Death in Neverland: Book 1 in The Neverland Trilogy (The Neverland Series)

by Heather C. Myers

  Nick’s fingers tightened their hold on the captain despite his arms screaming in protest at having to hold Peter’s body up for so long and without any help from Peter himself.

  “You harmed her?” Nick’s words were low and deadly, his dark eyes black.

  “Nick, we do not have time for this.” It was, surprisingly enough, Giselle who had spoken, and she had a tone that rarely ever tainted her voice: impatience. “If Remy is still up there and she needs medical attention, then we must get to her now.”

  This seemed to amuse Peter because he laughed once again. Nick frowned in disgust and tossed him down in the dirt. Again, no complaints sprang from Peter’s lips about his attire. In fact, Peter was still laughing.

  “Yes, go Nick,” Peter said through laughter. “Please. She won’t be alone, I’m afraid. I’m sure you know James Hook? Well, he seemed very interested in your bonny lass to the point of agreeing to trade your life – whatever I want to do with you – if I found her and gave her to him. He wasn’t too happy to find her tied to a chair and beaten, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they?”

  So this was why Peter seemed drunk with insanity. James Hook was going to punish Peter for failing him, for specifically going against his orders. As much as Nick hated to admit it, there was a tiny swell of pity for the man still lying in the dirt without a care about his person. And at that moment, Nick realized there was nothing he could do that would top whatever it was that James had in mind for Peter, and as such, Nick’s own revenge was unneeded, unwarranted, and now, undesired. Like the world toppling off his shoulders, Nick was free. Relaxed.

  And he had to get to Remy before James did anything.

  Without another word, he dashed into the inn, his crew right behind him. He ignored the cries of protests, the exclamation that the back was certainly not the entrance, that if he didn’t have a room, he wasn’t allowed upstairs, and everything else they tossed at him. The only thing on his mind was Remy. He had to get to Remy.

  ***

  “First,” James began, “why don’t we start with something simple: what are you? I have my own opinion, of course, but hearing it from you would just clarify it.”

  Remy was not sure what to do. She refused to reveal herself to Peter Pan on the pretense that she was certain that he would somehow use that to his advantage. Perhaps the captain would try and take her life away from her in order to give himself life, as the man she had encountered during her last visit here did. But James was already ruler of The Other World. And, technically speaking, he was still very much alive. He had not died and received his place. In fact, he was taken from his life and planted in this one, much like she was.

  “I am alive,” she murmured. It was rather foolish to trust him, especially when she knew how dangerous he was, but something compelled her to do it.

  Her eyes sculpted James’s face, but he gave nothing away.

  “As I thought,” was his own reply. “You have this effect on souls…” He began to use his right hand to gesture – an action Remy did not believe James engaged in often – and somehow that simple action was still as graceful as he was. “I cannot explain it, but they stop and stare at you. They are drawn to you, Remy Cutler, to the point where they will defy their soul’s calling and go to you, rather than their final resting place.”

  Remy swallowed, unsure how to respond. She really wanted to stand up; her backside was starting to get sore from remaining in this chair for so long, and yet she was paralyzed by the man before her. She could not move, though she desperately wanted to.

  “Do you know what that means?” he asked her. His eyes had never left hers, and honestly, she could not remember the last time she blinked.

  She shook her head. Still, she could not speak.

  “It means,” he said slowly, “that you are the most powerful person in The Underworld. The Magistrate and myself might run our respective worlds, the Creator might have created this place, and Nick might transport the souls, but you influence them. They go to you, and you do not even have to call them.”

  “What does that mean?” Her voice perhaps sounded a bit strained, but at least it did not shake. She knew she was still a girl, but she wanted to appear as womanly as she possibly could in front of this man.

  “It means that you control them, if you so choose.”

  “I do not want to control anyone,” Remy said. She was not sure if it was because the ordeal she had just suffered through or if it was because she was trying to be so mature in front of James who, like the souls he rules, probably only sees her for her alluring abilities that could not help but possess, but suddenly, her plan of acting older than her age disappeared as words started to pour from her mouth. “I did not even want to be here. One minute, I am about to be harmed by these sailors in the storage room on their ship, the next, I find myself on Nick’s ship because he saved me. He saved me from an untimely death by bringing me where souls go when their person dies. I never asked for this attention. I never meant to upset the balance of this place. I just am. I am just here. And I apologize, but I cannot change this. I cannot change who I am. I have already tried leaving, but returning home is impossible. I am here, and I do not know for how long.”

