Weaver

Getting Lost in a Good Book

It seemed to take forever, but finally they were passing right under a long purple thread that glittered in the daylight, and Alice reached up and snagged it.

                Ekile yelled and the slimy feeling of his magic tightened around her throat. Alice wasted no time in looping the purple thread around his magic and yanking it upwards, effectively casting the spell back in his face. She whirled and ran back down the sidewalk, blood thundering in her ears, hearing his outraged scream and then the scuffling of feet close behind her.

                “Alice!” Shakra was racing down the sidewalk towards her, “Alice get down!” She was brandishing something – a large hard cover book – in her hands, and Alice realized in that moment that she meant to throw it. She ducked, just seconds before the heavy volume soared overhead, a trail of glowing threads steering it straight towards Ekile.  The dark wizard tried to dodge out of the way, face twisted in anger and confusion, but to Alice’s astonishment the book struck him directly in the face, made a horrible sucking sound and fell down onto the sidewalk, pages fluttering like they were alive.

                Ekile had vanished.

                “Shakra, what…”

                “Just a minute!” Shakra ran by her and shut the book firmly, forcing the cover shut with a few strong threads that shone brightly in gold and silver. A binding spell.

                Alice could read the cover now, scrolling letters that spelled out Alice in Wonderland. The book Erika had given her.

                “Shakra, that was brilliant,” Alice scrambled off the sidewalk, ignoring her stinging elbows and knees, “I wonder how he’ll handle having tea with the mad hatter.”

“Not well, I’ll bet,” Shakra tucked the book under her arm, “It’s a perfect solution though, because I didn’t want you fighting him. He’s become far more powerful than he was when I was training him. I suspect Athena has something to do with it.”

                “Well, now he’s going to spend the rest of his days with the red queen,” Alice tried to brush the snow off her pant legs as they walked back to the shop, but of course it had already started seeping into the fabric.

                “Off with his head,” Shakra said.

                Alice squeaked in surprise when Altair launched himself at her in the doorway, practically crushing her in a hug, “thank god you’re okay. I was running down the sidewalk to rescue you but ex-tiger lady bashed me out of the way.”

                Shakra snorted unkindly, “Altair, if I had let you face that wizard, you’d be a man-shaped smear on the sidewalk right now.”

                “That’s disgusting,” Altair retorted.

                Alice buried her face in his neck, chuckling at how pouty he sounded. She tilted her head back and narrowed her eyes at him, “you can be my knight in shining armor when something non-magical comes up.”

                They followed Shakra back into the shop, and Altair muttered, “yeah, like that ever happens.”

                “What are you going to do with the book?” Alice called after Shakra, who was disappearing into the backroom.

                “I plan to make a pot of tea, have a nice civilized lunch, and then dig a hole somewhere and burry it.”

                “Poor Erica,” Alice said, “I’d better not ever tell her we trapped an evil wizard in her book and then buried it.”