Alice Games

by Michelle R. Reid

  His mood reflected on the rest of the animals. They shifted and made excited noises. A fight broke out somewhere in the back, animals snapping and snarling at each other.

  The hair on my body rose, and I hissed for all I was worth. Terror took hold good and strong. I was actually going to die now.

  A lazy tiger yowl echoed through the building.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I froze, recognizing the sound that had tortured me so much two nights ago.

  Instantly the crowd’s mood changed. Their excited noises changed to fright, and they shifted around, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. Dirty raptors and vultures dropped from their perches, mingling with the animals on the ground for security.

  “The Cheshire Cat!”

  “He’s inside!”

  “How did he get here?”

  Hatter yelped and started to fidget. He moved so much that his hat slid sideways on his head. He didn’t seem to notice. “Where is he?” His voice shook.

  Again I was shocked at how scared the people were of the Cheshire Cat. What did Ace do to merit this fear? I knew why I was scared of this huge white tiger. Just the sound of that yowl brought up the memories of watching Lional turn into dust and being chased through the frozen trees. My pulse hammered just thinking about it.

  And yet, there was some tiny hope in me that everyone else was wrong. That Ace wasn’t the Cheshire Cat. That I wasn’t the fool.

  Another yowl echoed. The acoustics of the rafters picked it up and made the sound louder, and a white tiger appeared on a middle rafter next to a gargoyle. He was just as big and beautiful as the first time I saw him, white fur almost glowing against the dark ceiling. His rich brown eyes, the same color as Ace’s except they weren’t full of laughter, stared down in anger. His black-tipped tail twitched quickly, and his ears were half back.

  Hatter jumped and looked up. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in his high voice.

  The Cheshire Cat looked at me dangling in Boon’s hand and then at Hatter. “You have someone that belongs to me,” he drawled.

  The sound of his voice made my heart sink into chaos. Flat and harsh as it was, there was no mistaking Ace’s voice. Hatter had been right. Red Queen had been right. Shame on me for thinking I knew better.

  Hatter mumbled, “Boon.”

  Boon opened the cage and flung me back in, slamming the door shut after.

  My nose hit the bars on the far side, and I hissed and clawed at the floor as the cage swung. Nose throbbing, I looked over as Boon walked off the platform.

  He stopped just under Ace’s location on the beams and pushed out his chest, as the rest of the animals whispered and squeaked assurance to him. “Eh, finders, keepers.” He sneered in contempt, flashing his three inch long canines. I couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or not, but the crowd loved it.

  The tiger looked down at the baboon, completely ignoring the crowd. His ears pulled back all the way, and his lips lifted to reveal his own teeth. “You are the one who got in my way last night.” His voice was deadly. “You cost me a lot of trouble and time.” His eyes flicked to me. “And you damaged her.” That was the only warning he gave.

  He vanished. Before anyone could make more than a peep, Ace appeared on top of the baboon. In a lightning fast move, he clawed the primate’s shoulder and flipped him over. The tiger’s head darted in and crushed the baboon’s exposed neck in his jaws. Boon exploded into dust.

  The animals around the tiger scrabbled away, some even running out of the room with sounds of panic.

  Hatter howled in shock and despair.

  I cringed and looked away. I’d seen something like that many times on TV, but it was still horrible to watch in real life. Maybe because the baboon that died wasn’t just a baboon and the tiger that killed him wasn’t just any tiger. Or just any man. Stomach still rolling, I peeked out at the scene in front of me, but my gaze never got past the door on my cage.

  It was slightly open.

  I’d had enough of this Domain, with its crazy people and a scary Ace that I didn’t know. I shoved the door open with my nose and jumped down, the muscles of my forearms absorbing the force of my fall. Without waiting, I turned tail and ran towards the open door in the back of the platform, my paw silent on the hard surface. Hatter had come out of there. There had to be a way out, whether it be door or window.

  I’d only made it a couple steps when the morning sun burst through the thin windows. The golden light hit me and I stumbled to a stop, collapsing on the ground as I started to change back into a human along with everyone else in the room.

