“You too,” Gwen told her, but Tiger Lily was already letting go, already dashing away. Storm Sounds examined the ground for tracks, and took off in pursuit of another invader.
Gwen drew the tin can out of her satchel and shouted into it, “Peter, are you there?”
A moment's pause followed before Peter picked up. “Where else would I be?”
“I don't think the shadows are coming after us. Have you seen any?”
“Hm, I suppose not.” His voice sounded thin and metallic as it bounced out from the tin can phone.
“I think they're looking for the Never Tree. I told Tiger Lily—I think she has a plan. Where are you?”
“By golly, I think you're onto something, Gwen-dollie,” he replied, his seriousness lost in the high, tinny tone of the can. “I'm keeping a perimeter around the tree with a few others. No body has gotten past us, but I'm not sure about shadows.”
“Keep your eyes peeled for them, too.” Gwen wished she could do more to help. She wished she could have called with a plan in mind. What good would it do to watch for shadows? Gwen had only ever seen them fought off with the shadows of swords, and she doubted any of the lost children had the dexterity for such combat. What's more, the splotchy lighting in the jungle offered plenty of shade for the sentient shadows to camouflage themselves against.
“I'll radio for support,” Peter answered, without elaborating who he could possibly radio. The tin can line went dead, and Gwen assumed that Peter had returned his attention to his patrol.
Lacking direction, Gwen decided to head for the Never Tree. The soldiers who had landed on Neverland's nouth beaches had spread out so well it made no sense to continue making her way toward that shore to stop them. Besides, if shadows were searching for the Never Tree, the children monitoring it need every extra set of eyes they could get.
She tested her flight once more, but could only hover a bit. Continuing on foot, Gwen would just have to take care not to trigger any traps. She had seen plenty of them set up and knew what to look for. Making her way to the Never Tree, she didn't have any reason to suspect she was being followed.
Chapter 22
Gwen proceeded through the forest with a cautious respect for all the surprises hidden in it. However, a watchful presence kept pace far enough behind her that she would not catch it spying on her. Her stalker didn't know she was heading for the Never Tree but, on the other hand, Gwen didn't know where the Never Tree was. She barreled forward with only the suspicion that if she headed toward the heart of the island, she would come close enough to find the children patrolling it.
The Never Tree, and Neverland itself, was a trickier beast than she gave it credit for. Several minutes into her trek, she stumbled onto an unintended destination and arrived at the grove.
Gwen could see her familiar home through the break in the trees. A handful of wildflowers dabbled the clean and grassy ground, and as she stepped into the open grove—where the sunlight spread like a canvass—she noticed the shadow slinking behind her.
More afraid of the slippery blackness than any actual soldier, Gwen let out an impulsive scream. She leapt into the field as if that would help her get away, but the shady thing could chase as fast as she fled.
Gwen's assumption that all the shadows on the island were searching for the Never Tree was swiftly dismantled as this shadow grabbed her foot. The hand felt as real and heavy as any physical hand, and brought her down as she tried to jerk out of its hold.
The only way to escape it was to escape surfaces, but the air would not give Gwen flight—it hardly gave her breath. She toppled down and could not push herself back up before the shadow swarmed over her. She couldn't tell if it was swaddling her like a blanket or pinning her to the ground like a wrestler. It put a hand over her mouth, as if to silence her, but blocking light did nothing to block the sound. Gwen shouted for help.
She couldn't imagine its endgame. Would it keep her down until a solider found her and took her into custody? Who knew how long that would take—or what the advantage would be unless its body was nearby and poised to collect her? When no one came, it confused Gwen almost as much as when the shadow started waving its free hand over her eyes. The sun flashed in and out of her vision, and the shadow continued to hold a hand over her mouth, even though this gesture achieved nothing.
The light flickering in and out of her eyes started to fade. The sky started to darken, and the shadow's motions became more frantic. Gwen didn't pay attention to the hostile shadow; she paid attention to how much lighter she felt as the light left the sky. In a few minutes' time, she slugged off the faint shadow and watched the weak thing shirk away. It continued to make gestures on the grassy floor of the meadow, but they grew too faint to see. Only then did Gwen suspect it might be trying to communicate with her.
On her feet and in control of her body again, Gwen turned to face the sun and saw it swallowed by an eclipse. The last of the sunlight vanished, and so did the meager shadow. As it did, it occurred to Gwen that the shadow seemed too small to belong to an armored black coat. Had someone else sent a shadow to her? Had someone been trying to send her a message?
Her questions went unanswered. The shade of the eclipse would consolidate and disorient all the shadows scouring Neverland. They would have no bright surfaces left to glide.
The alarmingly strange luck of an eclipse at this precise
