The water was beginning to feel more and more like the old ocean the farther she went. Her heart began hammering in her chest and she rushed forward, anxious to catch up with the crocodile.
She saw the nub of his tail a short distance ahead. He had stopped right in a bend of the rock, as if he’d finally chosen to let her catch up with him.
Nerida’s breath caught as she rounded the bend. A wall of water that was nothing like the sea, rippled against the current from the top wall to the bottom, moving as if it were charged with magic. As she watched, Tic-Tock swam through the liquid wall, nonchalant, as if he did this every day and the magic never bothered him in the least. As the last bit of him disappeared, Nerida stared, waiting to see what would happen, fully expecting something. What, exactly, she didn’t know.
Would he come back? What lay on the other side of that wall? Bridgette had supposedly told her all about the Never Sea, but she hadn’t mentioned this strange place. Did she know it was here?
A long moment passed, and when it didn’t seem that anything horrible was going to occur, Nerida slowly went forward to inspect this new magic further, stopping just an inch shy of touching it. The water before her ran in vertical ripples, glowing in muted tones of pink, yellow, and blue—and just through the tiny waves, she could see a distorted view of the ocean beyond.
Home. She was sure of it. This had to be the old ocean! Barely able to reign in caution, she thrust her arm through the wall, instead of swimming completely through it as Tic-Tock had done. The cold chill of magic swirled around her arm, as if it had been caught in an icy whirlpool. It was a cold, familiar reminder of the day Thespa had brought them to the Never Sea. She was certain this was the place the water sprite had brought them through.
We don’t have to stay here anymore. The thought shocked her so much Nerida drew her arm out of the wall’s icy embrace. I have Thespa’s magic. I have the power to take my people home.
Tic-Tock swam back toward her, as if he could see her as easily as she saw him. Without further ado, he came back through the wall. The cold magic hadn’t bothered him at all, if his demeanor was any indication. As he swam past her, one gold eye locked onto hers as if to say, “Well, I showed you my secret. Now are you happy?”
“Yes,” she answered, turning back to look at the wall once more. “Yes. I am very happy you showed me this place.”
And now I have to see if I can do that as easily as you, she added silently, and bravely went through the wall.
She resisted the urge to shake as the freezing water circled her, but she pushed forward and a handful of seconds later, the water warmed and became clear. The instant she came through, the taste and feel of the water were familiar. There was no doubt she was in her old ocean…but where?
The ocean floor had a wide, deep furrow as if something very large had been pulled to the place where she stood. But from the looks of the plants and coral that grew, it had been a very long time ago. She spotted a familiar slab of yellow and green slate poking out of the sand a few feet away—part of the castle’s floor.
Nerida knew then the path in the sand would lead her straight back to the place the castle once sat. But before she followed it, she decided to turn to take a look at the wall behind her. It soon became apparent why none of her people had ever found this magical portal before.
She reached out and touched what appeared to be a large rock. Even though she knew she would feel the icy cold of magic, her fingers still expected to feel the mossy lichens growing on its surface. Satisfied that she could easily come back, she turned and flew down the path, eager to explore her old ocean.
It only took seconds to realize she wasn’t meant to be there. It became harder and harder to breathe the farther she went. It was as if every bit of her energy was slowly draining away. Then, the realization hit her.
I’m not supposed to live in this world. She struggled to get back to the rock. No one believes in me here. Her wings felt like heavy, weighted things, dragging her down. The same things that gave her power in the Never Sea would kill her here.
Fear clutching at her, she desperately tried to return to the rock, but each movement she made felt as heavy as the stone she was trying to reach. I will die here if I can’t make it back.
Bereft of magic, her wings stopped and she fell to the sandy bottom. Nerida struggled to her feet and looked up at the place she needed to be. It was so close, yet so far away. Then, as she watched, the crocodile came through the rock as if he didn’t have a care in the world. In no apparent hurry, he made a wide circle and came up behind her, bumping into her with his long snout.
Wrapping her arms around his thick neck, she held on with what strength she had left and an instant later, he brought them both through the portal.
Her magic returned the second she came free of the cold wall and she turned loose of the crocodile and took a deep, shaky breath.
Tic-Tock stopped long enough to acknowledge she was off him, then he swam away, as if he had no intention of performing any other good deeds on this day.
“Thank you,” Nerida called out in a trembling voice, watching as he disappeared from view.
He must have a bit of his own special magic to be able to move so easily from one world to the next, she decided. She took a few steps back and knelt down to collect her thoughts, watching the magical ripples in the wall.
“I could still bring my people back, if they wished to go,” she said, thinking aloud. She had enough power to do that. She could likely even take the castle back through the portal the same way Thespa had, though the odds weren’t favorable that she would be able to move it very far out from the rock once it came through. It would drain every bit of magic she had. If I do it, I’ll die, she added silently. Then the water sprites would, too.
She chewed on her lip, mulling over all of this information. While she had no problem giving her life for her people, she didn’t want to condemn the sprites to death. Maybe she could convince them to come back through to the old world, too. She frowned as she stood. Something told her that convincing Bridgette to leave the Never Sea would be impossible, but she knew she needed to try anyway.
