Page 30 of Dottie's Forbidden Wizard
My heart beats erratically as I look around. We’re on an empty floor of an office building, and each side is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows. It's dark outside. Stacks of drywall are piled neatly in the corner, and temporary work lights cast strange shadows around the enormous space.
How long have I been here?
"Toto!" I flick my eyes from corner to corner, searching for my friend.
"You humans are so pathetic." Griselda eyes me with contempt as her eerily beautiful laugh echoes across the space.
"Help me, Dottie!"Vera mocks, and the two women cackle with glee.
"Your dear friend texts you, and you race over like a sacrificial lamb with no plan or backup." Griselda giggles like a maniacal schoolgirl. "Whatever were you thinking?"
Well, to be honest, I was hopped up on orgasmic bliss caused by your ex-fiancé, and my brain turned to mush.
But I don't want her to fry me on the spot, so I keep my mouth shut.
Was Maddox in on it?
The horrible thought worms its way into my muddled brain, and I'm immediately ashamed for doubting him.
No.
He tried to keep me at the cottage. I refuse to believe that the man who has stolen my heart is capable of breaking it so thoroughly. If he is, he deserves an Oscar. And maybe a blow job for being so good at acting... and fucking. Oh, God, now is not the time to think aboutthat.
"What are you going to do with me?" I ask, trying to buy time as I think of a solution.
Vera steps forward and waves her fingers. The ties around my ankles and wrists fly free. She gets close to my face, her breath hot against my skin. "We're going to have so much fun with you, Dottie."
Vera grabs my arms to haul me out of the seat, and I cry out at the sharp scratch to my bicep. She pulls back in rage, sucking on the pad of her finger, and I realize I wasn't the only one who felt it.
"What the fuck was that?" Vera grabs my T-shirt sleeve and turns it inside out. The brooch from Glinda glimmers as she runs her hand over it.
I hold my breath, watching the two women as they peer down at the gemstone-encrusted piece.
"Holy fuck," Vera spits out. "That has to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen."
Griselda brings a work light over to inspect it closer. I keep my gaze firmly focused on the ground, afraid I'll give something away if I look at either of the two witches in front of me.
"Why would you hold on to something like this?" Griselda grabs my face, squeezing my chin as she forces me to look at her.
"My aunt gave it to me for graduation." The lie slips off my tongue before I can think better of it.
"Aw, how cute. She's holding on to a hideous Cracker Jack toy like it's a precious family heirloom." Vera cackles like she's said something clever.
Griselda releases my chin, shoving my face back painfully. She raises an eyebrow at me and rips off my shirt sleeve, tossing the brooch to the ground a few feet from my chair.
I reach for it instinctively, but Griselda tuts and waves her finger.
"Time to run, little girl," she sings out.
Griselda and Vera pick up their wands, blocking my path to the pin, so I have no choice but to run the other way.
I take off, racing for the stacks of drywall. All the work lights seem to be powered via one extension cord that ends behind this pile. I figure my best bet against their magic is to turn out the lights. As I get close to the pile, a sharp crack of electricity whizzes past my ear, and I slide behind the stack like I'm stealing home plate.
I scream when another crack of lightning flies over my head, singeing the top sheet of drywall and raining charred remnants down on my head. A barrage of fire follows, and I know I'm running out of time. I race for the power cord, pulling it from the wall with a grunt as my makeshift bunker disintegrates around me.
"You think you're so clever, Dottie," Griselda taunts as we’re plunged into darkness.
Peering around the pile of debris, I see two pinpricks of light approaching my hiding spot. They've turned their wands into flashlights, but they’re not nearly as powerful as the work lights.
