Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection

by C. M. Stunich

  “But if one of you were to inherit your sister's gift?” I asked.

  “That would make her the most powerful witch in Oz,” my mother said. “Yes; that's why Glinda was so eager to get her hands on my slippers... and why you must not part with them, no matter what is offered to you in exchange.”

  “I understand.”

  “I'm waiting!” Lacosta screeched.

  “Impatient much?” I huffed as I headed for the door.

  Toto trailed after me, and as much as I wanted to make him stay in the spark, I had a feeling that I needed him. He padded alongside me confidently; as if he knew that he was needed too. My consorts spread out around me, and we climbed the steps to Lacosta together.

  “It's about time,” she huffed and turned on her heels.

  The Wizard's castle wasn't made entirely of emerald; it had metal bones beneath the gemstone. I stared up the soaring walls to the vicious-looking spires—supported by blackened metal—and blinked as the sun glinted off them. I could feel a buzzing coming from them, and as we stepped through a pair of enormous doors, the buzzing grew stronger. I frowned as I tried to place the familiar sound that was also sensation; my eyes focusing on the stone as I considered the metal beneath.

  Metal was a good conductor of heat, but what would emeralds have to do with that? I frowned as the hazy memory of a geology class came back to me. Emeralds were a type of beryl, and beryl contains a very rare element called beryllium. Beryllium is used to make things like space shuttles and cell phones.

  An idea started to tickle the back of my mind, but as I tried to latch onto it, I realized what the buzzing was. It wasn't magic, but I could see how it would be interpreted as such in Oz. I stumbled over my silver slippers as the possibilities of my revelation occurred to me.

  “Dorothy?” Crow asked under his breath.

  “Don't you feel it?” I asked him.

  “The magic in the walls?” Crow asked. “Yes; I feel it.”

  “Everyone can feel it.” Lacosta turned to sneer at me. “That's how powerful the Wizard is. You'd do well to remember that.”

  “Oh, I will,” I promised with a smirk.

  Lacosta lost her smug look to one of confusion. She frowned at me a moment before turning about and continuing down the long hallway more silently.

  “What's going on?” Rantin whispered.

  “I'll tell you later,” I said with a pointed look at Lacosta's back.

  Crow blinked rapidly—the look of prophecy sweeping over his face—and then smiled.

  “I see,” he said.

  “Do you?” I smirked as I tapped a pouch hanging from my belt; the flask of our magical Greek Fire was inside.

  Crow smiled wider. “I do, and I even understand.”

  We arrived at an arched passage. Lacosta led us through it; into a long room devoid of furnishings except for a single throne at one end. The throne was gold, but it was set on an emerald pedestal carved into steps and gleamed against a backdrop of green silk. A man sat on the throne, and two women stood at its base; one to either side. I recognized the women as my aunts; Glinda and Momba.

  “All hail, the Wizard of Oz!” Lacosta motioned to the man on the throne

  I rolled my eyes. I had a suspicion of what this man was, and it wasn't a wizard.

  “Welcome to the Emerald Castle,” the man said as we approached his throne. “You, Dareaux Thelia, may call me Teles.”

  Lacosta went to stand to the left of the throne; by Glinda. Momba gave the other two an annoyed look, but that look shifted into pure joy when the Wizard stepped down from his throne and ran his hand lovingly over Momba's cheek.

  “Your aunts are my greatest allies, Dareaux Thelia,” Teles said as he admired Momba, and then he transferred his stare back to me. “But you would be even greater than they.”

  The air witches muttered angrily.

  “Silence!” Teles shouted.

  My aunts went quiet.

  “She is the greatest witch in Oz,” the Wizard declared. “My magic has told me so.”

  My aunts shot venomous looks my way.

  “It's because she has her mother's slippers,” Glinda growled.

  “Is it?” Teles laughed and then smirked at me. “Why don't you take those slippers off and prove your aunt wrong?”

  “Nice try,” I said.

