A Dream So Dark

by L. L. McKinney

  When they asked the bored-looking Indian girl behind the counter what kind of beans went into the vanilla bean latte, Alice rolled her eyes so hard she swore she saw the inside of her scalp. Man, she wished she had her phone, if just to pass the time.

  “Good night,” Ms. Clara called to whoever was on their way out.

  “Night.”

  Alice’s whole body went rigid at the sound of that voice, and she spun toward the exit. A white boy paused just inside the automatic doors as they parted. His brown hair jumped slightly as heat blasted him in the face.

  It can’t be …

  The boy turned. Violet eyes found and held Alice’s for a heartbeat. Then he spun and stepped out the door.

  Four

  BOO-THANG

  “Hey, baby, where’s the fire?” Ms. Clara called, but Alice didn’t stop or even glance back as she bolted past the reception desk and for the exit. The doors didn’t open fast enough, and she nearly crashed into them, rattling them as she twisted to push through sideways.

  Slamming to a halt outside, she drank in gulps of cold air, her head whipping around in search of Chess. That was him, she was sure of it.

  A sharp whistle split the air. Alice whirled to spot him standing along the sidewalk that circled the building. His hands shoved into his pockets, he watched her with his face completely blank. He wore the Paramore T-shirt she’d gotten him for Christmas last year. The two of them and Courtney had gone to a concert that summer. He’d said it was the best night of his life.

  Alice hesitated, her heart pounding in her ears. She took a step toward him. He didn’t move. She took a few more, slowly closing the distance between them. He watched her, violet eyes tracking her.

  As she approached, she looked him over. Cuts and bruises stuck out here and there along his arms, but most of them were faded, nearly gone. She lifted a shaking hand. He still didn’t move as she pressed it to his chest. A breath escaped her when her fingers made contact. The softness of his shirt. The firm muscle beneath. He was real, solid and warm against her fingers.

  “H-how…” she croaked, her throat closing off.

  Without a word, he lifted his shirt.

  Alice’s stomach roiled at the sight of pale skin split open, the edges ragged, ripped. Where there should’ve been blood, something more like oil festered, slick and glistening. Slithe. She slapped a hand to her mouth as she recoiled, unable to help it. “Oh my god…”

  Chess touched the edge of the wound that had surely killed him, the same wound Alice remembered pressing her hands to, trying to stop the bleeding. But his life had poured out of him anyway. He traced the darkened flesh gently, his fingers coming away stained black.

  “She told me you did this.” There was something off about his voice, something deep, something sad, and so not like him. “You left me to die in the dark.”

  “I—I…” Every inch of her went cold, and her insides melted away. How … how could he think … Alice wanted to say it wasn’t true, but the denial dried up on her tongue. Chess had gotten hurt after the Black Knight took him, but that only happened because she let it. She put her friends at risk. Her vision blurred. She bit hard into her lower lip, hoping this pain would distract her from the ache threatening to crack her open.

  There was no denying her part in it all, but one thing was true.

  “I didn’t leave you.” The trembling started there, in her words, and spread until her whole body was taken by it. “Even though I th-thought you were gone. E-even though I saw you fade.” Tears streaked hot along her cheeks. “I’d never leave you.” She held his gaze, needing, begging him to believe her.

  That’s when she noticed the violet in his eyes had dulled, and the warmth had gone clean out of them.

  Something’s wrong. Wait, the fuck did he say? “… She?”

  His expression remained blank, though a single brow had arched slightly. “Mmm?”

  “You said she told you. Who’s she?”

  Chess frowned as if he wasn’t sure he understood the question, then his expression smoothed out like someone had hit a reset button for his face. “My lady.”

  “Your who?”

  “My lady,” he repeated. “My … queen. She says you have to come with me.”

  Alice’s stomach dropped at those words. She was suddenly very aware that she was out here by herself with him, and that sent a tremor of fear through her. Before today, before this very moment, Alice would’ve never thought Chester was capable of hurting her, or anyone, but he did attack the twins. And he took Maddi.

