In what must be a fit of insanity, I walk to him and wrap my arms around him.
He freezes, seemingly stunned, then awkwardly pats me on the back. “It’s all right.”
I pull away, my cheeks heating. “I made it weird, didn’t I?”
He smirks, the old sass surfacing. “That’s all you’ve ever done.”
“You’re welcome.” I smirk right back at him.
I don’t want this to be my swan song, but it certainly feels like it. Even with the gifts and the well wishes, I suspect a lot of the crew doesn’t believe I’ll be coming out of the cave alive. I don’t blame them. Neverland has been nothing but danger and death since I got here. Why would it change now?
Reaching into my pocket, I grip the pearl. It’s quickly become my talisman, and I’ve touched it probably a hundred times since Ari gave it to me. It’s like a tiny piece of him, and I carry it with me.
“Here.” Bill hands me a torch from the fire. “Should last you a good while, and you’ve got flint if it goes out.”
“I’m all set. Thanks for everything.” There’s nothing else to be said. I have to go, and they have to stay—but that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier. I take a deep breath and turn to the cave, the crystal ground rising in steps toward it.
I take them slowly, the yawning mouth of the cave devouring the light thrown from my torch. Even so, I keep going, picking my way across the ground until the crystal finally coalesces into a relatively even surface. By the time I turn to look behind me, all I see is darkness. It’s the same ahead.
Once more, I touch the pearl, then head off into the island’s maw. The crystal walls echo my steps, and the ceiling seems to grow lower as I move farther inside.
I don’t know where I’m going. This is the one place that Hook didn’t have mapped out. So, I just keep walking, one foot after the other as the stone floor begins to slope downwards. I lift the torch to see if there are any offshoots, but there’s nothing except crystal, opaque and smooth.
Hook came this way. So did Peter. Were they scared as they walked along the path? Or were they so eager to make their wishes that they didn’t care what danger might lay ahead? I think I know the answer to that. Both men crave danger, and it seems they always have.
The air seems to warm little by little as I travel deeper into the heart of the island. There is no light down here, so I’m grateful for the torch as I pass through caverns lined with stalactites and one particularly narrow ledge with a yawning chasm on one side.
I’m careful, travelling slowly and keeping an eye out for any other creatures or tunnels. Hours pass, and sweat tickles down the center of my back as the air warms even more.
A low hiss begins to sound in my ears, and I wonder if I’m imagining it to displace the eerie stillness of the cave.
I keep going and find that it’s real, the sound of water. It grows, becoming louder the deeper I venture.
After another hour or so, I realize I can see more detail in the walls, the glow of the crystal a warm gold. There’s light. My torch is growing weak, so I’m glad for the illumination, though I wonder where it’s coming from. I have no choice but to keep going, the sound of the water a rumble beneath my feet now.
The light grows brighter, and when I step out onto a ledge overlooking a soaring cavern, I douse my torch altogether. The roots overhead are thicker than redwoods, all of themglowing golden and showering the enormous cave with light. Down below, a wide pool shimmers, golden on its surface, and a waterfall churns to my far right. The entire cavern is indescribably vast, the roots of the Nevertree creating their own forest underground. Roots wrap around pillars of crystal, and some delve into the water. There’s a hum here, a song. It’s the same one I felt when I pressed my palm to the crystal pillars on the shore.
Picking my way carefully down the wall, I step onto one of the wide roots. It’s thicker than a city bus, and I’m able to walk along it, jumping to the next one where it hovers over the water.
I keep going deeper into the forest of roots until I see a small island ahead. Several roots twirl around it in a pinwheel fashion, and the crystal that forms its base is shot through with golden veins. Somehow, I know I need to go there.
The song grows louder, but it’s not in my ears. It seems to be coming from inside me, resonating through my chest as I climb along the roots and lower myself onto the island.
Once I’m there, I ease down and sit, crossing my legs and staring around at the magnificent beauty that lies at the heart of Neverland. Reaching into my pocket, I rub the pearl. “I’m here, James. I made it.”
A ripple appears in the water ahead of me. I let go of the pearl and lean forward, palms on the ground so I can peer into the pool.
The ripples grow, and beneath the golden shimmer, I see a horse. Well, sort of a horse. It has scales and a beautiful golden mane, with a mermaid tail instead of legs.
“Hi,” I whisper.
It swims around, then pokes its snout from the water.
I reach out to pet it.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a familiar voice says.
I jump and fall back onto my ass.
