That wasn’t enough for Dorothy. Now, it was Dorothy who wanted answers.
“Why didn’t you just run and get the other Sentinels? Galen ran from him and got away. My Uncle Henry always told me there was no shame in running if you would lose a fight.”
Illyna’s eyes were darting between Dorothy and Galen, like she wanted to say something to both of them.
“Galen only got away because I helped him. I knew and hoped he would run. I made the pretense of trying to teach the Fisher King my magic and convincing him to try to teach me so we could hit more areas because I knew it was the only way Galen would learn. The Fisher King wanted children, but he wanted them ignorant of their magic. He said he only trusted his own blood, but he didn’t trust them either.”
“What was my purpose?” Esiro demanded. “We know what he wanted with Galen. You said he wanted three, and he got it. What was his intention with Dorothy and me?”
Illyna sighed. “He wanted three sons. He thought he could control that too. He knew when the three of you were born, that was it. I wouldn’t have any more children with green hair. He got his three, but he didn’t get his sons. The Fisher King hates women. Locasta would have served her purpose, but there were three Sentinels he wanted. Three sons to guard the three Sentinels and their two daughters.
“He thought Esiro and Dorothy would be too weak for the job, but he thought you would still have a purpose. He thought if there were female Sentinels in this land, then it stood to reason there was another realm where that kind of magic went to the males. He intended you to have children with them to power him up before he killed them.”
The color was coming back into Idris’ cheeks, and he was squeezing me hard enough to let me know he’d gotten his strength back. It was Galen that needed me now. I pulled away from my group and went to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist. He pulled me close. Dorothy had Ozma and Esiro had no one. Oprix realized that. I had no idea how she would react and neither did he, but he risked it and put his arm around her too. She was tense, but she didn’t punch him or shrug him off.
I had so many questions about my mother, but Galen and his sisters needed answers first.
“If you have that color hair, then you would have known spells and herbs to prevent pregnancy. If you knew the Fisher King would kill any child that didn’t have the right color hair, why didn’t you use them?” I demanded.
Illyna let out a bitter laugh. “How long do you think me not getting pregnant would last with a man whose ego is so big, he thought he could force my body to give him three magical sons?”
“You listened to his nonsense for hundreds of years, and you fell for it. How did he get this way?” Ozma said.
Illyna just shrugged. “I may have listened to him, and I may have fallen for it, but I can’t explain his madness. Can anyone’s madness be explained? I used what I learned to turn his plot against him.”
“You mean your plot,” Saffron snapped. “It was you that killed my mother. You guided the house that fell on her.”
“I don’t expect my children to understand what I did to them. I don’t expect Saffron and Francesca to forgive me for what happened to their mothers. If you sentence me to jail or death for my part in this, I’ve made my peace with that. My children are whole again, and you have what you need to put Locasta on trial. I fully expect to be prosecuted with her. The Fisher King can’t heal his own wounds. If you burn his body and scatter his ashes in the Deadly Desert, that will be the end of the Fisher King.”
I squeezed Galen. “That’s all well and good, but why didn’t all of you just do that the first time?”
“Because the myth of the Fisher King during my time was that he was immortal and any wound would heal itself instantly. It was a ruse he kept the entire time we fought him, and when he was in prison. I learned his secret when he cut his finger eating a venison steak. He must have forgotten what I believed about his wounds. He demanded I treat it and wrap it. I had to put a poultice on it every day and I saw it wasn’t healing instantly. I couldn’t hurt him until he was distracted, and he would never be distracted until there were more people around us.”
Daxar stepped forward and sandwiched me between Galen. “I think everyone has a million questions for you. You obviously have some plan. We can’t just sit here in a cemetery talking for hours.”
“No, please keep talking,” a voice called from the gate.
I whirled around. Locasta’s armies had us surrounded. Fuck.
