21. Clive Dillon and the Wizard of Oz

"Okay, here we go," says Sam. He, Charlie, and I are back in the bunker library. "Clive Dillon. He is the Man of Letters that first discovered the key to Oz. So, according to this incident report, Clive went to Oz, but he left the key on Earth, and then L. Frank Baum found the key and went to rescue Clive in Oz."

"That's when Dorothy snuck in along for the ride and got stuck there," says Charlie.

"Right. And then after Baum rescued Clive, Clive came back and retired."

My brows rise. "You can retire from the Men of Letters?"

"Well, apparently, they put him in some sort of, like, uh, witness-relocation program."

"Where did he end up?"

"Let's find out."

"Wait, there," I say. "The Men of Letters gave Clive a new name, a new house, both of which are still listed."

"I think Clive might still be alive," says Charlie.

I look at her strangely. "Y—well, he'd be, like, one-hundred-something." Then again, Sam and I had met Cuthbert Sinclair, who had looked fairly good for being ninety something. The perks of being in a world full of magic and monsters.

"Time passes differently in Oz. It's close by. Let's go look. If he's still kicking, he is the only person who might be able to fix the key to Oz."

"All right, let's go. I'll drive," I volunteer.

We program the GPS into one of the phones we have in my truck. Sam takes shotgun while Charlie gets in the back. I lick my lips, keeping an eye on where I'm going. I flinch as someone's phone rings.

"Dean," says Sam. From the corner of my eye, I see a phone against his face. "Hey, hold on. I'm putting you on speaker. What happened?"

"It's over," says Dean.

"What do you mean, 'it's over'?" I ask.

"She got to Russell. She killed him."

"Oh, my God," Charlie squeaks.

"Charlie, if you can hear me, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's mine."

"No, no, no. Don't—don't say that. This is not on you."

"Dean's right," I say.

"All right, let's, uh—let's try and stick to the plan, guys," says Sam.

"Did you guys find a way back to Oz?"

"Maybe," I say. "Uh, look, t-the Man of Letters who originally found the key—he's still alive. He lives in Junction City under the name Michael Carter. Sam will text you the address. Just come meet us."

"All right. I'm on my way."

I look in the mirror, seeing Charlie's hurt expression. The poor kid. Great, now I'm sounding like Dean, calling Charlie a kid. God, I'm showing my age.

I park the truck once we get to Clive Dillon's house. Charlie knocks on the door, and the man we presume to be the one we're looking for answers.

"Hello?" he says.

"Clive Dillon?" says Charlie.

"No. My name is—"

"Michael Carter, right," I say. "But it was Clive Dillon, wasn't it? Back in the Men of Letters? Back in Oz?"

"You seem to be confused. There's no Clive Dillon here. And Oz? That's just a fairy tale. It's best left on the bookshelves where it belongs."

"So you've never seen this before?" Charlie asks, holding out her half of the key to Oz.

At this, we have Clive's attention. He allows us inside. As he leads us into a living room, it's my phone that goes off. It's Dean. I wave Charlie and Sam onward as I answer.

"Hey," I say. "Where the hell are you? I thought you'd be here by now."

"Dick Charlie just hot-wired Baby," says Dean. "She thinks she's on her way to you."

"What?"

"I told her the wrong town, so I probably bought you a little time, but, uh, just be on the lookout. I'll be there as soon as I can jack a ride."

"Thanks. Hurry."

Charlie and Clive are deep in conversation about the keys. Meanwhile, Sam is standing around. I nudge him in greeting.

"Dean's gonna be here soon, dark Charlie stole Baby, but Dean told her the wrong town, so we've got some time on our side," I whisper. "We just gotta keep an eye out." Sam only nods. I turn my ears to Charlie and Clive's conversation.

"The six keys of Oz were forged from Oz steel," he says. "They can only be repaired in that magical realm."

"So there's no going back?" Charlie asks. "I can't put my darkness away?"

"I'm sorry."

"What happened to you in Oz?" I ask curiously.

"It's in my report."

"Your report just said you were kidnapped," Sam explains. "By whom?"

