(o)

3
The Palace of Light

(Nephrite)

I sat still and looked around. Light struck my eyes and constructed the world around me: patches of colour with shading that gave them shape, so they could be interpreted as physical objects. I was aware of change in my vision, and so I knew that I existed in time. The colours of the world grew gradually darker, and the shadows of objects grew longer. This, then, was what humans called evening. To them, the passing of time is so natural that they live in it without feeling any need to understand it; but I had only awoken two days ago, as a human would put it. I had to build up my picture of the world before I could begin to move around in it.

I had received instructions from Queen Beryl and her minion, Akumi. I was to discover the location of the legendary Silver Crystal, without allowing the sailor warriors to learn about my mission and interfere with it. It might sound simple put like that – but it would require me to deal with humans, and they were so complex that I had not fully understood them yet.

I moved my muscles, pushing down on the floor so that I lifted myself into a standing position, and walked around the room. Walking is easy; but it helped to remind myself that I knew how to do it. Then I had one less thing I had to keep on my mind. I would have to go out and get around the city; but I had time to work up to that. I stopped and pondered. Loose pieces of knowledge appeared into my memory, as if bubbling up from under a black sea; but with no connections between them, nothing to keep them anchored, they faded again if I did not reach out and grasp them. I knew, somehow, that I would have to get a car: I could see in my mind what a car was, though it was something I had not yet understood. This must have come from the primordial knowledge that was put into me at the time of my creation.

I spent some more time retrieving memories, until I knew that, in order to appear as a respectable customer, I should straighten out my uniform and smooth down my hair. I glanced at myself in the mirror. I certainly had a striking appearance – not what humans would usually call "handsome", but I had flowing hair that cast waves of shadow over my faces, making the features softer and deeper, giving them an air of mystery. Good. This was how a General of the Dark Kingdom ought to present himself to the mortal world.

When at last I felt ready, I stepped out onto the street and headed north, over the crest of the hill. There was a woman on the other side of the street, walking with two young children. The girl pointed and shrieked as I passed, and the woman turned and stared at me. I ignored her. She was of no importance; small wonder that she should gape as a glimpse of something grand beyond the grasp of her imagination strode across her life for a moment.

At last the dull suburban houses came to an end, and ahead of me a vast road lay groaning and shuddering. I stopped for a while to breathe in the air with its intricate mixture of scents, and the sweet music of confusion and chaos. It was a symphony that might have been arranged just for me to listen to it, while all around, the mortals hurried past as if they were afraid of its beauty and splendid terror.

I stopped one man and asked him the way to the nearest car dealer, and soon I found myself in a small yard, lined with machines that stood gleaming, like a bird showing its plumage, as they tried to attract new owners. I glanced them over. There were too many, and they were all the same: these were machines that ordinary men might own. Rich men, to be sure; but wealth is no guarantee of poetry in the soul, or of understanding of concerns above the petty business of everyday life.

So I stepped inside and spoke to the dealer.

"Excuse me," I said – for my store of knowledge told me that this is how one speaks to mortals; no dignity is lost by the condescension, for the fact remains that you could destroy them at any moment you chose. "I need a car."

The dealer made a suitably low bow. "What sort of car are you looking for, sir?"

"One that would be suitable for a commander under the great Queen Beryl, mistress of the Dark Kingdom and future empress of the world."

He smiled blankly; I think he was mesmerised by the sheen of my uniform.

"That is... a little outside my ordinary experience, but I think I can find you something to serve the purpose. Money no object, I presume?"

"I am glad that you understand me."

"Come this way, then, sir." He unlocked a door at the back of the shop. It led to an iron spiral stairway, and we descended to an underground level. Here, too, there were many cars lined up in silence; but I could see that this was where he kept those that were something out of the ordinary. The dealer looked around for a while, and then led me to a red car, a Ferrari Testarossa, at the very back of the room. I glanced down at it, not allowing any sign of approval to show on my face. But I knew at once that I wanted it. It was small and sleek, its bonnet leaning forward as if in a hurry to meet the world head-on.

"I'll take it." I tapped my pocket, and a wad of money appearead. And then, casually, just as I was turning to leave, I added, "I wonder... have you ever heard of the Silver Crystal?"

"The... what now?"

"Clearly not." I tutted. "In that case, can you tell me where I should inquire?"

He spoke rapidly as if desperate to be of service. "If it's anything concerning crystals, you could try to get an audience with Kunzite, though it's not easy..."

