“I’m not,” she said, but that was a lie.
“I’m sure we’ll find him,” Wolf said.
“Yeah, there’s going to be a logical explanation,” Jessica added, but the other girls just looked at her. Jessica was nice, but she still had a lot of learning to do. She still didn’t really understand just how magical Enchanted Academy really was.
After all, at this school, there were ghosts. There were ghouls. There were enchanted items and haunted hallways and everything in-between. Besides, some of the students were really, really good at magic.
They walked past a boy who was practicing levitation using a row of little stuffed bears. Tinkerbell tried not to stare as he practiced in the yard outside of the girl’s dormitory. He waved his wand and a stuffed animal in front of him lifted up and then dropped back down.
“Crap,” he said, and he tried again.
“There’s nothing logical about it,” Tinkerbell finally said.
“What?”
“Jessica, I’m not trying to be mean, but something magical happened to him. Nobody just vanishes out of thin air.”
“Oh, of course not,” Jessica said quickly. “I didn’t mean...”
She kept talking, but Tinkerbell tuned it out. She knew she wasn’t being fair to her friend, but she wanted to find Peter more than she wanted to baby Jessica through life at the school. At some point, Jessica was going to realize that the kinds of things that happened around here didn’t have logical explanations.
Sometimes they didn’t have explanations at all.
They reached the castle and entered through a side door. It was the weekend, so the doors were unlocked, and the little group of girls made their way down the hallway. As they passed different classrooms, Tinkerbell tried to keep her mind from wandering.
She did not want to freak out.
Belle seemed to notice her panicking and reached for her hand. She squeezed it.
“Hey,” she said. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Thanks,” Tinkerbell said. “I hope so.”
When they reached the theater, they stopped just outside of the doors.
“Listen,” Tinkerbell said. “If anyone sees us, follow my lead, okay? I’m not supposed to be in here when I’m not practicing. None of you are supposed to be here at all.”
“Got it,” Jessica nodded. Belle and Wolf did, too. Tinkerbell took a deep breath and pushed the doors to the theater open and they walked inside. Instantly, she stopped, because the theater wasn’t empty.
Hook was there, sitting on the edge of the stage with her legs dangling off. She was bouncing a little energy ball in her hand, and she looked up at the group as they approached.
“Looking for something?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tinkerbell wasn’t sure how much she should play along. She had planned on making up an excuse about needing to study, but Hook had been there when Peter had disappeared.
And she’d done nothing.
Rage welled up within Tinkerbell, and she dropped her robes to the ground. She was wearing a thin blue tank top under them, and she felt her wings sprout out of her back. Instantly, glitter started falling from her wings and covering the ground: dust. It was fairy dust.
Hook’s eyes went wide. Tinkerbell hadn’t forgotten the time she’d given Hook some of her fairy dust in order to find Belle. She hadn’t bothered Hook about it. She hadn’t asked her why she wanted it or given her any grief at all, but boy, she was going to give the girl grief now.
Tinkerbell leapt forward, throwing herself toward Hook, who was so caught off guard that she didn’t react.
“What are you doing?” Jessica screamed.
“Stop!” Belle shouted, but Tinkerbell ignored them.
She landed on top of Hook, who was now flat on her back, and she pinned her down.
It shouldn’t have happened.
Tinkerbell wasn’t as big or as tall or as much of a bully as Hook, but she managed to stay on top of her long enough to glare at her.
“What happened to him?” She yelled in Hook’s face.
“Get off me!”
“Where did he go?”
“What are you talking about? You’re crazy!”
“Let me see him! You know what happened to him!”
“Get! Off! Me!”
Despite being pinned, Hook managed to create an energy ball in her hand and pushed it toward Tinkerbell. The ball hit her skin and it sizzled, burning a little. It was a sharp sensation and it hurt enough that Tinkerbell backed up. She was distracted enough that Hook shoved her off and wiggled free.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” She looked wildly at the other girls. “What’s wrong with all of you?” She said. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re looking for Peter,” Jessica said.
Great, though Tinkerbell. Way to play it cool, human.
Sometimes she really hated how blunt Jessica could be. The human girl really didn’t fit in here. Sometimes Tinkerbell wondered if there was really a chance that Jessica was truly unmagical. How could someone without any magic keep trucking along at a school like theirs? Perhaps there was a chance her parents had secretly been witches or warlocks and Jessica simply didn’t know.
Tinkerbell wasn’t sure.
What she did know was that telling Hook outright what they were looking for was a terrible idea.
And super not cool.
“Peter?” Hook looked surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what we’re talking about!” Tinkerbell shouted.
“Hey,” Wolf turned to Tinkerbell. “You have to calm down.” She stepped forward and lowered her voice. Then she whispered, “I know it’s hard, but you have to relax if you want her to tell us anything. Yelling isn’t going to solve anything.”
Yeah, well, easy for Wolf to say.
She was a shapeshifter.
She could literally do anything she wanted to.
“Apparently, Peter vanished from the set last night while the two of you were rehearsing.”
“What?”
“You seem surprised by this,” Jessica pointed out.
