Pirates of the Caribbean:The Spanish Prisoner (Book 2 King's Messenger Series)

Bandari

Late that night I sat on our berth racking my brain for a way to get at the Sword of Triton. Hector slowly paced the room, a dangerous lion in a cramped cage. I could sense the intensity of his mood and it strained my nerves to the breaking point. At last I abandoned my efforts.

Twisting my fingers together, I said: "Why must I be the one to get the sword from him? I don't know how to ask for it. What reason could I possibly give?"

"That be the least o' yer worries," Hector replied. "Supposin' ye get it away from him. We can't stay on the Santiago, so what's to do next? Jump ship an' fly away?" He shook his head. "Without the Berwick, we may already be as good as dead."

I closed my eyes for a moment to suppress a little frisson of panic. "Then we should devise a way to save ourselves," I said. "Let Ponce de Leon keep his damned sword."

Hector stopped pacing and made a half turn towards me. There was a long pause while he regarded me out of the corner of his eyes. Finally he said: "I ain't leavin' without the Sword."

So there it was. I resisted the urge to confront him with angry words. Propping my elbows on my knees, I cupped my chin with both hands. "Why?" I asked, keeping my voice reasonable.

"So ye really never heard of it?" He faced me, raising his eyebrows. "Forged by Triton himself, some say. A treasure more precious than gold." He resumed pacing, then suddenly said: "Did ye see him cast off the Berwick? Did ye hear the music playin' by itself? All he does is hold the Sword an' command things t' do his bidding. There be no need to speak the words"---he tapped his forehead---"the Sword knows what its master wants."

It was plain how much he wanted the Sword. I had never heard so much envy in his voice, not even for the golden tablet.

"If I were master o' that Sword," he said, "I could rule the seas – I'd be King of the Pirates."

I glanced at him sharply.

"Assumin' King Swann were to abdicate," he added. Was there no end to his ambition? 

"Why stop at ruling the seas?" I asked tartly. "Why not rule the world?"

"Because the Sword must be near a ship," he explained, oblivious to my sarcasm. "Otherwise its power wanes until there be none at all." He considered for a moment, then as an afterthought, he added, "They say it can call the winds as well."

"Any fool can call the wind by whistling aboard a ship," I retorted. "Surely you know that old mariner's tale?" As a child, I had personally been scolded for doing just that by Teague himself. "Even if it does call them, once the winds rise, you can't control them."

He glared, jutting his jaw. "By the powers, I ain't afraid o' the winds!"

"By the powers, I'd be confounded if you were," I said, unable to suppress a smile. The tension between us eased. I stretched out my arm. "Come here, love...please..."

I drew him to the side of the berth, then slid my arms about his waist and pressed my cheek against his stomach. He laid his hand on the crown of my head and began to toy with my tresses, gently working his fingers through them and caressing my scalp.

I sighed, recalling the soothing way he had searched for my hairpins long ago and how his tender sensuality had sparked the beginnings of my affection and trust. Why shouldn't he have the Sword? I would have given him the world if I could.

"I promise you: if I can get it, it shall be yours," I said.

"Sweetheart..." He sat on the berth and began to disorder my clothes, pausing now and then to feed my craving for him with the most sublime and intemperate kisses.