Alice in Demonland

Birthdays weren’t exactly happy for us Moths, especially when it was our eighteenth like it was Eric’s. That was because the demon parent officially began its hunt to kill their offspring on this day. The Dark Moth Society’s ruler knew what today meant. For that reason I was surprised Wrythe had agreed to let him go above ground.

When I asked Wrythe to let everyone go it was because I’d forgotten Eric’s birthday. I’d been too excited about winning.

Now, though…

It was well known that the demon sire rarely came after his offspring on their actual birthday. That would be too easy. And the demons hunted us for sport. It was amusing to them. They’d discovered eons ago that they could do it, so they did. We were nothing more than their entertainment.

They impregnated human women without their knowledge, forced them to carry the Moth child to term, and once born, terminated the mother. It was heartless, cruel, and evil. But it was all we knew.

Normally the demon would allow the Moth to worry and fret a week or two, even sometimes killing those close to the Moth first. Or he might enter their dreams, showing them how he intended to kill them. I’d heard of one sire who’d taken over the body of a half demon’s fiancé only so he could torture her, bring her low and break her mentally before slaughtering her.

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think we should go,” I said to Wendy while I watched her apply her makeup. We were in our shared bedroom and I was sitting on my bed. There were no posters on the walls. Barely anything sat atop the dresser and no fancy bedding with extra pillows. Basically, there was no frou-frou. It was like what I imagined a military barracks would be in the human realm. Beds, a dresser, and four plain walls. Not that I minded. The accommodations were better than my living arrangements before the Dark Moths took me in.

Wendy looked pretty in heels, skinny jeans, and a red silk halter-top. She’d curled her dark hair and it lay against her creamy skin in a halo of soft curls. For makeup she’d done smoky eyes in dark gray and black and then applied red lipstick that matched her top as well as her markings.

During dinner, the others had talked excitedly about what they wanted to do while above ground. The plan was to go to a club called The Mad Hatter. It was rumored to be the party place for all Warriors with drinks and dancing and fun. Not that any of us had much experience with the meaning of that word. We’d been training within the compound since we were twelve and for most of us, it was the only home we cared to remember.

“Of course we’re going to go, Ali—” she paused and took in my outfit.

I had on dark jeans, my old black combat boots, and a black tank top. After my shower, I’d brushed out my hair and put some mousse in it figuring I’d let it air dry. My makeup consisted of nothing, unless I counted the lotion I applied.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” She wrinkled her nose like I smelled bad.

I glanced down, sniffing slightly. “Yeah.” Soap scent filled my nose.

She shook her head. “You’re lucky you have those weird eyes. At least they provide a pop of color.” She grabbed her bag and added a small dagger to the rest of the contents, then sealed it shut.

“I seriously doubt they’ll let you bring a weapon into the club.” I didn’t tell her about the knife hidden in my boot.

She laughed, retrieving it from her bag. “Old habits die hard.” She set it on the tall oak dresser we shared and headed toward the door.

“With Eric’s birthday, I don’t think it’s—” I tried again.

Wendy held up her hand, cutting me off. “Look, I know you’re the Queen of Hearts and that you don’t care about the rest of us.” She went over to her wooden jewelry box, found a necklace, and put it on. “Not really, anyway. But Eric is my boyfriend. Tonight is his birthday. And since you won the challenge you have to come.” She stomped one of her healed feet as her markings flashed deep red. “So get off your butt and let’s go.”

“Fine.” I hated it when the others called me Queen of Hearts, probably because the nickname fit. But not the way they thought.

That was my biggest secret: my heart overflowed with emotions and feelings. I cared too much. More than I should. I fought to protect my heart because caring hurt, more than they could know.

As we walked down the hall, we met Pam and Georgia. They both looked great as well. Georgia in a bright yellow sundress and Pam in a plum poplin top and white pants.

We turned the corner and opened the door to the guys’ hallway. They were waiting by the elevator, all dressed in variations of the same outfit. Jeans and button-up shirts. Eric wore green, Gilbert had on orange, Steve looked nice in blue, and Leif wore pink.

Eric’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Wendy.

“You look gorgeous,” he said hugging her and kissing her neck.

“Thanks.”

The rest of us tried to pretend we were invisible while they proceeded to passionately make out.

Finally Steve had enough. “Let’s go.”

“We can’t yet. We need to wait for Peter.” I faced the door that led to the teachers’ quarters just as Peter appeared with the key that would unlock the elevator and take us up. Up out of Demonland and into the real world, the one where we were hunted like animals.

Usually Peter wore all black. Tonight he had on faded jeans and a purple tee shirt. He’d showered and pulled his long black hair back with a tie at the nape of his neck.

“You clean up nice,” Pamela said, sidling closer to him.

“So do you,” he responded with appreciation, though he kept his distance.

His words surprised all of us. He took in our shocked faces and chuckled. “What? I’m not allowed to have fun? I need to stick to babysitter duties?”

I hadn’t thought about that. To me, Peter was a teacher, someone way out of my league, but he was probably only a few years older than the rest of us.

“Oh no. You should definitely have some fun,” Pam said, giving him a sultry smile.

“How about I find a happy medium.” He went over to the elevator covered by a wrought iron gate and opened it with a squeal that set my ears on fire. Then he took the strange circular-shaped key he carried, inserted it into the keyhole just below the button that had an up arrow and turned it to the right.

A motor kicked on and after several long moments the doors pinged open. Silently, we road up. It seemed to take an hour, but was probably closer to five minutes. When the door opened again, we stepped out into a parking garage.

“Welcome to Wonderland, Arizona. Population 17, 275,” Peter said, tucking the key into his pocket.

I was the last one out and gulped down the dry, hot air. It took my breath away. Even at eleven o’clock at night, the heat was stifling. “So where’s this club?” I asked, longing to turn around and go back.

“What’s the matter Queen of Hearts? Can’t take a little heat?” Leif lightly punched me in the arm.

He was trying to be cute and flirty. It wasn’t working. I punched him back not so lightly. “I just want to get this fun over with.” My nerves tingled and I was on edge.

Peter faced us. “Huddle up,” he said, sounding like the coach in a football game.

When we all faced him he said, “There are three rules. One: Watch out for each other. If you see a trainee in trouble, help them out. Two: Don’t use your abilities on non-Moths. Leave the humans alone. And three: If we lose one another, this is our meeting spot.” He gave each of us a serious glare, gauging how well we were listening. “We won’t return to the compound until we have everyone. Got it?”

“Got it, boss,” Steve said.

“Keep your eyes peeled. Check out your surroundings. If something looks out of place, let me know.”

I gave Peter a mental snort. Didn’t he realize it all looked out of place to us? I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty positive none of us had been above ground in at least a year.