Chapter 7
A/N: Nope, I haven't inherited a gazillion dollars so I don't own Shadow Hearts or Koudelka – although I played SH2 in Japanese. See, I'm a masochist! More James being a nudge, Koudelka being sexy, and Yuri being … well, Yuri. And I hope I haven't bored you all to tears.
The trio stepped through a narrow hallway and onto the second floor of a library. To their right and left were tall, ancient bookcases, the kind with grillwork and locks. With a light in his eyes, James scurried to the nearest shelf and began looking at the books while Yuri and Koudelka went down the hall to another door. Beyond was yet another small room, possibly an office with a huge fireplace filled with debris and a desk against the far wall. In addition, there was a metal safe in the corner. Koudelka investigated the safe while Yuri rummaged.
"Find anything Yuri?" Koudelka asked after turning from the safe in disgust.
"Nah, nothin' but junk, you?"
"No, unfortunately. The combination is in Greek; it could take days to figure it out. Maybe later if we have time." She looked up at Yuri as he clapped his hands to remove the dust. "Say, where's your backpack?"
Yuri felt behind him and snorted. "I remember I was carrying it when we came in downstairs. I bet it's beneath the chandelier. Ah damn, I'll go get it," he said and, turning abruptly, retraced his steps back down to the old dining hall. When he returned he had an odd look on his face and went hunting for James. The priest had wandered further down the corridor toward a bricked-up doorway and a descending staircase, when Yuri caught up to him.
"Hey James, found something," he said with a grin trying hard not to show. When the priest turned to see what Yuri offered, he was face to face with a mummified hand, one finger missing and another broken yet hanging from a bit of bone.
"Good grief! Yuri what are you doing?" James exclaimed, jumping back a few feet and crossing himself.
"Eh-heh-heh," Yuri laughed. "I found it with my pack. Musta been on the chandelier. It's a mummy's hand. Wonder who it belonged to?"
James stared at the relic for almost a minute before taking the offering in hand, turning it over and investigating it thoroughly.
"I – I think this might be the relic of Daniel Scotius," he said with reverence in his voice.
"Who? That dead saint guy that built this place?" Yuri asked.
"Indeed," James said and opening his pack, removed a silk handkerchief and wrapped the arm carefully. "I'll just keep this, why don't I?" James said.
Yuri shook himself and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, a look of childish glee crossing his countenance before he could swallow it. "Well, I guess so, but I was thinkin' it would go good with lunch."
James almost dropped the hand as he was putting it in his pouch and Koudelka, who had come up behind, gave Yuri a kick to the shins.
"Behave yourself," she said but she obviously was trying hard not to laugh as well.
"Heathen unbelievers," James snarled.
"Ah don't get yer knickers in a bunch," Yuri said with a grin. "I'm only kiddin'."
"One of these days you'll go to far," Koudelka said and pushed them both aside to descend to the main library floor. She was greeted by a large relief hanging on one wall above a strangely constructed grandfather clock; it was a series of black enameled boxes with an antique gold face set in the top one, the hands reflecting the hour and the counterbalance ticking softly within the box below. Curiously, the boxes could be used to climb up to the relief above. Another set of bookcases were across the floor, and just beyond, another door. But first, she climbed up the clock and checked out the relief; it turned out to be a large piece of ceramic art, pieced together with bits of glass and metal to form a holy picture. It was hanging in a large ornate frame and one piece had been broken from it. Looking closely she noticed that the missing piece would have joined to form a key for the lock that glinted beneath it.
"There's something beyond here," she said as she climbed down, "but someone removed the key. If we find it we can return."
Yuri nodded and pointed at the far door. "James already went in. He's getting brave."
"Or stupid."
It proved to be fortuitous however as James had discovered several old printing presses in the room and was fiddling with them when Koudelka and Yuri arrived. He had to borrow parts from a broken press but got the remaining press operational and was placing the stone slab he had obtained earlier into the machine.
"What is that for?" Yuri asked, watching him.
