Since the moment my shadow crossed over to Hook’s territory, I’ve not been particularly worried that Hook would take it. I’ve always regarded him as an annoying, ugly weed that sprung up on Neverland soil. A weed that no matter what I do, I cannot eradicate.
He is, or was, more nuisance than threat.
When he took Wendy from me, my opinion changed of him just slightly.
And then he traded Cherry for Smee and reinforced my opinion.
Who the fuck trades their own family as hostage?
There was always a little part of me that felt bad for Cherry. Forced into the position she was, tossed around and around like a skeleton leaf caught in a whirlpool with no hope of ever escaping the inescapable force working against her.
I’m not entirely sure trading her back is to her benefit. Maybe neither situation is. She wants Vane and she won’t have him now. Not since he’s found a way to our Darling.
Darling is stuck with him. When Vane decides he’ll have something, nothing will stop him from keeping it.
Now that we’re all standing in the middle of the road that leads straight to Hook’s house on the bay, I can’t help but wonder if I should have worried about him more than I did. Or at the very least, if I should have made sure to bring Cherry with us.
She was an insurance policy, and one I’ve clearly overlooked in her usefulness.
Because I’m almost fucking certain Hook has hold of my shadow. I can feel it struggling, the energy of it vibrating. There’s panic too…like it’s…trapped, maybe?
I lock my hands behind my head and turn a circle in the road as the others stand by waiting for me to decide what the fuck we’re going to do. If Hook has my shadow, then he knows without a doubt why I want into his territory and that I lied about my reasons in the first place. And if he has my shadow, he’ll either use it against me or try to claim it for himself.
Does that pretentious asshole really think he can take my shadow? Everyone is always trying to take what is rightfully mine.
“Boys,” I say and come to a stop in a slant of moonlight. “What do you say we kill some pirates?”
Vane cocks his head to the side. “Obviously, I will not turn down an opportunity to spill pirate blood.”
Bash laughs. “Spill Hook’s blood, he might faint at the sight of it.”
“I got another idea.” I look at Vane. “How fast can you fly back to the house?”
Vane retrieves the object stuffed in one of my dresser drawers and returns with it in less than fifteen minutes. By then we’re halfway to the bay on Hook’s end of the island.
“This the one?” Vane asks and holds up the object, the glass glinting in the moonlight.
“That’s the one.” I slip it into my pocket where it settles next to the lagoon seashell.
“Something else you should know,” Vane adds. “On my way back, I saw a few pirates slinking up the beach toward the treehouse.”
“Fuck.” This is why we brought Darling with us. But I don’t like taking her deep into pirate territory either. Like Cherry, there is no good option.
“Bash and Kas, when we get close to Hook’s house, I want you to stay in the woods with our Darling. Vane and I will go into the house. If that’s where he’s keeping the shadow, I’ll know once we’re close.”
The twins nod.
“Everyone know their place?” I ask.
They all nod their agreement, even Darling. I can’t wait for this to be over so I can bury my cock inside of her, flush with power. She’ll be trembling beneath me by sunrise.
There is a small town that sits on the hillside above the bay with Hook’s house at the top of the hill so he can lord over his territory like a king.
The road forks—up the hill and to the left is Hook’s house, to the right the road spills into town and the bay. Despite the late hour, the town glows brightly like a beacon against the night. Voices carry up the hill. I’ve always heard Hook’s town is for men and women with little to no prospects and even less honor.
We go left to where my shadow is buzzing somewhere just out of my reach. We leave the road halfway up and slink through the night.
“Wait here,” I tell the twins. “I’ll whistle if we need you to move. Got it?”
They both nod and position Darling into a grove of birch trees. “Good luck,” Kas says.
Before I leave, Darling wraps me in a hug. It catches me off-guard and I know she must feel the stiffness in my body. It takes me several long seconds to sink into her embrace.
“I’ll be back,” I tell her.
“I know.” When she pulls away, she eyes Vane, but neither of them moves to touch.
