Malice In Wonderland

  I didn't respond, but after considering how limited my options were, I stood up and took a step toward the guard and the black box. Apparently accepting my silence as acquiescence, the guard opened the box and reached into it, producing what looked like an enormous slug. The thing was puke-green and the length of my forearm. It glistened in the moonlight, slime covering every inch of it. It looked like Slimer's smaller cousin.

  "What. Is. That?" I asked with undisguised revulsion.

  "That's a Magreew," Knight responded from behind me, making no attempt to conceal the chuckle in his tone.

  The bastard.

  "This will only take two minutes," the guard said, clearly observing my disquietude. Two minutes never sounded so long.

  "What will only take two minutes?" I asked. My attention was riveted on the nasty thing as it rolled its head from side to side, its banana-shaped body slithering across the guard's hand and leaving a trail of bubbly green goo that looked like baby snot.

  "Extend your hand," the guard demanded. I wasn't sure if I imagined it or if he actually avoided looking at the creature. I mean, he had to be just as grossed out by it as I was. The abomination was the unabridged definition of disgusting.

  "There is no way in hell I'm letting that thing anywhere near me," I said, eyeing it suspiciously. "It's repulsive."

  The thing cocked its head (I think it was a head, but since both ends looked exactly the same, it was hard to tell). I had to wonder if it somehow understood me.

  "You can wash your hands afterwards, Dulcie," Knight said, still sounding amused. "It's just a little ectoplasm, so grow some balls and let's get this show on the road."

  "Yeah, says the guy who only had to deal with the laser pen," I barked back. He chuckled in response as I took a deep breath in preparation for the slug’s application. "If this thing has teeth, I'm out," I said, glaring at the guard.

  "No teeth," he answered evasively.

  Figuring I wasn't going to advance beyond this point if I didn't submit myself to the ministrations of the slug, I said nothing more. Courageously, I thrust my hand out, palm open and facing upward. The guard brought his palm onto mine and the Magreew slid one of its ends (I still had no idea which end was head or tail) onto my hand. It seemed to sniff my palm—one end moving up and down as it inspected me. Then, it simply slid off the guard's hand and into mine. It was incredibly warm and strangely heavy, feeling incredibly dense in its wet heat. In fact, its weight surprised me so much that I nearly dropped it. Gripping my wrist, I held my hand up straight again as I eyed the abhorrent creature curiously. It began to roll its body slowly from side to side, which reminded me of one of those paper-thin, plastic fortune-telling fish. It stopped rolling and seemed to flatten itself against my palm, while bubbles of hot goo fizzled up from underneath it.

  "Um, what's it doing?" I asked in tremulous wonder.

  "It's reading you," Knight answered. "It's figuring out what your intentions are and whether you're any threat to The Resistance. It's a sympath."

  So the odd creature did possess a high level of intelligence. Sympathetic creatures were very rare, and in the wrong hands, could become dangerous. They could read a person's character just by touching the person in question. This one must have been imported from the Netherworld as I'd never seen one before.

  It continued to gyrate against my hand, becoming warmer and warmer until it actually became pretty hot. "Um, this thing is getting really warm," I said in a concerned tone.

  "It's okay," the guard answered. "It's almost finished."

  I glanced down at it again right before it suddenly went cold and stopped fidgeting. It simply lay still in my palm. "Yeah ... I think it just ... died?"

  The guard didn't say anything as he nodded and reached for the vile thing. He rolled it back into his palm before opening the black box and depositing it inside.

  "It's not dead," he answered at last. He closed the box and reached inside his pocket, wiping his hands on what looked like a hankie before offering the same one to me. I accepted it, figuring it was better than wiping the gooey remnants on my clothes. 'Course, right about now, I also considered wiping my hand right across Knight's smug face, but figured that probably wouldn't go over too well. "Thanks," I grumbled.

  The guard opened my door wider for me, tacitly urging me to return to my seat. I did so and glanced over at Knight glumly. He was beaming from ear to ear.

  "Now was that so bad?"

