Alice herself steps into the cell with us, a slim red dress hugging her curves. It’s intricate and beaded, exactly what I would imagine royalty should wear. But Alice shouldn’t be a Queen. She shouldn’t be a monster wearing a crown.
Alice’s eyes bounce around the cell, and I tense the moment her gaze meets mine and then passes right by. I let out the breath I’d been holding. White’s brows wrinkle at the revelation, but he doesn’t comment. Alice can’t see me, and yet, I’m still here enough for White to communicate with me.
“Talking to your imaginary friends, White?” Alice tsks. “I thought you’d last longer, but it seems your mind is already playing tricks on you.”
White’s eyes flick over towards me when I stiffen and growl under my breath. What has she done to my rabbit already? Anger fills my body like a hurricane and with it, the urge to hurt. A warmth spreads through me at the emotions, but I pay it no mind. White looks back at Alice, and his face settles into a hard mask.
“There’s that willpower,” Alice coos. “The ‘I’m ready to die’ expression.” I take a step forward and then another at her words, shaking with the anger that flows through my body. “Poor White,” Alice continues. “Always trying so hard to die. Always coming back to life. It’s so sad, really.” She chuckles. “But who am I to deny you what you want?”
When Alice moves forward and reaches her sharp nails towards White’s chest, I don’t think a second longer. I rush forward and place myself in front of White, pressing my back against his front to protect him. I’m incorporeal, but I can still feel his warmth and the tensing of his muscles at the contact. I think about nothing but the hurricane inside me, begging to be let out. When the Red Queen thrusts her hand towards White’s chest, intent on ripping out his heart, a bright flash fills the cell and makes me clench my eyes shut in surprise.
I hear Alice snarl, and when I open my eyes again after the light fades, she’s pulling herself up from where she must have slammed against the door. A lock of her hair falls down over her face, no longer in perfect form, and for the first time, I see just how worn she looks compared to Vision Alice. Dark rings circle her eyes that she tried to cover by smearing blood around them. Her hair looks stringy and dry now that it’s not pulled back in a style. There are a few wrinkles around her lips as they pull into the snarl.
Clara mentioned her role in the prophecy, and how she had to kill the Queen’s Knave. Perhaps that had started a chain reaction in Wonderland and has taken some of her power. She no longer looks as strong as she had been. But a woman filled with hatred and anger does nothing but focus on those things. It doesn’t matter that she’s been beaten once. Alice won’t stop until she gets what she wants: the entirety of Wonderland dead at her feet.
“What was that?” Alice hisses, storming forward again.
She reaches for White’s ears, and on instinct, I slap her hand away.
“Don’t you dare touch his ears,” I growl even though she can’t hear me.
I feel nothing when I press against her arm except for that same warmth inside of me. Where we touch, the bright light explodes again. I’m prepared for it this time, but the light still blinds me. I’m able to make out Alice being shoved into the wall through the light.
I glance back at White, his eyes wide in surprise. He’s looking at me with a mixture of confusion and awe.
“You’ll pay for that, White,” Alice threatens before storming from the cell. She slams the door behind her, and I hear the key turn like the sound of a gun being cocked.
I look down at my hand and realize I’m fading away, slower than Cheshire does.
“I don’t know what just happened,” White whispers, “But please be careful. I can’t lose you.”
I reach up and run my hand across his cheek. I can’t see it anymore, but I still feel the warmth, and he leans into my touch.
“I’m coming for you, White.” I blink at the tears that threaten to spill over my lashes. I don’t want to leave him here, but my body is fading fast, my time up. “Just hold on. Please. Hold on for me.”
His eyes slam into mine before I can fade away completely.
“Always, Little Inferno.”
Chapter Thirty-One
I jerk upright in White’s bed, breathing as if I’ve just run a mile. I don’t waste a second. I immediately spring from the mattress and pull on the little cami shorts. I throw open the door and take off into the Hatter’s maze of a house. I have no idea which direction to go, but I keep a picture of Clara and the Hatter clear in my mind as I take turn after turn. I come to a stop outside of an ornate purple door, and I knock on it, trusting the magic of this creepy house.
