Dorothy Must Die Novella #7 Read Free Page A

people—”
    â€œExperiments?” Could that explain what those— things —had been that attacked her village? They definitely weren’t human but they didn’t look like any other creature she had seen or heard of. And what they’d done to her family—that was something that had never happened, not in the entire history of Oz. If they were some terrible experiment gone wrong, that might explain what they were capable of. But who would create such a monster? And why? She tried to keep her voice steady, but Melindra gave her a searching look before she continued.
    â€œSo far, it’s all just rumors. No matter how hard we try, we can’t get any concrete intel. And Gert and Mombi have been keeping mum about it if they know anything. The heads of the Order don’t like to tell us much.” Melindra shrugged again. “I mean,obviously, ever since Dorothy Gale came back to Oz things have been different.” Melindra glanced over at Lanadel and saw her expression. “Well, it sounds like I don’t have to tell you,” she said quietly. “You know it didn’t take long before everything changed for the worse. Even the Pond of Truth started to tell lies. And the rumors coming out of the palace . . .” Melindra shivered involuntarily. “Raids on villages at the outskirts of Quadling Country. Even murder . And worse than murder. Enslavement.”
    â€œI know all about that,” Lanadel said bitterly, without explaining. Melindra raised an eyebrow, but when Lanadel didn’t say anything else, Melindra didn’t press her.
    â€œSo that’s where the Order comes in. Listen to me ramble—I don’t mean to talk your ear off,” Melindra apologized.
    â€œNobody’s told me much,” Lanadel admitted. “I don’t even know how many members of the Order there are.”
    â€œNone of us do,” Melindra said. “I mean, there’s the trainees here, you, me, Holly, and Larkin, you’ll meet them soon enough”—something in Melindra’s voice suggested that the longer Lanadel waited before that happened, the better—“Nox, obviously, and Gert and Glamora and Mombi. Some of the other original trainees from this cell are out on missions.” Melindra sighed. “Dangerous stuff. These are dangerous times. But supposedly there are other cells, other training sites—we don’t get told much, you know? The less we know, the less we can give up if we get . . . captured.”
    Lanadel shuddered. She knew what Dorothy’s creatures could do to someone they caught. What kind of tortures they would improvise . . .
    â€œAnyway,” Melindra went on, “there aren’t many of us here right now, but there are more of us around Oz. And our numbers are growing because the more people Dorothy kills, the more people are ready to join the Order.”
    â€œI came here for the same reason as you,” Lanadel said. She decided to be honest. “To fight. But I also didn’t have anyplace else to go.”
    â€œYeah,” Melindra said. “That’s true for most of us.” Her face took on a distant look that Lanadel recognized. It was the same expression that crossed her own face whenever she thought—or tried not to think—about what had happened to her family. “Nox might be an asshole,” Melindra said, her features returning to their usual animation, “but he lost his entire family to one of the Woodman’s raids. Mombi raised him—he’s basically more witch than boy. Like, you know how it seems he doesn’t have actual human emotions? He kind of doesn’t have actual human emotions. Partly it’s Mombi’s fault, but I mean—how do you get over a thing like losing every single person you love?”
    Suddenly Lanadel was crying. She did her best to hide it from Melindra by dunking her own head underwater, but there was no