Page 27 of Lost Starlight
“Aye! I think that is a shipmate!” Sands shouted.
We rowed harder. Sands insisted that there would be new fruits for William to check out once on shore, and William had not backed down from that possibility.
The woman had long, almost white-pinkish hair, the likes of which I had never seen before. The last thing I ever expected at that moment was that the man who stood there on that shore would be my brother—and that he would commandeer my ship. But alas, that is what happened. That man was my long-lost brother, Dominick, and he did, indeed, pirate my ship.
Present Day
My thoughts returned to the present. I closed my bedroom window and went back to sit upon my bed. I needed to see Gwen, kiss her again, and tell her how much I loved her. I had spent most of the late evening with her, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
I hated myself for having been more distant with her as of late. Yes, the pixies were coming for me, but that did not mean I should not spend as much time with Gwen as possible. Perhaps, and I knew it was entirely unlikely, but perhaps, it would be years before they called me to them. Perhaps—
I shook my head and just remained there upon my bed.
Stop thinking—Tomorrow, you shall see her, kiss her again, and all will be well.
It was a lie, but I convinced myself of it, just enough that I finally found a semi-peaceful sleep.
Chapter Twelve
Peter
Present Day
In the middle of the night, I heard the tinkling of bells—
I was getting paranoid. Keeping my eyes closed as I lay there in bed, I counted my breaths, trying to ground myself in reality. But I heard another tinkling bell. I closed my eyes tighter and pulled the sheets into my fists.
It is just in your head.
I grunted.
Tinkling bells again sounded, growing louder and louder, and I knew it then.
They have come for me.
I opened my eyes to see glittering lights outside my window, the small pixies’ sparkling bodies unsuccessfullyattempting to enter my room by slamming against the glass, over and over. There was a fleeting moment when I thought,perhaps, I can just hide and not open the window, and that nothing would happen. But I’d read too much about pixies, and I knew better than to believe I could hide from them without incurring dire consequences. I had searched and found countless books on pixies and their deal-making, which were all scattered about my desk and on the floor. There was no hope, though; there was no way to get out of a deal, until I fulfilled it. No, if they were there, I had to let them in. I couldn’t take the chance that they would go after Gwen to take my place.
I walked to my window, opened the latch, and was shoved back as the pixies flew into the room, buzzing past me, like larger than average glow bugs, their movements traced in golden sparkles.
After a few moments, the pixies settled into a floating pack, and they all looked down at me.
“It is time! Time, time!” they chimed in unison.
“And if I come and repay my debt, will Gwen be left alone?”
“Yes! Yes, yes!”
“How long will I be on Pixie Isle?”
“As long as the debt requires!” they chimed.
I wasn’t sure I would get a straight answer from them, so I nodded. I just hoped it wasn’t too long and that Gwen would forgive me.
“Go! Go, go!” The pixies pushed me toward the window.
In a desperate last act to somehow communicate with Gwen, to let her know that I would be coming back for her, I took a piece of paper from the mess on my desk and stuffed it into the pixie book at the page that talked about deals made with pixies. I could not say the words out loud, nor could I write them down, but perhaps, I could do that.
“I love you, Gwen,” I wrote out quickly, signed it with a “P” for Peter, and then I let the pixies tug me toward the window.
