Pap!
"Oh! I'll never get used to that," the Witch said. And then she looked at the window. There was a hole about the same size as that in Nazar's armor, with cracks radiating out from it. "It is a weapon. This is some powerful magic."
The Wicked Witch carefully placed the object on a small table. She drew numerous runes above it with her wand, trying to find all of its secrets. Unfortunately, iron and steel were the hardest metals to enchant, or pull information from. So she turned her attention to the wooden handgrip panels.
"Let us see who was last to touch it," she whispered, as she drew the appropriate series of runes above it. Her wand was a blur as she cast her magic. Soon a small disturbance began to swirl above the object. That coalesced into the image of a beautiful young brunette, who was wearing the blue gingham shirt. Her spell named the woman, even though Wanda had never seen her. "Dorothy Gale Davis. THE Dorothy?"
Another rune named the object. It was called a "pistol." She still couldn't figure out what kind of magic powered it.
"What kind of magic did you bring back with you, Dorothy? And why?"
She quickly drew another rune, and the image stretched out to a full-body view. Bright, silver stilettos adorned Dorothy's feet. Wanda smiled and a warm tingle flowed through her body and soul.
"The legendary Silver Shoes. No wonder Glinda came for a visit, and then left so suddenly tonight."
That meant Glinda was on her way to capture Dorothy and claim the Silver Shoes. Dread filled Wanda for a second, and then she strode purposely toward the door.
"Great One!" a soldier called. "What about Captain Nazar?"
She paused in the door, glancing back at her loyal palace guard commander. "Give him a hero's burial." She caught the maid's eyes. "And clean this mess up before you retire for the night."
Wanda turned and headed for her chambers. Time was running out. She had to ride her broom into battle with Glinda if she was going to claim the ultimate prize.
Chapter 18
Banking hard to the right, Glinda turned to view the night-shrouded battlefield. She'd found Dorothy on her initial pass. The returned heroine lay stretched out on the ground, bound hand and foot, so she was certain her ultimate goal would be achieved. The problem was her Sa'Kors were outnumbered and being overwhelmed.
Part of the Sa'Kor Guard's mythos was never losing a fight. She'd always used them sparingly and to great effect in battle, though their primary function was as her personal bodyguard. So Glinda couldn't allow Wanda's flunkies to defeated and capture Captain Pasetta and her troops.
She willed her carpet around to the dragoons' flank, and charged in at them shoulder height. A quick twirl of her wand created a powerful magical shield before the flying carpet, which she used to smash into the heavily armored soldiers. They cried out as they tumbled from their mounts, and her Sa'Kor Guard shouted their joy.
"Glinda! Glinda! Glinda!"
The Witch conjured up a lightning bolt. It thundered into the middle of the massed dragoons. Ka-boom! They began to scatter, so she sent another down. Ka-boom!
Spotting a riderless horse, she flew over and jumped down into the saddle. Reining him around, she cast another spell upon her wand, and it transformed into a great shining sword.
"To me! To me!" Glinda shouted, rallying her troops.
The dragoons allowed the Sa'Kors to disengage. Both sides withdrew a short ways to rally and reform their lines. Glinda's archers put away their bows and pulled their swords as they took their places in the formation. There were sixteen Sa'Kor warriors, with another four on the ground unmoving. She only saw two dead dragoons.
"Captain Pasetta, we will ride to victory!"
"Victory!" they shouted, and spurred their mounts at the dragoons.
Glinda's glowing sword brightened until the men opposing them had to avert their eyes. Still, the dragoons spurred their mounts into a counter-charge. They met with a thunderclap of steel on steel. Horses screamed. Men and women shouted angrily. The Witch's unholy blade sliced men and horses in half. It cut through fine steel blades like soft melons.
At the point of her formation, Glinda cut the Winkie dragoons in two. Some of the men turned to run, while others stood their ground and sought to sell their lives dearly. As soon as she indentified the commanding officer, the Witch pointed her sword at him and sent a white-hot bolt from the sword straight through his chest. It blasted a big hole through him, burning away his heart, and continuing on to kill two other soldiers behind him.
