by Sy Walker
De shoved the tunic over her wet body, barely taking time to note that her magic boots were completely dry. “You pig!” she said, peeking out from behind Aspen’s large frame.
“No. Robot is closer, but not quite right either.” Brett stood tall and stretched before tossing a pair of pants to Aspen. “Please do us a favor and cover that up.”
Aspen caught them but growled in response.
“Down, Kitty. I came over here to warn you that I saw some ravens circling this area. I think they were communicating with one of the witch’s spies. But when I got here, I noticed the dead mermaid floating on the other side of the lagoon, figured it was the spy, and well, you two were busy celebrating your victory. I didn’t think you wanted to be interrupted.”
Brett winked at De and she dove back behind Aspen, tugging at her tunic.
“You will never disrespect my lover like that again,” Aspen said, shoving Brett in the shoulder.
“Hey now.” Brett put up two hands in a gesture of peace. “No harm done. No disrespect intended. I really did see ravens and wanted to warn you.”
“So ravens work for the WWW?” De asked, trying to move past the whole embarrassing incident.
“Yes. She speaks many animal languages, including feline, I believe,” Brett said, smiling at Aspen.
“What exactly are you insinuating?” Aspen asked, moving into Brett’s personal space.
“Nothing at all!” Brett stepped back. “Just making conversation. The tent’s all set up. I’ll stand guard outside, and I promise not to peek if I hear any interesting noises.” He wiggled his silver eyebrows at De.
But De was confident they were through doing that for the night. And probably for the rest of the trip to the Emerald City. As much as she wanted Aspen, she hated the idea that someone was watching, and she wasn’t going to risk it with Brett close by.
Chapter 6
“The witch wants me dead,” De said the following morning as they packed up camp. The idea hadn’t fully sunk in the night before because she’d been distracted, but it was hitting full force now.
Aspen glanced at her, face filled with worry and something else she couldn’t quite put a finger on. Was it guilt? It wasn’t his fault any of this happened, and she’d have to tell him that the next time they had a private moment.
“She wants something from you. Maybe death.” Brett said, tossing her an apple from the supplies Aspen had taken from the Gnome’s barn.
She took a bite and walked on, being sure to stay close to Aspen.
“It matters not,” Aspen said, confidently. “She will never get the chance to retrieve or kill you.”
De smiled. Her insides heated up when he talked like that.
“How far to the EC?” Brett whined. “I’m starting to rust from all the humidity.”
De thought she caught Aspen roll his eyes. “Not far. In fact, if we cut through the poppy fields, we can reach it by tonight. I hadn’t considered it before, but as they’re all dead, I wouldn’t worry about their magic. Besides, we have the little witch to protect us.”
“I wish you’d call me De. Or Delilah,” she said, taking his hand.
Aspen paused for a moment, surprised, but then continued on as though nothing had happened.
“De-lightful name,” Brett said. “De-licious. De-lectable.”
“De-ad,” Aspen said over his shoulder. “If you say one more.”
Brett made a zipping motion over his mouth and skipped forward.
The day grew hotter as they crossed the poppy fields. There were no trees to shield them from the sun, and De’s shoulders burned from it. The flowers must have been beautiful once, but now they were no more than brown weeds, lying crushed on the yellowed ground.
In the distance, De could make out the distinctive golden bricks of the path she’d first walked escaping from the edge of a tangled forest. She shivered. How had she ever thought that place would be okay to travel through?
They climbed toward the top of a hill as sweat beaded on De’s hairline. She needed to bathe again. Then she saw what had to be the Emerald City.
It rose from the ground like a giant green crystal formation, shining in the sun. The mere sight of it brought a sense of excitement to De, who had no idea what to expect.
“I see it!” she said.
Aspen squeezed her hand in response.
“I see something else,” Brett said, pointing toward the woods and the brick road. “Ravens and monkeys by the looks of it. And I don’t think we can make it to the force field in time.”
