Treasure Tides Part 27

Closing her eyes, Joanna mentally scanned the area. She would start in a small circle and work her way out until she was able to make the connection. The process was tedious and exhausting, but she knew Grace and the others would help if needed.

"Dear, I can save you some time," Grace offered with a mischievous smile.

Joanna wrinkled her brow in questioning frown.

"Try your mother first," Grace advised.

"My mother is--"

"Very close," Grace a.s.sured her.

"Oh, great," Joanna groaned.

"La.s.s, does your mother look like you do?" Blackbeard asked waggling his eyebrows and pulling on his beard.

Joanna laughed. "She's very beautiful. But, you would have to fight my dad for her."

The door to the dungeon swung open, and Joanna turned with a smile antic.i.p.ating Blackbeard's reaction to her mother.

The pirate standing in the doorway held absolutely no resemblance to her mother whatsoever.

"It's time," Vane announced.

All eyes turned toward him in confusion. Blackbeard spoke aloud the words they were all thinking. "Uh-- it may have slipped your mind, but you don't have the coin."

Vane smiled evilly, "I have everything I need right here." Pinning Joanna with his gaze, he continued, "Don't I, Witch?"

They knew she had the coin. The blood drained from Joanna's face.

"Let's move." Vane indicated with a wave of his pistol that she should precede him up the dark musty stairway.

"It will be ok. Just do as he says," Joanna felt Grace's feathery touch and heard her voice.

Joanna moved toward the stair case. As they entered the main gathering hall, Joanna saw that it had filled with pirates. Torches flickered illuminating moss covered walls. The eyes of long dead men followed every step she took; they leered at her in antic.i.p.ation.

"We ain't tak'en no chances this time," one of the pirates said. He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her roughly toward the front of the hall. As she stumbled closer to the makes.h.i.+ft altar, she noticed the chains and shackles mounted securely to the slab of stone.

They were going to chain her up! Joanna felt panic choke her as one of the pirates unsheathed his knife and begin to stalk toward her with l.u.s.t and glee in his eyes.

"We are here, Child. You are not alone," she heard Grace's soothing words inside her head. "We've had an unexpected... development," she continued.

"What development?" Joanna projected, struggling to remain calm as the pirate's blade drew ever closer.

"We can't get out," Lucy blurted.

They couldn't help her. She was all alone! Joanna felt bile rising in her throat; she began to shake as panic spread through her mind and body.

"We have had a temporary setback," Grace insisted forcefully. "Joanna, I told you that your mother was close by. She will be here shortly to help me. Just remain calm and believe that we will get out of this," Grace urged.

Joanna forced herself to take a calming breath, pus.h.i.+ng the panic away. Relief lasted but a moment as she felt the pirate's knife cut through her s.h.i.+rt and bra as if they were b.u.t.ter.

Joanna screamed as her s.h.i.+rt and bra fell open, exposing her soft white skin to the l.u.s.tful eyes of pirates long-dead. The coin dropped from its hiding spot to the floor at her feet.

Vane grabbed the coin almost the instant it landed. "Ahhh, yes! Just like we planned. Right, Mateys?" he asked turning to speak to the crowd of pirates who were now cheering.

Heavy wooden doors guarding the entrance to hall suddenly crashed to the floor. A dozen Vampires glided into the room. Pirates drew their swords and pistols, all training their weapons on the newcomers.

"Stand down!" Vane shouted to the motley crew. "They are here at my invitation. After we finish with the coin, I have arranged a trade with my pale friends."

Joanna scanned the crowd of pirates and...Vampires? Why would they be here? What an unorthodox mix. She struggled to figure out what the two had in common. She remembered Grace saying the death-walkers had been closing in on Royce. They would have killed him to get the coin. None of this made any sense! Her thoughts were interrupted as the pirate and his blade went to work on her remaining garments. Suddenly, she stood before the evil mix of unlikely cohorts, as naked as the day she was born. Cheers sounded. Disgustingly perverted suggestions could be heard as they all raked their eyes over Joanna's now exposed body.

"Joanna, you are doing fine, just a few more minutes. You can do this," Grace continued to encourage her.

