“How could I profess to love you if I allowed you to be thrown out on the streets?” His gray eyes had darkened like the fury of a hundred storm clouds threatening to destroy a town.
“Love me enough that you promise not to compromise yourself for my sake.”
“Haven’t I already done that by being seen in Lugwallow? By kissing you here, on the very property where my betrothed will live in just a short month? What is one more act of defiance?”
“Then promise me that you will not compromise yourself again, in any way,” she pleaded.
“Do you mean to say that I may not kiss you either?”
She nodded, “Our lips must never again meet. I would be unable to live with myself if I cost you your home or your station in life.”
“Wylie, why are you asking this of me?” His voice had grown hoarse with emotion.
“Adrian… Lord Adrian... The moment you hired me into your employ, I knew that I loved you. How could I not? You have demonstrated nothing but kindness to me at every turn, but I never thought in a lifetime... in a million lifetimes that I would receive that love in return. Now, I want you to be everything your father wanted you to be because that is what love is. You will be a great man, and if she ever leaves you, I will be here. You need only say the word, and I will be at your side.”
“I have a responsibility to her, but my heart is yours,” he argued.
“And I will never take advantage of that, m’Lord.” She bowed gracefully. “Now, please… please let me finish my work here and return home before I lose my self-control and do something that both of us will regret.” If he didn’t leave straight away, she knew she would kiss him again, and then she would never leave his side, even if he begged.
Adrian straightened his waistcoat and top hat and looked for a moment as if he were going to grab her again. She shook her head ‘no’ tears still falling, so he walked slowly but purposefully out of the stable, back towards the house. She watched him intensely until he had disappeared from sight, then let out a huge sigh. She couldn’t continue to work today; it was all too much.
She gave the horses their hay and then took off running towards home. Her heart felt as if it had been ripped from her chest. The only love she had ever known was someone she had no business loving. Maybe she really was a Siapheg.
No matter, she knew what she must do. She must turn the crown of the Dracosinum as per the instructions and accept her fate. Even if it was for the worse.
Chapter Eleven
The moment Wylie arrived in Lugwallow, she knocked on the widow Turpin’s door.
“Mrs. Turpin, please… are you home?” She knocked again, and again.
“Yes, yes, Wylie, what is it?”
“Have you spoken to the people of Lugwallow? Are they willing to fight? Have they come up with a plan?”
“Why yes, my dear. We have. We have decided it is time for us to move on from this place. A lot of us have lost loved ones here, and a new start doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Lord Jameston was quite generous in his dealings today. I am not the only one who thinks so, either. The money he gave us is more than enough to set up somewhere else, and we’re okay with that.”
“You can’t be serious, Mrs. Turpin? What about the history here? What about the good memories? Are you going to throw that all away because a rich man has given you enough to start over somewhere else? I don’t understand why he didn’t just take that money that he gave all of us and invest it back into Lugwallow? It would be more than enough to clean up the streets, homes, and shops.”
“Yes, my dear, it makes no sense to me either. Unfortunately, I am too old to fight the man, and sitting in a jail cell penniless, then homeless when I’m let out, doesn’t sound like a good plan either. I and the others are going to take advantage of the opportunity and maybe you should too.” The widow softly closed the door in Wylie’s face, but Wylie stuck her foot between the door and the frame to stop it.
“One further thing, Mrs. Turpin, did you hear of a death that took place here last night? Do you know who it was?”
“Yes, it was that homeless fellow. What’s his name? Edward Palmer. You knew him, didn’t you? I saw you give him a bit of bread a time or two. He was attacked by an animal of some sort. The constable is convinced it was a wild dog.” Wylie’s foot slipped out of the door; it was too much to bear.
Wylie ran out into the middle of the street, threw her head back, and let out the loudest, most forceful yell she could manage. It garnered her a few open doorways and peeps from behind curtains, but no one bothered to ask her what was the matter. Poor Mr. Palmer dead. He’d never hurt a fly.
She had only recently found out about the Dracosinum, and now someone in her town ends up dead? It couldn’t have been a coincidence.
It was as she feared... she must be the Siapheg. Even if she didn’t completely accept it, it was her purpose. The only thing she could do was give in to it. Gradually Wylie returned to her senses, realizing she was still standing in the middle of the street. With an effort, she pulled herself together and withdrew into her house. This time with stronger convictions than she had mustered in a great while. She wasn't totally clear how the transformation worked, but she seized the Dracosinum from its pouch and went into her father's room, confident that if there were a place it would work best, it would be there.
The room where her predecessor had once slept. Never in a million years could she have dreamed the peculiar direction her life would take, or that she would live out a mythology in her lifetime. It was all so surreal. She sucked in a deep breath, and holding the Dracosinum in her hand, she opened the winged cover, watching for any change in its appearance.
Then, an extraordinary thing happened as she did so. The mechanical apparatus that had previously only risen up and outward, took on a mind of its own and lifted directly over and above the dragon pictured on the face of the device. When the holes lined up exactly with the ones around the dragon’s body, it stopped and rested there patiently, almost as if waiting for her to make another move.
