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

cruel.
    â€œHave a seat, Jellia,” Gert said, steering me to a chair. “We have much to discuss. And I imagine you’re hungry.” With that, she sat down next to me and snapped her fingers, her eyes twinkling. I was used to magic, but I was still taken aback by the feast that appeared on the table almost instantaneously—big platters piled high with fruit and cheese, fragrant loaves of steaming bread accompanied by creamy butter and honey, a huge tureen of some kind of soup that smelled like heaven. Gert handed me a plate and a gleaming silver fork that she plucked out of the air, and I helped myself.
    If this was going to be my last meal, I might as well make it a good one. Nox, Glamora, and Gert filled their plates, too—but the fourth person sat at the far end of the table, glaring at the food as if she expected it to bite her. I eyeballed her surreptitiously as I ate.
    She looked more like a troll than a witch. Like Gert, she was short and squat, but where Gert came across as nurturing, there was nothing generous about this woman. Her nose was the most extraordinary feature in her wrinkled face: huge and bulbous, with a wart at its very tip. She was dressed in purple rags that hung haphazardly from her stout body and a battered, pointed black hat rested on her greasy, stringy black hair at an alarming angle. “Why don’t you paint a picture, it’ll last longer,” she growled at me. Embarrassed at being caught staring, I quickly looked away, mumbling an apology. Next to me, Gert chuckled.
    â€œDon’t you mind our Mombi,” she said. “She has a terrible attitude problem.”
    â€œRemind me of my attitude problem the next time I save your skin,” Mombi snapped. “Are you done stuffing your faces? We don’t have all day. It’s time to get down to business.”
    For the first time, it occurred to me to wonder what Glinda would think about my disappearance. How long had I been in the cave? What would happen when—if—I returned to her palace? And how had I gotten here in the first place?
    â€œOne at a time, dear,” Gert said, and I realized that she was answering me even though I hadn’t spoken aloud. “Bad habit,” she added, reading my thoughts again. “But it saves time. I won’t look in on anything that’s none of my business, don’t worry.”
    â€œFine,” I said, trying not to show her how unnerved I was by her magic mind reading. “How did I get here?”
    â€œI can answer that,” Nox said. “I followed you when Glinda summoned you. I knew if she’d brought the Scarecrow to the palace, she was up to something really bad. We”—he indicated the others seated at the table—“didn’t realize she’d move again so quickly. I could protect you inside the palace, but by the time I got to you, it was almost too late. She and the Scarecrow had left you for dead. I thought there was still a chance we could save you, so I brought you here.” I thought of the Scarecrow’s machine and shivered, covering my eyes with my hands. I felt Gert put an arm around my shoulders.
    â€œI’m sorry we couldn’t prevent you from experiencing so much pain,” she said. “We had no idea she would try again so soon after she brought you to the palace. Glinda and Dorothy have been looking for a way to tap into Oz’s magic since Dorothy took over the Emerald City. Glinda’s machine will be slowed down now by the fact that she’ll have to use Munchkin labor. But that won’t stop her for long. Oz is in danger, and we’re the only people who can keep the country safe.”
    â€œWho’s ‘we’?” I asked. Mombi drew herself up to her full height.
    â€œThe Revolutionary Order of the Wicked,” she said proudly. “The only thing standing between Oz and its destruction.” If the only thing standing between Oz and its