Page 43 of Veiled in Stars and Silver
“You're a barbarian.”
Hook raked his hand through his hair, a roguish smile lighting his lips. “Do you have a happy thought, love?”
He motioned for me to go first. I pictured going home with my brothers and living a life with them. Hook's stormy gaze also popped into my head. I didn't have time to analyzethat. I stepped out and floated up into the air.
Theovercast sky cast a gray pall over everything. The clouds loomed overhead, ready to pour out its deluge. Did Peter even control the weather? Hook came after me. Madame Pearl's was on the edge of Swindler's Cove, and behind the large home spanned the jungles of Neverland. I breathed a sigh of relief. We could disappear into the trees and hide.
The sky grew ever darker. A flash of lightning illuminated my surroundings, thunder ringing like cannons, jarring me to the bone.
Four boys dropped from the clouds, a fishing net spread between them. I spun as they wrapped it around Hook and yanked him, helpless, toward Madame Pearl's, where three pirates waited on the wooden porch with weapons drawn to receive him.
“No! Release him!” I cried, drawing my knives and made to fly after them. How did I attack children? Whether they were under Pan's spell or simply under his leadership, I couldn't do it. Hook somehow rose to his feet, sword drawn, striking out against the pirates. The Lost Boys abandoned the engagement, fading off into the wilds of Neverland.
“Wendy.” A singsong voice drifted up to me.
I looked toward the trees. Peter floated there, right before the darkness of the jungle enveloped him, highlighted by Tink's glow as she hovered close by. The wind whipped his boyish hair, and his leaf-sewn leathers melded in with the foliage at his back.
My grip tightened on my knives. “Let Hook go.”
Pan drifted closer. He glanced unconcernedly down to where Hook fought for his life. “His crew isn't very happy with him at the moment. What about you? Have you become a pirate?”
Igazed at Hook, then turned pleading eyes on Peter. “Stop talking in these childish terms. You need to stop this.”
“I can't let you destroy everything we've built here. If you want your brothers alive, you will bring me the Dagger of Forgotten Souls and the spellbook of Stardust. Do we have a deal?”
“Peter, please. This isn't the you I remember. The one who gave me the kiss.”
Peter cocked his head as if considering my words. His green eyes stood out in the grayness that surrounded him. “And you are not the Wendy I remember. What will it be?”
I wanted to scream at him. Deny him what he desired. I wanted Neverland to be free.
But I'd fought for my brothers, waited all these years, preparing to rescue them. They were my family. They were everything. “I'll give you what you want.”
Peter lit up, his grin growing. He swished his sword through the air before sheathing it and shooting me a smile. “This will be a fun new game. I've always wanted to be a villain. Bring me the dagger and book in two days' time by sundown at Marooners' Rock. Don't bring Hook.” He turned and soared off into the night. The thunder clapped, and a deluge of rain struck me, soaking me through in seconds.
I whirled and descended toward Hook. I landed on the slick porch that wrapped around Madame Pearl's home. A dark figure crouched over a man that lay prone on the deck. Nausea gathered in my stomach. I drew my knife and rushed forward, ready to bury it in Hook's killer. But as I neared, I ground to a halt.
Hook wasn't the one lying dead on the polished wood. The red cap and face—that blank face I was so used to seeing with a cheerful smile. Smee. And the figure over him was kneeling next to him, holding his hand. Hook. Two other forms lay along the deck, unmoving. My foot slipped, and I stepped back, blanching. Blood covered the wooden porch.
Hook's head was bowed, his shoulders hunched. Water trailed down from his dark hair over his face in an unending stream, granting the tears that wouldn't come. I'd never seen him like this. Worn. Beaten. Defeated.
A song drifted from his lips into the air.
“Avast belay, yo ho, heave to,
A-pirating we go,
And if we're parted by a shot,
We're sure to meet below.”
He glanced up at me, and I sucked in a breath. His eyes were a dark gray, almost fully black.
“This is why I was chosen,” he said, his voice hollow. “Because I'd let anyone die, sacrifice anything, to end this. No matter the cost.”
A crash and shouting brought me around. They were coming through the house. I rushed to the door that led out onto the porch and grasped the net off the ground, looping it through the latch. Pulling it over to the railing, I tied it tight. The wooden door lurched and I fell against the rail, gripping it. That wouldn't hold them long.
I raced back to Hook. “I think it's time we leave Neverland behind and get the dagger.”
