Out I leaned close to Ben as we talked, our hands loosely intertwined. He told me about his assignment, the little he could, and I drank in his voice, letting the individual words slip by.
A shrill cry stopped him and he looked down. "He's awake."
"You want to meet him?" I asked, already standing. I knew what the answer would be. Ben had been shocked when his sister had welcomed him back by scolding him for not being home for his son's birth, and then disappointed when he was told he couldn't wake up the newborn.
Yuri screamed, his little hands and feet flailing. His face was starting to turn red when I picked him up and cradled him. As I walked around the room, the screaming quieted until Yuri was silent, his dark eyes roaming everywhere.
I smiled and turned so that he was facing Ben. "Yuri, meet your daddy."
"Yuri?" Ben repeated, confused. "I thought it was a boy."
"He is a boy. Saki said it was perfectly fine...you don't like it?"
Ben's mouth was twitching, whether in disapproval or laughter I couldn't really tell. He ended up choosing laughter. "Well, Saki always has been a bit unconventional."
I'd have to remember to ask Saki about the name later. For now I stepped closer to Ben. "Do you want to hold him?"
"I...well..." He reached out and started to lift Yuri out of my arms. He was pulling Yuri close to his chest when the tiny baby screamed, just as shrill as before. Ben stiffened and looked at me. I reached forward and took Yuri back, and the screaming stopped almost instantly as I shushed him.
"He only really lets Saki or me hold him," I said. "I guess he's just scared of strangers."
"So, I'm a stranger?"
I bit my lip. Yuri's reaction had hurt Ben; he already felt guilty for being away while I was in labor, and that hadn't even been his fault. Yuri had been even smaller when he was born, only a few days ago, because he came early. "Well, this is his first time meeting you. He had to get used to Saki, too. Hold out your pinky."
Ben looked confused, but did as asked, putting his little finger next to Yuri's hand. Instantly the chubby hand wrapped around it, clutching as tight as a baby could. And when I looked at Ben's face again, he was smiling.
I slowly woke, blinking at the bright sunlight. Across from me, Zhuzhen was slumped over in his seat, snoring.
Anne's cross lay secure under my blouse. The cool metal rested against my chest, quite different from the warmth of an infant. But in the cross was the same love she had shown her son, her husband...her family.
These dreams had been coming more and more often as we drew closer to Yuri. My first dream had come while we were on the ship to Europe, a dream of a seven-year-old yelling at his father and then running away. Yuri and Ben had always had a rough relationship, but they had loved each other. Anne knew that, but...sometimes she had been worried they didn't know.
Fifteen years after her death, it was obvious that at least Yuri hadn't known. Sasha--Yuri--had said on Kuihai tower, he thought his dad was haunting him. And the coat Ben had worn when he came back from his army assignments was the same as the one the masked man, who had attacked Sasha in the sewers, wore. But still, if Anne's memories had any shred of truth to them, Ben would never hurt his son. I hoped I would be able to find Yuri and tell him that.
The carriage rolled over a large bump and the impact woke Zhuzhen up. "Huh?" he said. "What time is it?"
"Still early."
He nodded. "We'd better rest as much as we can before getting there."
As we progressed towards the village, I did take another nap, but this time there was no dream like before. There was only a brief vision of a boy running around with a fox mask on his face, exhilarated by the gift. Zhuzhen shook me awake when the land became too steep and rocky for the carriage. He paid the driver and we walked. We took frequent breaks; the journey to Bistritz was indeed a hard trip, as Gismot had said. The sun had set long before we passed between the two stone stag heads on each side of the village gates. The air was cold and damp, a thick mist smothering the buildings.
"So, this is Bistritz," Zhuzhen remarked. "There certainly is a spooky air about the place. It's been awhile since I've felt such a strong ghostly presence! This is exciting!"
I frowned. I supposed Zhuzhen was excited because this was a possible lead to Bacon, but from my experience that was all the more reason to be cautious. "Well, first we should look for Terry's shop. He said he ran a general store."
"Yeah, that's right. I just wish we didn't have to be the ones to break the news..."
Looking around, I couldn't see any general store. The building closest to us was a church, its entrance boarded up and the graveyard behind it closed. Across the street from it was the largest house in the entire town. It even had a small addition on its side which looked quite new.
Zhuzhen knocked three times on each door before trying their handles. Both were locked. The same was true of the weapon shop nearby.
"Excuse me? Is anyone here?" I called as I rapped on the door. The windows were boarded up, but for a second there seemed to be a wide eye in one of the gaps.
"They're definitely scared of something," Zhuzhen remarked. "Though I haven't sensed any monsters yet."
Terry had said they would appear at nighttime too. Where were the monsters?
"That sign--is that the general store?"
At Zhuzhen's question, I turned and looked. The sign he was pointing to read, simply, 'Bistrita General Store'.
"Oh, that's it!"
We crossed the street and passed two more crumbling houses on the way. This time Zhuzhen knocked and we were startled by the immediate answer.
"Dad, is that you?" a girl's voice said.
Zhuzhen cleared his throat. "We're friends of your father."
She must not have heard him clearly, because her answer was, "Dad! I'll open the door!"
Through the door we could hear her scrambling with each lock--it sounded like there were at least three. Finally the last one was undone and the door opened.
It was obvious we were not who she had expected, but the girl at the door let us in anyways. Once inside, we were faced with a woman who must have been her mother. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"My name is Alice, and this is Zhuzhen," I said. "We're the exorcists from Prague. Terry sent us to get rid of the monsters in your village."
"Exorcists?" Her frown turned into a small smile. "And where is my husband?"
