The next three days were spent traveling the desert, heading toward the south and the Sea of Tears. As they walked, Mad couldn't help but think that Wonderland's desert was what Hell would look like if all the fires were put out.

At the end of the third day, they stopped early at the edge of the Glass Plain. Mad looked at the sun and judged they'd stopped two hours earlier than usual.

Alice also noticed and said, "Why are we stopping so early?"

Mad looked down to hide his smile. He knew Alice was tired. They all were, but her determination and strength were something to be admired.

The Viso looked at her, his eyes twinkling with the same admiration Mad felt. He beckoned her forward and gestured out toward the horizon when she stepped up next to him.

"This is Wonderland's Glass Plain. Beautiful isn't it?" the Viso asked, eyes on Alice.

Alice and Mad both looked at the Plain, and he had to admit that the sun sparking off the multi-colored ground was striking.

"Yes," Alice answered. "Why is it like this?"

The Viso looked at a pocket watch. "Watch."

"Yes. We can see it's a watch," Mad said dryly. He grinned when Alice tried to stifle a laugh.

The Viso just raised an eyebrow and pointed to the Glass Plain. "Look," he said with unnecessary emphasis.

They stood in silence, eyes trained on the distance. Then, without warning, a column of blue fire, bright in the dusky light erupted, flames licking at the sky. Almost immediately another followed and another. The columns were all different colors, the flames blue and red, green and purple.

Mad watched Alice from the corner of his eye, trying to stop a smile when her face lit up at each new color.

"Why are the flames different colors?" Alice asked, eyes still glued to the light show in front of her.

"Different minerals in the ground. The heat from the flames has turned the sand into glass," the Viso answered, and Mad wasn't sure that he appreciated the way he was looking at Alice.

The Viso turned to him then. "There is only one time it is safe to cross. It's—"

"Right after the sun sets. I know," Mad said rather briskly. He ground his teeth a little as he realized that yet another thing Tamsus had taught him was managing to help him.

"Yes," the Viso said, his dark eyes catching how Mad's jaw tightened. "So until then, I thought it best to rest and gather our strength. We will need to move quickly if we want to reach the other side before the fires burn again."

Mad didn't really think he got a vote as the Eights and Asiri set out a meal. As Mad sat a little away from the camp and ate, still watching the fires, he thought again of Tamsus. Mad highly doubted that they'd managed to evade him, even if they weren't going to the Small Mountains.

The sun was sinking steadily when Alice sat down next to him. She offered him a drink of water, which he took, then they both sat quietly watching the fires.

"My favorite are the red ones," she said, just as one shot towards the sky.

Mad smiled a little but shook his head. "Not mine. I like the blue ones."

Alice looked at him then. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't like red."

"Why?" Alice asked again, looking back at the fires.

"Curious little thing aren't you? I just don't like red. I've seen too much of it." Shaking his head again, his smile faded away and he took another small sip of water.

"Why isn't Cheshire talking to you?" Alice said, still watching the flames.

Mad turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Did you think if you just slipped that one in there, I'd answer it?"

It was her turn to shrug. She looked at him again, waiting for an answer. Mad sighed and rubbed at his eyes wearily. "Cheshire is under the impression that I am playing a game with Tamsus."

"Are you, Mr. Hatter?" she asked, eyes big and blue, reflecting the light from each burst of fire.

Mad looked back out, just as a column of red flame erupted at the very edge of the Glass Plain as close to them as was possible. He watched as it seemed to reach toward them and said, "Maybe."

"Why?" Alice asked once more.

Mad took one last drink of water. Then he said, "Tamsus was the first person I met in Wonderland. He took me to the Queen of Hearts. She had a... proposition I did not find favorable. I left and it became a cat and mouse game. Whenever she wanted me, Tamsus was who she sent to retrieve me."

His mouth twisted into a scowl that he coldn't quite force away.

"So you hated him for that?" Alice asked softly.

