Unhooked (25 page)

I wrap my arms around myself and rub at an ache that throbs near my shoulder. I feel suddenly cold and uneasy. The rocky bars that were between us are completely gone. I don't understand what happened, but I can't deny the result—
I
did this. I made them disappear, and that knowledge settles uneasily into the hollow space in my chest.

The Captain isn't paying any attention to my own personal identity crisis, though. Relief washes over his face when he sees the steel hand and, turning his back to me, he has his shirt off and the arm reattached in a matter of seconds. Miraculously, the cold dead metal springs to life, the fist clenching and opening as a smile of satisfaction lights his face.

“Come,” he says as he pulls his shirt back over his bruised chest. “We've not time to be wasting.”

Led by the dimming orb Fiona left us, we make our way carefully through the dark tunnel. The Captain seems to know the way, but the tunnel is endless. Beyond the halo of its swiftly waning light, I can hear the rustling of the Dark Ones in the distance.

The Captain has me by the wrist, and I struggle to keep up with his long steps as he leads us through the tunnels. “Do you really trust Fiona?”

“No,” Will says as the Captain says, “Yes.”

“That doesn't exactly inspire confidence.” I try to wrench away from the Captain, but with a sure tug of my arm, he pulls me on.

“She wants to be rid of Pan,” the Captain tells me as we walk. “As long as we're of use to her in doing that, she'll not lead us wrong.”

“And when we stop being of use to her?”

The silent tunnel echoes with our footsteps in answer.

I try to jerk away again, which only causes me to stumble, but before I hit the ground, the Captain catches me against him. “Careful, lass,” he says softly.

“What happens when we stop being of use to Fiona?” I ask again, trying to ignore the way my skin feels against his.

“I've not told her of the Queen's resting place for a reason,” he says darkly.

Once I stop struggling against his lead, we make better progress. Soon the tunnel grows wider, and cool air streams in from an opening ahead. On the other side of the opening, we find ourselves in a larger cavern, long and narrow with a strip of sky above us. I look up as we walk, marveling at the unexpectedness of that ribbon of blue, and this time I trip over something that has me stumbling to my knees.

Not something, I realize too late. Some
one
.

Or what used to be someone. The corpse is bloated and ripe with decay. The skin on the boy's mottled face is stretched so tight, it's started to split apart, leaving white slashes of naked bone poking through the dark, gaping wound. All at once, the smell of it hits me.

Before I can scream, the Captain pulls me away from the body and covers my mouth with his hand. “Hush,” he whispers into my hair. “We don't know if we're alone.”

I swallow down my scream and the bile that rose with it, and give him a weak nod.

“This way,” the Captain says. “Quietly.”

There's no reason to worry about being overheard, though. No one waits there except the already forgotten dead, who lay scattered in broken heaps in various states of decay. We are at the bottom of the trench. The place where Pan tosses the bodies of fallen boys.

Eventually we reach a place where the trench ends in a sheer wall of rock, which is split by a narrow passage barely big enough for a person to fit through. By now the fairy light Fiona gave us has long since disappeared, and the crevasse before us looks deep and dark.

I pull back. “I'm not going in there,” I say, thinking of the way the Dark Ones hunted in the other tunnels.

The Captain lets out an exasperated huff of air. “We're almost there, lass. A little bit more and we'll be at the cove, where the tender awaits. From there, the ship's only a short distance, and we'll be safely to sea.”

I give him a doubtful look.

“Aye, you're right. Though we
will
be safer than we are here,” he says. “Will, would you lead us?”

Will gives a tense nod. He takes another few seconds to search the reaches of the trench and the sky above us, and when he's certain—or certain enough—we aren't in danger, he ducks down and wedges himself into the narrow opening.

“After you,” the Captain tells me with a half bow.

“You're sure about this?”

“I just sent the boy I love as a brother ahead of you. If there was danger to be found, he'd certainly find it first.” When I still hesitate, he urges me on. “Go on, then.”

