A Blade So Black

by L. L. McKinney

  At the broom closet, Hatta held the door open for her. Inside, he joined her in the center of the room and curled one arm protectively around her shoulders to pull her in. “Despite everything, I wish I could go with you,” he murmured into her hair.

  She shut her eyes and pressed her face to his chest. “I know.”

  “Ready?”

  She took a handful of deep breaths to shake off the jitters clamoring through her. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Here we go.” Darkness flooded the room when he flipped off the light, save for the sliver of brightness at the base of the door. Soon it vanished. The slight feeling of motion slithered up her legs, like standing in a boat gliding over water. She shut her eyes and tried to focus on anything but what was coming.

  Hatta’s chest rose and fell against hers, slow and steady. His breath tickled the top of her head. A pang of regret centered in her chest. This was one of the last times he’d hold her like this. That they’d be this close. The steady thumping of his heart eased her anxiety, and his spicy-sweet scent like bourbon-flavored cotton candy took the edge off anticipatory nerves. She was going to miss this.

  “Hold tight,” he whispered.

  Then the floor opened and swallowed them whole.

  Six

  CONTRARIWISE

  The sugary scent of Wonderland’s fresh air worked wonders on motion sickness. Alice drank deep gulps, bent forward, hands on her knees.

  “Oh god,” she groaned around a hiccup, glad her diaphragm had ceased trying to worm its way through her guts. She was not going to miss this.

  “Easy now.” Hatta rubbed slow circles between her shoulders, then brushed her face with the back of his hand. “Don’t want you blacking out.”

  Without thinking, she tilted into that touch, his hand cool and soft. His fingers cupped her cheek, and her eyes rose to meet his. They crinkled at the edges as he grinned, and the warmth moving through her intensified with new meaning.

  “I don’t faint.” She tilted against a nearby pillar. The cold of the marble bit through the fabric of her shirt, easing the rising heat in her body and face. The smell of wildflowers and spice tickled her senses. Over Hatta’s shoulder the Gateway glowed faintly, the air curled back like the corners of worn pages.

  “Blacking out and fainting are two different things.” Hatta sat a hand atop her head. “Are you okay?”

  She swallowed and nodded. “I’m good.” She let her gaze wander away from him, over the terrace. It was a skeleton of a structure, crumbling in places, flawless in others, time slowly eating away at it. Daylight dulled the marble’s shine and made the decay stand out even more. “Should’ve grabbed one of Maddi’s potions.”

  “I’ll have her prepare one for your return.” He rubbed her arm in passing on his way to the stairs.

  Beyond the platform, Wimble-Di’Glow Woods spread out around them. The grass shimmered between red and blue like a chameleon. Silver trees shivered in the wind, filling the air with the tinkling of chimes as their crystal-like leaves rustled.

  “In the meantime, I suggest you find a Follyshroom to set you straight,” Hatta said.

  She made a face at the thought of eating one of the tart mushrooms. Of all the edible things in Wonderland, and the odd side effects that went with them, it was a cruel joke to match the ability to settle an upset stomach with something that tasted like sautéed donkey butt.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have one on you?” She smoothed a hand over the front of her shirt and checked her weapons.

  “Nope. But we can find them near water. Lots of it.”

  “Lots of water,” she repeated, her hands on her hips. He couldn’t mean the river. It was at least a day’s journey north and super far out of her way.

  “Mmhm.” He inspected a tie-dyed colored fruit the shape of a banana. “Gratuitous amounts. Which means?”

  Well, it didn’t rain in Wonderland. At least, not unless something was really, really wrong. There was only one place he could be talking about. She groaned. “The Bubbles.”

  He lifted his shoulders, an apologetic smile on his face. “The Bubbles.”

  She hated the Bubbles: a field where mushrooms the size of houses flourished thanks to the beach ball–sized spheres of water given off by weird holes in the ground. The spheres floated through the air, but never went far. They popped at the slightest disturbance, dousing anything in the area, including girls with a fresh press.

  “I just got my hair done.” Alice tugged the dark strands from the ponytail and proceeded to retie them, pinning them and looping the band in a defensive bun.

