“That was new.”
“What was?”
“The flying.”
“Nah, I just jumped as high as I could and used the vampires to get more height. You should try it sometime.”
“Perhaps I will. Though I hope I have no cause to for we are but one day away from the City of Emeralds, and in that time it would be nice to come across no more vampires.”
“When the Werelion wakes up, we’ll be on our way. By tomorrow we’ll get there, if not by tonight. Then it’ll be over,” I say, and although I am trying to be encouraging, a tinge of sadness crosses his eyes, but then he offers me a smile that’s so cute it makes my chest tingle.
I will miss him, and Ardie, and the Werelion, but I can’t wait to get out of this terrifying realm. All I want is to see the Wizard and get home.
“Let me go get the holy water so we can disintegrate the bodies before Toto returns from his hunt. We wouldn’t want him licking any of their wounds,” Nick says, and the thought of that curdles my blood.
“Yeah, good idea,” I say, and he jogs off into the tree trunk.
As I watch him go, it strikes me how soon it will be that I will never see him again. Ardie and Werelion too. This strange and horrifying realm is a place I will never return to, and although it’s been an eerie and grotesque experience, it’s also been such an adventure. There’s so much about myself I’ve discovered.
From Nick, I’ve learned that first impressions aren’t everything, and that my body and my emotions aren’t easy for me to separate. From Ardie, I learned what it’s like to have a big brother protect you. Then there’s Werelion. Even though he sees himself as a coward, he’s been so brave, jumping over that gulf six times with each of us on his back, pulling us to shore in that harrowing river. Despite his anxiety, he faces every challenge. That’s true bravery. He is kind and sweet and good, but he’s also powerful, strong, and courageous. I want to be more like him.
Since I came to Oz, I have had one breakthrough after another. But the most significant is that in these last weeks I have come to terms with the loss of my parents after four years of sadness. I can’t erase the grief, or the anger, but I can stop hating an imaginary force that has loomed over me for too long. And because of all that, I have limited myself and my future with false beliefs. Now, when I return, I will open myself up to greater possibilities for the first time since I was in middle school. I don’t think I’ll stop being practical altogether—the civilized realm isn’t magical—but there were things I hesitated to want for fear of losing them. I won’t be that way anymore.
Nick emerges from the trunk, walks straight over to me, and drops holy water on the three vampire bodies I am near. After they deteriorate to ash, we walk back toward the tunnel entrance where the other vampires lie. Once we’ve disintegrated each one, the ashes of their soulless, undead bodies flitter away in the breeze, and we go back into the tunnels to wait at our sleeping Werelion’s side.
When I look around at the lamplit tunnel, I’m impressed but also somewhat irritated.
“There were tunnels this whole time, and we went through all that,” I say and shake my head.
“I did not know they were here. Most humans don’t.”
“Why not though?”
“Subterranean werebeasts live here.”
“The Queen said most friendlies use these tunnels. When she said friendlies, I thought she meant people who aren’t evil or soulless.”
“If I had known of the tunnels, I’d have used them. Before now, I met no one who knew of them. It is a well kept secret.”
“The Queen said the tunnels follow the yellow brick road. Maybe we can travel underground the rest of the way.”
“The road ends at the City of Emeralds. If the tunnel follows the yellow road, then it should take us right there. We will take the transport.”
“Transport?”
“Yes,” he says with an impish grin.
“What’s with that look?” I ask with a light laugh, amused by his boyish excitement.
“There is a transport that came by while you were asleep. It runs on magic.”
“Didn’t Werelion say only witches and wizards could siphon the magic from the land?”
“A witch or a wizard must have enchanted it. The magic seems powerful too. Perhaps it was the Wizard. Or it could have been Gayelette. Although she is not as powerful as the wizard, the yellow road ends in Munchkin Country and that is her territory. If it follows the yellow road, then it very well could be. With magic already in the land, perhaps it makes the spells even more powerful.”
