by R. V. Bowman
Rommy smiled and winked. “Those fish girls have nothing on me,” she said.
Tiger Lily pushed to her feet. “It is settled then,” she said. “We will get the fish weed, and then we will meet the rest at the beach.”
Rommy, Finn, and Alice stood up, too. Little Owl followed them to the door. Rommy hugged the older woman tightly. “Are you sure you won’t come with us?” she whispered in the older woman’s ear.
Little Owl patted her back. “No, Child, but I thank you.” She pulled back from Rommy and looked deep into her eyes. “You have the good and true heart of a warrior. Don’t forget that, no matter where life leads you.”
Rommy blinked back tears.
“I won’t,” she said.
Before she had stepped back fully, Alice threw her arms around Little Owl’s waist. The older woman bent and kissed the top of the little girl’s head. “Blessings on your journey, Little One.” Alice sniffled loudly and swiped a hand across her eyes.
“I wish you was goin’ with us,” she said. “But you ain’t got a place back in our world, do you?”
Little Owl smiled and put a finger under Alice’s chin. “No, I don’t,” she said. “Your wisdom will take you far.”
Over her head, the old woman’s eyes found Finn’s. “Don’t let pride keep you from the home your heart has found.” He ducked his head and reached out awkwardly to pat the older woman’s shoulder.
Rommy blinked back more tears, and before they could fall, she took Alice’s hand. “Let’s let Tiger Lily say goodbye without an audience.”
She, Alice, and Finn stepped out of the tent. The sun had set long ago. Rommy looked up at the lavender moon. The stars were starting to wink on, their soft song humming in the breeze. It was hard to believe that by this time tomorrow she might be on her way back to London. Despite the beauty here, she wouldn’t miss it. Well, maybe the singing stars.
Chapter 23:
Death by Plant
Rommy hovered halfway up the cliff face. Tiger Lily, who couldn’t fly, was clinging to the rock face, her feet wedged into separate niches in the rock and her hand gripping an outcropping. She pointed to a nearby plant. The quarter moon gave enough light to see the greenish-blue vine that was wrapped around another plant.
Unfortunately, that plant held blood-red flowers that were all too familiar to Rommy. On her first day in Neverland, she had watched one of those blooms ingest a small bird. The image still made her shudder.
“What do you...”
Tiger Lily put her finger to her lips. “Keep your voice low,” she said. “We do not want to wake the blood lilies.”
Rommy made a face. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, her voice lowered to a whisper.
“You need to unwrap the fish weed, and I’ll cut it off,” she said. “It would be best if the lilies do not wake.”
Rommy nodded. She flew closer, her hand hovering next to a lily’s thick stem. Drawing in a breath, she found the top of the fish weed—right next to a lily blossom almost as big as her forearm. Great. Just great.
She gingerly worked her finger under the edge of the fish weed vine and started to uncoil it from the other plant’s stem. The blossom shifted, and Rommy froze. She didn’t move until it was completely still again.
Carefully, she returned to unwinding the tiny vine. She got all the way to the end, and Tiger Lily leaned over and snipped the vine off, putting it in a bag at her waist. She nodded to the next plant. Rommy repeated the process with three more vines. Besides a few twitches that had Rommy’s heart in her throat, the blossoms slumbered on.
As she started on the fourth vine, some of the tension in her shoulders released. It seemed as long as she was careful, the plants wouldn’t bother them.
“How much of this do we need?” Rommy asked, her voice soft.
Tiger Lily shifted, getting a better grip. Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “A lot more than we have,” she said. “You need to move faster.”
Rommy frowned at her. She couldn’t help thinking about the remaining leaf in her pocket. Being able to wish the fish weed into Tiger Lily’s bag would be a lot quicker, not to mention less stressful. But she couldn’t see how she’d be able to do that without explaining the leaves to Tiger Lily. The older girl had proven to be an unexpected ally, but Rommy wasn’t ready to entrust the other girl with her biggest secret.
“I’m trying,” Rommy said, “but this fish weed isn’t the easiest thing to get off of here. With this moon, it’s a little hard to see the end of the vines.”
