Violet's POV
We leap out of the cave, through the pounding waterfall. The icy water slicks my hair back to my head, and I sputter as some of the water trickles into my mouth. My spluttering cough turns into a yell of exhilaration as for a moment I let myself freefall towards the sea. Pan is falling beside me, his eyes gleaming with boyish excitement. I smirk sideways at him, then lean forward to watch the water as it came rushing up at me.
Seconds later, there is a swift of rush of air by my ear as Pan pulls out of the steep dive, catching himself in midair before he collides with the water. Laughing wildly, I wait another split-second before pulling up.
"You pulled out sooner," I say smugly to Pan. He rolls his eyes.
"Mature," he comments.
"Says the boy who refuses to grow up," I shoot back.
"What's the fun in growing up," Pan says, "When you can have forever?"
"Forever with a bunch of teenage boys," I point out. Pan chuckles.
"Speaking of those teenage boys... how would you like to meet the Lost Boys?" he asks with a grin.
"They can't be any worse than you and your ego problems," I say playfully.
"Worse than me?" Pan raises an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you found me... rather magical, if you get my meaning." I hold back a hiss of disgust, instead shoving him backwards. Then I take off into the sky, leaving Pan struggling to catch up.
"Shut up and fly, Panny boy," I call over my shoulder.
xxx
"You do realize that camp is the other direction," Pan says to me as we fly, doing a very bad job of hiding his smirk.
"I'm going completely on instinct here! As you seem to be forgetting, I don't live here," I exclaim.
"Not yet," Pan replies. I growl in protest as he takes my hand, but Pan only gives me an amused glance. Then he takes off toward the north side of the island, dragging me along with him. The violent wind whips me from side to side, and I realize I have never flown this fast before.
"Hey Pan- slow down!" I yell over the wind.
"But I like it fast!" he counters. "Don't you?" I scowl fiercely at him.
"Slow down. Now," I order. Pan's eyes glint at me mischievously.
"Well, if the lady insists," Pan agrees. I blink in surprise. He didn't argue. Why not? If I know anything at all about Pan, he would never back down. I shriek as Pan jerks to an abrupt stop in midair. Though he uses magic to slow himself down, I am so lost in my thoughts that I don't even notice. I keep flying forward, but since Pan is holding my hand, and he's directly in front of me... well, um... yeah... I crash into him at top speed, colliding painfully with his back. Pan, of course, takes full advantage of my sudden closeness. Before I can move away, he spins around. I swallow hard, but clearly Pan feels no such anxiety. He steps even closer, reaching out to slowly trail his fingers down my left arm. I try to hold back a shudder at his touch, but I know I have failed when Pan abruptly halts. Staring at me with dark green eyes, Pan lingers in my personal space, his face uncomfortably case to mine as he studies me calculatingly, his hand still on my forearm.
"Something's wrong," Pan mutters. "Are you okay, Violet?" I shut my eyes briefly before letting out a sharp breath of frustration.
"Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" I huff, crossing my arms defiantly. Pan smirks broadly, his eyes once again light-hearted. He leans away slowly.
"Well, if what this is all about..." he says teasingly. "I did warn you I like to go fast. Very, very fast."
"Oh, you did not just say that," I say in disbelief, shaking my head. "How can you sleep at night with all those nasty thoughts swirling around in your head?"
"I manage," Pan responds. I shoot him my best I-am-not-amused look.
"Well, are we going to meet the Lost Boys or do want to continue to fill my head with dirty implications?" I say bitingly.
"Dirty?" Pan asks in mock confusion. "I wasn't aware I was implying anything."
"Lost Boys," I remind him.
"Someone's changing the subject," Pan grins, but points wordlessly toward a faint flicker of orange light far down below, in the jungle. I realize that it's firelight. That must be the camp of the Lost Boys.
"Geronimo!" I shout as I let myself freefall from a great height for the third time that night. I steer myself towards the firelight, breaking slightly out of my fall to swoop close to the trees. If I reach out I could even touch the branches... all too soon, I'm straight above the clearing that serves as the Lost Boys' camp. I lower myself to the ground gently, absorbing the impact by rocking back on my heels. Then I look around.
The first thing I notice is the boys. Teenage boys, all of them, even though some are clearly eighteen or even nineteen, and others can only be ten years old. They have faces smudged beyond recognition with dirt and ashes, and they all wear ragged, filthy clothes that remind me of the rags beggars wear in the Enchanted Forest, the ones Snow and Charming told me about. And all of the Lost Boys are gawking at me as if I have spouted wings. Which, I suppose, isn't entirely wrong, considering I'm a strange girl who just flew into the middle of their camp.
