Dorothy Must Die Novella #2 Read Online Free

decked out in a tiny-waisted leather dress pieced together out of blue and white squares. As always, her red shoes emitted a rosy halo of light.
    Astrid was still sobbing like the sweet little idiot she was; I had to resist the urge to pat her on the head like a dog. Hannah, the maid who was closest to me in age—and the closest thing I had to a best friend—came up to hug me. The Munchkin cooks surrounded me, flinging their arms around my knees and crying “Jellia! Jellia! Don’t go!” in unison. I was touched, even if they made walking a little awkward.
    â€œIt’s just for a few months,” I reassured them, hugging them one by one. “I promise. You’ll barely notice I was gone. Take good care of Dorothy—don’t forget about the bacon—”
    â€œâ€”and color code her dresses,” Hannah finished. “We know, J. It’ll be okay.” Astrid wailed aloud, and Hannah rolled her eyes. I laughed. She always knew how to cheer me up.
    â€œ Jellia ,” Glinda cooed, “we really must be going. You’ll see all your little friends again before you even know it! I need your help at my palace now.”
    I gave everyone one last wave before I climbed reluctantly into Glinda’s carriage. To my surprise, I saw the Scarecrow stumble out of the palace, carrying an enormous satchel. Behind him stretched a line of the Tin Woodman’s soldiers, carrying various pieces of mechanical equipment and machine parts. Another carriage drew up behind Glinda’s, and the soldiers busied themselves loading it with their burdens while the Scarecrow supervised.
    â€œHe’s always late,” Glinda said, and sighed. Gone was the terrifying witch of the night before; in the afternoon sunlight, she looked radiant and gentle, although her voice had a peevish tone that belied her sweet expression. Finally, the second carriage was loaded to the Scarecrow’s satisfaction, and he gave Glinda a jaunty wave.
    â€œEverything will work as we discussed?” she called in a honeyed voice. He nodded jerkily, his black button eyes flashing in the sun.
    â€œIf the girl has enough magic to power the device,” he said. The Scarecrow only spoke rarely, and his dry, straw-like voice always sent chills through me. What girl was he talking about? Did he mean me ? What magic could I possibly have?
    â€œOh, I’m confident of that,” Glinda said gaily. “I believe in the power of positive thinking, don’t you? If everything’s ready, I think it’s time we were going.” She rapped sharply on the roof of the carriage, and the driver snapped to life with a whirr of clockwork. “Good-bye, Dorothy!” Glinda sang merrily. “Good-bye, Emerald City! Say good-bye, Jellia! We’ve got such adventures ahead of us!”
    I did not like the sound of that at all. I waved out the window as the servants shrank behind us in the distance, and I didn’t turn back to face the road until they were nothing more than tiny dots against the glittering green of the Emerald Palace. Whatever happened next, I was on my own now.

FOUR
    I had only been outside the Emerald City a handful of times in my life, and despite my anxiety about what lay ahead of me, I couldn’t help a surge of excitement as the carriage passed through the immense gates of the city and onto the Road of Yellow Brick. Next to me, Glinda lay back against her seat with her eyes closed, looking for all the world like a pretty young girl taking a nap. If I’d hoped she would give me some clue as to what she wanted with me, I clearly wasn’t going to get it. I used the brief respite from her razor-sharp attention to look out the carriage window at the countryside. Once we were out of the gates, the radiant green aura of the city dissipated. Hills gave way to rolling farmland; cornstalks bobbed in the wind, and neatly tended orchards stretched toward the horizon in even rows. The