Hours later we stepped through the portal into Neverland and found ourselves in a different part of the forest. I took a deep breath, holding it for a second while I basked in my surroundings.

  It had been far too long since my last visit to Neverland.

  I still remembered my first time crossing over. It had been such a strange sensation, now it was as normal as could be. I was even used to the odd ways the trees moved and how the shadows danced between them.

  Rapunzel eyed the shadows warily.

  “Agreed. I half expected them to send a platoon after us but then again, Dina is covering for us,” I commented.

  “Too bad we have no way of confirming who is following us. We might have been able to sway them to our side of things.”

  “As nice as having more allies would be, what we really need right now is information. Maybe if they prove they can keep up and they don't want to kill or apprehend us, we can circle back and have a pointed conversation.”

  “I follow your lead on this. Now. Where are we going?”

  “Let’s head for the camp first. It would not hurt to have some backup, in case whoever is following us has bad intentions.”

  “Gives them less time to interfere, too. Do you know how to get there?”

  “There is no single set path to get anywhere in Neverland. We just have to keep moving until we find what we are looking for.”

  “I defer to your judgment, then.” Rapunzel gestured for me to take the lead, and so I picked a random direction to trek through the familiar woods of Neverland.

  “Seriously, what is going on here? We have been traveling for three days and none of our surroundings are changing. I swear I think we are going in circles,” Rapunzel commented, looking at the map.

  “You would be correct. We have been going in circles. This is our third time passing this tree today.”

  “What? How is that possible?”

  “Neverland has its own kind of oddity sometimes.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means it’s time to set up camp. We are going to have to deal with whoever is following us before we get to the Lost Boy Camp, otherwise we are going to be stuck in the same loop until Neverland gets what it wants." I shifted my pack to my other shoulder. " It has a mind of its own. Sometimes that mind wants things, and it’s not going to let us leave until it gets it,” I explained. “Don’t think too hard about it. You’ll only get a headache.”

  “Too late.”

  I could almost feel the strange look I was getting, but Rapunzel did not argue. She was learning to accept that Neverland was possibly the strangest of the realms and I knew it better than most.

  She followed me as I detoured off the main road and we soon found ourselves in a rather large clearing. As we began setting up camp, I could not help but notice there was enough room in the clearing to fit two camps comfortably side by side.

  “Do you think they are still following us?” Rapunzel asked finally, driving one of the tent pegs firmly into the ground.

  I paced around the edge of the clearing, laying down some special herbs that grew in abundance back home, herbs that possessed the ability to absorb the light and thus acted like miniature suns, keeping away the tantibi. Those twisted shadows fed on fear, trapping their victims in nightmares, but thankfully, they were repelled by light. Between our preparations and the friendly shadows that also called Neverland home, I felt reasonably confident we would be safe.

  “It appears they are much more stubborn than I realized and for some reason Neverland wants us to meet. As to why, I have no idea. That is why we are letting them come to us, so we can get this over with and get back to work,” I answered, finishing the circle around our camp. I gave it a once over, making sure there was no break in the circle. It was going to be a dark night in Neverland, and I did not want to take any chances.

  “I guess that makes sense, in a rather odd way,” Rapunzel said. " Do you want to go ahead and start hunting our dinner? You can use the time to scout out where the men are going to be coming from, and lay some traps or pick off some of the stragglers. I’ll get this area secure and prepare for a possible ambush,” she offered, hammering another peg into the ground.

  I perked up at the mention of hunting and my eyes went automatically to the branch where I had slung my bow and quiver. We had a decent store of dried foods, but we did not know how long we would need it to last.

  Neverland was a good place to do some hunting, if you knew how to navigate the woods. I must have looked rather eager because Rapunzel gave me a knowing look.

  “Go on, get out of here. I can handle myself. Just be back before nightfall,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Without a second thought, I leaped forward, shouldering the quiver while grabbing my bow with the other hand. As I started to leave, I turned around and walked backward.

