Sky Lights (22 page)

‘Well, that was some adventure. Life is going to be so boring without Peter. I wonder if we’ll ever see him again?’ sighed Amy.

‘Hey, Sis, cheer up. We’ve got Christmas to look forward to. And the fancy dress party at the skating rink in town tomorrow.’

‘Yeah, you’re right. I suppose we could go and look out our fancy dress outfits for the party,’ said Amy. ‘It’s going to be cold. I think I’ll wear my cat outfit. It’s furry. That’ll keep me warm.’

‘Maybe I’ll be a pirate,’ laughed Jack. ‘That’ll be easy enough after spending so much time with them recently.’

‘All I’ve got is a clown outfit,’ said Shelley. ‘And I’ve got some great face paints. You might not recognise me. I’d better get home now. Tomorrow’s going to be a brill day.’

And with that the children went their separate ways not realising that their exciting adventure was not yet over.

Peter headed for Rose Street in down town Edinburgh, a narrow street running parallel between Princes Street and George Street and famous for its pubs. Keeping out of sight but flying close enough to be able to see the people staggering out of one pub and into another, Peter swooped from one end of the street to the other and back again. Nothing. ‘They must be inside one of these hostelries,’ he thought. ‘But which one?’ There were more than a dozen, and besides, Peter couldn’t risk going inside one. He began again at the beginning and about half way along he saw a familiar figure stumble out of a pub and head for a patch of waste ground round the back of the building. It was Noddler. He and Jukes had not long arrived and had spent the earlier part of the evening waiting on the castle ramparts. By luck the others had decided to go back to the castle before celebrating with a wee drink or two in the centre of the city and now the band of six plus Hook were reunited.

‘What are you doing here?’ said Peter.

Noddler got quite a shock when he suddenly noticed Peter Pan standing next to him at the back of the pub. ‘I would have thought that was obvious,’ answered Noddler struggling with the buttons on his trousers.

‘I don’t mean right this minute. I mean, what are you, and the rest of the pirates, all doing here, in Edinburgh?’ said Peter.

‘We’re doing the Rose Street Challenge. MacStarkey told us about it. He used to do it every weekend before he was a pirate. You should try it….when you grow up!’ Noddler laughed at his own joke. ‘It’s good fun.’

‘I don’t mean that either,’ said Peter sharply. ‘I mean what’s all this business with the professor, and Hook? Why have you made another Hook?’

It took Noddler only a minute or two to explain the whole plan to Peter, who by the end of the explanation had a huge grin on his face. ‘This I have to see,’ he said. ‘I can hardly wait.’

‘I’d best be getting back inside before the others miss me, or worse still don’t miss me but go on to the next pub without me,’ said Noddler. ‘I’ll see you back in Never Land, Peter. When are you heading home?’

‘Not before I see what you do to Hook. But soon after that,’ said Peter, patting the little pouch of fairy dust that hung from his belt. ‘See ya, Noddler.’ And with that Peter took to the skies.

Next morning the pirates were less than fine, not being used to the beer served in Edinburgh. A night spent trying to sleep on the bare floor of an empty flat in a condemned tenement had not helped their hangovers.

‘Thundering typhoons, what’s wrong with ma head? It’s throbbin’ as if thon scurvy Indians in Never Land are beating their tom toms in ma brain,’ moaned MacStarkey.

‘It’s that larger drink,’ replied O’Mullins. ‘We’re no’ used to it, sure we’re no’.’

‘What
larger
drink are ye on aboot?’ asked MacStarkey. ‘We only drank pints o’ beer or nips o’ rum.’

‘Yon stuff in the can that we brought back. Look here’s an empty. See it says Larger Beer.’

‘Ye bletherin’ buzzard, O’Mullins. It says Lager Beer, no larger beer.’ MacStarkey shook his head in despair.

Skylights took up where he had left off the day before, pretending to be best buddies with Hook. ‘Are you fighting fit, Captain? Stap me vitals, but you’re a fine looking man, if I do say so myself.’ Hook preened himself, teasing out his curls with the sea eagle talon. He got up and brushed down his scarlet jacket. He turned from side to side, swishing the crocodile tail this way and that. The other pirates jumped out of the way, but Noddler was too slow and the tail caught him behind his knees. He crashed onto the floor, grabbing at the table as he fell, but hampered by the backward facing hands, he slipped forwards on to his face. His chin hit the floor with a sickening crunch. Hook laughed heartlessly. ‘Got you, you spineless jellyfish.’

Skylights gritted his teeth and held back from falling upon Hook that very instant. Jukes helped Noddler up and all the pirates exchanged murderous glances behind Hook’s back. It was so hard to keep up the pretence, but they steeled themselves in the knowledge that the cruel Hook would soon get his comeuppance.

‘In the name of Davey Jones, this is a fine tail,’ boasted Hook. ‘It’s like an extra weapon. Talking of which, what have ye scrawny dogs done with me cutlass and me pistols? How can ye mangy cockroaches expect yer captain to rule his crew with a rod of iron, without his weapons?’

‘We’ve been getting them all cleaned up and polished for you, Cap’n,’ improvised Fitzsmee, as quick as a flash.

‘Nothing but the best for you, Captain,’ grovelled O’Mullins.

