of her extreme behaviour- though he should have known by now that kicking Barbossa's skull into the pond was nothing in comparison to what she would have done to him if he was still alive- and Marris… Well, Marris proved his knack for doing the right things at the right moment once again; he just walked up to Rowan and wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders, hugging her tightly.
"D'ye feel better now?"
Rowan nodded and returned his hug for an instant, ignoring Jack's jealous glances. Damned, I'm not your possession, she thought before she cleared her throat and reminded everyone of the agenda. "Hey mates, don't ye think we should start looking for that bloody statue of Nirrti now?"
They all agreed, somehow relieved that that nasty incident was apparently over so that they could concentrate on what they came here for in the first place. Not Barbossa mattered but the statue of Nirrti. Yet they hadn't expected the search to be like looking for a needle in a haystack- except for Jack maybe, who'd been here before- because there were so many statues of Gods, Goddesses or Saints buried under piles of gold, silver and jewellery. Therefore they rummaged through the caves for a while but with little success.
Instead of a statue of a mean Indian goddess, Jack found much prettier things like beautiful necklaces that had to look gorgeous on Rowan's golden skin. However, decorating her with precious jewelleries didn't really cheer up her gloomy mood.
"Let it be." Rowan said impatiently and pushed aside his hand with yet another ridiculous necklace, that one even more kitschy and therefore perhaps even more precious than the others. She straightened up and shot him a serious, slightly furious glance. "Am I just a nice little puppy to you that you can decorate with trumpery as you like it? Hey, look at me. Do I really look like I need that kind of glittering dross?"
A look of consternation came over Jack's face and he threw the necklace carelessly away, mumbling something like he only wanted to make her happy. He didn't understand it- any other woman would have been flattered by such a gift but Captain Rowan Scarlett didn't seem to give a damn about baubles other women would kill for. Then he looked at her- as she had asked him to- and came to the conclusion that she'd been right, somehow. She really didn't need neither gold, silver nor gemstones to look enticing…
Rowan's knees turned to jelly when he looked at her that way and she immediately regretted her harsh words. His chocolate brown eyes rimmed with khol reflected everything he'd probably never speak, those three little words of how much he really cared for her. Nevertheless she tried to keep her composure.
"Jack, if I'd want pretty clothes or precious jewels I would have plenty of them, savvy? Don't forget that I'm a pirate just like you are. I take what I want…" All of a sudden she didn't care about her composure anymore, instead she grabbed Jack at his collar and kissed him hard.
Santiago watched them and tsked before he addressed Marris. "You better keep a sharp eye on them, lad, because I sense lust in the air and we don't want these two vanish surreptitiously to a dark corner, do we?"
"Well, I don't mind 'em havin' fun." The blonde pirate replied shrugging, but then he looked insistently at the Spaniard. "Hey, if ye can 'sense' things, why don't ye just go and sense that damned statue of Nirrti? That would be quite useful."
"Ah, shut up. You might be a bright lad but you don't know anything about magic."
"How could I? I just found out that ye're a mighty magician though I must say 'm not surprised about it. Ye've always been a weird guy."
"Thanks." The Spaniard grumbled and pulled a face when he threw another glance at Rowan and Jack. All that smacking, licking and pawing was embarrassing. He wouldn't mind if they'd do it in private, but apparently you had to turn your back on them only for a minute and they start pouncing upon each other immediately without any sense of decency. Bloody pirates.
Suddenly there was a loud clattering, rattling and clanging. In the heat of the moment, the pirate couple had stumbled and landed awkwardly in a pile of treasures, which now collapsed underneath them. Finally they stopped smooching and took a peek at each other. They had to giggle and even Santiago couldn't help curling up his lips to an amused smile since they just looked too ridiculous. Golden coins dropped tinkling off their shoulders, some kitschy necklaces had got tangled in Jack's dreadlocks, and Rowans head was crowned with a golden bowl.
