Shadow of the Hook

by Erik Schubach

  I looked at her determined face above me, lips pressed into a line, worry in her eyes, and was saddened by the knowledge she must have done that countless times for her Tinkerbell. I fired to our right when a man swung down on a rope from the rigging toward us, a dagger in his teeth. With a distressed sound, the man fell to the deck, onto one of his comrades.

  I caught the slight twitch at the corner of Wendy's mouth. She appreciated my skill with my bow.

  My own smirk faltered at the smell of tainted wolf blood. Mandy was injured. I know I shouldn't worry, as she would heal almost as fast as she got injured, and I have seen her barely slowed down with wounds that would have killed a normal human.

  I heard her guns going off with a little girl shouting, “Bangbangbang!” And the anguished cries from men just up ahead. Then over the din of battle, I heard a little girl humming the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. I shook my head at how playful she was.

  She would have to start rationing her bullets soon. This was but one engagement, and she has used half the magazines in her quick-load rig. We didn't have anymore, and I'm sure that Neverland didn't have the advanced ammunition she required.

  I dove off Wendy's shoulder and buzzed through the mayhem toward Amanda. I swooped around a grasping hand then between another man's legs and zipped up to just above head level to look around and smiled as I saw Mandywolf pulling a dagger from her side and returning it to the man who had thrown it... with deadly accuracy.

  She saw me and started to smile then froze. I was too slow to react and found myself being scooped up into a thick glass jar. I spun in my translucent prison to see Captain Horton... the Magistrate, with a look of victory on his face.

  It was the vibrations in my bones that gave me advanced warning. I braced myself in the jar as the subsonic growl raised up into the audible range. As Mandy darted forward in a blur that had even me gasping. She was faster in this form than when she was an adult. I had been just a bit faster than her when we first met, and she was a joy to spar with. But if she had been this fast, even I wouldn't have been able to keep up with her.

  It wasn't until an instant before she collided with the Magistrate that I realized why she was so quick, her feet weren't moving, she was flying just a hair's breadth above the deck. With the splintering of wood and a crunch that told me some ribs broke in the impact with the wall beside the stairs up to the poop deck, the Magistrate's mouth opened in a silent scream of pain.

  I looked out, and even though the distortion of the base of the jar as it and I fell to the deck to bounce around and swirled to a stop, I could see the man's feet were off the deck, being held against the wall by my Mandywolf, who had the man by... well by his man bits. It was an absurd sight, this cute little pirate girl holding a man who out-massed her by at least a hundred fifty pounds, up against a wall that way.

  Wendy slid between them and ten or more men who surrounded them, about to lunge at Mandy with their blades. She looked like some sort of specter, a ravager of doom, her eyes were the only thing to be seen in the shadow of her pirate's cap, and they were filled with the rage of a mother bear which would put demons to pause.

  She spread her arms, looking imposing and deadly as she bellowed in a commanding tone, “Enough! Don't you dare lay a blade on my daughter!” Then she slammed her arms together, crossing her blade with her hook. Just before they hit together, I could feel the world warping around us, as if power were being pulled from every recess of creation.

  A bright golden light seemed to suck into the two pieces of metal and time was unmoving, then with the tolling of a bell that almost deafened my enhanced hearing, all the power was released in an inexorable wave. It seemed to skip over me, Amanda, and her captive. But all the men and loose gear around us went flying back as the wave hit them, flung like rag dolls in all directions. One of the undamaged masts cracked and splintered as the power sliced through it, it slumped down two feet, suspended only by the rigging.

  She exhaled as she looked around as the fighting between the two crews stopped, everyone looking at her in either fear or awe. She corrected herself, “I mean my friend.”

  Oh, she had called her her daughter, and I had compared her to a mother bear. Had I done it again, my imagination reinforcing my earlier thoughts? I had to fix this.

  Then she turned slowly, ominously to look at Captain Horton, who Mandy held pinned against the wall, still in too much pain to cry out. I pounded on the glass, causing the jar to roll a bit. Her eyes snapped down like she were ready to attack a threat and she saw me. I could see the moment of rage in her as she was reminded that this was the fate of her love.

