A set of wood stairs led upward at least one story. Romi sat on a bench against the wall and went about the task of unlacing her boots. Alice followed suit, tugging her shoes from her feet and setting them aside. Romi’s boots sagged slightly, bending over as if they were tired from a day of being worn.
Upstairs, they entered a somewhat large apartment, loft style, with a high ceiling and walls at least three times Alice’s height. Some of the walls were lined with floating shelves stacked with books and small statues. Others were covered in various types of art, from fancy-looking paintings in thick old frames to wall scrolls and basic posters, all depicting traditional Japanese art or what Alice assumed was either anime, movie, or music posters.
Haruka moved around in the kitchen, the source of the heavenly smells simmering on the stove. Alice’s mouth watered, but she had more pressing matters to deal with.
“Can I use your phone?” She trailed after Romi to where the woman flopped onto a couch.
Romi dug into a back pocket and produced a phone wearing a rubber R2-D2 case. “He’s the most recent call.”
Thanking her, Alice found and hit the number. It rang a couple of times before someone picked up.
“Yeah?” Hatta asked, sounding more than a little irritated.
Alice’s heart jumped in her chest. It was so good to hear his voice, even though it hadn’t been all that long. “Addison, it’s me.”
“Alice.” Hatta’s tone softened. “Are you all right? What happened? Courtney said something about a Nightmare swallowing you. Not a Nightmare exactly, but I’m sure you know what I mean.”
“That’s … pretty close. I don’t really know, it looked like Chess but then it went all black blob on me, pulled me in. I wound up in some place called the In-Between.”
“I know. Nathan said he was able to find you, but then started yammering about it being too late and went straight for the bourbon. Hasn’t made any sense since.”
“Nathan?” Alice asked.
“You all call him Sprigs.”
“Oh. Right.” That was a deceptively normal name for someone who, apparently, was also from Wonderland. She should probably just assume everyone connected to Hatta was. “He got all scary and peaced out, then…” The memory pushed against Alice’s mind, insistent. “Then the Black Knight showed up. And there was a woman.”
“Who?” Hatta pressed.
Alice shook her head, then realized he couldn’t see her. “I don’t know. She had red hair. Pale skin. I’ve never seen her before.”
Hatta went silent, likely thinking. She could almost hear his frown.
“She stabbed me. It didn’t hurt, it just … was cold. Then I fell, and woke up in Wonderland.”
“Are you all right?” Concern coated every word.
“Yeah. A little sore and hungry, but I’m okay. Romi and Haruka are excellent hosts.” Romi gave a thumbs-up from where she was puffing on yet another vape device. “We’re trying to figure out a way to get me home that doesn’t take three weeks to cross all of Wonderland. I can’t fly, no passport, so I’m taking a … Cho.”
Hatta made a faint choking sound. “Chou?”
“Yeah. Romi said it was a who.” Alice thought she heard Romi snicker, but when she glanced up, the woman was sunk into the couch, her head laid back against the top of it, blowing various impossible shapes into the air: a sphere, a couple cubes, a star.
“Chou is Chou. Listen, Odabeth and Xelon are getting ready to head to Castle Findest. That’s where the Heart was last, according to the Eye. Hopefully if Odabeth stands in the spot the Eye showed her, then tries the locator Verse, it will reveal more. Xelon is more than capable, but I’d feel better if they had some extra muscle along for the ride.”
A smirk pulled at Alice’s lips. She liked being thought of as the muscle. “What about the twins?”
“They’re still going to focus on tracking your friend and Madeline. At the moment, I’ve sent them on a supply run.”
“Supply run? For what?”
“Bandages, painkillers, that sort of thing. Without Maddi, we have to make adjustments in our preparations.” There was no mistaking the somber twist in his words. “Speaking of preparing, think you can borrow a weapon from Romi and meet up with Her Highness and her knight? If Haruka is available, we could use her help as well.”
