Page 75 of Escaping Wonderland

Pain was real here. And death was forever.

The king took advantage of Shadow’s imbalance, wrapping his arm around Shadow’s torso and tackling him to the floor. Shadow fought without conscious thought, clawing, swinging his arms, and writhing, desperate to escape as the king tried to pin him. The human’s hands clutched at Shadow’s throat, but Shadow twisted his head and bit down on a few of the groping fingers, sinking his fangs deep. The coppery tang of human blood danced across Shadow’s tongue.

“You fucking rodent, just die!” The king rained blows upon Shadow, who threw his arms up in defense; it wasn’t enough to spare him from several heavy strikes, all of which landed with dull, meatythwaps.

Alice’s face formed in Shadow’s mind’s eye, so beautiful, so happy.

Happy. That wasn’t how Alice looked now. If she yet lived—she’s alive, has to be,mustbe—her features were drawn in agony, her skin deathly pale, her dress stained with her own blood. And this human—this mortal man, whose eyes weremadder than anyone’s in Wonderland—was the one who’d done it to her.

A second wave of fury rose from deep inside Shadow, blasting fire into his limbs. It didn’t matter how many people had suffered at the king’s hands, didn’t matter how many hearts he’d torn from his victims’ chests, didn’t matter how much blood was on his hands—he’d harmed Alice.

There could be no forgiveness for that. No mercy.

Shadow raked his claws across the king’s face, opening the flesh in a set of cuts from the man’s left cheekbone to the right side of his chin. The king reeled backward, and a spray of blood flew from the cuts to splatter Shadow’s face.

The king lunged again after an instant. Shadow bent his leg, managing to plant his knee against the king’s sternum and halt the human’s forward momentum. When the king lashed out with both arms, Shadow caught the king’s hands in his own, curled his fingers to bury his claws in their backs, and growled as he twisted his hips, heaving the king aside with his knee.

Shadow rolled with the king and came down with his knee atop the king’s gut, driving his weight down on that point of impact.

The ensuing struggle was desperate and chaotic, occurring in a flurry of swinging arms and grasping fingers. The king landed several more solid blows, but Shadow gave back twice as many, unfazed by the punishment he’d received; his pain was dulled and distant now, and what did it matter anyway?

Finally, Shadow closed a hand around the king’s throat and leaned forward, using his other arm to fend off as many of his foe’s flailing attacks as he could. The king clamped a hand around Shadow’s wrist and pulled desperately while his face darkened, shifting gradually from bright red to purple. His eyes, though bulging from their sockets, remained locked with Shadow’s, their bright, hateful gleam stronger than ever.

The king drove his other fist into Shadow’s ribs.

The pain was immediate and explosive. Shadow gritted his teeth and grunted, struggling to maintain his hold, but a second blow to the same spot proved to be too much. His hand loosened, and the king pried it away, sucked in a harsh breath, and shoved Shadow aside.

Catching himself on an elbow, Shadow tucked his other arm against his throbbing side in a vain attempt to relieve the agony. His tail whipped restlessly across the floor until it bumped into something solid lying nearby.

The gun.

He curled his tail around the weapon.

“You don’t get to win this time,” the king growled, voice raw, as he moved onto his knees. His face was still red—as was his throat—and his shoulders heaved with his heavy breaths. Blood ran from the cuts on his face and dripped off his chin, making soft but distinct pattering sounds as they struck the floor. “I’m in charge here. This ismyplace.Wonderlandis my place!”

Shadow swung his free hand down to meet his tail as the king lunged. The human’s momentum knocked Shadow onto his back. He caught the king’s throat in one hand, but his arm didn’t have the strength to hold back the man’s weight. The king leaned forward and wrapped both hands around Shadow’s neck, squeezing.

Dark spots danced across Shadow’s vision. He slipped a finger behind the gun’s trigger guard and bent his arm to position the weapon between his body and the king’s. Pressure was building rapidly in his face due to his cut-off circulation, his throat was raw, and his lungs burned.

My Alice. You can’t take her away.

He squeezed the trigger six times; the first four produced deafening bangs, the last two only the clicks of an empty chamber.

The king jolted with each shot. His eyes flared somehow wider, and he released a startled, choked grunt, spraying bloody spittle from his lips. The stench of singed flesh joined the blood scent on the air. His eyes took on a glassy sheen as he released Shadow’s throat, leaned back onto his knees, and dropped his chin to look down.

Faint wisps of smoke drifted from the four scorch-ringed holes in his chest. He parted his lips as though to speak but managed only a rattling exhalation. For a moment, his face reddened further, and then all the color drained from his skin. He swayed; Shadow shoved him aside, and the human hit the floor in a heap.

Keeping the gun raised, Shadow sagged down and drew in a deep breath. Both his throat and his chest cried out in agony. His whole body hurt, and he wasn’t sure if he could move—but he knew hehadto. It didn’t matter if an alarm had been triggered, didn’t matter if a dozen armed men waited beyond the chamber door, didn’t matter how large this place was or how many pods it housed.

AliceneededShadow. That was all, that was everything.

With his jaw clenched, he rolled onto his side, sat up, and searched the king’s body. He found a spare, fully loaded magazine and reloaded the pistol. The process came to him with surprising ease, though he couldn’t recall having ever handled a gun in that fashion. He also found a thin, rectangular device that had been hooked to the king’s belt.

Shadow pressed a button on the device, and its screen came on. His eyes widened; there seemed to be no security on the device, and the icons on its screen indicated countless documents. A small alert message, highlighted in red along the top of the screen, announced that the security and reporting systems had been deactivated by administrator override. But it was the icon at the top that immediately caught Shadow’s eye.

Claybourne, Alice.

He touched the icon with his finger.

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