Twenty-Eight
NO PROMISES
Alice gripped the oh-shit bar inside the basket and groaned. Haruka patted her thigh. The other girl had elected to sit beside Alice this time, pressing against her gently to offer some “solid ground” while the basket jostled. Alice couldn’t tell if it was helping at all, but she was glad for the comfort.
“Are you sure you do not want to look? Just briefly.” Haruka pointed up. “The view is stunning.”
Alice leveled a scowl at her. Honestly, sitting in this thing was hard enough; standing would probably be hell. “That’s okay. I can miss a bit of stunning.”
Haruka shrugged and tilted her head back against the basket, closing her eyes. Alice did the same.
Deep breaths … She drew them in through her nose, then pushed them slowly out through her mouth.
Her stomach flubbed in defiance. Ugh, she was gonna be sick. Again.
Pushing up and around on shaky legs, she got to her feet, then made to lean out over the edge, and froze. Gone was the brilliant pink of the Wonderland sky and the wide, swaying Technicolor grasses and plant life below. Instead the heavens fissured, lines similar to the Breaking but harder, jagged, tearing the sky open. Dust spilled loose, along with fragments of the sky itself, falling toward the lands. There were only two colors spread out before her, the black of shadows and the red of fire.
All of Wonderland burned.
“What—” Alice croaked, the word stuck in her throat.
Her heart pounded. Her breathing kicked up as she tightened her hold on the edge of the basket. What was this? What was happening?
“There!” something shouted.
Alice lifted her gaze just in time to see a creature fly at her, beating batlike wings, furious. It parted its beak with a shriek and dove, snatching at her with huge, birdlike talons. Alice jerked back with a shout, her legs colliding with Haruka’s feet.
Her back hit the rim of the basket. Her center of gravity pitched upward. She went over the side.
Fingers grappled at her legs but couldn’t get purchase. Haruka’s panicked face appeared over the edge of the basket. For a split second, Alice could see the fear in her brown eyes before she dropped away, plummeting through the air.
A scream of her name followed her.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of wind in her ears, the thrum of her heart, and the numbing feeling of having nothing. Nothing to grab, nothing to stand on, just her and the empty air. Her mind blanked, not sure it believed what was happening. Above her, Chou roared as he dove.
Spread your arms. She did so immediately. She didn’t remember where she’d heard that this slowed you down, but it was better than nothing. That physical action shook her loose of the shock that had stolen her ability to think. It also opened her mind up to the gnawing fear that rocketed through her. She was falling. She was falling!
She turned, looking down. Big mistake. The ground rushed at her. Chou wasn’t going to make it. She was going to die.
No!
A hurricane of white exploded against her vision. Her body jerked, hard, like something had hold of her. She blinked, her eyes watering as the world slowly came into focus. Ribbons of light poured outward from the Figment Blade at her back, just like it had when she fought that massive Nightmare on the field. They circled her, their motion slowing her descent, but it wasn’t enough. What the hell?
A pulse of black flickered in the corner of her eye. The Vorpal Blade was still at her hip, and darkness danced along the edge. It seemed to cower in the face of the Light’s brilliance, at least until a few of the ribbons brushed against the shadows. They pulled at the black tendrils, coaxing them free, darkness bleeding into light until the dueling energies swirled around her. That’s when Alice noticed she was slowing down. But it wasn’t enough. She was still coming in hot.
She had to do something! But … there was really only one thing she could do. Stamping out all apprehension of being possessed or swallowed by the black, she reached for the Figment Blade. And for the blade so black.
The instant her fingers wrapped around the hilt, darkness shot free like electricity, mingling with the light. Together, the two formed something … different. They coalesced, their color shifted, graying out, and then hardening. An orb of crackling energy solidified around Alice, and she slammed into the bottom of it with a grunt and a jab of pain where she hit her shoulder and her face. The coppery tang of blood slid along her tongue. She shifted, freeing her arm. Her grip on the Vorpal Blade faltered and, with a jerk, the bubble dipped. So did her already upset stomach.
