A Blade So Black

by L. L. McKinney

  Chess stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head. “You are seriously the coolest girl I know.”

  That wasn’t the reaction she expected. Usually, people poked fun at her for things like watching lots of anime, listening to rock music, cosplaying. They called her names like Oreo and Wannabe-White Girl, all kinds of bull. She didn’t expect Chess to say stuff like that, but still.

  The smile broke over her face before she could stop it. “Thanks.”

  “You two look cozy.” Court clicked her way down the stairs to join them.

  “He is quite comfy.” Alice patted Chess’s arm, then slipped out from under it.

  He rolled his shoulders. “I try.”

  The three of them headed for the parking lot, Alice tugging her dead phone free along the way. “I need to use your charger.”

  “No prob, Bob.” Court fished her keys from her bag. The purple Camaro at the end of the lot honked a response. It took a moment for everyone to climb in—Chess insisted on opening the doors for them and they’d given up trying to stop him.

  Alice plugged in her phone, fastened her seat belt, and braced herself. “Aaaaand I need a ride to the pub.”

  Court froze, finger on the ignition button. “You were just there last night. And it’s Pre B-Day.”

  She lifted her hands. “I know! I know. It’ll be quick.”

  Chess’s head slid between them, eyes on Alice. “You working today?”

  “Just gonna work out something with my schedule.” Sometimes she nearly forgot the cover story she fed Chess about working at the Looking Glass part-time. Unofficially, being underage and all. He thought it was cool, rebellious and such, and didn’t ask questions, which was peachy.

  “This really can’t wait?” The look Court gave her could’ve singed her brows off.

  “I got a call. It didn’t sound serious.” It didn’t sound anything, really. “But I wanna make sure. So there won’t be any B-Day interruptions.”

  Court continued to stare. “Won’t take long.”

  “I swear.”

  “In and out.”

  “Quick, like a bunny.”

  Court drummed her nails against the wheel before nodding. “Fine.” She threw the Camaro in gear and peeled out of the parking lot, flinging Chess and Alice against the side of the car as she turned onto the street.

  “This is how I die,” Chess groaned from the back seat.

  * * *

  Court pulled up in front of the pub, and Alice climbed out of the car. She bent to peer at the two of them through the window. “Won’t be long.”

  Chess nodded. Court tapped the clock on the dash. Alice rolled her eyes and turned to head inside. As usual for this early in the day, the pool table was the only occupied area inside the Looking Glass. A handful of people sipped beers between shots. One white guy was busy feeling up his scantily clad emo Katniss-looking girlfriend while she did her best to choke him with her tongue.

  A black woman in biker gear and a hijab stood at the bar, hands on a tray stacked with a few open bottles of beer and glasses of water. Maddi milled about behind the counter, topping off a drink and setting it among the others. The woman handed Maddi a bill, waved off the change, then took the tray and headed toward the pool tables at the back.

  Alice slid onto a barstool. “Where’s Hatta?”

  Maddi shrugged. “Not where he isn’t.”

  Alice blinked. “’Course not.” Why do I try?

  “The raven flies?” Maddi asked.

  “W-what?”

  Maddi gently tapped Alice’s injured arm. “South is finer than north.”

  “Oooooooh.” Alice ran her fingers lightly over the concealed bandages. The slices beneath itched with the telltale tickle of accelerated healing. “Doing lots better, thanks. That voodoo that you do is legit.”

  At the end of the bar an old black man harrumphed, then tipped his drink down his gullet. He clacked the glass against the counter and swiped his hand across his mouth before scratching his wispy white hair. It stood up in two tufts on either side of his otherwise bald head, earning him the nickname Sprigs. He was a regular. He tapped the counter next to his empty shot glass. Maddi sighed and tossed the rag over her shoulder.

  “Duty sings her siren song, a peril ignored.” She hummed as she grabbed a bottle of amber liquid from the mirrored shelves, refilled Sprigs’s glass, and plinked it onto the bar. “Thar she blows,” she called, then covered yet another yawn. “Sleep time, be mine.” She folded her arms over the counter and laid her head against them. After a few seconds, she actually started snoring.

