Page 10 of Alec in Wonderland (Rainbow Tales #1)

Back in the White War Camp, Alec rubbed at his chest as he stared down at the map of the Card Kingdoms. It was technically a map of the Hearts Kingdom since Hearts had conquered the others. Closest to their location in the Tulgeren Woods—named for its dense, tulgey quality, was the original Hearts Kingdom with the Fortress of the Queen of Hearts. It was there that they were sending Alec.

Alec rubbed at his chest again. There was an odd ache there. Sort of hollow and shivering. It grew stronger when he stared at the fortress. It almost felt as if the ache rang out like a bell, vibrating out of his chest to fly off like a bird. Weird. He assumed it was fear.

“So, the plan is for me to wander into this fortress and poke around until I happen to find the Vorpal Sword?” Alec asked.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Quin said.

Alec started to relax.

But then Quinlen went on. “We have someone who will sneak you in.”

“Sneak me in?

Finbri leaned in, his hair flopping into his face like a pair of long rabbit ears, and whispered, “A spy.”

“You have a spy in the Hearts Court?” Alec asked.

“Yes, they do,” a man said as he sauntered in.

The newcomer was stunning, with tousled black hair so silky it looked polished, large almond eyes, and a trim physique that promised a limberness in bed that few could accomplish. When he got closer, Alec saw that his golden eyes had slit pupils like a cat's and long lashes that gave them a sleepy, smirking quality. The man grinned wide enough to flash a pair of delicate fangs.

“Torwen!” Quin came around the table to hug the man. “Welcome back, my friend. Your timing is impeccable as usual.”

“Thank you. You don't know how good it is to be home.” Torwen peered around Quin's shoulder at Alec. “Is that Alec? Little Alec?”

Alec frowned at Torwen. “You seem familiar. I could swear . . . your eyes. I remember them floating in the air, without the rest of you.”

“It is you!” Torwen opened his arms. “Welcome back, Alec.” He hugged Alec, then held him at arm's length to look at him. “My, my. You've grown up nicely. You know, there are similarities between us. That will work in our favor. Oh, yes. It's perfect! You're perfect. Not as handsome as I am, mind you, but close enough to pass as blood.”

“Hold on.” Alec stepped out of Torwen's grasp, ignoring his confusing rambling. “Why do I remember your eyes and not the rest of you?”

“Think harder.” Torwen winked. “Or wider, rather.”

Alec thought harder. Then wider, panning out his memory. And then it came to him, rolling into his mind as if it had been waiting for an introduction. The past took him.

The flowers were mean, Alec decided as he tromped through the woods in his new Vans sneakers that were now ruined. Flowers shouldn't be mean. They should be sweet and speak in high voices. But those towering blooms had growled at him and smacked him with their leaves. He swiped away a tear. His dad had just bought him those sneakers and those stupid flowers had gotten pollen all over them. The stain would never come out.

“Why are you crying?” someone asked.

Alec spun around, but no one was there. This wasn't surprising. Nothing made sense in Wonderland. So he answered the body-less voice. “The flowers attacked me. I want to go home. I don't like it here. Everything is mean.” He kicked a massive piece of dirt and sent it rolling.

A pair of golden cat eyes appeared in the air before him. Each eye was the size of his head. “Where is home?” the eyes asked.

“I don't know!” Alec wailed. “I can't find it.”

“Ah.” A giant disembodied cat head appeared before him, giving the eyes a place to sit. “When I can't find my way back, I go forward. Works every time.”

Alec sniffed. “Are you a cat?”

“I am a knight.”

“Cats can be knights?”

“Cats can be anything, silly boy. We are the most versatile of animals. Switches through and through.” The rest of the cat appeared, swimming through the air as if it were water.

“Now, you look like a bird.”

“And you look like a bug. You must have sipped too much of something. Yes? Don't be greedy or you'll shrink to nothing.”

“The bottle said I should drink it.” Alec chewed at his lip. “Do you know how I can get big again?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“If you took the cake?”

“This cake?” Alec pulled a little cake out of his pocket.

“Yes, that one. Take a bite.”

Alec opened his mouth.

“Just a nibble!” the cat head warned.

Alec took the smallest bite he could. And as soon as he swallowed, he shot upward, growing back to his normal height. The cat floated out of the way, made a happy tumble, and grinned at Alec.

“Thank you, cat-bird!” Alec reached out to pet the cat.

The cat whooshed out of reach. “Never pet a cat without permission, kid.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“And I am not a bird. Stop pushing your beliefs onto others, kid. I'm clearly a cat. I don't need wings to fly, you see?”

