“So Alice is alive,” Fabiola said from behind the bar, serving a couple of customers. “The Pillar only made us think she died.”
The March didn’t comment. Fabiola’s quest to kill Alice had become redundant. He wondered if it was the whiskey she drank in the Inklings that messed with her head. Mental note, he thought: there is a reason nuns shouldn’t drink whiskey or wear tattoos.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Jittery.” Fabiola said.
“I am not pretending,” he answered. “You should have known she was alive all along, if you’d opened the TV and watched the news.”
“I have,” she said. “I just didn’t want to think about it. My biggest priority now is to persuade the Mushroomers to be part of my army.”
“Any luck, White Queen?” The March noticed a few customer’s heads cocking when he called Fabiola by her Wonderland name. But hey, who believed in Wonderland anyways?
“Tom Truckle is working on a serum that should bring sanity to the Mushroomers.”
“Good luck with that.” The March continued cleaning. “I doubt the pill-popping doctor can help anyone with their sanity.”
“I hate it when I hear you talk like that.” Fabiola said.
The March said nothing. To him, the War didn’t mean anything. All he cared about was to go back to Wonderland and never grow up again. He’d been reading Peter Pan lately, and the idea of never really growing up resonated with him even more. Adulthood sucked marshmallows.
“So tell me about the clue?” Fabiola said. “Is Alice in trouble?”
“She is,” the March said. “Reds again.”
“Maybe they’ll succeed in killing her this time.”
In his mind, and though he respected Fabiola dearly, he wanted his broom to transform into a two sided axe that he’d roll in the air and chop off her head immediately. The March loved Alice too much, and Fabiola was being unreasonable.
“It’s a clue that should help her open a coffin with a groove in it,” the March said. “It says ‘Her Lock.’ Do you happen to know about that?”
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” she said. “But I’d assume it’s a clue Lewis designed.”
“Why so?”
“Because it’s a Carrollian phrase. Her refers to Alice. Lock refers to…” Then she suddenly stopped.
“Lock refers to what?” the March was curious. “The lock on the coffin? A metaphor for the coffin being locked?”
Fabiola suddenly smiled. It was a devious smile. Very much unlike her. Sometimes the March wondered if she’d been possessed by the Cheshire. It would explain her sudden change. But the Cheshire couldn’t possess Wonderlanders. Certainly not Fabiola.
“I think you know what the clue is.” The March confronted her.
“In fact, I do.” Fabiola poured herself a drink, and then two free drinks for the customers at the bars. “But I am not telling. She won’t be able to solve it anyways.” She made a toast and gulped happily, leaving the March in pain, wondering what the world ‘Lock’ really meant.
Chapter 20
Castle Superiore, Marostica, Italy
Fighting the Reds in such a claustrophobic corridor proved to be overly bloody. Father Williams’ men, and even the Chessmaster’s snipers were dropping like flies outside the tomb. Alice could barely see them. She and The Pillar preferred to stay inside the room and try to unlock the coffin.
“I don’t know how long before the Reds get into the tomb,” Father Williams said. “The Chessmaster sent his men to attack them from behind, but it’s only turning into a massacre, and I’m not sure who is going to win.”
“We have very little time.” I say.
“You mean before we die or solve the puzzle?” Father Williams chuckled worriedly.
“I am assuming the word ‘her’ means you Alice.” The Pillar is kneeling down to inspect the groove on the coffin again. “Lewis always referred to you as ‘her,’ let alone the fact that he always talked about you.”
“So what does it mean?” I ask.
“It means the coffin is locked with your lock.” The Pillar is only speculating. “I know it doesn’t make sense.”
“Or maybe it means that only I can unlock it.” I offer.
“It’s a probability, but how?” The Pillar grimaces at the sound of men dying outside.
“Hurry!” Father Williams says.
I stare at the coffin with no clue of how to unlock it.
“Who told you about this clue?” The Pillar asks Father Williams.
“My father.”
“How so? Did he write it down to you or just say it?”
“Never wrote it down. The keepers of the secret always keep the clues in their minds.”
“And I assume your father heard it from his father and so on.”
“I assume so,” Father Williams says. “Why?”
“I am only trying to see if the clue is wrong, misinterpreted, or even misheard.”
“I am sure it says ‘her lock’.” Father Williams insisted.
“What do you have in mind, Pillar?” I ask.
“I am not sure, but I have a feeling the word is alluding to something else, if not intentionally misheard. Lewis loved those kinds of misinterpretations.”