Wonderland (Intergalactic Fairy Tales Book 1) (24 page)

That brought her around. Her parents had always tried to talk to her about duty and responsibility. They were such abstract concepts before arriving in Wonderland. Now they were real and tangible, and easier to understand. If she didn't get up, her friends would die.

"I'm awake," she said. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. They were just coming to a landing in the palace docks. None of the guards were close to her, not even the seats across from her were occupied. The voice had come from right next to her. That seat was empty, though the cushion did have a strange impression as if a body were there and had recently left. The cushion didn't rebound though.

"Yes, I'm sitting next to you," said the hushed whisper of the Cheshire Cat. "In a moment, I'm going to retrieve the sword from just up there in the middle of that crowd of guards. Do you see the place?"

"I do."

"I will get the sword to you and then you need to beat a hasty retreat to the elevator as we planned. I'll provide the distraction you need." Cheshire's grin flashed for a moment, causing a few guards to glance their way before it disappeared again. They didn't seem inclined to come any closer. "You ready?"

"Ready."

There was nothing to indicate that Cheshire had left except the slowly rising dent in the cushion where he'd been seated. Alice watched intently and never saw so much as a disturbed hair until the vorpal sword lifted into the air and the tip could be seen over the heads of the guards. They all had their backs turned, so they hadn't yet taken notice.

The loading ramp of the ship opened to allow the horde of soldiers to exit. One of them glanced behind him and saw the floating sword. He let out a startled yelp and then fell back into his comrades, holding his bleeding throat. The rest of the guards not involved in the collision turned in unison and found themselves facing a levitating sword. They were already holding their clubs, though some of them lowered them rather than raising them in defense. Pandemonium ensued as each individual guard decided what the best course of action should be. Some tried to help their fallen comrade, who was obviously beyond the help of even a medical professional. Others edged cautiously toward the floating sword, which had started lashing out randomly at them. None of them were hit. Whether that was by Cheshire's design, or caused by the sword's opposition to being wielded by someone other than Alice, was impossible to tell. Either way, most of the guards wanted nothing to do with it. They had no target to take down and they'd seen the gruesome work the blade could do. They turned and fled, in some cases trampling their less fortunate brethren.

Appropriately satisfied with the chaos, the sword floated over to Alice and landed in her hands. At least, that's how it appeared to the onlookers. A few of the bravest soldiers lunged toward Alice, drawing their own swords as they came, the queen's orders to use their clubs forgotten.

Alice let fall a final tear for Lyla and then concentrated on the job of saving her remaining friends from the executioner's axe. A lunge skewered two approaching guards in one stab. They collapsed, and she withdrew, flicking her blade across the legs of the guard closest to them. The few brave others began to circle, looking for an opening that wouldn't get them gutted.

A fierce yowl followed by a hiss turned two of their heads toward the loading ramp and cost them their lives. Alice cut through their chests with a vicious slash. Their blood sprayed across the guards on either side of them. The feline yowls turned to more human screams as Cheshire blinked in and out of visibility, delivering debilitating or lethal wounds as he went.

The combination of Alice wielding Snicker-snack and a lethal cat that could disappear at will proved too much for the queen's new recruits and they fled the ship in an undignified rush while Cheshire dogged them from behind, pushing them farther into the docks and away from the elevator.

Alice took that as her cue and bolted for the opening silver doors. A pair of guards stood inside, swords in hand. They bore an eight and a nine on their chests. It seemed as though it no longer mattered that she be taken alive.

Just as well, she didn't intend to show them any mercy either. She studied their stances as she ran full tilt toward them, consulting with Snicker-snack the whole way. The tips of their swords were angled at chest height ready to strike at her torso. She closed the gap to a few meters without slowing her sprint. It was close enough to see their confusion. They had expected her to slow and engage them in a proper fight. She didn't have time for any such thing. After a couple more steps she leaned back and dropped into a slide on the polished concrete floor, gliding right under their guards. Unlike in the movie she'd seen, she didn't slide right past them and into the elevator. She did get close enough to slash their legs out from under them and leave them convulsing on the concrete.

Alice stood and pressed the up button. She stepped onto the empty elevator when the doors opened and selected the fortieth floor, the jail floor.

Alice crouched just before the doors opened. A forest of swords pierced the air above her. She dove forward, leading with her sword, her head down and her shoulder forward. Her weight wasn't enough to force the guards aside, but once they realized they'd already lost control of the situation they parted quickly enough.

Her attack wasn't at all poised or controlled. It amounted to little more than flailing her sword arm in as wide an arc as she could while keeping herself as small a target as possible, but most of the guards were seriously injured. One of the falling men caught her shoulder with a glancing blow, opening her skin with what felt like a blade made entirely of fire. It was very different from the electric pain of the clubs. Those brought a strange prickling sort of agony that erased thought. The sword wound, after the initial shock, was clarifying. It woke her mind from the haze of complacency that wielding such a strong weapon had instilled.

Her next few attacks, while less agile due to her favoring her wounded shoulder, were much less spastic. She had no desire to taste more cold steel. The uninjured soldiers slashed at her and were repelled by Snicker-snack, brushing them just to her sides. She didn't cut through their blades. Instead she used the glancing blows from them to knock the guards off balance and quickly pierce a vital organ before darting back into a guarded stance, her body turned as much to the side as she could in order to present the smallest area of attack.

The last two guards standing tried to take her from either side and attacked at the same time. Rather than engaging them directly, she spun out of their way and then cut them down as they tried to avoid injuring one another with their wild lunges. They dropped to the ground amidst their dying companions. They'd each lost an arm. Snicker-snack urged her to finish them and she complied, piercing their hearts. She had to bring her friends back to the elevator and she couldn't risk them brandishing their swords again. No one else in her group would die today; she swore it.

