Dorothy Must Die Novella #7 by Danielle Paige Page A

the mountaintop lookout. She wasn’t looking forward to facing Nox after what she’d seen last night. And how could she possibly hide what she knew from Melindra?
    A cloud of silence hung over the breakfast table. Even Mombi seemed subdued. Melindra’s eyes were red-rimmed and she tore furiously at her bread crust in silence. Holly and Larkin kept exchanging wide-eyed glances, clearly dying to know what was going on. Nox was staring at his bowl of gruel, refusing to look up as Lanadel entered the cavern. She took a deep breath, trying to decide where to sit.
    And then suddenly there was a cracking noise and a flash of light from the far end of the cavern. With a pop, all of Glamora’s enchantments vanished: the Flutterbudgets, the chandeliers,the fire, the food. Where the magical fire had burned a second earlier, someone—or something—was crumpled on the floor, unmoving. Nox leapt to his feet and rushed over with Melindra close behind him. Holly, Larkin, and Lanadel ran after them and Mombi waddled in the rear as fast as her short legs could manage.
    As Lanadel got closer she could see Nox was bending over a girl not much older than she was. It was impossible to tell what she was wearing; it might have been a plain dress, but it was so dirty and torn that hardly any of the original garment remained. She was bleeding from a dozen cuts, her exposed skin covered in blood, and a terrible wound gaped from her forehead. The girl’s eyes were closed and Lanadel thought for an awful moment that she might be dead until she saw the faint rise and fall of her chest.
    â€œSummon Gert and Glamora,” Mombi said to Nox in a low voice. “Now.” Nox jumped to his feet and put two fingers to his mouth as though he was about to whistle, but no sound came out of his open mouth. A few seconds later Glamora and Gert appeared next to Mombi with a pop.
    â€œOh no!” Glamora gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Her horn !”
    What horn? Lanadel wondered.
    â€œWe have to get her to the healing pool at once,” Mombi said, pushing the trainees out of the way. “Melindra, help me carry her. I’m afraid to move her using magic.” But the girl’s eyelids were fluttering. She coughed weakly and rolled over onto her side, wheezing for breath.
    â€œNot—bad—as it looks,” she whispered. “Let me—walk.”
    â€œNot a chance,” Melindra said, gathering the girl up in her arms with infinite tenderness. She stood again as if the girl’s limp body weighed nothing at all, the muscles in her back and arms rippling.
    â€œForget about me,” the girl wheezed. “You have to—” But she broke off, hacking and coughing. Blood bubbled from her mouth. Gert leaned forward and brushed the girl’s forehead with her fingers, her eyes closed.
    â€œOh dear,” she said. “Oh, this is not good at all.” She opened her eyes and looked at Mombi. “Dorothy is moving far more quickly than we expected. We sent poor Annabel into terrible danger without realizing it.”
    Lanadel drew in a breath—this was Annabel, the missing member of the Order who they’d been so worried about. She was alive—but barely.
    â€œWe all know the risks,” Nox said in a low voice, but his face was strained with worry. “This is what we’re trained for. This is why we’re here. Melindra,” he said, “if we don’t get her to the healing pool, she’s going to die.”
    â€œI know that!” Melindra snarled.
    â€œHow much time do we have?” Glamora asked, her face suffused with concern.
    Gert shook her head. “Not much, I don’t think. But Nox is right—she’s in no shape to be questioned. Her thoughts are a jumble. I can barely make anything out. We won’t get anything useful out of her until she’s healed.” Melindra was alreadywalking past her.
    â€œLanadel, why