The Untold Stories of Neverland: The Complete Box Set

by K. R. Thompson

  After a long moment, Harper asked, “What happened?”

  “I found a priest and married her meself.” And with that, Boggs downed the last of his cup and teetered back to the keg for more, leaving Harper speechless. Harper glanced down at the tattoo of Mary on his forearm. Her beautiful smile greeted him as it had so many times before, and so he waited for Boggs to return to tell him the end—and wished to be home with his Mary.

  ARCHIE WATCHED PETER strut along the beam as if he owned the ship, only stopping to stare at Harper with a strange expression. Feeling the need to protect his young friend, he had sent Harper below. As the lad left, Archie became the sole focus of Peter’s attention, which was fine, as far as he was concerned.

  “We were supposed to hunt Tic-Tock together,” the boy said, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that reminded Archie of a spoiled young child that had not gotten his way.

  “He is dead. It is over and done. That’s all that matters,” Archie replied. He gave a mock shrug, as if killing crocodiles were as easy as swatting at pesky flies. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to get a rise out the boy, but seeing the dark scowl gave him a small bit of satisfaction.

  “There is the matter of our sail that needs to be addressed,” Archie told him. “For one who has just had his greatest adversary slaughtered for him, you do not show your appreciation well by disgracing my ship. I would have your apology and have it made right.”

  Peter looked at him darkly. “I would have gotten Tic-Tock without any help from you.”

  “Proving such ingratitude with such an action is not the way of a gentleman. It is dishonorable,” the cold tones in Archie’s voice matched the ice in his eyes. “It is bad form, and bad form I do not tolerate.”

  “I am not a gentleman!” Fury was etched in each word, cutting each syllable Peter spoke.

  “Then, I am sorry. You will not be welcome upon my ship. Not until you can conduct yourself as such.”

  Stamping his foot, Peter glowered at Archie, his face flushing red as he took off, flying back toward the island.

  Archie shook his head as he watched, then turned his attention back to his crew, every member of which had been silent through the exchange. “Well, get back to it, lads! It appears we have a sail to mend.”

  A few mumbled curses later, Archie made his way below deck to find Harper. What he found instead, was Boggs, shaking a tin can of golden dust over a barrel.

  “What is that?” As soon as the words left his mouth, familiar bell tones sounded frantically. Snatching the can from Boggs, he ripped off the punctured lid to find Miss Bell sprawled haphazardly in the bottom, looking rather cross and not nearly as bright as usual. When she noticed the lid was free, she immediately flew out and hovered near Archie’s ear, blasting bell tones into his eardrum that sounded extremely accusatory.

  “What have you done, Boggs?” Archie fought to keep the neutral calm in his voice, though he feared he was losing it.

  “Didn’t mean no harm, Cap’n. I was just fixing my barrel.”

  The man was swaying like a tree in the wind. Though he was making an apparent effort to stand straight and still, he was failing miserably. “Pixie dust fixes it,” he enunciated each syllable, as if trying not to sound drunk.

  “Did Miss Bell offer you her services in any way?”

  “Er—not exactly.”

  “Well, then. That means you are stealing and as such, you must recompense her for what you have taken.” Archie glanced over at Miss Bell, whose face had taken a beatific expression. “Will that do?”

  A small, resolute nod answered.

  “My apologies.” Boggs sighed. “What will ye have?”

  The pixie flew over and inspected Boggs. She made a full circuit around him, then drifted near his round belly, pointing at a brass button on his breeches.

  “Oh, no. Not that ye don’t. Me breeches won’t stay up wi’ out it.” Boggs backed up an involuntary step.

  “Boggs,” Archie warned, “Off with it.”

  With something between a whimper and a sigh, Boggs took a knife from his side and popped the button off. It bounced one time on the floor before it was caught by the pixie. Gathering it close to her, she beamed a huge smile at Archie.

  “Are we even, my dear?”

  Another nod, and she had flown up the steps and away.

