فصل 31

CHAPTER 31

THE PLAN

MOLLUSK ISLAND WAS THE most beautiful place Wendy had ever seen.

When she first caught sight of it, from the Mollusk canoe, it was a dark speck on the horizon. But as the canoe drew closer, escorted by porpoises and propelled swiftly through the sea by eight strong warriors, the speck turned into a spectacular sight—a rugged volcanic mountain rising steeply from the blue water, the dark green of its jungled slopes occasionally broken by the white foam of a cascading waterfall.

The mountain’s volcanic peak rose steeply overhead as the canoe passed through a series of reefs and into the calm water of a lagoon, embraced by a long, curved white-sand beach fringed with palm trees. A group of people stood on the beach, apparently waiting for the canoe, but they were too far away for Wendy to identify them. Closer at hand, near the middle of the lagoon, was a small, rocky island; Wendy saw some figures lounging on a big flat boulder by the water’s edge. As the canoe drew closer, she saw that they were beautiful young women. Several of them waved at the canoe, and Wendy, hesitantly waved back. Then, with a chorus of giggles, the beautiful young women slid from the rock and dove into the water, flashing their long graceful …

Tails?

Wendy gasped as the mermaids disappeared below the lagoon surface. One of the Mollusk warriors said something to the others in their odd-sounding grunt-and-click language; all eight warriors chuckled.

This is definitely not England, thought Wendy.

The canoe was fast approaching the beach. Wendy was relieved to see that Peter was one of the people standing there. After making sure she was safely aboard the canoe, he’d flown back to the island, saying he needed to speak to somebody. Wendy thought he’d said the person’s name was Fighting Prawn, but that seemed unlikely.

The canoe reached shallow water and glided onto the sand. Wendy turned and waved her thanks to the porpoises, who headed back toward the open sea. Then Wendy climbed out of the canoe and stepped onto the sand. She staggered, her legs wobbly, her body weak from her harrowing ordeal. Peter ran to her, grabbing her arm to keep her from falling. As he helped her up the beach, Wendy heard bell sounds coming from his hair. They sounded displeased.

Waiting for her with open curiosity was a group of about two dozen Mollusks. Standing slightly apart from the others was a tall, powerfully built man with deep-bronze skin, jet-black hair, and piercing dark eyes. Wendy had no doubt, as Peter led her to him, that he was the leader. When they reached him, Peter said, “Fighting Prawn, this is Wendy Aster.”

“Darling,” said Wendy.

“What did you say?” said Peter.

“My last name is Darling,” said Wendy.

Peter frowned. “Darling?” he said. “But wasn’t that…I mean, isn’t that George’s name?”

“Yes,” said Wendy. “George Darling is my father.”

“George is your father,” said Peter softly.

“Yes,” said Wendy.

“So George…married Molly.”

“Why, yes,” said Wendy.

“Oh,” said Peter. He reddened and looked down.

“Is there something wrong?” said Wendy.

“No,” said Peter, recovering. “Anyway, Fighting Prawn, this is Wendy Darling.”

Wendy didn’t like the way he said her name, but decided to ignore it.

“Pleased to meet you,” she said to Fighting Prawn.

Fighting Prawn studied her face for a moment before speaking.

“Peter was right,” he said. “You look remarkably like your mother. You must also have her courage, to have come all this way alone.”

“I had help,” said Wendy. “From the porpoises. And of course, Peter. But now I need to …”

Wendy’s voice turned to a moan as she staggered forward, faint from lack of food, water, and sleep. Fighting Prawn caught her and picked her up easily.

“Tell us later,” he said. “First you need to eat and rest.”

Wendy tried to protest, but lacked the strength. Holding her in his arms, Fighting Prawn turned and carried her toward the path to the village. Peter followed, still trying to digest the news that Molly had married George, and wishing this fact did not bother him so much.

Wendy slept the rest of the day, and all night long, in a hut in the Mollusk village. When she awoke, two of Fighting Prawn’s daughters, Shining Pearl and Little Scallop, brought her coconut milk and a wooden platter covered with fruits, berries, and some kind of broiled chunks on skewers. She ate ravenously.

“What is this?” she said, holding up a skewer. “It tastes quite interesting.”

“It’s one of our favorites,” agreed Shining Pearl. “We only get it a few times a year.”

“What is it?” asked Wendy.

“Our word for it is—” Shining Pearl made an odd-sounding noise.

“What does that mean?” said Wendy.

“Giant scorpion,” said Shining Pearl.

“Oh,” said Wendy, quickly putting down the skewer.

“Don’t worry!” said Little Scallop. “We take out the poison parts.”

“Thank you,” said Wendy, “but I’m quite full.” She gulped down some coconut milk, then said, “Can I see your father now?”

“He’s waiting for you,” said Shining Pearl. “With Peter.”

