Free Hookah (Insanity Book 4) by Cameron Jace

can only speak in nonsensical vowels.
    And even though no one understands me, the Executioner ends up curious to know what I have to say before I die.
    “I was only coughing.” I wipe the gun’s staining powder from my lips. From the corner of my eye, I can see the kids aren’t hurt.
    The Pillar raises an eyebrow at me, probably impressed with my comeback.
    The Executioner loads his gun again, ready to finish me.
    “Wait,” I say. “Since you’re a Wonderlander, you must be looking for the keys like everyone else.” My look is sharp and challenging. “The Six Impossible Keys.”
    The Executioner pulls his gun to a halt. I believe I caught his interest. Behind him, the Pillar scratches his temples.
    “Continue...” The Executioner waves the gun at me.
    “I know where one of them is,” I say, reminding myself I’ll never tell about the one key I have hidden in my back pocket. The one Lewis Carroll gave me. “Last week, the Mad Hatter took it from me.”
    “From you?” The Executioner seems skeptical. “Why would you have a key to Wonderland?”
    “Well.” I rub the back of my neck. “Like I said before, I am Alice from Wonderland. I just don’t remember a lot of it. I had the key hidden in a bucket in the basement of my family’s house.”
    The Executioner scans me from top to bottom.
    “You don’t want to kill me, in case I know of the whereabouts of the other keys,” I follow up, not sure if the Pillar will back me up if I mention him to the Executioner, so I don’t. He wanted me dead a minute ago.
    The Executioner gazes back at the Pillar and then back at me. His eyes are sharp, as if he’s trying to read through my soul.
    It’s a long moment. I take advantage of it and smile at the children behind me, assuring them they will be all right.
    The moment stretches even more, and I begin to worry the Executioner won’t believe me.
    But he breaks the long silence with a spitting laugh. His men laugh with him. He lowers his head toward me and says, “You’re the maddest girl I have ever seen.” He raises his eyebrows. “I love mad people. That’s why I will not kill you until I’m thoroughly entertained by your hallucinations.”

Chapter 29
    T he Pillar, me, and the Executioner are sitting around a table in the middle of his garden. I can hear the sounds of war in the distance, still not sure what his men are fighting over.
    But the war is the least of my worries now. It’s the Executioner and his sadistic games. He literally wants us to play a game now.
    “It’s a very easy game,” he says. “But most entertaining to me.”
    The Pillar says nothing, and neither do I. The Executioner had each of us hold a gun and place it atop the table, both hands placed palm down.
    “Here is how it’s going to be played,” the Executioner says. “I will ask you a question.” He is talking to me. I’ve become his priority now. He thinks I am mad, and it amuses him. “If you give the right answer, you will pass for this round. If it’s wrong, I will shoot you.”
    “Suspenseful.” The Pillar puffs his cigar. “I love suspense.”
    “Then it’ll be your turn to ask me a question.” The Executioner is still talking to me. “If I answer it the wrong way, you can shoot me.”
    “Justice,” the Pillar says nonchalantly. “Not a fan.”
    “Then Senor Pillardo will join in,” the Executioner follows. “Easy game. Say the truth and you will live.”
    “How can you tell I am telling the truth when you ask me?” I say.
    “The same way you can tell I am telling the truth when I ask you.” The Executioner grins.
    “Nonsense,” the Pillar comments. “My favorite.”
    “I’m not following,” I tell the Executioner.
    “Here is the thing, young lady,” the Executioner says. “This is a game of nonsense—which, if you think you’re Alice, you should know a lot about.”
    “Trust me. Nonsense has been my middle name since I met the Pillar—I mean, Senor Pillardo,” I say. “But I