The Book of Heroes (40 page)

Keeping one hand on the wall for balance, U-ri walked quickly so as not to fall too far behind. The tunnel twisted from side to side, always going down. While at first the way had been so narrow that U-ri could reach out her hands and touch the walls on either side, the tunnel became wider as she descended. Soon side passages started appearing, as did chairs that had been carved out of the rock walls here and there, next to tiny ledges upon which candles burned. The light of their flickering flames glimmered off of the smooth walls of the tunnel. Saulo stopped and waved for U-ri to join him. She walked up until she stood by his side.

“Wow…” U-ri breathed as she always did when truly amazed. Her voice was almost reluctant to leave her mouth.

She stood on the cusp of a giant, naturally formed hall, with a floor like an inverted ziggurat, descending into a sea of darkness marked by countless pinpoints of candlelight. The hall looked big enough to hold U-ri’s entire elementary school and then some. The path they were on went around it in a descending spiral so deep U-ri couldn’t see the bottom from where she stood.

Bridges wide enough for a man to pass crossed the hall in both directions, shortcuts linking side passages that opened in the cavern walls. A line of men dressed just like Saulo—in black with beads around their necks—was crossing one of those bridges. Some of them carried weighty tomes, others carried bottles. One stopped midway across the bridge, holding up a light to look in their direction. U-ri brought her hands together and lowered her head.

“This cavern was mostly unused while the Katarhar Abbey still stood,” Saulo explained. He peered down into the depths of the cavern. His voice sounded weak, drawn off into the empty space. There were no echoes here. “When the abbey was destroyed, many monks fled to here, and thus were their lives spared. Scriptures, books, and valuable pieces of art from the abbey were carried here as well. More than half were saved from destruction, confiscation, and theft in this way.”

That had all been thirty years ago, Saulo explained.

“The Church of the Haetlands has cracked down on sects such as ours several times throughout history, yet Katarhar Abbey’s remote location meant it was spared for a longer time than most. The round of cleansing where it finally met destruction was a particularly vigorous one for the church.”

“I noticed burn marks among the rubble,” Aju whispered from atop U-ri’s head. “Was there a fire?”

Saulo nodded. “The head abbot was taken and executed together with the more prominent monks from the abbey. In exchange, the many other monks who had been left with no place to go were allowed to dwell here in the abbey ruins—that agreement was the result of a secret contract forged between the church’s inquisitors and our order. Of course, our order still had to pay the church heavily for the right to live on their old property.”

“Does the church still suppress religions like yours?” U-ri asked.

“No. There is an inspection once a year, but it is only a formality.”

The abbey ruins had ceased to be primarily a place of worship and now were largely used as a place to house the sick and the poor and others who had been forced to leave their land due to bad crops or other difficulties. Acknowledging this, the state church largely left the monks alone.

“However, they do not permit free passage between here and the surrounding towns and villages.”

“Yes—they said some sort of barrier had been erected around the town in the foothills where I came looking for a way up the mountain.”

“Ah yes, the mage-hedge.” Saulo smiled. “That barrier was raised by the members of the inquisition, and our magic cannot touch it. You must be an
allcaste
to have noticed it.”

“Actually,” U-ri said, pointing up at her head, “it was the mouse who noticed it. I was impressed with how peaceful it seemed in the town below—they seemed very well-off there.”

“We know peace here too, Lady
Allcaste.
Partially because we employ our own spells to hide the full extent of these caverns from the inspectors.”

“So you don’t believe in the royal lineage coming from one creator god, is that right?” U-ri asked as Saulo urged her onto the descending spiral path. The moment she set foot upon it, she found she could hear other people talking in the cavern. The scents of daily life in a village floated in the air. Steam rose from here and there in the hall. Apparently, there was quite a large number of people living here underground.

“The gods we worship are the gods of the natural world. All that is holy, all that is magic, even all that is darkness comes from nature. Thus, there are many gods whom we worship, and our gods are everywhere. There are gods even in the pebbles you might find by the roadside.”

