“Everything!” Tears finally spilled over her cheeks. She shoved them away with a very unladylike hand. “I have done everything that I can figure out. But what has Oz done? It gave me a wand with the leftover magic that White Wizard didn’t want and a title that’s driven a mad man to hate me. Nothing else. Oz is supposed to help its Queen. We should be a pair, working together to make Oz wonderful, just like it did with the last Queen. Instead it’s silent. And when it does help, it’s impossible to understand. Like sending a girl from another world to do, what? The same thing over and over again? For two hundred and sixty-eight years?”
This cycle has been going on for that long? They’ve been repeating the same thing for that long? I shook my head. “Then why are you still relying on the Alices? Why aren’t you—?”
“Oh, you’re talking about war again?” she scoffed. “What good will it do? Sure we have some trained men, but we don’t have the materials needed to make enough swords. It’ll be farmers with pitchforks against White Wizard’s monsters. Is that what you want?” She stomped her foot. “We might not be able to die, but we can still feel the pain of death. All that will happen is the next time White Wizard gets hold of an Alice, he’ll be that much nastier to my people. Their lives are miserable enough. Do you know there are some people who wake up every morning and try a new method to kill themselves almost immediately? Sane, right?”
I grimaced. “I didn’t mean you should go and do it, I was just trying to give a suggestion.”
Her hand fisted at her side so hard, her arms shook. “You have no right to make suggestions. You Alices come, flounce around like you matter. And in the end, you make a little choice and go home. Then you get to live your life. Grow old, have children. Eventually you die. And my people will still be here in Oz, reliving the same day again. Forever.”
As angry as I was, I could see where she was coming from. Finally. “You make it sound like that’s my fault.”
“I know,” she wailed. She took a breath, pushing the air in and out. Her brows wrinkled and her tears grew as a new wave of emotion replaced her anger. Guilt. “I know. And I’m horrible for it.” She choked and buried her face in her hands.
I stood there, staring at her tiny shaking shoulders as her sobs echoed in the small clearing. She looked so small and helpless. I didn’t need Lional glaring at me to feel like a jerk.
Some of what she said was true. I showed up, immediately challenged everything and threw out suggestions like candy in a demented parade. She might have been unfair in her opinions of me, but I was equally unfair to her. To everyone. I’d only been looking at her like a doll in a china shop, not a real person who has been through Hell.
But what should I say now? Now that I’d ripped her apart and spilled her hidden guilts? In front of her own men. Was there anything that could resolve something like that?
Feeling horrible, I tapped my fist against my thigh, completely lost.
The men around us didn’t look any more comfortable.
Hareson gasped. His long ears swiveling all around and twitched. He jerked about faced the trees on the opposite side of the road, ears stiff in attention. “Downwind!” He pulled a long rapier from its sheath and pointed it into the trees.
A low growl emitted from Lional’s throat, and he brandished his heavy sword. He ran to the very front of the group, his tail swishing. “Protect the Queen and Alice,” he ordered over his shoulder.
My stomach twisted in fear. Was it more ice monsters? Did they catch up because I slowed down? Or was it the Cheshire Cat? What would happen if Ace showed up now?
The rest of the men dropped whatever they were doing and ran into position. Some formed a ring around the queen and me, while the others stood with Lional and Hareson to create a shield. Despite the tears still in her eyes, Red Queen grabbed my arm and pulled me down to crouch. It didn’t matter that I’d just made her cry, she was still thinking about my safety. It made me feel all the more guilty. The men were barely in position when a volley of arrows flung out of the trees at us. Two of the guards yelled and exploded into dust. Several others fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
I cringed and swallowed back bile.
Red Queen gasped, her hands covering her mouth.
The uninjured men stood at the ready, fixated on where the arrows came from. Then the sound of trees and bushes breaking and swaying echoed out through the forest. A group of twenty men rushed out of the bushes, yelling at the top of their lungs. They had shaggy hair and beards, and they wore dull, dark colored clothes that blended in with the trees. But they weren’t actually touching the ground. They hovered an inch off it, the air pulsing and swirling under their feet.
Lional gave an impressive roar and ran forward to meet them, leading the line of guards. The small group of soldiers crashed into the men and weapons glinted in the sun as they hacked at each other.
The horses, caught in the middle of the men, panicked and jerked their restraints so hard that the pick in the ground pulled loose. They bolted down the road, tossing their heads and the carriage flailing behind them.
My hand jumped up on its own, reaching for the carriage that was already too far away. A heavy knot twisted in my chest with sudden loss. My flower was still in the carriage. My hand clenched and I jerked it back to my side. I shouldn’t be so upset. That flower was a lie. Right?
I swallowed back more bile as another man screamed in pain and turned away. “Are these the White Wizard’s men?” I peered between our guards. There wasn’t a single man with orange hair and a cat tail. Despite the situation, a small bloom of relief budded.
Red Queen shook her head. “I don’t know these men. There’s something off about them.” Her voice shook and there was a note of worried confusion. “It’s like they aren’t compatible with Oz anymore. Something like this has never happened before.”
