Read Dorothy Must Die: The Other Side of the Rainbow Collection: No Place Like Oz, Dorothy Must Die, The Witch Must Burn, The Wizard Returns, The Wicked Will Rise for Free Online

she was more than four feet tall, even in her platform boots.
    Now this was more like it. I was face-to-face with a real, live Munchkin.
    At least, I was pretty sure that’s what she was. Her hair was inky blue-black and her eyes were caked in thick eyeliner with triple fake lashes. She was wearing a vampy eggplant-hued lipstick and a leather skirt. Her T-shirt revealed arms covered in complicated tattoo sleeves.
    But she was short, and she moved with a springiness and agility that was something more than just plain old human. Anyway, I’d already been here long enough that I wasn’t shocked to find out that there was such a thing as a goth Munchkin.
    “Excuse me?” the girl barked as I looked her up and down curiously. “Do you have a problem?”
    Heat rose to my face as my mind flashed to Madison Pendleton.
    “Nope. Do you?” I snapped right back at her. I couldn’t even look at a Munchkin without starting trouble. Was she going to punch me now, too?
    She didn’t. Instead, she let out a wry cackle and rolled her eyes. “Let’s see,” she said. “Do I have a problem? How about, do I have five thousand ?” She marched right over to where I stood and grabbed her bag from where it lay at my feet. It was stuffed to the seams with what I figured must be an entire leather wardrobe. “The answer’s yes, by the way.”
    “I’m Amy,” I said, hoping this was what passed for friendly in Munchkin Country. I reached out a hand, which she ignored.
    “Indigo,” she replied. She eyed my shoulder. “Cool rat, by the way. I love rats. Does it talk?”
    I glanced at Star, still hoping she would decide that the answer was yes. She didn’t respond.
    “Nope.” I shrugged.
    “Too bad.” Her eyes traced up to my head. “But I don’t know about the hair. She’s not going to like it.”
    I put a hand to my scalp and brushed a pink lock from my eyes.
    “Why would my pet rat care what my hair looks like?”
    Again, Indigo hooted. “Not your rat, dumbass. Her. ”
    “Who’s she ?”
    Indigo scrunched her face up and swiveled her neck like I was a complete moron. “Oh yeah, who’s she ? she asks. Please.”
    “No, seriously,” I said. “I’m new around here. Tell me who you’re talking about.”
    “ I’m new around here,” Indigo mocked me in a squeaky falsetto, slipping her backpack on. But as she did it, she looked at me. Really looked at me.
    “Wait, you’re not kidding, are you? You really aren’t from around here.” She was staring at my clothes. I guessed that jeans and a hoodie were not what the kids were wearing in Oz.
    “No,” I said simply. “I’m not.”
    Her jaw dropped open in slow motion as it dawned on her. “Holy shit ,” she said. “You’re from the Other Place, aren’t you?” She looked over one shoulder and then the other, then asked quietly: “How did you get here?” I couldn’t tell if her tone was one of excitement or fear.
    “It was a tor—” I began, but before I could finish, I was cut off by a loud, metallic clanking sound from somewhere off in the distance.
    Indigo took a step backward. “You know what?” she said, her eyes darting nervously from building to building. “Never mind. It’s better if I don’t know. In fact, it’s better if I don’t talk to you at all.”
    “What? Why?”
    She busied herself with her backpack, her tiny face scrunched up with worry.
    “Like I said, I’ve already got about five thousand problems, give or take a thousand. Getting caught conspiring with an outlander would be five thousand and one. I’d love to hear your story, but it’s not worth it. Good luck. You’ll need it.” With that, she hoisted her pack on her shoulders and began to walk away.
    “No way!” I yelled. “Just let me ask you some questions. I have no idea what’s going on.”
    “If you’re lucky, you’ll never find out,” she said, not slowing her pace or bothering to look back.
    I wasn’t going to let this happen again. She was speeding along,