“That is not what happens!” the Cowardly Lion cried. He was practically sobbing.
“Why do you care?” Daphne said. “We’re only skipping some stuff that doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t matter?” the Tin Man said. “It all matters!”
Sabrina brushed herself off and grasped her sister’s arm. She looked at the others square in the eyes. “What matters is that our brother gets rescued. This train is leaving the station. Are you on or off?”
“But—” the Scarecrow cried.
Before the trio from Oz could continue their argument, a strange pink creature scurried out of the poppies. It was the size and shape of a watermelon, with long skinny arms and legs that couldn’t keep its fat little body from dragging across the ground. It didn’t have eyes or a nose, or at least any that Sabrina could see, but it had a big wide mouth filled with hungry teeth and a tongue that licked the air. Sabrina had never seen anything like it. She made a mental note to stop skimming the books in the family library and actually read them from cover to cover.
“Revisers!” the Scarecrow shouted.
Sabrina turned and saw the Tin Man’s face. His steely expression turned to fear. “I told you not to mess with the Editor.”
“Get us out of here, now!” the Cowardly Lion shouted as the pink monster scurried toward them. The three characters joined hands and clung to the girls.
Daphne clicked her heels together and repeated three times, “There’s no place like the magic door.”
Suddenly there was a sound like a balloon inflating almost to bursting and the world twisted into a knot right in front of Sabrina’s eyes. There was a snap and then several violent shakes. Sabrina remembered using the magic slippers out in the real world, but there had never been so much turbulence before. She found herself swirling around and around, out of control, until she staggered dizzily and the room came into focus.
She and the others were in a circular room draped in green curtains and decorated with dazzling emeralds. A throne sat high on a pedestal across from them and a bright light hovered at the top of the ceiling.
“This isn’t the end of the story,” Sabrina said, peering around for the door.
“This is the Wizard’s castle,” the Cowardly Lion said. Sabrina thought he looked as afraid of the castle as he had of the twisted pink creature they had just encountered. “The shoes did not work because the door does not exist yet. This tale is not over.”
Suddenly a roaring green flame erupted in the center of the throne. Inside the flame was an enormous hovering head. It was bald with sharp features and little eyes.
“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible,” the head bellowed as thunder boomed. “Who are you and why do you seek me?”
The Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion fell over themselves in fear.
Sabrina, however, was not intimidated. She may have only skimmed the story, but everyone knew that the head was a mechanical illusion created by Oscar Diggs, also known as the Wizard, or simply, Oz. Oz had no real magical powers, but his sophisticated machines created a convincing illusion for the people of the Emerald City. He had taken over the town and ruled it with fear, but his big green floating head couldn’t hurt Sabrina or her sister.
Sabrina stepped forward. “We’re looking for our baby brother. He was kidnapped and dragged into this book, and we’re here to rescue him. To do that we have to kill the Wicked Witch and get her broom for you, so why don’t you do your little magic show so we can get on with it.”
The head opened its mouth wide and Sabrina fully expected more complaints about respecting the plot, but instead she heard a deep, obnoxious belch.
The girls looked at each another in disbelief.
“I know that’s not in the story,” Daphne said.
The head laughed. “Why would I help a couple of monkey-faced freaks like you two?”
Sabrina glanced around the room. Standing not far from where they were was a tall green screen. She stepped over to it.
“Never mind the man behind the screen!” the head bellowed as Sabrina pushed it aside. Standing behind it was a very familiar ragged-haired boy in a filthy green hoodie.
“Puck!” the girls cried.
On the floor next to him, tied tight with rope, was the Wizard. A green gag was shoved into his mouth and it was clear by his groans that he was not happy. Puck, however, looked as amused as Sabrina had ever seen him.
“Hello, Grimms,” Puck said. “Are you having as much fun as I am?”
2
z rules!” Puck exclaimed.
“How did you get here?” Sabrina asked.
“After I stepped into that crazy book I was tossed inside a tornado. I got spun around at a million miles an hour and then was flung all the way to the Emerald City. It was awesome!”