by Tarl Telford
"I will go forward. Whether I live to see Oz lighted again, or I die in its darkness, I will go forward."
* * * * *
Perilous Eddy hung his head as he sat on the gray stone stairs, next to the main thoroughfare. Things were very, very wrong. Nothing felt right, and he was the only one that seemed to understand. Even the crowd that had followed Glinda had dispersed. There was nothing to see and so they left to go about their own business. They had no idea of the danger coming toward them. Even if he were to say something, what would he say? What would he do?
Wickrie-Kells hurried down the main street, searching and calling for Glinda. She was alone. She spotted Eddy on the stairs and called to him.
"Eddy, where is Glinda? I have the Crown Sarcophagus."
"You, too? She went down into the labyrinth."
"What do you mean me, too?"
"Everyone has gone down to the labyrinth. First it was Captain Omby and his crew. Then Glinda and the Witches, and now you. There must be something earth-shattering down there. It certainly is not looking bright up here."
Wickrie-Kells met Eddy halfway up the stairs. Though she was a stair below him, she reached out and pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard. He swayed unsteadily on his feet.
"Things will get better. The sun is still shining beyond the clouds."
"No, it isn't." He had already seen the eclipse beginning. The shadow was swallowing the sun.
"Do I have to kiss you again? You look so down. I think I will. Such a rush. Such power." She kissed the young architect again, driving him backwards up a stair. Eddy stumbled and fell backwards. "See? Cheer up. You are a magnet for pretty girls I'm just the first."
Wickrie-Kells leaped nimbly down the stairs and found the dark alley. The Emerald Spectacles guided her steps in the magically darkening streets. What was magically darkened, she could not see. Her path was clear to her--no magic could blind her eyes and lead her astray. Wickrie-Kells called Glinda's name once into the darkness, and, hearing no reply, she plunged onward.
* * * * *
Deeper in the labyrinth, the hissing hounds snapped and scratched at the edge of the lantern light. They leaped from shadow to shadow, driving the City Guards and Glinda's army deeper into the shadows of the Onyx Labyrinth.
Glinda stopped when she saw the lantern light glinting off metal on the walls. She looked closer at the carved reliefs in the wall ahead. A sword hung from the gargoyle's hands. Glinda took it and called to the others, "Weapons in the carvings. Arm yourselves."
The fight was painfully one-sided. The shadow hounds from the realms between dream and waking were unfazed by the edged mortal weapons. However, they burned in the pure light of the Silver Lantern, and Locasta's Quicksilver-tipped broomstick wounded them. The other weapons were ineffective. So Glinda did the only thing she could do, and she led her army deeper into the darkness.
Several turns later, Glinda turned the wrong way. She found herself facing a smooth black wall. Her dim reflection shone darkly back at her. She stared into the deeper shadows as the dark things gathered around her army. She had made an oath to protect Oz. That didn't only mean the Wizard. It meant all of Oz. She turned and pushed through her companions to face the shadow hounds. With the Silver Lantern in one hand, and a sword in the other, Glinda waded into the snarling beasts. Where the light hit the shadow hounds, the shadow crackled and became solid. She swung her blade and the edge bit deeply into the newly-solid hound. The hissing yelp stopped all of the other hounds in their tracks. "Follow the light!" Glinda shouted, pushing into the snarling pack of shadows.
* * * * *
Eyve stopped and crouched the darkness. She heard the battle approaching. While she had been lucky that the hounds had been drawn by the scent of newer prey, she was unprepared for the strength of her new enemy. The air grew brighter. The baying of the shadow hounds turned to yelps of pain. Metal struck stone. A sharp, pungent smell of mold and vinegar filled the air. Then the light was upon her.
"Who are you?" The light demanded.
Eyve could not see through the intense light. She raised her sword hand to shield her eyes. She saw feet, and the hem of a dress below the light. Then the voice of an old man cut through the light.
"Child, I told you to stay away. You don't belong here."
Eyve recognized the voice. It sounded much older than it did two days ago. This was the voice of the Guardian. "I belong with Omby."
Glinda flicked out her sword and knocked Eyve's sword away. She pinned it to the floor. "We have come for the Wizard's body."