"Not in my Country, Glinda," Wanda shouted, just before her broom slammed into the Glinda.
The two Witches went tumbling to the ground as the Sa'Kor troops and Winkie dragoons fought. Glinda managed to kick the other Witch away, and then rolled to her feet. For a second they froze, glaring daggers at each other. Wanda struck first, tying a binding spell. Glinda's wand was a blur as she countered, and sent a lightning bolt back at the Wicked Witch.
The bolt grazed Wanda's right arm, making her arm convulse. Her wand fell from numb fingers. Glinda stood straighter, gloating over her most deadly rival.
"Well met, Wanda, but once again you lose."
"No, once again you overestimate your own glory," Wanda sneered, and pointed something black and unwieldy looking.
Pap! With a flash of fire.
Something hit Glinda in the shoulder, spinning her around and sending her wand flying away. It only took a second to realize Wanda had a weapon like Dorothy's. The pain was excruciating, but she was confident she could heal herself easily enough. At least it was just the one wound this time.
She noticed Wanda stalking towards her, but she'd lost her wand, too. She looked around frantically. The Wicked Witch barked a laugh, and then stomped down. Glinda's heart sank when she heard the snap. Her broken wand was revealed when Wanda pulled away her foot.
"Oops. So sorry, sister," Wanda purred. She pointed the strange weapon at Glinda. "I love this thing."
Pap!
Glinda grunted and fell straight back.
"That felt so good," Wanda said. She walked up to the other Witch, now sprawled out and writhing in agony on the ground. Dropping to one knee, she placed a hand on Glinda's chest and gaining her attention. "Don't worry, sister. I'm not going to let you die. Not yet." She looked her long time nemesis over with relish. "I'm going to enjoy interrogating you, and I think you'll enjoy it too."
"You're going to pay dearly for this outrage," Glinda said through clenched teeth.
"You are sadly mistaken, my pet," Wanda purred. She stroked Glinda's thigh. "You will pay first, and then Scarecrow." She crawled atop Glinda, and grinned with wicked glee. "But first you and I will discover once and for all if a Witch can be broken and tamed."
Chapter 19
Dorothy jumped at the sharp sound of gunshots. Someone had and was using her lost pistol. How many rounds were left in the nine-round magazine? She was still using the original magazine, so it wasn't full, but she couldn't concentrate well enough to remember how many times she'd fired it. If she'd ever fired it. Mostly, she'd used the Uzis.
With her wrists free, she quickly unbuckled the straps holding the spreader bar to her ankles. It was quite a relief to finally get rid of that damn thing, but now she had another problem: naked and unarmed.
Well, not completely defenseless. Captain Pasetta left Dorothy's katana behind on the ground. She ran over and picked that up, quietly drawing the blade. That made her feel a little better.
She peered into the chaos of battle, and noticed the Winkie soldiers were definitely winning. More than half of the Sa'Kors were dead or captured. The Sa'Kor's riderless horses were running away in every direction. More worrisome, she couldn't find the Witch in the melee going on.
"They'll be finished in a few minutes, and then will come looking for me," she muttered, cutting a glance at her now lame mount. There was a single Sa'Kor horse remaining in the area, but he'd moved further up the road. "First my saddlebags, then that other horse."
Her
saddlebags held her trail rations, firearms, and ammo.
Keeping low, Dorothy slowly worked her way over to the horse. She pulled the saddlebags down. I forgot how heavy they are with the guns.
Dorothy knelt, using the horse as cover. Her first priority was to get one of the Uzis out. Fortunately, she'd put them on top. Her double holster belt, with the two HK 9mms, was on bottom. After pulling out the first Uzi, she started to stuff the blanket she'd wrapped it in back into the saddlebag, but noticed her knapsack. Clothes! So she took another moment to pull out a sports bra and shorts. Once clothed, she dug out the other Uzi. Finally, she stuffed extra magazines in her back pockets.
"Excellent!" an unfamiliar female voice shouted. "You've done well, men. You will all be rewarded for this night's work."
Throwing the saddlebags over a shoulder, with the shoulder straps of the Uzis crisscrossing her chest, Dorothy started backing slowly toward the lone horse on the road. Most of the men were still mounted, though some were dismounted to bind prisoners.
