Everland(75)

Bella peers over the ledge. She waves a hand at me, coaxing me to join her. Stepping out of the protective cover of the trees, I sprint toward the wall. When I reach it, I close my eyes and take in a breath. The air smells faintly of rain and electricity. Another burst of lightning brushes the sky, but all I see is the fiery red glow behind my eyelids. A light dusting of flecks falls on my cheeks, reminding me of family trips and playing with my sister and brother in the powder of fresh-falling snow, flakes catching on my lashes.

Slowly, I open my eyes and see specks of gold shimmer on my cheeks, barely within my vision. My jacket and boots glitter in an iridescent display. I blink, staring up the wall of the palace. Dust powders the broken and chipped bricks, revealing ledges large enough to stand or hold on to. Like a treasure map, a gold trail leads to the top of the building where Bella waves, beckoning me in whispered excitement.

“Come on, Gwen. You can do it!” she says.

At first, I hesitate, scanning the face of the wall. Bella’s bright blue eyes peer down at me. She radiates with confidence and something else. Faith. Faith in me.

Trust me, she said. The same words Pete offered me at the start of my journey to Everland, to the palace, and to finding my family.

I follow the gold trail with my eyes. Pixie dust, I think. Feeling a smile grow on my face, I curl my fingers over the notches in the stone and climb.





Tilting my face to the sky, I blink as a small drop of warm rain splashes my cheek.

“Are you sure you don’t want to postpone our departure, Captain?” Smeeth says, watching the soldiers heft boxes into the zeppelins.

Closing my weary eyes, I keep my face turned toward the stormy night. “A year, Smeeth. One whole year, I’ve been stuck here in Everland. And all for what? Because my mother wanted to rule the world and now …” I pause and sigh. “And now it’s my chance to be more …”

“More than what, Captain?” Smeeth asks.

I turn my gaze toward my ship, the Jolly Roger, the only gift from my mother, but so undeserved. She is right. She’s always been right. I owe her, but my debt is too large to pay. I will forever be indebted to her unless I finally rid myself of her. “To be more than just a bandit, destroying and stealing, like a thief … like a ruthless pirate,” I say, the word leaving a foul taste. “My mother’s pirate!”

But Smeeth is staring past me with a curious expression on his face.

I spin, searching for whatever has drawn his attention. A bolt of lightning races through the night sky. Across the tall, grassy field, beneath the haze of smoke, the shadow of a person clings to the base of the palace, her long hair flapping in the wind. On the roof above her, another figure leans over the ledge. The slight glint of gold flickers on the face of the wall as the sky pulses with electricity. Something in my gut stirs, and I know that the figure on the wall can only be Gwen.

“Smeeth,” I say, pulling my night-vision goggles over my eyes, “it appears we have ourselves a few more guests. Take as many men as you need to the rooftop to greet our new arrivals.”

“Yes, Captain,” Smeeth says before hurrying off.

I clench my fists. The cure is so close I can almost taste it.

Moments later, my soldiers and I head for the ballroom. Footfalls on the stone floor echo through the dark, dank room as I inspect each diminutive cage stuffed with Lost Boys. Small shadows whimper and sniffle behind the cold steel bars. Torches cast a dim light on a group of boys huddling together in the last cage. A guard opens the metal door, the hinges shrieking my arrival. The oldest of the boys lifts his chin, releasing a tearful child from his arms. He lunges toward me, but two large soldiers stop him.

“Let us go!” the boy named Dozer growls.

I ignore his words. A glint in his gaze sparkles when it falls on the smaller, crying boy. I grip the dirty teddy bear in my hand.

“Aw, now, now. There’s no reason to cry,” I say with sarcastic sympathy in my voice. I hold the bear with an outstretched hand. “Dry those tears, Mikey.”

“Stay away from him!” Dozer wriggles in the soldiers’ grasp until one guard slaps him across the face and flings him to the ground. Dozer howls as he lands on the floor. Holding his arm, his face etches with pain. “Bloody pirate,” he says, spitting through a cut on his lip.

“You Lost Boys try my patience,” I say, nodding to a soldier. “Bring the Professor’s boy.”

Picking Mikey up, the guards follow, slamming the door behind them.

“No!” Dozer says, racing to the door and gripping the steel bars. “Leave him alone!”

“Let me go!” Mikey whines.

The Lost Boys erupt, shouting for Mikey’s release.

I address the boys in the cages. “Don’t worry, Lost Boys. Once I have the girl, I will leave Everland and you can return to your happy hollow.” Turning toward the exit, I take a few steps before pausing. “Or at least what’s left of it.”

The ballroom door slams shut like the lid of a coffin as I leave behind the noise of protests.





Pain shoots through my cramped and bloodied fingers as I grasp the ledge of the palace. My feet slip. A scream threatens to escape, but I grit my teeth as I dangle precariously from the wall. Two tiny hands wrap around my wrists. I turn my gaze toward Bella and blink away the light sprinkles of rain.