As we travel through the forest filled with dangerous night creatures, Werelion walks in majestic strides at my side. Toto hasn’t forgotten how the shifter attacked him earlier, but as the day goes on, he relaxes, and by sunset, Toto and Werelion become good friends.
The sun goes down, and the sounds of the forest get more and more frightening. Even though I am keeping fierce company, or the appearance of ferocity, I grow more and more nervous at what the night will bring with no shelter in sight. I stick close to Nick and Ardie, and the Werelion sticks close to me, while Toto, who seems just as fearful, stays close to my feet.
Because talk only calls attention to us, we do not speak. And the evening goes on with no further challenges from vampires or werebeasts or zombies, and when we pass through some quiet woods, we find a place off the road to spend the night.
9
The Haunting of Nick Chopper
We find a space amongst the trees where we can camp out for the night and build a fire that won’t spread. Nick chops a large pile of wood with his axe and gets an impressive blaze going while I take out our food for dinner. When I offer to share the turkey with the Werelion, he eats most of what we have left over, leaving only scraps for Toto’s breakfast. I have no clue what we’ll do for food from here on out.
“Dorothy, if you wish,” says the Werelion with an endearing timidity, “I will go into the forest and kill a deer to roast it by the fire since you prefer cooked food, and then you will have plenty for the rest of the trip.”
“That would be appropriate,” says Nick, “considering you ate all we had.”
“Time for me to find my dinner and get away from this fire. Toto and I will hunt with you,” Ardie says, and the three of them take off into the woods.
“At last, we are alone,” Nick says, the corner of his mouth quirked up and his eyes glinting with mischief.
“Nick—” I start when he cuts me off my pulling me into his side, his arm wrapping around my waist.
“Yes?” he says close to my face.
My heart pounds at his touch, and his proximity. Why must he be so attractive?
He plants an impassioned kiss on my lips, and without thinking, I reciprocate the kiss, my armor folding back into my boots in a blink. When he pulls away and grasps my breasts, his darkened, hooded eyes search mine, heavy with ardor. My lips fall open on the verge of a protest, but nothing comes out as he nuzzles my neck.
“Nick, we shouldn’t,” I say, my voice quivering with pleasure.
“Shouldn’t we?” he says before nibbling my earlobe, sending wonderful tingles through my entire body, causing me to gasp.
The energy between us feels like an addiction waiting to happen. You know it’s terrible for you, but you want it anyway, and you can’t help but do it. Regret inundates you when you do, but you still don’t stop. And the cycle repeats until you need to go to therapy or rehab to kick the dreadful habit. I’ve never been addicted to anything before, but I could see how fast I could get addicted to him, to the sensations he elicits from me.
“Mmmm, Dorothy,” he purrs as he caresses me with skilled hands, and my heart surges, reaching out for him, and then it drops, because I know how stupid I’m being.
“Nick, please… stop,” I utter in a reluctant whisper, almost unable to speak the words.
“What?” he says, perplexed, but he stops and moves back.
“Sorry, but I can’t,” I say as I straighten myself out.
“Why?”
“Do you want an honest answer or an easy answer?”
“An honest one.”
Honesty is hard when you know your words only leave you bare, and they won’t change anything at all, but he’s right when he says we could die at any moment, and I don’t want to die a liar, so I muster up the courage to tell him the truth.
“I don’t think I can do those things without wanting more, or I’m not sure I can, and I know you don’t want more.”
“Need I remind you that you’re leaving.”
“I know I am. And just so you know, I want to,” I admit. “Even though it’s not what’s best for me, for my heart. You know, the organ you lack?” I say, teasing him.
“Dorothy, you are beautiful. There is a strong attraction between us. You are unique, from another world, another realm, and if I thought you would stay… but I know you will leave, and you know you will leave. This time is all we have. Why can it not just be what it is? A… fling?”
“Sorry, but I can’t,” I say, and remove his hand from my waist.