“Force field?” De asked as Aspen’s grip tightened.
“Run!” he shouted over her and the three of them raced down the hill toward the city.
De couldn’t help glancing back toward the woods. What looked like a storm moved toward them at an angle. If they weren’t fast enough, they’d be intercepted before they reached the outskirts of the crystalline city. She slipped from Aspen’s grasp and pumped her legs harder, but she was already slowing and the pain in her side stole the breath from her body.
She didn’t have the stamina of the two men – one of whom was a lion, the other made of metal.
“De!” Brett yelled, realizing she was falling behind.
Aspen let out an earth-shaking roar and turned to scoop her up and toss her over his shoulder.
“We won’t make it,” Brett called as the screech of the monkeys and cawing of the ravens grew unbearably loud. “You have to morph. Take her to the entrance, and I’ll hold them off. They can’t hurt me.”
Aspen swung De around so she was riding his back, holding his neck to stop from flying off.
“Hold on tight,” he yelled as he leapt into the air.
De felt the fur shoot from his body beneath her. It was soft and thick like she remembered and when they landed, he was on four giant paws at a gallop and she was leaning across his back, fingers tangled tightly around his mane as the landscape flew by, wind rushing through her hair.
They were headed for a collision with the swarm of animals the WWW had sent and just beyond, maybe thirty feet, was the great gate of the Emerald City. Brett was right, they wouldn’t make it!
But Brett leapt by them, landing with his own earth-cracking thud before the swarm. The entire company of animals hesitated, hovering in the air as Aspen flew forward with a great roar.
De buried her face in his mane, inhaling his familiar scent as Aspen tore past the edge of the swarm where Brett was busy leaping and striking out with a long metal axe she recognized as something from Aspen’s magic satchel.
A monkey screamed toward them, claws outstretched and Aspen chomped it with his teeth, tossing the body aside as he ran. But a good six or seven ravens made it through Brett’s distraction and flew at them from above, pecking at De’s hair and clothing. She screamed, swatting wildly at them as they dive-bombed her. She didn’t realize until Aspen’s final leap toward the gate that she’d let go. She tumbled off his back as he flew over the barrier and fell hard on the ground.
The ravens kept diving at her face, and she continued to shield herself and swat at the air before her. “Help!” she screamed.
“All you have to do is hand over the boots, my lovely,” said a woman’s cold voice from beside her.
De felt her hands being wrestled to her sides, and she squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the ravens from plucking her eyes out. But the pecking and attacks ceased.
“You can open your eyes,” the same voice said with a hint of disdain.
De blinked and bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming. The woman was inches from her face, kneeling by her side and she was truly hideous. Her face was a collection of bumps and warts, green in color and surrounded by straw-like orange hair. Her eyes were large and wholly black, no pupils, no whites and she directed them at De.
“You must be her,” De said, very nearly calling the woman a witch. That could be bad.
“Yes,” the witch answered. “I am the Witch of the West and those,” she t
apped one of De’s knees, “are my boots.”
“Your boots?” De asked, dumbly.
The witch nodded. “I don’t like thieves much.”
“I didn’t steal them,” De said. “I got knocked out and when I woke up my whole outfit was different. I think some perve did it.”
“How very convenient,” the witch said.
“Look, you can have the damn boots. I never asked for them and I don’t care. Just tell me how to get them off.”
“Off?” the witch cackled. “Off?”
“Yeah,” De said, working herself into a sitting position. “What’s so funny?”
The witch’s cackling ceased and as she leaned in to De’s face, De regretted her outburst. A laughing witch was better than a serious witch any day. A row of flying monkeys stood about a foot behind her, each with a raven perched on a shoulder.
De swallowed hard. Where was Aspen? Where was Brett?
