Thea of Oz Read online

  Thea of Oz

  By Rebecca A. Demarest

  Illustrated by Jason Moragdo

  Thea of Oz

  by Rebecca A. Demarest

  Illustrations by Jason Morgado

  Copyright (c) 2014

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Writerly Bliss Publishing

  http://rebeccaademarest.com

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  If you acquired this book through a pirating website, please consider making a donation to 826 National in the name of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Further Reading: Undeliverable

  Also By Rebecca A. Demarest

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  I took my time arranging the chipped tea service on the silver tray, trading one particularly well-loved cup for one less worse-for-wear. It wasn’t like Auntie couldn’t afford to buy a new set here in Oz, but these were Earth-made and Auntie was nothing if not Earth-proud. It was how she made her living, but when high-profile guests stopped by, it would have been nice to have something to serve them with that was whole, and maybe even matched. Nudging one last pastry into place, I grabbed the tray and backed through the swinging door into the living room.

  “Elphred, darling, surely you understand my confusion.” My aunt Gertrude was a florid woman holding court in one of the refurbished Ikea chairs, fanning herself slowly. The man sitting across from her was dressed in a black, finely tailored suit that downplayed the slight green tint to his complexion.

  He leaned forward in a slight, mock bow. “Can’t the Trade Minister call on the Garbage Queen? After all, you control quite a bit of the Earth artifact trade.”

  Auntie guffawed, slapping the plastic fan closed on her knee. “Now see, that’s it right there. You came to see me, you with your pretty governmental position and influence, when you could very well have sent me a non-invitation invitation to come to your office. Which leads me to believe that what you’re up to isn’t strictly above board. That insults me, it does. All my scavengers are properly licensed and operate within the strict regulations laid down by your own office.”

  A smile flitted across the minister’s face. “Which is why, I am sure, you’re the only human wealthy or influential enough to own an apartment here in the Emerald City instead of out in one of the human slums along the desert’s edge.”

  I finished arranging the tea on the table between them and retreated to my sewing corner, remaining close by in case Auntie needed anything else. The basket beside me was full of my failed attempts to learn embroidery, but Auntie insisted I keep trying, as it was a skill that an upper-class woman of Earth would have known. It didn’t matter to her that it was a skill a woman hadn’t needed to practice for three hundred years. I sighed, and picked up the lopsided rose I had been working on.

  Elphred waited until I was settled, collecting his thoughts, then lowered his voice. “Of course, you heard about the large drop that happened out in Munchkinland yesterday?” He picked over the pastries until he found the one with the most icing. “Four F-5 tornadoes tore their way through Oklahoma, brought in about sixty refugees and a couple warehouses?” He paused to take a bite of the delicacy and hummed in appreciation. “You really do have the best fried rings. Where do you get them?”

  Auntie snapped the fan open again. One of her frequent complaints about Oz was the lack of air conditioning. “Donuts, darling, they’re called donuts. I make them myself, old family recipe. I can send a box of them with you. As for the drop, of course I heard—my crews brought in quite the haul from it.”

  “What your crews didn’t get to see was a travel-pod that came through. A scientist by the name of Diggs, and his equipment. His pod was quite nice, too—a new line from Mitsubishi, it looks like. They finally figured out the pressurization problem.” The minister’s tongue flicked out to catch a stray bit of frosting at the corner of his mouth.

  Auntie waited for him to continue, but when he simply popped the last piece of pastry in his mouth, she broke. “Well, are you gonna make me sit here all day, or are you going to tell me what your great, secret scientist is for?”

  Elphred brushed his hands together to get rid of any lingering crumbs and picked up his cup of tea. The half smile was again hovering around his mouth. “He can stabilize a travel-storm.”

  I pricked my finger and swore, sticking it in my mouth before I could bleed all over the muslin. Auntie didn’t notice or I would have received a lecture; instead, she was leaning across the table and her eyes had gone hard, the way they always did when she sensed a good bargain. The minister continued to carefully sip his tea.

  “You’re telling me that he figured out a way to stabilize the crossing? Is it safe?”

  Elphred carefully laid his cup down before leaning back and folding his hands. “It is. Opens a doorway at ground level—not very big, mind you, but you could probably drive a pickup truck through it. No more thrashing about through tornados and praying you get here in one piece. No more picking up trash and trying to cobble it back together to sell to people desperate for a piece of their homeland.”

  Auntie’s eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out Elphred’s angle. “I’m sure he didn’t bring it over solely for that reason.”

  “Oh, no, he had all sorts of humanitarian reasons—a safe, stable way for people to evacuate your ‘global warming-ravaged earth.’” The minister actually used air quotes around the words of the human propaganda. I ducked my head to hide a smirk at how awkward the Earth mannerism looked on him. “There are apparently a lot of people willing to pay big bucks on your side of the veil to guarantee safe passage through the travel-storms. But we have enough refugees as it is, don’t you think? Why would we open our lands to more if we could help it?”

