2. The Weathered Crone

Chapter 2

The Weathered Crone

The Pirate

A bell chimed, announcing my arrival, as I cautiously pushed the crooked, wooden door open. The pungent aroma of herbs and incense accosted my senses. Every inch of this room was cluttered with items; exotic fabrics adorned with oddities, jars of eyeballs and claws, ancient tomes, crystals glowing with eldritch light. So many things littered every surface, I didn't know what to look at first, but then something caught my attention.

A counter stretched along the back of the single room, behind which stood a hunched crone, her mane of white hair tangled with beads of silver, blue, and black. Her face had been weathered by time, dark crevices cutting paths through her skin that told of her age. Her body covered something on the counter as she leaned over it, her long, gnarled fingers toying with an object I couldn't quite make out.

"I've been expecting you, Kipp the Pirate," she rasped, her milky eyes meeting mine.

I took a step forward, my men standing still at my back. I knew they would be ready to act on the drop of a pin should this turn sour. Until then, I kept my eye on the old woman before me, swallowing as I took another step toward her. "How do you know my name? How did you know that I was coming?"

"That's not what you really want, is it, Kipp?" she asked, her head tilting to the side as her milky eyes watched me.

I shook my head. "I want it all. Fame, riches, control. I want you to make me undefeatable." I paused, studying her with an intensity that spoke of my truest desires. I knew what I wanted. I wanted everything that had been denied me; riches, power, revenge.

And I'd do anything to get it… even sell my soul if necessary.

The old crone's smile revealed blackened teeth as she sucked in a sharp breath as if she were tasting my need on the air. Her jaw snapped shut and then she cackled, a cruel smile twisting her lips as her eyes practically glittered.

"All magic comes with a price. Are you sure that you are prepared to pay it?"

With a nod, my jaw tightening with determination, I answered, "Whatever it takes."

She moved with surprising speed, her claw-like hand shooting out and grabbing my wrist within a grip too strong for her aged appearance. I struggled, but her hold was iron. She pressed a shiny, black pearl into my palm—the item she'd been toying with all this time—and closed my fingers around it.

With her nose just inches from my own, her voice lowered as she said, "Consume this to gain what you desire, but be warned. You will come to regret it." She let go of my hand then, watching me with a knowing look behind her milky gaze.

I stared down at the pearl with a smile, laughing internally at her warning. There wasn't a chance that I'd regret this. I'd waited too long already to get everything I deserved. I only hesitated for a moment before I tossed the pearl into my mouth, swallowing it.

Sudden agony lanced through me as a dark power took its hold. I wrapped my arms around my middle as the crone's laugher echoed around the room. My dark gaze snapped back to the old woman, shocked at what now stood in her place.

Within moments, her features contorted into something else entirely. A young woman with alluring beauty now grinned wickedly in place of the weathered crone who had stood there just moments before. A sea witch. I had been searching for a powerful witch, and instead, I'd found something far worse.

This young woman with flowing dark hair and captivating Mediterranean-colored eyes had once been a goddess of the seas, but then dark magic had consumed her heart, turning her towards land and corruption. Her laugher floated around me as agony consumed me, my feet back tracking as I stared, wide-eyed, at the sea witch.

"I did warn you," she cackled.

Then the sea witch and the cottage dissolved around me, as if it had all just been a dream. I fell to my knees. Her laughter still on the wind as everything went black.

***

My men and I woke a short distance from our rowboat a short time later. None of us knew how long had passed, and none of us spoke as we made our way back to the ship. My steps felt a bit lighter as I walked. The pearl had worked. The power flowed through my veins even now.

We made our way back to the ship, rowing through the waters that seemed much calmer now. My men held confused looks upon their faces, but they obeyed my orders, knowing the spoils in our future would be worth it. As we made it back, we fastened the ropes and hauled ourselves upward with the help of the crew that had been left behind. A wicked joy ignited within me as I realized the captain's boat had yet to return.

The men left aboard the ship helped us tie off the rowboat and then gathered on center deck. I now stood before them, a crooked grin lifting my lips at what I was about to do, what I was about to pull off. We had eyes on our captain, his boat traveling back to the ship. It was now or never, and I was done waiting.

"There is nothing of value on this island. You all heard how he reacted to the rumor of treasure on this barren island. I've always been honest with you, have I not? I led him here to untold treasure and he intended to take my find from me. You heard the way he spoke about it. His greed, his arrogance, it knows no bounds. There comes a time when a ship's captain needs to be replaced, needs new blood. That time is now! Who's with me?"

I finished my speech, my curved blade in the air as I eyed the men gathered before me. I felt the pearl within my heart, felt it warm as my words worked their magic. They nodded, they hollered, and they threw their fisted weapons into the air.

As soon as the captain returned from the expedition, his anger was palpable. Red faced and spitting curses as he stepped onto the deck, he made it clear he was not impressed with the lack of treasure on that island.

