The Untold Stories of Neverland: The Complete Box Set

by K. R. Thompson

  But she wasn’t ready to head back quite yet, so Nerida decided now was the time to try her luck on the inviting surface of that large boulder. There, she could sun herself and collect her thoughts—and possibly decide whether or not she actually liked this new sea, not that she had any choice in the matter if she didn’t. As far as she could tell, the trip to the Never Sea was a one-way, irreversible decision, and all of them were stuck here, whether they liked it or not. So far, she was the only one who hadn’t decided if this was such a grand place to be. Everyone else had accepted their fate.

  The rock warmed her palms the instant she touched it. She pulled herself up on the edge that met the water and quickly scooted higher. She laid back on the smooth, hot surface, soaking in every bit of warmth the stone and the sun had to offer. Her skin was drying quickly and she felt a sudden burst of pain in her tail that subsided as quickly as it came. Worried she had somehow found a sharp spot on her new perch, she looked down, expecting to see a few scales coating the rock.

  But all of her scales were all there, though they had gone translucent, giving her a clear view of the two human legs below the surface of her tail. Her tail—that was no longer in the water. She gasped, fear roiling through her.

  “Tink told me the fish people were forbidden to come out of the sea,” a voice said in a curious tone from above her on the rock. “It looks like she was wrong.”

  Startled, Nerida jumped back into the cold safety of the water as an amused laugh met her ears. The instant she felt the sea wash over her, she turned to look up.

  There, on the tip of the boulder, sat the same flying boy she had seen moments earlier. His laugh echoed in the water around her.

  “You can come back up. I promise not to tell anyone your secret,” he said. His smile was disarming, even through the distorted surface of the water. “Besides, I’d like to know more about what is under Neverland. Sure, I can fly, but none of us can swim.”

  I would like to know more about Neverland, Nerida acknowledged, cautiously swimming back up to the base of the rock. He may have the answers to all of my questions.

  The boy nodded approvingly as she let only her head and shoulders out of the water. Some knowledge flitted under his eyes, something that made her realize he was much older than he appeared—and she found herself wondering if he was as human as she first believed. While his face looked human, his ears had a tiny bit of a point to them that reminded her of the sprites. Did he have magic, too?

  “I am Peter Pan,” he said with a shrug, as if her inspection of him hadn’t bothered him in the least. “Who are you?”

  “Nerida.”

  “You’re the first of the fish people we have seen. Are there many more of you?”

  “A few,” she answered cautiously. Something in her gut told her he was not to be trusted. Now, it was time for a question of her own. “How many humans are on Neverland?”

  “A few,” he said, repeating her own words. Then, he grimaced, his mouth turning down in a dark scowl. “Though there would be more if Tic-Tock would stop eating them.”

  “Tic-Tock? What’s a Tic-Tock?”

  “He’s the biggest crocodile you’ll ever see—and the meanest one, too,” Peter said. “He’s always eating someone.”

  Ah, the crocodile again. Nerida watched the boy’s expression darken further as if thinking about the beast put him in a terrible mood.

  “Does he come this way often?” she asked. Since it seemed the humans would be leaving her people alone, it seemed wise to ask about the next threat.

  “Only when he’s hungry, which is always.”

  A sharp cry came from the place where Peter had flown with the boy. “Beetles is probably picking on the newest member of my troupe,” Peter announced, hopping off the rock. “I’d better check on the runt and make sure that’s all that’s happening. I’ll see ya.”

  “Okay,” Nerida managed to say before the strange boy flew away and disappeared into the forest. She sighed as she looked at the rock, debating on whether to crawl up on it again, or go below and report her findings to her father.

  When she had left that morning, her father and Taron were happily inspecting the beautiful colors of a coral garden that was steadily wrapping itself around the outer walls of the castle. To hear them speak of it, the Never Sea was the best thing that had ever happened in the existence of the merfolk. As far as she knew, they’d never gone far enough out to even see the spikes of ice that rose the farther out you swam, or feel the chill of the cold water that lay nearer the surface. They didn’t know what she knew. Deciding her duty lay in telling them all she had learned, she dove back into the sea and swam back to the castle.

