Oz Has Spoken: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 3)
Page 14
I kept forgetting Dorothy was raised on a farm in Kans-ass because she was the one that answered instead of one of us.
“If they had already been milked for the morning and the milk given to neighbors, they may have to wait for the milk supply to refresh and milk them again. I think in Oz, you have to ask their permission before you milk them. Did I get that right?”
Ozma squeezed her hand. “The talking ones, yes. You do have to ask their permission. They might need it for their children. Todus may have been a total ass at school, but he seems like he wants to help. I don’t think he’s dallying on purpose.”
Esiro shrugged. “I’ve never met him until now.”
We heard a crash as Todus came back in with his Munchkin friends. They had crates full of jars with goat’s milk and jugs of water. He set it on the table and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Sorry, we had to milk the goats again. They wanted to help when they found out what it was for, but some goats had just fed their kids and didn’t have a lot to give. I hope this is enough.”
Galen walked over and started lifting bottles. “I think this should be fine, Todus.”
Between all of us, we had a good bit of teleportation powder ground. We spent the next hour grinding enough for the potion. Galen, Saffron, and I stood around the huge cauldron. Esiro may have been iffy about the whole thing, but she was peering over our shoulder. Dorothy and Ozma were close enough to watch, but far enough to snuggle.
I let Galen take point since he had the information on how to do this. We filled the cauldron with the powder and set it on a low simmer. I drizzled the goat’s milk while Saffron poured the water. It started as a paste before it turned into a lavender liquid. We were all staring at it pretty hard for that purple haze.
As soon as we saw it, I yelled, “I smell petal tea!”
Galen put out the fire underneath the cauldron, and we kept stirring. Once it cooled, we started ladling it into vials. We just needed to test it now. Idris was staring holes in my back. I knew he didn’t want me to test it on myself. I didn’t want anyone else to test it either.
“Saffron, is there anything we can test the potion on?”
“Yes, but outside. I’m not having the castle go up in flame right after I just got it back.”
Saffron brought this ugly little knickknack out. I knew that thing. She’d gotten it as a birthday present when she was a child from a Munchkin farmer, and she hated it. We placed it on the lawn. Since it was Saffron’s trinket, she had to be the one to try to teleport it.
I think we were all holding our breath when she threw the potion and thought about where she wanted to send it. I let out the breath I was holding when a purple cloud appeared instead of a fiery inferno. I just laughed and started hugging people.
It worked! Holy shit, it worked. I needed to send word to Glinda, Daxar, and the West so they could do the same. I needed to thank Illyna for her help. First off, I needed to brew the rest of this potion to get the Munchkins to the North.
Chapter 28
Daxar
T
he South was in total chaos. The Quadlings knew Locasta hurt Glinda now, and they wanted her blood. Plenty of Quadlings signed up to go to the East to fight the Fisher King. They saw the talking head, Illyna, and Locasta’s real face. They saw the haunted look in Glinda’s eyes that she tried to hide since she’s been taken.
I was trying to organize all the magic practitioners in the South to make enough teleportation powder for all of us. The South was the furthest from the North, and it took them long enough to get to the East. I knew Francesca would have them wait if we started on foot, but the plan was to have us teleport if we could.
My brother came storming into our family home. “We should just leave on foot. You’ve said it yourself. There’s no way to make enough for us to teleport North. I think everyone in the South that isn’t injured or sick wants to come.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I know this, Ashan, but there are injured who want to come too that can’t make the walk.”
“It would be faster to have the Tinkers build something to carry them than to find enough people that can brew this potion.”
“Are you going to have the Tinkers clear the roads in the North to get them through? They are narrow and mostly forest. This is the only way.”
Ashan grunted. “We need Glinda. She was always better at this than you were.”
“I agree. She’s a Sentinel, and I’m not. But right now, Oz only has one fully trained Sentinel that hasn’t gone bad. Francesca and Saffron aren’t fully trained yet.”
“Do you seriously mean to give up everything for this girl in the West? Father told me.”
“I’m not giving up anything. I’m gaining more than I’m giving up.”
“With a child?”
“She’s twenty-one, and she could kick your ass around Oz.”
Ashan just shrugged. “We need a better plan. Rounding up magic practitioners is fine, but you said yourself this potion takes a long time to make.”
Ashan was my older brother, but he never wanted to be in charge. He preferred drinking and playing in the clubs. That much hadn’t changed five years ago when I left for Emerald City with Glinda. Why was he trying to boss me around? He’d never tried to do that before.
I was sitting there staring at him when our father came stomping into the room. My father was a hardass, but he was a good man. I think the only reason he was letting me take point on this was that Glinda trusted me so much and because I knew magic now.
“Ashan is right. Glinda told me before we parted that you knew a lot of magic now. Surely, there is a way to get all of us to the North quickly.”
“The answer is magic or flying. The Flying Monkeys aren’t here, and they don’t like being asked to cart people around. Magic practitioners can enchant an object to fly on, but it’s up to your object whether it can and will carry another person. You can’t just enchant an object and stick a Quadling on it. The object chooses the person. It won’t work. The only thing that will get the Quadlings to the North is teleporting or walking. There’s no way around it.”
