Ruby’s Pride

by Romy Lockhart

  I shake my head and try to remember what the note actually said. I need to banish the darkness from Oz. That means I need this ankle-grabbing asshole to die. Whatever death means for something that already seems incorporeal.

  I close my eyes to concentrate and I feel Ransom move and hold on to me from behind. It’s enough of a surprise to distract my thoughts just as I’m pulled into the water. I gasp at the cold emersion as Ransom firmly holds me, not letting my top half sink.

  I almost feel as if I’m going to be pulled apart when the ghost-thing tugs hard enough to make me wince. Ugh, this sucks ass. Concentrate, Ruby! Right. Banishing the ghost-thing.

  I imagine him gone, dissipating away into nothing. His grip seems to relax, then it’s gone. I open my eyes as Ransom is pulling me back onto the concrete ledge. I shiver as I get to my feet, a bad feeling falling over me.

  “What happened?” Ransom sounds frantic as he checks my feet. “Where did he go?”

  “I made him go away,” I tell him, shrugging like it was no big deal.

  I’m fucking freezing, but I remember I have magic and I use it to dry myself off.

  “You made him go away?” Ransom’s question is dubious.

  Yeah, I’m skeptical about that too, but hell if I’m going to let on to this asshole.

  I nod. “What was that you were saying about getting out of here?”

  I imagine myself up at The Well, standing where Ransom was before. Three seconds later, I’m there.

  Without Ransom, of course. I look down and can’t see him. It’s too dark.

  I close my eyes and imagine him floating upward. When I open them, he’s there, and scrabbles for the ledge when he gets high enough. I break the spell and let him clamber his way out on his own.

  “I did not enjoy that,” he mumbles, with an irritable scowl.

  I shrug at him. “I didn’t enjoy being thrown to my death before either. I don’t think this quite makes us even, but I guess it’s a start.”

  “I did not try to kill you,” he snaps, looking at me as if he wants to now. That death-glare really doesn’t help his case.

  “You brought me here to throw me down that damned well last night.”

  He blows out a breath. “You do not understand.”

  “Then explain it to me.”

  He frowns before shaking his head. “It will sound like a lie. There is no point.”

  He walks away, and I let him go.

  I have bigger problems right now. Like figuring out why I’m still here when I made that creature disappear. I try clicking my heels together, and it gets me nowhere. I should have known it would never be that easy. Getting shit done is never as easy as it looks on paper. There’s a fucking twist hiding somewhere and I’m going to have to find it. Might as well start with freeing the good witch.

  Chapter 17

  There are two lions and an anxious looking Corwin waiting for me when I get back to the house in the woods. He looks at my empty hands and I shrug.

  “Someone must have stolen it.” I don’t mention Ransom. What good would that do, anyway?

  “Are you ready to go?”

  I start to nod, then shake my head. “I think I’m gonna use that bathroom first.”

  Considering it’s a luxury that doesn’t seem to commonplace around here, I’m definitely making sure I make good use of it. Hell, I can transport back here whenever I need to go. That takes like two seconds.

  Corwin follows me. I hold in a sigh before turning to him.

  “I remember where it is.”

  He nods. “I’m just making sure nothing happens to you while you’re vulnerable.”

  “We don’t have time to screw around in the woods again, if that’s what you were thinking.”

  He looks shocked. “I wasn’t suggesting...”

  “Good. So wait here, would you? I don’t want Warner or Ax to get jealous.”

  “Ax?” Corwin murmurs as I walk away from him.

  I get to the cute little outhouse and the woods around me suddenly seem darker and more foreboding than they did before. Ignoring the chill that settles over me, I rush through everything and scarper back to the guys quickly, making sure to slow down before they lock eyes on me.

  Corwin is scowling at Ax as he casually licks his paw. Wow that tongue is huge. I don’t remember his tongue being that big when he was between my legs, but I guess he was human then. I’m kind of stalled by those thoughts when I realize Corwin’s staring at me.