  While Taron was gone, her father was more or less in the same place she had left him, a wide smile on his wrinkled face as he looked at a variety of yellow and white flowers that had sprouted near the columns of the palace’s entrance.

  “Look at them,” he said, once he spotted her coming toward him. “Aren’t they grand?”

  “Yes, they’re beautiful.” And they truly were. Bits of blue streaked through the green in their leaves and the faces of the flowers were delicately shaped like tiny bells. Everything near the castle was beautiful, she realized. The sand all around it was pristine and white—as if it had never been touched before their arrival. The flowers and even the fish that swam by were vibrant and full of life.

  “This sea is paradise,” Muir murmured. “The best thing that has ever happened to our people.”

  A stab of fear turned in Nerida’s stomach when she realized what he was saying. It was perfect here—too perfect—and that perfection was causing a false sense of security. It was time to let her father know not everything was as it seemed. “Father, there are humans above on the island. There is even one that flies.” She waited for some kind of reaction, for some small part of the mighty sea king to come alive in his dark, green eyes, but the merman simply kept inspecting the pretty foliage.

  Nerida cleared her throat. “I said there are flying humans above us on that island,” she repeated. The tone of her voice made Muir pause, but he didn’t bother looking at her.

  “Thespa said there were humans on the island,” he replied, fiddling with a patch of tall sea grass. “Whether they fly or not makes no difference. They are above and we are below.”

  Nerida had the insane urge to beat her head against the hard columns of the castle in an effort to get his attention. Instead, she took a deep breath and continued, “There is also a crocodile that swims these waters—one so large even the humans fear him.”

  Well, that got a little more of a reaction. Muir stopped rearranging blades of blue grass to look at her. “Did you see this crocodile?”

  “No, they say he stays to the inlet in the west.”

  “Then he is near the surface and we will stay safe where we are. No harm will come to us here. Thespa won’t allow it.”

  “So now we’re depending on Thespa for our safety? You yourself said sprites are tricksters, and now you trust her? She hasn’t been back since we arrived. How would she know anything is wrong?” Muir only ignored her, which fueled Nerida’s anger. “I can’t believe this! You’ve grown soft over a bunch of…of…flowers!”

  She ripped a bunch of the thick yellow flowers from their stalks and threw them. They floated with the current, tiny bubbles passing around their petals.

  In the old sea, her father’s temper would have flared to life and matched her own. Here, he ignored her and simply turned his attention to a different clump of flowers—one that hadn’t been torn up by his daughter’s anger.

  Unable to stay a second more, Nerida swam toward the surface.

  THE FIRST THING that registered when she returned to the castle was her sister’s screams. Callie’s voice echoed over and over in Nerida’s head. “He’s dead! He’s dead! Father is gone.”

  It was unreal, watching the image of her father float up toward the surface. Had she not seen his staff on the ocean floor, she wouldn’t
have believed it was true. The burst of thick bubbles, shaped in the image of Muir on the white sand didn’t lie. His body had turned to foam and was slowly mixing back into the sea. Within moments, there would be no evidence the mighty merman had ever existed, but for the memory of him in his daughters’ minds and in those of his people.

  “What happened?” Nerida managed to ask, reaching to pick up the gold staff her father always kept at his side.

  “A crocodile came,” Callie said in a shocked whisper. “He came from above. He was so fast…” Her big, blue eyes glazed over as she remembered. “He was swimming right for me, but I managed to dodge inside. Then, I heard Father yell…” her voice broke. “I came back out, but it was too late. He’s gone.”

  Too late. He hadn’t listened to her and now it was too late. Nerida pulled her sister in a tight hug as Callie sobbed. She patted her long, blonde hair and watched during those few precious moments as the last bits of foam floated to the surface. He truly was gone.