"Hey there!' I say cheerily. Not one of the boys respond. They just gape at me like the idiots they probably are. I frown slightly, putting one hand on my hip. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it isn't nice to stare?"
"You're a girl," says one of them in disbelief. I turn to look at the speaker, and swing my long hair over my shoulder for effect. It's some tall guy who's as skinny as a scarecrow with dirty blond hair and a completely blank expression on his face.
"Why, yes," I say, clapping my hands together excitedly. "Someone give the guy a prize!"
"There are no girls in Neverland," the guy sneers at me. I just smile sweetly at him.
"What's your name, kid?" I ask. He glares at me suspiciously.
"Felix," he mumbles.
"Well, Felix, I'm going to tell you a story," I say, briefly wondering where Pan is. He had been right behind me. "Once upon a time there was a magical island called Neverland. It was a wonderful place where you could do anything, even fly. But the best part was you never had to grow up. The king of the island was a boy named Peter Pan, and he had a big group of friends called the Lost Boys who lived on the island under his rule. But after a while Pan realized that girls were cooler than boys, so he decided to be awesome for once by bringing a girl to Neverland. Her name was Violet Wood, and she was an awesome, unbeatable, amazing, funny, smart, kick-ass girl who taught all the Lost Boys how to be cool. And they all lived happily ever after. The end." I smile cheerfully at Felix, who still looks unimpressed.
"Is that how you're introducing yourself?" he asks, bored.
"Yep," I reply brightly.
"Well, aren't you a little ray of sunshine," Felix comments flatly. Then he finally seems to notice that every single Lost Boy is staring at us. He glares at them coldly. "Shut yer gaping mouths!" he orders angrily. "Ya'll look like idiots." Slowly the boys disperse, though many of them still shoot me weird looks. Soon it's just me and Felix, him glaring and me looking at him innocently.
"So where's Panny boy run off to?" I ask.
"You can't expect the king of Neverland to spend every moment of his time with you," Felix snickers. "He's got an island to run, girly."
"Doesn't answer my question," I point out, my patience fraying. This guy seriously gets on my nerves. Felix just gives me a nasty, crooked-toothed grin.
"You really don't want to see Pan right now," Felix states.
"Why not?" I demand.
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Felix says tauntingly.
"On the contrary, sweetheart," I hiss. "You not telling me makes me want to know even more."
"Pan won't be pleased," Felix warns.
I shrug indifferently, "And I won't be pleased if you don't tell me where he is. It's kind of a lose-lose situation for you, Sunshine." Felix considers this for a moment.
"Well, it's your neck, not mine," Felix says, slowly warming up to the idea of me getting in trouble with Pan. "Fine. If you really want to know, he'll probably be at Dead Man's Peak."
"Probably? What does that mean?" I snap.
Felix raises an eyebrow, "I don't know for sure, but that's where he usually goes when... this sort of thing occurs."
"What sort of thing?" I ask through clenched teeth. Felix squints at me.
"Best to let you find out for yourself," Felix answers. I begin to walk away, towards the only tall mountain I have seen on Neverland. Of course, I assume that Dead Man's Peak would be the gigantic mountain, and I'm not about to ask Felix for directions. "Have fun, pumpkin," Felix calls after me.
"Right back at you, cupcake," I respond without slowing down or turning around.
"Back at you too, sugarplum," Felix yells.
"Ditto, honey muffin," I reply. As I leave, I hear Felix cursing. Apparently he can't do any better than honey muffin, and I don't blame him. Honey muffin is pretty much the end of the line. Violet Wood has the best comebacks in all the realms.
xxx
It literally takes forever to get to Dead Man's Peak. I mean, I know jungles are made up of trees, but why do there have to be so many of them? I'm constantly tripping over roots and having branches hit me in the face. Not to mention the serious lack of any sort of path. Why can't Neverland have hiking trails or something?
But eventually I do reach Dead Man's Peak. And my god, no wonder they call it that. Imagine a gloomy graveyard on a cloudy day. Then imagine that instead of patchy grass, the graveyard is made entirely of cold, dull gray stone that smells like metal and dead things. Next imagine that the stone graveyard isn't just a graveyard. It's a massive hill with sheer cliff sides that give off an unmistaken fall-to-your-death vibe. Last of all, throw in some creepy vines for good measure. Yeah. That's pretty much Dead Man's Peak. A stone graveyard on a mountain with some seriously shady looking vines hanging around it.
Interesting place to hang out, Panny boy.
I just stare up at the giant mountain for the longest time, unsure of what to do. Sure, I've climbed some of those fake rock-climbing walls at my friends' birthday parties, but this is something else entirely. And, it seems fair to mention, I have never been good at climbing those fake rock walls.
I am so screwed.