  “I understand your reluctance.” Teles chuckled. “But I don't want your slippers, Dareaux Thelia; I want you. Together, we could rule without fear of anyone opposing us.”

  I looked Teles over as if I were considering his offer. The Wizard was just as Crow had described him; too perfect to be real. He was flawless; with golden blond hair falling in soft curls around his rounded ears, pale, poreless skin with the hint of blush at his cheeks, full, pouting lips, a straight nose, dramatically arched eyebrows without a single hair out of place, and green eyes that literally sparkled. Those eyes reminded me of something, but I couldn't place it.

  “You're not my type,” I finally said. “You're way too pretty. I like real men.”

  The Wizard's eyes flashed, and I knew that one of those words had hit their mark.

  “I am the epitome of masculine beauty!” Teles roared. “There is no other man finer than me in all of Oz.”

  “I have three men, far more handsome than you, standing right here.” I waved a hand casually at my consorts.

  “Them?” The Wizard scoffed. “The Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion?”

  “I am no coward!” Marex roared.

  “Not outwardly, no,” the Wizard said smugly. “But beneath all that bluster, the King of Beasts is just a domesticated kitten.”

  Marex growled and started to move forward, but Rantin held him back.

  “He's baiting you, Marex,” Rantin murmured.

  “And you, Tin Man,” Teles went on. “You think that you're in love? You think the Storm Witch has saved you from the Void? You lost your heart long ago, and no one can bring it back. What you feel is just her magic tricking you.”

  Rantin paled.

  “That's a lie,” Crow said firmly.

  “And then we have the Scarecrow,” the Wizard angled his attention onto Crow. “A self-made pariah; snubbing his nose at his own tribe to live in the forest with the beasts. What could drive a man to abandon his own element?”

  “I abandoned nothing; my magic goes where I go,” Crow said calmly. “And I don't have to defend or explain my choices to you.”

  “Oh, I'm not asking you to,” Teles swept in a circle to face me. “I'm only showing Dareaux the inadequacies of the men she's screwing.”

  I slapped the Wizard across his smug face and then gasped in pain. It was like hitting a wall; my hand throbbed angrily. Toto started barking viciously at the Wizard, but Teles remained unfazed. As I cradled my hand, green light shot from sconces set on the walls around us and hit my consorts. The light lifted them off their feet and held them paralyzed. They stared at me in horror as the Wizard sauntered closer. Toto whimpered and then started to growl.

  “Toto, shh,” I whispered to him, and he went quiet.

  “My apologies for your hand and my rudeness,” Teles said gently. “I am strong-boned as well as strong-willed. I only meant to show you that what you have with them is base, while what you could have with me would be sacred.”

  “Teles!” Momba shouted. “What about us?”

  “You will always have a special place in the Emerald Castle,” Teles said over his shoulder. “Be careful that it isn't in the dungeons, Momba.”

  Momba paled.

  “Yeah; life with you looks like a real blast,” I growled as I secretly palmed the flask of Greek Fire.

  “I was afraid that you'd be difficult.” Teles sighed. “But I shall have you, Dareaux Thelia; in one way or another. You can rule beside me or be chained to my throne like a dog. What would you prefer?”

  “Try and chain me, and you'll see how that goes,” I snarled.

  “Or I could chain them.” He shifted his star
e to my men. “I could torture them; find out if your Tin Man really does have a heart, what your Scarecrow is made of, or if your lion is courageous, after all.”

  My jaw clenched as I tried not to react. During his speech, I was processing everything, and I knew I had been right. The buzz in the walls, the way Teles seemed to have omnipotent knowledge, the power he wielded through emeralds, and the density of his face. I looked up at the curtains behind the throne, and then to Crow. Crown widened his eyes slightly, and I tensed in preparation for rushing those panels, but Toto beat me to it.

  Toto gave up on waiting for me to do something and ran for the curtains. With one swift bite and pull, Toto tore down the silk behind the throne. As soon as it fell, I could hear the whirring that Toto must have heard first. A massive machine stretched up the wall; lights flashing across its intricate panels while multiple screens showed images from all over Oz. The witches—even my paralyzed generals—gaped at the display. Only Crow and I knew what it was, but it was still a shock to see it in Oz.