"The stone is a template; I think it's a map of this monastery," James answered and, setting the slab carefully, rolled some ink onto it and then placed paper into the press. A moment later, he pulled the thick paper from the press and showed it to them. It was indeed a map, much more detailed than the brief sketch Yuri had found in the attic. This one showed the underground passages they had just been through as well as a couple of others not yet found. It indicated doors they had missed, and the doors to the church. Yuri grinned.
"Yup, that's the map all right," he said and James looked at him and frowned.
"That's what I just said." James looked at the map and pointed at a wall next to the broken press. "There should be a door there," he said.
"Well, there's a door here," Yuri pointed at the door on the other side of the old printing press; it had a dull plaque on it and, grinning like a child, walked across the room and opened it. "What's an archive?" Yuri asked but then shrugged as he stepped through. "Ah, just another closet, with another door." The closet was a narrow access corridor, brick lined and with a pile of crates at one end. "What's with this place and closets anyway?" he asked rhetorically and approached the other door. "Hey, there's carved places in the door for statues or something," he poked at the door then rattled the knob. "Ah screw it!" he put his back to the nearby wall and kicked hard once, twice and on the third time, the lock snapped and the door swung open. "That's better," he said and walked in. "Hey more books and … Ah Fuck!" he yelled.
Koudelka and James had remained in the printing room, James laying the map out on the press and both looking closely at it. But when they heard Yuri's shout, both ran through to the closet sized room and then into the archives. One wall was stacked high again with crates, open to reveal books and manuscripts spilling out onto the floor, while two more walls sported floor to ceiling shelves overflowing with more books and large tomes. In the middle of this huge shelf was a holy font with the Madonna and Child waiting in dingy darkness. And in the middle of the room was Yuri, defending himself from a monster.
Roughly human shaped, it had a woman's torso and frame but two bent and twisted talons sprang from the knees replacing the lower legs and feet. And instead of a head, she had three long necks rising up from her body with the heads of a goat, a lion, and a white-maned old man. Yuri was trying to defend himself from the three thrashing heads and as Koudelka and James arrived, and the goat head was just turning and issued a black miasma of magic that swept over the three of them and rendered them mute.
Frustration was on Yuri's face like a mask and Koudelka clapped her hands and pointed at the goat head. Yuri heard and nodded, taking her instructions to keep on that one head. He pulled the knife from his belt and moved in for an attack, avoiding the swing of one head as it moved around to swat him. James meanwhile had put fresh cartridges in the double action pistol and began to take careful aim, hoping to hit a vulnerable spot, and Koudelka was digging through her pouch for panaceas; finding one, she took it and immediately began to summon a fire spell.
Yuri had dashed to the other side of the creature, dodging heads and sharp taloned feet and slicing and stabbing with the knife. He managed to graze the chimera's backside, which distracted it while Koudelka finished her summons. Her fire magic exploded over the three-headed creature and it shrugged it off, little feeling the merciless blaze.
Yuri shook his head and shrugged as he moved off, letting the last of the fire melt away. If fire magic would not hurt it, possibly something else would and in the meantime he needed something stronger than a mere knife blade to do some damage. His vocal chords were still constricted making speech or magic impossible, but he had a fusion that was head and feet better than magic: the Mad Bull. He yanked that fusion hard and merged with it before he took his next breath, his face a rictus of howling anger that could only be seen not heard. Standing a little over six feet, Mad Bull had two things the other fusions didn't have: in addition to his clawed hands, he had sharp hooves and very large, very deadly horns. These he put to immediate use, swinging his massive neck, Yuri thrust his horns into the first writhing snake-like neck that got within striking distance, his horn sliding down through muscle and sinew and leaving a trail of blood.
Koudelka moved behind the monster as Yuri, now a raging bull, was battling the chimera and keeping it occupied so she was able to move back toward James and offer him a panacea as well. Together they began summoning spells - ice, and wind, to see what damage could be done to the grotesque creature. Koudelka's ice broke over the monster first, sending frozen shards cascading over it, coating its body in a thick rime. James' wind attack came next but except for tangling the sinewy necks for a moment, the wind did little damage. Meanwhile Yuri continued his battering attack, kicking one massive hoof into the upper torso, tearing off a glistening blood and rime soaked breast and then whirling around, barreling into the monster's belly, sending his horns slicing into the soft tissue and, when he pulled out, trailing entrails and black blood on his horns, and dripping down his face.
