Cautiously he moved up. His boots touching the edge of the threshold. When he gingerly stuck his hand out, arms grabbed him and yanked him out of view.
“Rob!” I ran ahead. Had the queen’s guards taken him? What would they do with him knowing that he’d tried to escape? My heart hammered in my throat as I spun around the corner.
There stood Rob with a smile on his face and next to him, Hadden.
“Wha—” was he a spy for the queen? What was he doing here? A mixture of excitement and annoyance tangled in my gut.
“Hi love,” he said in that almost British accent that had my knees weakening. “Guess you figured out how to break the queen’s spell and here I was coming to rescue you.”
I straightened my shoulders. Sure, he’d tried to protect me from the evil queen when I wouldn’t listen, but I wouldn’t have run away from him if he’d told me everything about her up front. Like hey, I know our queen looks just like your Grams but they’re sisters... twins... so let’s talk this over. No, instead he put up an invisible barrier and pretty much left me in the dark as far as everything was concerned.
* * *
“I don’t need rescuing, but thanks for the thought.” I glanced behind me. “Now which is the way to the castle’s graveyard.”
Both of them stood there with open mouths.
Hadden recovered first. “You mean the way out of the castle and back to your world? That’s the only safe place for you.”
“No, I meant what I said.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Now, which way do we go?”
Rob came forward and took my hand. “Whatever you like, I’ll do my best to serve you.”
Weird but sweet. “For the moment, take me to the graveyard...wherever the red queen would’ve buried the white queen.”
Beside us, Hadden paled. “You told her?”
“Yes, she has a right to know about her heritage.”
“Which I wish you would’ve done back at your house.” I ground my teeth.
“I did what I did to protect you.” Hadden closed the distance between us. “There was no way I was going to allow the queen to know that you were here or much less who you really are. Yet, no matter what I did, you ran straight into danger. It’s only my cloaking spell as to why the queen hasn’t figured it out for herself. But the longer we stay on the castle grounds, the weaker the illusion becomes. Soon she’ll know that you are the rightful heir to the throne.”
“And she’ll kill me. Just like she did my grandma.” I lifted my chin despite my stomach churning. “I’ll have to take that chance because there is no way I’m leaving my grandma’s body with some lunatic.”
He sighed and took my other hand. Shivers ran through me at having two guys holding my hands at once. Pushing aside lustful thoughts, I stared at Hadden, then Rob, waiting for their answer but I’d comb every inch of this place myself if I had to. Grams deserved to be home and with her family who loved her. Not buried in a castle’s graveyard and forgotten. I owed her that much and I’d come all this way to find her. So I wanted to reunite her back with everyone.
I choked out a sob. Even if that meant not having an empty casket.
“You sure I can’t talk you out of this?” Hadden asked with such conviction that I almost forgave him for earlier at his house.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head.
“All right.” Hadden looked past me to Rob.
As the queen’s heralded, he would know more about this place than anyone. “The graveyard is past the courtyard along the backside of the garden. Follow me.”
The three of us dashed down the corridor neither released my hand like they were afraid they’d lose me if they did. Gave me warm fuzzies just thinking about it and that they cared enough to help me. Especially since we were going up against an evil, maniacal queen. And I wanted to rescue them. Find a way to break Rob’s binding to her. Grant Hadden the ability not to be a prisoner in his house like he’d said he was. And Chaz. He’d tried to protect me as well and I got the impression there was something he’d be fine without the sovereign’s iron rule.
First, we had to get my grams out of this place.
We came to a narrow staircase. Rob took the lead, me in the middle, and Hadden rounding up behind.
At the top, Rob held up a hand to silently tell us to stop and my breaths froze in my chest. Was it the queen or her weird guards made of rose thorns and stalks?