Chapter 21
Idris
H
oly shit. I had no idea what that big beam was that came out the Fisher King’s ring was, but as soon as it hit me, it was like every muscle in my body cramped up and I could feel my life draining out of me. My ass was pretty bruised falling out of the sky after Illyna cut his hand off. Don’t get me wrong—I’d take the broken ass over death any day.
Now, we had a big fucking problem on our hands. I didn’t even have time to think about everything Illyna had said. We needed to stop Locasta’s army. They were spilling through the gate with weapons drawn. I stood and flexed my wings. When Illyna cut off his hand, it must have reversed whatever he did to me, because I didn’t feel bad.
No, it was time to crack heads now. Francesca shrieked and launched herself at the nearest soldier. I stayed close to Dorothy, Esiro, and Ozma since they had the least amount of training. I wasn’t sure how much a knowledge transference spell would help with fighting. Galen had joined his mother trying to stop anyone from getting close to the Fisher King’s body and Locasta’s passed out form.
We only had fifty Flying Monkeys with us, but that was worth two men. Locasta had brought two hundred men. I guess the men we killed at the jail had been replaced. I knew I needed to take to the air and pick off anyone hiding with blow darts, but I also needed to protect Dorothy, Ozma, and Esiro. Kazax and his monkeys could handle anyone hiding. They were already off in the air.
We were locked in battle. I was so proud of all three women. They all held their own, but we were getting pushed back to the hill Galen and Illyna stood on until our backs were against the wall and we were surrounded.
Francesca was sexy as hell swinging her sword and beheading people. I was still helping protect Esiro, Dorothy, and Ozma, so I was staying close to them. Then I realized I was being a total idiot. Glinda was the one that was pregnant and had already told us several times she was stronger at magic than fighting. I didn’t grow up around Zusim. I’d never watched him train. If he was my mother’s bodyguard at one point, he had to be one of the best soldiers among the Flying Monkeys, but could he protect Glinda on his own?
I ducked as a sword came flying at my head. I popped back up and punched the Gillikin soldier in the face. I pounced on him as he stumbled back and snapped his neck. I risked looking away from my women to find Glinda and Zusim. They had a trusted nanny in the South who had come to Emerald City to watch them while we did this.
Glinda might not have been a good fighter with her scythe, but she and Zusim fought like Flying Monkey mates if their relationship had existed before. They were fighting in harmony. They were standing back to back. Zusim was cracking skulls and snapping necks. Glinda was flinging curses, and she might say she didn’t like fighting, but she was pretty damned skilled from what I could see.
I turned back. Locasta’s men never seemed to stop coming, and they had us surrounded. They were just playing with us now. They had us surrounded on all sides and would randomly send men to dart in and fight us. They were trying to wear us out before they rushed us. They were trying to keep Francesca, Saffron, and Glinda too busy to call a curse on all of them. That’s where all their attacks were focused. They were trying to kill anyone with colorful hair. The rest of us were getting in their way.
Just when I was thinking we would have to get seriously creative, or I would have to find a way for all the Flying Monkeys to create a barrier around all those with Sentinel level magic long enough to get us out of this, a horn sounded rig
ht at the gates of the cemetery. I heard a battle cry, and there was more than just us and the Gillikin in the cemetery now.
Munchkins, Winkies, and Quadlings came rushing in, led by Pridius. The battle turned. We had greater numbers than they did, even if they weren’t as well trained. Locasta’s men might have better training than the people who had just joined us, but there were ten of them to one of Locasta’s men, and Kazax and his soldiers kept swooping in and snapping necks.
Pridius was standing there, and he wasn’t alone. He had his own army. Munchkins had joined the fight and the Winkies and Quadlings had finally arrived. Even if they had their doubts before, seeing Gillikin men on Munchkin soil with weapons had them asking questions.
The Gillikin men may have been naïve for following Locasta, but they weren’t stupid. They knew the numbers weren’t in their favor anymore. I had no idea if they knew Locasta could drop her old lady disguise, and the green-haired woman knocked out cold on the ground with her face beaten to a pulp was Locasta. Either way, Locasta wasn’t here to help them or give them orders and the Fisher King no longer had his head. If they knew Illyna, they knew she was now fighting against them.