  Alice stared for a second. “Ooooookay.” She climbed down off the stool. “I’m just gonna go see if he’s in his office.”

  Leaving Maddi dozing and Sprigs drinking, she slipped into the back hall. She paused when she found the office door closed, weird, then knocked.

  “Come in,” Hatta called.

  Alice stepped through to find him staring into his fancy mirror, his face pinched with concern. She’d never seen him frown so hard.

  “Everything okay?”

  His head snapped up, and he stood and waved her in, all smiles. “Isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”

  She blinked. “I told you I—never mind.” She moved to plop onto the little couch. “What’s up?”

  Humming a drawn-out breath, he retook his seat, folded his hands together, and fixed his faintly glowing gaze on her. “Last night, after you went home, I crossed the Veil again to do a little investigating, try to see what’s causing our friends to come out and play so often. Normally, Nightmares rise out of the Nox, but the one you killed last night looks to have come from the east.”

  The Nox was the dark part of Wonderland, where the bad dreams collected and occasionally spit out Nightmares. Hatta told her, according to Wonderland’s wonky history—trying to keep time straight between here and there was truly headache inducing, and pretty much impossible—maybe a few Nightmares a year would rise. That was a couple thousand years ago, give or take a century. Then the human population started growing. People started living longer and having more people. More people meant more dreams. More dreams meant a thriving Wonderland, but also more Nightmares. Now, instead of the here-and-there nasties, Alice killed around one or two a week. Used to kill one or two a week. The past couple weeks it had been more like three or four.

  “The east?” She frowned. “What’s east?”

  Hatta hesitated. “Ahoon.”

  A shudder hitched her shoulders, and her back went rod straight. A steady throb radiated from her left arm, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from rubbing it. You’re fine. It’s fine.

  Ahoon was a quaint little village in Wonderland and the site of her hardest fight ever.

  Fueled by the fear that ate at people, her people, black people, when shit like what happened to Brionne went down, the Nightmare Alice fought in Ahoon was some nasty business. Evil the size of a Mack truck, all teeth and claws, stronger and deadlier than anything she’d faced before. Alice nearly lost an arm to it. Hell, she nearly lost her damn head, and almost threw in the towel back then. It was the first time she’d felt a Nightmare’s influence so keenly, and it took more than a month before she worked up the courage to go back to Wonderland. Hatta had been patient, telling her she could take all the time she needed, that he was there for her. She eventually pulled herself together, like you have to in these streets, but if he had a mission for her involving one of those things, he could keep it.

  “Ahoon,” she whispered. “Is it another…”

  “No, no.”

  Oh, thank god. Instant relief left her sinking back against the couch.

  Hatta bounced his chair into a steady rock. “I couldn’t go too far, so I’m not certain if that’s where this last nightmare came from. But if there was anything outside of the Nox strong enough to produce a Nightmare, I’d say the site of an unpurged one that powerful might do the trick.”

  Alice chewed at her lower lip as
a feeling like cold oil coated her stomach. This was her fault. Hatta didn’t say it, but he didn’t have to. It was her job to purge the kill site. Sure, she’d been a beaten-up hot mess, but she should’ve been more thorough. Or gone back to double-check. He’d even suggested it, but she was too shaken to listen, so he let it go. Now, it would come back to bite them in the ass.

  “I’ll go through, make sure,” she said.

  Hatta blinked at her like she’d just started singing from her forehead. “What?”

  “I’ll check the village, see what I find.” Her knees started bouncing as she spoke. “If there’s anything left of that Nightmare to rise again, it’s my fault.”

  Hatta’s expression fell and Alice looked away. She hated when he looked at her like that, all pity and softness, like she might break. Happened every time they talked about Ahoon, and now every time they talked about Saturday and Brionne. “Alison, I didn’t mean—”

  “I know, but that doesn’t make it less true. This is my mess; I’ll clean it up.” Besides, she couldn’t just leave it for whoever he trained next to deal with. Plus the training itself would take at least three months, and leaving a Nightmare unpurged for so long was bound to mess things up even more. No, no, she had to set this right, especially since she planned on quitting. Right after this.

