From The Ashes (Ministry of Curiosities Book 6)

by C. J. Archer

  Alice's dream had come to life.

  It was ridiculous, and yet I'd seen some strange things in the last few months. I'd be a fool to dismiss any theories, no matter how fanciful.

  I heard Sir Geoffrey shout, but I couldn't make out his words, followed by more screams from the girls. They must be extremely frightened. Meredith whimpered.

  I grasped her shoulders. "You must wake Alice." If my theory was correct, then Alice had it in her power to stop the army, simply by waking up. If they were a figment of her dreams, then they would disappear if she wasn't dreaming. If my theory was wrong, however…

  "What are you going to do?" Meredith asked.

  "Pass on Sir Geoffrey's instructions to the girls. He knows this castle's strengths better than anyone, and I'd wager he's seen more battles than all of us combined." I picked up my skirts and ran up the stairs. "Go!" I shouted.

  I passed a girl in the grip of hysteria on the stairs. I tried stopping her, but she was determined to reach the dungeon. I waited to make sure Meredith didn't succumb to the temptation too, and when I saw her following me, continued on my way up to one of the towers at the top of the castle keep for the best view.

  What I saw took my breath away. A large gap yawned in the crenellated battlements. Going by the rubble and the matching gap on the other side, the tower had been blasted by a great force.

  I picked my way through the mess, careful not to slip on the icy surface, and peered over the edge. "Dear God." A sea of soldiers dressed in red and white amassed on the frosty lawn, a giant catapult on wheels in their midst. Mounted soldiers ranged behind and to the side of the main army, sunlight glinting off their swords. Most of the soldiers were on foot, either carrying swords or long bows. It was these archers who now removed arrows from their quivers.

  A movement to the left caught my eye. Sir Geoffrey! He drifted down to the tower, his attention on the army below. He hadn't seen me.

  "Take cover!" he bellowed. "Incoming!"

  A hail of arrows arched upward like a flock of swallows then changed course and plunged from the sky. "Jesus!" I ducked back down the winding staircases, out of the way. An arrow slipped down the stairs and came to rest beside me.

  Sir Geoffrey's spirit suddenly manifested in the stairwell. His craggy features creased into a frown. "You got out."

  "Meredith rescued me," I said on a breath. "Sir Geoffrey…is this truly happening?"

  He nodded grimly. "The castle will be lost. We don't have any weapons, and the maidens cannot be expected to fight."

  "Where are they?"

  "Cowering in their beds."

  I could hardly blame them. "Tell me what to do."

  Another rainfall of arrows sprinkled onto the tower above. "The main gatehouse has fallen and the French are in the bailey. The catapults have done some terrible damage to the walls."

  "So I saw," I said heavily. "Oh, Sir Geoffrey, I'm sorry."

  He squared his shoulders, causing his chain mail to ripple. "I heard their commander give orders for the battering ram to be fetched. They'll be inside the keep soon."

  "I can't believe it," I muttered, finally digesting what my eyes had seen moments before. Those soldiers were real. Their weapons were real. We'd been thrust into a medieval battle.

  Medieval warfare was a bloody, brutal business.

  Sir Geoffrey tried to touch my shoulder, but his hand went straight through. He stared at it, as if he'd forgotten he was a spirit. "You must prepare yourself and the other maidens for the worst."

  "What do you think the worst will entail?"

  The look he gave me was filled with bleak horror. "The French have no morals."

  I swallowed. "Alice is our only hope now. I'll try to wake her."

  "What can she do?" he called after me as I raced back down the narrow, curving stairs.

  "I'll explain later." If it worked.

  I almost propelled into Meredith, heading in the opposite direction. I caught her shoulders and steadied her. "Well?" I pressed. "Did you wake Alice?"

  The huge dark pools of her eyes filled with fear and sickening horror. She shook her head. "Charlie…" Her voice trembled. "Charlie, she's gone. I can't find Alice."

  Chapter 3

  "What do you mean she's gone?" I shouted at Meredith. "She can't be gone! She was asleep." And if she woke, wouldn't the army disappear?

