My jaw drops when the hellioncat does nothing to defend himself. Come on now. With those powerful muscles and claws, he would be able to chop my monster to pieces. The robo-dog seems more inclined to fight my creation, snarling at it. What the hellioncat does is close his eyes when my creature comes near. The motion sensors installed on the prop’s chest activate. Cold air whooshes from its palms to create the effect of a cold touch.
Once the first scare is gone, the hellioncat drops to the floor and hugs his legs. He stays in that position for far too long. Then, he starts to rock back and forth. Something is definitely not right with him.
Dunk a duckling. What have I done?
35
Dorothy
I’m feeling unsure of what I should do. It’d be a good idea to return to my room. First of all, Toto must be missing me. Second of all, Darius keeps staring at me in yearning, and I’m tempted to give in and kiss him again. My stomach ties into knots every time I allow myself to glance his way. Why do romantic feelings make people act so silly? Now, I understand why my cousin Sabrina did the things that she did for her douche boyfriend.
With amusement, I think how much she must hate me now. I wonder if Dabian dumped her, thanks to her association with me. I can’t even summon an ounce of guilt if he did. But what if my uncle had to pay for the consequences of my actions? I wouldn’t put it past Commander Gulch to fire him.
A loud knock on the door pulls me back from my pessimistic thoughts.
“Dorothy, are you in there?” Reo asks.
Darius and I trade a glance before he cuts across the room to open the door for our friend.
“What is it?” he asks.
“Is she in here?” Reo’s voice sounds alarmed.
Darius opens the door wider, allowing Reo to stride into the room as if he’s going into battle. His eyes spark with a ferocity that scares me a little.
“What’s the matter? Did something happen?”
The intensity in Reo’s eyes dims a fraction. He opens and shuts his mouth without giving me an answer.
“I think he was just concerned about you.” Darius smirks.
My cheeks become warmer, and I’m not sure if it’s because of Darius’s comment or Reo’s sudden presence. Not knowing how to act around them, I cross my arms. “Is that why you’re here? You were concerned about me?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I was concerned about you. I went by your room just now and found your window shattered. Someone broke in from the outside.”
“What?”
“That’s impossible,” Darius adds.
“How strong is the shield surrounding Emerald City?”
“If you’re implying the protective barrier has been breached, that’s not the case. We would have been alerted.”
“What about Toto?” I take a step forward. “Was he all right?”
“Toto wasn’t there.”
“They’ve taken Toto.” I cover my mouth with both hands.
“Now, now. Let’s not be hasty, making assumptions. I guarantee you, no one took Toto anywhere. There has to be an explanation for it.”
“Her window was busted, Scrawny. What other explanation is there besides someone broke in? Ah, shit. What if it was one of the winged monkeys?”
“You don’t think our guards would have spotted those monsters before they attacked?”
I take a step toward the door. “I have to find Toto.”
“Relax. There’s no need to lose your head. He’s just a robo-dog,” Reo says in a casual manner.
I whirl on him so fast he has no chance to react before I’m poking my finger on his metal-plaque chest. “He’s not only just a robo-dog. He’s my companion. How would you feel if someone said you weren’t worthy of saving because you’re partially made out of metal?”
With eyes relatively wider than normal, he replies, “I’d say they were right.” His reply is so soft it’s almost a whisper.
Not knowing what to say to that, I step back.
“Oh, good. You’re all here,” someone says from the open door.
It’s Prince Lennox. His mask is slightly crooked, and he’s breathing hard, as if he was running. Reo whirls around. Seeing the prince, he positions his body so he’s blocking me. What does he think the prince will do? Attack me?
I walk around the cyborg. “Yes, we’re all here. Reo just told me someone broke into my room from the window.”
“What? Impossible.”
“That’s what your cousin said. But I’m not buying it.” Reo takes a step toward the prince, who seems unaffected by the dangerous vibe the cyborg is emitting.
“What’s going on, Lennox?” Darius asks.
“You have to come with me quickly. It’s about your friend. The hellioncat. He is … in trouble.”
Reo turns to me, his gaze hard, as if he’s trying to tell me something.
“Where is he? What happened to him?” I ask.
“No time for questions. Come.” The prince turns around and disappears into the hallway.
Darius is the first to follow his cousin with me close behind. By the time I step into the corridor, the prince is already at the end of it, vanishing into a corner in the next second.
My mind is flying at warp speed, running through the most awful scenarios. What could have possibly happened to Kevvan, and why is the prince the one aware he is in trouble?
Prince Lennox heads to a staircase leading down. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out they lead to the bowels of the palace. More questions emerge in my mind. Kevvan would never have gone to any underground chambers after his ordeal at the mines.
“I don’t like this,” Reo mutters under his breath.
The stairs are fairly illuminated, but they’re narrow. Once we reach the landing, we barely see a glimpse of Prince Lennox’s legs as he disappears into one of several exit ways.
“What is this place?” I ask.
Darius curses in response, but there’s no moment to stop and ask him why he’s aggravated now.