Then he ushered us forward. We pushed outside into the rose garden. Seeing the dark, crimson blooms, made my heart yearn for the white ones and the time of peace that I was sure my grandmother had given these people. Time passed by so slowly here, it made sense of how she could have a life on my side of the barrier and one here too. Shoot, maybe she went here every Sunday instead of church since I’d never seen her read or even own a bible. Yet, she insisted she went even though she never took me or my mom that I recall. Could it be that she didn’t want us involved in this place because of her crazy twin? I shivered at the thought and wrapped my arms around my stomach as it threatened to rebel again.
Rob led us down a winding path that changed from rose bushes to vine-covered jagged rocks. The place gave me creeps like we’d walked into a forgotten set of Tales from the Crept.
“She’s in the mausoleum.” Rob pointed to a building with dead vines and spider webs. It didn’t look like anything more than a pile of rocks.
My throat dried as I stepped closer. After weeks of not believing she was lost or dead, now I was faced to face with the truth. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face my worst fear. What I’d been dreading since I received that voicemail message from my mom to call her as soon as I could. She never left messages like that and my heart had sunk in a sea of dread and worry. Every day after school, I’d raced outside to use my cell phone and find out if the police or search party had found anything on my grandmother’s whereabouts. I wiped aside a tear. And when I’d found this other world, I’d been so sure that she was alive and here.
My grandmother wouldn’t want me to cry over her death. She’d want me to celebrate her life. And she needed to be back home and not in her murder’s property in a grave marked by creepy stones.
I moved closer, my legs feeling like rubber, and pressed forward. Would she be in a casket or buried in the ground or just left under the pile of rocks? My throat was raw.
At the edge of the mausoleum, my skin prickled like it started to sprinkle outside. Fat clouds hung overhead with a few grey ones mixed in. We needed to hurry and how would we move the body?
I turned to Hadden and Rob. “Once we get her out from underneath there, how do we take her back to my world?”
“My magic can carry her.” Hadden gave me a sort bow. “At least until you pass through the hedge into your world.”
“Great. Thank you.” I swallowed and faced the pile of rocks. “Okay, let’s get her out of there.” I hefted a rock which was heavier than it looked. After I moved it aside, Rob and Hadden followed suit.
There had to be a hundred rocks. “Hadden,” I whispered not wanting to alert the queen or her guards, “Can’t you use your magic to move all these?” Even though my magic had freed me and Rob from the dungeon I wasn’t sure how to use mine and I didn’t want to have cut myself again if I could avoid it.
“No. The mausoleum is spelled to avoid any such powers. Otherwise, the wizards of old would’ve freed the white queen ages ago and taken her body to the white mountains to be buried there instead of her in a hobble.”
“Ages ago?” Yes, in this place, I remember time flowed so much slower than back home. But still, his words made me itch all over and the desire to abandon the grave and run consumed me. No, I had to get Grams!
I hauled a rock away, then another. All of us working as fast as we could which seemed to take forever. But little by little, we got to the inside layer.
When Hadden let out a low whistle, my nerves jumped. “She’ll be under this layer. Be careful, there could be traps.”
Ri
ght. I moved a stone. It wasn’t as heavy as the others which made me wonder why they had held up the other ones without being crushed. Sweat dripped down my back as I worked. Soon Grams, we’ll get you home. I swallowed as a lump formed in my throat. Now I understood how Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz felt when she wanted to leave.
Rob offered me a small smile, and I returned it even though a heaviness filled my heart. I think Grams would’ve liked him and Chaz and even Hadden if she’d met them. I shook my head. No, she had to have known them before her sister killed her. I think she’d love the fact that the four of us found each other. Except, I couldn’t stay here. I had a life outside of Underland and Rob had said they couldn’t come into my world without changing. Without him turning into a rabbit and not being able to transform back. What about Hadden or Chaz? Hadden had hinted about his magic not working past the barrier but would he be human or—
A low growl rumbled behind me, and I froze. Was it one of the queen’s guards? Fear snaked down my spine and coiled tight in my belly.
I gripped the rock I held tighter in order to throw it at whoever was stalking nearer. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I spun, throwing the stone as I did so.
