by S. D. Stuart
As he gripped the door handle to the tavern, Nero looked at her one last time. “Remember what I said. Once you get to the Wizard, tell him the Emerald Stallion sends his regards and he will help you.”
He yanked on the handle, opened the tavern door and walked down a couple of steps into the darkened bar.
She followed him down the steps and saw that, even in the middle of the day, the tavern was nearly full.
Nero was already in the middle of the room and she hurried to catch up to him when he spun around and pointed at her, yelling loudly enough to make everyone in the room stop talking to each other. “Grab her! She’s the East Marshal!”
Several hands instantly clamped onto Dorothy. Nero walked up and ripped open her cloak allowing everyone to see the shiny East Marshal star pinned to her chest. Despite Nero’s announcement, several people gasped when they saw the star.
He turned in a slow circle as he addressed the crowd. “I overheard her talking about assassinating the Wizard. At this very moment my men are closing in on the rest of her little rebellious strike force.”
He completed his circle and faced her. “Thanks to the vigilance of the people of Center City, your plan to overthrow the great and powerful Wizard of OZ and force our peaceful city into war with the outer territories has failed.”
The deep rumble of a voice came from right behind her. “What do we do with her?”
From all around the tavern voices shouted, “kill her,” and “string her up,” and the more unnerving, “burn her.”
Nero looked at her with a hard stare. “I have a better idea. Let’s turn her over to the Wizard and collect a reward.”
This resulted in shouts of jubilation from the half-inebriated crowd.
Nero smiled as he looked around at the crowd he had worked up so easily, but when he looked back at Dorothy, his face switched instantly to one of alarm.
He raised a hand up and shouted, “No!”
In that same moment, Dorothy felt a sharp pain in the back of her head followed by a flash of white light that washed out the scene before her.
She felt her face hit the floor and tried to focus on a boot heel right in front of her.
Her eyes refused to cooperate and the mud-caked boot blurred before it faded into darkness.
Chapter 18
Water forced itself into Dorothy’s nose and mouth, waking her up and choking her. When her coughing fit ended, she felt a hand grab her hair and lift her head up. Fingers pulled on her eyelids as a man stared closely at her face.
“Again,” the man said.
He let go of her hair and her head drooped back down, her chin touching her chest. She leaned forward slightly and strained against the ropes that bound her to the chair.
Another bucket full of water was thrown onto her. Only this time she was awake and anticipated it quickly enough to hold her breath.
The man grabbed her hair again and lifted her head. She glared at him and he smiled.
He turned away from her and said, “She’s ready.”
He stood up and stepped to the side.
Behind him was another man who silently watched her for a moment before he squatted down in front of her.
“Who are you working for?”
She coughed up a little more water before speaking. “I’m here to see the Wizard.”
The man stood up to his full height. “You found him, but I’m afraid your little assassination plot didn’t go as planned.”
“I’m not here to assassinate you, I have a message.”
“And what kind of message would someone like me want from someone like you?”
“The Emerald Stallion sends his regards.”
The Wizard smiled. “The Emerald Stallion, eh? Now that’s a horse of a different color. He doesn’t hand out his secret pass code to just anyone. I take it he arranged this meeting?”
She nodded her head.
He looked at his assistant. “Well? Untie her already.”
The relief on her shoulders was immediate. She rubbed her wrists, trying to bring circulation back to her hands as she regarded the Wizard. He looked to be in his late twenties, if not his early thirties. Everyone told her that OZ had been built specifically for him. But this place was older than she was. This meant he would have been no more than a 10-year-old boy when they built OZ.
“You’re much younger than I expected.”
The Wizard smiled. “From all the stories I’ve heard of your exploits, so are you.”
Dorothy’s brow furrowed “My exploits?”
He began to pace about as he talked, alternating from looking at her to looking around the room.
“You killed the East Marshal. Congratulations by the way. You formed an alliance with Chambers. Not an easy task mind you, they are a very private group. You escaped from Nero’s coliseum. I assume you had inside help to accomplish that feat.”
She nodded; surprised to hear all of her accidental accomplishments portrayed as though they were carefully planned.
“I thought so. You also stole the West Marshal’s fastest airship. And you did this all in a matter of days.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I can explain all of that.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “No need to explain anything. You are the East Marshal. You can do whatever you want.”
Her shoulders drooped. “If only that were true.”
“Ah, yes. You can do everything except for why you’ve come to see me.”
She fixed her steely gaze on the Wizard. “I want … I need to get out of OZ.”
He waggled his finger. “Haven’t you heard? OZ is inescapable.”
“Have I asked for something the great and powerful Wizard can’t do?”
“I can do many, many things. Getting out of OZ is not one of them.”
Dorothy’s heart sank. “So, you can’t help me.”
“I did not say that. But I would wager that is not what you really want.”
“It’s what I want.”
“And why do you want this so much?”
