Rising In The East (8 page)

“I think that is very wise, Mistress Ching,” said an unfamiliar voice. Confused, the pirates looked around to see who had spoken.

In the room of opium addicts, a figure rose from one of the couches, tossing back the blanket that had hidden him from view. His white suit glowed in the lantern light through wisps of curling smoke as he stepped toward the pirates. A cruel smile crossed his unnaturally pale face as more blankets were tossed aside, and one by one, almost all the men in the opium den stood up, revealing a spiky knot of swords and pistols and eyes that were not glazed by opium at all—that were instead glinting with gleeful anticipation of the bloodshed they were about to inflict.

“I think you
should
be worried about me,” said Benedict Huntington, his voice as hard and cold as steel. “I think you should be very, very worried indeed.”

“A
trap!” Sao Feng snarled.

“They knew we would be here,” Mistress Ching hissed.

Both Pirate Lords leaped to their feet and turned on each other.

“You betrayed me!” they cried simultaneously.

“No,” a voice said from the den. One of the agents stepped forward into the light, revealing the face of…Liang Dao. He bared his teeth at his brother. “
I
betrayed you.”

“Liang Dao,” Sao Feng growled. “I was merciful to you. I will not make the same mistake again.”

“You know,” Jack said, “this really seems like a personal situation, and I hate to be underfoot. How’s about me and my crew sally on out of here and leave you all to it? Or just me? Either way.”

“Enough talk,” Huntington snapped. “Men—a prize to the agent who kills the most pirates! I want them all dead!” He pointed his pistol at Sao Feng and fired.

Lian and Park both threw themselves forward and knocked their Pirate Lord out of the way. The bullet lodged itself in the wall, and pandemonium erupted. Agents swarmed into the room, slashing and shooting in all directions. Pirates leaped into battle with fierce yells, whirling their swords over their heads.

Jack seized one of the wooden chairs and barreled through the crowd, using it as a shield. He whacked a pair of agents over the head with it, knocking them to the floor, and leaped up a step into the antechamber. As he spun and jumped, he suddenly felt a sharp impact on the other side of the chair. He peeked around the edge and saw a wicked-looking axe embedded in the wood. Jack’s face lit up with alarm and he ducked behind the chair again. Better in the wood than in his skull!

Backs against the wall, Jean and Billy sparred with three agents at once, kicking in one direction while brandishing their swords in another. Diego tried to push Carolina behind him so he could protect her, but she shoved him aside and punched an agent right in the nose as he lunged toward them. He staggered back with a yell, fountains of blood pouring from his nostrils.

The room was a seething mass of chaos, too small for the number of people trying to swing their swords inside it. Jack ducked between two sparring men and looked around frantically. He couldn’t let a thing like this little battle for his life distract him from the
real
battle for his life—and the Shadow Gold. Where was Mistress Ching?

Finally he spotted the Chinese Pirate Lord, slicing fearlessly through the crowd with Sao Feng at her side. They were clearly trying to fight their way over to Benedict Huntington—but the Englishman in white was standing back, chuckling sardonically as his agents fought to protect him.

Jack spun around wildly. Not only was there not enough room to fight properly, but it was far too dark. Jack couldn’t tell who was getting struck by his sword. He grabbed one of the opium lamps and smashed the glass. He hoped he could use the lamp to ignite a torch that would make the room brighter.

Instead, the lamp caught on one of the blankets on the couches, which instantly burst into huge flames.

“Oops,” Jack said. He picked up the chair again and used it as a battering ram, sweeping people aside as he charged toward the door.

Shouts of terror went up from the pirates and agents as they realized the den was on fire. There was a mass stampede for the exit. The room was now lit up, but it was quickly filling with smoke, which was making it difficult to see once more. It was also becoming difficult to breathe.

Jack was pretty sure he had clambered over a couple of agents, but that was fine with him. Benedict Huntington was the first one to make it outside, but Jack was close behind. As pirates and agents spilled out into the street and resumed their swordplay, Jack and Huntington found themselves facing each other across a water barrel.

Benedict lifted his monocle and studied Jack for a moment, apparently unfazed by the bullets whizzing past their heads.