I swallowed, clasping my hands together. It was so obvious Terry's daughter was eager for his return, and how could I tell her that he wasn't coming back at all? "Well...Terry is..."
"Nina, why don't you go play in your room?" the mother suggested. She could tell, then, that her husband was dead.
"Mom...?" Nina touched her mother's arm, but when no response came she turned away. Edging past the barrels of supplies in the storefront, she vanished as she entered a room in the back.
It was Zhuzhen who told the story of Terry's death. Though I related some of what had happened, for the most part I looked around the store, overflowing with both stock and personal details, like a rug nearby the counter. It was almost as if the overwhelming presence of the store was supposed to compensate for the barren landscape outside.
"I see," she said finally.
At that instant, Nina came back. She must have been eavesdropping to know so soon we were done talking. "Mommy, is Daddy dead? Will he ever come back?"
"I-I'm afraid not, Nina," her mother answered.
The hurt and disappointment I had been afraid of finally came, as Nina looked down at the uneven floorboards. "T-then...he..."
"I'm so sorry. I wish we'd realized sooner..." I told her. "Maybe we could've saved your father."
The mother shook her head. "No, that's all right. The important thing is that you came…" Nina did not even look at us, though.
"We'll do everything we can," promised Zhuzhen. "I'm sure we'll be able to send the monsters packing."
The little girl looked up, a tiny smile on her heart-shaped face. "Thank you."
A loud knock at the front door and a man's voice made me start. Nina rushed to the door and unlocked it.
"Oh, mayor!" she exclaimed as the door swung open. The man in the door had a thin mustache and sharp blue eyes, which glanced often at Zhuzhen and me.
"Hello there, Nina. Michelle." He nodded to the woman. "I heard some strangers were seen coming into this shop. That'd be you folks, I suppose? I'm the mayor of this village. The name's Kevin."
"We're exorcists from Prague," Zhuzhen explained. "The master of this shop asked for our services."
"Aha, so that's what's going on! Most reassuring!" The mayor exclaimed. "And where's Terry, then? He wasn't with you outside."
"No..." I said. "After Terry gave us this assignment, he was attacked by monsters."
"I see," said the mayor, frowning so deeply it seemed ludicrous. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't know what to say." But he did have something to say, and he turned to Michelle and Nina. "You have my deepest condolences. It's such a shame, just when you'd made arrangements to move to America."
His words seemed inappropriate; it'd be a shame any time. Michelle did not answer, and when I looked at her she was chewing her lip, as if biting back a harsh reply.
"But you needn't worry," the mayor continued blithely. "I will make sure you are taken care of! Please try to cheer up!"
Michelle forced a smile. "Kevin, you don't have to worry about us. Nina and I have each other."
Kevin shook his head. "Now, we're not strangers, so don't hesitate to call on me any time with whatever concerns you might have." When Michelle was silent again, he sighed. He seemed to have finally gotten the hint. "Well, I guess I'll be going." He turned away, but then looked over his shoulder at Zhuzhen and me. "I should warn our two exorcists that the monsters appear when the fog turns red. Please be careful." With that, he left. So, the villagers could tell when the monsters would be out...that explained why the mayor had been bold enough to go out unarmed.
I turned to Michelle. Now that the mayor was gone she looked down at the floor, her hand resting on Nina's head. "Were you all planning on going to America?"
"Yes. A good friend of my husband's is in New York. He sent us a lot of gifts and took good care of us. This fall, he was going to help us get work over there. But now..."
Nina looked up and said, "He's a famous professor who grows flowers."
"I see..." It was too bad they couldn't have gone sooner. If they had been able to leave before, Terry wouldn't have died.
"Well, let's you and me go take a look around outside," Zhuzhen said to me. "We need to explore the village a little more. Ma'am, what can you tell me about the castle where the lord of this domain used to live?"
Michelle hesitated, a frown creasing her forehead. "The nobleman's castle? Yes, it's often called 'Blue Castle'. It's an ancient castle past the forest east of the village. It was deserted three hundred years ago--No one goes near it. Are the monsters coming from the castle?" she asked.
"No!" Nina shouted. "There aren't any monsters in the castle!"
"Nina! You promised not to tell that silly story anymore!" her mother said, looking down at her.
"But... Mom." Michelle's expression did not soften, and her daughter turned away from both her and us.
"I'm sorry. Please find out what you can about the village. I'm awfully tired. We have to rest."
"We'll be leaving, then. Sorry to have brought you such bad news. If you think of anything else we should know, please be sure to tell us."
"I'm so sorry. We won't let your father's death go to waste." Though I wanted to ask what the 'silly story' was, we had already upset them, and so had that mayor, Kevin. It'd be best to leave them alone for a while before asking more of them.
Zhuzhen and I walked outside, and immediately the door closed behind us and each lock was bolted. "Friendly," Zhuzhen cracked with a wry smile. His eyes lingered on the shut door. He was also curious about the 'silly story'.
"The fog is turning red," I said. It wasn't just turning red; it was changing into blood, steaming in the night air. I shuddered after it brushed my legs. The red mist was unbearably warm, making the wind seem colder. At least I was wearing my bolero, though now I was wishing I had worn a longer skirt.
"So it's time for the monsters to show up." Zhuzhen laughed and peered around. Apparently he couldn't wait to find the monsters. "I can't remember the last time I was this excited."
I sighed. He was right, he'd never been this worked up in any of our other assignments...and this was the most dangerous one we'd had yet. Well, at least he felt we were doing something useful.