"You can't have it." Eyve declared. She still could not see through the light, but shapes were becoming clearer now as her eyes adjusted.
From the distant darkness, a new sound echoed through the stone corridors--one that made Eyve's blood run bitterly cold. It was Wickrie-Kells calling for Glinda. The Witch was coming.
* * * * *
In the Emerald Valley, the front gates of the Family Palace opened and a motley procession issued forth. Pastoria led at the front, carrying his peacock scepter. He was followed by the guards at his flanks, and directly behind by his flock of Crimson Peacocks. Behind them, Leina Le'Mo kept the formation straight. She was followed by the butler and the rest of the king's household, including a forlorn blonde girl who did not know any better.
As they passed through the ruins of Central City, those eminent people that still clung to the shadows of the Family Palace raised their heads and followed the king. Excited murmuring filled the air around them as they followed his gilded scepter up and out of the valley.
Around the edges of the Emerald Valley, pillars of emerald pushed their way up through the ground, forming a rigid barrier against magic. When the last of Pastoria's troupe exited the valley, the emeralds rose up, sealing off the way. The valley was locked, and the magic inside would stay inside.
Pastoria scarcely noticed the flashing sky above in the darkness. He had his sights set on a more permanent beacon. He led his people toward the shining city on the hill--the Emerald City--the city that would soon be his.
* * * * *
In the twisting light and shadows at the heart of magic--the Emerald Engine--Omby-Amby knelt next to his friend and checked the pulse once again. Nothing. He pressed harder on the neck. He put his ear next to Oscar's mouth. He pressed his hand on Oscar's clammy forehead. Still nothing. He was gone.
Omby-Amby heaved a burning sigh, and then he shouted in anger and pounded his fist against the wall. "NO!"
Toro Plantain shook his head sadly. "We did all we could."
"I carried him halfway across Oz. I am not going to let him just die. I won't. I swear. Don't--Curse it all! I have a heart! I did this. I am the soldier that cannot die. You saw it. You saw the Faeries preserved me. They preserved me for this. I know they did. That's why he's not really dead."
"You think he's pretending?" Toro crossed over to his brother and held his arms firmly. "We both knew this was a long shot. The odds were never on our side."
"This was impossible from the beginning. That was why it had to work."
"Omby..." Rala said, gesturing.
The Wizard's body twitched. Then shook. Then spasms racked the entire body.
Omby checked the pulse. It was gone, but the body kept shaking.
The tremors shook more than the Wizard's body. The bridges and arches connecting the different twists and turns in the labyrinth cracked and fell, leaving the only true path intact. The gaps beneath the floor allowed the glowing magic to light the Onyx Labyrinth. The shadows could not step through the walls anymore, and the hounds were limited to the shadows only. The light flickered as the Wizard's soul wavered in his deceased body.
"He did it." Toro said. "He found the path."
"The powers of heaven, hell, and dreams are fighting for the body of the Wizard. The hounds have come, now come the warriors." Rala said.
A new fire shone in Omby-Amby's eyes. "Let them come."
HH3: Chapter 30. A Sound Like
Thunder
Wickrie-Kells did not stop until she reached the remains of the battle. The soldiers loyal to Glinda dispatched the last of the shadow hounds as Wickrie-Kells arrived. She shielded her eyes as she entered the light of the Silver Lantern. She looked at her best friend and felt her face grimace. She fought back against the hurt and anger caused by the earlier slap. She was a soldier first. She had to be a soldier first. That was the only thing that kept sense in this madness right now.
"As you ordered. The Crown Sarcophagus." She passed the frozen item carefully to Glinda in the sash, and then she looked around. The Emerald Spectacles prevented her from seeing the remains of the shadow beasts in the walls. Then her eyes stopped on the shorter girl standing in their way. Eyve.
The air froze as the two of them locked eyes and curled back their lips in spiteful snarls. Wickrie loosened her sword. Eyve snatched her sword away from the nearby guard, who let it go without question. The air around the two female warriors froze, separating them from everyone else.
"You have this?" Glinda asked her friend.
"I have this." Wickrie agreed. The pain and anger rushed back in growing waves of heat and ice. From the humiliating first fight with Eyve to the slap from Glinda and the frost-burns, Wickrie let the burning emotions flow. The whispers rejoiced.
