The Ruby Fortress (Kingdoms Of Oz Book 1)

by Carrie Whitethorne

  I couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought it through. He’d dragged me halfway around Oz with no idea how we were going to get to our destination in one piece. “Surely you can do something about them?”

  “Not without seriously hurting them. And to be honest, I’d rather not. You’re going to need them and hurting them won’t help you build bridges.”

  I scratched my head with my free hand and frowned at him.

  “We’ll be fine. Honestly, I don’t think they’re going to be too much of a problem.”

  I squeezed his hand. I don’t know if I was reassuring him or myself, but I felt better after doing it, and kept walking. The sooner we got to the gate, the sooner we knew what we were facing.

  I told myself it could be easy. That Sayer could have gotten the whole situation wrong. That his contact in the fortress could be out waiting for us and there wouldn’t be a confrontation with the monkeys at all. That they’d recognize me, somehow, and just let us pass without a fuss. But I was wrong.

  The sun was setting on my right when we finally circled the volcano and reached the gates. The swirling mass of flying monkeys above still hadn’t noticed us, but it wasn’t helping the anxiety I was feeling. All it took was one to spot us, and the whole group would come swooping down. Or not, I tried to remind myself, but I wasn’t really listening. I’d read about them, how they chased down and flew off with that poor little dog. Evil beasts. But Sayer seemed to think it would be a mistake to hurt them, so I supposed the plan was to avoid a fight.

  The gates were huge, the posts constructed of what appeared to be a black stone with wicked looking monkeys sculpted on top of them like a pair of gargoyles. The gates themselves appeared to be made from iron, the bars as thick as my legs, both closed and chained shut, and there didn’t seem to be an alternate way in.

  “How do we get through them?” I inquired in a hoarse whisper.

  Sayer didn’t answer, instead stepping right up to the gate and hitching the pack higher on his shoulders. Then he gripped one of the bars and I watched it fade away. He stepped back, holding out his hand, and invited me to slip through first. I smiled, more than a bit nervous, and he reached out and gripped my shoulder. “We’ll be fine. As soon as we’re close enough, I’ll signal Fallon to open the doors.” He saw the look on my face and added, “He will open the doors. He expects us.”

  I looked through the gap in the iron bars toward the fortress. The huge black structure with its turrets and buttresses, the large paneless windows and colossal front gates, seemed so imposing from here. But it also looked empty. Not a single light flickered, no sign of fires smoked from hidden chimneys. The road leading from the gates was dark, the path graveled and noisy looking.

  Then his hand slid over my shoulder and down my back, settling on my hip. I wasn’t sure what he was doing until he gave me a gentle squeeze, kissed my cheek, and murmured, “Run.”

  Chapter 13

  By my rough calculations, it was a good quarter of a mile from the gates to the doors. Possibly more, but it was dark and I wasn’t particularly good at judging distances. I ran, crunching the gravel road beneath my sneakers and jarring my ankles with each step. I tried not to look anywhere but ahead, focusing on the doors of the fortress that were still shut tight. Sayer was beside me, but I didn’t turn my head. He’d said to run and I knew what was circling above us. I didn’t want to be torn to shreds by them. I didn’t really want to draw their attention in any way, and I was certain they’d notice two humans sprinting for the fortress, but running got us to safety faster. I wanted to reach safety. I wanted to get behind those massive doors and never come out again.

  The doors were still shut.

  The darkness descended and I could barely see the path.

  The doors were gone.

  Then, there was light, and flame and heat and my ears rang with the shrieks of a thousand monkeys. Sayer was yelling and I tried to stop, but my sneakers wouldn’t grip the loose gravel.

  Landing with a skid and a thud, the gravel bit into my bare arm and the side of my face. I raised my arms to protect my face as I lost all equilibrium and somehow ended up sliding on my stomach, my shirt riding up and the gravel burning my stomach as I came to a halt.

  “Ella, get up. You must get up. “

  I scrambled to my feet, looking wildly around.

  “Faster, Ella, move.”

