Shadow of the Hook

by Erik Schubach

  I smirked and nodded. That was my experience with them as well. She said, “Speaking of boons.” She just made a dismissing motion with her fingers, and a gust of wind blew the mounds of fairy dust coating the deck around us. It swirled then coated the water as we passed. “There, the mermaids can have it. The Magistrate would go to war to get that much fairy dust. With it, he could forge another artifact. Not as powerful as the hook, but dangerous nonetheless.”

  I blanched.

  She chuckled, and I landed on her shoulder, and she laid a hand across my legs as we headed in to join Wendy and Mandy. We had a rescue to plan to hatch.

  Chapter 13

  Rescue

  As we approached the island a few hours later, everyone's eyes were on Wendy. She smiled and said, “Men, if you would be so kind.”

  These former Lost Boys all stood on the main deck, eyes on the island fast approaching. In this land where imagination built reality, anything was possible. And Wendy has spent a century with these men. Teaching them to have fun again, to play and use the imaginations that the Pan had stolen away from them. She was able to reignite the embers of that dying light and fan it into a modest flame. It wouldn't burn as bright as it had, nor be as powerful as the current Lost Boys who were under the Pan's thrall, but it was enough for this.

  A thick billowing evening fog burst up from the sea and blanketed the waters all the way to the island in front of us. It rolled up the highest peak and settled in like a blanket being tucked in around it, obscuring everything from view.

  As we watched Mandywolf tugged on her mother's hand and asked when she had her attention, “I've been meaning to ask...” She moved her free hand up and down in front of her, indicating her cute pirate clothes. “Why pirates? I mean, when a Lost Boy grows up they are automatically called pirates and sent to Pirate's Landing? Are they moral corrupted or something?”

  Wendy beamed a smile full of mischief and squatted to whisper, “Pan tells the Lost Boys that the ones who grow up to be oldies are bad, and they need to stay away from them. So what do you think these boys with very active imaginations, who do nothing but play, would see these supposed 'bad guys' as?”

  We all nodded and said dryly in unison, “Pirates.”

  Mandy looked overly unimpressed but understood as she said blandly, “Yo ho ho, go team pirate.” She mock fist pumped, and we all broke out into chuckles seeing a little girl being so sarcastic. She smiled back at us, full of mischief as she grumped out her earlier observation, “I look like a friggin' cartoon.”

  I buzzed over to her and landed on her shoulder as Titiana said, “Nonsense, you look adorable, mah little love.”

  Mandywolf blushed and growled, her tail swishing to betray the affront she tried to project. I smirked internally, I was sort of going to miss that tail of hers when this was all over.

  We looked back at the island, barely able to make out its shape as it took up most of the horizon now in that thick fog. Wendy looked at us. “Now would be a good time to begin phase one, girls.”

  Amanda nodded with excited energy, and we both raised the artifacts to our lips and blew, sending out the signal with the eerie tones of the flutes. Fairies cheered and appeared from all around the ship, they all formed up around Bluebell who drew her little blade, the others following suit as she yelled a shrill command, “Operation mischief, commence!” With a cheer, they left a giggling, blazing trail of light and sparkles in the fog toward Pan's island, as the dust drifted to the waters of the sea that was now churning with mermaids.

  Titiana shared that both the fairies and merfolk once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and now were barely a thousand or two. They had all sacrificed much to stand with the original Hook and had almost lost all their number before their victory, but in the hundreds of years since then, they had built their numbers.

  Sure it was a fraction of what they had been, but at least they weren't on the brink of extinction anymore. And here they were, again fighting to protect Neverland, this time to free it of the corruption of the Pan.

  This plan hopefully would put them at minimal risk this time, as they wouldn't be confronting the threat head on. Instead, they would play a vital role in depriving the demon of his greatest weapon.

  The fairies were to fly to the island, keeping out of sight of Peter, and find the Lost Boys. They were to lure them away from the island with the promise of a new game.

