The Ruby Fortress (Kingdoms Of Oz Book 1)

by Carrie Whitethorne

  Glinda giggled. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I managed not to shudder at the shrill sound. “The slippers will bend to your will as long as you wear them. They took that form because that was the best fit for the person they found. They keep that form because that is who you are presenting yourself as.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” I countered. Was she saying I was presenting myself as a hooker? I mean yeah, last night I was dancing, but I definitely wasn’t at the breakfast table.

  “Of course it does. What were you doing when you needed shoes like those?”

  “Working…”

  “And are you working now?” She fluttered her lashes, and I had the feeling she was mocking me.

  I looked closely at her.

  At my silence, she continued, “We change our personas according to where we are and who we are with. At work, you are required to be one version of you. At home, you are another. Here, you are someone else entirely. To discover who you are here, you must simply close your eyes, click your heels, and be yourself.”

  I didn’t want to try it, but despite myself, I did it anyway. Annoyingly, it worked. The strange feeling in my feet was back, and when I opened my eyes and looked over the side of the chair, I was relieved to see I was wearing silver encrusted sneakers. Okay, so the glittery ribbon that was on them instead of laces was completely over the top and not my style, but they were a massive improvement on the stilettos. “Thanks.”

  Glinda smiled that cloying smile and stood up. “Of course. I shall leave Sayer at your disposal today. Please make yourself at home. Explore. Only stay within these borders, for we do not know who is lurking beyond and you are not yet able to protect yourself.”

  Her high, light voice kept any threat from the sinister warning, but I didn’t miss the point. Oz was dangerous when my great grandmother was here, but it seemed things were even worse now. There was no sign of a war being fought in Glinda’s perfect palace, or even beyond as far as I could see, but her sister sounded like a psycho and I didn’t particularly want to bump into that one on my own. The butler, wearing his suit, didn’t look like he’d be much help to me in a scrape.

  She swept around the table and kissed my cheek. “Have a wonderful day, I will see you at dinner.”

  I didn’t say anything, but I nodded my head and chewed the inside of my cheek as she glided back into the building.

  “Looks like you’re babysitting,” I commented, when her footsteps had retreated.

  I looked over at Sayer to see his lips curve up slightly in the corners. “Not at all, Miss. It would be my pleasure to show you the falls.”

  That was a genuine smile. “Are you coming dressed like that or…?”

  “No, Miss. If you would excuse me, I shall change into more suitable clothing and return shortly.”

  “You do that,” I muttered, turning back to the table and helping myself to another pancake. “I’ll be okay for a little while.”

  He didn’t say anything else and I smiled to myself as he walked away. He wasn’t too bad. At least it wasn’t Glinda following me around all day. Her voice was enough to give me a toothache.

  Chapter 4

  Sayer stepped over the low stone wall and held out a hand. I didn’t take it, since I could get myself over that little thing, but I did manage to smile at the kind gesture. “I’m okay. Is this the end of her palace…?” I hesitated after the word ‘palace,’ because I couldn’t think of the word to fit her land.

  “Grounds? Yes.”

  I nodded and kept walking across the meadow that sprawled before us. “So, what do you do here? Are you the butler, the concierge, or do you just do whatever she tells you to and fit whatever role that falls under?” I questioned curiously. I genuinely didn’t understand his role here and I wanted to know.

  If he was offended, he didn’t show it. In fact, I noticed his lips quirk up at one side. He seemed different out here, away from the palace, out of that stuffy suit. He’d changed into leather pants and a long, cotton tunic with a pair of what looked like baggy suede riding boots, which was very gothic, but it suited him. More importantly, he was relaxed. He’d changed his hair, too, letting it fall over his forehead. It was just below his ears in length, and it was so light brown it was almost dark blond in the bright sunlight. “I am a steward,” he responded, walking at my side. “I manage the palace in the lady’s absence, assist with palace security, and tend her needs when she is at home.”