I stood, my weapon at my side and a smirk lifting the corner of my mouth, and challenged him, launching a mutiny with the full support of the crew.

"You treacherous scoundrel! After all the favors I've bestowed upon you?" he snarled as rage contorted his face.

"Favors you'd have me repay you for the rest of my life! Draw!" I yelled, shaking my blade at him.

The men he had taken with him on his rowboat pulled their weapons free, a defensive stance readied as they stood with the captain. These six men were his closest men; they'd been with him since the day he had become Captain. We would need to dispel them too.

My closest allies clashed swords with them, the sound of metal ringing into the evening. Captain Jack pulled his weapon free within the blink of an eye. He'd always been known as one of the fiercest pirates there ever was. His sword slammed into mine, sending a vibration that I felt to my shoulder. Still, I knew I had the power of the pearl with me now. I wouldn't fail. I couldn't.

His blade slashed my shoulder and I gasped, air whistling through my teeth as I retaliated. The wound gave me strength rather than weakening me, and I fought back with vigor. The ship around us fell silent, the last of his men dispatched by my own. I swung my blade, switching direction at the last moment, fooling him. The captain's eyes widened as his blade clattered to the ship deck.

I held him at the tip of my sword, guiding him backward. His feet teetered on the wooden plank that now belonged to my ship, suspended above the treacherous depths of the sea. My men had already thrown two of the bodies overboard. A group of sharks awaited their next feast, their hunger intense as they circled the ship. The captain glanced to the churning waters and a pallor washed over his features.

"Kipp, you're like a son to me. Don't do this."

"A moment ago, I was a treacherous scoundrel. Now, I am a son?" I chuckled, allowing a glimpse of the darkness taking root within my being to the surface.

The captain flinched at the expression I now held.

As I looked upon him, the fear obvious on his face, all I could see were the faces of the children chained in the hull of a ship. They'd been forced to work their days away with the sailors under the searing hot sun. Their dirty and tear-stained faces as the ship had sunk, their limbs still held by restraints as their tiny bodies sank with the ship he had attacked. His greed causing countless, needless deaths. Their screams still echoed in my dreams.

"I set you free!" Captain Jack growled, baring his teeth. Wind ruffled his hair and clothing, his back toward the expansive ocean as he faced me.

"You sank the ship I was on. You destroyed all the other children on that ship. How could you not recognize who I was? I'd watched you shove your blade through the captain's chest. I stood right there." My grin twisted into a sinister expression, reflecting the revenge that had consumed me for over a decade. "Then you pulled me from the water days later, after you had slaughtered my people. I've been biding my time, patiently waiting for this moment, for retribution."

With those final words, accompanied by the captain's shocked and betrayed expression, I impaled him upon my blade, giving him a swift kick that sent his dying form into the water. His screams echoed out over the sea until the water garbled his cries, the sharks latching onto their next meal. I stood there, watching as crimson spread and painted the water with my victory.

Turning, I faced the crew as my men tossed the last corpse. "Well, my crew, I am Captain now, and I have some grand plans for us. Some of you already know some of what I have planned. Are you still with me?"

Chants of ‘Captain Kipp' resonated through the air as they cheered. I'd planted these seeds over months, and it had played out exactly as planned. I ordered the men, my men, into position. Their cheery songs of victory rang out into the evening as we sailed away from the island that began it all.

It didn't take me long to fill Captain Jack's sailor shoes, and soon I became the most feared pirate upon the vast seas, accumulating unimaginable wealth and fame. My men wanted for nothing, their loyalty mine for all time.

Gradually, a realization crept upon me like a somber shadow. The curse concealed within the fortune bestowed upon me by the sea witch began to manifest its insidious nature. Gold brought no joy, conquests brought no satisfaction. My heart, tainted by darkness, knew only loneliness, and the void within could never be filled.

Too late, I comprehended the crone's foreboding warning. The allure of power and the insatiable grip of greed exacted a profound toll. The magic of the cursed pearl had taken hold of my body and soul, dooming me to an eternity of hollow pursuits, forever yearning for the meaning and love my heart craved. The curse consumed me, an unrelenting force that refused to release its hold.

Years later, I embarked on a quest to seek out the elusive crone, desperate to find her. Yet, the island had moved, and my search proved fruitless. I was forced to reach out to her in the realm of dreams, caught in the clutches of a tormenting nightmare. In this vision, the sea witch appeared, her teeth blackened and a cruel smile adorning her face. Her words drifted upon the winds as I awakened from a restless slumber.

Only a siren's kiss can break your curse for it was the kiss of a siren's death that plagued you, her ethereal voice whispered.

Clarity flooded my mind as I sat bolt upright in the bed of my captain's quarters. I knew what I must do. I needed a siren, for without her intervention, the dark magic that held me captive would consume my very essence.