"You've had your fun, so please can we carry on with more essential matters now? If you remember- we're here to look for the statue of Nirrti." Santiago reminded them matter-of-factly.
"Actually, I've been doing nothing else but looking for that statue..." Rowan claimed with a big smile and got up, shaking off the last golden coins. "… though it might have looked different to you. Well, fact is, that unusual magical things sometimes require unusual methods in order to find them, savvy?" She took a step towards a niche in the stones that had been hidden by piles of treasures before. "Sometimes it even requires sort of a landslide to unveil what has been out of sight." Her hand reached out and got hold of a statue made of ebony and gold. Triumphantly she held it up. "Here she is, that little bitch!"
Everyone stared at the statue of Nirrti in disgusted fascination. The Vedan Goddess was portrayed as a naked, dark-skinned woman, slender, but with full breasts and broad child-bearing hips. Her hair was made of gold, flowing unruly over her shoulders to her waist. Yet the artist who'd once made the statue had also perfectly caught Nirrti's maliciousness. After all, there was no denial that she was the Goddess of death, decay, disease, calamity, and perversion.
"Alright, we've found her so can we please destroy Her Maliciousness now?" Rowan raised her arm in order to smash the statue to the floor although she knew it probably won't burst into thousand pieces- when an icy cold voice made her freeze in her tracks.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Norrington! Rowan had already expected him turning up here sooner or later, and of course he wasn't on his own. Five of his grey-clad puppet-on-strings vassals accompanied him- and Elisabeth Turner. However, she didn't accompany him voluntarily since her hands were tied and she was gagged. Norrington had taken her along as his leverage.
"Hand over the statue or I'll blow her head away." He emphasised and released the safety catch of his pistol to underline his words.
"No." Rowan said defiantly, and Santiago, Marris and Jack gave her encouragement by unsheathing their swords; a pistol was cocked.
"Sparrow, tell your whore to bring me that statue. At once." Norrington snarled disparagingly.
Jack looked around questioningly, honestly confused. "Has anyone seen a whore?"
Meanwhile Norrington's vassals tried to encircle the group of pirates but Santiago and Marris managed to keep them out of reach.
"Sparrow, I want that statue!"
"Captain. It's CAPTAIN Sparrow, and aye, I guess ye've already mentioned that you want the statue but what happens if we're not willing to give it to ye?" Jack was playing for time. Where's Will, he wondered, and a feeling of vast unease began to spread in his stomach. Will wouldn't allow Norrington to simply take Elisabeth away from him, he'd fight for her… I'd die for her, Jack remembered Will saying and he really hoped that the whelp hadn't done anything stupid. Yet he feared the worst when he saw the trail of tears on Elisabeth's face.
"I might have not made myself unmistakable clear." Norrington was losing patience; he tossed Elisabeth to the ground, one hand wrapped in her hair, so that she had to crouch at his knees in a degrading position. "Miss Elisabeth and her blacksmith lover are in my custody so it's up to you if they live or die. Well, in the lad's case it's rather improbable that he will live much longer- you know how rash he can be, and the wound's really quite nasty. But that's fine with me. I'm gonna take the sacrifice upon me and marry the lovely widow. Tsk, she shouldn't have married so far beneath her rank anyway…"
Jack went pale. There weren't many people he'd call friends but he'd become quite fond of the young Turners, and he couldn't possibly tell Bill that he'd let his only son die because of a statue. "Maybe you better give it to him.", he whispered in Rowan's ear.
That moment, chaos broke loose. Santiago and Marris attacked Norrington's men though the grey-clad outnumbered them, but the Spaniard had the advantage of being experienced in fighting for more than 200 years. Also he was a magician. After decapitating one man without batting an eye he threw a whirling ball of white smoke and blinding lights in the air. Eerie shadows flickered across the walls of the cave, and the diffuse twilight he had created made him appear taller, crueller and more dangerous.
