Escaping Wonderland

by Tiffany Roberts

  He pressed a kiss atop her hair. “So, we have a direction. If the king knows the way, and he’s heading to Rosecourt, that’s where we must go, as well. We’ll get an answer out of him one way or another.”

  Placing his hands on her shoulders, Shadow eased Alice back slightly before reaching down to retrieve their clothing from the floor. “Let’s get dressed and be on our way. I fear we’ve worn out our welcome with our poor host.”

  Chapter 14

  After dressing—with Alice donning a pair of Miraxis’s pants—they left the praxian’s house and resumed their journey through the woods. Alice’s dress was clean thanks to Shadow, and she felt much better having her legs covered; she hadn’t realized just how uncomfortable it was to walk around in a short dress with no underwear on.

  To say Shadow had been disappointed in her putting on the pants would’ve been an understatement. He’d vehemently objected to her wearing the praxian’s pants and had stood with arms folded across his chest and an almost comical scowl as she’d tugged them on. He’d muttered to himself about stabbing their host as they’d exited the building. Fortunately, he’d eased as they put the place and its owner behind them.

  Though she had no idea how long she’d been in Wonderland—she had no means of tracking the passage of time in the real world, and time seemed to speed and slow here at random—this strange forest with its oversized vegetation already felt familiar, like she’d spent half her life here. And that made sense, even if part of her whispered that it wasn’t right, that it couldn’t be right. This place seemed real…wasn’t that enough? And it was almost comforting to be out here with Shadow again.

  Alice didn’t bother asking where they were going or how long it would take to get there. Like Shadow had told her, he always wound up in the places he intended to go; she had confidence in that now.

  Shadow maintained an easy stride, setting a pace Alice could keep up with without overexerting herself, and occasionally hummed as he walked. The tunes ranged from joyful and carefree to ominous and gloomy; Shadow himself seemed not to notice the extreme changes in his tone, though Alice sometimes caught glimpses of a worried glint in his eyes that suggested he was not as calm as he otherwise seemed.

  She didn’t like seeing him so troubled. When she’d first met him, it seemed nothing could’ve shaken him, and to see him like this now…

  She needed to ease his trouble, if only for a little while. Needed to distract him.

  Alice edged closer to Shadow and slowed her pace just enough to fall into step behind him. Her eyes fell to his tail, which swayed back and forth restlessly. She grabbed it and gave it a tug.

  Shadow jumped and snapped his head to the side to look at her over his shoulder.

  Alice grinned and tugged his tail again. “I caught you by your tail.”

  His ears perked up, and the corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. “That’s not fair.”

  “Why isn’t it fair?”

  He turned his head away, tilted his chin up, and huffed. “I wasn’t told we were playing a game.”

  Alice chuckled, bringing his tail up to her cheek and nuzzling it. “That doesn’t change the fact that I caught you.”

  Shadow pulled on his tail, but not hard enough to free it from her grasp. “Only because I let you.”

  “How about we play another game?”

  Alice’s fingers—which had been firmly around Shadow’s tail—suddenly closed on empty air; Shadow was gone. An instant later, his hands settled on her hips from behind, and he drew her backside against his thighs.

  “What sort of game, sweet Alice?” he asked huskily, his mouth so very close to her ear.

  Alice inhaled sharply, both in startlement and pleasure. She grinned, wiggled her backside against him, and twisted her torso to look at him. “Now that is unfair.”

  “Doesn’t change the fact that I caught you.”

  She pecked a kiss on his lips. His gaze darkened and dropped to her mouth, and she felt the light prick of his claws through her clothes as his fingers flexed on her hips.

  Desire flooded Alice; suddenly, she wished she wasn’t wearing pants. “Let’s play hide-and-seek. I’ll hide, and you come find me.” She trailed a finger along his jaw. “If you find me, we can finish what we started earlier.”