Francesca must have gotten it from her mother and father. Pridius strode through the gates with a sword over his shoulder, followed by Nick Chopper holding a huge axe and a tall Quadling that couldn’t be anyone but Daxar’s father. Pridius had the same look on his face Francesca got when she was about to deliver some epic verbal beat down and he was just casually whistling as he was walking closer to the Gillikin army.
“The way I see it, you all have two choices. You can die here as traitors, or you can go back to the North and live with the truth of what you’ve done for your queen. Locasta is no Good Witch. Take a long hard look and think about all the things she’s asked you to do and ask yourself why all of Oz showed up to stop you in the East,” Pridius said.
“What are you talking about?” a man with a lot of decoration on his uniform said. “We’re here because Glinda and those baby Wicked Witches are here to attack the Munchkins. We got here just in time to stop them.”
Glinda just rolled her eyes. It was an eye roll worthy of Francesca. “No, we got here just in time to stop you from slaughtering a bunch of innocent Munchkins. In case you aren’t aware, Locasta can drop her curse at any time. That’s her on the ground with her face beaten. She came here with a man intending to raise the dead and slaughter Munchkins. It would have been blamed on Emerald City. Similar attacks would have been carried out in the West and South, all to get you to band together to attack Emerald City to get to me and these girls, who are not Wicked Witches.”
“No offense, but that’s exactly what a Wicked Witch would say.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Esiro snapped. She smoothed her hands over her body and instead of a pretty green-haired girl, I was looking at a brunette Gillikin girl. “Remember me, asshole? You beat me at least once. Didn’t you ever wonder why I kept trying to run away if Locasta is such a Good Witch? I slept in the same room as her and she kept me with her all the time. Trust me when I say you’re talking out your asses when you think you know who the Good and Wicked Witches in Oz are.”
If the entire Gillikin army had pearls, they would be clutching them right now. I don’t think they really believed the woman on the ground was Locasta, but I think there were just too many people with green hair for them, and now they knew Esiro had been close to Locasta the entire time.
“How can you prove that woman on the ground is really Locasta?”
“I can prove it. Get the fuck out of my way.”
All the soldiers parted like they didn’t want to be anywhere near Esiro as she stomped over to Locasta. I didn’t blame her for kicking Locasta while she was knocked out, but the soldiers would not like it when they found out who that really was. Esiro leaned down and ripped something off Locasta’s neck.
She held up a necklace with a huge purple stone surrounded by a bunch of smaller, lavender stones. Esiro held it over her head.
“Recognize this? Locasta didn’t even take it off to sleep. It’s been in her family for generations.”
I didn’t recognize that big, gaudy necklace, but those soldiers certainly did. And they didn’t know Locasta could drop the old lady act either. They were all talking among themselves.
“You have the same color hair. Are you her daughter? Are all of you here with green hair her children?”
Illyna stepped forward. “Locasta is a distant relative of mine. They are my children. Trust me when I tell you when Locasta goes on trial, I will tell you everything, even if she won’t.”
The Gillikin soldiers all lowered their weapons. The man who must be their leader spoke again.
“We’ll call a truce for now. We’ll allow this trial to play out in the North because we have a lot of questions about Locasta’s appearance and why we didn’t know about it, but Locasta will be given a chance to tell her side of the story. If we believe Locasta and not the rest of you, the North will be at war with the rest of Oz.”
“I know the North,” Esiro said. “I was raised there. I know the Gillikin are not stupid. Locasta may have manipulated all of you, but don’t fall for it again. Don’t destroy the North for her.”
“We just want to hear her side of things. She’s been good to us.”
“To your face. She was different with me, and I’m not even going to talk about what happened in her jails.”
“Those were all bad people,” the soldier argued.
