Captain James Hook and the Curse of Peter Pan (14 page)

While the landing party went ashore to negotiate, I was left in charge of guarding some of the prisoners.
 
It was during one such duty that a young man approached the bars.

“James?” he asked. I was instantly frozen.
 
“James, what are you doing?”

He was Thomas Darling, one of William’s former classmates at Port Royal.
 
I didn’t recognize him at first, but it was definitely Thomas.
 
If I was a foolish man, I would have embraced an old friend, exposed my identity, and surely be killed for my lineage.
 
Instead, I played this one much closer to the chest.

“I can’t talk now, Thomas,” I said.
 
“We don’t intend to kill anyone.
 
Stay quiet and I’ll talk to you after the next guard change when I’m alone.”

From the porthole, I saw the supply of medicines being loaded onto the ships.
 
Realizing I didn’t have another shift to wait, I relied on my wits. A plan formed.

“Thomas, you need to write a letter to my mother and tell her what has happened to me. Draft a letter for her and also write one to Emily Jukes.
 
I am giving you specific information.
 
You need to remember this exactly as I tell it to you...”

Weeks passed.
 
Many of the men slept fitfully, wrapped in salves and heavy blankets.
 
The hacking and sweating and drooling that were part of the purging of the Foul disease didn’t disturb my sleep.
 
I was awake, counting and recounting.
 
I needed to tell Blackbeard how long we had until we were forced to risk another siege.
 
Only days remained and I was tired of waiting for luck or providence.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The
Queen Anne’s Revenge
ran aground in the Topsail Inlet of Fish Town, just as I had planned.
 
I’d always been really good with charts and the bilge of the ship was very deep, after all.
 
Since I had proven myself superior in the calculation of supplies, Blackbeard didn’t doubt me for a second that it was time for a siege in the precise spot I’d told Thomas Darling we’d be weeks earlier. Blackbeard was usually much sharper, but he’d spent so many of these days in bed rest due to the medicines he’d been taking that he would not have doubted me one way or the other.

I expected a brief exchange and our capture as a crew.
 
It would have been the civilized way to surrender.
 
At that point, William and I could have revealed our identities and chartered a ship back to Port Royal.
 
Never did I think that Blackbeard would cut a deal for himself and his closest friends, leaving the rest of us to scramble.
 
In the chase, I didn’t risk stopping to explain my situation.
 
I would likely have been called a liar and shot on the spot. So, instead, William and I ran for our lives.

After a brief sprint down two alleys it became clear that I couldn’t keep this pace up for much longer. My condition didn’t allow for too much excited movement.
 
We dove into a tavern and found a table in the corner.
 
We were too young to be in here, but the place was dark enough.
 
We hid there for a moment and tried to not draw attention to ourselves.

“We can’t stay,” I told William.
 
“We have to get ready to leave soon, and not in a way that will get us noticed.” I began planning, but I was interrupted by one of William’s random thoughts.

“Maybe we should,” he said.

“Maybe we should, what?” I said by reflex.
 
I didn’t usually give his comments much thought and I didn’t intend to start.

“Stay,” William said. “Maybe we should stay.”

“We can’t stay in the tavern,” I told him. “We’ll be found out.”

“I don’t mean that we should stay in the tavern, James,” he said.
 
“I just think that maybe we should stay and, you know, … not go home.”

If words were fists, then William would have just laid me out on the floor. How could he not want to go home? What had this whole experience been about if not for the prize of returning to Port Royal?

“Besides,” he trailed off, “after what we did…” His eyes got distant and it hit me.
 
William wasn’t easily forgetting the time on the
Queen Anne’s Revenge
, especially the seizing of the French cruiser and the murder of her crew.
 
It was something that had been bothering him for some time.
 
I wasn’t sure whether I should have felt sorrier for him, or sorrier for me in that I hadn’t thought about it in weeks.

“No,” I told him.
 
“You’re safe, but that’s only half the job.
 
We get home to our families.” I remembered what he said and added, “They’ll understand.” I almost believed it, too.
 
I knew I could hide nearly anything from my mother, but Emily saw right through me.
 
I thought of a dozen ways I could tell Emily.
 
Each of them ended with her understanding, but never really liking it or ever looking at me the same.
 
Just like when I told her about Pan.

Just then, a quarrel at one of the tables spilled out onto the bar.
 
I craned my neck to see over the man in front of me.
 
I was surprised to see a familiar face, even one I’d never hoped to see again.
 
It appeared Smee got here ahead of us and had already begun making friends.
 
I didn’t know what he said, but it seemed to have upset half of the tavern.

“That sloop is ours for the taking,” said a formally dressed man.
 
Smee was then grabbed by two of the others.

As strong as Smee was, the odds were six to one.
 
The Italian and a man with backwards hands were working him over as I walked up.
 
The clean-cut gentleman drew his sword and raised it to thrusting height, his wrist bent at an awkwardly dainty angle.
 
Poor form.
 
I was tempted to wait until Smee was run through, but I decided better of it.
 
He was a strong and crafty sailor.
 
The devil you know always wins out.

“Stop!” I shouted.
 
“Do you know who this man is? That’s Smee, cutthroat and scourge of the Caribbean.” I only wanted their attention, but my voice quieted the entire tavern. The gentleman looked William and me over before speaking.

“What’s he worth to you?” the gentleman asked.

“To me, nothing. He’s worth an untold amount to you though. You’re about to stab the one man who knows of the location of Blackbeard’s buried treasure.” It was a flimsy lie.
 
Still, it was the best I could come up with in the heat of confrontation.

“That’s rich coming from Blackbeard’s own Bos’n,” Smee added, obviously catching on to my plan.