Tiger Lily gave a terse nod. “Just go as fast as you can.”
Rommy finished unwrapping the last of the vines on the blood lily in front of her. After Tiger Lily had cut it off and put in the bag with the rest, she tucked her blade away and moved sideways toward another plant.
Slowly the two girls made their way around the cliff face. Rommy carefully unwound the fish weed vine, and Tiger Lily would cut it off and put it in her bag. Rommy had lost track of the number of plants they had divested of the tiny vine, but it felt like she had been unwinding plants for half the night. She had no idea how Tiger Lily moved from place to place or what kind of strength it took to keep holding on for this long. A few places had rocky outcroppings large enough for the older to girl to perch, but still.
“One more,” said Tiger Lily, nodding at a plant that clung higher than the rest. The cliff face almost seemed to bend outward, and Rommy didn’t know how in the world Tiger Lily thought she could climb up there and hold on. Despite Rommy’s misgivings, Tiger Lily crawled over the cliff face like a spider, her feet and hands unerringly finding the right holds.
This plant was bigger than the rest. Instead of the three to five large blossoms the other plants had, this one had at least seven. Rommy had shed her nerves after the second plant. She quickly got to work on the first vine. She had almost completely unwound it when the blossom twitched. Her fingers stilled as she waited for it to settle again.
When she resumed her unwinding, the blossom and its neighbor shivered. Rommy glanced at Tiger Lily.
“Keep going,” the older girl hissed at her. “We need those vines.”
Rommy hesitated and then started gently untwisting the fish weed. Without any warning, the blossom attached to the stem twisted toward her, its petals opening and closing. She jerked back. Several of the other blossoms began to shiver and shake back and forth.
Tiger Lily leaned away from the plant that was now lunging in her direction. “Sing,” she said.
Rommy stared at her. “Sing? What am I supposed to sing?”
“Just do it,” said Tiger Lily through gritted teeth. She had swung backward out of the blossoms’ reach, but she had had to take one foot off the rock to do it. Her body hung at a precarious angle.
Rommy sang the first song that popped into her mind which was her school’s song. It was an upbeat, march-like tune. The blossoms began to wag in time to the beat of the song, but they didn’t look any less awake. In fact, now all but one of the blossoms were waving back and forth.
Tiger Lily glared at Rommy. “Don’t you know anything softer?” she asked.
Rommy’s mind went completely blank, and she stopped singing.
The blossoms shook themselves back and forth and then began lunging at both Rommy and Tiger Lily. Rommy could easily avoid them, but Tiger Lily wasn’t so lucky. She had put her knife between her teeth and was trying to scramble, crab-like, away from the plant.
Rommy started to hum mindlessly in an effort to calm the flower, but it was too late. The message must have traveled through the roots to the other plants because now they were all waking up across the cliff face. Tiger Lily was hemmed in on all sides by lunging flowers, and they still needed more vines.
“Hang on,” said Rommy. She pulled her own dagger out and approached the waving blossoms. If she could just get in there and cut it off by the root, Tiger Lily could climb to safety, and they’d have the vines they needed.
Rommy darted forward,
and a blossom narrowly missed closing on her arm. She sliced at it and it shrank back, but another blossom attacked from below. It closed over her foot. She felt a sharp pain but slashed downward, aiming her dagger at the root. The blossom attached to her foot loosened and fell to the sand below.
The other blossoms start writhing in a fury, and Rommy reached in again, her dagger separating the plant from its roots.
A scream pierced the air, and Rommy whirled in time to see Tiger Lily’s hand slip off the rock she was clinging to. Her arms cartwheeled as she began to fall.
Rommy reached out and grabbed the other girl’s hand. Her weight dragged them both toward the beach below. Rommy dropped her own dagger, and using her other hand, grabbed Tiger Lily’s wrist, flying upward as hard as she could. Their descent slowed and then stopped.
By this time, Tiger Lily had wrapped her other hand around Rommy’s. Slowly and with great effort Rommy lowered them both down to the pink sand below. When they touched down, both of their legs gave out, and they collapsed on the sand.