“Did I hear them call you Jack Sparrow?” he said.

“The very same,” Jack said with a jaunty grin. “And you are…?”

Benedict knew that Jack knew who he was. He pressed his lips together. “I have heard of you, Sparrow,” he said. “The Company is offering a rather large reward for your capture.”

“Ah, well, you’re out of luck, mate,” Jack said, spreading his hands. “As I have no intention of being captured.”

Benedict smiled again. “I believe the reward says…dead or alive.” A sword suddenly appeared in his hand, a whip-thin rapier as sinister and unfriendly looking as the man himself. With a quick darting movement like a snake, Benedict leaped around the barrel and thrust the point at Jack’s heart.

But Jack was already gone. In fact, he seemed to have vanished. Benedict blinked, looking around at the street full of battling pirates.

A whistle came from above him. Benedict looked up and saw Jack standing on the roof of one of the shanties. Diego and Carolina were climbing up the drainpipes to join him, kicking off agents that were trying to grab their feet.

Jack gave Benedict a cheery wave-salute. “Oh, too bad, Huntington. But believe me, this day will live in your memory forever—as the day you came
this close
to catching the famous Captain Jack Sparrow!” With a grin, he turned and leaped to the next roof. Diego and Carolina followed, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and disappearing down the street.

“After him!” Benedict bellowed to his agents, his face paler than ever with rage.

Jack trotted along the peaks of the roofs, windmilling his arms out to the side for balance. “That didn’t sound quite right, did it?” he called back to Diego.

“What?” Diego said breathlessly, checking to make sure Carolina was still behind him.

“My exit line. I think it needs work.” Jack squinted, musing. “You’ll never forget this day—this glorious day when you
nearly
—no, that’s not right either. Hmmm.”

“Jack, look out!” Carolina yelled. Jack ducked, and a bullet flew over his head.

“Thanks, love!” he cried, and ran on.

“Did you see that?” Carolina said to Diego. “I think that was Barbossa who fired at him! But maybe I’m wrong…it’s so foggy, and there are so many people down there—”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it were,” Diego said. “I don’t trust that man.” He took her hand and they ran faster, trying to keep up with Jack.

“We need to find Mistress Ching!” Jack shouted. He stopped and shaded his eyes, peering through the misty rain and fog at the tumult of the battle below them. The fighting was beginning to spread to the surrounding streets. The row of rooftops ended at an open square, which was surrounded by taller houses. Jack peeked over the edge of the last roof and frowned.

“I don’t like the look of that,” he said, pointing to the center of the square. Set up right in the center, where anyone in the square could see it, was a scaffolding with three hangman’s nooses swinging in the wind. It seemed clear they were ready and waiting for the three Pirate Lords.

“Look!” Diego said, grabbing Jack’s arm. Right below them a trio of agents was battling one pirate. It was Mistress Ching!

“She’s amazing!” Carolina said in awe. “I wish I could fight like that.”

The Chinese Pirate Lord was a whirl of flashing steel and flying silk robes. She slashed at one agent, then turned and did an astonishing flying somersault over the heads of the other two. Trapping all three of them against the wall of the house that Jack was standing on, Mistress Ching laughed triumphantly, holding her sword aloft.

Suddenly a movement in the crowd caught Carolina’s eye. It was Liang Dao—and he was sneaking up on Mistress Ching! A knife gleamed in his hand.

“No!” Carolina shouted. Without stopping to think, she hurled herself straight off the roof of the house.

“Carolina!” Diego cried, terrified.

The Spanish princess twisted in the air, spinning her leg around to kick Liang Dao in the head as she crashed into Mistress Ching, knocking her out of harm’s way. For a moment, Carolina and the Pirate Lord were tangled on the ground in a heap of robes. But Carolina quickly regained her footing, and the two women attacked the agents with such violence that the men had no choice but to flee.

Liang Dao stumbled back up to his feet, clutching his head in obvious pain. The knife had flown out of his hands and landed in a nearby gutter. Blinking and disoriented, the former Pirate Lord of Singapore staggered over to it.

Diego was already hurrying down the nearest drainpipe to get to Carolina, so Jack was the only one left on the roof—and the only one who saw what happened next.