“Ack!” She tightened her hold, and everything steadied. She was safe. Floating in the air. In a … a light bubble. The trembling in her middle spread through her limbs. “Oooooh my god: Ohmigod. Okay … what is … okay … you’re … fine?”
“Alice!” Romi brought Chou around, circling her before the Fury beat his wings to hover. It sent her little bubble bobbing, but it didn’t go anywhere.
“Are you all right?” Haruka asked, her panic as clear in her voice as it had been on her face.
“I … I think so … What is this?” She gestured with her free hand at the bubble.
Haruka blinked. “You’re … asking me what your … magic bubble is?”
“No, not—well … I guess? Romi?”
Romi frowned. “I’m not sure.”
Alice shifted, glancing around. Why did the weird shit—and this was Wonderland, so that was saying something—always happen to her? She was stuck in the air, which was a helluva lot better than falling to her certain death, but now she couldn’t go anywhere. Careful, she turned in a slow circle, eyes widening as the bubble, orb, thing turned with her.
“Whatever it is, it looks like you can control it,” Romi said, an intrigued lilt to her voice.
“Okay, but how?” Alice lifted the Vorpal Blade to slip it back into her belt, but gave a surprised shout when the bubble rose into the air. Then it dropped when she held her arms out for balance. That was when she noticed the Vorpal Blade was coated in a faint shimmer of black.
“Dafuq?” She drew the blade close to get a better look, then yelped when the bubble dipped toward the ground without warning.
She flung her arms out to brace herself, and just as suddenly the bubble stopped. Alice went stone-still. Her heart jumped in her chest like a nervous rabbit. Her hands shook, though held steady. “What is HAPPENING!”
Romi brought Chou down to circle her, the three of them stopping to hover in front of her again.
“The swords,” Romi called over the rush of wind. “When you move them, the bubble moves.”
When I move … Alice’s gaze bounced between the weapons. Similar to the haze of darkness around the Vorpal Blade, a shiver of light clung to the Figment Blade. They were … powering this thing?
“Try again, only don’t point down,” Romi said.
“Okay, okay. Let’s see.” Alice released a slow breath. “Don’t point down.” Made sense. She tightened her hold on both hilts, and brought them forward.
The bubble jerked forward.
Alice screamed.
Chou had to dive to get out of the way.
Alice flailed, trying to catch her balance, and that sent the bubble bouncing every whicha-damn way. Alice tumbled around inside like so much dirty laundry.
Haruka and Romi were both shouting, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Chou darted in and out of her sight. So did the sky. Then the ground. Then the sky. Then the ground—ugh, she was gonna be sick.
She dropped the swords to press both hands over her mouth as the contents of her stomach raced toward her lips. That’s when, mercifully, the bubble came to a stop.
Curled on her side, her face pressed to the cool surface of … she had no idea what this thing was made of, she groaned. “Whyyyyyyyyyyyy.”
“Try again,” Romi said from somewhere above her. “Carefully.”
Alice took a few deep breaths before prying herself up
. Both blades rested at her feet, still pulsing gently. Swallowing the bitter taste coating her tongue, she reached with trembling fingers to pick them up.
The bubble shuddered, but didn’t go anywhere. Okay. She could do this. Just no sudden movements. Shakily, she brought the swords together. With a few very gentle test swings, she figured out the directions and gently made her way toward the ground. It was start-stop the whole way, and by the time she landed, her stomach was roiling.
She dropped to her knees, her head spinning, and released the blades. The bubble shattered into a million glittering pieces that were carried off by the wind.
Beautiful … Alice smiled as she watched the shards float away. Then she took a deep breath and promptly puked.
Chou touched down nearby, and Haruka vaulted out of the basket, hurrying over to her, asking if she was all right.
Alice assured her she was. Shaken all the way up, but in one piece, though her stomach was in shambles. “I’m never gonna be able to eat again…”
“What happened up there? You … practically jumped out of the basket,” Haruka murmured.
