Chapter 25 Vorpal Blades and Hungry Beasts
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
VORPAL BLADES AND HUNGRY BEASTS
Outside, the Fettersnatch is driven nearly mad by the circling of the Knave and the massive dragon taunting her from above. Her cries sear through the air like a death rattle.
“Sable!” I call, getting her attention as all manner of Bog folk come out of the woodwork, weapons in hand and ready to fight.
My heart fills with joy that they’d stand beside me in defense of Wonderland, but this is their home.
Reminding myself of that fact makes me sad when I realize some of them might not survive today.
Sable finally culls her screeching after the third time I shout her name, rushing to my side in a leap.
“The Knave will ruin this bog,” she hisses, her eyes never leaving the great beast overhead.
Looking around, my eyes trace over all the creatures, all the ways we’re locked in, surrounded by trees and marshlands.
Going into the Cheshire Wood might give us an advantage if we didn’t get lost, but thinking of the magical place leveled by dragon fire doesn’t suit.
“We need somewhere to lead it,” I tell Sable.
The Chatterwocky’s shadow covers us again as it passes.
“Why is it taunting us?” I turn to Finlo. His green eyes are narrowed on the beast.
“Because he can’t wage war on the Bog when I have done nothing to warrant it.”
“So, we’re safe here?” I ask him.
“Until the Knave grows tired of trying to draw us out,” Sable says, her teeth baring toward the sky.
I, better than anyone, know we can’t remain in the Bog, hidden, forever.
This will come to a head, and Finlo was right. We need to control the narrative.
“We need to lead them somewhere and end this,” I say, palming the blade at my side.
“The Nameless Grove might work,” Lewis adds, checking his watch as if to ensure we’re on schedule. What schedule? That’s the question.
“The Nameless Grove?” I ask.
“It’s just beyond the wood behind the house, but it’s open and rocky. The terrain isn’t ideal,” Finlo says to Lewis.
My mind works over the problem, growing frustrated with the endless heat from the Chatterwocky’s fire spewing over treetops. “Well, we can’t remain here.”
“She’s right,” Lewis adds. “No one lives in the grove. Even if there’s lasting damage, it won’t matter.”
“Then, we leave now. Spread the word. The woods will give us coverage on our journey. The Chatterwocky will lose track of us before we get there, and when we get there, hopefully we’re ready.”
I wish they’d allow me to do this alone, but I know that’s foolish. No matter how dire it is for the good people of Wonderland to follow me into danger, it’s their right.
Wonderland is their home as much as it is mine, and they have the right to defend it.
Lewis heads through the throngs of creatures littering the Bog, muttering orders to them as I shift my attention to Finlo.
“Where’s the queen?”
“She rarely fights her own battles.”
“Of course.”
“Are you scared?” he asks me, rubbing my arms in comfort, though none comes from the touch.
There’s too much to worry about.
“I’m mad,” I admit. “I should be scared, but I’m not. I hate that her reign of terror has gone on this long. I hate it has to come to this, but I also hate that all of Wonderland has had to live this way for so long.”
“This isn’t your fight. You shouldn’t have to do this.” Finlo turns, taking his hat off in defeat as he watches his friends and neighbors line up to march on Nameless Grove.
“It is my fight, Fin. Can’t you see that? It always was.”
“I brought you here. I started all of this. It’s all my damned fault.”
I can’t deny his words have some truth, but he has to know before all this begins how much I don’t believe them.
I round in front of him, clasping his face in my hands.
Reluctantly, he looks down at me. “It was all fate. All of this was meant to be. You can’t carry that burden, and I need you to let it go. Do you hear me? I need you to understand how much I love you and that Wonderland has become my home. I think it always was.”
“So, you’re not angry with me for bringing you here as a child? For setting this all in motion?”
I grin. “No. How could I ever be mad at you for sparing me from the darkest parts of my life, Fin? Your intentions were always kind.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” he whispers as a breeze carries past.
All the commotion is momentarily forgotten as the world falls away.
“You won’t.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can, and I just did.”
“My strong-willed Tiger Lily.”
“You know it.”
“I love you.” He hovers near my lips, and I smile.
“I love you, too. Even if you’re a bit mad.”
He scoffs, his lips killing the distance as they move with mine in a kiss that says more than any words ever could.
A voice clears, and we break apart. “It’s time,” Lewis says.
“I know he’s covered in fur, but I swear he was blushing,” I tell Fin.
His hand slides into mine, clenching it. “Let’s end this.”
I nod, squeezing back as Lewis leads the charge toward the back of the house.