There’s shuffling from inside after I knock, and I wait. The door jerks open, and Hatter stands there in nothing but unbuttoned pants. I immediately fix my eyes onto his forehead to avoid looking down. He doesn’t put much effort into hiding all his important bits.
“Has something happened?” he asks, panic clear on his face. I suddenly feel bad that I caused such fear.
Behind him, Clara sits up in bed, a sheet clutched to her chest as she watches me in worry.
“I, uh,” I stumble over my words at their state of undress. I have no idea why. It’s not like I haven’t seen plenty, but for some reason I always feel like the Hatter and Clara deserve privacy. “I think I had a vision, or, that’s not really the right word for it.” I jerk my hand through my hair in annoyance. “I was there, but I wasn’t.”
“Like the Reali-Tea?” Clara asks, and I breath a sigh of relief at her immediately springing into question mode.
I shake my head.
“I don’t think so. White was able to see and feel me, but Alice couldn’t.”
The Hatter runs a hand through his disheveled hair and sighs, “You’re a Dream Walker.”
“A what?” Both Clara and I ask at the exact same time.
“When you close your eyes to sleep, and your mind doesn’t want to stay, you walk the worlds around you close and release everything you wish to say.” The Hatter looks at me expectantly after the rhyme. I blink at him. When he raises a brow at me, I find my words.
“But I’m not magical. I’m normal,” I croak. There’s no way I’m some sort of Dream Walker.
“There is no normal in Wonderland,” Clara interrupts. She climbs from the bed and does a little shuffle to hide herself while she pulls on a robe. “The Tweedles mentioned something about the fire in your veins. Perhaps,” she says, walking towards me, “they realize that you have powers.”
“But I’ve never done it before.” Hatter looks at me, clearly not believing my words. “Okay, it might have happened once before with Doe, but I assumed it was her doing. You’re saying that it’s me? That I can ghost walk while I’m sleeping?”
“Yes. A Dream Walker has the ability to walk on another plane. White being able to hear and see you, however, is odd. He doesn’t have any similar abilities that should make it so.” The Hatter begins doing up his pants when Clara threads her arm through his elbow. “The Red Queen killed all Dream Walkers when she took over. That would mean you and Doe are the only ones left with the ability, and Doe’s is weak at best.
“What did White say?” she asks. “Is he okay?”
“Not for long.” I shake my head, my anger coming back at the memory. “We need to mix the enchantment and get ready to go. I was able to stop Alice somehow when she tried to harm White, but I doubt I really stopped anything. I just delayed it. She could be doing terrible things to him right now.” My voice rises with panic at the thought.
“Did you just say you were able to stop the Red Queen?” Clara asks. “What do you mean?”
“I stepped in front of White when she tried to hurt him. I was so angry that she would do such a thing that I could barely contain myself. There was a bright light that threw her backwards. It happened twice.” Hatter and Clara meet each other’s eyes, having a silent conversation. Their worry sends my own into overdrive. “What does that mean?”
> “We don’t know.” Clara meets my eyes. For once she doesn’t smile in reassurance.
“I have never heard of such a power,” Hatter adds.
I worry my bottom lip.
“Okay, we’ll figure that out later. It isn’t relevant to the enchantment, anyways. Did Cheshire return? Do we have all the ingredients and the vial?”
“All except for one,” Hatter mumbles.
I sigh.
The feather of a Dodo bird. This is going to be so much worse than anything asked of me so far.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Absolutely not!” Doe exclaims, smoothing her feathers down on her head. “I will not have you ripping the feathers of my other form out when I hardly have any left.”
“Doe, please?” I beg. I know what she’s feeling, reliving the agony of the prior feather pulls. “Without the feather, I can’t fulfill the prophecy, White will be stuck with Alice, and she’ll continue killing Wonderland.”