Even as the Mad Bull pulled back for another attack, Koudelka let fly with more icy shards, puncturing the monster's body. One of its heads reared back, open mouth issuing a red crackle of energy that arced across the room and struck James and Koudelka, sending them crashing into the far wall, stunned. That left Yuri alone to deal with the three-headed monster. With a grunt, he moved in to grab the lion-maned head, the one that had disabled his companions. Catching the sinewy neck in his clawed hands, he began twisting it, wrapping it around his fist, snapping the bones, and once the head itself was within his reach, he grabbed it. The mouth tried biting him, vicious teeth snapping and snarling at him like a rabid dog, but Yuri ignored it and simply bringing pressure to bear on the head, crushing it. Blood and brains spilled over his hand and down his arm to drip like rain onto the floor beneath him. He did not stop there however, as he used the stump of the neck to pull the creature closer and then, placing one hoofed foot on its chest, bore down, pinning it to the floor while he proceeded to remove the remaining heads in a similar bloody manner.
Half way through the decapitation the silencing spell faded and the room was now filled with Mad Bull's deep-throated growls and grunts of pleasure. Behind him, Koudelka and James were beginning to revive and they both looked on in horror as the creature that had been Yuri shredded his way through the chimera, adding a final stomp with hoofed feet and, with his head raised high, issued an open-mouthed bellow that rattled the rafters.
James was crossing himself as Yuri released his fusion, shaking his head and grinning demonically, blood still dripping down his face.
"That was fun!" he crowed then saw his companion's faces. James' look of disgusted horror he had expected, but Koudelka was another matter; her eyes were narrowed and she was chewing her lower lip in trepidation.
"Look, I don't eat people, come on!" Yuri cajoled. "I did it to protect us. What? I should have let it kill us?"
"If you hadn't walked in here alone this wouldn't have happened," Koudelka reminded him.
Yuri rubbed the back of his neck and then noticed the blood. He made a breathy sigh and looked around; the font across the room had suddenly started bubbling noisily and he went over to it, scooping up handfuls of water, and sluicing his face and neck, wiping away the worst of the blood and entrails.
"Dear Lord," James suddenly said, his voice quiet but holding surprise. He had walked over to the farthest bookshelf and was looking from book to book, studying their spines, pulling out individual books to read their fronts.
"What is it, James?" Koudelka asked and joined him. Yuri shook the water from his head and followed.
"This one's Phileus, and this Landsbric, and Michael Mayer," James was muttering quietly, then read a few titles off in Latin. "What a collection of books!" he said, turning to them with excitement in his eyes.
"So what are all these?" Koudelka asked.
"They're ancient books on mysticism and the occult - ancient science. Enticing really, it's all about making gold from lead – rubbish! It's all a ruse peddled by power hungry tricksters blinded by greed. But here amongst the trash there are some valuable works illustrating basic scientific principles; experiments for predicting the laws of nature – and predicting a time when all men will be treated equally in God's will. There's no room for this argument nowadays," James answered and turned to continue scanning the shelves.
"Sounds like Albert," muttered Yuri.
"This is the Kaballah … meaningless! Why? Why is it not here? Where else could it be?"
"James, what are you looking for?" Koudelka pressed.
Yuri was watching James pull volumes from the shelves and shook his head. "The secrets of the universe; death, birth, rebirth," he muttered.
James looked startled as he turned to Yuri. "What?"
"Why don't you just admit what it is you're looking for, priest? It's not some big secret or anything," Yuri continued.
"Yuri…"
"I mean, it's only a stupid book, and shit, we'll find it sooner or later," he said. Suddenly Yuri blinked, looking sheepish. "What did I say?" he looked from James to Koudelka.
Koudelka walked over to Yuri and placed her hand on his forehead. "You're not running a fever; are you feeling all right? You've been acting stranger than usual," she said.
"Yeah, well, I probably need a bath is all," Yuri said. Yuri turned and climbing the font once more, took a handful of water to drink before striding purposefully from the archives.
"He's mad, Koudelka, you know that," James said quietly, coming to her side.
"Yes; but is it a man-made madness? Or one brought on by the Gods?"