  “Are you ready now?”

  I nod slowly. “Now, I’m ready.”

  “Then let us make good time. I will shift and you will sit on my shoulders. It will be quicker.”

  “No thanks.” I don’t really feel like riding one of the guys I’m supposedly mated to as if he’s a horse. Things are weird enough as it is. That would take them over a line I don’t want to cross.

  “It was not a question, Ruby.” He’s frowning at me now, looking a little more Ransom-like.

  “I’m not going to ride you like a pony, Corwin.”

  “If you wish to travel with Warner or Ax...”

  “I don’t care who you want me to sit on. I’m not doing it.”

  Now he seems really confused. I sigh. “Look, you guys run as fast as you can, and I’ll just keep transporting myself ahead of you. It’ll be better that way. I promise.”

  He doesn’t look certain, but he nods curtly before falling to his knees and shifting in that effortlessly impressive way they all seem to be able to change forms.

  “I guess that doesn’t hurt, huh?”

  He moves quickly and the others follow suit, Warner quickly taking the lead. I rush after them, sighing my ass off. “You could have waited until we got out of the woods to start running, assholes!”

  These guys are going to drive me insane. I keep sight of Ax, who appears to be trailing behind the others a little. I think he’s doing it on purpose and the thought makes me smile. I thought Corwin was the considerate one, but it seems like he can actually be as moody as his unlikable twin.

  Once I get out to the yellow brick road, it’s a hell of a lot easier to see where they’re headed. I let them disappear before imagining myself at the last point I could see them. Transporting like this is so easy it’s laughable. I walk a little until I almost lose them and then transport, and I repeat this like half a dozen times before they decide to stop running. I’m not sure what we’ve stopped for. We can’t be there yet. There’s nothing around us but fields right now.

  Ax shifts back to his human form, quickly followed by Corwin. Warner doesn’t seem to want to change. I look at them expectantly.

  “Where the hell are we?”

  Ax and Corwin glance at each other before Corwin speaks.

  “We are at The Woodcutter’s territory. We must pass through this field to get to the next phase of our journey, but it will be dangerous. And there are no shortcuts.”

  No shortcuts? I snort. “I can just transport myself...”

  Ax shakes his head slowly. “You cannot. There is no way to transport around this place. We must go through it, no matter how treacherous it is.”

  O-Kay. This is sounding seriously sketchy now.

  “What do you mean we have to go through it?”

  “It is a portal of sorts. The only way to get to the Emerald City where the witch is trapped,” Corwin explains. “It never used to be like this. A lot of things changed when the darkness came.”

  So I guess we’re going to be walking through this field then.

  “How dangerous is it, exactly?” I have to ask. “I mean are there landmines we have to get around, or is there just this woodcutter guy with an axe who’ll chase us or something?”

  “The field is full of traps,” Ax tells me. “We will only be able to see them once we set foot on the ground.”

  “Hidden traps?” I look out over the barley-like reeds and see nothing strange. I mean, besides the fact that the sky is darker overhead just for this patch of land, and there are
no birds up above.

  Corwin picks something up, something that looks suspiciously like a crab apple, and throws it. I blink as something flies through the air to pierce the fruit. An arrow! What the hell?

  “I think we should avoid this field like the plague,” I tell them, wondering why they don’t want to just walk through one of the others at either side of this one. I mean, one of them looks like it contains more of those delicious strawberries I found yesterday. Seems like that would be the better choice here.

  “This is the only pathway to get to the Emerald City now. The only way to get there.”

  “So the portal is in this field.”

  “It is,” Corwin says, looking into the field. “We will cross the barrier first, and you will wait a moment before you follow.”

  “Barrier?”

  Ugh, all I have in my head now are questions.

  Warner shifts to human and steps forward, vanishing as soon as he sets foot into the field. Holy hell! That was insane.

