Chapter 26
The Voice of the Dagger
Night on the Black Pearl was calm—too calm.
The stars shimmered above, the sea gently rocked the ship, and Jake Sparrow lay in his hammock upside down, staring at the ceiling as if it were about to answer a question he hadn't asked.
"I think the dagger's whispering," he said aloud.
From below deck, Elias replied, "That's either a good sign or a very bad one."
"I haven't decided which," Jake muttered, flipping upright and landing on his boots with the grace of a drunk cat. He strolled across the wooden floor, the black dagger in hand. It was still cold, unnaturally so, with that gem in the hilt pulsing faintly blue like a heartbeat.
He held it up to his ear again.
Nothing.
Then—
"Return me to silence."
Jake blinked. "Ah. Well, that's new."
He spun on his heel and sauntered down to the lower deck, where Elias was shirtless, sharpening his sword on the edge of a barrel. Raina sat nearby, cleaning her knife, her eyes on Jake the moment he appeared.
"Something's wrong," she said.
Jake smiled wide. "Excellent deduction, love. I believe the dagger's got a ghost in it."
Elias raised a brow. "Of course it does."
Jake set the blade down on a barrel. "It said, and I quote, 'Return me to silence.' Now I don't know about you, but when a dagger starts giving instructions, it either wants something… or it's bored."
Raina looked at Elias. "That island was cursed. We should throw that thing overboard."
Jake tsked. "Now now, where's your sense of curiosity? Adventure? Danger?"
"I left it on that island," she said.
Elias leaned forward, his dark eyes on the blade. "Let me try something."
He picked up the dagger. The blue gem flared brighter for a moment, and Elias cocked his head. "It's humming. Like… singing, but not with words."
"Romantic," Jake said, pouring himself a drink. "I think it likes you."
Elias grinned. "Story of my life."
They spent the night trying to make sense of it. Jake scribbled symbols from the blade onto a map. Raina read through old pirate journals they'd stolen. And Elias just sat with the dagger, occasionally muttering that the humming was getting louder.
By dawn, Jake had an idea.
"A voice trapped in a dagger. An island that echoes everything. The clue on the map said, 'Where voices speak twice and gold is guarded by none.' Maybe the treasure was never gold. Maybe the dagger is the treasure."
Elias frowned. "You think the blade's alive?"
"Not alive," Jake said, "but haunted. Cursed. Possessed. Pick your favorite word."
Raina stood. "We need answers. Magical blades aren't exactly rare, but ones that whisper? That's another level."
Jake's fingers tapped the dagger's hilt. "There's a man. Old friend. Lives on Isla Obscura. Creepy little island, full of retired witches, mad scholars, and one particularly odd librarian named Mordeck."
Elias blinked. "Mordeck? That guy who tried to marry a mermaid?"
Jake grinned. "He didn't try, mate. He did. Very messy honeymoon."
With that, the course was set. Isla Obscura was a week's sail away if the winds were good—and they weren't.
Three days in, a storm hit.
Lightning cracked across the sky like the gods were arguing over something petty. Rain slammed the deck. The Black Pearl bucked like a wild beast, sails flailing.
And the dagger screamed.
Not aloud, but in every head. A sharp, metallic scream that made Jake drop the wheel, Elias stumble back, and Raina fall to her knees.
"Okay," Jake yelled into the wind. "It's official. This dagger hates bad weather."
The storm passed, but the tension didn't. The dagger pulsed constantly now, the gem flickering like a candle about to go out. Elias wrapped it in cloth and locked it in a chest, hoping it would calm.
It didn't.
When they finally reached Isla Obscura, the sky was gray and the shore smelled like salt and mold.
Mordeck lived in a crooked tower made of shipwrecks and whale bones. It creaked like it was alive. And of course, the door was a skeleton's jaw.
"Mordeck!" Jake called. "You still owe me rum, two favors, and a dance with your sister!"
A loud crash echoed from inside. Then the door swung open and a man emerged—tall, bony, wearing a cloak made of bird feathers and seaweed. His beard was braided with bones.
"Jake Sparrow," Mordeck growled. "Still not dead. Annoying."
Jake bowed. "You wound me."
Mordeck's black eyes flicked to Elias and Raina, then down to the wrapped bundle in Elias's hand. "Bring it in."
Inside the tower was chaos. Books floated. Candles burned blue. Something that looked like a chicken barked in a corner.
Mordeck cleared a space on a table and gestured. "Show me."
Elias placed the dagger down.
The instant it touched the wood, the tower groaned. Shelves rattled. A candle shattered.
Mordeck stared at it for a long time, then said one word: "Soulblade."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "Sounds expensive."
Mordeck looked grim. "Forged by a dying god. Used to trap the voice of a prophet who refused to speak a lie. Her truth was dangerous. Powerful kingdoms hunted her. So, she sealed her voice in the blade."
Raina whispered, "That's why it echoes."
"She's still in there," Mordeck said. "Trapped. Her voice leaks when the blade is near strong emotion or ancient places."
Elias picked it up. "Can we free her?"
Mordeck shook his head. "You don't want to. Her truth can drive men mad. And if the blade breaks, the voice is lost… or unleashed."
Jake grinned. "Unleashed sounds fun."
"Unleashed means death," Mordeck snapped. "For everyone."
They left the tower in silence, the blade wrapped tight again.
Back on the Black Pearl, Jake stared at the sea.
"So," Elias said, stepping beside him. "We have a cursed dagger that holds a voice too dangerous to be heard. What now?"
Jake tilted his head, thoughtful. "We keep it. Obviously."
"Why?" Raina asked.
Jake smiled. "Because every powerful thing draws powerful enemies. And I'd rather hold the dagger than have it used against me."
Elias laughed. "So we're keeping the curse."
Jake raised his rum. "To curses, chaos, and voices in the dark."
They sailed on, the wind behind them, the dagger resting quietly in its cloth.
But the gem still pulsed.
And somewhere deep inside the blade, a voice whispered once more—
"Return me to silence."
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