  It was the ultimate game of tag with the mermaids in the sea, and the winners would be awarded a sunken treasure. What boy could resist such an adventure? The game was real, as was the treasure, a ship's bell from a sunken pirate ship, and Mandy looked to be jealous that the boys would be having so much fun while we enacted the rest of our plan.

  All we had to do now was sit back and wait for the signal. If we didn't get the signal within an hour, or the lookouts flew back to us with news of failure, then we would abandon the mission and come up with another plan. Both the fairies and the merfolk were instructed that if things went sideways, they were not to engage under any circumstance, and were to retreat back to the ship.

  As we waited, the ship silently cut through the fog, moving closer and closer to the island. Just when I was starting to worry we were about to ground the ship when we were so close to shore, a sparkling firefly streaked up over the island, barely visible in the mist, and Bluebell snapped her wings causing a brilliant sparkly flash, as her dust glowed a brilliant silver.

  Wendy sighed and squinted one eye. “That means it's my turn.” She looked over at Titiana who gave her an encouraging smile. The Pirate Queen looked at her men and called out, “Steady on the helm.” They were looking all kinds of apprehensive as the shoreline became readily apparent.

  The captain of the Sea Devil raised her hook, and visualized through the hoop of it, and then grunted, a look of strain on her face as the veins in her neck became visible. Just when I thought all was lost as the sound of the hull scraping on the rocks and sand of the seafloor started, my stomach lurched and the sound was gone, as was the sound of waves against the hull of the ship.

  With a little cheer, Mandy threw herself on Wendy and hugged her waist tightly as the Sea Devil sliced silently through the air. Wendy laughed in delight as she looked over to a proud looking Sea Hag. Then with a more serious look, she strode to the bow of the ship, still looking through the hook and she lifted a leg to rest on the railing, striking an imposing profile as the wind of our passage blew her hair which hung below her pirate's cap, fluttering it behind her.

  As Mandy's alpha, Rachel, might say, “Dayum.” The woman was both frightening and alluring, which made for a dangerous combination. Tinkerbell did good.

  Mandywolf moved up to stand beside her, striking the same pose with her foot on an overturned bucket, mimicking the pirate who just hugged her to her with a free hand. The ship adjusted course, swinging silently toward the treehouses of the Pan, cutting through the top of the fog layer like it was cutting through water.

  Nobody would be able to see our approach.

  Bluebell zoomed down onto the ship, landing at the tip of the bowsprit her little blade pointing forward. I had to smile and buzzed up to join her. She had a serious look on her face that cracked for just an instant to shoot me a smile showing how much fun she was having.

  She shared with me, speaking out the side of her mouth as she tried to keep her serious expression as she stared ahead, “They were playing at the beach on the other side of the island, it took three seconds to convince them to play. Boys are so easy.”

  Then her serious look got slightly pouty, and I asked without looking at her while I fought a smile, “You wanted to play too?” She nodded once and smiled into the wind as she shoved my shoulder. If we didn't need her to show us where Tink was being held, I would have told her to go join in the fun.

  A minute later Wendy lowered her hook, and the ship slid to a stop in the air, I looked back, and she had started to open her mouth then snapped it shut. I had to smile. Old habits
are hard to break, I'd lay odds that she was just about to order her men to secure the sails and drop anchor. She caught my attention on her, and she crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at my amusement.

  She whispered to her men to hold station, then she looked at Mandywolf then us and nodded. It was time for the next phase. Titiana placed a hand over her heart for us. She wouldn't be an active participant, she was there to document what occurred but wouldn't help unless it was against the other Elders. She had already bent her own convictions with as much assistance as she has rendered already.

  And if everything went wrong, she has promised she would shepherd Wendy's men to safety and keep the Sea Devil hidden on the Grotto, out of reach of the Pan.

  We gathered at the bow then, exchanging a nod, jumped as one. It was a wonder, seeing my girl flying gracefully again, beside the woman she has started idolizing as one did their mother. Bluebell and I suppressed our dust the best we could on the way down to the clearing where the Lost Boys treehouse camp was.

  Wendy whispered as we landed lightly on the ground, “Behind me, Amanda.”