  “But a trade route from Earth, that...that could be very lucrative for all involved.” Auntie leaned back, her fan picking up speed. “How do we know that you won’t just use this as an opportunity to send us all back through the veil?”

  The minister wrinkled his nose. “Princess Ozma...well, you’ve heard the stories. She’s rather fond of you Earthers. If you started disappearing en masse, she would figure out that we have this device and would almost certainly use it to bring more of you over. Her...generosity knows no bounds. No, it is in everyone’s interest if the only people who know about this are the people directly involved in a discreet inner circle.”

  “In that case, why come to me?” The two of them seemed to have forgotten that I was even in the room and I was glad for it. A way home—that’s what they were talking about. I’d lived in Oz just about as long as I could remember and I would give anything to be able to go home again, even if Earth was being torn apart by humanity’s greed; it was where I came from. My family had been ripped out of our home before anyone even realized that Oz was real and that we could get there by storm-jumping. Both my parents died in the crossing.

  Elphred smiled broadly for the first time. “That should be obvious. You are the only trader of human goods, an expert in the supply and demand on this side of the veil. It would behoove me to partner with you to find out just what people on this side want and what the other side might need.”

  “This is an interesting proposition you’ve come to
me with.” I could tell from years of watching Auntie work that she was hooked, but she didn’t want the green man to know it yet. Her eyes only glittered that way when she smelled money, and a lot of it. “How do I know I can trust you not to leave me and mine stranded on the other side of the veil?”

  “Well, we’ll just need to have a little oversight.” He paused before he turned to me. “Forgive me, girl, but I forgot my manners entirely. I presume I have the pleasure of addressing Thea? Thea Gale?”

  Auntie’s head snapped around to stare at me as if she’d forgotten I’d existed. No one ever addressed me. I sat in the corner invisible unless somebody needed something. Then I was hardly better than a clockwork servant, sent to fetch and carry. None of her guests had known my name before. Auntie looked as though she might interrupt, but then gestured for me to answer.

  “Yes, sir, my name’s Thea.” I put my sewing down and went to stand behind Auntie’s shoulder. I didn’t care for the way Elphred was studying me, and the bulk of my adoptive mother between me and him was a comfort.

  “Well, Ms. Gertrude, I hear you’ve been training this one to be as beguiling as yourself across the negotiation tables. What if she came to the palace as my special guest and oversaw all the work? She can report back to you exactly what stage the testing is in and vanquish any fears you might have about our cheating you. Also, this way, no one gets suspicious about our spending too much time in each other’s presence. That wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

  Now, everything he said was true. I sat in on most deals Auntie made and knew a fair amount about the business, especially since I had a knack for numbers, though I was hardly the superior business woman Auntie was—nor was I anywhere near her level of crooked. I couldn’t lie worth a damn. But I guess that made me ideal as a songbird.

  “Seems fair enough to me. Thea, how’s that sound to you?” Auntie’s hand reached over to grasp mine, but her attention was focused on our guest. Her hand was clammy and shaking a bit, completely out of character for her. And when Auntie worries, I worry.

  “I guess I can manage that. I mean, I won’t be able to tell much on the science end of things, but I can tell you what I see. Plus, the palace is rather pretty, and I’ve never seen inside it.” I smiled my fourth nicest smile at Elphred and squeezed Auntie’s hand, trying to let her know I could tell she was worried, but I thought I could handle it.

  “That’s settled then. Thea, why don’t you go get a few things packed while I talk to your aunt about the details and then we’ll head over to your new quarters.”

  “What, immediately?” Auntie’s hand tightened convulsively and Elphred smiled.

  “I planned on starting the tests today and it'd be best to have a human on hand to verify that I am telling you the Oz-honest truth.” Elphred hesitated just a hair too long for comfort. “Unless you have some objection?”

  “I'll just be lonesome without her, she’s the only family I have this side of the veil. However, if that’s what you think is best—Thea, go get your stuff.” She squeezed my hand one last time and let me go.

  “Just the basics.” The trade minister called after me. “We'll get you a wardrobe at the palace more suitable to your surroundings.”

  I looked down at my threadbare Earth dress and smiled. Finally, I was going to get to wear something new. Bless Auntie’s heart, but it would be nice not to have to let down another hem for a while. I pulled our biggest market basket out of the kitchen on my way to my little room and stood for a while, contemplating what I should bring with me. Everything in my room was of Earth origin, except for the walls themselves, and those were the rich green of the rest of the city. I’d mostly covered them with postcards of Earth that Auntie had given me from the scavenged drop sites. I didn’t own much other than clothes and the minister had said I would not need those. Still, I pulled out a few undergarments and handkerchiefs.

  The pile of gray fur on my pillow stretched and stepped carefully across my bed to twine around the basket. I scritched Mrow behind his ears before turning back to my dresser and pulling my journal from the underwear drawer. “I doubt you're allowed to come with me.”

  “You can’t very well be expected to go to the palace without an escort, now, can you?” The cat wrapped his tail carefully around him as he sat in the basket, the very picture of innocence.

