A Blade So Black

by L. L. McKinney

Alice barked a laugh, shaking her head. “You back on that, huh.”

  “Always. You two are my OTP.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Though Chess might be looking to give Hatta a run for his money,” Court singsonged.

  “Okay, now I know you buggin’.”

  “I’m just sayin’, I see the way he looks at you when you’re not lookin’.”

  “And what way is that?”

  Court heaved a dramatic sigh. “Seriously, where did I go wrong with you?”

  Alice shook her head, though she couldn’t ignore that bit of warmth that filled her face at Court’s talk about Chess. “Let’s worry about this heist and keeping my black ass out of prison, then you can worry about my love life.”

  “And what about my white ass?” Court asked, feigning indignation.

  “It’s white, so it’ll be just fine. Hell, they might give you a medal for bringing me in.”

  Court humphed. “I could hang it on my wall.”

  “Girl, shut up!” Alice laughed. Court did, too. It felt good. Okay, one to go. Let’s do this.

  * * *

  Alice checked her phone for the third time as they climbed the stairs to her door. 9:16 PM. And no calls. No messages. To anyone else, this might be a good sign. To Alice, it meant one thing: DEFCON 1.

  Court squeezed one of Alice’s hands as she lifted the keys in the other. She barely touched the lock when the door flew open and her mom filled the frame, all silent rage, nightgown, and curlers.

  “Get your ass in this house.” She pushed the quiet words from behind her teeth, then stepped back so the girls could enter.

  “It’s still my fault, Mrs. K,” Courtney started. “I took Chess home first because he was closest and—”

  Mom clamped her fingers together in the air, and Court shut up. She wasn’t her child, but she knew that wouldn’t save her. Mom glanced between the two of them, and Alice did her best not to look away. The silence was way worse than any yelling. The quiet before the mother of all storms. The muscle at the back of Mom’s jaw kept working as she ground her teeth.

  “I said eight thirty.”

  Alice didn’t say a word. Neither did Courtney.

  “I meant eight thirty. Since you can’t manage to tell time between the both of you, I will be dropping you off at school in the morning and Mrs. Hughes will be picking you up.”

  Alice’s stomach dropped to her feet. “But we—”

  “I’m not finished.” Mom’s expression didn’t budge even when she shouted. She cleared her throat. “When you get home, you will call me from the house phone to let me know you are here. You will do whatever homework you have, then start dinner. After, you’ll do those dishes and clean whatever else around here I can think of. Then you will go up to that room and sit. No TV, no computer, just you thanking God for how he blessed you—against all odds and my patience—to see another day. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Now, gimme your phone.” Mom held out her hand, and Alice placed it on her palm. It disappeared into one of the pockets on her robe. She turned to Courtney, who jumped slightly. She’d been watching with eyes the size of dinner plates. “Your tire okay?”

  “Y-yes, ma’am.”

  “Your daddy get you a spare?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “He teach you how to change it?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Mom snorted. “Tell him I said he should. Can’t have my girl getting stranded out there, maybe by herself next time.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Say your good-byes.” Mom gestured between them.

  Court mumbled a “see you tomorrow” that Alice returned before Court headed out the door.

  “Drive safe.” Mom held open the screen, watching Court head for her car. “Text Alice’s phone when you get in.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Court called. The driver-side door thumped shut, and the Camaro started up.

  Mom closed the door as Court drove off, the sound of the engine fading.

  Alice stood in the middle of the den, not quite sure what to do with herself. She felt two feet tall.

  Mom tied her robe and folded her arms over her chest. “You know better than this. And now I have to go in late ’cause you act like you don’t. You got homework?”

  “A paper. English.”

  “Due when?”

  “Next week.”

  “Lights out at midnight. Shove that laptop under my door. I’ll give it back in the morning.” Mom brushed past her and headed for the stairs.

  * * *

  By the third set of search results for “How to Break into a Building,” Alice was convinced that any second now the FBI, CIA, and any number of acronym-armed men in black suits would burst through her front door.