"There's the mayor," he noted. I looked up and saw the mayor walking to the house across from the church--he seemed to have come from the graveyard.
"Maybe we should ask him some questions," I suggested. "He might know more about the lights in the castle."
"Sounds good," he said, and started out before me. The fog had become thicker with its transformation and I made sure to stay close. We had only been walking for a few seconds when I plucked Zhuzhen's sleeve.
"Do you hear that?" The sound was of something--no, it was more than one--some things hitting the ground heavily. As it got louder, we could both hear grunting. Zhuzhen took out his staff and I opened my bible, prepared to cast Blessed Light as soon as the monsters came in sight.
There was a form emerging from the red mist, almost as tall as a man but misshapen--it seemed to have one leg and four arms. I cast Blessed Light and the creature fell down...whining?
I took a few steps forward and saw a dog lying on the ground. Guilt stabbed my heart until I realized this was the monster I'd attacked; the dog had a grossly swollen arm protruding from its mouth and it was scrambling back up to stand on it!
Two other dogs appeared, one also light-furred like the first and another with a dark brown coat. All three were standing on discolored arms attached to their bodies.
Zhuzhen was preparing his flame spell, but the dogs had some of their own magicks. Dark magic surged from the brown dog to one of the white ones, making its magic more powerful, as the white dog stood higher on its arm, its legs splayed open as boulders erupted from the ground. Though both of us tried to evade the attack, the rocks were too large. One hit me in the shoulder and another in the stomach, making me fall to my knees as I gasped for breath. Zhuzhen had been luckier; the sleeve of his Adept robe was torn open but he was still chanting, and soon a ring of flames surrounded the canines. Both of the lighter-colored dogs perished immediately. Though the brown dog growled at us, it was easy to see how it wobbled on its hand, and when it tried to attack me I beat it back with my bible, almost surprised at how easily it collapsed.
"Not too hard," Zhuzhen commented.
"With your magic," I corrected him. "If there are many of them, it could become much more difficult."
We reached the mayor's house and I almost knocked on the door before pausing. There had been the sound of something rustling. I had a distinct feeling that something besides the mayor was inside, and I wasn't quite sure I wanted to see it.
"There's something evil on the other side of this door," I said quietly, coming back down the steps.
"This is the mayor's house, right?" Zhuzhen considered the building for a moment before turning back to me. "Did you notice how Michelle and Nina were kind of cold to the mayor? Something's fishy here."
Could Kevin be related to the monsters? Though he was rude, he didn't seem that malicious...but we needed to check out every possibility. "Let's ask the people here."
In the first house we came to, the owner was more interested in selling us weapons than telling us about Kevin. It was disappointing to not get any information, but we had the chance to get out of the red fog for a few minutes. I surveyed the rack of antique swords mounted on the wall before a small tome nestled in the corner caught my eye. The black cover had a blazing sun on it, and as I leafed through the pages I realized many of the spells it detailed were counter curses to the spells in my Tome of the Moon. Perhaps in a cursed village, this would be the ideal weapon for me.
"I'll take this," I told the heavyset man. It took a few more minutes to rifle through my wallet for some of our savings, but soon the book was paid for and we were on to the next house.
As it was late in the night, it took a lot of heavy pounding to get responses, but most people became more welcoming when we explained to them that we were exorcists, and they were more willing to answer our questions. "Kevin?" one man said through his door. Despite our reassurances that we were not monsters, he refused to let us in and the door was still bolted. "He became a mayor because he was rich. He's been doing some strange research for a long time, but he's having some money problems now."
Another man was much more disparaging. "Mayor's research? Yeah, I know all about that. How he be diggin' all over for some gold." He snorted, making his disgust for such idiocy plain. "Gold? This frozen ground's never been able to produce more'n a hare's droppings! Hafta make do..." And then his voice trailed away as he muttered. "Anyways, that's all I know," he said finally.
"Thank you sir," I said, and immediately he closed the door in our faces. By now we were well aware the slamming door came from fear, not rudeness, though I still couldn't help but think he ought to have said a proper goodbye.
"So he needs money to finance his research, and he's trying to get it by digging for gold." Zhuzhen shook his head. "You'd think if there was gold someone would've dug it up long ago."
At the other houses there had been a few tales of other gold diggers--people eager to either get out of the village or bring some prosperity to it. "You would think so," I agreed.
Zhuzhen raised his staff, pointing it towards the general store. It was the only place where we hadn't asked for information about the mayor. It seemed from his visit earlier that Kevin probably saw Michelle and Nina often, so they should know more about him, but was it really all right to bother them again? There wasn't much time to think about it; Zhuzhen had already started across the street.
We were halfway across when a monster leapt out of the mist, attacking Zhuzhen. It was one of the birdmen we had seen in Prague. Though the Adept managed to beat it back with his staff, there were more surrounding us. He swore quietly; fire spells would be near useless when we were surrounded on all sides.
I had my new tome open as they closed in, ready to cast Blessed Light. Before I could say the incantation, one of the monsters struck me with its claws. I tried to complete the spell but found no words would pass my lips--the attack had silenced me.
As Zhuzhen tried to hold them off, I rifled through our bag for a soul benediction. Once I was no longer silenced, the first monster succumbed to a Blessed Light, and a second soon fell after Zhuzhen had repeatedly struck it with its staff.
The fight afterwards went more smoothly, though at the end I was forced to sit down and heal my hand, bloodied from one monster's infernal pecking. Zhuzhen stood over me as he looked around to ensure no more monsters would sneak up on us. As soon as that was done we entered the shop.