  He didn’t touch me, but I could feel his presence nearby. My skin was burning, my right arm was shredded, and my hip was aching, but I clenched both hands into tight fists as I took in the scene around us. The road was cut off all the way up to the doors, the legion of winged monkeys assembled all around us.

  I turned, stepping to Sayer’s side, and scanned the monkeys circling and hovering above us, then stopped when I faced a particularly fierce looking group blocking our path to the fortress. The flames belonged to Sayer. They formed a whip in his hand and I knew from his expression he had every intention of using it.

  “Let us pass,” Sayer demanded.

  “Generals do not take orders from serving boys,” a monkey snarled back.

  Sayer gripped the whip handle tighter and squared his jaw. I’d seen him stiff and aloof at the palace, and now I had become used to the softer side of him. It was strange seeing him in such an aggressive stance. But I was quickly learning there was far more to Sayer than he let anyone know. “No, but you take them from the lady of this house.”

  The monkey strode forward, his heavily muscled body moving fluidly despite the huge wings on his back and the heavy leather armor he wore, his eyes trained on me. When he reached us, he pointed a finger in my face and laughed. “This? It is a human, steward. The lady of this house, a full-blooded witch no less, was murdered by one such as this, and they have been unwelcome here since. Tell me, did you seek her demise without blood staining your own hands? Is that why you brought her here?”

  I was shaken, but not dumbfounded. No one talked about me like that. I slapped his hand away from my face and stepped forward. “Watch your disgusting mouth.”

  He drew back his arm, the thick muscles beneath his fur flexing visibly in the flickering orange light of Sayers flame whip, and I prepared myself to take the punch. The general hadn’t expected Sayer’s response ,and was caught entirely off guard when the flames wrapped around his wrist and Sayer pulled him his way. I didn’t see where it came from, but suddenly there was a long knife in his hand and he brought it up to the monkey general’s throat, and growled, “She is the heir of Dorothy Gale, Savior of Oz. Let her pass or suffer her wrath.”

  That didn’t help, not even a little, and several things happened at once. The general’s fur caught fire. The hair on his arm singeing and searing, and the flames spread to his shoulder. The blaze, along with the revelation of my lineage, only served to enrage him more. The two closest to him, who I assumed were his colonels, moved toward me as the general attacked Sayer.

  They were savage and I wasn’t much of a fighter. I wasn’t equipped to handle them at all, really, apart from the help I got from the shoes, and I wasn’t entirely sure how to use them to my advantage in a situation like this. What I was sure about was my ability to keep someone away from something. I took a step back and willed a protective barrier to form around us as the general roared in his face, but I didn’t know if it had worked or not because the world tilted and I couldn’t see anything but deep, red stone.

  It must have come from behind—I was sure I’d have noticed the flapping of wings in my face—and flew off with me in its hand-like feet. I could feel them gripping my shirt around my shoulders, and I knew it wouldn’t hold my weight for long like that. I needed to get to safety and quickly.

  “Hey, put me down.” I squirmed as I yelled and grappled at the hairy feet carrying me.

  It didn’t answer, it just kept climbing up the side of the fortress. It was moving too fast for me to see where I was and we were too high for me to consider dropping out of my shirt. I was also too far from Sayer to know
if my defense had worked around him. I didn’t dare try anything to make the monkey drop me, just in case it did work. Sayer was in far more danger on the ground surrounded by angry monkeys than I was being dragged up the fortress.

  The thought of something, anything, happening to Sayer spurred me into action. I needed to protect him. I might not have been in an ideal situation, but I knew how to use my body to get into awkward positions, which might give me a chance to get out of this. It took some effort because of the pain in my hip, but I managed to grip the ankle of the monkey leg holding my left shoulder with my right hand, and pull myself up. The monkey shrieked at me as I pulled at its fur, but I didn’t let go, forcing my body to curl up while pushing my feet up into his face. The sneakers didn’t do as much damage as the Martens would have, but it was enough to make the thing change course, and suddenly I was upright. Or so it seemed.