“Can’t you do something? Do you really need the wand to use magic?” I winced when a guard was cut down and exploded into dust.
“I can’t access Oz’s magic without my wand. I couldn’t do anything anyway. I can’t hurt them. I only know healing and defensive spells.”
That’s useful. In a hospital.
Another guard exploded into dust, followed a second later by the two attackers in front of Lional. He fought as fiercely as his animal suggested, taking down man after man. Even so, there were just too many attackers. Hareson could barely hold his own, and the other guards weren’t doing much better.
Red Queen looked like she was going to crumble. She took a breath and lifted her head high. “This is looking bad.” She turned to me with set brows. “You need to leave.”
“What?” I gaped at her.
Red Queen’s face tightened more. “The Yellow Path is pointing to the Domain through the trees. During the Alice Games, no one can enter a Domain unless invited.” She licked her lips. “And you have been invited. Just remember, Ali, there is more to Oz than logic.” She took a breath and motioned with her hands. “Go, Ali. They can’t follow you in.”
Her sudden sharp words made me jump to my feet. “What about you and the rest of them?” My voice wobbled as another man turned to dust.
She almost smiled. “I believe they will leave as soon as you are gone.” She turned urgent again. “Run!”
My gut sank. I didn’t want to leave. I hadn’t resolved things with Red Queen yet. But their safety was more important than my feelings. I turned and ran.
Chapter Ten
Shouts of alarm and shock echoed after me. “She’s getting away! Stop her!”
Lional yelled over them, “Don’t let them through! Attack while they’re distracted!”
Adrenaline jolted my system, and my legs pumped faster. My arms came up to protect my face as I ran into the thick, short trees. The tiny branches tugged at my clothes. I tripped on bushes but didn’t stop. Soon enough, the sounds of fighting disappeared. Were they still chasing me? I couldn’t handle another chase like last night.
I glanced behi
nd me and skidded to a stop. My breath puffed in and out as I stared at what should have been a forest behind me. It was gone. There was nothing but a barren field disappearing into stale smelling mist. The blue sky was gone too, covered with pale clouds.
“What?” I looked around, then stumbled back in surprise.
I don’t know how it got there, but a huge stone wall stretched out to either side of me, my toes at the threshold of a door-like gap. Shouldn’t I be in the middle of a forest? Where did this wall come from? Seven feet tall, gray and imposing, the wall continued as far as I could see, until it faded into the mist. There were no breaks in it except for the gap before me. On the other side of the gap was another wall, about five feet away, creating a hall-like corridor.
I frowned, put off. It looked like the opening to maze—a big one—and I didn’t want any part of it. Shaking my head, I turned to walk the other way and jolted to another stop. My toes were at the opening of another maze. Where did this one come from? Alarmed, I looked over my shoulder, expecting to be sandwiched between two mazes, but there was only a barren field behind me. Brows knit, I shuffled my feet around until they were pointing the opposite direct. I know my feet moved—I was watching them—but so did the maze. No matter what direction my toes pointed, the gap in the wall stayed in front of them.
The Yellow Path, so merrily bright against the muted colors around me, led right in.
I stared at it moodily. I needed to get out of this Domain as fast as possible. It wasn’t just the time crunch I was under—I needed to see if Red Queen and her people were okay, if running away actually helped. And I needed to tell Red Queen I was sorry.
I paused. I had only spent a morning, just a couple hours really, with them. Why was I so worried? I’d never cared about anyone so quickly before. We’d just been yelling at each other, but as much as I was attacking her, she was only attacking the situation. She might be completely opposite from me, but I finally felt like I could relate to her. No, not relate. But I had empathy for her. I would be frustrated if I was in her situation, too. It made all of her other actions understandable.
She was also willing to sacrifice herself and her people for me to get into this Domain safely. Apparently it was safe here—if I took the right path. I looked around. As long as I didn’t get lost forever, anyway. Well, not forever. If Ace was telling the truth, I would get sucked into the In-Between space between our worlds if I didn’t make it to the Emerald Castle in time.
Maybe I didn’t have to go through it. The smooth stone walls seemed endless, but to my back was an open field. Biting my lip, I took a careful step backwards. The wall stayed in place. With a sigh of relief, I took another step. Was it possible to back out of a Domain? Maybe by the time I did, Lional and Hareson would have the situation under control again.
“What are you doing?” The high-pitched male voice spoke from two different places, at my right and left elbows.
I jumped, not sure which way to turn. Unfortunately, I moved enough that my toes pointed a different direct. In the blink of an eye, the maze appeared at my feet again. My shoulders slumped as the breath whooshed out of me.
“What are you doing?” the voice said on my right.
Stomach still in a knot, I looked to each side and blinked in surprise. There were two short men standing beside me. Where did they come from? I’d looked behind me several times. With no obstacles in the field, I should have seen them. For that matter, I should have noticed a huge stone wall before it was at my toes too.
I’d seen twins before, lots of them, but these two were different. Even identical twins have slight differences, be it slightly different heights, weights, or the pitch of their voices. I’d even met a pair where one twin had moles on his nose and the other didn’t. These two men had none of those differences.
