Black Hearted

Part 9

Sean held his ground as Mark turned the coldest eyes that he had only ever seen on sharks. For a moment, they only stared at each other. Neither one wanting to show weakness to the other. Before too long though, Sean told him simply. "Better make your choice soon, Captain. Are you ready to go down with her?" Mark's jaw clenched in frustration and he finally looked away to see the Man O' War getting closer. Mark's voice came out in a reluctant growl as he answered without looking at him. "How do I know you're not lying to me?" Sean proudly straightened up, stating out honestly. "I told you. I owe you a debt. This amulet means more to me and my kind, than you will ever understand. This ship means a lot to you and your crew. Now do we have an accord?" Mark's grip tightened on his arm again, his glaze meeting his once again as he told him firmly. "You save my ship and I won't cage you, nor put you in irons. On my honor. The Sea Crown, for your freedom. You get me to the Sea Crown and I'll never have a need for your kind ever again. Agreed?" 

Sean's heart lifted in excitement. He had won! He didn't think he would have, but he did! Grabbing Mark's arm in return, Sean nodded with a smile. He only promised to take him to the Sea Crown. He had no intention on helping him get in it. The odds were this murdering pirate would die long before that. He only wanted to stay aboard long enough to find out how this pirate knew so much about them. Then he'd make this pirate pay! Mark slowly released his arm, then teased out mockingly. "What do you plan to do then? Sing to them from the stern? I'm sure they will find that just lovely." Sean flashed Mark a bitter smile, commenting out dryly. "No. You're just a Captain. Not worthy of a prince's song. Just sit back and watch, Captain. You may ride the sea, but I'm part of it." Sean turned, rushing down the steps and jumping up onto the side, grabbing the rope shrouds for support. The crew gasped jumping out of his way as the Captain strolled to the steps with his pistol drawn and aimed directly at his back.

Sean gave the Captain a fearless look, then pulled one of the loose dangling mast ropes free from the shroud. Bracing his bare feet against the side of the ship, Sean held onto the rope and lowered himself down to the water. The crew leaned over the sides to watch him dip his hand into the cold dark water. Closing his eyes, he let the water tell him how fast the ship was moving through the water. He could feel the weight of the ship and how it was dragging on the left side where the pitch had not been applied. Feeling the ship coming up on them, Sean raised his hand from the water and opened his eyes. The crew gasped louder and began to whisper among themselves as a thick fog began to rush past them and thicken up like a cloud behind them. Mark ordered the crew to douse the lanterns and the crew fumbled around on deck to put out all the candle lights. Sean waited until the ship behind them was trapped in the fog, before waving his hand over the water in a swift motion.

Behind them the water surged with a small powerful wave and a loud crunching of wood echoed over the water. Sean smirked only a little. He had used the strong little wave to push the ship off course and farther into the shallows of the island, where it breeched the breach. That put a stop to them following for awhile. Keeping the fog around the Man O' War thick, Sean stuck his hand back into the water and focused on their ship. Using the water around the ship to help it pick up speed and lessen the drag. He just had to get them far enough out of the possible sight of the other ship. Give them a heads start and keep the Man O' War guessing where they had went. Sean was just thankful that the moon was out. The moon fed his amulet the power required to use this little trick without having to use his own energy for it. If it had been daylight... he wouldn't have been able to use all of these tricks at once.

The bigger the amulet, the more power it stored. The biggest amulets were those belonging only to the Merkings and Merqueens. At present, his father had the stone in his trident with enough power to bring forth a hurricane in broad daylight. While his mother had a bracelet with enough power to do the same. When they had left the Man O' War leagues behind, Sean finally stopped. His arm was tired and his head ached. He had never used so much of the amulets power for so long before. Even as he stopped, he could feel the amulet charging against his chest in the moonlight. Climbing up the rope, he listened to the excited cheers of the crew. A tall man with a warm smile leaned over the side asking for his hand. Sean took it and the man pulled him back up onto the deck. The man hugged him close, ruffling his hair as he called out to the helmsmen. "Did ya see that, Bob! This scrawny fish-boy just saved all our lives!" Bob rolled his eyes, shouting out over the cheering crew sarcastically. "No Wade, I didn't see. I was too busy driving the ship."