Neverland

Chapter Nine

In the morning I do find the severed hand. There is nothing in the clenched fist. I use my magic to see if the hair was found, and by my results I assume that Lyam now has access to magic.

I fly to Skull Rock to think some things through. Skull Rock is a chance for peace and quiet, as is Dark Ridge, but Skull Rock is my hidden treasure.

The sky is light with the little sun peeking out. It barely outlines the dark rock. There is something different about Skull Rock. Near the bottom, water flows through a large opening, as usual. The mouth of the skull. A ledge forms along each side of the water, which leads to the highest point in Skull Rock. In the center, is something that has not been there before. The rock combined together is now white. Pure white. Not a speck of the regular dark rock on it. I try to step on the white circle, and something throws me back. Magic. Someone's been in Skull Rock.

My attention rivets to the sea. The blue green water shimmers. I can make out the mermaids swimming about. Another thing has taken to the water. The ship docked near the waterfalls in no longer there. Instead, it has taken sail. I did not give anyone permission to leave Neverland. Then I realize how careless I'd been. My magic restraint did not cover someone. Lyam.

He is aboard the Jolly Roger.

The Lost Boys are silent when I touch the ground at camp. I look around, and none of the boys meet my eyes.

"Samuel," I say. I can the boys, but I cannot see him. "Where's Samuel?"

"He's gone," Charles answers. "Along with James and Malcolm. They've gone with Lyam."

"And he has a new weapon," one boys puts in. "A silver hook. Lyam is now proclaiming himself as Captain Hook."

"Captain Hook," I muse. "So fitting. What does that make him... a pirate? Yes, that's it. The captain of a ship. With a hook, no less!"

"Pan, there's one more thing," another boy says. "Lyam is stirring up the mermaids. They may not have memories of their former life, but their hatred for you is still there."

"I almost joined Lyam myself," one whispers to another. I whirl on the boy and snap my fingers, taking away Neverland's magic from him. The boy crumbles into dust before he can scream, and is blown away. The Lost Boys hold their breath. They have never seen their leader like this. I am more tense and alive than I have ever been. I am raging mad. Deathly mad. I am ready to kill.

I wonder if this is how Tinkerbell felt, powerful and dangerous at the same time. If these boys were afraid of Miss Bell, then they are terrified of me. I turn my back on the Lost Boys and start to the jungle. The air explodes.

The magic shield around the camp shatters. The bonfire is reduced to glowing embers, barely alive. Rain begins to fall from a cloudless sky. The mermaids are attacking. Lyam, Hook, must be overseeing the magical activities, as the mermaids are unable to walk on land. The Lost Boys draw their bows and spears. Fire erupts on the trees. The flames spread quickly. A burning branch falls above me. I soar out of the way, but not before I receive a burn across my face. With trembling fingers, I touch the burn. It's already blistering. The pain snaps me back to reality.

"Hook!" I roar. Knife drawn, I fly to the ship. The Jolly Roger is farther than I thought, clear out in the horizon. I stop in midair. Is he leaving Neverland? Back there, back in the real world, Hook will age. My curse will be on him. So will the curse of Neverland. I don't know how it all works, but I do know that everything in the real world will go wrong. He most likely will not survive.

Three are dead from Hook's attack. I think he wanted to slow me down, but this has made me push forward. The burn on my face stings, but is already healing faster with my magic. I start to mull over why my magic is blue. Tinkerbell's was green, and mine is blue. To add to this mystery, the magic appeared to be waiting for me. Or was it just there all along?

"Everything will fall. I give my gift to you." Those were Tinkerbell's last words. With no one to consult with, no one to trust, I pace through Skull Rock and talk to myself. It sounds mad, but it works.

"Did she mean that as a warning?" I ask myself. "Was that her gift to me? Or were they two separate things all together?" So many questions, with so few answers. As Peter Pan, I am expected to know these things, but I am still the last one to come to Neverland. I haven't allowed my Lost Boys to bring anyone new, at least, not yet.

After a month, I get tired of waiting for Hook to return, so I venture into the Black Jungle to take my mind of things. The Black Jungle was dark even before Tinkerbell arrived, and it was given its name.

The deeper I get, the more excited I become. Maybe somewhere hidden is some monster, like a manticore. Or a centaur. Or a crocodile. Oh how I would love to get my hands on one of those. After I kill the crocodile, the skin would make an excellent leather grip for my knife.

I don't find a crocodile, but I do find a white rock with a pointed tip. The stone is about thirty centimeters long and is razor sharp. I fashion a new weapon, a sword. This weapon seems to fit me better than the dagger, giving me extended reach, but still better than a spear. I bury the knife in the ground up to the handle, and it sticks there, but not before it tears through something.

Lifting the knife, I see the parchment caught on the blade. The parchment is brittle and yellow, it obviously years and years old. The knife tore through the top corner, leaving a diagonal slash. I studied the parchment. It's a map. It must lead to something important. There is some inscription on the bottom, in a language I cannot understand.

"Decipher," I whisper. I blow on the parchment. The map glows blue for a moment, and I watch the characters switch until I can read.

"Pixie dust?" I say. Then I understand. "Pixie dust!" Tinkerbell was a fairy, or in other words, a pixie. This map must lead to where she got her magic from. Oh, I definitely believe in magic.

"Lead me." I enact my tracking magic. The parchment glows blue again, but this time, it keeps the color. It floats in the air, and takes off. I grin and fly to keep up the map.