Ice slipped through Alice, her insides churning for a whole different reason now. “I—I … I saw something.” She explained her vision. How it looked, sounded, even smelled real. And when that thing dive-bombed her, she just reacted.
“You’re fortunate to have both swords on you,” Romi said as she stroked her chin. “From the look of it, you needed them for … whatever that was.”
“And what was that, exactly?” a familiar voice called.
Alice glanced up just as the Duchess emerged from the trees. Behind her, Odabeth shuffled into view. Both of them looked like they had seen better days, their hair braided back, their clothing stained, but they were alive. That was what mattered.
Pushing down on her nausea, Alice leaped to her feet and raced toward the two of them. Or, she tried to, but her legs didn’t want to cooperate. She managed to hobble over with a shout and a laugh.
“You’re all right!” Alice threw her arms around Odabeth. The princess made an adorable little noise and returned the hug with a quick squeeze, like it was the first time anyone had forced physical affection on her.
Smiling, fatigue pulling at her features, the Duchess clasped Alice’s arm like the warriors in those movies. “We are in one piece. And it is good to see you are also well.”
Drawing back, Alice searched the forest expectantly, but no one else emerged. Her smile faltered, and her gaze bounced between the princess and the Duchess. “Wha—it’s just you?” A twisty feeling settled in her stomach.
“I am afraid so,” the Duchess murmured, moving past Alice and toward the others.
Odabeth fell into step behind her.
Just them. No Addison. Alice’s chest tightened and heat rose behind her eyes. He wasn’t here.
But that didn’t necessarily mean he was gone gone. Anastasia would’ve definitely said something.
“Okay then.” With her heart somewhere around her ankles, Alice glanced at the woods one last time before hurrying back to the others.
“What happened?” she asked as she caught up to Odabeth and Anastasia. “There was this loud noise while I was on the phone with Addison, and the line went dead.”
“Your friend assaulted the Looking Glass.” The Duchess breathed the words, her exhaustion clear.
Alice nearly stumbled. “You mean Chess.” The twisting intensified.
“He attacked with Fiends in tow,” the Duchess continued. “We were unprepared.”
“Is…” Alice looked from the Duchess to Odabeth, then back again. “Is everyone…”
Odabeth remained oddly silent. She clutched at the straps of her pack, her shoulders hunched forward, her posture sunken, as if the very act of remaining upright took every ounce of her strength.
“Everyone was alive when we last saw them,” the Duchess said.
Alice wanted to ask for clarification, but they’d reached the rest of the group. Romi bowed deeply to Odabeth, speaking softly in Japanese. Odabeth dipped her chin and responded in kind. Haruka mirrored Romi’s greeting. The itch to ask questions, the need to know what happened to the others, to Addison, crawled through Alice, but she didn’t interrupt.
The Duchess gripped Romi’s arm the way she had Alice’s.
Romi smirked. “You look like shit.”
“Better than how I feel,” the Duchess murmured.
“Not to be rude,” Alice cut in, the words practically bursting from her lips. “But what happened? Why is it just you two? Where’s Xelon? Where’s Addison?”
Odabeth’s tired expression wilted under a grimace. “We … don’t know. Chess overwhelmed us, and we ran. We made it to the Gateway, but—” She looked to the Duchess. “Something went wrong.”
“Something interfered with the crossing, and we … fell through. The princess and I landed close to one another, but there was no sign of the others.”
Alice’s heartbeat kicked around her ears. Worry gnawed at her insides. She swallowed the sour taste at the back of her throat.
The Duchess shrugged off her pack and let it drop to the ground, then lowered herself to sit beside it. “We searched briefly, but we were out in the open, exposed, unarmed. I had to protect the princess. We made our way to a nearby village, got some food, got some rest, and decided on our next steps.”
Odabeth tilted against her pack as well. “It was Anastasia who suggested we carry on with the original plan of going to Findest. She said it’s what Addison would do, and if he was with the others, he would lead them there.”
Romi made a gesture as if to say, Told you so. “I figured as much. It’s why we’re here, escorting Alice.”
