Norrington's Darling

The Heading

POV: Zuri Sparrow

When morning broke, I moved my stiff limbs from their position. I hadn't moved from the crow's nest the night before, falling asleep there.

It had been a restless sleep, full of screaming and sinking ships and storms. But when I woke that morning, the storm had faded into nothing, leaving me with the hope that James had gotten out of it safely.

I strode to Barbossa, Elizabeth, and Will, the three crowded around a map.

"Do we have a heading?" I asked.

Barbossa glanced up. "With yer plan of stealin' a ship from Beckett not workin' out the way we had hoped, we'll have to get one elsewhere." He stabbed a finger at the map. "I'm thinkin' here."

I leaned in. "Singapore?!"

Barbossa nodded. "There's a Pirate Lord there. He's bound by the Code to help us."

"The Code?" Will asked.

"The Pirate Code," I supplied. "The"—I glanced at Elizabeth—"guidelines all pirates live by. Sao Feng in a Pirate Lord, one of the nine. He, more than anyone else, except another Pirate Lord, is bound to the Code." 

Recalling the scowling face of the Keeper of the Code, I raked a hand through my hair. It would be interesting seeing my grandfather again.

"Ah," Will said. "Proceed."

I turned back to Barbossa. "You know how Sao Feng is. He's temperamental and backstabbing."

"So just like every other pirate?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes," I admitted. "But he's worse. It's impossible to trust that Feng will keep to the Code." I glanced down, staring hard at the map, my throat raw as it relived my screaming, hearing the sound of the Kraken's roar. "He hated my brother more than anything."

Barbossa tipped my face up. "Zuri," he began, his face softer than I had ever heard, "he is our last chance."

I licked my lips and swallowed. I nodded. "Alright. Let's go." It was hard to get the next words from my lips, the words scraping harshly along my throat. "Make way for Singapore."