“Maybe,” I shrug as Ardie and Toto return.
Ardie drags a headless animal with him that looks like it could be a wild boar.
“Werelion will need to eat when he wakes,” Ardie says as they come down the slope.
With a loud thud that echoes off the tunnel walls, Ardie drops the dead animal off a few yards away before he and Toto join us. Toto scampers over, jumping around, so proud. He may miss this place more than I will. For a feisty bloodhound mutt, hunting every day is a dream come true.
By nightfall, we may arrive at the City of Emeralds and my time in this magical land of monsters will end. Toto and I will miss our new friends, but we won’t miss the constant threats to our safety. I will miss magic though, and having these boots that make me strong, powerful, and fearless. I will miss my new friends, but I’ll be okay knowing they’re safe and happy living in the Vampire Free Zone. And after everything I’ve been though in this magical land of monsters, one thing I can be certain of is that when Toto and I return to the gray world we left on a cyclone, we will live a colorful, radiant life.
13
The Magical Transport to Emerald Station
High into the air like a terrified house cat, Werelion leaps with his back arched, fur standing on end, and lands with a vicious hiss. Startled out of my wits, a small scream escapes me as my armor covers me and my heart pounds fast and hard in my chest. When he sees Nick, Ardie, and I are the only ones here, he is instantly relieved. With a sigh, he lies back down and my armor falls back into my boots.
“I ran as fast as I could,” he says, curling up on the stretcher and yawning, “but the flowers were too strong for me. How did you carry me from the field?”
We tell him of the Wererats, and how they saved his life, and he giggles envisioning rat shifters carrying him around in his sleep. Watching him giggle makes me giggle. Soon we’re all giggling. Then Ardie ends our giggle fest with sensible thinking.
“There is a boar for you, Werelion, so you may eat and then we can go on our way. A magical transport shall arrive to take us to the City of Emeralds,” Ardie says with the same boyish gleam in his eyes Nick had.
“Magical Transport?” Werelion asks, no longer laughing. It’s clear he’s terrified as he takes up the end of his tail into his big front paws, his eyes widening in fear, his body trembling.
“Nick and I both saw it,” Ardie says with pride. “It is real, and it runs through these tunnels, under the yellow brick road.”
“Oh,” Werelion says, worry etched into his furry features.
“It is safe, Werelion,” Nick says.
“Are you sure?” Werelion asks, hopeful eyes lighting him up.
“Yes,” Nick says. Werelion smiles, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. With a languorous yawn and a big stretch, he gets up, walks over to the dead boar, and eats.
Like a wild animal, snarling, crunching and cracking bones, Werelion rips away large areas of skin before tearing the flesh from the carcass with his teeth then gobbling it up. The sight of his ravenous devouring and the sounds it produces make my stomach wrench. Unable to watch, I busy myself with arranging my bag, and it’s a good thing we might make it there tonight because we are out of food and water.
“Perhaps we should gather ourselves now, for the speed with which he eats is like none I have ever seen. Soon enough he will finish, and we can go.” Nick says.
“Is there anywhere
to get water down here?” We’re out and I haven’t drunk anywhere near enough water today.
“No, I checked,” Nick says.
“Soon we will get to the City of Emeralds and they will have all the food and water any of us could ever need,” Ardie says.
The Werelion finishes his boar faster than I thought possible and returns to us with a sated and bloody face. He curls right back up on the stretcher and gives himself a cat bath, licking his paws and wiping his face until he is all clean.
“How was the boar, Werelion?” Ardie asks.
“Delicious. I could have eaten ten. I must hunt soon for a more substantial dinner.”
Astounded any one being can consume so much, I ask, “How much do you eat in a day?” But I worry my question made him self-conscious because he cowers, and a soft pout takes over his furry face.
“I have a big appetite,” he says in a small voice.
“No, it’s not a criticism. I’m only amazed.”
“Deer is a more typical meal for me. A deer is much bigger than a boar.”
