Ashura brought them all back to the castle shrine. Himself, Fai, and Fai's dead brother, whom Fai wouldn't consider abandoning. Ashura had seen no reason not to bring the body along; Fai deserved to hold whatever funeral rites he desired, after all.
Then Ashura had been required to transport all three of them and had gotten a nasty surprise.
It had been a very long time since he'd physically crossed between worlds, not since he'd become King of Seresu, and he was dreadfully out of practice. Even back then, he had only once ever transported another person, when he'd taken his cousin Kendappa on a short jaunt to a lovely place full of wildflowers and butterflies. That had taught him exactly how much power was required to take another person world-walking, the hard way.
He'd forgotten that long-ago lesson. Carrying two other people across worlds, even if one no longer lived, almost proved too much for him. He managed to stand firm, barely, as they materialized next to the sacred pool.
As Fai looked around, he gripped Ashura's hand tighter and hugged the body of his twin closer to himself. "Where are we, King Ashura?" he asked timorously.
"This is the shrine beneath my home, Luval Castle," Ashura replied, keeping his voice steady despite his utter weariness.
"It's full of magic," Fai breathed. His eyes were very wide, their size magnified by his hollowed face.
"Yes, it is. It contains the greatest concentration of natural magic in the kingdom."
Ashura had opted to return to the shrine for two reasons. The first was that he assumed the entire castle, and especially his own chambers, would be stuffed full of upset people. He had taken his leave of Seresu rather precipitously and not under the best of circumstances. Probably everyone in the castle now believed the worst, that he had run off to die.
Of course, the worst had been his intention at the time, but the Witch of Dimensions had altered that plan neatly.
The second reason he had chosen the shrine was for the sheer amount of raw, ambient magic it held. He hoped it had masked the inevitable burst of power that his return had generated. He needed a little time with his new charge before he faced his court, and worse, his cousin and his chief councilor.
Kendappa and Vainamoinen would not be pleased with him.
"This is all yours?" Fai asked, looking around at the graceful arches and columns, then gazing with awe at the preternaturally blue water of the sacred pool.
"In a sense, although it might be more accurate to say that I belong to the shrine," Ashura said. "When I became king, I was consecrated to the care of this place." He felt a frisson of surprise as he spoke. It was another of those ceremonial duties that he'd never given much thought before, but with his new knowledge about the truth of his ancient ancestors, this obligation suddenly took on a real significance to him.
"I like it here," said Fai. "It feels nice."
"I like it here, too." Ashura took a quick sense of what was happening in the castle, and inhaled sharply. The magic of his world-walking had not gone unnoticed for as long as he had hoped it might. "Enjoy the quiet while it lasts," he said with resignation, patting Fai's hand. "They know I'm back."
"Who?"
"Just about everyone." Ashura sighed.
"What do you mean?" Fai looked nervous.
"I left rather abruptly, I'm afraid," Ashura admitted. "There are going to be a great many unhappy people arriving soon. Wait here." He let go of Fai's hand and walked over to the entrance. He stood before the immense double doors and made a gesture with one arm. It took too much effort due to his depleted condition, but a magical barricade haltingly formed. He hoped it would keep unwanted guests out for a while, or at least discourage them.
He returned to Fai and knelt down before him, directing a pointed look at the body the child still held. "Fai? What would you like to do about your brother?" he asked gently.
Fai hugged his twin closer. "I— I don't want to—" he stammered.
"Fai, something must be done for him. I know this is very hard, but a decision should be made before anyone else comes here. Otherwise, they'll just want to follow Seresu's customs." Once his courtiers arrived, he and Fai would be swept away in chaos and the demands of duty. They might even be separated for a time. He knew Fai would be treated kindly; Kendappa would understand and take care of everything, he was certain. As for himself, he would probably be watched very closely for the foreseeable future.
It was better to deal with this now, so they could stand firm on the decision later. "Do you have any preferred funeral rites?" He made sure to keep his voice soft. "Here, cremation and interment of the remains is the norm, but it might be different where you are from."
"No!" Fai looked horrified. "No, don't burn him. Please, don't do that. Don't burn Fa—him."
"Shhh, it's all right. We don't have to cremate him. We'll do whatever you want." Ashura only tried to calm the boy, and didn't remark on Fai's slip. He already knew Fai had taken on his brother's name. In his dream of the pit, Ashura had seen this child on the ground calling for Fai, and the twin in the tower calling for Yūi. The dead twin had fallen from a great height, and so obviously was the first Fai. As this child, the living child, was Yūi.
In the end, it didn't matter. The living twin was Fai now, and Ashura would honor his child's choice.
"Really?" Fai gasped.
"Really."
"Can we..." Fai faltered, then blurted out, "Can we preserve him?"
"Preserve him?" Ashura blinked, surprised by that request. It was something that was occasionally done when a body needed to be displayed, as for the funeral of an important state or religious figure, but it wasn't common.
"I... I don't want him to... I don't want him to rot away..." Fai sniffled. "I want... I was told it was possible to..."
