The Untold Stories of Neverland: The Complete Box Set

by K. R. Thompson

  6

  Banished

  THE SEA KING arrived in all his glory the next day. The satisfied smirk on his face told Nerida that Callie had gone through with their bargain. She’d married him and the kingdom was his. With a twitch of his staff, the rock bars around her fell away, as if they’d only been made of the rubbery tentacles of a jellyfish.

  She half-rolled, half-crawled to the water and immediately submersed herself, feeling the silky brush of the water as it welcomed her back where she belonged.

  Cassius had followed her below the surface, and once she opened her eyes from soaking up the bliss of the water, he spoke.

  “A deal is a deal. You’re free to go,” he told her conversationally, as if he’d just happened to see her there, blissfully drinking in the cool, perfect water.

  She wasn’t fooled, though. There was still a dark glint in his eyes, as if though now that he’d fulfilled his part of the bargain, he could do whatever he wanted.

  “You are forever banished from the castle,” he told her, a sly smile curving his lips. “Never will you swim inside its halls, nor will you ever sit upon the throne.”

  “You can’t do that,” she objected. “Callie is my sister. I have to see her and you can’t stop me.”

  “No, you won’t and yes, I will stop you,” he said darkly. “If you ever speak to her again, I’ll do to her what I’ve done to you. How strong do you think sweet, fragile Callie would be, trapped away from the sea? How long would she last there?” He gestured toward the surface, to the place where Nerida had been. The two dolphins were frolicking in the surf. They’d stayed with her the whole time, faithfully spraying her with water. They were the reason she was still alive—and somehow Cassius knew it.

  “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully, tapping his chin with his index finger, “that reminds me. I have two loose ends to tie up.” He pointed his trident to the dolphins and a bright flash of silver sizzled through the water.

  “Nooo!” Nerida screamed.

  “Just in case Callidora needs to be put in check once in a while,” Cassius mused. “I can’t have a couple of rogue dolphins help her out of whatever trouble she gets herself into, now can I? Punishment is punishment, after all.” He laughed as two forms sank to the sandy bottom of the sea. Gone were the graceful dolphins who had saved her, replaced with two dark stingrays.

  Nerida buried her head in her hands and sobbed, letting the undercurrent pull her to the bottom. Every time she thought it couldn’t get worse—it did. Picking up on her sorrow, the two stingrays brushed against her and offered her comfort.

  THESPA WAS LIVID. Not only had the arrogant merman deliberately ignored her explicit instructions not to harm the innocents in the sea and transformed her two dolphins into stingrays, he’d also managed to cause so much unrest in his own kingdom by banishing one mermaid that Thespa’s own people were the ones paying the consequences. The trident was draining the magic from the sprites and not giving anything back to them.

  She’d given Cassius warning, and now fought the urge to march directly into his castle, snatch the trident away from him and use it to change him into something slimy and offensive.

  That would take some work, though, she decided. Not the act of taking it away, but finding a suitable form to transform him into. She ticked off all the various animals and plant life in her head that would be a worthy punishment.

  She didn’t want to give him the form of anything that would have power. She knew that for certain. The last thing she needed was to end up eaten by a shark, or be zapped by an electric eel. Granted, his personality would meld in wonderfully with those two. No, he needed something smaller…something lowlier that would remind him that she was stronger than he would ever be.

  A bug, maybe? No, that wasn’t quite right. What of a bullfrog, perhaps? No, of course she couldn’t change him into a bullfrog. After all, he was a prince. She’d heard stories of other worlds concerning frogs and princes. With her luck, he’d find someone to kiss him and then she’d be back where she was now. Besides, the frogs didn’t need the bad reputation he’d end up giving them.

  It was entirely too bad she couldn’t change him into a toothless, female crocodile, she mused. The giant bully could use a friend. Maybe then Tic-Tock would be less disagreeable and the merman would learn his lesson.

  Thespa sighed. All this pondering had left her drained. She’d gone from being angry and aggravated to being exhausted in a matter of minutes.

  The sprites needed their magic to return—and soon—before they began dying. Her Lost Ones had to believe in her again and for that to happen, she needed to find the right one to put in charge of them..

  7

  Discovery

  ONE OF THE things Nerida discovered soon after being banished was how the water warmed in a couple of the narrow inlets during the afternoon. For a few precious hours each day, the water reminded her of the old ocean, so every day when the sun rose high in the sky, she made it a point to swim in one of the smaller inlets.

  It was on one of these afternoons that she spotted the flying boy when he appeared, struggling to get across the water a short distance away.

  As she watched, Peter finally managed to disappear over a sandy rise on the beach. He’d been carrying someone—someone larger than he was. The tiny golden pixie who was his constant companion had been flying over them, showering the two with a bright cloud of pixie dust the entire way. No doubt she was the one responsible for Peter successfully making it across the inlet, otherwise he would have landed in the water with her.

  “Who is he carrying?” Nerida wondered.

  As if they’d decided to answer that question for her, the two rays bumped against her and flitted toward an outcropping of rocks and disappeared from sight.

