Chapter 35
W hen we stepped onto the shores of Neverland, the place was preternaturally dark and still in a way that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
It was evening, but surely it wasn’t the children’s bedtime yet.
I would have expected to hear Caleb chattering away or Cissy bossing him around.
Instead, there was nothing but the sound of waves lapping against the beach.
“Fuck,” Xander muttered, scraping a hand through his hair as he scanned the island, holding the lantern he held in one hand higher. His gaze locked on the unlit house off in the distance.
“Nope,” Molly said, shaking her head mulishly.
“I’d know if something had happened. They’re here somewhere.
Maybe they just lost track of time on the other side of the island, picking bananas or something.
” She marched forward on a mission. “Cissy! Caleb! Tristan!” she called, before pressing her thumb and forefinger to her lips and letting out a sharp whistle. “Can you hear me?”
I blew out a shaky breath as nothing but silence echoed back.
“We’ll split up,” Hook said. “Xander, you and Molly take the north side of the island. Me and Harmony will check the house and then head south if they aren’t inside.”
“Aye, Captain,” Xander said, touching Molly’s elbow and leading her away.
We’d barely taken three steps when Hook slapped his hand to the side of his face and let out a snarl. “What the hell was that?”
There was a rustling in the trees and my hand instantly went to my side, grasping for my whip. I loosed it with a snap, pressing my back against Hook so no one could roll up on us.
“Moll?” I called, unable to see her behind me now.
“We’re okay! You guys?” Molly’s voice came from behind me.
“Yup, something hit Hook in the face.” I scanned the shadows, squinting. It was almost as if he’d been?—
I broke off as a wild whoop echoed through the night, followed by a snarl and a shrill screech.
Branches snapped and leaves crackled, and a moment later, two small figures shot out from the tree line, hurtling toward us.
At first, it was hard to tell what they were—some sort of tiny creatures, maybe adolescent bears?
I didn’t recall hearing about bears on Neverland, but who knew?
Only when they reached the glow of our lanterns did I realize it was Caleb and Cissy, wearing a pair of sloppily painted masks that covered their noses and eyes, and armed to the teeth.
Caleb with a tiny hatchet in one hand and a dagger in the other, and Cissy with her slingshot poised directly at Hook.
“Get away from her, you pestilent scallywag!” she hollered, firing another rock at Hook’s head. This time, he dodged the missile and it flew past him, landing harmlessly in the sand with a thunk .
“Calm down there, little girl,” Hook said, sliding his sword back into its scabbard. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
“I won’t calm down!” she howled, bending low and charging him like a miniature bull. “Until you get away from our friends!”
“Yeah, get away from our friends!” Caleb mimicked, rushing past Hook and me, heading straight for Molly and a startled-looking Xander.
When he reached them, he reared back and kicked Xander in the shin with all his might.
The first mate let out a sharp yelp and pressed his hand against the boy’s forehead, holding him three feet away as Caleb swung his hatchet aimlessly.
“Wun, Molly! I can take care of this guy!”
“Oh, Caleb…” Molly dropped to her knees in the sand and yanked him into her arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Her chest heaved on a broken sob, and, while I would have loved to see the rest of their reunion, I noticed that Cissy and Hook were currently engaged in what looked like a slap fight.
“Stop it!” Hook snarled. “I said, stop it!” He cuffed her lightly on the side of the head, but she wouldn’t be stopped, swinging wildly, kicking, punching, even snapping her teeth.
“I knew Tink had it wrong! They didn’t want to leave us,” Cissy yelled, not pausing her flurry of blows. “You stole them!”
“Enough!” I shouted. “Please, sweetie, you have to stop. He’s not here to hurt you. None of us are. We’re here to save you, but you have to listen?—”
My words seemed to fall on deaf ears as she took a deep breath and doubled down, stomping on Hook’s booted foot.
It wasn’t until he jammed his hook hand down the back of her shirt and lifted her into the air, leaving her to dangle, that she finally stopped flailing.
Her face was scrunched and beet red, streaked with tears.
“Put me down, you big mean bully!”
Caleb broke away from Molly’s embrace just then, parroting her words. “Yeah, put her down, you big mean bully!”