Nina looked up from one of the barrels as we entered. "Hey, Alice. My mom's feeling sick. I'm looking after the shop while she rests."
"Nina, can I ask you something?" I asked. I only continued after she had nodded. "The mayor… What kind of person is he? Could you tell me anything?"
The little girl's bright eyes had become serious at the question. "I don't like him." Her voice was firm. "He keeps bothering my mom. He also keeps asking to see all the gifts my dad gave me."
Why should the mayor be interested in a child's gifts? "From your dad? He gave you lots of gifts?"
She nodded, beaming at the thought of them. "One of them is a letter from my dad's friend in America. It's got a cute little leather bag attached to it. It's my favorite."
"Do you still have it, or did you give it to the mayor?"
Nina shook her head. "I hid it in a secret place. He's not going to find it."
Zhuzhen was mulling over this information. "Maybe the mayor is just an oddball who isn't very well liked…?" he suggested.
"Maybe..." It would explain his rudeness, the 'strange' research, and his gold digging. "Does that mean the monsters are coming from Blue Castle?"
There was a loud gasp and surprised, both Zhuzhen and I turned to Nina. She had her hands clapped over her mouth, but then lowered them and exclaimed, "The master of the castle would never be friends with monsters!"
"You know the master of the castle?" asked Zhuzhen.
Nina nodded her head vigorously. "He saved me from the wolves in the forest!"
But everyone else had said the bloodline had died out centuries ago. "He did? Really?"
"Yeah. A month ago, a person with big wings flew toward the castle! I ran after this person, but I got lost in the east forest. The wolves started chasing after me, and I thought they were going to get me. Then the master ran out of the castle to save me!"
"Then what did the master of the castle do?" the Adept asked.
"The master of the castle took me back to the village, and went home. My mom keeps saying that the master is a vampire. She tells me that if people find out about this, they'll think I'm a vampire, too."
So this was the 'silly story'...a person with large wings and a vampire...
"Did he suck your blood?" I asked.
"No!" She brushed aside her hair to show us that her neck was bare of marks. "The master was very nice. We joined hands and sang together."
"Oh, really?" He certainly didn't sound like a vampire. It was hard to picture a bloodsucking monster playing with a child.
"So it seems there really is someone at the castle. Maybe we need to check that out first?" Zhuzhen suggested.
"If what Nina said is true, then I wouldn't think the master and the monsters are related...but he might know something more about the red fog and the monsters," I said slowly.
When Nina heard we were planning on visiting this 'master', she rummaged around on the shop's counter and returned with a silver key. "This will open the gate to the east forest," she explained. "Be careful, there are lots of wolves."
The key was nothing remarkable, except for the small engraving of a clove of garlic. I frowned at the unusual design before placing it in my pocket. "We'll be right back. Wait here with your mother, okay?"
It turned out that the gate to the east forest also had an unusual design; there was a large, radiant sun placed in the center of it. "Rather strange," I murmured, jiggling the key into the stubborn lock. "This leads to Blue Castle...so they thought their last lord was a vampire? I wonder why?"
Zhuzhen shrugged and walked through as the gate swung open. As long as we solved this mystery, I suppose he didn't care about the why or how of their beliefs.
As we entered the forest, the castle became immediately evident, looming high on a hill with the moon behind it. "What is this?" exclaimed Zhuzhen. "They call it 'Blue Castle' but it's not blue at all." He was right; there didn't seem to be anything extraordinary about the castle, at least in the moonlight.
"My father told me that most location names are based on legends or superstition. I think that's nice. It's more evocative." As soon as I heard Zhuzhen snort I knew that had been the wrong choice of words.
"You're a real romantic, aren't you? If I said anything like that, stones would come flying." He chuckled and then conjured a fire for us to see our way through the dark forest. Unlike monsters, most wolves were scared away by flame and the only ones that attacked us were desperate, weak from hunger.
With little threat from either monsters or wolves, the only thing that kept us from getting to the castle quickly was the steep slope of the hill it was set upon. Halfway up we took a break; I was panting and Zhuzhen was completely winded.
"Ah, I am getting old," Zhuzhen complained, settling down on the ground.
"Not too old for me!" called out a cheerful voice. Zhuzhen jumped up as if his own flame had burned him, and indeed it was flickering from his startlement now. Meiyuan strolled into the warm light, beaming.
"Miss me?"
"What the hell?" Zhuzhen exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in China!"
Meiyuan shrugged. "Sightseeing," he explained, though his smile told otherwise.
"The devil you are."
I elbowed Zhuzhen. Now was the time for a little payback. "Zhuzhen, you should be more polite," I told him. "He just paid you a compliment."
"That's right, I did," the acupuncturist chimed in. "Now, if you'd like some moxibustion..."
"Actually, I think I'm getting my second wind," and with that Zhuzhen marched off towards the castle again. I stifled my laughter as I jogged to catch up with him. "Meiyuan," Zhuzhen said, rolling his eyes. "I almost think he knew we were going to come here."
"Maybe he did."
The Adept groaned. "Don't even say that, Alice."
In a little over an hour, with Meiyuan trailing behind us, we had reached a large stone path, set on each side with statues of griffins. At one place the path branched off to a garden overgrown from neglect, and Meiyuan took one glance at the ancient castle in front of us before choosing the garden.
Together Zhuzhen and I walked up to the iron doors of the castle. Zhuzhen pulled on the huge ring of one of the doors, but it didn't budge--even when we both pulled together.
"It's not locked," I said after examining the door, "but it won't open." Would knocking do any good? There were no lights that I could see, so perhaps Nina's 'master' was away for the moment.
