Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Alice
I thrashed against Hatter’s shoulder, but there was nowhere to go. Bound. Gagged. Helpless.
Not that screaming would help. Who would come? I didn’t know a soul in this dimension—except Ari. And if he found me first, these three would be the least of my problems.
The world blurred past—streaks of green and shadow. He was moving impossibly fast.
My magic pulsed beneath my skin, begging to be used.
But if I couldn’t control it back home, what would it do here?
And if it backfired—if it did something strange or terrible—the man with the blade would have all the proof he needed that I was dangerous.
I’d seen what happened to people Angelo considered threats.
Something told me this one would be even less forgiving.
Hatter skidded to a halt.
“Damn it,” he muttered.
I craned my neck to see what had stopped him.
Through the trees, I spotted them—soldiers in gleaming armor surrounding a massive, twisted tree. Its trunk spiraled toward the sky like a corkscrew, ancient and impossible. The soldiers had their swords drawn, their movements precise and coordinated.
And their hair. Every single one of them had long white hair that flowed past their shoulders like silk.
No guns. No radios. No helicopters.
It was like being dropped into a Lord of the Rings movie—except this was real, and I was gagged and bound over a madman’s shoulder.
Hatter went rigid beneath me. His grip on my legs tightened until it hurt.
“No,” he breathed.
I didn’t understand at first. Then it hit me—the tree. That twisted, ancient tree. That’s where he’d been taking me. That was his hideout.
And the queen’s soldiers had found it.
“They’re inside,” someone said behind us. Chester. I hadn’t heard him approach. “Flint and Steel?”
“I don’t know.” Hatter’s voice was ice. “I told them to scatter if—”
A scream echoed from somewhere beneath the tree. Male. Agonized.
Hatter flinched like he’d been struck.
The soldiers dragged out a man with long dark hair. Smoke wreathed his body, drifting from his nose, his mouth, curling off his skin in lazy spirals. His eyes were half-lidded and distant—either the calmest prisoner I’d ever seen or high out of his mind.
“Shit,” Hatter muttered. “They got Caterpillar.”
Caterpillar? That was actually his name?
“Chester,” Hatter lowered his voice. “Disappear. We need to split up.”
Chester’s grin flickered—the first time I’d seen it waver. But then again, I’d just met him.
“The Sleeping Dormouse,” Hatter said. “We’ll regroup there.”
I struggled again, but Hatter took off and the world whizzed past. My stomach lurched.
I could scream—the soldiers might hear me.
But then what? They’d throw me in a dungeon.
Joy had told me about the queen’s dungeon.
People went in. They didn’t come out. At least with these lunatics, I was still moving.
He finally slowed.
Through the trees, lights flickered—lanterns strung between crooked buildings that leaned against each other like drunks. Cobblestone streets wound between shops with hand-painted signs. It looked almost normal. Almost safe.
A town meant people. And people meant someone who might know where to find a portal back home.
Hatter lowered me to my feet. I glared at him.
“Maddenvale.” He studied my face, and I got my first real look at him.
Long, dark, curly hair fell past his shoulders, framing a face that was sharp angles and silver eyes.
He was built like a fighter—broad shoulders, lean muscle, the kind of body that moved like it knew exactly how to hurt someone.
The kind of man who’d be devastating if he weren’t completely insane.
“We have allies here but also spies.” His fingers twisted in my hair, yanking my head back. “I’ll find out soon enough whether you’re friend or foe, Alice Ravencrest. Betray me—” His voice dropped. “You’ll be dead before you hit the ground.”
My heart stuttered, but I held his gaze. This close, his silver eyes were unnerving—cold and bright, like moonlight on a blade. He meant every word. I could see it.
He undid the binding around my mouth.
I shook my head and gasped for air. “I’m not a spy,” I said through gritted teeth.
He untied the bindings around my feet, then my wrists. My muscles tensed. The second I was free, I’d run—find an alley, a doorway, anywhere to disappear. Before I could run he seized my arm and dragged me through the trees. “Come with me.”
Night had fallen over Maddenvale. He pulled me through narrow alleys, keeping to the shadows. Ahead, guards strolled down the main street, torchlight glinting off their armor.