“Yes, I see.” Alec did see, but he didn't understand. “But you said you're a knight. If you're a knight, are you in an army?”

“Yes, I am. I am in the Chess Army.”

“You're a Chess knight?”

“Yes. Sir Torwen of Chess.”

“A sir of Chess. Chess Sir,” Alec said.

“Chess Sir,” Torwen repeated. Then merged the words. “Cheshire. I like that. I think I'll claim it. Mine!”

“Okay. Take it then,” Alec said. “Cheshire the Cat.”

“Cheshire.” Coming out of his memory, Alec grinned at Torwen. This man was the first friend that Alec had made in Wonderland.

“There you are! I knew you were in there, kid.” Torwen pointed at Alec. “Yes, you gave me that name. And it's come in handy. I use it as my spy name.” He winked. “The fools don't suspect a thing. And it's right there in the name! They speak it every day! Cheshire, Cheshire, Cheshire. No one suspects that I am indeed a Chess Sir!” Torwen chortled. Then he stopped. “Except for that damn knave! Too smart for my own good, I say.”

“The Knave of Hearts is giving you trouble?” Quinlen asked.

“A little.” Torwen pulled out a chair and fell into it. “He's not so terrible, you know, beyond the brilliant mind thing. Too bad he's so far up the Queen's ass, he'll never see that he's fighting for the wrong side.”

“Have you tried seducing him?” Cranvor asked.

Torwen grimaced. “Yes.”

“Oh. He's a top?”

“Yes, but that's not the problem. I'm flexible. I've made that clear to him. But he's made it clear that he's not interested in my flexibility.”

Cranvor chortled.

“Stuff it, Raven,” Torwen said.

“I only laugh because I didn't think there was anyone you couldn't seduce,” Cranvor said.

Torwen smirked. “I forgive your rudeness in light of your keen intellect.”

Quin snorted and resumed his seat. “So, the Knave is out of reach and suspicious of you?”

“For now,” Torwen said. Then he looked at Alec. “Do you remember the Hearts Fortress?”

“Um, I remember bits. There were roses. And flamingos.”

Torwen nodded. “The Queen doesn't play croquet these days.” He cocked his head. “I hope she doesn't remember you. You've changed, but I still see the little Alec in your face.” He twirled a finger around Alec's nose. “Especially there. Right there.”

“Will I meet her?” Alec sat down.

“Yes. I'll have to introduce you. You'll be my cousin, visiting from the coast.”

“Won't it be suspicious that I'm not a cat?”

Finbri chuckled. “Cats get around. They usually have cousins of assorted races.”

“If that's your way of calling me a libertine,” Torwen growled and leaned toward Finbri, “then . . . thank you very much.” His sneer shifted into another of his broad grins. He leaned back in his chair and stroked a finger along the V of his tunic.

“You see?” Finbri waved at Torwen. Then he cocked his head at Alec. “You do resemble Torwen a bit. You'll pass as a relative.”

“As I said.” Torwen rolled his eyes. “I swear, no one listens to me. Although that does help my spying.”

“We have just returned from visiting the Caterpillar,” Quin said to Torwen. “He has confirmed that Alec's fate is still on track. I'm sure he'll pass as your cousin because he must. He needs to get into the fortress and find the Vorpal.”

“And kill a monster,” Alec muttered.

“Hey, it's fate.” Torwen smacked Alec on the shoulder.

“Why do you say that as if it makes everything better?”

“Because it does. It means you can't fail. Just relax and do what feels right. As long as you don't try to change your fate, your triumph is assured.”

Alec blinked. “I hadn't thought of it like that.

“You should always think of it like that. It's the truth. And I'll be with you. I'll help you look for the sword and guide you through the court. I infiltrated it months ago and now that I'm the Queen's lover, I have free rein. I go where I please with no one questioning me.”

“What about this knave that you mentioned?”

Torwen lost his grin. “The fucking Knave of Hearts. I'll figure out a way around him. And he's only one man. We'll be fine.”

“When you return with the sword, we'll pull back to the White Castle and prepare for war,” Quinlen said. “Until then, we must wait and guard the border.”

“In other words, hurry up!” Val said as he popped out of his seat. “I've got to go as well. I must report to the White Queen.” He stopped by Torwen's seat and held out his hand. When Torwen pulled a folded paper from his jacket and set it in Val's hand, Val said, “The Queen thanks you for your service, Sir Torwen.”

“Yup,” Torwen said. “It's all in my report, but tell her that the White Prince is well. I saw him just this past night. He is unharmed and of good spirits.”

“I will tell her.” Val bowed and then hurried off, tucking the paper into his jacket with a muttered, “I'm late. I'm always fucking late.”