“You want to, so why don’t you?” he asks, looking mystified, like he does not understand why I would deny myself.
“I could develop feelings for you beyond just being travel companions. You’re very attractive and have this brooding bad boy thing going on,” I say, and he laughs at that remark. “It’s hard, knowing you are cold in that way, that you won’t develop feelings too, because you are, as you say, heartless.”
“You would want me to fall in love with you for you to leave me behind?”
“I mean…” I say and stop. I think it over and that would be cruel of me, considering what he’s been through.
“If you would stay, live in the Emerald City, have I not already said I would take care of you? How many hours ago did I make you that promise?”
“Yeah, fine, but it’s an empty one because you know I am going home.”
“It is possible you may not be able to return. In this case, I may allow myself to fall in love. Until that happens, I am happy to be with you now.”
“You would ‘take care of me’ as you say, if I can’t go home?”
“I would.”
“If you meet a girl you like and fall in love with her, would you still take care of me? Is this like a charity thing or—”
“Dorothy, I like you, but I do not love you because I love no one, but you do not love me either. You only like me, but I know you still want to kiss me too.”
“Yeah, so what?”
“So what?”
“Yes, so what? Attraction isn’t everything. I can control myself. It’s clear this concept is foreign to you, but I don’t just indulge my every whim and desire.”
“Neither do I, but when I can affection from a woman as beautiful as you, I try for it. I have not failed yet. That I will admit. However, if I had to choose between any of the ones who came before you and you to find that comfort in, I would choose you.”
“Why? When I can only kiss you and they could do much more,” I say.
“Well, I will accept only a kiss, but we could work around the predicament of the pants,” he says, the corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement.
“We won’t.”
“Why not?”
“We don’t have protection.”
“Protection?” he asks confused.
“I could get pregnant,” I say and his eyes widen, thinking of that fact. “I won’t have your baby if I’ll never see you again,” I chortle.
“That is a fantastic reason.”
“I know.”
“Then we will not try to work around the pants predicament. Problem solved,” he smiles in triumph and I laugh at him, shaking my head. He pulls me in closer. “Dorothy, relax. You would not care if Ardie did not admonish you for it.”
That’s true. Before that, I enjoyed kissing him. It was comforting in this strange situation. Bad luck and happenstance ripped me from my world and threw me into this crazy land of monsters, but here is this beautiful guy who wants to vivify our frightening journey with pleasure and warmth.
He must sense I am softening because he leans in and touches his forehead to mine, and I let him. As his breath caresses my lips, our noses touch, and my resolve waivers, but I don’t kiss him, even though I know he’s waiting for me to do it. I refused him last time, and he’s a gentleman even if he claims to be heartless. What is the harm in a kiss? Fine, Ardie doesn’t approve, but he’s not my moral authority.
Nick pulls away from our nuzzle,
searching my eyes, and his brows knit. He looks pained, which surprises me, and he takes my hands in his. Just holding his hands sets off sparks inside me that send my heart into flutters of a feeling I’ve never experienced before him. He looks down at our clasped hands and takes a deep breath, then looks up at me with an imploring gaze.
“Dorothy, please don’t go back to Kansas.”
“I have to let them know I’m alive.”
“You don’t even like Kansas.”
“This place is scary, Nick.”
“We are traveling to the Vampire Free Zone. It isn’t the same there.”
“I still have to finish school.”
“Why?”
“Uh, because…” If I didn’t return, then it wouldn’t matter about finishing school, I guess… but… “What would I do here for a living? Where I come from, women are past the point of being ‘taken care of’ by men. I want to have a job, a skill, like you. It would be nice to take care of myself.”
“Anything you want to do you can do.”
“I don’t know what that is yet though. That’s what school is for. If it didn’t work out for me here, what would I do then?”
“It will. Stay,” he says, gazing into me with one of his penetrating stares that could easily be another lie. He’s a good liar—I already know that—but this feels real, as though it might be more than hormones and incredible chemistry, like it might be more than just a fling, or at least it could be.