  “It’s all videos of guys doing stupid crap.” Court’s voice carried over Alice’s headphones.

  “Did you really think they’d put legit instructions for this online?” Alice knelt in the space between her bed and dresser, going over the supplies she’d stealthily gathered from the garage: some rope, cargo hooks, hammer, wrench, two cans of spray paint for the cameras—it worked in the movies—duct and electric tape, all just in case Chess was missing something from his burglar kit. That still tripped her out. Chess, sweet-smile-and-soft-eyes Chess, breaking into buildings. Man. She kept throwing glances at the door, nervous Mom might pop in for a random search or something.

  “They have instructions for how to make a bomb. Figured this isn’t as bad,” Court said from Alice’s laptop, where it sat on the floor nearby.

  “You keep thinking that.” She stole a glance at the clock. 2:13 AM. “You almost here?”

  “Five minutes. Meet me at the end of the block?”

  It was craziness, sneaking out after all this mess, but she didn’t have a choice. Hopefully—God please—they’d be back before her mom woke up. Court could take the mirror to the pub, and Alice would figure out a way to get over there tomorrow.

  “End of the block. See you in five.” Alice shut the laptop and hopped to her feet, wriggling into her pack.

  A quick glance down the hall showed Mom’s door shut and the light off. Alice crept as quietly as she could toward the door, slipped the laptop under it, then headed for the garage for one last thing.

  The same gassy, oily smell lingered in the air. She clicked on the light and made her way over to the workbench. The same tightness from before wrapped itself around her lungs. She took a steadying breath and set her hand on the chilled metal surface.

  “I need your help, Daddy. To save someone else important to me.” Carefully pulling open the top drawer, she plucked free the crowbar before eyeing the empty space where it sat.

  “Know your resources, Baby Moon,” she could hear him say. “Right tool for the right job in the right hands? Anything is possible.”

  The sting of tears resurged with a vengeance. “No,” Alice whispered, taking slow, deep breath after slow, deep breath. She couldn’t do this right now, couldn’t go into the dark. “Please,” she begged the emptiness. Leave her be. Just for now. Just long enough to get this done.

  She couldn’t lose anyone else. Not again.

  Sniffling, she closed the drawer and turned off the light. The garage door was only a few feet from the front one, but it may as well have been a mile. Stealing glances at the top of the stairs, expecting her mother to appear at any second, Alice didn’t breathe until she was outside and racing toward the end of the street, the lights of Court’s car beckoning.

  Alice threw herself into the front seat and gestured for Court to go. She didn’t relax or stop glancing out the back window until they left the neighborhood completely.

  * * *

  Court parked on a side street a few blocks from the school, like Chess said to. He told them to meet him on the north side of the school and to leave their phones in the car. Alice was salty all over again for having hers confiscated. Neither of them said a word, anxious ener
gy ping-ponging between them, rising with each step. The chill did little to calm Alice’s buzzing nerves. Every muscle tensed to the point of shaking. She felt like she might come apart at any second.

  Court’s pale face stuck out in the moonlight, faintly flushed from running and the cold, floating between her black wool cap and thief getup. She looked like something out of a sitcom, though her wide eyes darted around every few seconds.

  The girls slowed as they approached the school, ducking behind a wall of shrubbery surrounding a house next door.

  “Can’t believe we’re really gonna do this.” Court rubbed her gloved hands together.

  Alice shot her a look. “You sound way more excited than someone about to commit a felony should.”

  “Oh, this wouldn’t count as a felony. Just burglary. Not even theft, ’cause we’re taking something that already belongs to you.”

  Blinking at her friend in the dark, Alice shook her head. “How do you know this?”

  “Google,” Court chirped. “Didn’t learn how to break into a school, but there was a lot more interesting stuff.”

  Keeping low, the girls circled around to where they were pretty sure Chess said to meet them.

  “Pssst,” a nearby bush whispered. A hand extended and beckoned them.

