“Where did she go, Dorothy?”
“How should I know?” Dorothy snorted. “She betrayed me, Polly. She pretended to be my friend and then she just—she just—” Dorothy’s eyes filled with tears. Polly wanted to slap her.
“What did you do with her, Dorothy? Where is she?”
Dorothy shrugged. “She’s around,” she said. “She’s just not quite herself, if you know what I mean.” She giggled. The sound sent chills down Polly’s spine. “If you ask me, she got what was coming to her. She promised to teach me magic, and then she turned around and betrayed me. Can you believe it? Thank goodness Glinda was there to take my side. She’s a friend, Polly, not like you. When she went off to take care of her own business, I got lonely. I thought you’d be just like Glinda—sweet and good and beautiful and kind. Not some trashy slut who won’t share anything.”
“What does Glinda the Good Witch have to do with anything?”
“Oh, Glinda is so good. She’s been helping me so much. She’s just delightful. She always looked out for me, you know. She was always on my side, from the very beginning. She’s the only one who’s willing to protect me. Well, her and Tin. But he’s so tiresome after a while. All he can talk about are his armies. And me.” She giggled again. “He’s hopelessly in love with me, did you know that? It’s sort of sweet. But it’s also a little disgusting.”
“Armies?” Polly echoed.
“Of course,” Dorothy said. “A queen needs a defensive force.”
“Ozma didn’t.”
“Well, Ozma’s not around anymore,” Dorothy snapped. “It’s me now, Polly. All me. And if you won’t show me the magic of Rainbow Falls, I’ll just have to take it for myself. I’m your ruler now. I’m running this show!” Her voice had risen to a dangerous pitch. Polly was reeling.
This was it: this was the real Dorothy.
And this girl was completely insane.
“Get out,” Polly said. “Leave Rainbow Falls. Don’t ever come back. And I’m going to find out what you’re up to and stop you, Dorothy.”
Dorothy lightly set Toto down, patting him on the head, then turned to Polly. “Make me,” Dorothy said calmly.
“Make you?”
“Make me leave.” Dorothy crossed her arms, staring Polly down. “You can’t. I’m too powerful now. No one is ever going to make me do anything I don’t want to again. If you can’t be my friend, Polly, you can’t be anyone at all. Rainbow Falls is mine now.”
“Over my dead body,” Polly said. She may not have liked ruling, but Rainbow Falls was hers. It was her home. She cared about it and she had to protect it—and her people.
Dorothy shrugged. “If you insist. I’m sorry it has to end this way, but you are being perfectly unreasonable.”
Dorothy closed her eyes and her shoes began to glow with a fiery red light. She flicked her fingers outward, and bolts of red lightning shot toward the Rainbow Citadel. Polly threw her arms up, deflecting the lightning with a dazzling rainbow shield. Dorothy opened her eyes and scowled.
“That was not nice,” she snarled. She summoned a huge, swirling red cloud that spun over her head, gathering speed. “Not nice at all.” She flung her arm at the nearest floating island and it exploded in a shower of red sparks before Polly could stop her. A tentacle of red mist shot out from the cloud over her head, aiming for Polly. Polly dashed it aside with a blow of mist; it hit the ground with a sizzle, burning its way through the crystal like acid.
Dorothy advanced toward Polychrome, her hands held high, Toto growling and barking at her feet. Her red shoes were blazing with magic. With every step she took, she seemed to grow larger.
But Polly was no slouch in the magic department herself. Dorothy had a degree of power she’d never seen before, but that didn’t mean she was going to win.
It was the shoes, Polly realized. The shoes were the source of Dorothy’s insane strength. If she could destroy the shoes, she could end this here and now. Rainbow lightning flashed from Polly’s fingers, striking the red shoes in a shower of sparks.
But somehow, they deflected every bolt. And they twisted Polly’s own magic against Rainbow Falls; as every bolt landed, it tore apart something else. Islands exploded into rainbow mist. Falls evaporated with a humid boom. Crystal shattered into flying missiles that sped red-hot through the air.
Now Polly was aware of screams of terror. The guests were fleeing, not even bothering to grab up their things. The Sprites were running after them, just as frightened, as Dorothy’s magic began to tear Rainbow Falls apart.
“Not so pretty here after all, is it?” Dorothy sneered, taking step after step toward Polychrome. Polly backed up slowly, throwing up a wall of light that deflected Dorothy’s magic.