“People are getting restless, Daxar. They are ready to go to the North. They don’t wait to wait for a magical solution. They want to walk. We need to fix it.”
I just shrugged. Maybe Francesca was rubbing off on me. “Tell them I’ve been to the Forest of Gugu, and if they get lost there, Gugu will eat their spleens. Tell them the dragons are awake and hunting. They will roast them alive and hoard any jewelry they are wearing in their caves. By all means, let their impatience get the best of them, but the road to the North is dangerous. The Northern soldiers promised us a trial, but they may have changed their minds. They chased me through the forest before the Flying Monkeys found me.”
“You don’t have time to tell them this. Stay in this room and don’t come out until you’ve come up with a solution. I’ll talk to the Quadlings and see if I can quell some discontent.”
Well, if that was not like me being a child again. I’d get the rod, then sent to my room to think about what I’d done. I buried my face in my hands as my father and brother left. I was sure the Quadlings outside the house were riled up and were ready to go marching off to the North. I needed an answer, and I needed it soon.
I had plenty of siblings to help me. I’d sent word out to all the Quadlings that I needed anyone well versed in potions to come to me. Even if they didn’t know how to make a teleportation powder, if they could brew a potion without it exploding, I could teach them. I was still waiting for them to come to me or send word they would be here when they could. I hoped it was soon because I had an entire region of restless Quadlings counting on me to get them to the North. Should we just walk instead?
I felt my parchment heating up under my hand. Someone was sending me a message. I smiled when I realized it was Francesca. I missed that girl. She wasn’t blowing up my parchment because she wanted attention. She had the answer to my problem.
I pulled out my quill. “You have no idea. I didn’t think it was possible to alter the recipe.”
“Neither did I. You cut it with goat’s milk and water and turn it into a potion instead of a powder. I’ll write the recipe we used down. You will want to test it on an object because if you didn’t get it right, it sets things on fire.”
I waited for her to write the exact recipe down. I was glad we weren’t the ones figuring this out if it set shit on fire if you got it wrong. A liquid instead of a powder? Who even thought that up? And what else could Illyna teach us about magic that we didn’t know?
I knew Illyna had done horrible things. She had three children she needed to answer to, and there needed to be some form of punishment. I hadn’t done nearly what she had done, but I had done some stupid things for love since I met Francesca. Stupid didn’t even come close to what Illyna had done, but she thought she was in love with the Fisher King at one point.
I wasn’t trying to erase everything Illyna had done. I hadn’t forgotten what she had taken from so many people I knew. I hadn’t forgotten what she had done to Glinda. I guess I was saying maybe my position was that she deserved a little leniency. I didn’t think she deserved to die for what she did.
I saw the score in the cemetery. If Illyna hadn’t beat Locasta down and cut the Fisher King’s head off, at least a few of us would be dead. If Illyna hadn’t helped us with this potion, it would delay the trial. Maybe the North would have gotten impatient and tried to free Locasta. Maybe the South would have gotten restless and tried to attack the North. Illyna was continuing to save Oz, even if she doomed it, letting the Fisher King out.
My parchment heated up again with Francesca’s instructions. She said she was able to make enough for the four hundred Munchkins that wanted to go North. I had a lot more Quadlings that wanted to go to the trial, and hopefully, I would have help soon.
“Thank you, Francesca. I’m trying to gather enough people to make the base now.”
“I miss you, Daxar. It’s hard being away from you again. At least I know where you are this time.”
“We’ll be together again soon, Francesca. You have your other mates to keep you company in my absence. I look forward to having you over my knee again.”
“Then, I must be extra bad.”
“Don’t be a brat, or you won’t like your punishment, Francesca. I must check in with the other Quadlings to see if we have anyone who can help grind the powder and I’ll have to ask the goats on our family farm if they are willing to provide milk.”
“I’ll see you soon, Daxar.”
I would see her soon. Sooner than I thought if I could get this potion brewed the way she said. I knew without asking Francesca would send the same recipe to Glinda and Nick Chopper.
With any luck, we’d all be getting to the North for Locasta’s trial before the citizens of Oz decided her guilt or innocence without it, and fighting broke out.
Chapter 29
Frankie
I
didn’t think it was possible, but after two days of coordinating everything over enchanted parchment, the East, West, South, and Emerald City were all ready to teleport to the North. We all decided to do it at once. Daxar had been communicating via parchment with the Northern military, and they assured him no one would come to harm teleporting to the North and that everyone just wanted answers, but there was little trust for the North left because they had all been manipulated by Locasta for so long.
The North had given us a place to teleport to that would fit most of Oz. It was supposed to be where the trial was being held. It was a large clearing in Uptown where they threw huge festivals. They were taking the stage they used for presentations and bands and turning it into a stage for a trial from what Daxar had written to me.
We coordinated the different times in the different regions in Oz, so we all landed in the North at the same time. It was late morning in the East and we had a town square full of Munchkins. We had already handed out the vials and explained how to use them. It was just since Munchkins rarely used magic, they had a million questions about how it worked and what would happen if things went wrong.