  They hurried over, joining Chess, who’d also dressed for the occasion. “You two ready for this?”

  They nodded.

  “Good. What’s in the bag?”

  Alice unzipped it. “Few things I figured wouldn’t hurt. Just in case.”

  Chess rifled through before pulling out the crowbar. “Very nice.”

  “Careful with that, it’s my dad’s.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Okay, we’re gonna go in low and fast. Stay on me, move when I move, okay?”

  The girls nodded again.

  “Let’s go.”

  It wasn’t too far from the bushes to the nearest wing, and the three of them crossed the yard at a run, Chess in the lead. Frost-slick grass squeaked under their shoes, their steps thudding faintly in the dark. They reached the outer wall and pressed against it, chests heaving, pants escaping in bursts of mist. The chill of the brick at her side crawled through Alice’s clothes, licking at her skin.

  Chess peered around the far corner, then over his shoulder at them. “We’re gonna run, on three.” He counted up with his fingers, and the three of them took off, Alice and Court on Chess’s ass.

  They made it to the other side of the building, ducking into an alcove where the air conditioners and furnaces were tucked away. The machines growled and rattled, pumping heat into the building. All this noise was sure to mask any noise they made, from the outside at least.

  “Give me a boost.” Chess pointed to a window about four feet above their heads.

  Court lifted her hands. “You’re the superhero.”

  Alice glared at her before crouching down and lacing her fingers together for Chess to place his foot. “On three. One, two, three,” she grunted, heaving as Chess pushed off.

  “W-whoa!” He went up pretty fast, but Alice was able to get underneath him, guiding his feet to her shoulders.

  The two of them wavered for a second, then held.

  “Wow,” Chess whispered.

  “Be impressed later,” Alice grunted. “Get to work.” Chess’s shoes dug into her shoulders till she felt his weight in her bones.

  There was a bit of clanging, a shrill grind, then a hard snap. “I’m in! Push me up.”

  Chess’s weight eased a bit—he’d probably grabbed hold of something—and Alice got her hands under his feet to give him a shove. She turned just in time to see him disappear through the window. His face reappeared long enough for him to hiss, “wait here,” then he was gone again.

  “You are such a badass,” Court whispered, shaking her head.

  Alice grinned. “Thanks.”

  Both girls watched the dark window as seconds ticked by. The seconds stretched into one minute. Then two. It felt like ten, and Alice would’ve believed it was if she wasn’t counting the seconds off in her head.

  At three minutes, Court cursed under her breath. “What the hell is he doing?”

  Another fifteen seconds slugged by.

  Alice was just considering going and searching for him when a clank from above made both girls leap away from the wall and whirl around. The window overhead slid up, and Chess poked his head out.

  “Up and at ’em, ladies.” He extended the crowbar.

  “You first,” Alice said to Courtney. With Chess pulling and Alice lifting, Court climbed through the window with ease. Once she was inside, Alice backed up a few feet, took a short running leap, caught the edge of the sill, and hauled herself up. She spilled into the room, landing beside Court in a crouch.

  “Wow,” Chess murmured, his eyes were on Alice, his hand out to help her up.

  She cleared her throat, rising with a thanks, grateful her gloves concealed her sweaty palms. “Security system?”

  “Took care of it.” Chess headed for the door. “We’ve got about twenty minutes.”

  “And how do you know how to do that?” Court asked.

  “Now, now,” Alice said. “Play nice now; interrogate later.”

  “Oh, there will be a later,” Court murmured.

  Out in the hall, the echoes of their steps filled the building as they raced to the third floor, the dull shine of security lights guiding their way.

  Alice reached her locker first, the other two sliding in behind her as she spun the lock. The mirror glinted when the door clanged open. Oh, thank you. She didn’t expect it to not be there, but seeing it safe and sound settled a rising unrest inside her.

  She plucked the mirror free, wrapped it in a dish towel, and tucked it into the pack before slinging it over her shoulders. “Okay.”