  “You always ‘just got your hair done.’”

  “You got no idea what it takes to get this straight.” She wiped excess grease from her hair onto her jeans. “Blow-dryers, flat irons, hot combs, hours of sitting still while someone holds what’s essentially a branding iron centimeters from your naked skin.”

  He kept smiling. “Sounds terrifying.”

  She shrugged. “Beauty is pain, as the saying goes.”

  “So it seems.” He glanced in one direction, then the other. “I can go with you as far as the Bubbles. From there you can cut across the Glays plains. Ahoon won’t be much farther than that. Should take an hour at the most.”

  Alice nodded and pushed away from the pillar. The world didn’t spin too hard, but her stomach still burbled angrily.

  As she descended the platform, a faint whoosh behind her signaled the Gateway closing. She paused to watch the open air sew itself shut with a soft sucking sound, then the terrace was empty.

  Hatta offered his arm. She took it and they started on their way. They walked in silence for a while, just … together. Alice could practically hear Courtney’s teasing.

  Thinking about her friend sent a bitterness twisting through Alice’s insides. Court looked soooooo angry. She had every right to be; it was Pre B-Day and Alice pretty much bailed on her. Not for the whole day, but still. She’d never missed any part of Pre B-Day before now.

  “Your mind seems aboil.”

  Alice blinked and glanced up to find Hatta gazing down at her as they walked, those brilliant eyes taking her in. “Uh … what?”

  “Deep in thought. And not a pleasant one I take it—you look like someone just curdled your whompus.”

  Alice stopped. She stared at Hatta. He blinked at her. Then she busted out laughing, and this was a good laugh, had her bent over and everything. When she managed to catch her breath and straighten, they continued. “I promise my … whompus is just fine.” More than a year of stuff like this, and it still managed to completely catch her off guard.

  “Good.” His smile widened, and he patted her hand, his skin warm in contrast to the cool touch of his rings. “A curdled whompus is a fairly unfortunate situation.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” She wiped a couple tears from her eyes, then looked up to gauge the time. Hard to do without a sun, but the sky had already sewn itself shut and washed afternoon green instead of morning pink. The Mending, the sky recovering from the Breaking, marked “noon” in Wonderland. It was a beautiful twelve-hour cycle where the heavens would shatter, then heal.

  As they went along, Hatta talked about how this area used to be famous for its produce; all sorts of funky fruits and vegetables would grow here, most of them delicious.

  “There would be festivals during the harvest, grand parties the royal family would attend.” He smiled, going on about the decorations, the music, the food.

  It was good to see him like this, so bright and lively. He didn’t talk about the past. She understood that, not wanting to go back. Afraid of having to return. It was the same reason she didn’t like talking about how things were before losing her dad. It seemed like so long ago. Another world. Another life.

  “So this area was pretty busy?” Alice asked.

  “Very, comparatively. War tends to leave things less … vibrant.”

  “Where did everyone go?”

  He rolled his should
ers in that I’m-pretending-this-doesn’t-bother-me way of his. “Away from the Gateways. More humans, more Nightmares trying to get through, more problems for the locals. The Queens decided relocation was best for lots of villages and towns.”

  That explained why she never ran into any other Wonderlandians. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. “The Queens decide a lot.” She tried not to sound salty. And failed.

  “That’s what Queens do.”

  “Do they still have festivals?” Alice asked. “They” being the Red and White Queens. Well, the White Queen, mostly. The Red Queen vanished long before Alice became a Dreamwalker, leaving the White Queen to rule alone—but not before she and her sister banished Hatta and a few others for their crimes during the war. Alice had never met either Queen, but she’d have words with them about this exile thing if she ever got the chance.

  “No.” His smile fell slightly as he shook his head. “At least, not the one this area was known for. I’m sure there are others, but I’m not exactly up-to-date on royal social events. It’s not like I can attend them.” He probably meant it to be funny, but it only irritated Alice.