A black and red stripped panther snarled at me. The rock headed straight for him. Then Hadden shouted and the stone burst into a hundred pieces.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, bending to pick up another rock. This creature had the queen’s markings all over him. From his colors to the way he stared at me like I was dinner. Even his fangs that showed with his snarl were dangerous. “He’s with the queen.”
“No, his family used to serve the red queen until she killed her sister.”
Before I could ask, the panther before me shimmered like a flickering old-timey movie screen.
Then Chaz stood in the panther’s place. I was so excited to see him that I leapt into his arms. He crushed me against his chest and inhaled deeply, smelling my hair.
Too soon he set me down and frowned at the other two. “What are you doing?”
“Getting my grandmother out of here.”
He clasped my hand. “No, the queen knows you’re here. She’s on her way right now to stop you.”
A sinking sensation had me swimming in nausea, but I couldn’t leave my grandmother, not after everything that I’d gone through to get this far. I waved a hand out to her grave. “No, I’m not leaving without her.”
Chapter Fourteen
Faster, we had to get my grandmother out from under this pile of rocks. Grief choked me at what I would find but I had to get her back to my world and to a proper burial. With my world moving slower than theirs, I might even make it back in time for her funeral. My throat closed up at the thought and tears burned my eyes. But at least she wouldn’t be stuck here alone without her family and friends who loved and cared for her. I scrubbed a hand over my face.
All three guys feverishly working beside me. Gratefulness that they risked being captured or punished or worse made me feel a deeper connection to them. Like together, we fit into a puzzle and became something greater than ourselves. I felt at home, cared for, even in this strange world.
I bent back to my work, removing the lighter colored stones.
Seeing the edge of a white lace dress peeking out from a jagged rock had my pulse racing. Almost there. I moved another rock and another. A long, yellowed thigh bone stared up at me. My stomach sunk as unbelief sliced into me like barbwire. No, no, no. This couldn’t be. Couldn’t be my grandmother. She’d only been missing a few weeks.
I backed up, covering my mouth with my hand.
Was this a spell that had accelerated the decaying process to decades rather than weeks?
“Alicia?” Hadden touched my elbow. “What is it?”
“T-that’s not my grandmother.” I shook my head. “It can’t be.”
Both Chaz and Rob stopped in their tracks, staring at me. My lungs froze and I couldn’t take deep enough breaths. I leaned over, placing my hands on my knees, my vision going blurry.
Hadden rubbed my back in slow circles. “Breathe, Alicia, breathe.”
“I’m...trying.” Spots danced in my vision and my knees buckled. Hadden caught me in his arms. What the hell was going on in this upside down place?
“What is it?” Chaz knelt in front of me and took my hand. The concern in his eyes had my heart warming.
I tried to form my racing thoughts into words. “It’s not her... it can’t be... a skeleton.”
Rob sat beside me, frowning at the nearly open grave then back at me. “The white queen isn’t your grandmother? But the magic, you used your blood to get us out of the dungeon and past the red queen’s spell.”
Holding me, Hadden stiffened. “You did what?”
There had to be some explanation. Something I was missing. Since time was off here, compared to my world, did their bodies decay faster? “Um... when someone dies,” I waved a hand out and swallowed against my dry throat. “Do they look like that after a few weeks or even months?”
“No.” Chaz shook his head, his gaze softening. “It takes decades for a body to do that.”
“C-could the queen have put a spell on her? Made her look like that faster?”
Hadden hissed and tucked me tighter to his side. “You used your blood against the red queen’s magic?”
That wasn’t important now and I wasn’t entirely sure my blood had anything to do with it or that it worked because I wasn’t from this land. “Yes, maybe. I don’t know. Answer my question about why my grandmother looks like that.” If the dead body was even hers? My stomach rolled and I squeezed my eyes shut until the nausea subsided some.
