Shadow In the Sky

Desiree was at her wits end. She knew that she was either going crazy, or something that everyone said was impossible had happened to her. She had gone to a shrink, but was dissatisfied with the diagnosis. Her hallucinations -- if that was what they were -- seemed absolutely real, and consistent. They were always the same, that she was being stalked by a dragon, a real fire-breathing flying dragon, as big as a house. And what if they weren’t her imagination? What if what she witnessed was real, not a hallucination or something other than what she knew it to be.

In desperation, she browsed the Internet to find out everything she could about dragons. A search on the word dragon came up with thousands and thousands of entries. Most of the web sites she linked to had to do with computer games, video games, Dungeon and Dragon clubs, and books. Others contained stories about or pictures of dragons. A few sold dragon knickknacks. Some had information concerning the mythology of dragons; these she found interesting.

At one in the morning, she linked to a web site labeled www.dragonslayer.com. She chuckled, thought, Sure, and wondered whether it was a joke site. On the other hand, if dragons really existed, why not a dragon slayer. She clicked on it.

The web site's home page was delightful. A castle on a hill appeared with a blue sky, clouds in the background and a flower strewn meadow in the foreground, all in brilliant hues. Medieval weapons and icons decorated the ivy border. Lettering was in an archaic script with the first letter decorated in the manner of an illuminated manuscript of the middle ages. The links to the site’s other pages purported to give the history, habits, wisdom and physiology of dragons. Desiree printed these to read later.

The final page showed the bust of a young man wearing a medieval helmet. It advertised that he was in the dragon slaying business. This took Desiree aback. Was he trying to be funny? Or just trying to make his web site more convincing? She read it over several times and detected no note of sarcasm or parody. Although she felt like a fool, she sent an E-mail message describing her plight.

She received a reply from a Percival White. In the courtly manner of medieval knights, it said that what she experienced was not all that uncommon and was the reason he was in the dragon business. His fee was five hundred dollars per dragon, payable after he disposed of the creature. The E-mail included his business telephone number and address, which was in the same city as the university she attended. Feeling like a foolish idiot about to be scammed, she called the number. His answering machine listed his office hours. She did not leave a message, deciding to see this dragon slayer in person.

She took a bus to the address in the E-mail. It was in a disreputable neighborhood of warehouses and ancient Victorian mansions converted into office buildings. The house that reputed to be White’s place of business was a shoddy building with a broken railing and rotten front steps. She hesitated before entering it, wondering whether she was a complete fool to come to this place. The man who created the web site could be a criminal, a con man or an insane serial rapist. Nonetheless, this was her last resort. Who else could she go to with her problem? The best she could hope for from a therapist was to be sent to an asylum or be doped up on mind altering drugs.

A directory on an interior wall of the decrepit building listed Dragon Slayer, Inc. Room 204. She trudged up a narrow twisting staircase to the second floor and knocked gently on a frosted-glass door. A deep baritone voice said, "Please cometh in."

When she entered the tiny office jammed with furniture and filing cabinets, a thin young man with shoulder-length hair and a Douglas Fairbanks mustache rose from behind a battered paper-filled desk. He bowed elaborately with a flourish, "Good morrow, fair maiden. I be Percival White. How may I help thee?"

Before Desiree replied, she gazed around. The office contained a suit of armor in one corner and medieval weapons on the wall. Percival himself was unimpressive. Although she recognized him from his picture on his web site, he seemed less handsome, thinner and much younger. He certainly did not look like the warrior knights on the covers of fantasy novels.

"Well, uh ... my name is Desiree Morgan. I E-mailed you a couple of days ago."

He grinned broadly. "Of course. Thou sayeth in that missive that thou be stalked by a dragon. Please be seated, and tell me thy tale."

Desiree had mixed emotions about this man. For one thing, she was embarrassed by her problem. She figured that he probably thought her a silly idiot or nuts. Secondly, she wondered whether to trust him at all, especially with his silly phony old-Engish speech. And lastly, although she would have denied it, she was a bit intrigued by the young man’s homely face. He was about her own age and not ugly.

"As I said in my E-mail, I believe I’m being stalked by a dragon. Do you think I’m hallucinating?"