  In a dizzying whirl, I felt my body stretch. My arms grew and the fur disappeared as my clothes magically appeared back on my body. As much as it hurt to turn into a cat, there was a feeling of liberation that came from becoming human again, like sliding out of too-tight pants. I was left on my hands and knees as a human. Unable to resist, I glanced over my shoulder at the bottom of the platform.

  Under the sunlight, any vain denial I could have clung to faded.

  At the bottom of stairs, Ace stood where the tiger had been. But it wasn’t the Ace I knew. Somehow he still seemed to be more tiger than man. There was a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes as he gazed at Hatter. The only indication that he was same man whose company I enjoyed so much was the necklace—my necklace—around his neck.

  Hatter hissed in a breath, drawing my attention to him. I wished I hadn’t looked. He wasn’t some cool, red-haired clown with mismatched clothes and tennis ball eyes. He looked like a greasy, used car salesman. His eyes were too small for his flabby face, lips too big. The round gut stretching his purple shirt gave his chest a concave appearance, and the purple cape around his neck made his shoulders look rounded and diminished. His only selling point was his thick black hair.

  He stared at Ace, fear and bluffing courage shifting around him. He seemed to have completely forgotten about me. His eyes narrowed even more. “You have an Artifact. How did you get that? The Alice never made it out of the Ruby Castle with it. Or else I would have it.”

  Confusion lashed painfully at my heart. Was it any better that Ace had it over Hatter? I needed to tell Red Queen about what I did.

  Ace didn’t reply. He took a step forward.

  I scrambled to my feet and ran, still aiming for the door.

  People gasped behind me and Hatter howled, but I kept running. I was almost to the door when Ace suddenly appeared in front of me. No smoke, no wrinkling in the air. He simply wasn’t there one second and standing in front of me the next.

  I skidded to a stop, falling to my butt in the process.

  Ace looked me over, taking in my obviously rumpled appearance. It was probably the worst state I’d ever been in front of him, which was saying something. His lips thinned more, making him down right intimidating.

  After shooting a glare at Hatter over my head, he reached for me.

  The malice coming from Ace was so intimidating that I shrank away from him. His eyes narrowed, but his hands compensated for my movements. I gasped when he grabbed me and flipped me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  I squawked as my stomach hit his shoulder. The air whooshed out of me and I gasped. My hands fisted in Ace’s shirt so I could hold my head up. He let me shift enough to look over my shoulder, but that was as far as his restricting hands let me move.

  No princess hold for me anymore. After all, why should he care? The joke was up, it was impossible to play pretend now. Tears pricked my eyes. Why was he here? What did he really want from me? It was his job to kill me. Was he just taking me somewhere to do the job himself?

  “Wait, wait.” Hatter shifted and put up his hands. “Wait, just a second. Why don’t we talk for just a minute?”

  Ace smirked. “What do you and I have to talk about?”

  Hatter licked his lips and reached up to touch his hat. He paused when his hand encountered only hair. “Hat!” he suddenly yelled. “Hat! Now!” He swung side to side in furious p
anic.

  Shirley, still dressed in her Ruby Castle maid uniform, and another woman came running up the stairs, tugging a full-sized top hat with a crown around the brim between them. Neither would let go, and they finally had to work together to daintily place it on Hatter’s head.

  Ace glared at Shirley, open in his displeasure at her treason. It wasn’t hard to tell he’d just figured out how the necklace got out of the Ruby Castle.

  Shirley flinched under his gaze and hurried off the platform with the other woman.

  Hatter settled down with a sigh.

  Ace scoffed. “I don’t have time to talk about hats, Hatter. Especially ones made with such bad taste.” His brows flicked to the dented crown around the top hat.

  Hatter took a breath. “No, no. That’s not what I wanted to talk about. It’s about the Alice.” He paused then motioned to me dangling over Ace’s shoulder like he still had a bargaining chip.