  My girl looked aggravated, the way her tail twitched, but she complied. She pointed to us, and I flew to the jungle behind the treehouses and waited for the signal.

  Wait... the signal, she didn't say what it would... her voice boomed out, amplified by her own power, sounding ominous and angry, “Peter!”

  I saw movement in the Pan's treehouse between the slats of wood, the shadow was far too large for such a small young man. And the shadow shrank as he dove out of the treehouse, blade drawn. He drifted slowly to the ground as he hissed out in disdain, “Wendy.” He shook his head and said, “You've come to pay for your betrayal? Look at you, grown and used up.”

  She narrowed her eyes and a second blade, a tiny dagger he held behind his back, turned into bubbles that drifted upward as the Hook said, “Don't flatter yourself, demon. I'm far from used up. Care to taste my steel?” She drew her blade, it hummed in the air between them, and her hook answered back in a similar tone like there was a resonance between them.

  He changed his attention to my wolfling and said, “Mia, come here.”

  My Mia looked confused then started to walk to him, Wendy sheathed her blade, her hook still raised toward the Pan as she lightly grasped Mia's shoulder. “Amanda. Don't listen to him. You can fight it.”

  Amanda? Who was... oh yeah. I shook my head just as my girl did and pushed the suggestion from it. Mandywolf looked up and asked, “Mom?” Then she growled, this time not sounding cute at all as she drew her twin guns. Wendy smiled and nodded at her and said again, “Get behind me.” Then added when Amanda started to open her mouth, “Don't argue young lady.”

  Mandy pouted and stomped behind her as the Pan started laughing, holding his belly with one hand as he chuckled cruelly. “Mom? Oh this is priceless. Someone really did a number on you. I can't wait to add your new 'daughter' back into my menagerie after I end you.” He circled his blade in the air.

  Wendy bared her teeth like fangs, her eyes burning under her hat as she growled out in a tone that chilled my blood as she re-drew her blade, “Let's dance, you and me.”

  He chuckled again and said, “You'd like that, wouldn't you? But I have other plans. I'm going to stretch this out for days or even years with you.” He bellowed out in a voice that rang with his persuasive power, and I'm sure it blanketed the entire island, “Lost Boys, to me!”

  He just showed a smile with too many teeth as he stood there while Wendy stepped slowly and purposefully toward him. Clomp, clomp, clomp. She was a frightening woman.

  Bluebell asked, “Now?”

  I shook my head. “Almost. He needs to commit, so his attention is away from the treehouses.”

  The boy's cocky smile faded as she closed two thirds the distance and his puppet army wasn't there yet. A crooked smirk on her face, she asked, “Something wrong? Did I mention that the Lost Boys are off on a grand adventure on the other side of Neverland?”

  His eyes widened, and I could feel the rage, and a little fear, radiating from him as he roared and lunged at her. In mid-lunge he rippled and grew, and when their blades struck each other, it caused a ripple of power to burst out from the impact, knocking back the little tables and chairs the Lost Boys used.

  Where once there was a young man, now stood a humanoid demon which looked vaguely crocodilian with his elongated jaws lined with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. His black skin seemed to writhe, and I could see like many other demons we had fought, it was comprised of the hundreds of tortured souls of his victims. All scrabbling and screaming silently for release. From tip to tail he had to have been over twelve feet long and seven feet tall.

  I nodded at Bluebell who was staring wide-eyed in horror. And she gave me a determined look, her lips in a tight line as she nodded back and I followed her as she zipped up to a little window on the back of Pan's personal treehouse. It was no bigger than about six inches square. We buzzed into the space, and it stank of sulfur, death, and demon.

  Bluebell flitted over to a large wooden chest with iron fittings. Of course, a pirate treasure chest. She pointed at it, and I could feel magic emanating from it and could see a hint of light under the curved lid. A huge iron lock dangled from the lid.

  Bluebell started striking the lock over and over with her small blade. To my surprise it bit deep each time, sparking and cutting little furrows in the metal. I wondered if being exposed to fairy dust for who knows how many years had made the blades magical in nature. I rested my hand on the hilt of mine on my back but then changed my mind and grabbed my bow. It would take too much time for the two of us to hack through the lock.

