“Some cycle of it,” Lurline said.
I reflected on that as, in front of me, Ozma struck the final blow. A powerful bolt of golden lightning hit Glamora in the chest and knocked her out of the sky. As the witch lay powerless on the ground, Ozma extended her hands. I turned my head away, not wanting to watch the killing blow.
I had no love for Glinda. But Glamora had once been my friend. And whatever she was now, I didn’t want to see her suffer. Although I believed that the Order was wrong in trying to use our love to move Nox and me around like chess pieces, I loved the witches—all of them. They had taught me about magic. They had helped me shed Salvation Amy and become me.
“Isn’t there something you can do?” I asked desperately.
Lurline shook her head. “It’s up to her now. Glinda and Glamora have been battling for so very long. Imagine that much Good and that much Wicked occupying the same body. But you should look now.” Reluctantly, I raised my head.
Ozma’s face was peaceful and calm. Almost gentle. Rays of golden light flowed from her fingers, wrapping Glamora in ropy cords that solidified in front of my eyes. Within her bonds, Glamora’s form grew blurry and indistinct.
And then Ozma lowered her arms with a fierce motion, shouting an incantation I couldn’t hear, and Glamora and her bonds disappeared.
“She didn’t kill her,” I breathed. “But what if she escapes?”
“What if she does?” Lurline said. “She will remember Ozma’s mercy. And, while it might not shift the course of what she chooses next, the balance of compassion will be preserved.”
Compassion, I thought. Not Good. Not Wicked.
Forgiveness. And empathy. And love. But who had she saved? Was it Glinda or Glamora?
Ozma looked up from the battlefield and for the briefest second her eyes met mine. She squinted—and then smiled.
“Good luck, Amy,” she mouthed.
“She can see me?”
“She can see me,” Lurline corrected. “But she knows you are with me now. Don’t lose heart, Amy. Your path lies through Ev. You must complete the task you were brought here to do. You must defeat Dorothy.”
The vision of Oz disappeared as if someone had flicked off a television.
“I couldn’t do it, Lurline,” I said. “I couldn’t kill her.”
And then I realized what she’d said.
Not kill Dorothy.
Defeat her.
I was right. There was another way. That was what Lurline was trying to tell me. That was why she’d shown me the battle Ozma had just fought. The Wicked had been wrong. Killing Dorothy wasn’t the only way to defeat her. But if that was true, it was up to me to find another way.
I felt her smile again. “Dorothy was just like you once, you know. Headstrong and intelligent and brave. Looking for adventure wherever it found her. None of us are entirely Wicked or entirely Good. Or entirely evil, for that matter. We are made of what shapes us.”
That was pretty cryptic advice, but I had a feeling it was all I was going to get.
“Be brave, my dear,” Lurline said. I felt a brush of lips across my forehead.
A fairy’s kiss. Just like Gert had kissed me once, after my first battle in Oz. The battle where I’d thought I’d watched her die. Warmth spread through my body. Her kiss washed away my exhaustion and fear. I felt completely safe.
“Good-bye for now, dear Amy,” she said. But her voice sounded farther away. Below me, the verdant jungle was crumbling into dust. Darkness swallowed me again, but this time I wasn’t afraid.
“Amy!” Someone was shouting my name in the distance. “Amy, what happened? Amy!” The voice was full of panic—and familiar.
“Nox,” I said.
“Amy!” His voice was tinged with relief. I opened my eyes. I hadn’t even known I’d closed them. I was in Lang’s guest chambers. Nox and Madison were staring at me, their eyes huge with fear.
“Holy shit,” Madison breathed. “What just happened? Are you okay? You just had, like, a seizure, and your shoes were glowing, and your eyes were like rolling back in your head—”
I interrupted her babble. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m fine, I really am. Nox, you’re not going to believe this, but Mombi’s alive.”
“What?”
“I saw it,” I said eagerly. “Just now. I was with Lurline.”
“You were having a seizure,” Madison said, her face suddenly concerned. “You didn’t go anywhere, Ames.”
I shook my head impatiently. “No, listen. I saw them—I saw her. She’s alive, Nox.”
Nox turned his back, his shoulders hunched. I had never seen him cry, but when I wrapped my arms around him I realized he wasn’t crying—he was laughing.
“It’s hard to kill a witch,” he said. I smiled sadly but before I could respond I heard footsteps pounding down the hall. Seconds later, Langwidere flung the door open, her eyes wild with fury—and fear. Her mask was gone, her kimono clutched tight around her chest, and she was breathing hard.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snarled. “What are you doing?”
We all looked at her in surprise.
“What were you thinking, using magic like that here? You couldn’t have told Dorothy you were here any more clearly than if you’d marched up to the Nome King’s palace and banged on the door. Whatever you just did sent up a signal flare of power so huge they probably felt it in Oz.”
Nox and I exchanged glances. “I didn’t think—” I began.
“No,” she said. “That much is clear. You have to get out of here before they come looking for you. I’m not going down with you just because you’re a bunch of idiots.”
“I’m sorry,” I said hastily. “I know it was a huge risk. But I saw Lurline, Lang. She told me we have to work together. The road brought us to you for a reason. You know it as well as I do.”
“Lurline is a myth,” Lang snapped. But for the first time, she seemed almost uncertain. She was wavering. Somewhere, some part of her knew I was right.
Nox could feel it, too. “We don’t have anywhere to go,” he said. “Lang, we want to kill Dorothy just as much as you do—and bring down the Nome King while we’re at it. They were going to find out we were here sooner or later. We just have to move faster. You have to let us help you.”
“I don’t think you’re in a position to be issuing ultimatums,” Lang said. “And I fight alone.”
“That’s not what you learned in the Order,” he countered.
“I learned a lot of things in the Order,” she said. “Thanks to you, I learned how to abandon the people you trust and send your allies into danger.”
Nox looked at her for a long beat, then said, “I’m sorry, Lanadel!” At the sound of her old name, she started. “I know you think I made a mistake. But I didn’t have a choice. I had to do what was best for the Order. You know that. I would never have put any of you at risk if I didn’t have another option.”
“You killed her!”