  “It is true that Ozites have a different view of animals than we have on the other side, and, for a cat, you’re remarkably well-behaved. But I’m headed over to be Auntie’s eyes and ears, and I’m not entirely sure it’s safe.” I tucked the journal and my favorite pen into the basket beside Mrow and turned around my room, trying to decide if I was missing anything.

  “All the more reason I should accompany you. I do not trust a single one of these Ozites as much as a mouse.”

  I smiled at his aloof tone. “You don’t trust Earthers either.”

  He sniffed and settled farther into the basket. “Well, you aren’t cats—what can you expect?”

  I had to admit, his logic was unassailable.

  The last thing I did before leaving my room was to put on my mother’s locket. I didn’t wear it all that much because I was afraid of losing it. But on this adventure, I felt like I could use the luck. I scooped up the basket, Mrow and all, and turned out my lamp before heading back to the living room. Auntie and the minister were talking, low and tense, and I hesitated before re-entering the room, wondering what was so whisper-inducing.

  “We should have been informed immediately that a Gale had dropped.”

  “When I found her as a toddler, alone, I didn’t know it was important. Later, I worried about what would happen to her. I do think of her as a daughter—you keep that in mind.”

  “Does she know who she is?”

  “Of course not. Why burden her with it? She’s still just a child, really; I’ve kept it away from her as best as possible. Besides, Gale isn’t exactly an uncommon name. I never told her she was one of those Gales.”

  “Dorothy was a lot younger than her the first time she came over.”

  Mrow let out a chirrup and leaped from the basket to trot into the room. The conversation stopped abruptly and then Auntie called out, “Thea?”

  I came around the corner and into the room, smiling as though I hadn’t just overheard them talking about me and whatever danger being a Gale brought. It seemed entirely absurd that the government should take an interest in me, an orphaned Earther from Kansas. I hardly even remembered Earth, I’d dropped so long ago.

  “Well, let me make up that list of things I think your first foray should bring back. I’ll just be a minute.” Auntie levered herself out of her chair and went into the kitchen. I was left facing the minister.

  “Who is this handsome feline? Is he one of ours or one of yours?” Elphred held his hand out to Mrow, who took his time sniffing it over before presenting his ears for fluffing.

  “That’s Mrow, and he’s an Earth cat. He’s been with me since before I dropped. I’m not sure how he survived the ride, or even me for that matter. We were accidental refugees, my family and me.” I wasn’t sure why Mrow didn’t speak up, but maybe he was taking that whole distrust thing rather more seriously than I thought.

  The cat abandoned the green man’s attentions and settled into my basket, purring loudly, eyes barely still open. The minister looked bemused. “I rather think he wants to come with you.”

  “So it would seem. Would it be alright? Auntie doesn’t really get along with him anyway and since we don’t know how long I’ll be with you, could he come along, Minister?”

  Mrow let out his namesake sound and reached up to dig one set of claws into the rim of the basket. Elphred’s eyes narrowed. I played demure, eyes cast down and swished my skirt the way Auntie had taught me. “It would put me so much more at ease. I’ve never even been on the same street as the palace, let alone inside of it.”

  “Well, alright, if it gets us out the door faster, so be it. Just know, you’ll be responsible fo
r the beast. If he makes a mess or rips up the furniture or anything unsightly like that, you’ll have to bring him back here.” The green man stood, tugging his vest and jacket straight, then called into the kitchen. “If everything is settled, we’ll be off. Ms. Gertrude? Everything to your satisfaction?”

  My aunt came scurrying back in and handed me a list. “Right as rain. Now let me say my goodbyes and she’ll meet you down at your carriage.”

  The Minister tugged at a cuff. “I can wait.”

  I could tell that wasn’t what Auntie wanted, but she couldn’t kick him out, not if she wanted to keep the sweet deal she was going to be getting. I wished I could interrogate her, but it would have to wait. So we kept our goodbyes brief, with Auntie giving me a stern reminder to behave myself like a young lady and to report everything back to her regularly and to not forget anything on her rather lengthy list. Her hands shook on my shoulders and I could feel how cold they were through the thin material of my dress. But I took them and kissed them, then her cheek, and told her I’d be just fine. After all, I had Mrow with me, and if we could survive a travel-storm, we could survive anything.

  Chapter 2

  I wasn't lying when I said I had never seen the inside of the palace. As such, I was suitably impressed when Minister Elphred’s carriage wove its way up the main boulevard and into the roundabout at the main entrance. The sprawling towers meandered over almost two acres of the city, with no real pattern or plan that I could see. It was all true emerald green, some portions even looking like they were carved from their namesake rock.

  I had heard legends about how the city was originally white and everyone just wore green glasses. When they tried to do away with the glasses, no one could see properly for the shining of it all, so the witches had gotten together and figured out a way to make everything green for real. To be honest, I was rather sick of the color and did everything I could at home to cover it up.