The Wonder (Queen of Hearts Saga #2)(58)
“Come to me. Dinah, my child, come in, come in! Let me know who you are.”
Morte gave a snort of unhappiness from across the field. The tent pulsed again with the light and Dinah found herself taking the few steps up the wooden platform and stepping into the tent. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the strange light, which she realized was coming from a large hookah pipe in the middle of the room. It was almost as tall as Dinah herself, blue light flickering out from the bottom of the pipe. The glass of the hookah was transparent and inside, silver-and-blue-veined leaves flickered and glowed. A thick smoke filled her eyes and lungs, and she instantly began to cough and choke as a voice filled the room.
“Take a deep breath, little Queen. Let it fill you. Only then will you be able to see and hear your future. Or answer the question who are you?”
Her eyes cloudy, Dinah was barely able to make out the outline of the massively fat Yurkei man who sat perched on a pile of bright pillows. His girth hung over the sides of the cushions, and only a yellow feather loin cloth stood between her and his complete nakedness. His skin was dark and shiny and, unlike most Yurkei, completely unmarked by white lines. On the side of the tent, hundreds of clay pots and hanging scales all clamored for space. The walls of the tent were adorned with hanging herbs, potted plants, and a style of finger painting that Dinah had never seen. Iu-Hora noticed her staring with interest at his work.
“The Darklands have provided a most bountiful crop on which to experiment. I have already made three new potions since we’ve been here! One for rashes, one for aging eyes, and one for… well, you don’t need to know that. You’ll see.”
She looked over at him again, but was unable to make out his face. It kept shifting and changing, but that was just the hazy light, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it? She was very confused. Dinah felt the smoke make its way into her lungs, and a pleasant warm sensation began to stir under her rib cage. She was feeling very light, very free, very happy.
“Here. Take a drag.” Out of nowhere, a chubby hand extended the end of the hookah pipe to her. “Just one taste, Princess. Just one taste and hear what Iu-Hora has to tell you.”
Impulsively, Dinah took the pipe and inhaled deeply, before she could think about the decision. Then she heard Sir Gorrann’s words. “Impulsive, like your father.” But that man wasn’t her father. Or was he? She couldn’t remember, and didn’t seem to care. The smoke went down sweet and tingly, and she immediately felt like she was bursting with joy. Her head was clear, and her ears were open. She collapsed with a giggle onto a pile of pillows nearby.
“Did you get these from Wonderland? The Yurkei don’t have pillows like this.”
“They came to me how they came to me. You did not come here to ask questions about the pillows. You came here to ask much more difficult questions. And I am here to ask you… who are you?”
“I’m Dinah,” she answered. “And I do not know why I came here.”
“You are here because I brought you here. I have been waiting a long time to meet the Queen of Hearts.”
“I’m not Queen yet.”
He seemed to slither around her. “Ah, yes, war. The coming war, the great war. A war that will change the fate of Wonderland. Battle. Blood, smoke, and birds. A deck of cards, falling… falling. I see a hiding girl, a bloody sword, a fractured heart.”
His words made no sense to Dinah. She laughed and then felt suddenly somber. “Can you see the outcome? I hear the Caterpillar is a predictor of fortunes.”
For no clear reason, Dinah started laughing at the word fortune. It was so amusing, that word.
“I cannot see the outcome of the war, because it involves the fate of too many. My visions are blurry with so many souls to see. I see much death and unhappiness. I see a beautiful woman weeping at a window, a skilled arrow, blue stars in the sky. I see you riding a black devil, with great wings stretched behind you.”
“That would be Morte,” Dinah laughed until she wept. Then she looked around. How long had she been laughing? A minute? Three hours? Three weeks? The Caterpillar emerged from the hazy light, his features still unreadable, aside from his glowing blue eyes. It was all she could see. Dinah was suddenly terrified.
“What are you doing? Get back. Don’t touch me!” She thought the words, but for some reason could not make her mouth form the sounds. Slowly, his fingers reached inside her tunic, and then he spun her around. For a moment Dinah was afraid of what was happening, but then she felt the hot caress of his fingers against the scar on her shoulder.
“This was my work. A scar left on a queen by a chief. Something that she will never forget, but a sting that healed quickly.” Something was seeping through her skin from his fingers. She could feel it alternating hot and cold, tingling against her shoulder. It was inside of her, whatever it was, passing through her skin like water. Iu-Hora spun her back around and suddenly Dinah felt like she was floating with him, up and up, up through the tent into the stars that looked down on dead Charles. They were flying through the sky now, over the Darklands, over the fields; they flew up, up, and away until they hovered above Wonderland Palace. The Black Towers shimmered with wickedness below. She blinked. No. She wasn’t in the sky. Was she? She was in the tent, and his blurry face was inches from her own, his hands on her face. Iu-Hora’s voice changed as he leaned forward as if to kiss her, and she felt the thick smoke from his mouth wash over her face. All the smoke was suddenly sucked out of the circular tent and there was nothing but darkness, nothing but the heat of his forehead against hers and the sharp blue of his eyes. A low, terrible voice boomed out from the blackness. It belonged to Iu-Hora, but it didn’t sound like him. Dinah found herself very afraid, more afraid than she had ever been.