of the coin to immortalize anyone who would swear to serve him for eternity. It was a chance to escape Davy Jones Locker. That is what the celebration was really about. The spell was working, too. Incredible energy flowed through our bodies. The winds swirled while lightning streaked across the sky--” Blackbeard stopped, shaking his head, unable to continue.
Stede picked up the story once again. “And so it began. At first, just a few drops of blood were running out of her nose and ears. Several of us tried to help her. We begged Vane to find another way, but he refused to stop the ceremony. He said he would find another Witch and then another if he had to. Vane resorted to threatening her family. He convinced the young lass that if she failed, her family would be dead by first light. At that juncture the poor lass was terribly weak from blood loss. She could stand on the altar no longer. When she fell to her knees, Vane began yelling vile things. He promised to force her younger sister to finish the spell. I could not let her die before me and do nothing… even if it meant eternity in Davy Jones Locker,” Stede finished with a shudder.
Blackbeard shook his head at the memory, “Stede drew his pistol, intending to fire on Vane and end the poor lass’s torture. Alas, Calico Jack was ready for trouble. He shot Stede, knocking the pistol out of his hand. Tragically, the lead ball from Calico’s pistol glanced off the barrel of Stede’s gun, hitting the lass directly in the chest. Stede stripped off his shirt, pressing it to her wound, trying to stem the life blood flowing from her wound. I rushed to help him apply pressure, but she had already lost too much blood. With her life seeping out on the ground, she whispered her plea to Stede and I. She beseeched us to free her family and hide them from Vane. We agreed. As soon as she secured our promise, her pale eyes sought Vane. Smiling weakly she whispered, ‘Your wish is granted, Charles Vane, just as you demanded…eternity.’ Suddenly thunder boomed with such intensity that we were forced to cover our ears. The ground began to shake, and she disappeared before our very eyes. She simply dissolved into nothing. Vane was like a man possessed, especially when he found the coin had disappeared with her.”
“We didn’t understand what she had done at the time, but all too soon, it became crystal clear,” Stede said drearily. “Teach and I kept our promise to the lass, didn’t we, Matey?”
“Aye, that we did my friend,” Blackbeard acknowledged.
“We hid her family away and left them with enough gold to live on for the next hundred years,” Stede boasted gleefully and then dropped his eyes regretfully. “But it did nothing to relieve our guilt over her death. Things declined quickly after that. Within two years we had all been captured and hanged or died in battle. ‘Eternity’ she had said. We indeed have eternity…neither alive nor dead. We sail only during the full moon.”
“How did you get the coin back?” This from Grace, who waved her iron shackles gracefully away, transforming into a regal beauty. Joanna suddenly recalled meeting the Royal Whitestone matriarch while visiting her mother during a Council Recess several years ago. As the memory surfaced, Grace turned toward her with amusement sparkling in her eyes. “My mother,” she said, “who much to my delight detests my involvement in any field work what-so-ever.”
Lucy and Joyce gave up their pretense as well. They moved to flank Grace, one at her left, one at her right. Any misconceptions Joanna might have had about the pair dissolved as she looked upon them now dressed in black tees, close-fitting pants, and combat boots. Each sported an arsenal of weapons strapped strategically to their bodies.
Joanna chuckled, realizing they were far more than just pretty faces after all.
“Girls,” Grace said turning to frown at her companions, “stand-down. These men are--”
“Bloody Pirates,” Joyce interrupted.
“No,” Joanna corrected, moving to position herself between the women and her new friends. “Gentlemen,” she corrected confidently. “They are gentlemen in the truest sense of the word.”
“I agree,” Grace proclaimed.
Blackbeard and Stede bowed their heads slightly in appreciation of Grace’s endorsement as well as in acknowledgement of her Royal blood.
Waving Lucy and Joyce away, Grace absently wiggled her fingers at the bars separating the Witches from the Stede and Blackbeard. As the bars melted