  Surprisingly enough, James did not say one word during Remy’s little tirade. Instead, he simply stared at her with those blue eyes, his head cocked to the side as though he was studying her. For what, Remy could not say, but she was more than certain he noticed the blush that was beginning to taint her skin.

  A lady did not shout or whine or complain, and somehow, Remy managed to do those three forbiddens in one outburst. He did not seem upset with her, however, at her lack of etiquette. He seemed… curious. Whatever that meant.

  “And what of our dear friend, Captain Grey,” James asked. There was indeterminable edge to his normally silky voice, but this time, Remy refused to ask incessant questions.

  “What of him?” She was thankful her voice sounded more like her own, that the intimidation she originally felt for this man was beginning to fade. No, that did not mean she was any more comfortable in his presence, at this proximity, but it did mean she was starting to relax. And, it would seem, realize just how tired she was.

  “Do you love him?” he asked. His voice was nonchalant, as if he were merely asking about the weather and not her affection for Nick.

  “Excuse me?” She was certain that the furrow in her brow was not granting her face a rather attractive look on her face, but she could not help herself.

  “Surely a woman as beautiful as you knows of the emotion love.”

  Normally, Remy’s heart would have constricted at the use of his diction, that he called her a woman and that he called her beautiful. But his tone indicated that he was not paying her a compliment, he was merely stating what he thought was a fact. Instead of feeling elated, she began to feel frustrated.

  “Of course I know what love is,” she snapped without meaning to. “What I do not understand is why you care whether I feel the emotion for Captain Grey.”

  There was an unreadable look that touched James’s face, but just as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared into something calm and hidden once more.

  “Captain Grey saved your life,” James stated. Remy felt herself begin to bristle at the fact that he was so obviously ignoring his question, but he continued. “It would only be logical that you might want to save his life in return.”

  “I do not understand how that has to do with love,” Remy replied, arching a brow.

  “Some people need to feel something for the person they are about to save,” James said. “Others do not. I am merely trying to figure out which category you fall into.”

  “You are speaking in riddles!” Again, she had not meant to shout, but her frustration had reached another one of its limits. “If you have something to ask of me, ask it. I am too tired and my head hurts too much for me to try and decipher what it is you are trying to tell me.”

  Another smile fluttered across James
’s lips, looking as gentle as a lover’s kiss, but it was not tender. Rather, he looked amused, and Remy gave up caring as to why. Instead, she looked up at him rather expectantly. The numbness that had once blocked out the pain prior was now beginning to fade and Remy knew that soon, she would be hurting much more than she already was. She would rather not wait for James’s question very long.

  “I want you.”

  Remy’s mouth dropped open so her lips formed a small ‘o.’ Out of everything James could possibly ask of her – technically speaking, he did not even ask her, really, but merely informed her of what he wanted from her – Remy was not expecting that that would be the request.

  “You can help me,” he continued when it was obvious Remy was not ready to reply. The truth was, of course, that Remy had no idea as to how to reply to that. “And I can help you. We can both benefit each other.”

  “And how can you help me?” Remy asked. She did not mean for her voice to sound flat, but she could not help it, really.

  “I am ruler of The Other World,” James explained. His tone was not condescending as Remy expected it would be. “Anything I want, I get. Which means that anything you should happen to desire, you will get.”

  Remy swallowed. It was another thing she had no control over. Not when he was looking at her with those penetrating eyes, the way his lips formed over the word ‘desire,’ and especially the way his voice sounded saying the word. She could not help, though, but feel slightly disappointed. He did not want her for his own, of course, but like everyone else, seemed intent on using her as well. The only benefit was that he was willing to give her something in return.

  James grinned – quite different from his amused smile in that this one seemed smug and mischievous, all meshed together – as though he knew exactly what Remy was thinking.

  “You are not planning to kill me, are you?” This time, Remy intended her voice to be flat.

