Chapter 21

        "I told you I'm busy." Peter drawls as he perches a few feet above me.

        "You!" I turn on him. None of this is fair. He makes up the rules and breaks them. "I won't let you take over my world!"

        Peter scoffs. "Do you really think you can stop me?"

        I stand as tall as I can, my chin lifted. I can try. The words are there, my answer waiting to be used. But Peter cannot see me as a threat if I am going to escape. I handled this evening all wrong.

        Slowly breathing in, I twist my hands in front of me. And say nothing.

        "I told you to go home while you could. You were the one who insisted on coming back." Peter glances around his room. The last time I was here, it was covered with broken glass. I had bandaged his hands and in return he had given me a warning. One I did not heed.

        "You could have told me what was going on. I didn't know. I didn't know that you were a monster."

        Peter crosses his legs and tilts his head back. "A monster? Do I look like one?" He raises his eyebrow, his green eyes glinting beneath his loose brown curls.

        "You act like one."

        "Well, sorry to disappoint you. But I really do have things to do now." Peter says, but he doesn't disappear. Not yet. He watches me.

        I sit down and finger the corner of his blanket. They are up all night long. It is unnatural. "Do you sleep at all?"

        "The curse changes us. We can sleep if we want to, but we don't need it."

        I look at his tired eyes, the dark circles hanging there, "You look like you need it." But I understand. Even though I felt tired all day, I am not tired now. Something in me wakes up during the night. I don't know if it is my energy or courage, but the night changes me too.

        Just not in the way it changes the rest of the island.

        "Always so honest and tactful." He replies sarcastically. "Just like a proper English girl should be."

        "I may be English, but I've never been proper. I was raised on the streets."

        "Actually you were raised in an orphanage."

        I tilt my head. Did I tell him that? I must have, if not, Kelvin could have filled him in. "Well, yes, but I have spent the last three years lost in the crowd."

        "Oh, how sad." He taunts me, "You may not believe it, but you aren't the only one who has had a rough life."

        "What would you know of life? You are hiding out here, too scared of Time to leave your island."

        "I am not scared of anything. Time should be scared of me. Besides, I did leave."

        I tighten my arms around my waist, but stay on the floor. "Yes, kidnapping me. What a noble cause." I hold up my hand when Peter starts to interrupt. "In the end, you are just a little boy spouting off empty threats."

        He looks down on me. "Little? Says the little girl who is too broken to fight back."

        "I am not broken. And I do fight back. But you've already proved you're stronger than me." I gesture at the cage of branches. "At least, your magic is stronger than me. If I try anything, you will hurt me."

        "I don't hurt girls." Peter says, all teasing gone from his voice. If I could close my eyes and wish away this cage, I would replace it with open meadow and blue sky and bushes of wild roses.

        Where we tiptoed around each other, fumbling with our words. Trying to make sense of it all, trying to fix this mess.

        But even there he didn't tell me his plan to attack my world. One island may not seem like much of a threat, but Peter Pan is powerful. There is already enough darkness and evil in my world without a curse. If he did gain control, then what would happen to time? For some reason I doubt he'll let it go on.

         "It doesn't make sense. Why would you want my world? You said that you weren't the one who cursed this island, which means that someone else is pulling strings too. This can't be your plan, it is their plan."

        Peter turns toward me, his eyes dark green. "You don't know anything."

        "I know you'll never win. Peter is stronger than you, Pan."

Peter walks toward me, laughing quietly. "Did you really just say that? Ah, little girl, you keep forgetting that I am only one person. I'll never be stronger or weaker than myself. But if that is still too confusing, let me clarify: I am Pan. There is no Peter, not really. He will soon be gone." "

        He tucks his hand under my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his.

        This time I don't pull away. His intense gaze freezes every part of me and I can't move.

        My heart trembles. The last time we were this close, he carved a star into a tree. He's told me-several times-that he's busy. So why has he wasted so much time up here talking to me?

        Peter doesn't move back. "I need to go."

        "You said that already. I am not stopping you." I shift my eyes back and forth. A strange feeling flutters under my skin. I swallow nervously. Why hasn't he left already?

        He shakes his head slightly, his eyes tracing my face. "Did you really believe I didn't know what a kiss was?"

        Peter fades away. His words hang in the air. Was that a warning? Or a threat? Or something else?


**

        Kelvin.

        I need to talk to him. I need to know what is going on. There is no sunlight yet, but the night is almost over and the moonlight is strong enough to stretch through the branches.

        How will I ever escape? An idea sparks inside me. I ignore it, because it is too crazy. Impossible, really.

        But what if it works? Can something complicated really be that simple?


        How does Peter teleport himself around the island? If it really is simple, the lost boys would have figured it out by now.


        I stretch my arms and quiet my doubts. Focus. My eyelids close. I imagine the other side of the treehouse. It is only a few steps away, so it should be easy enough.


        Concentrating with my eyes squeezed shut, I paint a picture in my mind of the place. And then I imagine myself there.


        Nothing feels different. I want to hope, but know it is impossible.


        Slowly I lift my eyelids.


        It worked. I can't believe it worked! I squeal and cover my mouth and drop back down to the floor. Now I just need to get Kelvin. With his help, I will be able to save the Indians.


        Will Peter know when I leave the cage? Does he really know everything? This is his island, but maybe if I am fast enough, he won't be able to stop me.


        I should go straight to the Indian's place. But I cannot abandon Kelvin like that. Even now he is probably trying to find a way to set me free.


        The clearing. I shut my eyes and imagine the lost boys busy around the fire. I place myself behind one of the trees and when I open my eyes I am there.


        Excitement rushes through me.


        Now, where is Kelvin? How am I supposed to get his attention? I crouch down, my blue dress bright against the shadows. Someone will see me.


        "Wendy?" Kelvin whispers.


        I spin around. "Kelvin? How did you know I was here?"


        "I didn't." He holds out his arms full of firewood. "How did you escape? I was about ready to set a tree on fire as a distraction. Pan can create his own fire, but he cannot control it."


        "I figured out how he can move around." I smile and reappear behind Kelvin.


        "Impossible!"


        I grin. "I know."


        "Why are you happy? This is bad, Wendy. Pan has to know what we are doing. You need to hurry."


        "I will. I just had to make sure you knew I was all right."


        Kelvin shakes his head. "How did you know to trust me? How could you have been sure I wasn't lying during the day?"

        "Because you were yourself then." I grasp his hand. "Stay safe."

        "Wendy, if this doesn't work..." Kelvin looks down. "Don't trust me again. I am losing the fight."

        I hug him and step back. "Don't give up hope. I will stop this. I will save you."

        Kelvin nods and slips a dagger into my other hand. "I know you will try. Now hurry. Go."

        I shut my eyes and pull my hand out of his. A second later, I am standing in front of the Indian's hideout.

        And I am not alone.


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