  She looked through the open space in her hook and blew. The glass of the jar tinged then cracked and then fell apart around me. I buzzed up to her shoulder, and she again protectively flicked her collar over me.

  She stepped up to the man, and I realized just how tall Wendy was. The Magistrate wasn't a tall man, maybe five foot nine, and she was looking him in the eye with his feet a couple inches off the ground. It was so hard for me to judge height in my diminutive state.

  Without looking down, she said, “Mandy, release him.”

  My girl growled, and Wendy said with the tone of patience one reserved for a misbehaving loved one, “Amanda.”

  Then with a huff and pout, my girl dropped the man and crossed her arms across her chest as her tail twitched in indignation, “Fine. You never let me do anything fun.”

  The man fell to his knees, grasping his crotch as he sucked in a shuddering breath of air.

  I flitted down to her and placed a hand on her cheek as I landed on her shoulder and started looking her over for injuries. I could see many holes in her jacket, tinged with traces of blood, but any injuries she may have incurred were long since healed. She leaned her cheek into the contact.

  Hook slowly swung her blade toward the Magistrate, the act somehow making the friction in the air causeing the tip of the cutlass hum. Then she said, “Captain Horton... Have your men stand down. You may one day have your victory, but it is not this day.” She tapped the tip of her hook on the blade, sending it singing again. “Your lust for the power of the artifact will be your undoing.”

  I looked around to see our pirates disarming the rest of the soldiers. The man grunted then spit on her boot, growling out a derisive, “Hook.”

  She raised his chin with the tip of her blade, and he nodded almost imperceptibly, and she just smiled, slid her blade absently into its scabbard and turned away from the man like he was of no further consequence. To his credit, he didn't try to attack.

  She put her hand out, and Mandy put her little hand in it, and they took to the air, I followed in a buzzing trail of sparkling dust. By the Goddess, this woman was as Mandy would say, badass.

  Men were already finishing up cutting all the grappling lines and dumping the boarding ladders... and bodies of the slain into the water. I could see ripples in the waves heading our way. The mermaids would get their due.

  As soon as the last pirate returned to our deck, then the order was given to sail into the Nothing for repairs. I joined Wendy as she sat on the steps up to the poop deck, while she pulled Mandy onto her lap and I sat on my little wolf's knee.

  Wendy said as we watched the crippled ship get smaller as we left her to the horizon, “We need to talk. I think I've accidentally made a Make-Believe, I feel more and more that you're my daughter, Amanda, even though it isn't true.”

  I was about to open my mouth to share that it was likely me too, as I couldn't control this magic of imagination that seemed to be part of Neverland, but Amanda spoke first, surprising me with a shrug as she said, “I actually don't mind. My own mom wasn't anything to write home about.”

  I sighed, wishing I could take away that particular heartache of my girl's.

  Then she added with an embarrassed look, “And I keep finding myself acting like a kid. The Lost Boys really put the whammy on me.”

  The infamous Captain Hook just nodded and ki
ssed the top of her head as she looked at the sun, now low on the horizon. She stood, placing Mandy on the deck, then swatted her butt lightly and said, “Come on now, we need to set up a silver cage with your name on it for tonight.”

  She offered her hand and Mandy took it as the captain looked to the horizon, just before it was swallowed up by the fog of the Nothing we sailed into, “Tomorrow, we see the Voodoo Queen.”

  Chapter 9

  Unexpected

  That was the most surreal night of my life. Amanda fell asleep on a bench while Wendy gathered the pirates around her. She explained what they needed, and all of these men, concentrated hard, casting a Make-Believe, gasping and panting. While I didn't feel anything close to the power of the Lost Boys when they were all spinning their imaginations through the fabric of reality, there was still a respectable amount of magic in the air.

  I could see the large crate that was in front of us shimmering and changing slowly into what amounted to a cell reinforced with steel bands and silver weaving all throughout. It wavered, and Wendy smirked at me and sighed out, “Men.” Then prompted me, “Shall we help?”

