"And you being quiet makes you trustworthy?" Nick asked, and he sounded somewhat skeptical.
"You asked if I think I'm trustworthy," Magda said. "I'm telling you I know I am. What you choose to do with that information is up to you."
"Would you consider yourself loyal?"
"I would."
"Tell me, then, Tink. You're in a unique position right now. You have two captains you are loyal to. There's a good chance one captain is plotting to do something that clashes with the other." He took a step toward Magda, towering over her, crowding her personal space. She could feel her body tense up. "I want to trust you. Really, I do. I believe you're trustworthy, but only after you've decided who you're going to align yourself with. If I tell you my plan, I need to know you're not going to run off and tell Hook."
Though he did not ask a question, Nick still looked at Magda with an expectation of a response.
Magda did not respond right away. Nick made a good point, and good points usually deserved a moment of peace so clarity could wash over her and open her mind. She inhaled deeply, released her breath slowly. Repeated the action. After another three breaths, Magda looked up at Nick.
"I understand your concern," she told him. "I understand your hesitation. It's important for you to understand that James and I have a history. Not a romantic one." She paused, tilting her head. "It's much more complicated than that. He took me in when no one else would. To this day, I'm not sure why, but he did. He took me under his wing, he taught me more than I could ever hope to know. I'll never be able to repay him. Because of that, my loyalty to him is infinite. It cannot be broken unless he betrays me in some way." She paused to take a breath. She wanted to make sure her voice was strong and clear, her breathing even. "I want you to know that just because I'm sailing on your ship, underneath your flag, does not make me loyal to you. I do not know you very well, and I will admit that James sent me here to keep an eye on you, though he did not specify to what purpose."
Nick looked as though he wanted to interrupt, but Magda kept speaking, forcing him to remain silent.
"However," she said, "whether I want to admit it or not, you have earned my loyalty. You are a good captain, and, more than that, you are a good man, if a bit misguided. If you ask me to choose between you and James, at this moment, you will not win. But the choice would make me hesitate when before, I would not even blink."
Nick seemed to accept this answer without offense. He grinned. "I appreciate your honesty, Tink," he said.
"Perhaps I would choose you the moment you stopped referring me by that awful name," she remarked.
"Don't think I can do that," he said. "In fact, you should take my nickname for you as a compliment. I only refer to women as 'love' or 'darling.' You get an actual name."
"Stop," Magda said, though a chuckle skipped out of her mouth and past her defenses.
Nick suddenly turned serious, and she wondered what had happened that changed his demeanor so drastically. He was studying her so intently, his dark brown eyes vivid and sharp, that she felt a blush crawl slowly into her skin. She tried to decipher how he was looking at her - he did not seem angry or annoyed, nor frustrated or confused. He could not possibly be looking at her lustfully, either, not when he was in love with somebody else. The fact that she could not put a name to it made her heartbeat increase its pace, and she had to breathe in deep once more in hopes to slow it down. She shifted, uncomfortable with such blatant scrutiny, and bit the inside of her bottom lip.
Finally, she could not take it anymore and all but shouted, "What?"
Nick blinked, and shook his head like he was shaking himself out of some stupor. "I apologize," he said. "I was thinking of something else."
"Oh."
Magda did not know why she felt disappointment run through her veins. It was flat and tight and empty. She did not like it. Which just silly, because she should not care about what Nick was thinking. In fact, the fact that she did care was completely unexpected and she immediately banished the thought from her head. The feeling, however, still lingered.
“So,” he said, clapping his hands together and then rubbing his palms. “Let me tell you my plan, then.”
“Let’s hear it,” Magda agreed.
“You already know I intend to get Remy back,” he said. “However, I cannot leave my duty while I go off on a selfish endeavor. As such, you and I are going to pick up a small boat on Tenedor – the very reason why we are here, in fact – and leave Giselle captain of The Black Star. She and the rest of the crew will be headed to The Crossroads, depositing souls to their final resting place. You and I will be heading to The Alley, so I can pick up a few souls to take to The Other World.”
“Why do you need more souls?” Magda asked.
“I need souls for me,” Nick told her. “For us. If I have more than a few souls with us, we would be able to blend in. Think about it. Has there ever been just one soul deposited to The Other World?”
Magda shrugged. “I would not know,” she replied. Nick gave her a dry look. “Why not use some of the souls you already picked up? Why go immediately back to transporting them to The Crossroads when you could have used them for your own purposes? In fact, why stop off at Tenedor before dropping those souls off when there is risk of losing some…” Her eyes flashed. “You wanted to lose some. So you wouldn’t have to go back to The Alley.”
Nick grinned. “Perhaps,“ he admitted. “Tenedor is on the way to The Crossroads. If I don’t have to double-back and pick up more, I should not have to. Less work for me, fewer questions.”
“Is that the reason why you jumped back into work?”
“I did that because with another price for my head at yet another port, the safest thing for me to do is jump into work to show The Magistrate, Esmeralda, The Creator, and anyone else that I still take my job seriously.”
Magda nodded, looked out at the water. “So we came back to the Black Star to…” She pushed her brow up.
