The Dragonfly in the Tower

5. The West of the Tower

In the west of the tower, the sun was setting. The sea looked alive with orange flame.

Living on the east side, Sharon had never seen a sunset before. Even now, even knowing the darkness she must be stepping into, she took a moment to stop and savor the feeling of sun on her skin and the magnificent wisps of clouds.

Then she turned and faced the study. The purple and gold lock hung heavily from the door. The study still emanated an evil aura which made her shiver.

How in the world am I going to get past it?

Dracrys investigated the rest of the hall for clues, dipping here and there.

Suddenly Sharon had an idea. She picked up a fountain pen from the table and threw it at the lock.

Let’s investigate to see what this lock does.

The pen was suddenly thrown back as though from a violent force field.

Sharon stared at it.

“Well… that’s not good.”

“Are you trying to get in through that door?”

Sharon, whose nerves were already on end in this strange place with the whiff of violence, jumped and turned around.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you…”

She came face to face with a boy, probably around her age but a little younger, with wide open amber eyes and sandy hair.

“I really scared you… I’m so sorry…”

He hid his face in the red scarf he was wearing. It seemed to be an automatic response whenever he was flustered.

He’s wearing robes of red – he must also be a mage!

Cautiously, Sharon said, “Do you think you can get me through the door?”

The boy frowned. “I think… Let’s try. Here, take my hand…”

She took the boy’s hand, which, although frail, was very solid, and the boy walked her right through the door.

Dracrys, who had been on Sharon’s shoulder, started to go haywire, zipping up and down to inspect the boy. But Sharon only had eyes to investigate the study she had been locked out of.

“Where did you come from? Are you lost, like me?” The boy chattered on, seeming to ignore everything in the room, but Sharon, knowing time was of the essence, said quickly, “Please stop,” and the boy lowered his head into his scarf again. She squeezed the boy’s hand and took in the room.

Rainer had forgot to, or hadn’t bothered, to do whatever it was that fooled Sharon into seeing peppercorns and roses. In front of her she could now carefully inspect the knives, the dissected bird parts, and (she shivered, turning,) the drawing of the Vitruvian man that somehow spoke of worse evils to come.

Now that she was in the study, she could see a part of the wall that was inaccessible to her earlier. Here, a row of empty gold birdcages sparkled. They had been polished attentively, and the dark wood paneling behind them set off their shimmering, delicate beauty.

The objects of torture left here created an entirely different mood of menace for even the most innocent and delightful things.

Sharon turned on the light from the ceiling fan to take a better look around, then noticed Dracrys hovering right below the cluster of lampshades.

“Enjoying the air?” Sharon smiled. She guessed that Dracrys must miss the free roaming across the hills, cresting on the wind… The dragonfly’s innocent enjoyment of something so simple as a breeze took Sharon back, back before she had seen any of this.

I can’t imagine it was only a day ago that I learned who the owner of the tower was… or what he was…

Sharon turned to the boy.

“What’s your name?”

“Ilya.”

Hmm… that sounds like a “mage’s name.”

“Are you doing OK?”

She noticed he looked even paler than before, face nearly drained of color.

So some mages are okay with brutality, and some aren’t… I suppose it’s the same with humans, really.

But Ilya was not looking around, he was looking down, and Sharon wasn’t even sure if he’d noticed all the gruesome things left around the study.

“I don’t like it here. I want to go,” he said softly.

Her heart went out to Ilya, and she said, “Just a few more minutes…”

Then I need to question him about where he’s from and his powers. Come to think of it, why isn’t he questioning me? He can’t be that much younger than me, but he’s acting so lost…

This study can’t be the only place the previous owner did all his… experiments? His work? His… craft? There has to be a mechanism, some puzzle piece that will open up another room… where?

Dracrys was still hovering by the ceiling fan and Sharon looked up.

Oh!

There was a second cord for her to pull. It was shorter than the first, with a smaller crystal pendant.

I could’ve sworn the fan out in the hall only had one cord…

Sharon pulled the cord and blue electricity sparked from the bird cages, crackling with a sound that made all three of them jump.

Oh my god , Sharon thought, as the light sparked on and off like fire. She fumbled to pull the cord again and the electricity turned off, leaving simply empty cages.

The purpose of these beautiful gold birdcages was to electrocute the birds.

The obsession with perfection, with purity, the Vitruvian man, the models of the universe… She could just see him thinking that it was a cleaner way to kill them than by hand.

But, what’s the secret? No door opened…

I could ask Ilya to try to phase through the walls, but I’m not sure how long he can hold that for… what if he gets stuck in a wall trying to find a room?