Distract them! I have to take care of Will! Marris winced when Santiago's voice throbbed in his head like rolling thunder and for an instant he forgot to pay attention to his opponents. Jack noticed that the blonde pirate was in distress so he hurried to his assistance- at the same time Rowan hurled the statue in Norrington's direction.
"You want it? You get it!"
Norrington bent down to pick it up but by doing so he couldn't keep an eye on Elisabeth anymore and that was exactly what Rowan had intended. Swiftly she was at the younger woman's side, helping her back on her feet.
"Quick! Hide somewhere!"
Then she whirled around and gave Norrington a heavy kick. Since he'd still been off balance he landed on his butt. Only a moment later she was in possession of the statue again.
"Cheated!" She said cheerfully but of course the Commodore had no sense of humour. She could- figuratively- see white fires of anger fuming from his nostrils as he realized that he'd gotten a beaten once again. By a woman! He let out a frustrated and infuriated howl of pain and unsheathed his sword to teach her a lesson.
Nevertheless, the first stroke nearly caught her unprepared and she raised her sword just in time. Their blades met clanging, sending off little blue sparks, but it was the force of his fierce attack that caused her arm to tremble. She felt a sharp pain flashing through it from her fingertips to her shoulder and her arm even got numb for a moment; she thought, she couldn't hold her sword any longer. Therefore she pretended to give in… only to use the strength of her legs again. When everything else failed, a well-positioned kick in a man's genitals always saved the situation- no matter whether said man was an obtrusive drunkard or a fine Commodore.
He gasped aloud and staggered backwards, clasping his hands to his private parts, shielding them now when it was already too late. Rowan didn't know whether she should feel sorry for him or burst out into laughter, but then she thought it would be wiser to prepare for another attack. Fortunately, her arm was getting better with every minute…
Fighting Norrington's vassals had kept Jack busy for a while but as soon as he had space for a moment he looked around for Rowan. He cursed when he saw her crossing blades with Norrington- why couldn't she just try to stay out of trouble?- but then he couldn't help smiling about how she handled the situation in her very own special way.
"Good footwork, darling." He shouted before he concentrated on the three remaining opponents again. It was really time to get rid of them.
A little later the sharp sound of a shooting pistol echoed through the cave. Rowan stared at the smoking barrel astonished that Norrington had actually dared to shoot at her. Bloody coward- is he afraid to cross blades with me? Then the pain hit her like a bolt from the blue and a crimson haze blurred her sight. Now, she had the urgent desire to do some really mean and evil things to Norrington but she was hardly able to stay at her feet any longer. The shock and the loss of blood made itself felt; she swayed dizzily and fainted.
Jack heard the shot and from the corner of his eye he saw Rowan falling to the ground. Slowly the connection became conscious to him. Shot. Rowan was falling. He froze in his tracks and went pale. No, that couldn't be! He'd thought that his worst nightmares had already come true when he'd had to watch Barbossa sail away on his ship, leaving him to die on a godforsaken island…
"No!" He forgot about Norrington and his grey-clad vassals, he forgot about the statue of Nirrti- all he could think about was Rowan. He rushed to the place where she lay, motionless, bleeding. There was blood running down her face… This had to be a nightmare and he'd wake up soon, he told himself. Yet everything was so damned realistic. He yelled her name- or did he merely whisper it? His voice sounded so strange to him as if it wasn't his own; it was a stranger's voice. He was a stranger, completely out of his senses, horrified, petrified. He could only sit and stare at Rowan, at the thin line of blood than ran down her cheek. Wasn't it ironic? He hadn't looked for his perfect companion, his perfect match, when he'd stumbled down that stair at the prancing dragon and bumped into her… and now, now he couldn't even bear the thought of living without her.
Suddenly he noticed that it was oddly quiet in the cave- no rattle of swords, no hard breathing men, no shouting- only a very quietly splashing of waves could be heard. Jack was alone. He didn't know where all the others had disappeared but somehow he felt like the last survivor of mankind and everything had come to an end.
