Chapter 6
Chapter
Six
Leaning on the doorframe of the round building, I stare out into the dark.
The trees in the village are ringed with platforms, and long ropes hang here and there.
I hadn’t even noticed the homes in the trees the first time I came here.
Now, though, I’m much more familiar with the Guardians.
There are more here than I’d imagined. A whole civilization of people sworn to protect Neverland.
The island’s mysteries don’t seem to bother them. They bother me plenty.
“How’s the coffee?” Tiger Lily walks toward me from one of the smaller huts, which I now know is the kitchen.
“Perfect. Thanks.” In truth, it doesn’t taste quite like coffee, but I’ve forgotten what the sludge in the caf was like. Whatever the Guardians serve me is probably better.
“You’ve been up and around quite a bit.” She looks me up and down.
“I’m ready.”
She crosses her arms. For the past two nights, I’ve made a big show of walking around the camp—being careful not to limp—and talking to people. I need to get to the Fairy Village, but if that’s going to happen, I have to show Tiger Lily I’m not going to keel over on the trip there.
“You aren’t ready, Moira.”
“I am.” I hold my arms out and spin for her. “See? Like a ballerina with all this balance and poise.”
She reaches out with two fingers and pushes at my shoulder.
I sway backwards and grab onto the doorframe.
“Not ready.” She sighs.
“I still have to go, Tiger Lily.” I regain my balance, my feet already aching from the pressure on my wounds. “The longer I stay here, the more danger I put all of you in.”
“We aren’t scared of Peter or the Lost Boys, not now that we know the truth.” She swipes the dark cascade of her hair over one shoulder. “If anything, we’re angry. Peter has been lying to us for so long. The elders and I are in agreement—Peter is an enemy to us and to the island.”
“Look, I know you’re brave.” I lean a little harder on the wood. “You’re brave in a way I only w—hope I could be.”
She nods at my hasty avoidance of the w-word. “You’re brave, Moira.”
“I’m not. When Hook first took me and jumped into the sea with me in his arms—nuts, I know. He told me then to be brave. I’m anything but. I’m scared of Peter. Hell, I’m scared of Hook.”
She dips her chin a little, her gaze more direct.
“Okay, not scared of Hook, not like that, not like I am of Peter. But he’s still an unknown quantity to me. What if he hurt my mother? I can’t forgive that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. But I also want you to be honest with yourself.” She takes me by the shoulders, her cream-colored sarong flowing out behind her. “You were brave enough to save yourself from Peter.”
“I had help.”
“You were brave enough to open your heart to Hook,” she says softly.
I sigh, her words like a knife to my gut. “Why does he have to be so … bad? Villainous? Evil?”
She presses her forehead to mine. “That’s precisely what drew you to him, and what drew him to you. Two sides of the same coin.” She pulls back.
“Tiger Lily?” I know I shouldn’t be asking this.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
She smiles tightly, her lips thinning into a line. “A long, long time ago. I’m afraid it’s not a story I like to tell.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” She glances behind me. “Shiner’s here with lunch. Rest some more, and we’ll talk later about when you’ll have the strength to make the voyage.”
It’s not the answer I wanted, but I suppose I have to take it. “Okay.”
I walk back to my cot and plop down.
Shiner hands me a plate as she gets settled in by the fire. Cobweb and Wraith are already finishing off their food and poking at the berry dessert.
“Valinx is doing us proud today.” Shiner forks a pile of greens from her plate and stuffs them into her mouth. “So good. Hey—” She peers at my plate. “Is he still giving you extra?”
I shrug. “He likes me. I went by and chatted him up the first day I went walking around. Honestly, I’ve yet to meet a cook who doesn’t take a liking to me.”
“Probably because they pity how weak you loo—Ow! What?” Cobweb yells when Wraith elbows her in the ribs.
“It’s okay. I know I’m not in top form.” I try not to think too much about my appearance, but it’s hard when I see my hands.
The backs of them are so strange now, like a grandmother’s hands got transplanted onto me.
Splotchy with veins and sinew that poke up from beneath thin skin, they make me glad I haven’t seen a mirror anywhere in this village.
I don’t know how many more stories Peter had me tell while I was roofied, but from the looks of it, it was plenty.
“You’ve gotten stronger.” Shiner uses her fork to point at my hands. “Those bandages are almost ready to come off.”
“I don’t mind them,” I say quickly.
They all look at me curiously.
“It’s just—” I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud. “I like not being able to see the backs of my hands all the time. They’re … scary.”
