“The Winged Monkeys are gone—the airship left,” the cat replied. “But they know that you are somewhere within the Tilted Forest, so most likely, they will be back soon with many more airships. You can’t stay here.”
“I didn’t even think of that,” Brink said.
“Glinda’s Palace is only a short march away. If we leave now, we can be there by morning.” The cat stood and stretched herself. “Let’s go.”
Zerie looked at her friends. “I guess we’re going.”
“You might have to levitate me there while I sleep, Vashti,” Brink grumbled. “I’ve been working an illusion for hours now. I’m exhausted.”
Zerie wanted to take his hand to comfort him. She wanted to continue their conversation from before the cat had arrived. She wanted to hug him, or kiss him, or something. He’d told her that he liked her!
But the Winged Monkeys were coming back, and they had one last dash to make before they were safe. Talking to Brink would have to wait. They had to focus on getting to Glinda now.
“The road of yellow brick runs next to this forest,” the Glass Cat told them. “The forest is like a gash in the land, and the road was built alongside it since it would’ve been too hard to put the road inside the woods. The road is the only route to Glinda’s Palace, because there is a raging river that surrounds her home like a moat. The road becomes a golden bridge that spans the river.”
“We’re near the top now. We can see a lot of the sky,” Vashti said. “Are you saying that if we just get out of the trench that the forest is in, the road will be right there?”
The cat gave her an arch look. “I thought I did just say that.”
Vashti made a face at her. “What I mean is, can I levitate us right up to the road?”
“I don’t know. Can you?” the cat asked.
“I’ve learned a lot since you left,” Vashti said, taking hold of Zerie and Brink. Zerie smiled and reached for Brink’s other hand, but he shot her an apologetic look. He picked up the Glass Cat instead. Zerie was surprised that the cat let him.
Vashti kept her face to the sky as she lifted them gently into the air. She maneuvered them around the trunks of oaks and the reddish branches of pine trees, slowly floating upward.
Zerie felt as if she were in a hot air balloon, like the Wizard of Oz when he first came to Oz. Beneath her feet, the Tilted Forest lay spread out like a painting in the moonlight, and soon enough, the only thing above them was the sky.
The road of yellow brick glowed softly in the night.
Vashti placed them down on the bricks, and Zerie felt the same thrill that she’d always felt at the idea of this road—although now it was mixed with trepidation. The last time they’d been on the road, Ozma’s mounted cavalry had been patrolling. “I wish you could fly us all the way to Glinda’s Palace,” she told Vashti.
“I’m not strong enough for that yet, not if it’s still several miles away,” Vashti replied. “Though maybe if you moved us really fast, I could do it. We said we’re all strongest when we use our magic together.”
“You will find that your talents won’t work as well the closer you get to Glinda,” the cat said. “She is such a powerful sorceress that the entire landscape around her palace is enchanted. That is how she protects herself from the magic of others. Her enchantment is stronger than your talent, or anyone’s talent. Even the Wicked Witches would have had a hard time using their magic within Glinda’s Palace.”
“Then we’ll have to walk, and walk quickly,” Zerie said. She linked one arm through Vashti’s, and her other arm through Brink’s. “I’ll use my talent to make us go faster . . . for as long as it works.”
They set off moving at a good pace, much faster than anyone could walk on their own. But after about an hour, Zerie began to feel heavy. Her eyelids felt heavy, her feet felt heavy, and the friends hanging on to her arms felt heavy. “I can’t go on,” she said, exhausted. “I think this is how Dorothy the explorer must’ve felt in the poppy fields.”
“It’s the enchantment. Glinda’s land must be close by,” the Glass Cat said. “If you stop trying to fight it by using your talent, you may feel better.”
Zerie let her eyelids close, and her leaden feet stop moving. Instead of moving fast, she allowed herself to stop altogether. With a sigh, she gave up on her talent. She wouldn’t need it once they were under Glinda’s protection, anyway.
“Zerie?” Brink sounded concerned.
