Mere Phantasy

by Ashley Lauren

  Before I could respond, Lox rushed forward and pushed her hand between my face and Merlin’s mesmerized expression, instantly making the locket drop. “It’s obviously not from here, and you can study it later. As for us…” She tossed a stern look over her shoulder at both Robin and me. “We have an army to lead. And without Peter, it’s not going to be pretty. We should go.”

  Getting to my feet, I followed behind Lox and Robin to the door. Looking behind me, I saw Merlin watching me steadily, feeling uneasiness about having told him about my locket’s secret power. But he knew things, more than any of us did.

  Dream catcher.

  The thought sparked into my head, and I didn’t hesitate to turn back to him one last time. “Before we leave, Merlin, I was wondering if you knew anything about something called a dream catcher.”

  Blinking from his stupor, Merlin cleared his throat and bent down to pick up more papers. “No, sorry. Can’t help you there.” With how fast and short his answer was, I suspected maybe he wasn’t being completely honest. But I had no reason to suspect that. So, sighing with defeat, I moved to leave anyway, but as I was stepping onto the first step, Merlin added, “That weapon you hold in your possession may be more powerful than you think. But there is nothing that can hustle a curse.”

  And on that positive note, I rushed to catch up to Lox and Robin on the steps. With my head muddled with crazy emotions and thoughts, I gazed down at my locket and thought, There’s got to be some reason you were given to me. I just haven’t quite figured out why yet.

  “Get off your lazy arse and do something for once, Zane. I’m not just going to let you crash here unless you’re willing to help us.”

  My eyes flickered open, hearing Lox’s brash tone. It was morning, and I’d dreamed again. This time not as terrifying, but still noteworthy. All my dreams were. And to think I’d thought I’d been let off the hook since coming here.

  When I pushed past the curtain, Lox was poised with a spatula pointed at Zane’s face, where he was slumped in annoyance. Seeing me, she swatted him on the arm and came toward me to shake her head. “Why do we keep him here again?”

  “He knows more than we do.” I rubbed my hands over my face, taking in the cheesy apron Lox wore, which was somewhat amusing despite the situation. “Nice outfit.” I snorted. She narrowed her eyes, threatening to swat me with the spatula. “Hey!” I tried to guard myself.

  “Just because you’re Miss Hallucination Magical Locket doesn’t mean you’re all high and mighty,” she said, using the kitchen utensil as a pointer. Then her features softened. “No, but seriously, are you okay?”

  “Okay?” I asked, thinking over her question. Was I okay? What a funny question. “You just insulted me, and then you want to know how I’m doing?”

  “I’m not completely heartless,” Lox quipped, moving back toward the kitchen. “Besides, you have no respect for discreetness, so you deserve it. Now Merlin knows we possess a magical weapon he doesn’t know how to control. You also told him about one of your dreams, which, by the way, seem to be pretty bloody important, yet you still failed to mention it to any of your allies before you blabbered it to the most powerful wizard in all the land. But it’s fine, really.”

  “Peter knew,” I grumbled. She gave a pointed look to the Lost Boy’s still sleeping figure an I shut my mouth.

  Zane stood straighter when I sat down. His eyebrows dipped, seemingly worried about me, too. I hadn’t imagined either of them would care that much; I thought it was just something I needed to figure out on my own. He was dressed in a leather jacket, which sent chills up my spine. He’d been wearing the exact same outfit in my cliff dream, but I tried not to focus on this. Now that he’d gotten dressed and showered, I was able to take in his appearance fully, and quite honestly, I was impressed. He cleaned up well. But it didn’t cover the haunting sensation of being reminded of the nightmare I’d been trying so hard to forget.

  After leaving Merlin’s place, discretely stepping around the dead Mapinguari, I’d confessed to Lox about the dreams I’d had the night before. Her reaction (screaming at me and calling me many names) had been less than polite, but I understood why she felt betrayed. Loyalty was big for her, and for me not to tell her first must have been the equivalent to her getting a swift punch in the gut. And once we’d said our good-byes and Robin had left us (an accidental witness to all our problems at the moment), I heard about it the entire way back to the hideout.