I could use my magic, but I'm already exhausted from flying with Pan. Not that I would ever admit it... but he may have more magic than I do. Slightly more. So, of course, I do the natural thing and holler for a sorcerer.
"Hey, Pan!" I yell. "If you can hear me, cough twice!"
"That won't be necessary," someone says from behind me. I whip around and- whoop-de-doo- it's Panny boy himself, leaning against a tree with a strange look on his face.
"Oh, hi there," I say happily.
"You can't be here," Pan says gravely. "How did you even find Dead Man's Peak?"
"Excuse me?" I can feel my eyebrows shoot up practically a mile off the ground. "In case you've forgotten, I don't really do the whole taking orders thing. Unlike that skinny smartass, Felix."
"Felix?" Pan's eyes darken. "I might have known he would tell you. He and I will have to have a chat when I return." I hold up a hand to stop him.
"Whoa there, Mr. Doom and Gloom," I soothe. "Don't take this out on Felix. It was my idea. Besides, Felix is my honey muffin."
"He's your what?" Pan asks incredulously. I open my mouth to explain, but Pan shakes his head to stop me, waving his hand dismissively. "Never mind that. It is unimportant. The point of the matter is, you can't be here," he says harshly, his jaw clenched tightly.
"You're hiding something," I reply coldly, staring at him. "And I'm not leaving until I figure out what it is."
"This isn't up for debate," Pan begins, launching into a tirade. But before he can get any further, a weird sound echoes down the mountainside, coming from the peak. Of course, Pan had already been up on the peak before I called for him. Instantly I am suspicious. I start towards the mountain to investigate the mysterious sound when I hear it again, louder this time. And now it is unmistakable. It is the sound of someone groaning in pain.
I have already used magic more than is probably healthy in one day, but I know Pan would never fly me up to the mountain. He's obviously hiding something. So, gritting my teeth, I fumble for the right spell to cast. Oh, right... okay. I squeeze my eyes shut tight, not reacting at all when I feel myself rise off the ground. I open my eyes cautiously as I float gradually to the top of Dead Man's Peak, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as my feet are on solid ground again.
But my relief doesn't last long. Only a second later, my eyes fix on the heap of clothes that's lying by a mass of thorny plants. No, wait... those aren't clothes... that's a person. A boy, curled up on his side, facing away from me. I rush over to him, grabbing his shoulder to move him onto his back. I am right. It is just a boy, a year or so older than me with dark brown hair and gray eyes. His face is oily with a sheen of sweat, his breath uncontrollably rapid. His entire body is twisted up with pain, and as I take my hand back from his shoulder, my fingers are coated with thick, crimson blood that looks black in the moonlight. I gasp in horror, then get to my feet. I grab onto the boy's heels, dragging him into the moonlight despite his cries of pain. I need to see how badly he is injured.
When I kneel over him again, I see just how bad it really is. His raggedy clothes are slashed to ribbons, and beneath them his skin is criss-crossed with long, deep slices that ooze blood like oil. It's like he has been attacked by a feral animal. Except those are unmistakably knife marks. And animals don't use knives. People do. That's when I go absolutely still.
Pan hadn't wanted me to go onto the mountain. Pan had done this. He had almost killed this boy. If I hadn't gotten here when I did... I shudder to think of what might have happened.
"So now you see why didn't want you up here," Pan observes. He has conveniently chosen to materialize beside me, twirling a blade of grass between his fingers nonchalantly.
"Yes," I say, my voice shaking with rage. "You didn't want me to see that you are a murderer." Pan reaches out, brushing his hand across my cheek in a soothing gesture than makes my skin prickle.
"No, I didn't want to corrupt your innocent little mind," Pan corrects. I slap his hand away.
"Don't touch me!' I scream. "If I hadn't come here when I did, you would've killed this poor boy! That's... that's... just disgusting! And how many people have you killed before? How many, Pan? How can you live with yourself?"
"I didn't do this in cold blood, despite what you might think," Pan snarls. "Don't be so quick to judge me. I was merely administering punishment for this boy's crimes."
"Crimes?" I echo in disbelief. "What crime could he have possibly committed that made him deserve this?"
"He tried to leave Neverland," Pan replies quietly, sounding puzzled. It's as though he doesn't understand why I'm so mad.
"Heal him," I tell Pan. "Heal this kid and take him safely back to camp, or I will never speak to you again."
Then I stalk off, not caring if I ever see Peter Pan again.
More than that, though.
I realize that I have been letting my guard down. Pan has been fooling me into thinking maybe he isn't so bad after all, but now I know better.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I know that Pan is evil.
And now my mission is back on track. No distractions this time. I will infiltrate Pan's camp and assassinate him. He will have no chance.