  He was watching her. She could feel his eyes on her even as she kept hers on the ground. Silence filled the empty space around them, pushing against her almost like it blamed her, too.

  “All right,” he said finally. “You can go. But it’s too far in for me to come with you.”

  “Is that ever gonna change?” Alice shifted forward, happy for the subject change.

  Hatta averted his gaze this time. “Not as far as I know.”

  “That’s bullshit. You know this, right?”

  He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “It can’t be helped.”

  “You helped end the war.”

  “Doesn’t make up for having helped start it.”

  “But it should at least get you something! Wonderland is your home; they’re really gonna kick you out forever?”

  His lips pursed, Hatta puffed his cheeks and scratched an eyebrow, fixated on his mirror. “That’s what exiled means. Besides, there are stipulations. To perform my duties, I’m allowed to cross the Veil, to train Dreamwalkers. I just can’t go too far from the Gateway.”

  Alice shook her head. “It’s not fair. You made a mistake. You realized it. You even helped fix it.”

  “Nothing will fix—”

  “Then, you tried! You tried, and if you hadn’t, they’d’ve lost. You’re a good person, Addison. It’s been decades—the White Queen has to see that. I mean, I see it.”

  “I have my head. That’s more than most traitors get.” He finally looked at her. Something wavered in his eyes, his expression softening. His lips lifted just the faintest bit. “Thank you, Alice.”

  She blinked. “For what?”

  His smile widened a little. “Seeing it.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re my partner. I got your back.” At least until I tell you I’m done. Which will be when we get back. That conversation was going to suck.

  He nodded, seeming to consider her words a moment. “All right, then, partner.”

  She flinched but hid it in a smile. “Mmhm.”

  “I’ll see if I can’t get you some help.”

  Alice jumped to her feet. “My friends are waiting for me. I need to let them know I’ll be a while.”

  Hatta nodded as he knocked against his mirror. “Open my eyes—of course, luv.”

  As Alice slipped out of the office a woman’s voice spilled out of the mirror. The closed door made it impossible to hear what she said, or Hatta’s response. Alice hurried for the front of the bar, passing Maddi still asleep on the counter. Sprigs had joined her, his face buried in his arms.

  Outside, Court had turned off the car and sat scrolling through her phone. Chess had pushed the passenger seat forward and kicked his ankles up to cross them on the open window. Court looked up as Alice approached.

  “About time.” She swatted at Chess’s legs. “Sit up.”

  He grumbled something, and his feet disappeared into the car.

  Alice swallowed a groan as she bent to fold her arms where Chess’s feet had been propped. This was not going to be good. “Change of plans.”

  Court snapped around so fast her neck popped. “What?”

  “I have to stay. For a couple hours.” As each word passed her lips it was like dropping a stone into her stomach.

  Courtney stared at her, fingers tight around the wheel, her knuckles white.

  “I know I said it’d be quick, but something came up and they really need me.” Alice stressed those last few words, hoping Court understood their meaning.

  If she did, there was no sign of it on her face, or anything. Her expression smoothed out completely.

  Shit.

  “It’s Pre B-Day.” Court’s voice was silky as hell. She was pissed.

  “I know.”

  “This has been our thing since we were five.”

  “I—I know.”

  “This is gonna be the biggest, most important day of my life; you’re supposed to share it with me, you’re my best friend.”

  “I know, I know, and of course I’ll share it with you. I’ll even be there for Pre B-Day things, just not all of them.”

  The leather on the wheel whined as Courtney wrung it between her hands.

  “Look, it’s just a lil after four. You still have to take Chess home.”

  “Please don’t bring me into this,” he called from the back seat.

  Alice shot him a look, then turned back to Courtney. “While you do that and maybe grab some dinner or something, I’ll pick up a couple hours, have Maddi give me a ride to your place, be there by seven. Plenty of time for lots of Pre B-Day stuff.” She flashed what she hoped was a winning smile. Love me, it would say. Forgive me.

