Treasure Tides

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 assured 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, Lass?” 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 crash!

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!

“Noooo,” Joanna screamed as Grace’s hand closed around the gold. She closed her eyes in agony.

Royce, Aaron, and Kurt, who were obligated to move by more conventional means than the immortals, were just reaching the main hall when they heard Joanna’s scream.

Infused with a new burst of adrenalin, they drew their weapons and burst in to join the party. They stopped abruptly, struck by the beauty before them. A quartet of Witches hovered just above the ground, surrounded by a blue glow. Joanna, on the other hand, seemed perfectly safe surrounded by massive Wolves. It suddenly occurred to the three men that this area might be a tad unhealthy for mere mortals.

Joanna opened her eyes, steeling herself for what she might see. Please God….her eyes focused on the spot where she had last seen Grace.

Grace, still very much intact, smiled at Joanna and flipped the coin in the air. She caught it again giving Joanna a wink.

“Oh God, I thought--” Joanna began, overwhelmed with relief. Grace was ok!

“I’m a Royal, and an original, Joanna,” Grace saucily explained. “The coin cannot hurt me. It’s a little ‘back door’ you might say, that my halfbrother, Merlin, built in for us.”

Vane and Calico Jack, who suddenly seemed anxious to escape, were backing slowly out one of the side entrances.

“Stop right there!” Royce shouted.

Kurt, Aaron, and Royce all had semi-automatic weapons trained on the two evil men. They weren’t at all certain they could re-kill the pirates, but it was the best they had to work with.

“Oh… I think not gentlemen,” Grace said with a smile. “We have a score to settle--you and I.”

With a flick of her wrist, the once regal beauty became a young girl.

“Holy Mother of God,” Stede whispered. “Blackbeard, do you--”

“‘Tis her-- the lass-- Sherrie,” Blackbeard said in awe.

Vane did not seem so entranced, nor did Calico Jack. In fact, they seemed to be quite shocked as well as frightened.

“It cannot be,” protested Vane. “You tricked us! You little bi--”

“Now might be the time for you to shut your bloody trap,” Calico Jack suggested.

Blackbeard and Stede moved menacingly toward Vane.

“I’ve got this,” Grace assured them, “although I do appreciate your chivalry.”

Grace transformed once again into the elegant woman Joanna knew and loved and turned to Davy Jones. Davy had not moved nor uttered a word since Tammy had ordered Landon to release him. “DJ, you and I have talked about this type of shenanigan,” Grace scolded.

“I know, Your Grace…the temptation was so very great this time,” Davy-- or DJ as Grace called him-- responded hanging his head.

“I’ll tell you what. You take Vane and Calico with you, and I’ll forgive this little hiccup,” Grace proposed.

Vane and Calico gasped as the fate they had planned for Stede and Blackbeard became their own.

Gesturing to the rest of the room still full of pirate ghosts, “They go to their resting places,” she softly decreed.

“But, Gracie, that hardly seems fair,” Davy Jones practically whined.

“It’s the best I can do, DJ,” Grace shrugged.

“What about these two, do I at least get them?” Davy asked, pointing his boney finger toward Blackbeard and Stede.

Joanna smiled and linked hands with the two pirates. She knew Grace had already fallen in love with these two gentlemen as well and would never send them to Davey Jones’ Locker.

Landon, still in Wolf form, growled.

“Blackbeard and Stede shall have another chance. They will be given one more opportunity to live life the right way.” With sparkling eyes, Grace decreed, “You will not be criminals, no matter how charming you might have been last time. I much prefer you live as the fine gentlemen you truly are.” Blackbeard and Stede stood speechless, their eyes awash with tears.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” they whispered in unison. Bending low at the waist, they paid their respects to the Royal descendant who had just given them a most unexpected gift.

“Now, Girls,” Grace said with a clap of her hands, “let’s get this place cleaned up.”

Tammy moved to wrap Joanna in her arms as Grace, Lucy and Joyce joined hands and began to chant.

Davy Jones-- or DJ as Joanna would always think of him, Charles Vane, and Calico Jack were quickly dispatched to the Flying Dutchman. The other lost souls were sent to their final resting place -- hundreds of years after their death.

Stede and Blackbeard? Well, only Grace and her girls know where they ended up. As the two salty-dogs disappeared, they each winked and blew a kiss to Joanna, who grinned and returned the favor. Landon growled.

The blue glow finally died down. Kurt, Aaron and Royce congregated in one end of the great hall as Wolves began to disperse. Grace glided toward the mortal men; she suddenly flipped the coin into the air toward Royce.