Mad laughed, though it wasn't a very nice sort of sound. "Quite the opposite. In fact, I enjoyed Tamsus' company even if he was taking me to the Queen. He taught me how to survive Wonderland. How to speak the way the natives do. Convinced the Queen to let me carry firearms." 

A second laugh fought its way free.

"He said he wanted someone to practice with besides Rakta. He also said that he might have suggested to Mavros that giving me guns would make me appreciate her more." Mad couldn't stop a smile at that memory, and that made him hate Tamsus all the more.

Alice sat quietly again. Just as she was about to ask something else, the crack of a rifle echoed across the desert. Not hesitating, he dived on top of Alice, shielding her with his body and they rolled down the slight incline they'd been sitting at the top of.

When they stopped moving, Mad levered up onto his elbows to make sure he wasn't crushing her before saying, "You all right?"

Alice nodded and Mad pulled her up to her feet. Hearing another shot, Mad looked up to see Cheshire, Dinah, Maris and the Viso running down the hill the two of them had just tumbled down.

"Come on!" the Viso yelled before taking the time to send a few shots back toward the camp. Mad shook his head. That was just wasting bullets.

"What about the others?" Mad asked.

Maris shook his head. "They went down."

"How?" Alice asked. "There was only one shot!"

"It just sounded that way. Tam caught up." Mad nearly growled the words.

"Come on!" the Viso yelled again. He grabbed Alice's hand as he passed and took off running across the Glass Plain.

"Are you crazy?" Mad shouted just as a column of fire rose right in front of them. As he said it, two more bullets whipped past him and he turned on instinct, snapping a few shots toward where the rounds had come from.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered before taking off after Alice and the Viso, beckoning for the others to follow. As Mad ran, he could feel his boots slipping on the glass. He felt a gust of heat to his right and dived left just as a column of blue flame shot up, sliding across the slick ground.

Mad felt it singe his clothes as he lunged back to his feet, but continued running. 

"Keep going! Come on, keep moving!" he yelled, encouraging the others. Mad caught a whiff of sulfur and ground his teeth as his mind tried to pull him back into the war.

'Come on, Mad!' Gene's voice yelled in his head. 'You gotta make it, buddy! Come on!'

Mad scrambled, sliding over the glass, barely avoiding fires that seemed to reach for him. He didn't hear any more shots and grimaced as he realized they'd done exactly what Tamsus had wanted.

They were now down four men, had left a great deal  of their supplies behind, and were now running across a killing field with less than a prayer's chance that they'd make it across alive.

The Viso shouted to Alice, "Come on! It's just a little farther!" He tugged at her hand, pulling her along.

Alice yanked away from him, and if Mad had had the breath to laugh he would have when she said, "I could run better if you weren't dragging me!"

Mad saw that she'd kicked her shoes off and was glad that the glass was smooth underfoot, even if it made him slide around a little. The Viso just motioned for her to keep running, taking her reprimand in stride.

The next minutes felt like an eternity as they all skidded over the glass, barely avoiding bars and pillars of flame.

When he heard Alice cry out in relief, Mad looked up to see the sun sink below the hills, leaving nothing but a line of gold gilding the horizon. Like someone had flipped a switch, the fires went out and they all slowed, panting.

Mad looked around, checking to make sure that everyone was still there. He was surprised and pleased when he saw that Cheshire had managed to grab his gun bag.

"Here Chesh. Let me take that," he said. When he got closer, he saw that Chesh's left ear had been nicked by a bullet and blood matted into his hair.

"Are you okay?" Mad asked. His voice was concerned and showed more worry than he had meant to. "Come here. Let me—"

"We don't have time," the Viso said sharply. "We're almost there and we need to move before the fires start again or the Heart's Ace catches up."

Mad turned and tried to raise his gun but Chesh stopped him and whispered, "It's okay. Come on. It'll keep until we get Alice and Dinah someplace safe."

He watched as blood dripped from Chesh's ear, down the side of his face, and shook his head, shoving the pistol back into its holster. 

Chesh tugged at his arm and said, "Come on. We gotta go."