We find ourselves in a cramped passageway lit by green light fixtures embedded in the ceiling. A moment later, I see what has caused Lennox’s affliction. Kevvan is sitting down, hugging his knees, and bouncing back and forth as if in a trance. He doesn’t acknowledge our presence. His gaze is fixated ahead.
Toto is lying by the hellioncat’s feet, resting his jaw on his small paws. His head lifts first. Then, with a jump, he breaks into a run toward me.
“Toto, I was so worried about you.” I pick him up.
“Lennox, what have you done?” Darius asks.
“He was following me. I thought it would be harmless if I brought him here.”
I crouch next to Kevvan, careful not to spook him more. Softly, I touch his arm. Toto whines as if he wants to tell me something. Kevvan doesn’t flinch. I don’t think he can see me. His eyes are glazed.
“Kevvan, it’s me. Dorothy. Talk to me.”
He keeps rocking back and forth, muttering unintelligible words.
I swallow my anger when I switch my attention to the prince, making sure I capture his gaze with mine. “What happened to him?”
“Nothing, I swear. Just harmless fun.”
“Harmless fun?” My voice rises to a shrill. “Does this look like harmless fun to you?”
I shift so now I’m squatting in front of Kevvan. “You’re safe now, Kevvan. You’re not in the mines.”
He shakes his head and mutters, “You’re not real. You’re a figment of my imagination.”
“I’m real.” I grab one of his hands and force him to touch my cheek. “See, I’m right here.”
His pupils are dilated and his eyes vacant. I’m not even sure if he can see me right now.
“I can’t believe you brought him here. What were you thinking?” Darius asks.
“I was thinking that a hellioncat wouldn’t be so scared of a damn fake monster.”
“Excuse me?” I rise from my crouch. “Are you saying you lured him to this dungeon with th
e intention of pranking him?”
The prince takes a step back, lifting his hands. “He was following me in my own palace after I offered you my hospitality. Any other ruler would have thrown him in jail. My punishment was way milder than that.”
I point at Kevvan losing his shit on the floor. “Does that look like a minor punishment to you?”
“It’s not my fault your friend is a coward,” he spits back.
Forgetting that I need to stay on the prince’s good side, I grab him by the lapels of his fancy jacket, bringing him closer to better glare at him. Never mind that he’s a good head taller than me. I’m too angry to care.
“Kevvan is not a coward. He suffers from PTSD, thanks to his time working as a slave in the Mines of Zaphyra. A fact you would be aware of if you had bothered to get to know us.”
Even from behind the mask, I don’t miss the prince’s widened gaze.
Darius pulls me off his cousin when neither the prince nor I are willing to move.
“Dorothy, calm down.”
I’m still fuming when Reo walks around us to crouch in front of Kevvan. He spends a few seconds staring at the hellioncat before he turns to us.
“He’s gone into shock. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do for him now.”
“There’s gotta be a way to help him.” I step away from Darius’s hold.
“I can try to render him unconscious,” Reo replies.
His expression is too grim. It makes me suspect his method isn’t something I’ll like.
“How?”
“By electrocuting him just enough.”
“Are you insane? Have you stopped to consider that electroshocks might have been one of the methods of torture employed in the mines?” I attempt to pull him away from Kevvan, which is akin to trying to move a boulder.
“Do you have any other ideas?” He glares at me.
“I can help,” Prince Lennox chimes in.
I pivot to him so fast my hair slashes me across the face. Blowing off the few strands that got stuck to my mouth, I reply, “You are out of your mind if you think I’m going to let you near Kevvan. You’ve done enough damage.”
The prince moves closer but stops a few paces away from me. I’m sure my death glare is conveying my message loud and clear.
“I swear, I didn’t wish any harm to come to your friend. I didn’t know about his condition.” The prince reaches inside his jacket and retrieves a small glass vial. “Here. Have him drink this. It will knock him out for a few hours at least.”
“You carry a sedative with you?” Reo asks, his tone ten degrees colder.
“Yes,” he answers like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“Is this part of your games? Do you drop them in people’s drinks just for the fun of it?” I don’t think I could glower harder if I tried.
“You think I have this to use on my people? It’s for myself. I have trouble sleeping.”
“Riiight.” I curl my hands into fists. The urge to punch the prince in the mouth is great even though I’m not prone to using violence before reason.
Meanwhile, Kevvan continues his mumbling. It seems I only have two options: let Reo shock the hellioncat into stupor or take the prince up on his offer.
“Dorothy, Lennox is not lying. He does take that potion to help him with his sleep. I’ve brewed it myself. It’s harmless,” Darius intervenes.
My irritation decreases a notch. Knowing he made the sedative makes me feel a little better.
I glance at Kevvan and make my decision. “All right. We’ll try the potion. Now, who is going to be brave enough to force it down Kevvan’s throat?”
36
Dorothy
In the end, getting Kevvan to drink the prince’s potion wasn’t so hard. Reo had volunteered to do it, and then he had to carry the large hellioncat up the flight of stairs. Darius reckoned that, since Kevvan was a much larger individual than Prince Lennox, he should stay out for a couple of hours, max.
“Are you staying with him, Dorothy?” Darius asks once Reo lays Kevvan on the bed.