“To pick up supplies.” He gestured to a small, pitiful thing Magda could not even call a sailboat. “That’s where you and I will call home in a few hours.”
“You have got to be joking,” she commented, then shut her eyes. If she wanted to learn more about his plan, she needed to watch her mouth. “So we get to The Other World. Then what?”
“What do you mean, then what?” Nick asked, strolling over to her and leaning against the side of the ship.
“Certainly you have a plan on how to infiltrate James’s castle, grab Remy, and leave without any repercussions, correct?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Nick threw her his charm smile, his gold teeth twinkling in the light. “That’s where you come in, Tink,” he said.
Fifteen
Remy had no time to change. She was still only in a shift, her hair tumbling down her back like a wild lioness. Her hands shook so much, the book she had been reading was carelessly discarded, forgotten in the heap of books that made up James’s library. Speaking of James, he tugged on her so ferociously, she was certain her skin would bruise. Not that he intended it, of course, but it hurt nonetheless.
“Come,” he demanded, leaving the man who had tried to attack her? steal her away from James’s custody? behind without sparing him a second glance. “We must leave now.”
“Did you know him?” Remy wondered out loud, then flashed her colorful eyes up to his. He was not looking at her. His eyes were focused ahead of him, a plan formulating in his mind that very second. Which meant he had had no reason to expect an attack because he was ruler here. Which meant that whoever tried to attack her worked for someone just as powerful as James was. Which meant Remy was in danger.
Her heartbeat quickened, and she forced her feet to move faster. James had long legs, and it took two steps from her to match one from him. As such, she was all but dashing by the time he led her out of the castle and to the docks. Her entire body tensed. Pan. Pan must have been responsible for this. James Hook would have had guards placed everywher
e on the perimeter of his property. The only way through the back of the castle was by water, and the person in charge of housing boats was Peter Pan.
“Where’s Pan?”
James suddenly stopped in his tracks, just before they reached the wooden dock.
“What?” he asked, and he snapped at her without meaning to. He winced upon hearing his tone, but he did not take it back.
“Pan,” Remy repeated. “Peter Pan. The man who kidnapped me. He’s your dock master.”
“He is?” James looked perplexed at the notion. “I would never assign him to such an important position. Wouldn’t trust him to keep an eye on my flank.”
“Are you telling me you’re not in charge of assigning souls condemned to The Other World even though you rule over it?” Remy asked, and she could not keep the judgment from her tone if she tried.
“Magda is in charge of that!” James exclaimed, defensive. “What are you talking about? Was Peter here?”
“He was your dock master when we first arrived,” Remy explained. “How could you not have noticed? Do you not pay attention to your surroundings, or do you truly believe you are above threat?”
James did not answer but tugged her toward the ship.
“What about Pam?” Remy continued, nearly tripping over herself to keep up with him. “What about everyone else?”
“Pam will be here shortly,” he replied. “I’m not concerned about anyone else. The only person I’m concerned about is you. The man came after you. For what purpose, I do not know. That is what I need to figure out.”
“What you need to figure out is who you assigned to Magda’s duties while she is gone,” Remy returned.
Her comment caused James to stop, and Remy breathed a sigh of relief. It would appear he was actually listening to what she had to say.
“Pam,” he said slowly, his crystal blue eyes looking over at Remy. “Pam took over for Magda while she’s gone. I would not trust anyone else as your maid. Magda trained her herself. Pam was in charge of fixing souls to their duty for the duration of their punishment.”
“Pam?” Remy asked, shock and confusion tainting her face. Her brows wrinkled, her head tilted to the side, her eyes squinted. “She’s fourteen! How could you trust a fourteen-year-old with soul management?”
James gave Remy a dry look. “Fourteen-year-old girls are married off in your society, ripe and ready to push out children,” he pointed out. “Yet you’re questioning her mental capacity for management?” He interlocked his fingers together – they were long and sturdy, Remy noticed, though she refused to let her gaze linger for too long – and cocked his head. “Pam may have died as a young girl, but she’s been with my crew for centuries. Longer, even, than Magdalena. Her level of intelligence surpasses the majority of my crew, and they are all fully grown men. Pam would not betray me. I am certain of it.”
“Did you say Pam’s been with you longer than Magda?” Remy asked. “Why, then, are you closer to Magda? Why would you trust her more than you trust Pam?”
“I” - James stopped, closed his mouth. “What are you saying?”
“When Pam and I ran into Peter on the docks, she seemed as frightened by him as I was,” Remy said. “Looking back, I do not know how she could have faked such a genuine reaction.”
“Perhaps she didn’t,” James said. “Perhaps she did not assign Peter Pan as dock master, as I’ve been saying.”
“If not her, then who?” Remy asked, her voice rising as her passion increased. “Who else would have the ability to assign souls to positions in The Other World. It cannot be Magda. She is not here. You’re adamant that Pam did not do it, even though she is second to Magda.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” James pinched the bridge of his nose and then opened his eyes. “What is it that you’re insinuating here? I can detect it in your tone. You’re saying something without saying something. Do us both a favor and just say it.”