  “How about you come with me, instead,” she said. “You’re not well, and I know people who can help you.” She offered him her hand. “I can help you.”

  “Help me.”

  “That’s right. I can help you.” Despite something inside her screaming at how wrong this was, she inched nearer to him. “Let me help you. Then we can help my other friend, Maddi. Do you remember Maddi? From the pub?”

  His frown returned. His entire face twisted with it. “Maddi.”

  “Mmhm.” Another step brought her within arm’s length. Tensing, and anchoring her weight just in case, she reached for him. When he didn’t so much as blink, she closed her fingers around his. They were icy cold. “What’s happening to you?”

  “I’m not … I’m supposed to take you…”

  She pressed her free hand to his chest again. Warmth washed over her palm.

  He jerked away from her, his hands going to his head. “Take her. Take…” He made a noise that was something between a whimper and a groan, clearly in pain.

  She started to steady him, but before she could, he jerked his head up, eyes wide and bright. They danced around for a second, frantic, before settling on her.

  He blinked. “Alice?”

  Frozen, her hands still in the air, she nodded slowly. The way he said her name, like he wasn’t certain it was her but desperately wanted to believe it was, sent a not-unfamiliar thrill through her. “It’s me.” She gripped his shoulders, her fingers digging in. “I’m here. Are you—”

  He closed the distance between them. Something in her shouted to pull back, but she was rooted to the spot. His lips were warm as they pressed to hers. Soft at first, then firmer. The kiss was clumsy, hungry. He tasted like honey, rich and slightly sweet, and she chased that flavor, surprised at how much she wanted more. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Her breath escaped where it could. When he finally broke away, she let him.

  Her senses buzzing, her lips tingling, Alice held to Chess where her arms had gone around his shoulders. His fit around her waist. Panting, he swallowed thickly and shifted out of her hold. “You need to stay away from me.”

  A different kind of buzzing moved through her now. “What?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, but she’ll make me.” He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. “Damn it, I almost—I can’t fight her, not now. Please, Alice, promise me you’ll…” He trailed off, his gaze drifting past her. His eyes widened.

  Confused, Alice whirled to spot Nana Kingston stepping out of the building, Mom behind her. Dammit. She turned to Chess again, another question on her lips, but it dried right up.

  He was gone.

  Her chest tightened, and she spun in a circle, scanning the parking lot for any sign of him.

  “Alice,” Mom called, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “What happened to getting the coffee?”

  Reeling as her mind raced, Alice backed toward her mother and grandmother, her eyes still playing over the handful of cars, searching. “I … I ran into a friend from school.”

  Mom and Nana K eyed her with disbelieving and amused looks, respectively.

  “Uh-huh,” Mom said.

  “Plus, there were these two white ladies taking forever to do nothing.”

  “So we found out.” Nana K sipped at her freshly poured drink, offering up a similar cup to Alice, her wide smile taking a decidedly sly turn.

  Alice blinked and took the drink with murmured tha
nks, which she repeated when Mom handed over her bag. She hadn’t realized she’d left it, and her daggers, in Nana K’s apartment.

  “The hell you got in there, girl?” Mom led the way to her car. It beep-beeped as they approached.

  Weapons forged in another world meant to kill interdimensional monsters. “Books. Got a test next week.” Alice glanced over her shoulder one last time. Still no sign of Chess.

  The three of them climbed into the car, Alice sliding into the back seat. Thankfully, Mom and Nana K—who seemed to be herself, for now—chatted up about the alleged soda incident, leaving Alice alone with her very flurried thoughts.

  My lady, Chess had said.

  Three guesses who … But did that mean she was awakened? No, they still had the Eye. Maybe it was someone else. Someone able to do what the Black Queen couldn’t.

  * * *

  Two department stores down, and halfway through Cumberland, Alice was exhausted, partly from being on high alert in case Chess or his mystery lady popped up, but mostly from carrying all the bags.

  “You young!” Nana K had explained.