"Why should that be difficult?"

This startled him so much that, for once, he looked up into my eyes. "You haven't heard of Kunzite?"

"I'm new in these parts."

"I thought he was known all over the world. He's a billionaire jewellery dealer, but he's infamously reclusive. They say he keeps himself locked up in his tower and won't stir unless a deal comes up that he absolutely can't miss – but when one does, he never misses it. How he manages to get his information without stirring from his tower is anyone's guess. Some say there's dark magic involved."

"Fascinating." The picture was becoming clearer. This man was clearly a minor character whose sole function was to feed me plot-relevant information; so I kept hold of everything he said and filed it carefully away in my memory.

"So, how would I get to meet this Kunzite?"

"I can't help you there. If you don't already know, it's probably not going to happen."

I snorted. "He will meet me, I think."

"I wish you luck, sir. But don't count on it."

I handed over the wad of money, and in return received the keys to my new car. Now that it became necessary, I had no difficulty retrieving from my sea of knowledge the details of how to drive. I sat in the car for a long time, thinking. Where should I go next? If I could not seek out Kunzite directly, then it was essential that I make sure he heard of me and wanted to find me.

Well, I'm not one to believe in black magic, so from what I had heard, Kunzite had to have a network of informers. I would pose as a rival businessman – naturally, one of immense wealth, the sort of man who believes he can get anything he wants just by finding the right people to throw money at. The news that such a man was searching for the Silver Crystal would certainly be of interest to Kunzite, if I understood anything at all about the situation.

The first step was to get a business card. That proved to be of little difficulty: a simple inquiry led me to a firm that would answer my needs. The name I created for myself was Sanjouin Masato of Osaka, my profession loosely described as "trader". I would be someone who had fingers in many pies, who picked up and dropped new business concerns as easily as a teenager picks up and drops new hobbies – and make or crush lives in the process.

I then inquired after local jewellers, and was told that the largest jeweller in the area was Narita Masanobu, proprietor of the Palace of Light, Roppongi, just beyond the expressway.

Nothing in my knowledge prepared me for the first sight of the expressway. Along both sides of the road, lights burst out of every window as the shopkeepers played the game of snaring passing pedestrians; in between was a wide stream of darkness, lit only by headlights flashing so rapidly that they seemed to connect into an undulating ribbon of light. Above the street was the expressway itself, a huge chain of flimsy-looking metal boxes that rattled and boomed as the cars bounced across them. The air was heavy with the smell of modernity.

I stood and drank in the chaos like delightful music. Then I set off down the street towards my destination. Even from a distance, there was no mistaking the Palace: a sheet of white light streamed from its windows, outshining everything around it as the sun outshines the stars. When I reached the window, I saw that bathing in its glow were points of blue and gold and silver, glimmering from a thousand rings and bracelets all placed so that the light bounced off them and formed an intricate maze of spider threads, catching the eye and leading it in every direction until you could not help but stand there mesmerised.

It was deep into the evening, but there was still a throng of customers, most of them young girls, standing and gazing at the jewels with numb expressions, as though the sensation was a fuel from which they were recharging their batteries. I threaded my way through them; a few of them turned to stare at me as I passed, but then remained, just as still, staring in the direction I had just been in long after I had moved on.

At the counter, I presented my business card and asked for an interview with Narita. The cashier bowed deeply and scurried off, anxious not to waste a second when dealing with such an important customer. If my arrival should prove to herald a profitable deal, there might even be a reward for the one who brought me to Narita's attention. At any rate, Narita would take note of the efficiency and courtesy with which I was treated.

I was shown into an elevator, and we ascended to the seventh floor. I found myself in an antechamber with elegant walls of dark polished wood, and panels of lighter colour to make the atmosphere more welcoming. Hanging on the wall at intervals were beautiful landscape paintings, showing rivers running down from the mountains through avenues of sakura trees. One picture was different from the rest: a group portrait that showed, I guessed, the proprietor with his beautiful wife and daughter, a girl of around twelve. I sat down to wait in a wooden chair, its back made of beams twisted together in a symmetrical knot. Everything about the room showed that Narita was not only a man of immense wealth, but of good aesthetic taste.

"Narita-sama will see you now." The cashier bowed deeply, and then returned to his duties on the lower floor.

I strode into the office, making sure that Narita should see at a glance that I was a man of no less worth than himself.

He was seated behind a mahogany desk. He looked at least ten years older than in the picture; his hair had receded and greyed, and his face was venerable and wrinkled. He bowed.