‘Quite so, ye dim witted peasants,’ said Hook, placated for the moment.

Skylights was quick to change the subject. ‘We’re going to walk down the Royal Mile from the castle, Cap’n. There’s a great atmosphere in Edinburgh in the Festive Season. There will be people in all kinds of fancy costumes. Anything goes here. I think it might be best if we disguise the fact that we’re pirates. The police are sure to be looking for us. That professor and his lassie will have given them a description.’

‘Ah kent this bag we nicked fae the theatre would come in handy,’ said MacStarkey. ‘Let’s see what’s inside.’

‘We can leave our own clothes on the ramparts ready for when we take off back to Never Land,’ suggested Skylights.

They each rummaged through the bag until they found something they thought might fit. Before long there was a ghost, a superman, a wizard, an ugly sister, a tramp and the front end of a pantomime horse. Captain Hook refused to demean himself by dressing in anything other than the costume fit for the terror of the seven seas, in other words, a pirate captain, and no amount of persuading would change his mind.

Each pirate had been primed to pick up his own weapons ready for the trip into Edinburgh’s historic quarter, leaving the harmless pantomime props for Hook. Skylights smiled at Hook’s gullibility, knowing he had now added an element of surprise. When the time came for the attack, Hook would find himself at a distinct disadvantage.

The city of Edinburgh was a Christmas wonderland, with stunning street decorations and elaborate, cheerful window displays. The children stood in the department store gazing up at the huge Christmas tree. It rose from the floor, up through the middle of the building to very nearly touch the glass roof. Around the central core were balconies with wooden banisters, where shoppers of all ages leaned over to get a view of the tree from the different levels. It was a truly magnificent fir brought all the way from Norway and beautifully decorated with sparkling baubles, tinsel, crackers and lights, all in shades of gold. ‘Wow! It’s amazing!’ said Amy, her eyes bright with wonder.

‘It’s so big. I can’t fathom how they manage to decorate it,’ said Jack. ‘It’s a job for someone using fairy dust, that’s for sure.’

‘I love those glittery icicles, Mum. Could we have some for our tree?’ Amy leaned out over the railings.

‘I’ll see if I can get some later, but they may have sold out.’

‘Thanks! Oh, and look at the fairy on the top. It could be Tinker Bell.’

The three of them stood spellbound till Beth glanced at her watch. ‘Come on then,’ she said. ‘We’ll be late for the skating.’

She led them down the flight of white marble stairs and through the perfume department to the main entrance at street level. A smartly uniformed concierge held open the heavy glass door and wished them a Merry Christmas as they left the shop and stepped into Princes Street. A loud boom from the direction of the castle stopped everyone in their tracks. ‘Why do they fire that gun, Mum?’ asked Amy.

‘It’s so that people on the ships in the Firth of Forth and at Port of Leith can check the time. There’s a white ball drops at the same time on Calton Hill every day too, but that’s not so well known as the one o’clock gun.’ They walked on down Princes Street to the next crossing. When the lights changed, Beth hurried them across the busy road and down the side of the Art Gallery to where a long flight of steps led into the east end of Princes Street Gardens.

‘There it is,’ cried Amy who had been looking forward to this all day. She pointed down into the gardens where a large area had been flooded and frozen over. ‘I’m so excited. I love skating.’

‘Careful on these slippery steps,’ reminded Beth. ‘We don’t want any accidents. Now look out for your dad. He’s going to meet us near the entrance.’ The three of them walked along towards the skating rink, with Edinburgh Castle silhouetted behind them, dark and foreboding on its sheer volcanic rock base. High on their left was the Scott Monument, flanked by the helter skelter and the big wheel which, along with the ice rink, were part of Edinburgh’s Winter Wonderland attractions. Although it was still afternoon, the bright lights of the fairground shone out and, with the sun behind the castle, the sky looked dark. As they approached they could see their father standing talking to a man and a teenage girl.

‘Look!’ shouted Jack. ‘It’s the professor and Wendy.’

‘Your dad thought it would be nice if they came too, since you were all getting on so well last night. We didn’t tell you in case they didn’t make it. We’d no idea how long they’d be kept at the police station, answering questions.’

‘That’s cool, and now here comes Shelley, with her mum and dad,’ said Jack.

As they were about to enter the arena, two broad men in dark clothing appeared from nowhere and barred their way. Amy clung to her mother in fright. ‘Can you follow us please?’ The taller of the two men flashed a police officer’s badge and ushered them to the edge of the path. ‘We are conducting enquiries today and are on the lookout for young people dressed as pirates.’ He glared at Jack. ‘There’s been a lot of trouble over the past few days.’

‘Can you account for your whereabouts…..’ The second policeman began but was interrupted by Professor Dante and Jack’s father arriving on the scene.

‘What’s the matter, officers? Why are you questioning my son? He’s only a boy,’ said Doug.

‘We have orders to question all young people dressed as pirates in connection with car thefts and kidnappings,’ said the taller policeman.

Professor Dante took his driving licence from his wallet. ‘Allow me to clear up this misunderstanding.’ He handed it over. ‘As you can see, I am the person involved in the kidnapping incident and I can vouch for this boy, Jack. I can assure you the pirates you are searching for are large and fierce and very dangerous. I appreciate your efforts, but in this case, you have the wrong suspect.’