Alice Black knew something was wrong with her when she accidentally paralyzed her father as a child. Since then, she's been deathly terrified of water. But when 17-year-old Alice and her twin siblings are pulled through a portal to the magical world...
When he wasn't playing music, video games were his next favorite thing. He didn't mind sports games, like FIFA, but he liked fantasy games the best. Assassin's Creed. The Elder Scrolls. World of Warcraft. Zayn was a lot like Alice in that way; he liked adventure, but only from the safety of his own home.
This was not like that at all.
Zayn leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. He was dimly aware of his stomach growling, but he had grown used to the noise over the past few days. It was like the dull hum of a computer: only annoying when you paid attention to it. Zayn shifted, feeling the hard ground beneath him. When he pictured being locked up, he imagined a cell with metal bars. The whole 'windowless black box' thing had caught him off guard.
Next to him, Zelda made a whimpering noise.
Zayn smoothed her hair automatically, trying to ignore the way his hand caught on the crusted dried blood. His throat felt tight. He had no idea how long they had been down here for — days, or weeks, maybe — but Zelda hadn't woken up. Not even once.
He watched as her eyes flickered under her eyelids. When they were younger, Zelda always lived in other worlds, spending hours locked in her room painting fantastical landscapes. When she emerged covered in acrylic paint on her hands and feet, her eyes had always been distant in a way that had frightened Zayn. As if she had gone to a place where he couldn't follow.
"You're not allowed to leave me," he said sternly. "Do you hear me? You're not going anywhere without me."
No response.
Zayn slumped back against the wall. His eye caught on a questionable clump of what looked like blue, green, and orange mold in the corner. They were definitely somewhere humid, and possibly underground as well. Zayn sighed. His life plan did not include dying in a subterranean steam room.
That was another thing about video games, Zayn thought bitterly. The hero always escaped from captivity. They weren't stuck in a subterranean prison with their unconscious sister and what looked like radioactive black mold, and if they were, they would just respawn at the save point like nothing had happened. But Zayn didn't have that luxury.
"I hate this," he said, to nobody in particular.
Silence answered him.
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"You're really going to bring that?"
Alice could feel Des eyeing her skeptically as she stuffed A Short Guide to Zirnainto the small black backpack that Bea had given her. The book was bigger and bulkier than she remembered, and it gave a squeal of protest as she shoved it in, squishing a loaf of bread. Des shook his head.
"Don't you want more food?" he asked. "Or weapons for protection?"
Alice wiped sweat from her forehead. "Isn't that what you're here for?"