A soft thwack sounded to her right. When Rommy looked over, the blood lily lay on the sand, its blooms limp.
She turned to look at Tiger Lily. “At least we have the vines we need.”
All the other girl could manage was a nod before she covered her face with shaking hands.
Rommy left Tiger Lily to recover while she went to retrieve her dagger and get the rest of the fish weed.
Once she was done, she returned to where Tiger Lily now sat. She put her hand on the older girl’s shoulder. “Are you all right?” she asked.
Tiger Lily nodded. “I...Thank you,” she said. “I thought I was going to meet my ancestors.”
Rommy let out a shaky laugh. The adrenaline had drained away, and she was trembling. “Yes, well, I thought we were both goners there for a moment, but we made it.” She held up a half dozen fish weed vines. “And we got what we needed.” She handed them over to Tiger Lily who put them in her bag. “How long do these last, anyway?”
Tiger Lily shrugged. “It depends on how fresh they are and how strong the plant was that was hosting it.”
Rommy smiled. “Then I want the ones from that last plant,” she said.
Her mouth tipped up in a smile, Tiger Lily said, “If the spirits smile on us, we will have about half an hour. If they don’t...” She shrugged again.
“Do you think that will be long enough?”
Tiger Lily met her eyes. “It will have to be.”
A wave of exhaustion swept over Rommy. “We should probably rest while we can.” She looked up at the sky. The stars were still shining brightly. “I don’t know how long it is until sunrise, but the others will be here soon.”
Tiger Lily didn’t say anything, but she started to gather the sand until a small mound was heaped up on the sand. Seeing Rommy staring at her, Tiger Lily pointed. “A few hours rest will help, and the sand is soft.”
Rommy followed her example to make her own pink heap of sand. Lying down, she pillowed her head in her arms. Tiger Lily’s even breathing told her the other girl had dropped off to sleep. The water made a rhythmic sound as it washed onto shore, and the stars were singing overhead. It was the last thing Rommy heard.
Chapter 24:
Like a Bad Penny
It was still dark when Rommy felt someone shaking her shoulder. She blinked open her eyes. In the dim light, Francie’s face came into view. A sense of déjà vu swept over Rommy. For a moment, she was back at Chattingham’s before this whole adventure had started. Little had she known when she sneaked out everything that awaited her outside the gates of her boarding school.
Rommy sat up and rubbed her eyes. The last of the stars winked out as she watched, its song fading away. She got to her feet. The others were already up and waiting. Rommy’s eyes ran over those gathered. She and Francie were from upper-class London. Finn and Alice were from the lower class. The Lost Boys were most likely from a mix of middle and upper classes, and then there was Tiger Lily with her copper skin, black eyes, and even blacker hair. Add in four fairies, and it was an odd assortment by anyone’s assessment.
Tiger Lily was kneeling with the others surrounding her. She was pulling out tendrils of fish weed. She handed a wad to Finn and turned to Rommy, another wad in her hand.
“Wait until right before you go into the water,” she said. “As I told you, this only lasts so long. I gave you enough so that you can chew a second wad if you need it.”
Rommy stared down at the tangled strings of blue-green vines. She wondered how it worked, and if she’d end up with gills or fins.
Francie put her hands on her hips. “Why can’t I help?” she asked. She looked at Rommy. “You know I can swim, and you need me. Finn said there are three mermaids, so three of us besides you should go.” She tossed her black curls over her shoulder.
Ever since she had rescued Francie, there had been a hum of tension between them. Besides Francie’s overt flirting with Finn, Francie seemed different here. Back at Chattingham’s, Francie was always on Rommy’s side. Now Rommy wasn’t so sure. She looked at her friend’s snapping dark eyes and wondered which one of them had changed more.
Holding up a hand, she said, “I know you’re a marvelous swimmer, Francie, but this is different. You haven’t met the mermaids. They aren’t like the stories we’ve read.”
Francie crossed her arms. “I know that! I’m not stupid. You’ve all been talking about how to get around them, and Finn was telling me how vicious they can be.”
