Everland (15 page)

Pickpocket watches Bella float above the Lost Kids, a pained expression crossing his face. He glances down at his blistered hands.

Taking his hand gently, I peer into his dark eyes. “You have my word. I will help you.”

Pickpocket pauses, peering at his fingers and then at Bella. “I’ll help you find your sister, but not for me. For Bella.”

“Me too,” says Mole. “I’d do just about anything for Bella.”

“I suppose I’m in as well,” Pyro says. “I don’t want to be the only prat who says no.”

The smaller boys cheer and break into imaginary sword fights. “Take that, Hook!” Gabs shouts, jabbing another boy with an invisible knife. The other boy dramatically feigns death, grunting as he collapses on the ground.

“Then it’s decided,” Pete says, raising his voice above the chatter. “You guys head over to Blade’s place. Arm yourselves with the best weapons Blade has.”

“You comin’, too?” Pickpocket asks, jerking his glove onto his hand, seemingly still annoyed with me.

“We’ll be along shortly,” Pete says, his face emotionless.

“Suit yourself. Let’s go, Lost Boys,” Pickpocket says, leading Mole and Pyro toward the weapons armory.

Enthusiastic, I turn to Pete. His grin is wide as he walks toward me. “They’re going to help!” I say with excitement.

“Nice job, Immune,” he says, giving me a fist bump. “I couldn’t have done it better myself. Well, I probably could have, but batting my eyelashes like you did wouldn’t have worked as well for me as it did for you.”

“I didn’t bat my eyelashes!” I protest.

“Hey, Pete, is Jack going to be the leader while you’re gone?” Gabs asks, fidgeting with the ends of the dirty scarf wrapped around his neck. He leans in and whispers, “He can be awfully bossy when you’re not here.”

Pete’s face twists into a grimace and quickly fades into a reassuring smile. “Jack is complicated. He’s a good guy. Troubled, but good nonetheless. Don’t you worry, Gabs. I’ve got it covered.”

Pete ruffles Gabs’s hair and the anxiety slips from Gabs’s expression.

“Lost Boys, line up!” Pete shouts.

Chattering with excitement, the boys queue up in two straight lines, jockeying for position according to their height. Mikey sneaks from his hiding spot and sidles in between two kids. I join him, taking him by his small hand. Pete strides between the two rows, scrutinizing each boy.

Jack, suddenly noticing the crowd of boys, joins Pete in the center. “What’s this about?”

“You’re getting your wish,” Pete mutters.

Jack squints, confusion marking the sharp angles of his cheeks and jaw.

Pete holds his hands up, grabbing the attention of the hundred or so boys.

“Lost Boys, today has been an eventful day, with the recruitment of Gwen and Mikey to the Lost City.” Pete clutches his hands behind his back, pacing as he speaks. “And it’s no secret that girls are scarce and an important part of our society. Integral to our survival. They are more rare, more valuable than any other item we can scavenge.”

I wince, listening to him speak about girls as if we were objects, priceless treasures.

The older boys elbow one another, raising their eyebrows. I roll my eyes, imagining what shallow comments the older boys are making to one another.

“Today I will be taking a team of our best Scavengers with me on an important task in order to recover something stolen from our newest citizen, Gwen.” Pete gestures toward me. “My team is with Blade as we speak, arming themselves for the battle that lies ahead. This will be the most dangerous scavenge we’ve done yet.”

“Pete, what are you doing?” Jack grumbles.

Pete ignores the question. “While I’m away, Jack will be the primary leader and Justice the second-in-command.”

A groan rumbles through the crowd. Justice beams. Scout rolls his eyes, turns, and walks away, adjusting his weapon at his hip as he travels down a darkened tunnel.

Jack faces Pete, eyeing him sternly. “What’s this about, Pete? You can’t just take off with our best Scavengers. Do you know how long that will set us back? We’re already running low on supplies.”

Pete steps toward Jack so that they’re nearly nose to nose. “We’re going to Everland.”

A collective gasp echoes through the cavern.

“You’re kidding me,” Jack says, folding his arms. “This is a joke, right?”

Pete stares him down. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

Jack shifts uncomfortably. “You’re scavenging in Everland? That’s against the bylaws. Do you know how dangerous that is? No one
ever
makes it back from Everland.”

Pete doesn’t break his stare. “We
will
make it back.”

“You’re a fool!” Jack says, stabbing a finger toward Pete.