  Perhaps she will learn something from this lesson the next time she thinks of stealing from Smee, Archie thought, watching Boggs try to keep his breeches up while keeping his tankard in his hand. And while pirates tended to be a thieving lot every time the opportunity presented itself, he would teach them to be a honorable, thieving lot—even if it killed him.

  Harper had gone unnoticed until now. He found the lad propped up against the wall, his forearm before him, staring at the dark beauty whose image was inked in his skin. From the faraway look in his eyes, Archie didn’t think he had paid any attention to the goings on of the past few minutes.

  “Are you well?” Archie asked.

  The vacant look left as Harper answered, “Aye. Has yon ruffian left, then?”

  “Yes, Peter is gone.”

  “And the sail?”

  “Still needs mending.”

  “I’m not fixing it,” Harper said, sounding rather sullen.

  “Yes, I am quite aware of that, but you might be pleased to know that I believe I may have made our flying friend a slight bit angry.”

  “Oh?” Harper brightened considerably as he stood, “That pleases me to no end, Jameson. The only other thing that would make me happier would be if you said we were leaving this forsaken place and heading home.”

  “Be prepared for your happiness, Harper, for we are most certainly going to try.”

  17

  A Familiar Star

  THE DECISION WAS an easy one to make. Once again, Archie gave orders to leave Neverland as they had so many times before. The only part that held him back and made him hope that the island would be there once again in the morning, was the thought that he hadn’t told Tiger Lily of their plans to go. He hadn’t told her goodbye, and it crushed his spirit as he began plotting their way through the icebergs. He was more than ready to leave this strange place with its strange, flying boy. What he wasn’t ready to leave was his heart and the one who held it. Still, he stayed at the ship’s wheel, guiding them through the maze of ice that he had charted. Each spike that rose from the dark water had been plotted on a map, though now he didn’t need it. They had attempted escape so many times that he knew the way around them by heart. He only wished there was a way to chart the stars so that he could find his way back to Tiger Lily should this venture prove successful and they find themselves in their own world when the sun lit the morning sky. The stars always seemed to evade him. Constellations shifted of their own accord, just as he was about to set pen to paper, as if they knew of his desire to log their exact location and moved to prove his maps wrong.

  I will know the way back, should I ever find the way home, he thought, glancing up into a sky filled with diamond-bright stars. The map he had charted that long night before their arrival was tucked away in a drawer in his quarters. With luck, the stars in his own world had not changed and he would come back to Neverland—he would come back to her.

  But for now, he was captain of this ship and keeper of all the souls aboard, so his priority was to get them back into waters they knew. His crew had been rather undemanding thus far, but he knew, as pirates, they wouldn’t stay that way much longer. They had already become restless. Harper had been the only one to request going back as yet, but he knew the others would not be far behind him. They would be wanting a port, a way to spend their plunder, and the knowledge that there would be more adventure to be had—in a world they understood.

  The night wore on and the water became clearer. Below him, he heard the sounds of music and thumping. For now, his crew was celebrating their departure again. One loud thump and a muffled splash met his ears, followed by the distinct voice of Boggs yel
ling out a string of curses that silenced all other sounds for a moment.

  His barrel of pixie-dusted spirits has been tipped over, Archie thought, a smile lighting his face as he realized the reason for Boggs’s tirade. They can work it out amongst themselves, he decided, listening as angry shouting ensued, followed by several crashes and thumps.

  “Fight it out, lads, fight it out,” he murmured, looking out across a calm sea. Ignoring the melee beneath him, his thoughts returned to the beautiful Indian woman on the island and the last kiss he had shared with her. “I will be back for you, I promise,” he vowed, promising himself as much as her. He couldn’t imagine living a life without Tiger Lily.

  I’m in love with her. I truly am. The sudden, happy truth warmed him from the inside out, much as Tiger Lily’s kiss had done.