  "I can't find her." Tears streamed down Meredith's face. She hugged herself, and looked as skittish as a kitten.

  The thick walls of the castle blocked the sounds of the army's preparations and Sir Geoffrey's barked commands. I could no longer hear screaming. It felt as if Meredith and I were the only two people alive.

  "Have you searched the castle?" I asked. "She must be somewhere."

  "I performed a quick search, but not all of the school is accessible anymore. The boulders flung by the catapult damaged some of the walls, and I was too afraid to go onto the towers."

  "Is anyone hurt?"

  "I don't think so. Some are hiding in the dungeon, thinking that's the safest place."

  If we can't leave, it may well be, but it could also act as a trap. "Well done, Meredith, but now you must help me find Alice."

  "Why?"

  "She's the key to this."

  Her tears stopped. She blinked at me. "You're not going to hand her over to them, are you?"

  "No! I can't explain it, but I think if she wakes from her dream, the army will disappear."

  Her brow creased. "That's nonsensical."

  "There are a great many things in this world that don't make sense, Meredith, but I've discovered that it doesn't make them any less real. Take Sir Geoffrey." I glanced back up the staircase where I'd last seen him.

  "Yes," she whispered, wiping her cheeks. "You're right. We'll find her."

  I gave her a quick hug. Trembles wracked her, but at least she'd stopped crying. "We'll enlist the help of as many girls as we can. Alice must be here somewhere, either sleepwalking or in a trance."

  A thud from below stopped us both short. Meredith grasped my hand hard. "What was that?"

  "The battering ram. They're trying to get in. We must hurry. Rally as many as you can from the dungeon. I'm going to begin my search on the towers."

  "You can't go out there, Charlie!"

  I squeezed her hand. "Go, Meredith. Have courage."

  I ran through the grim corridor to the dayroom and drawing room beyond, up another tight flight of winding stairs to the tower. This one was near the back of the castle, a part I'd not yet seen. The spectacular view of the barren winter landscape was marred by the ring of soldiers stomping their feet in the cold. Their numbers weren't as thick as at the front, but getting past them would be impossible.

  The tower sported no damage like the ones at the front of the castle and it was easier to move around, although I had to be careful not to slip. My indoor shoes weren't made for the slick conditions.

  There was no sign of Alice so I returned inside. I wasn't aware of how cold it had been on the tower until I was out of the breeze. The castle couldn't be called warm by any stretch of the imagination, but my bones no longer felt frozen as they had in the dungeon. Racing hither and thither had its benefits.

  Below me, the battering ram once again thumped into the thick double doors at the keep's entrance. I'd loathed the heavy iron bolt and wooden crossbar when I'd first seen them upon my arrival—they only added to my feeling of imprisonment. But now I appreciated them enormously. I wondered who'd slid them closed over the doors after Mrs. Denk left. Perhaps it was Meredith acting on Sir Geoffrey's instruction.

  A sprinkling of terrified screams followed the thump. Good. It meant Meredith had convinced some of the girls to join her in searching for Alice. I would never consider her cowardly again. She may be terrified, but she was forging ahead with the task set for her despite her fears. That was a true measure of courage.

  I continued my search across the top of the castle, running up and down stairs until my thighs burned and swe
at dampened unmentionable places. The battering ram continued its rhythmic hammering, to the tune of screaming. I rushed past girls in the corridors, searching for Alice in each room, under beds, in cupboards. With every slam of the battering ram, their cries became more and more desperate.

  Alice had to be somewhere in the castle. If I was her, and someone was after me, where would I go?

  The battering ram slammed into the door again. Wood splintered. Girls screamed. If the army wasn't already inside, they would be soon. Once they were in, would they act like the animals Sir Geoffrey described, or would they leave us alone and go in search of Alice? Did they even know what she looked like?

  What if I pretended to be her, and gave myself up?

  It might work, if they'd never met her. It could buy us some valuable time to continue the search.

  I headed past a terrified teacher down to the ground level. It was mostly deserted, the girls having fled as far away from the door as possible.

  "Charlie, where are you going?" Meredith called from the main staircase leading up from the castle's central court. "It's too dangerous down there. They'll be through soon."