  The war was so long ago, and he’d done so much good since. “That doesn’t outweigh the bad,” Hatta would say. Which, okay, yeah, he had a point. A pretty valid one. That didn’t mean she had to like it. And the war was pretty horrible—like most wars—from what she’d pieced together talking to him and Maddi. Hell, it split Wonderland in half. Not like physically, but one kingdom ruled by one Queen became two. A family and a people fell apart.

  “I still don’t think it’s fair,” Alice pressed.

  Hatta groaned faintly, shoving a hand through his green hair. “I thought we were past this.”

  “You might be, but I’m angry enough for the both of us.”

  “It can’t be help—”

  “I know, I know, but I can still complain. I mean, the Black Queen started this mess. It’s not your fault.”

  “But I made a choice.” Hatta kept his eyes on the path. His shoulders tensed, his jaw set. “I thought it was the right one. Just like her.” After her youngest daughter died, the Queen of Harts tried to harness the power of the Nox to bring her back.

  Maybe it wasn’t the smart thing, but when you lose someone like that? They’re just gone? There’s this hole inside you you’d give anything to fill. You don’t think, you don’t plan, you just pour shit into it, anything that will fit. Sometimes, it’s bad shit.

  Alice understood that much. “Yeah, but you didn’t stick with the choice. She did.”

  The Nox corrupted the Queen of Harts, turning her into the Black Queen. Consumed by rage and pain, she used her new, dark powers to raise an army of Nightmares unnaturally, making them even more deadly.

  “And her people, her family, paid the price. I was part of that,” Hatta said. “Even if I didn’t see it through, I’m still responsible.” The Queen’s remaining daughters tried to talk her down, but it was too late. The influence of the Nox was too strong. If they were going to keep the rising darkness from consuming both Wonderland and the real world, they had to fight their mother. This led to the war, one the Red and White Queens almost lost.

  “But your switching sides changed the game.” Before Hatta defected, the Black Queen and her most loyal and lethal warrior, the Black Knight, nearly destroyed everything. Then Hatta gave the Red and White Queens the secret he discovered to the Black Queen’s weakness, something to do with her heart. She and her knight were defeated, Wonderland came under the rule of the Red and White Queens, and there’d been peace ever since. Mostly. “And as a reward they exiled you. Yeah, it was better than execution, but you’re clearly happier here than on earth.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You get all bright and colorful when you’re here. No, for real.” She flapped a hand in a vague gesture at him when he arched an eyebrow. “You hair is brighter, your eyes glow, even your skin shines kinda. You perk right up like a daisy.”

  That made him laugh, his shoulders rolling back as his posture eased into his usual slouch. “I’m more of an orchid.”

  “You can make jokes, but I’m serious. They may not have cut off your head, but cutting you off from the place that literally feeds your life force is just as bad.” Sure, Hatta could survive in the real world, but people from Wonderland could never go too far from the Gateways or they’d fade.

  “Oh, I don’t know, the human world has its charms. Cotton candy, for instance.”

  Alice snorted. “Yeah, and it’s got plenty of problems.”

  “It’s got you.”

  She nearly tripped over her own feet at that. The butterflies in her stomach took a nosedive at the jostle, and her insides felt like they might upend themselves. She slapped a hand over her mouth with a groan, the back of her throat burning but tingling at the same time. “Oh no.”

  The world tilted to the side, but a hand on her arm helped steady her. “Nearly there, luv.”

  By the time the shining spheres of water came into sight, floating in the sky just over the approaching hill, she was ready to dive headfirst into an ocean if it meant settling her stomach.

  “This is where we part ways, milady.” Hatta moved his hand down to hers and held it. He traced his thumb along the backs of her fingers, his face slightly strained.

  “What’s wrong?” Alice asked, concern a needle between her shoulders.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. Just a little farther in than I’ve been in a while.”

  That needle became a knife. She’d been so caught up in her nausea she hadn’t noticed the obvious pain Hatta had to be in this far from the Gateway. The Verse that exiled him only allowed him so far into Wonderland, to facilitate his duties as a Gatekeeper, training his Dreamwalker and the like. He’d explained that it was like wearing one of those invisible fence collars that shock the weaver when it passes over the boundary, only instead of being around his neck it was around his heart.