I could scream. Call for help. But I remembered what Joy had told me about this place, about what happened to her here. I kept my mouth shut.
Hatter pressed me gently against a wall, his body shielding mine.
“Kiss me,” he murmured.
I scowled up at him. “Kiss you? I don’t even know you.”
“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. They won’t look twice at us.”
“I don’t—”
“Do you want to be captured?”
Joy’s stories flashed through my mind. The whips. The dungeon. The screams.
“Fine.” I swallowed hard. “Kiss me.”
Hatter took off his hat and placed it on the ground. Then his hand slipped around the back of my neck, pulling me closer.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been kissed. Not many men wanted to get close to an unstable witch—and after enough rejection, I’d stopped letting them try.
His silver eyes held mine, and my heartbeat quickened. He gave me a moment—a chance to pull away.
I didn’t.
His lips brushed over mine, soft at first. He tasted like mint and something wild. Something that made me want more.
I pressed my hands against his chest. His heart pounded as wildly as mine.
His tongue slid against mine, and I melted into him. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his body.
I forgot about the queen. Forgot about the coven. Forgot about going home.
There was only him. Only this.
His kiss deepened, and I was lost. Lost in his lips, his arms, his warmth.
He pulled away slowly. Those silver eyes held mine, and I wanted nothing more than to pull him back.
“They’re gone,” he murmured.
“Good.” I panted. “I’m glad we fooled them.”
He clasped my hand and led me through the shadows again, weaving through back alleys until we reached a weathered door.
But my mind wasn’t on escape anymore.
All I could think about was his kiss.
He knocked—two slow taps, then three quick ones.
I raised an eyebrow. “A secret knock? Really?”
Hatter just shrugged.
The door creaked open. The man on the other side reminded me of a walrus—a thick gray mustache drooping past his chin, two pronounced front teeth, and a belly that strained against his vest.
“Hatter.” His face split into a grin. “Welcome, welcome. I see you still have your hat.” But then his eyes landed on me. “Who is this?”
The smell hit me—brine and fish, like a seafood market. It clung to the man, to the walls, to everything.
“Alice Ravencrest. Alice, this is Wallace Seaman.”
He bowed slightly. “Wally, please.” His gaze flicked back to Hatter. “Friend or foe?”
“That remains to be seen,” Hatter said.
I glared at him. The kiss had meant nothing—just a way to hide us from the soldiers. Nothing more. He was back to being my captor, even after our kiss. “I’m neither. I fell into this place by accident.”
“By accident,” Wally repeated. “There are no accidents in the Elder Dimension.”
Did that include kisses?
Behind him lurked a second man—thin as a rail, with sawdust clinging to his worn clothes and hands that looked like they’d shaped a thousand boards. He didn’t speak. Just watched me with pale, calculating eyes.
“Carpenter,” Hatter said. “He doesn’t talk much.”
Wally frowned. “What brings you here?”
Hatter sighed. “Caterpillar has been taken.”
Sorrow filled Wally’s eyes. “I’m sorry. Truly.”
“So you’re being hunted.” Carpenter had finally spoken, and his voice surprised me—gravelly, quiet, like he rationed his words.
Hunted. Not chased. Not followed. Hunted. I swallowed hard.
“Obviously,” Hatter said. “The others will gather here soon. Is our room available?”
“Yes,” Wally said.
“But it will cost you.” Carpenter’s eyes narrowed. “Harboring fugitives isn’t cheap.”
Hatter removed his top hat and reached inside—far deeper than should have been possible. He pulled out a brown pouch and tossed it to Carpenter, who caught it with greedy hands.
How the hell did that fit in there?
“Show them to the room, Wally.”
Wally led us through the kitchen. Boxes of oysters lined the counters, along with strange fish I didn’t recognize—some with too many fins, others with scales that shimmered like oil on water.
The briny smell was overwhelming—and painfully familiar.
It smelled like the French Quarter on a humid morning. Like home.
My chest ached. I had to find a way out of here. Back to Tinker Bell. Back to Rose. Back to a world that made sense.
He led us up a back stairway and opened a door. I expected a conference room, maybe a closet. Instead it was an apartment—a small sitting area, a fireplace, two doors that probably led to bedrooms.