  Yeah, she was young, but after nearly three hours of shoe shopping, purse shopping, eyelash shopping, pretty much all the shopping, not even youth was enough to ward off fatigue. At least she was getting a new pair of Chucks out of it. Nana K had insisted, though Mom said she couldn’t wear them until she was off punishment. Fair.

  Alice munched on a pretzel where she sat hunched on one of those couches wrapped around a support beam. Nearby, Mom was trying to talk Nana K out of a pair of sunglasses from a random kiosk. Nana K was a staunch believer in retail therapy, so long as it was done right, which meant getting what you wanted and telling buyer’s remorse you weren’t taking calls until next week.

  “I look fly, though.” Nana K patted at her Afro as she eyed her reflection in a little mirror then spun around, arms out. “Ain’t that what the kids say? They fly?”

  Alice grinned and licked salt from her fingers. “You supa fly, Nana.”

  “Haaaaaay.” Nana K snapped her fingers and turned back to the mirror.

  Mom shot a look at Alice, who glanced away innocently. Eventually the two joined her and their bags.

  “Whew. I’m pooped.” Nana K flopped down and tapped at the arm of her new Ray-Bans to make them wiggle.

  “Can you even see in those?” Mom asked. “They’re not prescription.”

  “I can see fine.” Nana K stared pointedly at a couple of guys coming out of the Nike store, Black dude and a white guy. They looked to be around Mom’s age. “Juuuuuust fine.” Nana K lifted her eyebrows, then set her glasses back into place.

  Mom sighed and shook her head. “Okay, but you surely can’t see right wearing them inside.”

  Nana K pushed the glasses up so they rested atop her head, sunk into her Afro. “You happy now?”

  Mom chuckled and sighed. “I’mma go get the car.” She started for the door at the end of a nearby corridor. “Finally.” They’d been on their way out when Nana K stopped at the sunglass kiosk. Twenty minutes ago.

  Nana K watched until Mom stepped around an Asian family and out the door before pulling something from her purse and shoving it into Alice’s hands. “Here, baby.”

  Alice nearly dropped her pretzel, setting it aside and turning what looked like a random drawstring baggie over in her hands. “Thanks?” She pulled it open and gasped faintly when a glasses case fell into her hands, the shiny black Spade on the side glinting in the light.

  “I know Missy got your shoes on lockdown, so keep those hidden or say you got them a while back.” Nana K nudged Alice with her shoulder, smiling.

  “Wow.” Alice popped open the case. Big, round aviators gazed up at her with reflective lenses that shifted along a spectrum of blue to purple to pink. A diamond checkerboard pattern covered the arms, the borders glinting as she plucked them free. “These are gorgeous, thanks!”

  “You’re welcome, baby.” Nana K returned her hug, kissing her all on the side of her face again. “Now, then.”

  Ah, damn. Alice put her sunglasses away and braced for the talking-to those two words meant in that tone. Mom probably told her about her sneaking out.

  “What’s this I hear tell you missing curfew and sneaking out and such?”

  Called it. Talking to Nana K wasn’t a bad thing, even when Alice was being scolded or whatever. But this wasn’t something she felt up to discussing. She rolled her shoulders and went back to her pretzel. “Nothing.”

  “Enough nothing to get you grounded.”

  “It … There was some stuff with Courtney and her birthday, and we just stayed out later than we intended a couple nights.”

  “And the sneaking out?”

  “Just hanging out with some friends, that’s all.” Alice flicked a bit of salt to the side. And saving the world.

  “Mmm. This have anything to do with the cutie you were talking to at my place?”

  Alice jerked around in surprise. If it wasn’t for her Dreamwalker reflexes, she would’ve dropped her glasses and her pretzel. Instead, she only lost a nearly empty cup of cheese. “W-what?”

  “Oh, I’m old, but I know mack’n when I see it.” Nana K plucked her sunglasses from her ’fro and, with a dramatic flair, placed them over her eyes. “That the boyfriend?”

  Suddenly very aware of the rising temperature in her face, Alice glanced around, almost afraid Court or someone else she knew would materialize within earshot, then back to her grandma.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said a little too quickly.

  “Uh-huh. Bae, boo-thang, whatever y’all call it now. He’s cute. What I saw of him.”

