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I stole a glance at him, where he was chatting quietly with Hatter. His brilliant green eyes met mine, darkening with desire.
Unbelievable. Even though I was a fucking mess, hestillwanted me.
He still hungered for me.
Still yearned for me.
“How are coming along?” he asked, his voice smooth as silk. “Are you getting close?”
“Not really,” I said, jamming the arrow deep into the soft soil. It was going to take a while to dig all the way to Los Angeles.
“Pity,” he said, tilting his head to one side, watching me dig. “I could’ve sworn the answer to the riddle was well within your grasp.”
Hatter glared at him and backhanded him on the shoulder like Chess had just talked shit on his dear, sweet mom. The two of them started to bicker in hushed voices before Hatter dragged Chess away by his leopard print lapel.
Laughing to myself at their antics, I went back to digging. I shoved the arrow back into the soil even deeper this time, scratching out another handful of dirt.
Suddenly I stopped.
My hand curled around the feathered end of the long, stiff shaft, and I pulled the tip out of the soil, studying it up close. The tip was sharp and pointy. It wasn’t meant to be a shovel. It was designed for the sole purpose of piercing.
Of penetrating.
“Guys?” I tentatively called out, my voice shaking with excitement as the answer hit me like a bolt of lightning. “I think I solved the riddle!”
I pulled myself onto my feet and walked back to the shimmering force field protecting the sword.
“The answer is an arrow!” I announced, feeling a burst of triumph surge through my limbs as the answer to Hatter's riddle clicked into place in my mind. “It’s got a long, stiff shaft. The tip penetrates. And the container that holds arrows is called a quiver. That’s the answer to the riddle, right?”
As the words left my lips, the air around me shifted. The constant stink of rot and mold was replaced with the soft fragrance of delicate flowers. The strange symbols on the huge stone door lit up and transformed into letters I could actually read.
I have a long, stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver. What am I?
An arrow.
I approached the Vorpal Sword once more, and as I murmured the words of the riddle and its answer out loud, I felt an overwhelming surge of power course through me. That surge of power leaped from my body and into the gaping mouth of the stone Jabberwocky in front of me. A fan of tiny electrical sparks darted across the force field guarding the Vorpal Sword before exploding in a quick series of pops. The sword gleamed on the red velvet pillow where it sat, calling to me.
Beckoning to me.
With a deep breath, I reached out once more into the stone Jabberwocky’s mouth and grasped the weapon. My hand wrapped confidently around the hilt, and this time, the sword came free with ease, its weight surprisingly light in my hand.
"Finally," I breathed, staring at the gleaming blade in awe. I could feel the strength of the weapon pulsating in my grasp, filling me with a newfound sense of purpose and determination.
My heart pounded in my ears as I took a step back and examined the sword closer. Even though I’d taken fencing classes for years, I’d never held such a substantial weapon. Fencing foils were thin, fine, and bendable. They were meant to do no harm.
The Vorpal Sword, however, was meant to slay.
And now it was in my hands.
I looked around for Hatter and Chess, but they’d vanished without a trace.
“Guys?”
My heart pounded harder.
“Guys? Where the hell are you?”
Nothing.
