Sympathy for the Devil 19

Tia cast the crab claws on top of a wooden box and studied the way they fell, discerning the hidden meanings and possibilities they presented with a practiced eye. She had read them shortly before setting out on a voyage with her old friend Teague Sparrow and they had told her to board Norrington’s ship. But what now?
None of them matched up. She breathed in exasperation and tried again, making it a total of seven attempts. For some reason, this ship interfered with her powers.
The message began to form as it had done the past six times; Broken…promise…keys to the cage…Caly…
The message faded out of sight again and Tia kicked the side of the box in annoyance. The other former crewmembers of Norrington’s vessel glanced up at the noise but returned to their own sullen thoughts when they saw it was just Tia. Gibbs came over and sat beside her with a kindly expression on his face.
‘That ain’t doin’ ye no good Miss Dalma’ he said gently, ‘We’ll get out of this mess’
She could tell Gibbs didn’t really believe that himself but she appreciated the sentiment. Strangely, she felt no fear, just a nagging sense that she was familiar with the ship. Something about the Captain seemed to affect her strongly though in what way she couldn’t tell.
‘Where’d ye learn to do this anyway?’ Gibbs asked, pointing at the crab claws.
‘I cannot say’ she replied with a smile, ‘I don’t even remember where I came from’
‘No idea at all?’ Gibbs asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tia shook her head. The fact that she didn’t know had never troubled her but maybe it would have helped answer some questions.
‘I just woke up one day and I was me’ she said, ‘A friend decided to call me Tia Dalma after the place we met. But he had been drinking quite heavily so Dalmatia became Tia Dalma’
‘No parents then I take it?’ Gibbs asked, smiling at the anecdote.
‘No’ Tia said but then she remembered something, ‘There’s a man’
‘A man?’
‘I see him sometimes when I’m sleeping. But I always wake up just before I see his face’
She didn’t tell Gibbs that the dream always made her cry for some reason when she woke up.
Before Gibbs could push the issue, the bos’un of he Dutchman entered the cell, attended by a man that seemed to have fire coral growing over his face. Tia rose from her seat and Gibbs placed himself slightly in front of her. Despite his uneasiness about her ‘powers’, he had grown fond of the mysterious woman. He owed it to Norrington’s memory to be as courteous to her as the admiral had been. Tia laid a hand on his shoulder in thanks but stepped to meet the two monstrous crewmen.
‘Cap’n wants to see you’ the bos’un growled, grabbing her arm.
She tore her arm away and glared at him. She felt gratified as he flinched. The bos’un was afraid and unable to hide the fact completely. There was something about the strange woman and the fury in her eyes that made him uneasy. Or maybe it was her potential power that told him to let her make her own way to the cabin unmolested.
Either way, within five minutes, Tia was sitting in Davy Jones’ cabin, waiting for the Captain to make an appearance.