"Well, it's now or never." Wylie turned the crown of the Dracosinum twelve full turns to the left, noting for the first time the slight little notch in the knob which lined up with the full moon inside the Dracosinum 's face. Then she turned it a full five turns to the right. As she did so, a soft clicking and whirring sound began to come from the instrument, and the dragon inside the device appeared to come alive.
She watched in utter fascination as the dragon glided around inside the Dracosinum, completely at home in its tiny enclosure, before coming to rest on the first star, located precisely where the first hour would be indicated in an ordinary pocket watch. The little fellow stared up at her earnestly as if something remained for her to do, but for the moment she hadn’t the foggiest notion what that was.
She had accepted her fate. If she was the Siapheg, let the chips fall where they may. Should she sit? Should she pace? What was she waiting for?
“What am I waiting for Dracosinum?” she inquired of the tiny dragon on the face of the irritating apparatus. It blinked up at her in expectation. She must have given herself into lunacy to believe she was seeing what her eyes told her she was seeing. The tiny creature’s wings gave an agitated little shake. Overwhelmed, and annoyed from the events of the day, she felt herself growing sleepy.
“I give up!” she said forcefully, falling back onto the bed before closing her eyes and drifting off. The moment her eyes closed, something else inside her awakened. In her mind it was as if she was dreaming; while her body remained on the bed, she felt herself rise up from it and walk around in a sort of half sleep. She waved her hands in front of her, but she couldn’t see clearly enough to determine what the little flickers of blue were in front of her eyes.
Am I a ghost? Why can’t I see clearly? She felt so utterly weightless, it was if she could float away.
The feeling was so déjà vu, and yet she knew at that moment that she had felt this
several times before, and now she was doing it again with full knowledge of what was to come. She didn't waste a single moment; her body braced itself for what it already knew and had simply waited for her mind to discover.
A tingling began at the base of her spine and traveled upward until she was suffused with a glorious tingling sensation. It was positively delightful, the feeling of accepting her new self. From her face grew an iridescent white snout, and from behind, she grew a long splendidly luminescent tail. The point of the tail was as well-defined as a recently sharpened blade.
It flicked of its own accord, with her joy of discovery.
I am not the Siapheg! The realization was like a drink of the finest wine, and she blinked away a tear, so overtly thankful that she did not possess such evil inside of her. The only problem, she now realized, was that she must now discover who the dark one is so she can put a halt to the suffering it may bring. The tingling eased off, and she sat on the edge of her father's bed completely transformed.
"Why, I’m no larger than a house cat. How strange."
“Not so strange, young Teselym.”
"Huh?" Wylie jumped up, alarmed by the sound of another's voice. She promptly lost her balance and tumbled off the bed. She hit the floor with a solid thunk.
"Don't worry Teselym; your body is capable of many beautiful and magnificent things. Your size will adapt to your circumstances once you leave this room. You can also make yourself smaller if you wish. Anything you desire, you need only state it. The magic that lies within you will do the rest. Consider it compensation from the gods."
Her white scaled head turned this way and that as she searched for the owner of the voice, but there was no one to be seen. “Who is that?”
“Must I answer that if you can’t even find me?”
Wylie huffed in response, “I need to be larger.” Instantly she began to grow, and shortly she was roughly the size of a large dog. The mattress was now at eye level, and she looked around for the Dracosinum, wondering where it had gone.
“You may call it you know.”
“Call what?” Wylie asked, agitated that she had not found the source of the voice.
“The Dracosinum, it is yours… all you have to do is call it, and it will come to you. Do you think you found its hiding place by yourself? Not hardly, m’dear.”
“Dracosinum, come to me,” Wylie commanded firmly. The circular device lifted itself from her human form which lay still on the bed and hovered in midair before her. Wylie reached for it, agitated that it was so much harder to grab with dragon claws than human fingers. The seemingly simple action now required much more effort.
The moment she held it, the blasted thing opened of its own accord and the clear crystal that protected the tiny beast inside flipped open, revealing its tiny tenant sitting happily in the center with an impudent grin on his face.
“There, now... was that so hard?” The tiny dragon spoke.
She almost dropped the Dracosinum, but quickly gathered her senses. “Oops, sorry about that?” she said by way of apology.
“Another little trick, so you don’t have to go through that again. Every time you become the Teselym, your Dracosinum will be attached to you. Without it, you don’t have me, and without me you are vulnerable and naïve.”
“I beg your pardon? Just who are you?” She lifted the Dracosinum closer to her face, to see the vexatious little bugger better.
“Well, it’s all a bit tricky to understand. I mean, I don’t presume the human part of you would be able to comprehend,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Why you insolent, insulting little beastie!”
“I guarantee you, my dear Wylie, that is not my intention at all. To answer your question and quell any further questions you may have, I am a god, or at least the essence of a god. My sole purpose is to help you reach your full potential as the Earth’s one and only Teselym. You are the only thing standing between mankind and complete and utter evil.” He nodded his head knowingly, sitting back on his haunches, short scaly arms crossed over his chest like an indignant child.