"Find the Sa'Kor's prisoner and bring her to me," the woman continued.
Most of the men still ahorse started towards Dorothy. Panic consumed her. There was no way she'd reach the horse without being seen now. To prove her point, one of the soldiers pointed at her and shouted.
"The prisoner is getting away!"
"I want her," the woman shouted angrily. "Dead or alive!"
"Screw that," Dorothy said.
She took both Uzis in hand, and shot from the hip. Ratta-tat-tat-tat! Ratta-tat-tat-tat!
The night filled with the screams of dying men and horses. The horror of what she'd just done overwhelmed her for a second, before blind panic consumed her. Dorothy lowered her aim, and fired into the dark mass of enemy. They were all against her, male and female. Winkie or Sa'Kor, they would do bad things to her if captured.
Ratta-tat-tat-tat!
No one was left mounted after that last short burst. So she turned and took off running up the yellow brick road. Only there was no longer a horse waiting. She'd frightened it off.
"Dammit. Dammit," she cried as she ran.
Dorothy veered off the road, and headed up into the mountains. The saddlebags and pack were still heavy with ammo and the HK 9mms, but also had all of her trail rations, blankets, and even a mess kit.
I'll have to go back to just the knapsack, she thought. Unless I luck out and find a horse.
"Over there," someone shouted.
She popped off a few more five round bursts, and had to load new magazines. The empty magazines went back into her pockets to be reloaded later. Some arrows landed around her, bouncing off rocks. Dorothy ducked and ran faster, but always uphill. Soon she found a trail and followed it.
It didn't take long before Dorothy knew she had to ditch the saddlebags. They were too heavy and bulky. So she found a high place with a good view of the trail below, and started sorting. First thing, she ensured all spare ammo was in the knapsack. There wasn't nearly as much as she would like. On top of that went her spare clothes and all of the jerky she'd bought at the last trading post. And really, that was all there was room for.
Dorothy buckled the double-holster on, tying the holsters down around her thighs so the pistols didn't flop around when she ran. After ensuring both pistols had full magazines, she ate a jerky and considered her best path forward.
"Soldiers will be coming after me shortly," she said, looking all around. She was near the peak of a low mountain. Dorothy could see for miles and miles, and not a single light to be seen. "Are these mountains devoid of people, or do they all go to sleep at sundown?"
It was probably the latter. She'd encountered quite a few local people so far, though she'd seen almost no homes, farms, or villages along the yellow brick road through the Winkie Mountains. What she had seen was numerous small roads leading off the main road.
Movement below caught her attention. Dorothy watched the spot, holding her breath and listening as well. There it was again, accompanied with a clang of metal. She quickly discerned it was a line of men coming up the same trail.
"Here they come," she muttered, grimacing. "Idiots. They are bunched so close together I can kill most of them with just a few short bursts."
Though they served a Wicked Witch, Dorothy didn't think the soldiers were actually wicked or evil. They were soldiers doing their job. Of course, they chose to serve a Wicked Witch, and what good man would do that?
Despite everything, Dorothy couldn't say they deserved to die. She didn't want to kill anyone. Well, she fully intended to kill King Scarecrow, but he was definitely evil. If anyone in Oz deserved to die, it was Scarecrow. She still wasn't sure about Lion, Tin Woodman, and she wasn't too keen on Glinda at the moment.
Something dark swooped down from the moonless sky. Dorothy ducked and looked around wide-eyed.
"Witch!"
A peel of laughter drifted back to her. Her eyes narrowed. The late Wicked Witch of the West laughed like that. She saw no reason the latest Wicked Witch shouldn't as well. It took a second, but she found the Witch flying in a big loop back toward her. She was wearing one of those big, black pointed hats. Dorothy had only seen one other Witch wear one of them, but she'd learned that all Cardinal Witches had such hats, and they were their symbol of power. Kind of like a king's crown. Only Cardinal Witches were allowed to wear them per Ozian Sumptuary Laws and Customs.
"I fail to see the humor, Witch," Dorothy snarled.