  Of course, they could’ve just thrown their off clothes and done it here and now, but where was the thrill in that? She wanted to play. The excitement lay in the chase. She wanted him to chase her, wanted to feel her heart racing, to feel excitement and adrenaline pumping through her veins, to feel their mutual passion when their bodies finally came together.

  He took her hand and, before she could react, slipped her finger between his lips. His rough tongue swirled around it as he slowly slid it back out again.

  Alice stared, panting softly, her sex clenching in need.

  Shadow’s nostrils flared with a deep inhalation, and his smile widened into a wicked grin. “That was just an appetizer. I’ll feast upon the main course soon enough.”

  A shiver swept through her as she recalled the way his tongue had felt against her sex. “No cheating, though. You can’t phase.”

  When she pulled her hand away, he released it reluctantly. Alice turned fully toward him.

  He took a long step backward and sank into a deep, exaggerated bow, complete with a flourish of his hands. “A true hunter always practices good sportsmanship, dearest.”

  Alice grinned. “Good. Now close your eyes and count to…fifty.”

  Shadow rose from his bow and straightened his jacket. His eyes glimmered with an anticipatory light. “For the sake of fairness, I’ll make it one hundred—but I doubt I could make myself wait any longer than that.”

  “One hundred it is, then. Now close them.”

  He lifted his hands to his face and moved as though to turn, only to stop and peer between his fingers. “One more look, just to hold me over during your brief absence.” He raked his gaze over her from head to toe and back again; Alice swore she could feel the heat of his eyes on her skin, and it made her clothing feel irritating and restrictive.

  His grin tilted to one side as he closed his fingers, turned away, and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree. “One…two…”

  Alice spun around and raced off. Her grin widened as the distance between them increased; soon, she could no longer hear him counting. Perhaps this game was childish, especially when they should’ve been focused on finding the king and escaping this simulation, but Alice didn’t feel childish. All those worries were far off right now, they were distant while she was in this forest with Shadow. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Alice was truly enjoying herself. She was having fun with the man that she…

  The man that she…loved?

  No, it can’t be that. Can it? This soon?

  She barely knew anything about him, and the little she’d seen from Shadow wasn’t necessarily him—it had been more like…facets of him. Fragments of his broken mind. No one they’d encountered seemed very fond of Shadow. Was that because, as he’d implied, he was simply a misunderstood outcast? Or was it because he was the Grinning Ghost, as they’d called him, because he was an agent of chaos?

  Keep your eyes open, Alice. Look at me. See me.

  Alice shoved aside her doubts. No. She’d caught glimpses of Shadow, the real Shadow, when his mask fell. She didn’t see what everyone else seemed to. She saw him. Whatever was between her and Shadow was new, but it was potent, and she would nurture it as it blossomed into something larger, stronger, and deeper rooted. Her feelings for him couldn’t be undone—she didn’t want them to be undone.

  She dashed between huge leaves, giant flowers and mushrooms, and towering trees. Her breath was ragged, and her heart pounded against her ribs. Despite the exertion, she felt good; her body seemed lighter than ever, and she bounded through the woods as easily as the wind flowed over a field. The surface of her skin tingled, and heat pulsed in her core, intensified by the knowledge that Shado
w would be right behind her, stalking her, eager to catch her and claim his reward—claim her.

  Over her heavy breaths and drumming heart, Alice heard water running nearby. Darting between two trees, she pushed through the thick foliage only to come to an abrupt stop when she found herself near the bank of a wide stream. She bent over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath, and ran her gaze along the stream.

  The water was blue and clear, more like the waters off a tropical beach than any stream or river she’d ever seen. Large, flat, dark stones lined the stream, too neat to be natural. It was exactly what she’d come to expect in Wonderland—a familiar sort of thing that was just a bit off from the norm.

  She inhaled deeply, straightened, and cocked her head to listen for sounds of Shadow’s approach. She heard nothing.