“Most curious,” Wylie said.
“Indeed,” he replied.
“The name Dracosinum, what does it stand for?”
“Well, it’s Latin… Draco… meaning dragon, of course. Sinum meaning pocket.”
Wylie giggled.
“So you’re literally a pocket dragon?” The idea hit her in the funny bone, and she guffawed loudly, while he stared back at her unamused.
“Maybe so, but I can be as large as I like.” He responded indignantly.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to insult you….?”
She let the question linger in the air, while he sat on the Dracosinum, his arms folded huffily. He didn’t pick up on her unasked question.
“Did the gods give you a name with all that spunk, odd little device dweller?”
He gave her a cross look before answering.
“Hmm… nothing permanent. Every Teselym gives me a different name. Though I think this time around, I’d like to be called Quincy. I picked that name up in conversation once, and I happen to like it,” he replied.
“So, Quincy it is, may I ask something else? If the gods can send you, why can't they just come down here themselves and handle this business.”
“Oh, they can't, they’d break the Earth.”
Wylie let out an audible giggle.
“They’d break the Earth? What sort of nonsense is that?”
“You might not believe it, but it's true. If the gods’ tears created a race of dragons, what makes you think they wouldn’t break the Earth by stepping upon it? Anyway, I’m merely the tiniest piece of them. The smallest piece they could send without causing irreparable damage,” he continued, like a wise old owl that had been granted a voice to speak after many years.
“Another question, if I may?”
“Yes, I suppose there will be a great many of those.” He seemed slightly agitated. Wylie knew it had to do with her poking fun at him, but she couldn’t help it.
“Did you guide my father?”
The little fellow stopped speaking for a moment, all indignation gone from his face, a tear squeezing out of his eye.
“Wylie, your father was one of the most wonderful Teselym I have ever had the privilege of knowing. When he got sick, the Siapheg agreed to leave him be, to let him die in peace. One of the most level-headed Siapheg we have had in all the centuries that I have been here.” He dropped to all fours and began pacing back and forth inside the Dracosinum.
“You mean to tell me that you know the Siapheg?” The idea was shocking to her. If this little beast was here to help her balance her moral compass, then what business did he have helping the Siapheg? “You help the Siapheg, as well?”
It was Quincy’s turn to laugh, “No, not at all! No way could I help that beast do evil. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Then does the Siapheg have one such as yourself as well?”
“The Siapheg doesn’t need it; it has its own Dracosinum… but there is no reason to balance its moral compass. Its purpose is the direct opposite of yours,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“Yes, yes, I figured that out. Shouldn’t there be something to govern whether the Siapheg fulfills its evil quota?”
“Unfortunately, since the Siapheg is inherently evil, there is no need to urge it along, it craves evil, death, and destruction intuitively. It does quite well on its own. The whole essence of humanity is inherently evil as a matter of fact. Why do you think there’s so much war and death? Do you think the gods encourage that? No, no, no, my dear. For centuries men and women alike have discovered ways to be evil all on their own with no prompting. Almost as if it’s easier for them to do what is wrong than to choose what is honorable and right.” The poor little fellow looked extremely perplexed at the whole idea.
“Yes, I’ve noticed that. I’m no better than any of them, giving in to my desires,” she
sighed deeply. “So, what makes me the least bit qualified for what I must do?”
“Well, besides the fact that it’s in your blood… you have me. I do have the power to stop you if you do not fulfill your purpose, and there is always the ability to elect a new Teselym, but breaking the bond is difficult, and time-consuming, so, please… just do what is right? It will be better for the both of us if you do.”
Wylie nodded her head at his request. She had nothing on Earth at the moment to keep her from being what she was meant to be. The love in her heart for Lord Adrian was wrong, and acting on it had been even more wrong. She would bottle it up and never think about it again. She simply had to.
“Very well, if you are quite done asking questions, I do believe we get to balancing the good. Do you feel up to it?”
She nodded her head vigorously.
“Though, this isn’t my first time, is it?” Wylie asked.
“No, I’m afraid not,” he answered.
“Tell me, why don’t I remember changing bodies on previous nights?”
“You hadn’t chosen it yet. Your body turned instinctively the night your father died. Remember, this is in your blood, your make-up, the very core of who you are. Your soul did what was right until your mind could catch up to the facts, and make a concentrated choice between yes or no. Either accepting it or turning away from it. However, let me say how very glad I am that you chose to embrace it. You are the last of your line, and as I mentioned before, breaking the bond and establishing a new one can be quite difficult.”
“So, if I may ask, what happened the moment I found out what the Dracosinum was? I stayed in a gadget shop that night, so I know I didn’t transform then.”
“That was different, you were suddenly aware of your purpose, whether you had chosen to believe it or not. There are only two ways that being a Teselym works, either you have no conscious thought of the Dragaleths and are ignorant of it, or you know what you must do, and accept it by completing the initiation.”
“Initiation?” she inquired.
“The act of turning the winder. It’s merely a physical agreement that you have accepted your purpose, but it is required none the less.”
The Dragon Lady (The Dracosinum Tales) Page 9