"Bad people," says Clive.

"Geez, thank you, Mr. Obvious," I say.

"I know that look," Charlie tells Clive. "You're lying. And lying is—"

"Bad," Clive says. "Yes, I know. What happened to you, my dear, happened to me."

"What?"

"A coven of witches grabbed me. They used the inner key on me, unleashed my ID. He was awful. He killed all the witches and went into a tantrum. Was power-hungry, crazy. He became the Wizard of Oz."

"Frank's daughter, Dorothy, runs Emerald City now. The wizard, dark you, he is right by her side. If—if—if she's in trouble..."

"Well, without the key to Oz, there's no way we can get back to the wizard. But...There may well be a way...to summon him here." Clive pulls a gun out from a nearby drawer. "If I am mortally wounded, he'll have to come back here to save us both."

"Wait, wait, wait," Charlie says. "There has to be another way."

"What he has done is my fault. After all, he is me, and I am him, so...Maybe it's time that both of us answered for our sins. It's the good thing to do, right?" He looks at Sam and me. "Right?"

I jump back as Clive shoots himself. "Jesus Christ!" Ironic, since I'm a demon. From the corner of my eye, I see a green glow from a mirror in the room. We all cringe and turn away as the mirror shatters.

The Wizard of Oz steps into the room.

"What have you done, you fool?" he hisses to Clive. Sam and I both pull our guns on the Wizard, but he flings them out of our grasp. I gasp in pain as my brother and I are bound with ropes that, even with my power, I can't break out of. "You had but one task—stay alive. And you couldn't even manage that."

Charlie suddenly cries out in pain. She looks to Sam and me, panicked. Her mouth is bleeding. Dark Charlie...

She must be outside the house, and there's no way she'd inflict that on herself. Dean's here too! I feel the color leave my face. Dark Charlie's goading my brother into fighting her. Does he remember that what he does to dark Charlie happens to good Charlie?

Apparently not. The Charlie we have in the house is crying from the imaginary blows that are happening to her other half. Sam and I struggle to get free of our ropes, but we can't.

"Stop this, please!" Sam pleads. "Let us help our friend."

"Your friend wanted to be a hero," the Wizard snaps. "And you know what happens to heroes? They die."

"You bastard," I screech as he's somehow choking Sam. "When I get out of these ropes, I'm gonna kill you."

Charlie screams, but I think it's out of fear this time instead of pain. Shit. I let my demon eyes make an appearance. It's too late at this point. I look at Charlie, who has tears down her face, who looks broken. In her hand, she found Clive's gun.

"I'm sorry," she whimpers, pointing the weapon at Clive.

"I forgive you," says Clive. "We both do."

Charlie shoots Clive, and the second he dies, his Wizard counterpart does. Sam gets the air back into his lungs, and our ropes fall off us like they didn't exist. Meanwhile, Charlie is curled into a ball on the floor, crying from her pain.

"Charlie," Sam panics. "Hey, you okay?"

"Get her outside," I say, getting to my feet.

"Dean!"

I run out with Sam, who has Charlie in his arms, to find Dean out in the night, with dark Charlie lying on the ground. She looks like she's taken a beating. Thank God she didn't die, because that'd mean good Charlie would've gone too. Sam lays good Charlie next to her dark counterpart.

"You did it, didn't you?" dark Charlie says. "You killed the wizard. I knew it. The magic was in you all the time, Celeste."

Sam hands the key over to good Charlie, and she opens her soul. The three of us watch as dark Charlie becomes one with good Charlie once again. Now, there's no confusion. Charlie is herself again, good, bad, and everything in between.

"Charlie," says Sam, as he takes her into his arms. "Charlie. Hey. I got you. It's okay. It's okay."

"Don't let her near me," she sobs. My mouth parts.

"She's on our side, I promise."

"You let the eyes show, didn't you?" Dean whispers to me.

"The Wizard pissed me off. It just happened," I say, shrugging. "She'll understand once she gets the full story. How accustomed is she to hunting?"

"She's hunted a few times with us."

I nod.

"But she might not stomach this so well, considering..."

"Yeah, yeah."