“Keep going!” he yelled. “The whole thing is coming down! We have to get clear!”

The ground itself was heaving under our feet. Nox still refused to let go of me. I struggled after him, trying to keep my footing, and then made the mistake of looking back.

Towers were swaying back and forth, listing drunkenly as the Emerald Palace collapsed in on itself. Widening cracks radiated outward as the earth around it split apart. All around us Dorothy’s overgrown gardens were wilting and turning gray before dissolving into dust. As I watched in terror, the cracks ran together into a single chasm, impossibly deep. “Nox!” I screamed.

“I see it!” With one final effort, Nox pulled me to safety as the Emerald Palace crumbled into the gaping abyss. The rift shuddered and then sealed itself. The rain of fire dissipated and the lightning stopped. A gentle breeze sprang up, pushing the gray-green clouds across the sky and scrubbing it clear. With a last, almost sheepish clap of thunder, the storm vanished, leaving behind a clear blue sky and a cheerful yellow sun. Behind us, a bird chirped tentatively and then burst into full-fledged song. My knees buckled and finally, mercifully, I collapsed. Nox fell beside me in the grass, still holding my hand.

Groaning, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at me. His dark hair was thick with dust, his face smeared with a mask of blood and dirt. His clothes were filthy. He’d never seemed so beautiful. “You know what?” he said. “Never mind the Order. I’m falling in love with you, too.” He leaned in to kiss me.

And that, of course, was when Lulu showed up.

“Well, this is a hell of a bunch of bananas,” groused the monkey’s all-too-familiar voice. “I always said the Emerald Palace could use a good redecorating, but nobody was suggesting razing it to the ground.”

Nox groaned aloud and flopped over on his back. “Hi, Lulu,” I said tiredly, sitting up.

“And what have you done to yourself? You look like a monkey’s hind end,” she continued, looming over me. Ozma was standing behind her, gnawing meditatively on her thumb. Lulu was decked to the nines in true Lulu form, sporting her cat’s-eye rhinestone glasses, a sequined motorcycle jacket, and a leather miniskirt decorated with appliqués of tropical fruits.

“What are you doing here, Lulu?” I asked.

“Helping, obviously. And let me tell you, you need it. I was just twiddling my thumbs in the Woodman’s palace, playing checkers with Ozma and watching Melindra mope around. Nothing restores the spirits like a little action, I tell you what. Grabbed some of my monkeys and flew us all over here while you were sitting around on your heinies, apparently. Or did you actually do anything besides demolish the heart of Oz?”

“Nothing much,” Nox said, still prone on the grass. “Just defeated Dorothy, restored order to Oz, and survived the collapse of the Emerald Palace. How does the city look?”

“Terrible, what do you think?” Lulu snapped. “It’s been in ruins for weeks. There are bodies everywhere.” And then she stopped short. “Did you say you defeated Dorothy?”

“The one and only,” I confirmed.

“The bitch is dead?” Lulu’s jaw was literally hanging open. “Oz is free? You did it? You really did it? You killed her?” She hopped up and down excitedly. “Why, we’re going to have a party to end all parties! The ball of the century! A banquet for the ages!”

“Party,” Ozma agreed happily. “Monkey party!”

“I didn’t kill her,” I said. “But she can’t possibly have survived the collapse of the palace.”

Lulu stopped short. “What do you mean, you didn’t kill her? Did you defeat her or not?”

“I defeated her,” I said. “We defeated her. She tried to unleash the magic of the Great Clock but it almost destroyed her. There was no point in killing her. She’s buried now under the entire Emerald Palace.”

“Are furless freaks all as stupid as you look? You didn’t make sure she was kaput? Do you know how many of my monkeys are dead because of that little princess? Do you have any idea how much suffering she’s caused? You had a chance to rid Oz of evil for good and you just left her there?”

“Lulu, the palace came down on top of her.”

Lulu shook her head. “You think that’s gonna stop a bitch like her? That was probably our only chance, and you blew it.” She snorted in disgust. “Trust a human to screw up the most important job in the kingdom. You should have let the monkeys handle it. I know how to finish what I start, even if you don’t.” <