“Nox,” I hissed. “What are you doing here?”
“You can’t use magic, Amy. There’s no way you can fight the Nome King by yourself.”
“Did Mombi send you?” He didn’t answer, his eyes on the Nome King, which made me think he had come here on his own. I had no idea what the consequences were for a witch who disobeyed Quadrant orders, but I was guessing Gert, Glamora, and Mombi wouldn’t be too happy with Nox’s solo mission.
The Nome King was obviously enjoying the moment. “Do you really think you can protect her against me, little boy? Your magic barely works here. You’re weak and far from home. I urge you to let the matter rest. I have no wish to do harm to your friend.” The way he stressed the word clearly indicated that he guessed Nox and I had feelings for each other—and that he found it funny.
“This isn’t a game,” Nox said in a low voice. I knew what Nox was doing. After all, he’d trained me. He was testing the Nome King’s defenses, looking for a weakness. But the Nome King had already said his magic didn’t work like ours.
“Amy, who are those people? What—what happened to Assistant Principal Strachan?” Shit. I’d forgotten about Dustin. He was still in the hallway.
“Dustin, I mean it! Get out of here!” I hissed.
“I’m not going to just leave you!”
“I can take care of myself!” He didn’t budge. “Go call the police!” I yelled. There was nothing a Kansas cop could do to stop a creature like the Nome King, but at least that would get Dustin out of harm’s way.
“I’m not leaving you!” he repeated.
“Just do it!”
The Nome King lunged forward, reaching out his long thin fingers for me.
“Amy!” Nox shouted.
“I see!” I ducked under the Nome King’s arms, my own training kicking in as I somersaulted across the hallway and landed in a crouch next to the display case. But the Nome King hadn’t been coming for me at all: he’d been going for Nox, who threw up a quick shield that the Nome King batted away as if it was made of cobwebs.
“This matter does not concern you, child,” he said evenly. “If you wish to leave, you will leave us now.”
“I’m not a child,” Nox said grimly. He raised glowing hands, tendrils of fire licking along his fingers and condensing into a ball of flame in his palms. The Nome King laughed—that same awful, sinister laughter that slid into my skull like a knife blade. I howled with pain, clapping my hands to my ears. Nox was doubled over, too, tongues of fire dripping harmlessly off his fingers. I had to get us out of here. We couldn’t possibly fight off the Nome King if I didn’t have magic. I had no doubt he’d kill Nox if he got in the way of whatever the king wanted with me.
Could be worse, I thought. At least he’s not into glitter.
The silver shoes were the only chance I had for Nox and me to escape. But the Nome King wanted me to take them. What was I getting myself into if I was accidentally obeying him while I tried to save Nox’s life? The Nome King advanced toward Nox, grinning, the long spidery fingers of each hand lengthening and turning silver like the Tin Woodman’s knife-fingered minions. If I didn’t act now, Nox was toast. I pulled off my sweatshirt, wrapped it twice around my arm, and brought my elbow down on the glass diorama case with all my strength. Pain blazed up my arm, and for a second I thought I’d been dumb enough to break my arm instead of the glass. But a long, satisfying crack had appeared on the glass case. One more blow, and the case shattered. Behind me, Nox and the Nome King were circling each other, the Nome King moving easily and Nox’s movements tight with anxiety. The Nome King was toying with him like a cat batting a mouse around before she kills it. But at least his sick little game was keeping Nox alive for the moment.
“Amy!” Nox gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to save your life I’m sure,” said the Nome King, sounding bored. “I can’t imagine why she’d bother.”
“You don’t really seem like a guy who knows much about friends,” I snarled, grabbing the Dorothy figurine out of the shards of broken glass. As soon as I touched the shoes, I could feel the magic running through them like an electric current. They began to glow with a gentle, warm light that filled the hallway. Dustin, Nox, and the Nome King froze. The shoes grew in my hands like one of those little sponge animals you soak in water until they looked exactly the right size for my feet. I kicked off my sneakers and slipped the shoes over my feet.
“Very good, Amy,” the Nome King purred at the exact moment Dustin yelled, “Amy, no! It has to be a trap!”
