Captain James Hook and the Siege of Neverland (16 page)

Clouds rolled in, darkening the already difficult path.
 
The trees were covered in moss and ivy that reached above a man’s head and the mud sucked my boots up to the heel.
   

She led him between the vines and over hills and he followed, though not as gracefully.
 
Tiger Lily shrieked a laugh, then hopped over a fallen log and landed on a pile of leaves without the hint of a crackle.
 
The boy talked equally as loud as he trudged through every twig and branch.
 
I trained my ears to their amusement and kept my distance for several more yards.
 

Then all noise stopped.
 

I crept close enough to see them between trees some twenty yards away.
 
The girl spoke too quietly for me to make out any of her words.
 
The boy whooped and hidden figures whooped in response.
 
One boy stepped out from behind a tree and cheered.
 
Another boy did the same.
 
And another.
 
Soon, Tiger Lily and the boy were surrounded by the Lost Boys, fists in the air and smiles across their dirty, gaunt faces.
 

The clouds pulled away like a sheet and a warm sun kissed everything with heat and light.
 
A shout of “Wahoo!” came from above them.
 
Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys fell silent and looked to the sky as one.
 
A steady beat pounded in my ears as I watched.
 

Peter Pan swooped down onto a low branch and called again at the Lost Boys.
 
The boys raised their weapons high above their heads and shouted.
 
Even Tiger Lily cheered him, pointing her dagger skyward.
 

The boy at Tiger Lily’s side ran up to Peter and called out to him.
 
Pan bowed, then looked at him curiously as the boy continued talking.
 
Peter’s eyes widened and he darted back and forth while listening to the boy’s story.
 

I felt for my pistol and drew it without a sound.
 
I braced the upper part of my right arm against a tree and laid the barrel of my pistol over the crook of my elbow.
 
I aimed for three breaths and began squeezing the trigger.
 

Then a light appeared around Peter Pan.
 
The fairy swirled all about him, seemingly whipped up in all of the celebration.
 
It fired off little bolts and sparks and the children applauded in shrill squeals.
 
I pulled back behind the tree and assessed my situation.
 
Outnumbered.
 
Outgunned.
 
Minus one hand and one hook.
 
I tucked the pistol into my belt and walked back the way I came.
 

I took four steps before I was face to face with Tiger Lily.
 

“Why are you following me?” the girl asked, angry.
 

“I knew you could lead me to him.”

“Why didn’t you give him what you owe him?”

“I didn’t have it with me,” I said.
 
“I’ll repay him soon.”
 

The girl’s brow and nose scrunched.
 
“You want to hurt him.”
 

“Yes.”

“You are no better than Sewati,” she said.
 
“He hates him.
 
Hotah Ohanzee this and Hotah Ohanzee that.”
 
Her hands motioned wildly and her voice cracked.
 
I started to worry that our conversation would draw attention.
 

“Maybe we can talk more about your brother back at the camp.”

“Maybe,” Tiger Lily said.
 
“Maybe no.
 
Maybe I leave you here with your deception.”
 

I laughed.
 

“Why is there laughing?” she said more angrily than before.
 
Her dark eyes sharpened.
 

“My little princess,” I said.
 
“I have been more truthful with you than with any man I have known in a long time.”
 

“Even the green man?” she asked.
 

“Yes,” I said, remembering my night with Gabriel.
 
“I have been dishonest with him.”
 

“Dishonest?” she repeated.
 

“It is a form of deception,” I said.
 
“Deception is like hiding something and hoping no one sees it.
 
Dishonesty is telling someone that something isn’t there when it really is.”

“Deception you do.
 
Dishonest you say,” she said.
 

I nodded with a shrug.
 
“Mostly.”

The muscles in her face relaxed and her shoulders dropped slightly.
 
She turned in the direction of the camp and looked back at me.
 
“Come.”
 

Without the pain of injury from a one hundred foot fall, I kept up with Tiger Lily more deftly.
 
Logs, vines, and bushes were all just terrain now, not barriers.
 
I decided to knock down a few more barriers while my mind was clear.
 
“Were your Spirits always the same?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did they always act so quickly?” I asked.
 
“Were they always the way they are now?”

Tiger Lily paused for a breath.
 
Her face twisted and she shook her head.
 
“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know or you don’t remember?”

“I know things used to be different, but I don’t remember how.”
 
She started forward again.
 
“Sewati says he does, but he can’t either.
 
No one does, not even father.”
 

“But you recite your history,” I said.
 

“Words and song,” she said.
 
“Anything more is dark and hard to see through like a cloud all around you.”
   

“Do your Spirits always come when you sing for them?”

“No,” she said.
 
“Sometimes they don’t come.
 
Sometimes they come and do horrible things.
 
One time, a woman was having a baby.
 
We called the Spirits to bless the birth.
 
A Spirit came and saw the woman in pain, so it took the baby from the woman and carried it away, high into the air, and dropped it into the sea.
 
We were very sad.”
 
She looked at me and sighed.
 
“Today was a good day with the Spirits.”

“We called them fairies where I am from,” I said.
 
“They can do great things for you, if they like you.
 
I’ve heard stories of fairies turning poor souls into princesses and bringing great fortune to those who deserve it.
 