  “Perfect.” Chess grinned. “Plenty of time to make our getaw—”

  Court screamed, the sound raking against Alice’s ears, sending shards through her body. She caught a glimpse of the horror etched on her friend’s face, eyes fixed at the end of the hall, as she spun, and froze.

  Dread dropped cold and hard in her stomach. The world went out of focus. Everything dissolved in shades of fractured gray, falling away as a low snarl slithered across the floor.

  A Fiend paced forward, its limbs hunched, hackles raised, leathery skin pulled back from fangs. “There you are.” Its inky hide reflected the pale flare of hazy light.

  Alice’s skull buzzed, her thoughts scattered, as she struggled to comprehend the fact that a Fiend was here. At her school.

  “Oh my god.” Court whimpered as she edged backward. “Oh my god, what is that thing?”

  “I—I don’t know.” Chess raised an arm in front of the girls, eyes fixed on the monster at the end of the hall. “I don’t—that’s not…”

  “Run,” Alice breathed, the shaking in her limbs coating her voice.

  A second Fiend emerged at the top of the stairs.

  “Run!”

  Twenty-Four

  A DEAL

  “In here!” Alice led the stampede into an open classroom. The three of them barreled through the door, Chess bringing up the rear. She all but shoved him out of the way so she could close and lock it behind them. He caught himself against the edge of a table, the legs scraping the linoleum floor just as something slammed into the door from the other side.

  Everyone jumped and scrambled back. Shadows danced beneath the door. Claws scratched at the wood, knocked at the handle. Fingers clutched at Alice’s arm, and she nearly shook them off before she realized it was Courtney.

  “Are those…” Court stared at the door, barely able to form words for her trembling. “Are those?” she repeated.

  “Yes,” Alice panted, shifting to move around a desk, putting more distance between them and the door. “Chess!”

  He snapped around from where he’d been staring, too. She waved him over, her heart leaping when the door shook with another bang. The Fiends sn
apped and growled, wood splintering under their claws.

  “They’re gonna get in,” Court whispered, her voice cracking on the words.

  Alice knew the Fiends were here for her, for the Eye, but that wouldn’t keep them from ripping Court and Chess apart.

  No. No, she wouldn’t let that happen.

  “Stay here.” She shook off Court and gestured for them to keep back while she searched for something to block the door. A bookshelf stretched from the floor to the ceiling and across most of the wall. She gripped the open end and pulled.

  Wood creaked and screamed as the bottom of the shelf scraped across the floor. She hauled it out, then pushed it forward against the door. Winded by the effort, she rejoined Court and Chess.

  BAM. The door shook so hard it knocked a few books loose, and they clapped against the floor. Teeth and claws flashed along holes worn into the wood. The makeshift barricade wouldn’t hold for long.

  Alice raced to the windows, fumbling with the lock before shoving one open. Cold air blasted her face as she pushed the pane up and out of the way. It stuck a couple of times, but she managed to wedge it high enough to wiggle through and out onto the ledge.

  “We need to jump,” she said.

  “What?” Both Chess and Court recoiled.

  “It’s that or that.” Alice pointed at the door as a Fiend hit it with another bang.

  Her friends joined her at the window, peering out into the chilled night. Chess made some faint, reluctant sound, but pulled a chair over from the nearby table and propped it into place beneath the window. “Ladies first.”

  “Go,” Alice said to Court, whose gaze flickered uncertainly over the window, but with another thud against the door, she bent to work her way onto the ledge.

  “Be careful,” Alice called, though Court was already halfway out. Once she was through, her hand dropped into view, her fingers beckoning. Alice passed the pack out, then followed.

  The ledge was about three feet wide, just enough space for her to plant her knees and catch her balance to stand. The cold seeped into her arms and legs, stiffening them on contact.

  Court handed over the pack, sliding over to make room for Chess, already on his way out. Alice shouldered the bag as her mind worked on possible ways down. Climbing wasn’t an option. Neither was jumping. The fall wouldn’t hurt her too much, but Chess or Court would definitely break several somethings.