AN: There is an important not at the end of the chapter! Please read it!

P.S.: My best wishes go out to Care. I hope everything turns out okay for you and I hope you feel better soon!

"What is sumo, anyway, but sushi with larger pieces of meat?"

Derek Sharpe; Witchblade: Demons

Demon Called Deception

Chapter Six: Revelations

Elizabeth Turner had screamed. Yes, she had screamed, but it was not a scream of fear or pain. No, it had been out of shock.

Because you see, she had seen something, something that she never thought she would see again. She had seen a map. A map that showed the way to uncharted islands. A map to the ultimate treasure. Yet, this map was not found on any scroll. No, this map was found on the back of a pirate captain that she had just met.

Emory turned around quickly, tugging her arms through her vest the rest of the way, buttoning it half-way, the open flaps revealing a small tattoo of a crow, its wings spread out in flight, on her ribs. "What the hell?"

Elizabeth stood pressed against the wall, her hand clutching her chest, her eyes wide. The plain white bed sheets she had been carrying lay rumpled on the floor where she had dropped them.

"Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth!"

Voices called out to her as footsteps pounded down the short hallway. Will reached the room first, a sword in his right hand, his shirt hanging haphazardly over his skin. "Elizabeth? What is it? What happened?"

Elizabeth didn't look at him, her eyes locked on Emory's odd eyes.

"Everythin' alright? What happened?" Jack asked, coming up behind Will.

Elizabeth didn't reply at first, choosing instead to point mutely at Emory. "She . . ." she started. "Her . . ."

"She- her what?" Jack asked, his gaze locking on Emory.

"Her back," Elizabeth said as Michel and Conway squeezed into the room, Conway moving to his captain's side.

Elizabeth turned her wide eyes to Jack. "Jack, she bears the map."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it. His gaze moved down to the floor, not meeting anyone's eyes. Will took this as a confession.

"You knew," he accused.

Jack sighed. "I'd hoped not, but when you said Rebecca never had it . . ." he replied, trailing off.

"Is that why ya asked me here?" Emory said. "Because of a bloody marking on me back?"

"No."

"He asked you here because he could feel it about to happen again," Tristan added, stepping into the room silently.

"What're you talkin' about?"

Tristan smiled slightly. "Can't you hear it? It's calling out again."

(nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn)

Rebecca sat curled up on the mattress, her dirty dress gathered around her feet. Her long brown hair hung in tangles around her face and shoulders; dirt smudged her once porcelain features. Fear hovered in her eyes, never having left since earlier that night when she had first met the captain of the pirate ship she was on.

They had left her for the time being, but she could still hear their raucous noise as they moved about above and below the deck. Something banged against the door to the cabin she was locked in, startling her. She jumped slightly, her head jerking up as the door opened.

The captain sneered in at her, his cold eyes glinting. He walked over to her slowly, his black shirt hanging open, revealing scars littering his chest. He stared down at her, his eyes boring into hers. She shivered under his gaze, the unmistakable feeling of evil running through her again.

"Ya look jus' like 'er," he stated.

Rebecca didn't reply.

"The same eyes, the same hair," he said, running his calloused fingers over her face and through her hair. Rebecca flinched slightly. "The same as her."

Finally taking the bait, Rebecca asked, "Who?"

His eye twitched slowly. Whether it was in anger or annoyance, she couldn't tell.

Moments later, he answered. "The bitch who killed me."

(nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn)

The group stared silently at Tristan, each wondering if he had completely lost his marbles or if he had lost only half of them.

"What are you talking about?" Michel asked.

"Why're ya even here?" Emory added.

Tristan smirked. "I know you hear it calling you," he said, moving slowly toward Emory. "The dreams. The voices. The feelings that you get. It wants to be found."

"What are you talking about?" Michel repeated.

Tristan didn't look at him. "They wouldn't have heard it, would they?" he asked Emory. "They aren't tied to it like you are. Like your mother was."