As Liang Dao’s fingers touched the knife, Benedict Huntington stepped out of the alley behind him. The Englishman’s face was completely emotionless as he drew his sword and skewered his ally in the back.

Liang Dao jerked in pain, then looked down at the blade sticking out of his belly with a surprised expression. The sword slid slowly out again, and Liang Dao fell to the cobblestones, blood spreading between his hands where they were pressed to his stomach. He managed to roll onto his back so he could see his killer. His face expressed disbelief, horror, and confusion.

“You—” He gasped. “But I—we agreed—we made a deal.…”

Benedict whipped a snowy white silk handkerchief out of his vest and meticulously wiped all the blood off the blade of his sword, pulling it slowly through the cloth.

“I do not make deals with pirates,” he said icily.

Dropping his bloody handkerchief on Liang Dao’s chest, Benedict Huntington strode away without a second glance.

M
istress Ching pushed Carolina away with the force of twenty men. To Carolina’s surprise, the Pirate Lord was clearly furious.

“How could you do such a thing?” Mistress Ching spat. Her fists were clenched and black hairs were escaping from her normally lacquered hairdo. “How could you dishonor me in this way?”

“Dishonor you?” Diego said, dropping from the drainpipe beside them. “Carolina saved your life!”

“I did not ask her to!” Mistress Ching roared. “How
dare
she!”

Diego placed a hand on Carolina’s shoulder. She seemed uninjured, but shaken by the older woman’s fury. Her hat had disappeared in the fighting, she’d thrown off the uncomfortable jacket and vest, and her long dark hair hung in disheveled waves around her loose white tunic. Diego was so relieved to find her intact that he nearly kissed her, but Carolina’s attention was on Mistress Ching.

“I’m sorry,” the Spanish princess said, her eyes flashing. “I didn’t want to see you die. I meant no disrespect. But we won’t bother you with our presence anymore. Come on, Diego.” The fighting had moved to the other side of the square, where they could see that Jean and Billy were still in the thick of battle.

“You can’t go,” Mistress Ching said, her voice dripping with anger. “According to the Pirate Code, I am now indebted to you.” Her throat seemed to catch on the hated word. “No doubt it was Morgan who came up with that stupid idea. Bartholomew was notorious for killing anyone who tried to save his life. But that is the Code now. And I refuse to let you leave until our debt is settled.” She raised her sword as if she were challenging Carolina to a duel instead of offering her a favor.

Jack came sprinting up to them, having overheard the last few sentences. He stood behind Mistress Ching, waving frantically at Carolina. He pointed to Mistress Ching, then waggled his hands as if he was holding a vial. He jumped up and down, pointing and waggling like a maniac.

“There
is
something you can give me,” Carolina said, glancing at Jack, then back at Mistress Ching.

“What is that?” the Pirate Lord demanded. She didn’t notice Jack going berserk behind her.

Jack held up an invisible vial, shook it, beamed at it, and then pointed desperately at Mistress Ching’s neck.

“Your word,” Carolina said. “I want you to promise me that when the Day of the Shadow comes, you and Sao Feng and all your ships and pirates will stand and fight against the Shadow Lord and his army.”

Jack’s mouth dropped open.

“You have to be ready,” Carolina said passionately. “All the Pirate Lords must fight him, or all will die.”

Jack smacked his forehead. He shook his head, clutching his hair in despair. The effects of the last vial of Shadow Gold had almost completely worn off and he was having sporadic shadow attacks. He never knew when the next one might hit.

Mistress Ching regarded Carolina with piercing dark eyes. “You really believe in this Shadow Lord, then?”

“It’s all true,” Diego said. “We all saw what his army did. That’s why we’re here—to warn the other Pirate Lords.”

Jack made a face that clearly said, “Oh, that is most definitely
not
why we’re here!”

Mistress Ching nodded and held out her hand to Carolina. “Very well. I will do as you request. It is not a difficult request to honor—be ready to fight when something attacks me? I think I can manage that.”

“Thank you,” Carolina said fervently, as she and the pirate she idolized bowed to each other.

