A Blade So Black

by L. L. McKinney

  He was.

  Trapped in his mind, as Maddi had explained it, living horrors known only to him.

  And it’s my fault.

  She reached for his hand, but hesitated. Her touch did this. So stupid, how had she not seen it? The Black Knight played her, and now Hatta was …

  The ache in her chest cut off the thought. No, this wasn’t going to happen. The knight wasn’t going to win. Alice would find him and beat answers out of him if she had to. He was going to find this kitten had claws.

  “Got it.” Maddi entered the room, Hatta’s phone lifted like a baton. Alice recognized the case covered in teacups. “Spoke with the Duchess. There’s a way to help him.” Maddi paused, her attention on Hatta.

  Swiping her eyes, Alice cleared her throat to untie the knot lodged in it. “What did she say?”

  “The Heart.”

  “The … what now?”

  Maddi moved to lay a hand to his forehead, then pressed two fingers to his neck. “The Black Queen used the Heart to infect her victims, but it can cure them, too. The Red and White Queens hid the Heart. Only they know where to find it, and only a member of the royal family can then use it.” She wrung the phone in her hands. “You have to fetch that piece of the puzzle.”

  Alice snorted a laugh that didn’t have any real joy behind it. “And how am I supposed to ‘fetch’ a member of the royal family?”

  “By asking very, very nicely. Follow me.” Maddi led the way out of the room.

  Alice hesitated, reluctant to leave Hatta’s side, but followed Maddi out into the pub.

  As Alice slid onto a stool, she stole a glance at the cat clock on the wall. He wagged his tail and cut his eyes back and forth, marking the seconds. Mom wouldn’t be home for another few hours, giving Alice time to concentrate on helping Hatta.

  Maddi slipped behind the bar, chewing her nails. “The Red Queen is missing, so that leaves us with one person who can help.” She rapped her knuckles three times against the mirrored wall behind the bar. “Open my eyes.”

  The surface rippled like troubled waters. The bottles lining the shelves in front of the mirror vanished, along with the reflected image of the bar itself. When the waves settled, the mirror appeared more like a window.

  Wonderland, with its pink-tinged sky and wildly colored plants, stretched out before her. The scene sped through the Glow as if it were on fast-forward, a bird’s-eye view that crossed the Bubbles and ventured into distant territories. Eventually, everything slowed as the image came upon a castle.

  “Where?” Alice whispered. Sparkling spires reached toward the sky. Archways and columns circled the levels lined with parapets cast in silver, polished marble, and crystal. The castle glistened like a jewel. Something about it pulled at her mind, a ghostly touch of familiarity.

  “Legracia, the White Palace. Go and tell the White Queen what happened—we need their help.” Maddi tapped the mirror again and the image faded, returning it to its original state, the bottles reappearing. “The Tweedles will meet you partway. Together, you’ll go to Legracia, ask the Queen to reveal the location of the Heart; you go get it and bring them both back so she can use the Heart to cure Hatta.”

  Alice gazed at her reflection as she absorbed the information. Go to Legracia, get the White Queen, bring her and the Heart back. Alice’s mind bubbled like a pot left to boil too long.

  Blinking rapidly, she lifted her hands, waving them in the air. “Waitwaitwait. You want me to go to the White Queen and convince her to come help someone she tossed out of Wonderland on his ass. I don’t know what happened between them; I don’t know anything other than the Black Queen went bananas and started killing people, her daughters had to stop her, and people were exiled; it—I need something to work with here. Give me the whole story.”

  For a moment Maddi didn’t say anything, just stared at Alice with this look on her face like she was debating whether or not to let her in on some secret. After the cat clock above the bar wagged two minutes’ worth of tail flips, she set her hand to the mirror again.

  The surface wavered and shifted, revealing the image of another castle. The spires reached just as high as Legracia’s and shone just as bright, but the structure was wider, struck with more earthy colors, the stone appearing gold in the daylight. Larger, and more and more stunning the longer Alice gazed at it, this castle put Legracia to shame.

