Courtney’s Camaro waited at the bottom of the driveway. Alice hurried to jump into the passenger seat.
“Hey!” Court beamed.
“Hey,” Alice said, a little out of breath
Court’s eyes dropped to Alice’s chest. “That … is gorgeous.”
Alice smiled as she fingered the rose charm dangling from the end of the chain around her neck. “Thanks. My grandma gave it to me.” Luckily she’d tucked the jewelry case it came in away in a drawer the night she got it, otherwise it might’ve gotten damaged in the fight with Humphrey, or lost when she literally fell into Wonderland. “Said it’s been passed down through generations.”
Court’s lips pulled into a pout. “My grammy never gives me family heirlooms.”
“Maybe not, but she gave you a Porsche!” Alice had learned about the birthday present a couple days ago. It was still tucked away in the Marroné garage, bow and all. “And you don’t even use it.”
“I mean, I will! I’m just attached to this one.” Court patted the dash affectionately. “A girl’s first always holds a special place in her heart.” She batted her lashes dramatically.
Alice groaned, and the sound was echoed from the back seat. She turned to where Chess was stretched across the leather. “Hey,” she said, fidgeting slightly.
He waved. Things had been a little weird since … well, since he was freed of being controlled like a puppet by an otherworldly entity. And then there was the kiss. Alice pushed the memory aside and did her best to ignore the faint burn in her cheeks.
“I thought you were still feeling a bit down,” she said to him.
“Uh, Yonnie’s.” He held his hands up. “I’d crawl out of a casket for those omelets.”
“Me too,” Court sighed as she pulled onto the highway. “Though I think they got rid of the spinach one you like.”
“They what?” Chess sat up straighter in his seat. “When?” The indignation in his voice made Alice snicker.
“I think a few weeks ago?” Court peered at him in his mirror as he sank down in his seat.
“Is nothing sacred?” he muttered.
Alice smirked as Court tried to cheer him up by telling him all the new flavors of jam they had for the season. Alice’s phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced down to find a text from Dee. It was him and his brother, making faces. Well, Dem was making a face. Dee was glaring at him for it.
Beneath the photo a message read:
Dee: All clear. The only nightmares are the ones I’ll have after looking at Dem’s stupid face.
Alice smiled. Another message popped up in the group chat, this one from Haruka.
Haruka: Truly terrifying.
Dem: Hey!
Dee: She understands.
Alice grinned. She’d started the group chat after they finally returned home. With the twins going back Russia, and Haruka to Tokyo, she didn’t want to lose touch with any of them. It was supposed to be an official Dreamwalker chat, but it quickly dissolved into general shenanigans.
She tapped out a response.
Alice: Will go check the field again after school. I think the purge got everything but I wanna make sure. Nothing to report until then. Though I offer condolences for having to look at Dem’s face.
Dem:
Dee: Baby.
Dem: *leaves chat*
Haruka:
“What’s so funny?” Courtney’s voice cut in.
Alice glanced up. “Mm?”
“You over there giggling to yourself. What is it?” She stole glances in Alice’s direction, mostly focused on the road.
“Oh.” Alice rolled her shoulders and shrugged. “Work stuff.”
Both Chess and Court went still, eyes widening slightly.
Alice barely managed to keep from laughing. She couldn’t blame them, but the sheer terror that crossed their faces was kind of funny. “Don’t worry, nothing serious.”
“Good,” Court sighed as her grip on the wheel relaxed.
“By the way, I need to run a quick errand after school. That cool?”
Court narrowed her eyes. “Is it in this world? Like, on this earthly plane?”
“Yes,” Alice said, finally giving in to laughter.
“I guess that can be arranged.”
Alice’s phone chirped again. She glanced down, expecting another message from the group, though Haruka’s name flashed across her screen.
Haruka: Did you see the latest episode!? Can’t wait to talk tonight!
Her stomach flipped a little before Addison’s name pushed up beneath that first message.
Addison: Hey luv. Think you can come by when you have a moment?
She tapped out a response to Haruka—doing her best to ignore those damned butterflies—then asked Addison what was wrong.
Addison: Nothing at all. Just wanting to see your lovely face.
She smiled, a bit of warmth spreading through her.
Alice: You could’ve started with that, got me worrying for nothing.
Addison: Apologies. Maddi wants me to tell you that she would also like to see your lovely face.
Alice: Aight, I’ll come through. You’re lucky I like you.
Addison: Luck has nothing to do with it.
Alice: You’re bananas, you know that?
Addison: I hear all the best people are.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Once again, giving all honor and glory to God, without whom I am and have nothing. Thank you again, Jesus, for Your guidance, Your grace, Your mercy, and Your blessings.
Melissa Nasson, who took a chance on Alice and her adventures, and Rhoda Belleza, who saw something in me and this story about a Black girl simply living her life in a literally magical way. Something to share with the world.
Weslie Turner, I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t jumped in and braved the treacherous waters of book two with me. You answered my anxious emails, my silly questions, and stuck with me as I made changes and (sometimes) missed deadlines in order to make this story work. This book is what it is because of your brilliance, your attention to detail, and your love of storytelling. Thank you.
To Erin Stein and the Imprint team, we’re on book two and we’ve only gotten started. I can’t wait to see what we do and where we go with Alice and the world of the Nightmare-Verse.
Of course, I want to thank my family. Mom and Dad, siblings, and Granny (RIP) and Papa. Please don’t change. Keep teasing me, pestering me, bothering me, and otherwise keeping me humble. And thank you, for understanding this is what I want to do with my life, and giving me the room to be true to that. And thanks for listening to my rants about writing, even if you have no idea what I’m talking about half the time.