“I wasn’t here last night.”
“Stop lying!” Tinkerbell said.
Hook turned swiftly, took a step forward, and grabbed Tinkerbell by the throat.
“Listen, little pixie, I don’t know what your beef is with me, but I wasn’t anywhere near the theater last night. I was passed out in my bedroom all night because my roommate accidentally gave me her science experiment instead of a glass of water from the fridge, and if you’ve been going to class at all, you know exactly what priliia potion does to a witch my size.”
“It makes you pass out,” Tinkerbell managed to choke out.
“Yes,” Hook said slowly, nodding. “It makes you pass out.”
“Well, if you weren’t here,” Wolf said, seemingly blind to the fact that Tinkerbell was still being held by the throat. “Then who was with Peter?”
Bell grimaced.
“And where did he go?”
Chapter 3
Peter Pan looked around the space where he was being held. He walked forward, putting his hands out. He poked at the invisible barrier that separated him from the rest of the area, and just as it had all of the other times he’d touched it, the jelly-like substance simply wobbled. There was no way to get out of his enchanted prison, he realized, and Pan hated that. Oh, he hated it.
He wanted to be free.
He wanted to get out of the cage he was in and go back to his normal life. Not that his life was anything special. It wasn’t, really. He was just a normal boy going to a not-so-normal school.
Only he’d landed the main role in the school play, and that was one of the most exciting things he’d ever experienced. It felt good to be acting on stage with his friends. Hook wasn’t exactly known for being friendly, but the two of them had gotten close, and he’d really started to open up to her.
He’d even told her about his cru
sh on Tinkerbell.
Not that he would ever act on it, but it felt good to talk to someone about it. Hook had been surprisingly supportive for someone who seemed so crabby all the time. She hadn’t judged him or made him feel like he was being dumb for liking a fairy.
After all, he was one, too.
He didn’t like to advertise it. He’d always told people he was a wizard: nothing more, nothing less, but that was a lie.
He had wings.
Peter Pan kept them hidden as much as possible. He didn’t want people to know too much about him. He had been orphaned at a young age and his life growing up had been strange. He’d lived in an orphanage full of boys until someone had finally outed him as being magical.
The woman who ran the orphanage had booted him out. She didn’t want any creeps or strange people lurking about her orphanage, she’d said, but Peter Pan had never really felt like that was all right. He hated being an outcast, and he’d managed to take odd jobs around town until someone had taken notice of him.
It was Helena Hex who had finally realized that he was the type of boy who would be suited to attend her school, and she’d swept him up, given him a scholarship, and helped him find a place. That had been two years ago, and he was already a different person.
The world felt safe now, and good.
Or at least, it had until yesterday.
What had happened?
He tried to remember, but everything felt blurry and fuzzy. It was like he was dreaming now. Or had he been dreaming then? He couldn’t tell.
“Hello?” He called out, but there was nothing there.
He could see past the barriers that surrounded him. He couldn’t tell if he was in a big room or a small room or even if he was still at Enchanted Academy. Maybe he was in another dimension. Maybe he wasn’t anywhere at all. Perhaps he had hit his head and died, and that was why everything felt so strange.
He couldn’t tell.
All he knew was that being here was uncomfortable and lonely, and he missed Tinkerbell. He couldn’t die yet. Not before he had a chance to tell her he was crazy about her. He’d never been in love. He was still young. He wasn’t very handsome or very interesting, he thought, but he was willing to take chances and have as much fun with life as he could.
And he wanted to have fun with Tinkerbell.
He wanted to tell her that she wasn’t alone, that he was a fairy, too.
But now he might not ever get the chance.
Chapter 4
“We need to tell Helena,” I said, pointing out the obvious, but Hook hurried over to me and slapped a hand over my mouth.
“Don’t even joke about stuff like that,” she said.
I tried to mumble a response, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“Listen to what you’re saying, human,” Hook said. “Really listen. Tinkerbell saw someone with Peter last night who looked like me, but it wasn’t. Do you realize what that means?”
“Shapeshifter,” Wolf whispered.
“Worse,” Hook shook her head. “A ghost.”
“How is that worse?” Belle asked, and I was glad she did because I didn’t know. Besides, I didn’t realize ghosts could change their shape. Was that actually possible?
“Why do you think it was a ghost?” Wolf asked. Hook ignored Belle’s question entirely and turned to Wolf.
“What else could it have been?” She gestured to the stage, which was empty. “Look.”
“There’s nothing,” I said.
“Nothing at all,” Wolf added.
“Shit,” Tinkerbell muttered, and I spun around to look at her. She never swore. Ever. I’d never even heard her so much as raise her voice. Why was she swearing now?
“What?”
“The ghost lamp is gone,” she said.
“What?”
“The ghost lamp,” Wolf said. “I hadn’t noticed before. You’re right. It’s missing.”
“What’s a ghost lamp?” I asked, feeling a little out of place. Okay, I’d been in some theatrical performances when I was a kid, but nothing like they had here, and nothing that involved any sort of magic or even lore.
Were there ghosts at Enchanted Academy?
