Page 54 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

Stunned, I shoved him away and stepped back. “What?” Clenching my fists, I whirled around enraged. “What the hell are you playing at, you mad old Hatter?”

“I was never after the coeur, dear boy. This test was for you. You are one of the more fascinating specimens I’ve ever encountered. Your assassin aura is changed and I was curious. I wanted to try an experiment.”

I swallowed my unease. “What experiment?”

His grin was faint. “To see if you would run in there to save her life.”

My gaze returned to Allie as the first lot of the ghosts began to surround her figure. “Save her life? Is she in danger? Is she going to die?”

“Oh, most certainly. Only people with hearts can venture into the underworld unscathed. Those with no hearts will end up frozen in death’s sleep.”

The heart in my chest began to pound as the ghosts swirled around Allie. For mere wisps of air, they were quite capably thrashing her about. Trying to cover her face, Allie spun and spun as she tried to push back and away from the mob of spirits. The frigid weather began to blow into the hollow and the hallway of doors.

With a highly annoyed yelp, Allie whirled around to steady herself on her feet. She swung her arms in an attempt to fight them off, but her powerless fists merely passed through their smoky figures. More shadows arrived to crowd in with Allie trying to fight them off, but she was drowning in the dense gray fog amidst the developing whiteout.

The Hatter waved his arm.

Across the still-dewy green grass, a new cold tombstone shimmered out of nothing. “It seems we must celebrate another unbirthday.” There was a catch in his ominous tone as his beady eyes watched me. “Don’t worry,” he assured. “You should remain quite safe. The shared curse on that heart will not work in the underworld. It won’t affect you as long as you stay out here.”

Regardless, my throat tightened. I would no longer share Allie’s injuries as long as I didn’t go to that place inside the hollow? Could the Hatter really have that sort of power?

True enough, I felt no soreness, no hurt, from the ghosts harassing Allie.

I clutched at my chest. Only, I could still feel her feelings.

Allie was distressed, afraid, desperate…

Help me…

There was a dull aching in my chest and I dropped my gaze.

The Hatter peered at my face. “Was this not your wish? To be rid of the strange girl once and for all?” he prompted again.

I glanced into the hollow once again. I could no longer see Allie. She was completely overwhelmed by the ghosts. The heart in my chest pounded harder.

Dammit. Damn it all.

Letting out a huff of annoyance, I shot up off the grass and leaped into the burrow. Whooshing past the throng of undead, I skidded to a stop beside where Allie was. Grunting, I knelt by her side, shrugging off the pungent corpses clamoring all over me.

Immediately, ice shot through my veins and a wave of drowsiness threatened to overcome me as Allie’s injuries affecting me came as a sudden shock.

Gritting my teeth, I slammed my fist onto the floor and my magic sent out a powerful gust of air around us that blew all the ghosts back with a wave of flurries. I couldn’t kill them since they were already dead, but at least the ghosts were repelled by my magic.

Allie was collapsed on the ground, covered by a thin layer of snow, her eyes closed. Her lips were already blue. She wasn’t breathing.

If she died, all my magic wouldn’t even have a snowball’s chance in hell of reviving her.

And because I had swooped in here, instead of staying outside with the Hatter, I would now no doubt subsequently succumb to my own unbirthday.

The Heartlamp was still propped precariously on the ledge. I was going to fetch it but as soon I tried to summon the object with my magic, it whooshed away.

The hallway of doors expanded in length, one end pushing farther away, the gaps between the hallway doors lengthening. Then the hallway moved around us in a circle as bright lights popped up in a colorful whirl and loud whimsical carnival music began to play.

We were stuck in the middle of a merry-go-round. And the ghosts were slowly making their way back to us.

I froze on the spot as a flash of terrifying shadows and screams with the echo of a memory ravaged through my mind once more. I could almost make out the blur of figures in my vision, as though they were people. I couldn’t make out any faces but the immobilizing fear was as vivid as anything. It was as if the terrifying memory was happening again right then, triggered by the onslaught of Hatter’s ghosts.

My skin chilled in fear, in helplessness. My limbs fell slack, weak, as a painful constriction stabbed in my chest. It was as though my heart was being squeezed before splitting into a thousand tiny pieces.