“Some things are worth risking everything for,” Pete replies, unflinching.

Jack throws his hands in the air and takes two steps back. “Whatever. You’re the leader. Completely mad, but still the leader.” Jack spins on his heels and starts back to the stock room, cursing under his breath.

“I’m going after Hook,” Pete announces.

A hush falls over the boys.

Jack abruptly stops. Slowly he turns. “Hook?”

Pete’s grin grows wide. “Hook has Gwen’s sister. We’re breaking into Buckingham Palace to get her back.”

The corner of Jack’s mouth twitches into a lopsided smirk. He pushes either side of his coat back, revealing a belt with an array of tools, buttons, and switches on it. “You’re right, Pete. Some things are worth risking everything for. I’m coming with you. I’ve got my own bone to pick with Hook.”

Pete nods, gesturing at Jack’s tool belt. “And that is why we call you the Jack of All Trades. Every great adventure could use a Lost Boy like you. Glad to have you along.”

Jack clasps Pete’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ll go check and see how the boys are getting on with Blade.”

“Thanks!” Pete says, and pats him on the shoulder as Jack heads toward the weaponeer building.

Pete faces the rest of the Lost Boys. “Justice will be your interim leader while we’re away. I know you boys will show him the respect you show me.”

The boys cheer and slap Justice on the back.

“I won’t let you down, Pete,” Justice says, adjusting his goggles.

“I can’t think of a better suited Lost Boy than you,” Pete says. He leans in close to Justice’s ear. “Try to go with your gut, kid. Not by the rules.” Pete snatches the spiral notebook from Justice’s shirt pocket and stuffs it inside his own coat. Justice’s mouth gapes open, but he says nothing.

“Gabs, take Justice to the map room and give him a rundown on his duties. Everyone else, clear out! The party is over. Get back to work,” shouts Pete. The boys scatter, taking up their work posts.

“Sure thing, Pete,” Gabs says, tugging on Justice’s arm. “Come on, Justice. You’re gonna like the map room. It’s got this ginormous map that sort of looks like a treasure map only not really. Instead of where a treasure might be,
X
marks the spot where the Scavengers have been. He’s got a fan that spins when you pedal the footplates, but you have to pedal really fast or otherwise it doesn’t cool you off. And there’s an inkwell, which holds three different color inks, if you had ink to put in it. I like to squeeze my beets in there since I don’t like beets all that much. There’s also a …” Gabs stops and twists back toward my brother. “Well, aren’t you coming, Mikey?”

Mikey tugs at my shirtsleeve. “Can I go with Gabs and Justice? I want to see the map room, too.”

“Go ahead,” I tell Mikey, giving him a reassuring nudge.

Pete pulls something out of his coat pocket and hands it to my brother. “Here, take this.”

Mikey takes the object: a red hard candy. “Wow, thanks a lot. I can’t remember when I had candy last.”

“The Lost City is your home now. We are your new family,” Pete says, kneeling to Mikey’s eye level. He juts a hand out and shakes Mikey’s tiny one.

Mikey drops Pete’s hand and throws both of his arms around his neck. “Thanks, Pete!”

My chest swells at the exchange, and for the first time in a year, I really believe my brother will be safe. Perhaps safer than when he was in my care.

Pete hands a candy to the other two boys. Justice unwraps his with enthusiasm and pops the green ball in his mouth. Gabs sniffs his own yellow candy and holds it out to Mikey.

“Trade?” Gabs asks.

“Sure!” Mikey says, swapping treats with him.

“Pete says too much sugar makes me hyper. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but lemon isn’t my favorite flavor anyhow. It’s sour and makes me pucker like this.” Gabs’s eyes cross as he puckers his lips. “My big sister used to tell me if I made this face and someone hit me in the back of the head it’d be permanent. I just can’t take that risk.”

The boys’ voices fade in the pinging of tools and whirring of machines.

I smile at the boys’ exchange. It is heartwarming to see Mikey with a friend. I spin toward Pete. His goggles reflect my grin, a mirror of his own smile. I slip the spectacles off his head. “You, dear sir, can be awfully sweet when you want to be,” I say.

He grabs for the goggles but misses as I hold them out of reach. “I’d give those back if I were you, Immune,” he says teasingly.

“Not until you stop calling me Immune,” I say, twirling the goggles on a finger.

“What should I call you?” he asks. “You still haven’t picked a Lost Girl name.”