I’d seen a lot of strange things and I’d learned a lot about magic. I mean, my own abilities were pretty pathetic and usually just fizzled right on out. Sometimes I wondered if I’d actually be able to graduate if I couldn’t even finish a spell, but that was something I could worry about later. Right now, I wanted to know why I didn’t know there were ghosts here.
That made me totally uncomfortable.
“A ghost lamp is a special light that’s left on stage when it’s not in use,” Wolf said.
“It’s designed to deter restless spirits,” Tinkerbell said, whispering. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice before. Why isn’t it here?”
Hook looked confused, and she frowned. Her brow furrowed, and her pale skin looked even lighter when she was upset.
“It was here during rehearsals yesterday,” she said. “Tinkerbell, was it here last night?”
“I had to think about it for a second, but no, I didn’t see it.”
“Where were you?” Hook asked. “When you were watching not-me with Hook?”
“Up there,” Tinkerbell pointed up to the rafters.
“Let’s go,” Hook turned and started walking.
“Not a bad idea,” Belle said.
“We need to see what you saw,” Wolf told Tinkerbell. “And then we’ll have a better idea of where to look for more clues.”
“We aren’t Nancy Drew,” I muttered. “I think we should ask for help.”
At this, Hook spun around and marched over to me. She poked me in the chest, which totally hurt, and she glared at me.
“Stop. Saying. That.”
“Why?” I hissed. “Why are you so against asking for help? You don’t have to be strong all of the time, you know. Adults are here to help us.”
It was strange coming from me, but I really believed it. Helena Hex had bailed us out so many times. She’d really gone above and beyond to help us, so why was everyone afraid to tell her Pan was gone?
“Look,” Hook’s eyes softened. “I get that you’re new, but this is your last pass. After this, I’m not holding back when it comes to being a total bitch to you, okay?”
Wow.
Um, okay.
“Wait,” Wolf came over and gently pushed Hook away. “Let me explain it to her.” She turned to me and her eyes were gentle, but I got the distinct impression everyone thought of me as a child who had to be coddled.
I hated that feeling, but I mean, maybe they weren’t wrong. Maybe I was, in some ways, a total infant.
“Jessica, there’s a lot you don’t know about Enchanted Academy.”
Yeah, I realized that.
“When something happens here, you can’t just go to an adult. That’s kind of the point of going to this school. When we get out into the real world, the non-magical world, there are going to be times when we need help and we can’t ask for it. We have to figure it out on our own. This is just practice for that. We won’t always be able to call for help.”
“So you’re saying that even if someone’s very life is in danger, we shouldn’t ask for help?”
What kind of weird world was this?
I didn’t like that idea at all.
It was definitely not fair that Peter Pan was lost. It wasn’t fair that we didn’t know where he went. He could be lost or hurting or scared.
What if he was all alone?
“I’m saying that going to Helena Hex shouldn’t be our first course of action,” Wolf said. “If it was, she’d never get anything done, and we’d never learn.”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say at all,” Hook said.
“Really?” Wolf asked. A smile spread across her face. “Because I think my speech was pretty good.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out a hip, as if silently telling Hook to bring it on.
“
Something imitated the way that I look and the way that I sound,” she said. “And it was good enough to trick Tinkerbell. Let’s be honest: not a lot gets past Tink.”
“Thank you,” Tinkerbell blushed. She wasn’t exactly used to people complimenting her. She was kind of shy and a little quiet, but she was a good person, and Hook was right. Tink was very, very aware of her surroundings. Maybe it was because she was small, especially compared to wizards and witches and shifters, but she never really let things slip past her.
“So that begs the question,” Hook continued.
“What question?”
“What took him?”
“And how do we get him back?” Tinkerbell whispered.
“That’s why you don’t want us to talk to Hex,” I finally realized. “You think whatever creature took Peter could be able to shift into other things: not just you.”
“Ghosts can take on whatever form they want,” Hook said.
“I thought ghosts could only resemble their former selves.”
“That’s a myth,” Wolf whispered. “A legend designed to protect the true nature of ghosts.” She looked at me sharply. “If Hook is right, and this really was a ghost, then we’re all in big trouble.”
“Especially Peter,” Tinkerbell gulped. “We need to find him.”
Chapter 5
“Let’s start with the basics,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Tinkerbell shook her head. She was feeling lost and worried. I didn’t blame her at all. I mean, Peter was the guy she was crazy about.
“We need to know if there are any school legends about ghosts,” I said.
“What will that do?” Tinkerbell whispered.
“No, she’s right,” Hook agreed. To my surprise, she actually smiled at me. Weird. “Where’s Beast?”
I bristled. Beast was sort of my boyfriend. Why did Hook want to find him? She seemed to sense my awkwardness and hesitation, because she just laughed.
“He took Enchanted History last year,” she pointed out. “I was just going to ask him what his experiences were with folklore from the school.”
“Oh,” I said. “Of course. Um...”
“He’s with Red,” Wolf said. “They’re helping his grandmother move a new oven into the dorms.”
Enchanted Academy Box Set Page 22
