Page 133 of Witch Queens: Tales from Oz

Dorothy's treachery had affected each of the volunteers differently. They were more than happy to face the danger to be rid of her forever.

I was nervous casting the spell to change them into flying monkeys, but it went perfectly.

We found that we needed more monkeys than we had initially thought. The treasure was heavy, throwing off our numbers.

“I just wish to hell I could fly!” I waved my hand angrily.

Suddenly, my feet began to leave the ground as my body lifted in the air.

My eyes flew to Steele’s in alarm.

He grabbed my hand and I stopped rising, but I hadn’t settled back on the floor.

“It would seem, Your Majesty, that you now have the ability to fly,” Cass flushed.

Bloody hell, this was awesome. Without having to worry about me, we had enough monkeys to carry our group.

“We are headed to the Unicorners, correct?” Indy asked.

“Yes,” I called back to her, “You and Scarecrow lead on.”

We all rose in the air. I still didn’t have excellent control over my new power and smacked into the tree next to me.

I heard Indy snickering.

“Don’t make me hex you!” I grumbled.

“I love you too, El!” she called back happily.

We followed Indy and Scarecrow as they rose above the forest trees and flew toward Munchkin Land. It was a few hours before we saw Mount Munch in the distance.

“How much further do we have before we get to the Unicorners?” I asked.

“Look for the pool of water,” Steele called out, “Do you see it up there on the left? The blue Dwarfs should be making us aware of their presence at any moment.”

Arrows shot out of the trees, narrowly missing us.

“I believe we are there,” Scarecrow said dryly.

We began our descent. Cass was waving a sizeable white flag

The attack stopped and there was silence as the flying monkey’s set us on our feet.

“Stay here and rest,” Scarecrow advised them. "There is a stream just to the south, maybe three or four minutes’ walk. Wait for us there.”

The monkey’s bowed to him as if he were their leader.

“Why are you here?” a blue Dwarf stepped forward, raising his high voice. “These lands are reserved for the Unicorners.”

“We only wish to pass above your land,” Indy’s voice was calm and assured. “We wish you and the Unicorns every blessing.”

“You have come to steal their apples,” another Dwarf argued. “You are not the first ones to try and fool us. You want eternal life.”

Scarecrow coughed, “I’ve had my fill of it actually.”

The first Dwarf moved forward. Scarecrow stood still as the Dwarf circled him. He touched his hands and sniffed at his fingertips.

“Who did this to you?” the Dwarf demanded.

---