  “This is Castle Emes, home to Her Royal Highness Portentia of Harts, High Queen of all Wonderland.” Maddi’s voice was soft, wistful almost. “Before she became the Black Queen.” She waved her hand, and the image shifted, taking them into the castle. A world of gold glass reflected light every which way, painting the palace with cold flames. A throne sat at the center of the room, and on it perched a woman, her hair pulled back from her elfin face. Her flawless skin was rich copper and shine, almost as if a sheen of metal had been cast against her flesh.

  “The Queen of Harts ruled with the love of her people and her daughters.” The image revealed two girls who didn’t look much older than Alice standing on either side of the throne, and a third little girl sitting in Portentia’s lap. The child looked sweet, with a round, brown face and eyes the color of earth. Her hair was cotton candy pink and pulled into poofy pigtails atop her head. She couldn’t be more than seven or eight. Well, the Wonderland equivalent of seven or eight.

  One of her older sisters had red hair pleated away from her face and left to fall against her back in long braids, her skin like bronzed mahogany. There was something strikingly familiar about her slate gray eyes: sharp, focused, though sparkling with a hint of knowing mischief. The slight twist of her lips silently spoke of the same. The image shifted to the other daughter. Her skin was whipped-cream white, and her hair the color of snow. It fell over her shoulders, long enough to reach the floor. A warm smile stretched her slightly rounded face, and her dark eyes held such kindness.

  “Mm. Almost forgot what they looked like.” Maddi gazed at the image, sadness deepening lines in her face Alice had never noticed before. She sniffed before touching the mirror again. The scene warped into a forest Alice didn’t recognize. A massive tree, several of its roots arching out of the ground, stood nestled amid bushes covered in violet leaves and sprouting roses.

  Between the roots, small fingers dug at the grass, pulling, working, until a little white girl emerged from a hovel, hidden at the base of the tree. The girl, who looked as young as the small princess, pushed her hairband up from her plump face and glanced around. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

  Alice smiled faintly. She’d reacted similarly her first time in Wonderland. The little girl quickly repositioned the headband, brushed dirt from the previously white apron tied over her blue dress, and hurried into the forest. She was adorable, from her curly blond hair to her shiny little Mary Janes.

  “She comes and goes, the first human in Wonderland. First to walk the dreams. To fly and—” Maddi lifted a finger before rooting around behind the bar. Emerging with another teal potion, she downed it and nearly hacked up a lung again. “I hate using these.”

  She turned back to the image of the little girl. “This child was the first human being to set foot in Wonderland. The first Dreamwalker, although unintentional. To this day, no one’s entirely sure how she managed to cross over, only that she did, and her presence set off a chain reaction within Wonderland’s very makeup. That child crossing the Veil did something to it, weakened it, changed it, we’re not sure. The result was the Nightmares became aware and started to try to cross it, to get to this world. At least, more frequently than they had in the past, to horrible effect.”

  “Right.” Nightmares were attracted to humans. Ironic, humans being the only things that could kill them.

  Maddi tapped the mirror again, and an image of the Glow faded into view. The human girl ran in circles, laughing as she chased the young princess with pink pigtails. “Princess Odette befriended the child. The two were inseparable for years, the human visiting Wonderland
frequently. No one knew what was happening with the Nightmares at first. There were more sightings and attacks, but those had been increasing steadily over time anyway, due to the increase in the human population. Then, one day, both girls vanished in the Glow. A search party went after them. Days passed before the princess’s body was discovered.” The heaviness in her voice was so foreign. Alice wouldn’t have believed it was Maddi if she wasn’t sitting in the same room, watching the words fall from her lips.

  The sorrowful tone tugged at her heart, but not as much as the image of the Queen and her two remaining daughters mourning near a small casket of crystal, the young princess resting inside. When the Queen threw herself atop the coffin, Alice had to look away, thankful the images didn’t come with sound.

  “The human girl was never found,” Maddi continued, her voice thick. “Grief-stricken, Portentia sought the growing darkness left in the human child’s wake, hoping to restore Odette’s life.”

  Mercifully, the image shifted to the Queen alone, locked in some gloomy room. Reading by firelight, she frantically flipped pages, her attention rapt, her face gaunt and dark rings hugging her eyes.

