THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part Two, Chapter Nine: Vampire Hunt

GLINDA

"Where the hell are you taking us?"
Evanora was out of her mind, dragging us around the entire town. People might start to stare and talk but then again, what people...? "We have to talk Glinda."
By the Virtues, what? I hadn't done anything wrong, why did she want to talk to me? "What did I do? I just-"
She squeezed my hand so that it hurt, and I yelped from the pressure. "Quiet! You didn't do anything. We just have to go somewhere more discreet."
I nodded. I think I was getting her now...
She led us through the streets which were empty as usual. The only people we saw were quietly sitting in their houses and enjoying the time with their families. We kept walking until we reached a butcher's shop and took a sharp left turn. We faced a disgusting-looking building that had been left empty for what seemed like decades.
"I'm not going in there!"
Evanora turned around and finally let go of me and her husband. "Trust me, it's not that bad on the inside." She waved us to follow her and continued walking towards the building and entered the ruin. We did so hesitantly.
"Are you kidding me?" The inside definitely didn't look better than the outside. If I had to be honest, it may have even looked worse. But my words didn't seem to dissuade Evanora at all. She kept walking towards the moist counter, leapt graciously over the tabletop and reached below it.
Everything was white and when I opened my eyes, I thought for a second that Evanora had teleported us through time again. But upon my question, she only shook her head, "This is Vincent's place – the third wheel – and according to him, this cloaking device is one of the last spells in this country."
"And will he know that we are here?"
She interjected before I could continue, "Oh, he probably knows by now... But I have the feeling the he can be trusted. He is a Van Helsing..."
I felt my own eyes grow. "What?! And you decide to come here out of all places? He is with the king!"
She raised her hand. She reminded me of the king. By the Virtues how I had grown to dislike him...
"I doubt it, Glinds... If that was the case, we would have been exposed by now. He had an entire day to tell him or Isabel."
She had a point. I hope she knows what she is doing! We took a seat at a round table, in the far corner of the room. Evanora remained behind the counter and took a bottle of Irish Cream and five glasses from behind her.
"Don't you think, you're a bit intrusive, honey?" Zion asked her but she only raised her shoulders.
"I would be if I won't pay. But I will." She grabbed into the deep pocket of her trench coat and pulled out a couple of yellow crystals and placed them on the tabletop, before she walked around it and joined us at the table.
You see, in Oz, we do not use any money but rather the crystals that grow there in abundance like grass. Yet again, this method of payment holds only a sort of symbolic value since it was centuries ago that my grandfather established it.
Here on Earth, we were more than rich.
"So... What do you want to talk about?" I asked her while she aligned the glasses in front of me, Zion, Aliyah, Theodora and herself, filling them to the half with thick, caramel-colored liquid.
"This entire situation, obviously," She replied, as she slammed the cork back into the bottle with her palm. "I see how we are all suspicious of this king and I wanted to hear your thoughts."
I nodded as she continued and took a big sip out of the glass. Baileys was my favorite and I think she knows that. Just trying to soften me up. Could not say that it was not working though. "I think he's making a big mistake, if you ask me. This is just as big a mistake as incinerating an entire population of Goblins..."
Evanora raised her hands in defense. "Don't look at me! It was mother who threw Ruby's sword into the caves."
"She's right."
They were such a fitting couple, Zion and Evanora. The way he defends her and places his strong, masculine hands on her soft ones, warms my heart. But I was getting distracted.
"Nevertheless, we have to stop the king from wiping out the Vampires!"
Evanora moved her hand from under Zion's and took mine into both of hers. "I know, Glinds; it's wrong. But we won't be able to stop him from committing the crime."
I was just about to say something back, but she moved one of her hands to my cheek and looked into my bright blue eyes with her own dark green ones.
"That doesn't mean that we cannot do our best to work against him. Create our own plans. That way, he'll think that we help him kill the Vampires but in fact, we'll only have helped him stop them." I had to smile. Evanora knew her handiwork. Better than anyone else. I took my glass and raised it high into the air. The others followed my example, and we drank to our new and own plan...