Neverland

Chapter Six

I first got into trouble with the peacekeepers two years ago. It was a girl who led me to offend the law, I had wanted to impress her, and as a result, I was in prison for two months. The girl was so persuasive, yet I knew I was getting into trouble. Girls are nothing but trouble. The day I got out was the day I swore to never trust girls. Tinkerbell was a girl I despised most of all, and look what happened to her. A lesson to everyone.

The girls are being forced out of the safety of the Lost. I make sure every one of them are gone. I'm not sure what my Lost Boys now think of me, but I like my new-found power. Every since I became leader, Lyam has become second to me.

"The girls are finding magic left from Tinkerbell," Lyam informs me. I nod.

"Good job, Lyam," I say. "The girls want to play with magic, fine, we'll play with magic."

I tell James to watch for the girls. For the past few days, with their knowledge, the Lost Boys have been gathering hidden magic left behind by Tinkerbell. I was sure we had found it all.

Lyam follows me as I let my magic guide me I figured out how to make a path visible to no one but me It has come in handy as I track things. I almost laugh when I see where the blue dust stops. A few paces in front of me is the old tree where Lyam and I were imprisoned. a perfect hiding place, going somewhere no one wants to go. I leav over the edge.

"Hello," I call down. "It's Peter Pan. I want to play with your 'new magic'." I hear scampering below and I smile. This is so easy, but I can't get too cocky.

"After you," I say to Lyam, gesturing to the hollow opening in the tree. Without hesitation, Lyam slides down. I slide too, sending magic to catch Lyam and I before we crumple to the ground.

It's seems too good to be true, like finding a hidden treasure. I touch the ground, with Lyam to the right of me. Pressed up against the dirt wall are the girls, all eleven of them. I can smell their fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I promise. "Just send you away." The girl in the middle, Martha, I think, steps forward with one hand raised, as if about to cast some magic. She is obviously inexperienced. I wave my hand, and all eleven girls vanish with a pop.

"What... what did you do?" Lyam asks nervously. I turn to face him.

"Honestly, Lyam, I thought you knew that I don't kill more than necessary," I say. I've only killed one person though, er, one former fairy. "Come, I'll show you where I sent them."

I blow some blue dust on Lyam. We fly up through the tunnel and out above the highest trees. I take the lead and soar to where the sand meets the water. I gently touch the ground.

"I don't see them," Lyam says.

"Be patient," I assure him. "They will appear soon." While I wait, I finger my dark green clothes. When I use magic, the huge leaves make quite an amazing cloth. With the warm weather, I keep the sleeves short, but the trousers are fitted and end at my ankles. I hate getting cuts, and there are loads of thorns in Neverland. The new clothing is so much better for flying. It's not baggy and doesn't rip easily, as my clothes did when I was back in my original world. The water bubbles, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"This is it, Lyam," I say. "Ah, yes, here they are. They've probably come to show me their 'predicament'." I see their faces and hair, which is now twisted with seashells and coral. The waves recede, revealing their new forms.

"Their... their...." Lyam says.

"Mermaids," I finish.

"Amazing," Lyam says, crouching down. "I've never seen one before."

"And the benefit for us with them being mermaids," I say satisfied. "It that they can't speak our language. The moment I turned them into mermaids, mermaid cultures and languages were implanted in their brains. I can speak their language, however, and suit them to my needs."

"How remarkable," Lyam says. I nod approvingly. Some of my best work, and I am surprised it worked so well. I've never tried to change someone into a mermaid before. Lyam attempts to step closer, but I hold him back.

"These are not ordinary mermaids," I explain. "Their song is very powerful and will lead you to certain death."

"Right." Lyam nods. A mermaid chitters at me in her language, saying, What have you done?

"Don't worry," I chitter back. "In a few minutes, you won't remember who you were."

"They won't?" Lyam asks.

"It's all part of my curse to them," I say. "They won't live miserably."

"How... considerate," Lyam says. I narrow my eyes down at him.

"What was that, Lyam," I say. "Are you suggesting, a different fate?" I raise my hands up.

"No, no," he says. "Not at all, Peter." I lower my hands and grin wickedly, which I have become more accustomed to. I put my hand on Lyam's shoulder."

"Good man," I say. "Time to redirect my orders."

"To what, Peter?" Lyam asks. Both of us rise in the air.

"We need to make sure that no one can leave without my permission," I say. I shoot off in the air. Lyam follows my lead. I still can't believe that I didn't believe in magic. Magic is now a part of me, something I've finally unlocked. Lyam told me that the magic was something he had never seen. It appeared when I came to Neverland. This magic is mine.

The wind rushes in my face, and I relish it. I relish being free and wild and being feared.

The feared one is always the one with power.