Adeena Cole and the Dead Man's Chest

Chapter Five

We were gliding down the Pantano River, not even bothering to wave off the insects. Other than the annoying quantity of bugs, Tia Dalma's realm is quite enchanting. The trees sort of lean over our heads, and lightning bugs flashed at us from the dark corners. The river is black and doesn't reflect anything. There are legends about falling in: You never come out.

Will sat next to me, staring around curiously. "Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?" He asked Gibbs. I looked up from my nails, I had been cleaning them with my knife. I raised my head and gazed across the space between the boats to look at Jack. He was watching me as well. As I met his gaze, his eyes flashed sort of angrily. I furrowed my brow before he turned around.

Gibbs smiled softly. "Well, Jack has run afoul of Davy Jones," He said. Will still looked quizzical, so he continued. Pintel and Ragetti, sitting nearby, listened in. "Some say that there's a creature that does the biddin' of Davy Jones," Gibbs lowered his voice. "The kraken!"

Ragetti began to bite his nails. Pintel gripped his seat. I rolled my eyes at their stupidity. "They say it's breath is..." Gibbs shuddered. "Imagine the last thing you know on God's green earth is the stink of a thousand corpses, and the screams of the kraken's victims. If you believe in such things." He finished, ruining the spell he had weaved.

I chuckled darkly. If Gibbs knew all that, he should've guessed that Jack had the Black Spot.

"And the key will save him from this." Will stated, though it was a question. His voice was slightly sarcastic.

Gibbs nodded. "Well, that's the very question Jack wants answered." He looked away. "Bad enough, even, to visit...her."

Will waited for Gibbs to continue. "Her?" He asked, urging him to continue.

Gibbs bobbed his head. "Aye," He said grimly. "Her."

I rolled my eyes as we pulled up to Tia Dalma's rickety shack. There were lanterns hung haphazardly along the roof line, and the whole place just seemed to be holding its breath. I wasn't going to lie and say I wasn't nervous. I was about to meet a mystic, that may or may not have been Jack's girlfriend.

Jack got up first. He walked in front of the door, then turned to us. "No need to worry," He announced. "Tia Dalma and I go way back! Thick as thieves, we are. Were. Have been. Before..." He looked a bit skeptical of his choice to visit her.

"I'll watch your back." Gibbs assured him.

Jack shook his head. "It's me front I'm worried about."

He turned to the doors and said over his shoulder, "Mind the boat."

Gibbs turned to me. "Mind the boat."

I turned to Will, who told Pintel, who relayed it to Ragetti, who told Marty, who informed Cotton.

Cotton sat down in the long boat, last in the chain, looking defeated.

Jack swung open the door cautiously, revealing a dimly lit room with a desk facing the door. Leaning over it, was the woman I assumed to be Tia Dalma.

She sat back and smiled, revealing a mouth of gold teeth. Her dark skin was tattooed under her eyes, and her eyes themselves seemed to be glowing with a strange fire. Her dress was tattered and patched, but suited her well. Her hair was dreadlocked much like Jack's, though much messier.

She slowly stood, her grin widening. "Jack Sparra..." She drawled, holding a tuft of her dress in one hand and making her way around the table and to us. "I altways knew da wint woult blow ye back ta me one day..."

Jack smiled warily and did a sort of curtsy. "Tia Dalma." He acknowledged her.

She looked as if she would say something else to him, but she caught sight of me. "Ya 'ave da sea in your blood," She breathed a laugh. "And da song in your heart."