  “Kill you?” James did look genuinely confused, but upon seeing the seriousness on Remy’s face, abruptly shook his head. “Killing you would do me no good. No. I do not intend to kill you or harm you. If you choose to come with me, freely, I can offer you the greatest protection a person can offer down here.”

  At that moment, the door burst open, and there was the blonde woman that stood next to James the first time Remy had ever seen him, along with Adele, Giselle, Calum, Edward, and Nick.

  Nick!

  And he did not look injured in the slightest.

  Before Remy could blink, James arranged his position so he was standing in front of Remy, preventing Nick from reaching her.

  “I’m sorry, but we’re discussing a matter,” James informed everyone – save for the blonde, who stood off to James’s side – in a conversational tone. And then added, with a bit more edge, “Privately.”

  “No,” Nick said. His eyes were as dark as Remy had ever seen them – not that she could see them anymore, what with James in front of her – and she could feel the tension radiating from his body. “She’s coming with us. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

  Remy assumed Nick tried to push James out of the way, but he did not move. “Actually, no, I do not excuse you,” he said.

  “Excuse me,” the woman tried. Remy glanced over at her. She seemed to be trying to get Aleksaner’s attention without interfering.

  “You cannot take her,” Nick growled, curling his fingers into fists. “I will not let you.”

  “It is her choice if she wants to go with me,” James said. Again, there was that edge to his normally calm, soft-spoken voice. Somehow, the edge did not affect the silkiness of it.

  “Excuse me.” This time, the woman’s voice was sharp enough to silence the room. She blinked when she realized she had everyone’s attention, cleared her voice, and then said, “Captain Pan is nowhere to be found.” Her English was accented, but not unattractive. “He did not return to the ship, sir.”

  Remy’s heart hastened with its beats. That meant that Captain Pan was still free, still looking for Nick. She was certain the man still wanted his revenge on Nick and would do nearly anything to get it, even defy the ruler of The Other World.

  “Mister Hook,” she said, her voice thick with urgency. He whipped around; somehow, his eyes knew exactly where her own were because he locked with them the minute his back was towards Nick. From the corner of her eye, she saw James’s first mate (a feeble guess on Remy’s part) slide in front of him in order to protect him. “Can you offer Nick protection?”

  “What?” Nick demanded. “No, Remy, do not” –

  “Yes,” James said, seeming to understand exactly what it was Remy wanted to know. “For as long as you are with me, I promise that no harm shall come to Nick, his crew, and his ship unless he breaks the law and is caught by Guards.”

  “Captain Pan still works for the Magistrate, as far as I know,” Remy pointed out. Goodness, her head was starting to hurt…

  “Yes.” A pause. “But Pan will not harm him. The crew. You have my word.”

  Nick, along with Adele, were yelling things, probably trying to talk her out of what she was about to do, but Remy did not seem to hear them. All she could see were James’s eyes, trying to decipher if she could trust him.

  She really did not have much of a choice, did she.

  And then, she said, “Let me talk to Nick.”

  For the briefest of moments, worry touched James’s face, but it vanished quickly, and he nodded, stepping away from her in order to give her view of the pirate captain.

  “Remy…”

  The way Nick’s voice said her name caused Remy’s heart to break just a little, but only reinstated that this was what she had to do, despite the pain.

  “You have done so much for me,” she said. Her voice was strained due to the pain, but she forced herself to speak all that she wanted to say. “I can hardly repay you. But I can do this for you. And I will.”

  “Please…” His eyes were so dark and so deep. Remy did not think she ever heard Nick say please in all the time she knew him. “Do not do this. I can protect you.”

  “You must protect yourself and your crew.” Her eyes were misting, and Remy knew it was not due to the pain. “And I will protect you just like you have protected me. But this is my decision, Nick. Do not let it be in vain.” She was a coward because she looked at James at that moment, avoiding the sadness that seeped into Nick’s eyes. “I will go with you.”

  The pain was beginning to be too much. Remy could barely hear Nick threaten James if the ruler allowed any harm to come to her. Slowly her eyes closed.

  Perhaps this was what it was like to become a lady. It was not wearing pretty dresses, getting married, and having children, but rather making the right decision no matter the pain said decision comes with.

  And then, Remy’s world went black.

  Want to find out what happens next?

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