"Of course not. Regardless of what thy hath been told, dragons art among us. Mostly they stay hidden, but once in a while one wilt take a notion to appear near a populated area. Please tell me thy whole story from the first time thou encountered the wyrm." He brought out a breast pocket notebook and a quill pen.

"Well, I think the first time was after I had a date with my boy friend Jake. Former boy friend, I should say. We broke up that night."

"Oh? Because of the dragon?"

"No. It had to do with what happened during our date. All evening I had to fight off Jake’s advances. Instead of taking me to a dance as he promised, he parked on a lonely country road and tried to ... you know, touch me where he shouldn’t."

"The cad. A man of such knavery doth not deserveth a fine maiden such as thyself."

She smiled at Percival. "Thank you. Finally I returned his class ring. He simply would not accept the fact that I want to stay pure until marriage. He called me old-fashioned and a tease."

"The man be a fool as well as a beast. He deserves to be horsewhipped. Thou art well rid of him."

Apparently this Percival felt as she did about dating and marriage. It gave her a warm feeling that there were men who had ideas like hers -- unless, of course, he was lying. "My girl friends warned me that Jake was a womanizer, had ... done the thing ... with several other girls and abandoned them. After he left I sat on my stoop to brood about what had happened. I cried a lot." Recalling her anger and hurt on that awful evening, tears rolled unbidden down her cheeks."

"Oh thou poor dear. That man not be worthy of thy tears." He handed her a handkerchief which she used to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"Thank you," Desiree said as she handed back the handkerchief. "Well, after a while my mind wandered, and I began to daydream about a book I had read recently, about King Arthur and his knights. Lancelot and Sir Galahad were real men, courageous, charming and chivalrous. The last thing on their minds would be ... to do the thing ... to a girl before marriage." She recalled how she had pictured a knight in highly polished armor bowing courteously after she granted him a kiss on the cheek. She sighed. Perhaps she was born out of her time. She should have lived during the Middle Ages.

"That night there was a full moon. As I rose to go indoors, I gazed at it with the thought of making a wish to its goddess (whose name I can’t recall) ...

"It be Diana, I believeth. Beg thy pardon for interrupting thee."

Desiree thought, How polite he is. I’ve never met a boy like him before. If he is being truthful, he is like Sir Galahad. "Oh, that’s all right. Well, as I gazed at the moon I wished that I would meet the perfect lover -- a gentle, courageous knight like Sir Galahad. But to my horror, a shadow of a monstrous creature flapping great bat-like wings crossed the moon and disappeared into the night. I was so frightened my heart pounded like a kettle drum. When I glanced back up at the sky, the monster was gone. I told myself that it was probably a bat. But I didn’t believe it. No bat could be that big. Once I was safely in bed with the covers pulled over my head I figured that it was my overworked imagination. But that was only the first incident.

"Two weeks later I was up late working on an essay in English Literature when a great feeling of loneliness and self pity came over me. I thought about Jake. I almost regretted not giving to him. I wondered whether to call him and try to patch things up, but decided that it was all over between us. Besides, I had learned that he had been seeing some busty blonde cheerleader.

"This train of thought reminded me of the thing I saw in the sky. I wondered whether it really was a dragon. It was exactly like the pictures of dragons I had seen. The thought occurred to m that Jake might’ve put something in my Coke."

"Oh my. Wouldst he go to such lengths that he wouldst use a potion on thee?"

Desiree shrugged and went on with her story. "Suddenly, I heard a noise at the window. It gave me a fright because it was so unexpected. My dorm is on the second floor with no balcony. I thought that it might be a bird or a bat. But when I opened the blinds, I screamed. Staring at me with eyes as big as platters and enormous jaws like great gates with stilettos for teeth was the head of a dragon."

She shuddered as she recalled that day. Percival came around and put a soothing arm around her shoulders. "Thou poor dear. It must have been terrible indeed for thee."

She smiled up at him and continued. "By the time my roommate rushed in from the other room, the monster was gone. I didn’t dare tell her what I’d seen. I told her that I had accidentally deleted my work and would have to do it over. After she left, I pulled the blinds up, opened the window and stuck my head out. There was nothing unusual to see, just the empty campus with one or two late night individuals straggling across it. I thought I was going mad. Seeing a dragon in the sky was one thing, but at my window ..." The horror Desiree felt was too awful to describe. "Since I was no longer able to concentrate, I shut down my PC and wondered whether I should go to see a therapist. I decided to wait to see whether I had any more hallucinations.

