The Wizard of OZ

by S. D. Stuart

  She squeezed her jaw tighter until her mouth filled with the rusted taste of his blood.

  He punched her in the side of the face with his other hand. She involuntarily released her jaw and he ripped his hand out of her mouth before shoving her away.

  She somersaulted several feet away before she rolled back to a standing position. She took a quick mental stock of the damage to her body. Her right arm tingled as if she had slept on it all night. She massaged her numb arm, trying to force the blood back into it.

  The Wizard inspected the bite on his hand and shook his head. “It was my understanding you had martial arts training. And yet, you resort to the tactics of children.”

  The feeling was starting to return to her arm, but she needed more time. “I didn’t come here to fight you. I did not come here to fight anyone. I just came for my father.”

  He chuckled. “The little lost child looking for her father. With everything you have done to destabilize OZ, I thought you had loftier goals.”

  She wiggled the fingers on her right hand as the tingling sensation dissipated. “Yeah well, story of my life, such as it is.”

  He casually leaned against the bookshelf. “The feeling starting to come back to that arm yet? If not, I am willing to wait. I want this to be a fair fight.”

  She stood up a little straighter and stopped massaging her arm. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to rush you.”

  “No. I am fine. Besides, it’s your turn.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “My turn?”

  “I won the coin toss for the first attack, but I already used that up. Now it’s your turn.”

  He pushed off from the bookshelf, rolled his shoulders and swung his arms around loosening his muscles. “Well then, get ready. Because here I …”

  She charged at him before he finished his sentence hoping to catch him off guard, but his swift response showed anticipation for everything she did.

  Every kick, hit and jab she tried to land on him was efficiently blocked.

  He blocked and parried several hits as she drove him backward to the wall.

  She never even saw the fist coming toward her face, it happened so fast.

  When she regained her senses, she was on the floor on her hands and knees looking down at splatters of blood on the floor that were dripping from her cut lip.

  The Wizard hopped on the balls of his feet in front of her. “If that’s the best you’ve got, it’s no wonder you haven’t found your father.”

  Her foot found purchase in the crevice between two floor stones and she launched herself at him. She slammed into his midsection and wrapped her arms around him tightly trying to force him off balance.

  He pummeled her sides and lower back in rapid succession with his fists, but she continued to drive him backward until they both slammed into the wall.

  He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. She lifted her head quickly and caught him in the chin, rocking his head back with the impact.

  Now that he was stunned, it was time to get him down on the ground. She reached down, laced her fingers around the back of his knee, and lifted.

  He brought his elbow down hard on her shoulder and her arm instantly went numb.

  He slammed his arm into the side of her head and she sprawled out on the floor.

  He stumbled back along the wall away from her while he shook his head. She tried to get up, but her one arm refused to respond and she fell face first back to the floor.

  He grabbed handfuls of clothing and hauled her to her feet. He spun her around and used the increased momentum to throw her against a bookshelf.

  The force of the impact rattled her teeth and sent books crashing down on her. She was back on the floor again, only this time, she was under a small pile of heavy books.

  Despite all her training and constant sparring practice with Mr. Bart she realized, as she lay among the books, she was not going to win this fight.

  Tears threatened the corners of her eyes as her inner voice chastised her for quitting. But she was not quitting, she told herself. She had been beaten. She looked over at the man who had beaten her. His eyes were blood red with rage.

  He kicked books aside to get at her when he suddenly stopped.

  He raised his hands above his head and turned toward the door.

  She looked past him and saw Caleb standing in the doorway pointing a flintlock pistol at the Wizard.

  “Your time is up Wizard. Guards, chain him and take him to the airship.”

  Guards flooded the room and grabbed the Wizard. He struggled against them. “Do not listen to him. I am your master. I am the Wizard! This is treason!”

  His cries echoed down the hallway outside as the guards led him away. She suddenly felt every bruise and laceration in her exhausted body. The sharp corners of the books jabbed painfully into sore muscles all around her. Rather than try to move, she decided to wait for Caleb to dig her out.

  As he lifted her off the pile of books, she looked around at the empty shelves. “The key.”

  “I have it,” Caleb said. “And your emerald necklace, too.”

  She relaxed into his arms as he carried her to the roof of the castle and onto the waiting airship.

  As soon as he placed her in the bed of the captain’s quarters, he lifted the down comforter up to her chin and tucked her in. “You must rest. I will wake you as soon as we get there. I want you to be able to personally hand Jetharo his key.”

  As he stood up, she reached a hand out and grasped his wrist. “Thank you, Caleb. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We still have to find your father.”

  Chapter 33

  Dorothy stood on the hill overlooking her family home. The deep Kansas sky was even bluer than she remembered. A gust of wind blew a stray lock of hair into her face. She pushed the soft curl away from her eyes as she watched the lone figure climb the hill to join her.

