Zosozo in Oz Read online

  Zosozo in Oz

  The Ozite Cycle, Volume 2

  Rebecca A. Demarest

  Published by Rebecca A. Demarest, 2016.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  ZOSOZO IN OZ

  First edition. October 23, 2016.

  Copyright © 2016 Rebecca A. Demarest.

  ISBN: 978-1536530889

  Written by Rebecca A. Demarest.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

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  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  I paused just outside the door to Ozma’s counsel room to make sure that my emerald-green dress laid straight, not that there was a chance of it being out of order since Clack-tick had tied me into it. My clockwork maid was an impeccable dresser and an even better seamstress. Taking a deep breath, I knocked firmly on the door.

  “Enter!” came a deep, rumbling voice from the other side. I turned the handle and stepped into a room few people ever got to see. It contained an overly long table, at the head of which sat Princess Ozma, her most trusted advisors scattered down the sides. It was no hard task to identify each of them, since they all featured heavily in the historical stories of Oz. Presently, the table was occupied by the Tin Woodman, Scraps, Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, Professor Wogglebug, the Scarecrow, and the Frogman.

  Ozma gestured to the seat at the foot of the table. It was a small stool that looked like it was normally used as a cat’s napping and scratching post. “Thea, my lovely, how are you enjoying your time in the palace with us?”

  I smiled; I had been halfway worried that this summons meant that the princess had wanted to discuss the nasty business of Elphred’s death and I had not been looking forward to more obfuscation. “It’s wonderful here. Not to speak ill of my Auntie, mind you, but she is so set in the old ways of doing things, Earther ways, that she ignores the fact that there are a lot of things in this world that could make life more enjoyable.” I tried to find a better position on the little stool, but no matter how I wiggled, one butt-cheek was left dangling.

  “She is right to be proud of her heritage, Thea. But, as you say, Earthers might do better here if they gave up their insistence on doing things the old mechanical way and came to understand and appreciate magic a little bit more.” Ozma gave a slight moue of displeasure, before smiling brightly at me once more. “That is precisely why I have called for you my dear. I have a job for you.”

  “Of course, your Highness,” I answered automatically. The thought of saying no never even crossed my mind. I don’t think anyone had ever turned her down—at least, not that I had ever heard.

  “As I am sure you know, the majority of your brethren are camped along the edges of the Deadly Desert in shanty towns throughout the countries of our land. I am afraid I have not been as attentive to their needs and desires as I should have been, as the ruler of the land in which they seek refuge. I wish to send you, an honorary princess of Oz, to travel to these small shanties and see how the people are getting along. If I can do anything to help them, I shall.”

  I smiled and lowered my eyes demurely so the princess wouldn’t see the worry I felt. It had been a month since I had been handed a not-so-subtle―and anonymous―note informing me that not everyone believed the lies I’d been telling about Elphred’s death. There were still people out there who wanted to see us Earthers done away with, and me especially. The palace felt relatively safe from my accuser, with my metal maid and a retinue of guards prepared to defend me. If I accepted the task Ozma was proposing, I would lose all that. However, it might give me the chance to figure out who was working with Elphred, since a month of snooping at the palace had turned up absolutely nothing. Maybe someone out in the country would have the answers I was seeking.

  “Of course, your highness, I would be honored. Will I have an advisor traveling with me? My great-grandma Dorothy had no trouble traveling the land, so I expect none for myself, but I do not know the laws of Oz and do not wish to promise things that are out of the realm of reason to my fellow refugees.”

  I watched through my eyelashes for the princess’s reaction to the mention of Dorothy Gale, and, once again, her gaze turned frosty, then glazed over with a polite smile. No one in the palace would talk to me about my ancestor even though the streets were full of plays of her adventures, as writ by the great historian Baum.

  “Of course! It would not do for you to travel without a retinue, so I shall be sending you with Shaggy Man, since he is also late of Earth, and I will be loaning you the Gump to speed your travels. I expect Mrow will not allow himself to be left behind either.”

  I grinned at her, and joked, “As with any cat, telling him to stay would only make him want to come along all the more.”

  “Will there be mackerel?” Mrow sat on the bed, tail primly tucked, while Clack-tick and I packed a travel bag with sensible pants and shoes, with only one or two fancier get-ups for receptions I might be asked to attend in the various cities.

  “I’m sure you will be well fed in all of the cities. No, not the silver shoes, they pinch something awful. Let’s go with the black flats, they’ll match all the dresses.” I tucked the shoes into another satchel along with my toiletries and journal. Touching my locket to make sure it was in place, I turned to Mrow and offered him his basket. “Look, are you coming or not? If you stay, you’ll probably have to go back to Aunt Gertrude’s apartment. The only reason they let you stay after that fiasco with the royal palm tree was because I begged.”

  “It was potted in sand, what other purpose might it have?” Mrow sniffed, then stretched every inch of himself before hopping into the basket. I nearly dropped it under his bulk. “I suppose I’ll join you; if I don’t, you’re bound to get into some sort of trouble.”

  I snorted and was about to answer him when a knock sounded at the door, which sent Clack-tick scurrying into the outer room. As she went, she called back, “Are you sure you don’t need me to accompany you?”