I wasn’t an idiot. The possibility had already occurred to me. But I didn’t know what other choice we had. I had to get Nox and Dustin to safety before the Nome King killed them both.
But something incredible was happening. As soon as I put the shoes on, they began to change. The soles thickened and the thin silk fabric, covered with dozens of hand-sewn sequins, crept up my ankles. Silver laces threaded themselves through polished silver grommets.
Dorothy’s magic shoes had turned into a pair of diamond-studded leather combat boots—and they fit me better than any shoe I’d ever owned. I couldn’t describe the feeling of wearing them. It was like being hugged by an old, dear friend. Everything’s going to be just fine, the shoes seemed to sigh. Their gentle presence filled me from my toes to the top of my head. I held my hands up and saw that they glowed with the same beautiful silver light that had come from the shoes. I could feel magic flowing through my body as though I was a hollow log in a clear stream. I was calm, calmer than I’d ever been. Nothing mattered anymore. I felt a thousand miles away from the chaos in the hallway. I knew if I asked them the shoes would take me anywhere I wanted. And I knew where I wanted to go: back to Oz. I closed my eyes and prepared to summon the power to go home.
“Amy!” Nox cried, and my eyes flew open again. How had I forgotten him? What was I doing? I stared down at my glowing feet. If the shoes were part of the Nome King’s plan, how could I possibly trust their magic?
I didn’t have time to worry about that. The Nome King clapped his hands in delight when he saw the shoes on my feet. Nox lunged forward, trying to knock the Nome King off his feet, just as Dustin leapt into the fray. His eyes were huge with fear but his face was set in determination. He would get himself killed fighting for me—even though he had no idea what he was up against.
“Dustin, stop!” I yelled, but it was too late. The Nome King whipped a fireball at him so fast I didn’t even see his hands move.
“No!” I yelled, reaching for it with my free hand. My boots blazed with light and power and, at last, I could feel the answering pull of my own magic as a web of dull, flickering strands of light spun out of my fingertips. It wasn’t enough to deflect the Nome King’s fireball, but my net sucked some of the force of his weapon away before it smacked Dustin squarely in the chest. His mouth dropped open into a round O of surprise as he stared down at the blackened crater spreading across his chest, and then he let out a low moan and toppled slowly backward. “Dustin!” I screamed. I heard pounding and shouts in the hallway and a siren in the distance.
A handful of teachers rounded the corner at a run. The Nome King raised his hands, and another shock wave sent them flying backward. Nox, abandoning magic, barreled into the Nome King’s stomach, but the Nome King kicked him away easily. The Nome King reached upward and pulled a mass of long, thin strands of darkness out of the air that began to swirl and expand, whirling faster and faster.
“My dear Miss Gumm,” he said lightly, his slithering voice sending chills down my spine. “I’m afraid it’s time to bid adieu to your little beau. I’m taking you back to Oz now, where you belong.” The swirling mass of darkness ballooned upward, tearing tiles off the floor and sending them spinning through the shattered windows. Suddenly, I knew what he was doing. He’d summoned a tornado. I had Dorothy’s shoes and I knew the Nome King wanted to send me back to Oz. And I knew he wasn’t just going to leave Nox behind—he couldn’t risk leaving one of the Quadrant. He was going to kill him.
We didn’t have much time. In fact, we didn’t have any. I wanted to help Dustin. I wanted to tell Madison how much I hoped she got out of Flat Hill someday. I wanted to say good-bye to my mom for the last time. But I didn’t have a choice. It was either return to Oz, or watch Nox die in this hallway.
“Nox!” I screamed. “Come on!” He took in my shoes with a single glance and darted away from the Nome King, wrapping his arms around me. “Take us home!” I yelled above the furious howl of the tornado. The shoes shot out rays of white light, and we floated up—into the eye of the storm.
Standing in the middle of the ruined hallway, surrounded by shattered glass, blood, and rubble, the Nome King watched us go. A huge, terrifying smile spread slowly across his face. I’ll see you very soon, Miss Gumm, his awful voice sliced into my head. And then the tornado had us, and everything went dark.