“That is true,” Ardie agrees.
“The boar was a nice change though. Tasty. A perfect snack.”
“If we leave now we might make it into the city tonight. Let us get moving,” Nick suggests as he stands, and the rest of us rise with him, standing and dusting off the dirt from the tunnel floor.
Nick and Ardie lead the way, entering a tunnel to the right of us. It leads to a platform above another tunnel that is much larger, wider, with higher ceilings, and runs perpendicular to where we stand.
“Which way do we go?” Werelion asks, already skittish.
“Neither—we wait here,” Ardie says.
The moment he finishes his sentence, a massive soap bubble, tinted green and enveloped by a glittering green mist floats in from one end of the tunnel. When it reaches the platform, it stops.
“Get in,” Nick says to me with an impish grin, his eyes glinting with boyish exhilaration.
“Where’s the door?”
“There is none. Enter like this,” Nick says as he steps right through the wall of the bubble. When the bubble closes behind him, he floats, weightless, and makes his way to the center.
Eager to try it out, I pick up Toto, my bag of weapons secure on my back, and step through the bubble wall. I expect it to feel like soap or maybe cling wrap, but instead it has no texture or temperature whatsoever. Weightless and light, I float toward Nick, and he catches me, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me to him.
On the platform, Ardie drags a very reluctant Werelion into the bubble and they both float the moment they’re inside. Werelion’s mood morphs from fearful to gleeful in an instant. A big, ebullient smile beams as he floats about the bubble, his feline movements graceful and dancelike. As I watch him, so joyful, a giggle escapes me. Then the bubble rolls forward, and his joy reverts to fear, his eyes wide and searching, unsure of what happens next.
The bubble picks up speed, traveling down the large tunnel away from the platform, and as it hurtles forward it spirals, twirling over the ceiling, spinning to the ground, bouncing off the walls, insulated by the glittering green mist that seems to keep it from popping. Nick, Toto, and I are still and secure in the center, but Ardie and Werelion are closer to the bubble walls. Ardie quickly makes his way toward the center with us, but Werelion is too close. When his paws grip the translucent bubble wall, he spins with it, looping fast around us.
“Let go of the wall,” Nick calls to Werelion who sobs as he spins every which way.
“I can’t!”
“Move away from the wall!” Ardie calls to him.
“I can’t,” he bawls, growing more hysterical with each loop-de-loop.
The next time he flies by, Ardie jumps up, grabs his tail, and yanks him toward us. Out of the spin cycle, Werelion floats down to us, now crying with gratitude.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you, I owe you my life,” he says, being so dramatic, and I stifle a chuckle.
“You are safe now,” Nick says, suppressing a smile as he pats Werelion’s shoulder.
As we careen around this long dark tunnel in a lit up, translucent green bubble, Werelion collects himself with closed eyes and deep, calming breaths while the rest of us look on in awe.
Where dirt and plain brown rock lined the tunnels, now radiant green crystal is all we see. The pure emerald ground has a distinct, penetrative energy that pulses and glitters. A majestic, tingling caresses my skin before it enters my heart, warming my chest with pure delight.
Blissful rushes of green magic amplify the deeper beneath the surface we go. Swoops and dives floating up and down steep slopes, free-falling down sharp drops, we travel so far below ground it’s as though we’re voyaging into the heart of the land, and it lives and breathes and overflows with magic and love. When my eyes close in sublime beatitude, a kelly green vibrance permeates me, and I feel better than I’ve ever felt, like I’m aglow within.
“Dorothy,” Nick breathes beside me, and I open my eyes to his astonished face watching me.
“What?”
“Look at yourself,” he says, and I look down and see at the center of my chest I am glowing inside. A bright green light emanates from my breast bone at my heart. It should alarm me, but it doesn’t. There is nothing about this that feels wrong.
“The energy is magnificent. Can you feel it too?”
“Not like you.”
