“Amy, what’s happening?” he asked as the husk that had been Assistant Principal Strachan crumpled to the ground and the Nome King took a step toward us.
“Be silent, little boy,” the Nome King hissed, flicking his fingers. I felt his magic as it moved through the air like a shock wave—straight toward Dustin.
“Get down!” I yelled, throwing myself at him and bringing us both to the ground. The Nome King’s magic zap missed us by inches and slammed into the wall behind us with a huge, echoing boom. The building shuddered and ceiling tiles crashed down around us.
“Little Dorothy’s grip on Oz is weakening,” the Nome King said, his voice eerily calm. “Soon the magic of Oz will have sapped her strength entirely and she will be no good to me whatsoever. But you, my dear Miss Gumm, are made of stronger stuff. I think you might be very useful indeed.”
Absurdly, I thought of those old episodes of Scooby-Doo where a character that everyone thought was friendly is revealed to be the villain in disguise. “I could have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids!” he snaps as he’s taken away. It’s always hard to tell if it’s supposed to be scary or funny.
But this situation wasn’t at all funny. Without my magic, I had no way to defend myself—and I was on my own. I had to get us out of here before the Nome King killed Dustin and grabbed me, and I had no idea how I was going to do it.
“What do you mean, useful? What did you do with the real Assistant Principal Strachan?” If I couldn’t fight him, maybe I could distract him long enough for Dustin to get away. His eyes flicked involuntarily toward the Dorothy diorama, and for the first time I noticed an extra figurine—the spitting image of Assistant Principal Strachan, down to the frumpy suit and scuffed shoes. I shivered. I’d never liked the guy, but I wouldn’t have wished that for him. And then I noticed something else. Miniature Dorothy was wearing a miniature pair of shoes that glinted under a layer of dust. Silver shoes.
Once you learn how to recognize it, magic is unmistakable. You just need to know what to look for. It’s like this talent my mom has for spotting the one shirt on the rack with a tiny hole in it, so she can get a discount. And the silver shoes in the diorama were magic as hell. They were so magic that just standing this close to them was giving me a tingly feeling in my stomach.
I’d found them. I had no idea how they’d gotten there, but the shoes had been right in front of me the whole time.
The Nome King smiled. “Indeed,” he said. “Hidden in plain sight all this time. I thought they might come in useful someday. I have no trouble moving between worlds, dear Miss Gumm, but not everyone is so lucky. If you are to be the next ruler of Oz, you will need a way to get back. Might I offer you a new pair of footwear?”
The next ruler of Oz? What was he talking about? If the Nome King wanted control of Oz himself, what possible use could I be? Had he been the one behind Dorothy’s return to Oz—and if so, why?
“Maybe we can reach an agreement,” I said carefully, giving Dustin a shove. As confused as he was, he got the message. While I slowly got to my feet, staring down the Nome King, Dustin scooted away on his hands and knees.
The Nome King laughed. “An agreement? I don’t think you’re in a position to bargain, Amy Gumm.”
“She’s not,” said a familiar voice behind me. “But I might be.”
The Nome King’s smile widened, his toothy grin even scarier than his regular expression. “How thrilling,” he said. “Welcome to the party, little wizard.”
SEVENTEEN
“Nox,” I hissed. “What are you doing here?”
“You can’t use magic, Amy. There’s no way you can fight the Nome King by yourself.”
“Did Mombi send you?” He didn’t answer, his eyes on the Nome King, which made me think he had come here on his own. I had no idea what the consequences were for a witch who disobeyed Quadrant orders, but I was guessing Gert, Glamora, and Mombi wouldn’t be too happy with Nox’s solo mission.
The Nome King was obviously enjoying the moment. “Do you really think you can protect her against me, little boy? Your magic barely works here. You’re weak and far from home. I urge you to let the matter rest. I have no wish to do harm to your friend.” The way he stressed the word clearly indicated that he guessed Nox and I had feelings for each other—and that he found it funny.
“This isn’t a game,” Nox said in a low voice. I knew what Nox was doing. After all, he’d trained me. He was testing the Nome King’s defenses, looking for a weakness. But the Nome King had already said his magic didn’t work like ours.
“Amy, who are those people? What—what happened to Assistant Principal Strachan?” Shit. I’d forgotten about Dustin. He was still in the hallway.
“Dustin, I mean it! Get out of here!” I hissed.
“I’m not going to just leave you!”
“I can take care of myself!” He didn’t budge. “Go call the police!” I yelled. There was nothing a Kansas cop could do to stop a creature like the Nome King, but at least that would get Dustin out of harm’s way.
“I’m not leaving you!” he repeated.
“Just do it!”
The Nome King lunged forward, reaching out his long thin fingers for me.
“Amy!” Nox shouted.
“I see!” I ducked under the Nome King’s arms, my own training kicking in as I somersaulted across the hallway and landed in a crouch next to the display case. But the Nome King hadn’t been coming for me at alclass="underline" he’d been going for Nox, who threw up a quick shield that the Nome King batted away as if it was made of cobwebs.
“This matter does not concern you, child,” he said evenly. “If you wish to leave, you will leave us now.”
“I’m not a child,” Nox said grimly. He raised glowing hands, tendrils of fire licking along his fingers and condensing into a ball of flame in his palms. The Nome King laughed—that same awful, sinister laughter that slid into my skull like a knife blade. I howled with pain, clapping my hands to my ears. Nox was doubled over, too, tongues of fire dripping harmlessly off his fingers. I had to get us out of here. We couldn’t possibly fight off the Nome King if I didn’t have magic. I had no doubt he’d kill Nox if he got in the way of whatever the king wanted with me.
Could be worse, I thought. At least he’s not into glitter.
The silver shoes were the only chance I had for Nox and me to escape. But the Nome King wanted me to take them. What was I getting myself into if I was accidentally obeying him while I tried to save Nox’s life? The Nome King advanced toward Nox, grinning, the long spidery fingers of each hand lengthening and turning silver like the Tin Woodman’s knife-fingered minions. If I didn’t act now, Nox was toast. I pulled off my sweatshirt, wrapped it twice around my arm, and brought my elbow down on the glass diorama case with all my strength. Pain blazed up my arm, and for a second I thought I’d been dumb enough to break my arm instead of the glass. But a long, satisfying crack had appeared on the glass case. One more blow, and the case shattered. Behind me, Nox and the Nome King were circling each other, the Nome King moving easily and Nox’s movements tight with anxiety. The Nome King was toying with him like a cat batting a mouse around before she kills it. But at least his sick little game was keeping Nox alive for the moment.
“Amy!” Nox gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to save your life I’m sure,” said the Nome King, sounding bored. “I can’t imagine why she’d bother.”
“You don’t really seem like a guy who knows much about friends,” I snarled, grabbing the Dorothy figurine out of the shards of broken glass. As soon as I touched the shoes, I could feel the magic running through them like an electric current. They began to glow with a gentle, warm light that filled the hallway. Dustin, Nox, and the Nome King froze. The shoes grew in my hands like one of those little sponge animals you soak in water until they looked exactly the right size for my feet. I kicked off my sneakers and slipped the shoes over my feet.