A Blade So Black

by L. L. McKinney

  At the end of the building, a walkway connected the main structure to the cafeteria. They could drop to it and then the ground, cutting the distance almost in half. Much better odds.

  “That way.” Alice pointed. Court, the whole of her shaking, edged along the ledge.

  Alice turned to check on Chess, who slid in behind her, his eyes fixed on the ground, his body stiff. All color had drained from his face. Alice took his hand. He latched on, his grip crushing.

  “We’re okay. Come on.” It took a couple of tugs, but he finally followed.

  Heel-to-heel, the three of them scurried along the ledge as fast as they dared. From the outside, there was no way to tell when one classroom ended and the next began, no way to tell if they’d made it far enough so the Fiends couldn’t drag them, screaming, back inside. Alice pushed the thought aside, instead focusing on getting out of here.

  They’d only made it about twenty feet when Court stopped, cut off by a stone pillar sticking out from the building.

  “We gotta go around,” Alice said.

  Court looked ready to protest, when something hit the floor with a crash in the classroom behind them. Books tumbled, their pages flapping. Wood and metal clanged and banged against the desks and the floor. A howl tore through the night. Court edged up to the pillar and, with a yelp, swung herself around it. She teetered, hollering, and Alice reached to steady her as a window shattered.

  “Holy—!” Chess pushed Alice farther along the ledge.

  She stumbled, one foot slipping free. She’d have fallen if he hadn’t pressed against her, wedging her face-first into the pillar.

  Pain blossomed where her arm was pinned behind her, and where Chess’s elbow caught her in her side. Motion fluttered in her peripheral vision, and Court dropped out of sight. Alice’s stomach plummeted.

  “Courtney!”

  “I’m okay,” Court hollered from around the other side of the pillar. “I made it!”

  Behind, jaws snapped and snarled. Claws raked against concrete. Chess hissed a curse as he shifted, pushing harder against her.

  “You’re smashing me.” She wriggled to glance over her shoulder as best she could, catching sight of a Fiend hanging halfway out a window, twisting to try to catch hold of Chess’s leg. Talons scraped the ledge inches shy of his foot. Something, presumably the classroom wall, kept the monster at bay.

  Until it climbs out here and kills us. Alice worked one arm free, careful not to jostle Chess too much, then swung it around the pillar.

  Court seized her wrist. “I’ve got you.”

  Alice shimmied around the pillar and managed to pull herself loose without shoving Chess into eager jaws. With Court’s help, she braced one foot on the ledge long enough to swing around completely, joining her friend on the other side.

  Court started for the walkway, and Alice braced herself to reach for Chess. “Come on!”

  He shuffled on the other side, his shoes scuffing against the ledge. For a handful of seconds, the only sound was the crack of glass and the Fiend’s snarl as it worked its way out the window. When Chess’s hand appeared, she grabbed it, waiting until he positioned himself. Then he swung and she pulled.

  He almost bounced off the building, but Alice yanked him in against herself. His arms caught hold of her, tight enough to squeeze the air from her lungs. He tensed; she felt it through layers of cloth. His breath caught while hers came in shaky, deep gasps, drinking in the crisp smell of the cold air and heady aroma of citrus mixed with whatever he’d used in the shower that morning.

  “It’s okay. You’re okay,” she coaxed, detangling herself from his hold. He seemed reluctant to let go at first, but loosened his grip while stealing glances at the ground.

  “I have this … thing with heights,” he explained, his expression tight but pleading.

  Alice nodded and took his hand. “I’ve got you.”

  Court had already made it to the walkway below. Alice gestured for Chess to go first, letting him scoot around her. He steadied himself before climbing down, dangling from the edge for a second before letting go. Once he landed and backed away, she jumped after him, knees bending on impact as she tucked into a roll. She came out of it just as the distant echo of howls filled the air.

  “Oh god,” Court whispered. “Can those things get up here?”

  On the other side of the walk, the outdoor eating area stretched toward the far parking lot. Metal tables dotted the courtyard.

  “Those bushes.” Alice pointed to the shrubbery lining the adjacent wall. “We jump.”

