Legends of the Treasure Child : Demon Spawn

He knew she couldn’t see him. Their boy played with rocks and crabs in the sand, oblivious to his father’s presence. Still, William Turner, captain of the Flying Dutchman lingered. The tide was ebbing, and the sun was setting. Still, he lingered, standing in the wet sand on the beach. The water flowed around his ankles like moving shackles. Another year the water would chain him to the Dutchman, and then he would be allowed to touch her again. Had Will but had the strengths of Davey Jones or John Sparrow, then he could have shown himself to her. He watched her start as she discovered the cavities in the wet sand – cavities resembling those of a pair of boots. She looked about bewildered.



“Will?”



Oh, if he only could touch her! He could speak to her, but she would not hear him. For she was truly alive and therefore oblivious. He reminded himself of that fact, that it was a good sign. And she was still a single mother. No other man was to be seen. He reached out and touched her cheek. He heard her gasp at the touch, not realising his touch felt icy cold on her cheek. He watched her call for their son. They retired back to the house on top of the weathered hill. He watched them until they disappeared from sight behind a rock. One more year. Just one more. There was nothing more heart-wrenching than to watch them go back to their warm little cottage without him. But then Will reminded himself that he was in fact there with them all day long, provided Elisabeth had hidden his heart inside the house. In moments like these, it was but a small comfort though. It was getting dark and cold. The rocks lost their colour and faded into cold greys, and the beach became inhospitable and every nook and cranny was filled with blackness. Will returned to the Flying Dutchman in a gloomy mood, not feeling like ferrying souls to the other side this night.



“I don’t get this” Bootstrap told him, “you know it makes you gloomy every time you go to see them, still you insist on going. Why do you do this to yourself?!”



“I should be there watching over them.”



“It’s just one more year, lad. You’ll get through it, and so will she and the boy.”



“A year is a long time. Many things could happen in a year. Bad things.”



“Ah, you’re thinking about the plague-ridden sailors we’ve picked up lately.”



“It wasn’t far off the coast-line. Not that far from where they live” Will said silently, his voice filled with worry. To this, Bootstrap had no answer. He knew his son’s worries were justified. They’d both seen the effects of the black death, and that it seldom discriminated among the population. All Bootstrap could to, was to comfortingly pat his son’s shoulder.



“Perhaps John knows a way?” Will finally said after watching the waves for a long time. “Asking his advice wouldn’t hurt, right?!” Will said, sounding a little brighter. To that, Bootstrap only nodded, adding a little smile. But where to find John Sparrow? Easier said than done.





Jack’s belly was growing big again. In three months’ time, another demon spawn would be born. And then what? Jack often thought? He had related Paris’ version of the future to John, and John’s reaction told him that most of it was true. How John could have ‘forgotten’ that he was destined to be the Satan of Hell, was beyond Jack’s understanding. And John’s account for what he’d been doing for the past four thousand years with all his re-incarnations and his thoughts and feelings surrounding this, was mind-blowing to Jack. But there was no mistaking the sincerity and the love in John’s eyes. Jack could do naught but believe him when John claimed time after time that he was at a loss at how to fix Jack’s situation with Saieros simply because his powers were not yet stable. They wavered, and they kept growing, and for years still, Saieros would be the stronger of the two. Jack wondered where the third brother had gone to. But John did not know. Being on collision course with both Paris and Saieros didn’t exactly give room for friendly conversation. Changing the subject, John assured Jack time and time again that he could not help the future that was set out for him; if he were indeed destined to be Satan of Hell, the One to rule them all, then, well, there was nothing he could do about it. And neither could he do anything with the fact that it was Saieros who were destined to breed an army of generals with Jack as the vessel. But he could do something about the details. Like how Saieros treated Jack, all though it wasn’t easy trying to control a stronger elder brother. What John couldn’t wrap his head around, was why Saieros thought he was the demon-king. John related to Jack the story of Paris, and how Paris had raised his sons. He could not understand how Paris possibly could condone such behaviour from his eldest son.