  I looked at him and raised my brows. His answering laugh surprised me.

  “No. Absolutely not. While the Lady Glinda is beautiful, she is not my type.”

  I nodded, forming an ‘O’ with my lips, and kept moving, refusing to acknowledge the twinge of happiness I felt at his words.

  “Tell me, Ellana, did you really think this place was entirely fictional?” he began, his tone much less formal than before.

  It was my turn to laugh. “Why would I think it was real?”

  “Your great grandmother gave such a wonderful account of her time here, I thought you would have celebrated her achievements.”

  “No. When she told people what she’d seen, she was carted off to the asylum and treated for mental illness. She was forced to say it was all made up, just so she could go back to her life.”

  I glanced at him to see he was frowning. “But she was freed?” he asked, with a hint of concern.

  “Oh yeah, they let her out, she got married, had a daughter, wrote her book, and kept it hidden. She was never right though. My grandma Dot knew the story as well as she did, and she told it to my mom, and then to me when I was born. But by then it really was just a story and I had no idea…” I looked around us, finally admitting I was awed by the place.

  The sights. The sounds. The scents. It was so realistic.

  Real. Oz was real? It seemed too fantastic, but how long could I keep denying what I was experiencing?

  Everything had depth, and all of my senses were telling me I wasn’t simply imagining this. Hell, when she was around, I could even smell Glinda’s cloying perfume.

  “I’m sorry for kidnapping you. If it’s any consolation, you handled the whole thing incredibly well,” he apologized sincerely.

  “I didn’t... I’m not sure I’m handling any of this at all,” I admitted, slowing my pace and listening to our surroundings. There was a distinct roar up ahead. “And… call me Ella.”

  Sayer stopped at my side, looked at me, and nodded his head once before saying, “The falls are nearby. Regardless, I feel I should apologize. Under normal circumstances, I would never… but these are not normal circumstances.” He turned to face me, keeping eye contact with me while he spoke. “We have a very powerful witch trying to take over our world. She has killed hundreds of thousands of people to get what she wants, and we are running out of time and resources to stop her. If we were not desperate, Ella, please know I would not have carried out those orders.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that but I had to say something, otherwise it was going to be awkward—and it was already awkward. He was standing so close that I could see the small flecks of green in his eyes. It was weird that I was noticing things like the flecks in his eyes. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and murmured, “Don’t worry about it…”

  That was not what I meant to say. I knew what I wanted to say, that he was completely out of order, there was no way I would let him get away with it, and he would have to promise to take me home as soon as my business here was done. But that would be agreeing to help them. It would mean accepting everything I saw as real and not a product of insanity somehow passed along the female line for generations. Was I willing to accept this was more than madness?

  He was smiling again and I realized I liked it when he smiled. And that was bad. That was very bad. Because I didn’t pay attention to smiling men. I paid attention to the bills in their hands and counted the tips when they finally left. No, that wasn’t good at all.

  “And for the record,�
�� he added, turning back in the direction we were going, “I don’t tend to go for blondes.”

  He’d taken me completely by surprise and I couldn’t have replied if I’d tried, so I didn’t. Instead, I tried to ignore the flutter in my stomach and followed him up the now gently sloping meadow toward the roar of the waterfalls that Glinda seemed keen for me to see.

  He stood at the top of the falls with his hands on his hips, looking out over the precipice where the world simply fell away. We were so high up, the falling water formed a billowing cloud below, so I couldn’t see anything but the rainbow cast by the brilliant sunlight shining through the mist of the falls.

  “Well this is… wow,” I murmured, at a loss for words.

  “Isn’t it?”

  I stepped closer to the edge to peer down into the fluffy cloud beneath, and felt his hand grip mine and pull me back. “Don’t…”

  Adrenalin surging through my body at his touch, I turned to face him and realized there wasn’t much space between us, less than a foot. He dropped my hand immediately, but I was studying his face. I was close enough to notice a small scar on his bottom lip, and when he realized I was looking at his mouth he gave me a nervous smile, stepped back, and said, “If I were to lose you over the edge of the falls, Glinda would probably skin me alive.”