“Maybe—” I start and he interrupts me by dragging the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip in a gentle caress, and it makes me want to kiss him so bad I might burst.
As I lean in, my resolve melts away, but I stop short when I hear a crackling, like feet stepping on dried leaves and twigs nearby. With a tilt of his head, he listens.
“Ooh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” a small, beautiful woman says as she emerges from the forest and steps into the light of the fire. Nick’s eyes widen at the sight of her, and he jumps to his feet. She’s short, fair skinned, with long red hair, and gorgeous. Seduction oozes from her as she simpers. “Hello, Nicky.”
Nicky? Bet she’s one of his former girlfriends.
“Nimmie! I thought…” he says and stops, in shock. She’s his vampire ex-fiancé. This is just great. Nicky and Nimmie? Yuck.
“You thought you’d killed me? Not quite. You staked me a little too far to the right,” she says and points to the center of her abundant cleavage. As her eyes pore over me in appraisal, she smirks in judgment before saying, in a tiny, cloying voice, “My Nicky ran too fast to notice he had not gotten the job done. Lucky for me.”
“I-I…” he stutters then stops, blinking in shock.
“Oh, my love, do not worry, I forgive you. I was trying to bite you at the time… So tell me, who is this here?” she asks, referring to me. He says nothing, still in shock.
“I’m Dorothy,” I tell her. What do I make of this situation? Do I kill her? Will he hate me for it? Should I let him do it? Should I let her go?
“Do-ro-thy? What an odd name. How fitting for such an odd-looking girl. You are swarthy and large for a Munchkin, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a Munchkin, and if you call me swarthy again you’ll regret it.”
“How curious when Nicky likes fair-skinned Munchkin girls, don’t you, Nicky? You must be just another hole for him to park his cock,” she says and I huff out a laugh.
Wow, she’s rude, and that baby voice of hers makes me want to vomit. He stands, taking his axes from his chest, ready to attack or defend, I’m not sure which, and she giggles.
“Nicky, don’t you miss me? We could still get married,” she says, trying to entice him with her pouty baby voice.
“No, I’d rather not,” he says, eyes narrowed.
“Oh, now, I doubt Do-ro-thy, is much compared to me. I always knew how to please you better than any other. If you let me turn you, we could be together forever like you always hoped for. We could share her. The first feed is always the best. She may be homely, but she smells sweet. I’ll give her that,” she says with a slow, seductive walk toward him. Axes drawn, he stands his ground, waiting for her.
“I’m not interested,” he says, watching her every movement as she makes a slow approach.
“You love me,” she teases, batting her evil eyes.
“I don’t, and you never loved me.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You could have been with me. I was not enough for you. You wanted riches, a larger home, a lavish life I could not provide, remember?”
“I was only trying to motivate you. You know I had many suitors. Most were far richer than you, but you were who I chose to share my bed,” she purrs, moving toward him, closer and closer. He’s not moving. I don’t know if it should worry me. What if he wants to turn for her, because he misses her, still loves her? Should I let him? If he does, should I let them live? In that case, should I run, or should I worry she just wants to feed on him? I have no idea what to do.
“I was not the only one to share your bed. Your mistress let me know that,” he says.
“You were my favorite though. And none of that matters now. I have all I could ever need. I live in a beautiful home now. You could live in it with me.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I fed on the owners and kept it for myself. It’s close to here.”
A rustling comes from the direction she came, and I look over hoping it’s Ardie but it isn’t—it’s a man. A very attractive man who is also very pale, wearing fancy, ruffled clothes like hers. I think he’s with her. He’s not a Munchkin like she is. He’s tall, bronze haired, fiery eyed, and has fangs.
“Fyter?” Nick says upon seeing him and then looks to her with a narrowed eye and a smirk.
“Cousin,” he seethes.