  “But nothing worked. She blamed the human world for her pain, saying if the child had never entered Wonderland, the princess would still be alive. Eventually, the darkness warped her mind. She became the Black Queen, and her kingdom transformed into the Harrows, dark heart of the Nox. Her ambitions turned from reviving her lost child to taking her revenge on mankind. But without humanity, Wonderland would not be. Destroying them would be destroying us, too, so some of us fought against her. The Black Queen ripped apart anyone who stood in her way.”

  The image shifted to the view of the palace, but the golden glow of Castle Emes was gone, now dark and shadowed. The entire palace was misshapen, formed from broken crystal with hard lines and jagged edges fused together like bone that hadn’t healed correctly. Dark clouds swirled to fill the skies. Red lightning struck the ground.

  Within the palace the Black Queen sat on her throne. Gone was Portentia’s gentle bronze skin, replaced with harshness the color of stone. Her eyes were snow white, cold, and her features still beautiful—but pointed and sharp. Darkness and living shadow filled hidden corners of the room, enveloped her body, dancing and coiling, occasionally exposing naked skin. Beside her stood the original Black Knight. Alice shuddered. This one was taller, his armor more medieval, ragged and sharp, formed from the monstrous dark. The Vorpal Blade hung at his hip.

  “Portentia’s eldest daughters knew she had to be stopped, but couldn’t bring themselves to kill her. So, with the help of Hatta, the Duchess, and a few others who once fought for the Black Queen but now saw what was in store for us all, the princesses mounted their forces for a final assault. It was a hard battle; so many died, but they won. They sealed her away deep in the Nox and scattered her items of power to prevent her resurrection. Then they split the kingdom, became the Queens Red and White.”

  Maddi wasn’t looking at the mirror. In fact, she had her back to it. When she pulled her hand away, the surface distorted, shattered, then re-formed to its original state, bottles and all. “Hatta and those like him were exiled, but given a duty to guard weak points in the Veil that had been discovered. They were then charged with finding Dreamwalkers, humans sensitive to the Veil, to help protect it. It’s funny. A human started all this, and now humans are the only ones strong enough to keep it from escalating. Sure, we can fight the Nightmares, but not like you. You hold the greatest power over your fears.”

  That made Alice feel like shit. Sure, none of that was her fault, but still. She slid from her seat, then made her way around the bar to wrap her arms around Maddi. The Poet stiffened, blinking up at her.

  “Thanks. I know going through all of that had to be hard.”

  Maddi relaxed enough to return the hug. After a squeeze, they parted. Maddi started mopping the countertop, and Alice went for her discarded backpack, tossed to the other side of the room when she first ran to Hatta.

  “Is that why he wants the Eye?” she asked. “To resurrect the Black Queen or whatever?”

  Maddi stilled, her shoulders hunching slightly. “That is one possibility. The Eye can do many things, if you can use it. But our focus is on the Heart now.”

  “How long will it take to get to Legracia?”

  “Once you cross over, four, maybe five days.”

  Shit. That was going to take much longer than a couple hours. Maybe. She could go in, travel for a week, but return to find she’d only been gone an hour. Or an actual week. Freaking Wonderland.

  “Okay, but if I go, someone needs to keep an eye on my mom. The Black Knight was in my freaking house, and he’s going after people I care about. I can’t leave her without protection.”

  “One sec.” Maddi hurried down the back hall, her footsteps clapping against the tile. She returned several seconds later, Alice’s Figment Blades and belt in hand. “Take these with you.”

  Alice shoved the daggers into her backpack. She already felt a bit better. “Thanks. What about while I’m gone?”

  “The Duchess and I will take care of everything. We’ll make sure she’s well-guarded. I swear.”

  That was somewhat comforting. Alice had never seen Maddi fight, or heard anyone say she could, but it was better than nothing. Maybe she could convince Mom to spend some time with Grandma Kingston or something.

  “Okay, okay, so I’m gonna need to grab a few things from home before crossing.” And change her clothes. There was no way she was wearing a pair of good jeans and booties on a four-day trek through the wilderness.

