Page Six

"Never again..." Alex muttered to herself. "I told you that I couldn't jump that."

"Well you're fine now, aren't you?" Alice told her.

"Yeah, but if you weren't there to pull me out..." She shook her head. "Nevermind... Thanks for saving me." The dark-haired girl nodded, and handed Alex a red, diamond-shaped vial. "Uh, what's this for?"

"Drink it," Alice said. "It restores your health."

Alex drank it, feeling immediately better. "Where on earth did you find this?"

"Trapped in some vines earlier on," was the reply. "Come on, we shouldn't linger."

They walked onward, coming to a small series of wooden planks over a vast, bubbling lake of murky brown water. A knife hovered over a dim yellow flame in the middle of one of the planks. Alice nodded to Alex, indicating to the Roivas girl that she should take it. Alex complied, taking it carefully and nearly dropping it in suprise of its coolness. The grin of the Cheshire Cat greeted her from the top of the landing that lay at the end of the plank.

"Your knife is necessary, but not sufficient. Always collect what's useful. Reject only your ignorance, and you may survive." With that, he vanished.

"Alex," Alice called. Alex glanced at her. "Do not fall into the water. It will burn you as acid would."

"Okay, thanks for the warning," Alex said, gazing at the bubbling liquid. She winced in pain as something shot at her arm. She looked up to see two rather thin men wearing suits depicting the Queen of Hearts.

Alice swore. "Card guards," she muttered angrily, throwing her sword at one of them. Alex ran up onto the ledge, closely followed by Alice. One of them swiped at Alex with his spade. She lept back to dodge the attack, but lost her footing and plunged into the sinuous liquid below. She cried out in pain as her flesh made contact with the hissing liquid, and she hurried to get herself out of the water. When she made it onto solid ground again, she saw that Alice had finished off the guards.

"Here," she said, handing Alex another red vial. "You have to be careful." Alex nodded, drinking the potion. Alice turned around to see the white rabbit standing in front of a doorway. She ran to it, but before she knew it, the rabbit had shrunk down to the size of a mouse.

"Just like I saw in my vision..." Alex whispered. She looked around as she saw the swirling colours return, and the next thing she knew, they were standing once again in the secret study of her grandfather's mansion. Alice paced around the room, muttering to herself. Alex stared at her curious behaviour.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"The Queen of Hearts..." Alice said impatiently. "She's returned. Why else would her guards lurk around?" She paused. "Would you know of a way that I could make myself small?"

Alex shook her head, flipping the page in the Tome. "Pandemonium," she muttered. Staring at it, the vortex did not start as usual.

Alice stared at it. "Why is it not working?"

Alex examined the page more carefully. "Because it's not the next page..." she said. "Look, there's something missing."

Alice looked around the room. Her eye caught on a piece of parchment hanging on the wall. She took it down carefully and handed it to Alex. When it was placed in the Tome, the swirling colours returned to the page. Alex held her hand out to Alice, who took it, and when she placed her other hand on the page, they began to see the swirling colours around them as they journeyed back into ancient Cambodia.