Corbin

by Melanie Karsak

  “Where are we going?” the agent asked. “Oh, are those energy bars? Can I have one?”

  “No, they’re mine.” I started scooping up my belongings, including the energy bars the White Queen had given me.

  “What are we doing?”

  “We’re going on a trip. Here, see this? Look in here,” I said, angling the rearview mirror, so it reflected both of us. I grabbed the man by the arm.

  “Wait, I think I—” he began, but then I interrupted him.

  “Wonderland. To Haberdasher,” I said, setting mine and the man’s hand on the mirror.

  The reflective surface of the mirror wavered, and a moment later, we fell through the looking glass.

  11

  Cahya

  I felt like my head was being crushed in a vice. The sensation of being pulled and squeezed wracked me. A moment later, I tumbled through the mirror back into Wonderland, the agent from Hearts alongside me.

  “Corbin,” someone called.

  I recognized Hank’s voice, but I didn’t recognize the place. I was in the massive chamber of a castle. Wide stone columns carved with swirling designs reached to the ceiling. The place was dark, lit only by candlelight from the candelabras spread around the room. There was a damp, dank feeling to the place.

  Hank rushed to me, helping me up. His eyes went from me to the agent on the ground. The operative from Hearts was passed out cold. Given I was barely on my feet, I didn’t blame him. White dots appeared before my eyes. I breathed in slowly and deeply and willed myself not to faint.

  Behind Hank, another figure came into view. A woman with black hair that trailed to the ground, her skin a hue of white so pale it was blue, rose from a throne. Her eyes glowing yellow, she stared at me.

  “Who is this?” she asked Hank.

  “Corbin…the Hatter’s other grandson. The one we told you about.”

  “Where is the girl?” the woman asked.

  “Corbin, where is Lacey?”

  “The agent tried to jump her,” I said. “I…I wasn’t sure what to do. I brought him here.”

  “Hearts operative,” Hank told the woman.

  “He can’t be here,” the woman hissed. “Hank, he can’t be here. Do something.”

  Hank pulled out his teacup. In a low voice, he whispered, “Made of stone.” An ebony-colored orb hovered above the cup. Hank grabbed it then hurled it at the man.

  The operative grunted once then turned to solid stone.

  “Toss him into the pit,” the woman said, motioning behind her. Guards came to alert. The creatures, who were little more than skeletons wearing tatters of clothes and ancient armor, crossed the room. They lifted the stone man like he weighed nothing then carried him off.

  “What about Lacey Crane? Is she all right?” Hank asked.

  I nodded. “For the moment. But she shouldn’t be left on her own. Last night…I need to go back.”

  “Send for the white rabbit,” the woman told Hank.

  He nodded. “Florin,” he called.

  From somewhere not far away, the dormouse suddenly appeared.

  “Corbin?” he asked. “What’s happening?”

  “Go to Wonderland Academy. Tell Natter it’s time.”

  The dormouse nodded then headed to a full-length mirror hanging on the wall. “Wonderland Academy,” Florin said then hopped through the looking glass.

  “Send me back. I can watch over her until someone gets there,” I told Hank.

  Hank shook his head. “No. We were going to pull you anyway. Lacey will be called for Orientation soon, and you need to get ready too.”

  “How soon? Hearts may send someone else.”

  Hank looked me over. “What happened to your hand?”

  I looked down at my bloody knuckles. “I told you. That girl isn’t safe. I need to go back.”

  “You will stay, Corbin. Natter will go,” the woman told me.

  I stared at her.

  “Corbin, this is Cahya, the Queen of Spades,” Hank said.

  Not knowing what else to do, I inclined my head. “Your Majesty.”

  “Welcome to the Kingdom of Spades, Corbin.”

  Hank frowned at me. “No one knows that Cahya is in league with us, that she is part of the effort to lead a rebellion in Wonderland. You’ve just blundered into the third biggest secret in the entire realm,” Hank said with a laugh.

  “Third biggest?”

