A red spark lit the darkness and slowly spread outward. Nox and I were standing side by side on the rough stone floor of a cavern so huge its ceiling was lost in darkness. In front of us, a dark pool of water reflected the low red light, and on the far side a familiar figure hunched over an ornate, old-fashioned clock. I’d been expecting something huge, monstrous—but it just looked like an ordinary antique you might see in your grandparents’ house, except for the fact that it was made out of solid gold and studded with dozens of pebble-sized emeralds. In the red light, Dorothy’s face looked hideous and twisted, like a monster’s. The clock shook, and a low boom echoed through the dark chamber.
“I knew it was just a matter of time before we met again, Amy,” Dorothy said. Her voice was raspy and low, like she’d suddenly taken up a pack-a-day habit. She coughed, and the clock boomed again. I realized the sound was the same ticking, but slowed down somehow. Dorothy smiled. “No pun intended,” she continued. “Time is what matters, when you get right down to it. For everything there is a season, right? I learned a few things in the Other Place, Amy. I learned that things don’t get any more fun there for girls as special as me. I learned that magic really is the best way to do things. And what better source of magic than the heart of Oz?”
“Lurline’s pool,” Nox said. He was still squeezing my hand, but his voice was steady.
“You’re smarter than you look,” Dorothy said coquettishly. “Between the Great Clock and Lurline’s little puddle”—she gestured to the dark pool—“I have enough magic to keep me going for as long as I want. Which is, of course, forever. I thought the Wizard was on my side. I thought Glinda was my friend. But the only person you can really rely on is yourself.”
“You can’t do this,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. “Using the Great Clock will let loose all of Oz’s magic. And Oz and Kansas are two sides of the same place. You know that. You’ll destroy them both.”
“I don’t care about Kansas,” Dorothy snapped, but for the first time she sounded uncertain, as if she hadn’t thought her plan through.
“That much magic will tear you apart,” Nox jumped in. “You can’t survive it.”
For a second, Dorothy almost looked to be on the verge of changing her mind. As impossible as it seemed, I thought we might have convinced her to abandon her crazy plan. But then she scowled.
“You’ve taken away everything I cared about, Amy Gumm,” Dorothy said. “You killed my friends. You ruined my city and made Oz impossible for me to rule. You even killed my dog. I’m not going to do anything you tell me. And I’m not going to let you take away Oz.”
In one sudden motion, she picked up the clock and threw it hard into the pool. “No!” Nox shouted. The clock disappeared noiselessly into the black water without even making a splash. For a second, everything held completely still.
And then the water of the pool began to bubble violently. A black cloud formed over it, whirling faster and faster in the red light of Dorothy’s shoes. She raised both arms over her head, and the cloud above us split open. I could see through it—straight through to Dusty Acres, still as abandoned and sad-looking as the day the Wizard had pulled me and Dorothy through to the Other Place. Arcing sparks of red light shot from Dorothy’s fingers into the black mass, landing on the ground in Kansas and flaring up into fires that quickly caught in the dead grass. Huge fissures cracked open and spread through the parched earth. I had to do something. I had to stop her, before she destroyed Oz and Kansas both. But how?
The shoes. Dorothy’s shoes. They’d had the power to take Dorothy back to Kansas. Maybe they had the power to save it. It was a stretch, but the connection was there, and right now it was the only idea I had. I had to save my mom and I had to save Nox. I couldn’t let Dorothy take them away from me. “I love you!” I yelled at Nox, yanking my hand from his grip.
“Amy, stop! What are you doing?” He threw himself at me but I dodged his arms. Maybe I could get the clock back. Maybe the shoes would help me. Maybe I was about to die. There was only one way to find out. I took a deep breath, got a running start, and jumped.
“No!” Dorothy and Nox screamed at the same time as I plunged into darkness and everything went black.