The Ruby Fortress (Kingdoms Of Oz Book 1)

by Carrie Whitethorne

  “Shit. And you’re sure nothing’s broken?”

  He handed me the scroll and tilted his head to the side then turned away. Using the doorframe for support, I turned the doorknob and went in, dragging the sheet behind me.

  There was a huge, gilt mirror hanging on the wall and a white porcelain bath, toilet, and sink. In the corner I found what I was scanning the room for, a shower, and closed my eyes with relief. But before I dropped the sheet and staggered over to the promise of clean skin and heat on my aching body, I unrolled the paper I clutched in my hand and started to read.

  The short letter was carefully written in gently looping handwriting, and I skimmed it once before reading back more carefully.

  Ella,

  I hoped to see you before I left but I couldn’t delay. Please believe me when I tell you my intention was never to leave you like this. Fallon will take extremely good care of you until I return. While he is not conversational, you will find it easy to communicate after spending some time with him. I trust him with your life, please do the same. He is our greatest ally. Expect her in five days.

  Until you are in my arms again,

  Sayer

  I focused on that final sentence and my breath caught in my throat. Pressing my lips together in a firm line I dropped the sheet, then the letter, and made for the shower.

  When I went back into the bedroom, wrapped in a fluffy robe I’d found on the back of the bathroom door, I found he’d made the bed with fresh sheets and left a tray at the foot of the bed. I was hungry, and the meal that was laid out looked amazing. Cured meats, cheeses, bread and butter, and a selection of dried fruits with a glass of fresh fruit juice. I raised the glass and sniffed the contents, wondering what it was. Turned out it was pumpkin juice, spiced with cinnamon and sweetened. While it wasn’t unpleasant, I thought of Orla and her children and couldn’t manage more than a sip. I put it down and stuffed the cured meat and cheeses between two slices of buttered bread to make a sandwich, before walking unsteadily over to the window.

  The damage was superficial, which I had discovered when I got out of the shower with my skin stinging. My hip was badly bruised and my back was aching, but the difficulty in walking was mainly caused by muscular damage. I’d sustained enough injuries training to know the difference and the hot water had helped me differentiate. The grazing was bad though, and there were some nasty scratches on my back, I assumed from landing on all that gravel.

  I ate while looking out over the lands that sprawled east. I could see some way to the south, too, and wondered how far Sayer had made it. For all I knew he hadn’t walked back, but used magic to return to the Opal Palace. He could be over the border and back playing butler to Glinda. I didn’t fully understand what was going on there. The more I tried to work it out, the more ridiculous it sounded, even in my head, and I’d been raised on tales of Oz. But it really did seem like Sayer wasn’t Glinda’s at all.

  I looked back over to the bed where I’d left his note and heard a gentle knock on the door.

  “Come in, Fallon.”

  He stayed by the door and I turned to face him. He looked uncomfortable.

  “What’s up?”

  His eyes flicked down and I chastised myself.

  “Sorry. Thanks for breakfast, it was lovely. And thank you for helping me and bringing me that note. Oh, and for dealing with that monkey thing. And for getting us inside safely.”

  I was rambling, but I felt so stupid for asking him questions when I knew he wasn’t likely to answer them. I wondered at that and remembered what Sayer had told me about him. That his family had been badly treated there, done horrible things, and that he didn’t want to serve. But that’s just what he was doing. He was serving me. Why?

  “I just need a few pointers from you and then I’ll pull my weight,” I offered, moving slowly toward the bed. He looked at me with his brows pulled together. Questioning.

  “I know you’re not a steward and to be honest I don’t want one. I need clothes, I’m assuming mine were shredded after being dragged around by that thing. Are there any here?”

  He nodded to the bedside and I looked in that direction. The magic sneakers were sitting there, looking immaculate and gleaming in the bright daylight streaming through the window.

  I felt a bit silly. Of course, the shoes. “Okay. I was told there was some sort of power here that I had to claim. Any idea where that’s hiding?”