The subject concerning Paris pained Jack. It made him realize that Paris was actually John’s son instead of Jack. Jack was simply a vessel designed to reincarnate John. Upon speaking of these worries, John flailed out with his arms and his tea-cup fell to the floor, broken in several pieces.



“My word, father! How can you even conceive such a thought?! Four thousand years separate me from Paris. We have nothing in common anymore. He was my bearer then, but you are my bearer now! Get it?!”



“So ye mean to say: He was yer father then, but I be yer father now?!” Jack replied.



“Precisely! I can of course not deny my heritage completely, that would be sacrilege, but come on, Dad, of all the fathers who’s fathered me over the past four thousand years, you’re the one who’s made the most important impression, savvy?! When I was inside you, you really loved me, and I pray you still do, though I’ve grown into a very handsome and devilishly good captain! And I tell you, I can never really repay such a love like that. The only thing I can think of, really, is this: One day I will be a really evil demon, it’s all in the cards – it’s what you get after sitting on the Throne of Evil for thousands of years – but until then, I am certain I would never release the Gates of Hell and unleash the armies upon the face of the Earth while you reside there. In fact, I wow never to become really evil until after you’ve passed. That’s the least I can do in return. You have my word.”



John watched Jack’s spirits rise a little after this speech. Jack needed all motivation he could get, and John was prepared to give anything to make Jack into old Jack. The twins would visit often. Though grown into beautiful men, their hair shining brown and billowing down their shoulders. Their bodies were that of young men, slender of built and with fluid movements as they went along. They spoke, yet they preferred to exchange thoughts, finding speech cumbersome and tiring. They frowned as they saw Jack cringe away whenever they tried to express themselves by putting images in his head. It took time before they realized it reminded Jack of Saieros. Still, they had to make him understand that they were demons of light and that they intended to join the angels of heaven on their quest to establish order to the race of Men. John had absolutely no objections and endeavoured instead to explain to Jack that it was evident he’d be giving birth to demons of both sides, both light and dark. Then Jack asked why.

He watched John rub his face with his palms, obviously thinking hard about how to formulate an answer. John looked at Daniel and Nathaniel. Of appearance, they looked less like Jack and more like Saieros, with clean features, a slightly different arch of their eyebrows, yet the eyes were, as always, Jack’s. Their skin had a pale complexion and the hair on their heads framing their high cheekbones was slightly curled and darker than John’s hair. But they had Jack’s eyes! Jack held on to that fact as he looked from the twins, to John and back again to the twins.



“Dad” John began, “I cannot say for sure. But I’m guessing that it is, well, uhm, goodness. Call it heritage, if you will, from either yourself or from Prince Paris. You must take heed and remember that the world, as well as Hell, is shrouded in darkness. They are polluted with evil, and evil’s darkness seeps into everything. But those who love brings light into the dark. Prince Paris shone like a beacon in the darkness of the Abyss. They all looked to him, envied him and admired him because his life and his love for his family shone strongly, literally, like a light in the dark. His light was so strong that everyone saw him and not the Demon King standing right next to him. To the hopeless souls, the damned and the destitute who were judged to spend eternity in Hell, Paris became a torch, a warm fire in the cold night. They all wanted him, to be near him, to beg him for a moment’s respite from the eternal torment. Wherever he moved, he was seen. If he got ill, then his light would waver and freeze the hearts of all those who watched in terror that he might be extinguished. And when he was with child, his light would shine twice as bright. And then, there would be two lights, and then another.” Here John paused as the memories of his agonizing first death as an unborn child inside Paris’ belly came back with full strength. He had to look away as he felt a lump in his throat. He managed to collect himself again, and looked up into Jack’s face again, meeting his father’s gaze. He cleared his throat and continued: “But Paris never wanted to live as strongly as you do. He never wanted immortality. The Demon King’s seed would prolong his body’s life, but with the King’s death, that resource vanished, and Paris refused to give himself to another demon. I guess you don’t see it yourself, for Paris didn’t either, but you shine like he did. You have an all together different light, a warmth Paris never could display. Yours is kind of like more...yellow.”



