“Only, there is no scepter here,” Dorothy whispered, looking all around the otherwise empty chamber. She circled the room, looking for any sign of another hidden door. Nothing, but the walls were covered in plaster. To find the door, they would have to destroy those ancient paintings. “I don't have a choice.”
Dorothy stepped to the middle of the chamber, facing the direction of her friends on the other side. Only the flagstone underfoot clicked and dropped a bit. She jumped back and stared as the flagstone made a grinding sound as it slipped to the side. And then a small stone thing, looking like a five foot tall obelisk, rose up. The pyramid atop the obelisk was a crystal that glowed blue.
“Well that's…”
Before she could finish, light flashed from the blue crystal, straight up, and an image began to form. It quickly coalesced into a beautiful young woman with long golden hair and bright blue robes.
“Greetings, seeker, I am Carissa, Good Witch of the East. If you are listening to this, then I am dead. Hopefully, long gone from this world. I pray you are here to save the world, not conquer it. The Null Stone was created for Good, not evil. Do you have any questions?”
“Yes,” Dorothy said. “I am indeed fighting on the side of Good. Only, I don't see any talisman? Is it the blue crystal projecting your image?”
Carissa smiled. “I'm but a messenger, seeker. Do you have any questions?”
Well, this is going to get annoying real fast.
“Are the Null Stone and the golden scepter shown on the wall paintings one and the same?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, feel free to elaborate,” Dorothy said, feeling her shoulders tighten. “Tell me, O Great One, where is the Null Stone right now?”
Carissa nodded and waved her hand. Dorothy noted she wasn't using a wand, but would a ghost need a wand? And really, Carissa was really just a magical projection. Yet, she heard another grinding of rock against rock, and looked up to see the golden scepter slowly descending from an opening. She held out her hands and it fell into her grasp.
The scepter wasn't much larger than a witch's wand, maybe eighteen inches long. It was much lighter than she anticipated. The crystal on the end proved much darker than in the paintings, being a deep cobalt.
“I don't feel or sense any magic, Carissa.”
“You must active the spell, seeker,” Carissa said. “The trigger word to activate and deactivate is the same: Dispel!”
Dorothy lifted the scepter up before her, “Dispel.”
The crystal flashed and glowed brightest blue, overwhelming the light crystal's light and bathing the chamber in blue. Carissa also vanished.
“I think it's working,” Dorothy said, so closed her eyes. “There's no place like the next chamber over with Nick and Lion.”
Click.
“There's no place like the next chamber over with Nick and Lion.”
Click.
“There's no place like the next chamber over with Nick and Lion.”
Click.
And nothing happened.
“Yes!” Dorothy cried, giving a fist pump. “Dispel.”
The Null Stone stopped glowing, and then Dorothy felt a tingle in her feet, that quickly washed up through her body. It felt…comforting. And a second later, Carissa reappeared above the small obelisk.
“Well done, seeker,” Carissa said. “The Null Stone is yours. Use it wisely.”
“Are there any dangers to using it?”
“Only that all magic within one mile will cease working. If you are in a place that requires magic, like high in the sky on a flying carpet, it could prove deadly if you activated it.”
“Oh, yes, good to know. Thank you, Carissa.”
The long gone Good Witch vanished. Dorothy looked around one last time, and then used her shoes to return to her friends in the other chamber. Nick and Lion were shouting at each other, blaming the other for her leaving them behind.
“Oh, hush,” Dorothy said. “Neither of you is responsible for my actions.” She held up the scepter. “Behold the Null Stone, my friends. Now it's time to take the fight to Glinda and the Wickeds!”
Chapter 25
The Imperial Grand Army began to fall back. Glinda cried out in victory. Locasta would have to drop some of the wards protecting the city for the soldiers to get back behind the protection of its walls. When she did that, Glinda and the Wickeds had their best chance of battering down the shield of interwoven magic. And since she helped Scarecrow build the shield, Glinda knew precisely where to strike for best effect.
I'll just have to rebuild the magical defenses back up after we take the city, she thought.
