Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane (8 page)

“The dead should stay that way,” D said softly. “How do we get out of this place?”

“I don’t know,” the man replied, shaking his head. He was pale. His lack of color
seemed to spring not so much from fear as from pain. With utter loathing, he added,
“And I hope you all wind up like me. Used for the rest of your life by this desert—whatever
the hell it really is—and brought back again when you’re dead . . . That’d be just
perfect,” the bandit laughed.

There was a smooth
clink
! D had just sheathed his longsword. At the same time, the man’s torso slipped off
to the left. Sliced from the right armpit to the left hip, his body turned to dust
and vanished before the two pieces could fully separate.

“This is a fine mess you’ve made,” D’s left hand chortled. “I don’t think that Lance
character knows the way out, either.” Surely not even the mummies could’ve imagined
the curtain of sand that’d issued from that very same mouth.

“And do you know?”

“More or less. But I haven’t been fed enough to know an exact direction when one might
not even exist.”

D turned right around. Four people stood at the entrance to the cave. Even Clay couldn’t
hide the surprise that colored his ferocious countenance.

“Ten of them . . . and in less than two seconds. You’re a goddamn monster . . .” the
younger Bullow fairly groaned. “I wanna kill you more than ever now. With my own two
hands.”

“I’ll thank you to hold off on that until we’re across this desert,” Granny said in
a strident tone. Turning to Lance, she said, “Well, that takes care of the mob that
was after you. Now, relax and see if you can’t remember something better to tell us,
okay? I’ll be damned if I’m gonna hang around here playing bandit.”

Putting his hand to the brim of his hat, D looked over his shoulder. “Escape is possible,”
he said.

“What?” more than one person exclaimed as they opened their eyes wide with amazement.

“But as long as we’re out in the desert,” he continued, “it’ll probably keep chasing
us. Before we leave, we’d better settle this.”

“And just how are we supposed to settle it?”

“We wait.”

And saying that, D went into the depths of the caves. The Hunter was hopelessly indifferent.

Clay and Granny looked at each other.

“I’m gonna take a peek outside,” Clay announced. “If I gotta stew in this hole all
day, I’ll go nuts. If any strange characters start trouble, you’ll have to deal with
it.”

Before Granny could stop him, the man in the blue cap had vanished in the sunlight.

“Dear me, if that man don’t have ants in his pants,” the old woman griped to herself.
“Looks like we’re left with just the cool and composed one to rely on now. You really
are our guardian angel, you know.”

Their guardian angel was deep in the recesses of a hole in the rocks, shrouded in
shadows.

“So, what are you folks, anyway?” Lance said meekly. He rubbed his jaw incessantly,
which seemed to be something of a habit with him. “I didn’t think you were ordinary
travelers, but it’s like you’re all freaks or something. Where are you headed, and
what’ll you do there?”

“We’re pretty much just like you, you know. Relax. We’ll get you out of here safe
and sound, sure as shooting.”

“I sure hope so . . . but I don’t even know where the stuff they gave me to eat and
drink came from. At this rate, I’ll waste away to nothing out here.”

“But you were willing to take that chance when you ran away, weren’t you? I don’t
wanna hear such nonsense from a grown man. If you hadn’t run into us, you’d have just
grit your teeth and forged on, am I right?”

Lance shut his mouth.

“Well, if you’re hungry, there’s food over in my wagon. Come with me and I’ll get
you something to eat.”

The old woman stood up, and Lance left with her. Only Tae and D remained. D was behind
a rock with his eyes closed. About fifteen feet lay between the Hunter and the girl.

“Mrs. Viper just . . .” Tae began to say softly, her face still pointed toward the
floor. Her tone was so weak it wouldn’t have been at all surprising if it didn’t even
reach D. “She just left me here. I suppose she thought I’d be safe with you around
. . . even though you’re the scariest of them all . . .”

There was no reply. Even if Tae’s voice was audible, it only would’ve sounded like
incoherent mumbling.

“I never dreamed I’d be able to go home . . . I really thought I’d have to spend the
rest of my life in that Noble’s castle.”

“You remember the Noble’s name, don’t you?”

When the darkness emitted these words, Tae trembled. It was quite some time before
she managed to nod and reply, “Marquis Venessiger . . .”

“Just him?”

“Huh?” Tae cried out softly, turning in D’s direction. She could see only darkness.

“Castle Gradinia had a special purpose. Was that the only Noble you met there?”

Tae was silent. Seconds passed. And then, as if unable to bear the silence any longer,
she said, “There was another . . . He was taller than the marquis, and more regal
. . . I never saw his face, though . . .”

“But his eyes were red. Blazing like rubies.”

“Exactly,” Tae said, nodding in amazement. But it didn’t take long at all for her
expression to become completely vacant. She was in the dark. And through that darkness
so deep she could even feel the weight of it: two red things were coming closer. A
pair of eyes.

“What kind of eyes were they?” D asked, not inquiring at all what sort of man it was.

“Bright red and piercing . . . Eyes that seemed to drink me up, body and soul . .
. All they had to do was take one look at me . . . and then I couldn’t even think
at all . . . Come to think of it . . .” Tae said in a strangely relaxed tone. “Come
to think of it,” she repeated, “they were kind of like yours. I wonder why that is?
Oh, I know now . . . Because they seemed so terribly sad . . .”

