The Brightest Star in the North

by Meredith Rusu

  “I’m a captain,” Barbossa answered. “I know which stars to follow home.”

  Carina watched as Barbossa stepped away. He headed over to Jack, who was still tied to the mast. The two men spoke quietly.

  Odd, Carina thought. No one has ever recognized my name as being that of a star. Even Lady Devonshire needed a moment to place it. How strange that the first person to realize it would be a pirate.

  Just then, Henry ran down from the lookout. “Redcoats!” he cried, sounding the alarm.

  Barbossa left Jack and hurried to the ship rail.

  Everyone clambered up to the deck to see a vessel sailing toward them—the British warship Essex.

  “She’s coming in starboard!” yelled Barbossa. “We’ll fight to the last. The Pearl will not be taken from me again!”

  Giant waves blasted the side of the Pearl as the warship approached. Carina struggled to keep the wheel, but it was slipping from her grasp. Henry raced up alongside her to help.

  Through the blustering ocean and wild sea spray, Carina and Henry caught sight of the Essex captain. Of course, it would be Lieutenant Scarfield, Carina thought, recognizing the soldier and his fiendish smile. He ordered his crew to light the ship cannons—all thirty of them.

  “He’s going to blast us out of the water!” Carina shouted to Henry with alarm. “What do we do?”

  Suddenly, another shape loomed behind the Essex. A shadow straight from the depths of hell…

  The Silent Mary had finally caught up. It rose, opening its massive hull like a giant mouth.

  Carina watched in horror as the ghost ship descended upon the Essex, snapping the warship in two. In a blazing fireball, the Essex exploded from within, all the gunpowder aboard igniting at once. Carina felt the heat graze her skin as the Essex was completely consumed.

  The crew aboard the Black Pearl gaped at the wreckage. But the Silent Mary didn’t even pause. It continued to cut through the sea as though nothing had been in its way.

  Barbossa moved toward Carina. “Whatever happens, stay your course,” he instructed her.

  Instantly, everyone aboard the Black Pearl ran to battle stations, and Henry rushed over to help. Men loaded cannons and rifles. Swords were thrown to crewmates with abandon.

  Barbossa’s men were loyal to the end; they were not going down without a fight.

  There was no escape; the Silent Mary drew up alongside the Pearl, its prey finally at hand.

  Captain Salazar jumped onto the deck of the Black Pearl, hanger sword in hand. His wicked delight was clear.

  “We’ve come with the butcher’s bill!” he cried savagely.

  With a horrible roar, all the ghost pirates boarded the Black Pearl, ready to kill.

  Swords clashed and screams echoed behind Carina as she desperately steered the ship along their course.

  “Where is Jack Sparrow?” she heard Salazar cry with contempt as the battle raged on. “Where is he?”

  Salazar caught sight of Jack’s ropes piled in a heap by the mast he’d been tied to. He howled, “There is nowhere to hide!”

  Suddenly, the Pearl hit a precariously pitched wave and dipped. Men screamed as ghost pirates descended upon them. They battled for their lives, but the dead were proving too much of a match.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Carina caught a glimpse of Henry throwing a long rope to Jack, and Jack’s shadowy figure swinging across to the Silent Mary. The pirate had boarded the ghost ship.

  Salazar stared furiously at his target. “Leave him to me.”

  With a running leap, Salazar threw himself across the watery chasm separating the ships and landed on a cannon beside Jack aboard the Silent Mary. Both men drew their swords and began fighting.

  “I will break you this time!” Salazar seethed, punctuating his sentence with a clash of his sword.

  “Punish you for the pain I must endure!”

  CLANK!

  “Feeling my own death over and over!”

  CLANK! CLANK!

  “Or you could simply forgive me,” Jack pointed out, leaping back to stand on the Pearl.

  While the two men were locked in battle, Carina heard the brutal sounds of combat raging behind her aboard the Pearl. Yet she remained loyal to her word. She never let go of the wheel; she steered them true among the wind and pain and carnage.