We started back down the steps, determined to look for another way into the castle, when there was a long, shuddering creak. Both of us spun around to see the door open, though there was no one inside who could have opened it.
"It opened all on its own," Zhuzhen murmured in surprise. "That's a fine greeting. Do you suppose that's supposed to be an invitation?"
The interior was dark, and the blast of air that had come from the doors' opening was full of dust. I hesitated before nodding to Zhuzhen.
My biggest fear was that the door would act as the Zhaoyang gate had--that it would let anyone in, but no one out. As we walked inside I kept glancing back at the door, wondering when it would slam shut, but it remained open. It was a small relief. Zhuzhen had one foot on a large staircase when I gasped and spun around.
For a moment I thought the doors had started to close, but that was not the case; there was something else I was feeling. I sensed something moving above the door, but when I looked there was nothing.
"What's the matter, Alice? What made you turn around all of the sudden?"
I turned sideways, torn between the doors and Zhuzhen. "I felt someone pass behind us…"
"You felt someone? But there's no one there."
That couldn't be right though. Someone must have opened those doors for us. Unless, perhaps they were enchanted...I shook my head and followed Zhuzhen as he walked on again.
The castle looked normal on the outside, but the inside was a different matter. For one thing, there was a resting circle, and there was usually only one path to follow, as the only two doors we found were locked. Hopeful, we tried walking away from both, but neither opened mysteriously as the entrance doors had. The hallways were bare of ornamentation, except for one which had ornate chest at the end of it. The chest's contents were aged and lined with dust, but there was one Thera seed that seemed in perfect condition--once it had been washed off with a little water.
We were just approaching a small set of stairs when I could feel it; there was someone very close to us, watching us. "It--it happened again," I told Zhuzhen.
"What?" Zhuzhen exclaimed. He looked around, but he couldn't seem to find anything. "What's wrong?"
This was maddening. Why could I feel it, but Zhuzhen, an Adept, couldn't? "Who's there?" I shouted, my voice echoing off the stone walls. "I know you're watching! Show yourself!"
"I don't feel a thing...where is it?" he asked.
I concentrated, trying to pinpoint the presence so I could show Master Zhuzhen, but at the same time I felt it going farther away... "It's gone again."
"You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
My foot stamped the ground hard as I turned to Zhuzhen. "Do you think I would joke about this?"
"All right, all right," he said, shaking his head. "Do you have an idea where it went?"
"Down the stairs," I answered. The downward path led to a set of doors which, thankfully, opened when the two of us pushed on them hard. I took the first step into the darkness, and used my magic to make a light.
Instantly, what seemed at least a dozen bats flew out, screeching as they bit and scratched. I screamed and hit only twice with my Tome of the Sun before they completely overwhelmed me. There were so many of them all around, I didn't know where to start, and blood already ran freely down my neck.
"Alice! Get behind the door!"
I swung my tome wildly as I backed away, hitting few of the beasts but forcing them to stay away. Zhuzhen pushed me behind the door, where I fell down. My hand came up to my neck and the sting of pain drew it away, covered with blood. I was so distracted with how much bleeding there was, I only registered Zhuzhen casting his spell because of how hot the air became.
"There...they're gone," Zhuzhen said. He peered around the door and looked at me. "You're a real mess."
"I'm fine," I murmured. "I just need to--" I raised my hand to my neck and started a healing incantation.
The next thing I knew, I was on my back, my head was pounding, and Zhuzhen's face floated overhead. "As a general rule, don't try healing yourself when you're dizzy," he told me.
"I...fainted?"
He helped me sit up. "You were out for a few minutes. Do you need to rest?"
"I don't think we should." I moved to stand, but with a firm hand on my shoulder Zhuzhen made it clear he wanted me to sit a while longer. I looked up at him. "We need to find that person before he or she gets away."
Zhuzhen nodded grudgingly. "You need to eat first though, to get your energy back."
He passed me an apple from our sack, and I managed to choke down the ancient Thera seed we had found with water. To my surprise it was just as good as ever, and we both entered the basement.
There was little light here, but I could see coffins on both sides. As we proceeded further, Zhuzhen's flame illuminated eight coffins in total, four on each side. We walked up a small set of stairs and found a ninth coffin, larger, more ornate--and open.
"Is this an underground chapel?" I wondered. "This coffin is open."
Zhuzhen stroked a finger along the inside of the coffin, which came up free of dust. He hmphed. "I guess it means this really is a vampire castle, just like that lady Michelle was saying."
Looking inside the old coffin, I could see a deep indent in the cushioning where a body had rested. "But… I don't feel any evil here like I did in Bistritz," I said hesitantly. "Instead… I feel eternal silence here, as if this place has been cut off from the rest of the world. Only eternity exists here… no sadness or hate." If this was what vampires felt, this strange sense of calm, could they really be so horrible? I'd always thought of them as malicious creatures...
"Hey!" Zhuzhen's voice broke me out of my thoughts as he turned around. "There's someone there! Hellooo! Are you the lord of the castle Nina was talking about?"
The person stood only a few feet away from us, I could feel him so close, and I realized he was...chuckling? We amused him. He had been lingering by us this entire time because he was curious about us.
But, now that he knew we were aware of him, he turned around and walked away. "Please, wait!" I shouted. It seemed he did, for an instant. We heard something hit the floor, and both of us ran forward to see what it was.
It was not the invisible man, but a dead one. The corpse was old, and it looked as though he had died of starvation and exhaustion, rather than of any violent cause. There were words above him, marked on the wall.