“Since when does Oz torture people for crimes? When did the North become barbaric? The Gillikin are gentle people. Torture is beneath the Gillikin. If you think hard about it, you’ll realize that.”
Esiro would make a pretty badass Sentinel of the North because every one of the soldiers who were attacking us was looking at their feet and looking ashamed of the atrocities we saw at that jail.
“What will happen to Locasta until the trial? She should be tried in the North.”
Glinda cleared her throat. “You forget I was held in Locasta’s jail. Not even Locasta deserves that. Is there another option? I’ll agree to a trial in the North instead of Emerald City, but we need to send notice to the rest of Oz. Emerald City, the West, and the South should be able to attend. I’m sorry, but there are things about this mess that all of Oz needs to hear.”
“The jail they held you in is empty. We can bring in a proper bed for her and treat her more with the respect of someone waiting to tell their side of the story.”
This was Esiro’s show, so none of us were getting involved, Francesca had been silent during this entire exchange, though I was sure she was biting her tongue. This was Esiro’s region, and the Gillikin would have to accept her. How she treated Locasta until we proved her guilt would set the scene for how the Gillikin treated her or if they even accepted her as Sentinel.
“Make the jail as comfortable as possible. And no matter what you hear at that trial and no matter what you may start thinking about her, you will treat her well until the sentence is passed. No torture and you are not to let her lie in her own filth like she did the prisoners we kept there. She might be a criminal, but she’s still a person.”
“So, we have a truce, and we can walk out of here, unharmed? You’re putting Locasta on trial. We followed Locasta. Are we on trial too?”
Were they? They tortured a pregnant woman and cut up all those talking animals. They didn’t ask questions as the Fisher King turned all those people into husks draining their magic. If it were up to me, I’d put them right up there with Locasta and Illyna, but this wasn’t my court, and they didn’t play by Flying Monkey rules.
“You were pawns following orders. Locasta twisted you into what she needed you to be as part of this plot. If the rest of the North agrees, after Locasta is sentenced, I will take over in the North. Even if the rest of Oz wants to see you on trial, I will pardon you. I don’t blame any of you for the beatings Locasta made you give me. I blame her.”
“I don’t blame you for my treatment in the Gillikin jails,” Glinda said. “I will back Esiro’s decision if it comes to that. You’ll have to ask the girls in the West and the East their opinion. I don’t speak for them, and neither does Esiro.”
Francesca finally spoke. “The Gillikin are good people. A little naïve, but good people. I don’t blame them for the things that happened in the North. Locasta had been manipulating them for a long time. I will back Esiro and Glinda.”
Saffron was the last to speak, and she was the youngest one here. “I don’t blame the Gillikin either, but I don’t care whose mother Illyna is. She still murdered my mother.”
Francesca walked over and slung her arm around Saffron’s shoulder. “I think we all need a deeper, longer conversation with Illyna, but now is not the time or place.”
Pridius joined Francesca and Saffron. “Your mother’s castle is still empty. Everyone thought it was too cursed to live there. It’s yours when you get back. We left everything the same.”
“Thank you.”
I was just glad someone hadn’t moved in like Francesca’s ancestral home, and Saffron could get out of that cave.
“We should all go our separate ways and reconvene in the North for the trial,” Pridius said. “I have the room at my estate for several of you, and several Munchkins have agreed to open their homes. If you are bringing that head and bleeding body with you, it will have to stay outside. I don’t want it in my house.”
Illyna nodded. “Do you have a barn? It’s the only appropriate place for him. I’ll make sure he’s secure and keep his head away from his body. It’ll be torture for him not having someone to talk to.”
Pridius clapped his hands. “Now that’s settled, why don’t you all come back to my house for dinner?”
My stomach growled. Killing people always made me hungry, and I needed to check everyone for wounds. I had a few nicks and cuts that needed to be tended to since I fought with my bare hands.
Oz Has Spoken: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 3) Page 10