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The magic cracks forward like a whip, hitting Silas with enough force to drive a horse back.

He staggers into the table and his glass of rum tips over.

Pain grits his teeth.

He sinks down to his knees, tearing at his shirt, and when he finally rips it open, his chest is glowing bright red.

“You … fuuu … fucking … asshole—”

He tips over, hits the floor, and goes unconscious.

I duck down and place two fingers to the side of his neck.

And there, faintly, growing stronger by the second, is the steady thrum of a heart.

THIRTY-EIGHTDorothy

It doesn’t take Basil long to organize people. I don’t tell him where we’re going, only that we may find resistance from the Wizard of Oz, or what remains of the Cardinal Witches. He takes it in stride, but tells me he will put on his best clothes for the occasion.

I return to the Red Wander and find Blue exactly where I left him. He’s nursing a new bottle of ale and his eyes are heavy.

I snap my fingers in front of him and he blinks. “What? What? I’m awake.”

“Tell me about your power.”

“What about it?”

I lean in and lower my voice. “You said it was in the Ancient Forest?”

“Yes.”

“Can you retrieve it?”

“Why would I do that?”

“To help Oz. To save its people.”

“I’m old, Dorothy. Nearly forgotten. And I’ve left bruises too deep. Half that crowd at the Emerald Palace was salivating at the thought of me getting my just deserts and I don’t blame them. We abandoned Oz.” He leans forward and adds, “What we were is no longer and it will never be again.”

There’s sadness on his face and threaded through his words, and while mostly he just seems apathetic and drunk, I have to wonder if grief has driven him to this place, and the apathy and the drinking are just symptoms of a larger wound that he’s not ready to heal. If he ever will be.

“Ask me a different question,” he says, his gaze focused.

I search his face. I can’t read minds and yet I think I know exactly what he’s insisting I ask.

“Can I retrieve your power?” I ask.

“That’s the better question.”

“Can I?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

He nods at the axe resting on the floor beside me. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that you just so happen to possess a magical axe?”

It did not escape my notice. “So what, chop down the trees?”