That's easy for you say. You're not the one standing buck a.s.s naked in a hall full of long-dead wh.o.r.e mongers! Joanna laughed, but not in a funny ha-ha sort of way.

Iron cuffs were suddenly locked around her wrists and ankles. She felt herself mentally crumbling. She was trying to hang on, trying to do as Grace asked, but it was just too much. She felt the doors beginning to close in her mind. She felt herself crawling into that mental hole where no one would be able to reach her.

Blackbeard and Stede were pushed into the room. They were still in chains.

"Glad you could join the party once again," Calico Jack welcomed them with sarcasm. "Put 'em at the altar."

The crowd jeered as Blackbeard and Stede proudly took their places on either side of Joanna. They crowded in as close to her as possible attempting to s.h.i.+eld her nudity.

Stede whispered, "We are sorry you got involved in this, La.s.s."

"It's not your fault. What the h.e.l.l are Vamps doing here?"

"They too are interested in the powers of the coin," Blackbeard answered.

"I don't understand how the coin can help them?" Joanna questioned.

"Perhaps I can help," suggested a Vane with an eerie smile. "My friends would like to be granted immunity from death."

"They are already dead!" Joanna informed him.

"Ahh, yes. But they are still susceptible to wooden stakes and such," Vane clarified.

Joanna's eyes widened in horror as she realized the implications of what she had been told. If what Vane said was true, the coin would essentially make Vampires unstoppable. There would be no way to kill them. Eventually, they would terrorize the earth; turning all living beings into blood suckers.

Vane laughed as he turned to make his way toward the Vamps. Pirates stowed their weapons and parted as Vane and his pale friends made their way through the crowd, disappearing down a pa.s.sageway on the East wall of the great room.

"Why do they need you here?" Joanna asked, unconsciously pulling against the iron and chains securing her.

"They've promised us to Davy Jones," Stede said.

"There was something missing from the ceremony last time," Blackbeard explained. "That is why it didn't work. Come to find out, it never would have worked."

"What is it that was missing?" Joanna asked with dread curling in her stomach.

"We aren't sure," Blackbeard answered.

"We only know that whatever it is, Vane has agreed to trade us for it," Stede admitted.

"Us...as in...?" Joanna pressed.

"As in the three of you, to Davy Jones, for eternity," Calico Jack announced. "After all, we have three more Witches below. We can spare one," he laughed evilly. "'Tis time to take my leave, the guest of honor will be arrivin' soon. I shall rejoin ye after 'is grand entrance."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Joanna mumbled as she watched him move from the altar.

"Guard the pris'ners," Calico Jack called as he followed the path previously taken by Vane and the Vampires. He slammed the wooden door shut behind him with a thud.

Suddenly, it seemed as if a tidal wave hit Castle Pinckney. Water rushed in through what used to be doors and windows. Joanna closed her eyes as salt.w.a.ter crashed over her head. Cold, swirling water filled the room rising higher and higher. Foam and seaweed wrapped around Joanna's neck. She was going to drown! She began to struggle against the bonds holding her in place. Stede and Blackbeard grappled with the chains trying to help free her. The water suddenly began to rush in one direction, sucking her feet out from under her. As the force of the water washed past her, she saw that what remained of her garments had become entangled in the chains at Stede's feet. She struggled to regain her footing as the water receded from the altar. Joanna drew large gulps of oxygen into her lungs. Screams could be heard as several unfortunate pirates were sucked into dark, swirling, liquid death.

The altar where Joanna, Stede, and Blackbeard were standing was somewhat elevated. However, if she had not been securely chained and locked in place, Joanna would have been washed away by the force of the wave. As she opened her eyes, a figure, half skeleton-half pirate, approached the altar. Rotted flesh hanging from bones carried the stench of death. Worms and maggots caused any remaining soft-tissue to move with a life-force of its own. One eye was missing, the other held in place by a-- who-knew-what?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Joanna struggled not to wretch at the sight and smell of the skeletonhuman. It appeared to be moving closer to the altar...closer to her. "Blackbeard, it was a pleasure sailing with you," Stede murmured quietly.

"We're not in that locker yet, Matey," Blackbeard returned.

"Davy Jones," Blackbeard called. "Are ye of a mind to make a bargain this day?"