“Of course. Who knows what state of mind he’ll be in when he wakes up?”
Reo glances at the prince, who is hovering by the door. “Someone broke into Dorothy’s room. You must find out who.”
“No need. I already know who did it.” His gaze turns to Kevvan.
“What? Are you saying Kevvan leaped from his window to mine?”
“No. He leaped from a few balconies and windows to get to your room. The surveillance cameras outside caught him in the act.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Beats me. Your friend goes into a catatonic state from a simple prank, but apparently, risking plunging to his death doesn’t affect him at all.”
“Let’s cut the bullcrap,” Reo butts in. “There is a reason we came to Emerald City, and it wasn’t to waste time in your monochromatic palace. Dorothy is in need of a ship, and I must see the Great Wizard of Oz.”
“I already told you, the wizard sees no one.” Prince Lennox’s tone is hard and final.
“Trust me, he will want to see me. I have sensitive information for him,” Reo replies.
That’s all new to me. Not once has Reo mentioned he needed to see the wizard. But again, he never said why he was headed to Emerald City in the first place.
“What kind of information?” Darius asks in turn.
“No offense, Scrawny. But what I have to say is meant for the wizard’s ears only.”
No one speaks for a couple of beats, but it’s impossible to miss how the tension in the room has skyrocketed. Since nerves are already fried, I might as well add fuel to the fire.
“Darius told me the truth about the starships. He thinks I can help with the problem,” I finally say.
The glance Prince Lennox gives Darius speaks louder than words. In that gesture, I can see he believes Darius betrayed him. I suppose he did but not without reason.
“I can’t say I’m surprised sweet Darius couldn’t keep a secret from you.” The sharpness in the prince’s tone is obvious. What’s also clear is the innuendo in his words.
I drop my gaze to the floor, feeling embarrassed by Prince Lennox’s comment. Did Darius talk about me? Ugh! Why am I so terrible at normal human interactions?
A loud and piercing alarm blasts all of a sudden, giving me the fright of my life. Toto whimpers, running to hide under Kevvan’s bed.
“What in the world is this noise?” I ask.
“We’re under attack,” Prince Lennox replies, almost as if he can’t believe it.
He runs outside, and because I can’t stay put without knowing exactly what’s going on, I follow him. No surprise, Darius and Reo do the same. Toto, however, decides to stay in his hiding spot. I wish I could as well. I’m getting a little tired of all the scares.
We’re met by a group of guards, who aim straight for the prince.
“What’s the status?” he asks.
“A squadron of at least twenty airspeeds is fast-approaching from the west. They are the biggest ones we’ve seen so far.”
“Are the ion cannons ready? I don’t want to miss the opportunity to hit the witch’s horde like last time.”
“Yes, they’re ready, Your Highness.”
“Good.”
The guards trade a worried glance among themselves before the first one replies to the prince. “We have a situation, Your Highness. That’s why we came to find you. The protective shield is at fifty percent capacity and dropping fast.”
“That’s not possible. We have enough emeralds and crystals to power that shield for decades,” Darius says.
“We believe a damage was caused during the last assault.”
“That happened hours ago, and you’re only reporting this now?” Prince Lennox’s voice changes to something dangerous.
The crystals in my pocket become cooler. I’ve only experienced them turning warmer. What is it about the prince that’s affecting the crystals in this manner?
/>
“We only noticed it now.”
“I’m surrounded by idiots. Out of my way.” In an act of extreme rudeness, the prince pushes the guards aside, striding toward I don’t know where.
I follow him. “Prince Lennox, wait.”
“I don’t have time for your requests now, girl. Can’t you see that I’m busy?” he replies without glancing my way.
“Yes, I’ve noticed it. Maybe I can help.”
With a snort, he finally glimpses at me. “You? What makes you think you’re qualified to help keep my city safe?”
“Don’t be an ass, Lennox. Dorothy means well,” Darius retorts.
“You know what they say about good intentions,” the prince mumbles under his breath.
“That the way to hell is paved with it?” Reo chimes in.
The prince stops abruptly to whirl on us. “Where do you think you lot are going? This is my kingdom’s matter. You can’t help, and even if you could, I don’t trust you enough.”
“That’s an intelligent remark. Are you saying you would condemn the lives of your citizens because you didn’t socialize enough with the people who could potentially help you save them?” I put my hands on my hips, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s not what I’m saying,” the prince replies through clenched teeth.
“Lennox, I vouch for Dorothy and Reo. They saved me when they could have easily left me to die in Scrape Town.”
The prince glances in Darius’s direction, almost as if he pities him, which pisses me off more than his ill treatment of Reo and me.
A loud boom outside diverts our attention.
With a curse, the prince turns around and says over his shoulder, “Fine. They can come.”
“If we can hear the Raven Witch’s airspeeds’ blasts, it means the shield is probably at less than fifty percent capacity,” Darius says.
“I realize that,” Prince Lennox snaps.
“How long until it breaks completely?” I ask.
“We don’t know,” they answer in unison.
“You mean, you didn’t test it before it went up?” Reo asks in turn.
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