Down the Rabbit Hole - Book Four

15. Never Go Out of Style

"Darie! I was only gone for three days! How the hell did the world manage to go to shick so fast?" Adisonia smirks as she hops out of her carriage.

I roll my eyes with exasperation but hug her with relief after I close the distance between us. "Shut up, please, and don't try to make this somehow my fault. Deal?"

"Deal," she chuckles and pulls away. "So, Quill had a lot to say about this lot," she looks over the World Walkers standing with me outside of the Depp Asylum. Quill, Bishop and Adisonia caught up with us just before I could brave going inside to collect information from a certain deranged Dark Rider.

I know our problem right now is having too many portals opened, but honestly, I'm so relieved we have portals at the Palace that lead to and from the four Royal Countries. They have certainly made reuniting with Adisonia easy.

"So we're saving dimensions now, are we?" Adisonia chuckles. "Alright then. I guess defeating a three-headed Jabberwocky was just a warm-up for you, huh?" she sneers as she cuffs my shoulder.

I roll my eyes again.

"So, who's this Blood Prince?" Analia interrupts. "And the why the hell do we need this headcase?"

"Because," Mom rolls her eyes, I can sense her shame through spirit. "I don't know how to control my powers and he was friends with someone who could control portals."

I curtly nod. "With any luck, he'll tell us the trick and we can leave and never come back."

"Huh. Well, you better be a fast learner," Analia tells Mom. "Because Naima and Sejal just jumped another portal. They're not in the North Lands or whatever you called them anymore."

The others look shocked.

I wince as I slowly nod. "Yeah... I sensed them opening another portal just a few minutes before you guys got here," I glance sheepishly at Quill and Adisonia.

"Where the hell are they now?" The Queen of Hearts demands.

"West...?" I cringe at the look she gives me.

"You mean they went to the Red Country I just came from? Damn it, Darie! Give us a heads-up next time! I was just right there! My army could've cornered them!"

"Hey, I can only sense them opening portals!" I anxiously say. "It takes a minuet afterwards for me to figure out where they go from there! Wait a sec," I suddenly realize. "You can sense them opening portals too," I face Analia. "How?"

She huffs and crosses her arms. "I'm a Tarsa Guardian."

"What's that? And what's Tarsa?" I ask, my curiosity burning.

Analia huffs again like she's so put out, but Taleia speaks up quickly. "Tarsa means soul-fire, it's the energy that courses through our blood."

"Like magic," Quill muses.

"Magic is trickery, and tricks are for fools," Chahna snorts with a smirk. "Tarsa is a force that can be made tangible and can be shape-shifted into other objects for the most powerful."

"Well, we don't have Tarsa where we're from," Adisonia retorts. "And if we did, then it would be called magic. Which is what we have in our veins."

"So you're a Tarsa Guardian," I say quickly, trying to defuse the tension. "Does that mean you have different powers than everyone else?"

"Essentially, yeah," Analia shrugs.

"Analia can sense whenever someone summons their Tarsa, and that tells her exactly who they are and what they've summoned," Taleia explains. "The more power they use along the way, the stronger the Tarsa trail is which is how Anali can track them."

"Whoa." Okay, yeah. We're all impressed.

"That's cool," Bishop admits.

"I guess," Analia shrugs again. "Anyway, are we gonna see this Prince of Blood or are we just gonna stand around talking about it c'uz I for one -"

She's interrupted as a huge black stallion briskly canters up the winding road before the medical edifice. The rider is magnificently covered in black and red heart covered armor, his long red cape streams behind him like a banner.

"Your Majesty!" My heart briefly freezes at the sound of his voice, even despite the rich Scottish accent, his voice is eerily familiar. "I came just as soon as I got your note!" The Ace of Hearts says with a soft laugh as he jumps off his horse.

"Urgh, what are you doing here?! I didn't leave a bloody note!" Adisonia retorts.

"Yeah, well, I figured you meant to; besides, I took a vow to protect you and by damned, I'm gonna do my job whether you're showering me in thank-you's or not," the Ace of Hearts chuckles as he lifts his helmet off, tossing his fantastic hair out of his gorgeous face.

My jaw drops as my eyes land on him. This guy is the spitting image of Vyndren Von Vesymir.