  I smiled at her obvious anxiety. “Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out how to tie my own clothes on, finally.”

  The clockwork girl bowed slightly in my direction, and let Shaggy Man into the room with another small bow. “Your Grace, how are you?”

  Shaggy Man returned Clack-tick’s bow. “Happy, for today we go a-traveling. Thea, are you ready?”

  The old man before me was old enough to be my great-great-grandfather, if I’d worked the generations out properly, but looked like he could have been my father despite the wild hair and oversized clothing that made him look older than his physical age. It was dreadfully hard telling how old people were in a land where no one died. At least, not by old age or disease. There were always accidents―and self-defense.

  “Lead on, Shaggy Man.” I snapped the last suitcase closed and handed it to Clack-tick, before picking up the second one and Mrow’s basket. I smiled and kissed Clack-tick on the cheek while she made little ticking noises of distress. She knew what had really happened a month ago, and about the note I had received. I gave her a final smile and ended with “Don’t worry, I’ve got Mrow to look after me.”

  “Damn straight you do,” he replied before curling up to go to sleep. “Wake me when we’ve landed, or if there’s fish. On second thought, only wake me if there’s fish.”

  Shaggy Man laughed, a whole belly laugh that set the fringe on his suit to shaking. “Well said, cat. We could all do to gather our energies for the tasks ah
ead. After you, young miss.” He opened the door, and gestured out, before taking my extra suitcase from Clack-tick. “I’ll have her returned to your careful ministrations within a fortnight, mark my words.”

  The two of us made our way through the maze of the palace up to the rooftop landing pad for the Gump. When we came out into the sunshine, we found the odd contraption staring morosely at a manger full of sweet grasses. He let out a long sigh before turning and trotting over to his two passengers. It was a unique trot, as his body was made of two sofas tied together to form a bucket, a broom for a tail, wings made of fronds from the royal palm tree, and the taxidermied head of a deer. It was all tied together with copious amounts of rope.

  “All aboard who’s coming aboard.” He settled down next to a small staircase designed for boarding.

  “Thank you for agreeing to take us on our journey, sir,” I began, remembering what Aunt Gertrude had always said about politeness being the first and best strategy in this land.

  “It’s not like I had anything better to do. I was happy stuck up on a wall, but no, a dash of the Dust of Life and here I am...a chauffeur in my afterlife.” I exchanged a chagrined glance with Shaggy Man, who mouthed, “Don’t worry, he’s always like this.” We got the various packages waiting for us settled in with my cases, and Mrow’s basket wedged firmly in the front of the couches out of the wind, but as I went over the packages, I found something missing.

  “Forgive me for asking, Mr. Gump, but we don’t seem to have provisions back here for you.”

  “That’s because I can’t eat.” He let out the same mournful sigh again and took off without warning, the movement of his palm-frond wings like that of a dragonfly’s, and we quickly left the palace behind us.

  I couldn’t help myself, I had to ask one more question. I shouted over the sound of the wind and his wings, “I’m sorry, but if you can’t eat, why do you have a manger?”

  “Because I like to remember what it was like!” the Gump shouted back, then turned all of his attention to the flight, ignoring me. Shaggy Man was shaking with laughter when I settled back onto the cushions beside him.

  “What? I was curious.” I crossed my arms hard in front of me, trying in vain to keep my shawl from fluttering too hard. I hoped this flight wouldn’t take too long, as the wind was quite cold. I burrowed deeper into the corner of the Gump’s cushions to try to shield myself from the wind.

  “You shouldn’t take him too seriously. He’d been complaining about being stuck up on the wall for years before he was turned into this flying monstrosity. He’s actually much happier now than he was.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me; he’s the best definition of a pessimist I’ve ever seen!”

  Shaggy Man just shook his head and tilted his hat over his eyes, weighed the hat down with his arm, and was—in moments—fast asleep and snoring. I contemplated the snoring man and my now-snoring cat and decided that they probably had the right idea. Our first destination, Herku, would be upon us all the faster for it.

  I woke when the Gump took a hard bank to the right and a hat box landed squarely on my bladder.

  “What is it?” I called out.

  “Herku ahead!” Shaggy Man called back, now kneeling in the fore of the couches, pointing down at a sprawling yellow metropolis beneath us. Whereas the Emerald City was a dense, green maze of a city, Herku was regimented and orderly, as though the streets had been drawn with a giant ruler, and then plated in bronze. As well they might have, I reminded myself, since they had enslaved giants for the better part of three centuries. Coming in from the sky as we were, we bypassed the four giant gates—one for each compass point—that pierced the walls of the city. Outside of those walls, between the city and the Deadly Desert, a slum had sprung up across the amber grass plains. More and more humans had been relocating to this edge of Winkie territory to eke out whatever kind of living they could manage, and that sprawling mass of tents and bad sanitation was all the accommodation they were offered.

  The Gump ignored all of it, heading directly for the largest building in the exact center of the city, and settled softly on the shining roof. Whatever material it was made out of, it was certainly well polished. A gaunt man came running out onto the roof with a stool, which he placed beside the Gump before bowing so low his head almost touched his knees.

