Quillblade (23 page)

Lenis rolled his eyes. ‘I guess you're right.'

‘Come on, I'm hungry!'

Namei bartered heroically with the stall owner and, though neither spoke the other's language, they both seemed happy when Namei handed over a handful of Shinzôn coins and was given in exchange three steaming legs of an unidentifiable animal. She handed one each to Lenis and Yami.

Lenis eyed his warily. ‘What is it?'

‘I've got no idea.' Namei bit savagely into hers. ‘But it tastes good.'

Lenis took a more delicate bite and was forced to admit that Namei was right. Whatever animal they were eating, it tasted delicious.

Yami pulled his crown of flowers off his head and turned to place it in the hair of a small girl standing beside him. With a delighted squeal the girl curtsied and then ran away. Lenis and Namei stared at the swordsman, mouths agape. He turned to them. ‘Yes?'

‘Ah, nothing.' Namei tore another chunk of meat off with her teeth.

Lenis bent to his own meal, trying to hide his smile.

For the next couple of hours the trio wandered around Asheim. Neither Lenis nor Namei was inclined to venture any higher or lower and, as Yami seemed content to follow them, they were able to thoroughly explore the level they were on. It was shaped roughly like a disk, with the airdock taking up almost the entire eastern quarter. The market square they had stumbled into when they had left the airdock was in the exact centre of the level and was ringed with towers. Some of these proved to be elevators that travelled down into the city. The only tower they had seen that led up was the one Missy and the captain had left in. Beyond the towers, large houses with spacious grounds occupied the northern, western and southern quarters. Behind these was another ring of towers supporting the level above, and between and beyond these was nothing but open air.

The houses, or estates, Lenis supposed, were clearly the homes of the aristocracy. High wrought-iron fences separated them from each other, and by peering through these Lenis and Namei were able to see ordered garden beds and well-maintained lawns. Lenis could only wonder at the cost and effort it took to transport enough soil and water up to this level of the city to keep everything alive. Between the estates were broad, stone streets paved in decorative patterns.

What drew Lenis's attention, though, were the advancements Yami had hinted at back on the
Hiryû.
In the market square, shop doors opened of their own accord as people approached them. The fountains on the corners and at the gates and posterns spouted water at unlikely angles. There was light everywhere; enormous globes hung down from the bottom of the level above them, chasing away the darkness the upper decks caused as they blocked out the sun.

Lenis could feel the thrumming of Bestia power all around them. It must have taken hundreds of engineers and thousands of Bestia to generate it all. He had never felt so much of it in one place before. It was in everything: a mechanised bubble-blower, giant fans that kept the air fresh, and a wondrous machine that produced music without players or instruments. Lenis's practical mind tallied the needs of the populace and weighed them against the luxuries around them, but every time he completed a sum his mind shied away from the sheer waste of it all. Was the whole of Asheim like this? Or was it only the aristocrats who got to enjoy the wonders of this technological age?

Up and down the boulevards and between the towers and stalls the trio explored, but they were unable to find any clue as to the whereabouts of the royal vault. It could even have been on this level of the city, hidden away on one of the estates or inside one of the many towers. Nor were they able to gather any useful information, as none of them spoke Ostian and none of the people they came across seemed able, or willing, to speak either Shinzôn or the common tongue. Lenis was certain their ignorance of the common tongue was feigned, given the advancement evident in Asheim, but there was little he could do about that.

By the time Yami reminded them they had to return to the
Hiryû,
even Namei's enthusiasm had waned. It was as if the overwhelming waste evident in the wonderful capital of Ost had affected her too.

‘Let's go back.' She put her hand in Lenis's. Hers was warm and calloused, like his, and Lenis was uncomfortably aware that Yami was still watching them.

‘All right.' His voice cracked as he answered.

They walked in silence through the dense crowds still surrounding the airdock. This time Lenis didn't even notice the crush of people around them. He suddenly wasn't in any hurry to get back to the
Hiryû.

They pushed through the last of the crowds and the Ostian guards let them onto the airdock. Namei leant close and whispered in his ear, ‘I hope the others managed to find out more than we did.'

Her breath tickled his skin and made his neck tingle. He pressed his own mouth to her ear. ‘Don't worry. I'm sure the captain and Missy were able to find what we came here for.'

They had reached the
Hiryû
's gangplank. Namei squeezed his hand before releasing it, and Lenis followed her on board, a lopsided grin fixed on his face.

Missy stood behind the captain with her face lowered, listening to the Ostian official as he greeted the delegations from the neighbouring kingdoms and translating for Captain Shishi in a hushed tone. The man was of middling years with a broad, open face, and he spoke with great animation.

He turned at last from the Ellian ambassador to greet the captain. His blue-green velvet robe swished out behind him in his eagerness to address Captain Shishi. ‘Welcome to Ost! We had not expected an emissary from Shinzô to attend our festival commemorating the Battle of Asheim. I must say it is a pleasure, a very great pleasure to have you here.'

The captain bowed. ‘It is an honour. Our esteemed Warlord, the Great Lord Shôgo Ikaru, could think of no finer mission for the maiden voyage of his new airship than to journey to our northern neighbours to show his respect for those who lost their lives during the Great War.'