James frowned. "Like in the myths? You think he's touched by the Hand of God? Rubbish."
"Then you explain it to me, James. He knows things; or remembers things or … I don't know." Koudelka gestured after the retreating Yuri and then sighed. "But I trust him; I have to."
"Why?" James asked. "He could kill us all."
"Yes he could. But he hasn't. And I don't think he will." Koudelka rubbed a hand across her forehead before straightening her hair in its band. "He told me he's here to right a wrong; those kind are often touched by madness. Come on, let's go."
They left the archives and went back to the printing room only to discover there was another door opening out to another section of the church. Yuri had apparently taken it upon himself to punch open the cracked wall and reveal a wooden door. Koudelka and James went through the door and out into a small courtyard paved in stones. It was fenced with a wrought iron gate that James tried but could not open.
"Is it rusted shut do you think?" Koudelka asked.
"No," James said bending down to look at the lock. "It is rusty but probably needs a key."
Koudelka shrugged and crossed the courtyard to enter into the vestry where she ran into Yuri coming out.
"Say I was just looking for you," he said. "Here; that missing key thing you were talking about," Yuri said and handed Koudelka a piece of the ceramic relief. She looked down at the artifact and then up at Yuri.
"Are you going to go haring off on your own now, Yuri?" she asked.
"What – me? No, no. I was just… I don't know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with guilt before shrugging as if nothing had happened. "But anyway, there's a door into the church down the corridor. But…"
"Good we should go there now," James said, pushing past the harmonixer.
"Nope," Yuri said and grabbed James by the back of his cassock, swinging him around. "Not until we check out that relief," he said.
"It can wait Yuri," Koudelka began and then found herself being escorted by the elbow. "Wait! What are you doing?"
"You said you wanted to check it out, so we're checking it out," Yuri said, dragging James behind him.
"Stop this you madman," James shouted and pulled free, setting his clothing to rights. "You are out of your mind!"
"No, it's all right James. Yuri," Koudelka began, "is there something we must see? Is that it?"
Yuri looked down at the lovely lady on his arm and smiled. "Yes," he said, "Yes, we must see somebody. It's important."
Koudelka nodded. "All right. James and I will go with you to the relief."
Yuri grinned affably and pulled her quickly along back through the printing room and out to the strange clock. Taking the piece of ceramic, Koudelka climbed back up the clock and, standing on tiptoe, inserted the piece into the slot. There was a click and suddenly the wall in front of her shifted, then rose into the ceiling. Surprised, she climbed up to the hidden room. The room was small, with mosaic tiles and a door on her left. She checked the door but there was no handle to open it, nor would pushing it render results. Then she looked at the floor; the mosaic of tiles made no pattern, but there were five depressions in the floor. When she stepped on one, a note sounded. Startled she turned toward the opening and watched as James and Yuri climbed up.
"Oh, you'll need this," he said and offered a small music box.
"Where did you find this?" she asked.
Yuri shrugged. "I don't remember exactly."
Koudelka opened the small music box and listened as it played a simple tune, just five notes long; it repeated itself three times then suddenly stopped, the mechanism broken. But Koudelka had listened and went to the depressions and tapped on one with her foot, eliciting a tone. She then went to each of the five depressions and tapping, made note of the tones before going back to the beginning and repeating the process, duplicating the tune of the music box.
Yuri stood grinning like a proud husband, his eyes alight. And as the last note faded, another click signaled an open door. Yuri went and pushed in the other door and strode confidently in.
The next room was equally small and piled high with books while leaves of manuscripts were scattered on the floor. In one corner, next to a dead fireplace, was a small wooden coffin, barely big enough to fit a man. The three stood at the stained wooden box and stared.
"Well?" Yuri asked.
"Okay, let's give it a try," Koudelka said and the two men took opposite sides of the box and shoved, pushing the lid off to let it crash to the floor. Inside the coffin lay a human body; small, extremely thin, its skin brown and dry like paper.
"What is that? A- a mummy?" James asked.
"Nah, it's just Roger," Yuri said with a grin. "Hey Rog, wake up!"
Nothing happened.