  Court drew in a hard breath through her nose, then pushed it out through her lips. “Seven sharp, Kingston.”

  Relief swept through Alice, but it was short-lived at the use of her last name. She’s so pissed.

  “Seven sharp.” Alice gave a thumbs-up, then opened the door to grab her things. She unhooked her phone from the charger. Thirty percent, that should be plenty. Chess climbed into the front seat and flashed her an apologetic grin. “See you at the party tomorrow. If, y’know, I make it home alive.” He fastened his seat belt.

  “Shut up, Dumpsky,” Court snapped. “You’re buying my Pre B-Day dinner.”

  “I am?”

  “Yup, since my previous date canceled on me.”

  Alice winced and stepped back from the car as Court started her up and roared off. “That could’ve gone better.” Alice called her mom, explaining that she was gonna hang with Court and Chess for a while, doing some last-minute birthday stuff for tomorrow. Mom said she was going to see Grandma Kingston after work, so Alice needed to figure out dinner for herself tonight.

  “No prob,” Alice said. “Give Nana K. my sugar.”

  “Sure thing. Be careful, Baby Moon.”

  Words caught in Alice’s throat at the nickname. Mom tended to use it without realizing, especially when she was missing him.

  “I will. Love you.”

  Mom reciprocated and Alice hung up, then fought to breathe evenly, to banish the sting behind her eyes before pushing into the pub.

  Hatta was at the bar, mixing a few drinks. Maddi was still knocked out nearby. He glanced up as Alice approached. “All good?”

  “I guess.” She handed him her pack. He handed her an empty belt. She arched an eyebrow. “Um, I like being hands-on as much as the next girl, but isn’t this a bit much?”

  He chuckled and produced two brand-new Figment Blades. “I noticed your other pair was starting to dull.”

  Alice’s lips curled into a smile “Lethal weapons, a girl’s best friend.” She took one of the daggers by its ivory h
andle, admiring the curved, foot-long blade. She ran her thumb against the surface of the hilt. A frown creased her brow. “You don’t just keep these things lying around, waiting for me to break ’em, do you?” Alice tended to go through weapons a little faster than most Dreamwalkers, according to Hatta. She wasn’t sure if that was because she fought more Nightmares, or because her Muchness was lacking. The blades were only as strong as the person wielding them. There was no way to sharpen them, so once they started to dull it usually meant getting another pair.

  “I’m all for preparation, luv, but Dust tends to run in short supply.”

  Dust was an element as natural to Wonderland as fire or water, but far more uncommon. It was produced during the Midnight Breaking, when the sky cracked open and silver particles fell from the heavens like glitter. She’d seen it a few times. Figment Blades were forged from that stuff.

  “I’m not entirely certain what we’re dealing with, so I’m not sure what to tell you to expect.” Hatta finished the drinks he’d been working on, then set them at the end of the bar and snapped his fingers. One of the dudes from the group near the pool tables, white guy, claimed them with a nod that Hatta returned. “So just keep an eye out for anything strange.”

  “Strange.” Alice strapped the belt in place and slipped her new daggers into the sheaths. “You know everything about Wonderland is strange, right?”

  Hatta smiled. “And everyone.”

  “So define strange.”

  “You’ll know it should you see it. Trust me.”

  “So helpful.”

  “I try.” He came around the bar and offered her his arm. “Ready?”

  She nodded and took hold of his elbow, letting him guide her to the back.

  One last mission, to tie up any loose ends. That way, whoever Hatta found to take her place could start off with a clean slate.

  Take my place …

  As they moved down the hall, the idea that someone else would be standing here with Hatta, walking with him, working with him, twisted itself around in her head furiously. She couldn’t be replaced replaced; it would just be another Dreamwalker. Who Hatta would have to spend all his time with, training them, teaching them. Would she get to spend any time with him? Of course she would; they were friends. She was being dramatic.