  Chess looked a little green, backing away from the edge. Court didn’t look too pleased, either, but at another howl—this one closer—she took a running leap.

  Alice held her breath as her best friend dropped into the shrubbery with a pained shout. The initial thud, the sound of branches snapping under Court’s weight, turned Alice’s stomach. She thought she was going to be sick until Court rolled free and pushed to her feet. She clutched her arm against herself, but she looked okay, sticks and leaves stuck to her clothes.

  Relief threatening to weaken her knees, Alice turned to Chess. “Your turn.”

  Lips pursed, he took a deep, shaky breath. His fingers clenched and unclenched at his side before he pressed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “Jump off a roof. I’m going to jump off a roof.”

  “Only if you want to live.” Alice took his hand again and tugged him forward. “Come on.”

  “N-no.” He yanked free and lifted his hands. “I can’t, I—I. I need a second.” His voice shook. “Just a second. You go. I’ll follow.”

  For that second Alice debated throwing him over.

  “I swear,” he added.

  “No. I’m not leaving you up here.” She slipped her pack off, clutched it to her chest, then held out her hand. “We’ll go together.”

  He swallowed, peering down at the ground where Courtney beckoned. “I-it’s not wide enough. What if you miss?”

  Another howl sounded, closer. They didn’t have time for this.

  “Chess, Chester! Look at me!”

  He jerked around, his expression twisted with fear.

  She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’ve got you, okay? I’m the superhero, remember? I’ve got you.”

  Chess stared at Alice, looked down at the bushes, looked over his shoulder the way they’d come, then back to Alice. His head bobbed in quick nods. His chest heaved. She could feel his shaking in his hand, his grip iron-tight.

  “One. Two. Three!”

  They kicked off the edge of the roof.

  Chess barked a shout.

  Alice’s body hung weightless in the air briefly before gravity latched on and yanked her down with an almost personal vehemence. Chess’s hand slipped out of hers. The rush of wind, the sting of the cold, was short-lived before she was stabbed, pricked, and poked in every inch of her back, arms, and legs.

  Twigs snapped and cracked like fireworks in her ears. Leaves rustled, and the pain strewn through half her body burned, but she was alive, unbroken. She shifted in a roll to the side, fighting her way free of the shrubbery cage. She tasted blood, hot and sour, against her tongue. The smell of it filled her nose. She finally tore away and hit the ground.

  “Chess! You good?” She pushed to her feet, shuffling the pack around onto her back.

  Court stood nearby, gaping up at the roof.

  Alice spun, ready to face off with a Fiend, unarmed if she had to, only to freeze.

  Chess hung in the air, like he’d gotten stuck by his shirt on the way down. His arms and legs hung limp, his head dropped forward, his eyes closed.

  “Chess?” Alice called, fear sluicing cold through her body.

  Court croaked a confused “How?” beside her.

  He jerked up and over the roof, out of sight. Alice started forward, prepared to climb up after him, when footsteps sounded along the stone. They stopped at the edge of the roof, and he leaned forward, hands on his hips, his armor swallowing the moo
nlight.

  Court gasped somewhere behind Alice as the Black Knight angled his head to the side.

  “Fancy meeting you here.” He crouched at the edge of the roof, arms draped over his knees. He said something else, but the pounding of Alice’s heart had risen from her chest to fill her ears. Her stomach headed the opposite direction. The rest of her body went numb.

  “You don’t look so good.” His words finally penetrated the buzz of her frantic thoughts. “Maybe you should sit down a second.” He lifted a hand to wave. “You brought a friend. Hello there.”

  “Kiss my ass,” Court snarled, then flipped him the bird.

  “Ooooh, fiery.”

  “What … what did you do to him?” Alice demanded. Her voice cracked with the force of her fear, her fury. Both filled her, dueling one another in a frenzy that left her shaking.

  “Calm down, he’s fine.” The Black Knight glanced over his shoulder. “Well, maybe not fine. I mean, he’ll probably have a helluva headache when he comes to.” He waved a hand and Chess floated into view beside the Black Knight, hovering unconscious in the air.

