Forever Neverland(25)

Peter Pan barely managed to come to a stop, hovering in the air a mere hair’s breadth from the tip of Hook’s sword, which now rested ever so threateningly at the hollow of his young throat.

A second later, Tinkerbell, still in her pixie form, also came skidding to a sparkling halt, hovering somewhere near Peter Pan’s shoulder and blinking rapidly in shock.

“Peter Pan,” Hook greeted menacingly. “Lose something?” he taunted. His piercing blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

Peter took a moment to register the situation, his eyes scanning the scene from Hook and his sword to Wendy, in Smee’s arms, to the other pirates, all lined up beside the rigging and shrouds, their hands readied on their weapons.

Then he looked back at Hook.

“Let her go, Hook,” he demanded, though his expression gave away the fact that he was confused and surprised by the state of affairs.

Behind Hook, Wendy wriggled her way out of Smee’s grasp and stood, shoving the first mate away from her. Smee took it in good stride and simply shrugged.

“Why Pan,” Hook purred, “It’s a long way down. Only a fool would let someone go from up here.”

The words stung as Hook had intended them to. Peter flinched and then reared back in the air and drew a knife from a small black scabbard that hung from a black belt at his waist. The knife’s blade shimmered and then grew until it, too, was a sword. He held it in front of him in challenge.

As if on cue, Hook’s men mobilized, several coming to stand between Wendy and Peter, effectively separating them. Another man, who had been behind Peter when he’d appeared through the clouds, closed in on Tinkerbell in one fluid movement, trapping her within a glass jar and slamming the lid on tight.

The pixie shoved against the sides of the glass, but to no avail. And, trapped within a confined space, she dared not take human form, for the growing process – and the inevitable passing through the glass – would hurt, to say the least, and might even be fatal. As she had been five years ago, Tinkerbell was once more ensnared and useless on the deck of the Jolly Roger.

“I don’t know how you got here, Hook, but you don’t belong in this world and I’m going to send you back out of it,” Peter hissed at Hook, leveling his own blade so that it crossed his opponent’s.

From the jar where she was being held prisoner, Tinkerbell nodded her agreement, angry pixie dust chinking against the glass.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Hook nodded agreeably. “Why wait for Neverland when we can kill each other right here and now?”

There was a simultaneous blur of movement, and the ship was suddenly filled with the sound of clanging swords.

Wendy found herself mesmerized by the sparring figures, trapped in a memory that refused to let her look away. Whereas she had indeed seen Peter Pan and Captain Hook fight once before, it seemed that it had been an eternity ago. And, Peter had been but a boy.

Now, two men faced off on the deck of the Jolly Roger, draped in colors of blood and night, and whatever skills they’d possessed five years ago had only been amplified.

However, this night, there was something strange flashing in Peter’s eyes, and he moved as if driven on by a demon. Five years ago, he fought with the pirate captain while wearing a smile on his face. Tonight, his teeth were clenched. His expression was dark.

It worried Wendy.

Five years ago, she, too, had been but a child, and had known nothing of fighting, save what she could create in the safety of her imagination. Hence, even though she had tried her best, swinging her sword with all of the strength a twelve-year-old girl could muster, she had, inevitably, been rather useless against the powerful muscle and expertise of grown pirates.

However, now, Wendy was a young woman, and an athletic one at that. One of the first things she had done upon returning to her world was sign up for fencing. Her parents, desperate for her to take part in any social activity that might steer her mind clear of stories and make-believe, had been more than happy to oblige.

So, she had also joined a martial arts class.

And, unbeknownst to her brother John, as she was certain he would claim that she was wasting her time and that he was far more suited to such endeavors, Wendy had signed up for her school’s chess club. She’d done so with the faint, flickering feeling that, at some point in her future, it might be helpful to know how to strategize.

And hence, as Wendy now watched Peter Pan square off against the notorious captain of the Jolly Roger, her instincts and training kicked in. With single-minded purpose, she sprang forward and pulled the sword from the sheath that was tied to the waist of one of the pirates in front of her.

Surprised, the man spun around to stop her, but she quickly snapped the flat end of the blade against the side of his arm, sending him reeling back and gripping his arm in sudden pain.