Malice in Wonderland #1: Alice the Assassin (13 page)

Alice sets the top hat open end up on the table next to the chess board. “So the game will be—”

Malice interrupts. “Yeah yeah our shadow told me all about it. If one of us tosses the Thirteen of Heartless in the hat, that person will be able to put our heart back in. Let’s play! It’s only a matter of time before someone makes it.”

Malice reaches into her sack and pulls out a wooden heart-shaped box. There are still objects inside the sack. Malice opens the box to show the heart to Alice.

It looks like a cartoon version of a red heart, but around the edges, it’s turning black.

Malice, seeing her expression, explains, “It gets blacker the longer it’s left out. But don’t worry. It will probably recover once it’s in the proper place inside one of our chests!”

Alice says, “Yes, that’s where it has to go. I’m sure there must be a good reason to have a heart. After all, many had to die to recover it, so I suppose we should get to it.”

Malice grins, says, “Exactly.”

So they get to work taking turns tossing the Thirteen of Heartless at the hat. After half a dozen times or so, Alice finally makes it. “Ha! You lose.”

Malice just sticks her tongue out playfully.

Alice picks the heart up out of its box. She’s still holding the card, which begins to glow with a white light. Not quite knowing what to do, she presses the hand holding her heart onto her chest.

Her hand begins to go into her chest, as if she’s pressing it into a reflection of herself on top of water. She feels no pain, only a soothing warmth.

“It’s working!” Alice shouts.

“Wonderful!” Malice shouts.

When Alice’s hand reaches the point in her chest she thinks a heart should be, she lets go. She feels the heart twist, shift inside her, settle into place. She pulls her hand out. She places her hand atop her chest and she smiles big as she feels her heart beating.

She raises her head to look at Malice, but before she entirely lifts her chin, she feels a hard blow to the side of her head, almost knocking her off her feet. She shouts in surprise.

She stands dazed for a few seconds, dizzy. She feels her hand jerked down and she falls to the ground. Before she can get her bearings, she feels another blow to her head.

Now she feels as if her hands are being held behind her, hears clanking sounds. She can offer no resistance, stunned as she is. “What?—” She raises her head to see Malice grinning down at her, holding keys in front of her.

Malice says, “I bet you’re wondering what’s going on.”

Alice just stares stupidly, still dazed.

Malice says, “Well, I just knocked your head about a couple of times, then while you were out of it, I chained your hands to the table leg there.”

Alice pulls at her wrists, but they’re bound behind her. She hears the tinkle of metal chains. “Why?”

“Why? I’ll tell you why. First, as to this card.” She holds it up for Alice to see, then rips it in half—the card shrieks pitifully. Malice tosses the two halves of the card in opposite directions.

“Why did you do that? He did you no harm!” Alice feels tears well up in her eyes and begin to roll down her cheeks. At the same time, she kind of feels that the card was funny when it shrieked like that.

Malice looks down at her disdainfully. “Eww. That’s gross. I had to make myself cry recently. Had to use peppers in my eyes. Never again. But you, with your
heart.
Why you seem to cry on a dime! If only I had a dime!” She rolls her eyes.

Alice tries to discreetly test her chains, but they tinkle.

Malice says, “I wouldn’t try.” She tosses the keys on the ground, then lifts the vorpal blade from the table top. “I’ll kill you with no remorse if you try to escape. I’m quite heartless, unlike
you.
But then again, your heart is partially blackened, so that should prove interesting.
”

Alice doesn’t know whether to risk trying to fight her way out or not, but then she remembers. “But if you cut me, you cut yourself. We’re mirror images.”

“Dummy! When I knocked you upside your head, did I knock
me on
the noggin too?” At Alice’s blank expression, Malice answers, “No, I didn’t. Once you got the heart, we ceased being mirror images. Why, I could kill you if I wanted, and it wouldn’t affect me. And you know what? I planned this all along. That’s why I let you win on purpose in the hat tossing game. I’m more clever than you, you see. Besides, who would actually want a heart anyway? So inconvenient.” She’s beaming with pride. “And maybe having a
black
heart is worse than having no heart at all!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. Oh, well I guess you’ll see, won’t you? I might just let you live to watch it torment you. They poison the soul.”

Alice starts trembling. She definitely doesn’t want to die. Meekly she says, “What do you want?”

“You mean, why am I not killing you right now? I’ll tell you in a sec. But first, I have prezzies for your unhappy birthday party!” She does her best to clap while holding the vorpal blade. She backs away, kneels, reaches her free hand into the sack.

Meanwhile, Alice is wondering if she might slip the chain off the table leg, then rush Malice, but she has that blade. Or maybe she could reason with her, or maybe Malice has some reason to keep her alive…

Malice pulls the Jabberwock’s head out of the sack. “Behold! Scary monster! You did this!”

Alice feels remorse wash over her. “I—that wasn’t me. I mean, I was heartless then.” She recalls stepping on the Jabberwock’s glasses and stifles a giggle.
That’s so wrong to think like that. What’s wrong with me?
Remorse comes over her again.