“I’m okay.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “I had to sort of turn my magic off. I do feel more awake now, just like the cat said.”
“From here on, we’re all regular citizens of Oz with no magical talents,” Vashti said. “But we should still hurry. I think Ozma’s Winged Monkeys are allowed to chase us right up to Glinda’s door if they want.”
“It’s true,” Zerie said as they linked arms and began walking again, “we don’t know for sure that Glinda will even be willing to help us. What if we’ve come all this way for nothing?”
“It wasn’t for nothing,” Brink said, squeezing her arm. “We got closer to each other.”
Zerie felt a flutter in her stomach, and she squeezed his arm back.
“Plus, we learned so much about our talents,” Vashti put in. “I feel sure now that I won’t let Ozma take away my magic, even if Glinda doesn’t help us. I’ll fight to keep my talent, no matter what.”
“Me too,” said Zerie. “But I really hope Glinda will help.”
“There’s the palace,” the Glass Cat announced. “In the midst of the pink haze you see in the distance. Every morning, just before dawn, that pink haze gathers around Glinda’s Palace. When the sun comes up, the pink clouds float up into the sky and the entire castle is revealed.”
“That sounds beautiful,” Vashti breathed.
“If you like that sort of thing,” the cat replied.
As they walked closer, the strange haze enveloped them, and Zerie found that she could see everything in front of her clearly. But when she turned to look back the way they’d come, the road of yellow brick was hidden in the pink haze. It was as if they’d stepped into a bubble of pink that surrounded Glinda’s Palace—from the outside, you couldn’t see in, and from the inside, you couldn’t see out.
“Where’s the cat?” Brink asked, looking around.
Startled, Zerie scanned the area. “She’s gone again. Did she come into the pink haze?”
“I don’t see her,” Vashti replied.
Zerie shook her head. She would never understand what went on in the strange pink brain of that cat.
“This place is even more gorgeous than I’d heard,” Vashti said. “How many turrets does the palace have?”
“I count at least seven,” Brink replied. “And look at the dome in the middle!”
Zerie didn’t contribute to the conversation. She simply stared at the stunning castle, taking in the white marble towers, the pink marble windowsills and rooftops, and the delicate veins of gold running through the entire building.
She could hardly believe they’d finally made it.
“There’s the bridge.” Brink pointed ahead to where the road of yellow brick took a sharp turn and narrowed into a golden pathway. The path left land and leapt in a delicate arch over white, rushing water.
“Let’s run,” Brink suggested. “The palace gates are just on the other side of the bridge.”
Zerie stopped in her tracks, and so did Vashti. “Brink,” she said. “We can’t cross that bridge.”
“What do you mean? Why not?” he asked.
“Because it’s missing a middle!” Vashti cried. “The whole center of the archway is gone!”
“Oh, no,” Zerie moaned. “The monkeys must’ve gotten here before us and knocked down Glinda’s bridge so we couldn’t reach her.”
“What are you talking about?” Brink said. “The bridge is fine.”
“Are you telling me that you can see a bridge there?” Zerie asked him. “A whole bridge?”
“Of course. It’s an arch. It goes all the way across the raging river,” Brink said. “Are you telling me that you can’t see that?”
“I see a broken bridge,” Vashti said.
“Me too.” Zerie frowned. “Is it part of the enchantment?”
“If it is, it’s not working on me,” Brink said.
“Well, maybe it is and you’re seeing things that aren’t there,” Vashti told him.
They all studied the bridge in silence for a moment.
“It’s an illusion,” Brink finally said. “You see a broken bridge, and so you don’t try to cross it. It’s just one more protection to keep evildoers from entering Glinda’s Palace.”
“Are you calling us evildoers?” Zerie demanded.
“No, of course not. I just mean that Glinda must keep the illusion there all the time.” Brink shrugged. “I think I can just see through the illusion because that’s my talent, making illusions.”
“None of our talents work within Glinda’s enchantment, that’s what the cat said.” Zerie looked at Brink doubtfully.