  "I'm going to speak to them."

  "No! You shouldn't! Come with us. We're going to lock ourselves in the old kitchen."

  I waved her off and hurried to the door. Some of the wooden panels were damaged, and the hinges loose. It wouldn't hold for long.

  "One!" came a shout from beyond the door. "Two!"

  "Wait!" I cried. "Stop at once! I'll give myself up if you promise to leave everyone in here alone."

  "Who are you?" demanded the harsh voice.

  "Alice."

  Murmurs followed my pronouncement. "Show yourself."

  Damnation. If he wanted to see me, that most likely meant he could identify Alice. We looked nothing alike. She was beautiful and fair, while I had brown hair and was shorter, plainer. "I want some promises from you before I do so," I called back.

  "The Queen of Hearts does not make promises."

  The Queen of Hearts? Good lord, what next? "What will happen to me if I give myself up?"

  "Execution, of course!"

  I stumbled backward. Execution! "With no trial?"

  The soldiers laughed. "Give yourself up, Alice! The queen will not rest until she receives justice for your slights against her!" He began counting again in a guttural voice that cracked on the word "One!"

  "The white rabbit," muttered a familiar voice behind me. "Must find the white rabbit."

  "Alice!"

  She stood in her nightgown with nothing on her feet and no wrap around her shoulders. Her glassy eyes looked straight through me.

  "Two!" came the order beyond the door.

  "Alice, wake up!" I shook her shoulders, but she continued to stare and mutter something about finding the white rabbit. "Alice, you must wake up now!"

  "Three!" roared the commander.

  The battering ram slammed into the doors. Wood cracked and the hinges snapped. I grabbed Alice's hand and ran toward the dungeon steps.

  But it was too late. The army was through and they'd spotted us. The commander's shout of "Get her!" could barely be heard over the soldiers' triumphant cries.

  I dragged Alice after me, but she was almost as lifeless as a rag doll. Progress was slow. Too slow. The fastest soldier lunged for her as we reached the top of the stairs.

  I shoved her to the side and we both smacked into the stone wall. The soldier's momentum propelled him down the steps. The sickening crunch of bones and screams of pain became lost amid the battle cry of the other soldiers, almost upon us. I bundled Alice against me and closed my hand around my amber necklace.

  "I release you, Imp!"

  Nothing happened. Everything had gone quiet. I glanced over my shoulder. We were alone. There were no soldiers, no battering ram, and no distant shouts to signal retreat. They'd simply vanished. I leaned back against the wall and expelled a deep breath. Thank God.

  Alice stirred in my arms. She blinked at me, her eyes clear and bright. "Charlie?" She looked around, nibbling on her lower lip. "Oh. Oh no. Charlie, I'm so sorry."

  "It's all right," I muttered between my heaving breaths. "It's not your fault."

  "But they came alive because of me." She eyed me carefully. "Because of my dreams. Do you understand?"

  "I had guessed."

  "And…you believe me?"

  "When you've seen what I've seen, you believe the fantastical without question. But this…" I nodded toward the courtyard where the battered doors lay fractured on the ground. "This is quite fantastical indeed. You must tell me everything you know about your gift, but not now. We must see if anyone is injured."

  "Gift," she sneered. "I wouldn't call it that.

  I took her hand and we headed up the main stairs. "We looked everywhere for you," I said. "Do you know where you went or have you forgotten everything from your…dream?"

  "I haven't forgotten. I never forget, although I lack a certain real world awareness while I'm asleep." She sighed. "I was here the entire time, but I drank the potion to shrink myself."

  I stopped. "Shrink yourself! You mean…your real body changed too, not just your dream self?"

  She lifted one shoulder. "It's a strange magic."

  "Indeed."

  "I tried to speak to you in my dream," she went on as we headed up to the uppermost level. "But you couldn't hear me. So I went in search of the White Rabbit instead. He's a guide, of sorts." I gave her a blank look and she sighed. "Never mind."

  We met Sir Geoffrey coming down the stairs, an exultant look on his ghostly face. He grinned at me. "We did it, Mistress Holloway! We forced the French to retreat."

