Chaos Descending

The Wicked Wizard of Oz

Part 16 - The Wicked Wizard of Oz

I decided to make a conscious effort to stop resisting. It was hard. Very, very hard. Vycandor must have sensed the change in me because he let go of my wrist. For once since this nightmare began, I finally felt like I had something to look forward to.

Getting back to the old me.

Vycandor led Thomas and I into what appeared to be the Royal Drawing Room. At least, that's what I remembered from the tour. This room was very different from the rest of the castle. The decorations were a mixture of neoclassical and empire. Something I'd studied in my Interior Design class. It was an early-nineteenth-century style that was definitely over the top and in your face. It practically screamed ostentatious. Especially the many massive oil paintings expertly displayed in magnificent gilded frames that adorned the light blue flock wallpapered walls.

Stolen and priceless works of art, no doubt.

Above our heads a remarkable glass chandelier resembling a flower hung impressively from the ornate, seventy foot high ceiling - painted to resemble the sky while at the same time providing moody lighting upon a lavish, white grand piano trimmed entirely in gold.

As in stolen gold bars.

I highly doubted we were going to get to see Lisette's stockpile of stolen weapons, but the Royal Drawing Room was not without its secrets. Hidden in plain sight, Sean appeared from behind a James Bond-y type floor-to-ceiling golden mirror that was cleverly disguised as secret door.

He bowed dramatically again. "I trust you enjoyed your visit. Where are you three planning to go next?"

I practically beamed at him even as my stomach did a massive flip-flop. "We're off to see the Wizard."

Great, just great. Now I'm going to have that stupid song stuck in my head.

"What Chaos means," Thomas interjected, "is we're going to meet Robert."

"He's wicked, I don't trust him," Vycandor said, pacing back and forth in a fervent rush of movement. Watching him made me more than a little dizzy. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks abruptly and turned to face me. "Where is this so-called, Electric Forest?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words refused to come out. Biting the inside of my cheek to keep from falling over, my entire world went back to black.