The Glass Eyes were trying to
overwhelm the queen, to catch her imagination off guard.
I won’t let it happen.
Alyss flicked out her fingers and a cannonball spider shot out from each of them, hatched in midair, and clashed with those shot by the enemy. Halfway between Wonderland’s queen and the Glass Eyes, the mechanical spiders fought, dismembering one another as heartily as they would have dismembered any Wonderlander, while—
Thrusting her scepter skyward, Alyss veered the incoming orb generators away from her and the others, imagined them streaming out high over Wondertropolis to land in the Volcanic Plains, home of the jabberwocky.
Can’t let it happen.
Dodge, the chessmen, and generals were standing with swords raised in the futile hope that they might deflect enough razor-cards away from themselves to survive. The missiles were nearly close enough to shave the hair off their arms when—
Fith, fith, fith! Fith, fith, fith, fith, fith, fith, fith! —Alyss imagined them into neatly stacked decks, grounded and harmless. Immediately, she whirled around to face the spikejack tumblers and sent them crashing into one another. Their spikes latched, holding the tumblers together to form a sort of worrisome jungle gym that hit the ground and skidded toward them, scraping and gouging the pavement. “When I give the go ahead, go ahead,” Alyss said, the spikes of a jungle gym having come to a stop less than a gwormmy-length from her face.
“What?” the four General Doppels cried at once. “Run when I say so.”
Dodge frowned.
“We have to get out of this square,” she said. “Find a better vantage from which to fight.” “Wondronia’s just up Brillig Way,” the knight offered. “We’ll have the most number of options there.” “To Wondronia Grounds then,” Alyss said. “But first, you’d all better duck.” They barely had time to drop to the pavement before she spun, her scepter held horizontally above her head with both hands, sparks of imagination spewing from its ends, shooting out in all directions and—peewthungk! peewthungk!—laying low the surrounding Glass Eyes with heat-seeking accuracy. “Now!”
The chessmen and generals took off, razor-cards ripping from their AD52s, cover fire issuing from their crystal shooters. Running behind them, Dodge kept close to Alyss. “You should get back to the palace,” he urged. She guffawed. “I understand. You were preoccupied and didn’t notice that I just saved your life?” “The queendom needs you safe,” he said. “I need you safe.”
I won’t let it happen.
Alyss flicked out her fingers and a cannonball spider shot out from each of them, hatched in midair, and clashed with those shot by the enemy. Halfway between Wonderland’s queen and the Glass Eyes, the mechanical spiders fought, dismembering one another as heartily as they would have dismembered any Wonderlander, while—
Thrusting her scepter skyward, Alyss veered the incoming orb generators away from her and the others, imagined them streaming out high over Wondertropolis to land in the Volcanic Plains, home of the jabberwocky.
Can’t let it happen.
Dodge, the chessmen, and generals were standing with swords raised in the futile hope that they might deflect enough razor-cards away from themselves to survive. The missiles were nearly close enough to shave the hair off their arms when—
Fith, fith, fith! Fith, fith, fith, fith, fith, fith, fith! —Alyss imagined them into neatly stacked decks, grounded and harmless. Immediately, she whirled around to face the spikejack tumblers and sent them crashing into one another. Their spikes latched, holding the tumblers together to form a sort of worrisome jungle gym that hit the ground and skidded toward them, scraping and gouging the pavement. “When I give the go ahead, go ahead,” Alyss said, the spikes of a jungle gym having come to a stop less than a gwormmy-length from her face.
“What?” the four General Doppels cried at once. “Run when I say so.”
Dodge frowned.
“We have to get out of this square,” she said. “Find a better vantage from which to fight.” “Wondronia’s just up Brillig Way,” the knight offered. “We’ll have the most number of options there.” “To Wondronia Grounds then,” Alyss said. “But first, you’d all better duck.” They barely had time to drop to the pavement before she spun, her scepter held horizontally above her head with both hands, sparks of imagination spewing from its ends, shooting out in all directions and—peewthungk! peewthungk!—laying low the surrounding Glass Eyes with heat-seeking accuracy. “Now!”
The chessmen and generals took off, razor-cards ripping from their AD52s, cover fire issuing from their crystal shooters. Running behind them, Dodge kept close to Alyss. “You should get back to the palace,” he urged. She guffawed. “I understand. You were preoccupied and didn’t notice that I just saved your life?” “The queendom needs you safe,” he said. “I need you safe.”