Angie Meyers. You are a life-saver. Reading my stories, my samples, my chapters, telling me the hard truths I need to hear, as well as the soft compliments. You were one of Alice’s biggest fans from the start, one of my biggest fans, and I can’t tell you how much your friendship, sisterhood, and support mean to me.
My Novel Clique ladies, we’ve been at this for the better part of a decade. Or has it actually been ten years? Either way, my life and my writing wouldn’t be the same without you. Thank you for your knowledge, your support, your tutelage, and just being there, sometimes when no one else was.
My Wakanda peoples! WAKANDA FOREVER! Angie Thomas, Adrianne Russell, Camryn Garret, and Cara Davis, y’all stay holding me down. Words don’t do what we have justice, and I can’t wait to see how everything each of you accomplishes continues to shape this industry, for the better.
And, as always and forever, to the Black kids who’ve fallen in love with science fiction and fantasy, who want to go on adventures, fall in love, and save the world, you are the future, and your stories are the stars in the darkness. Be true to yourselves. Take care of each other. Long live your light.
Praise for
A BLADE SO BLACK
“With memorable characters and page-turning thrills, A Blade So Black is the fantasy book I’ve been waitin
g for my whole life. Alice is Black Girl Magic personified.”
—ANGIE THOMAS,
#1 NEW YORK TIMES–bestselling author of THE HATE U GIVE
“I loved the ‘our world’ framing and the ‘other world’ adventure so deeply. They were at such odds, but the overall effect was just chefkiss.gif perfect.”
—E.K. JOHNSTON,
#1 NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling author of STAR WARS: AHSOKA and A THOUSAND NIGHTS
“Wholly original and absolutely thrilling—A Blade So Black kicks so much (looking gl)ass.”
—HEIDI HEILIG, author of THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE
“Mixing elements of Alice in Wonderland and Buffy the Vampire Slayer … a delectable urban twist on beloved fairy tales.”
—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“This really is Lewis Carroll by way of Buffy, and it makes for a fun, gritty urban fantasy … will set the new standard for teen readers.”
—NPR
“A dark, thrilling fantasy-meets-contemporary story with a kickass heroine.”
—BUSTLE
“Retold fairy tales have been a popular trend … but you’ve never read one quite like A Blade So Black.”
—NERDIST
“An action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue.”
—THE MARY SUE
“A brash, refreshing, vitally diverse retelling of a classic … You need this book.”
—TOR.COM
“An epic about Black Girl Magic.”
—WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS blog
“This isn’t a retelling, this is Alice in Wonderland 2.0.”
—BLACKSCIFI.COM
“A Blade So Black is a novel that roars mightily in the face of all those Wonderland tales that have come before. L.L. McKinney is on her way to someplace special with this debut; get onboard now.”
—LOCUS MAGAZINE
“An explosive, kickass debut … the Alice in Wonderland retelling the world has always needed.”
—BOOKLIST, starred review
“Relentless action, spiraling stakes, and a fierce heroine … A heartbreaking cliffhanger will leave fans clamoring for a sequel.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“A thrilling, timely novel that ensures readers will be curiouser for a sequel.”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
“With a modern flair, a rich backstory, and just enough emotional heft, this particular looking glass will have readers eagerly falling through it.”
—THE BULLETIN
“Teens will root for Alice as a strong, multidimensional black girl usually unseen in YA fiction … A must-purchase.”
—SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
“A Blade So Black is a modernized version of a well-known story that retains enough of the original to be lauded by both fans of the classic and readers wholly new to Wonderland.”
—SHELF AWARENESS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
L.L. MCKINNEY is a writer, a poet, and an active member of the kidlit community. She’s an advocate for equality and inclusion in publishing and the creator of the hashtag #WhatWoCWritersHear. She’s spent time in the slush by serving as a reader for agents and by participating as a judge in various online writing contests. She’s also a gamer girl and an adamant Hei Hei stan. Follow her on Twitter @ElleOnWords or visit her site at llmckinney.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue: ’Twas Brillig
One: Gone
Two: Hella
Three: Lost
Four: Boo-Thang
Five: Free
Six: Enough
Seven: What Had Happened Was …
Eight: Test
Nine: Missing
Ten: Down Is Up
Eleven: Pets
Twelve: The Eastern Gateway
Thirteen: Who Are You?
Fourteen: Which Way?
Fifteen: Mess
Sixteen: Here There Be Dragons
Seventeen: My Lady
Eighteen: All
Nineteen: Is
Twenty: Chaos
Twenty-One: And
Twenty-Two: Pain
Twenty-Three: Nothing to Fear
Twenty-Four: What’s in a Name
Twenty-Five: All Is Darkness
Twenty-Six: Memories
Twenty-Seven: Some Friend
Twenty-Eight: No Promises
Twenty-Nine: What Matters
Thirty: Findest
Thirty-One: Late
Thirty-Two: No Choice
Thirty-Three: Complicit
Thirty-Four: Reunited
Thirty-Five: What You Gone Do?
Thirty-Six: This
Thirty-Seven: Pardon?
Thirty-Eight: Foolish
Thirty-Nine: Continuously Curiouser
Epilogue: The Best People
Acknowledgments
Praise for A Blade So Black
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by Leatrice McKinney
A part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
fiercereads.com
All rights reserved.
Writing books takes a whole lot of work,
Lots of love and a few minor quirks.
So let’s all do our part
To not steal people’s art,
Because that’s just the move of a jerk.
This book’s special, so treat it with care.
Please don’t steal it, or hurt it, that’s fair.
Magic rests in these pages
To curse you for ages,
So all pirates had better beware.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
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Imprint logo designed by Amanda Spielman
First hardcover edition, 2019
eBook edition, September 2019
eISBN 9781250153913
A Dream So Dark Page 31