“Dorothy, you’re illuminated!” Werelion says, shocked.
“And it feels awesome.”
“That’s a good thing,” Werelion says with a sigh of relief.
“Those boots must collect magic,” Ardie says.
“Maybe.” The green glow travels through my body to my feet, proving Ardie right. But even though my heart is no longer lit, the sensation lingers.
The energy in the land is palpable and I am enjoying its effects. When I leave, I’ll miss the distinct feel of magic—a potent vibration made of emotions and epiphany and deep-rooted power. If I didn’t know the magic came from the land, I’d think it originated in DNA, in the basic blocks that make us up, because it runs so deep inside it deluges and whelms in waves of powerful splendor, and it feels right, like I’ve realized my natural state.
Through the cavern of deep green gems we float in our magical transport. When the bubble slows, Werelion let’s out a long breath.
“Are we here? Is this our stop?” Ardie asks, jittering with excitement.
The bubble comes to a full stop at the tunnel’s end—the only way to go from here is into the station or back to where we came from.
“This must be it,” Nick says, and we all float out of the bubble onto the platform. And then the bubble pops, disappearing to nothing once we all leave it.
The platform is made of pure emerald, smooth and illuminated, and it makes my boots buzz, vibrating the soles of my feet. The magic in the land here is strong.
With cautious steps, we walk through the cavern beyond the platform and into another junction. Just like the last station, there are corridors in every direction, but this one has a gleaming emerald staircase that shines under warm golden lights and leads up to what I assume is the City of Emeralds.
“That must be the exit to the city,” Ardie says, and we all walk over to the staircase.
The set of stairs goes one flight up to a landing. When we reach the landing, a gray and white shifter with a large black nose like a koala, ears like a koala, and large black claws like a koala sits on a stool in a kiosk by a gate before another set of stairs that leads to what I assume is the city. A green uniform of a short sleeved button-down collared shirt and green pants with a black belt swathes his portly body.
“Hello, and thank you for visiting Emerald Station,” says the koala shifter with a bright, warm grin on his cute koala face. “State your reason for entering the Land of Emerald.”
“Reason?” Ardie asks.
“Business or pleasure,” the shifter clarifies.
“Business,” Ardie says.
“Oh? What is your business here, and do you have the proper permits granted by the City of Emerald and its ruler, the Great and Terrifying Wizard of the Lands of Oz?”
“Not that sort of business,” Nick clarifies. “We are here to see the sights and speak to the Wizard. There is an important matter we must discuss with him.”
“Is he expecting you?” he asks, his koala eyebrows knitting.
“No, but—” Nick starts but the shifter cuts him off.
“Are you sure that Oz will see you?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” I ask.
“Because they say he lets no one come into his presence, and I do not know of any living person who has seen him.”
“Does he never go out?” asks Ardie.
“Never. They say he sits day after day in the great Hall of Mirrors his Palace and only interacts with the magical reflections of himself, and even those who wait upon him do not see him face to face.”
“Does anyone know what he looks like?” I ask.
“That is hard to tell. Oz is a Great Wizard, and can take on any form he wishes. Some say he looks like a bird. Some say he looks like an elephant. Others say he looks like a cat. Many say he appears as a beautiful fairy, or a brownie, or in any other form that pleases him. Who the real Oz is though, when he is in his own form, no living person can tell.”
“If that’s true we’ll have made our journey for nothing,” Werelion grumbles.
“Why do you wish to see the terrible Oz?” asks the man.
“So he may cure my zombiism and end my relentless need for brains. The hunger is torture,” says Ardie.
“Oh, Oz could do that,” declares the man before he turns to Nick and asks, “Why do you seek him?”
“I would like to relocate to the Vampire Free Zone,” says Nick.
“That will not trouble him,” continues the man, “for Oz has plenty of space available in the city. And you, shifter, what wish will you ask him to grant you?”
Dorothy In the Land of Monsters Page 19
