Chapter 1
“ E nemy spotted off the starboard deck! Ready the cannons, and shoot to kill!”
Water splashed into the air as Moll and I flailed in a desperate struggle to get away from the oncoming pirate ship.
I thrashed wildly, treading water as I searched the evening horizon for any sign of hope, no matter how small, but found nothing but a sea of blue as far as my salt-battered eyes could see.
Only moments before we’d defeated the Sorcerer Relyk and his troupe of undead warriors in battle, and this still somehow topped that in terms of danger.
Maybe there was a way to turn the page back?
But even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t possible.
At least not now. As ludicrous as it sounded, I knew one thing for sure:
I was meant to be here.
Daughter, tinker, pirate, mage…
Fetch let out a fierce shriek as a human-sized shape zipped through my line of sight, disappearing when I blinked.
“What the fuck!” I tugged on Moll’s leg as I came to a full stop.
An adolescent flying mantis?
My heart stuttered as a cannon boomed to life, the thunderous crack reverberating through to my bones. I raised my arms to cover my face on instinct, dipping lower into the water as Moll let out a choked gurgle.
She pulled frantically at my arm as the first volley ended. “We need to keep moving!”
I cried out, but it was inaudible over the roar of the cannons.
We’re going to die. The realization set in within a heartbeat, no longer feeling like a question. And what a place for it to end, after all we’d accomplished.
At least Duncan hadn’t come, too. His dream of a better Alabaster wouldn’t die. Not today.
A sense of peace washed over me as the first of the cannonballs hit the water with a mighty splash, just ten yards away from us.
“I love you, Harm!” Moll wailed, tightened her grip and yanked me close.
“Love you too, my friend.”
I closed my eyes to say a little prayer when a wash of purple flashed behind my lids.
I opened my eyes and squinted into the swirling waves of color that had surrounded us like a shield, eclipsing the galleon from view.
My breath caught in my throat as I looked up to see the barrage of cannonballs slamming against it high above our heads with a muted clink before bouncing harmlessly away like pebbles against a brick wall.
Fetch screeched once again, bringing my attention upward a half second too late as a slim figure swooped down on me from above. Fingers dug into my shoulder before I could react, and I heard a soft, masculine grunt as I was yanked upward, out of the water.
“No!”
My stomach lurched as I shot into the sky, a narrow arm now wrapped around my midsection.
“We’ll get you to safety. Just keep still, dang it!” the low voice murmured. A young man…who knew how to fly?
“But, my friend—” I started, cutting off as he gestured behind us.
A second figure was hot on our heels, pulling a wriggling, screaming Molly along with her. And, unlike the guy who’d grabbed me, this one was a female…with gossamer wings. Their pearlescent color changed from pink to peach to brilliant green as they moved.
“A fairy?” I breathed, my brain spinning like a top as it tried to keep up.
“You guessed it in one.” He looked down at me to flash a wink.
My heart thumped in my chest as a screech pierced the night and another form came hurtling toward us.
Fetch, and he was on the warpath.
Oh fuck.
“No! Don’t hurt him!” I shouted, praying I’d been quick enough as the fairy lifted her hand and golden dust sprang from her fingertips.
The falcon slowed and the fairy’s frown faded. “Hurt him?” she said with a reassuring smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She blew into her hand, sending the dust curling in Fetch’s direction, wrapping around him before fading away.
He’d been ready to defend me from the clutches of what he probably thought of as a much larger bird. But now, his head relaxed and the wings that had been tucked tight as he dove flared out as he fell into an easy rhythm just over head.
“Wh-what’d you do?” I asked, the terror fading, leaving behind a metallic taste in my mouth.
“Soothed him,” she called, fluttering her fingers without looking back. “Now let’s save the chatter for after we get out of here with our skins intact.”
Another round of cannon fire added urgency to her words, and the man’s grip tightened on my side as he brought his speed up a notch.
I gritted my teeth, but the drag I'd been expecting never came. My legs swayed behind us in the wind, but there was nothing pulling me down. Rather than battling against gravity, it was as if he’d simply severed its hold on us entirely.
Just as incredible, though, was the endless sea churning beneath us.
I’d seen paintings and heard stories, of course, but the scale went far beyond anything I could’ve imagined.
As hard as it was to believe, we truly had toppled through the Shadow Abyss into another world.
One with an ocean, and pirates, and fairies.
The thought threatened to overwhelm me, but I fought through the incoming panic.
First thing first, we needed a plan. Unless they’d been expecting us due to some magical intervention or prophecy of their own, eventually, they were going to ask where we came from. I needed to make sure I had an answer ready in hopes of cutting Moll off before she told them the truth.
Once I had an idea of what to say, I launched into the second part of the plan, which was gathering some info on our saviors to get the lay of the land.
“Who are you?” I asked after several minutes of trying to think of a more polite way to ask. The purple wall of magic had disappeared, and we seemed to be far out of cannon range now. “And how did you know that we needed help?”
“Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell. You can call us Pan and Tink,” the man said, yanking me into a more secure position as if I weighed little more than a sack of flour. “And we didn’t know you needed help. You just got lucky.”
