Captain James Hook and the Siege of Neverland (7 page)

“And the people?” I asked.
 

“The savages?” Bertilak said.
 
“Worse than the beasts.
 
They hunt with vengeance.”

“That’s good,” I said.
 

A queer look ran across Bertilak’s face.
 

I waved my hand and explained, “You can’t seek vengeance for something that is forgotten moments after it happens.”

The knight looked at each man at the table, then shook his head.
 

“There’s a
Forgetting
that happens in Neverland,” I said, a little confused.
 
“Certainly you and your men have noticed it.”
 

“For example,” Starkey said.
 
“You said earlier that Englishmen like us need not worry here.
 
What do you remember about England?”
 

The knight chewed loudly as the question hung in the air.
 
He drank another sip of the berry wine and wiped his mouth.
 
“Only the word and that it was home.
 
Everything else is a fog.”
 

“See, that makes no sense to me at all,” Starkey said.
 
“If memories fade away here, which is absurd, how do you know about the beasts and the savages in Neverland?”

“We keep everything that happens on the island,” a voice said from the side of the dining hall.
 
We turned and, for a breath, I thought it was Emily.
 
A heartbeat pushed her dying moments to the forefront of my mind.
 
The beat passed.
 

“Good sirs, this is my wife, Gabriel,” Bertilak said.
 

The woman approached and we stood in respect.
 
Smee took off his hat.
 

“Welcome to our home, courteous knights,” Gabriel said.
 
Her eyes passed over each of us but lingered on me a second longer than the others.
 
She sat and we did the same.

“Forgive me, my lady,” Starkey said.
 
“But if what you say is right, how do you ride a horse or cook food?
 
Skills are learned experiences and, since no one seems to age around here, I’m certain that you learned those skills from before.”
 

“We’ve learned to stop asking questions,” Bertilak said.
 

“That is the worst offense of all,” I said by reflex.
 
The whole table quieted, but I pressed anyway.
 
“That’s as bad as being one of Peter’s children.”

“By my faith, I was wondering when we were going to get to him,” Bertilak said.
 
“Tell me, Captain, what is your business with Peter Pan?”

“Unfinished.”
 

Bertilak smiled.
 
“As is mine.”
 

“So what do you propose we do about him?”
 

“You would ally yourself so quickly?” Bertilak asked.
 

“We don’t intend to be here long.”

“No one does.”
 
He drank the last bit of wine, then placed the cup on the table.
 
“I have found that overwhelming force works nicely.”
 

“Yet the boy still lives.”

“That is true, but you will not see him in these halls,” Bertilak said.
 
He leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach.
 
“Trust in me, Captain, you and your men are quite safe from Peter Pan here.
 
You could stand to learn patience.”
 

“I learned patience before Neverland,” I told him.
 
“I’m unsure how much longer I’ll keep it.”

“Beg your pardon,” Smee said, “but you bring your wife to a fight?”
 

“Every pair of hands is needed here,” Bertilak said.
 
He picked up a small cup and drizzled a thick syrup on his plate, then poured some on Smee’s plate as well.
 
Smee opened his mouth to speak, but Bertilak quieted him with a look.
 
“Try this on your fruit.”

Smee looked at the others, then bit a piece of the syrup-covered berry.
 
His face lit up and he barely swallowed before speaking.
 

“It’s molasses!”

“It comes from the sap of the trees on the near side of the island,” Bertilak said.

“Have you yeast?” Smee asked.

“We make bread, yes.”

“Then we can make rum!”

“Rum?” the knight repeated.

“Oh, yes,” Cecco said.
 
“It’s a magical drink, stronger than wine or ale.”

Bertilak laughed deeply.
 
He folded his napkin and tossed it down onto his plate.
 
“How many barrels of food do you need?”

“One is fine,” I said.
 

“Come, Captain.
 
You have men to feed and I have more here than I can use.”

“We’ll be needing water,” Smee said.
 

“Water is in abundance no matter when you seek it,” Bertilak said.
 
“The falls are fresh and flow day and night.”

“Regardless of rain or weather?” Starkey asked.
 

“Yes,” Gabriel said.
 
“Like we’ve said, we’ve learned to stop asking questions.”

We walked out to the courtyard and found two of Bertilak’s servants hammering lids onto three upright barrels.
 
The men took little notice of us, but stood aside as Bertilak stepped through the archway.
 

Smee walked towards the barrels, but I held an arm out to stop him.
 

“I agreed to one barrel,” I said.

“So much is going to happen to you here that you will not want to happen,” Bertilak said.
 
He dismissed his servants with a wave and the two men disappeared into the keep.
 
“Learn to accept the good that comes as well.”
 

“And if I only take one as we agreed?”

“Then you will be choosing between wine, salted meat, and dried fruit.
 
The food will keep for weeks and is a good start for a hungry crew, Captain.”
 

I stood between pride and duty and yielded to the latter.
 
A broad smile stretched across Bertilak’s face and the knight slapped the top of one barrel with the palm of his hand.
 

Bertilak whistled and the same two servants spilled out of the keep and loaded the barrels onto a cart.
 

We walked alongside the carriage as Bertilak led us through the forest.
 
Again, the knight wore no armor and carried only a cumbersome, single-bladed axe.
 
Noodler thumbed his knife twice and, both times, I held him back with a look.
 
We stepped out onto the shoreline just feet from the yawl.
 
Jukes, Cecco, and Noodler lifted the barrels off of the carriage and loaded them onto the ship.
 

“It is good to meet a courteous and honorable man, Captain,” Bertilak said with practiced formality.
 