  Oh... ok, I had done this once. I imagined a wolf containment cage with Full Moon Bars and could feel the power of Hook's imagination ripple past, feeling almost like an unstoppable force. I slipped again, seeing how cute Mandy was, snoring on the bench as her little tail twitched, and when the containment cage solidified, it again looked like a pink puppy carrier, only this time, human-sized.

  By the grace of the Mother, my Mandywolf was going to kill me. Wendy cocked an amused eyebrow at me, and I shrugged, having the common sense enough to blush in embarrassment over my slip. This imagination magic was really finicky. Just one stray thought can change the outcome.

  I buzzed over to the sleeping wolf girl and prompted, “We need to get her out of her clothes, or they will be shredded.” I tugged on her jacket lapel to no avail.

  Wendy looked confused then alarmed. She didn't know much about the cursed. She had only been a child and hadn't ever seen someone who was infected go through the agony of the change before.

  She nodded and slipped over to the bench to sit down. She stroked Mandy's hair, then coaxed her as she pulled her into her lap, taking her hat off and starting to remove her damaged pirate coat, “Come on sweetie. Time to get ready for bed. We gotta get your clothes off.”

  Mandywolf yawned and stretched and half opened her eyes, she looked exhausted. She nodded, still half asleep and let us undress her. Then Wendy wrapped her in a blanket as my girl resumed snoring.

  I could feel the transition from day to night as the light shifted in the fog of the Nothing. I urged her, “Place her in the cage now, there's no more time.”

  Wendy rushed to comply and carefully, lovingly set Amanda down and then closed the door.

  I buzzed up to stop her from opening the cage again when the screaming started. I told her, not breaking eye contact with her, “It is normal. It is the curse reshaping her into the beast that lives inside her.”

  I placed a tiny hand on her outreached one and squinted my eyes in my own mental anguish as the screams continued while they morphed into yowls, whimpers, and howls of pain. Then it was over.

  I turned to the cage when there were no snarls and growls as the wolf inside my mate lunged at the bars. My brow furrowed in confusion as I turned while Wendy looked on in anticipation, not knowing what to expect.

  In the middle of the cage was a fluffy little, black furred wolf pup, sitting up, with both confusion and horror in its eyes as she lifted a paw in front of her and turned it from side to side, examining it. She whimpered and skittered back when she flexed and razor sharp, talon-like claws snicked out. Those recurved claws were as sharp as any steel.

  Wendy said as she watched, “This isn't too bad. I heard the horror stories as a little girl, of the crazed and bloodthirsty rages that took over when one of the cursed went wolf.”

  I flew to the bars to look in as I said in a small voice, “They do. This... isn't normal. Something's wrong.”

  The pup looked up at me, her eyes widening as she moved in a blink of an eye to the bars, making strange guttural sounds. She looked confused and looked up at me again, making those noises again. I realized she was trying to speak. I swallowed and asked carefully, “Amanda?”

  She nodded and sat, the whole movement looking overly cute except the fear I saw in her eyes. I spun in the air and buzzed up to a concerned looking Pirate Queen. “This isn't right. The beast should have taken over. But she's still in there.”

  I buzzed between my pup and Wendy. Then asked the blinking wolf, “Mandywolf? Do you understand me?”

  She nodded and started looking at her paws again. She made a multi-syllable gruffing sound that sounded too suspiciously like, “Well, fuck me.”

  I chuckled and said, “Language, love.” I knew my girl too well.

  The captain just watched us, then said to nobody in particular, “Maybe the Sea Devil is shielding her from part of the curse? Like it can shield you from Pan's influence?”

  I nodded as I thought it through out loud. “They are both demon magics, and the Trickster was much more powerful than Pan. So likely it is only blocking as much as it can? Where it can't stop the transformation, it suppresses the beast?”

  I looked at the cage and then flew between the bars, Wendy lurched forward, “Robyn!”

