Free Dorothy Must Die Novella #2 by Danielle Paige Page A

pool with me still in her arms. “This may hurt a little, my dear.”
    The clean, clear water of the pool rose around us. It was as warm as bathwater, but it felt thicker than ordinary water—almost like oil. Gert lowered me fully into the water and I felt it move against my skin insistently, almost as if it wanted something from me. I became more and more aware of the pain in my body—the pool was pulling it from me, bit by bit. I cried out in anguish and my open mouth filled with water; I swallowed involuntarily and felt a mouthful of the strange liquid move through my body as if it had a will of its own, worming its way through my veins.
    I looked down at myself and saw that a thick, dark substance was seeping out of my pores, forming a black cloud around me that slowly dissipated in the pool. The pain in my body was slowly replaced with a warm, drowsy sense of bliss. Dimly, I felt Gert lift me up again and set me down gently at the pool’s edge. The bruises and blood were gone; my skin glowed, and my ruined dress had been replaced by a thick, soft white robe. Instead of feeling broken and exhausted, I felt refreshed.
    â€œWhat was that?”
    Gert was looking at me with an expression that was hard to read. It almost looked like pity. Though she’d just gone into the pool with me, her clothes were dry. “Magic,” she said.
    â€œI figured that much out.”
    She smiled. “It’s good to see you back to normal, Jellia. I must admit I was worried about you. We were aware you might encounter danger at Glinda’s, but we weren’t prepared for things to move so quickly. Come,” she said, offering me her hand and pulling me to my feet. “It’s time for some explanations.” But instead of continuing to talk, she took off at a brisk pace. I had no choice but to follow her as she led me away from the healing pool and down a bewildering series of tunnels, all lit by the same glowing phosphorescence that seeped out of the walls.
    Sometimes the tunnels opened up into more caverns, each one of them full of marvels: a shimmering, underground meadow, radiating silver light and dotted here and there with towering wildflowers that rose into the darkness; another pool, this one so big I couldn’t make out its far side, where bright golden fish jumped and fell back into the water with a splash; a series of mysterious, enormous machines, which sent a shard of terror stabbing through me until I realized they were putting together elaborate clocks that slid past on a conveyor belt.
    We were moving too fast for me to catch more than the briefest glimpse of each cavern before Gert dragged me along to the next tunnel. Finally, she stopped at a low wooden door, rapped sharply, and pushed it open without waiting for a response. I followed her into a smallish room, furnished with a huge black table and rough wooden chairs that took up most of the space. Three people sat at the table: a cloaked figure, a mean-looking old woman I didn’t recognize, and Nox, whose expression was distinctly worried.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” I asked him.
    â€œHe saved your life,” the cloaked figure said, and lowered her hood. I flung my hands up and took a step backward. Her perfect face, her heart-shaped mouth, her strawberry-blond curls—Nox hadn’t saved me, he’d betrayed me. Because the woman in front of me was Glinda.
    Without realizing it, I’d backed up to Gert, who held me firmly in her fleshy arms. “It’s all right, Jellia,” she said, her soft tone doing nothing to slow my pounding heart. “It’s not her. I’d like you to meet Glamora—Glinda’s twin sister.”
    I blinked and stared at the woman seated at the table. What Gert was saying made a kind of sense. This woman had Glinda’s face, but where Glinda’s eyes were like cold, hard chips of ice, hers were kindly. The set of her mouth was friendly, not