A faint smile pulled at the Duchess’s lips. “It’s been a while since our military days, but we’re all still thinking the same, it seems. As a unit.”
Romi snorted. “I’m a bookseller, not a soldier, Anastasia. And the instant I see Addison, I’m going to let him know just how little I appreciate being pulled into this nonsense.”
“So … Hatta’s all right?” Alice asked, twisting her fingers together.
A look crossed the Duchess’s face that sent a chill through her. “He was injured when we fell through. It looked … not the best, but Addison is a survivor. In truth, I’m more worried about what the exile Verse will do to him the longer he stays here.”
A buzzing settled between Alice’s ears. The exile Verse. She hadn’t even considered—
“But,” the Duchess quickly cut in. “Like I said, he’s a survivor. And if he’s with Xelon—” The Duchess reached to set a hand over one of Odabeth’s slightly shaky ones. “They’re both likely doing fine.”
Romi grunted but didn’t say anything.
“Your other friend, Courtney?” Odabeth started. “She was there during the attack. She may be here somewhere as well.”
“Courtney’s in Wonderland?” Alice blinked. Was that even possible? Well, clearly it was, but … did that make her a Dreamwalker? And what effect would it have on her when they got back home? What effect would she have while she was here?
A million questions poured through Alice’s head, a dull ache pushing in behind them.
“Well.” Haruka clapped her hands together. “It sounds like we’ve all had a pretty long day. Why don’t we set up camp for the night and get a fire going for supper.”
Odabeth let out a relieved breath, smiling faintly. “That sounds amazing.”
Alice didn’t want to stop, not now, not after hearing that Addison and Courtney were out there somewhere, possibly heading for Findest as well. And Addison was injured!
A hand fell to her shoulder, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She glanced up to find Haruka smiling down at her. “Let’s grab some firewood.”
“Y-yeah. Yeah.” Alice climbed to her feet and, leaving Romi and the others to set everything up—and forage something for Chou to munch on—the two of them meandered toward the edge of the forest where Odabeth and th
e Duchess had emerged moments ago.
Working together, with Alice gripping branches and Haruka cutting them free, they’d be able to gather a nice bit of wood to maintain a fire pretty quickly. Alice wrenched at a stubborn branch, yanking again and again and again until it ripped free of the tree with a crack. She stood there, panting, clutching the stick in shaking hands.
“I’m still with you.”
“What?” Alice glanced up from where she’d been staring at this stupid stick.
Haruka closed the distance between them. “Whatever you decide, I’m still with you.” She closed her fingers over Alice’s trembling ones. “I saw the look on your face when the Duchess explained what happened. I know how much you probably wanted to run out there to find your friends.” Her touch gentle and warm, Haruka peeled Alice’s fingers from their death grip on the wood, then massaged them where the skin had gone angry red. “I also know you probably don’t want to hear this, but all of this new information doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change their current situation or ours. We still don’t know where they are, and our best bet is to go to Findest. Finding those two proves it.”
Alice wanted to protest, but there was no point. Haruka was right, about this and about her not wanting to hear it.
“But I understand what it’s like to know people you care about are in danger, to want to do everything you can to help them. If you want to go searching for them, I’m with you. If you want to continue to Findest, I’m with you. But we will only have supplies enough to do one.” Squeezing Alice’s hand, Haruka bent to gather up the branches they’d piled together.
For a moment, Alice didn’t know what to do or say. She simply stared, the burn behind her eyes filling the rest of her face. She could still feel the warmth of Haruka’s touch on her skin.
Finally, she bent to help gather the branches. “Thank you.”
Haruka nodded. “Make the decision in the morning. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“Me too,” Alice murmured, smiling. They carried their load over to where a fire now flickered amidst a cleared patch of dirt, dug in just slightly. Odabeth sat on a rolled-out mat, managing to look impossibly regal but at the same time incredibly uncomfortable. This was probably the roughest few days of her life. She toyed with the silvery chain around her neck, the indent of the Eye poking up beneath her shirt.
A Dream So Dark Page 23