“Oh, and one more little, tiny thing, not really important at all, hardly worth mentioning,” Jack interjected, separating their hands as he stepped between them. “If we could just have that boring little trinket around your neck, that’d be terrific. It really doesn’t suit you anyway,” he added, reaching for the Shadow Gold. Right there—right at his fingertips—his vision blurred as the shadows rushed to his eyes, fighting to stop him.

Mistress Ching batted his hand away. “My debt is repaid. I don’t have to give you anything.” She lifted the vial between two fingers and let the Shadow Gold roll slowly up and down. “Besides, I like to look at it. It’s like someone trapped the moon goddess in glass.”

“But—but it’s so garish!” Jack said, pulling his mouth down disapprovingly. “All shiny and bleeaaagh. It doesn’t go with your really quite striking beauty at all.”

Mistress Ching patted her hair with a small smile, as if even she could feel the charms of Jack’s flirting. “I have a proposal,” she suggested. “I will duel you for it.”

As much as Jack liked dueling, with all its opportunities for clever fisticuffs and even more clever escaping, he certainly didn’t like the idea of dueling while shadows pulled at his hair and anchors weighed down his chest. Especially with one of the greatest swordswomen in the world. But he had no choice.

“All right,” he said, drawing his sword. Mistress Ching drew hers with a delighted gleam in her eyes.

“This duel does seem somewhat unfair, though. If you win, you receive the Shadow Gold. But if I win…”

“You get her,” Jack said, grabbing Carolina by the arm and pulling her forward.

“I do not need sycophants in my fleet. No, Jack Sparrow, if I win, I receive something far more valuable—your designated Piece of Eight, which makes you a Pirate Lord.”

“Oh, come on, Ching, you already have one. Is there really such a need to be so greedy?

Besides, what would two Pirate Lord Pieces of Eight make you? A Super Pirate Lord?”

“We duel now. And we duel to the death!” she shouted, lunging at him.

Jack’s eyes popped. Then he flinched, drawing his sword in response to Mistress Ching’s attack.

“To the death?!” Carolina cried in horror. “No! No death! Neither of you! Don’t you dare kill each other!” She stamped her foot.

But Jack and Mistress Ching weren’t listening. Their swords clashed and clanged as they battled each other across the square and up onto the scaffolding.

Jack could feel himself getting weaker. Mistress Ching kept driving him backward—back and back, up the steps toward the eerie swinging nooses. His legs felt weak and his breathing was unsteady. His sword felt like it weighed as much as he did. He could barely block her blows, let alone get any of his own past her blitz of parries and thrusts.

“Your father has wronged me. Many times,” Mistress Ching shouted angrily.

“Yeah, that’s what mom always used to say, too,” Jack said.

“I wish I could see his face when he finds out I killed his son,” Mistress Ching hissed, her blade slicing through the air right beside his left ear.

“Oh, is that what this is all about? Revenge on dear old Dad? Don’t be so sure that’ll work,” Jack said. “Kill me, and he’ll likely be delighted.”

Mistress Ching drove him to the center of the scaffolding. Jack jumped as something brushed against his shoulder. At first he thought it was one of his shadow creatures—but then he felt the scratch of hemp rope against his cheek and realized it was one of the nooses. Wrapping his free hand in the loop, he took a running leap and swung out of reach of Mistress Ching’s next jab. Swinging back across the scaffolding, he blocked her sword with his and she jumped back.

“Childish antics!” she barked. “This is not real swordplay!”

“I’m sorry, is there a pirate swordplay rule-book somewhere?” Jack asked, swinging past her once again.

The wooden beam above him creaked ominously. The nooses were made for hanging, not swinging. He couldn’t be sure how long it would hold. Using his momentum to drive the rope forward and then pumping with his legs to push himself sideways, Jack swung out in an arc and back toward the scaffolding. Only now he was swinging out instead of straight, and the post at the end of the scaffold was right in front of him.

Mistress Ching stepped forward, ready to skewer him the moment he hit the post. But Jack lashed out with one foot, kicking her in the chest. She fell back, knocked off balance, and Jack let go of the rope, dropping to his feet right at the edge of the scaffold.