The witch followed her gaze to the great gates of the Emerald City and smiled. “The force field is up. That’s how they keep me out. But it also keeps everyone inside. And as for your metal man? I’m afraid his time has run out.” The witch gestured behind De’s head and she scooted around to find Brett frozen in place, axe raised in mid-swing. A raven perched on his head, pecking at his face, and a monkey yanked at his wind-up gear, trying to rip it from his body.
“Stop!” De screamed. “Please, stop!”
The witch cackled. “Give me the boots, and we will leave him alone.”
“I told you, you can have them.” De’s eyes burned with tears. “Take them!”
The witch stroked the length of her leg and licked her lips. “You have to use your magic to release them.”
“I… I don’t know how,” De whimpered.
“That’s a shame,” the witch said, pointing a long crooked finger at Brett. The winder fell off into the monkey’s hands.
“No,” De choked out. “No.”
“Your turn next. I’m being nice after all,” the witch said. “Either you relinquish the boots or I have to get them the old-fashioned way and it’s so much messier.”
She stood, and De watched, wide eyed, as she held an open hand toward Brett. The axe flew from his frozen hands into hers, and De scrambled backward until two monkeys caught her arms.
The witch stalked forward, swinging the axe every few feet. Two more monkeys held down De’s ankles so she couldn’t move anything but her head.
“Last chance,” the witch offered, holding the axe above her legs.
“Please. I’ll try, I promise. Just give me a chance,” De begged.
“At least they’re already red.” The witch winked and swung her axe.
De screamed, heart pounding, but no sudden pain came shooting across her thigh. Instead, the witch’s axe was stopped again, mid-swing, just inches from her skin.
It was the witch’s turn to scream with frustration as she tugged at the weapon to no avail.
De wondered if she’d done that again. More magic?
But then the monkeys holding her flew from her sides, landing hard against the gates of the city where they sparked and caught fire.
A glimmering ball of green light emerged from before the gates and floated down between the witch and De.
The witch responded with a hiss.
De shielded her eyes as the ball glowed bright then dimmed, revealing a beautiful woman with long auburn hair braided over her shoulder, tall black leather boots, and tightly fitted hunter-green fatigues. The woman turned toward her and De gaped. She looked remarkably like the friend she’d left behind with her life in Boston.
“Tammy?” she asked.
The woman smiled politely. “No, dear. My name is Glinda. I am the Witch of the North.”
Chapter 7
“This is none of your concern,” said WWW, shooing Glinda like a fly that wouldn’t leave.
“Nonsense. This is my territory, Rinalda. You’d do well to take your pets back in the forest before they end up as dinner for the citizens of the EC.” Glinda continued to smile benignly despite the threat in her words.
“When I get my boots back—” the WWW began.
“Yes, well, I don’t think they’re yours anymore,” Glinda said, shaking her head sadly. “In fact, I doubt they ever were. Now be gone.” She wiggled her delicate fingers at the WWW and De held her breath.
“I’ll leave for now,” WWW said. “But I’ll be back, and I will have my boots.”
With that, she disappeared into a cloud of gray smoke. Her animals flew back toward the safety of their woods, squawking and screeching.
“Thank you,” De said, accepting a hand up from the good witch. “But my friend…” She pointed to Brett, still frozen, his winder laying feet away in the dirt.
“We will take him to the gadget maker in the city. If anyone can fix him, he can.”
“Thank you,” De said, allowing Glinda to steer her back toward the gate. She couldn’t wait to see Aspen and collapse in his arms.
Glinda led the way, pausing only to wave a hand over the front of the great gate, which glowed for a moment then swung open to admit them. De was barely through the threshold when it clanged shut once again and she heard a tiny pop.
“The magical force field helps us prevent a sneak attack,” Glinda explained.
De gaped at the enormity of the city before her. Crystalline buildings as high as anything in New York, all with a greenish glow. And people of all sorts, every one of them wearing some variant of the color green.
“This city is the only one untouched by the evil magic of the wicked witches,” Glinda continued, unfazed.