  He nodded once and stepped toward me with a finger raised.

  “First?” I guessed, thinking we would play a version of charades.

  He nodded and opened his hand to reveal a small pot that was sealed with a cork.

  I reached out and took it, but he caught my wrist, turning my hand over and lightly running his fingers over a few grazes that had extended down my arm and onto the back of my hand.

  “Ointment?”

  His lips quirked up in a small smile and I noticed his eyes brighten.

  “Thank you.”

  He stepped away, turned, and reached for the tray at the bottom of the bed. When he turned back he nodded at the full glass of pumpkin juice then flicked up his chin.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t drink it. Not after meeting Orla. It was weird enough having roasted gourds on my plate the other day.”

  He smirked and walked from the room, leaving me standing there. I don’t know what he found amusing. I didn’t want to drink juiced Orla. When the door swung shut behind him, I sat on the bed, put the little pot of ointment on the nightstand, and slipped my feet into my sneakers.

  “Okay, what did they say? Will it. I wanted the protection. I wanted different shoes. I want some underwear, pants, and a top…”

  Shrugging out of the robe, I looked down at my cropped yoga pants and smiled. Easy. Then I picked up the small pot and unfastened the cork. The contents looked like petroleum jelly, but it smelled incredible, and I dipped a finger in and smeared it on the back of the opposite hand. The grazes were immediately soothed and without thinking, I dipped my finger in again and spread more up my arm.

  I didn’t stop smearing the sweet-smelling ointment on myself until every part of me within reach was treated, and by the time I was done, the backs of my hands had healed. Even my hip and lower back felt better. All that was left was my back, which I couldn’t reach, and there was no way I was asking Fallon to help with that.

  With most of my aches and pains soothed, and clothes on my body, I made my way out of my room and discovered a very dark hallway outside. I left my bedroom door open, allowing the soft daylight to leak out and give me some light to move by.

  “This is ridiculous,” I muttered to myself. “I need to be able to see.” And then there was light. It wasn’t natural light, I couldn’t make out where it was from, but the short, empty hall was illuminated, displaying the red rock floor and walls and the single door at the end of the hall.

  On the other side of that door was a tiny vestibule, which let out to a spiral staircase that seemed to be made from good old stone. There were no windows and no handrail, but there was somehow light. I didn’t question it and turned down the stairs. I knew I was high up, the view from my bedroom window told me that much, but I was surprised by how little time it took to reach the bottom. I opened the door at the foot of the stairs and stepped into a large room. This one had windows, and the weak sunlight brought my attention to the parquet floor that matched that of my bedroom. I looked around and noticed a large fireplace on the wall opposite me, and movement off to my left. Fallon was walking toward me with a small smile.

  “Hey. Thanks for that ointment, it’s done the trick.”

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  “You didn’t make it?”

  He shook his head and flashed his eyebrows.

  “Sayer?” My stomach flipped when I mentioned his name. I clenched my teeth and tried to ignore it, as Fallon’s mouth quirked up at one side and he turned on his heel.

  I followed him through another hall with a sweeping stone stairc
ase, and through another that housed a massive dining table with too many chairs around it to count. The walls were bare, which was odd, and the windows had no drapes. In fact, there were very few personal touches to the place. Not like back in the West. Glinda’s palace was overdressed. This was stark and depressing by comparison.

  “So, this is all mine?”

  I saw his head nod.

  “After I claim it?”

  Another bob of his head.

  “Any idea how I do that?”

  He looked over his shoulder and winked, then opened a door and led me out into a courtyard. I instantly looked up and saw the reason for the weak sunlight. Hundreds of monkeys were gathered above the fortress, hovering so high up they all blurred together, forming a dark cloud that blocked out much of the sun. He stopped and looked up at a tower. It was attached to the main building, but seemed isolated somehow. Then I noticed the hole smashed into the adjoining wall, exposing the foot of a stairway that was identical to the one that led from my room. I turned around and tried to locate the tower I’d clearly come from. It seemed there had been four of them at some point. The north tower had a hole smashed into it, I’d slept in the east tower, and the south tower was still intact, but the west tower was a ruin, with only half of it standing.