“What about that ship? Using cannons on two random swimmers seems like overkill.”
He glanced over, cocking his head. Then, he let out a laugh as the realization struck him. “Ah, you thought they were firing at you?”
I opened my mouth to reply, suppressing a wave of embarrassment. “They weren’t?”
“Nope. That’s Hook and his crew,” he said gravely. “Pirates, and the worst of the lot. They’ve been after us for years.”
“Surely you could beat them if it came to a fight, even with the cannons. You can fly. And that magic wall you guys put up earlier was incredible.”
“Hook has plenty of tricks of his own. We’re at a stalemate… for now. But no more chatter, we’re almost home, and there’s always a bit of turbulence here. I have to concentrate.”
A gust of wind rolled through almost immediately as he said it, and I suppressed a gasp as I glanced down.
A small island appeared below us, as if out of thin air.
The wind buffeted at my ears as we hurtled toward the green stretch of land.
On a normal day, it would’ve been terrifying, but, after all we’d been through, I felt like I’d used up all of the fear I could muster and was running on empty.
We touched down in a large clearing just a few minutes later.
My knees went shaky as gravity regained its hold on me, and I dropped to my bottom with a grunt rather than fight it.
Tink set Moll on the ground beside me a second later, and I let myself fully relax for the first time all day as Fetch latched onto my shoulder.
“We made it.” I smiled as Moll leaned close to help me to my feet, tears welling up in her eyes.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulder as she let out a relieved breath. “Safe and sound.”
“How did you wind up in the water, anyway?” Pan asked with a frown. “There’s no land for miles…”
“We were just going fishing.” I rushed to tell my fabricated tale before Moll opened her mouth, “and the tide pulled us out further than we expected. Then we got hit by a wave… Rogue. Big one.” I spread my hands high and wide to hammer the point home.
“It filled our little boat with water and that was the end of that. Good thing you guys came. We’d been swimming for what felt like hours.
” I gnawed on my bottom lip as I tried to think of how to change the subject.
“Where are we, anyway?” For the first time, I noticed the mild weather that was as warm as any summer in Alabaster.
“Welcome to Neverland,” Pan said, gesturing all around as Tink fluttered over to stand beside him.
I tried not to stare, which was tough, what with this being my first time seeing a fairy or even knowing they existed.
She was petite, several inches shy of five feet tall, but her curves made no secret that she was a full-grown woman.
Her wide, violet eyes were framed by lush dark lashes, and her golden hair was pulled into a tail high atop her head, which she rested against Pan’s bicep.
So they were a couple?
Interesting.
Something about them seemed like a mismatch. It wasn’t that she looked older than him, exactly. But Pan’s lilting voice and the boyish green cap perched on his auburn hair gave him an air of youthful innocence she didn’t have.
There was no chance to dwell on it though, because an instant later, Pan was turning away with a frown.
“Now, at the risk of being rude, Tink and I still have a matter to attend to. Don’t worry, though. Tink’s magic makes Neverland impossible for outsiders to see, so as long as you’re here, you won’t run into any trouble?—”
He broke off as the door to a large, thatch-roofed house at his back creaked open, revealing a pale, thin boy, who couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. “Ah, perfect. Caleb, why don’t you and the others show our guests some hospitality until Tink and I get back?”
The boy nodded, smiling as Pan reached down to ruffle his dark hair. “What should we show ‘em?”
“They need a change of clothes, so let’s start with that. You can grab some from the guest room. We shouldn’t be long; we just had a run in with Hook and need to check where he’s headed.”
Caleb’s face darkened at the use of Hook’s name, and he nodded grimly. “Good luck.” His gaze flitted toward me and Moll, his cheeks going beet red.
“This one can be a little shy,” Pan said, chuckling as he nudged the boy in our direction. “Can’t say the same for the other two, though…”
“Other two?”
“They’ll be here any second, I’m sure. They’ve surely heard the commotion and they’re far too nosy to ignore it.
” He spared a final glance toward the hut.
“Feel free to make yourselves at home while we’re gone.
As the kids know, only our bedroom is off limits.
” He waggled his brows, turning to Tink as he said it.
She gave him a playful shove, rolling her eyes. “Stop that, Peter!”
The pair took to the sky in a flash without another glance in our direction, and I watched with awe as they zipped off into the evening sky.
“Hi, Caleb,” Moll said, wiggling her fingers at the wide-eyed little boy they’d left behind. “I’m Molly, nice to meet you.”
I opened my mouth to introduce myself as well, but my breath caught in my throat as I caught sight of the little girl that had just exited the hut behind him. Freckles dotted her face and her messy, white-blonde hair fluttered in the balmy breeze as she ran.
“Hallo!” she called as she raised her hand in greeting, pausing to elbow Caleb in the ribs. “Are you gonna introduce me, or cat got your tongue?”
It had been clear who she was from her appearance alone, but that voice sealed the deal.
“Cissy?” I croaked as I tried not to let the shock show on my face.
It seemed impossible, but the child in front of me was none other than our neighbor from The Hollow, Cissy Petway.