Dorothy In the Land of Monsters

by Garten Gevedon

  “And it looks like a flower?” Werelion asks.

  “Yeah, it does.”

  “What kind of flower?”

  “It’s a series of overlapping circles that make a grid,” I say and call my magic up, a rainbow glow emanating from the tip of my index finger.

  With my lit-up finger, I draw a circle over the snow in rainbow light that lies atop the glittery flat surface, then another, and another, and I keep going until the pattern appears.

  “See how it looks like a flower?” I ask Werelion at my side who hovers over the symbol.

  “Yes, I see it. Ardie, do you see it?”

  Ardie rises, walks over and looks at the pattern.

  “You made this from a series of circles?”

  “Yeah, see?”

  I continue to draw the pattern to show him, and when I draw the last circle, I draw one large circle around it to look like the tray my mom had when I was growing up.

  “This is what my mom’s tray—” I say when the pattern and the surrounding circle glow in rainbow light. Nick rushes over and we watch as an image appears from the center and bleeds out to fill the entire ring.

  A beautiful woman in a gold dress with long, thick, wavy golden blonde hair stands on the balcony of a golden palace looking out over a golden village when a gorgeous bronze haired man steps out, wraps his arms around her waist, and kisses her neck.

  “That is them,” Nick says, seething with anger.

  “Who?”

  “The Vampire Witch and Quelala,” Nick says.

  “Who?”

  “Quelala, her general. The rumor is he turned both witches.”

  “Quelala is the first vampire,” Ardie tells me.

  “What a name,” I say with a snort. “Although I guess it’s not too far off from Dracula.”

  “Who is Dracula?” Werelion asks.

  “A vampire from stories in my realm—he’s a famous character.”

  “Well, Quelala is a real vampire, not a vampire from a story, and that is him,” Nick says.

  “You’ve seen him?” Werelion asks Nick, his lower lip quivering.

  “Many times.”

  “You escaped him?” Ardie says, stunned.

  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “How?” Ardie asks, intrigued.

  “From what I gather, he wants to turn me. Perhaps he wants me for his army. Many times they have tried to capture me, but they failed every time.”

  “Any word?” the Vampire Witch says, and I turn my attention back to the snowy screen.

  When she turns around to face him, her fiery red eyes are ablaze with flecks of gold while her skin is a pale bone gray against her lipstick that shimmers the colors of a sunset.

  “They confirmed the wolves are dead—beheaded and dismembered—and the bees never returned,” he says and looks up at her with burgundy eyes like dark pools of wine that see deep into the place where her soul would be if she had one, and he draws her right into his gaze. “Do not fret, my queen—we will best them soon enough. The closer they get, the easier it will be to eliminate them. The shoes will be yours soon. Then, it is only a matter of time before all the realms are ours,” he says and kisses her, and their image fades away, leaving only the snow in its place.

  “Does she even care I killed her sister, or is it all about the boots?”

  “They are a powerful charm. With the power she already has, those boots will make her indestructible,” Ardie says.

  “She would have to kill Dorothy to get them,” Nick says and Werelion gasps. “But that will never happen, because we will kill her first.”

  “That’s right,” Ardie agrees

  “We should rest and wake up early with the sunrise,” Nick says and goes into our tent.

  “Goodnight,” I say, kiss Toto, and follow Nick into the tent.

  The light peeks in, dimly illuminating the space. In silence, Nick removes his armor as I undress, put on my loose black undergarments and the heavy wool nightgown Jellia packed for me, fold my clothes, and get into the extra-large sleeping bag he’s laid out for us. When he’s done removing his armor and pants, he gets into our sleeping bag, lies down beside me, and rolls over, turning his back to me. Ugh.

  “You’re a moody little brat sometimes, you know that?”

  “What did you call me?” he says as he turns to face me, ready for a confrontation.

  “Moody. Little. Brat. Why are you mad at me? Because I didn’t act like an incapable, frail little girl? You’re being a total sexist blowhard. And I get you want to be ‘the man’ and protect me, but I am a big help in these situations. Get used to it and stop punishing me when you don’t get to play the big hero and kill everyone all by yourself,” I say with a humph, roll over, and turn my back on him.