  I screamed as I hurtled toward the ground feet first while it tried to scare me into letting go. There was no way that was happening. It’d have to crash face first if the damn monkey wanted me to let go. I kicked again, feeling my foot connect with its jaw, and almost screamed when its feet gripped tighter, pinching and scratching the skin on my shoulders.

  “Put me down!”

  That final kick seemed to completely enrage it, and the speed it righted at, while releasing me and slamming me into the ground, was incredible. I wasn’t so sure my back wasn’t broken, because I couldn’t feel much for a few seconds and my ears were ringing.

  The feeling came back when two strong hands hauled me upright, gripped my shirt and the straps of my bra, and roared with its massive teeth only centimeters from my face. It released one hand and I sagged, the pain in my legs too great for me to bear any weight. I barely registered the hard backhand he gave me, but I knew I was on the ground.

  Fully expecting to be attacked again, I brought my hands up to cover my face. But no attack came. Seconds passed before the thud sounded, as gravel hit my hands.

  I uncovered my face. The sky above me was a hive of activity—wings beating, bodies flying higher and higher until they became specs—and I rolled over, coming face to face with the monkey that had attacked me. It was dead. Or I assumed so since an arrowhead had replaced its eye.

  “Ella, are you awake? Can you move?” Sayer said from behind me. His fingers brushed my cheek, but he didn’t move me.

  I’d managed to roll onto my back again, but the pain was excruciating. “No, I don’t think I can.”

  Gravel crunched nearby and I looked up to see the form of another man standing over me. I couldn’t see his face, he was wearing a dark hood, but I saw the quiver of arrows peeking over his shoulder and the bow in his hand.

  He didn’t speak, but he looked me over from head to toe before handing the bow to Sayer.

  “Is it safe to move her?” Sayer questioned.

  His companion, Fallon, I presumed, didn’t respond. Instead, he crouched by my side and carefully lifted me from the ground.

  My body screamed in agony, I had to concentrate on not crying out in pain, and I was certain something was broken. It had to be. I just couldn’t tell what.

  “We’ll have you inside soon,” Sayer promised, walking at my side. He sounded concerned, but not about the attacking monkeys. About me. Despite the circumstances, my stomach fluttered.

  I must have passed out, because I didn’t remember arriving inside the fortress. When I woke up I was in a bed, there was light coming from the window, and my head was pounding.

  I didn’t need to sit up to know I was completely naked. I moved a leg, and the pain in my hip and back surged to life. My low moan of discomfort brought footsteps, two sets, and the reassurance of Sayer’s voice. “You’re awake.”

  “Wish I wasn’t,” I groaned, trying to sit up.

  He helped me move upright, carefully keeping my upper body covered by the soft cotton sheets, and kissed my cheek. “We were worried. There were no signs of damage to your back or legs, but there was no way to tell until you woke up. We watched over you, and Fallon saw your legs move in the very early hours, which gave us hope. I’m so sorry, Ella. I should have been prepared.”

  “You did fine. I could have protected myself, but I was too busy worrying about you—” The way he kissed me took my breath away. He didn’t seem to care Fallon was watching, or that he could tell Glinda and cause problems for him and for both of us, since I was stuck here. But I didn’t pull back. There was a moment when the monkey had flown off with me and I thought I’d never taste his lips again, never see his face or feel his hands on me. That was what forced me to fight back, to kick the damn thing until it dropped me. The realization of just what Sayer meant to me hit me harder than my collision with the ground, and while I wasn’t sure what to do about the feelings the revelation invoked, I knew the best place to be was there in his arms, with his lips on mine. I didn’t want him to let me go but he eventually did, lowering me back onto the pillows and glancing over his shoulder.

  “I think she’ll be okay after a few days of rest.”

  I looked down the bed to see whom he was speaking to. The quiver and hood were gone, but the man was just as imposing. His dark hair was cut short, his shoulders were broad, and his face was expressionless. I smiled nervously and said, “Thanks for…” I remembered the face of the dead monkey, the arrowhead embedded in its eye socket. “Well, whatever you did that got us out of that.”