Then, Marris turned up breathlessly. He had been chasing Norrington and was still rather pissed off about his failure to track him down. His mood didn't improve much when he saw Rowan lying motionless on the ground and looking at Jack's face made him fear the worst. Nevertheless he reacted quite coolly and most of all practically. Instead of panicking he checked her pulse first before he sighed with relief; apparently he had realized at once what Jack had misinterpreted all the time. The blood on her face didn't come from a deadly shot in the head but she'd knocked her head when she'd fallen- the bullet had only wounded her left arm. It was a proper gunshot wound where the bullet had passed right through without even hitting the bone and though she had definitely lost a certain amount of blood she surely wouldn't die of it. Therefore Marris started patting her cheeks energetically.
To Jack it seemed as if a miracle had happened when Rowan opened her eyes, yet he felt incredible daft that he hadn't thought of checking her pulse. Bewildered she stared at the two men who stared at her in return. For a moment she neither knew what had happened nor where she was, but soon the memories came flowing back to her mind and she sat up with a start. Of course that wasn't very helpful for her weakened constitution since flashing stars danced in front of her eyes and her insides had a wild party. She had to vomit.
"Hush, darling. Take it easy and rest for a little while."
Rowan put him off impatiently. "Where's Norrington?"
"He's gone, and he's taken the statue along." Marris informed her morosely. "Actually, that bastard ran away directly after he'd shot at ye. I've tried to catch him but…"
"And where's Elisabeth?"
"Norrington…"
Rowan cursed loudly while trying to get on her feet, using Jack's arm as a support. She felt miserable, the pain in her arm was almost driving her mad and her head throbbed like it would burst any moment. Nevertheless, Elisabeth was tremendously important…
"Ah, don't worry about the lass. I'm sure that Norrington will do her no harm since he only has an aversion to Will, and Will is in safety now; Santiago has cared for… argh!" Marris pressed his hands to his ears and yelled: "Stop shouting at me, Santiago!" Then he looked back at Rowan, shrugging. "No, I'm not losing my mind. He is actually talking to me and I don't like that at all. Anyway, Will's safe and alive, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Damned, there's a lot to worry 'bout. Norrington's got the statue plus he's got Elisabeth. Why didn't she hide like I told her? Quick! We've gotta set sails! Take me back to the Jewel!"
"Well, shouldn't we fix yer wounds first?"
Rowan rolled her eyes. Of course, it was cute that Jack worried about her but she worried more about Nirrti. Nevertheless she tried to be patient with him. "Aye, but we can do that on a sailing ship. We really have to hurry."
Jack sighed and then he took 'take me to the Jewel' literally; he lifted her up and insisted on carrying her to their longboat. She was tempted to remind him that her arm was wounded and not her legs but didn't speak it out. Actually it was quite pleasant to snuggle up in his arms for a moment.
"So what's up- I mean, concerning Elisabeth?" Marris asked when they rowed back to the Jewel. "Norrington can't use her as leverage anymore since he's got all he wanted; he's got that statue of Nirrti."
"Aye. But not only the statue of Nirrti is needed to smooth the way for Her Maliciousness. They have to perform the ritual to set her free, don't ye get it? Therefore Norrington needs Elisabeth."
Jack pulled a disgusted face. "Nah, d'ye mean Norrington and Elisabeth… on a crematorium ground… the Commodore?"
"I'm sure he gives a damn on decency then. Besides, it's not the ritual sex that really matters, it never had. Norrington loves Elisabeth therefore he has to kill her."
"That lacks any logic…"
"To you, mayhap. But try to see the symbolism. Nirrti is the Goddess of death, destruction, and calamity, so what would suit her more than sacrificing a beloved one? It's like killing love itself."
Jack and Marris stared speechless at Rowan, then the blonde pirate started to row faster.
"Damned, I wished ye'd fantasize 'cause ye've knocked yer head- but I fear ye're right."
15