  Callie’s long locks drifted with the current, covering the etched staff in Nerida’s hand. The gold shimmered beneath the hair. At least Taron came to the Never Sea, she thought. There would still be a king—someone to lead and rule.

  She heard Callie gasp and pull back from her. The look of horror that passed over her delicate face sent a chill down Nerida’s spine colder than any ice she had felt in the Never Sea. She twisted around, worried the scaly monster had returned—that the croc was headed for them. What she saw instead, was a million times worse.

  Cassius swam toward them—holding his father’s staff. His words matched Callie’s, “The crocodile came. My father is gone.” He twisted Taron’s staff in his hands, the expression on his face was unsure at first.

  Then a small, dark smile painted his lips.

  3

  Fallen Kings

  NERIDA SOAKED UP the heat from the boulder like a sea sponge taking in water. The stone cooled under her touch, leaving her no choice but to pull her body farther up onto the rock in search of warmer spots. Finding one such place, she sprawled out, but took care to leave her tail in the water so as not to break Thespa’s rule again.

  Since her father’s death, she had spent nearly all of her days near the surface. Staying away from the castle kept her away from remembering what had been lost. It also kept her a safe distance from what she knew was coming.

  Cassius had lost no time announcing his intention of becoming the next sea king. There were no other royal princes to stop him. As Taron’s eldest, he would rightfully rule half the kingdom. But he hadn’t stopped there. As both kings were dead, he wanted the old law back in place. He wished to join the kingdoms and wanted to rule as the only king. And to do that, he needed her.

  She shook her head, unwilling to let the thought of marrying Cassius stay in her head a second longer.

  Nerida turned and gazed at the island. Her people had been known to bask on the warm sand in the old ocean. Now it was forbidden. Feeling the hot sand beneath her would certainly feel heavenly. The coldness seeped into her very being as if it wished to be part of her, settling into her bones. While she knew the water was warmer on the ocean bottom near the castle, it wasn’t enough to keep her down there with Cassius. She’d rather brave the cold water.

  She twisted one long, black tendril of frozen hair around her finger and felt the crunch of ice. She sat up and gave her head a quick shake. Frozen crystals flew from her hair and made little pinging sounds as they struck the stone behind her. She frowned. Her rock wasn’t going to stay warm much longer at this rate.

  I could walk on the shore and feel that warm sand. No one would have to know. Thespa wouldn’t find out. I’m the only one around, she thought, giving her tail an experimental flip out of the water. No one will ever know. Everyone is at Cassius’ coronation today. There’s no one to see me.

  Nerida gave her tail one more strong flip, arching it completely out of the water and into the air. She felt a sharp stab of pain, then felt it tingle, as if thousands of tiny electric currents were zinging along each gray scale. She had walked on the shore of the old sea a few times, but never was there any pain. She watched as the tip of the fin changed, becoming translucent. Two slender legs flickered beneath the surface.

  So entranced was she by the toes forming on those feet, that she nearly missed the ship that appeared on the horizon beyond them.

  With a strong swish, her newly found legs splashed back into the water. She ignored the familiar feel of her tail as it returned, washing away all evidence of her feet and her previous thoughts of escaping onto the warm sand.

  Frozen in a mixed state of shock and wonder, Nerida sat and watched the billowing white sails for a moment. She heard a loud boom, followed by a sharp whistling sound. An enormous splash sent a wave crashing over her. It shook her out of her trace just enough that she dove into the safety of the deep, dark water surrounding the rock.

  Her heart beat wildly as she listened to the groans of wood as the vessel came nearer. She had never seen any ship in the waters surrounding the island—nor a single sign that any had ever been there. Back home, she could always find some mark that the humans traveled the surface above her. Their possessions—even their bodies—littered the ocean floor.

  Cautiously, she swam up to investigate. She stopped at the side of the rock, just before breaking the surface, and listened.

