Page 10 of From the Ashes
"Alice!"
She stood in her nightgown with nothing on her feet and no wrap around her shoulders. Her glassy eyes looked straight through me.
"Two!" came the order beyond the door.
"Alice, wake up!" I shook her shoulders, but she continued to stare and mutter something about finding the white rabbit. "Alice, you must wake up now!"
"Three!" roared the commander.
The battering ram slammed into the doors. Wood cracked and the hinges snapped. I grabbed Alice's hand and ran toward the dungeon steps.
But it was too late. The army was through and they'd spotted us. The commander's shout of "Get her!" could barely be heard over the soldiers' triumphant cries.
I dragged Alice after me, but she was almost as lifeless as a rag doll. Progress was slow. Too slow. The fastest soldier lunged for her as we reached the top of the stairs.
I shoved her to the side and we both smacked into the stone wall. The soldier's momentum propelled him down the steps. The sickening crunch of bones and screams of pain became lost amid the battle cry of the other soldiers, almost upon us. I bundled Alice against me and closed my hand around my amber necklace.
"I release you, Imp!"
Nothing happened. Everything had gone quiet. I glanced over my shoulder. We were alone. There were no soldiers, no battering ram, and no distant shouts to signal retreat. They'd simply vanished. I leaned back against the wall and expelled a deep breath.Thank God.
Alice stirred in my arms. She blinked at me, her eyes clear and bright. "Charlie?" She looked around, nibbling on her lower lip. "Oh. Oh no. Charlie, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right," I muttered between my heaving breaths. "It's not your fault."
"But they came alive because of me." She eyed me carefully. "Because of my dreams. Do you understand?"
"I had guessed."
"And…you believe me?"
"When you've seen what I've seen, you believe the fantastical without question. But this…" I nodded toward the courtyard where the battered doors lay fractured on the ground. "This is quite fantastical indeed. You must tell me everything you know about your gift, but not now. We must see if anyone is injured."
"Gift," she sneered. "I wouldn't call it that.
I took her hand and we headed up the main stairs. "We looked everywhere for you," I said. "Do you know where you went or have you forgotten everything from your…dream?"
"I haven't forgotten. I never forget, although I lack a certain real world awareness while I'm asleep." She sighed. "I was here the entire time, but I drank the potion to shrink myself."
I stopped. "Shrink yourself! You mean…your real body changed too, not just your dream self?"
She lifted one shoulder. "It's a strange magic."
"Indeed."
"I tried to speak to you in my dream," she went on as we headed up to the uppermost level. "But you couldn't hear me. So I went in search of the White Rabbit instead. He's a guide, of sorts." I gave her a blank look and she sighed. "Never mind."
We met Sir Geoffrey coming down the stairs, an exultant look on his ghostly face. He grinned at me. "We did it, Mistress Holloway! We forced the French to retreat."
I wouldn't dampen his good mood with the truth. "We did, Sir Geoffrey." To Alice, I said, "Sir Geoffrey is the resident ghost here."
She sidled closer to me. "You can see him?" she asked in hushed tones.
I nodded. "As can Meredith. Come, we must find her. She's been very brave throughout this ordeal."
"She has," Sir Geoffrey said with a firm nod. "I ought to warn you, that woman is walking back. She'll be here any moment."
"Mrs. Denk! I almost forgot about her."