  She wanted to hurt the bastard, to punch his stupid face in, but there was no way she could reach him to do it. The urge to find something to throw swept through her.

  The Black Knight leaped from the roof and descended to the ground gradually, landing a few feet in front of them. Alice shifted to place herself between him and Court. Her eyes found his, or where they would be under his mask, and she hoped he felt the anger burning in her glare pierce through to the back of his skull.

  “The Eye. I know you have it.”

  “I don’t.”

  “But you can get it. Don’t say you can’t—lying doesn’t become you—so let’s make a deal.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Bring it to me, and the boy lives. Don’t?” He reached to draw his sword free. The black blade hung against the night, the dark surface like a slice in the very air.

  The Black Knight vanished, appearing above Chess. With a flick of his wrist he drove the blade down through his chest.

  Courtney screamed.

  Chess didn’t move.

  Alice’s body went rigid and cold. Her heart jackhammered at her ribs, screaming when she couldn’t. She jerked forward, but the Black Knight lifted a hand. “Ah, ah, ah, let’s not be hasty. And don’t worry.” He pulled the blade free. Chess’s body jolted. “He’s not dead. Buuuuuut he’ll turn into another of my little friends. You met them, back in Wonderland, then on the third floor just a moment ago. They’re kinda shy.”

  Alice stood frozen, her fingers curled into fists at her side. Courtney cried quietly behind her, sniffling around oh gods and oh nos.

  “I know this isn’t easy.” The Black Knight’s voice washed across the space between them. “And I don’t … want to hurt you.”

  “Bullshit,” she hissed from behind clenched teeth. Anger stampeded through her, so hot she couldn’t see straight.

  He gazed at her in silence for a moment. “Whether you believe me or not makes it no less true. This was never about you. It should’ve never gotten this far. But the powers that be are … stubborn.” He grunted, then floated back down to hover in front of them. “I tried to spare you, truly. I’m sorry it’s come to this. But it’s an easy fix. Just bring me the Eye, and I’ll reverse the transformation.”

  Her pack suddenly felt like a ten-ton weight against her back, the shard tucked inside it, threatening to pull her to her knees. Without the Eye, they couldn’t find the Heart. Without the Heart, Hatta died. So did Odabeth’s mother. But if she didn’t give it up, then Chess wound up on the chopping block. This is exactly what Hatta had warned them about.

  “How long does he have?” Alice whispered.

  “The change usually takes a day, but I wouldn’t wait too long. Never did this to a human before. There are bound to be side effects.”

  Every horrible outcome immediately swam through Alice’s mind. Chess could wind up one of the monsters, or worse! Her vision blurred. She wavered on her feet. The Black Knight’s hand shot out to steady her.

  “No!” Court grabbed hold of her other arm.

  The Black Knight yanked away as if burned. “I’ll give you a little time to think about it.” He cleared his throat. “After all, such decisions shouldn’t be made under stress. It’s not healthy.” The slyness slithered back into his tone. “Sunrise tomorrow, bring me the Eye. Or don’t. Your call.”

  He backed away, his feet leaving the ground, his body floating toward the walkway and Chess’s unconscious form.

  “Wait.” She stepped after him. Court tightened her hold on her arm.

  The Black Knight paused, hovering midair, like some dark specter.

  “Where … w-where do I meet you?”

  “Don’t worry, princess. I’ll find you.” Rising higher, he and Chess faded from sight.

  Twenty-Five

  REFLECTIONS

  Alice barely remembered the drive to the pub. She remembered needing to look for Chess. She remembered Court holding her back, shouting how the twenty minutes he bought them with whatever he did to the security system was almost up. How there was no helping him if they got in trouble. They had to leave.

  The pub was completely dark. The tables and chairs appeared afloat in the black, shafts of light cutting through the shadows from small windows near the ceiling. A little light spilled from the hallway, too.

  With the front door locked, and her phone still at home, Alice borrowed Court’s to call Maddi. The bartender sounded sleepy, but glad for the good news about the final piece of the Eye. Alice didn’t mention the Black Knight, or his ultimatum. Yet.

