Dorothy Must Die (17 page)

Did the Lion command every animal in Oz, or did they have a say in the matter? I wondered, thinking of Star. If anyone was stubborn enough to show a little backbone, it was my pet rat. With any luck, Pete was keeping her nice and safe, but if she ever had the bad luck to meet this guy I hoped she would give him a good, hard bite.

The beasts had surrounded a group of Gillikin people, who were lined up neatly in the middle of the clearing like they were waiting for something.

Or maybe like something was waiting for
them
: at the front of the line, I saw the Lion himself for the first time in the flesh. He had been a vague, hazy shadow in Glamora’s scrying pool, but now, in person, I realized exactly how terrifying he really was.

Really, he was barely recognizable as a lion at all. He looked like a monster, like some warped nightmare version of the king of the jungle. He was huge and golden, with bulging, grotesque muscles and a filthy, snarled mane. His lips were curled back, baring a mouth crowded with sharp, long, crooked fangs.

“Is that what he’s always looked like?” I asked under my breath. Nox just shook his head and signaled for me to keep watching.

There were about ten townspeople in line. At the front of it, a trembling man with a top hat and a purple beard stumbled forward to where the Lion stood. He clasped his hands in front of him, and I could tell that he was pleading with his captor, but they spoke too quietly for me to hear what he was saying. I snapped my fingers, casting a listening spell. As I did it, I felt energy flowing out of my knife and into my body. The knife made magic so much easier.

“We’ve given you everything that you asked for,” the man was saying. “We have nothing left. Please, just leave us alone. We’re Dorothy’s loyal subjects. We’ll help you in any way we can.”

“There’s still plenty you can give me, Mr. Mayor,” the Lion said. He widened his jaw lazily, almost like he was yawning. Thick ropes of drool rolled down his chin as he leaned forward on his haunches. The mayor levitated a few inches off the ground to meet him.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. At first it looked like the Lion and the man were kissing. But they weren’t—their mouths were inches apart, not quite touching. The man looked like he was struggling, but then his mouth fell open, too, as his face contorted in pain and something that looked like red smoke came spewing violently out of him. I couldn’t tell whether it was vomit, or blood, or something worse. Whatever it was, the Lion lapped it up hungrily.

“What’s he doing?” I asked in horror, gripping Nox’s arm.

“The Lion eats the fear of others,” Nox explained in a whisper. “It’s how he survives. How he gets stronger.”

As if proving Nox’s point, the Lion’s muscles rippled and bulged. He was changing. He was growing.

The man was changing, too—his beard went from purple to gray in a matter of seconds. His rounded cheeks turned gaunt as the Lion finished and dropped him to the ground. The mayor gasped for air, suddenly old and frail, but smiling, too. I realized I understood why. He wasn’t scared anymore.

“Hopefully you won’t ever have to face him,” Nox said. “But if you do, try not to be afraid.”

Not exactly possible
, I thought, looking at the smiling old mayor.

“What will happen to the mayor now? Will they let them go?”

Nox just shook his head sadly.

As we watched, a hyena and a giant rabbit, who was probably as tall as I was, grabbed another victim from the line and led him forward to their leader. The rabbit seemed to be the Lion’s second in command. He was on his hind legs just like the Lion. He had sharp buckteeth and giant, watery, bloodshot eyes. The hyena, also walking on two legs, was every bit as creepy. He looked nervous, jumping at every sound in the woods around him while he assisted the rabbit. And there were a lot of sounds to react to with a zoo of animals behind them.

“We have to stop them,” I whispered to Nox.

He shook his head. “Not alone. I’ll call Mombi. There’s no way to do it without blowing our cover though, so be ready.” I took a deep breath and prepared myself as he conjured another ball of light from his hand and sent the flare spinning out into the darkness. This was it.

The orb went whizzing into the trees, and as it did, a wolf lurking on the edge of the crowd pricked up his ears, jerked his head up, and let out a howl, his quick eyes darting from the ball of light straight over to its source.

That source being me and Nox.

The Lion looked up from his second victim, trying to find the cause of the commotion. With a wave of his arm, he released his beasts like a violent tide that came right toward us. I had seen a few members of the Tin Woodman’s guard. They were eerily organized and obedient. But the Lion’s army was different—they were wild and disorganized, each one of them operating on its own.