“What I’m saying is perhaps Pam was jealous of your relationship with Magdalena,” Remy said, looking at him like James should be bright enough to know this. “You said it yourself – Pam’s been with you longer. Therefore, she should have seniority over Magdalena, which she did not have. Perhaps, she was jealous and wanted revenge.”
“No, no, no.” James shook his head. It was the least composed Remy had ever seen him. “Pam would not do that. She understood what was going on between Magdalena and me. She knew what was expected of her. She knew what Magda was.”
“What?” Remy asked. “Magda is what?”
James opened his mouth, but decided better against it, and shut it. He looked trouble. Beautiful and troubled.
The thought came so quickly to Remy that she had not even realized it had flitted across her consciousness until it had already left its effect. She could not help but blush at the thought, which was silly since she knew James was beautiful. Such a thing was nothing new. What she did not understand was why she was feeling this odd bubbly feeling in her stomach. It made no sense.
“It is not for me to say what Magda is and what she is not,” James said, and he picked his eyes off of the wooden floor so they rested on Remy’s person. Her breath left her; it was almost as though he could see straight through her. And perhaps he could. “What matters is how someone was able to infiltrate my castle’s defenses and get to you so easily.”
“What matters is how Peter Pan was positioned as your dock master,” Remy reminded him. She wrapped a coil of stray hair around her finger and then released it before grabbing it and repeating the motion once more.
James’s eyes picked up on the tic, and then his eyes shifted to her neck, and then finally to Remy’s face. Remy watched each shift with her eyes and felt that bubbly feeling in her stomach turn heavy, like everything that occupied her insides were a weight and pulling her heart down into her pelvis.
“I shall talk to Pam the minute she gets on the ship,” James told her though his voice was touched with distance, as though his priorities had shifted.
That, of course, made no sense to Remy. He should be focused on ensuring his safety as well as her own. What could be more important than that?
“Your dress.”
Before she realized it, he was suddenly standing straight in front of her, all boundaries propriety demanded carelessly tossed out the window as though they had not mattered to James in the first place. His hand was in front of him, his fingers touching the thin material of her dress – Magda’s dress, she had to keep reminding herself; there was no way Remy would ever wear something as boring as this frock (though she meant no offense to Magda) – and she could feel a ghost of his fingertips touching her bare skin. There, on her shoulder. And she realized James was right. Something had caught on her dress.
“Did he do that to you?”
Remy furrowed her brow, even though she knew it caused wrinkles. She could hear her mother’s sigh echo throughout her head.
“Who?” she asked, not sure what James meant.
“The man from the library,” he said. He did not step back from her. He did not let go of her shoulder with his hand.
Remy found her voice lower an octave as a result. It was more difficult to look up at him, probably because if she did, there was a good chance they would be kissing.
“The man you” - Remy stopped herself. It was still so vivid in her mind, what James had done to him.
“I would do it all again if someone were to lay a hand on you,” James said, and the serious tone of his voice caused her pelvis to pulse. Which was odd, because she did not realize her pelvis had a pulse at all.
"You are incredibly important to me, to my plan here. Do you not realize that?"
"Oh."
The word came out more bitter than she intended it to, but she could not take it back now that she had said it out loud. Her eyes found his hook, tucked carefully between their bodies but not so close it touched her. She felt the fingers of her hand flex, almost as though she was going to reach out and touch it, but stoppe
d herself when they were just shy of feeling the cool steel.
"Did you think you meant more to me than a means to an end?" James asked, and though his words were harsh, she noticed he did not step away from her to emphasize his point. He stayed close, his hand still on the material if her dress. "I am a Viking and Vikings do not feel emotions that waste time and energy."
Remy's eyes flashed. "I do not believe you," she said. "You are still human. You were still human," she corrected herself. "Perhaps you were a Viking during your time on earth, but I bet either your mother or father were English."
James's eyes narrowed on her face. "Why would you say that?" he asked.
"James is a decidedly English name," Remy said, as though it were completely obvious. "Not Scandinavian. I'm not certain what your last name is though I'm certain it's not Hook. You claim to be a Viking, but you are the most civilized captain I have ever met. Your clothes are clean, every lock of hair is in place. The only Viking I see in you is when you fight."
"Tell me," he said, tilting his head to the side as his fingers started to play with the exposed skin of her shoulder. Remy was not sure if it was intentional or not. Either way, it caused her insides to scream and run into each other as chaos ensued. "What does that prove?"
"That you're human," she said in a voice just above a whisper. She was not sure how she was able to hold his eyes within hers because he intimidated her with these feelings she could not decipher and she found, despite this, she wanted to be closer to him even more than she already was. She wanted to be touching his body with hers to see what it felt like when he touched her completely. "That you're more than just a Viking. You're more than what you think you are. You are capable of feeling. I know it. I know you feel something for Magdalena. At the very least, you respect her. You trust her enough to send her away. She's in your high regard. Perhaps all I am to you is a means to an end. Fine. So be it. But do not tell me you are incapable of caring. You do not have to lie to me."
The Neverland Trilogy Box Set Page 36