The Serpentine Secret

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. As I walked along the row of trendy souvenir stores, the heels of my shoes clicking against the concrete in a steady ‘clip-clop’ rhythm, I wondered how many were among the crowd around me. I scanned their faces from behind my shades, looking for traces of reptilian genealogy.

You see, after the Great Death of our ancestors, very few of my kind remained on the planet. Those who did survive were left to live as mere ghosts; invisible, having been fractaled into microscopic pieces of conscious energy by the impact of the Big Fire. As many of the species of Earth were rebirthed around us, my People were left behind, together yet alone in our misery and confusion. Our stories became the thing of legend, eventually fading into the fantastical yet questionable realm of myth as the years slid past. We remained, unseen but present nonetheless in the slow deterioration of our own kind.

Humans, after a time, began to learn, evolve and prosper. By miraculous effort on their part, several of us found ourselves suddenly and unintentionally immortalized through their art and within the pages of their storybooks. It was a relief, knowing that though we may never live as we once lived, in flesh and blood, we wouldn’t be forgotten altogether.

Centuries past, technology advanced- things on Planet Earth adapted, but never were a dragon or dragoness seen. We had no choice but to bide our time.

By focusing our personal energies enough, some of my kin finally broke through into the Living Dream realms, and onto television, computer and phone screens. Our lives, we discovered, were being reconstructed and animated to fit the idea humans had of us, but at least we were being recognized. That is how most of us felt, anyway. It wasn’t until a few years ago that a few of us were able to completely return to the surface of physical existence, albeit no longer in our natural form…

—

It was instinctual, that day by the water.

I remember grasping helplessly at the deteriorating leaves, which were wet and slimy between my fingers. With one hand tangled in my hair, he pressed me into the Earth with such a confident passion that I all but melted into Her. The power I'd spent countless years taming trembled within me as we reunited, there on the muddy riverbank.

An inhuman growl began to grow in the depth of my throat; an audible surrender as my carefully constructed defenses started to crumble.

It was then that I saw the first eye. The perfect, enormous sphere floated into my vision, glowing a vibrant, burnt yellow. The pupil, a hairline slit of endless ebony, focused on me, briefly, then him. It seemed to be studying us, taking several seconds to observe before suddenly turning and drifting away. I followed the glistening scales as they formed themselves along the jowl, neck and broad shoulder of the splendid creature. My attention struggled, at that moment, between watching the beast materializing before my minds’ eye, and the far-away feeling of myself writhing in pleasure beneath him- his kisses were warm on my neck.

They came, then, all at once, erupting from the core of my being with a force indescribable. They surrounded us, twenty or so giant winged reptiles; they floated in hypnotic figure-eights, intertwining themselves around us like some sick, serpentine supernova. Their frequencies, otherworldly, pulsed in the air around us, in tune with our lovemaking.

A rainbow of shimmering, metallic flashes, followed by echoing screams in my head; his hand over my mouth.

Silence. Still.

Alive.

—

I noted the pleasant harmonic sound of the electronic bell that chimed as I entered the Valley Villain, California’s only known seller of authentic dragon lore. The owner, a beautiful jinn named Olyvia, appeared behind the counter, looking mildly excited as she tucked a rogue strand of her obsidian hair behind her ear.

“Lorelei! It is always such a pleasure, what brings you in today?”

I removed my sunglasses and idly cleaned the lenses with the edge of my blouse. A heavy silence fell between us as I chose my next words as carefully as possible.

“I need a favor from you, Olive,” I began. Her brow furrowed slightly, but her celestial gaze never waivered; I always said it was the one thing that gave her away as a non-human.

“There’s been a breach, and some of the Elders are upset. I need a way out of and back into California that is, shall we say, off radar? Or as close to that as possible…”

Olyvia made her way toward the cash register, an antique that was rarely used due to the trade-and-barter nature of the shop. In the same manner of me cleaning my glasses she took up shuffling the many fliers and coupon books displayed beside the register. It was obvious she was buying time, mulling over what I said.

“This hasn’t anything to do with that boy you mentioned a while back, does it?” she asked, stealing a sideways glance at me as she organized. Her age, though she didn’t look it, demanded respect, but the overly-maternal tone of her voice roused within me a rebellious nerve not entirely natural to my kind.

“And what if it does?” I quipped. My friend smiled.

“Well, as you know, Magickal travel is being highly monitored as of late. The amount of Unregistered is climbing at such a rate, they’re bound to be getting nervous in the State branches. Keeping up with this uprising is one thing among the True People, the ones who know… I cannot advocate the relocation of someone should they be considered, oh what is it they say? A menace to society. A threat.” She paused, meeting my eye to impress upon me the seriousness of the matter.

“Imagine how it would look on us should someone be harmed by someone whom I had conducted such business with.”