  She watched his face as he took his place beside her, placed an arm around her shoulders and looked out over the expanse of the family farm.

  “Someday, Dorothy, all of this will be yours. Your mother and I will be gone and you will be all grown up.”

  Tears streamed down her face. “I’m not ready for you to be gone. Not yet.”

  He turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Nobody’s ever ready. You just have to be strong.”

  “I’ve missed you so much, Daddy.”

  He held her close in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you too, sweetheart.”

  The ground beneath them shook violently. She was knocked to the ground but quickly scrambled to her feet and looked around.

  Her father was gone. “Daddy?”

  She scanned the countryside for any sign of him, but she was completely alone. “Daddy?!”

  Thunder boomed over the Kansas plains and she looked up quizzically into the clear blue sky. Wait! It was not completely clear.

  A fireball streaked across the sky, getting closer every second. She gauged its trajectory and realized, with the skip of a heartbeat, it was going to hit her house.

  She looked at her house and saw her father wave at her just before going inside and closing the door.

  She had to get him out of there.

  She had to save him.

  She started running down the hill as fast as her feet would carry her.

  The fiery ball streaked over her head so close she could feel the heat.

  She was too late.

  The fireball slammed into her home and it exploded outward, knocking her backward … and out of her dream.

  She jerked awake as she tumbled out of bed and onto the floor of the airship.

  Another explosion sent the airship tilting wildly to the side. She rolled across the floor along with half the objects in the room.

  She scrambled back to her feet and headed out the door for the pilot’s cabin. She figured that is where Caleb would be.

  Two
more explosions rocked the airship as she stumbled her way to the front.

  Just as she burst through the cabin door, she saw Caleb yelling into the microphone of the wireless. “Repeat. We are on a peaceful mission carrying food and supplies to the needy. Cease-fire! Cease-fire!”

  Ever since they had met, she had never seen a look on his face as he had now. He did not look panicked and still maintained absolute control over his emotions. Nevertheless, she knew him well enough to know when he was worried.

  She leaned heavily against the door to keep from falling over as the ship bucked about and yelled over the explosions. “What’s happening?”

  He motioned out the front window, even though all she could see was black smoke. “Air Pirates. And I would lay down 10 to 1 odds these are the same ones who shot you down.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “We’re near the area where you first entered OZ.”

  She looked at him with a shocked expression.

  “What can we do?”

  “The best we can do is beg for mercy. Something these guys are not really fond of giving.”

  Another explosion rocked the airship sideways.

  Caleb gripped the microphone. “Repeat. We are on a peaceful mission.”

  Through the eardrum pounding explosions, she heard a faint buzzing sound. It sounded like a swarm of bees, only it was much louder and getting louder every second.

  Another explosion boomed. Only this time, the airship did not rock from the impact. In addition, the explosion sounded further away.

  Two more explosions took place at a distance.

  Caleb leaned across the window and peered out. “Someone’s attacking the Pirates.”

  Dorothy leaned over the pilot’s chair and stared out the window with Caleb. Small airships that lacked a gas envelope to make them lighter than air were instead equipped with wings like birds and propellers mounted on the back. They buzzed around the pirate airship like flies bothering an old dog. But unlike the flies around a dog, when these pests flew over the pirate’s airship, they dropped fireballs.

  Soon, the pirate airship was engulfed in flames and losing altitude on its way to the ground.

  One of the winged airships matched the speed of the Wizard’s airship and came alongside the pilot’s window. She looked into the small cockpit and thought she saw Munch. He waved at Dorothy and raised a microphone to his lips.

  The wireless cackled to life. “This is Bain, a brother to Munch. We heard your distress call over the wireless and recognized you as a friend of the East Marshal. We thought you might like our assistance.”

  Caleb smiled and pressed the button on his microphone. “Your assistance was perfectly timed. Thank you.” He glanced at Dorothy. “And the East Marshal thanks you.”

  She could see Bain smile through the cockpit window. “It is our pleasure and our duty to serve, but we have to hide these aero-planes before someone sees them. They are only prototypes and if anyone knew we had something like this, they would have burned our city to ash long before now.”

  Bain’s aero-plane dropped out of sight. Dorothy tried to find any sign of them out the window.

  Just as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone.

  Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s over now. Let’s get you back to bed.”

  “I can’t sleep. Not after that.”

  “You still need your rest.”

  “I can rest later. I want to talk to the Wizard.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not a good idea.”

  She held her hand out.

  Caleb handed her the key to the cargo hold. “I should go in with you.”

  She cupped his fury face in her hands. “Thank you, but I need to speak with him alone. You need to stay here on the bridge and keep this ship on course.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “All right. But if he tries anything …”

  “I know. You’ll hear me from anywhere in the ship and come running to my rescue.”