“Well . . .” Brink’s gaze unfocused for a moment, the way it did when he used his magic. “I can’t make an illusion, so my talent isn’t working. But I definitely see the bridge.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Vashti said.
“Maybe not, but I’m certain of it.” Brink took a step out onto the archway, and Zerie gasped. “I’m so certain,” he added, “that I’m going to prove it to you.”
“Brink, no!” Zerie cried as he moved closer to the gap in the bridge. “You’ll be swept away in the river!”
Brink turned back and met her eye, smiling as he gazed at her. “Zerie,” he said. “You know how I feel about you. I would never put you in danger.”
With that, he turned and ran toward Glinda’s Palace. Zerie stifled a scream as his foot stepped off the edge of the golden bridge . . . and then he was running in midair, up the line of the arch and down the other side, until his feet were on the golden path again.
“I still don’t see the bridge,” Vashti said.
“Neither do I, but Brink is across the river,” Zerie replied. “Unless he suddenly learned to levitate like you, the bridge must really be there.”
“I’m scared,” Vashti whispered, grabbing on to Zerie’s hand.
“Me too,” Zerie said. Together they walked out onto the bridge, inching closer and closer to the gap. When they got to the edge, Zerie peered down. Fifty feet below, the river raged, eddies and whitecaps marring its surface. To fall in there would be certain death, and she could see nothing in between her and the river.
“I can’t do this,” Vashti whimpered. “Not without my talent. If I could only levitate us across, I don’t think that I would be scared, but this is terrifying.”
Zerie swallowed down the lump in her throat. “It’s just an illusion. Think of how real Ned looked when Brink made that illusion. Think of the way the Winged Monkey stared right at us and didn’t see us. Illusions are powerful.”
“If you say so.” Vashti’s whole body was shaking. “But I can’t look.” She closed her eyes.
Zerie didn’t want to look down at the river, either. Instead she gazed ahead to where Brink stood at the base of the bridge on the other side. Behind him were the golden doors of Glinda’s Palace. Brink smiled encouragingly at her, his expression loving. “It’s okay, Zerie,” he called. “Trust me.”
That’s what Ned said to Tabitha before he betrayed her, Zerie thought.
But Brink wasn’t the same as his brother. Brink was honest, and good, and he cared about Zerie. He’d told her so.
“I do trust you,” she said. Summoning all her courage, she stepped off the edge of the bridge, hoping to feel solid gold beneath her when her foot came down.
Instead there was a screech, and darkness filled the sky. Black leathery hands grabbed her arms in a grip like iron, and she was lifted into the air.
Vashti screamed, and her hand was jerked out of Zerie’s grip. Terrified, Zerie watched as her best friend was carried away by a Winged Monkey. Twisting around, she saw that a Monkey had her by both arms, too. Its wings made a mighty wind as they flapped, carrying her upward to the airship that floated above them.
“No!” Zerie yelled. Frantically, she searched for Brink, and spotted him still standing where he’d been before, in front of Glinda’s gates, shielding his eyes as he watched the Winged Monkeys take her away.
He had lured her out onto the bridge, where there was no protection. He’d made her feel safe, just like Ned had made Tabitha feel safe.
Brink had betrayed her.
.18.
“Do you think Tabitha is still here somewhere?” Vashti asked as they gazed out the emerald-tinted windows of the giant airship an hour later. The Monkeys hadn’t wasted any time once they dragged the girls into the airship. They’d simply chained their legs and arms together and shoved them both into a small room with a locked door. The huge ship had begun moving immediately afterward. “It’s been a long time. Maybe they’ve already taken away her magic and sent her back home.”
“I don’t know,” Zerie murmured. She stared out at the Land of Oz drifting by far below them—the road of yellow brick twining through the reddish wilderness of Quadling Country like a golden snake, The Trenches with their strange lines of landscape, Big Enough Mountain in the distance. From up here, nothing looked as dangerous as it had been on the ground.
Zerie wished all these places didn’t hold so many memories, because most of those memories involved Brink.
