ACT 6
Thinking of That Faraway Place
Alice dragged her finger along the row of book spines, shaking her head in regret.
“They’re all disorganized again,” she sighed.
With her arm healed, she was back at work, only to find how much of her earlier work had been undone. She didn’t know if her assistant maid had done anything in Alice’s absence. There was a good chance she hadn’t —everyone in Hatter Mansion seemed to be incredibly busy in the Country of Diamonds.
Oh, well. Alice turned to the overflowing returns cart and the mountains of piled books. At least the job never got boring.
She pulled unrelated books from the shelf, found the books that actually belonged there, and reshelved the proper tomes. She enjoyed watching the mountains of books shrink as she worked. It felt like giving something a good cleaning.
Especially since dirty clothes and stains just clean themselves in Wonderland. She liked the rare feeling of accomplishment.
As Alice tried to return a book on agriculture to its proper shelf, she noticed a different book mixed in with the others...and without thinking, her hand stopped.
She remembered that title.
“Didn’t I last see this in Blood’s room?”
She’d personally returned the book to him before. As she pulled the tome out, she slid the agriculture book into its space.
There was no place in the library for the book she now held in her hand. And since she knew where it was supposed to go, she couldn’t just leave it.
She frowned.
She’d been...avoiding Blood since that second Survey Meeting—or to be more accurate, ever since
he came to treat her wound the second time. She’d gotten fed up with Blood’s constant sarcasm, and she had no idea how insufferable he’d get if they were alone. She wanted to keep her distance.
...But this is part of my job.
She still had the books Blood had loaned her piled up in her room. She could return them and this one.
So she finished her shift, returned to her room, and gathered up all his loaned books. She balanced the new book on top and carried the pile to his room.
The guards stopped her. When she explained why she was there, they exchanged looks.
“We haven’t.. .heard anything about this from the Boss-.”
“I know,” she replied. “I’m not here because Blood asked me this time. I’m just.. .returning some books mixed into the reference collection.”
They didn’t seem convinced. One of them rapped on the door.
“Boss, the young miss is here-. Will you see her-?”
“Did she have an appointment?” Even muffled by the door, his voice still had that recent, irritated edge to it.
“No. She says she’s here to return books-.”
For a second Alice hoped he wouldn’t let her in— then she could give the books to the guards and be done with it. But the door suddenly swung open.
“Uh... Hi, Blood.”
“Returning books? Fine. Come in.”
He seemed prickly, but he widened the door. As she followed him into the room, the guards shut the door behind her.
“Do you want me to return them to your shelves?”
“You’re the librarian,” he replied calmly. “So yes.”
She watched him head for a sofa rather than his desk. Was he taking a break? As he lowered himself onto the plush, she headed for Blood’s bookshelves.
She’d only slid a few tomes into their proper places when he called to her.
“Alice.”
She swallowed. “What?” she asked, her voice a little weak. She tried to stay calm as she slowly turned.
He loomed right behind her. She hadn’t heard a single footstep.
For a second, she was oddly impressed by the stealth of a Mafia boss. He tilted his head down at her.
.. What was the other Blood Dupre to you?” he asked in a low rumble.
There was a short pause before he asked. Alice figured that the question had some extra significance to Blood, but she answered as she always did.
“We were friends. End of story.”
“I can’t tell if you’re a good liar or not.” His eyes narrowed. “If you were just friends, my touch at the Survey Meeting wouldn’t have made you jump.”
“I’ve told you so many times, Blood. You’re imagining things!”
“Am I?”
Blood suddenly surged forward, making Alice slap her back against the bookshelf. He stretched his arms out on either side of her, resting his gloved hands on the tomes.. .and effectively trapping her.
“No matter how the world turns,” he murmured, “I’m still myself. And I don’t think I’d just sit there with a fascinating young woman like you close by.”
His blue-green eyes dragged all over her body, sending a shiver down her spine.
Alice quickly shook her head. “Nothing happened,” she insisted. “It was friendship .”
The other Blood had never cornered her like this. To him, Alice was just a rare Outsider visiting from a different territory. He gave her treatises on tea and books to borrow, when Elliot wasn’t also shoving carrot cuisine into her face. She knew that it was a real accomplishment to get accepted into the private rose garden of a careful Mafia boss. It made her happy. And, well.. .proud.
