The Queen of Oz

By Tracy Erler

Agabus the gnome rushed into the hallway and leaned against the wall. “That was close,” she panted, glancing over her shoulder. Another one of the queen’s booby traps Agabus just narrowly avoided. I must be getting close to her lair. To Tump.

Her eyes adjusted to the light provided by the torches. She crept forward, keeping to the right side. It wouldn’t do to trigger anything unnecessarily again.

“Tump.” She whispered her brother’s name, slowly making her way up the hall.

The priests of the Temple of Ilenya, located in Dawnterra, had sent Agabus and Tump on a mission to the parallel universe of Earth to find an animal trafficker that had disappeared from Dawnterra a few months back. The priests had received word that she was in the Oceania region of Earth—now calling herself the Queen of Oz.

The siblings had been instructed to meet with Donna and her intern Ian at the conservationists’ main camp outside of town on Kangaroo Island, south of the continent called Terra Australis. Donna was their contact there, and she had been sending the priests reports of activity regarding The Queen.

Barely two days into their journey, they suspected The Queen was already on their trail. Last night Tump had been on watch, but when Agabus woke this morning, she found her brother missing. With the help of Donna and Ian, she’d tracked him to these caves.

Agabus stopped at the first entryway on her right. The firelight from the torch affected her vision, but peering into the room—yep, there was a lumpy looking package left in the middle of the floor. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Agabus realized the lump was wearing her brother’s vest.

Her heart leapt. Tump?

Bolting toward him, she prayed, “Please, Ilenya. Let him be okay.”

Tump laid on his side with his cheek scrunched against his left shoulder and his eyes closed. If his hands and feet hadn’t been bound, it would’ve appeared like he was sleeping. Agabus pressed a hand to his head. Was that sweat? His face felt hot, his breathing shallow.

“Oh, Brother,” she muttered, wrapping him up in a hug.

As she pulled back, she felt something… crinkle? A piece of paper was pinned to Tump’s vest. Words in looping, flowing scrawl read:

I’ve administered one of the deadliest poisons known to man, that of the box jellyfish. He has 4 to 48 hours left. Leave my bear alone. ~ The Queen of Oz

The relief Agabus felt a moment ago drained from her body, dread taking its place. Whoever this Queen of Oz was—she was even more treacherous than they had realized. Having mastery over something as dangerous as box jellyfish? What other tricks could she have up her sleeve?

With trembling hands, Agabus crumpled the note and stuffed it in a pocket. Tump needs help first. Then I can deal with this… “queen.”

Pulling out her dagger, she began cutting through the ropes that bound Tump. Folding his hands across the front of his body, she glanced around the room—nothing. Due to the few traps encountered at the entrance, Agabus assumed she had found The Queen’s lair, but… Why did she dump his body here? Was this just one set of caves that The Queen worked from?

Agabus withdrew a stub of chalk—We’ll need more soon—and yellowed piece of parchment from her pocket. Unfolding it, she smoothed it out and began to etch the runes and circle on the ground around Tump and herself.

The priests had provided them this scroll—a magical spell of teleportation in order to get back home. But instead, Agabus would use it to take them back to the conservationists’ main camp, where Donna had returned after Ian wounded himself on the first trap they had encountered. Now it was Tump’s turn to benefit from Donna’s healing capabilities; she would know how to help him. They would just have to get home a different way. But not before they completed their mission.

I’ll track her down again and kill her. Once Tump is safe.

Muttering the spell of teleportation, Agabus marveled at her words transforming into glittery blue translucent flames. Her skin tingled and she hugged Tump tighter, as the flames grew. Then, in a blink, the circle—and the room—was empty.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracy Erler lives with her husband and two cats in the foothills of Northern California. Currently working on her first Contemporary YA novel, Tracy loves story in all forms. You can find her with friends and family, in a D&D campaign, playing a board game, or marveling at the sky and local scenery. She’s on a mission to find the best cup of coffee she doesn’t have to drown in milk and sugar.

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