Missy tried not to let her amusement show as she translated the captain's speech. What would the Warlord think of his self-appointed emissaries? Under other circumstances, he might have been proud.

The Ostian official, meanwhile, was sizing up the
Hiryû
with unconcealed interest. ‘What do you call this magnificent machine?'

The captain's smile widened. ‘We have named her the
Hiryû.
In your language I think it would be ...' He turned to Missy.

‘The Dragon Who Soars Through The Heavens.' Though her eyes were demurely downcast she couldn't resist stealing a quick look at the official's face out of the corner of her eye. She had only exaggerated a
little.

His own eyes had widened and his mouth was hanging open. ‘Such poetry! Come, you must join us in the greeting chamber. Unfortunately, King Yolseph Greygori will not be present.' Another glance told Missy this confession made the man uncomfortable. He went on in a lower voice, ‘His Majesty has been unwell of late, but his son, the Crown Prince Alexis, will be greeting our kingdom's honoured guests.'

‘I trust the King's illness is not too serious,' Captain Shishi replied.

The official shook his head. ‘No, no!' Missy took the opportunity to scan his mind, which flitted back and forth between images of an old man lying in a grand bed, wasted away to almost nothing, and a pale young boy. He
was drawing unwanted connections between the two. She risked probing deeper, and what she saw there was not encouraging. ‘I shouldn't have brought it up. Please, come with me.'

As the official stepped to the head of the procession, the captain allowed the ambassadors from Lahmon and Ellia to move to the front. ‘The prince?' he whispered as they were led to a nearby tower.

Missy started. Had the captain expected her to know something about the Ostian royal family, or did he suspect Missy's telepathy was strong enough that she could read the official's mind? She remembered the times she had tried to see what Captain Shishi was thinking, and how the way he kept his thoughts vague made it seem as though he was intentionally trying to block her out. Missy wondered how much the captain knew, or at least suspected, about her and her brother's powers.

‘Alexis Greygori,' Missy replied without moving her lips. ‘About twelve years old.' She hesitated and then decided she might as well tell him everything she had seen in the official's mind. ‘He suffers from what the Ostians are calling the “Royal Disposition”. The official fears it is the same illness that killed Alexis's two older brothers and keeps the King in bed. He's nervous because only King Yolseph's male heirs get sick.' They entered the tower and started down a hall carpeted in crimson. ‘He has several daughters and they're all fine. The official thinks it might be a curse.'

‘An indisposed King and a sickly heir ... Keep careful watch, Miss Clemens.'

‘Yes, sir.'

Did he mean with more than just her eyes? It was infuriating, not knowing what the captain was thinking, or if he knew how gifted the Clemens twins were. She took a peek into his mind, but his thoughts were shrouded in their usual vagueness.

Missy turned her attention to their surroundings. Portraits lined the walls and she assumed the grim men they represented were dead Greygori monarchs. Between the portraits hung banners of crimson, like the carpet, embroidered with the three-star design of the Ostian royal family. Each of the stars represented one of the major cities of Ost: Asheim, Kaltheim, and Vanaesir.

The group of ambassadors stopped before a set of doors that were three times the height of the guards who stood in front of them. Each guard carried a steel pike topped with a curved blade. Their red uniforms also bore the three-star motif. As the group of emissaries approached, the guards crossed their weapons in front of the doors. At a curt nod from the Ostian official, the guards stood to attention, unblocking the way. With a flourish that sent his robe swirling, their guide pushed open the doors to reveal a wide, circular room. This was also carpeted, but the walls were bare.

As Missy was looking for another door, the ones behind her closed with an echoing thud. She jumped and spun around, but there was nowhere left for her to go.

‘Please, brace yourselves.' Their guide pulled a long lever set in the floor beside the door.

As Missy began translating this for the captain the floor suddenly moved upwards, causing her to bite her tongue. Familiar as she was with this rising sensation from her time on airships, the unexpected rush made her dizzy. From somewhere behind the walls came the sounds of gears turning and the low thrumming of a Bestia-powered machine. This, of course, was one of the lifts Yami had told them about.

Just as she was getting used to the sensation, the lift came to a stop and Missy fell forward. The captain caught her before she could fall too far, and she smiled in thanks as she righted herself.

‘This way, if you please.' The Ostian official opened another set of enormous doors with an even more elaborate flourish. They swung open noiselessly and gave the party a view of the palace. Missy had half-expected to see towers topped with spires rising into the heavens, but instead she saw a squat, square building of dull stone and yet another ceiling above them. So, they were not yet at the highest point of the city, which must have been just above them. It frustrated Missy immensely that they had come all this way yet were not going to be allowed to visit the highest reaches. Perhaps what Yami had told them was true, and only those of royal blood were allowed on the summit.

‘His Highness, the Crown Prince Alexis Greygori, awaits.' The official bowed so that the sleeves of his robe brushed
the floor. He straightened and led them towards the ugly building. It was the only structure on this level, save for the towers that supported the level above them.

