Bewitched in Oz

by Laura J. Burns

  “No,” she finally said. “We thought our families might try to find us, but—”

  “But we didn’t think anyone would come this far,” Vashti said. “Did you really travel all this way just to find Brink? I knew you would. I knew you’d do anything to make sure your little brother was safe.”

  Ned nodded, his eyes locked on Vashti’s. “I would never stop searching . . . for any of you.”

  Vashti blushed and giggled. Zerie stared at her in astonishment. Did Vashti still like Ned, after everything that had happened?

  “How did you find us, Ned?” Zerie asked. “Is my brother Zepho with you?”

  He turned his charming smile on her. “No, Zepho is with a different search party, but you’ll see him when you get home.”

  “But I’m not going home, not yet,” Zerie said. “We have to finish what we started. Then we’ll come home.”

  Ned’s smile turned into a devastated frown, as if she’d crushed his dreams. “Zerie, you can’t mean that. Do you know how upset your grandmother is? She’s been crying night and day.”

  Zerie felt a rush of sadness. She hated the idea of Grammy crying at all, and that she was the cause of it made things even worse. “But if we go home, we’ll be arrested,” she said. “Don’t you know why we left?”

  “I know there were airships, and they took Tabitha away,” Ned replied. “But they never came back after that night. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Really? The Winged Monkeys didn’t come looking for us?” Vashti said.

  “Of course not.” Ned smiled at Vashti again. “Why would they look for you, Vashti? Just because you were friends with Tabitha? We were all fooled by her, not just you.”

  Fooled by her? Zerie frowned. The last time she’d seen Ned Springer, he had basically admitted that he had a crush on Tabitha. Was he really willing to believe bad things about Tabitha just because Ozma’s soldiers told him to?

  “I don’t know.” Vashti shot Zerie a questioning look. “We probably shouldn’t go home . . .”

  “Vashti.” Ned positioned himself between the two girls, staring into Vashti’s eyes. “I came all this way to find you. Please don’t tell me it was for nothing.” He reached out and took her hand. “The longer you stay away from home, the more you’re hurting those of us who love you.”

  “Who love me?” Vashti gasped, flushing.

  Zerie stared at her. The Vashti she’d been fighting with five minutes ago had vanished. The strong, fearless Vashti, who’d spent the last two days levitating three people from place to place almost as gracefully as Glinda herself could, had suddenly turned into a giggling, blushing girl with a crush.

  A crush on Ned Springer, not Brink Springer.

  I can’t believe it, Zerie thought. All this time, I’ve been assuming Vashti liked Brink, when really she still wants Ned.

  Zerie felt a rush of relief so strong that she laughed out loud. Both Ned and Vashti turned to her, confused.

  “Ned!” Brink suddenly appeared, ducking under the tree trunk behind her. “What are you doing here? How could you? How could my own brother betray me this way?”

  The relief Zerie had felt was gone. Vashti might not have a crush on Brink, but Brink obviously still had a crush on her.

  A crashing sound in the woods behind Ned made everyone jump. Zerie glanced at the trunk of an oak about twenty feet above them.

  A Winged Monkey stood on it, spreading his wings to make another flight. Her heart hammering, she threw her head back and squinted up at the tiny patch of sky visible through the trees. A dark shape blotted out the blue sky.

  An airship!

  “No!” Zerie cried. “Vashti, the Monkeys!”

  She saw Ned Springer’s hand tighten on Vashti’s. “I was hoping you would just trust me, like Tabitha did,” he said. “It would’ve been easier to take you that way.” His smile gone, he pulled her toward him. Vashti’s eyes went wide and she struggled . . . until Brink hurled himself at his brother, knocking Ned to the side long enough for Vashti to yank her hand free.

  Two more Monkeys dropped from the sky, hopping from tree to tree. It was as hard for them to fly in this forest as it was for Zerie and her friends to walk.

  Ned stood up and faced off with Brink. Zerie cringed. Ned was older, and about four inches taller, and he had the heavily muscled shoulders and arms that Zerie had always admired. As cute as Brink was, he still wasn’t as big as his older brother.

