"I didn't lie. It's true. Some of them he managed to lock in Wonderland, and some he managed to give new identities in the real world, like Fabiola," the Pillar says. "It was complicated. On one hand, humans tortured Wonderlanders, so he was trying to protect us all from them. And on the other hand, Wonderlanders, like the Cheshire, a victim of human atrocities too many times, had become a clear threat to the world. I don't even think Lewis knew what he was doing."
"And now what?" I say. "How do you expect me to hunt the Wonderland Monsters knowing what we humans have done to them? Do you have any idea how confused I am?"
"A monster is a monster." He grabs my arms tightly. "No matter the circumstance that turned them into one."
"Coming from you, a man who killed twelve innocent people." I push him away.
"Forget about me. Don't you see what's happening here? Whoever showed you the circus wanted you to think that way." The Pillar grits his teeth. "They want you to sympathize with the Wonderland Monsters."
I realize his remark is right on the money. It may explain what most of this was about. This Hatter, probably on good terms with the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire, wants me to feel for them, if not join them against the world.
Could it be this Hatter is actually the Cheshire?
As I think, my feet hit a bulge in the sand. I kneel down and see something protruding from it. I dig again.
Here it is.
A small, round thing, like a compass, but with a black digital screen. A red dot shimmers on the far left of it. “Here it is." I show it to the Pillar. "The rabbit's location. I need to go there now."
The Pillar takes a moment, staring at it. His face dims a little.
"What now?" I say.
"I'm just wondering what the rabbit is doing in your house, where we were yesterday.”
Chapter 63
Buckingham Palace, London
As he was getting ready to enter the meeting hall after a small break for coffee and cakes, Dr. Tom Truckle still couldn’t believe he was standing among those important people from all over the world.
None of them were presidents, or prime ministers, but they were close, mostly friends of presidents and prime ministers.
What was the Queen planning to do with them? And how come they’d all lived in Wonderland once?
Tom avoided any prolonged conversations, so he wouldn’t blow his cover. After all, he hadn’t been truly invited. He was just an imposter in this party, the same way the Queen of Hearts was, posing as if she were the real Queen of England.
How did she even do this? And what did she do to the poor Queen of England?
The idea that Britain was now ruled by a queen from Wonderland drove him crazy. This was the kind of stuff his patients said in the asylum. The kind of the stuff he sent them to the Mush Room for.
Tom heard them announce the end of the break. It was time to get back in and listen to the Queen’s final words. Time to listen to her telling them what this meeting was really for.
As he strolled back, he reminded himself that each person on the invitation list had been, at least once, convicted of madness.
`
Chapter 64
Alice Wonder's house, 7 Folly Bridge, Oxford
Time remaining: 1 hours, 44 minutes
When Edith opens the door for me, she looks like she has seen a ghost, again. I guess she didn’t expect my return, not in a million years. But I had to. My device is flashing red in my hand. The rabbit with the bomb is somewhere in my childhood house.
“You got some nerve.” Edith groans. She has two spots swelling in her head, from when she fell down after I hit her. They’re red, and make her look like a devil.
I push her aside and let myself in, following the lead from my device. “I need to get in. There is something inside that I am looking for.”
Waving her fan, Lorina descends the stairs and looks at me with wide eyes. “Are you serious?” She tilts her head between me and Edith. “Are you freakin’ serious?”
“She thinks the rabbit is in here.” Edith closes the door behind me and laughs.
“See? Now I know you two are hiding something,” I say. “I never told you about that. How do you know about the rabbit? The police never spread the word about it to keep the people from going crazy.”
“You’re really nuts,” Lorina says. “I mean, I’m going to call the asylum to come and get you now.”
“Listen,” I say. “All I need is the rabbit, and I promise you will never see me again. Not that I would want to see any of you again after what happened here the last time.”
As the two sisters mock me, I stare at my device. It says I am standing in the right spot. The rabbit should be right under my feet, but there is nothing there. “Where are you hiding it?” I ask them. “How come you’re involved in all of this? I am really losing my mind.”
“You lost that a long time ago.” Lorina chuckles. “How about another round of None Fu?”
“I’m not joking,” I say. “Time is really running out and there is a rabbit with a bomb in this house.”