Read Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane Online
Authors: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Tags: #Fantasy, #Fiction
Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane (9 page)
“Listen—and listen good,” Granny said, hammering the words into the face of the young
girl gazing back at her absentmindedly. “You’re valuable merchandise to me. It’d be
a hell of a thing if you went off and damaged yourself now. I’ve got a duty to deliver
you to your home without a mark on you.
I’m
responsible for you. And I’ve always met my responsibilities. Now, I’m not about
to let you blemish my tidy reputation, either. You hear me? The next time you pull
something like this, I’ll forget all about bringing you home and I’ll kill you myself.
You remember that!”
Tae waited until the old woman had finished her threats. “Please, just kill me,” the
girl then mumbled.
It took Granny a few seconds to realize what she’d just heard. “What did you say?”
“I never even wanted to go home in the first place. So, if there’s anything you don’t
like about me, go ahead and kill me here and now.” Though her tone was hollow, a resolute
will lay behind it.
“So, you don’t wanna go home then?” Granny said, sounding somewhat obtuse. She wasn’t
badly flustered. In fact, the look she gave Tae was almost gentle.
Tae was silent. A great weight had suddenly been lifted from her chest.
“Swear to me you won’t try any more of this foolishness,” Granny bade her in a low
voice.
The girl’s pale visage was still aimed at the floor. For the longest time, the two
of them simply stood there.
Clucking her tongue, the old woman said, “You’re an obstinate one. But let me make
it perfectly clear I’m pretty obstinate myself about you not doing anything else stupid.
I don’t care if you try hanging yourself or drinking poison—I’ll bring you back to
life and deliver you home. I’m not about to let a slip of a girl like you soil the
name of Granny Viper. The Nobility did something to you, didn’t they?”
Tae’s face shot up. “Don’t ask me about that,” she said.
“Good enough,” the old woman said with a nod. “It seems just asking you was effective.
Well, I suppose if you’ve come around that much, you’re not likely to do away with
yourself so easily. Until we can get across this desert, just keep remembering all
the bad things that happened to you.”
“As far as memories go—I don’t really have any.”
“Is that a fact? Then you just have to think about what lies ahead. A person can live
without memories if need be.”
Tae’s eyes shot up to the old woman’s face. “Is that what you do, Mrs. Viper?”
“Spare me,” Granny Viper said with an exaggerated frown. “I’ve got hopes and dreams,
too, you know. I’m out to make a load of money quick, then open myself a fabric store.”
“A fabric store?” Tae said with amazement.
“Yep. It may not look like it now, but I have really fine taste in clothes. See, before
I got into this line of work, I had a place in the Capital. I always made children’s
clothing, and eventually I even made a business out of it.”
“A fabric store,” Tae muttered once more.
“Traveling together all this time, I’ve noticed you like kids, don’t you?” Granny
said in a gentle tone. “And since we’re on the subject of fabric, you may as well
know there’s a sewing machine in the storage compartment under your bed. You can use
it if you like.”
“Can I really?”
“You can’t wear that miserable puss forever. I just said I’d let you borrow my precious
sewing machine, and I’ve never let anyone touch it before. Have to get you to cheer
up, anyway. You sure look happy as a pig in slop, but are you sure you know how to
use a sewing machine now?”
“When I was back home, I used one a little bit.”
“Then give it a shot. But I’m not about to let you use it for free. After all, it
wears down on the parts. I was thinking if you had the know-how, I’d have you make
me a children’s outfit.” Indicating the far end of the wagon with her left hand, Granny
said, “The material’s in there. But if you make a mess of it, your family will have
to reimburse me when I turn you over. Okay?”
Not waiting for a response, Granny turned her back. Once she’d reached the door, she
looked back.