He looked off to the distance at the
Jolly Roger
.
 
“You have a splendid ship.”

“Many thanks, my good knight,” I said.
 
“Your hospitality is as gracious as your castle is stately.”

All joviality drained from the knight’s face and his voice grew sober and quiet.
 
“Return soon.
 
Together we can set this place right.”
 
He bowed his head and turned back to his carriage.
 
He vanished into the Crescent Wood moments later and we were left alone with our thoughts.
 

“Never seen a knight before,” Cecco said.
 

“How could you have?” I said.
 
“That system of knighthood died three hundred years before you were born.”
 

“Perhaps this island housed a culture of people who held to the old traditions,” Starkey said.
 
“Surely, without outside influence or the need to sail, life continued the way that they knew for generations.”
 

“Mr. Starkey, you are so smart that you are fooling yourself,” I said.
 
“He is here for the same reason we are.”
 

“And he’s been at it for how long?” Smee said.
 
“We should look so good at six hundred.”

“Why is he still alive?” Jukes asked in a way that made it clear to me that he wasn’t talking about Bertilak’s old age.

“He knows the island and gave us these barrels,” I said.

“And if the supplies are spoiled or, worse, poisoned?” Starkey asked.
 
“That’d be a sure way to thin our numbers.”

“We’ll trust him until he gives us a reason not to,” I said.

“The field of dead bodies wasn’t enough?” Billy Jukes asked.

“And how many men have you killed?” I asked him.
 
Jukes huffed and shook his head.
 

Our sails billowed and the yawl pushed through the bay toward the
Jolly Roger
.
 
I gave into temptation and looked over the side of the boat.
 
Schools of blue and gold fish darted in and out of the coral reef ahead of a silver eel that bolted after them like lightening.
 
A thin cloud of red appeared, then that, too, was gone.
 
I searched for my mermaid, but her midnight hair and piercing stare were no where to be found.
 
I lifted my eyes from the water, disappointed.
 

A ringing cut through the still air, followed by gunfire.
 
We stood in practiced alertness.
 
Our eyes focused on the brigantine and watched as a small green figure circled and dove at the ship.
 
Long moments passed in silence.
 
More shots echoed over the water and the speck of green worked its way out of a porthole and up into the clouds.
 

Chapter Seven

“This is how it’s going to be from now until our deaths,” Starkey said.
 
“Beset on all sides.”

“There be ways to beat this,” Cecco said.
 

“I’m listening,” Starkey said.
 

The Italian opened his mouth to answer, but said nothing.
 
His eyes met the
Jolly Roger
and he waved at the ship.
 
Two men waved back.
 

“Who is on the main deck?” I asked.

“Robert Mullins…” Cecco said, then squinted.
 
“Mason is with him, as are Collazo, Dover, Del Buono, Fast, Mather, Peterson, and Koch.
 
All loyal, as far as I can tell.
 
Skylights is on the forecastle deck with Turley and Cookson.”
 
He sighed and made a face at Starkey, who nodded.
 

“Turley and Cookson,” Smee repeated.
 

“It makes sense,” Starkey said.
 
“They escaped from the same prison.”

“Off the Barbary?” Jukes asked.
 
“Skylights and Turley were there easily ten years before Cookson.”

“A place like that binds men closer than their birthplaces,” I said, looking at Jukes.
 
“It is not a sure bet, but those three are a good place to start.
 
What about the others?
 
Doherty?”

“Doherty couldn’t find his ass with both hands,” Smee said.
 

“Where’s Gulley?” Noodler asked.

“That’s right,” Starkey said.
 
“Phillip Gulley was the guard who helped Skylights and Charles Turley escape.”

Cecco looked over the ship again, then turned to me and shook his head.
 
“He must be below deck.”

“With Scourie, Jack Elroy, Ed Teynte, and the Black,” Smee said.

“The man is Brazilian, Smee,” I scolded.
 
“His name is Gustavo and, if he is being courted by the other side, you had better learn it.”
 

“Aye, Captain,” said Smee.
 
“Either way, that’s a lot we don’t know about.”

“We do nothing differently until we know for sure,” I said, looking to each of them to be sure that my order was heard and understood.
 
“And don’t ask about Pan’s attack.
 
Let them come to us with a report.”

We sailed up to the
Jolly Roger
with smiles and a hardy “yo ho!”
 
Elroy answered the call and the sandy hair of Ed Teynte appeared at the railing.
 
He threw a rope down and Billy Jukes caught it.
 
He tugged on it once then hoisted himself to the deck of the ship hand over hand, using his feet only once to brace himself against the hull.
 
When he was clear, I wrapped my hand around the rope and tugged twice.
 
Jukes pulled me up in smooth, quick movements.
 

The crew made short work of securing the yawl, but they swarmed around Smee as soon as the barrels hit the main deck.
 
The stout Irishman spun and drew his sword.
 

“Back off, you scurvy dogs,” he shouted.
 
Several of the men retreated to the other side of the ship.
 
“These are to be weighed and rationed before a single bite is taken or you’ll feel Johnny Corkscrew!”
 

Jack Elroy came up to me, but I held a hand up to stop him.
 
“One moment, Mr. Elroy.”
 
I pried the lid off of one barrel.
 
“Maybe just a taste, Mr. Smee.”

“Aye, Captain,” Smee said.
 

I pulled out four long strips of croc meat and threw three of them to the men on the forecastle deck.
 
Turley, Skylights, and Cookson caught and ate them hungrily.
 
I watched them for a full minute, then bit the piece in my hand and smirked at Starkey.
 
“Seems fine to me.”