Right beside the lever that controlled the trapdoors.

“Sorry about this,” Jack said, pulling the lever. The trapdoor below Mistress Ching fell away. With a shriek, she plummeted through the opening, dropping her sword on the scaffold as she fell.

Jack leaped to the ground. By the time Mistress Ching had recovered enough to crawl out from under the scaffold, he had his sword pointed at her throat.

“The vial, if you please,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Don’t kill her!” Carolina cried.

“Don’t you
dare
save me again!” Mistress Ching snapped at her.

“She’s not,” Jack said. “I’m not going to kill you anyway. Because then you wouldn’t be able to repay your debt to Carolina, would you? So you see, by this impeccable logic, you can’t let yourself die, or else you’ll go to your grave with terrible dishonor on your name.”

Mistress Ching opened and closed her mouth, lost for words.

“So just hand over the vial,” Jack said. “And we’ll be off. Hopefully never to see each other again.”

“That I can agree with,” Mistress Ching snarled.

Jack carefully placed his blade under the rope that held the Shadow Gold. He came dangerously close to puncturing Mistress Ching’s neck. Then with a flick of his wrist, he sliced through the rope and ripped the vial of Shadow Gold from around her neck.

Mistress Ching stood up, grabbed her sword, and stormed angrily away.

“Lovely,” Jack said, tucking the vial into his vest. He would drink it as soon as no one was watching him. No need to let word get back to the other Pirate Lords…what if they all decided to drink their vials too? Then Jack would really be in trouble. There was only a finite amount of Shadow Gold, and if even one vial was lost or consumed, Jack would never be able to cure himself of the shadow illness. He decided that he’d duck into the nearest doorway and drink it in a minute, in private.

“We did it!” Diego exclaimed, hugging Carolina proudly.

“Yes—well,
I
did it, no thanks to your girlfriend,” Jack said, rolling his eyes.

Carolina and Diego glanced at each other uncomfortably, then looked away, their faces flushing.

Jack realized that the square was nearly empty now. The agents had been driven back by the pirates, most of them escaping down the narrow twisting alleys, back to the safety of the wealthier parts of town. Evidently Benedict Huntington had disappeared along with them.

Across the square, Mistress Ching and Sao Feng were bowing to each other. It was only the combined strength of their pirate forces that had defeated the East India Trading Company agents. They had to hope that the combined power of their fleets would be able to do the same thing on the sea.

But if Jack knew pirates—and he knew quite a lot of pirates—this “alliance” wouldn’t last very long. One of them would quickly betray the other.

Luckily he would be long gone by then.

“Jean!” Jack called, seeing his friend emerge from a doorway, supporting Billy, who was limping a little. “Billy! Come on—it’s time to say tallyho.”

Jack couldn’t wait to get back to the
Pearl
. He was glad that Benedict Huntington was Sao Feng’s problem, not his. He would feel much better once there was a vast ocean between him and that creepy, pale man.

“Where are we going next, Jack?” Diego asked as Jean and Billy joined them.

Jack held up the vial of Shadow Gold so the others could admire how it glinted, even in the gloomy gray light.

“Well,” he said, “it’s not hard to guess, really.”

“North Carolina?” Billy offered sarcastically.

“Where’s the next Pirate Lord?” Jean said, scratching his head. “Isn’t there another one in this part of the world?”

“Why, yes there is,” Jack said as if Jean had just suggested something marvelous.

“Oh, good,” Billy said. “How fortunate for us.”

“Who is it?” Carolina asked.

“His name is Sri Sumbhajee,” Jack said, beckoning the others to follow him in the direction of the dock. “To the
Pearl
and away, my pirate friends. We’re off—to India!”

As they set off down the streets—Billy with a sigh, Carolina and Diego asking eager questions, Jean joking about Indian food—none of them noticed the pale figure spying on them from a nearby doorway.

Strange things happened inside the mind of Benedict Huntington. Behind those calculating eyes, dangerous thoughts were brewing…thoughts that blamed Jack Sparrow for his defeat today…thoughts that vowed revenge.

“India,” he whispered to himself. “Very well. I will see you there, Jack Sparrow.”