"My third encounter with the dragon was awful. Early one evening a little after sunset when the sky is purple and all the shadows darken and blend into one another, I was strolling across the campus. Suddenly, out of the darkness between two buildings, an enormous shape, huge and mysterious, slithered toward me. You can imagine my fright. I froze with a terror so all-encompassing it paralyzed me. The enormous shadow approached relentlessly. As it passed under a street lamp, I realized that I had once again witnessed that impossible creature -- a dragon, its cavernous mouth filled with hundreds of huge shark teeth. When it came within twenty feet of me, it roared, trumpeting like a dozen angry elephants, so loud that windows in the building behind me rattled. It spit fire, unfolded its enormous leathery wings which blocked out the sky, flew almost vertically like a military jet taking off and was gone. I was so terror-stricken, I fainted."

"How awful." Again Percival put a soothing arm around her. She laid her head against his chest. The solid beat of his heart soothed her.

"I woke up in the campus infirmary. When the nurse asked me what happened, I told her I’d had a hallucination and asked to speak to the campus psychologist. The psychologist listened attentively as I told him about my encounters with the monster. He asked me whether I ever had hallucinations before. I told him that I had not. He asked me whether I had ever been hospitalized with mental problems such as depression. When I told him no, he asked about my family. When I told him about the circumstances of my first encounter with the dragon, he nodded and nodded. Then he said, ‘I believe your hallucinations are stress related. A combination of guilt in having turned your boy friend down and repressed sexual desire. Perhaps you should rethink your moral convictions.’ He gave me prescription for tranquilizers and dismissed me, telling her to come back in a week. I was shocked by his attitude and did not make another appointment. I threw the prescription in a waste can. I wondered whether the hallucinations would go away if I talked with someone more sympathetic than that evil psychologist with his Freudian notions that everything was about ... it.

"About that time I began to believe that the dragon I had seen three times was real, not an illusion. People believed in UFOs, poltergeists and the occult. Is a belief in dragons any more strange? People claimed to be abducted by flying saucers. I wondered whether anyone in the twenty-first century had ever been kidnapped by a dragon."

"Ah, thou hath seen the light. Let me assure thee. Dragons do exist, and they do kidnap people. Thou art not mad at all."

Desiree gazed up at him in gratitude. Even if he was a con man, she felt that he was certainly a charming one. "That night there was scratching at my window again. I did not look to see what it was but cowed in the corner of my chair, too frightened to move. I wished that I had filled the prescription for tranquilizers. At least they would’ve taken the edge off of my terror. I slept fitfully that night, shivering with the blankets pulled over my head and had nightmares about dragons and other horrible creatures.

"From then on, whenever I went out at night alone, I would see the dragon. Sometimes it flew overhead and seemed to trail me. Other times I’d glimpse it perched on a rooftop or glaring at me from an alleyway, sending me screaming to the nearest shelter. Every night it was at my window, scratching with its talons or brushing its scales against the building. Mostly, I would cower in my chair, too frightened to move. Once I hid in the closet, spending the night crouched with my knees drawn up, quivering. A few times, after the sounds went away, I got up the courageous to peer through the blinds. The dragon was still on the campus grounds, staring up at my window as though planning how to get to me. After a while it would fly away. That’s why I came to you. Out of desperation."

"Doth not worry. I can help thee. Methinks I hath encountered this particular dragon previously. Generally, he be docile for a dragon, but once every ten years or so, he gets a notion to stalk someone. (Desiree wondered how Percival could’ve encountered this particular dragon if it only appears every ten years. Her guess was that the last time the monster was about, Percival would’ve been in his early teens.) Um, I doth not mean to pry into thy personal life, but there be something I must know. It be an important issue in dealing with dragons." Percival’s face reddened. "Art thou a virgin?"

Desiree flushed and stared into her lap while replying. "Yes. But what ..."

"Ah hah, that be it. It be definitely old Mutsgulcum. Thou see, Mutsgulcum hath a yen for virgins."