  I cocked a brow and regarded him coolly. "I'd say it ranked right up there next to the botched assassination attempt."

  "Dulcie, Dulcie, Dulcie," Knight chided as he shook his head, adding. "Oh, I'd advise you to wash your hands once we get inside the compound. Those things don't ... smell very good."

  I didn't even have the wherewithal to respond.

  ###

  An hour later, we (as in Christina's Team) were all assembled in what I assumed was a library. Upon further inspection, though, the books were all fake—mere facades to make it appear that the owner of the library was well read. Whoever owned it and where we were remained mysteries to me. I knew we'd arrived in Compound Two, but upon entering the only building in sight, I guessed we must have traveled through a portal because we were now in a house, or so it appeared.

  "We" was comprised of Knight, Christina, Dia, Erica, the still foul-mooded Drow, and me. The Drow sat next to Erica while Dia sat on the opposite side of the room. She kept herself busy by inspecting one of her many fabulous earrings she was renowned for making. These were huge, colorful circles with feathers attached at the bottoms. Christina stood right beside her, pacing back and forth as if in obvious distress.

  "So sounds like you guys nearly met your maker?" Erica piped up from across the room. Her hair was now canary yellow, but still short and bobbed, and still super cute. She had one of those faces and skin tones that could get away with just about any hair color.

  "Hi to you too," Knight said, frowning at her in a playful sort of way.

  "No need to get your feathers ruffled, handsome," she threw back with a knowing grin. "You know, I think you're the sexiest creature south of the Netherworld."

  "Oh, here we go," Dia muttered, but seconds later erupted into a giggle as she faced me. "That nymph's got it somethin' bad for your Loki, Dulce."

  The Loki glanced over at me with the expression of "Yeah? So what are you planning on doing about it?" pasted on his face. I just frowned, facing Erica. "He's not my Loki, so have at it."

  I didn't miss Knight's frown or the way his eyes narrowed in obvious offense. But there was something in his eyes that gave me cause for pause, something that hinted to the fact that my comment really bothered him—a lot. I felt a moment's twinge of guilt before I shook the feeling loose, irritated with myself. I mean, I never said I'd forgiven Knight for everything that transpired between us, and as far as I was concerned, I still hadn't forgiven him. Besides, it wasn't like I'd actually even had the time to think through my confusing thoughts to arrive at a decision regarding Knight anyway. Nope, it just became one of those subjects relegated to the back burner, where it could boil and bubble, just like every other subject that had the misfortune of being back-burnered in my overwhelmed mind.

  "Loyalists were responsible for the near deaths of Dulcie and Knight," Christina started. She faced everyone in the room as she propped her hands on her hips, only to bring them to her head and clasp them behind her hair as she started pacing again. "I've called Henrietta to join us so she can tell us more."

  "Who's Henrietta?" I whispered to Dia, getting dizzy from watching Christina making the rounds of the room again.

  "She's a witch," Dia responded out of the corner of her mouth.

  "No," I piped up, facing Christina as I felt myself standing. "The only witch I trust is Sam."

  "Henrietta is one of the best," Christina started as she stopped walking and turned to face me.

  I adamantly shook my head. "If a witch is going to be involved in something that happened to me, I w
ant that witch to be Sam. And while you're at it, Trey should be brought in as well, because he can be just as useful as Sam is."

  Christina was quiet for a second or two before she nodded and picked up her cell phone, speed dialing someone. "I need Sam and Trey from Compound One." She was silent for a few seconds before she nodded. "Yes, they are to be brought through the portal to the library." She paused again. "Yes, standard security protocol." Then she hung up and faced us again. "They'll be here shortly."

  I nodded and smiled as I imagined Sam's expression upon arriving at the security gates to this compound. I could just picture her repugnance when she found herself up close and personal with the Magreew.

  ###

  I didn’t know if portal travel merely occurred from Point A to Point B, or if it also meant manipulating time; but within ten minutes, Sam and Trey walked through the double doors of the library. They were now facing all of us curiously and both of them seemed not only surprised, but concerned.

