Disgusted, I grab Jack’s shirt and shake him.
“This whole time? All this time you’ve been right under my feet?” I give him a hard shove. He stumbles, but regains his balance.
I take in my younger brother, my fists clenching. “Before you take us to the Lost City, there is one more item we must take care of. One last thing to be sure neither you nor anyone else questions where you belong.”
Jack steps back, bumping into Smeeth’s gun. “What more could you possibly want from me?”
I stride toward the burning gallery and pick up a piece of wood. A flame dances wildly on the end. I hold the torch close to my gloved left hand, careful not to burn myself but close enough to make the ring on my middle finger glow red in the heat.
Smeeth shoves Jack to his knees. The boy grunts as he hits the ground hard. He sits back on his heels, his head bowed. Smeeth’s fingers wrap around Jack’s ebony hair and yank his head up.
I stoop, my gaze meeting the Lost Boy’s glare. Jack clenches his teeth together defiantly.
I press the red-hot ring behind Jack’s right ear, relishing his violent screams as they rise above the sizzling of fiery metal against his skin. The putrid smell of burning flesh fills the smoky air. Jack’s face grows pale with a hint of green as he crouches and vomits. The insignia of the Marauders, a skull and crossbones, marks the skin behind his ear, angry and raw. Jack spits and stares up at me, his nostrils flaring.
“Welcome back to the Marauders, little brother,” I say in a guttural growl.
Traveling the narrow passageway, I shiver and wipe away the tickle of spiderwebs from my face and hair. Lily leads, holding the lantern to light the dark shadows ahead of us. A wave of claustrophobia washes over me as thick black smoke and the smell of something burning makes the air feel thinner in the small space.
“We must hurry,” Lily says, holding the fabric of her sari to her nose and mouth. “It is just a bit farther ahead.”
“Where are you taking us?” I ask, distracting myself from the anxiety that mounts within me, my breaths becoming more shallow and rapid.
She answers without turning. “Eventually, as far from Everland as possible, but for now, somewhere safe.”
“We’re looking for our friend Bella,” Pete says, crinkling his brow. “She’s about this tall, with blond hair and mechanical wings. Have you seen her?”
Lily keeps moving forward. “Not now. I will explain everything once we are safe.”
We travel a few moments more and stop at a hole in the ground. Lily holds her lamp over the opening, but it sheds very little light into the gaping, dark chasm.
“Take this,” she says, handing me the lamp. She sits on the edge of the gap, her legs dangling over the side. Her foot finds a step and she slides in, disappearing into the thick blackness.
Doc reaches for the lantern. “You’re next,” he says.
“No, you go,” I say. “Pete’s injured. He’ll need you and Pickpocket to help him down.”
Pete shoots his gaze toward Doc and frowns, seeming ruffled by the comment, but he doesn’t say anything. He holds his injured arm with his good hand and gives Doc a tired expression. Doc shifts past me toward the hole in the ground. Lily’s hand pokes through the darkness and her gloved fingers wrap around his hand as she helps him climb down the steps.
“Now you,” Lily says, motioning to Pickpocket.
He glances at me with a wary expression but swings his legs into the gap and carefully lowers himself into the hole. Mole follows without hesitation.
Unable to control my cough, I crouch toward the ground, where the smoke isn’t as thick. Pete drops to his knees, covering his mouth and nose.
“You’re hurt. You go next,” I say to Pete, nudging him toward the opening.
“No, Gwen …,” he begins to protest.
“No time to argue. Just go,” I say, choking on my words.
He glances at me with some hesitancy but sits on the edge of the opening and drops into the dark abyss. My lungs burn and my vision spins. Lying on the dirt ground, I pass the lantern down into the hole. Almost tumbling in and gasping for air, I roll into two waiting hands.
“I got you!” Pete says, cradling me with a wince. I know he’s in a lot of pain, but he tries to hide it. He gently places me on the ground.
“I told you you should’ve gone first,” he says, patting my back.
“Because it would’ve been better if I caught you instead?” I ask, wheezing.
Pete laughs. “Spoken like a true Lost Girl.”
My faces flushes and I elbow him. “I learned from the best.”