“Yellow? Tha’s comfortin’, I hope” Jack replied more to himself than to John.



“You’ve got more strength of character, and it makes your light feel like it’s the hub of all things. The angels of heaven have a tendency of wanting to extinguish those whose lights shine in the darkness, simply because they attract too much attention from the Abyss. Every demon in his greedy right mind, wants Child Bearers more than anything – people they can enslave and shape – so they can force them to bear them offspring for their armies. Every proper demon lord has a harem of demon spawn machines – witless men and women..! I remember all too well the Demon King’s harem. He’d cut off their arms and legs and rape them senseless. They would lie on a row, or in small booths...!” John had to stop in his story again. The memories were becoming too much. He remembered all too well their pain, their desperate minds and the senseless rambling. He had done something similar to those men in the monastery, hadn’t he? John feared he was all too much his demon father’s son, but when the blood lust got to him, what could he do?



“I recall Saieros threatenin’ me with somethin’ like tha’ ” Jack said in afterthought, “but he hasn’t done it yet”.



“Something’s holding him back, and that’s a good thing. It proves there’s still good in him. Paris’ light in him still prevails against the Demon King’s heritage. Something should be done to make sure you profit from that fact. If we could get him to get in better touch with that light, we might just spur some kind of healing process. I cannot kill him, every law of the universe forbids me such an action. But I can attempt to bind him when—“



“—John!” Daniel suddenly interrupted. He seemed upset, and rose from his seat. “How can you even conceive such a thought?! If Saieros has singled out Jack for this task, then – then, then what must be done must be done.”



“I’m not following you, Daniel. What are you saying?!”



“If Jack is meant to suffer, then he should either suffer his way through the millennia in silence and do the task appointed to him, or he should be released from this existence so Saieros may find another Child Bearer. I’m not all together sure about this, but—“



“—our fates have been revealed to us. We are to become Saieros’ generals either we like it or not. When time comes, the human inside each of us given to us by Jack, will be completely overtaken by the demon inside and we will lead the armies of darkness, never remembering this existence. The Earth shall fall—“



“—we’re talking thousands of years here, Nathaniel, maybe ten thousands of years before we’re even close to that day. The race of Men may not even exist when that day comes. In the mean while, Jack—“ John said.



“—Jack must do as he’s bid. It’s despairing to watch him suffer thus, but it’s nevertheless Jack’s fate to be Saieros’ slave. It is his duty to produce demon spawn, and our duty to become great generals—“



“—and in return for Jack’s efforts, we must be good sons.” Nathaniel’s words hovered in the ensuing silence. Jack watched John hide his face in his hands.



“Let me put it this way, honoured father” Daniel finally broke the silence, as he addressed Jack, “the descendants of the Demon King of the Seventh Plane of Hell, have been given a chance to clear his name and restore his honour. To restore Paris’ honour—“



“—oh there’s no restoring the prince’s honour, I’m afraid. The Demon King made sure of that when he disowned Paris as his consort and threw him to the ‘mercy’ of the common crowd!” John shot in angrily. He got up from his chair and began to pace the cabin.



“I’m not interested in restorin’ anybody’s honour but me own. And from where I’m sittin’ I can’t see that any of ye except John has actually made a sensible suggestion to tha’ so far. I am not accustomed to have the word ‘whore’ tossed after me when I’m on land, like back in China and Singapore.”



“If I may” John said, sighing, “I can’t believe I’m having this discussion. I swore I never would reduce you to that level, Dad, but if I may, let me just say that with those words about honour, Daniel, you’re starting down the exact same destructive path where Saieros is now. The issue, gentlemen, is the way I see it, about how we can maintain control until said Day of Judgement do appear. It’s not about honour. It’s about finishing a job which the Demon King began drawing the outlines on. There is indeed a sense to have a united Abyss, though the Demon King had an agenda of his own. The way I see it, it’s not just because we may take over the Earth and the Heavens if we like, but also because it will bring more stability to humanity to play out its part. When they’re gone from the face of the Earth, then we may fight the Heavens for the right to use it as our playground.”