  Then, the Jolig Roger lurched as if something was pushing it up into the air from below. The entire ship lifted several feet out of the water, bringing Tic-Tock front and center into Archie’s brain. “Even he could not do this,” Archie exclaimed as the Roger rose even further out of the water. He turned loose of the wheel and ran to the railing, to look down at the side of the ship. Several feet of wet planks with barnacles came into view, gleaming in the moonlight. A jolt of fear seized Archie and he gripped the railing so hard his knuckles turned white.

  Without any warning, whatever had been pushing them up disappeared and the ship slammed back into the water, flipping Archie over the edge.

  Saved only by his grip on the railing, he dangled in the open air, his breath knocked out of him. Finally, he gathered his wits and his breath. Just as he opened his mouth to call out for help, he saw one star above the ship that looked familiar. One solitary, shining diamond, sitting amongst thousands of others, reminded him of home. As he watched, it flickered like a dying candle flame, and went out. He had the vague impression that he had just witnessed the way home, and now it was gone.

  “Easy now, Cap’n. I’ve got ye.” Beckett’s hands gripped Archie’s wrists and a second later, Archie was once again safe on the deck of the ship.

  “There be something big in these waters,” Beckett whispered as he turned loose of Archie. “What be so big to lift the ship out of the water and ye never see it?”

  Archie didn’t answer, only shook his head. Sailors were adamant believers in stories. Since his arrival, he had heard of monstrous creatures in the oceans, such as squid that could wrap their tentacles around the largest of ships and drag them to the bottom of the sea, enormous scaly monsters with three or more heads that could breathe fire and set the ocean aflame. Archie didn’t believe that their sudden ascent was due to a creature below them, but rather that—for some unknown reason—the ship had decided to try to go home, back to its star. A magic of some kind had brought them here. It would take magic to take them back.

  “Beckett, take the wheel and keep our heading.” Without waiting for an answer, Archie left and went in search of Boggs.

  He found the cook sitting by his empty barrel, looking cross.

  “I have questions for you, Boggs.”

  “I didn’t blacken Dougherty’s eyes, nor threaten to gut Bowen, regardless o’ what they be saying, though they both be deserving of it for dumping me never-right.” Boggs glowered at Archie, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I have no doubt you are correct, but that is not what I wished to ask.” Archie pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. “Boggs, I need to ask how you captured Miss Bell.”

  “Oh.” Boggs uncrossed his arms, becoming instantly friendlier. “She just flew into me cup, Cap’n.”

  “Just like that. Just flew into your cup.”

  “Aye, though it happened accident-like. Trying to fix my never-right, I was, and took too big a gulp. The ship sorta took to spinnin’ and I was tryin’ to keep me feet under me, weavin’ this way and that, when I seen a streak of gold flying right at me. I lost me footing then and smacked right into her and into me cup she went.” Boggs lifted his tankard for Archie’s inspection, as if there would be golden streaks inside the cup as proof that Miss Bell had landed there.

  “Why didn’t she fly back out?”

  Boggs’s meaty hand clapped over the top of the tankard, covering it. “That’s why. I knew Mr. Smee has a healthy hate for the little golden pixie as stolen his needles and buttons, so’s I didn’t want her to escape.” His dark brows furrowed in confusion. “Why are ye asking me these questions, Cap’n? Has she stolen from ye, too?”

  “No, she’s not stolen anything from me.” Archie shook his head. “But I think she may be the answer to leaving the island. She was with us when we came here, I believe we may need her to return home.”

  “Well then, seems we need to find us another pixie,” Boggs observed dryly. “You made me turn her loose, ye know.”

  “If we are at the island again come morning, I plan on doing exactly that.”

  HARPER WASN’T HAPPY to see the vibrant green of Neverland. His perch up in the mast didn’t help matters as he got to see even more of it than the blokes on the deck. He frowned, staring out across the water. There it was, large as life. The tall mountains that reached toward the sky, their tips covered in fog were the most prominent feature of the island, surrounded by a thick forest, then white sanded beaches and the inlet with the mermaid’s rock. They were back at the same cursed island. Again.

