Chapter 5

Snow was falling.

Will reached out and caught a snowflake on his hand. Curious, he looked up at the sky and took in the dark gray clouds that were massed above them. A cold wind whistled through the sails and made all the pirates shiver.

The Hai Peng was sailing through a frozen landscape. They were close to the edge of the earth—in the Ice Passage between worlds. Sharp blue-and-white glaciers jutted out of the water around them, reflecting glints of pale light. The water was dark and stormy, and the snow was coming down thick and fast. At the helm Gibbs peered into the murky grayness and steered carefully through the floating blocks of ice.

Will moved to join Tai Huang who was leaning over the navigational charts Sao Feng had provided. They were unlike any charts Will had ever seen. Strange circles within circles moved and rotated constantly. And peculiar riddles were inscribed around the edges.

“Nothing here is set,” Will said to Tai Huang, puzzled. “They can’t be as accurate as modern charts.”

“No,” Tai Huang said enigmatically. “But they lead to more places.” He walked away without explaining himself. Will watched him go, frowning. He glanced down and reread one of the inscribed poems under his breath. “Over the edge, back, over again, sunrise sets, flash of green.”

“Barbossa,” he called out loud. Perhaps the old pirate could help. “Do you care to interpret?”

Barbossa smiled, unworried. Not bothering to answer Will, he turned toward the helm. “Ever gazed upon the green flash, Mister Gibbs?” he asked the pirate.

Gibbs nodded his head while one hand stroked his gray-flecked beard. “I reckon I’ve seen my share,” he said. To Will, he added, “Happens on rare occasion, at the last glimpse of sunset, a green flash shoots up into the sky.” He gestured into the air, keeping one hand firmly on the wheel. “Some go their whole lives and never see it. Some claim to have seen it who ain’t. Some say—”

Pintel jumped in. “—it signals when a soul comes back to this world from the dead!”

Gibbs glared at him.

“Sorry,” Pintel said. He slunk off to join Ragetti by the rail.

“Don’t they get it?” the wooden-eyed pirate said when his friend appeared at his side. “It’s a riddle. Riddles are fun! ‘Over the edge, back, over again—’”

“Riddles are not fun!” Pintel spluttered. “The way it always goes is some poor bloke ends up dead, but just beforehand he realizes no, I wasn’t supposed to listen to the sirens, I wasn’t supposed to take the pot o’ gold, but by then it’s too late, and he dies in a horrible and ofttimes ironical manner, and in this case, you and I be the poor blokes !”

His voice had gotten louder and louder as he spoke, and Will couldn’t help but overhear. He turned to Barbossa with a concerned expression. Dying in a horrible and ironical manner was not part of Will’s plan.

Seeing Will’s expression, Barbossa laughed. “Do not fret, Mister Turner,” he said jovially. “We will find the way. It’s not getting to the Land of the Dead is the problem—it’s getting back!”

Will did not feel much better.

Later that night, Elizabeth once again found herself on the deck. The icy landscape was gone, the glaciers far behind them. The sea was now a dark mirror full of stars. She leaned on the rail, staring out at the water as her mind raced with unanswered questions. Would they find Jack in the Land of the Dead? Was there a way to bring him home? And ... would he forgive her for leaving him to his death?

Jack Sparrow was a pirate through and through, Elizabeth thought. He knew that one often had to use underhanded means to get to desirable ends. He knew that she had been saving everyone else by chaining him to the mast, and he had even seemed proud of her piratelike actions. But that didn’t mean he was going to be thrilled about dying. He would blame her, and she wasn’t sure how he would react to seeing her again.

There was a movement behind her in the dark, and she sensed Will before she saw him. He came up and stood beside her. Leaning on the rail as well, he appeared completely wrapped up in his own thoughts, far away from Elizabeth. He seemed almost like a stranger to her. She still loved him, but she couldn’t tell him about how she felt or about the guilt she was struggling with over Jack’s death.

Will shifted, as if about to say something to her, but then he paused and turned away again. Elizabeth turned toward him, but he didn’t look at her. After a moment, she stepped back from the rail and then walked away.

Will gazed out at the mirror of stars surrounding them, but his thoughts were not on the sight before him.

Suddenly a strange sound caught his attention. He leaned forward to listen. It sounded like ... roaring.

“Barbossa!” he called, spinning around. “Do you hear that?”

Barbossa, standing up by the helm, cupped his hand around his ear. With a grin he said, “Aye, these be the waters I know. We’re good and lost now.”

“Lost?” Elizabeth repeated, alarmed.

“For certain you have to be lost, to find a place as can’t be found.” He winked. “Elseways everyone would know where it was, aye?” He started laughing.

Will noticed that the ship was turning on its own. It was being pulled toward the roaring sound! But Barbossa still seemed more amused than concerned.

“To stations!” Will yelled, waking the crew. “All hands! To stations!” As pirates raced onto the deck, he ran to the rigging and clambered up, trying to get a better view of what was ahead. The sound of the roaring water was getting louder and louder, and the ship seemed to be going faster.

From the rigging, Will could see a line of white foam in the distance ahead of them. The line of spray seemed to reach from one end of the horizon to the other; it stretched for miles in every direction. There was no way to get around it; they had to go back. But was it too late for that? The ship was barreling straight toward the white line, picking up speed while being dragged closer and closer.

“Rudder full!” Will shouted at the top of his lungs. “Hard a-port! Gather way and keep her trim!” If they used every sailing trick in the book, they might just escape the terrible danger ahead of them.

But as the pirates ran to obey his orders, Barbossa stepped forward and spoke in an even louder, more booming voice.

“Belay that!” he barked. “Let her run straight and true!” He seized the wheel, but Will pushed him aside and began turning it as hard and as fast as he could. The Hai Peng began to swing ... but not far enough. It was impossible to fight the current pulling them toward the edge.

At the rail, Elizabeth realized with terror what was ahead of them: a waterfall. A waterfall that dropped off the edge of the world, plummeting straight down into nothingness.

Tia Dalma came up from below, an island of serenity in the chaos of panicking pirates. She tossed a set of crab claws onto the top of a barrel and leaned over them, murmuring a magical incantation .

She said it again, faster, and then again, slower. As she spoke, she turned the claws in an intricate pattern, weaving them about on the top of the barrel, casting her spell. The roar of the waves was now deafening, drowning out the sound of her voice, but Tia Dalma did not stop. She didn’t even look up. Intent on the crab claws, she seemed not to care that the ship was about to plummet over the edge of the world.

Meanwhile, Will was still wrestling with the wheel, while Barbossa stood behind him, laughing. Rushing over, Elizabeth grabbed the old pirate and shook him, the spray of the water cascading around her.

“You’ve doomed us all,” she cried.

“Don’t be so unkind!” Barbossa protested. “Ye might not survive the trip ... and these be the last friendly words ye hear ... ” He shook his head reprovingly .

Will leaned into the wheel with all his strength. The Hai Peng turned, turned ... the bow tilted away from the waterfall, but the back was dragged forward, so the ship paused for a moment, parallel to the edge. The pirates looked over the rail, down into the endless black nothingness below.

Then, with a sickening screech of timbers, the ship tilted sideways—and over the edge.

All the pirates, except Barbossa, howled with fear as the ship crashed down, down, down ... into the inky darkness.