  Alice stepped to the edge of the water, knelt, and leaned forward to peer in. The crystal-clear water was deeper than she’d expected; it was always difficult to judge depth, especially through the reflections wavering on the surface, but it had to be at least three feet deep even here along the bank. She reached in to splash handfuls of cool water on her cheeks, distorting her own reflection.

  Closing her eyes, she released a soft hum of satisfaction; the water was refreshing against her heated skin.

  When she opened her eyes, she started and gasped.

  There was a face staring up at her from beneath the surface—a face that wasn’t her own.

  Alice jumped to her feet and reeled back only to slam into something solid. A pair of powerful arms wrapped around her from behind, banding around her torso and pinning her own arms at her sides. She knew by the feel of the rough skin against hers that her captor wasn’t human—and that he wasn’t Shadow. Her heart leapt into her throat.

  Something moved beneath the stream’s surface—a figure, distorted by the rippling water, attached to the face she’d seen. An alien rose out of the water slowly, revealing his hairless head first. His skin—no, not skin, scales—were a dull golden brown with olive spots along the sides of his head. He stared at her with two large, yellow eyes with slitted pupils. His face was startlingly humanlike despite his scales, right down to a perfect, aquiline nose, but that nose rested over a too-wide mouth that was curled into a grin from which long, jagged, yellowed fangs jutted like crocodile’s teeth.

  Where Shadow’s grin always held a hint of mischief, a roguish charm, this creature’s grin was cruel, sadistic, and smug.

  Alice knew what he was, though his species wasn’t common on her home planet—a boruk. The images she’d seen had not prepared her for how unsettling they looked in person.

  The boruk stood up fully, bringing his torso out of the water. There were more olive spots on his shoulders and upper arms, both of which were powerfully built. The scales of his chest and abdomen were large and segmented, almost like armor plates, and tapered along with his narrow waist.

  Whoever was holding Alice tugged her back from the shoreline as the boruk stepped forward. She wiggled, trying to pull her arms free while fighting back a swell of fear.

  “King was right,” the boruk said, his long, thin tongue flicking out. His voice had a strange, vibrating quality to it that reminded her of a rattlesnake’s tail. “What a little pretty we’ve found.”

  “Too plain,” said the alien behind her—in a voice identical to the boruk’s.

  “Let go of me!” Alice kicked at her captor’s legs, took in a deep breath, and screamed, “Shadow!”

  The alien restraining her—whose arms were the same as the boruk’s, as well—hissed softly and tightened his hold on her, making it difficult for her to draw in another breath after her scream. “Feisty. Maybe I do like it, after all.”

  Water sloshed around the first boruk as he climbed out of the stream. “Too loud. It should learn when to give in.”

  As he emerged from the water fully, Alice couldn’t help but drop her gaze lower. A thick, powerful tail extended from his lower back, and his legs—as heavily muscled as his arms—were clad in form-fitting black pants, but it was the belt around his waist that held her attention the longest. At least half a dozen sheathed knives hung from that belt, each longer than the last.

  “It would be boring if it was submissive,” said the boruk holding her. His long, alien tongue flicked over Alice’s hair and across the top of her ear.

  Alice jerked her head away, then instinctively snapped it backward, striking the boruk behind her in his mouth. Pain pierced her skull; her captor’s teeth were rock solid, and the sting on her scalp suggested they might have broken her skin. And it was that pain that brought clarity to Alice’s mind.

  This simulation may not be real, but these people were—and they could deliver true death.

  The alien holding Alice growled and leaned back, lifting Alice off her feet, before carrying her toward the water.

  “See?” the first boruk said. “Too much fight. Pretty but annoying.”

  “Plain but intriguing,” snapped her captor.

  Alice’s eyes widened as she neared the water. She renewed her fight, kicking and thrashing against the boruk. “No! Stop! Shadow!”

  Undeterred, Alice’s captor stepped off the bank and dropped into the stream. Alice found herself immediately submerged to her chest, and he only moved farther from the shore, into deeper water. Her continued struggles were soon too far below the surface to cause more than some pathetic ripples around her.

