Alice Series Box Set

by Maria Dean

  Nova snapped her fingers. "I knew I was forgetting something!" She grabbed Astrid's hands, forcing her to drop Calypso's notebook. "I need to unblock your memories, honey. The alchemists may have unlocked your powers, but they can't do anything about my memory spell." She closed her eyes and leaned forward, whispering in a language Astrid couldn't quite make out.

  "Nova, what are you do--" A blinding light filled Astrid's living room, and she fell backwards, hitting her head on the couch arm. Her head felt like it would explode, almost as if something on the inside of her head was pounding on her skull, trying to break out. Her eyes began to water from the pain. "God, what the hell?" She moaned.

  "Oh, baby, I should've warned you it would hurt," Nova cooed.

  Astrid clutched her head in one hand and her chest with the other, the pounding sensation pulsing in time with her heartbeat. "I need to go to sleep," she said as she struggled to rise.

  "Want me to give you an elixir? Oh, I have a good sleepin' spell I use when I'm restless."

  "I want you to not cast a spell on me again," Astrid growled. She slammed the door, leaving her aunt alone in the living room. Dropping her mother's notebook onto the ground, Astrid flung herself onto the bed and planted her face into the pillow. She'd had bad hangovers before, sure, but this was on a different level. With every thump of pain, Astrid felt a flash of heat race across her body. She squeezed her eyes shut tight.

  An image flickered through her vision, just as the pain grew worse. It was of a gate, decorated with ornate jade figures and golden plants. Her head pounded again, and another image appeared. It was of a frozen tundra, covered in icy palaces and shimmering snow. With every stab of pain came a new world Astrid had buried deep inside her mind. Worse, darkness separated the flashes, plunging her into confusion before waking her up to a shining new world. "Make it stop," she begged. "God, make it stop!"

  Her mind decided it was time to comply. The sharp pains went away, followed by a drop in temperature. Astrid started to shiver in the dark. The images stopped moving across her mind's eye. They weren't gone, though. She could pull them up like her old memories. They were clearer. Now that faint memory of the land she visited with Giovanni was firm. She remembered how the sun felt on her skin, how the air smelled like orange peels and vanilla.

  It came back to her in waves. The days when she'd come home from school, angry about a test that went sideways or a bully who'd gone a little too far. She'd sneak down to the forest when Nova wasn't looking and slip into other-worlds. It was easy, she recalled. Nothing forced or energy consuming.

  How the hell did I do it back then? Astrid stared down at her hands. It wasn't like she could snap her fingers together and summon a portal. The only way she summoned one in the past without the elixir was when a voice in her head told her to 'pull home'. A feminine voice, somewhat familiar, but not familiar enough for Astrid to put a face to the name.

  Nova's words came back to her. Calypso was like you, sweetheart.

  Her mom could Alice. Her mom knew how to portal.

  That was her mom's voice.

  Astrid's head whipped around, scanning the dark for the notebook. She bolted and fell onto the hard ground. Her hands flew out in search of the leather object. "Come on, where the fuck are you?" It had to be there somewhere. She'd heard the solid 'thunk' from when it hit the ground.

  Finally, her fingers ran across the smooth surface. Pulling it up, Astrid grabbed her phone from her jeans pocket and tapped the screen a little too hard, trying to turn on the flashlight.

  You have an overhead light, dumb ass. In her panic, Astrid forgot she was a capable human being. She stood and turned on the light. Now she could see the ink clearly. Her mother's messy handwriting scrawled across the page, looping in the same ways Astrid wrote. She recognized that curled capital E and the way her lowercase I was slightly slanted to the left. It wasn't a perfect match. Her mother added a fancy tail to the letter Y, most evident in the way her name was scrawled in black marker on the first page.

  "Property of Calypso Gray," Astrid read aloud. Her name was a melody, the sweetest sound Astrid had heard in a long time. This was the long-awaited look into her mother's life she had been craving.