“I know,” I answered. “I have considered this heavily. It is for a friend. Associated with, yes, but not the boy himself. Unfortunately, he has been detained down South.”

“Ah,” Olyvia sighed, placing a manicured hand on her hip as she connected the dots, mentally. “Now that makes a bit more sense. And the girl?”

“Whereabouts unknown. From what I hear, she hasn’t surfaced in months. Some are saying she’s been Extinguished.”

“Let us hope that isn’t the case,” said Olyvia just beneath her breath as she disappeared into the back room. She returned moments later with a binder, tabbed here and there with color-coated notes to herself on who had gone where, when, and why. Payment was never mentioned, at least not in writing, as she considered her connectivity and resources blessings meant to be bestowed upon those living in a world where their existences were…questioned, we’ll say, by mortal society.

—

The crystal was cool against my skin.

The jinn hadn’t specified what type it was, but its undying chill mixed with the feather-light weight of it told me it was Unearthly, and therefore psychically untraceable, rending its wearer the same. I slid mine beneath my shirt, and turned to the man beside me in the mirror as he placed his chain around his neck.

“I really appreciate you doing this,” he murmured as I fastened the link. Goosebumps rose along his collar.

“What you are doing for me is far more risky, I assure you,” I replied. I returned to my packing; the man took a while longer in the mirror, as if finishing a conversation with his reflection.

We departed the next morning from San Bernardino on an Eastbound train.

—

Mississippi. Beautiful, but with a sad history, riddled with injustice and death. As we stepped out of the taxi into the sticky air, I was overwhelmed by the lingering energy around us. It was as if the Spanish moss dangling from the trees held memories of what had happened to their hosts so long ago; their whispers told of sorrowful lives that were never, truly, lived, and of secrets not meant to be known by man...

We approached the county jail just as the sun sank below the horizon. The sky was streaked with neon cotton candy, and the critters of the woodland that surrounded the place had just begun to sing their eerie choruses.

“Welcome ma’am, sir. ‘Gone need ya’ll to dump your belongings here. I gotta slide them through this real quick and then you’ll be on your way.”

As I placed my phone, house keys and wallet into the small, tobacco-stained bin, I took a look around the dinghy building. The walls, perhaps once a calming eggwhite or cream, were now tainted the color of bile, the paint chipped and peeling in many places. The lights flickered with every phone call that caused the old phone behind the desk to trill, and the only way in or out past this point was a mangled door with a spiderweb crack across its window. Personally, I found it a wonder they had a metal detector and X-ray set up at all. I decided it must’ve been donated by the community, or installed as a means of convincing the people of the small town of Picardonia that they’d upped their dedication to serving and protecting them. I almost didn’t notice the second officer as I proceeded; I assumed the obligatory position as she began to wand me down.

The alarm sounded right above my breasts, sending little blinking red lights cascading down the tool.

“Something we should know about?” the lady cop sneered. I gently pulled the necklace into view, pointing out as politely as possible that the wire wrapping around the stone was most likely the culprit. My partner behind me followed suit, displaying his as well. The woman seemed suddenly hesitant, something not completely uncommon with overly religious folks when in the presence of Real Magick. It wasn’t until our items came rumbling through the plastic tassels of the X-ray machine that she broke concentration with the crystal, which I noticed seemed to now have a certain inner glow it hadn’t previously held.

“Native to our land out West,” my companion added as we moved toward the waiting room. “Helps with keeping your inner balance.”

Undeterred, the woman’s lieutenant waved us on. I replaced my pendant beneath my shirt, shivering lightly at its icy touch, and approached the sign-in desk.

“Hello, I am here for a visit. I believe we spoke on the phone earlier today, I’m Lorelei Shieldwater.”

The young man checked a short list, and issued us the mandatory paperwork. Half an hour ticked by, interrupted only by the small-talk of those behind the desk as they passed in and out of the grungy office. Finally we were called, and led to the visitation area in the back of the building. The floors were freshly polished, and the smell of sanitizer stung my nostrils.

—

Seeing them for the first time since that day at the river was like a dream.

My heart, the multi-faceted other half of my soul, approached with the slyest of smiles on her beautifully painted face. I was never one to prefer women made up, but the way she applied it was so complimentary it was all I could do not to compare her to the ancient Goddesses of Egypt and Greece. Her eyes, already an intoxicating shade of hazel, gave off a very feline feel as they locked onto mine. I nodded to her cohort as she took her seat across from me, and he beside her. I felt a lump form in my throat as we grasped hands across the table. Slowly I took in every inch of her beautiful face, before allowing my eyes to wander to the three gorgeous, iridescent dragons that twisted and turned in a protective cloud directly above the pair. Of course, only I could see them, but I knew she knew they were there.

“You look good,” she spoke, her voice smooth as velvet. I had no reply.