  “So what’d you take?” Zane smirked like it was the funniest comment, bringing me to the present.

  “I am not on drugs, Zane,” I retorted, rolling my eyes. “I’ve had these dreams since I was little.”

  He lifted his hands in mock surrender, but he was still smiling. “I just heard you hallucinate is all.”

  “Lox!” I glared.

  The villain herself came to sit at the table after flipping what smelled like pancakes. My mouth started to water. “I didn’t think it was serious until yesterday, Mainlander. So now that the cat’s out of the bag, what’d you see the other night, huh?” Lox leaned over the table toward me.

  Zane seemed somewhat interested as well, picking up his cup of coffee and downing it in one swig. Was there a magical coffee maker around here I didn’t know about? Because I could definitely use a double shot of espresso right about now.

  I had to shrug. “I don’t really know how to explain it, because it didn’t make any sense to me in the first place. It was like two scenes mashed together. Peter was in both. And we… uh—” I stopped, realizing how embarrassing it might sound to tell them of the dancing. Instead, I cleared my throat and continued to focus on the first part of the dream. “We talked. And he kept saying weird things to me. ‘Hope is dangerous, Lacey. Watch out for hope.’ He also said something about me being able to fly without pixie dust. Then the phrase ‘dream catcher’. Dream catcher,” I told them. They were both watching me, equally confused, and I settled my head into my hands. “He had my locket in his hand, and he was seizing o-or something. And then he wasn’t him at all, but Rhiannon. And then I woke up.” It was only the important parts they needed to know.

  Silence followed, everyone thinking. Zane pulled at his lower lip, deep in his own thoughts, and Lox just shook her head, getting up to finish the rest of the pancakes.

  “That sounds… terrifying.” She flipped one of them, making it splatter with a sizzle on the cast iron pan, then looked at me over her shoulder. “Peter’s the only one I know of that can fly without pixie dust besides, like, a bird or something. But dream catcher? I’ve never heard of one before—”

  “I have,” Zane commented abruptly.

  “Okay then, Mr. Freeloader, what is it?” Lox questioned, now moving to finish up the orbs of deliciousness, separating them on cracked plates.

  My gaze fell on Zane expectantly, about to burst with curiosity. If he had even the slightest clue what that meant, maybe I’d be able to figure out what it meant for me, and maybe, just maybe, we could save Peter. It had to be important to our problem if I’d dreamed about it. If he’d been real in my dreams before Neverland, I had to believe that.

  “Usually, they’re in the Mainland, used as a spiritual entity,” he garbled, having already shoved half his pancake in his mouth before Lox had even set it down in front of him on the dented wood table. “But here, they’re actual people.”

  I furrowed my brows, glancing down at my plate. I was too excited to eat at the moment, and that meant something, since food and I were actual soul mates.

  “People? What story is that from?” Lox asked, sitting down at her own table now. “And how do you know about them when I don’t?”

  “I’ve been around, believe it or not.” He winked, only to receive an eye roll from both of us. “As for the story they’re from, I’ve got no clue.” Zane shrugged. “I just heard about 'em one time. Some ogres guarding the South Neverwoods were gossiping about it when I was… well…” He smiled at us before swallowing and taking a swig of what look
ed like water. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Trying to sneak by.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We get it. You’re a pest. But what’d they say?”

  Zane leaned back in his chair, pursing his lips, a strand of his messy, dark hair falling into his face, which he quickly stroked out of his way with one hand. “Something about a tree and sorcerers. I don’t know.” He patted his hands on the table. “I wasn’t paying too much attention. All I know is they exist.”

  “Wow, that really helps us,” Lox sassed.

  He held up his hands. “Eh, it’s more than you guys got, right?”

  I let out a long breath, resting my head in my hands. “This is hopeless. What if it’s important or something? Can dreams be important?”

  “They most always are,” Zane commented. “Especially here.”