"Oh, I see." Desiree recalled seeing a movie about a dragon who ate virgins. She shuddered. Perhaps she should’ve allowed Jake to have his way with her. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about becoming a dragon’s lunch.

"Methinks I know where Mutsgulcum’s lair be. Come, we shalt go there immediately and resolve thy problem." He began to don the armor.

"You want me to go with?" Desiree didn’t think too much of going on a dragon hunt. She’d just as soon stay as far as possible from the creatures.

"I be afraid so. I need thee to witness the deed. Otherwise, wouldst thou really believe that I disposed of thy problem?" He had a point. She wasn’t about to give him the contents of her savings account on his say-so that he’d killed the dragon. "Do not worry, Maiden Morgan, I wilt ensure that thou wilt not be in danger."

Shrugging, she followed Percival, who was in full armor with a sheathed broadsword belted around his waist and carrying a long pike, to the parking lot at the back of the building. They went over by a swaybacked nag tied to a fence post. Percival, who was apparently stronger than he looked, mounted the steed and picked Desiree up by her armpits, setting her sidesaddle behind him. He gave the horse a little kick with his iron boots. With a jolt that made Desiree grab Percival around the waist, it trotted through a back gate into a wooded area behind the lot.

As they traveled, the woods became thicker and darker. Desiree wondered how such a deep forest came to be in the middle of a large city. A strange white mist rose from the ground and out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed squirrels with human faces, tiny people with butterfly wings and other strange creatures. When she turned to stare, they vanished or turned into ordinary small animals. It was so eerie she shivered and clung tightly to Percival. "How far do we have to go?" she asked finally.

"But a little way," Percival replied in a deeper and more resonant voice.

A few minutes later they exited the woods and Desiree gasped. Ahead was the exact scene that had been on Percival’s web site; a deep green meadow alive with colorful wildflowers, a high hill with a turreted castle at its peak. "Where are we?" she cried. "This is impossible. There is no such spot in Albany."

"That be correct, Maiden Morgan. This be where the dragon, Mutsgulcum, abideth. I took a magical shortcut."

"A magical shortcut? Are you telling me that you’re a wizard besides being a dragon slayer? And by the way, we don’t have to be so formal. You may call me Desiree." After hugging Percival so tightly as they passed through those mysterious woods, Desiree felt as though they were old friends. Besides, when he turned to speak to her, it seemed to her that in his armor he grown quite handsome.

"On no, Maiden Desiree, I be far from a wizard, but I did pick up a few incantations when a long time ago I be a bodyguard to a sorcerer."

This talk of wizards, sorcerers and magic made Desiree uneasy. Since the age of ten, she had put away belief in such things along with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. On the other hand, if dragons existed, why not magic?

They moved on. It was pleasant riding through the sunny meadow with its beautiful wildflowers and Percival’s armored body in her arms. He is such a polite, gentle man, Desiree thought. And he must be courageous to fight dragons.

After a long while they completed a half circle around the hill and halted before a cave. Percival pointed. "That be Mutsgulcum’s den." He leaped off and gently helped Desiree down. "Wait here. I shalt roust him out."

"Be careful, Percival." Desiree recalled something from the books she’d read. The young ladies in the middle ages gave their favorites a scarf to carry into battle with them. "Here, take my handkerchief for luck."

He stuck the lacy thing in his helmet and bowed low to her. "Thou doest me a great honor, Maiden Desiree." He turned, withdrew his sword and marched to the cave entrance. "Muts," he called out loudly through cupped hands.

After a few moments, an enormous dragon appeared. It was definitely the same one that had been stalking Desiree; she recognized markings on its chest. It roared and spouted a huge tongue of flame into the air. "Percival," it growled, "what art thou doing here? Why dost thou disturb my nap?"

"I hath come to avenge the honor of this young woman. Thou hast been stalking and terrorizing her."

The dragon squinted at Desiree as though it was myopic. "Oh yes, she art quite a beauty and ..." It dropped its voice to a stage whisper. "... she be a virgin. I can sense such things." It pointed at its nostrils with its talons. "But I meant no harm. I be sorry if I frightened her." It raised its huge head and stared directly at Desiree. "Please accept my deepest apologies, my dear. I never meant to scare thee."

Desiree didn’t know how she should react to this. It seemed weird being apologized to by a dragon, so she said, "Oh, that’s all right."