“Wait, witches? As in plural?” De asked, coming to a sudden stop.
Glinda giggled and it sounded like wind chimes. “Why, yes. There’s the Wicked Witch of the West, which you’ve met, and her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East.”
Damn. One was bad enough.
“I’m sure you’re exhausted after your arduous journey, my dear.” Glinda put an arm around De’s shoulders. “Corissa will show you to a room in the palace and you can change and rest up. We have much planning to do for tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?” De asked, overwhelmed by everything happening so fast.
“The Resistance meets with you of course. We must act quickly if you are to fulfill the prophecy and return Oz to it’s previous glory. But enough of that now.”
“But—”
“Not another word until you’ve had some proper rest and a hot meal.” Glinda stepped back, glowing until De had to once again shield her eyes. Then the good witch disappeared into the sky in a glowing green bubble.
“Hi,” said a tiny woman, maybe half of De’s height. “I’m Corissa.” She curtseyed and blushed.
“Hi,” said De, searching around the crowds of curious onlookers for a sign of Aspen. Surely he was here waiting for her? It must’ve been torture for him trapped behind the gate when she needed him so badly.
“Please follow me to the palace. We have a room ready for you. It used to belong to the Wizard himself. You know, before the tragedy.”
“Tragedy?” De echoed, still searching the crowds.
“He was killed by the wicked witches when they took over rule of Oz.” Corissa shook her tiny head sadly, and De took a closer look at the girl.
She was adorable, with died green hair and bright eyes, but her face was lined and De realized that despite her size, she must have been closer to forty than her own age. Her proportions were perfect, just miniature.
Corissa saw her staring and smiled sadly. “I used to live with the rest of my kind in Munchkinland, but the WWE attacked. I ran with a group of others to the Emerald City where Glinda took us in. But the rest of my people were turned into flying monkeys to serve the evil ones.”
“I’m so sorry,” De breathed. What if the monkeys Aspen had killed were actually munchkins under an evil spell? This was horrible. Far worse than Boston, that was for sure.
“Don’t be. Ju
st use your powers to save us and set things right.” Corissa opened the door to the biggest building of all, which indeed resembled a palace complete with turrets.
What was it these people expected of her? And why her?
“Excuse me, Corissa, but have you seen my friend? I was riding him – um, he’s a lion – and we got separated, but I saw him make it over the gate.”
Corissa pressed a finger to her lips, thinking. “Oh yes. I remember. He was the one who shouted for Glinda’s help. But after that, I’m afraid I don’t know. I think he probably retired to his room. I don’t think he was injured or I’d suggest the infirmary.”
De gasped.
“No. I’m sure he was fine.” Corissa smiled quickly, continuing to lead the way through the great halls of the palace with flying buttresses arched high overhead and windows along every wall. “Shifters heal very quickly, you know.”
No, De didn’t know. In fact, there was way too much De didn’t know. Her head spun with all of the new and strange information. By the time they reached her room, high at the top of one tower, she was all but ready to collapse.
“I’ll leave you here,” Corissa said at the double doors. “You’ll find everything you need inside, but if you want something else just ring the bell.”
“Thank you, Corissa.” De gave the little woman a hug and slipped inside. She prayed she’d find Aspen waiting for her. But the king-sized bed on the dais was empty, as was the swimming-pool-sized bathtub.
Trying not to cry, De stripped off her filthy torn tunic and started the bath.
The water soothed her sore muscles, and she laid back, closing her eyes and remembering her last bath with Aspen. Was his pride here in the Emerald City? Was he with his lioness wives right now?
De felt a bit ill and wrapped a fluffy green towel around herself as the bath drained. She faced the gilded mirror and combed through her long chestnut locks. What was she doing? She was sleeping with a strange man she knew so little about. Not just sleeping with him, but depending on him. She felt completely lost without him near her.
Typical. She’d run away from her made-up life only to immediately give in to another fake identity and dependence on someone else.
