Chapter 23
M y mind was still reeling a short while later as I stood in front of the inn, staring up into the night sky for any sign of Fetch, but it was another name that had branded itself in the forefront of my mind.
James.
Garth had called him that, and I couldn’t deny it felt better…more fitting than Hook at times, in spite of the obvious, and his prickly personality.
“Not after all I done to save youse…”
Had Garth been the person to help Hook and his friend after his hand had been taken by Noru, or had the old man saved him at some other time?
One thing was for sure, I wasn’t about to ask.
There was no point. Hook wouldn’t tell me anyway.
We might be allies for now, but he’d decided to trust me exactly as much as he had to, and not one speck more.
How did I know? Because I’d left the forge right after he did, and when I got to the inn, he was nowhere to be found.
Apparently, he’d stopped to get something from his room, ran into Xander at the bar and told him not to wait up.
That he had some more business to take care of.
Then, he’d headed off down the street without another word.
Tired of being kept in the dark, I’d made the snap decision to give Fetch the most complex directive I’d ever attempted; To see if he could find Hook walking and then come directly back to the inn and lead me to him.
Fetch had taken off, and I’d been holding my breath ever since.
Something deep inside me sensed that the key to unlocking all the secrets hidden within this fairytale hinged on this very moment.
I just had to hope that Sir Fetchington Von Buren chose friendship over spite and did as he was told.
Ten minutes later, I found myself wondering if he’d been even more angry about the whole Devil’s Gauntlet debacle than I thought, or if I was just being impatient.
“Definitely that second one,” I murmured under my breath.
I had barely walked into the inn before turning around and walking right back outside, body humming with pent up frustration.
Fetch was quick, but he wasn’t a miracle worker. I had to calm my tits and find a little patience.
I’d just sat on the curb to settle in when the familiar flutter of wings sounded overhead.
I looked up to find Fetch hovering with an expectant gleam in his eye.
Despite his lack of reply when I’d given him the command, he’d heard me.
And although he still wasn’t exactly being his lovey-dovey self, he’d done my bidding.
“You’re such a good, smart bird,” I cooed as I leapt to my feet.
With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, I followed Fetch as he led me down the still-bustling street, past the butcher shop, past the bakery.
We’d gone at least two miles, and the lights from the lanterns flanking the main street had grown dim in the distance. I squinted, trying to see what lay ahead as the cobbled road gave way to a roughly hewn path.
“Well, shit,” I mumbled. I’d assumed Hook was going to talk to another prospective crew member or maybe pick up some supplies. But when Fetch slowed and then twirled into a dive right above a quaint, feminine little cottage, I froze in shock.
Had I just followed Captain Hook to his fucking mistress’ s house?
Not that I cared if he had a mistress. It was just, I’d gotten so excited, thinking I was going to get some good information. Now, though, for some reason, the idea of sneaking closer to peek through the window and confirm my suspicion made my stomach roil.
Was she young and beautiful? Did he love her?
I was about to turn and go when Fetch made a loop and perched on something in the front yard. Squinting to get a better look, I realized it was a sign:
Gayelette’s Forchuns. Garr-un-teed to come true, or your next 1 is free!
The relief that poured through me was so dizzying I had to bend at the waist to steady myself.
Of course I was relieved. Gayelette was the one person who seemed to have all the answers—even if she wasn’t quick to give them up.
It had nothing at all to do with the fact that she was unlikely to be Hook’s mistress…assuming this was the same Gayelette. And given her advertised profession, I could imagine it was no other. I tried not to get my hopes up as I snuck across the tiny yard, to peer through the window.
Would this Gayelette even remember me or be able to help? Or would she be like all the other doppelgangers in this new world—the same as her namesake in Alabaster, but somehow different? Would her memory of me be gone, too?
I took a shaky breath, steeling myself against disappointment.
As I peered into the dimly lit room through the dusty glass.
There were colorful tapestries covering the walls and lush plants in pots on nearly every flat surface.
In one corner, a rack of spices hung drying, their fragrances mixing with the faint smell of incense.
At the center of the room Gayelette and Hook sat across from each other at a small oval table.