Yuri stood staring at the ancient, desiccated mummy in the box and frowned. 'Why doesn't he wake up?' he thought.
"Well, that was disappointing," Koudelka said and started to sit on the floor next to the stained coffin when there was a sudden gasp from within the box. All three jumped back in alarm.
"My saviour!" the wizened old mummy exclaimed sitting up abruptly and opening incredibly blue eyes to stare at the ceiling. "The secret of the Fomors, on the bottom of the sea… the Émigré …" his voice faded out and he collapsed back into the coffin; he did not speak again, nor did he look like he was breathing.
The three were stunned. Yuri looked disappointed that his old friend had not remembered him, and Koudelka was merely puzzled. James however suddenly lurched to the coffin and grabbed the edge.
"Émigré document? What do you know about the Émigré document? Where is it? Answer me!" James reached in and shook the ancient figure, but there was no further movement or sound from the coffin.
"Now the truth comes out," Yuri said with a smirk.
"Is that what you were looking for James?" Koudelka asked, but James refused to answer, instead pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.
"Hey you crotchety old fart! The lady asked a question," Yuri growled, but when James did not answer, "Fine! I'll just slit yer holy throat and leave yer body for the rats," and he pulled out the knife, reaching for James' arm.
"Yuri!" Koudelka exclaimed in alarm.
"I had no choice," James said before Yuri could strike. "I'm here on instructions direct from the Vatican. There is a manuscript somewhere in this building –"
"The Émigré document," Yuri said as he placed the knife back in his belt. "So, go on."
"Right, the Émigré document has been kept locked up in the Vatican library for hundreds of years; no one was allowed to read it – in fact not many people knew it existed at all."
"So why is it here?" Koudelka asked.
James sighed. "Somebody stole it."
"From the Vatican?" Koudelka exclaimed then shook her head. "No way."
"Sadly true; not many people can steal something like that from the Vatican. You really have to know the place… or have enough money. According to our secret investigation, the wealthy gentleman who purchased this monastery bribed someone within the Vatican to steal the Émigré document for him."
"Wealthy gentleman?"
"Yes. Patrick Heyward. My friend," James finished.
"Yup," Yuri muttered, "Ol' Albert sure got around."
Koudelka ignored Yuri's comment. "If it's not priceless art or something, why would he be interested in that?" she asked James.
The priest sighed again and leaned against the fireplace mantel, his face suddenly looking quite haggard and weary.
"For years Patrick has dabbled in mysticism and alchemy. He was on the verge of crossing the line; of playing God."
"Playing God?" Koudelka remarked and Yuri nodded sagely.
"Yup – raisin' the dead," he commented.
"What do you know of it?" James suddenly spat, turning on Yuri and scowling, his whole body rigid with tension.
"Creatin' life, right? Like the Druids or something," Yuri said and then suddenly looked embarrassed. "I heard it somewhere, I think."
James leaned back against the mantel and kicked at the bricks with his boot. "Druids," he said. "It's thought that the ancient Druid's forbidden secrets on eternal life and resurrecting the dead are contained in the Émigré document."
"I can't believe that," Koudelka said then caught a glimpse of Yuri nodding his head. "So it's true then? You know this?" she asked the young fighter.
James interrupted whatever Yuri was going to say however. "Of course it's a silly superstition. But that's why I'm here. To try and convince Patrick to drop his dangerous experiments and return the Émigré document to the Vatican."
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen," Yuri said and ruffled the papers beneath his boots.
"Well I'd hardly guess a man like that was living here," Koudelka said looking around the room, "based on what this place looks like."
"According to the caretakers, he lives in the building next to the church."
"Oh yeah, here we go," Yuri said suddenly and turned abruptly and left the room.
"What? Yuri!"
But Yuri was gone, his boot heels crunching the broken tiles and masonry as he swept past the broken printing presses and out the door to the vestry. He was moving quickly, heading for the huge wooden doors of the church when James and Koudelka caught up to him. His hand was on the door panel and he was about to push it open when Koudelka called out to him. He turned wearing an excited grin and a look of childish glee.
"Come on, we can get in through here," he said.
Koudelka frowned, wondering what was going through his beleaguered mind. "Yuri, slow down. We don't need any more surprises," she said.
