Ruler of Beasts Read Free Page B

necklace materialized in the air. It was so elaborate that it was really more of a breastplate. A heavily worked gold setting housed dozens of rubies, ranging from the size of the Lion’s claw to the size of his entire paw. The dazzling red stones pulsed with a hypnotic red light of their own. The Lion leaned forward. He could almost see an image reflected in each of the glowing red stones. Whirling clouds forming a dense gray funnel over a broad, empty prairie with a single clapboard farmhouse sitting all by itself in the middle of nowhere. A girl was standing in the doorway; she was too tiny for the Lion to make out her features, but something about her was incredibly familiar . . .
    â€œWhere is that? Is that . . .” the Lion asked. Glinda clapped her hands and the image of the necklace vanished with a pop.
    â€œNever you mind about that,” she singsonged. “What matters is that you recognize the necklace if you see it again. Will you?”
    â€œOf course,” the Lion said, irritated. He realized suddenlythat maybe Glinda wanted him to see it. Glinda wanted him to know that Dorothy was the gift she was planning for Ozma. And Lion would do just about anything to bring Dorothy back to Oz.
    â€œI’m sorry, dear Lion,” she said. “I don’t mean to imply you’re not perfectly capable of the task. It’s just so important to me to make Ozma happy that I get stressed about the details.”
    Something in her voice didn’t entirely ring true, but the Lion let it go. Before he knew it, both of Glinda’s hands were resting on his head, bathing him in a throbbing pink light. “And now I bind you to your promise,” the witch murmured. “Nexus necto offendix leo.” The Lion felt a creeping sensation, as if hundreds of tiny fleas were crawling through his fur. He tried to twist his head to nip at them, but he was frozen in place by Glinda’s spell. The bugs were burrowing under his skin. He could feel them like tiny sparks burning through his coat. He roared in pain and surprise but no sound came out of his open mouth.
    â€œAll done!” Glinda exclaimed, passing one hand over his head. He blinked. He was sitting on top of his platform in the Forest of the Beasts, a familiar woman standing in front of him with a blinding smile affixed to her face. He knew her. He was supposed to be doing something. His skin burned briefly, and it all became clear. A vision of a ruby necklace hung glittering in the air before him, its powerful pull on him drawing him closer and closer. But as he reached out a paw to touch it, the image burst in a shower of red sparks. He had to find the necklace. He simply had to. It was a compulsion.
    Glinda, watching him, smiled and nodded. “Very good.Don’t forget your quest.” And then it all came flooding back. He was going to the Emerald City on an important errand for Glinda the Good Witch. He’d help her find a magical necklace so that she could present it to Ozma, the Queen of Oz. He’d been specially chosen for the critical task. His chest puffed outward with pride. It wasn’t just anyone who Glinda handpicked for her special missions.
    At that very moment, Cornelius returned to the clearing, bearing a tray piled high with fruit. The tray looked as though it had been hastily woven together from leaves and branches—which it had, since the Lion’s subjects had very little use for dishes. Glinda delicately selected a few fresh dazzleberries, which exploded into bursts of tiny edible jewels in her hand. The Lion, still full from his tournament, waved the tray away.
    â€œI’m going to leave the forest for a few—for a while, Cornelius,” he said importantly. “I trust you will be able to look over things while I’m gone?”
    The rabbit’s ears twitched in surprise, but he only said, “Of course, Your Majesty.”
    â€œThen it’s settled.” The Lion turned