“Oh, no.” But she did as she was told.
“Hold this.” He handed her the lantern, the door open and facing out.
It wasn’t exactly subtle where this was going to go. Nor did she really have an option. So she took it and held it like he had instructed her.
“Oh, Miss Bell, I have a question.” Hook smiled down at Sasha, a glint of purple appearing in one of his dark brown eyes. “Just a quick clarification on our deal, if you don’t mind.”
The fairy appeared in a shimmer, hovering in the air near Hook.
The pirate moved fast for someone his size and relatively older age, compared to the Lost Boys. Hook snatched the fairy out of the air, grabbing her in his fist, his expression turning from one that bordered on seductive to one of lofty disgust within a split second.
“Pathetic little thing. To think I would make deals with you?Peh! But your obsession with that fool served me just fine.” He threw the fairy into the lantern. Tinker Bell hit the back wall of it hard, hitting the wax-covered bottom and covering her hands, legs, and her wings in the still-hot substance.
Hook latched the glass door shut. The holes for air were too small for Tinker Bell to escape. “I will keep my word to you, though. I will spare hislife. It is bad form to kill someone already injured. When he’s mended well enough to rescue Wendy and the others, you can tell him where they’ve gone.” Hook tapped on the glass with the curl of his hook before taking the lantern and hanging it on a low stub of a branch on the tree.
Tinker Bell waspissed.
Sasha didn’t know exactly what she was saying, as she didn’t speak “sparkles,” but it wasn’t polite. She was from Boston—she got the vibe well enough.
“I’m sorry,” Sasha muttered to the fairy. “It’s nothing personal.”
“Speak for yourself. And don’t bother. She’ll cease to exist the moment we move on from here.” Hook was already walking back toward the boats. The pirates were now leading a procession line of kidnapped teenagers, all lashed with rope and gagged, some bleeding from where they’d clearly been punched into submission.
Sasha waited. Held her breath.
Sidney was one of the last to come out, dragged by two men on either side. She wasn’t tied up or gagged, and she was giving them the fight for their lives. “I’m gonna skin yourballsand turn them into hacky sacks, you ugly pieces of shi?—”
That was her sister, all right.
“Sid!”
Sidney gave up fighting the moment she saw Sasha. Instead, her sister’s eyes welled up with tears and her twin let out a heartbroken sob.
Putting on her best “pirate” voice, she looked at the two men hauling her. “I’ll take her from here, men. She’ll behave for me.”
“If’in you say so, Mr. Smee.” One of the men shrugged, and let Sidney go. Sidney ran over to Sasha, half throwing herself into her arms.
Sasha hugged her sister tight. “I’m so glad you’re okay, I was so worried. How’d you get away?”
“A bird’s nest. It makes nofucking sense.”
“I think that happened in the book.”
“It’s stupid.” Sidney sniffled.
“Mr. Smee. Come along.” Hook was losing his patience. And an impatient Hook meant dead people. And while he might not killher,he wouldn’t have a problem killing Sidney.
Taking Sidney’s hand, she started off after the line of pirates and their captives. “Time to end this story and move onto the next one.”
“Good. This place sucks.” Sidney was in full-blown, four-alarm whine mode. Sasha couldn’t say she blamed her.
She also didn’t have the heart to tell her that whatever came next was probably going to be worse.
Way worse.
* Now, if only anyone would actually listen. -V
