Chapter 16 #2
I thought about the fury in Hook’s face when he thought he’d lost his chance to use Fetch and me as his…
ticking-croc searcher. Running off would make me his mortal enemy, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.
Because at the end of the day, once I’d gotten what I’d come to this place for, I’d turn the page again and be gone.
If Pan, Tink, and Hook were all hunting me while I was hunting the croc, so be it.
As long as I was faster, and smarter than they were.
My actions today had me questioning the latter, but I had to have faith in my own ingenuity. And if Xander was truly serious about helping me develop my magic, maybe I could even get a leg up on them.
My stomach roiled with guilt, but I shoved it aside.
There would come a day—sometime in the near future—when I’d find a way to right all the wrongs I’d done in order to get me back home to fulfill my destiny. I’d just have to add “using Xander” to the pile.
"I’ll be back. I’ve got to run to the head," I said to Xander, setting my mug down.
He shot me a wave, then turned his attention back to the others.
I took a quick glance around, making sure no one was paying me any mind before I scuttled out of the card room and down the corridor of the ship.
Then, I made a beeline for Moll’s and my quarters, reaching under the mattress of my cot to pull out the bag I had tucked away there.
I was down a knife, which I’d have to replace, but everything else important I owned was still inside.
I reached in and pulled out my magical jeweler’s loupe—the one The Speaker had given me. I ran my fingers over the smooth metal, then slipped it into my pocket along with a slim metal pick before tucking the bag back in place.
A moment later, I exited the room, closing the door quietly behind me.
The ship was a maze of hallways, alcoves, nooks and crannies.
Multiple levels. It would take me an hour or more to walk the entire thing from bow to stern—and that was if I didn’t open any doors along the way.
I needed a little help if I wanted to get my bearings and find what I was looking for.
I skulked along the hallway until I reached the main corridor at the center of the ship. Lanterns lit the way, but it was still dark and eerie, and my nerves were shot from my multiple near-death experiences today. When a rat scurried by, I nearly screamed before slapping a hand over my mouth.
"Please, gods—let the next place I travel not have rats." Seemed like a small enough ask.
I rolled my shoulders, tipping my head to and fro to loosen the tension. Then, I lifted the loupe to my right eye and closed the other.
I swiftly shifted through the lenses, searching for the one I needed. Once I found it, I paused and opened myself to the familiar sensation that crept in.
First, a tension at the front of my forehead.
Next, a warmth spread, like a third eye opening.
Allowing me to see what I hadn’t been able to see before.
The hallways and corridors of the ship became instantly visible, almost like a blueprint.
Within seconds, I could see it all, as if the ship had been sliced in half and opened wide for me to study. Like a mind map.
"Gotcha," I whispered, catching sight of exactly what I wanted. I tucked the loupe into my pocket and began heading toward the stern of the ship.
Five minutes later, I was standing in front of a massive pair of double doors. They were as dark and imposing as Hook himself, and I almost reconsidered.
Today is your day, Harm. It had started out shit, but my luck had turned, and who knew if or when I’d get another chance like that?
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the simple lockpick, leaning close to press my ear to the door.
Silence.
I blew out a breath and pulled away, mind made up.
"Let’s see what secrets you’re hiding," I murmured, slipping the pick into the keyhole.
Whatever they were, he wasn’t hiding them very well. I didn’t even need to access my magic as the lock snick ed open with just a few turns and a jiggle, smooth as butter.
Nice .
I pocketed the pick and lifted my fingers to the doorknob once again, turning slowly. My head hummed as it slid open, and I stepped inside. This was as crazy as climbing the damned mast. I knew it, and yet I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
I chewed at my lower lip and stepped into the dark room, gently closing the door behind me.
Moonlight streamed through the porthole against the far wall, and I faltered. The space was massive. Bigger than the dining hall, and every wall was teeming with books from floor to ceiling.
I spun in a slow circle to take it all in. It was only when I finally turned to face the door I'd come through to enter that I came face to face with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
Or a drawing of them, at least. The life-sized illustration was mounted on the back of the door and, while there was no question it was them, there was something a little.