But that Blood had never pressured her into an especially intimate relationship. They shared similar interests and a twisted sense of humor, so they enjoyed each other’s company. He was neither too close nor too distant. A perfect range for a close friend.
“Alice...”
She snapped out of her reverie.
“When I’m right in front of you,” he said darkly, “don’t go daydreaming about another man, even if that man is me.”
She scowled. “Are you trying to control my thoughts now? Don’t be ridiculous!”
And seeing Blood here, even Diamonds Blood, ensured that she’d remember those times. She
couldn’t not remember when she stared into those familiar eyes.
His left arm suddenly shifted. He gripped her chin.
And lowered his face toward hers.
Alice panicked. “W-wait!” she blurted as she tried to twist away. “Blood, don’t!”
He stopped. She could feel his breath on her mouth.
“Why?”
“I-isn’t it obvious?!” she stuttered. They weren’t even friends yet. He couldn’t just.. .kiss her!
Blood’s fingers tightened around her chin as he leaned closer.
“No,” he rumbled. “It isn’t obvious! If you’re saving yourself for the ‘me’ of some other country, then just come out and say it.” His mouth slanted. “Not that that would stop me.”
“I’m not saying that! It’s just...the other you never tried this.”
Alice swallowed. And she’d never wanted him to. She’d never thought of the old Blood that way.
In response to her words, Blood of the Country of Diamonds furrowed his brow in distaste. He looked
like he didn’t understand.
“He never tried to kiss you? Even when you were close enough to touch?” He scoffed. “Or did he treat you like something precious, and that’s why you were obsessed with him?”
“I wasn’t obsessed. He was just important to me as a...” The word “friend” died on her lips as he flashed a mocking smile.
“You stopped. So you’re finally willing to admit that he was your lover.”
“Oh my God." Suddenly frustrated beyond belief, Alice slapped his hand away. The look on his face didn’t change.
She started to tremble. “Quit talking like that!” she cried. “And you aren’t the Blood I know, so don’t get any ideas!”
His mouth became a thin line. “He must have been frustrated, having someone so close whom he couldn’t touch, couldn’t hurt. You say I’m not the same man—and if you’re telling the truth, then I agree. I would never have made that choice.” He looked away. “If that’s the way it was, I can only pity the man.”
BET ON MY HEART
“Blood...”
He turned from her in disinterest and walked back to his desk. She stared at his gait and that long, familiar back.
He looked so much like the man she knew, but... she was so out of sync with this man.
It depressed her.
“You make people do things that aren’t in their nature,” he said as he lowered himself into his chair. “That may be the proof of your greatest charms, Alice.” He leaned back in the seat. “I think that’s what makes you Outsiders dangerous.”
1 can’t take this. The longer she stayed, the more he’d twist her words. She crammed the last book into the shelf.
“I’ve had enough,” she said icily. “I’m finished shelving the books, so I’m leaving.”
She didn’t try to hide her irritation as she doubletimed it out of his room. Blood made no attempt to stop her.
That just annoyed her worse. She quickened her pace.
Why was he doing this? Why was this Blood so damn critical of her? And...
And was there something wrong with her, too? When he’d gripped her chin and leaned in, had he noticed that her reaction was a moment late?
She hadn’t been disgusted by his attempt to kiss her. Knowing that confused her all the more.
It was just Blood making fun of her again, right? She didn’t think he was serious about kissing her. It was probably just a capricious impulse for him.
But...when he’d taken her chin in his hand, she’d felt a small heat build up in her. Alice shook her head angrily; she couldn’t read too much into something done on a whim.
He thinks I’m in love with the old Blood—and I’m not. I shouldn’t have let that get to me.
She’d been so irritated to hear him reject her assertions like that. He wouldn’t listen.
He was driving her mad.
“Come on, Mom! Forget that picture already!” “It’s much more fun to take your time, sweetie.”
In the next gallery over, children were pointing at the museum’s various exhibits. Alice saw a woman flash a pained smile at a boy holding her hand.
He tugged at the woman. “But I’m bored of that picture—the ones back there look a lot better! We’re finally inside the art museum, so let’s see the best ones!”
The woman sighed. “What am I going to do with you...?”
Alice’s gaze followed the mother and child, and then strayed off down a long hallway. What s down there? she wondered. This place is big .
She hummed, enjoying the anonymity of wandering the art museum alone. She’d slipped out of Hatter Mansion during a mundane work shift, only telling her assistant maid that she was “going out.” That was technically following Blood’s orders that she not leave without permission, right? The maid would pass it on? And Alice’s feet had just led her back to Jericho’s territory.