  I told her, “Move back.” She looked at me then, with an expression that I was daft, she hovered back a foot or so. I nocked an arrow and drew back, then let loose. The arrow grew to its full size in flight and struck the lock, piercing it and the wall beside the chest and likely embedded in a tree in the jungle beyond.

  Her eyes widened in shock, and she looked between me and the bow. Then I shouldered it and buzzed down to the lock. She shook herself out of it and joined me as we muscled the lock off to fall upon the floor. Then flew the hasp up and pried with all our might. If not for my enhanced strength, I don't think we would have been able to lift it. But it finally rose and hinged back onto the bed.

  My eyes widened at a horrifying sight. In the chest was just a large bag like a duffel bag, and a jar with a shriveled, malnourished, and barely glowing fairy. Her wings sifting dull black dust as she stirred, looking too weak to rise as her head turned toward us.

  Bluebell shrieked, “Tinkerbell!”

  And she zoomed into the chest to stand in front of the jar, her hand on one side as Tink raise a hand to place it on the other side of the glass. Her weak voice rasping out, “Bluebell. Fly. Fly away lest he gets you too.”

  The tree shook, and I heard a crack as the trunk split. Then the singing of metal on metal as the Pan roared in the battle going on below.

  Then I said again, “Get back.” Bluebell instantly complied this time, and I told Tink, “Stay down and cover your eyes.”

  She looked at me in confusion and wondered aloud, “You're no fairy I recognize.”

  I smirked. “Not a fairy. Cover yourself.” She did, and I let loose an arrow, and it shattered the glass and sank through the chest and floor.

  “Can you fly?”

  She looked up in shock, blinking. She swayed to her feet, Bluebell landing to steady her. Then she shook her head. “I'm too weak.” She pointed at the back in the chest. “Peter has been harvesting my dust. He intends to build another artifact with it to wrest back control of the Sea Devil from the Hook.”

  I blinked, hesitated a moment, then flew down to the bag and undid the pull string. Inside I found it was practically filled to the brim with fairy dust! I whispered, “By the Goddess.”

  Then dug out a leaf from one of the pouches on the belt of my armor and handed it to the ailing fairy. S
he unwrapped the leaf to find a glob of honey from the Grotto. I said, “That will help you regain your strength.”

  She was almost burying her face in it, and I could see her light returning as she started standing taller. Then I was blinking as she actually shed her wings as new wings exploded from her back. They were twice as big and twice as mesmerizingly beautiful as they sifted golden dust that covered her.

  She looked up at me, and I gasped at her beauty. Bluebell placed her tiara on Tink then took a knee. I took a knee too and bowed to her beauty. Then echoed when, Bluebell whispered, “My queen.”

  She spoke in a strong melodic voice. “We must leave before the Pan returns. Or he will imprison us all.” They took to the air and headed toward the window, but I just hovered over the chest, looking between the fairy dust cache and them.

  I shook my head. “We have to do something about this first. It is too dangerous.”

  They flew down, and Tinkerbell said to me in a voice filled with patience and understanding, “There is little we of small stature can do in the land of Big. We should take this small victory, in memory of my Wendy.”

  Memory of... I blurted, “But Wendy is alive. She is down there now, battling the Pan so that you can escape.”

  She squeaked in excitement, disbelief, and hope. “My Wendy is still alive?”

  I nodded with pride and said, “She is the new champion of Neverland, the new Hook. She has been gathering her power to rescue you.”

  A tear that seemed to be made of light fell from her eye and splashed in rainbow colors on the floor. I said, “So help me to make sure that neither the Pan nor anyone else can use this as a weapon.”

  The world shook around us in a boom. I could hear a tree exploding and the singing of magicked steel cutting the air below us. She nodded, and we all landed on the bag as we looked around for something that could help.

  The Pan bellowed in rage, “Die Wendy!”

  And the Pirate Queen roared back, “You first, asshole!”