“I understand the Vampire Hunter might’ve said some callous things, but don’t let
it get to you. He might wear a sour puss all the time, but he’s not the kind to bully
folks. However, he does have to say some hard things to stay true to himself. It’s
a hard life, being so tough on yourself like that. And I hear it’s a lot worse in
his case. If you could get inside his skin, it’d be so sad in there it’d kill the
likes of you or me.”
Tae didn’t know what to say.
“Oh, I saw our new arrival coming out of here earlier,” the old woman continued. “What
was he up to in here?”
“Not a thing. He just came in to cheer me up, is all.”
“Hmm, must be nice being a pretty young thing. But I’ll have to have a word with him.
I can’t have you getting all infested with bugs and such.”
Granny stepped out of the wagon. A figure in black stood right there.
“Heard us, did you?” the old woman asked.
Not answering, D just put his hand to his traveler’s hat and tugged the brim down
a bit.
“Here I was, thinking you’re cold as ice, and then you go and do something all considerate
like coming out from the shade under the wagon for me. You really are worried about
the girl, aren’t you?”
“Something strange is happening to the desert,” D said tersely.
Granny’s expression changed. “What?” she asked in equally terse fashion.
“I don’t know. Though something’s clearly not right, I can’t be certain just what
it is.”
“You saying we should move out, then?”
D didn’t answer her, and Granny soon fell silent, too. They’d come to a conclusion
about that earlier. For the time being, they could merely wait. D’s eyes shifted ever
so slightly to the east.
“What is it?” Granny asked, unable to see anything there.
“I hear a sewing machine.”
“Looks like she’s finally turned around,” Granny said with a wry smile. “Now all we
have to do is get out of this desert and get away from you.”
“From me?”
“I’m sure you’re not so thickheaded as to miss what I’m driving at. You’re a dangerous
man, not just for that girl, but for all women. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?
If they haven’t, it’s because one look at you scrambles their brains.”
The old woman stared at D’s face, waiting for some reaction. Even out in the sunlight,
he looked as beautiful as a crystal that’d formed somewhere in the darkness and then
been worked by the chisel of the Almighty. A weird sensation surged up from Granny’s
lower half, making her shake. The praise of the present world meant nothing to this
young man. Only those dead and removed from the material world could pay him his due.
“‘There’s no place like home,’” D said dispassionately. “At least, that’s the maxim
of travelers on the Frontier. But is that really the case?”
“I don’t necessarily know how relaxing it’ll be, but if you’ve got one, it’s generally
best you go back to it. You’re talking about the girl, aren’t you? You trying to suggest
I shouldn’t bring her home?”
“Are there any hidden who’ve settled back at home after you delivered them?” the Hunter
asked.
“I wouldn’t know,” Granny said, turning away disdainfully. “I’m only responsible for
’em until I get ’em home. But once they’re there, it’s somebody else’s problem, you
see. I’m not really in a position to provide maintenance and upkeep, you know.”
“I met one once,” D said. His darkness-hued words melted in the sunlight.
Granny gazed vacantly at his beautiful countenance. Unrestrained curiosity and excitement
colored her eyes. She couldn’t conceive of this young man ever turning his thoughts
to the past.
“It was in a village in a southwestern sector of the Frontier. Apparently, he’d been
run out of town by the whole community. This boy of about eight was freezing to death
by the banks of the river. Not long after I heard the particulars, he died.”
“He must’ve done something or other, right?”
“Don’t you see?” said the Hunter.
“No, I don’t.”
“He didn’t do anything at all.”
“Is that so? Then, why would they do that?” Granny asked, seeming a bit peeved.
“The boy had been with the Nobility for three months. That was all. A doctor had even
verified there was nothing out of the ordinary. He could walk in the daylight, too.
And in six months with him, his parents hadn’t noticed any strange symptoms.”
Granny was at a loss for words.
“However, a certain woman had her suspicions about him, and she went to the mayor
and the leader of the Vigilance Committee and complained to them that she’d been bitten.
Though they could tell at a glance that the wound had been faked, the two men chose
to interpret it differently.”