  Biting my lip, I shook my head, gazing over to Peter’s bed, where he was covered nicely with a blanket to his chin and still sleeping peacefully. “It just felt so important. But what use is it if we don’t know what it means?”

  Lox, with a sigh, stood, taking Zane’s plate with her as he tried to grab more food, narrowing his eyes when he didn’t get any. “I think we have bigger things to worry about, Lacey.”

  Zane uncrossed his arms. “Like what?”

  Lox set the dishes in the makeshift sink, gripping the edge so tightly her knuckles turned white. “The war’s coming.”

  Zane snorted, sipping more water, then looking at it like he wished it would turn into something else. Probably alcohol. “They’ve said that for years, Goldie.”

  “I don’t care if they’ve said it for years; it’s happening. Robin told me last night,” she admitted, moving to lean against the sink and face us. She gave Zane a dirty look. “And don’t you even start to call me that.”

  He just flapped his hand. “Calm down. What’d ‘ol Green Tights say?”

  I looked to her hopefully, though feeling a bit frustrated that I hadn’t been around when they spoke.

  She played with the string of her apron. “He told me Hook’s troops were surrounding the Neverland Camp. And Hook’s tired of waiting. He…” She ran a hand over her braids pulled into a thick ponytail near the base of her neck. “He sent in a declaration of war. And he’s rounding up all the darkened monsters to fight on his side.”

  I practically choked on what little pancake I’d gotten into my mouth. “What?”

  Zane let out a laugh. “That’s gold!”

  Lox was biting her lip, ignoring Zane and coming toward me with a worried expression. “I promise I was going to tell you, but I thought the dream thing might’ve been a bit more important.”

  “Neverland’s about to go into full-out war, and you think a dream’s important? Lox! Peter isn’t awake yet!” I only raised my voice a little. I wasn’t that mad at her, so I corrected myself more calmly. “How is he supposed to lead an army when he’s so…?” I couldn’t find the word.

  Zane interjected, “Dead-looking.”

  Both of us shot him a glare, but he only lifted his hands again with a slight smile.

  Lox turned back to me. “He’s not going to be able to, and we can’t keep searching for pointless leads to try and wake him. It’s happening… soon.”

  “Then what’re we going to do?” I asked helplessly, and everyone was quiet.

  The biggest war this place had ever seen was approaching, and the only person who could lead them was dormant. All because of me.

  Twenty-One

  “You’re not coming with me,” I demanded, arms crossed over my chest.

  Zane was grabbing his leather jacket, sliding it over his somewhat muscular arms with a wince, his stab wound healed but probably still bugging him like my knee was for me. Completely ignoring what I was saying, he said, “The hike shouldn’t be that far; it’s toward the shore, not the Neverwoods. We’ll be there in ten minutes, tops.”

  “If she doesn’t want you to go, she doesn’t want you to go,” Lox said. “You’ve only been here a couple days anyway. What do you know about Peter and his plans for the army?”

  Zane gave a mocking laugh, readjusting his clothes to be more comfortable. “Despite what you ladies think, I used to work pretty closely next to Peter.”

  That was surprising to hear, and my face probably showed it. “Since when?”

  I’d never thought Peter and Zane knew each other before the incident on Hook’s ship.

  “Since I saved his flyin’ butt from a siren attack. He thought he’d fly over them and not be able to hear them, but he flew right into them. I had to fight them off in order to stop his hypno-whatever he was under,” Zane explained, moving over to the sink near Lox to search for more food. She swatted away his hand, and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

  “You’re a guy. The sirens must’ve called you, too.” Lox threatened him with another hand slap.

  He stepped away and leaned against the wall, looking over at me. “Guess I’m one of a kind.”

  Lox and I both grumbled in annoyance, and I didn’t think I liked the way he looked at me when he said those words.

  “Whatever a siren is…” I said because I had no clue. Something about pirates, maybe? “Or whatever the case, I don’t need a pretty boy like you coming with me just to screw everything up.” Both of them looked at me in surprise, so I started to stutter more, confidence dwindling. “E-even if you knew him before, you weren’t inside his head.”