“I have to get back to New Kansas.”
“And what’s in New Kansas that is so terribly important?”
“Well, nothing really. But it will be the first place my father will try to contact me again.”
He pointed a finger at the ceiling. “Ahh, now we’ve gotten to what you really want.”
“Of course I want to find my father. But I have to get out of OZ to do that.”
“So I take it he is not in OZ?”
“He is in OZ. But this place is too big to search for him on my own. And I lost the only thing that can guide me to him.”
The Wizard shook his head. “No you haven’t.”
“You found my necklace?”
“No, but I can find your father.”
Dorothy’s heart skipped a beat. “How?”
“It is not hard for someone as, shall we say, connected as I am. But first you must tell me that this is what you really want.”
She swallowed, forcing her heart back down her throat and into her chest. “Yes. Yes. That is what I really want.”
He smiled. “Excellent. Let’s talk about my fee.”
Chapter 19
The guard stationed in front of the guest quarters unlocked and opened the door while the other two guards ushered Dorothy in through the threshold.
Once inside, the guards let her go and quickly exited, locking the door behind them.
She placed a hand on the wall to steady herself, but she was a second too late. Her legs gave out and she started to crumple to the floor when someone reached out and held her up.
She refocused her eyes and saw the golden furry face of Caleb.
He looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
She wanted to say she was fine.
But she wasn’t.
What the Wizard had asked from her in return for his help was something she could never do.
Her knees buckled again and Caleb gripped her arms tightl
y, supporting her. “Jasper, help me get her over to the chair.”
Together they guided her over and sat her down gently in the chair.
All the emotions she had kept bottled up for years bubbled to the surface and spilled over. And she began to cry.
Caleb knelt down beside her. “What did he ask from you?”
She looked at him through the tears. “I’ve come all this way.”
Jasper hopped about excitedly. “What does he want you to do?”
She wrapped her arms around Caleb and buried her face into his shoulder. “I can’t do it. I can’t do what he wants me to do. I can’t … I can’t save my father.”
She cried harder knowing that she had failed to find her father and, now that she was trapped in OZ, would never get the chance to see him ever again.
He hugged her tightly and stroked the back of her head. “It’s okay. We will find another way. We don’t need the Wizard’s help to find your father.”
Caleb’s shoulder was getting damp from her tears. She leaned back, sniffed deeply, and wiped her nose. “This place is just too big. We can spend the rest of our lives looking and never …” Her words faded to silence.
Caleb smiled and pushed aside an errant strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. “Nero’s resources are almost as vast as the Wizard’s. He can help us. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wizard asked for Nero’s help after you paid his price.”
Jasper hovered around them and bounced nervously on the tips of his toes. “What was his price?”
She looked at Jasper and felt her soul darken as she repeated the Wizard’s request. “He wants me to kill the West Marshal.”
Jasper clapped his hands and spun around in place. “I knew it!”
Caleb shot him a disapproving look. “Not right now Jasper.”
Jasper bounced in close. “He always does this.”
Dorothy wiped away another tear. “He always asks someone to kill?”
Jasper’s face could barely contain his grin. “No. He always sets his price too high and never has to follow through with his deal.”
Caleb frowned. “Then what are you so excited about?”
Jasper stopped hopping about and his face grew serious. “Because we got him this time. After we kill the West Marshal, he will have to get us out of OZ or nobody will come to him for a favor again. His magical hold over the people of OZ will be lost.”
Caleb shook his head. “Haven’t you been listening? We’re not killing anyone.”
“But we have to. After we’re done with the West Marshal, we’ll either be out of OZ or the great and powerful Wizard will be knocked down from his pedestal. It’s a win-win either way.”
Caleb stood up to allow his height to intimidate Jasper. “We’ve already told you, we’re not killing the West Marshal.”
Jasper looked from Caleb to Dorothy and then back to Caleb. “But we have to.”
Dorothy tuned them out as they continued to argue back and forth about whether they would go and kill the West Marshal or not. She didn’t have the heart to tell them that the Wizard had renegotiated her side of the agreement, since getting out of OZ was impossible.
The back of her mind tickled at a memory. Some tiny little fact tossed out in the middle of some forgotten conversation clawed its way to the surface. It screamed for attention as she tried to focus on what her subconscious seemed to already know.
Her head snapped to attention as a memory came into a sharp focus.
She cut off the argument between the two boys and stared at Caleb. “Back at the coliseum Nero said that he raised you from an infant.”
Caleb nodded his head. “He rescued me when some bandits killed everyone in my town.”
Dorothy stared deep into his eyes looking for any sign of deceit. “Do you know a way out of OZ?”
Caleb averted his gaze and shook his head. “No.”
“But I met you a few years ago back in New Kansas.”
“Right. You saved my life from those hooligans in that back alley.”
“New Kansas is not inside OZ.”
