Prologue
The balmy night air came in through the window on a breeze caressing the sheet over my body with an unsettling intimacy. I stretched out beneath the suddenly stifling summer heat tugging the thin material up. I felt the weight settle against it and lifted a hooded gaze down my body at the black shadow that knelt over me.
My eyes blinked fighting to open beneath the heavy weight of sleep. My heart thudded tightly in my chest as I tried to fathom what I was seeing. It was darker than the rest of the room, a mass of pure ebony against the gray cast space. It crawled higher and I was suddenly wide awake watching it fearfully close the distance until it was right above me.
A face pushed its way out of the blackness startling me with the contrast of alabaster skin against that soot background. He opened his eyes and I inhaled sharply beneath the luminescent violet gaze. He came forward so he was a head against the shadow. His platinum hair fell around his face in wild layers.
“Are you Wendy?” he queried and I knew in that one moment I’d lost my damn mind. The doctors were right. It was the only explanation for this messed up Peter Pan like delusion. He tilted his head studying me with that almost elfish expression. “Won’t you answer me? I need to know if you’re Wendy.”
“Are you insane?” I asked knowing full well I probably was. He dropped down heavily against my body making me gasp at the solid weight of his fully grown body. My eyes lifted to his darkening gaze.
“My shadow thinks you’re the one Wendy mother,” he said forebodingly.
“I’m not Wendy,” I growled struggling against the sheet but he had me pinned in. He leaned down inches from my face and I went stone still.
“We need a mother,” he insisted caressing his fingertips along my cheekbone exploring it. He hesitated tilting his head towards the open window. His eyes drift closed as if he was trying to hear something.
The sound of the foghorn made me gasp. His hand went to my mouth silencing me. “Hush little baby,” he soothed, “don’t say a word and forget that noise you heard.” I caught his wrist trying to jerk it away.
He smiled dangerously.
“Take my hand we’re off to never, never land.”
The shadow slid up my hand where we touched feeling like thousands of spiders. I struggled against him frantically as it rippled over every inch of my skin before filling my nose and mouth suffocating me until nothing else remained.
Chapter One
I fought against the darkness that clung to me, twisting and turning until I fell back against the wind. I spread my arms and enjoyed the sensation of free falling until it ended abruptly.
My body jolted with pain and cold. I sat up stiffly looking around confused. Did I fall out of bed? My hands pushed into the mounds of snow and I shuddered blinking fast. A dark world surrounded me. Trees stretched high into the heavens but they were black twisted things. Damn it where in the hell was I?
I glanced down to the single sheet that covered my body. I was in the London facility. They’d just finished the last tests and sent me back to my private floor. It was summer in London, muggy. I was dreaming. I hadn’t dreamed in years, they made sure of that.
My hands began to sting as the cold drilled up my fingertips. Damn it. Dream or not I was freezing somehow. I stood shakily wrapping the sheet tightly around my body as I tried to get my bearings. I looked to the stars but they didn’t make sense. I turned and stiffened. Three moons, what was this place?
A howling echoed in the distance jolting my heart with panic. I moved away from the noise stumbling over sharp rocks and branches in my bare feet until they were numb and damn near bloody. The forest seemed to last forever. No matter which direction I looked in it just kept going on into the horizon.
If I didn’t find shelter or warmth soon I’d freeze to death out here I realized miserably. I kept moving away from the mournful howls keeping my head down as snow blasted in from every direction.
My feet moved without thought climbing up the icy path. I slipped and feel twice busting my knee and cutting my hand. I stared down as the crimson blood dripped into the fresh snow. It hurt I realized squeezing it watching the puddle fill.
It didn’t seem right hurting this much in a dream. I lifted my hand licking the blood tasting the warm copper fluid. This wasn’t right. Did I get kidnapped? Was I confused from the medicine about the man in the shadow and someone actually took me away? I stood shakily.
An eagle screamed overhead catching my gaze as it circled.
“You’ll freeze if you stay out here in such little clothing,” a female voice called from the wind that screamed through me.
“I . . . don’t know . . . where I am,” I stammered.
“Yeah I figured as much,” she muttered appearing before me. I blinked up into her hazel eyes questioningly. She was beautiful. She shook the snow covered feather cloak from her long chestnut hair. Her tan skin looked even more native in the buckskin dress. “Pan will probably just hunt down another mortal if I let you die,” she sighed grabbing my chin roughly. “What’s your name kid?”
“Willow,” I breathed achingly as the cold constricted my throat.
“Here,” she offered pressing something hot into my hands. I looked down at the strange gourd canteen. “Drink it.”
I uncorked the bottle sipping slowly. The fiery liquid burned down my esophagus filling me with warmth. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Tigress,” she said holding out her hand to me. I gave her back the gourd hesitantly. She flung it around her chest deftly. “Come on I’ll take you to my village and call off the hunt.”
“Hunt?”
“Sure the boys will be hunting you down, they love the hunt,” she said smiling darkly. She unhooked the cloak sliding it over me in a flourish. I shivered beneath the warmth but my natural suspicion kicked in.