Nerida swam back through the cavern and into the Never Sea. But first, she needed to talk to Callie. Regardless of what the water sprites decided, her sister deserved to know their people now had a choice in the matter.
A GROUP OF merchildren frolicked in the tall grass on the knoll beyond the castle. Strange, she thought, that grass hadn’t been there the last time she’d come to the castle. The water echoed with the sounds of their laughter as they darted back and forth between the thick, green stalks.
Even though she was on edge of being so near her people, Nerida couldn’t help but smile as she watched them. She counted three of them, two boys and a girl. She found it odd that none of them looked familiar. They zipped around, swimming from one patch to the next, obviously looking for a fourth child. She watched them for another moment, then started to move on to the castle when a small, excited voice stopped her.
“Don’t move, please. They’ll find me, if you do.”
She looked down to see a small green tail sticking out near her feet. Further inspection showed a mop of blond hair in the mass of green grass, its owner’s face peering at her between the blades.
When the sound of the children’s voices moved over the hill, the boy rose out of his hiding place. His silver eyes grew wide as he looked at Nerida.
She closed her eyes, inwardly cringing at what she knew was going to be a shrill scream of terror. When nothing happened, she opened them, and stared into the happy face of the little boy.
His grin was so wide it seemed to take over every inch of his face. “I know who you are. You’re my Aunt Nerida!” he exclaimed happily, rushing over to take her hand.
Shocked, Nerida stared at the child. Aunt? Exactly how long had it been since Callie visited her on the isle? More time than she knew had passed if this child was truly hers. His flyaway blond hair definitel
y reminded her of her sister. Then, it hit her. While she’d only been in the old ocean for a few moments, more time than that had passed in the Never Sea. How long had she been gone? Long enough for this child to have been born and to have grown large enough to be away from his mother, no doubt. What else had happened in that time? The boy was chattering a mile a minute, excitedly tugging at her hand. He looked up long enough that she caught a good look at his eyes—the same familiar silver eyes that had belonged to Cassius. But this child’s eyes held no hint of the coldness that she had seen so many times before. This boy’s eyes held so much warmth it was as if he held the sun in the center of his being.
He caught her looking at him and stopped talking long enough to give her another huge smile. A huge surge of power zipped into every inch of Nerida’s being. Her eyes widened.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” she asked.
The boy’s smile faded just enough for a slightly confused look to appear. “No. Why would anyone be afraid of you?”
When she didn’t answer him, he shrugged and continued to chatter away again. He was talking so quickly, she had to concentrate to make any of it out. Still, she was so taken aback that nothing he said made any sense.
“What is your name?” she interrupted.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you knew. My name is Oden,” he said, squeezing her hand tight with both of his small ones. Then, he puffed out his chest, adding, “And Mother will be so happy that I’m bringing you home. No one has seen you in such a long time. Where were you?”
Without waiting for her answer, the little boy began tugging her toward the castle and Nerida let him. As they topped over the knoll, the other three merchildren appeared, their eyes wide as they took in the picture of the small sea prince slowly towing the dark, evil sea witch toward the castle.
Now, the screaming will commence, Nerida thought, but instead of swimming away in terror, the three came up and began firing questions at their small comrade.
“Is this her?”
“Is she staying?”
“I thought she’d be bigger. Doesn’t she talk?” this coming from the little girl, who placed her hands on her hips and studied Nerida carefully.
Oden stopped pulling Nerida and put one hand up, instantly quieting his friends. “This is my Aunt Nerida, and yep, she’s staying,” he told them in a no-nonsense voice. Then he glowered at the little girl. “She’s plenty big enough and she’ll talk when she wants to.”
Nerida bit her lip to keep from laughing as Oden took a firm grip on her hand and began pulling her toward the castle again. As they moved off, she heard one of the boys whisper, “Did you know she tamed the crocodile? He’s her pet and does anything she commands.”
Nerida stifled a snort. Tic-Tock was hardly a pet and definitely not tame by any means. Still, the awe in the boy’s voice sent another tingle of magic along her body.
Two mermaids swam by. Though they both looked wary, each offered her a small smile as they went past. Another bit of magic surged in.
Nerida pulled against Oden as they reached the columns of the castle, forcing him to stop.
“I have to know,” she said, leaning over so that she could look the boy straight in the eye. “Why aren’t any of them afraid of me? Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Because you protect us all,” Callie answered for her son, coming through the archway of the castle. “There isn’t any reason to fear you.”
IT TOOK SEVERAL moments for Callie to shoo Oden back out to play, but once the little boy left, Nerida wasted no time in telling her sister the reason for her visit. She told her that while she had enough magic to return them to the old ocean, she didn’t have enough to bring them back again to the Never Sea. If they chose to go back, it would be final.
Callie nodded, sending the long blonde strands of her hair to bob in the current. “It’s good to know there is a way back, I suppose.”
“You suppose? Do you mean you don’t want to go back?”