"Welcome to my humble place of business, Sanjouin-sama. How may I help you?"

I took a seat and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Narita-san. I am new to these parts."

"From Osaka, I see from your card. How is the old city getting along?"

I gave him the answer he wanted to hear. "The wheels of commerce keep trundling along. You are from Osaka yourself?"

"Yes, though I haven't been back there for eight years now."

I beamed; I supposed it was expected of me. "It's a pleasure to meet an old neighbour. I hope this means we'll be able to understand each other."

"I hope so indeed." He seemed a little hesitant. "I must admit, Sanjouin-sama, I wouldn't have placed you as Osakan from your accent..."

"I do not pick up accents easily. I have always kept largely to my own company. The common men have such difficulty understanding people like you and me."

Narita nodded. "Of course. I meant no offence."

"None taken, I assure you." I relaxed in my seat. "So, how is business?"

"Thriving, as you have no doubt seen on your way up." He smiled for the first time. "The Palace has steadily grown in size and ambition since I set it up. The Tokyoites are not great businessmen; I do not feel crowded out as I did back at home."

"You have no regrets about moving, then?"

"A few." His face sagged, as though it were a mask that he was struggling to hold up; beneath it he looked dishevelled and careworn. "Old friends that I lost touch with... but I had one great friend, and he is gone where there is no getting in touch with him. After his death, I knew that I had to get away. There were just too many memories."

I nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry for your loss, Narita-san."

"It never fully heals," he said. "Still, after so many years, perhaps the pain has grown less, a little. We planned this store together, you know, Ayumu and I. It was our shared dream. A palace of light, made of jewels that would shine like the stars in the night sky. For his sake, I have tried to realise that dream, because I know that it's what he would have wanted."

"It is a beautiful achievement."

"Thank you." He smiled again. "So, what brought you to visit me?"

"Shall we say that I have been thinking of going into the jewellery business myself?"

"Indeed? Then I wish you luck, Sanjouin-sama. If there is any assistance I can give..."

I smiled. "There might be."

"Oh?"

I leant forward. "You see, I have no desire to compete with you, Narita-san. A palace of light, a work of art in itself, a museum where people can stand and wonder at the beauty around them – this is a worthy dream. But it is not my dream. I want to build my own special collection, one that the general public will never be invited to see, a collection of unique jewels with their own stories and legends..."

I could see on Narita's face that he was keenly interested. "You and I are more alike one another than I thought at first, Sanjouin-sama. I don't really deal in that kind of thing, but I have often thought... if I could realise my own dreams, then perhaps one day..."

"Perhaps. I hope your dream comes true, Narita-san."

"Thank you. And if I hear of anything that I think might interest you, I'll get in touch."

"Indeed," I said. "In that case, if I should happen to get the opportunity to send any business your way... you understand me?"

He nodded. He certainly did understand. I was offering to make it worth his while to do my investigating for me. This agreement reached, I bowed and made my way out of the store. But I did not immediately get back into my car.

It was just common sense. If Narita was the leading jeweller in the local area, then Kunzite would surely be keeping tabs on him. And it would be obvious from my car that I was the kind of visitor it was worth taking notice of. The spy would be somewhere close at hand. I only had to catch him, and he would lead me directly to Kunzite.

I could not take too long, as I had to make sure he did not suspect that I knew he was there. Still, by the time I got back into my car, I had taken a good look around and narrowed the possible suspects down to three. And only one of those three was following the car with his eyes as I drove away.

I studied him intently in the wing mirror. He was little more than a boy, with a look about him that was full of the arrogance of youth. Why do otherwise intelligent minds always seem to show such lack of discernment when it comes to choosing their subordinates? Queen Beryl was the same, employing this Akumi girl to wait on me. Is it because they think a child will be more easily swayed to their will than an adult? Then that is their mistake. The young are indeed susceptible; but that only meant it would be easier for me to work my will upon him, to turn him into my own pawn to be played against Kunzite without his being aware of it.

I drove rapidly away, back to the room Akumi had picked out for me. She would be there waiting for me, I knew it. She returned each day to check up on me and ask for news. And this time I would have plenty to tell her.

"I see," she said once I had finished my story. "So you think this young man may be a way to get to Kunzite..."

"I do indeed. Do I have your permission to continue with my investigation?"

She thought for a while. "No, not immediately. The sailor warriors must also be taken into account. We have two enemies. And sometimes two enemies may be better than one..."