Neverland

Chapter Twenty-Four

For the next few days, we try to escape without success. Hook creates footholds along the dirt wall, but overnight the holds vanish.

I feels so broken without my magic, so lost and confused. A void inside of me that is unfilled. Hook says that there is a chance that some magic may return to me, but none has yet. I focus harder than ever; I need the magic to come back.

My head rests on the muddy floor. Some water leaks into the confinement and streaks on my face. I can hear Hook kicking away at the wall. I roll over to see the stone covering up above. My fingers dance over my ragged clothes, quickly fixing them. I stop and realize what I am doing. Magic.

The cut Hook gave me burns blue. Blood flows out of the wound again, but instead of red, it's the color of my veins.

"Hook," I say hoarsely. My voice has had little use these past few days. He turns slowly, his eyes widening as he rushes over.

"Some magic is returning to you," he says excitedly. "That means Jack hasn't been able to take hold yet. There is still hope."

"Yes, you always need to believe," I say with an edge of mockery. Hook nods solemnly.

"Right you are, mate," he says. Hook positions himself behind me. The blood flows freely, drenching my arm and shirt.

"Keep it steady," Hook coaches. "Let the magic come to you." The blood becomes a sort of paste that is sticky on my skin. "Channel your emotions into an object." Right. My hatred for Jack. I imagine the prison being blasted to smithereens. I hate confinement. If I spend a day longer in this cell, my sanity will be gone.

An explosion sounds in my ears. the next thing I see is the forest before me. Hook coughs loudly, trying to clear the smoke and debris. I feel wobbly and weak. That required so much energy.

A boy steps out from behind a tree. Hook draws his dagger, whereas I hold my hands ready warily.

"Stop" the boys says. "I have a message from Jack."

"Be ready," Hook whispers to me. I nod. We might have to fight at any moment. .

"He says he is almost through with the girl, Wendy," the boy states. "She will be returned to you by sunset." Hook and I both look up to see the sun high in the sky. Sunset is hours away.

"So you are not even going to fight us?" I say, still looking up. "We just escaped from your prison." I drop my gaze and see that the boy has vanished.

I can feel some magic streaming back into me, surging me with power. I want to fight, to kill, to destroy, but i sit with Hook as we wait for sunset. Hook tells me a plan to get out of here. I listen quietly, my mind slowly wandering.

The sun sets the sky on fire, but it leaves as quickly as it comes. Sunset is past, and Wendy has not been returned.

Hook changes our strategy, forming it around on saving Wendy. Our new first priority.

"Careful, mate," he tells me. "Your magic is unreliable." I nod in answer.

After twilight, when the only colors are black and dark blue, we take the plan into action. Like Hook said, my magic is still unstable, so I comb through my section of the woods with caution. Hook is searching the other half. I has been far longer than the time of Wendy's return now.

The plan is simple: find Wendy without dying, regroup, and then destroy the spirit of Neverland once and for all. Even if it means killing my brother. The place I am in prevents me from seeing all I need to see. Frustrated, I try to fly again with no success. With the little magic I have, though, is useful for looking into the night. Neverland does not have as many trees grouped together, which is a disadvantage to myself.

One tree looks very much like the renewing tree in Neverland, that is, when the tree has just been reborn. A small, hardly noticeable mound of dirt rests near the tree. Someone must have recently dug or buried something to create that sort of lump. The earth is easy to move away, so easy it almost seems strange. At the bottom of the hole are two weapons: my sword and a dagger. The knife must be Wendy's. I slide my sword into the cover and stash the other weapon into Wendy's satchel.

Jack wanted me to find my sword, I am sure of it. But why? Trap or not, I am taking everything I've got that can kill Jack. I move more silently than ever through the forest, sure I am being watched. A flicker of lightning illuminates the dark world for an instant, followed by the sound of thunder. I shiver and remember how the smallest thunderstorms would frighten me. Those years, hiding out in strange places, running from peacekeepers, me never able to stand up for myself, my brother the same.