I tried to remember everything my mother taught me as I tried to calm down almost half the Munchkin population who was sure half their body would end up in the West, and the other half would end up in the South.
“It doesn’t work that way,” I yelled, trying to calm everyone down. “Teleportation isn’t deadly. It’ll never do what you are fearing. You may end up in the wrong place, but only if you lose your focus. Magic is all about intent. When you throw that potion at your feet, you just put it out into the world that you want to be standing in that field in the North, and when the smoke clears, you will be.
“This is all optional. You don’t have to come to this trial. Saffron will tell you the results when it is over. If you’re worried about using magic for the first time, you don’t have to worry. No one is forcing you. Saffron and I will both be there, and we will be happy to answer all your questions when we get back.”
Saffron stepped forward and faced the people who had been hunting her for most of her life. She didn’t scream at them, and she didn’t try to get any digs at them for making her live in a cave or what they had done to her ancestral home. She was a fucking Sentinel, and she was every inch of one as she faced the Munchkins.
“It’s true. I’ll never force the Munchkins to do anything against their will unless something is illegal or hurting someone. I don’t want anyone using this potion because they feel like they have to. If you are uncomfortable, just give the potion back, and no one will judge you. I will answer any questions you have after the trial. I have to go back to Emerald City to complete my training, but I will stay in the East until everyone is satisfied that the situation is handled and has no questions.”
I had to give it to the Munchkins. They liked to talk big, but they normally backed away from a fight. Not one Munchkin stepped forward to hand back their potion. If anything, their spines straightened, and they got a little braver. Pridius wasn’t one questioning the potion. None of my new family that wanted to come had, not even Todus.
Pridius came to stand between Saffron and me. “I’m proud of all of you. Munchkins face their fear head-on. On three, everyone throw their potion. Remember what my daughter said. Everything is in your intent. One, two, three!”
I threw my potion, curious if it would feel different from the powder I was used to. It was a little different. The powder I was used to using for teleportation produced a large, purple smoke, and then you felt a little yank. I might have liked the liquid version a little better. The powder didn’t have a smell, but when the purple smoke enveloped me, I could smell the pleasant scent of petal tea before I felt the yank of me leaving the East.
I could tell I was in the North by the change in temperature, but with all the people teleporting in, I couldn’t see two feet in front of me with the haze of purple smoke all around me. I could tell Saffron was still next to me and Galen, Idris, and Oprix all reached out to touch me.
I looked around. This could still be some kind of trick. Illyna was with us surrounded by the Flying Monkeys who stayed. She had the Fisher King’s head in a burlap sack, and one of the Flying Monkeys was holding his body away from him like it disgusted him. One of the bigger Flying Monkeys had Locasta’s forearms grasped tightly.
Locasta’s arms were bound behind her back, and Illyna gagged her too. I guess Illyna tired of listening to her. By the time I had gone out to the barn to bind Locasta’s magic, Illyna had already done it. Locasta could brew potions and use ingredients, but her natural magic was gone. She would not be able to call that old lady glamour again to get up on the stand weeping and pretending like this was all some vast conspiracy against the North.
All the surrounding people who
weren’t used to teleporting were coughing from the purple smoke out of instinct and waving their hands in front of their eyes. Maybe it was because of the magic, but the smoke never made me cough or made my eyes water like fire smoke normally did. It wasn’t even making my eyes water now standing in a field full of it where I could hardly see. The entire field smelled of fresh grass and petal tea. It was kind of nice.
Normal teleportation powder smoke didn’t last long. I didn’t know about the altered potion and not with this many people teleporting at once. I wanted it to clear soon because this would be the perfect opportunity for the Northern soldiers to shoot arrows into the crowd. It would be stupid and they could hit Locasta, but nothing about this entire situation was even remotely logical. The North said they wanted to hear Locasta’s side from her own mouth and so far, they had been cooperating, but what if they just wanted us on their turf to get her back?
Thankfully, the smoke cleared quickly, even if the crowd was bigger, and we altered the magic. Everyone who never teleported before, whether they be Munchkin, Quadling, or Winkie, realized they had successfully made it to the North and a loud cry went through the crowd. Everyone was hugging their neighbor, even if you were a Winkie and the person standing next to you happened to be a Quadling.
Now that I could see, I nodded to my friends. We all made a protective circle around the Flying Monkeys holding Locasta and Illyna. Daxar had already warned me the Quadlings wanted her head. I’d also communicated with Nick Chopper, and the Winkies weren’t all that happy she had manipulated them either. Despite all the bravado at Emerald City Academy and threatening to murder Saffron, the Munchkins weren’t a violent people deep down. They had said nothing about wanting to see Locasta outright die. They wanted an explanation for why she manipulated them that way. Maybe they would join in the death threats depending on what she said when she was being questioned.
The Northern soldiers were standing on a stage at the end of the field. I nodded to the Flying Monkeys with us and called to my broom. The Flying Monkeys took flight and carried all of us who couldn’t fly up to the stage, and Saffron and I just flew on our brooms.