“Are those the scary-looking faeries with the trunk and tusks and fur and claws?” she asked, describing the odd creature she had seen on the beach once. “They eat . . . nightmares or something?”
“Exactly. Newly made orphans often have nightmares. As do children afraid of becoming orphans.” Hook held out his hand to measure the sun’s height from the horizon. Whatever his calculations told him caused his lips to turn down. “Pan has raised some baku from birth. They report to him about likely orphans to add to the ranks of the Lost Boys. His shadow usually retrieves them. If he’s feeling particularly impatient, the shadow speeds up the process.”
Remembering Tam’s words about Davi, she could guess what that entailed. She noticed the changing light was turning her hair a brassy hue as she twirled a curl around her finger. “Why does he need Lost Boys? Tam mentioned worship?”
Hook pulled out a spyglass from somewhere and held it to his eye. “Pan can’t lie, he’s sensitive to iron, and what people believe about him affects his abilities.” He removed the spyglass and nodded to Kalaakaar, whose posture loosened slightly.
Wendy mulled over that last part. “So a collection of boys who tend to think in absolutes and view him as the best thing ever—”
“Means he is an expert swordsman, a master trickster, and has a number of children who would defend him with their lives,” Hook finished grimly.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”
“You were convinced I’m a notorious pirate. How could you trust anything I said?” he challenged.
Kalaakaar’s eyes widened, and his lips pinched in a silent ‘O.’
“That’s completely valid.” Wendy filled her lungs with the briny air and let it out slowly. “My apologies.”
Hook sent a startled look her way, then returned to scouting ahead. He cleared his throat. “Given the circumstances, it was understandable.”
Wendy shook her head. “That’s kind of you to say.” She ran her fingers through her hair and gathered it over one shoulder. “Would enough people believing that Peter is a myth, or at least a fraud, counteract some of that?” she returned to the subject at hand.
“Yes. We’re working on it.”
“Are you aware of all the traps Peter has set around the island? For you specifically?”
“Many of them,” he answered shortly.
“Would you like me to add the ones I know about?” she offered.
“Not right now.”
Wendy crossed her arms. “Do you need a snack?” she said a bit sarcastically.
Hook breathed through his nose, then faced her. “We are heading to a rendezvous with a contact who spies on Pan for us. If we aren’t there before full twilight, he will leave.”
“Oh.” The brilliant sunset took on a sinister cast. “Do you want me to stop bothering you?”
He waved his hand. “You’re fine. I’m . . . tense.”
She thought for a moment. “Can I meet your contact?”
His broad shoulders lifted and dropped. “Sure. You’re not going anywhere.”
A couple days ago, that comment would have confirmed her bias about his evil intentions, but now she understood it as a sign of trust. He knew she wouldn’t try to turn him in to the authorities and that her best chance of saving her brothers was with him. A blossom of warmth grew in her chest.
“What can you tell me about your contact?”
Chapter Five
Which Includes a Cold-Blooded Reptile
“Sophus is the only Lost Boy I know who reached adulthood without escaping from Pan first. Somehow, he convinced Pan that he has always been loyal to the core. He and his crew supply Neverland with the goods that aren’t produced on the island.”
Wendy nodded. That explained some of the glassware, weapons, and other incongruous treasures she hadn’t thought much about at the time.
“Here we go,” Kalaakaar said to himself.