“Did he do anything to you?” D asked, changing his tack unexpectedly.

Tae was horribly shaken. “Not a thing . . . Nothing happened to me . . . I really
just met him. Why would you ask me something like that? You’re a Hunter, aren’t you?
Don’t ask me anything you don’t need to know.”

“The one with the red eyes is a ruler.” The darkness didn’t move in the slightest,
but smoldered behind the rocks. “The sun is setting on the Nobility’s influence over
our world, and yet the gusts from their black wings still bear mystery into so many
lives. Yours may be one of them. What did he do?”

“Stop it!” Tae cried, covering her face as she got up. “Nothing happened to me at
all. If anything did, I don’t remember it—so please don’t ask me such horrible questions.”
Her tone sounded cold enough to freeze a stone.

A tear glittered as it trickled down her cheek. Scattering those sparkling droplets
to the wind, Tae raced from the cavern.

A few minutes later, Granny Viper showed up in the cave. “D—you in here?” she called
out.

“Over here.”

“You said something to the girl, didn’t you? She came running back to the wagon, bawling
her eyes out, you know,” the old woman said in an uninflected tone.

“And that bothers you?”

“A little, I guess. After all, she’s valuable merchandise.”

“You’ve been traveling with her a while. Have you noticed any-thing about her?”

“Like what?” Granny asked, a fine thread of tension stitching through her flesh.

“Any physical irregularities? Swings in her mental state?”

“Sure, there’s some of that to a degree,” Granny replied, her tone already relaxed
again. “But then, she’s a girl at an impressionable age who’s spent quite some time
living with the Nobility, and now she’s on a long, long journey home. If there wasn’t
anything weird about her, that in itself would be pretty weird. Look, I’m gonna be
on my toes to see to it that nothing strange happens to her until I can hand her over
to her family. And I’ll thank you to keep any funny remarks to yourself. You should
be thinking of some way to get us out of this godforsaken land as soon as possible.”

“The girl has to be brought home,” said a voice from the darkness. “Her family’s still
around, I gather.”

“Yeah. Her parents passed on not long after she was taken, but her brother and his
wife have a farm.”

“
Alone
she might’ve been okay, but the
two of them
are in for a hard life.”

“Just what’s that supposed to mean?” Granny snapped, a heavy shade of dismay rising
in her face.

.

Hearing a knock, Tae looked up. The forearms her face had been buried in were damp
to the elbows. Quickly pawing at the corners of her eyes with the backs of her hands,
Tae said, “Come in.”

Expecting to see Granny Viper, the girl was actually a bit surprised by who opened
her bedroom door. It was Lance. Scratching his head uneasily, he said, “Sorry to bother
you. It’s just that I heard crying . . .”

“It’s nothing.”

“Well, if you’re okay, then. I was just worried, is all. Well, see you.”

“Don’t go,” Tae cried out reflexively.

Lance didn’t know what to say. As he stopped there in spite of himself, his eyes caught
Tae crumpling on the bed. “Hey!”

“Don’t mind me. Just let me be.”

“But you just—” Lance began hesitantly. “I can’t just stand idly by when a girl’s
crying. At times like this you shouldn’t be alone. If you had someone to talk to,
it’d be—”

“I’m fine, so get out.”

Like a razor through the conversation, her tone was so intense Lance finally grasped
the situation. “I get it. I’m sorry.”

As he slowly turned his back, Tae called out to him huskily, “Wait—” It sounded like
her nose was stuffed. “I’m sorry. But I’d just like to be alone. Please.”

“Okay. But keep your chin up,” Lance said, having nothing but a trite expression for
this situation.

“Sure,” Tae replied in the brightest tone she could manage.

Donning a smile that suited his bony face, Lance took his leave.

As the door closed, all the strength drained from Tae’s body. Her hands rested naturally
on her abdomen. A heartrending sigh spilled from her. That sorrowful breath carried
the girl’s curse on the universe. Her dainty shoulders trembled. Sobbing split her
lips. There was little else she could do.

Tae watched as a number of sparkling beads shattered in her lap. Even after those
beads had become stains, her eyes didn’t move. They had a dangerous hue to them.

Standing, she pulled a leather bag out from under her bed. Her pale hand was swallowed
by it, and then came back out with something long and thin and shiny. She tugged on
one end with her other hand and it came apart in two pieces—a short knife and a sheath.
When her eyes were reflected in the tempered steel, a spark of urgency resided in
them.

Slowly the blade rose. At its tip sat Tae’s throat. A light push made it dimple the
flesh. As the blade moved forward the tiniest bit, its edge was stained red with blood.

Her trembling ceased. A decision had been reached. With the same speed that she raised
it, she pulled the knife away again. Tae heaved a heavy sigh.

Just as she finished sheathing the knife, the door flew open without warning. It was
Granny Viper. The first thing she saw wasn’t Tae’s face, but rather what the girl
had in her hand. As she wrested the weapon from the girl with incredible force, Granny
was probably disappointed by the complete lack of resistance. “Why you—”

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” Tae said in a voice so faint it was
barely audible.

An instant later a harsh slap landed on the girl’s cheek. Exposed by the way the shock
of the blow turned her head, the other cheek resounded with another smack. A wrinkled
hand seized the girl by the collar and shook her.