But she was weakening. She could feel it. And without backup, she wasn’t sure she could hold out against Dorothy much longer.
As Dorothy advanced, the cloud over her head grew bigger and bigger until it formed a whirling tornado of red light. Dorothy glanced over at the Rainbow Citadel and smiled triumphantly.
“Say good-bye to the pretty princess palace,” she cackled, pointing.
“No!” Polly screamed. “Heathcliff! HEATHCLIFF!”
The tornado descended on the citadel, tearing away its outer facade.
But then Heathcliff leapt over her shoulder, bounding toward the tornado with a roar. Polly threw herself at the unicorn, landing on his back. With a flash of rainbow light, Heathcliff and Polly raced toward the citadel, their forms blurring until they seemed to be a rainbow shaped now like a girl, now like a panther. Heathcliff’s cardboard horn—which Polly had made to replace the one he’d lost—blazed with a glorious multihued light.
And then Heathcliff’s horn pierced the tornado Dorothy had summoned.
The Rainbow Citadel shuddered. A huge boom echoed through the entire Rainbow Falls. Rainbows collapsed. An indigo tsunami swamped the beaches. The citadel glowed a thousand different colors: now red, now gold, now pink, now yellow, cycling back and forth between every imaginable hue in every imaginable world. Its glorious light ate at Dorothy’s red tornado like the sun burning away mist. Through the ragged holes it tore in her magic, sunlight beamed down, refracting through the remaining rainbow mists. The more light it collected, the weaker Dorothy’s tornado became until finally it vanished on a fresh, ocean-scented breeze.
The citadel held.
“LEAVE,” the creature that had been Polly and Heathcliff roared, pointing one blazing appendage—finger? claw? something that was both?—at Dorothy and Toto.
Dorothy shrank down again, her eyes wide and innocent. “But I didn’t do anything,” she said in a girlish whisper. “Please don’t make me go, Polly. We were having such a nice time.”
“BEGONE, TRAITOR,” the creature bellowed.
Dorothy grabbed Toto and fled.
And the creature collapsed to the ground, separating into two pools of rainbow light that coalesced into an unconscious Heathcliff and Polly.
EIGHT
It might have been hours or days later when Polly awoke; she had no sense of how long she’d been out. She’d been having the most awful dream—the citadel nearly destroyed, the Rainbow Sea evaporated, Heathcliff nearly killed . . . She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked around her.
And then she cried out in anguish.
She was lying on the ground in front of the Rainbow Citadel. Deep black fissures rent its pristine surface. The earth all around her was scorched and stained. Heathcliff was still unconscious, his fur matted with blood and soot.
But that was nothing compared to what had happened to her kingdom.
Rainbow Falls was gone. The floating archipelago, the Rainbow Pools, Indigo Beach: all of it burned into nothingness by Dorothy’s magic. It hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been real.
The air was hot, smelling of blood and smoke. Wisps of singed rainbow drifted across the scarred landscape. And Carmine was crouched over her, one hand on her shoulder.
“Your Rainbow Highnes
s,” the Sprite said, his voice relieved. “You’re alive.”
“It was real,” Polly whispered. “It was real.” She buried her face in Carmine’s shoulder and sobbed.
“Yes,” he said quietly, rubbing her back. “I’m afraid it was.”
“It’s—gone? It’s really gone?”
“Yes, Polychrome. All of the guests fled. Many of the Sprites were killed. The outer regions are—destroyed. What you can see is all that’s left.”
“I did this,” she cried. “I let her in. I didn’t listen to Bright and protect my people the way I should have. It’s my fault this happened.”
Carmine didn’t say anything. He just let her cry.
When she had cried herself out, Polly took a deep breath. Heathcliff needed tending to, and so did her kingdom. Rainbow Falls would never be what it had been; too much of it had been destroyed.
But she would protect what was left with every bit of magic she had.
And her life.
Next to her, Heathcliff stirred and mewed plaintively, sounding for all the world like a hurt housecat. She tangled her fingers in his fur, her sooty cheeks streaked with tears. “Once more, dear unicorn,” she said. “Be strong for me. Then you can rest.” He licked her hand feebly with his raspy tongue and lay back, his sides heaving. She tightened her fingers in his fur. He managed a feeble purr. With her other hand, she took Carmine’s. “I need you, too,” she said quietly.