  Captain Barbossa stayed by her side, desperately fighting off ghost pirates left and right to keep her safe while she held her eyes on the stars.

  Suddenly, Barbossa slipped, and his leg caught in the boards of the ship deck. A ghost howled with unearthly laughter as he slashed the captain’s side. Barbossa groaned, injured.

  Another ghost descended on him, ready to run the old man through. Carina realized that without help, Barbossa was finished.

  Thinking fast, she swung herself around the ship wheel, kicking Barbossa’s trapped leg free. The old pirate captain rolled to the side and clashed with the ghost, fending him off just in time. Barbossa’s eyes flashed thanks to Carina before he began battling again, keeping the dead at bay.

  Meanwhile, Salazar continued to scream at Jack.

  “You took everything from me! Made me more repulsive than any pirate!”

  The men were dueling on the deck of the Silent Mary, sparks flying between their swords.

  “That’s not necessarily true,” Jack pointed out. “Have you met Edward the Blue? He’s very repulsive.”

  Suddenly, a grotesque groan echoed from the bow of the Silent Mary. Jack watched with horror as the carved female figurehead from the front of the ship detached herself and began crawling toward him.

  “That’s very strange,” Jack said. “But I like your dress.”

  The figurehead let out a horrifying scream as she bore down on Jack. And now he was fighting off two devilish spirits side by side. Jack was trapped aboard the Silent Mary with death surrounding him and nowhere to run. He was finished.

  But not if Carina had anything to say about it. Armed with anger and frustration at having witnessed yet another impossible occurrence, Carina made some quick calculations in her head. Then, with a mighty heave, she sent the Black Pearl barreling into the side of the Silent Mary, the two ships crashing together with titanic impact, all the while still sailing straight on course.

  The gruesome female figurehead was crushed and Jack was flung to the deck of the Pearl, snatched from the jaws of death.

  “Carina!” Henry cried out as he made his way to her right. He was battered and bleeding, drained with exhaustion.

  At her left, Barbossa bled heavily from the wound in his side. He couldn’t hold the ghosts off much longer.

  And at the edge of the ship, Salazar had cornered Jack once more. Hell’s fury burned in the captain’s eyes as he prepared to send Jack to his demise.

  With dread, Carina realized that her maneuver hadn’t had the impact she had hoped; they were losing. She looked up, desperately trying to find some sort of clue in the sky. But the sun was starting to rise, making the stars disappear.

  “It’s almost daylight!” she cried. “I’m running out of time. The stars will soon be gone.”

  Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there. The familiar words ran across her mind.

  And then she saw it.

  “Henry, look!”

  Dawn broke, revealing a massive black rock island splitting the sea.

  “The X in the middle of the sea!” Carina cried. It was an island after all.

  Henry’s eyes grew wide. “You found it!”

  Likewise, all the ghost pirates’ eyes grew wide—with fear.

  “Land!” they cried. “Get to the Mary!”

  The ghosts desperately retreated to the back of the Pearl, fleeing for their undead souls.

  And Carina knew what she had to do.

  With a final burst of effort, she sailed the Black Pearl straight onto the island, beaching the entire ship.

  The ghosts unlucky enough to still be at the front screamed as they disint
egrated.

  “Nooo!” Salazar howled, his sword mere inches from Jack’s throat. He was prevented from reaching his target by the invisible barrier created by the rock.

  Desperate with wrath, Salazar had no choice but to back away—but not before reaching out to grab Carina from the wheel….

  “Carina!”

  In a blur, Henry stepped between her and Salazar, allowing the ghost captain to capture him instead. Carina reached wildly for Henry, but it was too late. Salazar dragged the boy back with him aboard the Silent Mary, and the ghost ship veered away from the land, taking Henry along with it.

  “HENRY!” CARINA SCREAMED. “We have to go back for Henry!”

  Barbossa stepped up beside her, holding his bleeding side. “The Trident is the only thing that can save him now,” he said. “We must find it, before it is too late.”

  Desperation burned inside Carina. Henry couldn’t be captured—not now, not when they were so close to achieving their goal.