  “Teles?” Gilda asked the Wizard hesitantly. “What is that?”

  “I can explain,” Teles said smoothly.

  Before Teles could spin his lies, I took the opportunity of his distraction to act. I called upon my Storm magic and blasted him across the room; straight into his machine. Teles crashed against the metal hard enough to break monitors and crush the equipment. The whirring went higher in pitch as the computer floundered. Sparks flared along its console, and then all of the lights went out, and the whirring stopped. My consorts fell to the floor; released from the machine's hold.

  “You little bitch,” Teles growled as he stumbled to his feet.

  “Call her that again, and they'll be picking pieces of you up off the floor,” Marex growled.

  “Bit me, monster,” Teles huffed as he brushed himself off. “None of you can hurt me. The computer is just a tool; I use it to broadcast and direct, but I don't need it. I have all I need within me.”

  Teles strode forward confidently, and as soon as he came within reach, I tossed the contents of the flask on him. Teles sputtered and scowled; looking down at himself in shock.

  “What in all of Oz is this?” The Wizard blinked at his oily self.

  That's when Rantin lit him on fire.

  Teles narrowed his eyes at us as he burned, but he kept coming. We backpedaled; all except for Marex, who used his Earth magic to make the floors shake. Teles tumbled down; giving Crow the opportunity to drench him in water. All of the Wizard's pretty hair had burned away, along with his clothing, but his skin had remained unscathed until the water hit. As soon as Crow's magic hit the Greek Fire, the flames became a white-hot inferno. The Wizard stumbled to his feet as his skin began to liquefy.

  “I'm melting!” Teles shouted as he turned to the three air witches. “Help me; I'm melting!”

  But my aunts couldn't help him. They just stared at Teles in horror.

  We all watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths as the Wizard's outer shell melted away and his inner machinery was revealed. The bright green of Teles' eyes was revealed to be tiny lines of binary code on computer screens, and then the screens cracked. The green lights winked out, and the metal skeleton fell to its knees. Teles' bones were steel, but the fire burned hot enough to melt even that, and soon the Wizard of Oz was nothing more than a molten puddle on the floor.

  “What in all blazes was that?” Rantin asked.

  “On Earth, we'd call him an android or a robot,” I said. “He was a machine, and his power was nothing more than electricity and circuits; science, not magic.”

  “No,” Glinda whispered. And then she screeched, “No!”

  The sisters huddled together, screaming and crying; trying to make sense of the destruction of the android they had loved, and the illusion of humanity it had fooled them with. I ignored them and turned to my consorts.

  “We did it,” I said simply.

  “We freed Oz,” Marex agreed as he looked to the others with a wide grin.

  “And justice will be served,” Rantin set a hard glare on Momba.

  “But first, there is one more decision to make,” Crow said softly.

  We all followed Crow's gaze to my silver slippers; they were glowing.

  “What's this?” I asked.

  “You've completed your task,” Crow said. “That was your greatest desire, and so the slippers lent you their power throughout its achievement. Now, you have another desire. You want to go home, don't you, Dorothy.”

  The men went still and stared at me. Even Toto went quiet and gave me a somber look. I thought about Kansas and Aunty Em. She may be coming back to Oz, but what if she didn't? Then I thought about the golden fields stretching to the horizon and the blue of the clear sky. Earth had been a good home to me. I lifted my gaze to Rantin, Marex, and finally, to Crow.

  “I'm already home,” I said softly.

  The slippers' light faded, and my consorts smiled with relief. They gathered around me and hugged me tightly as Toto eased between us.

  “It's good that you decided to stay,” Marex declared. “I don't think I would have done well riding to Earth in a twister.”

  “You're the only twisted thing I want in my life,” Rantin said to me with a smirk.

  “Forever,” Crow whispered. “Say you'll stay with us forever, Dorothy.”