The wolf sped ahead of the pack in a gallop. Nox stepped forward and, in one swift motion, pulled out the sword he’d had strapped to his back, meeting the wolf with a gut-opening slice.

And then we were surrounded. Nox ducked and feinted and swung, flames trailing behind him, but every enemy he sent flailing to the ground was replaced by another.

I couldn’t help Nox, and Nox couldn’t help me. A group of winged monkeys had descended from unseen perches in the trees and were now spinning around me like furry little gymnasts, clawing and snapping with pointy little fangs. They were quicker than I was; even when I used my magic to dodge out of their way they seemed to know my movements before I knew them myself.

Don’t be afraid,
I reminded myself. I lunged, pulling my knife through the air, trying to be fearless.

One was bigger than the rest, and more vicious-looking, too. He flew right for me, claws outstretched.

I raised my knife, ready to fight, but then I hesitated, remembering what Indigo and Ollie had told me: that the winged monkeys were under Dorothy’s control. No matter how horrible they seemed now, they weren’t attacking me because they wanted to. They were doing it because they had to.

My split second of sympathy cost me. The monkey wrapped his hands around my neck and his legs around my waist. He was stronger than he looked, and I struggled to disentangle myself as he squeezed my throat tighter and tighter, chattering maniacally, his rancid sour-milk breath hot against my cheeks. I gasped for air, feeling myself grow dizzy.

Nox got to the monkey just in time, wrenching him from me just as I was about to pass out. He snapped the monkey’s neck before tossing him to the ground.

“Why did you do that?” I cried. “If you clip their wings they won’t be enchanted. They won’t serve Dorothy.”

Nox looked at me like I was insane. “Amy,” he said. “In case you hadn’t noticed, this is a war. Now’s not the time to start worrying about the plight of the poor monkeys.”

I looked at the dead monkey on the ground, its wings now folded over him like a pathetic blanket. There wasn’t time to dwell on it, though. The rest of the monkeys had closed in on us. We were surrounded. But I pulled out my knife, hoping I could defend myself with as little collateral damage as possible.

I wielded my blade almost instinctively as the next monkey sprung at me, striking him in the chest. He screamed, collapsing. I couldn’t tell if he was dead. I hoped not, but there was no way to find out: another one was on me already.

This one got close enough to swipe at my stomach before I managed to take him down. He slid to the ground in a heap of fur and feathers. They kept on coming, but Nox and I were a good team: we made quick work of them. Some writhed in pain, others seemed to give up immediately, almost like death was a relief.

As the bodies piled up around us, I realized Nox was right. It was them or us.

I looked up to find another wave of beasts descending on us—this time a group of giant crocodiles lumbering toward us with swords and spears. I remembered the bumpy shadows in the scrying pond, lurking behind the Lion. They were even worse in the light: slimy green skin. Triple rows of teeth exposed and ready. They were slower than the monkeys, but more massive. I didn’t know how my knife could penetrate their thick reptilian skin.

“You ready?” Nox asked. He whirled around into a crouch, his back pressed against mine, and we prepared to fend the attackers off.

“I’m ready,” I said, ignoring all the blood and the pain in my left arm from where the monkey who’d tried to strangle me had bitten down with his sharp little teeth.

Then everything stopped.

The hyena dropped to the ground, and a split second later the rabbit did the same. What the hell? Were they dead? I looked around.

They were frozen. Every beast, every creature of the forest—all frozen, as if someone had pushed a giant pause button. But how?

I looked immediately to the Lion. Had he done this?

But he seemed as surprised as Nox and I were, dropping the girl whose fear he’d been feasting on into a heap on the ground and looking up. During the fight, he’d been happy to let his henchmen take care of business while he enjoyed his dinner, but now he was interested.

This isn’t good,
I thought, nervously shifting my grip on my blade. Whatever spell had just frozen all our other enemies didn’t seem to have any effect on the Lion himself.

And I still had no idea who had cast it.

The Lion rose up on his legs in a fury, and roared into the sky.

Then I understood. I could feel her coming, could feel the warmth of her energy suffusing my body. It was Gert.

I looked up to see Gert descending from the sky. She landed in the middle of the clearing amidst the strange, museum-like menagerie of the Lion’s still-frozen henchmen. Without a word she raised her hand and a solitary lightning bolt appeared from above, coursing silently through her body.

I gasped. What was happening? I stared at her squat, round body as it began to glow with energy; her face burning with a fury that was almost inhuman. For the first time, I thought I understood why she called herself
Wicked
now.