“Wo ho ho! I wouldn’t have believed it! But having a heart really makes you all sorry and regretful and stuff? Wow! I mean, whoa! I just had to see it with my own eyes, before I kill you. Oh, but I have another gift.”

Alice feels more tears rolling down her face.
Did she just say she was going to kill me? Should I make a last ditch effort to try to save my life?

Malice pulls another head from the sack. She is holding it by the top, presenting it to Alice. It’s the Cheshire Cat’s head.

The cat’s head yawns, but Malice can’t see. Malice says, “Now this is a grand trophy. I want to make a collection of heads.”

The cat’s head opens its eyes, sees Alice and the grin widens on its face.

Meanwhile, Malice says, “Before I kill you, I want you to realize just how clever I was in killing this guy. And I
did
kill him. He only had one of his nine lives left. And me and the Queen of Hearts—”

The body of the Cheshire Cat materializes beneath his head, then twists in a blur. Alice sees red claw marks sprout on Malice’s face, going from her temple to across her eyes. She shrieks, drawing back, striking out with the blade that connects solidly with the front shoulder of the cat. The cat crashes to the ground and lies bleeding. He stands and hisses at Malice.

Malice, her face now bleeding profusely, still holding the blade, seems to consider for several long moments what to do next, before she flees out through the door of the hut. She shouts, “This isn’t over!”

The cat says, “I think she’s gone.”

Alice says, “I thought you used up your nine lives.”

“Well, I suppose I must have miscounted. Did it take me long to come back to life?”

“Nah. I think you chose the right moment.”

“Thanks I think. It’s been a strange day. I met a hot kitty today. And next thing I know, I’m here.”

With a crazy laugh, Alice says, “Strange?! Why yes, I’ll say it’s strange! Imagine a world where one’s own reflection tries to kill you, and cats
actually
have nine lives! Why it is a world that could only exist in a dream!” She shuts her eyes tightly. “Why this must all be a dream!”

She opens her eyes to see the Cheshire Cat’s head floating woefully in front of her. “I’m afraid not, my Queen.”

Alice wipes a tear from her cheek. “Maybe I can go back through the Looking Glass?”

“Maybe.”

“Even though I don’t have a reflection.”

The cat shakes his floating head. “Well, no, you can’t go through the mirror if you don’t have a reflection, my Queen. But the good news is that now you
are
a queen.”

Alice sighs, now it suddenly strikes her—the realization of what she has done, the characters she killed, when she didn’t have a heart. She feels overwhelmed with sorrow and guilt and the tears well up and flow down her face, dripping on the ground.

But despite the sorrow, she is so grateful to have her heart back, and a part of her feels it really was pretty funny the various ways she killed all those characters.

But no, I mustn’t think that way.

She spies the keys lying on the ground. She rattles her chains. “Can you help me get out of these things?”

“Yes, Queen Alice.”

THE END. Thanks for reading. To stay informed of future releases, simply subscribe to my newsletter by visiting
loteyrose.com

The next book in the trilogy is
Malice in Wonderland #2: Alice the Angel of Death.
Click the link to visit its Amazon U.S. page
http://amzn.com/B00AOACWNE

Lotus, or Lotey, as he keeps trying to get people to call him, lives in Austin, an oasis in the heart of Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he learned that frat boys are lame. He once watched a fraternity house burn down when they accidentally set their fake snow on fire after a party. After college, rather than get a real job, he decided to become a writer. He invented the corruptagram, a symbol he's trying to get banned in public schools. He enjoys Newcastle Brown Ale and black metal with blastbeats. Lotus Rose is not a frat boy.

loteyrose.com

Here's a short poem he wrote:

O, shall I be like the lotus,

And bring you dark dreams and soft sighs?

Or shall I be like the rose is,

Sweet-scented and tempting your eyes?

For the unending sleep can seduce you,

To the world behind unseeing eyes.

And the beauty that beckons, then cuts you,

Is also the cruelest of lies.

Also by Lotus Rose,
MachoPoni: A Prance with Death

In the first book of the Poniworld Chronicles, MachoPoni has no choice but to enter the Dark Kingdom, where the undead ponies roam. He must rescue Dust, the poni he loves from the dark princess’s castle, using wit, creativity and his magic bouncy blue ball to survive.

A twisted parody of My Little Pony, The Care Bears, and other 80's staples. Warning: contains gore and mild sexual content.

Also by Lotus Rose,
SinEaster

Like a naughty Easter version of
The Nightmare Before Christmas
mixed with
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
… On the day before her 18th birthday, Charlee wasn't expecting to be transported to Easter Land. A princess informs her she must compete to decide which of three creatures will be the future egg deliverer. But a man tied to a dark holiday known as SinEaster is also aware of her arrival.

For more info about all my books, visit
http://loteyrose.com/bookinfo.html