  “Zerie! What do we do?” Vashti cried.

  Zerie didn’t even think. She simply moved—fast—grabbing Vashti by the arm and then running for Brink. She pulled him away from his brother before Ned could even react, and then she ran, leaping over the tree trunks, dragging her friends along with her.

  “Levitate us,” she said as she ran. “Up into the thickest treetop you can see.”

  “You have to slow down,” Vashti cried. “I can’t see the trees!”

  Zerie was moving so fast that she had no idea how far they’d gone from Ned and the Winged Monkeys. Still, she didn’t want to stop until she was sure they were safe.

  “Zerie, slow down!” Brink sounded desperate.

  She forced herself to stop, suddenly realizing that the two of them were getting banged around as she dragged them. “Sorry,” she said.

  And then her feet left the ground and she floated up, up, up with Vashti and Brink, weaving through the reddish tree trunks and around the interlocking branches until finally they came to rest in the crotch of a tall pine tree that grew almost straight up toward the sun. Below it was an ancient, hoary oak that grew sideways, its branches spreading out below their perch like a safety net.

  “The Monkeys can fly,” Vashti whispered. “We might be above Ned, but the Monkeys will be able to find us.”

  Zerie looked down at the dizzying view beneath them—an entire sideways forest. Between the trees, at least thirty Winged Monkeys flitted about, leaping from branch to branch, shrieking to one another. Searching for Zerie and her friends.

  “They’ll be here in another minute,” Zerie said.

  “I don’t know what else to do,” Vashti replied.

  “I do,” Brink said. He gazed at the pink pine leaves in front of them, his face going blank. Vashti shot Zerie a frightened look, but Zerie knew it would be okay. Brink was making an illusion.

  A Monkey shot up from the tree beneath them, appearing so suddenly that Vashti almost fell off the branch. Zerie caught her and slapped her hand over her friend’s mouth to stifle her scream. “Watch,” she breathed into Vashti’s ear.

  They both stared at the Winged Monkey, who had come to rest on the end of the same branch they sat on. The Monkey stared back at them from three feet away.

  Vashti dug her fingers into Zerie’s arm so hard that it hurt, and Zerie held her breath. Brink kept staring at the leaves, not even glancing at the Monkey, who was close enough to touch him. Nobody moved.

  Zerie looked into the creature’s large black eyes, searching for a reflection. He was looking back at her—she should have seen her own face. Instead all she saw was leaves, branches . . . trees, but no people.

  The Winged Monkey shrieked, communicating something to its companions, and then spread its wings, each leathery fold stretching closer and closer to Brink’s face. Zerie bit her lip, forcing herself to stay quiet.

  The monkey leapt from the tree, taking off into midair and circling down to another one, and then another lower still.

  “What was that?” Vashti whispered.

  “He didn’t see us, he saw an illusion,” Zerie said. “He saw branches and leaves, a thick treetop.”

  “But he was looking straight at us,” Vashti protested.

  “But he didn’t see us,” Brink replied.

  “How long can you hold the illusion?” Zerie asked. Brink’s shoulders were tense, and she could tell that it took an effort to make such a good illusion. She reached over and put her hand on his arm. He relaxed a little and looked back at her.

  �
��For a while, as long as we don’t move,” he said. “The hardest part is making it in the first place.”

  Vashti let out a long, shuddering breath. “So we’re safe.”

  “For now.” Brink’s expression was grim. “We just have to stay here and hope they give up.”

  “I can’t believe Ned is working with the Winged Monkeys,” Vashti said. “Why would he do that? He must think they’re right and that going back home is what’s best for us.”

  “No!” Brink exploded. “It’s just like I always suspected! He’s working with them because he always has been. Can’t you see that? I never wanted to believe it before, but Ned is a spy. He’s the one who told them where to find us in the first place, back in the woods at home.”