  “First, being that an Alice is about to return to Wonderland. And the second…is you.”

  “Then I guess he’s in good company,” the Queen told me.

  I smiled softly at her then turned to Hank once more. “But, Lacey…”

  “Our associate, Natter, will go. We will adjust the time. She won’t be alone for long.”

  I scowled at him.

  “Don’t worry, Corbin. We will look after Lacey. You’ve done very well,” the Queen of Spades said, turning to return to her throne.

  Frowning, I exchanged a glance with my cousin. It was all very well for him to move us around like we were chess pieces, but he was risking Lacey’s life in the interim.

  “Hank—”

  “Natter is one of the best spellcasters in Wonderland,” he reassured me.

  Given what I’d seen, that wasn’t good enough. I was about to open my mouth to say so when the Queen asked, “Did she see the agent from Hearts? Alice…Lacey.”

  “Yes and no. I think she did, but she ignored him.”

  “And did she see you?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. She seems…distracted.”

  “She does not believe what she sees is real. She never has. That will change soon enough,” the Queen said wistfully.

  I frowned. I wouldn’t disrespect the Queen by disagreeing with her, but having spent most of my life in Overthere, I didn’t think it was right to suck Lacey into Wonderland without at least warning her that her presence here was nothing short of a death warrant. She was already going to be confused and scared. I didn’t like it.

  “Hank,” I protested again.

  Ignoring me, Hank turned to the Queen. “Your Majesty, I think it might be wise to take Corbin back to my home to get him ready for the Academy.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Can we be of any further assistance to you?”

  The Queen stared at us both for a very long time. Her glowing eyes were fixed on me. She drummed her fingers on the arm of her throne, which was decorated with skulls.

  “I assume Corbin knows secrets are meant to be kept,” she said finally.

  “If he values his life, then it is certain,” Hank answered.

  “I know how to keep my mouth shut,” I reassured her.

  She smiled then crossed her long legs, revealing the length of the blue skin on her shapely legs in the process.

  “We shall see,” she said then nodded to Hank.

  Hank pulled a round mirror from his pocket then grabbed my arm. “Home,” he said, then we were pulled away once more.

  12

  The Hall of Doors

  For the next three days, Hank tutored me on wand usage and all things Wonderland while I worried about Lacey. There was no news at all, which set me on edge. I understood that time moved differently here, but I hated that I’d just left like that. I didn’t know the person they’d sent to watch over Lacey, but I did know he wasn’t me. And that meant she wasn’t safe. One morning, on the third day of my stay at my cousin’s crooked little house in Rose Kingdom, I woke to hear Hank talking loudly, worry peppering his words. I knew I had to leave for Wonderland Academy that morning. But that hardly mattered. Something was wrong.

  I flung off the covers to feel the chill of cold in the air.

  Downstairs, I could hear Hank and Florin, a regular visitor at Hank’s house, and the voice of a newcomer.

  I redressed quickly, then headed downstairs.

  “We told you to watch!” Hank said angrily.

  I was surprised to find a very nervous-looking rabbit standing there, his p
ink eyes bugging out of his head. “She was already locked in the ward by the time I got there. There was nothing to do but wait. The White Queen has the letter. She will get her to the Academy on time. From what I learned, it’s a seventy-two-hour watch. Once they clear her, she’ll be able to leave, and the White Queen will get her the letter. In fact, I need to go now.”

  Something inside my chest froze. “Who is this? What’s happening?”

  “Get on with you,” Hank said, flinging his hand at the rabbit, a frustrated sound in his voice. “And make sure she gets there on time!”

  The rabbit quickly pulled out his mirror, and in a flash, he disappeared.

  “Corbin. There you are. Time to go,” Hank told me, motioning to my backpack sitting by the front door.

  “Did something happen to Lacey?”

  “I was about to get you up. It’s time for you to leave for Wonderland Academy now.”

  “You didn’t answer me.”