“Mommy, a bunny! And over there! Here’s one, too!”
“Don’t run—you’ll trip and fall!”
Alice watched a rabbit jump out of a picture, then a little girl ran after it. Another rabbit—a white one—bounded over to Alice.
Alice knew it was probably out of the painting, but when she touched it, it felt soft and furry.
That...doesn’t feel like a painting.
She didn’t have time to be surprised as a shadow fell over her. She looked up into a familiar face.
“It is you.” Jericho tilted his head. “If you’re coming to visit, you should tell the staff.”
“Jericho, you’re working in the museum today?”
When Alice took her hand from the rabbit and stood again, the creature zipped to a corner of the room unusually fast. She turned from it to face Jericho.
“I didn’t expect to catch the busy museum curator just by showing up.”
He laughed. “Eh, I’m not good at sitting still—I changed the exhibits a little. Why don’t I give you a tour?”
Alice hadn’t come to the museum with any goal in mind—she’d just needed some time away from Blood constantly irritating her. A tour sounded like
a nice distraction.
“Thanks,” she replied.
She followed Jericho down the hallway, and eventually into a room where a huge picture of greenery stretched before her. A lot of the exhibits had landscape paintings, but this one was on an entirely different scale.
Someone had painted a forest with sunlight streaming through the leaves on nearly an entire wall. The scene looked as if they had tom down the wall, and on the other side, a real forest stretched out.
Some people were sleeping under the trees, others sat on benches and chatted. Kids clambered up the trees as birds sang overhead.
Alice hummed under her breath. “I like it.”
“The theme of this exhibit is ‘healing,’” he explained. “And it’s titled Forest ...which is maybe a little too on the nose, heh. There are rivers in the painting and a lake way in the back.” He gestured with his head. “You can step into the painting and take a break, if you want.”
She flashed him an apologetic smile. “Ah, no.
I’m fine.” It was nice of him to offer, but she didn’t feel like it.
He smiled back. “Sure. But if you need a break, don’t overextend yourself. Just tell me.”
For a few moments, she just stared into the tranquil forest. Then she turned her gaze up to him.
“Jericho...”
His eyes widened at the look on her face. “What is it?”
“Urn.. .are you really from this world?” she asked quietly. “Even if I’m an Outsider, you’re being so nice to me. It feels too... normal .”
She was used to every leader approaching her “just to see the Outsider.” The very few exceptions were the eccentrics or the bigots who wanted to close off Wonderland.
But from the very first moment that she’d met Jericho, he’d treated her like a human being.
Jericho shook his head. “I don’t know about ‘nice,’” he replied softly. “And I do more dirty work than you think I do.”
Alice wondered if he was talking about his work as a Mafia boss. Or the face he wore as the
Gravekeeper, or working as the museum curator... Even Gowland, who ran the amusement park in Hearts, had been a leader involved in territory disputes. She was sure dark acts happened away from her eyes.
She sighed. “That may be true, but I still think you’re a nice person, Jericho.”
“You’re free to think what you want. But the extent of my time’s already been decided, so maybe that’s made me philosophical... No, that isn’t it.” His eyes lowered to his hand.
He clenched it and nodded to himself.
“One climbs up only to fall,” he said. “And if you think of it that way, the correct path is just resigning yourself to it. I’m simply awaiting my true end.”
Alice furrowed her brow. “The extent of your time’s been decided?” she repeated. She remembered that she knew next to nothing about this man.
The man who was already dead. Everyone always mentioned death around him. It was weird for Wonderland.
As Alice wondered whether to pry further,
Jericho’s gaze focused on something past her head. He sucked his teeth.
“Great. Of all times...”
“Wh-what is it?”
A flustered man suddenly ran up, his hands gesturing wildly. “Mr. Curator!” he cried. “We have a problem!”
“Calm down,” Jericho ordered. “An attack, right? Tell me the enemy, the location, and any damage done.”
“It’s definitely the Mad Hatter, but we don’t know any more than that. No major damage other than a fence.. .but they’re in the graveyard, sir!”
“Fine. I’ll be there soon.”
Alice didn’t have time to interrupt before the man ran off. She flicked wide eyes up at Jericho.
His jaw tightened. “You heard the man. I’m afraid the tour ends here.”