“We don’t have any reason to go back, Nerida. Everything we need is here. Here, in the Never Sea, we are safe.” Callie reached over and took her hand.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. So long as we have you to protect us, we’ll stay. Nothing bad has happened to any of our people since the day you saved Annalise from the human. Since you’ve cursed the sea, we are safer than we’ve ever been.”
Nerida let out a deep breath. The safety of the merpeople had most likely come from staying safely below the surface instead of anything she’d done. Still, if this was to be Callie’s decision, her sister would need to know everything. She needed to know why Nerida needed the fear of her people to survive.
And so she told her sister of Bridgette’s visit, of why she’d been chosen to keep the sprites alive, and of the part the merpeople played in keeping her magic alive.
“Magic is only real when someone believes,” Nerida said. She felt her wings dip down behind her as if saying the words aloud had somehow sealed her fate. “I felt it come alive when I saw the fear on their faces the day I saved Annalise.”
“Oh, Nerida!” Callie’s smile was as bright as the sun as she leaned over and pulled her into a tight hug, wings and all. “Fear may have been what made you stronger then, but it has changed so much since then. You became a hero that day and none of our people have forgotten it. Don’t you understand? You’re more than a mermaid, more than a sea witch, and even more than my sister. You’re all of those things together and more. Our people believe in you, not because they are afraid of your black wings and your magic. It’s because they know you’ll protect them. They love you, Nerida. And love is always stronger than fear.”
NERIDA FLICKED HER fingers at the enchantment on her isle and watched as the magic changed. Even at Callie’s insistence that the castle was her home, she decided to return to her isle. Though it seemed her sister was correct that she had gained something more than the fear of her people, she still felt anxious and out of place in the castle. The isle was home.
Oden hadn’t taken her decision well and had plastered himself to her legs as she left. The only way to appease the child, was to promise that she would bring him for a visit, which was the main reason for changing the appearance of her home now.
She caught a glimpse of the Jolig Roger’s white sails on the horizon, and adjusted her magic just a bit more. “Only those who truly believe in me, will see my isle as it is. And those who fear me, can just continue to do so.”
She took a step into the water and spread her wings, knowing the pirates would be able to see her soon, standing on an enchanted shore filled with nightmares meant only for their eyes.
Tic-Tock huffed at her side, then opened his mouth, as if he had just spotted the ship’s sails and wanted to help by showing off his most frightening assets too.
Loved by those below, feared by those above, and befriended by a creature hated by them all. I truly am the sea witch, Nerida thought with a smile. But this is what I was meant to be all along. I am different, but I’m everything I need to be.
1
Lost Memories
THE PIRATE FROWNED as he let out an aggravated sigh and plopped down on a barrel. The wood groaned under the sudden assault, but managed to stay whole under his weight. He patted his stomach thoughtfully and eyed Jack with a rare dark look. “Don’t know why ye insist on asking such questions, lad. What does it matter where I got her, eh? The lass be a fine one, no doubt.”
Jack stifled a groan. The lass tattooed upon Boggs’ ample stomach had been one of the first things he had learned about once he had left Peter Pan’s troupe of Neverlings and joined the crew of the Jolig Roger. Though the man was only middle-aged and didn’t have a gray hair as of yet, the rotund cook had been more than happy to share the adventures of his younger days several times over; his most favorite story being that of his rescuing a beautiful woman who had captured his heart so completely that he had gotten drunk shortly after their meeting and had her likeness tatt
ooed upon the largest part of his body.
“Have ye asked Beckett about the ink he has? If ye be wantin’ a tattoo, he be the one ye need to be talkin’ to. Just the other day he inked a lass on his right hand with his left. A right fine sight it is. Good work considerin’ he be right-handed. Beckett be the most steady hand of any ’o us with needles—with exception of Smee, ’o course,” Boggs said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Best the most steady hand belong to the ship’s doctor, don’t ye agree?”
This conversation had veered off course. Attempting to get it back on track, Jack sat on the barrel opposite the cook and looked him squarely in the eye. “Yes, I know Beckett has the best hand for tattooing and that Smee is an excellent doctor.”
“Well, was is it ye be trying to ask then? Needing ideas of what to have inked?” Boggs gave him a sly grin and sat back, pushing his stomach forward in an effort to give Jack the best view possible of the woman tattooed there.
Out of every picture placed upon the skin of pirates on this ship—and Jack knew for a fact there were hundreds—the large, scantily clad woman wobbling on Boggs’ flesh was the last one he wished to place upon his own body.
“I don’t want a tattoo. What I want to know is where you got her. No one on board this ship did this, did they?” Jack fought to keep the desperation out of his voice. The reason for this question was important, but the pirate in front of him wouldn’t understand it—not unless he remembered his life before he’d arrived in Neverland.
Please remember, he begged the pirate silently.
“Well…” Boggs chewed on his bottom lip a moment, obviously deep in thought. “Can’t say as I recall where I got her…”
“Do you remember why you chose her?”
Boggs laughed, the rumble causing his belly to shake and set the tattooed woman to wobbling. “What’s not to choose, boy? Haven’t ye got eyes in that head ’o yers?”
The Untold Stories of Neverland: The Complete Box Set Page 37