Free Pirates of the Caribbean 07 City of Gold by Rob Kidd

 
     

     
    City of Gold
     
     
     
    City of Gold (Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow #7)
     
    Rob Kidd
     
    JACK SPARROW City of Gold
     
    CHAPTER ONE
     
    A lone figure paced back and forth on a tiny patch of relatively solid land in the middle of a giant swamp. His red bandana was the only bright thing for miles. He was getting impatient, and sweat from the muggy heat was running down his face.Gloom and greyness surrounded him like the muddy waters that obscured his feet. Big trees full of Spanish moss blocked most of the sunlight. The moss hung from the tree branches like hundreds of small intertwined snakes. Everything was moist a nd itchy. Flying insec ts many probably carrying disease swarmed above, forming buzzing grey clouds. Things dripped. Things oozed and bubbled. Things floated and bobbed in the murky depths. The boy, one Jack Sparrow, was getting really tired of fending off all the vicious, man-eating creatures in these swamps. And--though you couldn't tell it from the permanent gloom here--the sun was setting. Shadows deepened and fireflies were beginning to dot the darkness under the trees. Jack just waited."What is taking her so long?" a bush whispered to him.Jack rolled his eyes, wishing for once that he really was crazy, which w as what everyone else believed.
    Jack sighed dramatically and pushed aside some thick vines and marsh plants. Hidden behind the swampy flora was Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III, a sailor aboard Jack's boat, the mighty Barnacle. Fitzwilliam was from an aristocratic background and always looked the part. Even now, here in the swamp, his jacket looked spotless and his buckle shoes were well-polished."Would you be quiet?" Jack shouted. Then, quickly realizing that he himself was being loud, lowered his voice to a forced whisper. "There are certain ways to do things, you know. Hiding, for instance. Hiding, you might be surprised to learn, often requires not being seen or heard."Jack moved the marsh plants back into place and adjusted leaves to hide Fitzwilliam."Jack Sparrow," came anoth er voice, behind him this time.
    The powerful mystic, Tia Dalma, parted the tall grass and emerged before Jack. There was no sign of a path, no sound of her approach. She had one hand on her hip and smiled eerily, showing her blue-white grin."How do you do that?" Jack demanded."Why did you call me here?" she asked, somewhat pointedly. "You know I prefer to stay deep in the wetlands.""Well, there's a lot going on in my life," Jack answered airily, waving his hand. "Things I thought you should know about."Tia Dalma opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Jack had already launched into his story."See, it's like this," he began, "There's this amulet. It's called the Sun-and-Stars, savvy? So, this Sun-and-Stars was stolen from the village of a member of my crew named Tumen. Lovely boy. My good crew and I--well, mostly I, but my good crew as well, recovered the amulet. But it does not end there. Not at all. In fact, it's just the beginning. We found this little bronze gem thing that we then inserted into this amulet, and after we did that, can you venture to guess what happened? No? Well, I will tell you. Everything the amulet touched turned into bronze. Yes, bronze. I know I felt the same way about it. Who wants bronze? Apparently, someone. And that someone was named Madame Minuit--a beautiful pirate and--like you, Miss Dalma--a practitioner of the mystical arts. Not quite as good, I dare say. Although she does have these creepy snakes that emerge from her arms as if out of nowhere--you should look into getting yourself some. They might have them on clearance down at the mystics' market, or wherever it is you magic people get your goods. Anyway, we escaped from this New Orleanian lady by the skin of our teeth, and not long after we escaped, we bumped into--you will never believe this one--the mother of my first mate, Arabella. Now, why would you never believe this? Well, because the woman was