  I started to wiggle, trying to slide off Ace’s shoulder, but he shifted and tightened his hands on my legs and back.

  Hatter’s hand twitched up to his hat and tapped a finger on the rim. “You see,” Hatter went on and puffed out his chest. “I need an Artifact. You could say it’s for personal interests.” His eyes were bright with excitement. He was obviously not upset at all about his right hand man’s death anymore.

  “Why do you need an Artifact?” Ace frowned at him.

  Hatter laughed and flapped his hand. “Why, someone with as much power as I do should have a chance to be Queen too.”

  Ace gave a dry laugh, nonplussed. “What power?”

  “What power?” Hatter gaped like a fish. His arms flung open and motioned to the people cowering around the walls, trying to stay as far as they could from Ace even though he was on the other side of the room.

  “Look at my power!” Hatter yelled, high on his thoughts. “I am a Queen here. A Savior. I should be Queen of all Oz!”

  Ace snorted. “Apparently you don’t understand what power is.” He looked around the room, daring anyone to challenge him.

  The mangy-looking people just shifted around, staring at the ground.

  Hatter stamped his foot, insulted. Then he adjusted his hat and smiled. “But think of all the more power I would have if I could get into the Emerald Castle,” he continued. “I need access to it. All you need is the Alice dead. Why don’t we help each other out? I’ll even do your work for you. You can go off, have a pleasant day, and tell that icicle that the job is done while I clean up.”

  Ace’s eyes narrowed for a split second.

  “Or, if you want to do the work yourself, we could trade. Your Artifact for the Alice,” Hatter proposed quickly instead.

  Ace’s smile was easy but chilling. “See, this is why they call you mad, Hatter. Why should I make a bargain with you when they both already belong to me?” He walked forward, towards the double front doors.

  Even though his demeanor was threatening, enough to make people back away, his hands on my legs were gentle and his strong steps were careful so his shoulder didn’t jar my stomach. My fist came up to my eyes to press away the moisture in frustration. How was I supposed to understand anything with all these mixed messages?

  “Stop him!” Hatter yelled. He hopped up and down on his toes, wrung his hands, and pulled on his hat but didn’t take a step closer. “Stop him!”

  Ace smirked at him and faced the front door. The crowd parted even more as he stalked through the room. A couple men fidgeted, but fear kept them in place as Ace left, Hatter’s frantic voice fading behind.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ace moved through the battered Gothic buildings, providing me with a short glimpse of the closed front gate and the Yellow Path pointing to it. The loud sounds of thousands of voices echoed in the air, coming from the other side of the huge wood gate. Lional’s voice was loudest of all, demanding my release. A few of Hatter’s people ran back and forth in confusion in front of it.

  Ace turned the opposite direction and headed to the far side of the town. He opened a small cast-iron gate on the high stone wall and walked through. A coniferous forest with thick, tall pine trees immediately loomed on the other side. He wove around the trees, obviously familiar with the area. Soon enough, the sounds of Red Queen’s army and Hatter’s domain disappeared.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. “Put me down, Ace.” I was proud that my voice didn’t wobble. It was stronger than my quivering heart.

  He didn’t say anything, and his step didn’t falter.

  Was he going to ignore me? “Put me down,” I repeated a little louder.

  He was silent still.

  “Put me down now!” I yelled.

  He flipped me over his shoulder and set my feet on the ground.

  It happened so fast I didn’t have time to catch my balance. I staggered until my knees buckled, and I sat down hard on the ground. My mouth screwed to the side as I scowled up at him. So much for my knight in shining armor. My annoyance helped me focus.

  Ace stood over me, hands on his hips and an irritated expression on his face. “You didn’t say please.”

  I still didn’t know if I should thank him or not. “Why are you here?” I’d had enough with the games and the blind trust. “You’re the Cheshire Cat. Aren’t you supposed to kill me?” Maybe I should be more scared of him, but I was too angry.

  Ace blew a breath out his nose and looked up at the sky through the tree tops. “Of course you’d start with that question. Always quick to the point. The answer is yes.”