  He huffs at my words, then after a long silence, he whispers, “They could have hurt you.”

  “They could have hurt you. In fact, it was far more probable they would have hurt me if I had cowered behind you or a rock or something and left you to get hurt taking all of them on by yourself. Goodness, Nick, I’m sick of the way you react when I help fight off attackers. If you can’t see I’m good at it, you can kiss my ass,” I say not turning around.

  After a moment I feel his puckered lips touch my butt cheek. When I turn my head, he’s smiling at me.

  “Is that what you wanted?”

  “You’re an idiot,” I say as I roll onto my back. He sits up over me, looking down at me and he seems sad.

  “I am sorry I was angry, but I want to protect you and it makes it very hard when you throw yourself into the fray like that.”

  “Don’t forget I have these magic boots that make me awesome. Get over it already and let me protect you sometimes without punishing me for it afterward.”

  “While I have been fighting gangs of vampires for years, you never have. I worry not because you are a woman but because I… because I know that you do not really know how to do what you are doing. Because you act before you think and that is a sure way to get yourself killed, or turned, or hurt.”

  Logical, but I have the boots.

  “If I didn’t have these boots, I would cower behind you, but I have them and they give me strength, make me fearless, they do everything my mind can fathom in those dire situations. These boots protect me and all of us.”

  “Dorothy, I care for you, and I need you to remain unharmed. I would do anything to make sure of that.”

  “Oh Nick, you are a bit of a control freak—I see that—and I appreciate your concern for me, I do,” I say as I reach up and cup his cheek with my hand. “I feel the same for you and I want to protect you too, but I also see your point. Please don’t think I don’t care what you have to say because I do, and I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

  “Oh, Dorothy.”

  His gaze grips my heart as he says my name, and when he leans down to kiss me, he wraps his arms around me in a tight embrace. Surges of what I’m sure is love fill my heart—it means so much to know I am dear to him and that he’s willing to sacrifice his own safety for mine. I feel the same for him though, so he’ll have to learn to compromise.

  “My Dorothy,” he murmurs between kisses.

  I am his Dorothy—always will be. Even if we’re realms apart, I will always be his.

  Magic tickles me awake, like a niggling itch on my consciousness telling me to get up. When my eyes open, I hear it—water dripping. I open the tent and peek my head out. Ardie isn’t inside—he must have gone out to hunt. Toto and Werelion are both snoring in their tent as water drips down the icy walls of our melting snow hut. I try waving my arm having an Elsa moment in my mind, but nothing happens. Guess the Disney princess thing won’t work for me. I should have figured that. It worked yesterday though, so I go through the same motions I did then—I raise my hands before me and imagine the snow hut freezing over again. Still nothing.

  What am I doing wrong?

  Take a breath. Close my eyes. I ask what ignited the rainbow within
me to help me freeze this structure before it collapses. Slush falls onto my forehead once, then again. The snow over my head crumbles. I raise my arms over my head to protect myself as my boots cover me in armor. Snow falls in big clumps before the entire roof, now far too wet and powdery, breaks apart. A gasp flies from my lips as icy blue light beams from my hands and fills the melting igloo with a pale blue mist that shimmers with ice crystals. It freezes the structure solid and back to what it was.

  When the mist clears, an exhale of relief leaves me, and I plop down on the snow bench at my back. Nick comes out of the tent, his eyes still sleepy.

  “Is everything okay?” he asks, his rasp making him sound even sexier than usual.

  “It is now,” I say, not wanting to admit my bright idea about the snow cave almost got us killed.

  “Where is the zombie?”

  “He has a name, you know.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Hunting?”

  “We need to move. The sun is bright. Soon enough this little structure will melt. And it would be nice to make it through the snow before nightfall,” he says and gets out of the tent. As my armor folds back into my boots, I get up to dress, add some layers, and pack up. By the time I’m done, Werelion and Toto are both up and eating breakfast with Nick by the magic fire that still burns. I put on the coat that Nick got for me and head out to the magic fire pit as Ardie returns from his morning hunt. We all sit and have breakfast together, then head out again.