  I don’t want to lose him, she realized, feeling the full weight of how much he meant to her.

  But the logical part of her mind knew Barbossa was right. They couldn’t defeat the dead—not without the Trident. It was the only thing that could bring Henry back to her.

  I’ll save you, Henry, Carina thought. I promise.

  Together, Jack, Carina, and Barbossa looked down over the rail at the strange black island. It was unlike any land Carina had ever seen before: a deserted beach carved out of volcanic rock. Steam rose from it, giving it the appearance of a distant planet.

  “It’s empty, but this has to be it,” Carina said.

  Suddenly, the light of the rising sun reflected off millions of tiny specks covering the surface of the black island.

  “Those are diamonds,” a pirate breathed.

  The crew members looked at one another.

  “We’re rich!” they cried.

  Instantly, several pirates leaped down to the island. One of them tugged eagerly at a twinkling stone embedded in the rock.

  FWOOM!

  A blast of hot steam burst up from a crack in the rock. The crack grew larger and larger until it became a deep chasm. The pirate who had reached for the diamond was suddenly sucked down into it.

  The other pirates stared at the empty space where he had been.

  “Back to the ship!” they cried.

  They all fled for their lives. But Carina stepped forward. The sun rose higher, reflecting more and more diamonds on the surface of the rock. They shimmered and shone, twinkling brighter than any other gems in existence. Carina instantly recognized the picture they painted.

  “Look at it, Jack,” Carina breathed. “It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Yes, beautiful rocks,” Jack said uncertainly. “That kill for no reason.”

  “Not rocks, Jack,” Carina said. “Stars.”

  Carina climbed down from the ship, and Jack and Barbossa followed close behind.

  “Did you say stars?” Jack asked.

  “Stars and planets exactly as they appear in the sky.” Carina nodded, amazed. “This island is a perfect reflection of the heavens.”

  Carina walked forward more quickly. Jack chased after her.

  “But they’re still rocks!” he insisted. “Murderous rocks!”

  “Something’s missing,” Carina said, focused. “The X in the sky. The Southern Cross.”

  She stepped lightly across the island, walking amid a sea of stars against a black backdrop. To anyone watching, it would have seemed the girl was walking across the sky.

  She searched and searched, knowing it must be there.

  And then she saw the cluster of stars from Galileo’s diary. Here the constellation was made up of sparkling rubies instead of diamonds embedded in the rock. They glowed crimson under the sun. But the star in the middle—the crux of the Southern Cross—seemed different from the others. It was dull and did not glow like the rest of the gems.

  Barbossa drew up alongside Carina and handed her the ruby from Galileo’s diary.

  “Finish it, Carina,” he said.

  Carina took the ruby, feeling its full weight in her hand.

  “For my father,” she said.

  Barbossa stared at her for a long moment. “Aye, for your father.”

  Carina removed the dull rock from the ground and set her ruby in the space among the five stars—a perfect fit, like a key fitting into a lock

  The sunlight reflected off the ruby like never before, and it started to glow like the others. Then, one by one, the other stars in the constellation lit up, forming the shape of the Trident in a brilliant red display.

  “X marks the spot!” she cried.

  The rumble was faint at first, a deep hum within the island. But it grew louder and louder, and the sea in front of them began to shift. Jack grabbed Carina just as a deep crack opened beneath her feet, shooting up steam, separating them from Barbossa. The island quaked violently, and the ocean swirled as though an invisible force was disturbing it. Barbossa had no choice but to head back to the ship with his men.

  It’s splitting, Carina realized, watching the water intently as the world rocked around her.

  Before their very eyes, an invisible wind tore the ocean apart, creating two unfathomable walls of water hundreds of feet high, slowly exposing the bottom of the sea.

  Then the floor beneath them shook, propelling Carina and Jack down the watery chasm toward the ocean floor itself. They knew the treasure—the thing they had risked so much to find—was waiting at the bottom.

  It was time to find the Trident of Poseidon.

  THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA was incredible. All her life Carina had been looking to the sky. How could she ever have thought, ever have known, that all her searching would bring her to that destination: the floor of the ocean, between two mountainous walls of water?