“What’s the point of having a playground if there’s no people in it? If there are no humans to play with, then what’s the use?” Nathaniel wanted to know.



“Let’s deal with that issue when we get there, shall we? There’s more to existence than playing with humans. Anyway, it’s not as if Armageddon is happening tomorrow! The agenda here and now, is this: What do we do with Jack in the meanwhile? I for one cannot bear to watch him suffer so. He doesn’t deserve the tortures and the degradations Saieros is putting him through. But I cannot stress enough, Dad, how eternally grateful I am for every demon spawn of his line which you see yourself capable to produce.”



“Is tha’ the choice I have then?” Jack began meekly. “To either suffer this in eternity or perish forever?”



“If you’d perish, you’d be going to Hell. Because you’re – well, you’re Captain Jack Sparrow. You’d suffer for your crimes as a pirate, and you’d spend eternity down there on the run from the hungry and horny mob because of your skills and reputation as a Child Bearer. If I were you, I wouldn’t consider death as an option. It’s in fact the worst that could happen to you. Either that or to become another demon’s slave. At the end of the day, Saieros is actually more humane than your average demon lord.”



“Perhaps then, father, the solution must be that you simply must get through this? And we, who shall endeavour to be your good sons in return for this, must try everything in our power to stall Saieros, so you may have time to live and love between every encounter with him? It will not produce as many of us as we may need—“



“—Saieros’ attitude must first and foremost change, or I swear I’ll rip those puffy looking wings right out from his backside and shove them up his arse, bone by bone!” John snarled, leaning against Jack’s writing desk. His outburst actually made Jack chuckle heartily, and the ex-pirate replied: “Oh now ye’ve gone and made me thirsty fer a bottle of rum, he he!”



“What say you then, father?” Daniel wanted to know, anxious to finalize the discussion.



“I say tha’ I agree with John and tha’ ye’ve ought tha’ go and wash yer mouth with soap fer even thinkin’ in the same lane as that buggering demon father of yers!” Jack told him angrily. Then he softened as he continued:”It’s a noble thought, though. I understand why ye think like ye do. If I could restore me mother’s honour, I would do so on the spot.”



“What of your father?”



“Well—“ Jack began, before John cut him short.



“—the less said about him, the better. He started out nicely as the Keeper of the Code, as in Pirate’s Code, before he fell to Greed, thinking he could use me for his own measures. I suspect that Lucifer had something to do with it. Grandpa, if anything like Jack, should have shown more common sense and good old fashioned restraint. And, he kept saying that I should have been his. That’s sounds more like Lucifer than anyone else I know about. I guess I got a little carried away when I brought him to the Crimson Pearl. It was an honest mistake. Honestly—“



“—where is grandpa now, by the way? Does he have peace?” Jack said.



“Peace? Err, kind of, I guess. I had a chat with Peter, and now gramps is up in Heaven listening to harp music all day. He didn’t get to bring his beloved guitar.”



Jack winced at these words, picturing his father in agony, huddled in foetal position while feverishly clasping his ears. The man never cared much for harp music. Jack couldn’t help but to smile. Returning to more dire and important thoughts, he turned back to his sons: “Ye’ve got to get Saieros to stop torturin’ me. And tell him he has tha’ do somethin’ about the size of tha’ equipment. It just can’t be healthy, neither for me or him. Bein’ pregnant, I can handle, if tha’s me only way out of this.”



John wanted to leap up into his lap and give him a big squeeze for making the decision, but he refrained from such ridiculous behaviour.



“We’ll do what we can, father” Daniel replied, placing his hand affectionately on Jack’s left shoulder.



“I would also like for the two of you to get the same education that John received” Jack looked up at his twins.



“But...but we know all there is to know!” Daniel objected.



“About heavenly and hellish things I imagine, but I want ye to be able to read and write and all tha’ stuff. And I know just the person for the job!” Jack stated, seemingly pleased with himself.