And she disappeared.
“What the hell just happened . . .?”
I stared down at the rock in my hand and noticed that the cut had been deeper than I had realized. Blood dripped from my palm down my wrist.
All of a sudden, I understood.
I whirled around to find the pixies still screaming and crying, and Hatter curled into a ball, his arms over his head.
“Blood!” I yelled to them. “The visions stop with blood!”
Something in my tone must have gotten their attention, because everyone turned to me.
I held up my injured hand. “Cut yourself, apply blood!”
Dee and Dum bit into their hands without hesitation and zoomed straight for their offending visions. Hatter took a second longer, and had I been able to breach the walls that separated us, I would’ve done it for him.
“Henri! Use your sword! Cut your hand! It will go away!”
Trembling, Henri rose from his crouch, drew his blade, and dragged it across his palm. That was enough for his vision of the executioner to pause.
“Run through them with your blood,” I instructed. “It’s a sacrifice! The forest wants to weaken us!”
Henri did as I said, and in the next moment, his tormentor vanished, along with the shimmering walls.
He fell to the ground with a sob, and I dashed over to him and knelt next him, sliding my arm around his shoulder.
“It’s okay, they’re gone,” I whispered. “They’re not real.”
“Yes, they were,” Dum said as she lowered herself to the ground next to me, her body trembling. “They were our past, horrors that already happened.”
I couldn’t argue with her, but something told me we couldn’t stay here either. The visions could come back, or new ones might appear.
“Guys, we need to move. Can you do that?”
In answer, the others rose.
“Let’s go this way,” I gestured to the trail I’d watched my parents die on, if only because I didn’t want Henri to have to approach where he’d seen his father die.
I picked up the dagger I’d hurled, and wordlessly, my friends followed me down the path. It didn’t take long until I was certain that I’d unwittingly chosen the right way. I felt like I was following the aether once again, like at Coleti’s cottage.
If the caterpillar is aether-blessed, maybe I’m sensing him?
I hoped so, but kept the thought to myself for now.
“I can’t wait to get out of here,” Dum croaked, clearly about ready to break down.
Feeling sorry for the pixie, I tapped my shoulder. She flew into my hood and nestled within its folds, hopefully experiencing some relief.
Henri was still quiet, dutifully watching the woods as we passed through. Dee was helping him, probably needing the distraction.
“As long as we stick together, we should be okay,” I said, trying to reassure my friends.
“Stick together and work together,” Henri broke his silence. “Alice, if—”
A rumbling growl cut him off, and everyone stopped in their tracks. Dum burst out of my hood, her body shaking once again.
“Where did that come from?” I asked, my words tight.
