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I pointed my sword at him, inviting him to engage. I was owed a token of revenge, and now the demon within me was ready to collect. “They all break the rules eventually, don’t they, Peter?”
“Now that you mention it,” he stopped and scratched his head with one hand while he pulled his short sword from his belt with the other, “they’ve all been terrible at the game. Maybe next time, I shall bring a girl back instead.”
“Not a fucking chance!” I swung at him, my cutlass glancing off his sword.
“What happened to your manners, Jas?” Peter tsked as he drifted around me, light as a feather.
“Because of you, I never had a mother to teach me manners.”
We moved in a lethal dance, Pan gliding around me effortlessly while I swung my sword in a blind rage. I was one well-placed swing away from ending all of this and devoting my life to Katherine. But the Divine kept him just out of my reach.
“Good form, old man,” Pan praised.
“I’ve had years to practice with this very fight in mind.”
“Ahh, but all those years have made you that much slower. Might I interest you in some faerie dust to even the odds?” He offered with a cheeky smirk on his face, and I knew the reason for it.
“I’m not giving him a single grain of dust,” the pixie ranted in a tirade of bells.
“Don’t worry, Faun. Jas was always the worst at flying. He couldn’t do it even if he wanted to.” It was a low blow. A sore spot between Pan and I. Instantly, I was a child again with all of my flaws on display. Humiliation eating away at me.
I swallowed hard, but my face remained stoic. I’d learned to hide my emotions so well over my lifetime that it took little effort to slam a mask in place and throw all my energy into my sword. Sweat beaded on my brow, stinging my eyes. I’d never felt my age until this moment. Pan’s laugh echoed around the forest, making a mockery of me. My life’s sacrifice was nothing more than child’s play to him.
“James!” The alarm in her beautiful voice cut into my concentration. I turned reflexively at the sound. Katherine stood at the edge of the forest, her chest heaving and her eyes wide with fear. My men emerged from the shadows right behind her. That single distraction was all it took. I heard the whistle of the blade, and I felt it rustle my hair before the sting set in. Warm blood spilled down my cheek and onto my shirt.
His laugh overshadowed the sound of my groan. The little fucker had no honor in the way he fought. I should have remembered that.
“Why, Jas,” he started through fits of laughter, “you’ve found a mother after all. It’s not done a bit of good. You still have no manners.”
“Don’t you dare bring her into this,” I growled, raising my sword again to reengage him.
“Peter, what have you got there?” a juvenile voice called out.
“Oh, Pan, you found us some pirates! That’ll be great fun!” called another as several young boys joined us in the clearing. Wide, expectant eyes peered at us from dirt-caked faces.
“Oh, I like this game!” the boys chimed in with agreement.
“You fools, can’t you see he’s using you?” I barked at them. Irritation flooded me at the sheer naïveté of the boys. “You’ll break his rules even if you don’t want to.”
“Speaking of rules, I think we should add a new one to the list,” Pan piped up, commanding the boy’s attention away from me. “Pirates—” he paused for effect, and all of them stared at him in rapt interest, hanging on his every word, “are bad!” he finished, and they whooped in approval. Their calls turned into battle cries as they charged my men, some of them wielding wooden swords.
This wasn’t a fair fight. My men were ruthless pirates, but killing young boys still wouldn’t sit well with them.
“Enough!” I bellowed, the authoritative tone bringing them up short. “Leave Pan and come with me before it’s too late.”
“This pirate talks too much. Grown-ups always ruin the game. Let’s go back to hunting beasts. I hear the crocodiles are quite ornery this time of year,” Pan said with a deep scowl on his face. I’d struck a nerve. If I could turn his Lost Boys against him, that would spoil all of his fun.
Pan turned his back on me, drifting just out of my reach.
“Turn and fight!” I shouted. I couldn’t let him walk away now. But he ignored me completely. His boys followed suit behind him like perfect little soldiers, turning their noses up at my offer. “Turn around and fight me, you coward.” I stalked after him as my rage boiled over. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. A lifetime of planning for this very moment, and it was all falling through my fingers. “You owe me!”
“Don’t worry, old Jas. The game is just beginning.” He cracked a cocky smile at me before he jetted away, and I fell to my knees. My mind was a whirlwind. No single thought could take hold in the chaos. Just a string of whispers that were deafening inside my head.
Failure.
Worthless.
Pathetic.