Doe’s eyes glisten as I plea with her. I can tell she wants to agree, but the fear holds her back.
“It’s excruciatingly painful to pull a feather, Fire Child. I have no desire to go through that again.”
“I know,” I choke, seeing her tied down in the Red Queen’s court all over again. “I wouldn’t ask unless I had no choice. I’m so sorry, Doe. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through everything you have. But the enchantment calls for the feather of a Dodo bird, and I have no other choice. I’m trying to keep what happened to you from happening to anyone ever again.”
Hatter and Clara are sitting at the tea table watching the exchange. They know how difficult this conversation is. Hatter winces at the agony written on Doe’s face. Clara is wiping at her eyes, feeling the agony herself.
“Please, Doe?” I ask again. I don’t know what I’ll do if she says no. We’ll have to come up with a different plan. We already have the contents mixed and ready for the feather. We’re so close, but it all hinges on Doe agreeing.
Doe reaches forward and lifts her tea cup. Her hand shakes, but she nods her head.
“Can I enjoy my tea first?”
“Of course.” I wipe at my own eyes, knowing the pain Doe will have to go through for our cause. My hope is that we’re able to cripple Alice in a big way, enough that when the third joins us, we can win the final war.
One of the creatures down the table, a mixture between a horse and a man, speaks up as we settle into silence.
“Are you the second of the triad?” His eyes flick towards Clara, and he smiles before settling back on me.
I nod my head, and the guests break out into a murmur.
“Thank Wonder,” another creature exclaims. A few others repeat the sentiment, and I smile gently at them. Thanks to Clara’s brief explanation, I understand that the guests are dead, and this is their last stop before the Hereafter. It makes me sad when I think about it but not as sad as sitting with them does. I can understand why Clara took her role here to heart, becoming a sort of beacon for them. I’m going to do my best to supply them with another reason to hope.
The door to the tea party room slams open, and Hatter jumps to his feet at the intrusion, pulling a sword from who knows where. I see the menace in his eyes and realize that for all his rhymes and his love for Clara, he’s still dangerous, as all beings in Wonderland are.
Cheshire storms into the room, but Hatter doesn’t relax.
“We’re out of time,” he shouts. “The cards are outside. We have to go now.”
“They can’t come in,” Hatter replies. “We fortified the protection wards after the last time.”
“No, but they’re attempting to burn the house down.” Cheshire meets Hatter’s eyes. “Is the house warded for that?”
Hatter’s face grows pale.
“Are you certain?”
“They’re lighting fires as we speak.”
As if in answer, smoke begins pouring into the room, and the guests begin to shout.
“Take Clara and Jupiter,” Hatter shouts to be heard over the guests. “Get them as close to the castle as possible.”
Cheshire begins pushing through the panicking guests to get to us.
“Doe!” I scream. “I’m sorry, but we need that feather now!”
Her face crumbles, but she transforms into her bird form without a second’s hesitation. She’s shaking when she turns her body, so I can reach one of the few feathers left.
“Grab it firmly,” she instructs. “Pull straight out as fast as possible.”
I choose the smallest feather I can see and wrap my hand around the base of the feather. I place my other hand against Doe’s hide in comfort. I tense and yank the feather out just how Doe instructed. She screams in agony as the feather pulls free, the shriek making my ears ring.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her, clamping my hand around the wound left behind. “I’m so sorry.” Tears leak from my eyes as she collapses to the floor, her legs too weak to hold her up until the pain passes.
“Just go,” Doe groans. “Save Wonderland, Fire Child. Save us all.”
She transforms back into her human form and curls up, her face pale and scrunched. I can’t wait any longer, even though I want to be there for her if she needs me.
Cheshire grabs my hand and Clara’s at the same time. I tuck the feather into the pocket of my coat and clench hard to him. His claws barely press into my skin, but still he doesn’t draw blood.