  “This is not what is really there,” Ax explains, motioning to the field. “It is fake.”

  He’s next to disappear. I grab Corwin’s hand. He strokes the side of my face.

  “Do not worry, Ruby. We will make sure no harm comes to you.”

  He sounds so sincere. It’s kind of cute, but it’s also kind of annoying. He lets go of my hand.

  “Wait for a moment before following me. Any nearby traps will already be triggered.”

  With that, he disappears. I stare at the seemingly empty field and realize I’m clicking my heels together unconsciously after a few seconds. Why can’t getting home be that simple? Because this isn’t about having the power all along after all. It’s about a steadily worsening situation that’s only going to be satisfied by my death, apparently.

  I steel myself for the horrors that await, getting ready to step over that line.

  And just when I’m about to take that step, I’m yanked back by strong arms and a moody attitude.

  “What the hell, Ransom?” Where did he come from? I try to push him off, but he holds on tight.

  “I am sorry, Ruby,” he tells me, one hand coming up to clamp over my mouth. “But you cannot go to the Emerald City.”

  I breathe in, ready to scream my ass off. An overpowering smell assaults my senses and I find my eyelids drooping while all the fight drains from my body. Ransom scoops me up and carries me away as I fall unconscious, cursing him to hell and back. First I lose my purse, and now I’m being kidnapped by an asshole. Could this day get any worse? It’s the one question I instinctively know the answer to. Or course it can. The world’s not done kicking your ass, Ruby. Better get rolling with those punches because they’re only going to keep coming.

  Chapter 18

  Turns out, Ransom lied about not taking my purse. I’d be pretty pissed about that if I hadn’t woken up alone and realized how easy it’d be to transport myself back to that creepy field and catch back up with the others in seconds. Then again, standing up and seeing the old lady nightgown transformed back to its original hideousness, I have my doubts over whether I’m going to be able to transport at all. Funny how the only times this has happened to me have been around Ransom.

  It’s almost as if he’s doing something to strip me of my magic.

  I concentrate to see if I can transform the dress. It doesn’t work. Scowling, I take it off and slip my red dress back on. Then I open my purse and rifle through it until I locate my cell.

  “Ugh!” I grumble as I discover it won’t switch on. Battery’s dead. Typical.

  I gaze around the room which looks like a pretty basic bedroom in one of those houses near The Well. The room is lit by candles. I wonder how long I was unconscious for, but I have no way to know the answer for certain. Even going to the window, I can’t tell if it’s gloomy-ass day or actually night out there.

  There’s no break in the trees overhead to give me any tell-tale glimpse at the sky above. I sigh quietly as I go back to the bed and sit down. I’m tired and I can’t seem to use my magic. My escape options seem limited.

  I get up and go to the door. It’s not locked, but the moment I open it the insane creak makes me wince. There’s no way in hell Ransom didn’t hear that. I look down the unlit corridor. No-one comes rushing out of the darkness. I can see a small square of light a few steps away so I walk out of the room toward it. The staircase leads down into a lit kitchen where Ransom is cooking food.

  The smell makes my stomach grumble. It must be hours since he took me from that field. I fight back hunger pangs as he dishes up dinner and lets his gaze settle on mine.

  “You must be hungry.”

  “I’m not going to sit down to dinner with someone who kidnapped me.” I cross my arms as I stare him down. “What do you want with me, Ransom?”

  His eyes narrow. He doesn’t like being asked to explain his actions, apparently.

  “You don’t understand what’s happening here, Ruby.”

  “No. I don’t. So tell me before I get really angry.”

  I have to be crazy, riling up a man who can transform into a huge lion. He could eat me alive in that form. And here I am provoking him. Well, why wouldn’t I? He’s being an asshole.

  He shakes his head. “You need to tell me what happened when you went down The Well.”

  “I think you know what happened. I banished that shadow monster.”