  I wouldn't dampen his good mood with the truth. "We did, Sir Geoffrey." To Alice, I said, "Sir Geoffrey is the resident ghost here."

  She sidled closer to me. "You can see him?" she asked in hushed tones.

  I nodded. "As can Meredith. Come, we must find her. She's been very brave throughout this ordeal."

  "She has," Sir Geoffrey said with a firm nod. "I ought to warn you, that woman is walking back. She'll be here any moment."

  "Mrs. Denk! I almost forgot about her."

  "Girls!" came her distinctive shriek from the doorway below. "Girls!" She clapped her hands, the sound echoing around the walls. "To me! Now!"

  "How are we going to explain this to her?" Alice whispered.

  "I don't particularly care right now," I said. "We need to check on everyone first."

  We headed up the stairs instead of down and found all the teachers and students in the old medieval kitchen, cowering in and around the enormous fireplace.

  "Charlie!" Meredith sprang up and rushed to me. She threw her arms around me and squeezed so hard my ribs hurt. "Charlie, Alice, thank goodness you're both all right. We've been so worried."

  "Is anyone hurt?" I asked.

  "No injuries," she reported, stepping back. "Everyone's in here."

  "Thank God," Alice murmured, passing her hand over her eyes. "Thank God."

  They crowded around us, hugging and crying as we explained the danger was over, the soldiers all gone, and Mrs. Denk had returned and demanded our presence. No one rushed out to greet her, not even the teachers.

  "What happened?" asked one of the senior teachers. "Where did all those soldiers come from? And what did they want with you, Alice?"

  "I, er, that is…" Alice bit her lip and shrugged. "It's complicated."

  "Her family is the violent, rambunctious sort," I answered for her. "They came to collect her but she didn't want to leave the school. She explained as much to them and they left." I doubted my explanation convinced more than the most gullible. It certainly didn't convince the girls I'd pegged as having supernatural powers. Like me, they'd seen enough strange phenomena in their lifetimes to know that inexplicable things happened from time to time. They alone would get a fuller account later. It was time we wayward girls got to know one another better.

  "There you are!" Mrs. Den
k stood in the kitchen doorway. She bore no signs of concern or confusion. Her face was as devoid of expression as always. "Why are you all in here, cowering as if your lives were in danger?"

  Several women exchanged glances. I inched behind Alice, hoping Mrs. Denk wouldn't single me out and send me back to the dungeon.

  "Our lives were in danger," one of the teachers said tentatively.

  "Nonsense. It was all a show, put on by the villagers. Village idiots, I should say," she muttered. "I'm going to have a stern word with them about frightening my girls and staff like that." She stepped aside and clasped her hands. "Classes are canceled for today. There is much cleaning up to do. Alice, for goodness sake, put on some clothes. When you're decent, come to my office. We'll discuss your punishment for fraternizing with the villagers."

  "I don't understand," Alice muttered.

  Mrs. Denk's nostrils flared. "Don't pretend innocence. It was you they asked for. Who did you upset to cause all this?"

  "I…I'm not sure." Alice glanced at me. "I've never met anyone from the village. Indeed, don't blame them. These events came about because of my family. They're quite dramatic when they want to be, and they have wanted me to come home for some time."

  "And you refused?"

  "Alice loves it here," I said. "She tells me she has learned so much under your tutelage. Haven't you Alice?"

  "Oh yes. I simply adore French and deportment classes. I can see a grand future awaits me now, where before…well, I was very wayward. My mother despaired of me."

  Mrs. Denk's lips flattened. "I'm sure she did." She flicked her hand to hurry Alice on her way.

  Alice left with a sigh of relief. It would seem she had escaped punishment, for now. I tried to follow her, but Mrs. Denk stepped in my way, blocking me. I braced myself for a fight. If she tried to send me back into the dungeon, I would employ every fighting skill Lincoln had taught me. If I went back down there, I risked never coming out again.

  "I see you were released," she said, her tone wintry.

  "I managed to escape during the chaos."

  The lines above her lips deepened. "I won't ask for the name of your accomplice, but I will require your apology and a promise of good behavior."