"'Raise your voice in prayer'," I read aloud, knowing Zhuzhen had difficulty reading English. "'Pray for new writing to be turned into old...so long as the eight flames remain unlit, the door to the throne will not open. Offer up thy prayers...'"
"So we're supposed to pray here?" Zhuzhen said. "And the 'door to the throne' must be one of the doors we couldn't get through."
"Probably...but why did this man die down here?" I wondered. "Was he ill or..." An awful idea occurred to me, and I raced to the doors before saying any more. The doors had been open when we came in, but now they were closed, and remained closed no matter how hard I pushed. "We're trapped, Zhuzhen."
The Adept nodded, his expression quite calm. "It makes sense. This seems like a riddle that was put in place to keep out trespassers...and probably punish them too."
Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I looked around the room. Each casket had a torch next to it, unlit. The larger ninth one did not, making eight torches total. "The 'flames' must mean the torches...so I suppose we have to pray in front of each coffin."
But if it was that simple, why had that man died down here? It seemed like he had been the one to write the clue...
I walked to the coffin closest to us and looked down at it. The ornate engraving said Maria rested in here, but after seeing the open coffin I wasn't so sure. Still, as Zhuzhen stood behind me, I closed my eyes and prayed.
I stumbled a bit, wondering what exactly I should say, but I remembered to include asking for the flame to light and new writing be turned into old...even though the lettering before me seemed to be already ancient.
As I opened my eyes, the torch lit, flames coming from nowhere to lick at the air. Relieved that it wasn't so hard after all, I turned to Zhuzhen and cried out as there was a huge eruption of flame in the air.
When it vanished, the Adept gave me an embarrassed grin. "I wanted to see if magic would work as well as prayer." It seemed that it didn't; though his flame spells were powerful, the torch which had been at the center of the explosion seemed untouched. "Looks like only prayer'll do."
I nodded, my heart fluttering, wondering if Zhuzhen's attempt at bypassing the trial would have dire effects. At the next coffin though, the torch still lit--and then without any warning, both torches went out.
My breath escaped me for a moment. Had we really done something wrong? Then I sensed an enchantment behind me, and I turned around to see that Zhuzhen had prayed to light a torch on his side. The torches were still lighting...then why had my two gone out?
There must be an order in this. 'Pray for new writing to be turned into old'...was that a clue in itself? The newest writing would be those who were last laid to rest here...so perhaps we were supposed to go from most recently died on back...or maybe it was reversed...but how on earth would we know which ones had died first or last?
I sighed and sat down, thinking about it. There were eight coffins we could choose, and we'd have to choose the one first in the sequence, and then from the remaining seven, the second, and then from six the third...I went on with this computation until realizing there were forty thousand, three hundred and twenty possibilities and only one was right. Oh God, no wonder that man had died down here.
"Eh?" Zhuzhen's exclamation prompted me to look up just in time to see his two torches wink out.
"We're doing this wrong, Zhuzhen," I said, resting my head against the coffin behind me. "They need to be lit in a specific order."
"And, um, what's the order?"
"I don't know." Zhuzhen sat down across from me. "I think the clue is in turning new writing into old. Maybe the ones who were buried last go before the ones who were buried first."
"And how do we tell that?" The Adept chuckled, but it was a despondent sound. "They all look old."
"There aren't any dates either." I chewed my lip and then stood. "I'll check that message again and see if there's anything else."
Raise your voice in prayer!
Pray for new writing to be turned into old!
So long as the eight flames remain unlit, the door to the throne will not open!
Offer up thy prayers!
There was nothing else to it. I searched high and low, even pushing the body aside with my tome to make sure it wasn't obscuring any lettering. No further hints were given.
How would I determine the newest ones then? I eyed the coffins, wondering. If this had been built as a chapel...the oldest ones would most likely be those in the back, and the newest would be towards the front.
Since I had started at Maria's last time, this time I went to Leon's coffin and prayed. The flame went and I proceeded to Maria's. To my pleasant surprise this flame lit as well and both continued to burn. I then went to the next row of coffins and prayed in front of Frank's. The third torch lit--and then all three were snuffed out.
Edgar must have been buried after Frank, I thought, and repeated the process, going from Maria's coffin to Edgar's. Again all three torches were extinguished. My theory had been completely wrong.
I looked over to Zhuzhen, who was peering at the names on the last row of coffins. He was frowning over one, apparently having a hard time reading it. "A...b..." he said as he tried to decipher the lettering.
"Abel," I read aloud for him. Could this really be a vampire castle? It seemed strange for a vampire to have a biblical name such as the first son of Adam and Eve.
Another thought came to me, making me frown. New to old...or first to last? "Abel"...and A was the first letter in the alphabet...Maria's coffin had lit after Leon's, but after that neither Edgar's nor Frank's torch would light...
"Zhuzhen, can you pray at this coffin?" I asked.
He smiled at me. "You've got an idea?"
"I'll be dumbfounded if this actually works," I muttered, scanning the remaining coffins. I returned to Edgar's coffin and prayed--and the torch lit this time. The same thing happened at Frank's. If this was merely coincidence, it was amazing...and if it was actually alphabetical...
"Now the coffin behind you," I called to him, seeing that it bore the name Helen. Once he was done I went on to Leon and Maria.
All six torches had lit. This had gone too far to be coincidence. But why bother to make a trial based on alphabetical order? It made no sense, anyone could figure it out! ...but the corpse seemed to suggest otherwise...
"Zhuzhen, pray at the one next to you," I said, pointing to indicate Robin's coffin, "and then at the coffin across from it."