"Heart, no fear." Eyve whispered, and then she growled at her opponent. "You will burn with the devils."
Wickrie-Kells spoke words that hissed and whispered to her from the walls as dragged the steel tip of her sword across the floor. Sparks flew and crawled up the blade, clinging and multiplying, wrapping the blade in swirling flame. The flickering blade danced arcane shadows over the group.
Kally's eyes glowed with jealousy. "Enchanting blades. I want it." She glanced over at Mombi. "I want that spell."
"Take them and go, Glinda." Wickrie-Kells said. "Get the Wizard. I will join you in two shakes of an alpacorn's tail." She swung her blade around to loosen her arms. The Emerald Spectacles kept her from seeing the magic on her blade that others saw, but she could feel the power. She struck first, lunging out at the shorter girl.
Eyve answered with a whirling riposte that put Wickrie up against the wall.
Wickrie pushed Eyve backwards. There was a corner behind her. Wickrie drove Eyve backwards to the corner, and then backed her into a hidden staircase. Eyve dove past Wickrie and slapped the flat of her blade on the taller girl's ankle. It did not cut at all on the boot leather, but the clang of steel on ankle bone sounded clearly. Wickrie screamed out in pain. Now Eyve drove Wickrie backwards up the stairs. Eyve had the advantage here, because Wickrie was taller and on the stairs. She had to bend down to block the low attacks, so she could not defend as easily against the shorter girl. They disappeared from the sight of the group.
The two warriors raged up and down the labyrinth. There was no balance to this matchup. Wickrie-Kells was taller and stronger, but Eyve was faster and driven by her intensity of heart. The clanging blades and slashing fire echoed through the Onyx Labyrinth, as Glinda led her army downward.
* * * * *
Glinda held the Silver Lantern high as she followed the single pathway through the labyrinth. The other paths were crumbling or cracking. They stayed on the path that was sure and found themselves across a large chamber from the Soldier with Green Whiskers. He had his rifle pointed directly at Glinda.
"He's gone, Glinda. Dead."
"Not dead, just mostly not alive. Death is suspended while the Giant Hourglass turns over. It was my doing, and I will fix this." Glinda said.
Omby was the only one of the three soldiers with a drawn weapon. Both Toro and Rala looked on their former friends in arms with suspicion, but not hostility.
"I know this was your doing." Omby-Amby accused. "I don't know what you did to him to make this happen, but I'm not going to let you do any more."
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Glinda said. "I have the answer. We have traveled across all of Oz to find the way to bring him back. And I will bring him back. I love him." Glinda responded.
Omby didn't flinch behind the rifle. "It's the 'we' I don't like. When did you take up with Witches? You have an entire stable of Witches in your barn, Glinda. All of the finest people in Oz seem to have come out for your party." To the others, he said, "What did she promise you? An eye? A tooth from the Wizard? Blood? I know what Witches do. They kill from the shadows and rend the corpses, not for meat, but for power. I promise you, not one of you will lay a cursed finger on Oscar."
"That implement he has pointed at us." Locasta said, "May I presume it is deadly?"
"Most certainly." Kally answered. "Glinda destroyed half of my army with one not even half as big. She called it a pistol. Though where she got it is anybody's guess. And where it is now, I wonder..."
"I have buried my sin. Omby, if you pull that trigger, your sin will destroy all of Oz." Glinda said.
"He's dead. What more can I do?" Still Omby did not move from his position guarding the Wizard.
"How many will you kill? Will you doom them like you would me? These are your friends." Glinda gestured, and the City Guard spread in front of her. She pushed through and stood at the head. She would not allow anyone to risk their life on her behalf.
"Give up the Wizard, Soldier. Leave. Walk away." Kally said. "Your life is not worth his."
"My life is all he has left. I have the key." Omby said.
"Give it to me." Glinda demanded. "Give it to me and I will bring him back. I will open the gates and bring the Wizard back to my side."
"Come and take it." Omby-Amby growled. "See if you can hear the song. The Wizard's Path is the only one that is sure."