  Brink ran his fingers angrily though his sandy hair, and Zerie could see that his hands were shaking. “He loved building clockwork birds and flies, but I never saw him selling them to anyone,” he said, his voice tense. “When the Glass Cat talked about clockwork spies, I wondered if Ned could be making them. But I didn’t think it could be true. We were never close, but I didn’t think he’d turn in his own brother.”

  “He told me he liked Tabitha,” Zerie said, stunned. “But he was lying; he wanted to find out where Tabitha would be so he could capture her. He must’ve seen her doing magic at her house.”

  “What?” Vashti cried. “When did he say he liked Tabitha? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that.”

  “Really? That’s what you care about?” Brink asked incredulously. “Who he likes? He’s the one who put us in this mess! Everything that’s happened is his fault, and you two are still willing to fight over him? Stop it. Stop liking my brother. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  Vashti turned red. “You’re right.”

  Brink turned to Zerie, eyebrows raised.

  “I don’t like your brother,” she said. “I haven’t since that day you made an illusion of him.”

  “Oh.” Brink looked confused. “Well . . . good.”

  They all sat silently for a while, watching as the Monkeys circled, screeching in their strange language.

  “Zerie, you used your talent,” Vashti finally said. “I knew you still had it. You saved us. Again.”

  “We all saved us,” Zerie said. “All three of us did it together.”

  “We’re strongest that way. Friends are always strongest together,” Brink put in, and Zerie nodded.

  “So you were wrong about the bad energy stuff,” Vashti said. “Because you must’ve been angry when you pulled us away from Ned.”

  “I was angry.” Zerie frowned. “But that’s what I wanted to avoid—using my anger to fuel my talent. I think using bad emotions like anger means that the magic I’m doing is bad. I think that’s what led the Wicked Witches to be wicked.”

  “But you had no choice. If you hadn’t sped us out of there, the Monkeys would have captured us,” Brink said. “So the magic you did was good, even if it was anger that gave you the power to do it.”

  “I have a different idea,” Vashti said. “I don’t think it’s as simple as good feelings make good magic and bad feelings make bad magic. I think if you feel bad about yourself, you’re just not as powerful.”

  “How do you mean?” Zerie asked.

  “Well, I couldn’t figure out how my talent was useful for the longest time. You both used your talents to escape the night they took Tabitha, but I didn’t. Mine felt worthless,” Vashti said. “And then you and I were so awkward because of all that stuff with Ned, Zerie. I just felt bad about myself, and about us . . . and every time I tried to use my talent, it didn’t work so well.”

  “The same way mine wasn’t working after we killed the Kalidah,” Zerie said. “I felt awful after that, because I killed something. And then . . .” Her voice trailed off. She’d been about to say that then she thought Brink and Vashti liked each other and it made her jealous, but that seemed too embarrassing to talk about.

  “I guess I’m the only one who always likes myself,” Brink said, his old teasing smile on his face. “My talent has been working the whole time!”

  Zerie laughed, and so did Vashti.

  “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s more that our emotions affect our magical abilities,” Zerie said. “Grammy always told me that magic came from feeling good. Maybe she just meant that being happy was the way to have strong magic. And then being sad, or angry, or jealous—that’s the path to weak magic.”

  “Were you happy when you rescued us from Ned?” Brink asked.

  Zerie thought about it. “No. I was angry, but it was because he’d betrayed us. I was right to be angry about that.”

  “You were right to be angry about the Kalidah, too,” Vashti said gently. “You were mad that Ozma’s rules put us in a position where we had to kill a living thing. I’m angry at Ozma for that just like you are.”

  “So am I,” Brink agreed.

  “Then it was my guilt that made my power go away,” Zerie said, filled with relief. “Oh, you don’t know how happy that makes me. I was afraid I would turn into a Wicked Witch!”

  They all laughed.

  “You know what? I haven’t heard any Winged Monkeys for a while,” Vashti said. “Do you think they’re gone?”

  Zerie looked up at the sky while Vashti peered down into the forest. “I don’t see the airship anymore, though it’s hard to tell through the trees,” Zerie said.

  “I don’t see any Monkeys,” Vashti reported.

