Page 51 of Ozma

Open.

The knot struggled to obey. Maybe he needed to be more specific. Instead of using words, he imagined the knot peeling back. The edges unfurling. The center flaking away. And, this time, the tree listened. Inside, a glint of gold sparkled with the light Tik-Tok held.

“Take it,” he urged.

Jack stepped closer and carefully plucked the octagonal piece from its hiding place. It was large enough to fill his palm, no thicker than the shell of a regular-sized pumpkin, and surprisingly light.

Tik-Tok held out his free hand. “Give it to me.”

Jack turned it over to the other male and watched him carefully for a reaction. The pirate clutched the object tightly with his gloved hands, held it to his lips, and whispered inaudibly. Jack only knew he spoke because his lips moved. And then the object popped open.

Tik-Tok grinned wildly. “It still works.”

Jack leaned forward and caught a glimpse of the needle spinning around inside. The face was marked with North, South, East, and West, with tiny scores around the outer edge. “A compass? How will that get us into Oz’s house?”

“This isn’t just any compass,” he said in awe. “It’smycompass.”

Jack lifted a brow. “And that means…?”

Tik-Tok shot him an irritated look. “Never mind. Let’s get back to your precious Ozma and I’ll keep my word to get you in to see the Wizard.”

“Wonderful,” Jack said flatly. His muscles ached and his body felt void of any magic. Completely tapped of energy in general. When had they last gotten a decent night’s rest? When had they eaten? It felt like a lifetime ago. But there was no way he was going to delay the return trip.

Not when Ozma was in torment inside her stone body.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ozma

The dark night wrapped around Ozma’s stone flesh, and the stars shone through slits in the trees, allowing her to see straight ahead. It was strange, not being able to move, yet somehow still feeling the wind blowing against her. In the dark place, Reva had spoken of gnomes made entirely out of rock—was this what they felt? Their nerves still coming alive beneath hardened flesh?

Time passed and passed as she worried about Jack, wondering if Tik-Tok would betray him. Even though the pirate seemed like a selfish prick, she prayed he wouldn’t harm Jack.

Finally, as night bugs swarmed past her, the sound of footsteps and leaves crunching echoed, interrupting her thoughts as they drew closer. If she could hold her breath any more than her stone lungs were already doing, Ozma would have done so. She hoped it wasn’t fae or humans from the swarm. She relaxed when a flash of orange hair appeared in the silver of the moonlight, followed by Tik-Tok’s dark mane.

The pirate stroked the sword at his hip and sauntered toward Ozma. “Wake up, darling.” He flicked his hand in the air, and a sizzling noise sounded in her head as her skin became lighter, freer. Her body jerked forward, feet stumbling, until Jack’s hands wrapped around her waist, catching her.

“Are you all right?” he whispered, his hazel gaze holding hers.

“I’m fine,” she choked out, her voice raspy. Ozma’s throat felt scratchy as she took a deep swallow, then another.

A twig snapped behind her. Ozma withdrew her dagger and whirled around.

Tik-Tok lifted a brow and bit into one of the fruits he’d tossed from her satchel earlier. “Sorry, did you want this back?” he asked, slowly chewing with a smirk.

Ozma released a frustrated sigh and focused on Jack. “Did he retrieve what we needed to get inside?” She didn’t know what exactly it was the pirate had gone to find. He could have been lying when he’d said that the object would allow them access to see the Wizard.

Jack ran a hand through his hair, his eyes sliding to Tik-Tok. “So he says.”

“I’m wounded you still don’t trust me.” Tik-Tok took another bite of the fruit, then fished out something golden from his pocket. “It will work.” She only caught a glimpse of its octagonal shape before he pressed it back into his pants.

Jack ignored Tik-Tok and knelt on the ground. He plucked up the last couple pieces of their fruit, then tossed her a plum. “We’ll need some strength before we try to go in.”

Ozma sank her teeth into the sweet fruit and peered up at the full moon mounted in the sky, the constellations of stars clustered together, and the small wings of night creatures pumping across the treetops. “Should we wait until morning?” she asked, not knowing if the time of day would really make a difference.

“The fiends can find you more easily at night,” Tik-Tok started. “Their sight works better in the dark, so I say move now. Kill Oz when he’s least expecting it.”

The Wizard would most likely be asleep, and perhaps there were a way she could catch him easily, then cut his throat. But if he wasn’t asleep… “What about sharing magic with Jack? How are you going to make that happen?” Ozma needed something more than a dagger and a few spells that wouldn’t even work against the Wizard.

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