“She did,” Rob answered. “She even made the dungeon door fall and we walked through the magical ward without a problem.”
“Jabberwocky!” Hadden cursed. “We’ve got to get out of here, this is a trick.”
I grabbed his arm, shaking it, the back of my throat burning. “Tell me. Is it possible that the body here is my grandma or not?” And if it wasn’t, then was all this for nothing?
His mouth opened and then he froze like someone flipped off the switch.
“What’s wrong?” I squeezed his arm but he didn’t respond.
I spared a glance at Rob but he was a living statue too. Luckily Chaz was moving but his glare behind me sent icy dread swimming in my gut.
“Isn’t this a mess?” the red queen asked behind me.
Rage and loathing twisted in my chest. I stood, pushing toward her. I would find out what she did with Grams then I’d strangle the vile queen with my bare hands. But as I neared her, an invisible force slammed into me and knocked me on my ass.
What the—I stood and raced toward her—but again I was knocked backward.
“Such a stubborn child.” She tsked. “You can’t hurt me.”
“Wanna bet? Lower your force field.” I pointed my chin at her.
“And I don’t think you know who you are dealing with.” She folded her hands in front of her.
To my left, Chaz snarled. Then his skin shimmered. Black fur bubbled along his skin. I gasped. He was a shifter too? His bones snapped and shifted. Agony marred his handsome face as it transformed into a cat-like shape. After several seconds, he shook his long, lithe animal body. The panther. It... He had saved me from the wolves before. Wonder washed over me and I wrapped my arms around myself to keep from racing to him.
He lowered his head, taking a step toward the queen. His shoulders hunched like he was about to pounce and rip out her throat. In a blur of black fur, he leapt and froze in midair.
“Really, I must thank you, my dear.” She smirked in a twisted smile and I wanted to vomit at the syrupy-sweetness of her tone.
Her thorn guards sprang from the ground and snagged my arms.
“For what?” I’d gotten me and Rob out of the dungeon only to succeed in getting all four of us captured now. My body shook in rage and guilt.
“Bringing me the cat. He’s been so elusive and cl
ever that I haven’t been able to catch him.” She strode forward.
I jerked against the guards made from rose bushes, their thorns scrapping across my arms like bee stings. “Leave us alone. Haven’t you done enough against them?”
Her black eyes narrowed. “Me? Why I’ve liberated them. Taken away their worries, their emotions so they can be free to do the work I assign them.”
“What are you talking about?” Memories of my conversations with Rob, Hadden, and Chaz flashed through my mind. None of them were happy with the queen or wanted to serve her. Rob acted like he had no choice—had she done something to make him do what she wanted? That thought sank like a boulder in my gut.
“You’ve heard of my two of my titles: the red queen and the queen of hearts.”
“Weird names but whatever.” A chill ran down my spine, but I did my best not to let her see me shiver. “Guess the red queen is for your roses.”
For a moment, her face scrunched up into a menacing smirk. Then she nodded and gave me a soft smile. “Very good. And the queen of hearts?”
When I stared at her blank she let out a chuckle. “And here I thought you were smart.” She sauntered over to Chaz who twisted in midair like he was caught in an invisible net. Laying her hand over his panther chest, she whispered something, then removed a bright, ruby colored gem. It pulsed in her hand.
An icy vise squeezed my chest and I couldn’t drag in enough air. I met her gaze and she winked. She pressed the gem to her own heart. The glow faded inside her chest. For a moment, countless flashes of red sparked in her chest.
“Now do you understand?”
I blanched. “Y-you remove their hearts? Why? To control them?”
“Yes. And free them from their fears and worries and any emotion that might hinder their progress in turning Underland into the wonder it should be.”
“You crazy bitch!” I struggled anew against the guards but this time, their thorns dug into my flesh stealing my breath and my knees buckled. The edge of the graveyard caught my eye, reminding me why I had come to this backward place anyway. And I refused to believe that was Grams. “What have you done with my grandmother?”
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