Percival raised his sword in a threatening manner at the dragon. "No, it be not all right. An apology art not enough, Mutsgulcum. Thou knew very well that thou hast terrorized this poor maiden. Thou must promise to never again stalk her. Swear by the great dragon in the sky."

The dragon lowered its head sulkily and huffed out a cloud of steam. "I promise by everything that be dragon."

"And thou must make restitution for the trauma thou hast caused."

As the dragon slunk back into its den, Percival winked at Desiree. Soon the monster appeared again with a jewel encrusted chest crammed with gold coins and rings, diamond brooches, ruby bracelets and pearl necklaces. "Wilt this make up for my mischief?"

"Just barely," Percival replied. He carried the chest to his horse and tied it to the saddle. Desiree wondered how the old nag would carry the heavy box as well as themselves. Nonetheless, somehow it managed. As they rode away, the dragon waved and cried, "Nice meeting thee, Maiden Desiree. Fare thee well, and good luck."

Percival said, "Thou wilt certainly have good fortune from now on. When a dragon wishet thee good luck, it be a magical blessing."

Instead of returning to the woods, they meandered up the narrow path to the castle.

"Where are we going?" Desiree asked.

"It be almost lunch time. I thought mayhap thou wouldst like to partake of refreshments at my castle."

Desiree was thrilled. She always wanted to see the inside of a medieval castle. "That would be nice, Percival. But tell me, why do you speak like people did a long time ago."

"This manner of speaking beed taught me as a youth."

* * *

Percival’s home was impressive. Like castles of old, its stone walls were richly decorated with beautiful tapestries and medieval weaponry. Other rooms were paneled in dark walnut and hung with artistic paintings of outdoors scenes, portraits, nude gods and goddesses, and wildlife, including many of dragons. After Percival removed his armor, the couple were served tea and cookies by an ancient servant in tenth century dress.

"You seem very rich," Desiree said in way of conversation. "Dragon scolding must pay well."

"Actually it pays next to nothing. I do it as a hobby, and because I enjoy helping people." Percival spread his hands. "I inherited all this. And of course, the dragons art generous. Look at all the treasure Mut gave thee."

"You mean I get to keep all that gold and jewels?"

"Of course, except five hundred dollars worth, my fee, which I needeth for office expenses."

After tea, Percival gave Desiree a tour of the castle. When they came to the master bedroom, Desiree was especially impressed. It was beautifully furnished and decorated and contained an enormous four-poster bed.

"This be where I sleep, Desiree. Sometimes I thinketh I should change rooms though. This one be so big, it maketh me lonely."

"Lonely? Don’t you have anyone to share your life with?"

"Sorry to sayeth, there be no one."

"Not even a girl friend?"

"Alas, no. Since meeting thee, I wouldst wish to have one as lovely."

"How nice of you to say that." Impulsively Desiree kissed him on the cheek.

He made an elaborate bow and thanked her profusely. She sighed and thought, This Percival is like the knights of old. He is courageous, charming and chivalrous and would never want to ... y’know, do the thing ... to a lady without being married to her first.

That evening she discovered she was wrong about the last part of her thoughts. Or perhaps she was not quite the lady she always she’d always pictured herself.

Bio: I am a retired technical writer who used to work for a major computer company. I am a voracious reader of all kinds of books, but am especially fond of science fiction and fantasy. I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, but have been living in a small town in upstate New York for many years. I am married with four children, ten grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. My hobbies, other than writing, are computer games and do-it-yourself projects. I have had the following short stories published or about to be published in internet E-zines: "The Sands of Time," Black Moon Rising, January, 2001 issue; "Empty Planet," Aphelion, Feb. 2002 issue; "Cosmoergy," Martian Wave, Mar. 2002 issue; "The Key," Black Moon Rising, Apr 2002 issue; "Shadow in the Sky," Aphelion, Apr 2002 issue; "Pop-Art Nightmare," Nocturne Horizons, Jan 2002 issue. I have also written several novels of which are yet to be published. To see more of my writing, visit my website at www.geocities.com/papajoev. It is called "The Fantastic World of Papa Joe."

E-mail: papavad@juno.com

URL: The Fantastic World of Papa Joe

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