Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

his head on the floor, and that his limbs weren’t twisted unnaturally. He
almost looks like he’s asleep, she thought.
“He sleeps,” said the lion.
Amenirdis turned back to see the lion sitting a few feet away,
regarding her calmly. She hadn’t yet managed to struggle all the way to
her feet, so it wasn’t too difficult to bring up one knee, spread her
arms, then bow her head in the deepest obeisance, the one used by
priests and priestesses when they knelt in the chapel of the temple.
“My Lord Apedemak,” she murmured, “I sensed it was you. Please
accept my gratitude for saving my life.”
“Why should I not save the life of my handmaiden, little princess?”
the god asked. “This is my place, and here my will is what matters.”
“Which is as it should be, Lord,” Amenirdis said. After a moment,
she added, “And thank you also for sparing Jack Sparrow’s life. He did
not know, as I did, who you were when you entered this holy place.”
“Why should I not spare him?” The god sounded faintly amused. “I
chose him, after all, to do my will. To protect my people. To protect the
Heart of Zerzura.”
“So Christophe indeed took the ordinary rock I cast an illusion
spell on this morning?”
“Yes,” said Apedemak. “For all the good it will do him. He will not
live long enough to enjoy the real treasure he took with him.”
She glanced over at Jack’s duffel. “My Lord Apedemak,”
Amenirdis said, hesitantly, “should I go and take the real stone out of
Jack’s bag? Perhaps conceal it, and thus protect it? Jack sounded
so…genuine…about wanting it for himself, when he held it in his hand.”
“If you do that, my handmaiden,” Apedemak said, “will you not
wonder all your life whether he was a good man, or one who would
have betrayed you?”
Amenirdis nodded. “I accept your wisdom, Lord,” she said. “I will
make an offering in the temple tonight to thank you for your gracious
generosity toward this man.”
“Good,” the lion-god said. “Go with my blessing, handmaiden.…”
As Amenirdis stared at him, the huge lion vanished, to be
replaced by the figure of a man with the head of a lion, shining with
golden radiance. The sight was so beautiful, yet so terrible, that she