Page 72 of Veiled in Stars and Silver
My uncertainty pressed on me. Childhood or growth?
Was Peter even capable of growing?
“How do I know you won’t kill both of us once you have it?” I asked.
Tinker Bell’s lip lifted into a sneer. “I’ve had enough of this. Peter, end him.”
“No! Here! Here it is!” I held the dagger out with shaking fingers.
Tink gave a satisfied smirk. “Tiger Lily, bring it to me.”
As soon as I heard Tiger Lily moving toward me, I hauled back on the knife and threw it.
It lodged in Tinker Bell’s right shoulder.
“Now!” I shouted, hoping I’d read the signs correctly.
Tink let out a cry of rage and reached for the dagger, but I flew toward the fairy woman, knocking her off her feet and shoving the blade deeper into her body.
I risked a glance back and saw Peter grappling with Tiger Lily. James’s gag was no longer in place, and his chanting filled the air with magic.
Because even if I hadn’t been able to memorize the spell that would steal Tink’s power, James Hook knew it by heart.
Tinker Bell snarled and reached forward with clawed nails, ready to attack. My training kicked in. I grabbed the woman’s arm and twisted, hearing it snap. Tink’s scream filled the cave. A sharp pain struck me as the nails of Tink’s other hand scraped across my skin.My face burned and blood coursed over my cheek. I swore and bit the fairy woman’s hand, my teeth sinking into flesh as I drove the dagger even deeper into my foe.
“Kill them all!” Tinker Bell shrieked, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave, as she struggled under my weight. The leafy folds of her dress ripped and tore.
Sounds of revolvers firing shook my whole body, my ears ringing harshly. A bullet speared past me and my heart leapt in my throat as I thought of my brothers, of James. But I didn’t let go, and James's incantation didn’t stop, and Tinker Bell’s glow dimmed. Similar to the last light of evening winking out, her eyes glazed, the fight leaving her as her arms fell away and a stark grayness covered her features. Her form shriveled. Fissures opened in her skin as it cracked and dried like autumn leaves withering into insignificance.
The cave had gone silent except for James’s chants as the dagger ingested the final remains of Tinker Bell’s magic.
I yanked the weapon from the hollowed out husk that was once Tinker Bell. A power pulsed through the metal, the gems in the skull hilt glowing eerily and the blade shining despite the green blood that dripped from its tip.
I raced over to my brothers. Feeling them for any sign that a stray bullet had pierced them. But they were still lying there, unharmed. Their eyes fluttered open.
“Who are you?” John asked. He straightened his awry spectacles to peer at me.
“I know who this is. It is an angel,” Michael said in his innocent way.
Tears filled and spilled down my cheeks. My brothers had forgotten about me. “I am your sister. It's me, Wendy.”
“Sister?” John looked perplexed.
Michael’s face scrunched up. “We don’t have a sister, do we, John?”
“I don’t know, Michael.”
Despite the ache caused by their lack of memory, I wanted to pull them into my arms and never let them go. I wiped at the tears on my cheeks. “Stay right here. There is so much I want to tell you.”
Standing, I spun to survey the scene behind me. Figures blocked the mouth of the cave, but they merely stood around, barely moving. I looked to James, who knelt next to a figure lying prone on the cave’s floor.
My stomach clenched. “Peter?”
I rushed to James’s side. An immense hole blooming with crimson bubbled out of the boy's chest.
“Is he?”
“He’s alive,” James whispered. “For now.” An odd expression crossed his face. “He disarmed Tiger Lily and then jumped in front of the bullets.” He gave me an uncomprehending look. “He saved me.”