  "Dulce?" Sam asked as soon as she recognized me. "What's going on?"

  I stood up and approached them both, putting my hands on each of their shoulders as soon as I reached them. "Everything is okay," I started, but frowned as I thought about the comment. "Well, as okay as can be expected, given the circumstances."

  "What do you mean?" Sam asked, eyeing me askance. Trey didn't mutter a word, and instead just focused on the people assembled in the room, as if memorizing their faces.

  "Welcome to The Resistance," Christina said with a warm smile as she approached us.

  "The Resistance," Trey echoed as he eyed everyone again and looked, for all intents and purposes, star struck.

  "Then this is The Team?" Sam asked, glancing first at Christina and then at me before her eyes searched the room and landed on Dia. "Dia?"

  "Hi, girl," Dia called back with a little wave.

  "I requested that you both come," I started as I led them to the center of the library where Knight stood up. He offered his chair to Sam, doing his best impersonation of a gentleman. Sam took the proffered seat and I took the empty one next to her. She glanced around, as if taking stock of the room, the fake books, the furniture, and everyone in it, before facing me again.

  "Why do you need Trey and me?" she asked as she chewed on her lower lip. "And are you part of The Resistance too?"

  "Yes, I am," I started, taking a deep breath as I tried to figure out where to begin. "Knight and I were nearly killed yesterday."

  "Nearly killed?!" Sam exclaimed, her eyes wide.

  "There was an explosion in the Denali that was meant to kill us, but failed to detonate in time," I said quickly, not wanting her to worry unnecessarily. I mean, Knight and I were still alive...

  "Oh my God," Sam cried, her mouth dropping open.

  "We need for you to determine whether there were any potions involved in the explosion," Knight added, alternating his gaze between the two of us. It seemed his strength had finally returned as he was able to walk around unsupported. Good thing for me because my shoulder was still aching like a son of a bitch.

  "Of course," Sam started, looking at me with her doe-eyes. Then she threw her arms around me and buried her face in my neck. I could feel the heat of her tears against my skin.

  "I'm okay, Sam," I whispered as I patted her on the back, uncomfortable with being the center of everyone's attention. Some situations call for a little privacy and this was certainly one of them.

  She looked up at me with watery eyes. "You were nearly killed, Dulce, that's far from being okay."

  I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. Why? Because Sam was right. Things were far from okay. Things were more in the realm of super fucked up and probably quickly on their way to getting worse.

  "Sam, can you detect any residual signature or anything else on this?" Knight asked as he held out a piece of debris from the Denali. Sam nodded and dragged her shirtsleeve across her nose as she tried to get herself in order. "Take as much time as you need," Knight added in a soft voice with an encouraging smile.

  "The library has everything you might need," Christina said. "This is an alchemist's library," she finished.

  Sam nodded and gave Christina a smile of thanks before reaching for the piece of metal in Knight's hand. She glanced down at it and sighed before taking her seat again and running her finger down the length of the cold metal. Searching the room, I noticed everyone had broken up into smaller groups and were making idle conversation, probably to allow Sam and me some privacy.

  "I need a white out," Sam said, addressing me. I looked up at Knight in question, obviously not knowing enough of our location to even begin to try and find the tincture, which would announce whether or not a potion had been involved in the detonation of the Denali.

  "White out, white out," Christina repeated as she scanned the myriad of bookless spines along the wall. "Aha," she called out as she pushed the spine of one very beaten-up book that was written in what appeared to be Latin. The book facade popped forward, revealing a shelf behind it. On the shelf were several vials of white powder. Christina reached for one of the vials and handed it to Knight, who then gave it to Sam.

  Accepting it with a nod, she opened the vial, depositing a small mound directly onto the metal. Then she recapped the vial and spread the white powder across the surface of the metal as we all looked on in silent anticipation. The white powder began to bubble within seconds.

  "Yep, it's charmed," Sam said with a sigh. She glanced up at Christina. "I need some Renneen One, if you have it."