Emory's thoughts turned to her mother. A prostitute of Tortuga, a good woman no matter what her occupation.

Tristan saw her look and laughed. "I'm not talking about her, not the woman in Tortuga. I'm talking about your real mother."

Emory's eyes narrowed. "She was my real mother."

"No, she wasn't," he paused and looked over his shoulder at Jack. Jack's face was a mask of calm, but his eyes were flashing. "But it's not my place to tell you, is it?"

Jack stared at him for a moment, his eyes narrowed. This wasn't how he wanted to go about this. He sighed again. "'E's right lass."

"What do ya mean he's right? I know who my mum was."

Jack shook his head slowly, and then sat down heavily in the chair next to the dresser as if he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. "No, ya don't. Yer mum wasn't Amora Wyatt o' Tortuga. Yer real mum went by the name o' Lor Adams. Cap'n Lor Adams if ya please," he paused. "An' she, like you, bore the map. Course, can't say she was very happy about it."

Emory stared over at him, her expression unreadable. She looked as if she were ready to deny their claims. Jack wasn't sure what she was going to do. He had heard tales about the pirate that stood before him. She was unpredictable. Emory was never one to do the same thing twice, and she had a temper to match. Much like her mother.

The group watched with bated breath as she considered Jack's words, turning them over in her mind. "How can I believe you?" she asked finally. "I don't know any of you," she said, turning her attention to Tristan. "Except for you, but I can't trust you."

"Ya don't 'ave ta trust us, lass, ya jus' have ta understand that everythin' ya thought ya knew was false," Jack replied.

Emory's eyes flicked to Jack. She wasn't sure what to believe. The only person in the room that she knew she could trust was Conway, and he wasn't offering any advice like he normally did. She turned to look at Conway, confusion etched in her eyes.

He shrugged. "Ya gotta decide this on yer own, Cap'n."

"I don't . . ." she began, and then sighed. "I'm not . . ." her gaze turned to Tristan, her eyes narrowing. "How do you know anything about this?"

Tristan gave a knowing smile. "Because I'm tied to it as well"

(nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn)

AN: So, have any of you figured out who the bad guy is yet?

AN 2: I have decided to do yet another contest! Although, it really isn't a contest because I really have nothing to give away this time! Really, the best thing I can give you is the satisfaction of using your idea in Demon Called Deception! What I need, is an idea for this "ultimate treasure" that the map leads to. The treasure is in the shape of an armlet, or an armband. As it says in chapter eight of Silver and Gold:

"Standing in front of a small, gold pedestal, her back to him, was a woman whose red-black hair hung down to the middle of her back. At first, he wondered what he was seeing as he watched her fingers lovingly caress a tiny silver armlet that hovered in front of her. Then, suddenly, she turned on her heel to look down at him. He stepped back quickly as he caught sight of her eyes."

So you see, those are the only requirements! I was thinking it could be something mystical, but that was all I could think of! Please help me! You can either e-mail it to me, or just post it in a review. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me!

Up next! Chapter Seven: On Their Way.

Dawnie-7: Boy, I'm glad I could do that. How'd you like this capture? A little more told but yet so much more to learn.

The DuTchess of Doom: I'm glad that you liked it! And I'm glad that you like Emory. And I think that you're the only one who caught the reference to the Tristan thing. No one else said anything about it! Kudos to you!

Goth Princess: Yup, another cliffhanger. I'm good at that, aren't I? I love it.

PineAppleLint: You know you're the only one who said anything about the quote! I thought it was good too! I laughed so hard when I heard it! Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hope you liked this one too!

Arein: Okay. I thank you very much for the review! I'm glad that you liked Silver and Gold! And, if you get this, I was going to try and e-mail you or something to let you know that the third story is up (which is this one!) and I hope you enjoy it as well!

Kate: Yay! I'm glad you like it! And yes, I know. Everyone was very shocked when I killed Lor, but as you will see, it will all tie together later in the story! And, maybe, you'll see Lor once again . . .