“They wanted to get rid of a nuisance, eh?”
“Within the hour, the whole village was beating down the boy’s door. His father was
killed trying to stop them, and the house was put to the torch.”
“How awful,” Granny said, shrugging her shoulders coldly. Tilting her head to one
side, she added, “But I’m a bit surprised a lad at death’s door could hold out long
enough to tell you such an involved tale.”
“The explanation came from his mother, who was right by his side.”
“So, he had his mum there at the very end to look after him, did he? Well, that’s
something, isn’t it?”
“She was the same woman who’d tipped off the mayor.”
White sunlight held the two of them in its embrace. The world was unspeakably peaceful.
Granny awkwardly made her way over to the wagon. “Well, then. We don’t have the faintest
clue what’s bound to happen, but I warrant the safe thing to do is have everything
ready for departure. You said there was something strange out there, but do you think
it’ll be headed this way soon?”
“I don’t know,” D said, coming out of the shadows.
Granny casually remarked, “I hear it hurts you dhampirs quite a bit to be out in the
sunlight. If someone wanted to kill you, daytime would really be the only time to
do it. I guess you really can’t fight your blood—” the crone said, stopping and clamping
one hand over her own mouth mid-sentence.
Her mouth may have been covered, but her feelings showed in her eyes. They were laughing.
Laughing maliciously.
Not seeming the least bit bothered, D walked out onto the sea of sand.
“Er, pardon me,” Lance said, coming out from behind the rocks to the Hunter’s left.
Apparently, he’d been keeping out of the sun there ever since Tae had chased him off.
D didn’t stop walking, so Lance jogged after him. “Your name’s D, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Back in my village, folks used to say that out on the Frontier there was this one
incredible Vampire Hunter who was unbelievably handsome. That’d be you, wouldn’t it?
In which case, the girl and the old woman are connected to your business, right? I
mean, I don’t know the first thing about this. One of them’s unbelievably gloomy,
and the other’s real testy. Say, speaking of the girl—she wouldn’t happen to be one
of
the hidden
, would she?”
“What if she is?” D asked as he walked.
“Hey, it doesn’t matter to me. But shouldn’t you be comforting her or something? She’s
had it bad enough up till now, and no matter where she goes, folks will give her a
hard time if they find out what happened to her. The least you could do is be nice
to her until she gets where she’s going.”
D stopped in his tracks and looked at Lance. “And why are you telling me this?” he
asked.
Lance diverted his gaze. His cheeks wore a thin flush—even men blushed when they were
subjected to D’s gaze. Coughing, he replied, “Well, because you’re the only one for
the job. Girls her age always fall for the good-looking guys. I guarantee you that.
And given that, you’re far and away the top out of the three men here. Why don’t you
spend some time with her? I saw her crying earlier. A girl like her doesn’t deserve
to suffer like that.”
D watched the man without saying a word. Soon he turned to face the desert. It was
an endless sea of sand. “Don’t leave this spot,” he told Lance in a low voice.
Leaving the other man behind as he nodded his agreement, the Hunter advanced about
twenty paces, and then stopped. As his face slowly scanned to his right and to his
left, there wasn’t a trace of tension on it.
“Well, there’s something wrong here, and then again there isn’t,” said a hoarse voice
that slipped from the vicinity of his left hand. “But something’s sure to happen all
right. Better be damn careful.”
At that instant, darkness hid the sky. D’s coat had fluttered out around him. As he
whipped around, his eyes found nothing. There was naught but waves of sand dunes slumbering
out in the white sunlight. Lance wasn’t there, nor was the old woman and her wagon.
Even the rocky mound was gone.
“Oh, boy,” D’s left hand moaned. “Just perfect. We’ve been hit with another psi attack.”
CHAPTER 4
.
I
.
How strong is the attack?” D asked, not sounding at all distressed.
“As if you couldn’t tell already. Well, I’d say it’s about five thousand rigels on
the Noble scale. Enough to drive the entire population of a city mad in a millisecond.”
