I turn the canteen over and the liquid seeps out.
“Fucking hell,” the Tinman says, still breathing heavily. “I could have drunk the rest of it!”
“There’s no time,” Gabriel says. “Fill it with water!”
We snap into action.
There’s no more time to discuss the plan, the consequences, or the likelihood of us beating the witch and getting out of the castle.
The Tinman holds the canteen while I scoop water into it.
The monkey’s footsteps are growing closer by the second.
“Keep going,” Gabriel says, watching the hallway for us.
I empty out the second pool and find a third, filling the canteen halfway. How much water does one need to kill a witch?
Gabriel whistles a warning.
The Tinman straightens, yanks me to my feet. We manage to get the cap on the canteen and the strap over the Tinman’s head when Balor reappears.
“She’s ready to give up the slippers,” the Tinman reports.
“Then come,” Balor says and waves us forward.
The Tinman wraps his hand around my bicep, taking control of me as he leads me to the stairs.
FORTY-TWO
Cleo
Cleo is running.
She isn’t sure what she’s running to, but she knows what she’s running from.
Something isn’t right.
She has a duty to warn them, doesn’t she?
The trees thin. Wind kicks up and the tall grass rustles. In the distance, the Westerly Mountains stretch toward the dark sky, the tallest peak disappearing in the stretch of bruised clouds.
Cleo comes to a stop when the Yellow Brick Road forks in every direction.
The Crossroads.
She hunches over, sucking in air. Her chest is tight, her legs cramping up. She hasn’t run that much in… well, ever.
But it feels good.
It feels better than good.
Never in her life has she had a reason to run.
Never in her life did she have the freedom to run.
When her breathing levels out, she straightens. There’s a wrought-iron post in the very center of the Crossroads with four golden signs fastened to it. One, an arrow that points to the left. The Emerald City. Another, pointing to the right. North Country. A third that points straight on. West End. Thefourth, pointing in the direction she’s just come. The East End.
She sucks in a deep breath and looks to the left, toward the Emerald City, straight on to the wizard.
