Page 168 of Happily Ever Witch
He nodded. “Wild things need freedom. They have todecide. Your magic will do what you want, but you can’t force it. It’s too big to ever plan for or control. Just trust it.Believe.”
“But, I only have Good magic, right now. My spells are all… cute.” Her tone was an embarrassed lament.
“Cute?” His brow furrowed.
“Yes! It’shorrible. How can I achieve any genuine evil with nothing but frigging candy-coated joy blasting out everyplace? A wicked witch needs…”
Her protest was cut short by a rush of power. The brillig burst into the room, knocking the door right off its hinges. Esmeralda went flying backwards, as it barreled past her. One huge hand seized Trevelyan, the other Marrok, and then all three of them weregone.
The brillig transported the men right out of the palace.
A fraction of a second later, Trevelyan landed face down in the sand. What in the frozen-hells…?
He lifted his head, taking stock. The brillig, Trevelyan and Marrok were now on the edge of a huge lake. Inflatable beach balls and lounge chairs dotted the shore. A cadre of human dipshits stood nearby, gaping at the intrusion with typical human intelligence. Magical creatures were strapped to posts around them, apparently suffering some form of public execution.
The Diamond Kingdom.
It had to be, given the summertime heat, the murderous humans, and the incessant harlequin patterns on everything. Off in the distance, a giant sandcastle rose out of the desert, diamond-shaped windows glinting in the sun. God, that was actually worse than the Heart Castle. And the chafing here would be the stuff of nightmares.
Not that it mattered. He wasn’t staying long. Now that Trevelyan was out of the Club Kingdom, his Bad magic was back. Even more than he’d had in the cave. For the first time since he’d woken up from the coma, he hadallof his power. It filled him with a rush of dark fury and unfathomable energy.
Finally.
Above him, the brillig roared. Marrok must have gotten his magic back, too. He started transforming into a wolf, but the brillig was too big to stop. It threw Marrok backwards, crashing him through a red-and-white beach umbrella. Mist covered Marrok’s wolf, his body growing and his strength increasing, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop an enraged brillig. Thundering forward, the creature prepared to crush him with its giant feet.
Trevelyan slammed magic into the brillig’s back, deliberately drawing its attention away from Marrok. It would have been gratifying to witness his brother-in-law getting stomped like a grape, but he rose above the inclination.
(Truly, Trevelyan was awonderfulfriend. How dare the wolf even question it! Look at how he was selflessly saving that moron’s life.)
The brillig was knocked sideways by the bolt of Trevelyan’s power. It wasn’t a lot, because he had to cast the spell while sprawled in the sand. But, it was enough to draw the creature’s wrath and singe off one fungus-y ear.
Apparently, no one else had ever scored a hit against it. The brillig screamed out in surprised anger. Changing direction, it charged for Trevelyan. It was huge, incensed, and intent on killing.
…But it was no match for a dragon.
Trevelyan was transforming before he even finished standing up. Green smoke swirled all around him, as he released his own beast. The dragon roared its satisfaction. It had been too long since it was free to hunt enemies. The brillig had taken the dragon from its mate, so the brillig would die. Obviously.
The Queen of Clubs’ pet monster slowed its attack, like it was reconsidering its headlong charge, now that Trevelyan was fifteen-feet tall.
Too late, asshole.
Dragon fire burned out, so hot it turned the sand to glass. Liberally applied flames were always so useful in battle. The brillig broiled alive, right where he stood, the smell of roasted mushrooms filling the air.
“Shit!” Marrok covered his head with his arms to avoid getting flambéd.
It was the shortest fight ever recorded against a brillig. Trevelyan expected no less, considering he was the best at being Bad. Wonderland had shown him that he could be a deranged maniac, even without using dark spells. That was encouraging to know. With his powers, though, his manic derangement was a force of fucking nature. That was even better.
“Stop the magical infidels!” Not content with their general stupidity, the humans sunk into the annals of the historically idiotic. Drawing swords and guns and any other weapon they could find, they charged at Trevelyan. “Strike down the dragon!”
At least eighty humans headed his way, across the beach.
Trevelyan smirked. He’d been planning to kill the Gyre, anyway. His very magical True Love wasn’t safe with them milling around Wonderland, executing magical beings. He might as well wipe them out of existence, right here and now. It wouldn’t take long. Some might call that overconfidence. He just saw it as fact.
“Who the hell aretheseguys, now?” Marrok leapt to his feet. “Goddamn it, everyplace you go is filled with people who hate you, Trev. Think about why that keeps happening.” He didn’t bother to wait for a response. He just began fighting the soldiers, stopping the first wave from reaching Trevelyan.
When an army attacked, Marrok stood beside him. Both Trevelyan and the dragon were pleasantly surprised by the show of loyalty. Esmeralda had been right. Having allies was a welcome change.
In this case, though, it was also wholly unnecessary for Marrok to wade into the fray. There was a reason dragons were so often enslaved as super-weapons. Because, nothing could stand against them for long. Maybe stronger, smarter, better organized members of the Gyre had managed to takeover other places, but it would take a million men like this pathetic group to conquer Wonderland.