  “Glinda?” I laughed, as if the pretty pink puffball could hurt a fly. “You sure she wouldn’t just put you on a candy ban for the week?”

  He gave me a reproachful look. “The lady is an incredibly powerful witch, Ella. Don’t let her caring nature make you think her weak.”

  I don’t think he realized it, but he’d dropped the formal talk. Even though he was talking about the boss lady, he was considerably more relaxed.

  I turned around and sat down, looking at the sky above the falls. “All right then, you gonna tell me what’s going on here? Or am I getting half the information, led round like a pre-teen with mommy issues, and fed to the flying monkeys?” I asked, deciding to get to the point.

  “Everything you were told was the truth, Ella,” he replied. I could tell by his tone that he was being honest, but the cynic in me didn’t want to believe it. It was easier to tell myself I was hallucinating. To carry on believing my great grandmother was unstable. Alternate worlds full of witches and wizards didn’t exist. But I was starting to think they did…

  I looked around me again as Sayer continued, “I have no reason to lie to you. You hold our salvation in your hands. My people need you. I need you if I hope to spend another summer in my home.”

  I looked up at the sky. It all looked and felt pretty real. “It’s always summer here, Sayer. I know that much.”

  “But not in the city. That place may never see summer again without your help.” His tone was pleading as he sat beside me, but he didn’t face me. I listened while he explained, “That’s where I came from, originally. I was supposed to take on the steward’s role there when my father died, but there is nothing left to care for after the two remaining witches clashed over the city. Dragons killed Glinda’s steward and his family when Tati pushed south. When I heard that Tati had returned to the north, I fled to the Opal Palace with the other survivors. When Glinda discovered who I was, I was offered the role here. I’ve been here since.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Sorry wouldn’t cut it. But I had to say something, so I decided to press forward. “How long?”

  “Eight of your years. Here, many more.”

  “How old are you?” The question was out of my mouth before I had a chance to think about it. Before I could consider how insensitive it was to ask how long he’d been an orphan. Okay, so an adult orphan, but apart from Princess Powder Puff, he was pretty much on his own from what I could tell.

  “I think it would translate as thirty-one,” he answered with a hint of amusement. “What about you?”

  “Twenty-six. My parents are both alive but divorced. My dad has a new wife, but no other kids and lives far away, so I hardly see him. My mom’s too busy with her new husband and his family to think about me much.” I tried not to sound bitter, but I had to admit, it did hurt. At least they were alive.

  “And what do you do?” he asked, allowing the subject of parents to pass by.

  I laughed. “I dance.”

  He smiled.

  “Not that kind…” I cringed. I hated having to tell people. I wasn’t ashamed of what I did, not at all, and I loved my job. It paid well, I had free time in spades, and it kept me fit. “I dance for men.”

  I glanced at him, just to gauge his reaction, and wasn’t surprised to see him looking right at me. “I’m not that kind of girl,” I immediately stated, preparing for the derision that usually accompanies my admission.

  His expression was passive. “I made no such claim.”

  “I—” I stopped talking. No, he hadn’t. He hadn’t judged at all, and he wasn’t looking at me like he wanted a free show either, which was weird. “No. Sorry. Just people usually assume, and I get tired of telling them… never mind. Yeah, I’m a dancer. Male entertainment mainly. Pays the bills.”

  “My father always said it isn’t work if you enjoy it.”

  There was more to his tone than he intended to reveal. A sadness. Regret, maybe? I jumped on it. “You didn’t want to be a steward?”

  “I was born to be a steward. It’s honorable work, and the lady is very good to me. I was very lucky. Most of the refugees from the city were forced to take jobs far beneath them just to survive. Glinda was generous, but there were additional mouths to feed and houses to build. I was lucky.”