  She flipped the page over and began to read. Calypso started with the discovery of her gift, of how she slipped into another realm by accident. "I was running from my dad at night," Astrid read, "when I found the first other-realm. I saw what looked like a little door, right outside a library. It shimmered and vanished when I got near, but I still slipped through into the other-realm. It looked like ours and smelled like ours, but the people didn't look like people. They were vibrant, as if God had made humans from a crayon box. They called themselves spritlings. I think they were fairies."

  If dragons were real, Astrid could see fairies being real too. A dimension filled with them checked out.

  Her mother explained how she got back by "Pulling herself home". She described it as tugging herself back into her own world. When it came time for her to go back, she'd return to the spot she first came in. "I could feel where the door was, back in the place I landed. I pulled myself through the gateway and landed where I started, right in front of the library."

  Astrid sifted through her own memories. She didn't remember something as clear as a door, but she could recall the shimmers in the light. Places where particles in the air sparkled like jewels. Those were the places she needed to look for.

  "Well, there aren't any in here," she noted after looking around. Astrid grabbed a small drawstring bag she'd picked up at a lawyers forum and dropped the notebook inside. Hesitantly, she opened her bedroom door. "Nova, I'm heading out."

  Nova was in the middle of lounging around on the couch, drinking a glass of merlot. God knows where the fuck she got that, Astrid thought. "I didn't know you worked for a motorcycle firm," Nova chirped. "Could use a better name, though."

  Astrid looked down at her black and orange themed 'Law Tigers' bag. "Not my firm," she said. "I'll be back. There's takeout in the kitchen. If any of the Russo cousins come by, tell them I went out."

  Astrid stopped near the sink to fill up a water bottle. Thinking about the restless nature of the brothers, she said, "Wait. Don't do that, they'll probably try to find me. If it's one of the guys, wait them out. They'll all invite themselves in, anyway." Astrid walked to the door and stopped. "Don't accept bribes from either of the twins. You'll know it's one of them because they're both well dressed. Gio is the one in Armani." She turned to go and hesitated. "Oh, and if Matilde comes by, tell her to leave a message. And then text me immediately."

  "Hmm," Nova nodded, though Astrid could tell she wasn't paying attention.

  Bracing herself, Astrid pushed the front door open. She exited the apartment building at a breakneck pace, taking a minute once she was outside to breathe in the sunshine and warmth. Summer was coming to a close, and autumn in the Twin Cities could mean snow as early as October. Taking in the little things mattered.

  She was three blocks north of her building when she saw it. A tiny glimmer in the air, hiding beneath a tall oak tree on the side of the pavement. Looking around for other pedestrians, Astrid crept over to the shimmer. "Here goes nothing," she said to herself. Then, Astrid stepped forward into the gateway.

  Immediately she found herself lying in a field next to a large forest. The world around her was fuzzy, her vision a little blurred from the sudden jump. As she rubbed her eyes, Astrid looked up into the sky and recognized the eternal sunset. This one was one of her favorites, she recalled. Time passed differently in this world, so Young Astrid could spend days exploring without having to worry about going home.

  "How did I survive?" Astrid asked herself.

  The answer from her memory blew past her like the wind. There was a grove inside the forest, one with trees that produced candy-colored fruit. The path into the forest was paved with lavender stones. The stones must've been close to the shimmer in North Carolina, though, because Astrid couldn't spot them
through the pale pink grass. She found a pile of blue mushrooms that started to glow when she neared them.

  A bird cawed in the distance, calling Astrid's attention elsewhere. She jogged toward the forest. The bird crooned again, and Astrid glimpsed a golden songbird fluttering through the trees. The bird landed on a branch in front of her, whistling again. "Hey there," Astrid whispered. "What are you doing here?"

  The bird cooed again and flew deeper into the woods. Astrid sighed and followed it, finding the woods got denser the further she got in. She checked her phone for service but found it was completely off. She couldn't even activate the flashlight. Luckily, the forest was lined with the glowing mushrooms.

  The bird stopped again when the trees were too thick to get through, flying in circles above a large white stone. "No way," Astrid murmured, watching the flecks of sparkling light floating above the stone. She pulled out her mother's notebook and skimmed through the opening pages, searching for a mention of multiple doors. She knew she could portal back to her home if she returned to her landing point, but there was no mention of being able to travel through other shimmers. Astrid reached out and touched the next shimmer, landing on a cobblestone street. This time, the world looked like an exhibit in the history museum. It was like a piece of history, an imitation village in the place of her town.

