Page 67 of Escaping Wonderland

He vanished just as quickly as he’d appeared, and his hands settled on Alice’s hips from behind immediately afterward. He turned her around and led her through the doorway, shutting the red velvet door behind them.

“Shouldn’t have touched you,” he muttered. “Shouldn’t have put his hand on you.” Growling, Shadow tightened his grip on her. He was vibrating with rage. “Hetastedwhat was mine.”

Alice glanced down to see Shadow’s hands on her skirt. She settled her palm over his right wrist. “It’s done. We just need to keep moving, because somebody must’ve seen that.”

“None of those drug-addled revelers saw anything,” Shadow replied, his voice low and thick with fury. “They’ll glance over and think the two of them are still guarding the door.”

She nodded. Given the state of most of the Stark Rave’s patrons, she doubted anyone but the guards were lucid enough to notice anything beyond whoever it was they happened to be rubbing against at any given moment. A shudder ran through her. She could still feel the alien’s touch between her legs, and it made her sick to her stomach. The only one who could make that feeling go away was Shadow.

His fingers inched a little lower, and, as though reading her thoughts, he said, “I would remove the taint of his touch myself right now, Alice, were we not in a den of enemies.”

“I know.” Alice turned and caught him by his collar, pulling him down and smashing her mouth against his, kissing him hard before pulling away. “I understand.”

He slid his tongue out and licked his lips. For a moment, he looked as though he might take her right then and there despiteeverything that should’ve stopped him. But he simply took her hand in his and led her along the hall.

“He’d better hope he stays dead,” Shadow said as they walked briskly, “because if he’s not, I’m going to kill him over and over and over again for a very long time to come.”

It wasn’t long before they reached another red, velvet-lined door at the opposite end of the hall, identical to the one through which they’d entered but for the sign posted on it.

The sign, painted with large, messy brushstrokes, saidGuests Received by Invitation Only.

Naturally, Shadow opened the door without hesitation and strode through.

Well, I guess we had already abandoned the wholecan’t be seenplan before we made it this far.

Alice hurried in behind him.

“My old friends!” Shadow declared, throwing his arms wide; he held a fresh knife in each hand, though Alice hadn’t seen him draw either of them. “It’s been far too long.”

The room was surprisingly tame compared to everything else she’d seen here, containing a round table with a lacy white tablecloth, two old-fashioned wooden chairs, and a tray of sweets, pastries, and alcohol. The two individuals seated at the table were not what Alice had expected. One of them was the same species as Miraxis, though his hair was tan, his skin had a ruddy, brownish hue, and his eyes were dark. The other sat atop a stack of pillows on the chair opposite the praxian and couldn’t have been more than three feet tall. He had shaggy, dark brown hair and large, drooping ears reminiscent of a donkey’s. His face was startlingly human—and startlingly adult—but for his pronounced, snout-like nose and large front teeth.

Both aliens were staring at Shadow in shock, their mouths agape and eyes wide. The praxian was holding a glass of amberliquid in his trembling hand; drops of the drink splashed out to fall to the table and stain the tablecloth.

“I know you prefer sending invitations out, but I haven’t received one insolong,” Shadow continued, his voice bristling with menace rather than its usual humor. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten about me. I decided to pay you a surprise visit. What could it hurt, right?”

“Bokki and I a-always welcome you,” the praxian, who must’ve been Grithis, said. “You do not need an-an invitation.”

But Bokki’s features had hardened in anger and hatred.

“We rescinded your invitation, Ghost. Indefinitely,” the little alien said with surprising firmness.

“Bokki,” Grithis warned, carefully placing his drink on the table, “The ghost is our old friend. He isalwayswelcome. Remember? I-In these times, it is better to be friends than enemies.”

Bokki crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. Despite his stature, his body was proportioned similarly to that of an adult human.

“The rescinded invitation, that was just part of our…ourgame,” Grithis continued, swinging his gaze to Shadow. “Thegame, right? We’ve all had fun, we’re all friends. W-would you or your dolly like a drink?”

It was only then that Bokki looked away from Shadow, turning his attention to Alice. A crease formed between his brows. “She’s the one. The one they said was with the Hatter when the Grinning Ghost killed him. The one that escaped with him.”

Alice barely resisted a sudden urge to retreat.

Shadow took a step forward, sinking into an easy crouch that still left him at least a foot over Bokki’s eye level. “Your bringing up the Hatter gives me the perfect opportunity to remind youthat death is currently permanent. Make no mistake, myfriends—we’re not here to play a game today.”

Bokki bared his teeth. “You don’t come into our place and threaten?—”

Shadow lunged forward, slamming one of his knives into the top of the table. Everything on the table’s surface jumped and rattled, and one of the bottles tipped over, spilling a fluorescent green liquid onto the floor. “I’m sure after I stab you to death, Bokki, Grithis will be more than willing to talk.”

“T-talk? What would you like to talk about?” Grithis said, his eyes flickering between Alice, Shadow, and the knife. “We would l-love to talk!”

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