"Bloody hell," said a grizzled man in the cell closest to the elevator. His plastic cell had given him a front row seat to the skirmish. "You're an absolute menace." His tone was one of utter astonishment mixed with respect.

Alice looked down to the gore at her feet and shuddered. It was hard to believe she was capable of such horrific violence. She was a different person than the one who arrived in Wonderland. That didn't mean this wouldn't haunt her nightmares.

Quickly, she found the control panel and located the buttons that would open Dee and Dum's cells. They were in the hall and trundling down to meet her seconds later. They barely spared a glance for the guards piled around the elevator.

"You're hurt," said Dee. He gently pulled away the flap of her shirt covering the gash. "Just a flesh wound. It's already almost stopped bleeding. I'm just going to put some pressure on it.”

Alice winced at the pain of Dee's touch, surprisingly gentle as it was. "What are Seamus and March's cell numbers?"

Dum walked over and checked. "Two fifteen and sixteen."

Alice pressed the corresponding buttons and soon they were joined by her two other friends.

"It would appear you really do delight in cutting off appendages," said Seamus, a wild light in his dazzling amber eyes. He stared down at the carnage in front of the elevator. "Quite the master at it too."

March tittered and covered his mouth with his hand.

Alice groaned and shook her head. "No time to argue. I'm sure more guards will be pouring in here pretty soon."

Alice looked down row upon row of clear cells from her vantage point in the control room. There was no telling why all of them had been imprisoned or whether they were truly a danger to society. Given the queen's penchant for locking up innocent people like her and all of her friends, there was little choice to be made. "Arm yourselves, everyone. I'm sure those guards won't mind."

Dee had somehow already picked up a pair of swords without letting pressure off her wound. Dum found a sword and a shield, March picked up one of the dreaded clubs, and Seamus picked up both a club and a sword. He pushed the button that powered the club and then pressed his tongue gently to the smooth metal. He jerked back, shaking his head wildly. His hair stuck out in a wild puff where it wasn't covered by his hat. "Now that's the stuff," he said, and turned a beaming smile to Alice. "How is a weed like an overdressed lion?"

"I haven't a clue," said Alice, noting that the madness seemed to have retreated from his eyes. "How?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he said. "I think that jolt may have knocked the answer right out of my head along with the madness." He turned his gaze down to the hare. "Care for a taste?"

"I think not," said March. "I don't want my fur looking like that mess on your head."

The hatter frowned and looked at his somewhat distorted reflection in the metal doors of the elevator. "Oh, I find it quite fetching, actually."

"All right everyone, get ready to get on the elevator," said Alice. She poised her hand over the button that was labeled emergency release. "I'm opening all the cells and we need to be on the first trip out of here if we're to make our escape."

"I'm not so sure that's a wise decision," said Dum, nodding over toward a man who was painting crude pictures on the clear wall of his cell in his own blood.

"It's the only humane thing to do. We can't play judge and jury to these people the way the queen has. They all deserve another chance."

Dum didn't look convinced.

"Well, at the very least, they'll provide an excellent distraction for the guards," said Dee.

"That they will," agreed Dum. He smiled at his brother, obviously proud of his astute observation. "Carry on then."

Alice shook her head at the brothers and mashed the release button. She was greeted by the hiss of dozens of doors opening and shouts from the prisoners inside the cells.

Alice shrugged Dee off her shoulder and winced. The odd little group piled into the elevator and she tapped the button to return to the dock floor. The elevator closed on a crowd of jubilant prisoners rushing toward them. She silently wished them the best and hoped the few weapons left on the dead guards served them well.

"I'll lead the way to The White Rabbit when we get down there. Stay with me and call out if you're in trouble. I don't want to lose another one of you."

"We saw what happened, Alice," said Seamus. "It's not your fault."

Alice reached up with her free hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not now, Seamus. We can talk about it when we're safely away from here."

"As you will, m'lady."

The elevator doors opened to pure chaos. Guards ran around stabbing at empty air. Others were backed against the walls and shouting at the same. Some fought each other, howling about yellow eyes. Clearly Cheshire had been hard at work while they were away.

A few guards took notice of their arrival and ran toward them with swords raised. Dee and Dum dispatched them without any help from Alice, who stepped back into the lead and charged toward the dock that held Rabbit. Somewhere along the way a feline grin joined their group. It turned toward Alice as they ran and above it a pair of vertically slitted yellow eyes appeared. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, Cheshire," panted Alice. "Not that we could stop you anyway."

"Just because I can go where I please doesn't mean that I should be rude," he sniffed. He didn't seem to be out of breath at all.

"Well, either way, it would be our pleasure."

"Thank you," said the empty air.

A few seconds later, a guard fell out from behind a ship just in front of them, his throat slashed by obvious claw marks.

"I sure am glad that guy is on our side," said Dee.

"I think you speak for us all," said March. "He trips all of my predator senses and has me ready to bolt for the nearest hole in the ground."

Alice led them through the unoccupied guard station at the cordoned off area of ships. They were only a few rows down when The White Rabbit appeared before them, nowhere near where he was supposed to be. He was conveniently right next to the nearest exit with his doors open.

"All aboard," he called, and Alice was certain that all of her companions could hear him by the way their heads tilted.

"You heard the ship. Let's go!" called Alice, waving them aboard. "I take it we have Cheshire to thank for your being ready and waiting," she said to Rabbit.