"No surprises, just the Big Guy," he said and emphasized the words with his hands.
"Who is that supposed to be? Are you referring to God?" James asked.
Yuri snorted. "Not hardly. Come on," and he turned to push open the doors.
The large wooden doors, framed in brass and very heavy, slid open on a silent whisper revealing the outer chamber of the church proper. The marble floor was coated with the dust and dirt of years and the side passages were crammed with broken pews, shattered glass, and bent and mangled candelabra. Above them, a scaffold circled half the roof and a faint ray of light came from the area of the sanctuary, issuing through the cracked and blistered glass of the rose window, its once beautiful stained glass now old and dreary to match the cloudy windswept exterior. Yuri, Koudelka and James stood under the portico and scanned the interior for any signs of life. Yuri spotted it first, in the far wall next to the sanctuary where the stone had crumbled; something large moved in the area beyond and there was a sound of grinding stones.
"What's that?" James asked and approached the dais and the shattered wall into the sanctuary.
"A plant?" Koudelka said and looked at Yuri.
Yuri was walking with them toward the dais but he was not looking at the moving object beyond; instead, he was looking up toward the bell tower.
"Yuri?"
"Just about that time," he said and as if to punctuate his odd statement, the bells in the tower began to chime, an eerie and ethereal sound, echoing as it did through the empty church.
"What the-? What's that bell?" Koudelka asked.
James thought for a moment, before offering a brief smile, "Just the passing of another day," he said and then something occurred to him and he turned shocked eyes to Koudelka. "Oh no! Today's All-Saint's Day!"
As if reacting to James' exclamation, the moving thing in the sanctuary beyond them suddenly writhed and hit the wall several times, the entire side of the church shivering with the impact and the scaffolding nearly falling on their heads. Above them, near the apex of the ceiling, a center of darkness began to grow, swirling with dark energy, twisting and warping upon itself, and wind began whipping through the church while a thousand voices screamed in pain. Koudelka winced, moving back from the miasma forming above them.
"The spiritual energy is coming together!" she exclaimed. "Such power - it's like… a monster."
The gyrating ball of dark energy began to coalesce and Koudelka and James began moving away, while from the center of the darkness a grotesque figure began to form, and then suddenly the energy exploded, the wind crashing and smashing into the upper rafters of the church, dragging in stone dust and bits of metal to meld with the figure in the center of the maelstrom and, in another moment, the figure itself exploded out of the miasma, huge grey wings opening as the creature landed with an earth-shattering thud on the church floor. The explosion had knocked everyone off their feet, tumbling Koudelka off to one side and away from James and Yuri who landed close to the vestry doorway, while in the center of the church was now kneeling a huge grey gargoyle, its long muscular tail whipping about behind him, with a nose sharp like a beak, and with claws and talons razor sharp and blood red eyes staring straight at Yuri.
Yuri climbed to his feet, grinning up at the great monster in the church, his own eyes bright.
"Hey there big guy," he said, looking up in near rapture at the towering gargoyle. James, next to him, rose and grabbed Yuri's arm.
"Let's go!" James yelled at him and pulled Yuri away just as the monster moved. The two found themselves fleeing back toward the vestry doors, Yuri's head still turned, straining to look at the gargoyle while James dragged him behind. They reached the doors just in time as the huge monster launched itself after them and struck the wall, crushing the doors and support beams, causing the wall to collapse in on itself, blocking the entrance back into the church.
In the vestry hallway, James fell panting to his knees, finally releasing Yuri's arm, his whole body trembling.
"You mad bastard," he said to Yuri, spittle flecking from his lips, sweat beading up on his tall brow from the effort of escaping.
"Wh-what did you do that for?" Yuri asked, looking at James from his position on the dirty floor.
"That thing would have crushed us," James said.
Yuri snorted and shook his head, looking around. "Where's Koudelka?"
"Inside," James indicated the collapsed doors, "with the monster."
Yuri's eyes grew wide, changing from amber to red in a heartbeat. "NO!" Yuri suddenly leapt up, throwing himself at the wrecked doors, pounding his fists on the metalwork. "Koudelka! Koudelka!"