“We’ll be back,” I correct and Darling nods before Vane and I turn away.
Hook is expecting me, so we return to the road when his house comes into view. If I didn’t hate him so much, I might come to appreciate that he built his house to look like a big treehouse.
It stands on the hillside between three large oaks with several private and shared balconies that overlook the bay. It smells like cigars when we walk up the wide front steps and we find several pirates smoking and gathered around a wrought iron table.
“Should we start killing now?” Vane asks beneath his breath.
“Best save our shot for when we really need it.”
The pirates eye us steadily like they know something we don’t.
The unease sinks like a weight in my gut.
Vane stays in step with me as we enter the house of my enemy. It makes my skin crawl. It makes me want to start tipping over vases and smashing lamps on the floor. I’ve forgotten how my war with Hook began, but I’m not sure it matters anymore because the hate is so vivid, somedays it feels like a living, breathing thing.
I very much detest the man and everything he stands for.
“Which way?” Vane says, keeping his voice low.
I try to shake the feeling that we’re walking into a trap and go to the left.
My shadow is so close now, I can feel its power disrupting the air like an electrical storm.
“What are the chances we get in and out with no one noticing us?” Vane asks.
“I suspect—”
“Peter Pan.”
My hair bristles. My teeth grit.
The sound of Hook’s voice is like sandpaper dragging over my knuckles. Every muscle in my body tenses up.
“I assure you, your lost Lost Boy isn’t here in my house.” Hook comes down the grand staircase, his hands clasped behind his back. He’s wearing one of those ridiculous overcoats with gold embroidery around the collar and down the lapel. He’s ditched the stupid fucking tights and buckled shoes and has replaced both with more practical trousers and leather boots.
“I think we both know I’m not looking for a Lost Boy,” I say.
Hook smiles at me, all bright white teeth. “Whatever do you mean?”
There’s this energy to Hook that is part ego, part obliviousness. He thinks he’s better than me, but he’s just a man with so many weaknesses, I’d have to sit down to list them all.
He is not better than me.
He might be more ambitious, however.
I glance around the house. “Where is it?” From this vantage point, I can only see the foyer, half of a sitting room and a large hall to my left that leads to what looks like a library. If I’ve been inside this house, I don’t remember it.
“Where is what?” Hook stops on the bottom step and unclasps his hands, letting his hook come forward. The metal gleams in the light. It’s hard not to look at it when I’m the one who helped cause the need for it.
That, I do remember. I remember the way Hook screamed at the sight of his own blood. How the Crocodile dragged his finger through the crimson and then ran his tongue over the length of his finger, cleaning off the blood.
I remember how Hook fainted after that and the Crocodile laughed like it was all one big joke.
That fucker is scarier than Vane.
I both admire him and fear him.
Hook fears him more than me, though, and I intend to use it against him.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, James. Where’s my fucking shadow?”
Hook’s jaw flexes as he looks at me down the aristocratic slope of his nose. “I already told you, I don’t know. Besides, aren’t you missing one from your party? Where’s Cherry?”
His voice cracks on her name and he flinches at the sound, blinking away the emotion that creeps into his face.
My shadow grows more frenzied. It’s definitely contained, wherever it is. I know it’s nearby. But not near enough.
I surge to the left toward the library when a gun goes off.
The wood trim around the open double doors explodes as the musket ball shreds it.
I come to a stop.
“I wouldn’t go any further if I were you,” Hook warns.
I slowly turn around to find Smee behind Vane, a gun pointed at the back of his head. His teeth are gritted but his violet eye has turned black. There are more pirates behind Smee, hands on their pistols.
Vane and I could take Hook and Smee no problem. We might even be able to handle the additional pirates.
I meet Vane’s gaze and try to gauge his interest in letting go of the shadow so it can do its fucking thing.
He’s practically vibrating from the effort of holding it at bay.
I give him a barely noticeable nod of my head, but just as the Dark Shadow comes out to play, the fae queen slams through the door, our Darling caught in her grasp.
