Everland(83)

“Let my family go,” I say, holding the glass container up and drawing Hook’s attention away from Pete and Doc.

Hook’s eyes tear from the Lost Boys to me. From the corner of my eye, I see Pete quickly slipping the knife into Doc’s hand. Hook nods toward the two soldiers accompanying my mother. “Escort them from the palace.” The soldiers salute and turn toward my mother.

“No!” my mother screams, wriggling in the soldiers’ grasp. “No, I won’t leave her.”

Mikey wails as Joanna helps him to his feet. She gives me a worried glance, but I nod to her, encouraging her to continue. She and Mikey follow behind the soldier dragging my mother away. Another soldier escorts Bella out of the courtyard. Her voice fades in a trail of profanities.

Hook erupts in manic laughter. “And what about you, stepbrother? Would you like to join the women and children?”

Jack aims his sword at Hook. “I might be a pitiful pirate and an inadequate Lost Boy, but I think I’ll stay around just to make sure everyone keeps their end of the bargain.”

Hook rolls his unpatched eye. “Good form, Jack. That’s exactly what I’d expect from you.” He sneers on the last word.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack asks.

“My mother was right about you. You’ve always been about what you think is right for everyone else, what you think is fair, and never about what is right for us, for our family,” Hook says. “You’re a disgrace to the family name.”

Jack’s shoulders stiffen. “And you think only about yourself.”

“‘The fairest,’ my mother mocked. ‘A weak leader, bending to the needs of others,’ she said of you,” Hook says. “She never loved you.”

“I never wanted to be a leader,” Jack replies. “I just wanted my father’s legacy, his compassion for his people, to live on long after his death. He was a kind and fair king. And as far as her loving me, at least I had a parent. A father who loved me. You know what your mother did? Think about it. Do you really think she didn’t know what she was targeting? She sent her son to destroy the only weapons lab that contained the virus. She knew it was there. And guess who she sent to make sure it was a done deal? You, stepbrother. She sent you knowing that once you bombed it, you and the rest of the Marauders would die like everyone else.”

Hook releases me as he spins and charges his brother, his boots smacking the wet brick. He slaps Jack’s face, but Jack hardly flinches. “Lies!” Hook screams.

“You think?” Jack says, unmoved. “She gave you the targets. She chose you and her best fleet of zeppelins to make sure it happened.”

Hook stops a few steps away, fury forming deep lines in his face. Turning toward the stormy night sky, he screams. Breathing heavily, he gathers himself together. “Well, life isn’t fair, is it? Your father died a tragic death, and I was the scorn of my mother’s eye,” he yells, pointing the barrel of his gun at his patched eye.

“Your mother killed my father,” Jack says, advancing on him. “She poisoned him for betraying her. For providing England with her weapon.”

Hook aims his gun at Jack, but his brother is unshaken by the weapon aimed at his heart. He advances toward Hook. “The Horologia virus; how do you think England got it? Who do you think sent it to them?” Jack says, still moving forward with Hook’s gun pressed firmly against his waistcoat. Rain-soaked hair hangs heavy in Jack’s face, shielding his eyes as he shouts. “My father sent it to England, warning them of your mother’s intentions, and he died for it!”

My breath catches; my heart stills. As the pieces connect, my heart is conflicted with anger, sorrow, and empathy for this Lost Boy. My saturated clothes anchor me as everything moves in slow motion.

Shock crosses Hook’s face for a fraction of a moment before he regains his composure. “That is none of my concern. I came here to win England, not weep for your dead father.”

“It appears no one got what they wanted. Not England, not her people, not even your mother. No one! No one except you, brother,” Jack says. He steps back and gives an exaggerated bow. “The cure is all yours. Long live the Captain.”

“I intend to,” Hook says. He turns back to me, aiming the gun. “I’ve held up to my end of the bargain. Hand it over.”

Wavering, I watch Pete, hoping he will tell me to stop, to run for our lives. Instead, he frowns. “There’s no way out of this,” he says. “He’s won.”

“No,” I protest, counting four other soldiers including Hook nearby. Five against four—that is, if Jack is on our side. Blades against guns. Fear wells in me. Someone is going to die tonight, all because of me, because of what flows within my veins.

Doc’s eyes flick between Hook and me. “Gwen, do as he says.” His voice is stern, commanding.

Emotions collide inside me like a raging storm at sea. Tears burn my eyes, but I swallow back the lump in my throat, forbidding them to fall. I shake my head in protest. Doc gives me a slight nod and I see the glint of silver in his hand: Pete’s second dagger. I place one hand on his cheek and kiss the other. My heart shatters as I pull away.

Please, please don’t let anyone die. Not on my account.

Turning, I melt into Pete’s arms. He buries his face in my hair, and I can barely hear his whisper in the rain. “The first opportunity you have, I want you to run as fast as you can. Don’t look back no matter what. Don’t come back for me or Doc. Just run.”