Page 48

"Stop it!" Toto yells, darting around me toward Leo.

She gets barely three feet before Vera flicks her wand again. Toto's feet stop dead, but the rest of her doesn’t. She pitches forward, catching herself on her hands before she hits the ground.

"No!" Nick roars, starting toward her.

Vera turns her wand on him. "Don't.”

One word, quietly spoken, but containing enough menace to stop him in his tracks.

Toto pushes herself upright, struggling to pull her feet free. She might as well be standing in wet cement that’s hardened around her ankles.

Vera keeps her wand trained on us as she crosses the clearing. I take a step toward Toto, but Nick catches my arm, stopping me before I can do something that might get her killed. I grit my teeth, hating that he's right. Leo stands beside us, his lips still sealed by Vera's spell.

When Vera reaches Toto, she flicks her wand, releasing the hold on her feet. Toto stumbles, and Vera immediately catches her around the waist. Before Toto can pull away, the witch grabs a fistful of her hair and yanks her head back, pressing the tip of her wand against her throat.

My entire body goes rigid.

Shit.

We were counting on getting close enough to take her wand before she could use it against us. So much for our carefully laid plan.

Vera might be falling apart without our magic to sustain her, but she's still got more than enough power to hurt us. And now she's got the woman we love with a wand pressed against her throat, and none of us can risk making a move.

“Why did you go after Dottie?” I demand, deliberately pulling her attention back to me. “What the hell did she ever do to you?”

Vera lets out a rasping laugh. “Nothing. But I knew you'd come running if your precious little sister was in danger.”

“So you used Toto to lure her away?”

“Of course. Dorothy would never have followed me willingly, but her little lapdog?” Vera smiles cruelly. “She didn't hesitate.”

“You wanted us to come after you.”

“I wanted you desperate enough to follow me anywhere, you stupid boy. Away from Oz and its meddling police. Somewhere I could make you give me what you stole.”

Vera backs toward the rocky wall, dragging Toto with her and keeping the three of us in her sights. “And now you’re going to tell me where my amulet is.”

Her voice is low, but desperation lurks beneath her carefully measured words. Her grip tightens in Toto's hair, making her wince.

Leo tries to speak, but with his lips still sealed, all that comes out is a muffled sound.

I raise my hands slowly, keeping my voice steady. “Vera, let's not do anything stupid.”

Vera's gaze snaps to me, and for the first time, her composure cracks. “You think you can steal from me?”

She thrusts her wand in my direction. A burst of sparks shoots from its tip, scorching the grass inches from my feet.

I don't move.

Vera’s grip tightens in Toto's hair, forcing her head farther back. Toto whimpers, and my hands curl into fists at my sides. “Tell me where the amulet is, or I'll make her watch while I burn you to ash.”

“We have it,” Nick says, his voice remarkably steady. “But we aren't giving it to you until you let her go.”

Vera immediately presses her wand harder against Toto's neck as Nick shifts a step to the right. “Take another step, and I'll kill her. Then I'll take my time with the three of you.”

She turns her attention to Toto, studying her with an expression that makes my skin crawl. “It seems these three will do anything for you, little one.”

Toto's eyes widen as Vera gives her hair another sharp tug, forcing her to look up.