  He sighed, before calling down, “We’re back. Land ho.” As if they didn’t know that and needed him to say it, he frowned. The hands below began making preparations to sail to the other side of the island, to the somewhat safer cove that seemed void of mermaids. He blew out a slow breath, and leaned his forehead against the web of ropes, watching his crewmates. They moved slowly. They weren’t any happier to be back here than he was. For an undiscovered land, it was lacking in plunder and profitable adventure. Unless they were going to pillage Peter’s unknown fortress and rob him of his green tights, there was nothing to be had on this island of any worth—at least that he knew of.

  So now we go hunting pixies, he thought, waiting for a few others to join him on the mast. I pray we find them and Jameson’s plan works.

  His thoughts ran to Mary as they released the sail and he felt the wind catch. He had been gone so long, had she waited for him? He hoped with every fiber in his being that she had. One day soon, I’ll be back, he promised her, remembering the last smile she had given him. Then, he made himself the same promise. It would be soon.

  If pixies were the answer to going home, he would catch an army of them as soon as he set foot on that white-sanded beach.

  He made certain that Jameson knew of his wishes to go ashore, since he tended to be the one left in charge of the Jolig Roger when they anchored for supplies. There hadn’t been any problem with the request, Jameson had turned to Beckett and placed the ship under his watch.

  So now they were on their way. Three longboats rowed to shore, filled with pirates bent on capturing pixies. “I hear there be blue ones, too. Wonder if they be more powerful than the gold ones?” he heard Boggs mumble under his breath. Harper fought the urge to laugh as he rowed in sync with the others. He was certain the cook had other plans for catching a blue pixie—one that did not entail going home, but rather involved a barrel of strong spirits and a tin can with holes in the top.

  “All right, lads. We meet here at sundown,” Jameson said, as they pulled the boats onto the beach. “Catch what you can.”

  “Aye.” Harper’s voice blended in with the others as they set off in search of pixies.

  AS LUCK WOULD have it, Archie ran into Tiger Lily as soon as the crew dispersed. He had forgotten that this was the day to replenish their supplies. Being as they still had plenty, he hadn’t thought of her presence on the beach and had planned on heading to the mountains in search of her.

  He turned toward the forest and plowed into her, toppling them both over, though he had just enough time to try to land with his arms braced in an effort not to squash her beneath him. It di
dn’t work, and he landed with his body on hers, his face buried in a pool of warm, silky hair.

  Her hands were against his chest, though they didn’t seem there to push him away. His heart sped up under her touch.

  He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to breathe, but he raised his head up just enough to look into her eyes. What he found there surprised him.

  “You didn’t tell me you were going to leave again.” Her voice was strong and accusing, but her eyes were what caught him. They looked hurt.

  “I promise that I was coming back to you.” He shifted his weight off her and onto his elbows. “I would find my way back, whatever it took.”

  “It still would have been nice to know you were going, instead of standing here watching the ship leave again.” Her hands came from his chest to return in a hard shove that knocked him backward and against the trunk of a tree, knocking the breath out of him.

  “S-sorry,” he wheezed, trying to capture his breath. “I w-would have come b-back because I’m in l-love with you.”

  Before he recovered, she had jumped up from the ground, ran to him, and covered his mouth in a kiss. He was beginning to think that all had been forgiven when a low, angry voice startled him. Tiger Lily jumped at the sound and the kiss broke.

  “No one leaves Neverland.” As Tiger Lily moved back, Archie caught sight of Peter. The boy was hovering a few feet away, his fists clenched at his sides. “No one ever leaves.”

  “Well, we shall be leaving,” Archie informed him in a matter-of-fact way, “Soon.” Of course, that doesn’t mean we won’t be right back here again the next morning, he added mentally. He didn’t dare give the boy the satisfaction of knowing they were stuck there unless they managed to capture pixies and somehow fly the ship back home to their own star.

  Peter’s face turned red and something dark and sinister seemed to appear in his eyes. Then, he flew off without another word.