  “There was a flash, an image of your world.” He stares me down, his gaze hard. “Then you were gone for several minutes, before you came back through the portal and fought the shadow creature.”

  Oh. So he knows. I shrug. “I wanted to go home. Figured I’d give it another shot.”

  “You knew I wasn’t trying to kill you the first time.”

  “I don’t know that at all,” I counter. “I just thought dying might be the way out of this world.”

  He looks at me as if I’m insane. Maybe I am. It’s none of his business, either way.

  “The portal is there,” he says. “It vanishes at nightfall.” He looks me up and down. “Like your magic, it would seem. That color does suit you far better than white.”

  What? No. No way. But I think about it and he’s right. My magic abandoned me at night before, like it has now. “Do I still smell like a witch?”

  “You are most definitely a witch. Perhaps you are cursed because you are human.”

  “So you admit that I’m human too now?”

  He nods slowly. “I don’t understand how it’s possible but you are clearly both human and a witch.”

  “Like you’re clearly a lion and an asshole.”

  He narrows his eyes at me again. “I have done nothing but try to protect you and yet you seek to slander me at every opportunity.”

  “Since when does protecting me mean drugging me and running away with me? Or throwing me down a freaking well?”

  “You were going to attempt to free the good witch. She has been cursed. Everyone who tries to free her becomes trapped like she is. You would have met that same fate if you attempted it.”

  I take a second to consider what he’s telling me. He seems to believe every word he’s said to me so far. Is it possible that he’s been trying to do the same thing his brothers have this whole time in his own messed up kind of way?

  “I don’t understand why you came back here when you went through the portal to your world,” he tells me while I’m still trying to digest the thought that maybe all he’s been trying to do is keep me alive.

  “I didn’t want to,” I say, seeing a hint of hope in his expression squashed under the weight of my confession. “I was forced back. I have a task to complete, and apparently I’m missing something because I’m still here even now that it’s been done.”

  He frowns. “A task? What task?”

  I open my purse and take out the note, putting it on the table and pushing it across to him.

  He picks it up and turns it over in his hands. “I don’t know what this is.”

 
“Read it,” I say, as if I’m talking to a child.

  “I cannot,” he tells me, passing it back. His gaze drops now.

  “Why not?” I ask before I realize the truth for myself.

  He’s embarrassed. He can’t read? I guess I didn’t see any books around their house in the woods. Maybe none of them can read.

  “Our grandfather taught our father, but none of us could follow it when he tried to teach us how. It just didn’t make sense. Warner spent longer trying to understand than anyone else. He keeps our father’s books and often spends hours looking at them. I don’t know why he bothers.”

  “Well, this note was given to me by the woman who sent me here. I’m supposed to banish the darkness from Oz. Only then will I be free to leave.”

  I sit down after a second’s hesitation.

  He pushes a bowl of what looks like stew in front of me. It smells incredible. I see there’s also a cup of water and a fork that looks like it’s made of cast iron.

  “You banished that creature made of darkness,” he tells me.

  “I did.” I pick up the fork and spear a piece of meat. “What is this, exactly?”

  He shrugs at me. “It is small fowl from the woods. I believe they are similar to your earth rabbits.”

  I eat, kinda wishing I hadn’t asked. I prefer not to believe I’m eating something that was cute and pet-like when it was alive. I don’t have this kind of problem with chickens and cows, so I pretend I’m eating a beef stew. It’s similar enough in taste, though whatever herbs he’s used make it insanely moreish. I end up scraping the bottom of the bowl for every last scrap of flavor.

  “It’s good?” He smirks as he asks.

  I roll my eyes. “It’s amazing and you know it.”

  “Yes, I know when something is amazing.” His smirk transforms into a more genuine smile.

  I hold his gaze for a few seconds and wonder why the hell he couldn’t have looked at me like this when we were in the vicinity of his equally attractive twin. Oh, right, yeah. He’s an asshole. That’s kind of how it works with this kind of guy.