Carmine nodded.
Polly closed her eyes, summoning all the magic she had left. She felt the power of the rainbow flooding through her, drawing through her body, and Heathcliff’s, and Carmine’s. “Seal this place,” she said. “Set it free from the earth to float through the sky. Make it unfindable to any who wish it harm. Keep it hidden. Keep it safe.”
Old Magic poured through her and radiated outward, engulfing what remained of Rainbow Falls. A shimmering wall of rainbow light surrounded the citadel and the few floating islands that were left. And Polly could feel the crystal beneath her pulling away from the earth and hurtling toward the clouds. Oz dropped away into an ocean of mist.
She had done it. They were safe. They were hidden. And Dorothy would never hurt her kingdom again.
She sank back into a dark, dreamless sleep as Carmine and Heathcliff collapsed beside her.
Polly awoke for a second time to Heathcliff licking her face. She felt terrible. Every part of her body hurt. The magic had torn its way through her like acid.
But she was alive and Rainbow Falls was safe. And that was all that mattered. She hugged her unicorn to her gratefully and he purred like an engine. He still looked awful, but he was alive, too. Already his wounds were healing. Next to her, Carmine was still unconscious, but the rise and fall of his chest showed that he was still alive. She heard voices echoing from the citadel: the Sprites and handmaidens who’d survived the attack and who hadn’t fled. She smiled.
They had done it. They had sealed Rainbow Falls off from the outside world. And now it was time to rebuild.
“Hey, babe,” said a familiar voice.
Polly sat up with a gasp. Heathcliff purred. Bright was lounging at her feet, looking as gorgeous as ever.
“How did you get here?” she demanded. “I sealed this place off.”
He shrugged. “Did you? I don’t know, then. I got lost. I was on this beach looking for waves but the surf was pretty bad, and I thought of you, and the next thing I knew here I was. What happened?”
“She was right,” Polly said. “It’s a garden, not the ocean.” Bright wrinkled his pretty brow.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s something Ozma said. I told her that we were supposed to let our people be free like the ocean. She said we were supposed to protect our kingdoms and tend to them like a garden. She was right. I ignored every bad feeling. Every sign. And I invited Dorothy in. I made her my guest. I practically threw her a party. And you told me, too. I should have paid better attention.”
He looked around in awe. “Dorothy did this? Holy shit. So the rumors are true.”
“Yeah, they are,” Polly said. She told Bright everything that had happened since he’d left. About visiting the Emerald City, and the Scarecrow, what Jellia said about finding the Order. She told him about the fight she’d had with Dorothy when she’d returned. And the battle. As she talked, Bright drew her close. He didn’t say anything, just stroked her hair and rested his chin on the top of her head. When she was done talking, his arms tightened around her.
“I’m sorry, Pol,” he said, his voice husky. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“You couldn’t have done anything, anyway. And I told you to go,” she said. She fought the urge to start crying again. “This is all my fault. I deserve to be alone.”
“Hey, hey,” Bright said gently, tilting her chin up. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known. Even the stuff I heard—none of it suggested that Dorothy had the power to do anything like this.”
“I should have known something was wrong,” she said brokenly.
“Hush,” he said, and kissed her. His mouth tasted like rainbow smoke and apples. His hands slid down her back and toward her waist. Her breath caught in her throat as he left a trail of butterfly kisses down her neck.
“I know how I can make you feel better,” he said in a low voice.
In spite of herself, Polly smiled. “Not right now,” she said firmly. “I mean, definitely later. But all of this happened because I was too busy having a good time and not taking care of my kingdom. First, I rebuild. Then, I apologize.”
“I could apologize, then we can rebuild, then I can apologize some more,” Bright pointed out, his eyes sparkling.
Polly laughed. “Tempting. Very, very tempting.”
His face grew serious again. “Are you going to find this Order that Jellia told you about? Do you think it’s some kind of force organizing against Dorothy?”
“I don’t know,” Polly said. “And I don’t know what Mombi would have to do with it if it is. She’s an odd, old bird.” She chewed her lip thoughtfully, looking around her at the damage, and then she shook her head.
“Whatever they are, I’m not much of a joiner,” she said decidedly. “And there’s too much work to do here.”
“Maybe Oz needs you, too,” Bright said.