A crystal ball rested between them, the sole item on a brightly patterned tablecloth.
Gayelette’s familiar face made my stomach give a nervous flop.
This was definitely the same woman I’d met in Alabaster, though here in this place she’d fully embraced her profession as a fortune teller.
A gold scarf covered her hair, and enormous emerald hoop earrings—large enough to fit around her wrists—dangled from her lobes.
Her lips, painted crimson, curved slightly as she studied the shining orb before her.
Rings adorned every one of her gnarled fingers so that you could barely see the skin beneath.
Her words carried softly through the partially open window. I strained to hear:
“…something, something, prophecy…something, something, magic.”
Then, more distinctly:
“…Harmony something something.”
My heart stuttered. They were talking about me. No way was I missing out on what either of them had to say.
Especially Gayelette.
Moving as slowly and carefully as possible, I pressed upward on the worn wood of the window frame, inch by painstaking inch. It took a full two minutes before I opened it just wide enough to squeeze my ear (and half my head) inside.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that when I was here two days ago?” Hook asked, clearly agitated as he raked his hand over his face.
“That’s not how it works, I’m afraid,” she replied.
Classic Gayelette. Hearing Hook suffering the same treatment I had made my lips twitch. Served him right.
He let out a bitter laugh. “How it works is that I pay you, and you tell me what I want to know.”
She wiggled her index finger in the air, clicking her tongue. “No. You pay me, and I tell you what you need to know.”
“It’s the same thing, woman. You’re picking nits,” Hook growled.
“I’m not,” she shot back. “It’s a hard lesson to learn, but the most important part is the journey.
That’s where we grow. If I told you everything now, you wouldn’t be prepared to complete the task required of you.
And when you reach the endgame, you’d be a help to no one. A useless tit, if you will.”
Hook let out a low, frustrated growl. I didn’t want to sympathize with him. But she’d given me the same line back in Alabaster, and though I understood her point, it wasn’t helpful or satisfying.
Hook’s voice dropped slightly. “You still believe, with the crew I’ve assembled, that we have a chance to make it in and out of The Fen safely? I have enough blood on my hands, Gayelette. I do not need more.”
Her ringed fingers slid over the crystal ball.
“I can’t guarantee the outcome, but I can tell you the right players are in place.
The rest is up to you. Yet a more important question remains.
” She leaned forward, resting her hand on the crystal ball.
“What happens afterward? Win or lose, I see nothing but more darkness beyond the day of reckoning between you and your enemies. Why is that, Captain James Tyler?”
His jaw tightened, and he stared Gayelette down in stony silence.
“There are people counting on you in ways that have nothing to do with the fairy and her lover,” she continued.
“You need to embrace the fact that there is much more to live for than vengeance—or never-ending darkness will be the only thing waiting at the end of the road. For you and countless others.”
She was beating the same drum as Garth about Hook’s obsession with revenge, so he obviously wasn’t holding his cards very close to his chest. But it also had me wondering…if Pan and Tink truly were the wronged party here, why would a man dedicate his whole life to retribution?
Hook opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Gayelette’s gaze shifted—straight to me.
“And you,” she said, without breaking eye contact with Hook. “Come on inside and join us. You’re letting the flies in.”
I froze, but it was already too late—I was caught. I pulled away from the window just in time to see Hook whirl around, his eyes narrowing when he spotted me.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “You’re unbelievable.”
Feeling more than a little sheepish, I wiggled my fingers at him in a pathetic greeting then made my way around to the front door on quaking legs.
I was going to pay for this, somehow, some way.
Still, a surge of relief washed through me at seeing Gayelette’s weathered face again.
After wiping my feet on the mat, I stepped inside.
“Hello,” I said with a grimace. “I was just passing by and overheard?—”
“Save it,” Hook snarled. “You keep asking me to trust you, but you continually prove yourself unworthy of the same.”
“Harmony has a destiny, same as you,” Gayelette interjected gently, placing her hand over Hook’s clenched fist. “The future of her people hangs in the balance. Give her some grace, Hook. She truly does mean well, and she is also fighting to save many lives, whether she knows it fully or not.”