Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
There were, however, many adventures which she knew to be true because she was in them herself …
“Fucking hell, Geo!” Coy shouts as he shoves me behind him.
The Lost Boy from the Nevertree steps out of the shadowy woods, several other men at his back.
“Didn’t expect to see you out here tonight. What’s going on?” His gaze moves to me and stays there. “And with the little Darling, no less.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be patrolling the Bayou Bog?” Coy stays in front of me so I have to peek around to get a look at all the Lost Boys gathered around us. At least a dozen.
“Patrolled it. Nothing there except some snakes and a few pirate bones.”
Yuck.
An uncomfortable silence falls between the men, and I can’t quite figure out why there’s animosity between the Lost Boys. They’re all on the same team, after all. Does it have to do with the shadows Geo was asking about when I visited the tree with Peter?
The standoff continues, both Coy and Geo coiled and ready to strike.
“We’re, uh …” Tootles breaks the silence. “We’re headed to town.”
Coy shoots him an irritated look.
Geo snorts. “Town, eh? I reckon we can accompany you. We’re not doing anything, are we lads?”
The men shake their heads.
“No. You have your patrol orders. Get to it.”
“No sharing then?” Geo grins, his eyes still on me. “Peter keeping it all for himself and his favorites, is he?”
“Did you just refer to me as an ‘it’?” I move from behind Coy.
“Not you. Just a part of you.” Geo glances down my body and steps closer.
Bastard. “I ought to slap that scraggly beard off your stupid face.” I am definitely suffering from caffeine withdrawal.
Geo’s nostrils flare. “Come and try—”
“Geo!” Coy’s voice is so deep and loud that I jump. “Back the fuck up and get back to patrol duty. We’re done here.”
Geo hesitates, as if he’s considering his alternatives (and, based on the look on his face, those alternatives would be violent), then turns and lets out a sharp whistle. His contingent of Lost Boys follows him away through the trees until they disappear in the shadowy depths.
“What the hell is his problem?” My hands are shaking, so I cross my arms and tuck my hands underneath and against my sides.
“He’s an ass. Always has been, if I remember correctly.” Coy turns to me. “You all right?”
“We would’ve protected you, Moira.” Tootles reassures me from behind Coy.
“Geo wouldn’t hurt you,” Nibs says placatingly. “He’s just very … pugnacious.”
“He’s been looking for a scrap lately. With so few Neverians left and the pirates keeping their distance, he’s like a powder keg waiting to go off.” Nibs adjusts his glasses. “Until we can defeat Hook and repair the island’s magic, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do about it.”
“Pugnacious?” Slightly rolls his eyes. “Nibs, you seriously have to lay off the big words.”
The temperature seems to lower as Coy takes stock of the surroundings.
Once satisfied, he motions for our merry little band to continue through the woods.
Even so, I can tell he’s still on alert, his hand frequently at my lower back as he helps me over fallen trees and under craggy outcrops of stone.
We walk for what feels like hours, though Nibs assures me it’s only been half an hour when we stop for a little rest and some water from Slightly’s canteen.
I look out at the sparkling sea in the distance, the bits of moonlight that filter through the clouds playing along its surface.
Something flutters past overhead, dark wings stretched out and seeking.
The trees above us are covered with vines and dripping in bright green flowers that wave in the light breeze.
“My mind sure can conjure some beautiful scenery.” I sigh as a moth flutters past, its bright wings seemingly glowing a neon pink as it flits from one bloom to another.
“You still think this is all in your head?” Coy asks.
“It has to be.” I shrug.
“Why? Why can’t this be just as real to you as the mainland?”
“Because it’s not.” I realize that’s a dumb answer, but it’s true. There’s also a darker answer, one I can only tiptoe around. I meet Coy’s gaze, his eyes the color of emerald with golden flecks. “And because … Because this sort of delusion runs in the family.”
“You mean Wendy?”
“What Wendy had—her wild tale of Neverland—was nothing compared to my mother. She lived in her imagination to the point where she stopped eating, stopped existing anywhere else except in here.” I tap my temple.
“It makes sense that this is just my first step down that same road.” It sounds logical as I say it, but I’m lying to myself if I don’t admit it scares the shit out of me.
All the more reason for me to keep telling myself none of this is real.
I have to keep a grasp on reality. If I don’t, I’ll be lost just like her.
“I’m sorry.” Coy covers my hand with his. He doesn’t say anything else. I suppose he doesn’t have to. It’s admittedly pathetic, but Coy’s the closest friend I’ve had in a long time.
“I thought it would be bigger and less … grubby.” It’s the nicest word I can use for the ramshackle collection of buildings on a small beach with driftwood and seaweed piled here and there. The smell of fish and the call of seagulls led us right to the town.
