Dorothy Must Die Novella #2 Read Online Free Page A

trees didn’t talk anymore—that had been one of Dorothy’s first decrees, she said they gave her a headache—but their silence didn’t affect the views. We’d been traveling for an hour or so when Glinda opened her eyes next to me and sat up, rapping on the roof of the carriage with her knuckles. We drew to a halt, and she stepped out of the carriage. I stayed where I was, confused, until I heard her call sweetly, “Jellia! What on earth are you waiting for? Surely you’re not shirking your duties already?” I got out hastily.
    We’d stopped next to a broad meadow of periwinkle grass, bordered on one edge by a thick, lush forest. The second carriage had followed us, and I only now saw that a large contingent of the Tin Woodman’s soldiers had ridden along in the carriage. Glinda was directing them to unload the Scarecrow’s machinery from the other carriage—a bewildering array of pipes and wires and instruments. The unloading took some time, and I could sense Glinda’s impatience, although her face remained unnaturally serene. When the soldiers had finished they stood expectantly, staring at her.
    â€œNow put it together,” she said. This time there was no mistaking the irritation in her voice, and the soldiers got busy at once, assembling the pieces in the middle of the field. Glinda didn’t seem to expect me to do anything, so I stood awkwardly at her side as she surveyed the construction.
    The soldiers were moving with sharp, jerky motions, like sped-up windup toys, and soon a structure began to take shape. It was a giant contraption that looked almost like a complicated windmill with a long, flat piece that stretched out from the main body of the structure and balanced on another, smaller structure, like a seesaw. What on earth? I wondered.
    â€œIt’s a drill, of course,” Glinda said, as if she could read my mind.
    â€œA drill, Your Eminence?”
    â€œFor magic,” she said. I looked up at her. The rubies in her crown dazzled in the afternoon sun. “It’s simply everywhere in Oz, as you know, going to waste. It’s high time we put all those natural resources to work, don’t you think?”
    â€œYou’re drilling magic out of the ground?” I stared at her in surprise and she raised one eyebrow. “Your Eminence,” I added quickly.
    â€œOf course. Now that we have the technology to extract it, there’s no reason not to. Think of how much that power will improve the lives of your fellow citizens!” I wasn’t fooled by her sugary rhetoric; I was pretty sure that the only citizens whose lives would be improved by Glinda’s crazy plan were Glinda herself, and Dorothy.
    â€œBut Your Eminence, doesn’t Oz depend on that magic to survive?”
    She waved a hand dismissively. “Jellia, I thought I saw something special in you in the palace, but now you sound positively old-fashioned. There’s plenty of magic to go around. Oz won’t feel a thing.”
    I shut my mouth. The months ahead would be hard enough without starting out on Glinda’s bad side. We watched as the soldiers finished tightening the last nuts and bolts on Glinda’s drilling machine, and then she pushed me forward. “Now, Jellia, it’s time to do your duty for your country.”
    â€œMe?” I blurted in surprise as two soldiers grabbed me by the arms and dragged me toward the machine. “But—”
    â€œI need magic to power the drill,” Glinda cooed. She floated delicately after us, her heels sparkling silver several inches off the ground. “You certainly don’t expect me to use mine , do you?” Now that we were closer to the machine, I could see a leather harness and silver helmet attached to one end of the giant seesaw. I struggled desperately, but the soldiers strapped me in and jammed the helmet down on my head. What was happening? Glinda looked me over with