“Who’s hunting me?” I asked straightening my spine.
She blinked over her shoulder in cynical amusement. “Glad to see Pan finally found a girl with a backbone but we need to get out of the Never woods,” she said flatly. “You can either stay and face the beasties or come and warm up by the fire.” She looked down my sheet-clad body blatantly. “I might even be willing to give you some clothes.”
“Who’s Pan?” I challenged lifting my chin.
“Really,” she smirked. “Where did he find you kid?”
“I’m not a kid.”
“To me you’re all kids,” she shrugged walking away without looking back. Her message was obvious follow or freeze. I trailed after her slowly ignoring her melodic laugh that came back to me in blasts of wind. Bitch.
We walked a narrow path between two sheer rock faces. I fought to keep my balance over the rocky terrain that she seemed to glide over. I caught her dark glance and waved her on. She smirked but kept walking.
When I saw the firelight my heart hammered hard. I wanted to run towards it but the dark shadows of bodies stopped me. I let a greater distance grow between Tigress and myself. She looked back slowing her movements.
“Where would you run?” she asked in that same cynical tone.
“I’m not running anywhere,” I grunted closing the distance.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” she cooed catching my wrist tightly jerking me forward towards the men.
I stumbled over my numb feet skidding to a stop before the native men. They turned facing me and I went rigged. Their upper bodies had been painted stark white, their eyes were almost opaque, and their long dark hair fell free around their naked torsos. “What have you brought us Tigress?” One man cooed.
“She is Pan’s latest capture, looks like she got away from shadow,” she said flatly crossing her arms challengingly when I glanced back at her. “The poor thing doesn’t even know where she is.”
“Don’t you patronize me,” I growled shrugging off her cloak turning to face her head on.
“A fighter?” a deep male voice rumbled behind me and I turned fast striking my palm upward against his jaw launching him.
The other men circled and I growled warningly crouching down. “Do not come near me.”
“Where did he find you child?” a soft almost grandfatherly voice questioned.
“Elder,” Tigress gasped. I looked back at her kneeling form before seeing the man exit the tee-pee.
“Get her some clothes Tigress dear and some ointments for her wounds, she’s walked the path from Hangman’s tree to us, an impressive distance in the Never woods,” he murmured. Tigress moved fast to another tee-pee leaving me alone with her male tribe’s men. “Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine,” I grunted backing up as he approached.
“Don’t fear child.”
“I fear nothing,” I hissed narrowing my gaze on his cautious moves but I held my ground. He gave me a gentle smile but my gut tightened in warning. “You’ve come close enough,” I stated when he was a few feet away.
“Is it just men you don’t trust then?”
“I trust no one,” I said firmly crossing my arms. It made the wounds sting but I kept my face blank.
“Where did he find you?”
“Who is he?” I challenged.
“Pan,” he answered. “Pan is the stuff of legends, surely you’ve heard of the immortal boy.”
“You’re talking about Peter Pan,” I stammered shivering as a wind tore through the thin sheet.
“It’s just Pan now,” he warned and I felt the seriousness of that single statement, “but he is one and the same.”
“I don’t understand where I am?”
“Neverland,” he answered calmly but dread filled my senses as I looked over the tribal village.
“I don’t believe you,” I said flatly.
“It doesn’t matter if you believe,” he shrugged. “We haven’t lived on belief in a long time anyway.”
“Grandfather,” Tigress called.
“Yes,” he nodded. “Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll speak before the boys come for you.”
“Lost boys,” I asked dubiously.
“Well they’re not boys anymore, more like forgotten sons,” he offered. When I didn’t move he smiled slightly. “Won’t you even accept clothing? This isn’t a place to go around so . . .” he trailed off and my eyes narrowed dangerously, “under dressed for the climate.”
“Get your ass in the tee-pee and change you daft girl,” Tigress barked.
I prowled towards her dropping the sheet as I walked ignoring the gasps of the men. Her eyes flared angrily. “You wanna see my ass take a good gander Tiger Lily,” I snapped and she struck hard hitting me square in the mouth. I licked at the blood slowly. “That’s was good,” I grinned. She stiffened and her eyes dilated fearfully. “Ah have I scared you?”
“What in the hell is the matter with you?” she demanded shoving the clothes into my chest stumbling back.
“Me,” I smirked tugging the buckskin pants on like second skin before tugging the tunic down around my bare chest. “I’m peaches and cream sweetheart.”
“You’re insane,” she hissed and my smile widened.
“I get that a lot,” I cooed bending over blatantly as I tugged on the calf high buckskin boots. “Thanks for the clothing but I have no intention of waiting around for the psycho who took me to come calling with his man troupe.”
“You think you can hide from Pan,” a man asked sarcastically.
“Who’s going to hide?” I queried looking at the cliffs.
“NO,” Tigress screamed but I was already running leaping into the air as they cried after me. I flipped to my back looking up at her furious stare. I leaned back extending my arms as I dived deep into the water swimming through the arctic water. I pushed against the choppy waves reaching the edge of land and lifted myself wearily.