Fai wasn't making much sense, but Ashura didn't see any harm in the short term. "Of course we can."
"For how long?"
"Magic doesn't last forever, Fai, but it can be refreshed. We can keep him exactly as he is, right now, for many months. Perhaps even as long as several years, if we are diligent."
"That's okay, I don't think I'll need... Can we do it now?"
Again, Ashura was startled. He didn't understand the need for urgency, but the expression on Fai's face was intent. "All right. We can repair his injuries later, if that's all right?" The dead child's body had been severely damaged by the fall, with torn tissue, broken bones, and part of his head crushed and caved in. Ashura unwillingly recalled the large, bloodstained spot where the body had obviously landed. He doubted Fai wanted his brother preserved for very long in that condition.
"You can do that?" Fai looked hopeful.
Cosmetic repairs on a dead body were not difficult. The living required far more effort and skill, and positive results were not guaranteed. "Yes, I can," Ashura confirmed. "So can the healing mages. But it will take time. Right now, I'll just preserve him as he is."
Fai arranged his brother on the floor. Still on his knees, Ashura marshaled his magic. Fortunately, he had begun to recover from his world-walking efforts, and he believed he could accomplish a simple preservation spell. Aware that they wouldn't be alone for too much longer, he muttered, "This will have to be quick."
Fai glanced at him fearfully. Ashura swiftly pushed magic into a small circle of spell-runes and directed them into the dead twin's body. Fai's brother glowed soft blue for a moment, then the light faded and he looked as he had before.
Ashura inhaled deeply and closed his eyes against a sudden headache. That simple spell had taken too much out of him, despite his brief optimism.
Fai asked, "Is it— Is he—?"
"It's done," Ashura confirmed, his eyes still closed. "The stasis should last for a few days. We can do a better job later." Perhaps by then, Fai would be more willing to let his brother go.
"Oh, good," Fai breathed. He couldn't take his eyes off his twin.
Ashura risked another probe outside the shrine's doors, and detected Lord Suhail on the stairs, leading a large group down. The chief of the court wizards immediately answered with a probe of his own. That was the problem with actively searching for a mage with magic; it announced the searcher's intent to the magician being sought. Magic called to magic.
Fortunately, that peculiarity was an advantage just now. Ashura sent a quick message that he didn't want to deal with a crowd and would allow only a limited number of people to enter the shrine. He still hadn't recovered and didn't believe he could back up his order, but Suhail didn't know that.
Fai had been alone in that horrible pit of death for a very long time, surrounded by corpses and with only his brother at the top of the tower for companionship. Ashura feared the child might be overwhelmed if too many people arrived at once.
"Fai, prepare yourself," he said, gracelessly heaving himself to his feet. "We will shortly have company."
Fai suddenly looked frightened. "King Ashura, I have to tell you something first. They might not... They might not want me to stay here..."
"Why ever not?"
Fai lowered his head. "It's because I've been cursed."
"You mean the ill fortune you shared with your brother? I already know about that."
Fai jerked his head up in surprise and stared at Ashura. "You know?"
Ashura nodded. "Yes. Don't concern yourself."
"Oh," Fai said weakly. "Well, it's supposed to be gone, now that F— My brother is..." He sadly looked down at the body beside him. "It should be gone now."
"It's all right, Fai."
"No, no, it's not. There's another curse on me," Fai said in a rush. "It'll make me kill someone who has more magic power than me." He looked like he wanted to cry. "It might not be safe for me to stay here."
Ashura already knew about that curse. It was irrelevant because no one in Seresu even came close to Fai's power. Ashura was more concerned about the second curse, and thought it interesting that Fai didn't seem to know about that one. Given his other painful confessions, Fai undoubtedly would have admitted to it had he been aware of it.
"Don't worry, Fai. I have it on good authority that I am the most powerful magician in Seresu," Ashura told him, remembering an irritating conversation with his chief wizard. He also had the Witch's assurance of Fai's power, but he wasn't going to mention her if he could avoid it. He smiled and added, "Or I was, until you arrived. I haven't triggered your curse, have I?"
Fai shook his head.
"Then no one else in the country will, either," Ashura stated confidently.
"But what if people mind—? They might not like it—"
"It can't harm them, so they needn't know about it. It can be our secret." Ashura didn't think anyone else would be able to sense the curses. The dark sorcerer had done his work well, and disguised them most effectively. The only reason Ashura could detect them was because he was already familiar with the polluted flavor of that sorcerer's power.
Ashura tilted his head, feeling a startling number of magical probes suddenly searching him out. Had every magician in the entire castle come to the shrine? He cursed Suhail for ignoring his wishes.
He took Fai's hand, saying, "We can finish talking later. Now hush. They're almost here. I have to let them in." Otherwise, they'd probably shatter his barrier and break down the doors. There were more than enough of them to batter through any defenses he could presently maintain.
With that unpleasant realization, he dissolved his barricade over the shrine's entrance.
