THE FARAWAY LANDS OF OZ - Book One

Part Two; Chapter Seven: Vampire Plague

EVANORA

I swear, if I ever see something in this color again, I'll burn it and toss it out of the window.
After time though, the pinkness and the tinnitus began to disappear and I found myself lying on a wet brick road, staring into a dark-blue, starlit sky. But these constellations were not those of Oz... I saw Orion and Taurus; we were on Earth.
Talking of "we", I tried to stand up and see who had been taken with me; if anyone had been taken with me. I looked around and saw Zion and Marcy lying beside me – Aliyah will be worried out of her mind – but then I noticed her and my sisters a little to our right. And the shape had disappeared. I wondered what all this was about...
"By the Virtues, what happened? And By the Virtues, Marcy, you're here too?!" We all looked at Aliyah, the exact same things going through our minds. "And where is this 'Black Fairy' person?"
I wanted to know that too, actually. We helped each other to the feet, in order to take in a better impression of our surroundings. But that proved more difficult than expected. The night was very dark and only at the very horizon could we make out a city, with a strange looking castle, watching over it.
"I say we get down to the city and get a newspaper as fast as possible, to make sure where we are," I announced as I began walking towards the city at the horizon. The thing was that I was not very sure exactly when we were as well.
"Mom, stop!" It was Marcy, who had bowed down to pick up a small note that I had not noticed laying there before.
"What is it, honey?" Aliyah reached out her hand and her daughter placed the little piece of soaked paper into her palm. She first read it to herself with furrowed eyebrows, before my sister cleared her throat and began to read the letters aloud:

Hello, family Fawkes.
I have long waited for an opportunity to get thy help. My sister had travelled to thy Lands in hopes for a better life and she had received such.
But the people here need help! A danger arose years ago and threatens to wipe out most of London's population. Keep thy powers hidden and don't trust anyone! The right people will show themselves to thee, when the time is nigh.
I remain – the Black Fairy of Neverland

What an odd note. And this place seemed different than the London I knew, and it was definitely not King Arthur's Albion. Something about his place was different than any realm I had ever visited.
Besides, Katina had only mentioned her aunt when talking about the powers that she had inherited from her. But perhaps the people down in "London" will know more about this mysterious Black Fairy.
Aliyah handed me the note and I folded it and placed it into my plunging neckline – wedding dresses obviously lack the thing called pockets – as we continued walking our way towards the supposed London.
On our way, we passed a spooky and abandoned-looking estate and we hurried along, not daring to see what creatures could live there; or what decaying bodies were rotting inside.
Within what seemed like an hour of walking, we finally got to the city and it seemed abandoned. And small. Too small to be London, actually. I noticed a display case that held today's paper and only one look at it confirmed my fears and suspicions. The date proved it too...

London Daily, August 12th, 1646

Well, there we had it. Glinda clasped her hand against her mouth, and I saw Theodora hold Aliyah's hand, who was holding tightly onto her daughter's. I looked into Zion's eyes, and I saw the question in him.
He came near me and held out his own hand, which I squeezed tightly. I wanted to be as close to my husband as possible. It still felt weird to call him that though...
"I think we should keep moving," he said, and I felt his Adam's apple vibrate at my temple, as I had laid my head against him. We agreed and kept going deeper into the city.
"We have to find someplace to change but I guess, no shops will be open at this hour," Glinda guessed right, and we continued walking along the main road, until we had reached the big empty space, right in front of the strange looking castle. This 1646 London looked exactly like that. I wonder how I hadn't realized it by simply observing the architecture.
Although the city itself appeared very calm and idyllic, the castle was not and it lurked over the different buildings, shops and houses, being strangely out of place. Being close to it now, I could better distinguish its features.
It looked like nothing more than a bunch of towers sewn together by little bridges and several bricks. Even though it seemed like it would fall apart soon, a secret force made it appear stable and secure. I imagined the warm fireplaces burning inside and the luscious food that would lay upon foot-long tables. But a group of people distracted me from my thoughts.
They standing beneath one of the many candle-lit street lamps. So far, our only chance of getting some information about this place. And perhaps some information about a place that we could spend the night in.
"Excuse me!" I shouted without thinking. I didn't know what type of people those were, and I knew for a fact that around that time, the people were often not that very nice. In Oz, I had been sixteen at that time – one and a half years old for humans – and had first-hand experience of the 17th century by the time I was small child. But we were six of us and there were only three. If they'd think about causing trouble, they will have to think twice...
"Yes? How can we help you?" They seemed polite so far.
"We are travelers that come a long way and search for a place to spend the night in. Can you point us into the right direction?"
The man that had spoken for them smiled and I had a hard time not to gasp at his fangs. "We can give you shelter, ma'am; we live just a little outside of town. Is there a problem ma'am – you seem a bit distressed..."
Oh damn, my terror was showing then. I took a quick look up at Zion and my sisters who were scowling and mouthing things I could not decipher.
"No problem, kind sirs. We're just glad that we found someone to help us out, this late an hour."
They nodded and waved to us to follow them. Zion came close to my ear. Close enough, so I could hear him breathe. He whispered:
"I think there's something wrong with these fellas; have you seen they're fangs?"
One of the men stopped and tilted his head towards us. "No need to gossip behind our backs, when you could tell us in the face. The manners people have nowadays, right boys? Gossip around and judge people – even if those have just offered them protection from the dangers of the night. One never knows what creatures lurk around in the shadows, right boys...?"
The man turned around almost fast enough to grip me, but I managed to step back a little, just in time. His lackeys had followed his example and the three of them slowly forced us back to the castle, as we tried to keep our distance from them. Just now, did I realize the eerie red glow in their eyes. A certain bloodlust that was expressed by this unnatural eye-color of theirs.
The more we stepped into the light, more red dots appeared in the shadows, glowing like a car's headlights. I had always thought these beasts were the product of the film industry and fairy tales. Vampires, I mean. But if my eyes did not fool me, these creatures circled around us from the shadows.
The man that had first spoken stepped up. His skin was pale, and his black hair lay around his long and meager face like a curtain. There was a sickly glow to him, almost as if he was starving for weeks. And his dry voice only enhanced this feeling.
"How did he find us?! We'll kill you if you don't tell us what he wants from us!"