Chapter three of ten


Alice POV

"Mary, the shadowed prince is coming today." She smiled and looked out the window where I pointed at the hospital parking garage. "Don't look at me like that, Mary. You know I've seen him for ages. He wouldn't have come to me in the dreams so many times if it wasn't true."

The shadow king had come by a few days prior, but I didn't trust him. He would protect his secret, not me. He didn't think I was worthy to burn. The fire would be great but worth it. I'd burned before, a thousand times over, and he was worth it. My prince would take me out of here, and I'd live with him and his lover. His lover... He had so many secrets and I'd seen them all.

Rocking. Rocking. She's always rocking.

I tolerated the shadow king because he was the gateway to my prince. The parking garage was the thorn vine wrapping my castle. You had to have a special magic card to bypass my prison. No sword and bravery could compare.

A pretty car, almost as nice as the king's, drove in. "He's here, Mary. We must put you into a pretty dress like mine."

Her eyes closed as I tipped her back onto my bed and changed her dress. The nurse had taken pity on my poor Mary and brought her a clean dress. When they brought me here from the other place, I thought it was a blessing. I didn't like being in the dark. The bricks of the cellar were cold. My blanket was scratchy. I was only six when they bought the blanket, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

It could have been yesterday. This could all be a dream. When Daddy locked me in the basement to make me stop screaming about the blood, it might have been another dream. A dream within a dream. Maybe this is all a dream and I'll wake up and the dreams will stop.

Thirteen years of nightmares. Yes. Thirteen years of blood. The papers in my folder say I'm nineteen now.

The shadow warrior, the hunter, he's here. He smells my nightmares. He drinks their scent like ambrosia. He wants to burn me, to set my veins aflame. He might still. The dream is unsure. He has to catch me, tonight. Today makes all the difference.

Yes, tonight I may burn. Tonight or two weeks from now. Burning is burning; the only difference is if it is done out of lust or out of the hunt.

"Mary?" I sat her upright so that her eyes would look into mine as I spoke. "Should I be prey or pretty today?"

If I want my prince to take me home, I will have to be pretty.

With a sigh, I released the shard of broken glass I'd hidden inside Mary's fabric sack body. I would not spill my blood today. "Pretty, Mary; I must be pretty."

0o0oo0o0

I hadn't expected him to be that handsome. I knew he was perfect, but he went beyond that description. Doctor Whitlock was the quintessential image of beauty.

"I will burn for you," was my first thought as he walked in.

He looked at me strangely as I giggled. "That's right," I said. "Your pet is the one who can get into my head. You just want into my body. Oh, not yet."

"Excuse me?" His eyes were a golden color; though not as golden as the other night in my dream.

"I know what you're here for. You're here because the blonde shadow wants to find out if I'm crazy or special. He brought the tester here. I didn't like him. He said I'm just crazy. The secret maker's creator believed him. The good doctor didn't see his friend going to the royal ones on their thrones. They sent the hunter. He wants to hunt me and make me burn."

He pretended to ignore me, but I saw his eyes widen as I whispered.

Well, he looked at me oddly and then his eyes had widened in my vision of them. I was looking at the wall. But it was all going on in my head behind closed eyelids. It made my head hurt to talk to him. I saw so many paths we could walk down.

The other doctors couldn't hear me when I spoke so quietly, just loud enough for Mary to hear. Loud enough for my special doctors to hear me.

I rolled over to look at him. "You're prettier than you were in my dream, Jasper. You don't have blood on your hands today. I like that."

He knelt beside me at the speed I was used to. I didn't like his false pretenses anyways. "Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm the girl you're going to rescue. I've loved you since the first time I saw you. I was only six. You were in France and killed a girl inside the Eiffel Tower. I screamed all night as I watched her fall. You cut both of her wrists, drained her dry, and then broke her neck before tossing her over the edge. They had to fix the wire fencing after your pet tore it. He was so angry with you. You spanked him when you got home."

If he could have gone pale, he would have. "I've seen everything, Jasper. I just want it all to stop. My head hurts from the dreams. I see too much and most of it doesn't happen. So many possibilities this world can have, and they're all in my head. Your pet knows what it's like. He can show me how to make it stop."

"My...my pet?" he asked with a choked breath.

"The bronze-haired boy who is younger than I am, but was born before my parents. You'll fuck me while his cock is nudging my throat. I've seen it."

He coughed and gave me a patronizing smile. "I'm sure you've seen many things, Mary Alice."

I reached for his hair and pulled him close enough that our noses touched. "She's Mary." I blindly reached for his hand and set my doll into it. "I'm Alice; don't forget the difference." Then, I kissed him.

I had never kissed anyone. At least I couldn't remember actually doing it. I'd dreamt of kissing Jasper, though. I knew how to do this better than anyone. I knew what he wanted- and I did it.

I pulled his hair and licked his lips when he sighed. My nipples hardened, and my sex felt fuller within my thin cotton pants as his lust made me hot. "I'm a virgin." I murmured against his lips. "You can have it all- my body, my heart, my soul, and my mind. I can't promise the last one is whole. I'm broken. The shadow king says so. But, he just pretends to be a dragon. He made your pet burn when he was lonely. Then he found a woman and left your pet." That made me sad. No one should be alone, not even broken monsters.

He shook his head. "I cannot take you home. It is not allowed." I knew what he was going to say. Doctor Cullen will not allow it; nor will Edward.

"Carlisle thinks you can help me. He wants me away from James. You can keep me safe from James. Take me away from here, Jasper. You're my prince. Rescue me from my castle of prison bars and drugs that lock me in my nightmares. I may be insane, but I'll love you until you make me burn, maybe after. I'm not sure. I don't see me after I burn."

"After you burn?" the silly boy asked me.

"When you make a shadow queen."

"Edward would never allow it." He spoke as if it matters. I've already seen it happening.

"We both know that you're the one who is in charge, my love. Besides, your toy has a secret, Jasper. Rocking rocking. Always rocking." He pulled back and just stared at me while I giggled. "His secret doesn't sleep."

"I know everyone's secrets, even those you've tried to bury deep inside. I see your heart, Jasper. I see your soul, laid bare. It's blacker than the venom in your veins. You will be back at three in the morning to pick me up."

He shook his head. "I won't."

I just smiled. "Mary, our prince says he won't come back. I guess we'll be prey tonight instead. Let's take off your new dress so the hunter doesn't get blood on it."