The split in the rock is narrow and every bit as dark as I feared it would be. William's steady footsteps echo ahead, leading us deeper into the rock, and a moment later the Captain enters behind me. Together we follow the tunnel's increasingly steep incline through the darkness. As the light recedes behind us, my certainty wavers and my steps slow.

“A little farther, lass,” the Captain encourages each time I pause to catch my breath. “We're nearly there.”

But the crevasse is dark and deep, and for a while, I'm not sure I believe him. Feeling our way with hands pressed against the damp rock walls that surround us, we walk so long in the silent, dark crevasse that I start to wonder if we'll ever get out. But the Dark Ones are not here. No unsettling images stir me, and no rustling rattles my nerves.

Then, in the distance, I see a faint sliver of light.

With each step, it grows steadily larger and brighter, so I pick up my pace. Soon I can make out Will's entire silhouette twenty or more feet ahead of me as he comes to the end of the tunnel and steps into the light. Behind me, the Captain is still close on my heels, and in a few feet more, I also reach the other side.

I step out of the tunnel and onto a narrow ledge that clings to the edge of the cliff. Below me, the cove I could see from my room with Olivia sparkles in the sun. I raise my hand to shade my eyes, trying to figure out where Will has gone to. It's not until the Captain exits the tunnel a second after me that I understand that something has gone terribly wrong.

Suddenly I am in the Captain's arms, but it's not like before. His steel hand is around my throat, and his other arm pins me securely to him.

“What?” I start. Then I see what's caused him to attack me.

Hanging in the air before us is Pan, and he has Will dangling wretchedly from his injured and still-bleeding arm. Will's face is white with pain as his legs flail in the air.

I force myself to stay as still as possible. The way the Captain is holding me has to be a mistake. It has to be part of the act, just as Fiona proposed. But the way his hand is pressing into my throat doesn't feel fake. Nor does the way my breath has been cut off from the pressure of it. I wanted so badly to believe that I'd made the right choice this time, but his grip is tight, and I don't doubt he's capable of what he threatens. With the strength of his steel fist, it would be an easy thing to snap my neck like a bird's.

“Let him go,” the Captain growls, “or the girl dies.”

“I don't think you really want me to do that, do you, Rowan?” Pan says, and to punctuate his point, he lets his grip slip a little before he catches Will again. Will lets out a high-pitched wail of pain and fear all mixed into one.

“Hold on, William,” the Captain says, adjusting his grip on me without easing it at all. I wriggle violently, but I can't get away. “If you kill him, I'll make sure you never get the girl,” he growls. “All those years, all your plans will have been for nothing, because I will snap her neck and take away your last chance at defeating the Fey of this world.”

“Please,” I try to say, but nothing comes out but a choking sound.

Pan is silent for a long moment before he speaks. “Well played, Rowan,” Pan says with no little admiration. “It seems I've taught you well.”

“You've taught me nothing,” the Captain sneers.

“Now, that's not
quite
true, is it?” Pan retorts, a dark smile playing at his mouth as his eyes meet mine. But then he turns back to the Captain. “Just leave the girl to me, and the lad is all yours.”

“No!” Will's face goes stony as he shakes his head. “Don't listen to him. You know what you have to do—take the girl. Save the rest.”

Pan laughs, a low, humorless chuckle that makes my skin go cold, even under the warmth of the sun. “Oh, it's much too late for that. There's no one left for you to save.”

A menacing growl rumbles in the Captain's chest, and I notice then what I hadn't before—in the cove the Captain's ship is waiting, its sails still in the windless day. Its decks are empty.

“What have you done with my crew?” the Captain growls, tightening his grip around my neck.

“That
is
the question, is it not?” Pan's eyes dance with cold delight. Suddenly an explosion tears through the silent calm of the day.

“No!” The Captain's voice is filled with rage and pain, but his grip never loosens. Below us, his once gleaming ship is nothing but a ball of riotous flames. Black smoke billows as fingers of orange-red fire climb up the tall masts. “They were but
children
,” he rasps, his chest heaving against me in ragged bursts.

