“We need to go,” I whisper, looking down to see shadows creeping along the floor around us, circling us. “Now.”
But it’s too late to run. The shadows swirling around our feet are already surging and growing as they form themselves into a trio of the dark creatures. When they’re fully formed, they unfurl their wings, stirring the gray fog into whirling eddies.
Pan moves to shield us with his body as the glowing orbs that guided us through the mist attack the Dark Ones, darting at the creatures like angry bees. Where they hit, the Dark Ones’ flesh hisses, and the smell of burning leaves filters through the air. It’s not enough to stop the creatures, though. The fairy lights are no more than a nuisance, nothing like the Captain’s fireballs that brought them down from the sky.
Furious, the largest of the dark creatures strikes out at the fairy lights, swatting the glowing orbs away with an inhuman growl as it continues to stalk toward us. Pan doesn’t so much as flinch. The hand holding the dark blade of his dagger is steady as he thrusts in the direction of the Dark Ones, and when the creatures see what Pan is threatening, they go surprisingly still.
I can practically feel their anger lashing through the air around us. The buzzing hum pulses and grows to a deafening pitch, but they don’t come any closer.
“Go,” Pan says. “Touch the lights.”
“What?” I don’t understand until one of the orbs buzzes around my head.
“It will take you to safety. Touch it,” Pan orders. “Now!”
Olivia doesn’t hesitate. Without any argument, she grabs at the orb hovering around her face, and in a flash of light she’s gone.
“Go, Gwendolyn.”
“But . . .”
There are three creatures and only one of him. The other boys disappeared long ago. It’s not that I really think there’s anything I can do to help him, but leaving him alone with those creatures seems wrong.
He tosses me a devastating smile, as though the Dark Ones aren’t pawing at the ground just feet away, as though their wings aren’t already beating in rage. “I can take care of myself, love. They can’t touch me as long as I have this,” he says, giving his dagger a wave.
“It’s just a knife,” I tell him. Certainly enough to slit the throat of a boy, but it’s barely big enough to prick the creature’s side.
“It’s iron, Gwendolyn. Even a scratch would be lethal to them. Go on. I’ll catch up after I’ve given you a head start.”
I look at the dagger he’s holding. It’s so small compared to the size of the Dark Ones, which tower over Pan. I can’t imagine it could do much to protect him from them.
“Go!” he roars, and this time the impatience in his voice makes me jump.
Without any more hesitation, I reach out and grab the orb flickering near my face. My fingers slide through its icy density, and the world flashes white.
The boy stood next to his brother and waited for their orders. Each of them hummed with a nervous anticipation as they waited, believing they were ready for what was to come. “Stay behind me,” his brother said. “You cover my back, and I’ll be at yours. . . .”
Chapter 20
I COME TO WITH THE sun beating down on my face and the rocky ground rippling beneath me. My head aches, and my vision is a little blurry, but I can make out Olivia a few feet away on the ground. Above us the gray mist swirls malevolently, like a storm is brewing within it.
No one else is around. None of the boys seem to have made it out of the fog. There’s no sign of the Captain or any of his crew, and there’s no sign of Pan.
I sit up, my head swirling with the dizziness of what just happened. The fairy lights are gone too. We’re alone at the end of the world, and this part of Neverland is barren all around us. My limbs feel shaky and unsure, but I crawl the few feet over to where Olivia is lying on the ground and gently try to wake her.
Olivia coughs and moans, and then with shaking arms, she pulls herself up and looks at me. “Gwen?” she says, her eyes unfocused but strikingly clear. They’ve lost the glassy quality that I fought all day yesterday.
“You remember me?” I pull myself up straighter and try to focus on her. The pink gown she’s wearing is torn and soiled. The left sleeve hangs loose, half ripped from her shoulder by someone or something.
“Of course.” But then she looks around, noticing her surroundings with a start. “What happened? Where are we?”
“The Captain tried to take you, and we found you in the fog. We’re somewhere called the End,” I tell her. “Pan’s still in there.”
“Pan?” she says uncertainly, her eyes narrowed. “What are you talking—”
Before she can finish her question, the mist swirls again as something dark shifts within its depths.