After a bit of general conversation, Lorelei’s companion mentioned needing to use the men’s room. The guard directed him to the hall, completely unaware of the monster that followed loyally behind; he did not return, though in his seat remained a brilliant stone necklace…

“I guess I should be excited,” I finally said, my own voice still sounding slightly unfamiliar to me after so many weeks of silence. She smiled warmly.

The meeting was adjourned with a lengthy hug. I felt as the throbbing of our hearts and sacred frequencies of our minds synchronized, and, bending forward a bit, allowed her to place the abandoned chain around my neck. The guard stared into space, oblivious.

I returned to my cell, accompanied by my unseen guest that swirled in the air around me like a faithful, glittering cloud of fairy dust. As I sat on the edge of my dilapidated mat and watched him, I was, for the first time in ages, filled with hope.

—

I entered the convenience store, confident that it had the right amount of test subjects to run the experiment without any dire consequences. Meaning, of course, there wouldn’t be a risk of too many witnesses to the ‘occurrence’ who would draw unwanted attention from authorities, should something go wrong. To be fair, very few were actually able to recall the temporary loss of consciousness when we did this, or simply accepted it as a deja-vu or daydream of sorts, but still, I wanted to be careful.

I meandered to the back coolers, as if browsing for something to drink. A young couple perused the next aisle for snacks, giggling to themselves, while a man argued with the salesclerk about the price of an item up at the front.

I took a breath, and swiftly removed the pendant from around my neck. Silence immediately befell the store as the humans were abruptly embodied by the soul of the guardian dragoness that followed me. As they ceased their individual actions, each of the four humans turned and stood staring in my direction, their eyes no longer recognizable as Earthly. The iris of each person’s eye had been replaced with the distinct magenta of the creature known only as Airmyus, their pupils drawn into slits. One of them hissed slowly, a greeting in my native tongue.

I chose a Pepsi, and moved to the checkout, where the Occupied attendant smirked while going through the motions of the purchase. Airmyus, in her time, had been a talented Mage, one who was born able to split herself into holographic copies. She had discovered her dragon heritage many lifetimes before her span on Earth as a human, so upon her Final Death on this planet, she chose to remain as an Unseen, stating that she wanted to utilize the combined knowledge and abilities of her lives from the Outer Realms, while waiting to see the outcome of our long awaited return.

As I went to pay for my soda, the girlfriend in the junk food aisle spoke, her voice doubled due to the reptilian energy now within her:

“They are weak here. We could possess everyone in this town for months before any of their True Spirits return to claim these vessels. You know you needn’t pay for that, by the way.”

It was true. The lack of Magick education and use in America, the Southern states especially, had made for whole populations, even generations of underdeveloped souls. Unaware of their abilities, humans had weakened themselves to the point of being unable to see beyond their one mortal lifespan on Earth. This, you understand, inhibited them from understanding some basic skills such as telepathy and shapeshifting, and made them almost totally ignorant to the act of Occupation, where a being simply enters the body of another being and forces the unenlightened spirit to the Outer or Dream realms, taking up a sort of residency.

I settled with the possessed clerk, as they say, for the cameras, and went outside. As I did, I placed the necklace back around my neck, recalling my ancient friend to her primary form and returning the humans to their bodies. Aside from some slight confusion over why the man at the counter had been upset, no one seemed to take notice.

—

‘An explosion at a local jail has resulted in the death of 5 officers, and 7 inmates. Authorities are on scene, looking for the cause of the blaze. Join us for more at 6.’

I sparked another cigarette and turned the television off. The quiet of the room was pierced by the distant wailing of sirens, most certainly headed to the scene of the mysterious fire. Otherwise, all was peaceful. I waited patiently, fingering the now fully illuminated crystal that rested on my chest. I thought of California, and how I badly I longed to see the ocean.

Before long, I heard a familiar sound, building like a roll of thunder coming toward me. I grinned, unable to contain myself as he pulled into the parking lot of the small motel. I moved back into the room to grab my belongings, and practically danced down the stairs to the source of the interstellar 'purr' I was experiencing. In one quick movement I straddled the rumbling motorcycle while he centered our weight and pulled back onto the road- nothing dramatic, just an easy sense of confidence and completion. The pendant pushed into my skin, sending chills down my body as I wrapped my arms around my lover’s waist. I reached up and felt his own crystal, vibrating as if alive under his jacket.

“What of Sirus?” I asked over the billowing wind. Never one for many words, I received a shoulder shrug response. Our increase in speed told me the topic was closed; my companion had completed his task, what happened to him now was of no concern to us.

I laughed, throwing my head back and feeling myself becoming one with the roaring air around us. My heartbeat and breathing fell in time with his, steady and strong; the last, or should we say first two True Dragonfolk in the New World. I swear I could feel my own wings bursting forth from my shoulders as we tore down the freeway, and the heat of the fire already building in the depth of my gut.