  After hours of walking between snowy mountains, we come to a spot where the only way to go is up—we have no choice other than to climb. Nick seems to think we should be able to see her castle from the ridge. Ardie agrees, so we hike higher and higher through the afternoon, taking turns carrying Toto, tying him to one of us when we climb steeper, rockier terrain.

  When we reach the summit of the mountain, we can see all around us far and wide. In the distance is Winkie Land, made of gold and white marble, sitting on a turquoise ocean with glittering golden sands called the Winkie Kuste. And atop the hill that looms over Winkie Land is the Vampire Witch’s golden castle. It’s not too far off—a few days away on foot—so we start off down the mountain.

  “Do you hear that?” Ardie asks.

  Sounds of chattering get louder by the second. When I look up, I see a swarm of what I think are large bats coming our way. Bat shifters.

  “Vampire bat monkeys!” Ardie shouts.

  Along the summit of the mountain, there is nowhere to hide. On one side of us is a steep long fall to a river below that we would not survive. The other side is a steep long fall into jagged rocks that’s just as bad. We have nowhere to go. As I reach out to gather them to me and create a protective structure around us, I am swooped up by a vampire bat monkey faster than I can think. The armor from my boots covers me, latching onto the hands and feet of the vampire bat monkey so it can’t drop me even if it wants to. I see Nick, Ardie, and the Werelion taken too, but Toto avoids being snatched up.

  “Run, Toto! Run!” I shout, and he bolts. Straightaway, I lose sight of him—he has always been a good hider.

  They fly us away from the summit and the one carrying Ardie drops him into the rocky ravine below.

  “Ardie!” I scream.

  “I’ll be all right!” he calls as he falls and I remember he won’t die, even with such a terrible fall into jagged rocks—being a zombie has its advantages. The branches of a tall tree sticking out on the side of the mountain catch Ardie, thank goodness. His injuries will be far less than splatting on sharp rocks.

  As some relief washes over me, the one carrying Nick drops him into the ravine below.

  “Nick!” I scream in shock, frantic.

  “Dorothy!” he cries out as he falls to his death.

  He falls so far I can no longer see or hear him when he hits the rocks. Or the water. It doesn’t matter which. From this height, there is no way he survived.

  Deep sorrow takes root in my heart as gut wrenching sobs pour from within me. Gone in a blink, taken from me so fast. How much more of this can I handle in one lifetime?

  He’s dead.

  He’s really dead.

  The vampire bat monkey who snatched me up is trying to drop me too but can’t because my boots have latched onto his monkey feet. The one carrying the Werelion doesn’t drop him either. Instead, the remaining vampire bat monkeys tie him up with thick rope midair as they carry us right to the Vampire Witch’s castle. The entire way, I replay every moment while riddled with regret for never having told Nick I loved him even if he didn’t love me the same way. The pain is far too familiar and still like nothing I have ever experienced.

  Broken, dolorous cries rack my body as the hollow, cold pit in my heart returns. I’ve lost Toto forever—my best friend, my family—and I am shattered, heartbroken in every sense. Every person who I loved with every inch of myself, I have lost, and it’s always unexpected. In the short time I knew him, I grew to love Nick with my entire soul, and I hate I never told him. If I had, at least he would have known someone did before he died.

  Fury and anguish clash inside me as this chattering monkey with bat wings, vampire fangs, and red eyes hauls me though the sky. As I assess the situation, considering all the possibilities, resolve kicks in and takes control. This evil creature is taking me to her—I’m sure of it—and that’s the only place I want to be at the moment. I have a new purpose in life—to make Ezdalina pay. Before, I thought I couldn’t kill her when it came down to it, not unless she was attacking me, but now I have no problem assassinating her the first chance I get. For Nick and Toto and all the Lands of Oz, I vow to destroy the last Vampire Witch, Quelala, and every vampire in this realm.