  “I should be back within the hour, and I won’t go too far. If you happen to see any of the Lost Boys, let me know immediately and tell them what is going on. Peter may send someone to us if he notices Neverland is moving strangely." I glanced around the clearing but saw no sign of approaching shadows. " Otherwise, keep an eye out in case they happen to find the camp before I get back. I’ll let you know if I spot anything.” I glanced down to make sure I did not break the circle, carefully hopping over it.

  Out of habit, I grabbed an arrow, holding it close to the bow, ready to nock it at a moment’s notice. I crouched low, placing my feet carefully, allowing my instincts to take over.

  I was in my element, and it felt good.

  An hour later I had secured our dinner, but I still had not run into our pursuer. There was a sense of urgency building within me because, even though they were trying to capture if not kill me, they still did not deserve to be stuck alone in Neverland at night. I had to find them before darkness fell or hope they found us.

  I started back towards the camp, slipping through the shadows, quick and silent. I could feel the shadows rippling, hissing, and slinking about, their whispers speaking of a strange group approaching the Ranger’s camp. Approaching my camp. My game was bagged and my bow at the ready.

  It seemed our followers had found us, and they brought some friends along to play.

  So far Rapunzel had sent no distress signals, and the shadows spoke nothing of danger, only of suspicion and expectation. I came to a stop, pressing flat against a tree, my bow at the ready, just outside of the clearing. Cautiously I peered around the trunk, using all my senses to get a grasp of what was going on. After a few minutes, I deemed it safe enough to enter the clearing. The shadows were beginning to quiet themselves and as far as I could tell the party had not yet started. I stooped down to better hear their whispers, then shuffled to the side to get a better view of the camp.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Half a dozen men and women were scattered amongst the trees on the other side of the clearing. Well-armed and well hidden, they were waiting for something. Probably a signal from their leader.

  Their leader who was much better at hiding than they were.

  Their leader, who was probably waiting for one of us to make a move.

  I slipped into the camp, making sure I stepped well over the circle. Trying to force myself into relaxing I tossed my bow and quiver, minus two arrows which would soon be returning, onto the tall object that looked rather like a coat rack.

  The figures in the trees started moving towards the camp, sticking to the shadows and stepping with care.

  I reached up to remove my cloak and go through the motions of settling down for the night. If they believed themselves undetected, they would feel confident enough to make a move. Once they made a move, we could see what we were dealing with.

  They made no moves beyond a few who shifted to get a better vantage point. I still could not get a bead on the leader. Perhaps he was on a scouting mission of his own. Either way, I was more than ready to finally draw him out.

  “Oy, ‘Punzel, I’m back. Why don’t you help me get the fire started?” I said pointedly, making a small gesture with my hand letting her know I wanted to draw these pursuers out.

  “Ugh, fine,” Rapunzel groaned dramatically. She ducked out of the tent, sans cloak, and the first arrow flew.

  It was clearly aimed for her head. Obviously, whoever fired the shot had no idea what they were dealing with. They way they tried and failed to stifle their surprise as the arrow disintegrated just past the boundary was almost comical.

  “You are going to have to come close if you want to take us. Or you could do yourselves a favor and leave this place. We have no quarrel with you. We only want to be left in peace to do our job,” Rapunzel said calmly.

  “That’s not what we heard. Word on the street is you’ve gone rogue,” a voice replied.

  By now I had my bow at the ready, arrow knocked and pointed in the direction of the voices. I could feel Rapunzel stepping up behind me, blades at the ready.

  This group may have been out of their element, but they were smart, and they worked well together. Their attacks were coordinated, targeting our weak points and our blind spots.

  Rapunzel and I intentionally reigned in our magic. We did not want to hurt these people. We just wanted to incapacitate them.

  This is kind of fun, isn’t it?

  I caught the arm of one of our assailants, using their momentum against them to sling them into their friend who was aiming at Rapunzel. A swift step back to avoid a blade. I swung my bow around, ripping it out of the attacker’s hands and jettisoning it towards the edge of the clearing.

  I ducked under a flying fist, slamming my elbow into someone’s stomach with enough force to drop them to the ground. Nothing was broken, but they would not be getting up for some time.