The swords came out and pointed against the Soldier with Green Whiskers. His rifle never wavered from its red-haired target--Glinda.
Rala and Toro Plantain looked at each other. Toro stepped up and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "The game is up, Omby. We've run out of space on the field. We must concede."
"Then walk away, Toro." Omby said. "Just walk away with Rala. Both of you, hand in hand, walk away. No hard feelings. Oath intact. Keep your souls."
"Glinda, hands up. Walking away. I'm not going to fight friends." Toro took Rala by the hand, and tried to hold her hand up.
Rala pulled her hand away and raised her sword. She looked at Toro behind Omby's back. "No. We know the Wizard's Path."
"Scram-tag and malarkey." Toro breathed deeply through his nose and then drew his sword. "Perhaps the field is not yet lost." He glanced at his comrades, "For love, courage, knowledge, and faith."
"You have chosen poorly." Glinda's eyes never shifted from the Soldier with Green Whiskers. Next to the soldier, Toro and Rala stood stone-still. They stood as one. Only the Wizard at their feet twitched and trembled.
"I feel distant echoes. The spheres are colliding." Kally said.
Glinda focused her attention on Omby-Amby and his rifle. She had no time to negotiate for the body. "You have no claim to the Wizard."
"He is my friend. I have carried him across Oz on my back and in my arms. I have every claim on the Wizard. Where have you been, Sorceress? For two years, you have made magic far away, playing dolls down in your castle, making everything perfect for you. I have been at Oscar's side, building this city, keeping him safe, fighting the monsters that only he can see. If anyone has claim on the Wizard--if anyone has claim on this man, Oscar--it is me, his friend and brother. Not you. Love was never your concern. You had his heart from the moment of, and yet you waited. You never came to call. You waited and wasted every moment until the end."
Glinda's eyes hardened. The words cut her deeply. Though they were true, the words only served to infuriate her further. She did not have time to be lectured by a simple soldier, especially one with blood on his hands.
"You want to know something?" Omby-Amby continued. "He would have dropped everything. He would have set aside everything he had for just even a single moment with you. Is it any wonder he found favor with
the Witch at your side?"
"Step aside, Omby."
"Never."
"I warned you before. You have made your choice. Do you suffer your friends to the same doom as me?" To the City Guards, Glinda ordered, "Remove them."
Omby-Amby kept the rifle pointed. He stood his ground in front of the Wizard's trembling corpse. As the City Guards advanced, the green-whiskered soldier stood firm. His certain eyes looked at each adversary and weighed the strength in their stance and grip. The guards rushed the soldier.
The clatter of swordplay echoed against the stone, echoing like another battling of blades high up on the stone bridges above.
* * * * *
The two young woman-warriors traded blows. The corridor opened into a large cavern with the floor extending to a bridge. Eyve ran out onto the bridge. Her quickness would benefit her here on the narrow bridge, or so she thought. Wickrie-Kells followed her without hesitation. The flaming sword swung wide. Eyve easily stepped out of the way. Then she darted in and knocked the taller girl's sword upward at the same time she dropped down and swept Wickrie's legs out from under her.
Wickrie fell backwards, striking the onyx bridge heavily. Eyve pointed her sword at Wickrie's chest, pushing her backwards along the bridge. "I win."
"I'll burn your bones." Wickrie-Kells hissed.
Eyve shook her head. Her heart thudded uncontrollably in her chest. That was the hardest she had ever fought. And she won.
Clashing swords and screams sounded from down below. Eyve glanced quickly down. Omby-Amby, Toro, and Rala fought against the City Guards. The lantern light held still. Men's voices screamed in pain. Echoes of gunshots and cracking bones and more screams. As the screams died into whimpers, a single shot rang out.
Eyve let her eyes linger too long on the battle far below. She felt the strike on her blade, pushing it away, and then she felt the burning sting of flaming metal burying itself in her belly.
"I win." Came the angry response from Wickrie-Kells.
Eyve doubled-over as her legs lost all strength. She felt herself losing her balance. Her vision grew blurry. All she saw was her mortal enemy standing up and glaring at her through Emerald Spectacles. Then Eyve lost her balance. Her fingers flailed out as the bridge disappeared from underneath her.