It’s only a handful of small huts with a sandy path running between them all the way down to the water. A few coconut trees wave overhead, and I can hear voices drifting from a few of the shanties.
“It actually makes me thankful for the cave.” I muse as a burly man barrels past us, his hands at his waistband, then leans against a nearby wall and starts to piss all over it. “Classy.”
“The island doesn’t always take kindly to settlers.” Slightly tips his chin at a one-armed man who skulks past us, his tricorn ripped and dirty. “Carge, got any fresh fish?”
“Fresh, heh?” Carge laughs, the sound wet and thick. “I’ve got fish, but don’t push your luck.” He waves Slightly over to a small hut made of driftwood and held together with a prayer.
“Well, he’s downright terrifying.” I watch as Carge throws open a chest beside his front door and Slightly takes an inventory.
“Well, hello, dearie.” I turn to find an older woman with stringy gray hair hobbling toward me. “Beautiful girl. Hello, hello.”
“Ari, not right now, darling.” Coy’s voice is gentle. “We’re in a bit of a rush.”
“Too rushed for treasures?” She opens her worn hands and shows me large, polished pearls. “Beautiful treasures for you, lovely one.”
I peer at them, surprised at how well they shine in the filtered moonlight. “They’re gorgeous.”
“Take one. Take all.” She steps closer, the smell of the sea wafting off her. “I have more.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any money.”
“Free. Free to beautiful maidens like yourself.” She smiles, her front teeth missing.
“Nothing’s ever free, Moira. Not in Neverland.” The warning in Coy’s voice is clear, not that he needs to warn me. I know my fairytales backwards and forwards.
“No offense, ma’am, but I’ve seen this before. It’s straight from the evil witch playbook. They may not be poison apples, but there’s no way I’m taking one of your pearls. Sorry.” I step back.
She scowls and closes her hands. “Pearls. Pearls before swine!” She makes a sign with her hands, the pearls vanishing as she moves. “A swine you shall be!” A sizzle ignites in the air between us, and before Coy can intervene, the sizzling current hits me right in the chest.
I yelp and fall backwards, pain scoring my veins and up into my head.
“Get back!” Coy shoves the witch as I writhe in the dirty sand.
“Moira! Are you okay?” Coy tries to grab me, but I curl into myself against the agony. It’s like my body is tearing itself apart on the inside, and there’s a constant ringing in my ears.
“Stop!” I scream. Then, as suddenly as it began, it ends. I can breathe again. Uncurling I sit up and rub the spot on my chest where the sizzle hit me.
“A curse.” Nibs holds his blade at the witch’s throat. “A nasty one at that.”
The witch’s eyes grow wide, her pupils huge as she glares at me. “What is this? You should be a wee piggy!”
“You tried to turn me into a pig?” I get to my feet with Coy’s help.
“There’s something off about you, girl. Something wrong.” She tries to move toward me, but Nibs holds her fast. “You aren’t what she told me you’d be.”
“What who told you?” My head’s spinning a little as I take another deep breath.
“Ari, what are you talking about?”
“She lied. Lied to me. The bitch,” she hisses. “Our deal is off. Done. She promised me I could return to the sea, to my home. Lies. No more deals. No more contracts. I should’ve learned the first time.” She looks past us to the water. “Never again. Never.”
“Who did you make a deal with, Ari?” Coy presses.
“It was—” Her lips clamp tight, and the slightest golden aura shines around her mouth.
“She can’t say. It’s part of the agreement, I’m sure.” Coy sighs. “I think I know who it was. Let her go, Nibs.”
“Never again.” She’s still staring at the waves. “I’m doomed to stay here on land. Forever. Trapped.”
I know she just tried to turn me into a pig, but I can’t help but feel sorry for her. The depth of agony in her voice, the way tears are rolling down her wrinkled cheeks—it moves me. “Don’t hurt her.”
Her eyes snap to me, surprise in their watery depths.
“She tried to curse Moira.” Nibs doesn’t move. “We should finish her.”
“Moira?” Coy asks me. “What do you want us to do?”
“Never to feel the feather touch of seaweed or swim with my sisters of the deep. Never. Never again. Tricked. Again, tricked.” Her eyes are on the surf as she sobs, her body shaking with grief. Then she turns to me, her watery eyes seeking mine. “Let them kill me, girl. Let them.”
I can’t help the pity I feel for her. She’s desperate, her sadness like an oil coating her skin and poisoning her mind. “Let her go.”
Nibs’s mouth falls open, his eyes widening. “Moira, you can’t—”
“Let her go.” Coy pushes Nibs’s knife hand down and away from Ari’s throat. “I’ll have a word with Tink when we get back.”
“Tinker Bell?” I spin on Coy. “She did this?”