  He nodded once, not breaking eye contact with me but not bothering to say anything either, then turned and walked to the window.

  I looked to Sayer, not voicing my question.

  “Fallon isn’t one for conversation,” he explained quietly into my ear. If he heard, he showed no sign, just continued looking out of the window to the east. “But he’s loyal to a fault. He’ll take good care of you while I’m gone. It’ll take me three days to get back to the palace, and I’ll try to buy you a couple of days to rest before Glinda comes looking for you.”

  I turned my head to look at him and opened my mouth to protest, but he kissed me again. Pushing him away by the shoulder, I scowled at him. “You’re leaving? Now?”

  Fallon turned to watch our exchange, leaning casually on the thick, red stone wall by the window. Sayer frowned at me. “Ella, I have to go back. Someone has to… Please, trust me.”

  A lump formed in my throat and I fought back the tears pricking my eyes. It was agony, but I turned over and tugged the sheet up to cover my shoulder, not wanting to watch him leave.

  He took the hint and the bed shifted as he got up. Footsteps crossed the wooden floor and a second set followed. The door closed and I ground my teeth, trying to stop myself from crying.

  Chapter 14

  I had to get up because I needed to pee, but my hip and back were in agony, and just sitting up was enough to make me whimper. I tried not to. Fallon hadn’t come back into the room and I really didn’t want him to. Although, it would have been helpful if he’d left me something to wear.

  I felt my cheeks heat as I wondered if Fallon had been there when Sayer undressed me. At least, I assumed it was Sayer who undressed me. Pulling the sheet around myself, I got to my feet and looked around the room for a hint as to where the bathroom was. There was one door close to the bed, which was the one the two guys left through. I kept looking around. The red walls of the room were stark and cold, despite their color. The furnishings were expected. A large armoire, a chest of drawers, nightstands, and bed were all made from mahogany. They were very plain but highly polished and stood out against the red walls. The floor was also dark polished parquet and while beautiful, I wondered just how much it would hurt if I collapsed on it.

  Turning around, I noticed a second door and hoped that led to a bathroom.

  There was a knock on the first door I'd noticed on the other side of the bed, and a flutter of panic erupted in my chest. Too far away from the door to answer it, I sat back down and arranged the sheet around me. “Okay… umm… come in,” I called out.

>   I watched the doorknob turn and felt my heart rate increase as it swung open. Fallon didn’t smile. His face was just as expressionless as it had been that morning, and I watched him step inside and close the door behind him.

  I remembered what Sayer had said about him not being too talkative, but instinctively asked, “What’s up?”

  He stopped a few feet away from me and tilted his head. His eyes flicked over me, registering the sheet and my bare shoulders, then he held out a hand presenting me with a piece of aged paper rolled up like a scroll.

  I leaned forward to take it and our eyes met. His were a light hazel. I hadn’t met many people with that eye color, and I gazed into them for far longer than was necessary. There was something about them I found captivating. Something that seemed to speak to me even though it was apparent he wasn’t going to talk, not right then at least. “Thanks.”

  The word broke the spell and he looked away, staring over my shoulder.

  “Is that a bathroom?” I asked, following his gaze, before looking back to him.

  He answered with a curt nod and held out a hand. I considered declining his help, but with the pain I was in, I knew it would be stupid to refuse and took it with a thin smile. He didn’t return it, instead reaching down and picking up the paper he’d brought me.

  His hand was rough with callouses around my soft skin, and I tried not to lean too heavily his way but the pain in my hip was beyond anything I’d felt since the first time I’d lost my grip on the pole. I thought I'd broken something the way I landed then, and this was pretty close.

  “Did you see how far I fell?” I inquired, as we reached the bathroom door. I glanced at him and he shrugged, guiding my hand to the doorframe.

  “Twenty feet?”

  He frowned and shook his head.

  “Ten?”

  He shrugged one shoulder and turned his mouth down in the corners. I took that to mean, ‘not quite.’