  “That wasn’t—”

  “Got you a white boy. My baby like the swirl?” Nana wiggled her shoulders as she smiled.

  “Nana!”

  “What? Ain’t nothing wrong with it!”

  “There’s no boyfriend,” Alice insisted. Yeah, there was Hatta, but she wasn’t sure what she and Hatta were, and boyfriend didn’t feel right. Maybe there wasn’t a label for them. What do you call the guy from another dimension you’re kinda talking to but not really but you kissed a couple times and you definitely have feelings but it’s too early to tell? Also, that boy has been around since the Middle Ages but technically isn’t even twenty yet because of the whole from another dimension thing.

  “So you kissin’ not-boyfriends like that?”

  Alice’s eyes slowly went wide, and a feeling like cold fingers slipped down her spine. “You saw that?” she whispered.

  “Mmmmmmmmmmmmhmmm,” Nana said, drawing it out. “While ya momma was getting our coffee. Don’t worry, I didn’t get more than a glimpse. I don’t be in other people’s business like that.”

  Alice whimpered faintly. That shouldn’t have happened. She should’ve … She didn’t know what she should’ve done, just not that. She rubbed at her face and shook her head.

  “Calm down, baby, I won’t say nothing.”

  “Thank you.” That was a relief and a half.

  “He got nice lips?”

  “That’s not—”

  “They seemed nice, the way you was hangin’ on ’em like that.”

  Alice set her stuff down and hid her face in her hands. “Oooooh my goooood.”

  “Just tell me you using protection.”

  She bolted upright at that. “Nana!”

  Nana K leveled a look at her that said she wasn’t joking about this bit.

  Alice sighed, but it was more like a groan. “It’s not even like that. There’s nothing to protect.” She crossed herself and held up her pinkie. “Promise.”

  Her grandma eyed her before copying the action and hooking her pinkie around Alice’s. “Okay. Gotta look out for my baby. I’m great, but I’m not ready to be a great-grandma just yet.”

  “And I’m not ready to make you one. It wasn’t anything. He’s not even the one, so.”

  “So we’ve moved on from total denial to ‘the one’ at least.�
�� Nana K smirked. “Good.”

  Alice was two seconds from sinking right through the less-than-comfortable, cheap leather cushion, when Mom came strolling up unwittingly to the rescue. “You two just not paying attention. I’ve been sitting out there for a couple minutes, you weren’t watching?”

  “Sorry.” Alice tucked her glasses into her bag, then grabbed it and the shopping bags, taking large bites of her pretzel to wolf it down.

  “I had her distracted, talkin’ ’bout her boo-thang.” Nana K sang the last word, shimmying her shoulders again.

  Alice choked on her last bite of pretzel. Kill me now.

  “Boo-thang?” Mom asked, her tone incredulous.

  “No boo-thang.” Alice scurried to throw away her trash and started for the exit at a near run. “Doors locked?”

  “Alice, what boo-thang?”

  Five

  FREE

  Mom grilled Alice about potential boo-thangs all the way back to Nana K’s place, and it wasn’t until Nana K—looking far more entertained than she ought to—told Mom she was just teasing that Mom let it go.

  “And so what if she had one? So long as she’s smart about it, shouldn’t be a problem,” Nana K said as they pulled into the lot in front of her building.

  There were fewer cars, as now the residents and overnight staff were the only ones here.

  “There shouldn’t be nothing to be smart about.” Mom slammed the car into park like it’d insulted her honor or something.

  “Can we not talk about my nonexistent sex life? Thanks,” Alice called from the back seat.

  Mom twisted around to glower at her. “You shouldn’t be able to spell sex life.”

  “Oh, come on, Missy, she’s not a baby. Next year she’ll be old enough to vote and go off to war. Those aren’t half as fun.”

  “Mom!”

  Alice tried not to snicker, but failed spectacularly.

  “Tell me I’m lying,” Nana continued. “Besides, I said I was playin’, so leave the girl alone, yeah? Alice, baby, help me take my bags up?”