  “No one is to fire any weapon without my order,” she heard someone say in a menacing tone. The answering replies were muffled. She couldn’t hear what the words were, but from the cadence, it seemed the voices were submitting to that order.

  Feeling somewhat safe, she broke the surface and stared up at the big ship, keeping carefully by the large rock, should she need to dive under it again. The wooden figurehead on the vessel’s bow looked much like a mermaid. Nerida bit her lip to keep from laughing at the irony. They had just made the threatening motion of shooting one of those large metal balls at her, yet chose her image to adorn their vessel.

  Strange, incomprehensible creatures, these humans were. She often wondered why her people had been given the ability to become human-like in the absence of the sea. Two frail, human legs were an unexplainable mystery.

  The owner of one such pair of legs had come to the front of the ship, as if he had known she was watching them—and he wasn’t one of Peter’s troupe.

  The vibrant red of his coat stood out in contrast to his long, black hair, which caught in the breeze. He stared directly at her. She returned his stare, lifting just the tiniest bit out of the water to prove that she had no fear of him. A slight smile caught at his lips and he gave her a nod, as if he approved of this gesture before turning away and snapping more orders.

  All at once, Nerida found herself being dragged under the water. Her first thought was to the crocodile. She nearly screamed out before realizing it was a hand pulling her down, not the sharp teeth of a monster.

  “Why weren’t you at the coronation?” The words struck Nerida as odd, being as there were much more interesting things happening above them on the surface than placing a small golden crown on the head of an arrogant merman.

  Just to be sure Cassius had noticed the ship, Nerida pointed an index finger over her head toward the dark shape, looming above them. “Did you see them up there? I’ve never seen a ship here before.”

  Cassius glowered at her, as if what she was telling him was the most mundane thing to ever reach his ears, then turned his attention to the new silver staff in his hands. It was twisted like a rope all along its shaft, as if two separate staffs had been melded into one, then the end split into three sharp points. Nerida bit her lip, recognizing the familiar wavy etch of her father’s staff in one of the twists near Cassius’ hand. “What happens up there does not concern me,” he replied.

  Nerida fought the urge to roll her eyes. For being the newly appointed king of the ocean, Cassius was acting as if the surface of the sea was a completely different world. “It should concern you. It is part of
your kingdom, and they are up there floating on it.” Sarcasm was dripping from her words, but she couldn’t help it.

  “The only thing that worries me is why my promised bride thought it necessary to humiliate me in front of everyone in the palace. You were supposed to be at my side.” A hurt look passed over his silver eyes. It didn’t stay there long.

  Nerida knew the ice that surrounded them in the water was warmer than the frigid indifference that appeared in those eyes. And just as she had learned to evade those icy spikes in the sea, she would have to find a way to escape him, too.

  “I made no promise to be your bride,” she answered, fists tightening at her sides.

  A quick flash of anger passed over his face. “It makes no difference what you wish,” he shrugged and swam closer. He gave her a smile, which was meant to be disarming, but Nerida caught the muscle twitching in his jaw. Fury was still very much alive and hidden just below the surface. “Our fathers wished to unite our kingdoms. Together they ruled—and together we shall rule. I as king, and you as my queen.”

  “We shall rule evenly as our fathers ruled, but I won’t marry you.”

  All pretense of being charming vanished. Cassius sneered, the expression twisting his perfect, chiseled features as it showed his true nature. Nerida began backing up as he advanced, his new trident pointed at her. Trying to put distance between herself and the staff’s sharp points, she swam backward and smacked solidly into the rock. It stunned her just long enough she couldn’t dodge him as he trapped her throat between two of the staff’s spikes. She struggled and tried to push against them, but he held her easily, pinned between himself and the rock.

  “You seem to believe you have a choice in what you will do, so I’ll tell you this only once…” he leaned toward her, whispering into her hair. “…you don’t. You see, Thespa gave me the power to rule over the merpeople, much the same way as the flying boy rules those on the island. You will not cross me, Nerida. Whatever I desire, I will have—and you will never stop me.”