“Don’t worry about me, but...is this place safe?” Alice looked around at the crowded room. “Should you evacuate the museum?”
He shook his head. “The graveyard is pretty far from here. So for the time being, I consider the
inside of this place safe.”
“I hope you’re right...” Alice wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt.
She suddenly felt nervous in the crowd. A lot of the citizens in that territory probably knew that she lived at Hatter Mansion... Would they think she led the Hatters to attack? Just as she was trying to figure out a way to distance herself from the place, Jericho took her hand.
“You need to get away. I’ll show you a shortcut.”
He led Alice to a space in front of one of the paintings—a busy street scene. The people walking down the street and mingling inside the painting moved as if alive.
“This is the shortcut?” she blurted.
“Yeah. Just do this.. .and enter the picture.”
He stuck his arm straight out and pushed it inside the living painting. Then he gripped her shoulder and shoved her toward it; she lost her balance and gripped the frame to stay on her feet.
“Listen,” he said quickly from behind her. “Go in and turn right at the big street. Go straight until a T-intersection, then go left. If you run straight on
after that, you’ll come out in an area close to the Hatters’ territory—but whatever you do, don’t go in the other direction! It comes out in a totally different place.”
“J-Jericho!” When she righted herself and glanced back, he was already gone. She bit her lip and turned back to the painting.
Half doubting him, she tentatively reached toward the picture as he had done. Her fingers slowly sank into the painting.
“Whoa,” she breathed. “This feels weird!” It wasn’t an uncomfortable sensation, but even in Wonderland, she’d never jumped into a painting. She carefully pushed one arm in, then her other arm, then took a breath and stepped inside entirely.
The world changed around her.
She gasped, suddenly standing in a street lined with market stalls. The people walking down the street looked so alive, she couldn’t believe they were in a picture.
“Vegetables!” a vendor cried from nearby. “Fresh vegetables and fruit here!”
“Come on—you can try before you buy!”
She had so many questions about this.. .painted?... street, but she didn’t have the time. She ran down the road.
She soon came to a big street, just like Jericho had described. She turned right and kept walking, but saw no incoming, dead-end intersection. After about three blocks, she saw walls, but all of them still left open pathways.
“How far does this go?” she wondered aloud. She trusted Jericho’s advice and kept walking, but the road just stretched on straight before her...never changing.
“This is so weird...”
“What’s the matter, miss?” someone asked from nearby. “Looking for something?”
“She may be lost. It’s a pretty big town.”
Alice stopped, her lips curling into a frown. She felt crazy asking people inside a painting for directions, but eh. Wonderland was crazy.
“I... heard there was a T-intersection if you keep going this way?”
One of the friendly men waved a hand. “Oh yeah, I know what you’re talking about. There used to be one, but it disappeared.”
“Huh?” she blurted. “You mean...the wall vanished?”
“You got it. Somebody painted over it with skycolored paint. It sure caused problems for us!”
As the men wandered off, Alice ran a hand through her hair. Her eyes flicked back and forth.
If I try to go back now, she thought worriedly, / might get lost, since I don’t know where I am. But I can’t stay here forever, either.
The last thing she wanted was to walk until she collapsed inside a piece of art. With no other options, Alice found a corner in the blind spot of a building and turned down that road.
She proceeded down the narrow road at a trot, her eyes on the ground. She saw light dimly reflecting off of what looked like tiles.
“A picture frame!” she breathed.
She couldn’t see much, but the light spilling up from the ground looked much like the frame she’d seen in the museum. She held her breath and dove in.
Her body’s orientation took another drastic change; it was like gravity itself spun and twisted
her around. She slumped to the ground, her mind whirling, and tried not to be sick.
Where am I?!
She swallowed bile and forced her head up. Her eyes widened.
She’d never been to this place in the Country of Diamonds, but she knew it immediately. Grave markers stretched in a solemn row before her, amidst patches of thin, scraggly grass. She saw piles of soil—newly upturned ground.
This was Jericho’s graveyard, in the same territory as the art museum. She cursed her luck for dropping her right where the Hatters were attacking.
In a panic, Alice tried to stand, but her legs turned to jelly beneath her. She gurgled as the world spun again, her senses warping around her.
Not again! Not now!
It was that same dizziness that had plagued her since coming to the Country of Diamonds. And this time, it was stronger than ever; she couldn’t even sit up.
