When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

Avia felt a sting of guilt for putting him in that position, then another when she realized she’d have to do it again. She hated herself for it, but regardless of who, or what, this sorcerer was—her mind was made up. She looked down at the cat, his head hung low.

“I have to meet him, Cheshire. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know,” he whispered.

“Where do we need to go?”

“There’s a part of the aether that’s been abandoned by the spirits. It was cut off from the rest of the Spirit World when the magician made it his home.”

“Then how are we supposed to get there?”

He looked off into the distance. “If I rest on your shoulder, I can take us there in an instant. Our spirits will pass through the barriers like air.”

“Okay.” She exhaled. “Let’s go then.”

“Alright. But I want to warn you, when we arrive, we’ll appear in the very center of the Dark Forest. If he finds you interesting, he may be inclined to help. If not… Well, let’s just hope your personality charms him.”

“Ches,” Avia said, kneeling in front of him, “why should we be so scared?”

“He’s unstable; his mood is ever changing. He could grant a wish, knowing full well it’d kill the asker. Or, furious that he was disturbed, he could snap his fingers and watch the person be eaten alive by piranhas. Or, he could fulfill the request and everyone leaves happy. Years ago, I—” He wiped his face with his paws again and shuddered.

Avia placed a hand on his small frame. Her breath caught at the pain and fear in his eyes. “What has this guy done to you?”

“Do you trust me, Avia?”

She nodded.

“Then trust me when I say this. I pray that you never find out.”

Avia nodded again, noting the graveness in his voice. She had never seen him afraid; something about this sorcerer sent chills down his spine. She knew she was being selfish, and was possibly putting both of them in danger, but that small voice of guilt was quickly lost by the booming staccato beat of her heart. But she had to meet him. She had to know if there was hope beyond just the small glimpse at every high.

“What’s his name?” she asked as Cheshire disappeared again. She couldn’t physically feel him, but she knew he had perched himself upon her shoulder. It was like his spirit itself had a weight to it. His head appeared next to hers and he woefully turned to meet her eyes.

“He’s known by many names, but here, it is simply the Mad Hatter.”

Avia had always wondered how Cheshire vanished like a phantom. Her body disappeared from the bottom up, thinning into the atmosphere like wisps of smoke. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but was surprised to find that she didn’t feel anything at all. Before she could process what was happening, they were somewhere else entirely.

The bright, golden sun had been replaced by a veil of mist. Fog sank downward to flow between bare, claw-like branches of the twisted trees surrounding them. What light penetrated the forest floor was pale white and cast ominous shadows on everything it touched. Spirit bats screeched as they flew overhead while hundreds of glowing eyes stalked them from the darkness.

The forest encircled them for at least a hundred feet, leaving them in a clearing littered with dead leaves and broken sticks. Before them was a large, round table covered in a worn, white tablecloth. Saucers, cups, teapots, amongst other delicate china, decorated the table. The strangest thing was that the table didn’t have legs. Instead, it floated in the air, slowly spinning in a clockwise motion.

Avia looked away and wandered about the clearing. She felt incredibly small in the looming darkness that surrounded them.

“This is it, huh?” she asked absently.

“Yeah,” Cheshire breathed. He stayed as close to Avia as possible.

“I’m glad you made it!” a loud voice boomed from behind.

Jumping, they both whirled around, shocked to see a man sitting cross-legged on the table. He must have suddenly appeared, as Cheshire often did, because he would have been impossible to miss. He was very tall and garbed in an old but elegant suit. It was black with shining gold bands that went across the cuffs and down the side of his legs.

On his head of mauve curls sat a large, elaborate top hat. Blue ribbon matching his vest ran along the base of the hat with an Ace of Spades stuck between the material. Stranger than everything else, however, was his skin. It was blue. The color stretched all the way down to his feet, which oddly enough, were bare.

“Cheshire!” he exclaimed, holding out his arms. At his words, Cheshire materialized in the strange man’s embrace. “How long has it been? Two years? Twenty? You know how I lose track of time.”

Avia stared at the two, confusion riddling her face. This was the terrifying sorcerer? He looked to be more like an old friend than a mysterious foe. But the longer she watched the reunion, the more one-sided it became. Cheshire never replied to their host, or even looked him in the eye. The man eventually released his grip and Cheshire misted away to reappear beside Avia. This was when the man finally noticed her presence. His face went rigid. The joy that had been there moments before shifted to perplexity and possible annoyance.

A water pipe materialized at his feet and he brought the tip to his mouth. He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled.

The smoke from his lips reshaped in the air to mirror his words. “Who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Avia,” she said, taking a step closer. “I assume you’re the Mad Hatter?”

“In the spirit,” he replied, appearing at the end of