“The desert doesn’t pull any punches.”
“You said it,” the laughter-tinged voice concurred. Both he and the Hunter had far
more nerve than any human.
The sound of the wind died out.
D looked down at his feet; waves were lapping at them. His entire field of view was
filled by an expanse of deep blue sea. Crests broke here and there, turning the rays
of the sun into droplets of light. It looked as though the trip across it would span
thousands of miles.
“And the purpose of all this—well, I guess it’s to gauge your abilities. What are
you gonna do?”
Giving no reply to the voice’s query, D stood there. His legs then went into motion.
The waves pulled away. Before the sea could help it, the Hunter was waist-deep in
the water. The waves were sensors, and their very movements most likely served to
relay the results of this test.
“Very interesting,” the voice chortled. “So, the desert is a sea, then? Seems it’s
trying to surprise you, but we’ll see who gets a surprise.”
Even before the voice had finished speaking, the veracity of its claim became evident.
A “feeling” that certainly seemed like astonishment raced across the surface of the
sea around D. Silence shrouded the world.
“Looks like it doesn’t know quite what to make of you,” the voice said, seemingly
beside itself with joy. “It’s times like these it pays to stick around with you. So,
what move will it make?”
D supplied the answer. He was gazing at one spot in the sea. A white wake was drawing
closer at a considerable speed.
“Here it comes. There’s a shark in the water.”
Whether or not D knew what the voice was pointing out, he remained stock-still.
The range was about fifty yards. Forty yards . . . Thirty . . . Twenty . . .
The wake faded into nothingness. Whatever had been knifing through the surface must’ve
gone back underwater.
“Gotta stay on your toes. Your opponent’s only an illusion,” the voice told D. “You’ll
have to beat it with just your psyche. Carving it up won’t do you any good.”
Suddenly, the surface of the water bubbled up. The dark blue form of a fish broke
the surface as it leapt into the air. It was a streamlined behemoth, nearly twelve
feet long and weighing a good five hundred pounds. The front end had a gigantic mouth
open wide and a red gullet. The teeth were like white spearheads.
A flash of silver tore through the entire body. D ducked ever so slightly, and the
colossal fish split in two over his head, dropping into the water with an incredible
plume of spray. Watery beads reflecting the white sunlight quickly turned to purple
with the fresh blood spilling from the beast.
However, D’s eyes were drawn to the two bloody trails running behind the creature.
The trails had drawn closer together almost instantly, converging to form a single
wake that began leisurely circling D.
“Looks like the other side’s no slouch, either,” the voice said, its tone tense. “If
your mental powers beat it, we should’ve gone back where we were the second you sliced
into that thing. But since it didn’t play out that way, this could be trouble. You
can kill this thing over and over, and it’ll just keep coming.”
D’s reply was placid. “Still, it has to die eventually. Even if it’s just an illusion.”
“Kill a dream?” the voice snickered. “I suppose
you
probably could, at that. Here it comes!”
The wake died out; D felt the wall of water pushing against his lower body. Apparently
his foe intended to attack from underwater. Deadly as D’s blade might be, its speed
and power would be halved when underwater. In that respect, the phantasmal sea would
be real enough.
D sank below the surface. Shifting his sword to his left hip, the Hunter was poised
like those who drew and struck from the waist. The movements of the water relayed
the speed and distance of his foe—and for a second, a flash of crimson zipped right
by D. In stark contrast to the blue sky, the streak didn’t fade for the longest time.
The Hunter’s submerged foe writhed in agony.
A second later, the world went black.
His long, gorgeous shadow stretched across the white sands.
“Wow,” the voice said in a hushed tone. “Good work. But who in the world did that
. . . ?”
D turned to face the person he sensed coming up behind him.
“You okay?” Granny asked, still breathing heavily as she held the blunderbuss ready.
