The Caribbean (11 page)

Dear Sir,

We have received your proposal, and we find ourselves in complete agreement with you: ridding the seas of the plague of pirates, particularly those who call themselves “Lords” of the “Brethren Court,” is of the utmost importance. Moreover, your offer of such a powerful army is most enticing. It seems that with such mutual goals and priorities, working together would clearly
be of mutual benefit. Therefore, we hereby agree to your proposal, and when you have betrayed the Pirate Lord of whom you speak, we will not hinder you in your quest to destroy all the others as well.

Godspeed

The letter was signed by a Spanish admiral. The imprint of his seal beside the signature glowed in the candlelight as the Shadow Lord examined the parchment carefully.

Beyond the circle of candlelight loomed stacks of barrels and shelves laden with rum bottles, webbing to hold the cargo in place, and in the dark far corner of the hull, the jail cells that awaited any who crossed the captain. The floorboards rose and fell beneath his feet as the ship slammed across the waves, battling the fierce winds of the storm outside.

The Shadow Lord smiled. Of course the Spanish had accepted his offer. They must have learned what he’d done in Panama. The prospect of having the most powerful army in the world at their side was too much to resist. And he had carefully avoided mentioning exactly
which
Pirate Lord he was going to betray first.

A shadow curled up from the floor below him and wound around his hand. He caressed it absentmindedly like a cat, letting it circle through his fingers and press itself against his ring as if yearning to join the other shadows inside.

The Shadow Lord folded the letter and replaced it safely inside his coat. Little did the Spanish admiral know what the Shadow Lord had planned for his Shadow Army. Once he had defeated the Pirate Lords, it was a natural step from there to conquering all the armies of the world—all the ships that sailed on all the oceans, from the freezing poles to the blistering equatorial seas. All of it would be his. Finally the world would know his power, and then they would respect him. Soon his day would come.

But first…he had a Pirate Lord to kill.

J
ack and his crew are off to China. But before Jack can secure more Shadow Gold he’ll need to fight off the Pirate Lords Mistress Ching and Sao Feng,
and
the East India Trading Company. Can even
Jack
survive such a terrible triangle?