She'd hoped they could take the city without her revealing secrets to Wanda and Jezebelle. Some of her most powerful defensive spells protected Emerald City, so she'd make herself more vulnerable by revealing counter-spells to unweave them. But she hadn't anticipated Locasta being so effective and adding her own spells to the weave.
Glinda called up a pink message bubble. “To Wanda Darquehart and Jezebelle Silvermane. Meet me above the palace. I know how we can quickly destroy Emerald City's shield by coordinating our attacks.”
She gave the bubble a little puff, and it split in two as it flew away.
Actually, I think we can break the shield by attacking Scarecrow's spells, instead of mine.
A different plan began to form while studying how her wards had interweaved with Scarecrow's spells to form the magical shield. The spells he contributed to the shield were so like the man – bold, powerful, yet reckless and not always up to potential. If he'd just been a little more articulate and careful with his magic, Scarecrow would still rule Oz and all the Cardinal Witches would serve him with complete loyalty.
I've learned from your mistakes, old friend, she thought. And I won't make the same ones. I'll bring every man, woman, and witch to heel, and make them love it. Make them love ME!
Pausing to look around the battle field, she smiled. She loved the thrill of battle. The Ley Lines vibrated from all of the Cardinal and Lesser Witches battling, hurling spell after spell. The clash of arms, the cry of the wounded and dying, it all called to something deep and dark. A darkness that Scarecrow had either awakened within her, or had placed there to corrupt her. Either way, battle excited her.
Turning her flying carpet toward the meeting spot, Glinda glanced to her right. And spotted her. Locasta. The once Good Witch and now Lion's royal witch, stood upon the palace's highest rampart, casting spells furiously. For the thousandth time, she wondered how Lion subjugated her. His pheromones were powerful, but no other Witch had felt a desire to surrender it all to him.
Twice, Lion had seduced Glinda with his pheromones. He got what he wanted from her body, but he failed to subjugate her. But did he really try to break her like he did Locasta? After all, he'd still served Scarecrow at the time.
No, I'm too powerful to fall so easily, she thought. She hoped. Locasta is quite powerful even now, so he must've found a talisman or something to subjugate her.
Glinda felt a rare pang of guilt. She had once been good friends with Locasta. Now she had very wicked plans for the other witch. Wanda and Jezebelle also wanted Locasta under their thumb. She couldn't allow either of them to have control over such a powerful witch.
She bit her lip, gazing down on her once friend. Her body tingled when she thought about how best to break Locasta, and make the powerful witch her loving and very obedient servant. It was going to be so much fun…
“What the…?” she cried when the Ley Lines pulsed.
It took a powerful spell to make the Ley Lines pulse like that. Only a Cardinal Witch could accomplish it, or a talisman of equal power. Like Dorothy's Silver Shoes.
Her first thought was Dorothy had returned to Emerald City. But the pulse wasn't that strong. Dorothy had been quite active with her magical shoes earlier, far away on the other side of Munchkin Country and around the time her Sa'Kor should've captured her. She prayed that last Silver Shoe pulse had b
een them removing them from Dorothy's feet.
Another pulse came up from the south.
“Diana Sweetwater! Come to me, Diana. Come closer.”
That meant the previous pulse came from Olivia. The Good Witch of the North felt closer, and was First Witch now, so was the greater threat. They had to be dealt with before she could finally breach the walls of Emerald City.
Glinda continued to her meeting spot with the Wickeds. Jezebelle had already arrived, and a moment later Wanda came racing up on her broom. They came together in a rough triangle.
“We have to deal with Olivia and Diana,” Glinda said. “I'll have Scarecrow press on, crushing the Grand Army. I'll take care of Diana if you two deal with Olivia.”
“You claimed the weaker of the two?” Wanda asked. “Why? Do you think Olivia will defeat us?”
“No, it's personal,” Glinda said, eyes narrowing. “I want to personally deal with my usurper.”
She knew Wanda would approve of that sentiment. Vengeance was near and dear to a Wicked Witch's heart. Jezebelle nodded in agreement, a knowing smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.
