“Amy!” Nox gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to save your life I’m sure,” said the Nome King, sounding bored. “I can’t imagine why she’d bother.”

“You don’t really seem like a guy who knows much about friends,” I snarled, grabbing the Dorothy figurine out of the shards of broken glass. As soon as I touched the shoes, I could feel the magic running through them like an electric current. They began to glow with a gentle, warm light that filled the hallway. Dustin, Nox, and the Nome King froze. The shoes grew in my hands like one of those little sponge animals you soak in water until they looked exactly the right size for my feet. I kicked off my sneakers and slipped the shoes over my feet.

“Very good, Amy,” the Nome King purred at the exact moment Dustin yelled, “Amy, no! It has to be a trap!”

I wasn’t an idiot. The possibility had already occurred to me. But I didn’t know what other choice we had. I had to get Nox and Dustin to safety before the Nome King killed them both.

But something incredible was happening. As soon as I put the shoes on, they began to change. The soles thickened and the thin silk fabric, covered with dozens of hand-sewn sequins, crept up my ankles. Silver laces threaded themselves through polished silver grommets.

Dorothy’s magic shoes had turned into a pair of diamond-studded leather combat boots—and they fit me better than any shoe I’d ever owned. I couldn’t describe the feeling of wearing them. It was like being hugged by an old, dear friend. Everything’s going to be just fine, the shoes seemed to sigh. Their gentle presence filled me from my toes to the top of my head. I held my hands up and saw that they glowed with the same beautiful silver light that had come from the shoes. I could feel magic flowing through my body as though I was a hollow log in a clear stream. I was calm, calmer than I’d ever been. Nothing mattered anymore. I felt a thousand miles away from the chaos in the hallway. I knew if I asked them the shoes would take me anywhere I wanted. And I knew where I wanted to go: back to Oz. I closed my eyes and prepared to summon the power to go home.

“Amy!” Nox cried, and my eyes flew open again. How had I forgotten him? What was I doing? I stared down at my glowing feet. If the shoes were part of the Nome King’s plan, how could I possibly trust their magic?

I didn’t have time to worry about that. The Nome King clapped his hands in delight when he saw the shoes on my feet. Nox lunged forward, trying to knock the Nome King off his feet, just as Dustin leapt into the fray. His eyes were huge with fear but his face was set in determination. He would get himself killed fighting for me—even though he had no idea what he was up against.

“Dustin, stop!” I yelled, but it was too late. The Nome King whipped a fireball at him so fast I didn’t even see his hands move.

“No!” I yelled, reaching for it with my free hand. My boots blazed with light and power and, at last, I could feel the answering pull of my own magic as a web of dull, flickering strands of light spun out of my fingertips. It wasn’t enough to deflect the Nome King’s fireball, but my net sucked some of the force of his weapon away before it smacked Dustin squarely in the chest. His mouth dropped open into a round O of surprise as he stared down at the blackened crater spreading across his chest, and then he let out a low moan and toppled slowly backward. “Dustin!” I screamed. I heard pounding and shouts in the hallway and a siren in the distance.

A handful of teachers rounded the corner at a run. The Nome King raised his hands, and another shock wave sent them flying backward. Nox, abandoning magic, barreled into the Nome King’s stomach, but the Nome King kicked him away easily. The Nome King reached upward and pulled a mass of long, thin strands of darkness out of the air that began to swirl and expand, whirling faster and faster.

“My dear Miss Gumm,” he said lightly, his slithering voice sending chills down my spine. “I’m afraid it’s time to bid adieu to your little beau. I’m taking you back to Oz now, where you belong.” The swirling mass of darkness ballooned upward, tearing tiles off the floor and sending them spinning through the shattered windows. Suddenly, I knew what he was doing. He’d summoned a tornado. I had Dorothy’s shoes and I knew the Nome King wanted to send me back to Oz. And I knew he wasn’t just going to leave Nox behind—he couldn’t risk leaving one of the Quadrant. He was going to kill him.

We didn’t have much time. In fact, we didn’t have any. I wanted to help Dustin. I wanted to tell Madison how much I hoped she got out of Flat Hill someday. I wanted to say good-bye to my mom for the last time. But I didn’t have a choice. It was either return to Oz, or watch Nox die in this hallway. <