  “Oh my god,” Alice squeaked. She wasn’t even embarrassed; all she felt was guilt. “I’m so sorry.”

  Hatta shook his head. “This is only ever my fault. I need to get back.”

  “Y-yeah, of course.” She nodded. And nodded. And nodded—god, why was she such a goober. “You’ll be all right, though?”

  “I’m not worried about me.” He lifted her hand, hesitated a beat, then pressed his other one on top of it. “Take care, luv. I’ll be waiting.”

  Alice’s heart stuttered in her chest as she stuttered over her words. “Y-you’re the one who needs to take care. Go, go.” She pulled her hand free and turned him around, pushing him back the way they came. “Hurry up before you pass out on me.”

  Hatta chuckled as he went, lifting a hand to wave over his shoulder. “I don’t faint.”

  “If you do, I’m kicking your butt. Go!” She waved him on and watched him for several seconds before turning to continue on her way. She couldn’t help stealing a couple glances after him, to make sure he didn’t fall over or something. By the time she reached the hilltop he was a blot barely discernible against the chameleon-colored grass. She lifted her arm above her head to wave, hoping he saw her, then started downhill toward the Bubbles.

  It didn’t take long to collect a piece of Follyshroom, but all hopes of remaining dry had been popped early on. Literally. Alice grumbled as she tromped along, glad to put the soggy landscape behind her. Her shoes squelched, and her bangs were already coiling against her forehead like springs. When they dried, they’d fan out like frizzy plumage. Thankfully, the knot at the back of her head kept the damage minimal. And at least the Follies had eased her nausea.

  As she ventured farther along the Glays plains, the sky paled to palettes of gray and white. Ahoon wasn’t far now. A change filtered through the atmosphere, through the land itself. The faint scent of smoke and coals left the air bitter. Grass didn’t grow as tall, and there was less of it. Patches of cracked earth peeked through, as if the ground was balding. The
trees thinned out, their bare branches like spindly arms reaching for the sky, or scattered and broken.

  Coming upon a road, she stopped. Clusters of aged cobblestone marked the route like islands in a river of dirt. She followed them, keeping to the path until it eventually split. According to a weathered sign posted in the fork, the turnoff led toward what remained of the small village of Ahoon. The other way led to some place she couldn’t pronounce. The ache in her arm returned full force. The break had been bad. She’d told her mother she’d fallen down the stairs at Court’s house.

  Massaging the muscle through her sleeve, she hesitated, the fingers of her free hand tapping the hilt of one blade. She took a steadying breath before starting forward. Every now and again a shadow danced along the edge of her vision. She did her best to ignore them; they were just Shadow-Wisps—Wisps affected by the Nightmare before it was killed. They weren’t strong enough to result in a full-formed Nightmare rising; she needed to keep looking for other signs.

  The closer she drew to the village, the kill site, the more the land seemed to be affected but not tainted—there was a difference. There were signs that life was slowly coming back to the area, a few fledgling plants here, a faint critter call there, but nothing near as vibrant as the rest of Wonderland. Even the wind had fallen still, silent. The immensity of nothing went on in every direction.

  Everything’s fine. You’re fine. Calmed though still alert, she put one foot in front of the other. Eventually, the crumbling remains of half-formed houses and shops came into view, jutting up from the ground like bones. Stone blackened from fire, wood splintered and rotting seemed to suck the daylight from the air, leaving a shadowy haze over the entire village. She slowed, her eyes dancing over the ruins. Anything could be hiding here in the shadows, waiting to pounce. Her hands on the pommels of her daggers, she stepped over what remained of a wall.

  Ahoon was small, but the emptiness made it seem so much larger. It reminded her of something out of the Middle Ages, old and fantastical even in decay. The main square lay ahead. Every half-fallen wall, decrepit doorway, and shrouded corner wound her a little tighter than before. Like in the woods, there were signs that nature was beginning the daunting task of reclaiming this area. Maybe the people would eventually return as well, then harvest those fruits and vegetables Hatta talked about.