  “There was an incident, but she’s fine. She’s on her way to the Academy now. You need to go.”

  “What kind of incident? She’s all right, isn’t she?”

  Hank handed me an envelope. “Open it.”

  “I’ll meet you at the Hall of Doors,” Florin told me.

  “What happened to Lacey?” I demanded of Hank.

  “You have your wand and pocket watch?”

  “Yes. Now, what happened to Lacey?”

  “Quit arguing and get a move on,” Florin said, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

  “Open that first, then we’ll talk,” Hank told me.

  “Fine,” I said with a huff. I looked down at the envelope. On the outside, I saw the name Corbin Daniels. Daniels had been my mum’s maiden name.

  “Daniels?”

  “You will go by Daniels at the Academy. Now…if you please,” Hank said, motioning to the envelope.

  I shook my head then stuck my finger in the corner. “And just what’s so special about this letter that—”

  But even as I spoke the words, golden light blasted from the envelope, a whoosh of air surrounding it. The room around me dimmed. The clocks on the walls began to bong. The room started to bend and twist strangely.

  “What’s happening?” I asked.

  Hank and Florin’s shapes stretched and turned like in funhouse mirrors. The cuckoo clock on the wall called and called.

  “Go now,” Hank told Florin. “I’ll meet you later.”

  “Hank,” I called.

  “Corbin, keep an eye out for Lacey. Watch out for Lacey,” Hank told me. “She needs you.”

  A black dot opened on the floor below me.

  “Hank?”

  But then, the bottom dropped out. The hole that had appeared below my feet sucked me into the darkness.

  I fell for what felt like an eternity, spinning in the dark space. I hung on to my backpack as I twirled. As I fell, I passed odd things floating past. A rocking chair. A cabinet filled with jars of jam. A bookshelf. Paintings floating upside down. I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

  And then, without warning, I landed hard on the ground, crashing onto a black-and-white checkered floor with a thud. The wind knocked out of me, I lay there for a long moment.

  Slowly, I sat up. I was in a round room with a domed roof. The roof had been painted to look like the night sky. Colorful lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting a rainbow of colors on the wall. Taking a breath, I stood and surveyed the place. As I looked around, I saw five doors and an odd little curtain that hung low to the ground.

  “Florin?” I called.

  My voice echoed around the room, but there was no sign of the dormouse anywhere.

  “Florin?”

  Nothing.

  I grabbed my backpack then went to check each of the doors. They were all locked. Bending low, and expecting to find a window, I pushed the curtains aside only to find a tiny door at the base of the wall. It was a foot high—no more.

  “Wonderful,” I grumbled.

  I heard an odd sound like someone had dropped a coin.

  I looked back to find a round table sitting in the middle of the room. On it was a large, golden key that jiggled like someone had just tossed it there.

  Crossing the room, I picked up the key. It was a clunky old antique. On one side, someone had written, Open Me. On the other side it read, Find your Destiny. The end of the key was an open oval, a magical spark at the center.

  I had already had my fill of Wonderland’s whimsy. Snatching up the key, I went to the doors. On each on was a symbol: hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades, and stars. I stuck my key in the door for diamonds. The key didn’t unlock the door. I then tried clubs. Nothing. I bent low, examining the little door. On it was a rose insignia, but my key was far too large for that door. When I reached the door for hearts, I paused. Something told me things were about to go very badly if my key fit in this door. Regardless, I gave it a try. Nothing. Two doors left. Spades. Inhaling deeply, and hoping the key would work, I slipped it inside. Again, the lock didn’t turn. I turned to the last door. It was ancient, the handle and lock tarnished with age. I slipped my key into the door for stars. This time, the lock clicked.

  I grabbed the handle and gave it a push. Nothing happened. It wouldn’t budge.

  I was startled when I heard a rap on one of the doors.

  “Corbin,” someone called. “Corbin, can you hear me?”

  It was Florin.

  “Florin?”

  “Here. I’m here,” Florin called.

