Chapter 35 #2
“Every single one of you has been dealt a shit hand,” she said.
Cissy’s lips twitched in approval at Molly’s use of a cuss word.
“It’s not fair. It’s not right. Each of you deserves better than what you’ve gotten so far in this life.
And it guts me to tell you that things are going to get worse over the next few minutes before they get better.
But I need you to know that I’m only telling you all this because I love you, all three of you. All right?”
The two younger kids nodded. Tristan shot her a dubious look, then inclined his head almost imperceptibly.
“Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are not well,” Molly said carefully.
“They have something…wrong in their heads that makes them seem really nice most of the time but also makes them do bad things sometimes. And I’m sorry to say they’ve been doing bad things to all three of you—to you most of all, Caleb.
” She threaded her fingers with his and gently rubbed her thumb across his hand.
“Were you sick before you came to Neverland?”
He narrowed his eyes in thought, then shook his head. “Nope. I was sad, but I wasn’t sick.”
“That’s because Tinkerbell takes the health of others and steals it for herself to make her magic strong. And that’s what she’s been doing to you.”
There was silence as her words sunk in. But only for a moment.
“Take it back!” Cissy cried on a broken sob. She balled her fists on the table, glaring at Molly. “You take that back! Tink would never do that!”
“She would, and she has, girl. She did it to my friends, too,” Hook interjected quietly. “I was one of you lot. In fact, you can go check right now, in the second bedroom down the hall on the left, under the windowsill. My initials are carved there: J.T.”
“Your initials are C.H., for Captain Hook,” Cissy corrected.
“That’s what they call me now. Since Noru took my hand.
But when I was a child—a little older than you—my name was James Tyler.
Pan and Tink took me from an orphanage and brought me here.
They would have made me sick just like Caleb if I’d let them.
But I tried to escape with my friends so they couldn’t hurt us anymore. ”
“Nope! You’re a liar. You came to steal Pan’s clock!”
“Go look. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”
Cissy shoved the chair away from the table, its legs scraping across the floor, and the room stayed silent until she returned a minute later.
Tears streamed down her face, but the anger was gone, replaced by despair that felt like a kick to my stomach. I wanted to pick her up and hold her in my lap like a baby; I could tell Molly wanted to do the same. But even if Cissy wanted that comfort, there was no time.
Tristan bent close to her and Fetch extended his head like an offering. Cissy let out a sniffle and a bubble of laughter. “Hey, fella. You look different than last time I saw you,” she whispered, scratching his feathers gently.
Fetch chortled in reply, and as much as I hated to break up the moment, the clock was ticking.
For real this time.
“There’s still a lot to talk about, but we can’t just sit here like this for much longer. I started the clock shortly before we arrived—they’re going to be here soon, and we need to be ready.”
It took me a moment to realize Caleb hadn’t spoken in a while. When he did, his voice was hoarse.
“I could feel it,” he said. “When she would read me bedtime stories at night, she always seemed so happy, so I let her do it anyway. But I always felt worse when she was lying next to me reading.”
Cissy scampered around the table and threw her arms around him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know!”She pulled away, swiping at her face. “Why did she only hurt Caleb?”
“She likes to have several kids here, so they stay happy and healthy and don’t try to leave,” Hook explained. “Your time might have come too, Cissy, but I can’t say for sure. I’ve never heard of a Lost Boy who was a girl.”
“They didn’t try to take me. I was a happy accident.
But I don’t care,” Cissy said fiercely. “If she hurt Caleb, she hurt me, he’s like my brother.
What do we do now?” The last of the tears in her eyes dried as a hint of the little spitfire I was used to came shining through.
“I can help you catch her. Tink’s been showing me how to use my Tideblessing.
I can make stuff grow—sorta.” She wrinkled her nose.
“It’s pretty slow at this point, though.
I’m not sure how that’d help. Are we gonna take one of the boats and leave? ”
“Molly and Xander are going to take you now,” Hook said, “so that you’ll be on one of the boats and ready to go.
But we can’t leave yet. If Pan or Tink see you out on the open sea on their way back, they might chase you down before you get away.
We need you to stay out of sight while we take care of them. ”
“You’re gonna try to kill them,” Caleb said, more a statement than a question.
Hook bowed his head. “I’m sorry, son, but there really is no choice. They’ll just keep doing this to other kids if we don’t.”
It was a hard truth for a child to hear, but lying to them now would only shake their already tenuous trust in us.
“Let’s go now, all of you. Grab some of your things, but quickly,” Molly urged, standing and motioning for them to follow. But before they even reached their bedrooms, a flash of light illuminated the sky outside the house.
“They’re here,” James said, drawing his sword.
He led the charge for the door, and I laid my hand on the hilt of my whip as I followed.
“You lily-livered scallywag!” Pan howled as we raced outside.
A flickering light skittered past, doing a loop-de-loop before settling in mid-air a few yards away.
Peter hovered beside Tink, red-rimmed eyes shooting sparks of fury. “You almost had us fooled. But I’ve come for my clock.”
Tinkerbell’s smile was a baring of teeth that left me cold inside. “And I’ve come for your heads.”