“What’s wrong with just calling me Gwen?”

“It doesn’t suit you,” he says. “Gwen seems like the name of a proper English woman, one who wears hoopskirts, carries a parasol, and is on the arm of a gentleman.”

“And I don’t seem ‘proper’ to you?” I say, poking a finger into his chest.

“Hardly,” Pete says with a snort.

I pretend to be offended. “Oh, really?”

“Of course not. Have you looked in the mirror?” he asks.

Taken aback by the insult, I suck in my bottom lip and pretend to be interested in his goggles. What was I thinking? Of course I don’t appear proper to him. I can only guess how disheveled I appear. By instinct, I reach to comb my fingers through my hair, hoping that it isn’t sticking out in every direction.

“Aww, Gwen, I didn’t mean it like it sounded,” he says, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I just meant that you’re not all weak and damsel-in-distress-like.”

The ache of the insult slips away, but it still takes me a moment to lift my eyes to his. I’m terrified that he’s covering up, making something up to placate me, and I know it’s his stunning eyes that will give it away. He reaches for me and tilts my chin up so that I have nowhere to look but into those eyes.

“Gwen, it’s your strength and determination that set you apart. You are by no means a frail Englishwoman,” he says, his gaze unwavering.

I instantly feel better and wrap my arms around his neck. He smells of sweat mingled with fresh rain.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t be here without your help. Thank you, for everything,” I whisper. My heart slams against my ribs. I wonder if he can hear it.

“Don’t mention it,” he says.

Just as I pull away, my ponytail is violently yanked. I am ripped from Pete’s embrace and stumble backward, almost losing my balance. Turning to see who my assailant is, I am shocked to see Bella glaring at me.

“Bella, what’d you do that for?” Pete says, sounding surprised.

Bella folds her arms and tilts her head to the side. “Really? You two can thank me later for saving you from doing the kissy face in front of all of these kids.”

Snickers erupt around me as the Lost Boys stare, having paused from their duties to watch us. Heat prickles my cheeks, neck, and ears. I hide my eyes behind a trembling hand. I wasn’t being kissy face with him—or was I? I’m not sure. Aside from his good looks, there’s nothing about him I’d be remotely attracted to.

“Back to work!” Pete hollers. The kids continue to giggle as they pull their goggles over their eyes, pick up their tools, and return to their duties.

Silently, I berate myself and wrap my arms around my body tightly. I wish I could wind back the clocks and wipe this embarrassing moment from my thoughts.

“And you,” Pete says, spinning toward Bella, “what’s up with attacking Gwen?”

She shrugs. “I wasn’t attacking her; I was trying to get her attention,” she says in an innocent tone. She bats her long, dark lashes.

“Next time, a ‘hey, Gwen’ will suffice,” Pete says.

“Fine,” Bella says in a snarky tone while rolling her eyes.

“I mean it, Bella. There’s no place for your childishness here.”

“Or what?” she retorts. “You’ll ground me? Take away my toys? You might be the leader, but I’m not just some random girl you picked up on the street and declared a Lost Kid.” Bella flicks her hand toward me.

Pete stands a little taller, his face flushed with anger. “Random Lost Kid or not, she’s one of us now. And if I see you so much as scowl at Gwen, you
will
be banished.”

“Pete!” His name tumbles from my lips loudly, drawing the attention of the other boys.

Despite the flash of defiance in Bella’s eyes, I also see tears well up. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Pete presses his lips together and turns his back to Bella. “It’s the same as I’d do for any other Lost Kid. If I have to, I’ll personally escort you from the Lost City, and that’s a promise.”

“Pete, stop it!” I say, positioning myself between Bella and him. I lay a hand on his arm. “That’s enough. You’re being too harsh on her.”

Bella shoves me away from Pete. A tear slides down her pink cheek. Her eyes shift from me to Pete and back to me. She points a finger at me, her hand trembling. “I hate you! I wish you never came here!”

My breath catches as I gaze into her angry blue eyes, a fury in her expression so similar to Joanna’s the last time I saw her.

“Bella, I …” Before I can finish my sentence, she sprints away, her blond hair fading into the bustle of working boys. “Bella!” I call after her.

“Let her go,” Pete says. “She just needs to cool off.”

I whirl and grab him by the shoulder, spinning him to face me. “How could you talk to her like that? She’s just a kid and you aren’t her dad.” I give him a slight shove.