  Chapter 34

  Dorothy faced the locked door to the cargo hold and took three deep breaths to calm her nerves.

  She raised the key to the keyhole and her hand shook so much, she had to use her other hand to steady it enough to get the key in the door.

  She heard the ratcheting sound of brass scraping against brass as she slid the key into the lock. A sudden dread came over her.

  What if he broke free of his restraints?

  What if he was waiting just beside the door?

  Would she survive this time if he managed to get his hands around her throat?

  She twisted the key until she heard a click, and waited.

  It was deathly silent on the other side of that door.

  She took another deep breath and let it out slowly.

  She pushed on the door and listened to the iron hinges squeal slowly in protest.

  The door swung open and she saw the Wizard kneeling in the center of the empty cargo hold. His head was bowed and it looked like he could have been in the middle of prayers were it not for the chains that bound him to the floor by his wrists and neck.

  With his head still bowed, his voice broke the silence, making her jump. “How does it feel to be lied to?”

  She stepped into the room and closed the door.

  “Let’s start with your lies.”

  He lifted his head and looked at her. “Which one?”

  “How about the one where you’re not the Wizard?”

  He laughed heartily as if she told him a joke while sharing a pint at the local pub. “I have been the Wizard for over a decade. And I was just about ready to break free from Nero’s iron hold …”

  He cut himself off before saying anything further and let out a big breath that morphed into a sigh. “Ahh, well, water under the bridge. I forgive you.”

  “I didn’t come here for forgiveness. I came to offer you redemption.”

  He jerked on his chains as he half stood, startling her. “Being the Wizard has given me the opportunity to make enemies everywhere. There is no redemption you can offer me. There is no salvation for me at all.”

  He bowed his head and settled back down on his knees.

  She waited until her heart stopped beating so hard.

  “My father can help you.”

  He tilted his head up and folded his hands into his lap. “You never answered my question.”

  “What question?”

  “How does it feel to be lied to?”

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

  “Where are we headed right now?”

  She hesitated.

  He lifted his arms as far as he could until the chains drew taut. “I’m bound to the floor by chains and I’m going to find out once we arrive anyway. I think it’s safe to tell me where we are headed before we get there.”

  “We are going to the real Wizard so I can give him the key that belongs to him.”

  He laughed louder. “Let me ask that question another way, little girl. How does it feel to be lied to by Caleb?”

  “Caleb hasn’t lied to me.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Of course, I’m sure.”

  “Then tell me this. Does your true Wizard work for Nero?”

  She frowned. “Absolutely not.”

  “Then, you have been lied to my dear.” He nodded toward the window. “Take a look outside.”

  She walked cautiously over to the window and her mouth fell open.

  They were nowhere near where Jetharo said to meet.

  Instead, they were descending straight toward Nero’s casino back in the middle of the Eastern Territories.

  She glanced over at the Wizard. “Why did Caleb take us here?”

  The Wizard looked away from her and toward the door. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  She looked over at the door and saw Caleb pointing a revolver at her.

  Chap
ter 35

  Caleb tossed Dorothy a large brass key with one hand while keeping the revolver pointed at her with the other.

  “Unlock the Wizard’s chains.”

  She caught the key with one hand and stood perfectly still. “Why are you doing this Caleb? We had everything. We had both emerald hearts. We had the clockwork key. Why did you bring us back here?”

  He held pistol steady. “The plan was always to give the emerald hearts to Nero.”

  “Why?”

  He motioned toward the Wizard with his revolver. “Unlock the chains.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Darkness filtered into his eyes. “Please don’t make me shoot you, Dorothy.”

  Dorothy let out a long breath and inserted the key into the lock.

  As soon as the chains fell away, the Wizard grabbed Dorothy by the neck.

  She clawed at his hand as he tightened his grip but it was no use, he was choking the life out of her and the smile on his face told her he was enjoying every second of it.

  Caleb took a step forward. “Nero is upset enough with you for withholding the key from him for so long. If you take away his ability to punish Dorothy …”

  The Wizard let Caleb’s sentence hang in the air before finally letting her go. Dorothy collapsed to the ground, gasped for air and touched her bruised throat tenderly with her fingers.

  Caleb lowered the revolver. “You can, however, bind her hands and deliver her to Nero.”

  Her breaths came in rasping gasps as she looked up at Caleb, letting the hatred flow into her heart. He turned away so he would not have to meet her eyes directly.

  The Wizard yanked her roughly to her feet and wrapped one of the loose chains around her wrists.

  Dorothy remained silent as they led her through the back hallways of the casino, partly because her throat still burned and partly because there was nothing she wanted to say to either of them.

  What hurt most was Caleb’s betrayal. She had not expected anything less from the Wizard, but she thought Caleb was on her side. He even professed his love for her.