  “My name is Dareaux Thelia Gale.” I smiled up at Crow. “If we're going to get married, you'd better learn it.”

  Crow beamed at me with more joy than I'd ever seen on his face. He hooted and lifted me in the air to spin me in a circle. When Crow lowered me back to my feet, the other men closed in, and they surrounded me with the love I knew we'd share for as long as we lived; the Tin Man who regained his heart, the Scarecrow who led us wisely, the Cowardly Lion who found true bravery, and me; the Storm Witch of Oz.

  The End

  Continue the Happily Harem After Series with. Happily Harem After: Volume 1

  http://www.amysumida.com/short-stories-anthologies-collections/happily-harem-after

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  About the Author

  Amy Sumida is the Internationally Acclaimed author of the Award-Winning Godhunter Series, the fantasy paranormal Twilight Court Series, the Beyond the Godhunter Series, the music-oriented paranormal Spellsinger Series, and several short stories. Her books have been translated into several languages, have made it to the top seller's list on Amazon numerous times, and the first book in her Spellsinger Series won a publishing contract with Kindle Press.

  Read More from Amy Sumida

  http://www.amysumida.com/

  Inconceivable Origin

  Chloe Adler

  Inconceivable Origin

  She's all too human in a supernatural world.

  Third-generation working girl Sydney Flores is done with walking the streets—because she's traded up for a brothel. Except Ichor isn't just any brothel, it's also a blood bank where lonely vampires come for a little entertainment with their refreshment. She's seen and done it all, so a little fang on the job doesn't scare her away, especially when it comes with security cameras, bouncers, and a 401K.

  So it's just another night on the job when Sydney meets three men, a shifter, a vampire, and a warlock, who promise her the one thing her mama taught her never to accept from a john: love. Sydney has spent a lifetime searching for a safe place to rest her weary head, but is this whore ready to put her all-too human heart on the line too?

  1

  Sydney

  Standing outside of Ichor, the blood bank slash brothel that I’ve worked at for the past couple of months, I hide in the shadow of a white Corinthian column. Smoking is frowned upon and I’m not quite ready to give up my clove cigarettes yet. But I will have to very soon since my last pack from Mexico is running low and I haven’t found a place in San Diego County to purchase them yet, not even illegally.

  I crane m
y head upward to blow the smoke along one of the ridiculously out of place columns that line the front of this particular vectum. I’m sure they’re supposed to look stately and luxurious, but here in the supernatural capitol of California, Distant Edge, they look like a bad set piece from The Greatest Story Ever Told. Not even Sir Sidney Poitier himself could class up this joint.

  One last drag and I crush the clove under my favorite pair of spiked stripper heels, black rhinestone Jimmy Choos. Of course, I’m not a stripper. I’m a call girl. Actually, that’s the PC name that other girls in my profession prefer to be called.

  Really, though, I’m a whore.

  A prostitute. A hooker. A lady of the night.

  Don’t judge me. I was raised in this profession. I don’t know anything else. My mother was a whore and her mother before her.

  Don’t feel sorry for me. I love my job.

  My third john here gave me these shoes. What was his name again? No matter, John Number Three will suffice.

  One of the many male donors rushes by in a hurry to clock in and I catch the heavily studded wooden door with the front corner of my shoe. Crap idea. That hurts. I bite back a cry. Embrace the pain or die. Words to live by, in my case.

  I make my way to the dressing room, a huge area banked with mirrors and stools. The toilets and sinks are in an attached room to the right.

  Shrugging out of my clothing, I place it all in a wall cubby and pluck my outfit from a clothing stand bowed down with costumes.

  During the first night of this job, a little over two months ago, Miss Cheryl picked out a costume for me. The madam demands that everyone here wear one to stand out and attract clients. But I don’t mind, it’s one less thing to think about. I’d put up with worse to work here. I picked this brothel for several reasons, the most important being money. I can make more here in Distant Edge than anywhere else in the world because it’s one of three known enclaves where supernatural creatures run rampant without handlers, collars or leashes. Money or not, though, Signum creep me out.