  She followed them and found the water flowed into another dark, underwater cavern that reminded her of the one she’d left the pirate in—the one where she had been trapped for days to die. Instinctively, she pulled back, not wanting the memory of those days flooding her mind.

  Sensing she no longer with them, the two rays turned back and settled on a boulder near her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, offering them a sad smile. “I can’t go in there. Whatever Peter is doing will have to stay his secret. I’m not brave enough to follow you any further inside.”

  They understood and left, leading her back out into the open water.

  Once she cleared the rock, Nerida popped her head above the water. She spotted Peter again and this time his arms were empty. From the loud crowing noises he made, he seemed pleased about something as he flitted across the water and into a copse of green trees on the opposite beach.

  THE ONE GRAND thing Nerida discovered was an isle that sat a short distance away from the main island. While the top side of the tiny spit of land was as lush and green as the island, there weren’t any humans on it—and the even better discovery had laid in what was beneath it. Just a small swim from the surface was an opening to a cavern that ran beneath the isle. It was the perfect place to call home. No one bothered her there, and due to the shallow water and rocks surrounding the isle, she rarely saw the pirate ship. So when she did spot it moving a short distance away the day following her strange sighting of Peter, it got her attention.

  It moved slowly, carefully making its way past the isle. It came close enough to the shore that she could see the intense expression on the face of the man guiding the ship’s wheel. It would have been much easier to have gone the other way. Wherever they were heading must be important to brave the shallows in the coming darkness, she realized.

  And they hadn’t noticed her, which, in her opinion, was good as she was only a short distance away. She sat on the beach, the water rising halfway up her tail and watched them, while they stayed oblivious to her presence.

  The man with the long, black hair looked the most anxious of all the faces she could make out. The one she heard the others call cap’n. He paced back and forth on the top floor of the ship be
hind the man at the wheel, pieces of paper clutched in his hands. The way he stared at them, she was certain those tiny slips of white must be telling them to come this way.

  But what could be so important to risk dodging amongst the rocks?

  Her curiosity piqued, she slid quietly into the water and trailed after the ship as it made its way around the top of the island to the mouth of the cove. The place where she’d last seen Peter.

  A few men climbed up the ropes and rolled up the sails. Nerida stayed a safe distance away until she heard the anchor swish as it fell heavily to the bottom of the sea. The ship slowed, then stopped. Carefully, she swam a bit closer and listened to the voices above her.

  “Ye should wait until morning, Cap’n. That inlet be too narrow to enter now. With the tide down, ye’d be smashed to bits,” she heard the one at the wheel say.

  She caught a good look at the anguish on the one man’s face as he turned and gripped the railing, staring out at the inlet. “I have two days. Morning may be too late.”

  “Aye,” the other man conceded, “but the water’s not near as calm as the other places we’ve laid anchor. Ye’ll be no good to her dead.”

  There was a long, tense moment of silence, before she heard the captain agree. “I will leave at first light.” He gave a few other commands and left, his footsteps echoing on the wooden boards.

  After he was gone for a few moments, the rest of those she could see finished tying ropes and settling the ship to rights for the night.

  Whatever the reason was for their journey into these waters, she wouldn’t find out until morning came, she decided, as she turned to leave. But once the sun’s first rays streaked across the sky, she would find out all she wanted to know.

  THE SPLASH OF water and the groan of wood woke Nerida from her place on the anchor. The chilly curve of metal hadn’t been a comfortable place to sleep, but she’d been afraid that she would miss something from the ship if she went back to her isle.

  The voices overhead were unhappy. It seemed none of the ones on the ship were pleased as the small rowboat was lowered to the water.

  “Best ye let us come with ye, Cap’n,” one strong voice suggested. “Who knows what yon ruffian has planned for ye.”

  “I cannot let anyone come. Everyone must stay with the ship. Peter gave his orders that I am to arrive alone. Take care of the ship in my absence,” the weary-sounding voice of the captain replied.

  “But Cap’n…”

  “You have your orders, Beckett.”

  The one arguing let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Aye, Cap’n.”

  She waited until the small boat moved away, heading toward the inlet before she swam up and popped her head above the water. She felt the rough brush of the ship against her back as she watched the captain row toward the island with a sense of urgency. The tide had risen overnight and the waves were having their way with the small boat, tossing it first one way and then the next, but he continued onward as if he was a man on a special quest.

  At least he hadn’t left during the night when the tide was down. He would have been crushed against the rocks for certain.

  “Yon flying fiend. What I wouldn’t give to fire a cannon at him,” she heard someone mutter directly above her head.

  She turned and looked up to see the sour countenance of one old, wrinkled pirate with white hair and a fat nose stare out at the island. She followed his gaze and discovered she’d missed something important.

  While she’d been busy watching the captain row his boat, Peter was a distance ahead of him, taunting him.

  Nerida stifled the exasperated sigh that threatened to escape her lips. It wouldn’t do to attract the attention of those on the ship. They wouldn’t understand she was only agreeing with them; they’d just shoot another of those metal balls at her.