We would be alone in here. Would he want to kiss me again? I shoved the thought down. He’d told me exactly why he’d kissed me—to hide us. It meant nothing to him. So why did I want it to happen again? Was there something magical about Hatter, or was I just losing my mind?
Hatter glanced around the room. “Thank you, Wally.”
“You’re welcome. Hopefully no one saw you.”
“We kept to the shadows, but the queen has spies everywhere. And now she has Caterpillar.”
My stomach growled. Loudly.
Heat flooded my cheeks as both men turned to look at me.
“Bring us dinner,” Hatter said, not taking his eyes off me.
“Of course.” Wally gave a small nod. “When the others arrive, I’ll send them up.” He shut the door quietly behind him.
Suddenly the apartment felt very small. I looked around. Cozy. A fire already crackled in the hearth. “This is one of your hideouts?”
“One of them.”
I gestured toward the hat he’d placed on the table. “The hat—it’s magical?”
“Perhaps.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, like he enjoyed keeping secrets.
I held out my palm, reaching toward it. Tinker Bell had taught me this. If an object held magic, I’d feel it like spider webs brushing against my fingertips. The mirror had felt exactly like that—right before it swallowed me whole. I hesitated.
Nothing. No tingle. No pull.
It looked like a normal top hat—green velvet, a white card tucked into the band that read 10/6. Nothing special at all.
“How does it work if it’s not magical?”
“Nothing is impossible here. Including magic that can’t be detected.” He twirled his finger, and the hat spun lazily on the table. “Don’t bother trying to steal it. The hat only responds to me.”
I stared at him. He’d made the hat move without touching it, like it was nothing. Like magic was as easy as breathing. Back home, I could barely control my power—and here he was, spinning enchanted objects with a flick of his finger.
One minute he was kissing me like I was the only thing that mattered. The next he was warning me not to steal from him.
The whiplash made my chest ache.
“I wasn’t going to steal it.” I crossed my arms. “Is that why the queen wants you? For the hat?”
He smiled and dropped into a leather recliner, stretching out like he didn’t have a care in the world. “As the queen’s spy, you should already know.”
“I’m not the queen’s spy.” I sat on the couch across from him. “How many times do I have to say it?”
“These walls are enchanted.” He spread his arms wide. “They don’t let evil pass through.”
“See? I’m not evil.”
“Because I told the hat to let you in.” His smile turned wolfish. “I need information. About you. About the queen’s plans for Caterpillar.”
My hands clenched into fists. “I told you—I don’t know anything about any of this.”
“We’ll see.” The wolfish smile vanished. His voice was flat now, all the playfulness stripped away.
He stood, crossed the room, and placed the hat on my head.
I froze. Not by choice—my body simply refused to obey. My eyes fixed straight ahead.
Then I felt it. Spider webs sliding across my skull, slipping beneath my skin, threading through my mind. Searching.
“Now,” he said softly, “you’re going to tell me everything I want to know. The queen always has a plan. Tell me her plan.”
Tears burned my eyes. Not from the pain—not yet. From the betrayal.
He’d kissed me. Held me like I mattered. And now he was ransacking my memories like I was nothing.
Pain split through my skull. I arched back, a scream caught in my throat. Something was inside my head—clawing, searching, ripping through my thoughts like pages torn from a book.
“I don’t know anything!” The words tore out of me. “I’m not a spy! I’m just a witch who can’t control her magic and touched something she shouldn’t have.”
And kissed a man I shouldn’t have.
My eyes burned. I would not cry in front of this man.
He studied me, no pity in his eyes. “A witch? From where?”
Something squeezed inside my head until the answer spilled out. “New Orleans.”
“New Orleans again?” His frown deepened. “There’s no such place in the Elder Dimension.”
Another wave of agony ripped through me. “Not here—” I gasped. “Louisiana. Earth.”
He went still. Something flickered in his eyes. Recognition? Confusion?
“Earth,” he repeated slowly.
He rubbed his forehead, pressing hard, like something was trying to surface.
“I was born near aspen trees…” His voice faltered.
He said it like a man remembering his own name after years of forgetting.