Page 25 of Tick Tock, Darling

So we were walking into a village full of people loyal to a woman who wanted him dead, carrying a box that lit up the whole forest, on a beach with Tinker Bell's blood on it.

“Do you think she’s aligned with Pan?”

I needed to know who was on our side.

“No. But that could have been because Pan’s been in the Hollows for so long. He’s back now. He would make an alliance with her if he thought it would get his shadow back.”

Pan had all the advantages. He’d make a deal with the devil if it would get him back his Shadow. And his damn shadow could be anywhere on this continent or stuck in Neverland.

Ifelthas was a quiet village. There weren’t many fishing boats in the harbor and judging by the location of the sun, it was close to noon. They'd be out at sea, reeling in their catches for the day. What kind of fish lived in the Grand Sea? Probably something with three rows of teeth that could swallow a man whole. This was the Elder Dimension, after all.

Men stopped and stared at us as we headed over to the dock. Obviously, we were dressed differently than they were. They all looked like they had stepped out of a Robin Hood movie with their tights and tunics. We stood out like a sore thumb.

“How are we going to rent a boat?” I leaned closer to Darius. “We don’t have any money.”

“With gold.”

“You’re carrying gold coins?”

Alice nudged me. “He’s not. But I am. I brought some from home before we got here. Not a lot, but it will get us by.”

I studied the boats in the harbor. Not a dinghy. A dinghy would put us on the bottom of that sea inside a day.

"We need something small enough for three to sail. A sloop. Single mast, shallow draft, decked forward so we don't swamp in a following sea."

Alice blinked at me. "A what?"

A frost-haired old man with a gold earring came down the dock toward us. "Strangers here?"

He looked us over and let his hand rest on his sword.

Not the trusting sort. Didn’t know what that meant. Was he a friend or foe of Alanna? This wasn’t the time to question.

"Yes." I gave him an easy smile. "We're looking to buy a boat."

The man tilted his head. "Where you headed?"

"Teacup Cove," Darius said. "Family reunion."

Teacup Cove. I kept my face where it was.

"Really. What family?"

Small place, then, if he expected to know the names.

"The Knaves. Chester's a good friend of mine."

The old man went quiet and studied him. His heart picked up — not fear, something else — and his hand came off the sword and hung at his side.

"Chester," he said. "Huh."

He knew the name. I couldn't tell you whether that was good for us or not, and I didn't like a stranger holding a card I couldn't see.

"We have gold," Alice said.

Changing the subject. Smart, and about two beats too fast.

He turned on her like a dog hearing a can open. "How much do you have?"