Chapter 13

McGivens held The Golden Sword in his hands as if the artifact was a child of his. The gleaming golden blade reflected brightly in the mercenary's eyelids, but McGivens did not allow himself the luxury of blinking. Gently, McGivens tucked away the weapon in his belt, keeping the rifle clutched in his other hand steadily trained upon Jack and the others.

"I thank ya for your kind generosity, but I'm afraid we must now have a permanent parting of the ways."

"You can escape now," said Jack, "but what's to stop us from following your ship and regaining The Golden Sword through brute force?"

McGivens shrugged while smiling ruthlessly, stepping closer to Jack. "Well, the fact that ya no longer have a ship in your possession."

"Care to explain?"

"Certainly. Ya have a traitor aboard your ship, Sparrow. Someone who's been helping me stay on your trail and arrive at this cave. They've been foolin' ya since day one."

"Who is it, then?" snapped Will.

"Smith, of course."

The words seemed to echo off of the cave walls as if they had brought everything to a complete stand-still. Jack, Will and Elizabeth gave each other a dark look as McGivens continued talking.

"Yes, Smith. Barnet was able to get to him and he agreed to help Barnet get to these islands. Everyone has a price."

A terrified expression suddenly came across Elizabeth's face. "We left Smith aboard the Pearl along with Michael and Jacquelyn."

"Worse...we left the entire ship in his command." Will's face, at the moment, was grave.

"Tut, tut," taunted McGivens. "Leavin' the ship in the command of a double-crossin' gutless pig ain't exactly the smart thing to do."

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The Black Pearl floated peacefully just outside the cave, its inhabitants unaware of the situation inside the rocky formation. Smith was currently standing at the railing of the ship, staring out at the cave; a hardened expression was etched across his face. Pintel and Ragetti approached him, each of them standing on either side of Smith.

"I bet ten coins that they make it out of there alive," said Pintel.

"But you have to factor in the supernatural beings that live in the cave," Ragetti countered. "Obviously, they'll make everything more difficult."

"Yeah, but the Captain and the others have faced mythological creatures before, so when they come out of the cave victorious, you'll owe me ten gold coins."

"Quiet!" barked Smith. "You two ain't helpin' matters with your pointless arguin'."

Pintel and Ragetti looked at each other uncertainly. "Do we have to say anythin' back?"

Pintel answered with a shrug.

Ragetti turned his head to stare out at the wide expanse of ocean surrounding the Pearl, and was met with the sight of another ship anchored to the seabed out in the distance. "Maybe that bad feeling has something to do with that boat out there."

Dan, a crew member with a curious expression across his face, turned to see what the wooden-eyed crew member was babbling about and spied the very vessel in question. Dan extended the telescope that was cradled in his hands and stared through the lens with his right eye. Dan was able to see the ship's massive sails rippling in the breeze and when Dan lowered the object, he saw different men of varying shapes and sizes walking to and fro about the main deck. Some of the men were not engaging in any suspicious activities, however most of them were either loading gunpowder into pistols and rifles or sharpening the blades of swords and daggers.

"Mary Mother of God," breathed Dan as he lowered the telescope. "All hands look alive! Enemy ship on the horizon!"

"Colours?" inquired Smith.

"Fly-nanny. Prepared for assault." Dan shoved the telescope into the hands of Pintel, who had followed Dan, and raced over to the entrance down to the cannon house. "Get ready for a fight, boys!"

"Nay, belay that order!" shouted Smith.

Dan gave Smith a genuinely surprised look. "Are you mad?"

"No," Smith answered calmly, "just determined."

Suddenly, Smith whipped out a pistol, pulled back its hammer, and aimed it at Dan. "Determined, that is, to allow Captain Barnet control of the seven seas."

Dan, his eyes glued to the barrel of the gun, surreptitiously attempted to reach for the sword tucked into his belt but Smith spotted the action.

"Don't try anything foolish," he spat. "Otherwise, the brats will each get a bullet in the head." Smith's voice was calm, but his actions were extreme. He shifted the position of his pistol so that it was now aiming at Michael and Jacquelyn, who both stood rooted to the main deck a short distance away, staring at the situation intently.

"Hey!" exclaimed Michael in surprise.

"Shut it!" snapped Smith.

"So you've been workin' alongside Barnet all along, eh?" Dan asked bitterly.

"Yes," Smith sneered. "I've been guiding his hired gun all this time, leading him to these islands so that success could be ensured for Barnet. But I must admit, my friend, I'm rather surprised. As a pirate, your number one rule should be to trust no one."

"I don't need ta' stand here and listen ta' your stupid babbling while my cap'n is in that cave with danger lookin' him straight in the eye."

"Quite right. Now, what say we wait patiently for both my compatriots and your friends to arrive? They should be along any minute now."

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Everyone sat in the longboats, not uttering a single word partly because of their gloomy mindset. McGivens and a couple of his men sat in the lead longboat while Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Bootstrap and Gibbs all sat with their hands bound tightly together, separated in two different longboats. Other members of McGivens' crew kept guard over them, the weapons held in their arms belonging to Jack and the others. Jack, Will and Elizabeth all sat together in one longboat while Bootstrap and Gibbs sat in another.

Elizabeth was currently staring down at her feet in silent sadness, tears beginning to brim in her eyes; it was evident what was on her mind. Will, who was watching her solemnly, did his best to move his bound wrists over so that he could hold Elizabeth's hands in his; it worked.