They were both as tall as my elbow and had the same amount of pudginess in the middle. Their scalps were showing through their brown hair in the same place, and their eyes were both too close together. They were even dressed the same, in yellow shirts, blue vests, and tan pants.
I took a breath and backed up a couple steps so they were between me and the maze. As I moved, the one on the right giggled with amusement.
“Ah, hi,” I started. “I’m—”
“The Alice of Alice. We know,” they said in perfect unison.
“Only an Alice can come in here once the game begins,” the one on the left said.
My brows went up. Okay, I knew a lot of stuff, but I didn’t sound that annoying about it.
“I’m Dean,” said the one on the right
“My name is Winstum,” the one on the left supplied.
Dean and Winstum. Dee and Dum. Oh, great.
“You’re odd. Why were you walking backwards?” Dean asked.
Winstum rolled his eyes and looked at his twin. “Isn’t that obvious? She was trying to get away from the maze.”
“Oh.” Dean giggled. “That’s odd. It’s impossible.” He nodded his head in emphasis. “The only exits are on the other side. You could choose the right course.”
“Or the wrong one,” Winstum added.
I motioned to the maze. “You mean there’s more than one exit?”
Dean laughed. “Of course there is. There are always choices.”
“You could start on one path and end on another,” Winstum said.
I shook my head, trying to understand what they were saying. It sounded like they were implying it was more than a maze. “What is this place?”
“Bones of the past,” Dean hummed.
“Secrets of the shamed,” said Winstum.
Together they announced, “The path of decisions.”
Past secrets were in there? Did that mean it was populated? I wanted to go in there less and less. “So, you’re saying that I have to go through this thing?”
“Yes.” They nodded in unison.
I swallowed a sigh and looked down, frowning. Well, there was one good thing about all this. I could just use the Yellow Path to guide me through. I might as well get this over with. “Okay.” Determined, I stepped forward.
“Ah, where are you going?” Dean stuttered.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked, marching ahead. “I have to go through there.” I motioned before me. “I don’t have time to wait forever.”
“But we haven’t told you—”
I skidded to a stop, but my momentum carried me across the line of the entrance. Instantly the open space behind me disappeared, replaced by a stone wall. My hand shot out and hit the wall. I didn’t know if I was hoping the wall wouldn’t be solid but it was. I winced and rubbed my aching palm against my pants. What had they been about to tell me? This was why it never paid to be too hasty. Mistakes happened more often.
I couldn’t go back now. Taking a breath to calm myself, I followed the yellow line down the hall, which ended with a right turn. I rounded the corner and came to a two-way junction. I looked down.
My mouth dropped open. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. I turned in a full circle. The entire ground of the maze was yellow. All of it, in every direction.
“That’s not fair,” I groaned, shoving my hands through my hair. My hands echoed back at me, the only noise in this eerily quiet place. So I had to figure this out on my own. What was new? My hands dropped, and I huffed out my breath.
The logical way would be to take every right turn. It wasn’t the fastest way to go through a maze, but that way I wouldn’t go in circles which could delay me forever. I took the right path, walked down that corridor, and took another right turn. Some of the corridors spilled into square rooms with multiple exits, and sometimes the halls were very wide, almost room-like themselves. The size of the corridors might be changing, but the dull gray stone walls all looked the same, blending in with the shadows. While I knew I wasn’t going in circles, I was completely lost.
I came to a stop in a long wide corridor, wishing for the hundredth time for a map. That was when I noticed a brick path leading down th
e middle of the room—the first change in my surroundings since I entered the maze. “Why is there a brick path in a dirt-floored room?” Odd, but I stayed on the path anyway.
A sound stopped me cold. Somewhere to my right, people were whispering. I spun around. There was no one there.
The whispering kept up, but I couldn’t understand what their excited voices were saying. I turned in a full circle, trying to pinpoint where the voices came from, then jumped back in surprise.
The wall in front of me shifted and rippled like a drop of water on a still pool. The bricks disappeared, revealing a bright, colored area, four feet wide by about three feet tall, like a picture frame. Confused, I tried to make out what the picture was. It was like someone had taken a photograph while standing in a crowd, looking up. The foreground was taken up with the backs of several people’s heads, the sources of the whispers I heard earlier. The picture was aimed at a balcony where two people stood on display.
The woman was tall and thin, dressed is a rich, teal gown. She might have been in her seventies but she was still quite the beauty, with thick white hair piled in curls on her head. A crown nestled in those curls, with several different colored jewels sparkling in the sun. She had high cheek bones and deep pink, painted lips, and she smiled kindly at the people below.
Next to her stood a handsome adolescent around fifteen years old. He was almost as tall as her, with the growing, boney shoulders of a youth, his long limbs clothed in white and cream clothes. His hair was so pale blond it looked white, and his skin was only a few shades darker. He beamed down at the crowd, chest swelling in pride.
I was still contemplating it when the picture started to move.
Chapter Eleven
The woman lifted a hand and waved at the people below. “Good afternoon, my beloved people.” Her voice was calm and soothing, but was still very easy to hear even though she was a ways away.
I gasped and stepped back, surprised.
Alice Games Page 9