“Shall we go welcome Olivia to the party, sister?” Jezebelle asked. “I'll hit her low, if you go in high.”
Glinda called up another bubble when they flew away.
“To Scarecrow and General Alizan. Be alert. The hosts of North and South bear down upon us. Wanda, Jezebelle, and I are off to deal with their Witches. Press the attack, destroy the Imperials, and take the city.”
The bubble split in two as it flew away. In truth, she only had to send Scarecrow a message. General Alizan served under him during the assault on the city. But she always favored her Sa'Kor like that.
Scarecrow had effective control of all three hosts. He stood upon a hill overlooking the city, between Glinda's and Wanda's armies. He communicated with the three armies via Lesser Witches and enchanted mirrors. An entire troop of Sa'Kor cavalry protected him.
Glinda turned south, pushing her flying carpet faster and faster as her wand drew runes in the air trying to zero in on Diana's position. A small pulse came up from the south, and she veered toward it.
Diana might be the weakest of the Cardinal Witches, but her Lesser Witches were not. Thanks to Glinda's programs to find and cultivate Lesser Witches, Quadling Country had the most and most powerful Lesser Witches of all the Countries. By all accounts, Diana had continued those policies and continued to build her power. In contrast, Wanda had the smallest and weakest contingent of Lesser Witches due to her distrust of competition.
Dropping low, Glinda flew nape of the earth over the Ozian countryside. Burning farms and villages whipped by below. Her skin tingled as she drew closer and closer. It became darker as she left the battlefield, the land lit only by the moon and stars. And then she spotted them.
Diana's host spread across the horizon, with countless dark columns of soldiers in front, witches in the middle, and baggage trains bringing up the rear. The Good Witch of the South stood on a flying carpet above her leading elements, but behind the vanguard. A dozen Lesser Witches flew with her, their flying carpets in a V-formation twenty feet above the soldiers.
Glinda smiled, which quickly became wicked as a plan of attack formed.
Zeroing in on the vanguard, Glinda found the commanding officer and his witch. Dropping even closer to the ground, she sped up just a foot off the ground across a pasture. It was dangerous, forced to watch for fences and other obstacles even as she cast her spells. But as soon as the soldiers spotted her, reining in their mounts, she laughed and unleashed hell.
Ka-Boom! Ka-Boom!
The first two bolts hit the commander and his witch square in their chests. Their bodies exploded into a million pieces. Then she cast another spell that attacked the horses by forming a thousand shadowy wolves. Just ghostly images, but enough to terrify even the bravest battle horse.
Ka-Boom!
Diana's bolt missed, but not by much. Glinda soared up, before veering left.
Ka-Boom!
Missed again, sister, she thought.
Glinda threw five quick bolts at Diana. They struck a powerful shield, protecting the Witch and her soldiers. When Glinda called up more ghostly wolves, Diana shielded her army behind thick mist so the mounts couldn't see them.
A cloud of crossbow bolts arched up, but Glinda easily rose up above their range. So with Diana so well-protected, she turned her attention to the host following behind and began raining bolts down upon them. That brought Diana out from behind her protective shell.
“Glinda! I will destroy you!”
“Aww, you're so cute, sister,” she replied, amplifying her voice with a short spell.
The dozen Lesser Witches attending Diana swarmed up toward Glinda. One and all were quite powerful, as Lesser Witches go. If Diana was killed, one of them could be the witch the Land picked to replace her as Good Witch of the South. But it wouldn't be right away. Sometimes it took up to a year for a new Cardinal Witch to rise.
“Glinda, I command you to yield,” Diana shouted, also using magic to amply her voice.
“Make me,” Glinda said. “Oh, please, make me.”
Banking hard left, Glinda threw her most powerful lightning bolt straight down at Diana. Just fifty feet apart, she couldn't miss. But she did.
“What the…?”
Diana surged forward faster than Glinda thought possible. Her Lesser Witches moved in, too. Obviously a battle tactic they'd practiced.