  21

  In the Service of Evil

  The city below my feet shines gold as I am hauled to the castle on the hill occupied by the Vampire Witch of the West. Up ahead, twelve vampire bat monkeys carry a strung up and hogtied Werelion to the courtyard of the castle and land before a golden gate pulsing in golden light. The gate opens and they drag him inside, close the gate, and lock him in.

  Ezdalina emerges from her golden castle as the vampire bat monkeys ahead land. Her flowing golden hair and pale skin highlighted by the gold outfit she wears almost identical to Gayelette’s, with a pointy golden cap just like hers. Although she is beautiful, she is ugly in her heart to do what she’s done to this realm, to my friends, and soon I will destroy her.

  As I descend, the leader of the vampire bat monkeys says to the Vampire Witch, “We have obeyed you. We destroyed the Axeman and the Zombie, as you specified. The Werelion is in your yard, as you specified. The girl wears the silver boots of your sister and we could not eliminate her, so we brought her here. We have met our obligation to you. Your power over our band is over, and you will never see us again.”

  About ten feet over the courtyard my armor releases the vampire bat monkey and I drop to the ground, landing on my feet in a deep bend at the knee five feet in front of Ezdalina. As all the Vampire Bat Monkeys fly into the air, I rise, straightening and squaring off.

  Surrounded by her army of Vampires in black leather uniforms, the Vampire Witch looks at me and sees the silver boots and the armor that grows from them, narrows her eyes, and whispers something in Quelala’s ear who stands at her side. Our eyes connect, his cabernet gaze penetrating mine as a small smile takes over his lips. Oh, he’s got game—I’ll give him that. The look he’s giving me is so good I’m impressed. The soft smile on his lips with the penetrating stare that screams, ‘Fate has brought us together,’ is laughable. But if he can go there, so can I.

  As my eyes darken, I lower the armor on my head alone, keeping everything from my neck down covered. Magic simmers inside me, so I let it come out to play. And as I stare back at him, I go through my plan—first, I will kill him right in front of her, then I’ll kill her.

  Magic tickles my eyes as I gaze into his burgundy pools of soulless death, willing him to come to me, to believe his own lies long en
ough for me slit his throat, gut him, tear out his heart and hand it to her, or maybe shove it right into her face before I stake her in her dead heart.

  Quelala steps out from behind her and approaches me, all the while I’m willing him to believe I’m the one he’s been looking for—I already have the boots, and he could love me, really love me. Because we know he doesn’t love her, not really. He may tell her he does, but he never has. With me, he could have power and love. He could rule the realms with a worthy witch at his side. At three feet away he stops, and we gaze into each other like time has stopped, and then it does. Even I feel a strong connection, and I think this is his power working. He’s gorgeous, but he’s looking at me like he thinks the same of me.

  Flashes enter my mind of him kissing me, making love to me, bringing me to euphoric heights, but my magic adds to the list with visions of us ruling the realms together—we stand, holding each other, dressed like vampire royalty in a bubble that floats in the white space as we watch over the realms moving in their pattern, knowing it is all ours. As he looks into my eyes, he steps toward me, and when he leans in to kiss me, just as he is in the vision, my armor grows a long, sharp sword that shoots from my fist clear through his pelvis. The look of utter shock on his face makes me smile as I pull up and slice him clean through to his sternum. He coughs up deep red blood that shimmers with ruby flecks of light.

  “Take her!” Ezdalina screams.

  The surrounding vampires step toward me as my sword retracts into my armor, and as I pull my hand from his chest, I rip his heart out with it. At least fifty vampire soldiers attack and I go into action fighting each of them off.

  Time bends strangely in these boots, and somehow I move so fast that the world slows down but it all goes by in a blink at the same time. A split-second feels like five minutes and a split-second all at once, and in those split-seconds I take out four, five, six at a time, and I’m doing it while holding a bleeding heart in my hand. Vampires drop dead for good around me, and when at least thirty are down, the rest retreat into the castle. All but the Vampire Witch who stands eyeing me without fear. Big mistake.