Caleb’s face changed. He had been caught in a lie and he knew it.
Jasper’s face registered utter confusion as he stared at Caleb. “You’ve been outside of OZ?”
Caleb raised his hands in front of him. “Nero found a way out …”
Jasper balled his hands into fists as he shouted at Caleb. “You mean to tell me we’ve gone through all of this and you could’ve just walked us out?”
Caleb responded to Jasper’s outrage without taking his eyes off Dorothy. “We used it a few times. But the security breach was discovered and sealed. We never found another way out. You have to believe me.”
Jasper launched himself at Caleb and tackled him to the ground. Caleb flung him off easily and regained his feet. Jasper scrambled back to his own feet and crouched low, ready to charge at Caleb again.
Caleb emitted a low growl and bared his teeth.
Dorothy stepped in between them. “We are also not going to kill each other.”
She turned to face Jasper. “Caleb is helping us, he is not the enemy.”
Jasper pointed an accusing finger at Caleb. “He lied to us.”
Dorothy shook her head. “He said the security hole they found was plugged up.”
“Maybe he’s still lying.”
“Everything he’s done has been to help us. What could he possibly gain by lying to us?”
Jasper stepped forward and back nervously. “He’s just waiting for the cool down period to run out so he can kill you and claim the East Marshal star for himself.”
Caleb responded with another low guttural growl.
Dorothy held her hands out to stop them from charging at each other again. “That’s enough! Both of you.”
Someone half coughed behind her and she turned on them. “What do you want!?”
The guard, despite being nearly twice her size, took a step backward. “There is someone asking to see you.”
She shook her head, not understanding. “Asking for me? Who?”
A tiny head poked around the edge of the open door.
She recognized his face immediately and, while it could have been any number of people with the same face, she knew instantly who it was.
“Munch!”
He stepped fully into view, but did not smile. He waited until the guard left and heard the door lock engaged.
Dorothy rushed over and gave him a big hug; which he did not return. She sensed his unease and sat back on her heels to look at him. “What’s the matter Munch?”
He looked down at his feet and took something out of his pocket. “I have something for you.”
He lifted his hand and opened it.
Her emerald necklace!
She lifted the heart-shaped necklace by the chain and let it spin in front of her face. “Where did you find it?”
He continued to stare at his feet. “One of my brothers took it from you without us knowing.”
He looked up at her, tears welling up in his eyes. “I am truly sorry.”
She smiled. “It’s okay Munch. You brought it back to me.”
He wiped at the corners of his eyes. “My brother has been punished for his actions.”
She barely heard what he said as she looked at the connection with her father that had been restored. It no longer mattered how big OZ was, she could find her father.
She glanced around the room and saw a mirror hanging on the wall.
She pointed to the mirror while looking at Jasper. “Get that mirror and put it on the floor.”
“Why?”
“Just do it Jasper.”
“Okay, okay. Whatever.”
While Jasper placed the mirror on the floor, Dorothy popped the emerald heart out of the necklace.
Caleb knelt down beside her at the mirror. “What are you doing?”
She looked up at him, her heart pounding a fast rhythm. “Looking for my father.”
S
he placed the emerald on the center of the mirror and spun it.
Everyone watched with rapt attention as the emerald slowed and stopped.
Jasper whispered, “What is it supposed to be doing?”
Dorothy looked in the direction the tip of the heart pointed. “It’s pointing directly at my father.”
Caleb stood up and walked over to look out the window.
He turned back to Dorothy. “You know what else it’s pointing at?”
Dorothy stood up and walked over to join Caleb at the window.
“What is …” The rest of the words stuck in her throat and her heart sank as the realization of what she was looking at dawned on her.
Even from this distance, it looked menacing and foreboding.
It seemed to taunt her from the edge of the horizon. As if daring her to come and rescue her father. Laughing in her face because it knew she never stood a chance at succeeding.
For a brief moment, when Munch handed her the necklace, she thought finding her father would be easy.
It appeared that nothing in OZ was ever easy.
She glanced back at the heart lying in the middle of the mirror and traced the imaginary line it made, hoping she’d misjudged the direction it faced the first time.
There was no denying it.
The emerald heart pointed directly at the West Marshal’s compound.
Chapter 20
Jasper paced back and forth.
It had been over an hour since Dorothy went to the Wizard to tell him she would fulfill her end of the bargain as long as he guaranteed to fulfill his. The automatons remained outside the castle, locked in a barn and shut down, and Munch was sent home.
Jasper and Caleb were the only two left to wait for her.
Caleb was nestled in the windowsill and stared out at the West Marshal’s compound in the distance. Neither had spoken to the other after Dorothy left the room.
Caleb stopped him on his hundredth circuit around the room. “Can you please stop pacing about?”
“Why isn’t she back yet?”
Caleb shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, I can’t stay here.”
Caleb looked at him with an amused expression on his face. “And where would you go?”