  Shadows of sea creatures swam in and out of view behind the curtains of water. An invisible force kept the ocean at bay, though the water thundered on both sides of Jack and Carina.

  “How far do you think we need to go?” Carina asked.

  “Apparently, not far at all.” Jack pointed ahead.

  Carina looked and gasped.

  Before them, the chasm grew even wider, opening to reveal a temple made out of coral. And in the center, on a pedestal of craggy sea rock, stood the treasure.

  “The Trident,” Carina breathed.

  She could barely believe it. After a lifetime of studying and searching and hoping…there it was. The key to Carina’s birthright. The key to saving Henry. The key to everything!

  Carina raced forward, holding up her dress as she drew closer to the curved, jutting rocks.

  “Jack!”

  Carina turned toward the familiar voice and gasped. Henry was rushing toward them.

  “Henry!” she cried. But he pushed her aside, taking out his sword and swinging it at Jack. Jack dodged the blade at the last minute, and the two of them squared off as Carina got to her feet.

  The pirate peered at Henry while they circled each other. “Arms straight, shoulders square, front legs bent…”

  “Henry?” Carina stared at him in shock as Jack voiced what she was thinking.

  “Pretty sure that’s not Henry.”

  Henry went for the pirate again, his eyes filled with an unearthly rage. It seemed that Salazar had somehow found a way to walk on land—through Henry.

  Thinking quickly, Carina rushed toward the pedestal holding the Trident. She grabbed hold of the mythical artifact, struggling to free it from its rocky throne. Finally, it gave, almost knocking Carina off balance with its sheer size and weight.

  She pivoted, pointing the Trident toward the possessed Henry. He had backed Jack into the curtains of water. The cracked, pale arms of Salazar’s ghost men reached for Jack through the sea.

  “Leave him,” Carina commanded Henry. “Drop your sword!” She wielded the Trident like a weapon.

  Henry walked slowly toward Carina, his u
ndivided attention now on her.

  “Carina…” Jack said hesitantly.

  “Henry, please…” Carina searched Henry’s gleaming eyes as he approached. She desperately tried to get through to the part of him that was still the caring young man who seemed to understand her. The young man on a quest to save his father. The young man who had taught her that just because you couldn’t see something didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

  Soon he was right in front of her. Carina hesitated, and Henry knocked the Trident away from her, grabbing the ancient weapon.

  “It’s over, Jack!” he announced sinisterly, lifting the Trident over his head. The ocean floor began to shake, and the water pulled apart even farther, flowing straight up.

  And then the ghost of Captain Salazar emerged, casting Henry’s body to the ground. The dead sea captain grinned savagely, his eyes shining with vicious confidence. It was Salazar unlike they’d ever seen him before: commanding, supreme, and thirsty for blood. He held the Trident out as water circled him.

  Carina rushed to Henry’s side. She took his head in her hands and felt his neck for a pulse. She gasped in relief. He was breathing.

  Meanwhile, Salazar was making his way to Jack.

  “Hola, Sparrow,” Salazar sneered. Using the Trident’s power, he flung Jack up against a craggy sea rock with invisible force.

  “Henry, wake up!” Carina cried, shaking him.

  But Henry didn’t stir.

  Thwomp! Salazar continued to use the Trident’s power to fling Jack around like a rag doll. Thwomp! Thwomp! Thwomp!

  With each impact, Carina could have sworn she heard Jack’s bones breaking.

  She reached out to grab water from the sea wall to splash on Henry’s face. Salazar’s ghost crew taunted Carina, jeering at her through the water. She had forgotten they were there, waiting for their curse to be broken so they could accompany their captain.

  “Oh, bugger off,” she snapped. She did not have time for their supernatural antics. Without hesitating, she scooped a handful of water from the wall and doused Henry. “Henry, wake up! He’s killing Jack!”

  Henry’s eyes fluttered open. He groaned, dazed and unfocused.

  “Salazar can walk on land with the Trident,” Carina whispered urgently.