A shout below drew her eyes to the approaching soldiers. They were running towards her now. And then the Witch completed her turn, and headed straight at her position.
"I am so screwed," she muttered. Looking off in the distance, she could just make out the yellow brick road heading to the east and Emerald City. Her breath caught. "Emerald City."
Dorothy grimaced, fearing she'd never make it there. As the Wicked Witch and soldiers neared, she shuffled sideways behind a boulder, and her feet clacked together loudly in the dim starlight. Shoes. Enchanted shoes. She remembered her test earlier in the fight against Pasetta. She just had to envision herself behind the other woman, she clicked her heels.
And she'd been magically transported to the spot.
A smile spread across her face. "I've been such a fool and wasted so much time."
She clicked her heels together. The Witch on the broom started throwing lightning bolts at her.
"Emerald City," Dorothy said louder, and clicked her heels again.
Warmth started to flow into her feet, and the shoes vibrated in warning.
"I want to go to Emerald City," she said, and clicked her shoes together a third time.
Everything blurred, and Dorothy teetered atop her sky high heels. The Witch and soldiers threatening her were nowhere to be seen. Indeed, she stood upon a plain of gentle hills. She turned around, scanning the horizon. And saw it.
"Emerald City!"
Dorothy found herself standing on the yellow brick road with her destination just within view. The city glowed green in the night. But even in the dark, she could see it was a full day's walk away, and weariness washed through her.
"I may die tomorrow, but at least I'll right one wrong."
Chapter 20
Dorothy woke up at a strange sound. She sat up, which caused others to gasp. She was not alone. Several people stared at her from the Yellow Brick Road, just twenty feet away.
First thing, she checked to ensure her weapons were still secured to her person. She slept fully armed, using the knapsack as a pillow. There was no blanket to cover her.
"Who are you?" a tall, slim man in brilliant scarlet, with red hair and an incredibly long handlebar mustache asked. There were a dozen others with him, evenly divided between men and women. They were leading donkeys loaded with cargo. "Are you hurt or in any kind of distress, young lady?"
She stood up and dusted herself off while studying the situation. None of the strangers looked like soldiers. She didn't see any weapons. Emerald City was tiny on the horizon and the
sky was empty of flying Witches.
The strangers watched silently, with quizzical looks on their faces.
"Are you Olivia, the Good Witch of the North?" a young woman asked.
The woman looked to be in her late teens, with long fire red hair and big blue eyes. The man and the woman were obviously related. Dorothy guessed father and daughter.
"Cynna, why did you ask her that?" the man said.
The young woman looked uncertain for a second. She looked back and forth between Dorothy and the man, and finally she looked Dorothy up and down more closely. Her eyes lingered on the pistols and Uzis, though she showed no alarm looking upon such dangerous weapons. And she didn't look the least bit intimidated by the weapons, either.
"She appeared magically, sir, and she has brown hair and blue eyes. She's rather scantily clad, like a Witch. All of that together made me think she is Olivia," she said. The girl wore a scarlet gown, with a plunging neckline and a slit up her left leg. Dorothy graced her with an oh really look. Scantily clad indeed! "And Olivia is known to carry powerful talismans."
Everyone looked at the Uzis hanging from Dorothy's shoulders. The rejuvenated woman felt a little foolish, but didn't understand why. It had to be a good sign that they didn't see the guns as threats.
"Hmm, quite observant, and quick-witted," he said. His gaze dwelled deep in Dorothy's cleavage for an uncomfortably long moment. "Well done, Cynna."
"Thank you, sir," she said, performing a little curtsy.
He turned to Dorothy, "I am Umar. Are you Olivia?"
"Um," Dorothy said, looking back and forth between them. "Who I am is unimportant. I am neither Olivia, nor a Witch, Good, Wicked, or otherwise, but tell me, good citizens…," she glanced at Emerald City, perched atop a hill on the horizon. It didn't look anything like what she remembered. Not as tall or impressive as before, but it had been many decades since her last visit. Her own world was unrecognizable as well. "Is the Wizard King of Oz currently in Emerald City?"
Everyone gawked at her. Umar appeared surprised, and Cynna had a confused look on her lovely face.
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