The shuffling footsteps of the delegates echoed through the empty space between the ceiling, the circle of towers that held it up, and the fortress that crouched in the middle. There were no guards on this floor. In fact, aside from the emissaries and their guide, the place was deserted. Missy felt uneasy. The hairs on the back of her neck refused to settle and she found herself looking around, worried that something would leap out at her from behind one of the towers.

They reached the doors of the fort-like structure and their guide ushered them inside. Missy shivered as she walked under the portal, feeling suddenly cold. The other delegates had stopped and Missy nearly walked into the captain's back. She peered over shoulders and between elegantly dressed figures. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the creature kneeling before them, baring its fangs at the intruders. She clutched at Captain Shishi's sleeve.

The captain chuckled. ‘It is a statue, Miss Clemens.'

Missy took another peek and was relieved to see that she was not the only one the statue had surprised. The Lahmonian ambassador had taken several steps back and was clutching at his chest, and the Ellian translator had thrown himself in front of his superior.

The Ostian official swept past them and placed his arm around the creature's shoulder. ‘Forgive me, dear guests. I
could not resist teasing you all a little. This is a statue of one of the Familiars bonded to the Greygori family. This was the first one, in fact, and it is said that the first Greygori king gained so much power from the bond that he was able to defeat the Dukes of Vanaesir and Kaltheim and unite Ost under his rule.'

The others were laughing good-naturedly, though the joke had been at their expense, and had moved forwards to examine the statue. Missy followed, translating the official's words in an undertone. She was more interested in the statue, though, and the captain eventually waved her forward with a smile.

Familiar must mean Lilim,
Missy reasoned. If it did, they were smaller than she would have imagined, no taller than herself. This one's arms, legs, torso and head were all of human proportion, though perhaps the head was a little rounder, and the hands and feet a little too large. The face was most definitely inhuman, however, with no nose or mouth, and three round eyes arranged in the middle of its face in exactly the same design as the three-star insignia of the Greygori family. There were two sets of wings, thin and featherless, sprouting out of its back, and it had strange protrusions running down its calves.

The other delegates all marvelled at the detail and design of the statue, convinced, no doubt, that it was nothing more than the result of some sculptor's imagination. Missy couldn't help but think of Raikô's statues in his temple in the
Wastelands of Shinzô, and of the Quillblade curled inside her robe ...

It was gone! Missy froze, her thoughts turning inwards. When was the last time she had seen the
shintai?
The last time she remembered holding it was when she had used it to summon Raikô back in Gesshoku. She hadn't had it since she'd woken up on the
Hiryû.
Why hadn't she noticed it was missing before now? She hadn't even thought about it since she'd escaped the Totem's temple. She'd been too happy to be back and had, she now realised, wanted to forget all about the Thunder Bird.

Missy forced herself to calm down. There was nothing she could do about it now. The Quillblade had to be on the
Hiryû.
Unless she had dropped it on the wall of Gesshoku? No. Tenjin wouldn't have left it back there. It was too important to him. She pushed the Quillblade from her mind to worry about later, once they had found what they were looking for here in Asheim.

She focused instead on the statue again. Missy wondered if it could be a
shintai,
like her Quillblade. If so, it could still possess some of the power of the Lilim it was supposed to represent. Lenis would be able to tell her if there was any power in the stone, but he wasn't here. Not knowing heightened her unease.

Eventually, the Ostian official urged them on again and, passing under another portal, the delegates found themselves in a poorly lit hall, empty except for row upon row
of demonic statues leading up to a wide dais. The whispering amongst the foreigners stopped and Missy wondered if everyone felt as intimidated as she did. Every perfectly carved line of these stone beings seemed to tell her that they were no mere effigies but living beings waiting to do something terrible to whomsoever they desired.

Lilim,
Missy reminded herself.
Not Demons. Lilim.

She remained unconvinced. The atmosphere of the greeting chamber was more like that of a crypt than a royal audience hall. The thought occurred to her that every one of these statues represented a Lilim bonded to a Greygori, and that the sinister statues were actually tombstones erected to a long line of deceased Greygorian royalty. Each one was different. Some had multiple sets of wings, others had none, or only one. Some had features reminiscent of birds, or tigers, or bears. Still others bore no resemblance to any living thing Missy had ever seen. Some had multiple eyes, or noses, or mouths, or ears, or arms, or legs, or tails, or ... the sheer diversity was staggering. Were these actual living things, or had their sculptors in fact taken liberties in their creation? Had their features been exaggerated, or was this what the Lilim were truly like?

Lenis had told Missy about Bakeneko. A cat, he had said, only it was somehow like a human. And that was the most disturbing thing of all. Missy could detect traces of humanity in every statue she examined. Whether it was in the cast of their eyes, the expressions on their twisted faces, or the
way they carried themselves, each stone Lilim looked in some way
human.
As the delegates moved silently down the crimson carpet that ran the length of the hall, only Captain Shishi seemed unaffected by this army of malevolence and its intimidating presence. It was as if
he
were a statue and the demonic Lilim that surrounded him were nothing more than the wind, lacking any power over his indomitable form.

They walked on for some time, slowly, as if they were all afraid a sudden movement would rouse these terrible sentinels from their slumber.