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Chapter Seventeen

Peter

Present Day

“ W hat did these pirates and this Captain Hook do to you lost boys?” I asked Stone. We were behind a rock and in view of the beach with three of his other friends.

“They seem to be seeking treasure.”

“I wonder if they know that the pixies mine gems?” I asked, looking from the black ship and then over to the boys.

“I think the pixie they caught might have told them, or maybe one of our boys did. But there are different gems all over this island and also within the waters,” Stone explained .

“The secret treasure is real. But a pirate can’t take the treasure. From what I’ve read, the treasures spoken about which lay across the Misted Seas cannot be taken without having a pure heart,” I said.

“Yes, that is true. They could not be after the treasure from the Mirror Sea,” Shadow paused, looking this way and then that way, as if someone might overhear us.

“You need much more than a pure heart to get the treasure from that sea, and there is a dragon that guards it. The dragon will not be fooled by pirate tricks.”

“Mirror Sea?” I asked, it sounded familiar. Ah, yes, that was where Dominick had gone to discover the desire of his heart with Meria.

“Yes, they couldn’t gain anything from going there,” Stone reassured. “No vile pirate like Captain Hook could face a dragon and survive.”

“These gemstones along Pixie Isle’s coastline are not guarded, but they cannot easily be pulled from the depths without a pure heart and also paying a price,” Leaf added.

“The pirates are making the lost boys pay for it?” I asked.

“Most likely,” Stone said with a grunt. “We don’t touch the treasure so we are unsure.”

“We must deal with these ridiculous pirates,” I added.

“How? They are older and stronger and—” Shadow began.

“Can they fly?” I asked .

“Well, no—” Leaf said.

“I can fly,” I said with a wink at Leaf and Bear. Bear gave me a grin.

“You can?” Stone asked.

“Yes. I must pay these rotten pirates a visit,” I said, moving from the rock, feeling the small dagger on my belt at my side.

“But what if they kill you?” Shadow asked, eyeing my dagger, then settling on me with a killer gaze.

“They will have to catch me first if they wish to kill me,” I said with a laugh. Then, I remembered my happy thought and waited to levitate.

“You are not moving,” Stone whispered.

“Oh, I need pixie dust.”

“I have some. I like how it glitters,” Bear said, pulling a small leather pouch from his waist pocket.

“You should not steal from the pixies, Bear,” Stone said.

“I know, but they have so much dust. I am sure they won’t miss just this little bit,” Bear said with a shrug.

“Well, for the moment, I am glad you did.” I swiped it from his hand, dumped it over my head while thinking of Gwen and felt myself levitate off the ground before opening my eyes.

“Let’s see just what these pirates are about,” I said as I whooped and aimed myself at the ship.

Flying. It was hard to grasp the idea that I was doing just that. Was it possible it was all just a dream? I felt my happiness waver, and as I did so, my body began to fall. In my fear, I was suddenly just a few feet from the ocean water.

Think happy thoughts , I repeated in my head; then I began a chant. If I did not think happy thoughts, I would fall into the sea, and then I would lose all the pixie dust and not be able to fly back to Pixie Isle. I would have to swim back.

Gwen. I closed my eyes and forced a smile, thinking about the shared, stolen kisses we had enjoyed the last month we were together.

She tasted like happiness—joy and peace.

I flew into the sky again, focusing on her and the joy of being with her.

I flew back on course, toward the ship. Was I worried about going aboard that ship?

Yes, of course, but I could not let that fear defeat me before the battle had even begun. I clenched the dagger at my side.

What might that vile pirate, Hook, have done to that pixie to get her to betray her kind? Had she really actually betrayed her kind? I reached the front of the massive, old ship. Its billowing sails shifted with the wind, and I flew to the top of the highest mast to evaluate the situation below me.

There were, at least, two dozen filthy pirates.

They all wore scraps of what once must have been fine clothing but clearly never properly cared for nor maintained.

Pirates were known across the seas, of course, to pillage and plunder.

Dominick had told me plenty of stories about pirates.

I continued to monitor the crew, observing a cage to the left of the stern, and there within it were three young boys.

The evil Hook who captained that ship was, indeed, stealing the lost boys. I watched as a man rose from below the deck, unlocked the cage, and pulled out one small boy, who wore ripped pants and a white shirt that was covered with all manner of filth.

“Please, leave me alone, please—” the boy cried.

“Quiet ye, there, filth!” the pirate said, slamming the cage and locking it. Slipping the key into his back pocket. He roughly shoved the boy toward the wheel of the ship. I crept around to get a good view.

There stood the man who I assumed to be the captain. He had a large black hat, his hair matted and curled, along with a grey beard. His face looked so vile—so cruel, that I flinched. He wore a black coat and a red shirt, all detailed with gold trim as if he were a royal.

“Ye are the next one for our dive?”

“Dive?” I whispered aloud while listening.

“No—please! ”

“Silence him!” the captain shouted.

“Aye, Captain Hook.” Then another pirate, wearing ripped trousers and without any shirt bound the boy’s mouth with a dirty rag.

“Ye will dive, find the gems, and bring them to me," Hook spoke

The boy said nothing, but tears filled up his hollow eyes. My heart raced at the horror I was witnessing and hearing.

How could anyone do this? I thought.

It did not matter what their reasoning was for it; there was nothing that could justify that.

These poor lost boys, first taken by the pixies, then taken by this vile pirate and his crew.

I moved over the end of the upper boom to be able to see even more clearly, again counting all the men, when I saw large barrels at the stern of the ship. One of the barrels was being rolled over toward the captain, although it was not lifted up the stairs.

“Show us!” Captain Hook said with a cheer. The barrel was opened, and a gleaming light emanated from it, almost in a blinding way. One pirate pulled some gems from inside and showed them to the boy.

“These are what ye must bring us. Bring us one barrel full, and we will let ye leave,” the captain said with glee.

“You said that last time, yet here I am, again!” the small lost boy argued.

“You dare defy me? ”

“I only wish you would keep your word!” the boy said.

“Find me gems!” he said, shoving the boy down to the deck, his foot an inch from his face. “Or you’ll be dead.”

The ship, instead of docking, continued to sail around to the other side of the island.

I flew away as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and I returned to the shore.

“Peter?” Stone and his companion asked upon my return.

“It seems we have a fight ahead of us. Do you think the other lost boys will help us?” My mind was wilting from what I had just witnessed. Captain Hook was vile, and his evil crew. We had to save that boy, along with the others.

“Of course!” they cheered.

“They are pirates, for certain, and the captain is using children to search for gems. He must be stopped.” I stood and placed my hands on my hips. “Ready?”

“Yes!”