  “Did the monkeys do that?” I asked, my gaze fixed on the crumbled tower.

  I turned back to the north tower to see Fallon standing with his head bowed. No answer.

  “Okay, up there then?” I questioned, deciding not to push him.

  He shook his head and started walking again, turning toward the eastern side of the courtyard and heading to a door at the bottom. I glanced to the turret again before following.

  Sayer said I could trust him, but the question that had suddenly crept into my mind was could I really trust Sayer? I pushed that thought away and curled my toes inside my sneakers. If all else failed, I had them. They’d helped my great grandma get home, they could help me, and if I wanted to go home I had to see this through, wherever it was going.

  Chapter 15

  The door was locked. I watched him pull a long, brass key from the pocket of his leather pants and listened for the click of the lock. It was stiff, as though it hadn’t been opened for years, and that was confirmed by the effort he had to put into opening the door. The gloomy room wasn’t welcoming, but he stepped inside and I followed without question.

  “Why is this place so dark?” I muttered. Fallon looked over his shoulder as the room flooded with light, and I couldn’t help but smile at the ability my shoes gave me.

  There were two doors inside, I noticed, and Fallon moved toward the one on the right, unlocking it and holding it open for me. I could only see a staircase leading down, but there was plenty of light to see by. Without hesitating, I descended and managed not to look back as the door closed and locked behind us, trapping us inside the stairwell.

  I waited at the bottom of the stairs for him and felt a shiver run down my spine when he passed me, leading me into the center of the room. I was confused, since there wasn’t much in here except a small table. He approached it and opened the small drawer in the front, then turned and handed me a little piece of paper.

  “What’s this?”

  He flicked up his chin and smiled.

  Fallon’s smile said so much. There was hope in it. Encouragement. His eyes were bright as he watched me, and I looked down at the paper and read the words. It wasn’t a language I knew. I wasn’t even sure I could pronounce the words, but I presumed I had to speak them aloud.

  I read them several times over before trying to say them and looked at Fallon as I spoke. His amber eyes held mine, expectant and intense, and I was surprised at how easily the words came.

  I don’t know what I was expecting, but the crackle of static followed by dead silence wasn’t it. Fallon looked pleased, so I assumed it worked. He stepped forward and reached out before holding my shoulders. He tilted his head in question.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, I think,” I said, looking down at the paper in my hand. “Is that it?”

  He shrugged and took the paper from me, returning it to the drawer. The table vanished as soon as the drawer clicked shut, and he turned to me and nodded his head.

  I glanced around the room. Without the table, it only had four boring red walls and a staircase. “Good. Let’s get out of here,” I suggested, finding this room a little odd.

  I turned to walk away, pulling my still damp hair to the side, but he stopped me with both hands on my shoulders, I turned my head and asked, “What?”

  His answer came in the form of his fingertips running over the scratches that were visible on my back.

  “Oh, I couldn’t reach those. They’re okay. That stuff you gave me healed everything else.”

  He sighed and pulled something from his pocket and handed it to me—another pot of the salve. I took off the lid and held the pot so he could reach it. I watched as he dipped in a finger, before dropping my chin to my chest to allow him access to my back. Despite how calloused his hands were, his fingers were feather light on my skin. He didn’t ask before he pulled the back of my shirt down, exposing more of my flesh and the back strap of my bra, then he reached over and took more of the ointment on the end of his index finger.

  I remained still while he worked, trying hard not to shiver under his touch. Sayer had only been gone for a few hours, and I didn’t want to respond in any physical, hormonal way to another guy, especially since he was just trying to help me with the injuries on my back. I mean, he was hot. The strong silent type had always been a thing for me on account of me liking to get what I needed then leaving, but not hours after being with someone else. Especially not when I’d begun to feel for them.

