Page 87 of Fated to the Wicked King

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. Clenching my jaw, I ignored the General’s petty posturing. I shot toward the Hatter with an enraged look, my words nearly exploding out of me, “Undo it!”

The General’s ghosts immediately blocked my way.

“No! Let me go⁠—!”

Clammy hands dragged me back, my boots scuffing against the grass, even as I tried to kick and struggle away with all my might.

The Hatter merely turned away, as if he didn’t even hear me. Clamping leather and brass goggles to his face, he busily inspected the ratcheting iron piston and the spinning clockworks as they ticked.

The General clicked his tongue, giving me a frown of feigned remorse. “Maybe later. For now, Doctor, please—” His eyes glinted. “Take a load off, stick around. For old time’s sake, I would love for you to be here to witness the grand, inaugural activation of our wondrous machine.”

My heart pounded in my chest.

“Allie. You must run. Leave me.”

The king’s command rang clear in my mind.

I shot the rabbit a wide-eyed look.

No chance in hell.

Twenty-Five

HUMPTY DUMPTY

“Tie her up, would you please, Hatter?” The General called out. He set the white rabbit on top of a wide trestle table at the other end of the clearing, then moved to climb the scaffold platform again. “And a cage for our little friend here. He might provide some entertainment for later.”

My heart pounding in my ears, the queasiness in my stomach would not let up.

Rabb…

I had to get the Hatter to undo the spell somehow.

Stepping away from the control panels, the Hatter let out a sigh. “I always get the difficult jobs.” He waved his hand and a small steel cage materialized around the little rabbit on the table. The Hatter waved his hand again, purple ribbons of magic bursting from his fingertips, zigzagging wildly through the air. One transformed briefly into a flock of birds. Another exploded into confetti. A third tied itself into a knot.

I narrowed my eyes. I imagined that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Mumbling under his breath, the Hatter wrung his hands out. “Such randomness. Of course, the generation of true random numbers remains an unsolved problem in science.”

I blinked in realization. “Your magic… It’s affected by the machine too, isn’t it?”

No doubt being around the machine’s strange energy every day must have taken its toll on the Hatter as well.

He didn’t respond.

Several bowties wrapped themselves around my wrists, ankles, and torso. “Whoa—” I toppled sideways on the grass with a yelp.

“There.” He dusted off his hands, just as one of the ties immediately unraveled. He hastily tied it again. “Mostly there.”

“Hatter, you better not set off those explosives again by accident,” the General chided from the platform above. He clearly didn’t care about the Hatter’s deteriorating state. He probably considered all his ghostly followers dispensable.

I gave the crate marked ‘EXPLOSIVES’ nearby a wary sideways glance. I glared at the bastard before trying to catch the Hatter’s gaze again. “Hey,” I hissed. “Hatter, why are you even helping this monster? Don’t you realize how dangerous this all is?” I couldn’t help the bewilderment in my question.

“Hmm? Oh, why, yes. But his ideas are quite fascinating.”

Overhearing our conversation, the General’s grin was sly. “Well, let’s give credit where credit is due, shall we? I confess all this science mumbo jumbo is terribly boring to me. This was all inspired by Dr. Carter’s own designs.” He gestured to the fantastical machine behind him. “It’s a shame you do not even recognize your baby.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “The Hatter was utterly fascinated by your premise. He was also fascinated to hear about the lengths to which you had gone to accomplish your greatest achievement.”

As though forgetting anyone else existed at all, the Hatter bustled about the machine. Drawing tools from his belt, he tightened joints and adjusted valves and rivet plates into place.