“You were acting kind of funny, and the sand sort of welled up out there and was making
a beeline for you, so I put a round into it. What the hell was that thing anyway?”
“A shark.”
“Huh?” the old woman said, her eyes wide in disbelief.
D turned back to the rocky mound as if nothing had happened at all.
Lance was still standing where the Hunter had left him. “What in the world—” he muttered
like a mental defective, wiping the sweat from his brow. “You were standing there
stock-still the whole time, so I figured you were up to something, and then all of
a sudden you pulled out your sword and
Whap
! Of course, I couldn’t exactly catch you drawing your blade, though. What on earth
did you lay into?”
“A shark.”
“What?!” Lance exclaimed, mouth dropping open.
“You mean to say you didn’t see it?”
“Nope.”
D turned his back to the man.
“What’ll we do next?” Granny asked apprehensively.
“We wait.” And with that alone as his reply, D returned to the cave.
.
Evening came. But something was missing: Clay. He’d gone out, but had never returned.
“What do you suppose happened to him?” Granny said with seeming concern, but she was
actually more worried about losing some of their muscle than about Clay’s safety as
such. D didn’t seem to care much at all. “You think maybe the desert finished him
off? Well? Do you?” the old woman asked. “I don’t believe this! If you’re not the
coldest customer ever. We’re all in this together now. The least you could do is show
a little concern, you know.”
“You took it upon yourselves to follow me,” D said. He’d merged with the darkness
in the depths of the cave. The lamp Granny had in her hand was the only source of
light, and it threw an orange veil over her surroundings.
“True enough,” the crone replied, “but you could come up with a little nicer way of
putting it, I’m sure. If push comes to shove, you plan on taking off and leaving us
behind?”
“It’s up to you whether you come or not. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving. That’s
it.”
“Curse you,” Granny shouted, stomping her feet in anger. “I’m not out here alone,
you know. You mean to tell me you’re not worried about Tae?”
“How is she?”
“See! I just knew you were!” Granny exclaimed, breaking into a grin at her own cleverness.
“I don’t care how cold you might look; you’ve got redder human blood running in your
veins than any of us. And it’s warm, too. My guess is it’s a lot warmer than most
folks’. Relax. The girl’s been fixed on mastering that sewing machine since noontime.
She learned how to use one before, and she’s sure got a knack for it. I warrant she’ll
have an outfit finished pretty soon.”
“What’s she making?” D inquired.
“Actually—” Granny said, hemming and hawing a bit, “—she’s not about to show anyone.”
“If our foe is coming for us, it’ll be tonight. If nothing’s happened by dawn, we’ll
move out. You’re all set, aren’t you?”
“Good to go anytime!”
As Granny replied, someone moved around outside the cave.
“Hey there!” a voice called out.
Jumping nearly three feet in the air, Granny brought her hand to the jar on her hip.
As for D, he must’ve sensed the new arrival, because he didn’t move an inch. It was
Clay.
“Sure took your sweet time coming back, didn’t you?” Granny said sharply, with a trenchant
look that matched her voice. She may have already noticed that something wasn’t right.
“There’s something I want to show you all. Come with me,” Clay said in a tone that
was as stiff as a board. It was clear at a glance he was under some sort of spell.
“It’s come, sure enough. It’s come to get us,” the old woman groaned. “What’ll we
do, D?”
The darkness to the rear took on human form, and Clay turned around and slowly headed
back the way he’d come. D followed after him. He didn’t even glance at Granny.
Outside was a land of darkness.
“Just a second. What about the other two?” the old woman asked Clay.
“They’ve already been taken away.”
Granny’s eyes bulged in their sockets. The fact that their foe could abduct the two
of them without her noticing, let alone D, was simply mind-boggling. Teeth grinding
together fiercely, she reached for her jar with her right hand.
“Later,” D told her.
“Why wait?! If we grab him now, it’ll be easy enough to get him to spill where the
other two are. It goes against my grain to just waltz into whatever the enemy’s got
set up for me.”