  “We’d better wait, though,” Brink said. “They could be hiding, hoping we’ll come out and reveal ourselves. I can keep the illusion going. It’s easier now that we’re all friends again. I feel stronger.”

  “You know why?” Zerie asked

  “Because friends are always strongest together,” Vashti and Brink answered at the same time. All three of them laughed.

  “It’s getting dark. If we’re going to be here all night, I’m going to sleep,” Vashti announced. “Zerie had a nap before, and Brink will have to sleep after we know we’re safe and he can stop the illusion.”

  “Good idea,” Zerie said. “Can you sleep in a tree?”

  Vashti yawned. “Just catch me if I start to fall.”

  For about a half hour, everything was quiet. Zerie searched the sky and the trees below, but nothing moved in the gathering dusk. “How long until we know they’re gone?” she finally said.

  “I have no idea,” Brink admitted.

  “I’m sorry about Ned,” Zerie told him. “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if one of my brothers or sisters did something like that.”

  Brink shrugged. “You’re close to your siblings. Ned and I have never been close. I could never figure out what you two saw in him.”

  Zerie thought about it. “He was cute,” she said.

  Brink stared at her. “That’s it?”

  “Pretty much.” Zerie felt her cheeks heat up. “I know how stupid it sounds. A lot of the things I used to think seem stupid now.”

  “You said you haven’t liked Ned since we left our village,” Brink said awkwardly. “So what were you and Vashti fighting about?”

  Zerie couldn’t look him in the eye. “Well, we were fighting about our talents and how we were jealous of each other. And I guess she thought we were still fighting about Ned, too, and how we both liked him. And I thought . . .” She took a deep breath. “I thought we were fighting about you and how we both liked you.”

  “Oh.” Brink squirmed around a bit, as if he was uncomfortable. “But Vashti still liked Ned.”

  “Yeah, that was a surprise,” Zerie admitted. “It’s so complicated, isn’t it? We both liked Ned, but he liked Tabitha. Well, I guess that was a lie. But then I liked you but you liked Vashti, and Vashti still liked Ned. We should all just stop being so silly.”

  “I never liked Vashti,” Brink said. “Not that way.”

  “What do you mean?” Zerie asked, turning to face him.

  “I mean I like you, Zerie,” Brink said. “I always have.”r />
  Zerie gazed at him, speechless.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” the Glass Cat asked, jumping down from the tree above them. She landed lightly on the branch Vashti slept on and blinked at them with her emerald eyes. “I certainly hope not, because it’s time for us to go.”

  .17.

  “Where did you come from?” Zerie cried. “Never mind, I always ask you that and you never answer.”

  “But how did you find us?” Brink asked. “I’m still holding the illusion of branches and leaves. How could you see through it? Is the illusion fading?”

  “May I remind you, I am a cat,” said the cat. “And I am also a magical creature. I know better than to trust my eyes. I could smell Zerie a mile away. Swamp mud.”

  Zerie’s hand flew to her mouth in horror. She’d completely forgotten about the swamp mud.

  “And you others aren’t very sweet-smelling, either,” the cat went on. “Humans are all stinky. You should be more like cats. We’re very clean creatures.”

  Zerie frowned. “Why didn’t the Winged Monkeys smell us, then? There was one sitting right here a while back.”

  The cat laughed her delicate laugh. “It probably did smell you. But it couldn’t see you and so it didn’t understand. The Monkeys aren’t as intelligent as I am, after all. They believe their eyes. I believe my intuition.”

  “You’re back,” Vashti said groggily, sitting up. “I thought I was dreaming.”

  “That’s very understandable,” the Glass Cat said. “I would make a brilliant dream.”

  “Where have you been?” Brink asked. “Why did you disappear for so long? We had a lot of trouble in The Trenches.”

  The cat sat up very straight and glared at him. “I go where I please,” she spat, offended.

  “Okay, okay, don’t get all mad about it. We’ve all decided to stop being angry at one another,” Zerie said. “What did you mean when you said it’s time for us to go now?”