  I shook my head and said, “Her wolf recognizes me as her mate, and won't hurt me.” Amanda just sat there as I landed on her muzzle. I looked deep into her eyes and could see her intelligence. It was my girl looking back at me in fluffy puppy mode.

  I asked, “If we let you out, will you behave?”

  She nodded, making me take to the air to stop from falling off her wet nose. I pointed an accusing finger. “You know you have to be extra careful not to bite anyone?”

  She nodded again and crossed her heart with a paw, giving me puppy dog eyes.

  It was possibly the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

  I fluttered back out to land on Hook's shoulder and said, “Go ahead. Let her out. This is... it is unexpected and close to a miracle. I have another friend who keeps her humanity when she is wolf.”

  Wendy looked from the cage to me, then her eyes locked on the small but dangerous looking pup. I still saw concern and compassion in her gaze. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded.

  Wendy reached over carefully, waiting for our girl to lunge, and when she didn't, she unlocked the cage. Amanda walked out clumsily, growling back like she was chastising her rear legs as she tried to figure out how everything worked.

  Then the pirate crouched and put her hand in front of Mandy's nose. When Mandy sat on her fluffy butt and growled, looking affronted, I chuckled and said, “She's not a dog, Wendy. My Mandy is still in there.”

  She nodded then scooped the pup up and cuddled her to her chest and kissed the top of her head. “We'll fix this, baby, I promise.”

  Amanda exhaled in a huff then laid her head on Wendy's shoulder. It was too cute. I landed in front of her nose, and Mandy sniffed then half sneezed at me, getting me wet.

  I looked at myself and then flicked her nose, “Eww... now I have to get cleaned up.” She... didn't look repentant. I muttered, “Bad dog,” and she chuffed in amusement.

  Wendy shook her head. “Children, please.”

  Mandy yawned long and hard, her eyelids looking droopy. With a smile, Wendy was in motion, heading back up to her cabin as she asked my girl in her arms, “What are we going to do with you?” Adding as she passed the quartermaster, “Bring her clothes to my cabin.”

  The man went into motion saying, “Aye Captain.”

  After we arrived in her cabin, Wendy laid an already sleeping pup on one of the pillows on the ornate bed in the corner, then she stroked the fuzzy looking downy fur on my girl before turning to another task.

  She moved over to sit at the table and looked over Amanda's gear and clothing. She cleaned off the blood
from the weapon's rig with a basin of water then an oiled rag as she asked me, “Can you do something about her clothes? They're in tatters, and I would assume the boys hadn't thought of making her any additional clothes when they... umm... regressed her age?”

  I buzzed over and stood on the table as she muttered, “You'd think she'd be a little more careful than this. She could have been seriously hurt.”

  I chuckled, causing her to look up from her task to see my smug look. It prompted a grin from her. “What, you imp?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Words like careful, subtle, and tactful aren't in my girl's vocabulary. You may as well be telling the storm not to rage.”

  My smirk returned. “The lycan contagion makes her stronger, faster, and more resilient than a normal mortal, coupled with a healing factor that makes her throw caution to the wind. She can take a lot of abuse and pain because she is usually single-minded in her determination and she knows that her body will heal just about anything that is thrown at her.”

  She smiled patiently and said, “I know, it's just...” She hesitated... “Dear lord, I'm acting like my mother. I'm going to have to fix this, I fear it's my fault that I...”

  I interrupted, squinting an eye as the dust sifting from my wings turned a light pink. “I think I'm at fault too. I can't help thinking that whenever you are holding her hand or having her sit on your lap, how you look like an adorable mother and daughter. I don't know how the magic works in this realm, and I fear it is far more dangerous than I can imagine.”

  She looked over to the sleeping pup then back to me, and I stopped her by adding, “Honestly, what harm can it do? She's never had loving parents, so I think she actually likes it. We can pretend for just a bit more, can't we? Until we get ourselves back to normal and find a way home?”

  She hesitated then sighed. “I guess it isn't the worst thing. And she is sort of adorable.”

  I nodded then winked. “Just don't let her hear you say that.”