Alice glanced at the Dreamwalker at the mention of her name. She was setting food out on the low table. “I’ll ask. Where will we meet them?”
“Excellent. There’s a village near Ab—”
A loud boom sounded on Hatta’s end of the call, along with a crash of wood and glass. Someone screamed.
“Hatta?” Alice’s grip on the phone tightened.
No response, just the muffled sounds of someone shouting.
A low growl picked up, a sound Alice would recognize anywhere. Nightmare. Hatta grunted, the sound ending in a choked cough.
“Addison!”
The line went dead.
Fourteen
WHICH WAY?
Addison didn’t know anything but pain. It coursed through him, jarred his senses and rattled his bones. It throbbed along his limbs, pounding in time with the beat of his heart.
There was another noise under the thumping in his ears. He couldn’t really make it out at first, but then it grew louder, more insistent.
“Addison!”
It was a voice, one he knew. Or one he thought he knew. He tried to answer, but only groaned as his body refused to listen to his orders to move. The pain remained persistent, rising and falling in a steady rhythm as well.
“Addison!” the voice called again. “Damn it, Hatta, if you die on me.” Hands gripped his face, turning his head.
He forced his eyes open, his lids heavy and uncooperative. Light filled his vision, bright and blinding.
“Bozhe moi.” The image of the Duchess faded into view as he blinked. She was upside down, her face twisted in concern and something else. She spat a curse and looked over her shoulder.
“A-Anastasia?” The word came out more of a rasp. His mouth was clumsy and felt like it was full of sand.
The Duchess whipped back around, her green eyes wide. Her hair was wild where strands had come loose from her braid, and a fresh slice beneath her left eye bled freely. “Addison, can you move? I need you to move.”
“I can try.” He shifted, flexing fingers and toes, then arms and legs as his muscles strained to pull him upward. Pain continued to ricochet through his body, radiating from his middle as the pounding picked back up again.
She moved in behind him, slipped her arms under his, and lifted.
“What happened?” he asked as the two of them got him on his feet. They stood in the mouth of the hallway leading to the back of the pub. The small space tilted slightly as his vision continued to swim.
A roar filled the air.
“Fiends. Tore the damn door down. Pulled you out of it, but we have to get back in there.” Anastasia extended a sword to him. “Can you fight?”
It took a second for the question to register, then he braced one hand against the wall and took the sword with the other. “Do I have a choice?”
Smirking, she turned and darted toward the bar. The sounds of battle folded in around her and settled in over the ringing of his ears. More snarls and growls. Xelon shouted, and something shattered. Steeling himself, Addison pushed forward the last few steps and out into the bar.
Anastasia drove her blade into one of the beasts. It flailed and pitched over in its death throes, spewing black and yellow across the floor. Xelon drew out of a crouch over another corpse, her arm thrown out to shield the terrified Odabeth and Courtney, huddled together in a corner of the bar.
Another three Fiends stalked through the hole in the wall where the door used to be. A figure strolled in behind them. At first, Addison thought it was the Imposter. He wore similar armor, but no helmet.
“Chess!?” Courtney stared, her eyes wide, her mouth open.
Two mo
re Fiends filled the doorway, flanking him.
Anastasia spat a curse.
Addison seconded the sentiment. With Xelon it was three against five, but two of them were still recovering from their battle with the Imposter. With Odabeth and Courtney to look after, things would likely go bad in a hurry.
“Chess, what’re you doing?” Courtney shouted at him.
He didn’t answer, instead unsheathing a sword at his back. The metal gleamed in the hazy light of the bar.
“I’m afraid Chess might not be in there,” Addison murmured.
“Give me the Eye,” Chess said. “And you can keep your lives. I won’t ask again.” He played his gaze over the lot of them. The Fiends snapped and snarled at his sides, hackles raised.
Addison tightened his hold on his weapon. Beside him Anastasia untucked the whip from her hip. It unfurled with a hiss.