She spilled weakly against the ground, her arms splaying out in front of her. Her palms slid across
mud as she collapsed, the raw scent of grass filling her nostrils.
“Who’s there?!”
“Hey, there’s a girl over here!”
The last things she heard were the cries of unfamiliar men.
“Stunning work, as always.”
“What do you expect, when my sister dear does nothing but bark orders from the sidelines?”
“We only wish to keep Our lazy brother on his toes. You should thank Us.”
The conversation was faint, as if it could fade into the night breeze. Alice moaned and lifted her head.
The graveyard had disappeared; she lay in a beautifully manicured, miniature garden. Green ivy and leaves cut through the vivid red of roses. Even the breeze caressing her body seemed to shimmer.
It was the secret rose garden in Hatter Mansion— the one limited to two special visitors. Nostalgia
welled up in Alice just as realization dropped her stomach.
This is...a dream.
Alice was in the Country of Diamonds. Even if she’d moved back to Hearts or Clover, it was way too convenient for her to land here. Her eyes followed the voices.
Vivaldi, Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter, Blood Dupre, sat at a nearby table. They shot loving barbs at each other and seemed to overlook Alice entirely.
“B-Blood?” she whispered, her voice a tiny croak. “Vivaldi...?”
They didn’t respond. A weak smile pulled at her lips.
She didn’t like intruding on their private time, anyway.
I could only dirty this beautiful place.
Alice loved beautiful things. It was why she’d fallen in love with this location, where she could see two beautiful people against a perfect backdrop. A small, exquisite space, close yet distant from her, cut off from the rest of the world.
She watched Blood walk to a nearby vine and twist his wrist in it. He twisted over and over, the vine sliding up his arm.
“Blood,” she breathed. “Why...did you...”
“Why did you let me come here? ”
The Blood of Hearts and Clover had invited her into this sacred place. She had no idea why. And even though he’d hit on her and made rude comments, he’d never once touched her in a genuinely sexual way. Just little teases. Just some goading that riled her up and made him smile wickedly. He didn’t mean it.
He’d never pinned her down like the Blood in the Country of Diamonds.
He’d never had reason to touch her like that. Or maybe he had reason not to touch her.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, Vivaldi was gone. Only Blood remained at a short distance, that vine of roses snaking around his arm. He spoke in a low, breathy voice, like he was talking to himself.
“Blood...?”
Her reedy voice barely made a sound, but he
suddenly reacted.
“Alice.”
He called her name as if in response, and her heart thundered in her chest. But she didn’t think he was actually answering her.
And that wasn’t his voice. The Blood of Hearts and Clover never called to her like that.
He looked exactly the same—his suit, his hat, the shape of his face were just like the old Blood, down to the tiniest detail.
But his eyes were different. He was strong, but seemed too young to use that strength to the fullest. His gaze was hot.
This was Blood Dupre of the Country of Diamonds.
The moment she realized that.. .the garden faded away.
She jolted awake somewhere dark, her cheek crushed against a cold floor.
Something had been tied over her eyes...a blindfold? She felt cords binding her arms and feet.
“Where am I?” she breathed. When she tried to move, something hard rammed into her side.
“Ow!”
“Hold still,” somebody snarled. “Make any funny moves and you’re dead!”
Judging from the unfamiliar voice, someone stood over her—and had probably kicked her. She wanted to scream at him, but she knew that would be stupid. She bit the inside of her cheek.
She remembered the voices she’d heard before passing out. Were they the people attacking Jericho? Had they captured her?
Then...they can’t be Hatters, she thought quickly. Even they wouldn’t treat me like this. Who exactly had attacked the graveyard?
She felt unharmed, and she was tied up, so someone had decided she was too useful to kill. She couldn’t suppress a sigh at her calculating thoughts.
I guess I’ve really gotten used to this world. She didn’t know if that made her glad or depressed.
Someone shouted in the distance. Male voices hissed at each other over her.
“Here they come...!”
Someone shoved something hard and metallic against her head—the barrel of a gun. Her face distorted in pain.
“Don’t move!” her captor ordered as he ground the barrel into her skull. “Whoever it is, he can’t save you that easily!”
She frantically shook her head. “No!” she gasped.
“Shut up! I told you not to—gah!”
A gunshot rang out, cutting him off. His grip went slack and the gun fell from her head as she heard him crumple to the floor.
“You should take your own advice and shut your mouth!”