“So, you dragged in someone else with you…”

Sharon spun around.

“Rainer!”

Rainer had circles under his eyes and he focused on Ilya.

“Typical Light mage… do you really think doing what she wants will help her? Won’t showing her more of the tower just hurt her?”

Ilya frowned.

“What’s a mage?”

Rainer gaped.

“Well, you’re a mage.”

In the silence that stretched out between them, Rainer tried again.

“You know, walking through doors? That’s magical power. I’m assuming someone taught you – your parents? Magic school? How is it you never heard the word mage before?"

"Oh, no, I’m just a human,” Ilya said cheerily.

“No…” Rainer said slowly, “you’re not.”

“A human with a special power,” Ilya amended. “I have no idea how I got her through that door. But I came in through a wall, so I thought maybe somehow it’d work.”

“What’s your name?” Rainer was trying a different tactic.

“Ilya.”

“Ilya’s a mage name,” Rainer said, becoming angry. “What are you doing, anyway, messing with me? Did you really think I’d fall for this stupidity?”

Sharon cut in, “I think something’s wrong with Ilya.”

“I’ll bet,” Rainer said cuttingly.

Sharon turned to Ilya. “What’s the last thing you remember before coming here?” she probed.

“I can’t remember anything.” Tears came to Ilya’s eyes.

“Oh, god.” Rainer put his head in his hands. “I can’t deal with a missing mage case right now…”

Sharon took Ilya’s hand protectively. “I’ll take care of him.”

How can you take care of him when you can’t even get out of this tower?

She ignored her own doubts, which were mirrored by Dracrys’ doubting and disapproving look.

I still don’t know how to get past the study…

She took a quick glance at Rainer.

And I don’t trust Rainer enough to ask him. Didn’t he just call Ilya a “Light mage?” Would that make him, by comparison… a “Dark mage?”

But Rainer was watching her too, with attentive gray eyes, and Sharon felt something lock between them she didn’t have words for.

I’ll ask him if I really can’t get anywhere, Sharon decided. Rainer can be my last resort, but not yet.

Rainer lifted his hand as though to cast a spell, then dropped it.

“I guess there’s no point in doing a glamor. You’ve already seen what this study really is, and anyway, with Ilya with you, you can always come back again.”

Rainer zeroed in on Ilya. “You know…” he said thoughtfully, peering at his face and his scarf. “I have a few questions for you.”

Ilya tensed up, and Sharon interjected.

“Me first, please. If you aren’t responsible for the dead birds, then what exactly are you doing here? Why are you here to begin with?”

“I’m just here to finish my project for school. I was told this location was isolated… and it was, before you came here.”

“Here? Why not, oh, I don’t know, the mountains of Siberia or the paddies of Tibet? Or your own room in your own house?”

“Well, there are several properties that make this place more… amenable to casting the kind of spells I need to cast.”

Sharon said suspiciously, “Dark spells?”

“Dark magic is legal,” but Rainer said this very shiftily and without meeting Sharon’s eyes.

Sharon hesitated.

“Barring the question of whether Dark magic is legal or not,” she said carefully, “does it always involve torture? Or death? Or… animal sacrifice?”

“God, no,” Rainer said, sounding repulsed.

Even though Rainer is suspicious, I think he’s withholding information more from the authorities than from any truly evil intent towards me or others… and we need to go. Ilya looks like he’s about to faint.

“I supposed I’ll be seeing you around, then. It doesn’t seem like you’ve given up exploring more of the tower,” Rainer said in a resigned way.

“Of course not! I’m locked in this tower!”

“And how has your life been?”

Sharon blinked. Rainer had thrown her a curveball.

“Well… I suppose it hasn’t been too bad.”

“You have food? You have things to occupy you? It’s warm when it’s winter and cool when it’s summer? No one tries to hurt you?” Rainer threw her questions rapid fire.

“Well,” Sharon said a little hotly, “still, I’d like my freedom.”

Rainer shook his head. “I don’t think you know the cost of that freedom. Not yet, anyway,” he said, giving another thoughtful glance at Ilya.

Stars were twinkling out in the hall and Sharon looked at Rainer a final time before returning to the east wing. In the starlight, his velvety black robe looked soft to touch, and when he shook his hair out of his eyes she caught a whiff of smoky resin. Sharon stood, caught in a moment that felt like forever, looking at Rainer in the starlight, locked in a feeling she couldn’t name and didn’t know what to do with. Then Ilya said, “Ready?” and she returned to the present and nodded.

Next Chapter: 6. The Fresco of the Tower

Previous Chapter: 4. The Exit of the Tower

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