  "Oi, what're you doing here?" Astrid turned and paled. The man in front of her was blue. His skin was robin's egg blue, with cobalt freckles and hair. "You're not from around 'ere. You're not normal looking."

  "You're a spritling," Astrid breathed out. "Like my mom said."

  "Your mom?" The man cocked his head to the side. "There're two of you?" He walked around her, scrutinizing her strange clothing and bag. "Wait, you're one of them, aren't you? An Alice. You can squeeze through the cracks better than we can!" He grinned, offering her a hand. "Name's Buckweed."

  Astrid hesitated. Nova had told her about fairies once. "Never give them your name, or they have your whole soul."

  "Gray," she lied as she shook his hand. "My friends call me Gray."

  Buckweed snorted. "Don't see why. You're more of a fawny color to me. How about Fawn?"

  "If you think that's the best option," Astrid shrugged. "Then I'm Fawn."

  Buckweed looked at the spot behind her. "So, you came out of the shimmer. Fascinatin'." He shoved his hands in his overall pockets. "You best be careful 'ere. Some of the rest of us don't take kindly to visitors. Not me, though. You seem safe enough."

  "Buck!" A small, lavender girl ran down the street. Her bare feet smacked against the cobblestones as she raced up to him. "Buck, I felt the shimmers change! Someone's here! Someone's--" The girl looked up at Astrid. Her lilac eyes widened, as did her toothy grin. "By Oberon's beard! You're a real visitor, in the flesh!"

  Buckweed ruffled the girl's hair. "Dandy, this is Fawn Gray. She's an Alice. Just like the last one. You know, I think her name was Gray, too. Are you related?"

  The girl, Dandy, frowned. "Buck, you can't just assume all Alices are related. That's not right."

  Astrid chuckled. "Actually, there might be a chance we are." She looked around their realm. "What is this place?"

  "This is the main square of Piazza," Buckweed said. "We're nothing too fancy like the king's capital, but it's home." He laughed to himself. "Now, I'd love to stay for some chitchat, but chimneys don't sweep themselves." Buckweed winked at Astrid. "See you around, aye?"

  "Sure," Astrid nodded. She turned around and headed toward the shimmer. The entrance point must be her exit. As she stepped through the portal, she heard Dandy shriek about how cool it was to see a real Alice in action. Astrid stumbled out of the shimmer and landed in a pile of blue dirt. She coughed out flecks of dirt and pulled herself up. "What the hell?" The pastel world surrounded her. She wasn't home, she was back in the first other-realm. As her mother's notebook said, she exited out of the point she'd entered. Except this time, she wasn't home.

  This wasn't in the cliff notes, Astrid thought to herself. She wandered back down the path and exited the forest. She found the gateway again and portalled back home. A dog walker jumped as she tumbled out of the shimmer, mid-air.

  Back in her home realm, her phone began to buzz. She picked up to find Nova raving about the handsome dragon shifter who'd come to the apartment with more wine and lasagna. Astrid promised she'd be home soon and hung up. She'd have to update Nova about her discoveries when the woman sobered up. Maybe she could start her own notebook, just like Calypso.

  CHAPTER 2

  Having Nova in the house sometimes felt like more trouble than she was worth. That night, for example, Astrid wasn't very pleased to discover how well Nova and Lorenzo were getting along. He was the one who decided to come over with a hot, home cooked meal and another bottle of wine. That was one of the many direct lines to Nova's heart.

  "You told me about the twins, but you never mentioned this one!" Nova fawned over Lorenzo. "Why would you do that? This is the best damn food I've had in a while!" She turned to the youngest Russo brother. "Your cooking is better than mine, sugar, and that's saying something."

  Astrid rolled her eyes. She moved into the kitchen and served herself a chunk of the lasagna. To Lorenzo, she said, "Don't feel special. She says that to everyone."