  She slipped back down—so as not to be seen—then muttered the words that she’d been holding in.

  “He’s so childish. Peter should know better than to act—”

  The sight of rows upon rows of sharp teeth made her forget what she’d meant to say. She dodged below the ship, just as the crocodile’s jaws snapped shut. The ship groaned and creaked as it took the brunt of the attack that had been meant for her.

  Racing to the bottom of the sea, she hid between two large, prickly batches of thick coral and waited for him to move on.

  But the croc didn’t seem interested in leaving. His attention turned now to the ship, as if he’d just noticed it being there. She watched him turn and swim a short distance before turning and ramming it again. The first time might have been a mistake, but this time wasn’t.

  It was then she noticed something missing. Where there should have been a long, powerful tail, there was only a short, red, barely healed nub—and if the current attack on the ship was any indicator, Nerida bet the humans had been the ones responsible for it.

  Finally the croc turned toward the inlet and swam away—directly toward the place she’d last seen the rowboat.

  Hoping the captain was well on his way to catching up with Peter and was far enough away the crocodile couldn’t find him, she cautiously swam after the green, scaly monster.

  The pirates on the ship were making all kinds of noise. At first, she thought they’d decided to shoot at the crocodile, and so she held her breath, waiting for the explosions—but they didn’t come. Instead, she heard the faint whir of ropes and pulleys. Then she heard splashes as more longboats were lowered into the water.

  The two stingrays swam in circles around her, obviously trying to slow her down from following the crocodile.

  “But the captain doesn’t know he’s being followed,” she argued, trying to push them away. She thought of explaining why she wished to help the man, but found that she didn’t have a reason. “It’s the right thing to do,” she told the larger ray as it stopped directly in front of her face, blocking her. “Sometimes, you just have to help someone, regardless of what happens. You know that.”

  She knew they would understand. After all, they were the ones who had kept her alive in the cavern. Instead of moving out of her way, they stayed put. The smaller one came forward and bumped against her, giving her a light shove toward the craggy rock facing.

  A sudden swish of movement beyond the rays caught her attention and before she knew what happened, both of them rammed against her, propelling her toward the rocks.

  Instinctively, she put out a hand to stop herself from being banged against the facing, but instead her fingers only felt the brush of tiny currents as water whisked past.

  The rays may have looked smaller, but they were every bit as strong as the dolphins they’d once been, she realized once she managed to stop herself. They’d managed to knock her through the narrow opening of the same cavern they’d been in when she had seen Peter a couple of days earlier.

  Only seconds passed before she saw the long shape of the crocodile swim in front of the opening—so close that she could have reached out her hand and touched the leathery skin on his side.

  Her breath caught watching him swim past. If he noticed her, it would be the end. Though the mouth of the cavern was narrow, his long tapered snout would have no trouble entering if he realized she was so close.

  She heard shouting voices, followed by popping sounds. The pirates were attacking the crocodile.

  She let out her breath. She was safe. His attention would definitely be locked on them now.

  Nerida chewed on her lip, wondering if he’d managed to catch up to the captain in the inlet before he’d turned around. She hadn’t heard any screams or splashes, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. The monster was so huge, he could easily have swam to the boat and pulled it under if he wanted to, and the poor man wouldn’t have a chance.

  Maybe she could take a quick look. She’d noticed the first time she had been here that the opening to this cavern wasn’t completely submerged. As she ventured farther inside, she found a small crack running up the side that eventually opened up.
With luck, she could sneak up to the open air and take a quick look without attracting any attention from either the crocodile or the men hunting him.

  The dank air of the cavern felt chilly against her face as she cautiously popped her head above the water and looked around. The waves were smashing against her as the tide rose. There was enough distance above her that she could reach out and barely brush the roof with her fingertips had she wanted to, but it wouldn’t be that way long. The water was rising at a brisk pace. Soon the water would meet the roof.

  Fighting against the current, she managed to make it to the jagged crack in the rock. Gripping the side of the opening, she peered outside, looking first for the crocodile.

  He’d lured the men in the boats farther out in the sea. As she watched, he rose out of the water, jaws open, and crushed the side of one boat. Bodies flailed, pitching into the sea. Gurgling screams came next, followed by a volley of sharp cracks intermingled with shouts from those on the other boats.

  There wasn’t any way she was going to be noticed by man or beast at this point, she decided. She turned her attention in the opposite direction to the inlet and spotted the small slip of a boat the captain had been rowing pulled up on the sand.

  The man was nowhere to be seen, but the yawning mouth of a cave sat just beyond the place where the boat sat.

  I think he is safe, she thought as another scream rent the air. The others may not be so lucky.

  She slid back under the surface and returned to her stingrays, who waited for her to follow them.

  “I don’t think I can do it,” she told them sadly. The walls around her seemed to be closing in as if they wished to trap her. She knew it was her imagination, but still expected the rock to come free, form into thin bars and squeeze her tight, trapping her forever in the darkness.

  The rays moved forward slowly, inch by inch, trying to get her to move forward.