  I traced his voice back to the door marked with the spades symbol.

  “Corbin?”

  “Florin, I can’t get out.”

  “Use this door,” Florin told me.

  “It won’t unlock. Only the door with the star unlocks.”

  “Balderdash. By the Bandersnatch, don’t use that door. Come this way. Look in the front pocket of your backpack,” Florin said.

  Setting down my pack, I opened the front compartment. Inside, I found a key identical to the one in my hand. Only this time, the key had my name written on the side. And in the oval, rather than the spark of magic, was the symbol for spades.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “Use the key for spades. And come on. You’re getting late.”

  “Florin, is this a fake key?”

  “Just come on,” Florin called.

  Shoving the magical key into my backpack, I took the fake and went to the door for spades. The key slipped in, but when I tried to unlock the door, it resisted.

  “What are you waiting for?” Florin called.

  “It’s not opening.”

  On the other side of the door, I heard Florin curse. After a moment, he whispered. “Use the wand.”

  I pulled the wand out of my back pocket and aimed it at the door. For a brief moment, I cast a glance back toward the door marked with a star. The pale blue door was glimmering with silvery light.

  I turned back to the spades door. I aimed Granny Al’s wand at the key. “Unlock for me,” I said, envisioning in my mind the lock mechanism turning, the door opening.

  The tumblers inside the door unlocked with a groan. And a moment later, the door opened. An inch. I went to the door and gave it a hard shove. It resisted like a hundred men were pushing back on the other side. I opened it just enough to get through. Once I’d passed, the door slapped closed behind me.

  Outside, I found Florin pacing. He sighed with relief when he saw me.

  I looked back to see, not a building with a bunch of doors, but a mirror. “Wait, where did the Hall of Doors go?”

  “It’s there. It’s just…oh, it’s hard to explain. It’s magic. Now, let’s go. And for the love of all thing sacred, hide that wand.”

  “Did I just break into Wonderland?” I asked the mouse, lifting him so I could set him on my shoulder.

  “No. You’re supposed to be here. It’s just…no one can enter through the star door. It’s barred with magic from this side,” Florin said, then added with a
whisper. “It’s illegal.”

  “Wait, so what if someone from Overthere tries to come through that door? Someone who doesn’t know anything about this place or have a dormouse waiting for them on the other side?”

  “Hearts will round them up later and then…”

  “And then?”

  The mouse traced his finger along his neck. “Off with their heads. No new recruits for stars.”

  “That’s murder!”

  “And that is the current status of Wonderland. Don’t tell anyone about that door. Not a soul. You are a Spade. You will live in Spades Chambers, where you will be safe.”

  “Because their queen is—“

  The dormouse yanked on my earlobe. “Their queen is nothing. You know nothing about her. You are Corbin Daniels from Ireland. I recruited you here, me and Natter, the white rabbit. You were sucked into Wonderland for the first time today. You are a new student who knows nothing about this world.”

  “I don’t know anything about this world, not really.”

  “Well then, I guess you’ll make a convincing liar.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Orientation.”

  “You have to be kidding me.”

  “Look,” Florin said, pointing.

  Ahead of me was an odd-shaped building. It was round, but the top of it was peaked in the shape of a carousel. Multicolored pennants fluttered in the breeze. Beyond that, I saw the campus. A tall, round building stood at the center. Not far from it, was a platform at which were docked a number of airships. I looked overhead, surprised to see other balloons floating across the sky. The campus buildings were made of stone, reminding me of the old boarding schools and colleges back in Ireland.

  I turned once more to the building to which Florin had gestured. There was a crowd outside. Other students were also hurrying across the garden toward the building. Many of them were in uniforms, the guys in pants, dress shirts, ties, and waistcoats. The girls wore schoolgirl-style uniforms. There were other animals like Florin. I spotted a bear and a cheetah in the crowd.

  “Florin, what in the hell should I do?”

  “Keep your head down. Learn what you can. Get close to that girl. Watch her. Keep her safe.”