“Stop for a second and listen to what Harmony has to say.” The voice came from the tree line. I turned to find Tristan standing there with Fetch perched on his shoulder. I hadn’t seen the falcon arrive, but he’d clearly found his favorite seat before we got here.
“Why should we listen to you?” Cissy barked. “You might be the oldest, but you’re not really my brother, like you always say. That means you don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I’m the closest thing to a brother you’re ever going to have, so shut up and listen. If they wanted to hurt us, your head would be stuck on that hook, and not just your shirt.”
Cissy snapped her mouth shut and slumped, going dead weight in Hook’s grasp.
He lifted her close to his face and scowled. “If I put you down, do you promise not to take another swing at me?”
Cissy stuck out her lower lip. “Nope.”
“Eh, fine then. You hit like a girl anyway.” He set her down on the ground more gently than I’d expected, then took three steps back—which, despite the seriousness of the situation, almost made me grin.
Tristan padded over and stopped before me, glancing between me and Hook.
“She’s making him sick, isn’t she?” he asked in a low voice.
“She is,” Hook replied.
“And the others before us?” His shrewd eyes flicked to Hook, his throat bobbing.
Hook nodded. “Yes. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.”
Tristan winced, his shoulders hunching as if he’d taken a physical blow.
“I saw their clothes, and not just little kid sizes. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, but then I realized, why did they leave them behind when they grew up and left?
Wouldn’t they take them wherever they went?
I asked questions about them, but she never gave me a straight answer.
So when Molly and Harm went missing last week, I started looking—really looking.
Just yesterday I found a little cave on the other side of the island, where Tink always told us not to go.
It was filled with bones…some of them old and bleached with time, some of them not.
Was still trying to figure out what to do when you guys came back but…
they don’t ever let them leave, do they? ”
Fucking hell. I knew I’d sensed evil there. Carnivorous bats, indeed.
“What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense,” Cissy said, yanking the mask off her face and tossing it onto the sand. Molly kept an arm looped around Caleb’s shoulders as they and Xander moved closer.
“Why don’t we go inside the house,” Molly suggested gently. “Sit around the table where we can see each other and talk.”
“I’m not letting him in our house. He’s our nemesisisis,” Cissy snapped, jabbing a dirty finger into Hook’s flat belly and then spitting on the ground.
“Come on, Cissy. I’ll let you pet Fetch,” Tristan offered. “He might even sit on your shoulder if you mind your manners.” He gave the bird a quick glance. Something passed between them, and Fetch inclined his head almost in a nod.
A sizzle of awareness shot through me. So the boy had it, too, the same connection to animals I had—or some version of it. That explained why Fetch was so taken with him.
Cissy sent the falcon a longing look and then shrugged. “He doesn’t even like me anyway; he never let me pet him before.”
“I have a feeling he will this time. Come on, let’s go inside and try.”
The little girl puffed out her cheeks and blew a breath, sparing a glance at the sky above the cove. “Well, maybe it’s okay for a minute…”
“Yeah, maybe for a minute,” Caleb echoed, nodding.
Pan had been telling the truth about one thing. Now that I could see the boy’s face close up, he looked worse than the last time I saw him—thinner, more frail, and I could hear a wheeze in his chest.
We had gotten here in the nick of time. Now to make sure we got out as well…
The group of us made our way to the house and stepped inside. It was strange being there. In some ways, it felt like we’d never left; fond memories flooded in. In other ways, it was like we’d never been here before. Now that I knew what it really was—a hotel of horrors—everything felt…different.
Tristan ignited some lamps and lanterns, then waved for everyone to sit at the big table.
“They left a day and a half ago and told us to stay out of sight until they got back,” he explained.
“They told me if they weren’t here by Saturday, to use the little boat and take the kids to Blackbriar and find an orphanage that would take all three of us.
I got a feeling they were going to face off with Noru. ”
“They told you all that?” Cissy demanded, flopping into the seat closest to her and resting her chin on her hands glumly. “They didn’t tell me any of it.”
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Caleb lisped, brow furrowed in confusion. “Hook is our enemy, Molly. ‘Member?”
The adults around the table shared a glance, and Molly pursed her lips. Then leaned forward, looking at each of the kids in turn.