“Th-the Gravekeep—”
WHAM
Something heavy hit something else, and the man finally went silent. Alice recoiled from the tangy scent of iron as strong fingers gripped her arm.
“Are you all right, Alice?”
“J-Jericho?”
He hauled her to a sitting position and pulled down her blindfold. The light dazzled her for a second, but she blinked until her sight returned.
Jericho’s prim suit was gone. The man before her, armed with a gun, was the fearsome leader of the Gravekeeper’s territory.
He shook his head and started untying her. “Forgive me,” he murmured quickly. “I didn’t know the painting had been vandalized. And now I’ve gotten you mixed up in my problems... I have to get you out of here.”
“B-but they’re after you, right?” she argued. “I’ll just slow you down!”
“I’ll be fine. This was my fault to begin with.”
She let him pull her to her feet. They ran to the exit; she tried to get him to leave in another direction, but he refused. He dragged her along behind him.
Sure enough, Faceless started popping up, shouting and pointing at the territory leader in their midst. Alice gasped and ran to keep up.
“It’s the damn Gravekeeper!” a voice shouted.
“Say your prayers, Jericho Bermuda!”
“You’re going down right now!”
Jericho flipped up his revolver.
The Faceless charged with guns, knives, even explosives—but Jericho just fired round after round
into their shrieking bodies. They never even got close. He glanced back at Alice as his gun boomed.
“People underestimate me because I’m already dead,” he said coolly. “But they won’t stop me here .”
“Dammit,” someone snarled. “Take him down! Now!”
Jericho was a lone man against countless adversaries, but he didn’t even look strained. Alice knew the Role-Holders in Wonderland could just mow down the Faceless, so Jericho seemed as powerful as the other territory leaders. A question floated to the top of her mind as she ran.
How can he be this strong if he s “already dead”?
Jericho stopped, leaving Alice to catch her breath. He gestured with his gun.
“If we head down that way, we’ll get to the exit fast. Sorry, but I’m going to ask you to accompany me a little farther.” He cocked his gun into a ready position, then held his other hand out to Alice.
“Uh, Jericho? You—huh?!”
He suddenly jerked his hand back and instead shoved her, using the force to propel himself in the opposite direction. Alice stumbled back as
the Gravekeeper dove into a roll, bullets zipping through the air where he’d been standing. The gunshots came from the location of the exit.
Jericho grunted and whipped up his gun. “Pretty small-minded of you,” he shouted sourly.
“I’d love for you to suggest something more efficient. I’ve got future plans I should be getting to, since I actually have a future, unlike you.”
Alice froze. A white figure emerged from the darkness, his footsteps heavy. She made out the shape of a top hat and saw enemy blood spattered across his suit.
“Blood?!”
Blood scowled, smoke rising from the barrel of his gun. “Why are you so surprised?” he snapped.
Her defenses rose up automatically. “What are you even doing here?!” she shouted back. And why do you always have to argue with me?!
She didn’t think she was important enough to him to merit a rescue. In fact, he was the very man who had said the Blood of Hearts and Clover, who had called Alice “precious,” was frustrated and repressed.
He made a beeline for her, sucked his teeth, and
grabbed her arm.
“You’re supposed to get my permission any time you want to leave the mansion. Don’t even pretend that you didn’t know that!”
“No, but I told the maid... A-and she passed it along, didn’t she?!”
The Mad Hatter laughed in her face.
He suddenly flashed a smile that she knew well from the old Blood. Somehow both degenerate and alluring—a fearless smile.
“You didn’t get my permission, young lady. You never even asked me directly! You’ve got guts to breach a contract with me; in the Mafia world, that can get you killed .”
“Ow! Hey—mmph!”
He grabbed her roughly into an embrace and kissed her. His hot mouth bit against hers.
In the resulting shock, she could only watch as he stepped around her, blocking her from Jericho. She heard the ring of Jericho’s gunshot.
She tensed, but the bullet zipped nowhere near them. A warning shot. Was Jericho trying to drive them away?
Blood turned his back on Jericho’s barrage of bullets, clearly unconcerned, and lifted Alice up into his arms like a bride over the threshold.
“We should go,” he hummed. “I’ll deal out your punishment later, in my own sweet time.. .got it?”
“P-punishment? Ah!”
There was no time to question the ominous promise. With a dramatic flap of his jacket, the Mad Hatter ran into the night, Alice clinging to his neck for dear life.
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