  I lay back on the grass, keeping my eyes fixed on the sky as I wondered whom he was trying to convince. “So, what did you want to be?”

  His face lit up, eyes shining. “A wizard.”

  “Like Oz?” I said, trying not to laugh.

  He frowned. “Why not?”

  I immediately felt contrite, and tried not to be condescending as I explained, “Because he was a charlatan, Sayer. It really was all smoke and mirrors.”

  “And what about Glinda and her sisters?” he countered, not showing any sign of being offended. “What about you?”

  “I’ve got a pair of magic shoes,” I scoffed. Okay, so I was coming around to the idea of it. Yes, I was wearing magical shoes, but that didn’t mean I was the next magical prodigy in this strange land. “I’m hardly the next Witch of the West, I don’t care what she says.”

  I expected him to say something. When he didn’t, I turned my head his way, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking north. “Sayer?”

  “Please, don’t joke.”

  I pressed my lips together and frowned. I hadn’t meant to offend him. I mean, without him to talk to I was stuck with Squeaky and she would drive me insane.

  I sat up and changed the subject. “How long is she keeping me here?”

  “Until you demand she send you back, or until you defeat the remaining wicked witch. Whichever comes first.”

  “And everyone really thinks I’m the one you need?” I questioned, skepticism clear in my voice.

  “You hold the power of both thrones. You are east and west. Glinda is only one of the points, as is her sister. You are the bigger influence. Theoretically, you’re more powerful than both of them—once we unlock your power, of course. You can save us all from the certain destruction this war threatens to bring on us.”

  It was all utterly mad, but at the same time, it made complete sense. Kind of. I wasn’t entirely sure what I believed, but the evidence seemed to be stacking up in favor of Oz being real.

  I wasn’t insane, and if I wasn’t, then neither was my great grandma.

  I’d had the joy of meeting the sickly-sweet Glinda, I’d seen magic happen right before my eyes. I’d even performed it myself with the help of the shoes.

  My shoes, if Glinda and Sayer were to be believed.

  I knew them and they knew me. It was like I’d been prepared for this my whole life. Just as Sayer was trained to be a st
eward, to look after the palace and make sure everything ran smoothly, I’d been told about this world my entire life. I knew the people, I knew the map, I understood how they had gotten to where they were, and I knew how to help them. The shoes were the proof if I needed it.

  That’s why I hadn’t panicked and shot him when the wind blew.

  That was why I hadn’t freaked out at being kidnapped by the handsome and interesting man before me.

  It was probably why I hadn’t slapped Glinda and told her to stop touching me. “No pressure then?” I asked, breaking into the silence that had descended upon us.

  He got to his feet and offered me his hand. “None at all.”

  I don’t know whether it was the warmth of his skin or the beauty of his smile—despite the small scar on the right-hand side of his bottom lip—that made me relax. But I did. It was instant. I was comfortable here with him and for a moment I just stared at him. It was thanks to him that I knew who I was and what I needed to do. Thanks to him I was hearing the truth. Without him I’d have been as clueless as my great grandmother had been, but he’d taken the time to explain it to me. I was important and needed for the first time in… well, ever. I’ll admit it felt good to be wanted, if only to go on a quest to kill a wicked witch—I suppose it was in my blood after all—and maybe add to my great grandmother’s legacy and learn more about her. “Well, we should probably get back to the palace. We don’t want her getting her panties in a twist,” I suggested, feeling determined to move on with my quest. If I was going to accept all of this, then I should just go for it, right?

  He tried to hide his smirk by turning and leading me away from the waterfall. He kept hold of my hand until we were back inside the palace. At this point I wasn’t surprised I was happy for him to do so. Just before we entered the building he paused, kissed my cheek and then brushed his thumb over the back of my palm as he excused himself before he went to change. Back into the steward. Back into the suit. Back into whatever he had to be for Glinda. I realized I didn’t particularly like it.