At that moment, the citizens of Pumperdink, who had been just as frozen as the Lion’s beastly army, seemed to be released from her spell. They began shouting and scurrying around, scattering in every direction, running for their lives. I looked at Nox.

“She’s using everything she has to hold the beasts,” he said. “But it will take all of her concentration. The Lion’s too strong for her. We need to protect her until Mombi gets here. She’ll know how to finish him.”

He sprung forward. “Let’s see how you deal with someone who’s not afraid of you,” he snarled. He thrust his hands up and a torrent of sizzling blue energy came shooting out. Growling in anger, the Lion leapt through the air and landed with a crash at Nox’s feet.

But Nox had disappeared. He materialized behind the Lion just in time to take a swing at him.

If it had
been baseball, Nox would have hit a home run. If the Lion had been a normal Lion, Nox would have sliced his head clean off from behind. But this wasn’t a game, and this Lion made the lions I’d seen in the zoo look like kittens. Nox connected with a
thwack
, but all it did was make the Lion mad: he spun around and lunged again, and Nox barely managed to get out of the way in time.

I still hadn’t moved. I couldn’t help it. Maybe Nox wasn’t afraid, but I was.

But when the Lion grazed Nox’s cheek with his claw and I saw blood, my body forgot all about fear and sprung into action. I held my knife close, drawing out as much magical power as I could from it. I zapped myself to Nox’s side. At last I was finally getting used to fighting like this.

The Lion jumped back, momentarily surprised. He hadn’t been expecting me, but it only took him a second to get his bearings and charge, unhinging his jaw and leaping for me.

I didn’t let myself flinch. Instead, I took advantage of the moment and thrust my knife forward into his gaping jaw, hoping that at least
there
he was vulnerable.

I was right. I was lucky.

My blade sank to the hilt and when I pulled it out, hot, sticky blood gushed out of the Lion’s mouth. He recoiled and let out something that almost sounded like a whimper of pain.

At first I thought I’d actually done it—finished him, with that one blow to the spot where he was vulnerable. It would have worked in a video game. But the Lion wasn’t going to be beaten that easily.

With blood still pouring down his face, he pivoted and, in a flash, wrapped both of his massive paws around Nox’s neck. “The runaway,” he said, in a tone that was velvety and smooth, almost a purr. He was looking at Nox, but it was clear he was talking to me.

He cocked his head and sniffed, his nostrils flaring as if he could still smell the Other Place on me.

“Everyone in the kingdom is on the lookout for you, little one. I thought I was just out for a snack tonight. I never expected to find
you.
Dorothy will be so pleased when I bring you back to her. Let’s make a trade. You give up and come with me and I’ll let your friend go.”

Nox’s eyes met mine, fierce and sure.
Do not make a deal
, they seemed to be saying.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said, trying to sound more certain than I was. “He doesn’t mean anything to me.”

The Lion shook out his mane and gave me a wicked smile. “Very well,” he said. He opened his enormous jaws and, as I watched in horror, blue smoke began streaming out of Nox’s eye sockets and nostrils. Blue, the color of his magic. Nox began to shake.

“Stop!” I screamed. I raised my knife and prepared to throw it, aiming it at the Lion’s head—but I hesitated. What if I hit Nox instead? What if it didn’t work? I had been training, but I still wasn’t ready for something like this.

As I stood there, paralyzed by self-doubt, Gert whooshed by me in a streak of white light. As she came to a stop, the beastly guard she’d been holding motionless with her spell began to stir to life all around us. They were still looking dazed and sluggish, but it would only be a matter of time before they recovered their bearings. In other words, we were screwed.

Gert clapped her fists together and as she pulled them apart, Nox went flying from the Lion’s grip and landed in the grass a few feet away.

“Take me instead,” Gert hissed at the Lion. “I’m an old woman, but I have more for you to feast on than the two of them combined.”

“No!” I cried, but she ignored me. The Lion looked her up and down, considering the offer. He must have known that I was more valuable than either Gert or Nox. But he was hungry and hurt. He probably figured he could take her first and still have me when he was done with her.

The Lion nodded. Gert stepped forward.

“Stop!” I shouted again, leaping forward to pull her away. I couldn’t let this happen. But Gert had other ideas. She flicked her wrist at me and I went falling backward to the spot on the ground where Nox was already lying. When I tried to stand, I found that all of my muscles were frozen.