There is something of value to them, if they can be directed.”

“No one controls the Spirits,” Tiger Lily said.
 

“That’s exactly it,” I said.
 
“Anyone who tries to direct them always winds up on the wrong end of their attention.
 
A man doesn’t have to do anything to earn their ire.
 
He just has to be present when they turn and they always turn.”
 

We continued walking for several moments in silence.
 
Voices from the camp rose as we approached.
 

“It saddens me to hear about the baby,” I said.
 
“Fairies only have room in their minds for one thought at a time, so they feel in extremes.
 
Hateful, lustful, or hungry, if a fairy feels something, they feel it all the way and you don’t want to be around when that happens.”

“How do you know so much about our Spirits?” Tiger Lily asked.
 
“Who told you all of this?”

I seethed.
 
“Peter Pan told me this when I was young.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

“I met Peter Pan for the first time when I was a boy.
 
At first, I was excited and thrilled with the idea of adventure,” I said, stunned by how open I was being with this child.
 
I paused for a breath, then decided to continue.
 
“Little by little, my time with him took things from me.
 
I grew up and I now see Pan for what he is.
 
He’s chaos.
 
He is a creature of the now, without regard for what came before and not a single thought for what his actions will bring.”
 
I looked at her and saw the mixture of doubt and understanding on her face.
 
“Your brother would understand.”
 

As I said this, Bear Claw shouted above the others.
 
Tiger Lily’s head perked up and I watched her expression change from alertness to shock, then finally anger.
 
She sprinted ahead to the camp.
 
I broke into the clearing and found her talking with her father and brother.
 

“What is going on?” I asked.
 

“My brother has returned with news about the great fire,” she said.
 
“Sewati went to find out what happened.
 
The green man came up from ashes and killed three more of our tribe.
 
He was at the center of where the fire started.
 
We think that he was the one who started it.”

“That’s a solid guess,” I said.
 
“How long ago did this happen?”

“Just now,” she said.
 
“He’s trying to convince father to attack the castle.”
 

Tiger Lily talked to her father and brother for several heartbeats.
 
Her brother motioned wildly and her father shook his head.
 
She pleaded and her father shook his head again.
 

“There is a way in behind the waterfall,” I said finally.
 

Tiger Lily held her hand up and silenced her tribesmen.
 
“How do you know this?”

“I’ve been in the castle before,” I said, realizing that I was opening myself up to many more questions.
 
“My men are still inside.
 
If Bertilak… the green man hasn’t returned yet, then they’re probably still alive.”
 

“Your men aren’t our concern.”

“Neither is your tribe my concern,” I said.
 
“We can rid ourselves of a mutual problem.”
 

She talked to them and, this time, her father nodded.
 

Her brother walked over and locked eyes with me.
 
He said something in their language and stared for several moments.
 
He spoke again and the one she called Little Panther brought their ceremonial pipe with him.
 
The small warrior handed Bear Claw the pipe and he offered it to me, along with a few more words.

“My brother says that you are very brave.”

“Men like he and I aren’t given much choice,” I said, taking the pipe.
 
Still looking into the painted warrior’s eyes, I pointed toward the mountain.
 
“First Bertilak.”
 
I then pointed to the sky.
 
“Then Peter Pan.”
 

The warrior’s eyes narrowed and he smiled.
 

“How soon are we leaving?” I asked Tiger Lily.
 
Silence greeted me as an answer.
 
I turned and caught a glimpse of her between the trees, followed closely by several warriors.

I checked my pistols, sword, and knives, then marched after them to the castle.
 

Chapter Fourteen

The moonless night pulled a dark curtain over the forest.
 
The mountain gave off a faint glow, but not enough of one to light a path or even allow me to see more than a yard ahead.
 
The half dozen warriors flowed through the forest as I snapped and crunched every branch and dead leaf I crossed.
 
I huffed in frustration and continued south, keeping the mountain on my right side and being careful to avoid the flashing dots of light that danced in the night.
 

A hand slipped from the darkness and grabbed my wrist.
 
Tiger Lily leaned in close enough for me to see her and pointed me onward.
 
It was hard enough following her when I was hurt.
 
I now saw how kind she was being, allowing me to see her at all.
 

The trees broke and I came upon the party, waiting and annoyed.
 
The mountain glowed stronger here and Tiger Lily talked quietly with her brother.
 
They stopped when I stepped into the rocky clearing as if I could understand them.
 

Tiger Lily looked at me, then up the mountainside.
 
“We’ll go up, then around the mountain and behind the water,” she said.
 
I followed her gaze to where the overhangs coiled south, roughly ninety yards from where we stood.
 
Two warriors stood on rocks that stacked up the side of the mountain.
 
Little Panther and one I didn’t recognize had already started the climb, hunched over onto their hands and feet.
 
Water crashed in the distance and I nodded my understanding.
 

Bear Claw signaled to his warriors and they pounced onto the mountain.
 
Tiger Lily followed, only a half-step slower.
 
I bit down on my knife and scrambled after them, hand over forearm, for several minutes before the grips became fewer.
 
The mountain grew steep, varying between forty-five and sixty degrees at points.
 
Knowing these numbers didn’t help me climb, but they did soothe my nerves.