“Hatter!” Clara screams and reaches for him.
“Go!” He snarls, raising his sword as the smoke fills the room. “I’ll meet you there.”
He grabs Clara roughly and presses a hard kiss to her lips before he rushes from the room in search of enemies. Doe forces herself up from the floor and follows him, her face slowly morphing into fury. The last thing we see before we fade away is the flames that dance into the room and begin to lick at the Hatter’s tea table.
When we reappear in a forest far from the Hatter’s house, it’s almost pitch black except for the phosphorescent glow of some of the plant life.
“I thought it was day time?” I whisper. The forest is quiet, my voice echoing through the trees even though I whisper.
“It is,” Cheshire answers, “But it’s always dark near the castle.”
Clara is visibly shaking beside Cheshire, and she keeps her hand clenched with his. He lets her even as I release him and step away. Her shoulders are still strong and poised despite the events.
“It’s a good thing you wore the outfit I left out for you.” Clara directs her words at me. “Now you’ll look like a badass going in.”
“Are you saying I didn’t look like a badass before?” I tease. The atmosphere is stifling, but still I joke with her, playing along. I understand the need to focus away from the crushing feeling of hopelessness here.
“A shirt that says ‘You’re overreacting’ with a beaker and a flask on it doesn’t really scream badass.” She grins at me. “The red hair helps, though.”
I look down at the outfit Clara had given me. I’m wearing black leather pants, something I never imagined I could pull off. The top coat is emerald green, made of a stiff material that almost looks like armor the way it’s shaped and detailed. It stops at my shoulders, leaving my arms bare, and has a high neck where a glittering emerald sits at my throat. The black combat boots from the night before cover my feet. I feel like a badass, especially with the number of knives strapped to my thighs and hidden in the coat.
“It’s something,” I comment. “Was it intentional that it’s the same color that White wears?”
Clara winks. “Don’t you ever wonder why I always seem to be in purple?”
There’s truth in that. Clara is wearing a purple leather jacket with black pants. She sports the combat boots, too.
Cheshire rolls his eyes at our talk of fashion, but he doesn’t stop scanning the trees for any sign of danger.
“You seem awfully bored for someone who looks like it takes hours to do his hair,” I tease.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy.”
“I can’t wait to meet the woman that’s paired with you,” Clara grins. “She’s gonna give you a run for your money.”
Cheshire scoffs.
“Who said I want anything to do with her?” Clara and I share a knowing look with each other, and Cheshire growls in response. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?” I ask innocently.
“Having silent conversations with your eyes. Hatter and Clara already do it enough. Look, I can do it, too. What am I saying?” He glares at me, and I can’t help the tease that breaks free.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “You always look like you have to take a poop to me.”
Clara bursts out laughing, and Cheshire’s claws come out. I’m certain he would have reached for me If it wasn’t for the Bandersnatch shriek that echoes through the forest, loud enough to make our ears throb.
“Oh, no!” Clara whispers. “We need to move now.”
She glances behind us one last time as we begin to make our way forward, in search of the Hatter. When he doesn’t appear, we step through the trees and onto a trail, towards the Red Queen’s Castle. I try not to look down, but I can’t help it. After all, I’m a slave to my curiosity.
The trail is paved with blood.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The closer we get to the castle, the more crushing the atmosphere becomes. At first, the amount of talking flowers increases. They litter the forest floor, so many that I purposely stay in the center of the trail. When we come across one in the middle, Cheshire immediately stomps on it when it tries to bite us. I shoot a look of thanks towards him.
“Morsels,” they all hiss, an endless stream of the word. “Give us a taste.”
“Fucking flowers,” Cheshire mumbles, stomping on another one.
At first, it’s just the tiny ones but the closer we get, the bigger they grow, until we start weaving to avoid the big ones. Cheshire pulls out a sword and chops through the vines that are brave enough to reach forward.
Late as a Rabbit (Sons of Wonderland Book 2) Page 16