“Why didn’t the Winged Monkeys take Brink, too?” Vashti asked. “If he’s one of them . . .”
Zerie shrugged. “Ned isn’t on the ship, either. Maybe only monkeys are allowed on the ships,” she said. The truth was, she didn’t really care about any of these questions. The weight of the chains they’d put on her arms and legs felt like nothing compared to the weight on her heart. She’d finally let herself be honest with Brink about her feelings, and he said he felt the same way . . . but it was a lie.
“It’s not fair. They’re treating us like criminals, chaining us up.” Vashti sounded angry, but Zerie just felt resigned. She didn’t even care if they put her into the Water of Oblivion and erased all her memories.
She didn’t want to remember anything about Brink.
“They have to chain us up to make sure that we don’t try to use our talents to escape,” she told Vashti.
Vashti sighed. “I’m sorry about Brink,” she said. “I know you two had . . . something.”
“I thought we did. He said we did.” Zerie shook her head. “Why can’t it be simpler? Why can’t people just be one thing all the time and not change?”
“I don’t know. But you’ve changed, and I’ve changed,” Vashti said. “Maybe nobody is only one thing, only good or only bad. We’ve managed to be a little bit of both since we left home.”
Zerie smiled and reached for Vashti’s hand. “We won’t forget each other, right? Even in the Forbidden Fountain, we’ll remember that we’re best friends and we always were.”
“And we always will be,” Vashti promised.
The airship shuddered and began sinking, and the girls heard more screeching from the Winged Monkeys outside the little room where they were being held.
“We’re almost there,” Zerie said, looking out the window. “I see the Emerald City.”
Vashti gazed out at the tall green walls, the many green spires and towers. “It’s not as big as I thought it would be,” she said. “Though I guess it will look plenty big once we’re in the middle of it.”
She was right. The city was huge.
When the airship landed, the Monkeys escorted them down the gangplank into the middle of the city square. The enormous gold-and-emerald gates of the Royal Palace took up one entire side of the square.
Zerie had imagined that there would be a crowd of people there to watch them, or yell at them, or both. But the entire square was empty except for one man.
They walked toward the old man, their footsteps echoing off the tall green buildings that surrounded them. From down here, the houses and public halls did seem big, and somehow the emptiness made them feel ominous.
“Where is everyone?” Zerie whispered.
“You do not need to face the citizens of the Emerald City, Zerie Greenapple,” the Wizard answered, his voice close by even though he still stood halfway across the square.
“How did he hear you?” Vashti cried.
“I am the Wizard of Oz, my dear. I am very powerful,” his voice said again. “My ways are mysterious and not for you to question.”
Zerie felt a bolt of anger shoot through her. She wrenched her arm out of the grasp of the monkey who held her and stalked forward as fast as she could with the chains around her ankles.
She stormed right up to the Wizard and stuck her face close to his.
“If you’re so powerful that we can’t question you, then why do you get to question us for being powerful?” she demanded. “Why should you have the right to use magic but we don’t?”
“Zerie!” Vashti cried. “What are you doing? That’s the Wizard!”
“I don’t care.” Zerie knew she was supposed to show respect for the man who was one of Ozma’s closest friends, a respected magician trained by Glinda herself. But right now all she could think about was how unfair it was that she and Vashti stood here in chains. “We haven’t done anything wrong,” she insisted.
The Wizard raised one gray eyebrow and turned his gaze to Vashti.
“Well . . . we killed a Kalidah,” Vashti admitted, voice trembling. “We had no choice. But it was wrong, and we knew it was wrong, and we felt terrible.”
The Wizard nodded, and all of Zerie’s anger evaporated. Vashti was right. They had done that one terrible thing, and it was terrible enough that maybe they deserved to be punished.
“Zerie and Vashti, you stand accused of using magic in defiance of the laws of Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of the Land of Oz,” the Wizard boomed, his voice bouncing from the walls of the empty square. “According to those laws, therefore, you are hereby sentenced to bathe in the Water of Oblivion within the Forbidden Fountain.”
Bewitched in Oz Page 14