Once Will's hands had enclosed over Elizabeth's, Elizabeth looked up into Will's chocolate brown eyes meaningfully, seeking comfort. She found exactly that and was grateful to have Will as a husband. Not saying a word, Elizabeth leaned over slightly and rested her head on Will's shoulder just as the longboats emerged from the cave's mouth.

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Everyone had boarded the Black Pearl by the time fifteen minutes had gone by. McGivens and his men, including Smith, stood in triumph while others went about tightening the ropes that were binding together the wrists of every Pearl crew member. Jack and his crew stood huddled together on one side of the ship while McGivens and his own crew were scattered about on the deck of The Black Pearl. Michael and Jacquelyn were included in the congregation of pirates being held captive, their wrists held together by a single line of rope.

At the moment, Jack was glaring daggers at Smith. He still could not get over the fact that a close friend of his could betray him so easily.

McGivens, though, smirked genuinely at the traitor. "Well done, Smith. Your skullduggery has proven successful."

"You've lied to us this entire time!" Elizabeth spat, struggling against her bonds and being held back by two muscular henchmen. Will moved to do something about this, but wound up being restrained as well.

"Afraid so, Mrs. Turner. Everyone can be bought for a reasonable price."

"Only those whose souls are stained with greed," snarled Will.

Smith chuckled to himself and stepped forward. "One thing you should learn, Mr. Turner, is that there are hardly any pure souls left in the world. Sin is an unavoidable aspect of life."

"Sin is avoidable for those who make the right choices," retorted Elizabeth. "It's people such as you who choose to corrupt their lives by committing crimes that will go unforgiven."

"Save us the lecture," said McGivens as he stepped between Smith and the Turners. "There's a more pressin' matter at hand. One that concerns a certain treasure and a couple of ships. How do we proceed from here, Smith?"

"Captain Barnet only seeks leverage over Calypso, but he also desires the power of an unstoppable fleet."

"He'll get Cortez's ships, of course, but what's this 'leverage' you're talkin' about?"

Without saying a single word, Smith reached into his coat pocket, fumbled around for a minute, and finally produced what was clearly a silver locket. "This," he answered. "Calypso's locket."

The locket in question had a heart-shaped case large enough to fit in the palm of someone's hand and was connected to a slightly rusted silver chain that was meant to be draped around a neck. Using his thumb, Smith opened the case, revealing a bright, shining blue jewel that seemed to emanate the distant sound of ocean waves crashing against rocks.

"Once brought back in human form, Calypso must do whatever the owner of her locket commands," explained Smith in a calm tone.

McGivens suddenly tore his gaze away from the locket once Smith snapped the case shut. "And exactly how did you come to acquire such a treasure, Mr. Smith?"

Now everyone, including Jack, was listening intently to hear the answer.

"My first task for Captain Barnet was to locate this locket and steal it from its previous owner...the Pirate Lord of Singapore, Cheng Lo."

"Wait a second," exclaimed Jack. "Why would a Pirate Lord have Calypso's locket?"

"Don't inquire too much into matters that are none of your concern, Jack. You might just find yourself in a situation with dire consequences."

Jack snorted bitterly, gesturing around him. "Too late for advice such as that, mate."

"Alright," McGivens spoke up, getting his conversation with Smith back on track, "so since we have the leverage over Calypso, the only matter that remains is how to summon her back to this world?"

Before he gave the answer to the inquiry, Smith turned his head to look at Elizabeth, a smug smile slowly playing across his lips. "Fortunately, the solution to that problem lies with us already. There's a stone inside the central cave on the island we have to reach. In order to bring Calypso back to the mortal realm, the blood of a woman must be spilt on that very stone."

McGivens, catching on to Smith's meaning, also glanced at Elizabeth but his expression contained more amusement. "Kill her?" he asked simply.

"Not necessarily. But I would say that decision is entirely up to you, Mr. McGivens."

McGivens, his amusement now more obvious, motioned for two of his men to bring Elizabeth forth. They did so, with Elizabeth struggling against their hold all the while. Once Elizabeth was close enough, McGivens took her face into his rough hand, holding it up to inspect her beauty properly. "It would be a shame to see such beauty go to waste. I'll think the fate of this bonnie lass over until we reach our destination, but in the meantime, this lovely wench can share my quarters."

Upon being called such a distasteful term, Elizabeth spat right in McGivens' eye, but the mercenary simply laughed in amusement.

"Take her away," he ordered.

With trouble, the two crewmen hauled Elizabeth to the wooden plank that was connecting the two ships. Meanwhile, Will was furiously struggling to free himself in order to do something about it. He elbowed the henchmen on either side of him in the gut, causing them to double over in momentary pain, which allowed Will to dash a few feet toward the plank. But he was soon stopped by a rifle slamming into his chest and a forceful pair of hands shoving him to the deck. Will soon felt the barrel of a rifle press against his temple, accompanied by the sound of its hammer being pulled back.

"Move again! Move again!" reiterated a gruff voice above Will.

"Dad!" came Michael's cry from across the deck.

McGivens stared down at Will, almost sympathetically. "Take these pieces of filth down to the brig including this belligerent little codpiece and chart a course to the central island. Also, make sure the line tied to this ship is secure so that we can properly tow it with us." That being said, both McGivens and Smith retreated to the other ship as the henchmen forcefully guided the Pearl crew toward the brig on McGivens' ship.

Will felt more rough hands haul him to his feet and push him along in his friends' wake. As they all were progressing toward the opposite ship, Will began to formulate a plan to escape their captors within his mind.