That was when the Fiends pounced, or at least the first of them tried to. With a crack, Anastasia’s whip tore a hole into its side. It tumbled into a heap, yowling in pain. Meanwhile Anastasia stepped forward, twirling her arm overhead. The whip obeyed and, like a thing alive, snaked through the air at breathtaking speed. It circled her and lashed out again and again, striking at the Fiends, keeping them at bay. It whirled around Addison as he drew near.
Just like old times. He smirked.
Chess drew back a step as his eyes flickered over the whip’s movements, searching for an opening. Hatta’s smirk widened. There would be no opening. So long as Anastasia had the strength to keep the whip in motion, there was no getting past her. But if you knew her well, like Addison did, there would be a break from the inside, allowing those who fought at her side to drive at the enemy. It’d been a while since they fought together, but he could still read her movements. There.
He darted forward, sword up.
Crash!
Metal slammed into metal as Chess ducked in to meet his charge.
Impossible. Shocked, Addison froze up just long enough for Chess to twist his weapon, pushing it down the outside of Addison’s sword and penetrating his guard entirely.
He shouted as pain flared white hot across his side when steel bit into flesh.
“Addison!” the Duchess shouted. “Xelon, get the princess out of here!”
Addison flipped his blade to counter the swipe. At the same time, Anastasia twisted to fling her whip out. Chess had to withdraw to avoid having his skull punctured, but he’d already done his dirty work.
Blood poured wet and warm against Addison’s side. He stumbled back and into Anastasia.
Impossible, his mind kept screaming. No one should have been able to read the whip defense like that, and certainly not this human.
Anastasia flipped her whip into a recoil and snatched a jewel from her ear in one fluid movement.
“Etigni’ta!” She held the jewel aloft.
Just as the Fiends pounced, light exploded from her hand. Addison shielded his eyes. Arms around his waist guided him toward the hall. Behind them the Fiends yowled in pain. The Verse would only last a few seconds.
“Run!” Anastasia screamed.
Ahead of them, Xelon and the girls bolted down the hall, toward the only way out: the Gateway.
Behind them, there was a sound like water going down a drain, only at light speed. The Fiends howled, their claws clacking as they recovered and gave chase.
“Get the door!” Xelon shouted.
Courtney reached it first. Wood slammed against wood as it was flung open and they raced into the dark. Someone slammed the door shut behind them. It rattled on its hinges when the Fiends hit the other side.
“Hold on!” Anastasia called.
Light exploded around them as she didn’t open a path so much as rip into it, and they were plunged between worlds.
The sudden drop sent a wave of vertigo through him. His limbs flailed helplessly as he tried to regain his balance.
Alert, he could see Anastasia’s bright red hair to his left. He tried to spot whoever else was falling with them, but everything went dark. Wind screamed in his ears and snatched at his clothes, slapping his face. He was still falling, but … something was wrong. Why couldn’t he see?
He blinked his eyes rapidly, but that did nothing. He tried to call for Anastasia, but the wind snatched his words from his lips.
A sound like thunder shook through his entire body, and light exploded across his vision. He blinked to clear it, and a bright expanse of sparkling pink water unfolded beneath him just before he hit the surface. The water cradled him, but his side screamed in agony. It nearly robbed him of his ability to move, but he had to.
He forced his legs to kick, his arms to stroke. It was like swimming through pudding. Eventually he broke the surface and, with everything he had, pushed toward the nearby shore. He hauled himself along the sandy surface, his lungs and muscles screaming.
Panting, he flopped onto his back and stared up at the pink Wonderland sky, still fractured from the Breaking. Where was he? This wasn’t the Gateway.
“Oh my gaaaawd,” a familiar voice whined from nearby.
Addison turned his head to find Courtney pulling herself from the water the same way he had. She coughed and sputtered, flopping onto the yellow grass. Xelon was beside her on hands and knees, panting. Her white hair hung in around her face like a soggy cloud.