  Keeping track of the targets amidst the flurry of movements was second nature, the lack of magic only made it more challenging. I will admit, I was having far too much fun with this.

  It has been too long since we have done group mele that was purely physical. We should do this more often.

  “Agreed. How long do you want to drag this out?”

  He is bound to come out of hiding eventually. He doesn’t strike me as someone who would leave his people out to…ahhh.

  I dropped the conversation but left the connection, just in case. Rapunzel gestured to the circle of runestones she had laid out, surrounding the remaining men. I nodded. There were two left outside of the circle who seemed completely unaware of what was going on.

  One rushed at Rapunzel while the other looked between the two of us. Rapunzel stepped back and bent forward at the last second, sending her assailant flying forward into the circle. They landed with a thud that had to have knocked all the air out of their lungs. They were still moving, though, and one of their friends rushed forward to help them up.

  They would be fine.

  The last remaining attacker had a look on his face that said they finally realized what was going on. Before he could make a run for it, I shoulder checked him. Hard.

  Rapunzel stuck out her leg, causing him to stumble even further. He started to right himself just outside of the circle, just in time for a swift kick to the chest.

  One of his companions caught him before he could hit the ground and, with that, the assailants were contained.

  All except one.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I sang. “Tell us why you are following us and we will let you take your men and leave.

  “You know, that would be more threatening if I did not already know you would never hurt these men without reason. And I know this is a crew that would never give you such a reason.”

  There was something oddly familiar about the voice, but I could not place it as an unfamiliar figure swaggered into the clearing. They were smart enough to step carefully over the line on their way in.

  “Will you at least tell us why you are following us? Do you wish to collect for the Table or for someone else?” Rapunzel asked.

  “I’m not going to just tell you. Where is the fun in that?” he responded, looking at me while answering her. I could tell he was male, but his glamor was so thick I could make out little else.

  “So, how do we make you talk to us?” I sighed. “Or, better yet, how do we make you go away?”

  A wicked grin spread across his face as he held his arms out in what would have been a welcoming gesture had it not been for the short swords.

  “You beat me, you chose.”

  “And vice versa?”

  “Now you are getting it.”

  The sound of blade on blade ran through the air, clanging and scrapping. The rhythm kept shifting and jolting as we tried to find a way to outmaneuver each other.

  He was strong and fast, with no small amount of skill. The style was different than I was used to, but it had a rhythm to it I could follow.

  I was faster, of course, with much better training, but I was also tired. Rapunzel and I had expended more energy in the fight than normal and after a day of fast marching, I did not need to drag this fight out for long.

  I was able to nick him in a couple of places, but not enough to cause any long-term harm, or slow him down. Which was unfortunate.

  With a feint he was finally able to land a hit on me, his blade grazing my shoulder. It started bleeding, and he almost looked triumphant until he took a foot to the chest.

  “You are going to have to try much harder than that if you want to beat me.” I took a few paces back to give him a chance to catch his breath. He laughed.

  “I don’t think your current plan of attack is going to work.”

  Agreed. I’m going to have to try a different approach.

  “Time to bring out the magic.”

  Let’s make things a little more personal, first. Then I will let loose.

  I was more prepared for his attack this time. Instead of keeping him at a distance, I moved in close, dancing around his blades, changing my rhythm to keep him from getting too comfortable.

  My plan was working until I telegraphed my move a little too hard and he was ready for me.

  I could feel the breath of the cold, sharp edge of a blade just a hair’s breadth from my neck. I froze and every muscle in my body stiffened. His other blade was just behind my back, preventing me from moving.

  It was time to take off the kid gloves.

  “Are you having fun yet?” He sounded like this was nothing but a silly sparring match. I found that annoying.

  Every muscle in my body snapped into action, uncoiling like a spring. I wrapped my magic around the blade at my back, yanking it forcibly away and down while I spun, drawing my sword to clash against his.

  Before he could blink, I was facing him, my blade equal with his, a hair’s breadth from his throat.