“This is Do-ro-thy,” she says, eyeing me.
“You must share her with me,” Fyter says, sniffing the air in my direction. “She’s a sweet one.”
I laugh, shaking my head.
“I amuse you, sweet girl?” he asks, intrigued by me.
“No, not even close. I’m laughing because you appall me. Both of you,” I say, bored by their threats. I shouldn’t be. It must be the boots.
“Confident, I see,” he says. “Where did you find such a feisty new conquest, Nick? However much I liked the taste of your last three in particular, none of them smelled as good as this one here. Sweet and spicy,” the guy says and Nick’s eyes narrow.
“What?” Nick seethes.
“Oh, did you not know that she makes it a point to feed on all your conquests?” Fyter says, his amused eyes glinting, enjoying Nick’s anger, and it makes me want to smash his face in. “There was the kitchenmaid, and the blacksmith’s daughter, and the milkmaid, and the tavern wench, and the other tavern wench, and the other tavern wench. It seems you like tavern wenches. Oh, and there was the laundress, the many farmer’s daughters, that soldier’s wife, the baker’s wife. We took their husbands too, and their children, but none of them have smelled as sweet as this one. Cousin, is your delectable little leman another tavern wench?” he asks Nick who looks so angry he might pop. “Sweet girl, are you a tavern wench?” he asks me, and I don’t answer.
“He is speaking to you, trollop,” Nimmie says and sneers.
“Yeah, I know. I heard him.”
“So you answer. Are you a tavern wench too?”
“No, I’m not. What are you? Aside from a bloodsucker who talks like a damn baby? Why talk and flirt like a small child? Is it because it worked when you were three, so you never stopped? Because it’s gross. Grow up already.”
“Nicky always loved my voice. He loved everything about me.”
“His name is Nick, and I doubt that. Stop trying to entice him by pouting and talking like a toddler, you freak. It’s a turn off.”
“I have no problem enticing anyone I please, Do-ro-thy.”
“I’m sure your successes in that area were despite yo
ur irritating baby voice. The only thing anyone ever liked about you was your looks. But that’s just my guess. Am I right, Nick?”
“Yes,” Nick says.
“There it is then.” I say with a shrug, and she is looking at me like she wants to pummel me. Any second now she will launch herself at me. Then when I kill her, it will be self-defense. Nick couldn’t hold that against me, right?
“I like your baby voice,” Fyter purrs, then throws a smug look to Nick. There seems to be a rivalry between them, or perhaps there was once.
“The two of you are perfect for each other—superficial and soulless, concerned with all the wrong things.”
“What are you concerned with, sweet one?” he asks as he prowls toward me, and so does she, as though they plan to kill me together. He looks to her, and she gives him a small nod before he turns his glinting eyes back on me. They seem to have developed some system of killing people, like they’re a tag team.
“Right now? Nick. I don’t want him to hate me when I kill this shrew of an ex of his and I don’t want him to have to do it himself, so there’s a conundrum there. And then there’s you. If I kill you, it might upset him because I am assuming he would want to do it himself. It would be so easy to just kill you both right now but I am worried about how he’d take it,” I say and they both stop their menacing approach to laugh at me. “I figured you would want an honest answer.”
“You? Oh, I will enjoy feeding off of you!” Nimmie says, and I roll my eyes. I couldn’t help it.
“Don’t worry about me, Dorothy. Kill them both if you like, but if you want me to take one or both of them myself, I am happy to,” Nick says.
“Oh, Nick, do not be angry with me. Don’t you miss me?” Nimmie coos.
“No. I haven’t at all. That is the thing. I thought I loved you, that I had lost my heart when you turned because killing you, or thinking I had, was easy for me. It should have been hard. I thought we were to marry. I should have cared. But I didn’t, and I haven’t missed you for one second.”
“Do not lie for her sake. I know you loved me,” she says.
Dorothy In the Land of Monsters Page 12