“Ah, yes. The ever-protective Captain. So kind and caring to the boys under his protection.” Pan's smile is terrible now. “Until, of course, he kills them. Jealous I beat you to it?”

“You are a
monster
,” the Captain rages. His grip is so tight and fierce, I can't help but whimper. My neck is at such a severe angle that my shoulders are starting to ache.

“Perhaps,” Pan says pleasantly. “Or perhaps
someone
took the lads to safety before this terrible tragedy occurred. Perhaps
someone
has them under his protection . . .”

The Captain goes very still.

“ . . . for now,” Pan finishes.

“They've done nothing to you,” the Captain says. His muscles are rigid against my body, and I couldn't escape if I wanted to. “They mean nothing to you.”

“But they mean everything to you, Captain, don't they? And I think you'll do most anything to protect them.” Pan's face turns serious then. His crystalline eyes go stormy. “Give me the girl, and I'll let them live, including this one,” he says, nodding to Will. “You won't be so lucky, of course, but then, you've nowhere to run. Nowhere to go. Save your boys or watch them die, but either way, the girl will be mine.”

“If I give you the girl, you'll assure their safety?” the Captain asks.

I struggle against his grip, trying to wriggle free. There's no way I want to go back with Pan, not with the way he's looking at me, all anger and anticipation lighting his eyes.

“Of course,” Pan says. “I've no reason to harm them, so long as they renounce their loyalty to you, of course.”

“And Will, you'll ensure his life as well?”

“No!” Will says, writhing against Pan's grip. “It's not worth it, Cap'n.
I'm
not worth it.”

“Never doubt that, Will,” the Captain says, and the desperation in his voice chills me.

I try again to writhe away from him. He will do this, I realize. He will hand me over to Pan to save his boys, to save Will. In truth, I'd probably do the same, but that thought doesn't comfort me any.

“Make your choice,” Pan says, dangling Will more precariously now, teasing the Captain with his friend's death.

Will's eyes are sharp with pain, but they are no longer filled with fear. “You know what needs to be done,” he tells the Captain. “You've delayed long enough.” Then, with a violent wrenching, Will twists and rips at the bandage on his arm. It falls away, revealing the black, menacing crack. And before Pan realizes Will's intention, Will thrashes, pounding at the crack with his fist.

Pan's eyes widen as he realizes what Will's about to do, but it's too late. With a vicious shout, Will smashes his fist through the cracked skin, and the weight of his body does the rest. One moment he is staring at us with challenging eyes, and the next, he's gone. Fallen to the depths below.

“No,” the Captain rasps, his breath hot against my skin. His muscles quiver, and I can tell it's taking everything he has not to let a sob break free, not to toss me aside and go after his friend.

Pan only laughs, examining the lifeless hand he's still holding before he tosses it aside. “You can still save the rest, Captain. Give me the girl.”

The Captain is shaking against my back. His muscles tremble in their unyielding hold, but he doesn't release me. “I'm sorry,” I hear him say, but I don't know who he's speaking to, and I don't have time to figure it out. Without any warning at all, he hurls us both off the cliff, to the sea below.

His brother shook him. “If it comes to that, you will leave me behind. If it comes to that, you keep going. Swear to me!” But the boy wouldn't. And then a shell screamed so close that the time for promises was at an end. . . .

T
HE CAPTAIN'S ARMS ARE A cage around me as we plummet to the sea. The force of our fall sucks us both far beneath the surface. The shock of what just happened has me gasping for air, but the moment I feel the salty water rush into my mouth, I force myself to focus. Then I'm kicking up toward the light, the water above burning a lurid red-orange from the fire of the ship.

When my head breaks the surface, I gasp again. At first I can't see anything but the churning sea and the dark smoke from the burning ship hanging above us. But then strong arms secure themselves around me, and a hand goes over my mouth before I can scream.

“Swim, lass,” Rowan orders. “And swim hard.”

Relief shudders through me.
He didn't give me up,
I realize.
He chose me.