Gert just shot me a sly smile.

It was only then that I knew what she was playing at: Gert was fearless. There would be nothing for the Lion to suck from her. I hoped she had something better to give him in its place.

The Lion had no idea, though. He pawed at the ground and smiled greedily as he unhinged his mangled, blood-soaked jaw. Gert didn’t so much as pause. She looked up at her old enemy with a glint of cheerfulness in her gaze and she pursed her lips into a kiss.

A flash of light blinded me for a second as the Lion began to stiffen and writhe. He tried to pull away, but it was too late.

The stream of energy coursing between his mouth and Gert’s was white, not blue like before. And it was coming from the Lion, not from her. Her body was shaking like a leaf as she absorbed it.

Every muscle in the Lion began to shrink, like a balloon deflating. His eyes widened in something that looked like surprise.

No. Not surprise. Cowardice. Instead of giving him her fear, she was draining him.

Now.
Gert’s telepathic voice echoed weakly in my head like a whisper down an empty corridor. I realized that I could wiggle my fingers again. I could move.

Nox realized it, too. He jumped to his feet and lifted his sword one more time. At that same moment, Gert collapsed in a heap. She’d done what she needed to do.

Nox sliced at the Lion’s belly and blood gushed from the wound. The Lion tried to roar, but all that came out was a high-pitched squeal.

I was on my feet then, too. I dove forward, ready to finish him off once and for all. But I was too late. Even in his weakened state the Lion was somehow already bounding away, retreating back across the clearing and into the forest, his army of beasts following their leader.

Her plan had worked. She had beaten him. I stood up, ready to cheer.

But Nox was standing, too, and he didn’t look nearly as happy. “We almost had him. Where the hell was Mombi?”

I had been wondering that, too, but when I saw that Gert was still on the ground, everything else went out of my head. She wasn’t moving. She was lying in front of us like an overstuffed rag doll, her arms and legs splayed out at the wrong angles.

“Gert . . .” I knelt by the witch’s side. Nox was already crouched over her, trying to pull her up and into his chest.

“Hold on,” Nox was whispering. “Mombi’s on her way. We’ll get you to the spring.”

Gert’s lips trembled. She was trying to smile. For me. For Nox. But her soft, fleshy body was spreading out into formlessness, almost like she was melting before my eyes as she sprawled, convulsing, on the ground. What she had taken from the Lion must have been too much to absorb, even for her.

The green grass beneath her turned from green to brown to black charred dirt. It was as if someone had taken a torch to it.

Nox placed his palms on Gert’s chest and bit his lip in concentration. Blue sparks glittered at his fingertips but immediately petered out.

“Come on,” I muttered, willing his magic to work. He did it again, and again nothing.

Suddenly Gert’s arm shot up and she grabbed my wrist, clenching tight. Her lips began to move—she was mumbling something under her breath. At first it sounded like she was speaking a different language, but when her lips stopped moving, I was able to understand her words in my mind.

It was an incantation.
“North, South, East, West, wind, fire, sun, earth, protect her and keep her. Protect her and keep her.”

Now I was crying. “Gert,” I managed to say. “Please. I need you.”

Nox was ignoring us, still trying desperately to use his magic to bring her back from the brink.

“Come close, dear,” Gert gasped. Her face was once again the warm, kind face I’d first seen when I’d woken up in the caves, frightened and alone. I saw the witch—Good or Wicked, it didn’t matter anymore—who had comforted me and fed me, who had helped me find my magic. I leaned in over her.

She tilted her head up and kissed me on my brow. I felt warmth wash over me. It started where her lips met my forehead and bloomed all over, until my skin was somehow coated in Gert’s kiss.

“Gert, no . . . ,” I gasped. What had she done? She needed every bit of strength to hold on. Whatever she had given me, I didn’t want it. I didn’t want a good-bye.

“This will keep you safe,” Gert said.

“You have to do something,” I croaked at Nox, tears streaming down my cheeks. He had finally given up and sat back, and had silently watched Gert bestow her kiss upon me. “Please. Save her. Use your magic. You have to.”

Nox shook his head sadly. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said, looking away.

Gert looked up at me. “It has to be you, child. You have to do it,” she said weakly.

“Do what?” I asked, somehow believing that as long as I held on to her gaze then she would hold on to me.

“You have to kill Dorothy, Amy.”