  “I’ll get you some supplies, rations and stuff. You’ll be back soon?” Maddi asked, a slightly desperate tinge to her voice.

  “I can’t leave until late. I’m kinda grounded, so I’m gonna have to sneak out.”

  Maddi arched an eyebrow. “You have a plan for that?”

  “The start of one. I’ll figure it out. Hopefully, I can manage this before shit hits the fan.” She shrugged into her pack. “Call me if anything changes with Hatta?”

  Maddi gave her a thumbs-up, and Alice headed out. On the train home, worry ate at Alice like an infection. She tried calling Courtney to let her know what was going on at least. Straight to voice mail.

  “Fine, if she wants to be like that.” She sent a text with a breakdown of what was happening and noting that she had to go into Wonderland. She didn’t know how long, but it would be longer than anytime before and she might need a cover, especially since she was supposed to be grounded, if Court was done being mad at her for being late to her party because she nearly freaking died.

  Uuuuggggh! After a few calming breaths—irritating as hell—she called Chess.

  He picked up on the first ring, like always. “Hey.”

  “Hey. Look, I gotta cancel, no, ask for a rain check on our undate tonight.”

  “Uh-huh. Problem at work?”

  She scoffed. “Way to sound broken up about it. And no, a friend is really sick and I gotta help ’em out.” Then there was the whole being-grounded thing.

  “Oh…”

  That’s right, oh. Jerk. But she couldn’t be mad. Not for real. He didn’t know what was really going on. Courtney did. On top of that, Alice and Chess almost … she wasn’t sure, but the memory sent this fluttery feeling through her and, ugh, this was not the time.

  “Who?” he asked, sounding all interested now.

  “Friend of the family. If you talk to Court, tell her I sent her a message and it’s important. She doesn’t have to talk to me, just read it.”

  “Okay. Look, Alice, I didn’t mean—”

  “I know. It’s cool, talk to you later.” She hung up, anger and a billion other emotions simmering through her as she shifted against the uncomfortable plastic seat. The city whipped by outside her window as they rode over the platform just outside Little China, the angled buildings modeled after old Hong Kong architecture, pale and rustic in the daylight.

  He
r phone buzzed in her hand. Chess. She didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say to him, and she couldn’t get wrapped up in that right now. She had to focus. She’d deal with it all when she got back and after Hatta was cured. Her phone buzzed again. Her annoyance spiked, until she saw a message from her mom.

  On my way home. Did you take the beef out of the freezer?

  She hadn’t. “Shit. Shit shit shit shit.”

  “Hey!” An old Chinese lady a few seats in front of her turned around, frowning. “Language, young lady.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Alice responded automatically. “Sorry.”

  Shaking her head, the lady faced forward, muttering something about kids.

  Alice sank in her seat. How the hell was she gonna do this?

  Thirteen

  HURRY

  By the time Alice climbed the fence and dropped into her backyard, she had formed what she hoped was a solid plan. She’d sneak out tonight and leave a note saying she went to school early. She hadn’t since she stopped playing softball, but it was believable. As far as skipping class, it was risky as hell, but an email from her mom should cover her. Unless they did something like call to confirm, but hopefully it wouldn’t go that far. If it did, detention, suspension, or whatever they threw at her was more than worth saving Hatta’s life.

  Alice couldn’t see the driveway from here, but she didn’t think Mom was home yet. At least she hadn’t gotten any furious texts or calls. She slipped into the kitchen, one Figment Blade in hand. A careful search of the house, closets included, left her confident that she was alone, at least for now. She slipped the dagger back into her pack and set it on the kitchen counter before going for the freezer and yanking out the beef. It was forbidden, but she tossed it on a plate and shoved it in the microwave, hitting defrost. Fifteen minutes. She’d check on it in five.

  There was no telling how much time she had to get things together for tonight, so she better get started. Upstairs, she packed a bag, throwing in an extra set of clothes, just in case. Once she was sure she had everything she needed, she headed downstairs to check the garage for anything that might look useful.