Cry of the Demon

Chapter 1: Tortuga
I wrinkled my nose with disgust. Tortuga never was the best place to be. Even so, my business brought me here, so what else could I do? I shifted my position on the chair, watching as men wasted their lives at the bottom of a tankard of beer. That's when I spotted her. She looked familiar, but I thought nothing of it until she pulled a sword. THE sword. "That's impossible." I whispered to myself, my eyes growing wide. As far as what I had heard, she was supposed to be dead.

"What's impossible?" My friend's voice made me jump.

"Will! You know better to sneak up on me like that." I smiled, gesturing for him to sit. "How are you?"

"The same."

"That bad?" He laughed at my response.

"Ay, I missed ye, Bella! No one else has yer wit. So, what brings you here? Last we met, ye hated Tortuga."

"Still do." I frowned at the mug in front of me. "As for what brings me here, business of course."

"What kind of business?"

"The usual."

"I thought we'd agreed that you would stop pirating."

"I never agreed to that. Besides, you didn't."

"I promised yer father to protect you. A fine way to repay his wishes, allowing you to pirate yer way into a noose."

"Like he did any better. Marooned on an island. Somehow that sounds much worse than hanging."

"Yer just as crazy as yer mother."

"Only you would know." I grinned slyly, then frowned. "Will....I need a ship." He choked on his drink.

"You need a what?!?"

"A ship. You know, bigger than a boat with large white things called sails."

"I know what a ship is! Why do you need it?"

"I think I've found it." My voice dropped to a whisper.

"Isa, that was just a legend! There's no proof that it...."

"Please Will?" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

I cursed myself. Once again, someone's big mouth ended with me in the middle of a fight. Ducking an errant blade, I swiftly pulled out my own sword, blocking anything sharp that came my way, and making my way to the edge of the fight. Somewhere in the back of my mind came a warning, but was unfortunately ignored. A loud crack split through the noise and all at once things grew quiet and still. I turned to face the source of the noise and was somewhat dismayed by the sight of him.

His eyes met mine, and all at once came the second warning. This time, I listened, running down the street like the devil were on my heels. And he most likely was... There was no time to wait for Will, I needed a getaway ship and I needed it now. Which meant I would have to steal... er, borrow one without permission...

I ran all the way to the shipyard and looked down the row of ships, searching for the right one. My eyes fell on his ship, and I instinctively ducked behind a few barrels. I cursed. His ship had eyes, I was sure of that. If I got anywhere near it, he would most definitely know, and that was something that I couldn't afford at the moment. I sunk deeper into the shadows as a few of his crew members slunk by, then cursed them too.

It was, perhaps, good luck that she went by. The one I recognized from the tavern. She walked by and boarded a ship that was perfect. After she was well on board, I slunk over, careful to avoid being noticed. But then again, who noticed children? I was about to climb up when I noticed someone else was already climbing up. Panicking, I ducked into the nearest hiding spot I could find. It didn't really matter, though. He...or she never looked down. I waited before grabbing the rope. Maybe I wouldn't have to borrow the ship after all.

Chapter 2: The Nautilus
I shifted again, cramped in the small space I was hidden in. This was, by far, the worst idea I had ever come up with, a new record. Aside from the tight fit, the inside of the barrel also smelled cloyingly of fish. I stiffened when I heard heavy footsteps; stowaways were not, by any means, welcome. I took this time to wonder about the other stowaway, how their hiding spot was in relation to mine and how much less it smelled.

It was maybe an hour or two after shipping off when I realized that, in my haste, I might be sailing in the wrong direction. No matter... I thought to myself. I can find a ship in the next port. Still, my heart felt heavy from the possibilites; what if port was farther than I thought? I could be trapped here for days, weeks, months even. Not to mention I might be caught. That was more appealing than dying from hunger or thirst, which was a likely possibility in my position. Finally, I dozed off; there was nothing I could do but hope the next port wasn't England.