  He halted when the cold water had reached Alice’s chin and twisted around to face the shoreline. He and his companion were both staring at the same place—a mass of leaves between the trunks of two trees. The same spot, she realized, through which she’d arrived.

  “He is here,” said the alien on land.

  “Yes,” hissed the alien holding her.

  Lifting her chin to keep her mouth above the stream’s surface, Alice stared at the foliage. Her heart pounded, and her body trembled with fear and cold. Were they talking about Shadow? How could they be? There was no sign of him, no way they could’ve known where he was, especially if he didn’t want them to know.

  He’s already taken out two very dangerous men like it was nothing. He’ll do the same with these two.

  For several seconds, both boruks were still, and everything seemed unnaturally quiet. Even the rustling of the leaves overhead and the stream’s burbling around Alice were muted.

  Then everything moved faster than her fear-addled mind could keep up with.

  The boruk holding Alice spun around suddenly, swinging her to face the opposite bank. Shadow was standing in the stream no more than five feet away. The water was barely up to his chest, even though she had to stretch her neck to keep her chin above the surface. But the relief she should’ve felt at his presence, at his nearness, was cancelled out by the look on his face.

  There was a crease between his eyebrows, which were drawn tight over rounded eyes, and his mouth was agape. No grin, no playful sparkle in his gaze, no hint of his normal carefree demeanor. He wore only concern and shock on his face. Both his arms were raised, claws poised as though to strike, but he was unmoving.

  That was the last thing Alice saw before she was pulled under water—Shadow frozen in an unending moment of time, stunned and helpless.

  Chapter 15

  For Shadow, the space between those heartbeats stretched into eternity.

  Thump-thump.

  He’d phased behind the boruk holding Alice—that one posed the most immediate threat, directly endangering her life, and therefore needed to die first. It should’ve been quick and simple.

  But the alien spun around before Shadow could strike—as though he’d somehow known the very instant Shadow had meant to attack. Shadow only had time enough to meet Alice’s terrified gaze before her captor dragged her below the stream’s surface.

  That instant—it couldn’t have been longer than a fraction of a second—was more than adequate to flood Shadow with horror and despair. He was losing her. Right before his eyes, Alice was
being taken.

  Thump-thump.

  The blurred figures of Alice and her captor sped away along the bed of the stream, propelled by the alien’s thick tail and the water’s swift current.

  As Shadow spun to follow them, movement flickered at the edge of his vision. He turned his head to see the other alien—who looked identical to the first—in the air, hurtling toward Shadow with a knife in each hand.

  Shadow swayed to the side, but the deep water made his movements jarringly sluggish. He narrowly avoided a full-on collision with his attacker, who landed with a huge splash, but a heavy, piercing impact on Shadow’s shoulder made it clear he hadn’t avoided harm.

  The pain was as distant and diminished as usual, like his body was a thousand miles away from his mind. He kicked off the bottom of the stream, launching himself away from the boruk and into the water current; his attacker’s knife remained embedded in his shoulder. The stream swept Shadow along swiftly as he wrenched the knife out of his shoulder, plunged under the surface, and swam.

  Alice’s blond hair, pale skin, and blue dress stood out starkly against the rocky bed of the stream forty or fifty feet ahead. She was still underwater—and still in the clutches of the other boruk, who was carrying her steadily farther ahead of Shadow.

  Something else caught Shadow’s eye, glittering in the sunlight that filtered through the surface—a thin, barely perceptible silver thread trailed in his target’s wake.

  Shadow sensed movement behind him and spun toward it just as the knife-wielding boruk charged forward, churning water with the swinging of his powerful tail.

  The alien moved as quickly and easily in the water as Shadow could move on land and was upon him within a second.

  Shadow twisted to avoid the boruk’s first thrusting blade, but a second knife in the alien’s other hand sliced across Shadow’s abdomen.

  The attack had brought the alien in close. Shadow retaliated by burying his knife in his foe’s back, punching the point through thick, tough scales.