  After a couple of minutes, a figure emerged from the back, gliding toward them. Alice couldn’t tell who it was, until they flipped on a light.

  Dem, disheveled and half-awake, rubbed at his face with one hand while he unlocked the door. “You got it?”

  Alice held up the mirror just as someone screamed, “Help!”

  Dem bolted across the bar and down the hall. Alice followed, Courtney behind her. They rounded the corner, following the shouts to one of the back rooms—Hatta’s, Alice realized with sudden dread. Dee and the Duchess were already there. They pushed through the door just as Alice slammed into the doorjamb, her breath catching at the sight of Maddi tussling with Hatta, who had hold of her, half hanging from the bed.

  His eyes had gone midnight fiery, wide and wild. Maddi struggled to pull away from him, shoving and slapping, but he held on, stammering some sort of gibberish.

  “Addison, release her!” The Duchess was across the room in an instant, latching onto Hatta and pulling. Alice jerked from her shock and moved to help Maddi wriggle free. Together, Alice and the Duchess managed to separate the two of them.

  Maddi stumbled into Alice, who caught her while the Duchess practically mounted Hatta. One of the twins asked Maddi if she was all right, but Alice didn’t hear the mumbled reply, focused on how the Duchess pressed her brow to Addison’s, her eyes shut as she murmured in the same odd language he’d been stuttering. She carded her fingers through his hair and stroked the side of his face.

  There was no change at first. He thrashed and writhed, but as the Duchess spoke, he calmed, and sank against the mattress. The Duchess shifted forward with his descent, until she lay on top of him. She continued speaking softly until he appeared to slip into a fitful sleep, twitching and whispering. She rested against Hatta for a moment, then straightened, her clothing and hair disheveled. She swept red strands from where they had fallen free of her braid into her face and looked at Alice, whose entire body had gone cold.

  The Duchess climbed off him, smoothing her hands over her clothing. “Until he is treated, these … episodes will not be uncommon.” She grabbed a vial from a nearby table, slid her free arm beneath Hatta’s head, and lifted it to coax him to drink. She set the vial aside when it was empty and snapped her fingers. Maddi hurried forward, looking through the other vials before offering another.

/>   Alice stood frozen, a deluge of emotions short-circuiting her ability to move. The mirror dug into her palm, the sting barely registering.

  “Come on.” Court had hold of her shoulders and, with some coaxing, guided her out of the room. The boys led them to another room, the one from before that resembled a hotel.

  Xelon was awake, and sitting up this time. Odabeth sat beside her. Both of them looked up as the group entered.

  “What happened?” Xelon asked, frown in place.

  “Another episode,” Dee explained. “He had hold of Maddi. She is fine, they are fine. The Duchess is taking care of it.”

  Something twisted and clenched in Alice’s chest, tightened around her heart.

  Xelon settled against the pillows, her white hair loose and falling over her bare shoulders. She exchanged a look with Odabeth, squeezing the princess’s hand where it rested on her leg. “The Queen had similar … reactions.”

  “Did you get it?” Odabeth interrupted, pushing to her feet.

  Alice presented the wrapped bit of mirror. Odabeth came around the bed, and Alice handed the shard over.

  “All six,” Odabeth said as she made her way to the dresser.

  She pulled open the top drawer and lifted the other five mirrors free, laying them out along the top. Then she unwrapped the final one and set it with the others.

  “What now?” Alice asked, trying not to think of how Hatta had looked, lying against the bed, practically the same color as the pale sheets. Or of how Chess could be morphing into a literal monster right now. She couldn’t imagine the pain. The fear.

  “I’m not entirely sure.” Odabeth gripped the edge of the dresser. “Let me try the Verse again.” She took hold of her necklace. “Twinkle, twinkle, all-seeing star. Show us wonders near and far. In the midnight sky you keep watch over the dark and deep. I beseech the masters old, search my heart for worth bestowed. Menders of the breaking skies, clear my mind, open my eyes.”

  Nothing.