A TOUCH OF DESTINY | Henry Turner

12. Salazar's Revenge

"AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE," Jack said, coughing slightly. "Surrender to me now, and I'll let you... live."

"You want me to surrender?" Salazar asked.

Jack got to his feet. "Maybe."

Salazar raised the trident. "This is where the tale ends!"

He thrust the trident forwards before Lyla could get to her father, and she watched the point embed itself in her father's chest. "NO!"

She ran towards her father as Salazar pushed him backwards. "No, dad!"

Salazar turned and thrust his hand towards Lyla, knocking her backwards with enough force that she was lifted off the ground. She heard her father shout her name before she hit the ground again, this time lying there as her vision swam in front of her.

Henry destroyed the trident, breaking it into pieces, and as Salazar faltered, the trio ran towards Lyla. Jack crouched down beside his daughter. "Don't be dead. Your mum'll kill me."

Lyla coughed. "That's what you're thinking about?"

"You're alive!" Jack exclaimed.

"Sort of," Lyla replied, as her father and Henry helped her to her feet. She leaned heavily against Henry for support. "I think I may have broken some bones."

"You'll be alright," Jack said "Just walk it off."

"Very helpful advice there, dad," Lyla drawled.

Around them, the crew of Salazar's ship began to return to their human forms, spluttering on seawater as they emerged from behind the wall of water.

"All curses are broken," Henry said.

Lyla turned to her father. "We have to get out of here."

As she spoke, the walls of water on either side of them began to encroach, threatening to trap them underwater. Lyla had her arm around Henry's shoulders, struggling to catch her breath as she saw the Black Pearl's anchor swinging towards them. Barbossa was holding onto the chain.

"The Pearl!" Jack exclaimed. "My Pearl!"

"Climb!" Carina shouted.

"Move! Fast!" Barbossa yelled.

Henry and Lyla climbed up towards the anchor, and as it passed them by, they jumped onto the anchor and held fast. One by one, they began to climb up the chain as Barbossa yelled at the crew to reel them up.

The anchor began to ascend, until the chain crashed into a rock and they began to drop again. Lyla's eyes widened in horror before the chain snapped taut again, and she did her best to hang on. Carina lost her footing, and as she fell, she knocked Lyla down with her. Henry managed to grab Lyla's hand as Barbossa caught Carina, and Lyla looked up at Henry.

"This is becoming a bad habit," she commented.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked, as Lyla regained her footing on the chain.

Below them, Lyla could see Barbossa, Carina, and below them, Salazar was climbing up the chain.

"Hector!" Jack shouted, hooking Henry's sword from his belt with his boot.

The blade dropped down, and Lyla watched Barbossa let go of the chain, grasping the sword as he fell. With a shout, he drove the sword into Salazar's back and the two of them fell. Lyla screamed. "NO!"

Hector Barbossa was lost to the sea.

Lyla felt the tears in her eyes as the walls of water finally closed around them. She managed to take a deep breath before they were underwater, and did her best to climb further up the chain. They finally broke the surface and Lyla gasped for breath as the crew began cheering.

Dropping down into the water, the four of them climbed up the side of the Black Pearl and were helped on deck by the crew. Amara ran through the crowd, JJ following at her heels, and her eyes widened when she realised that they were one man short.

"Where's Hector?" she asked.

Jack's expression told her everything she needed to know, and Amara let out a quiet gasp as she covered her mouth with her hand. "No..."

"Pirate's life, Hector," Jack said, as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I'm sorry about your uncle," Henry said to Lyla.

"It's okay," she said quietly, turning to Carina. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," she said. "For a moment, I had everything, Lyla. Now it's all gone again."

"It's not all gone, Miss Smyth," Henry said, handing Carina her diary.

She took the diary and looked up at them. "Barbossa. My name is Barbossa."

"Well, would you look at that," Jack said. "The offspring of the greatest pirates to ever sail the seas."

"Jack!" Amara hissed, elbowing her husband in the side. "Not the time."

"No, no, it's alright," Carina said. "It's nice to know where I come from."

"And if you want to hear the stories, I would be more than happy to share them," Jack said. "Gotta tell young JJ all about my adventures."

"I've beaten you to it," Amara replied. "Sorry, but five years makes for a lot of storytelling," she then approached Carina. "I'm sorry about your father, sweetheart, but you're welcome to stay with us. This family takes in anybody."

Carina smiled. "Thank you, Captain Sparrow. I appreciate that."

Amara hugged Carina, and Lyla hugged Henry. She pressed her face into his shirt. "I thought I'd lost you."

"For a moment, so did I," Henry replied. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"No, it wasn't you," Lyla said. "And I'm alright. We did it. We broke the trident, so we must have broken all the curses."

"Where's our next heading, Captain Sparrow?" Jack asked, eyes on his wife as JJ pulled his hat from his head and placed it atop his own.

Amara turned to their small group. "We sail for Shipwreck Cove. We have an overdue meeting to attend."

"With who?" Jack asked.

Amara smiled. "Elizabeth Turner."