Pirates of the Caribbean 05 The Age of Bronze Read Free Page A

doll to make him sick."
    "Why would anyone do that?" Tumen asked, exasperated. "Mam has never done anything bad to anyone. He has never been to New Orleans. He has n ever been out of the Yucatan!"
    "I don't know, but I'll bet that maybe, just maybe, this precious amulet you keep going on and on about has something to do with it," Jack pointed out sarcastically. "Why must I always need to state the obvious to you people?"Tumen blinked. The connection was obvious The disappearance of the amulet, Mam suddenly becoming sick ... The doll couldn't have been a coincidence. He turned and went back to the village. The others followed."I've got to see Mam," Tumen protested when Yaxun tried to stop him."I am sorry," Tumens older brother, Chila, said sadly, also blocking his way. "But if you try to come back again we will need to turn you and your friends away--forcefully. Please go--and take with you the evil that has invaded our village. You are not my brother any longer. They hav e changed you."
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
    A pale half-moon rose over the midnight sea as the Barnacle made its way through the Gulf of Mexico toward New Orleans. Thousands of stars added to its ghostly light, causing the tips of waves to glow an eerie white. The dark water blended into the night sky. A lone, lost gull cried once over head."I'm so worried about Mam," Tumen said. "He was so sick. At his age, the fever is deadly. . . .""Ah, do n ot worry, Tumen!" Jean assured his friend, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "The doll will only work while in the hands of whoever made it. This little doll was dropped in the sands, lost. Its power has been severed. Your great-grandfather is feeling better already."Arabella raised an eyebrow at Jean over Tumen's head. Was the Creole boy telling the truth or just saying something to make Tumen feel better? Jean nodded vigorously, fingers over his heart."A fine night for sailing," Fitzwilliam said, changing the subject."I don't agree," Arabella said, shaking her head. "It feels ... cursed, somehow."
    "Bup-bup-bup-bup!" Jack ordered, taking a hand off the wheel to wave a finger at his two mates. " No curses, no magic, no more!"
    "No curses, Jack? Well, what do you call this, then?" Jean asked sarcastically, holding up the doll."A terribly unfortunate set of coincidental hardships," Jack suggested, but warily kept one eye on the doll. Jean wiggled it at him, then tossed it at the captain of the Barnacle. Jack jumped out of the way and let out a high-pitched yelp, still keeping hold of the wheel. He shot Jean a dirty look."What is that?" Tumen asked, pointing out over the sea.It was hard to make out at first. Just a random darkness blocking out some stars on the horizon. It could have been a trick of the light or a passing cloud. But as the Barnacle sailed silently toward it, the blackness in the sky grew bigger and bigger."It's a ship," Jack realized first. But there was somethi ng terribly wrong with it. For one thing, it was dead in the water. Dead. Barely moving with the swells and waves. It was hardly rocking. Not like a ship at all. There were no sounds coming from it, not even the cracking of sails in the wind. And not a single light shone from its deck or its cabins. Even the water around it was unnaturally still.Constance leaped onto the railing and sniffed curiously in the ship's direction."Some ship," Arabella whispered."I'll just tack us to port, get a better look," Jack decided, spinning the wheel. No one objected, but then again, no one sounded very enthusiastic, either. "Oh, don't all cheer at once for your heroic captain," Jack said sarcastically. As they came around the side of the ghostly ship the bowsprit gleamed in a way wood--even freshly painted wood usually doesn't.
    But it wasn't until they saw moonlight hit the hull full on that the crew of the Barnacle realized what was wrong."It's made of metal," Arabella whispered.From bow to stern, from poop deck to topsail, everything glowed dully under the