“What about him?” the gentleman asked, pointing his sword at William.

“Bill Jukes,” I cried out, “A tattoo for every kill since the raid of Charles Town.” More quick thinking.

“You’re all from the ship that ran aground?” the Gentleman responded.
 
“Maybe we’ll turn you three in for a generous reward?”

“And turn yourselves in as well?” I shot back.
 
One look at their clothes told the whole tale.
 
Most of them were clearly stolen.
 
The Italian was wearing the shirt of a British soldier.
 
Hardened men shrank from sight and scattered like rats.
 
Several practiced killers exited the tavern in the moments before I spoke again.
 
“I doubt it. I know wanted men when I see them.”
 

“Then we’ll kill the two of you and torture the information out of your friend here,” he said.
 
I liked him instantly. He was a thinker.
 
Even so, he was one step behind.

“You don’t have enough time for that,” I told him. “Remember, we’re being hunted. A sloop is a complicated ship.
 
She’ll need an experienced crew of more men than you have in your party.” The line was thrown. “Blackbeard won’t be needing his buried chest anytime soon.” The bait was tasty. “It’d be a good score for a young crew looking to make a name for themselves.” Hooked.

The Gentleman looked at the others who nodded their heads.
 
Then he looked back to me and did the same.
 
The one with the backwards hands dropped Smee at my feet with a pleasant thud.
 
I took a moment to look down on him and smirk with the satisfaction that can only come from besting a rival.

“This changes nothing,” he said through bloodied lips.

“Of course not,” I said as I stepped over him to greet my new crewmates.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The pleasantries didn’t last long.
 
As it turned out, Smee was the most experienced sailor of the lot of us.
 
The vote was made seven to two.
 
Only William sided with me and although I applaud myself for sparing Smee’s life, I was forced to concede that he should be captain.

“Fine,” I told him, “You can be captain. Just get me to Port Royal.
 
I want to be through with this nightmare.”

We arrived in Port Royal within days. We pushed the sloop on through the night so that we could beat any dispatch of its theft.
 
She was already loaded with food enough for a crew three times our size.
 
Enough supplies that we could have passed for a charter if questioned.

Smee docked her at the inlet.
 
If we were aboard a larger vessel, our whole story would have to change. Having been raised by sailors, William and I did all the talking.
 
The right phrases and an appropriate fee was all it took.
 
One additional charge and the record showed that we arrived two days earlier.
 
No one on the ship had enough money for a sufficient bribe, so I gave the man the gold coin I found on my father when I buried him. It seemed appropriate that his last gift to me be that I go home in peace.

“William and I are going for clothing,” I lied. “We need to fit in.”
 
Smee knew better, but there was no nice way to tell a new crew that you were leaving.
 
William’s head perked up as if he thought to correct me, but I shot him a look.
 
He had learned enough to know when to be quiet.

“Good idea,” Smee responded, obviously taking the hint.
 
They were a dirty looking bunch.
 
Any trained sailor in the King’s Navy would spot them for pirates in an instant.

“Just be back by sundown,” he said.
 
“We can’t risk staying too long.” This time, I looked Smee right in the eyes. For a moment, I almost found a glimmer of respect.
 
He could keep it.
 
And if there was a choice between our safe return and my father’s watch, Smee could keep that too.
 
We were home. Smee could have the ship, the crew, the watch, and his respect.
 
I had no use for any of it.
 
Not anymore.

“Where to first?” William asked once we were out of earshot.

“I do what I promised to Emily,” I smiled, “I’m delivering you to your doorstep.”

We walked the paths as if we never left but these same dirty streets and dark taverns were unfamiliar to me now.
 
Nothing was the same as it was years ago.
 
Years ago?
 
It couldn’t be.
 

Then I remembered our time on the island and aboard the
Queen Anne’s Revenge
. I looked at William and saw how he’d grown since we left.
 
How much had I changed?
 
Would Emily even recognize us?
 
Worse yet, what if she did and rejected us for who we’d become?

We arrived at the Jukes house before I could piece together any answers.
 
We stood and stared at the door for way too long before knocking.
 
The knob was lighter than I remembered and not as loud.
 
There was a faint shuffling of feet behind the door.
 
William tensed as if he were ready to run.

“Look sharp,” I told him as I forced myself to remain still.
 
The door creaked open and light spilled out onto the street.
 
William and I threw our hands up over our faces to cover our eyes.
 
There was a figure in the door, slight of frame and familiar in shape.

“There are no alms here,” the voice said. It was soft but firm.
 
“Now leave here before I call my...”

“We are not looking for charity, my dear lady,” I cut in. I lowered my hands and heard a gasp as she saw me. “In fact, I’m here to return something that belongs to you.”

It was to no small boost in my pride that she embraced me before William.
 
The fact that she nearly knocked me over into the dirt only enhanced the compliment.
 
I took a moment to hold her before she greeted her brother.
 
With her arms wrapped around my neck, I could fully smell the jasmine in her hair again.
 
She whispered a thank you in my ear before letting go.

I saw her again for the first time as she hugged her brother.
 
She was no longer taller than I was.
 
She also looked far more like a woman than I remembered.
 
Her hair was darker now and reached lower down her back.
 
She turned and looked at me with those piercing eyes.

“I knew you could do it, James,” she said through a broad, rare smile.
 
James. I hadn’t heard my name said so sweetly in nearly three years.
 
I was reminded of the things William and I did and turned my head away.
 
Would she accept us back into her life so warmly when she hears of our history?
 
I opened my mouth to speak, but William brushed past me. As he moved to enter the house, Emily closed the door behind her.