“P-princess,” Xelon sputtered before glancing around. “Odabeth!” When there was no answer, Xelon staggered to her feet and started for the water.
“Wait,” Courtney called. “Sh-she’s not in there. I saw her and the Duchess go flying off into the distance.” She coughed and pushed herself up on trembling arms, then froze as she caught sight of their surroundings.
Addison enjoyed watching humans during their first visit to Wonderland. The awe on their faces was amusing, among other things, but there was no time for that now.
“Which way?” he said as he shoved himself onto his side.
Both Courtney and Xelon turned to him.
“Hatta.” Xelon came toward him, favoring her left leg in a slight limp. She reached to help ease him into a sitting position. Even with her careful touch, agony spread through him.
“Are you okay?” Courtney asked, her green eyes wide as she crawled over to them.
“Define okay,” he huffed, an arm around his throbbing middle.
“Alive will do for now,” Xelon murmured as she made her way to the edge of the water. She splashed some of it on her face, rubbing away the purple sand.
Addison would have nodded his agreement, but his head was still pounding. He fixed his still slightly wavering gaze on Courtney. “Which way did you see them go?”
The girl looked confused for a moment before realization brightened her face. “Oh! Um, that way.” She pointed, then lowered her arm. “Or maybe that way.”
“Shit,” Xelon hissed.
“Sorry.” Courtney rubbed at her pale arms and sniffed. “I was falling a million miles a second, I only got a glance.”
“It’s not your fault,” Xelon said, though she was still tense. “We need to find them.”
“If she’s with Anastasia, she is well protected.” Hatta scanned their surroundings, trying to get a feel for exactly where they were. It wasn’t the Western Gateway, but it couldn’t be far from it, the ache in his chest from the Verse that exiled him was only mild beneath the burn of other injuries. He shifted to stand, only for his breath to escape him in a gasp as a feeling like glass peeling away skin tore along his side. He slumped into a half-seated sprawl against the grass.
“Move slowly.” Xelon lifted his shirt, examining the wound. “He got you good.”
“Yeah, he did.” The slice was clean but deep and bleeding freely. Hopefully he hadn’t nicked anything important. His skin was purple along his ribs, and when Xelon touched her fingers to them lightly, he jolted in pain. “Ah! Shite…”
“Looks like they’re bruised. Maybe worse. Probably from the blast. Bastard blew in the front door.”
“Jesus.” Courtney stared, her hands cupping the lower half of her face. “I—I … Chess, he…”
“He’s still under the Imposter’s control—ahh!”
“Sorry. If we don’t do something, you’re going to bleed out.” Xelon straightened, glancing around. Wading out into the shallows of the river, she knelt and rooted around in the mud.
“Can we save him?” Courtney asked quietly.
“Maybe,” he murmured. He felt for her, and Alice. It wasn’t easy to see a friend like that. It wasn’t easy being that, either. “If I can come back, there’s hope for him.” Though he wasn’t fully himself, not as he was before. “Right now we need to regroup, figure out a plan.”
“You need to hold still for a bit.” Xelon returned with two pink, muddy handfuls. Moving to kneel beside him again, she held out one hand. “Brace yourself.”
He did. It didn’t help. The pain was excruciating, and the mud was icy as hell, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
Courtney watched from nearby, brow furrowed. “Aren’t you supposed to clean a wound, not pack it with mud?”
“Yes, but this isn’t any ordinary mud. The silt gathered here is partly composed of Dust. It’s a magical substance that falls from the heavens when the sky cracks open around what humans call midnight.”
“Huh.” Courtney tilted her head to the side. “That sounds kinda neat.”
“It’s breathtaking.” Xelon talked while she worked. “Dust is used for many things, like forging weapons for Dreamwalkers or in potions and salves for healing. In its raw form it’s not as effective, but it’s better than nothing and should stop the bleeding, buying enough time for us to get some help.”
“Good.” Courtney nodded. “H-help is good.”
A Dream So Dark Page 13