Rommy pushed down her irritation. “This isn’t a game we’re playing. Those mermaids will try to kill you.” She shook her head. “No, Francie, you can’t go. It’s too risky.”
Francie stepped closer to Rommy and jutted her chin out. “Who died and put you in charge, anyway? How come you get to say who does what?”
Finn pushed between them and put a restraining hand on Francie’s arm. “Rommy is the one that almost died, more’n once, and this is her quest. Unilisi talked to her, not us, and certainly not you,” said Finn.
Francie jerked her arm away. The look she gave Rommy was a combination of hurt and anger.
“Fine,” she said and plopped down on a rock. “I’d rather stay here, anyway.”
“Francie,” said Rommy starting toward her, but Alice grabbed her arm.
“Let her stew,” she said. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry.” She pointed toward the horizon, which showed a faint glow.
Rommy sighed and looked over at her friend who had turned further away, her back stiff. They’d have to settle things later.
She, Finn, and Tiger Lily walked toward the water. Rommy had taken off her boots. When the water began to lap at her feet, she shoved a wad of the plant into her mouth, tucking the rest into the pocket of her pants. She chewed and had to fight from gagging. The fish weed tasted like fish—very old, smelly fish. She kept chewing and forced herself to swallow.
She saw Finn and Tiger Lily lift their hands when suddenly a loud crowing sound carried to them on the breeze. Rommy’s eyes widened as she, Finn, and Tiger Lily spun toward the sound.
Peter Pan was flying toward them, the remaining Lost Boys in his wake. He landed on the beach, and before anyone could think to move, he had grabbed Walter.
“How rude!” he said. “After all, I’ve done for you, why would you leave?” He jerked Walter tighter and pulled his dirk.
Rommy heard Finn turn and splash back to shore. Tiger Lily also leaped toward the shore and knocked the bow and arrow out of a tall Lost Boy’s hands. Rommy thought it was Oscar, but she wasn’t sure because something was happening to her. She was breathing in, but her lungs started to scream for air. No matter how frantically she pulled in air, nothing seemed to be happening. She felt something tickle her neck, and her hand flew to the spot.
Small flaps were layered on either side. Gills. The fish weed had worked. Looking at the chaos on the beach, Rommy knew she didn’t have a choice. She had to go underwater, or she’d die. Of course,
she might die anyway. As she splashed forward and dove into the water, she thought she saw something catch the light off to her right.
Underwater, Rommy drew in a long breath through her nose. Salt water stung and brought tears to her eyes. For a moment, she thought Tiger Lily might have double-crossed them, but then air filled her lungs. She took in several more deep watery breaths, and the spinning in her head stopped.
She wasn’t sure where the Cave of Sighs was, but since it was a cave, she knew it couldn’t be in the center of the lagoon. It must be somewhere along the coast where the rocky cliffs embraced the lagoon waters.
Rommy found she could see as clearly underwater as on land. It must be the fish weed. As she rushed by a large tangle of purple and blue coral reef, she startled several fish. In her mind, she felt their surprise and a few pops of annoyance. Apparently, fish weed enabled you to do more than breathe underwater.
A golden light was starting to spread across the waves when she reached the far edge of the lagoon. It was dotted with caverns. There were at least four caves that were large enough that she couldn’t see to the back of them. As she examined them in turn, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw a mermaid with long black hair streaming behind her. Wasn’t her name Adela?
“Very good, Human,” said a voice in her head. “I’m surprised you remembered. Humans usually only worry about themselves.” The mermaid swam around Rommy, reminding her once again of a shark.
“Did you come to play?” another voice sounded in Rommy’s head. She twisted around to find the golden-haired mermaid Arista on her other side.
Rommy offered a smile. Now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Well, if you don’t know what you’re doing, we certainly don’t.” The blonde’s giggle flowed through the water. She turned to her sister. “I didn’t know humans had such open minds. This could be so much fun.” She circled closer to Rommy, who backed away, only to find herself bumping into Adela.