A PIRATE'S TREASURE

Chapter 18

Back on the island, James kept to a slim trail that Peter Pan gave to him. At this rate, it's going to take a whole day to get to the spring.

The deeper he went into the jungle he heard his name. It was like a whisper so he ignored it at first. But then again and he stopped in his tracks. He knew the voice all too well.

    James

He ran off the trail following the voice. James could see her long blonde hair loose down her back. She turned around with a shine in her eyes as she smiled back at James.

    "My love, come here."

It was as if he was in a trance as he moved forward involuntary. She grabbed his hand and it was cold to the touch but his mind wasn't exactly registering what was happening. He was just so happy to see his wife.

     "Come back home my love."

She then kissed him and it was like he never left. James had a quick glance around and he was back home in the garden. He felt the sun hitting his face, the sweet scent of flowers around. Then a smooth touch of her skin as she skimmed her hand across his cheek. He just smiled back down at her kissing her passionately and so lost in the kiss he didn't see past the facade that was around him. He was being dragged to the water by a siren working with Pan. The jungle just helped with what his wife looked like to get him to come for his first test. So far he was losing as the siren was dragging him down the lake.

James coughed up water in his kiss but Jenny brought him back down for more. But he couldn't focus anymore because he couldn't breathe. All around James, the picture was becoming fuzzy and his wife's face was distorted. The facade was breaking as the images were all fading around and he was faced with a mermaid who was about to strike James down while she had the upper hand. But James quickly grabbed his sword stabbing it into the mermaid while he swam up for a gasp of air.

He lazily dragged himself to shore so tired of what he just experienced. He's heard of sirens from his grandfather's stories but he's never seen one so close.

Their beauty dragging you down into the water and loving you to death. But James was confused about how one took the form of his wife. He's never heard of sirens having that sort of power.

     "Oh wow, you're still alive."

James looked up seeing a smiling Peter Pan hovering over his body.

    "What in the hell-"

    "I told you to stick to the path. "

     "Was any of it real then?"

Peter looked in the water to see a pool of blood rising to the top of the water.

    "Of course it was. I guess I forgot to mention the mermaids that reside here as well. Beware of the temptation."

     "So I really did kill one."

Peter just shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal. Before his family, this wouldn't have affected James. He's no saint but it's been so long since he's murdered anyone...or anything.

     "Just another beautiful face lost to the world. Oh well."

     "How can you be so cruel?"

     "Me? I'm not the one that stuck their sword into a defenseless creature. It's only in their nature to do what they do, but you could've chosen differently. Remember that."

Peter then took off watching James look out to the water seeing the blood wash up onshore.

    I had no other choice; it was her or me and I'm not ready to die yet.