  I swallowed. “Why haven’t you, then? You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”

  He vanished. A second later, he reappeared crouched over me, his face inches from mine and his sharp knife resting against my neck. I didn’t have time to flinch. But even with his threatening position, there was no threat in his eyes.

  Ace sighed, his brows tipping up. He gave a bitter half laugh. “Why did it have to be you? I finally decided I was going to be the person all of Oz thinks I am. The Cheshire Cat.” He spat the words. “After two hundred years of that White bastard’s abuse, I finally couldn’t take it anymore. He’d already turned me into a walking weapon, why not actually be one? But I can’t kill you any more now than I could at the river.”

  The knife at my throat disappeared, but he kept talking. His deep brown eyes searched mine, as if look from some answer to a question he couldn’t ask. The harsh lines smoothed out, leaving an Ace that I knew.

  “You intrigued me. You hung on to that log for dear life, struggling against the water, yet you didn’t call for help. I’ve never seen an Alice do that before. Normally they scream and cry. I figured that anyone with that much drive should live a little longer. So I put it off until the morning. Then you looked at me like—like you had no idea I was the Cheshire Cat, no idea I planned to hurt you. And you talked to me. Asked my opinions. You actually listened to me as if I were a person to you. Do you know how long it’s been since someone did that?”

  He shook his head. “I was so angry with Red Queen for letting Hatter get a hold of you. And at myself for luring you away from her. All because I got you another stupid water lily. I’m just frustrated. I’m sorry for taking it out on you.”

  So it really was him that slid around the corner of the alley.

  He looked so troubled. My hand came up and hesitantly stroked the hair at the base of his ears before diving into his kitten-soft hair.

  His eyes widened a second, then closed with pleasure. He leaned into my hand until I was massaging his scalp. With a sigh, he collapsed onto my lap and snuggled his head into my stomach.

  This wasn’t the reaction I was looking for. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was sweet. I ran my fingers through his orange hair, my mind racing. Is he continue to avoid my questions now that he’d opened up?

  “Ace?”

  “Hmm?” He sounded like a purring cat.

  I smiled despite myself. “Why are you so feared?”

  He peeked at me, then
closed his eyes again. “You’re awfully good at asking all the wrong questions. I think of it as bad luck. When I was younger, I had a natural affinity to swordsmanship that drew White’s attention. So I became his squire.” His mouth twisted in dry humor. “Lional was so jealous. Even I thought he should have been the Queen Candidate’s squire. He’s the one who worked so hard at everything. And I was just the lucky one.” He paused. “You know, if Lional had been White’s squire, I don’t think any of this would have happened. When White went crazy, I don’t think Lional would have choked. He’d have known what to do and done it. But I … I failed.” His face wrinkled in self-loathing.

  He was talking about when White killed that farmer, I realized. “But weren’t you just trying to protect someone?”

  He didn’t look any more relieved. “That’s what I told myself. He promised everyone’s safety in exchange for my obedience. He made sure that I was martially skilled enough to back up anything he wanted. Ruthlessly so. Even I don’t know why it had to be me. White was so much stronger than I was, so much … And I started to believe him when he told me I was nothing but his knave, his slave.

  “Even after the Alice Games started and I was around Red Queen all the time, I still was never truly happy. I could smile all she needed, but there was always that voice in the back of my mind that whispered I didn’t deserve to be happy. But it was fine, because I wasn’t meant to be happy. I just had to be and do whatever was necessary to make sure everyone else was. But even the people thought I was different from them. After all, it was common knowledge of who I was before the Games.”

  My heart tightened just listening to him talk like that.

  Ace shook his head, cheek rubbing my tummy. “It didn’t help that I was given Blood, the Vorpal Blade.”

  My mouth parted with surprise. I did witness him being given a sword, but I didn’t know it was the Vorpal Blade. In one of the stories on earth, wasn’t it used to slay a dragon or something? But I’d never heard it called Blood before. If he owned it, why was it locked in the Emerald Castle? “Why does that matter?”