Before the street in question comes into view, Rook steers Sabil to the left, down an alley behind the Red Wander. Inside the stable, a stable hand peers out from behind a hay bale and immediately recognizes us.
“Ms. Gale. Rook. Y’all shouldn’t be out here!”
“We were abandoned at the provost’s mansion,” I tell him as he takes Sabil’s reins. “We got here as quickly as we could.”
“You best get inside then. You’ll find all the doors lockedso you’ll have to go through the staff entrance. Let me show you.”
He ties off Sabil’s reins to a holding ring and hurries us through a side door to a dusty patch of lawn. From there, he pulls out a thick iron key ring from his trousers, stopping at an unmarked door on the back of the inn. He fumbles with the key, metal clanging against metal as he searches for the lock in the dark.
Finally, the iron teeth slip in and the bolt thunks open. The boy pushes the door in.
Only darkness lies beyond.
“In you go,” he tells us.
Rook pushes me forward and the door slams shut behind us, the lock thunking closed again.
THIRTY
Dorothy
I reach out with my hands, trying to orient myself in the shadows.
Why are the people of the Hollow going to so much trouble to hide from someone crossing over on the Yellow Brick Road?
My mind wants to fill in the blanks.
It’s a monster,the panic says.
Or a wicked witch.
Or worse… the Tinman.
Henrietta said he was close.
My heart rate climbs, knocking against the back of my teeth.
I try to summon Aunt Em’s voice.It’s going to be all right. The fear is worse than the reality.But is it? That’s what I’d say to her if she were here now.
You don’t know this strange land, Em. Maybe it’s far worse this time. The city has a siren, for god’s sake. Just like a tornado warning. And back on the farm, we know what follows a siren call.
We’ve lost too much to the ravenous jaws of Mother Nature to think that things will always beall right.
My fingers graze plaster walls and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
The smell of chicken broth is heavy on the air. We must be close to the inn’s kitchen.
I take another tentative step forward when a flame flickers to life in the front room.
Sharp vermilion light spills down the hallway.
Rook grabs me from behind, spins me around, and shoves me into a dry pantry.
“What—” His hand clamps down over my mouth and a breath huffs out around his fingers.
He places a finger over his lips.
Shhhh.