The doors opened again after he had prayed before Steven's coffin, and we both took off before the doors could decide to close again. Then, then I shook my head. "The alphabet. I simply can't believe it."
"You sound upset that we're actually out."
"No, I'm not. Just..." Well, he had a point. It was a stupid thing to be upset over. "It said once the flames were lit, the door to the throne would open. Let's go back and check."
We walked to the first door we came across and stopped. When we had first passed by it both of us had noticed a sinister aura...but now, as Zhuzhen pushed the door, I also noticed the warmth of the cross at my neck. It was hot, but not unpleasant, reminding me of the feeling hot chocolate made in the stomach.
"Hm, this can't be it, because it's not opening," Zhuzhen grumbled, whacking it with his staff to show his irritation.
"That doesn't seem right though. The aura past here is very powerful." I was rather distracted as I spoke, wondering why Anne's cross was reacting in a vampire castle.
However, the door could not be opened and so we had to go to the other door. As soon as Zhuzhen put his hand on it, it swung open with barely a squeak, letting us in.
The room was dark, but by the moonlight coming in the large windows we could see paintings and unlit candles, as well as a throne set between the two windows.
"Oh," I breathed, walking closer to a beautiful painting of a family. They all looked so happy, though...the mother's teeth seemed unusually pointed. Was that just the moonlight, or was she really...?
"Dead end..." Zhuzhen muttered. "For all its splendor, it's an awfully bleak room isn't it?"
"It seems empty." Yet when I looked at the throne, I realized that, like the open coffin in the basement, there was no dust on it. "But someone definitely lives here."
Zhuzhen shrugged, his monocle glinting moonlight as he turned his head this way and that. "Well, whoever it is, they're not in at the moment."
"Yes, you're right."
"Are you looking for someone, my pretty young lass?"
I jumped, having not even sensed the presence which had just entered the room. There was a snap of fingers and all the candles blazed, warm light washing over the room.
"Well, well! A most interesting welcome," Zhuzhen said.
From the voice, it seemed to be the same man who had been chuckling at Zhuzhen and me before. Not a malicious man, but perhaps not benevolent either. It'd be better not to upset him, so I decided to be polite and introduce myself. "I am Alice, and this is Zhuzhen, a monk," I told him. "Are you the master of this castle?"
"Yes, I am." The air before us shifted and suddenly the man became visible. His physical stature was large, as he was tall, broad-shouldered, and well-built, which troubled me as I perceived the sword at his side. His tone was courteous enough, but at the same time I edged away, hoping he wouldn't notice. "However, it seems that I dozed off for a time and the castle forgot all about me. I finally awoke to find a band of monsters roaming the castle, and a pesky demon in the tower." He shook his head, obviously displeased by this discovery. I wasn't too pleased with my discovery either; his aura did not seem human, and added to the way he was talking about his sleep I was convinced he was a vampire. Yet when he smiled at me, the warmth seemed genuine. "Now, Alice, what brings you two to my humble abode?"
"We're here to investigate the monster attacks in Bistritz," I said. It never even occurred to me that I should perhaps lie so he didn't realize we suspected him. My mind was still preoccupied by the fact that there was a real vampire standing right in front of me. "Did you wake up about the same time they started?"
It was immediately after the words came out that I realized I had basically accused him. Out went the idea of keeping him complacent with pleasantries. If he was going to get angry with us, it would be now. I gripped my bible, aware that it probably would have been better to challenge him somewhere else, anywhere besides his own castle.
But he didn't get upset. He took the question very calmly, murmuring, "Ahh, so that's it." His green eyes seemed amused. "You suspected me of setting the monsters upon the village. So, you came to question me about it, and kill me if your suspicions were true, did you not?"
"Exactly. Glad we've reach an understanding so quickly, Mr. See-Through Man," Zhuzhen replied, lifting up his staff. "So? Are you the master of the monsters?"
The blond shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said, walking up to the throne and seating himself on it. "Neither I nor my ancestors have ever harmed the people of our domain. If I did that, my grandfathers would come flying out of those caskets you saw and chew me out all night."
"You must be a vampire," I said; it no longer seemed accusing, as he had practically admitted it. "Are you a good vampire, like Nina believes?"
He tossed back his head and laughed. "A good vampire? Yes, I am a vampire, and it is true that not all vampires are evil." He placed his elbow on one arm of the throne and propped his chin on his hand, looking straight at me with his strange smile. "It is the same with humans, is it not? There are good people and there are bad people."
He was perfectly right; Zhuzhen and I both knew that very well from our experiences in Asia. The Adept sighed and lowered his weapon.
"I was ready to fight, but you just took the wind out of my sails. If it's not you, who's behind the monster attacks on Bistritz?"
The vampire shrugged. "I don't know any more than you do, but if the village is under attack, that certainly cannot go ignored." He stood and walked back to us. "As it happens, I've just been dying of boredom around here, so how about I help you out?"
The offer startled me. While he might not be violent, at the same time I hadn't expected a vampire to care about human problems. "You'd help us?"
"Sure," he said. "It'll be nice to see my cute little friend in the village again. Shall we be going then?"
Zhuzhen caught my eye and shrugged. He was not yet decided, but seemed to think the vampire was worth the risk. "You certainly are an unusual man. What's your name, anyways?"
"My name? Oh my," he exclaimed, "How many years has it been since I gave anyone my name, I wonder? My name is Keith Valentine, but please, just call me Keith."
I smiled, slowly adjusting to the flash of sharp incisors in his smiles. "All right, Keith. Let's get to work."