The skeletal remains of Davy Jones turned one good eye toward Blackbeard, "Let's hear yer proposition afore I make a decision." As he spoke, thick drool slid from between his few remaining teeth and hung from his face in mucous-like strings.

Joanna's stomach rolled. She began to swallow rapidly and take shallow breaths praying fervently that she wouldn't throw up.

"Let my friends go, and I'll tell where my treasure is hidden," Blackbeard offered.

Davy stopped and somehow grinned with the miniscule amount of flesh around the right side of his mouth. "Well now, that is a mighty tempting offer. But I've not had a beauty like this one in my keep for over a hundred years," he said, eyeing Joanna's exposed flesh.

"There is unimaginable wealth," Blackbeard tempted.

Davy turned fully toward Joanna, walking close enough that she could actually see the parasites feeding on his bits of flesh. "Why would I need your paltry baubles, when I can have it all?" He sneered, reaching up to run the bone of his index finger over her breast.

Joanna screamed in terror as he touched her.

Suddenly, the room was filled with Wolves. One particularly large Wolf hardly touched the floor before leaping through the air. He landed on Davy Jones pinning him to the altar, snarling and snapping.

Landon! Relief surged through Joanna and then terror as she remembered the dangers here for Landon's kind.

"It's under control, Child," Grace a.s.sured her. "We've provided protection."

Joanna breathed a sigh of relief. The Wolves began to form a protective wall of bodies around Joanna and the altar.

"Friends of yours, La.s.s?" Blackbeard asked with a slight chuckle.

Joanna laughed. "As a matter of fact, yes," she answered.

Without warning, the shackles securing Joanna to the altar disintegrated. Blackbeard and Stedes' shackles dropped with a mighty cras.h.!.+

The remaining pirates gasped at the sight before them. Grace, Lucy, and Joyce stood in the entryway of the great room; a blue field of energy surrounded them. Tears filled Joanna's eyes when she saw her mother standing with them.

"Let him up, Landon," Tammy said. With a growl, the Wolf backed away... making sure to step through Davy's ribcage as he did so.

The Wolf turned and leaped onto the altar landing next to Joanna. He picked up the tattered remains of her clothes, shook them, and then dropped them beside Stede. He then turned to look at Stede and growled.

"Oh, certainly," Stede said quickly. "I don't know why I didn't think of that!"

The Wolf watched closely as Stede removed his long coat and wrapped it gently around Joanna.

Reaching out slowly to caress the Wolf's ears, Joanna bent low and whispered, "Thank you."

The Wolf promptly licked Joanna full on the face, a long wet swipe. As she laughed, he stiffened. In a matter of seconds the playful, friendly Wolf transformed into something dangerous and terrifying. His pack closed in around them, and he pushed Joanna deep into the middle. Still flanked by Blackbeard and Stede, she watched as the Wolf turned, spun with a low growl his hair standing on end, and his long canines extended.

Vane, Calico Jack, and his band of Vampires entered the hall. The Wolves growled low in their throats and Landon howled, giving the rest of the pack the signal they had been waiting for.

In the blink of an eye the Vampires were surrounded by a snarling pack of angry Wolves.

"We've hurt no one," The oldest looking Vamp announced. "I invoke the terms of immunity for myself and my men."

"Screw the Treaty," one of the younger, more aggressive pups suggested.

Landon was very tempted. As he fought between what was right and what he wanted to do instinctively, he felt a calming touch.

"He is right, Alpha," Grace interceded gently.

With a snarl, Landon backed off. The rest of his pack followed suit.

"You had better move along," Grace advised the group of Vampires. Who needed no further prompting.

They fled the hall in an instant, leaving Vane and Calico Jack standing alone.

"I'll take that," Grace proclaimed extending her hand to receive the coin.

Vane narrowed his gaze as if weighing his options for negotiation.

"Go ahead and give it to her, Vane," Calico Jack prompted. "After all, she is a Witch," he added laughing sinisterly.

"Here, Witch." Vane flipped the coin toward Grace with his thumb. "Just remember...you asked for it," he added with an evil grin.

Joanna watched in horror as the coin flipped through the air. She tried to break through the pack of Wolves surrounding her. She needed to get Grace's attention. Grace apparently had forgotten she couldn't touch the coin!