  Christina nodded and started scanning the book spines again as Erica stood up and approached her, offering to help. Smiling in response, she and Erica started searching the bookcase on the opposite side of the room.

  "Looks like we've got Renneen Two," Erica called out. "But I don't see Renneen One."

  "Two will do," Sam answered.

  Erica nodded and pushed against the book spine, which then plopped open, displaying a large chunk of what looked like butter. There was a small knife next to it and about four baggies beside the knife. Erica picked up the knife and cut a small slice of the stuff off, bagging it immediately. As soon as she dug the blade into the mound of buttery stuff, it began to ooze out a green liquid, almost as though it were bleeding.

  Erica handed the bag to Sam and Sam opened it, smearing some of the buttery-like stuff against the piece of the Denali. The butter melted into the metal, which began to glow with a pinkish hue in the areas where the butter stuff dissolved into it.

  "Looks like it could have been a Maegon bomb or possibly a Jaffroodi," Sam said. "It's definitely an illegal concoction, but I'm just not sure which one."

  Knight nodded and approached her, his eyes on the metal. "Maegon or Jaffroodi could mean the difference between an East Coast Loyalist or a West Coast one. Can you be a little more specific?"

  Sam paused for a second or two and eyed the piece of metal as she thought about Knight's question. Not finding an immediate answer, she turned to face Trey. "Trey, can I borrow you for a sec?"

  "Sure thing," Trey answered, peeling himself off the wall where he'd been watching Erica. He smiled at her apologetically before trotting over to us. Glancing over at Erica, I just shook my head as I realized she was probably Trey's newest crush.

  Once Trey reached Sam's side, she turned to face him. "Can you see if you get any feelings about this?" she asked, handing the piece of the Denali to Trey. "See if you can get any sort of hint as to where the potion might have come from."

  He nodded and opened his palm as Sam dropped the twisted hunk of metal into his hand. Closing his fingers over it, he shut his eyes. His pupils began to race side to side behind his eyelids, like someone experiencing REM sleep.

  "The potion definitely didn't originate on the East Coast," he said softly. "I'm not getting much from it, but I can tell you it's a Maegon."

  "Then it's West Coast," Knight said, never pulling his eyes from Trey.

  "Wait," Trey said as he held
up his hand. "I'm sensing that it wasn't a potion on the black market, but a home concoction."

  No one said anything; we all just waited to see if Trey was going to receive anything else about the strange potion. The fact that it was a home concoction was definitely an interesting point. It wasn't common to come across homemade potions. Why? Because illegal potions were relatively cheap and plentiful on the black market and what was more, they were highly dangerous to create. But going back to this particular potion, I chewed on the fact that it was apparently created in someone's backroom. The question was why?

  After another few minutes, Trey shook his head and opened his eyes. "I got nothin' else," he said simply.

  I faced Knight, only to find him already staring at me. "So?" I asked.

  He cocked a brow and continued to study me before his sumptuous lips broke into a solid line, a sure indication that he was frustrated. "I'd bet my ass that someone we know is behind this; not some random Loyalist."

  Christina stepped forward, as her eyes narrowed and her jaw grew tight. "Why?"

  Knight pulled his gaze from me and faced her. "Someone had to know what car I was driving and more importantly, where the car was located. A Maegon potion won't keep long, which means that once he'd created the potion, the perp had maybe two hours to dust the Denali with it."

  "How do you know the perp is a 'he'?" I asked.

  Knight faced me and swallowed hard. "I don't." He took a deep breath. "But what I would bet my ass on is that it's ANC."

  "Let me guess ... the ingredients for Maegon are sitting in the vault of the ANC?" I asked as I tried to make sense of his comment.

  Knight nodded.

  "And Maegon ingredients are near impossible to find on the streets," I continued, shaking my head against the fact that someone in the ANC could have done this.

  "Yes and no. You can find the ingredients, but it's incredibly difficult to do so; and, yes, there was a shipment sitting in the ANC vault which was never destroyed, owing to everything that happened within the last twenty-four hours," Knight finished.