Page 10 of The Great and Terrible

“This be Emerald, a province in Hakeldama.”

I wracked my brain but couldn’t locate Hakeldama on my mental map. And Emerald? I laughed without humor. First I’d met the Tinman, then the Scarecrow. Now this. “What state are we in?” Couldn’t be Kansas. “Which country?”

“Country? No. In Hakeldama, there be six territories. West rules Emerald.”

“Name the other territories.” Surely I’d recognize one. “Please.”

“Sapphire, Ruby, Amethyst, Opal, and Diamond.” The girlrubbed two fingers over her chin, leaving a streak of dirt. “I’m Patch, by the way. Never Patricia,” she added with attitude. “Patch.”

“I’m Moriah.”Can’t process. Why name the “territories” after gemstones? The fact that I’d tornadoed into a place known as Emerald, where Dorothy Gale had journeyed, left a foul taste in my mouth.

I met the gaze of each young boy at Patch’s side. “And who are you?”

Both possessed mops of white curls and big black eyes. No doubt they were brothers. They looked at the girl, as if seeking permission to respond.

“This is Boo and Coo,” Patch said, speaking over squeaking wheels. “Their mom cut out their tongues so they’d fetch a higher price when she sold ‘em to Mr. West.”

How was any of that okay anywhere? “Mr. West is the man in the green suit, I take it.”

“Yep. He decided he liked you more than Tandi, I guess.”

Great. AnotherThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozconnection. If I was supposed to be Dorothy, and I wasn’t saying I was, even though I was currently dressed to play the part, I’d just stumbled upon my nemesis, and he had me at a huge disadvantage.

The cart hit a pothole, the first of many, and I winced, every bruise and injury protesting. “How did you end up with Mr. West? How long have you been a… stable mucker?”

“Too long, and through no fault of my own,” she said, giving me no real details. “I heard you tell the executioner you stole a healing elixir. Be glad you spilled it. Those elixirs heal the injured parts of the body only to ruin healthy ones. Here. This’ll make you feel better real quick with none of them nasty side effects.” She removed a leather cord from around her neck. A small, clear vial dangled from the center, half empty with something red. She uncorked the top, shook a grain-like substance into her palm and offered it to me.

Did she tell the truth? Or was this meant to hurt me further? Payback for Brunette’s miserable end?Trust no one.

I didn’t know what to think anymore, but I was desperate enough to take a chance. “How much do I owe you?” I asked, accepting.

“Nothin’. Consider it a gift from one substitute to another.”

Substitute. Those who weren’t saved from death but allowed to live only a little longer. “Thank you, Patch.” Down the hatch. The bitter taste made me grimace. I waited seconds, a full minute, but nothing changed. No easing of my pain. But no increasing of it either, so, guess I’d consider it a win. “I’m so sorry about your friend. I had no idea what would transpire when I… I didn’t mean…I’m so sorry,” I repeated.

“She weren’t my friend.” Patch hiked her shoulders in a shrug, then re-hooked the leather strap to her neck, hiding the vial under the collar of her potato sack. “Substitutes don’t usually last long. Especially when their titleholders can commit a crime every day and still keep a stable overflowing with men, women and children forced to die in their place.”

“This occursdaily?” Shock must have addled my brain, because I couldn’t align what I heard and what I’d witnessed with an ingrained sense of justice. “We are payment for crimes committed by Mr. West?”

“O’ course. If someone don’t die, the storms come,” Patch explained.

“But that’s preposterous! And barbaric!”

Another shrug. “That’s the way of things.”

Well, it shouldn’t be. Not here, not anywhere. How were those like Mr. West getting away with it? “Beheading innocents is the worst crime of all. And how did everyone know I’d stolen the elixir?” No one had protested when I’d done it, which meant no one had seen it happen.

“That’s easy.” Patch used her index finger to draw a circle above her head. “The crimen appears after a crime is committed,then disappears once the offender or a substitute has been punished for the deed and harmony restored.”

Oooh. So Ihadseen a shadowy halo above West’s head. Obviously, he’d broken a law. And the same ring had appeared over my head, as well. But how was a crimen even possible? Something like that shouldn’t happen outside of books and movies.

When the cart hit another bump, I tensed, expecting a fresh burst of pain. Except, I felt good. Oddly good. Eyes going wide, I lifted my broken wrist. No way! The bones and tendons appeared perfectly restored. I wiggled my fingers, experiencing not even a flicker of pain. Wagged my hand back and forth. Nope. Nothing.

The bone had healed in a matter of minutes. Completely. An impossibility. Modern medicine did not—could not—work such a miracle.

I froze. Could one of those grains heal my father?

Abuzz with hope, I pointed to Patch’s vial. “What are those? Where didyouget them? Where canIget some?”

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