  “Pretty boy, huh?” Zane grinned. My cheeks burned from the look Lox was giving me, too, as if to say, Wow, you actually do have some backbone sometimes.

  “Oh, shut it. She’s right. You’re just bored and want to get out there.” Lox tried to cover me.

  Zane ran his tongue over his somewhat straight teeth. “Whatever you two think, I’m just stating the facts. And even if I can’t figure out what Peter’s plans were, at least I can be somewhat of a bodyguard for the princess.” His large brown eyes flapped pointedly at me.

  I was offended, despite the truth behind it. Lox defended me so I didn’t have to, though.

  “You’re not helping your case here. It’s up to her who she takes.” She turned the focus on me again, and I bit my lip nervously.

  “Why’s it my choice?” I asked.

  Lox was taking off her apron now, moving toward me. She touched my shoulder. “Because Peter brought you here for a reason.” The hazel in her eyes reminded me of caramel apples. Her skin was warm and shaking as her gaze bore into mine. “And I have every ounce of faith it was because Peter foresaw something we didn’t.” Obviously, I disagreed, but Lox didn’t give me the chance to open my mouth to argue. She shook me with each word. “So you’re going to go see if the general of the army needs any help.”

  “Me? Help?” I started to laugh, but she was serious.

  “You’re going,” she insisted and pushed me toward the nearest chute. “Not to mention it’s your fault he pricked his finger in the first place.”

  I gave her a scared look. “Lox, you know I tri—”

  She was smiling, though, hands on her hips. “Go.”

  I glanced over to Zane, who looked sort of bored, and then back to her, anxiously running my hand through my hair.

  Letting out a sigh, I motioned to Zane. “Fine, I guess you can come with me.” I had no idea what was coming next. And I was stupid enough to take someone who probably wouldn’t be any help at all in this situation.

  Lox nodded, moving to grab her bag, while Zane cheered up, smirking like the devil he knew he was. “I knew you’d come to your senses.”

  This was going to be a long day.

  And we were just getting started.

  As Zane and I stumbled through the forest and out onto the seashore, I saw torchlights as we approached. We climbed a large sand dune, and as we reached its peak, we saw Peter’s army.

  There were at least three thousand “people” there. They were either familiar creatures or things I’d never seen before. There were monsters like Minotaurs,
which I’d only read about in books, and plenty of others I’d only known to be from fairytales. Animals walking on their hind legs, oozing ogres, small people with pointed ears. People and griffons soared overhead, the diverse assortment of caws, squawks, and howls all mixing in with different languages, causing a white noise of constant sound. The range of heights, weights, and elasticity varied all over the place, and anything you could possibly think of existing, they were there. Peter had recruited them all.

  To my staggering disbelief, as we stepped down the sand dune toward the camp, we passed a Nephilim—similar to the one I’d killed two days before—who sat on a bed of trees on the far side of the army. I had to wonder why he was on the good side, unlike his relative, and how he hadn’t stepped on a lot of little people like me in the process of fighting on said good side.

  Our side.

  Too focused on him, I almost ran into a girl in full body armor, walking across our path. Zane wasn’t even slightly fazed by any of this, as we had to wait for the girl’s golden hair to pass, which followed after her until she was at least thirty feet away. He only whistled, sauntering in like he owned the place, his hands perched in his pockets. Dumbfounded, I stumbled a little to follow him, thinking back home, I’d never be caught dead with someone like Zane. But here, I guessed things were different. A lot different.

  Tents were set up all around us, the sound of many voices fluttering in my ears as we continued to walk. One tent in our path, one that we appeared to be heading for and a lot bigger than the rest, had a large red flag at its top. It reminded me of a circus tent.

  I caught up to Zane, dipping my head to get his attention. “How do you know where to go?”

  “I know the general,” he replied simply, eyes moving over people and creatures as they passed. Not many of them stopped to see who I was or what I was doing; most either carried on with their own business or just didn’t want to talk. Some, though, who must’ve known Zane for some reason, waved to him or shouted a hello his way.