..off about it. Pan's animated face was flat, his eyes lifeless and cold in a way that made his jaunty green cap look juvenile and silly on him.
And the way Tink's cupid's bow mouth was twisted into a sneer.
I leaned in to get a better look and something shiny halfway down the picture caught the light.
A pair of throwing stars, one buried deep in the center of each of their chests.
If I wasn't so disturbed by it all, I'd have laughed. They hated each other's guts, but apparently, they were more alike than they knew. He threw things at their pictures, and they reciprocated.
If their story was true, what reason would Hook have to hate them? Surely, he wasn't so twisted that he couldn't see they were the wronged party here...
Then again, maybe he was. I didn't know the man at all.
But you do... a little voice inside me whispered.
"Nope. A dream isn't knowing someone," I muttered under my breath. "It's just my mind playing tricks on me."
But that tricky mind instantly conjured up another image of Hook staring down at me, his eyes full of longing as he slipped his hand into my hair and pulled me close.
"I'm going to ruin my whole life for you, aren't I?"
"Nope,” I mumbled, shaking my head to erase the image. “Stop it. It's not the same guy."
Whether the man in my dreams was a premonition about some Captain Hook doppelg?nger who lived in another story somewhere like Cissy Petway who was both here and in The Hollow, or my brain had dragged him up from its depths after seeing a picture of him in my fairytale book and made him into this romanticized hero to create some excitement in the drudgery that was my life in The Hollow, he wasn't real. Not here and not now, at least.
I'd watched the man kill someone in cold blood over politics. And, according to Pan, he’d killed a young boy over this clock…
What more proof did I need?
I turned away from the picture and focused back on the books. I was giving myself twenty minutes. Not a lot of time for a room this size, but hopefully long enough to find something that might help me.
Now where to start...
It only took a moment to see that the books were organized by subject matter.
A whole wall dedicated to sailing, navigating, and the sea in general.
A second wall filled with books on philosophy.
Not exactly the type of reading I'd have expected for a bloodthirsty pirate, but then again, maybe he'd killed this ship's captain and stolen his boat like he'd done to Davy.
For all I knew, these books belonged to someone else?—
My brain buzzed as I caught sight of the hulking desk in the corner. On it sat a teetering pile of thick tomes.
Monsters of The Fen
Braving The Fen
The Weeping Fen and All Its Secrets
Noru, King of Beasts
Okay, so those definitely belonged to Hook. I hurried toward them and steadied the pile before tugging the bottom one free.
An image of a crocodile was etched into the leather cover. Its jaw gaped wide as it swung its tail at something tucked into the corner.
A ship.
What appeared to be a teeny, tiny, little sailboat. It looked like a toy next to the beast.
I let out a low gasp. Surely, it had to be an exaggeration. I flipped the book open.
The first page I laid eyes on put my most burning question to rest. It depicted a normal sized croc with a picture of Noru below it, and it was clearly intended to be to scale. This thing wasn't big. It was fucking colossal. I leaned closer, straining to read the text below the picture.
The last verifiable sighting of Noru puts the beast at somewhere between 80 and 90 feet long from snout to tail, making it the largest of all the known creatures in The Fen.
There was a load of data in a box at the bottom of the page, but the writing was too small to see in the relative darkness.
I took a quick glance around the desk, briefly considering a lamp, but then stopped short.
A large, yellowing chunk of what looked like wood or bone sat on the far corner, covered by a domed piece of glass.
What the fuck?—?
I could feel my eyes bulge as it hit me. Not wood or a bone.
A tooth.
And it was three times as thick as my arm and twice as long.
Panic curled around me, sending a rush of blood to my head and I grabbed the edge of the desk for balance.
"You're okay,” I whispered. “Everything is alright."
"I disagree.”
The breath left me in a whoosh as I was yanked backward into what felt like a stone wall, and something sharp pricked at my neck.
Hook’s furious snarl sounded in my ear as a warm puff of air feathered over my cheek.
“You have three seconds to tell me what you’re doing here before I slit your fucking throat, woman.”