“I believe you’ve been searching for that. Please make sure it is returned to its proper location.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Royce assured her. “I alerted the Council on the way to the island. They should be here any moment now”

Grace grimaced slightly, “Well then… that is my cue to leave.”

Turning toward Tammy and Joanna, Grace said, “Tammy, you have a lovely daughter. It was my pleasure to meet her.”

“Thank you, your Grace,” Tammy responded with a bow.

“Joanna will explain our involvement in Royce’s unfortunate detainment. I want you to know that I’m sorry-- but I could not risk communicating his location to you. Rest assured, I did watch over him. If it is any consolation, I believe things have worked out better than we could have hoped for,” Grace finished grinning broadly as she thought of Becki.

Tammy frowned in question.

“Your Grace--” Joanna began.

“No dear, just Grace to you.”

“Grace,” Joanna began again with a smile, “will I ever see you again?” she asked.

“Oh, we shall see, Child,” She answered mysteriously. And then she was gone, taking her body guards with her.

The pack had dispersed as soon as the Vampires had taken their leave. Since Landon had recently shifted back into human form, he found himself in an awkward situation. Fortunately, Kurt always carried a pair of shorts and tee-shirt for instances such as this. As Landon made his way across the room toward Joanna, she stepped away from Tammy to meet him.

Landon held his arms open, and Joanna walked right into them. “Are you ok?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “I guess I am.”

“Joanna, we need to talk--”

“No, Landon,” Joanna said softly touching his lips with her fingers. “I don’t want to talk about it. Please try to understand. I’m not-- I just can’t, Landon,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“Joanna,” Landon growled. “I--”

“Be happy, Landon,” she said as she kissed him softly, not allowing him to continue.

Landon watched as she turned to her parents calling, “Mom, Dad, Royce… I’ll see you at home.” Then she turned toward Landon and disappeared, blowing him a kiss at the last second.

Landon stared at the spot where Joanna had stood moments ago. He sighed and turned to take his leave.

Tammy appeared directly in front him, blocking his exit. “I want to thank you and to apologize to you for my actions when we first met,” she offered.

Landon snorted, “They were pretty much like Joanna’s. I guess things are just about the same.”

“Landon, there are things--” Tammy choked with tears in her eyes.

Landon held up a hand to stop her, “I know. I figured it out earlier, at least part of it. If she ever wants me to know the rest, she’ll have to tell me.”

“I really am sorry, Landon, and I do appreciate what you’ve done,” Tammy said resting her hand on his arm.

He pasted on a cocky smile. “No problem, call me anytime,” he offered.

Calling to Kurt and Royce, he said, “I’m going to take off for a few. I’ll be in touch.”

“Ok,” Kurt answered. He knew by Landon’s tone…it could be a few days or a few weeks. He certainly hoped it wouldn’t be a few years. “Call if you need anything, man,” Kurt said.

“Take it easy,” Royce called to his new friend. And then inspiration struck, “By the way, I’ll expect you at the wedding.”

Landon didn’t acknowledge that he had heard Royce’s request, but as he reached the archway leading outside, he turned a sardonic grin in their direction. “I wouldn’t miss it, my friend.”

Royce saw Arimus as he entered the great hall. Somehow it surprised Royce when Tammy flew over to greet him with a friendly hug. Aaron pealed his wife out of Arimus’s arms gruffly complaining, “Find your own Witch you old reprobate. This one’s taken.”

Arimus greeted Aaron with a heart-felt hand shake and a slap on the back.

“Your son is doing a fine job for us, Aaron,” Arimus confided.

“Thank you,” Aaron acknowledged, “I’m proud of him.”

“Well, I must be about my business,” Arimus announced.

“I believe you are looking for this,” Royce said handing the coin to Arimus.

“Yes, it’s hard to imagine that something so beautiful could be so dangerous,” he said slipping the coin into his robes.

“Yes,” Royce agreed.

“Well, on to the next quest. Let’s strive for a little more discretion with the next coin’s recovery,” Arimus abruptly announced and turned to go.

Royce chuckled. It was somewhat of a letdown-- the handing over of the coin, not at all what he had expected. Oh well, as the man-- or rather the immortal said; on to the next.

As they headed to the boat, Royce dropped a text to Becki; Mission accomplished. I’m coming to claim my prize.

His phone immediately beeped with her reply; Your PRIZE hot-shot is ready and waiting. Come and get it.