They led Wendy out of the hut into a spectacular island morning, the sun rising in a cloudless blue sky, turning the jungled mountainside a million shades of green. The Mollusk village was bustling—adults cooking, eating, talking; children running, playing, laughing. Wendy was struck by how healthy and happy they all seemed; there was no sign of suffering or discontent. The whole village—the whole island—seemed somehow magical. Wendy was beginning to see why Peter was not keen on leaving.

Fighting Prawn and Peter were sitting on stools made from logs in the shade of a sort of lean-to. As Wendy approached, they rose, and Fighting Prawn invited her to join them.

“You seem to be feeling better,” said Fighting Prawn, once they were all seated.

“Much, thank you,” said Wendy.

“How’d you like the scorpion?” said Peter, smiling. A raucous burst of bells pealed from somewhere inside his wild mass of hair.

“I found it delicious,” lied Wendy, silencing Tink and wiping the smile from Peter’s face. Turning to Fighting Prawn, Wendy said, “I am very grateful for your hospitality, Mr.…Prawn. Unfortunately, even though I’ve just arrived, I need to arrange for Peter and me to get back to England. It’s most urgent.”

“So Peter tells me,” said Fighting Prawn. “I will of course do what I can. Both your mother and grandfather were friends to my people. If they are in trouble …”

“I’m afraid they are,” said Wendy. “Grandfather is very ill, and I don’t even know where Mother is. I fear she’s been kidnapped.”

“Did you go to the police?” said Fighting Prawn.

Wendy shook her head and said, “I think they’re involved.”

“What?” said Peter.

She told them everything she knew about the trouble in London. They were stunned by the news that Ombra apparently had returned in the form of von Schatten, and had worked his way into a position of great power. Peter was also shocked to learn that, in addition to Molly, both James and Thomas were missing. This news erased whatever doubts he’d had about going back to England to help the Starcatchers.

“So,” concluded Wendy, “I’ve come all this way to ask Peter to come help rescue my mum.”

Pathetic, chimed Tink, from Peter’s hair.

“What did she say?” asked Wendy.

“She said she and I are at your service,” said Peter.

“Thank you,” said Wendy, giving Peter’s arm a light touch that turned his face as red as his hair. “But how are we to get back? I mean, I suppose you can fly, Peter, but I think I’ve had enough flying for a lifetime.”

“I’m not sure I could find my way to England flying,” said Peter.

“So how will we get back?” said Wendy.

Peter and Fighting Prawn exchanged a look; they had been discussing this when Wendy walked up.

“We’ve got a ship,” said Peter.

“You mean a canoe?” said Wendy. “Because I don’t think …”

“No,” said Peter. “It’s a ship, quite a large one. It brought Mol—your mum to this very island once, back when it could fly. It’s being repaired and should be ready to sail tomorrow.”

“But that’s wonderful!” said Wendy.

“There is one problem,” said Peter.

“What’s that?”

“The captain and crew.”

“What about them?”

“They’re pirates.”

“What?”

It took Peter and Fighting Prawn several minutes to explain their plan to get Hook and the suspicious “shipwreck” victims off the island.

“So you’re going to ask this…Hook person to sail Peter and me back to London?”

“Actually,” said Peter, “we’re not going to mention me.”

“Why not?” said Wendy.

“Hook thinks I’m dead,” said Peter.

“Why would he think that?” said Wendy.

“Because he killed me,” said Peter. “At least he thinks he did.”

This required several more minutes of explanation.

“So you see,” concluded Peter, “if Hook saw me on the ship, he would try to kill me again. He hates me.”

Peter seemed quite proud of this.

“So you’re not going on the ship with me?” said Wendy.

“Oh, I’ll be on the ship,” said Peter. “I’ll hide in the sails. I’ve done it before.”

And it was horrible, noted Tink.

“And what makes you so sure that this Hook person will actually take me back to London?” said Wendy. “He sounds dreadful.”

“He is dreadful,” said Fighting Prawn. “But he will take you back, for two reasons. First, I will make him give me his word.”

“And he is a man of his word?” said Wendy.

“Of course not,” said Fighting Prawn. “But the second reason will be convincing. I will explain to him that if you are not returned safely to England, I will find him, wherever he is, and feed him to Mister Grin.”

“Mister who?” said Wendy.

“Grin,” said Fighting Prawn. “A very large crocodile.”

“With a very large appetite for Hook,” added Peter.

“Oh my,” said Wendy.

For a moment, the three of them were silent. Then Wendy said, “So if I understand this correctly, you propose to send me to England on a ship captained by a murderous pirate, with a crew of cutthroats, and fellow passengers who are probably here on false pretenses and up to no good, with my only guarantee of safety being a threat of death by crocodile, and a flying boy hiding in the sails?”

Fighting Prawn and Peter looked at each other, then nodded.

“Yes,” said Fighting Prawn. “That is what we propose.”

“When do we sail?” said Wendy.