“Pffft.” Shiner scoops up a piece of her dessert. “It’s not that bad. I’ve seen way worse.”
“Me too,” Wraith chimes in.
I know what he’s talking about. I’ve seen Ari, too, the way she seems almost folded in on herself. From the way he spoke of her, she must’ve been a great beauty. But now, she’s like me, a husk of the person she was.
“I once saw that boatswain Widow when she’d been cursed for sleeping with a witch’s man.” Cobweb shudders. “It was the stuff nightmares are made of. When I saw her at Hook’s place, I was shocked she managed to get back to her normal form.”
“The witch fixed her after they handled the asshole who’d played them both.
” I cheat ahead to dessert, too, scooping some of the crimson berries onto my fork.
They’re not neverberries, thank heavens.
They’re sweeter with a hidden tartness you get on the back end.
I’d have to say they’re my favorite berry on the island.
Cobweb whistles. “I would’ve loved to see what they did to that bloke. Cheating on a witch is a bad idea, but crossing one of Blackbeard’s crew is probably even dumber. That crew was so fierce. The only one that rivals it is Hook’s. He’s the cruelest bastard on the sea now that Black—Hey!”
Wraith glares at her.
“She can talk about Hook.” I adopt a nonchalant tone, one I hope isn’t obviously fake. “I’m not mad.”
“Mmhmm.” Shiner grins. “You don’t care if we call him the nastiest son of a bitch under the moon?”
I scrape my fork across my plate. “Nope. Don’t care.”
Cobweb leans forward. “What if I said he was a whoreson’s whoreson with a cowardly streak a mile wide?”
“That … that wouldn’t matter to me.” I run my tongue along the front of my teeth.
Shiner nods. “What if I said Hook is the worst, lily-livered—”
“Okay, look.” I slam my fork down. “I don’t know how I feel about Hook right now, but I do know that he is one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.
He protected me, took care of me, and put me first at all times when we were together.
” I clamp my mouth shut and feel my cheeks begin to heat.
Why can’t I just play it cool? Not to mention, why am I defending the monster who hurt my mother?
They all smile, and Shiner shakes her head at me. “You’re too easy to goad, Moira. Takes all the fun out of it.”
“Like I said, I don’t know what I feel for him.” I give up on my food and set my plate down. “I can’t tell what he is—a villain or a …”
“A lover. Maybe he can be both.” Shiner grabs my plate and hands it back to me. “Eat. Valinx will feel bad if he sees you only ate a little.”
“Ugh.” I take the plate back. She’s right.
I don’t want to upset Valinx. Now I’m irritated with myself for being so readable—Shiner knew just what to say to get me eating again.
I’m a creature of guilt, always have been, and I never want to put anyone else out.
I’ve always thought of that as a good part of my personality, but maybe it’s actually holding me back.
“Stop doing introspection. It makes everything weird,” Wraith intones.
“I’m not,” I say a little too sharply.
Cobweb snickers.
“You all don’t know me.” I keep eating, taking a big bite of what reminds me of fried tofu. “Don’t act like you can read me like a book. I have tons of mystery.”
“Sure, sure.” Shiner nods, clearly trying to pacify me.
“I mean it!” I finish my berries.
“Yes, very mysterious.” Wraith smirks.
I’m surrounded by assholes.
“I’ll have you know—”
A scream cuts through my oncoming tirade, and Bunk runs into the round house, a sword in his hand. “Lost Boys!”
My body goes cold, and I whip my head around to stare at the doorway, fully expecting Peter to stride through it.
Shiner, Cobweb, and Wraith are already moving, following Bunk out into the night. There’s barely a moon, the sky full of clouds after raining on and off for the past few hours.
“Stay put.” Tiger Lily rushes from the dark hallway, a bow in her hand and a sword strapped across her back. “We’ll handle this.”
I want to curl into the fetal position, become small and hide. The thought of Peter makes my skin prickle, like a million spiders racing all over my body. My stomach churns and I rise to my feet on wobbly knees.
Hurrying to the back wall, I pull out a short sword I’d stowed behind one of the barrels. I don’t think Tiger Lily would’ve taken it from me, but I didn’t want to test that theory.
Pressing my back against the wall, I just try to breathe, to push down the rising terror. It doesn’t work, and my stomach lurches, threatening to spill its contents. I swallow hard and focus on the sounds outside. No more screams. Only silence. But I see shadows roaming outside in the dark.
I can’t move. Peter’s shadow could come for me at any second. My breath catches, and I can’t seem to think. I can only stare, dread rising inside me like the tide carrying a body ashore.