"Now, look here," Zhuzhen said firmly. "I understand vampires suck human blood. You'd better not chomp into our necks or anything."
For a second time I was worried we had just offended Keith and that he might become violent. But proving me wrong again, the vampire laughed. "I suppose the books say all sorts of curious and silly things about us. But true vampires aren't like that. Daylight and crosses don't bother me a bit. Nor garlic. We may be 'undead' but that doesn't mean we can't be killed. We're just tougher than humans."
"Hmmm. A most curious constitution you have. I wonder whether being that way is boon or bane. At any rate, it's good to have you with us." Keith's response seemed to have calmed Zhuzhen's worries, and as I could feel no malice from the vampire I had to agree: it was good to have him with us.
"The pleasure is all mine," he replied graciously, and led us as we walked out of the room.
"Oh...Keith, could I ask you something?" When the vampire nodded, I walked ahead of him, returning to the door that was still locked. "If you don't mind me asking, what's in here?" I said. "At first I thought it might be a vampire, but your aura seems very different from it..." Anne's cross had grown warm again, and I touched it through the blouse, bewildered.
"Aha, you found him." Keith shook his head, blond locks flying everywhere. His hair was very long for a man, perhaps because of the duration of his sleep. I wondered if I should loan him my ribbon to keep his hair out of his face until he could get it cut. "That is the tower. A fearsome demon has taken residence on the top floor. I really don't know what to do. He is much stronger than he looks, so I decided to seal him off like this."
Why was Anne's cross reacting to a demon? And this one...I had never sensed something as strong as this, not since Dehuai's god ravaged Shanghai...
A month ago, a person with big wings flew toward the castle!
"Yuri!" I gasped. Nina's description matched the fallen god, and it explained why Anne's cross was almost burning against my skin. It wasn't reacting to the demon, but to her son underneath.
"Wait a minute. Alice? You mean you think this is..."
"I don't think it," I said, turning to Zhuzhen, "I know it. Yuri is here."
The expression on his face was indecipherable, and not even my Demon Eyes could make sense of the flood of emotions within him. I was overwhelmed as well with relief and joy, Anne's emotions. And perhaps...some of it was my own.
There was a moment of silence as Zhuzhen stared at the door, trying to make sense of this. "Then," he said quietly, directing his question to Keith instead of me, "is it possible that he is the one controlling the monsters?"
"No! You're wrong!" I yelled. My voice echoed off the walls, denying the thought of it over and over. The cross's warmth had turned into a burning fire, furious that he would accuse Yuri of such horrible things. He was just a baby, a little boy--
No, I reminded myself, he's grown now. He calls himself Sasha. The accusation was logical, as Sasha had come here, fused with Dehuai's god, and for all we knew had remained fused with it for the past six months. If that had been the case, he was insane, and the unthinkable became possible, even likely. I shuddered and looked at Zhuzhen's shocked face. Despite my reasoning, anger still clutched at my insides. "I'm sorry, Zhuzhen," I whispered. Slowly, my hands relaxed from the fists they had made. "I don't know what came over me."
I'd never known Anne's cross could affect me so much. Should I--should I take it off? My fingers brushed the chain, but I hadn't made a decision before Keith finally spoke.
"I am inclined to agree with Alice. While it is true the demon is hostile to whomever should intrude upon him, at the same time he has been content to remain in the cell he inhabits in the tower. He has hardly moved from there since arriving." At this Keith chuckled. "My brother and I mistook it as a sign that the demon was wounded, and attempted to drive it off. Needless to say, the attempt was futile and we both ended up badly hurt. But, other than humbling our pride, the demon has done nothing harmful. It is simply a nuisance."
"It's not a threat to anyone?"
"It does not move out of the tower, and everyone in the clan knows not to enter it for the time being. I would say there is no immediate threat."
I wetted my lips, still shaken by what had just happened. "Then it would probably be best," I said hesitantly, "to go back to Bistritz and investigate the monsters further. If he's not causing any trouble, there's no need to bother him..."
"For now," replied Zhuzhen. "We still need to find out what state he's in, and what he's thinking." And the Adept had a somewhat curious expression as he spoke, perhaps trying to discern what I was thinking too.
"So, if I am not intruding...how is it that you two know him?" Keith asked as we exited Blue Castle.
Zhuzhen's answer was brief. "He fought alongside us in China, because we had a common goal."
"He's saved me twice," I told Keith. "If he needs help, I want to help him."
"He didn't help you out of the goodness of his heart," I heard Zhuzhen mutter.
My lips pressed close. I could not trust Anne's emotions, once again welling up at his words, and I waited until I had chosen my words to use them. "I know that, Zhuzhen. I've known it ever since Shanghai, and suspected it even earlier. Even still...I don't think it's wrong to want to help him."
Zhuzhen stopped and turned towards me. His face was relaxed, except for the small frown. "You are going to get your heart broken, Alice."
I hugged my arms around me. "I don't--I don't care for him in that way." It was Anne who cared for him so deeply; I wanted to help him because—because Anne's cross had shown me he still had the potential to be a good person. "But thank you for your concern, Master Zhuzhen."
He shook his head, but had nothing else to say. I was glad, as it was already hard enough leaving Blue Castle. Each step I took was another step away from Yuri, and the spirit within the cross seemed to be all too aware of it. I knew we were returning as soon as we solved the mystery of Bistritz's attacks, but it was still hard to will down the tears that came to my eyes.
Author's Note: Thanks to Puffy, who helped me find the clue for the coffin puzzle when I was stuck without a backup save. And many thanks to gutterfied for the Shadow Hearts gamescript.