  I frowned, thinking of Sayer. It was strange how attached I’d become to him in just a few days. Okay, so I’d slept with him, but I’d slept with other people and hadn’t cared when they left. There was just something about how he spoke to me. How he seemed to genuinely care for me, despite us not having spent much time together.

  But then, thinking about it, that wasn’t strictly true, was it? He’d been watching me for who knows how long.

  Fallon was the same. He’d only just met me, but he’d saved my ass from that chimp, fed me, helped me with the mess on my skin, and shown me down here. He handed me what I needed to claim the fortress. He trusted me with that power.

  He slid my shirt back into place, my breath hitching from the feel of his fingers on my skin. I didn’t know if he’d noticed, but I felt the need to cover it up, so I murmured, “Thank you.”

  I turned to face him and he smiled at me, holding out his hand to take back the pot. I placed it in his waiting palm, returning his smile, and looked back up to the door. “Should probably get out of here, shouldn’t we?” I suggested, forcing myself to act normal.

  Stepping around me, Fallon led the way upstairs, unlocked the door, and held it open for me. I don’t know why, but I expected to feel different. Feel something at least. But the only thing I experienced was a crackle of static. Seemed like a bit of a letdown if you asked me. Wondering if it had worked at all, I followed Fallon out into the courtyard, finding it flooded with sunlight. Fallon didn’t bother locking the doors, which was odd, and when we stepped out I instinctively looked up. The flying monkey cloud was gone.

  No. Not gone. Perched on the fortress roof, battlements, and walls. Looking down at me with… reverence.

  I stepped closer to Fallon, almost pressing into his back as I lowered my gaze, and realized the general was standing before us with his colonels.

  “What do they want? Fallon, please make them go away,” I pleaded, nervous we were about to have a repeat of last night.

  Rather than defend me, he stepped to the side, leaving me exposed to them. My stomach dropped out, making me feel nauseous, and I watched in confusion as the three dropped to one knee, wings extended at their sides, and heads bowed.

  The others perched on the building did the sa
me, and I looked at Fallon in confusion. He simply nodded toward the general and raised his eyebrows.

  “What are they doing?” I whispered, as the general approached.

  “We pledge our allegiance to you, Witch of the West,” the general said in his rough, deep voice.

  I didn’t know how they knew, and I wasn’t likely to find out from Fallon, but somehow, I knew he was speaking honestly. That gave me a little bit of confidence.

  I was suddenly more grateful for Fallon’s help in healing the last of my injuries. The evidence of what the general’s minion had done to me was entirely gone, except for a few dull aches. “You’ve changed your tune.”

  “Lady, had we known… may I offer my most sincere apologies?”

  He lowered his head again and presented his hands palm up. I frowned, not understanding what he was doing, and Fallon nudged me with his elbow.

  “What is that, some kind of act of submission?”

  He nodded, and I stepped forward, feeling like a total idiot. “Look, general… I, erm, I don’t know how this stuff works, but yeah, I accept your apology. And yeah, I accept your… allegiance. I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but I’ve claimed this fortress to help keep people safe. I need some time to get used to… this, and then we’re going to have to discuss how you and your… people do things. Okay?”

  He straightened, standing at his full height, which seemed to be around four feet. He was so muscular, I could see how they caused so much damage, and the jacket he wore was old and tattered, but I could tell he took pride in wearing it. “Yes, my lady. I am yours. My legion is at your service.”

  “Okay… well, I have somewhere I need to be. In the meantime, can you keep your legion from attacking anyone? I mean anyone. No random acts of violence. No smashing Pumpkinheads. Nothing like that. Do you understand?”

  “Perfectly, Lady.” He bowed low again. I felt ridiculous.

  “And for god’s sake stop blotting out the sun,” I said turning away. “Can we get away from them before I have to say anything else?” I whispered, hoping Fallon would help me out.