  The gardener chuckled. "Looks like she's also one and a half bottles into a wine binge." He'd made himself comfortable on a rickety barstool, leaning over the counter so he took up as much space as possible. Lorenzo nudged his glass of wine closer to Astrid. "Join in. We're going to watch Mamma Mia."

  "I'm not fucking watching Mamma Mia," Astrid shot back accepting the wine, though as she needed a drink after her last adventure. The solicitor took a seat on another bar stool. One that rocked back and forth slightly less than Lorenzo's. She cut into the lasagna and chomped down, shocked by the rich flavors of the sauce. "All right," she sighed, "this is actually some good shit."

  Lorenzo snorted. "Guess you're lucky Gran isn't here. I don't think she'd take to you calling her favorite recipe 'good shit'."

  "This was Magdalena's recipe?" The old woman could cook. Just another layer added to the complicated story of Magdalena Russo. Astrid dug into the pasta, thankful to finally be eating something good that wasn't beans and rice. "Pay that woman my respects," Astrid said with her mouth full. "This is great."

  "I was going to visit her grave, actually," said Lorenzo in a rare moment of seriousness. She looked up and found him staring into the wine glass, swirling the wine around. "I was always closer to Gran than the rest of them. My brothers were the athletic ones. They would run around rough housing with my grandfather, while Gran and I sat in the garden. She's the one who taught me everything I know. She inspired me to turn the flowers into art. When she became wheelchair bound, it was a lot harder for her to go out with me. I arranged her garden so she could still see the color every morning."

  "You know, your garden really is beautiful," Astrid said. "I could never do that. I'm terrible with anything artistic."

  Nova, ever the cock block, interrupted her. "She really is. There's not an artistic bone in that girl's body. I still have some of her macaroni art from when she was a kid. I can't tell if it was supposed to be me, or an elephant!"

  "Thank you, Nova," Astrid muttered. She looked back at Lorenzo, who was examining her. His gaze flickered from her eyes to her lips, where he hung for a moment. Astrid still wasn't comfortable with how much he and his family stared at her. Frankly, it made her a little self-conscious. "What's wrong?" She asked when the staring became too much.

  "You have sauce on your face," Lorenzo said. He ripped a piece of paper towel off the roll and reached across her counter to wipe it off her face.

  "Hey!" Astrid complained as he scraped the sauce off her cheek. "I can do things myself."

  "I know," he shrugged. "Just felt like annoying you." His smirk was back, the mischievous glint returning to his sharp blue eyes. "Did I succeed?"

  Astrid grumbled something about him jus
t being an ass and slid off the barstool. She grabbed Nova's empty plate as well as Lorenzo's and began to wash up. It was getting late, and even though part of Astrid wanted to stay up late picking Lorenzo's brain, she still needed to get up for work in the morning. She said this to him and, much to her surprise, he agreed and left.

  "I would like to take you out, though," he said before he left the doorway. "Chris and Gio got their turns. I could come pick you up after you're done with work."

  Astrid closed the door slightly so Lorenzo couldn't see Nova, who was nodding excessively. "I get off at five. I'm assuming I don't need to tell you where I work." He shook his head, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I figured as much. I'll see you then." She shut the door and instantly turned to her aunt. Nova was about to scream in excitement. "Say anything and I'm going to portal you into another realm, and not take bring you home."

  Nova was silent on the matter for the rest of the night.

  Sally was all over her the next morning. Somehow, Sally had found out Astrid was hanging out with three handsome and wealthy brothers. By somehow, Astrid was sure Winston had ratted her out.

  "Bastard," Astrid muttered as Sally chattered about the Russo brothers.

  From across the office, Winston mouthed 'sorry'. He pointed to his coffee mug, silently offering to go and make her a drink. Astrid nodded and Winston grabbed her cup and left the room.

  "So which one are you dating?" Astrid tuned back into what Sally was saying. "If I were you, I would go for the mysterious one in the suit. He's another lawyer, right? That's what Daniella from HR said. She recognized him from a law forum."

  Astrid groaned. "Don't tell me you're talking to Daniella from HR about my personal life. Last time that happened, human resources crashed my cousin's wedding because someone thought I was in an arranged marriage."