“Nice trick, sister,” she muttered, seeing how the Good Witch and the others were quickly surrounding her as they closed in for the kill. “Diana! Stop running and fight me like a Witch!”
“Yield, Glinda!” Diana cried, coming up behind her.
Glinda spun around, wand poised and ready for anything. Diana stood in an aggressive stance, wand pointed at her. She looked her foe over. The Good Witch wore a red ankle-length gown, with waist high slits up both sides to reveal her long, shapely legs. Her long red hair was pulled back into a thick braid.
“Look at us, sister. Red-on-red violence personified,” Glinda said. “You in red silk, me in pink and white leather. Leather trumps silk in battle.”
“This is your last chance, Glinda,” Diana snarled, eyes two emerald slits of fury. “Yield or die!”
The two Witches faced each other, separated by a few feet. Glinda knew she only had a moment before a dozen Lesser Witches would bear her down with their sheer weight of numbers. A dozen Lesser Witches could kill or capture a Cardinal Witch if they got their hands on her and took away her wand.
Fools, she thought. I am the one who first came up with this tactic.
Seconds before the Lesser Witches reached her, Glinda dug deep as her wand drew a series of ancient and very powerful runes. And then she unleashed her spell.
Ka-BOOM!
A bubble of lightning exploded around and away from Glinda. It made her ears pop and ring, but the force of it spread out to sweep the sky clear of Lesser Witches. Diana withstood the blast, and even attacked into it.
“Just me and you,” Glinda snarled.
Diana looked startled. Glinda laughed, and attacked by leaping over onto Diana's flying carpet. Their wands instantly turned into great glowing swords; Glinda's glowed pink and Diana's red.
The clash of steel sounded like thunder when they crossed blades. Diana proved significantly stronger, physically, than Glinda anticipated. Maybe too strong. Yet, Glinda had centuries more experience, and quickly kicked the Good Witch's feet away.
Diana went plunging toward the ground. Glinda's breath caught as she watched, but the other Witch took control of Glinda's vacated flying carpet, and caused it to race down and catch her just a dozen feet off the ground.
Glinda's hands tightened into fists, eyes narrowing as her glowing sword turned back into her wand. “Well played, sister, but that only delays the agony of defeat a moment.”
She swirled her wand, drawing the tiniest runes to intensify their power. Her magic
seized the other flying carpet and yanked it out from under Diana even as the Witch climbed to her feet.
Diana plummeted to the hard earth. “Ugh!”
The Lesser Witches came streaking in screaming bloody threats, but Diana lay dazed and vulnerable. Glinda held up her hand, muttering a short spell, and a solid silver collar appeared in it. An enchanted collar.
“No one can save you,” Glinda cried. “Diana, you are mine!”
Chapter 26
“To the witch Locasta, Good Witch Diana, and Good Witch Olivia,” Dorothy said to the green bubble in her palm. “We have succeeded in acquiring the Null Stone. I'm on my way back to Emerald City.”
“You do realize that your magic will get us back before the bubble arrives?” Nick said. “It could take the bubble an hour to get all the way back to Emerald City.”
“Oh, never mind,” she said, closing her hand and popping the message bubble. “In my world communication is instantaneous. But we use telephones instead of bubbles and hold actual conversations.”
“Yet you keep insisting there is no magic in your home world,” Lion said.
“It's a different kind of magic. I told you. It's technology,” she said. “Basically, instead of magic we do everything with powerful machines.”
They just stared at her. To Ozians, machines were magical.
“We can debate magic at another time,” Dorothy said. “Assemble the men. Let's go rejoin the rest of our party and get the hell out of here before Jezebelle descends upon us.”
Even though they remained deep in the citadel's dungeon, everyone looked up and around at the mention of the Wicked Witch of the East. Nick broke the spell by ordering the soldiers to form up around Dorothy and escort her out. Lion raced away to gather his beastmen.
Wrath of a Wonderfully Wicked Witch (Return to Oz With a Vengeance Book 2) Page 16