“Maybe. But Rainbow Falls needs me more. And right now, I need you. Think you might stick around for just a little while?”
“I could probably manage that,” Bright said, reaching for her hand. “I still owe you a couple of apologies.”
Polly leaned her head against his shoulder, scratching her unicorn behind the ears with her free hand. Maybe she’d find Mombi and maybe she wouldn’t. But whatever happened now, she knew one thing for sure.
She would never fail Rainbow Falls again.
EXCERPT FROM THE WITCH MUST BURN
READ MORE ABOUT THE ORDER—AND JELLIA JAMB—IN:
ONE
Things have been pretty weird lately in Oz. I mean, if you’re not from around here, things are always a little weird in Oz. There’re the flying monkeys, sure, and the Road of Yellow Brick, which isn’t exactly the most reliable freeway in the world (it moves around). We have magic—more about that later—and animated soldiers that used to be toys, and a city made out of emeralds, and trees that talk. We have an enchanted palace—that’s where I work as a servant—and we have a Wizard with extra-special powers. We had a Wizard, anyway, until he disappeared. We have cornfields that grow pre-roasted corn on the cob and talking animals and a Cowardly Lion who’s actually not so cowardly and is becoming a little bit scary. (He talks, too.) But for us, all of that is no big deal. We’re used to it. The really weird thing about Oz these days?
Her name is Dorothy. And she’s my boss.
Technically, Ozma is my boss. She’s the rightful ruler of Oz, and when she was running the show, things were great for us here in the Emerald City. I don’t know anything about where I’m from—I was left on the d
oorstep of the Emerald Palace as a tiny baby. Ozma and I grew up together there. I knew she’d one day be the ruler of Oz, too, but she never acted like someone who was about to be a queen. She was just my friend, and the palace servants became my family. I’ve never known anything else.
Then Dorothy showed up—the first time—and everything changed. She killed the Wicked Witch of the East and with the help of the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch of the West. She saved Oz. Then she vanished back to the Other Place—the world she came from, where magic doesn’t exist. Ozma took her rightful place on the throne, and things were basically perfect. Although I still didn’t know anything about my real family, I’d lived in the palace for my whole life and Ozma and the servants were the only family I needed. I loved my work in the palace, as strange as that may sound—it gave me a real sense of pride to do a good job keeping everything running. Nobody plans a banquet like I do. I can remember the names of every single dignitary of Oz—and their children, pets, favorite foods, preferred seating arrangements, wives, husbands, ex-wives, ex-husbands, and what room in the palace they most like to stay in when they visit. My detail-oriented nature is what makes me so good at my job, and it’s why Ozma ultimately promoted me to be the youngest head maid in the history of Oz. I wasn’t going to be a famous queen or a powerful sorceress, and I was fine with that. I was good at something that I loved, and I’d get to spend my life doing it.
And then Dorothy came back, and that’s when things got weird. She was different—she wasn’t the sweet, innocent girl we all adored who had saved Oz. Dorothy moved into the palace, and this time she was here to stay. And then, after a palace ball one night, suddenly Ozma wasn’t herself anymore; overnight she went from our vivacious, caring, generous queen to a vacant ghost of herself wandering the halls of the palace like the world’s creepiest talking doll. Sometimes she didn’t even recognize us. At first, Dorothy pretended she was helping out, ruling on Ozma’s behalf. She kept Ozma close by her side.
But then Dorothy dropped the pretense pretty quickly, and none of us knew how to stop her, or even if we could. Suddenly, our peaceful palace was full of soldiers. They looked like the Tin Woodman, but there was something about them that didn’t feel right. The Scarecrow left his own corncob mansion out in the hills of Oz and moved into the palace, where he shut himself up in his suite of rooms and began to work on something mysterious that Dorothy referred to as his “experiments.” The Scarecrow had always seemed so harmless before, just kind of dopey and pleasant despite his brain upgrade, but the maids who took him his meals came back from his rooms with stories about sinister equipment and cages covered in blankets, behind which they could hear rustling and faint, soft moans, like something crying out in pain. We’d see lights coming from his rooms at all hours, and hear crashing and banging in the middle of the night. Pretty soon I had to bribe my staff with extra time off in order to get them to so much as clean the hallway outside his room. And the stories of what they saw inside sent chills up my spine.
Dorothy Must Die Novella #8 Page 6