“He’s not what we’re up against; whoever’s controlling him is. Break the spell over
him now, and we’ll be left with a man who doesn’t know anything.”
Granny let the strength drain from her form. The Hunter’s assessment of the situation
was sound. Her hand came away from the jar.
The three set off into the desert; there was nothing but sand. The moon was out. With
every step they took, the ground made a strangely plaintive sound. Clay continued
on without hesitation—surely whoever controlled him was also taking care of his sense
of direction.
The rocky mound had long since been swallowed by darkness. They’d walked for perhaps
thirty minutes and then Clay halted.
They were out in the middle of the desert—nothing but the shadows of the three of
them stretched across the silvery sands. Suddenly, there was a voice in D and Granny’s
heads. Neither the sex nor age of the speaker was clear. They couldn’t even tell whether
or not it was an organic being.
I have never encountered beings—humans—like you before. It would appear there are
all manner of things beyond my world.
“What have you done with the others?” Granny shouted as she looked all around. “One
of ’em I could care less about, but the girl’s valuable property of mine. If you’ve
done anything to her, it won’t end well for you.”
I’m currently inspecting the one to which you refer. Quite an interesting human specimen.
“Hmph! If you’re so interested in humans, you had all the time in the world to study
Lance. Oh, I get it. First time you’ve ever seen a girl, right?”
No.
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. Where’s the girl now? You’re gonna give her right
back to me. And then you’re gonna let us go on our way without any more trouble. After
you tell us how to get where we’re headed, of course.”
The voice fell silent. Back out of the darkness came a feeling that someone was mocking
them. But that ended in a heartbeat. A voice deeper than the darkness made sure of
that.
“Are you the desert itself?” D asked, still gazing straight ahead. Unlike Granny,
he wasn’t wound tight. However, the one he addressed knew that if the need arose,
every inch of the Hunter would be transformed into a spring of coiled steel.
Yes
, the voice replied a bit tardily.
“How long have you been sentient?”
I don’t know. But if someone could tell me, I would very much like to know.
“What do you plan on doing with us? Get information from us, or keep us like pets
for the rest of our lives like you did with the man?”
I wouldn’t do that to you. Or rather, I couldn’t. Even if I tried to, you wouldn’t
let me. You’re so dangerous, the other humans can’t begin to compare to you.
“Then what will you do?”
I put the very same question to you.
“Leave.”
Once again, both sides were enveloped by silence. The sandy plain had nothing to say,
but listened intently.
Very well,
the voice said without emotion.
I’m aware it would be extremely dangerous to fight you. I will do nothing, and neither
will you.
“I’m going to leave now.”
Do as you like. I’ll seek the information I desire from the rest of them.
“Hold on there just a minute,” Granny said, throwing a stern gaze at the young man
in black. “Don’t tell me you plan on pulling out and leaving all of us here.”
“I don’t have any plans one way or the other. The rest of you just followed after
me.”
“Okay. Then we’ll follow along after you now, too. You wouldn’t have a problem with
that, would you? And if we run into trouble, help us out.”
Suddenly Granny’s body grew rigid.
I still have business with the rest of you.
The crone’s head rung with same voice D heard.
I’ll dispose of the man for his treachery, but I should like to invest-igate you and
the other two at greater length. Come to me.
“Help me, D!” the old woman shrieked. The sand was up around her ankles. She was sinking.
“D!” Granny cried.
Go in peace
, the voice told D.
I would do nothing that might snuff their lives. These are the precious samples that
will allow me to learn about human beings.
Let me ask you something
, D said without using his voice.
What will you do once you’ve learned about humans?
Say no more, and be gone. You should consider yourself fortunate
to be allowed to leave in one piece.
One more thing—what were those globes and butterflies for?
They were tools to ascertain your whereabouts. When the globes proved ineffective,
I sent the butterflies. On seeing those patterns, the brain gives off special radio
waves.
