“Maybe I’m just unclear how magic works, but why make Blackbeard send me all the way here? Wouldn’t he have released himself from the curse by fulfilling his end of the bargain?”

“Some witches work that way, but the Odd Sisters wanted you to come here for some reason. That is why they made that part of Blackbeard’s payment.” James could see Circe was still trying to work this out for herself. That she, too, was often confused by her own mothers’ behavior. Well, whatever their reason, James was happy to be in the company of these women, even if he did miss Blackbeard terribly, and even more so now that he knew what the pirate had endured.

“I’m sorry you miss your friend, James. I know he sent you here in hopes of finding Never Land, but I fear you won’t find the life you are looking for there. I’m sorry to say it won’t be as you remember it,” said Primrose.

“How do you know this?”

“I see a terrible fate for you if you go to Never Land. It was written in our souls as it is written in the Book of Fairy Tales,” said Hazel. “Won’t you write a story of your own, James? Won’t you make a life for yourself here rather than take the path the Odd Sisters have predetermined for you?” Her serene smile did nothing to hide the sorrow in her heart.

There was a part of James that felt very at home in the Dead Woods. He couldn’t explain it. He liked these women, and he liked these lands. They were probably even more fascinating than his beloved Never Land, but he felt a panic surge through him, as if he were being taken off course by a terrible storm, the sort he had read about in the Norse sagas, the type of storm that carried you away from your dreams.

So much of what had happened after the battle with the Kraken seemed unreal to him, and James wondered if all of this was all some sort of trick. He had read stories of gruesome witches disguising themselves as beautiful enchantresses to gain the trust of their victims before they betrayed them, and he was starting to fear he had fallen into a similar trap. He certainly felt as if he was taken off course, and thrust into a world that didn’t seem real. “I don’t believe you,” he said, standing up.

“It’s all written in the Book of Fairy Tales, James. Your fate was written long ago, but I do believe we can help you to change it.”

“How do you know what is written within its pages if it’s been locked away in Blackbeard’s chest?” he asked.