  “Please, that’s not necessary.” I followed Shaggy Man over the back of the couch, taking his hand before I fell and flashed the poor guard. When he didn’t immediately rise, I continued. “Really, I’m hardly any kind of royalty, you shouldn’t bow to me.”

  Shaggy Man leaned down to whisper in my ear. “In this instance, you are an emissary of Ozma, so the respect they show you is equivalent to the respect they would show her.”

  “This isn’t respect,” I murmured back, “it’s yoga.”

  The older man snorted, but didn’t otherwise reply. I gave a small curtsey to the guard, a motion I had practiced endlessly over the last month, and he finally stood upright again. He slapped his right hand over his breast, his eyes darting briefly to my face before resuming a far-off stare.

  “If it please your Highness, the Czarover is waiting to receive you in his throne room. I am to guide you there and then return for your baggage and your animal.” He slapped his chest again, then stood rigid at attention.

  I glanced over at Mrow, who was still sleeping soundly, now on his back with his paws in the air and smiled. “Let sleeping lions lie, right? Well, let’s not keep the Czarover waiting.” I waited for Shaggy Man to precede me, but he instead offered his arm, which I took with a nervous giggle. I was far from used to the pomp and circumstance of a court, particularly since Ozma’s court tended to be on the relaxed side. You could almost forget you were talking with a princess as you sipped Lacasa in the shade of one of the many courtyards and chatted about fashion or last night’s theater performance. Once I had gotten past all the finery the girl wore, Ozma had seemed just like any other young woman, though lonelier than most. That probably explained why she had latched on to me so hard. At least, that was what I told Auntie Gertrude in the rare visits we’d had since I’d taken up permanent residence in the palace. I never mentioned how creepy Ozma could be about showing up in random places at random times, just wanting to chat. You never knew when she would just...appear on the divan in your room.

  After going down several staircases, we finally found ourselves on the ground floor and standing in front of the massive throne room entrance. The guard bowed once more before throwing open the doors. He preceded us into the room and announced our names in a booming voice. I stumbled a little bit as I entered the room, distracted by the two monstrous figures hulking over the throne. Giants, a male and a female, and more than twice the size of a normal human, stood glowering at the back of the room. When a giant glowers, you feel properly glowered upon, what with their super-sized features. It wasn’t until I was halfway down the room that I realized they were chained to the throne, hands, feet, and throats glinting with hardware.

  I forced my attention to the man on the throne, and realized why I hadn’t noticed him first. He was the thinnest man I had ever seen, hardly more than skin and bones, and he seemed to disappear under all the embroidered robes and fine jewelry that was heaped on him. Shaggy Man and I stopped in front of the dais and bowed/curtsied to the ruling monarch of the Herku city-state.

  “Well met, Thea Gale and Shaggy Man. Her Highness does us great honor in sending two such esteemed members of her court to us. We are happy to be your hosts at this time, and have set aside one of the lesser courtrooms for you to hear the petitioners in. Though I assume you will want to freshen up a bit before seeing them.” The man was idly playing with the loops on the female giant’s chain, great iron rings the size of my head that he flipped about with his fingers like they were nothing.

  I curtsied to the man once more for good measure. “Yes, thank you, your Grace. That is most kind of you. The trip here was quite windy.”

  “I im
agine travel by Gump is better than travel by Sawhorse, but not by much.” The Czarover dropped the chain and jumped lightly to his feet. “But come, come, we will chat on the way to your suite.”

  He offered his arm to me before I could take the Shaggy Man’s and I smiled before resting my hand lightly on the velvet of his sleeve. The arm underneath was surprisingly hard and rock-steady, for all that he looked frail. The surprise must have shown in my face for the Czarover smiled and winked.

  He leaned in and stage-whispered, “The Zos, you know. Keeps one strong!” For emphasis, he slammed his foot on the ground and the marble tile beneath it crumbled into dust.

  I used the dust as an excuse to cough and wave a hand in front of my face, disguising my initial shock at his gesture. It was unsettling to see that much power packed into such a small man, but as the cloud cleared, I smiled and leaned a little heavier on his arm. “I had heard of Zosozo, but I’ve never met someone graced by its strength. It’s fairly rare in the Emerald City.”

  The Czarover chuckled and patted my hand on his arm. “Well, that’s because we guard it jealously here at the edge of Winkie territory. It’s the only way we can control the giant population, and since we control them, we have no need to leave our city. Our thralls take care of all the mundane work for us and we are allowed to relax in splendor.”

  I glanced back over my shoulder at the two giants chained to the throne, noticing their glower was now focused on the Czarover instead of us and I couldn’t help but shiver a bit at the intensity of it. I fancied I could hear them growling as the doors to the throne room closed behind us. I would not want to be the Czarover if the giants ever found a way out from under the Herkuan thumb.

  Chapter 2

  Our rooms were spacious, with private baths that included our own personal chained giants to operate the pumps and bellows for the jacuzzi tubs. I found Mrow batting at a loose thread on the giant’s dress and pulled him away before he was stepped on.