Traveling through the woods and out the other side took hours, and evening was upon us when the forest spits us into a craggy grove.
Some trees provide cover here and there, which will help us hide if necessary.
Large boulders with faces on them add to the Wonderland-like feel of an area that, all things considered, resembles part of Earth.
The roars of the Chatterwocky haven’t charged the air for over an hour, and I hope it gives us time to get into position surrounding the grove.
Lewis relays a plan, emphasizing the precise timing it’ll require ensuring everyone’s watches are synced and set correctly.
He places us strategically around the grove, I beneath a tree in the middle with Finlo.
Others are scattered throughout the grove, hidden from view to give the illusion we came alone.
The plan is to surround the beast so that I can kill it.
I know that logically, all this planning will probably go awry, but I’m thankful that we have a plan.
Standing under the massive willow that provides privacy, I take a deep breath as I look up at Finlo.
Worry stretches across his sweat-covered face, but his eyes soften as he casts them down at me and realizes I’m staring at him.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asks.
“No.”
“You wait until now to say something?” he asks. “Your head is far too large to have no sense inside it.”
“I wish you’d stop ranting about the size of my head.” I giggle as this breaks his lips into a sinful smile.
“I’ll stop worrying about your massive head when I have a hat to place on it.”
“You and that hat. Give it up. Maybe my head’s too perfect for a hat. Did you ever consider that?”
“Nonsense.”
My retort gets lost in my throat when I hear a loud laugh overhead.
“Was that…”
“Come out, Wrong Eleanor! I only want to talk!” the voice shouts, booming through the grove like a warning.
“The queen,” Finlo breathes. “Dealing with the Chatterwocky is one thing; dealing with her is another. I’m taking you back.”
“It’s too late, Fin.”
“She could hurt you.” His grip on me gets tighter, and my smile, while warm, still feels fake.
“She could.”
“So, see reason. Come back to the Bog with me.”
“And she’ll let me walk out of the grove unharmed? She’s only going to escalate. As long as I’m here, she’s never going to stop. Even if I leave, she’ll make life hell for you.”
“Let her. Go back home, where you’re safe, and I’ll…” I silence him with a kiss.
“I am home.”
Snaking out of the willow, I palm the Vorpal Blade’s hilt as I stand face to face with the Red Queen.
Her enormous head shadows my face, and her dark eyes rake up and down my body. “Where did you get my blade from?”
The shake in her tone has me feeling more confident.
“The same place I was trained to use it.” I lean in. “From your sister’s kingdom.”
She gasps, stepping backward. “Nonsense. Imogene would never help you. She’s too afraid. She’s too… illogical. This is a logical move.”
“Is it?”
“What is it you seek to do to my pet Chatterwocky?” she asks, but I register the step backward she takes toward the beast gaping at her back.
A flicker of movement off to the right of the clearing nearly captures my attention, but I remain steadfast.
“I don’t plan to do a thing to your pet.”
“Lies. I’ve seen the scrolls. You mean to harm. You mean to ruin Wonderland.”
“You’ve already ruined Wonderland. You took control of a throne that didn’t belong to you and forced your sister into the shadows. These people you rule aren’t yours; they’re hers. They’ll never love you as they do her.”
Rage flickers in her eyes, while her hand sneaks behind her back for something.
The longer I look at her, the more I realize that the Chatterwocky isn’t my true target.
She’ll never stop.
She’ll never be silenced.
Just because I slay her dragon doesn’t mean she’ll stop her tyrannic rule of Wonderland.
The Red Queen must die.
It’s not in Lewis’s plan, and there’s no time to relay it to him, either.
The first battle cry erupts, signalling all-out war around me as the Queen’s Guard storms through the forest, surprising everyone from behind and causing mass panic.
Finlo rushes past me, sword in hand, as he helps a badger barely escape a guard. Blood spurts from the guard as Finlo slices his arm.
The Red Queen panics, turning and running for her dragon, who kneels for easier mounting.
Racing to catch up, I grab onto the tail of her skirt and yank, pulling her backward and jumping out of her way when she topples to the ground.
She doesn’t stay down long. Rolling over, she pops onto her feet, unsheathing a sword from her back I hadn’t spotted before, grinning.
“You’ve chosen the wrong target.”
“Maybe. But it’s the only way.”
“Chatterwocky!” she shouts, her high-pitched tone causing rage to spill through my veins. “Attack!”
“No!” I turn, momentarily at a loss. I’d chosen wrong.
The queen lunges for me as I’m distracted by the Chatterwocky lifting into the air, its mouth open and an orange glow coating the back of its throat.