That did seem incompatible with what U-ri had heard of the Church of the Haetlands’ beliefs. Though as a concept it wasn’t all that unfamiliar to her.

“We have the same sort of belief in the land where I come from,” she explained. “There are lots of gods, in everything, and they watch over us.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Saulo replied.

Atop her head, Aju squeaked. “I think I hear a familiar voice.”

“The mouse has keen ears,” Saulo remarked, leading them down a side tunnel that left the spiral path about a third of the way down the cavern wall. This new path was as wide as the one they left, and it divided again. They took the branch leading toward a collection of small domed buildings within another cavern ahead. There were no doors at the opening where the tunnel widened into a larger space beyond, and U-ri could see faces looking at them. Women and small children mostly. She saw crude furniture and other signs of daily life. Children were playing around the houses, and laundry hung outside the windows.

“The one you seek is there, in the room closest to the intersection,” Saulo said, pointing ahead. U-ri broke into a run. Surprised people stuck their heads out of the little stone windows of the cells to watch her speed by.

“Ash! Sky!”

U-ri left the tunnel, emerging into a space much larger than she had anticipated. She ran into the house so fast she barely had room to stop herself before hitting a large wooden table. Ash was sitting at the table across from a man in black robes. The wolf was leaning on one elbow, talking. When U-ri entered, he only lifted his eyes. “—and this tomboy here is the Lady
Allcaste
who accompanies me,” he finished saying.

The man in black across from Ash looked in her direction. U-ri’s mouth hung open. He was incredibly handsome.

He smiled, stood from his chair, and bowed.

“I welcome you,
allcaste
.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Confessions

U-ri blushed bright red.
She could feel the color rise in her cheeks.

“What are you staring at?” Ash asked with a smirk.

She ignored him. U-ri had eyes only for the handsome man in black sitting in front of her. She bent one knee slightly, gathered up the hem of her skirts, and curtsied like a ballerina.

“M-my name’s U-ri.”

“And I am Latore. I am the doctor here in the abbey.”

She guessed that the handsome doctor was slightly younger than Ash. He was tall, with clear eyes that looked out from beneath thick black hair.

“Please, be seated,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “I’m glad you made it here all right. We were worried.”

U-ri sat down in as ladylike a manner as she could manage.

“We didn’t have to worry. Aju was with her,” Ash grumbled. He didn’t seem to be in the best of moods, but U-ri found she didn’t particularly care. “You pull your own weight out there, rat?”

Aju stuck his nose out from U-ri’s collar and bared his tiny teeth. “If you’d held on to me a little harder we wouldn’t have gotten separated in the first place!”

They started to argue, but U-ri didn’t hear a word.
I’ve never seen anyone this handsome. And not just handsome, but smart, and kind, and strong…

Unconsciously, U-ri leaned forward, which was when she noticed Dr. Latore had purple eyes—though much lighter than Sky’s. She remembered how Sky’s had looked that one time, like violets blooming in the springtime sun. That was how the doctor’s eyes looked right now.

“I heard you came from Tato. They are not fond of strangers in that town. Nor do they get many travelers coming through. I hope your welcome there was not too unpleasant.”

U-ri shook her head dreamily, only lowering her eyes when she noticed the doctor beginning to blush.

“W-we were fine,” she squeaked, her voice as high as Aju’s.

“I’ve never heard of an
allcaste
who was this much trouble.”

Ignoring Ash’s remark, U-ri straightened out her skirts, lowered her eyes, and rested her hands on her knees. “A kind person informed the town guardsmen, and as soon as they heard where it was I was heading, they arranged for a carriage—”

“That wasn’t kindness,” Ash cut in. “The people in Tato want nothing to do with the mountain or anyone associated with it.”

“Not that the mountain was all that welcoming either,” Aju squeaked back. “You felt it too, didn’t you? We hit a mage-barrier on our way in. Knocked us right out of the sky, it did. And someone was shouting at us, telling us to stay away. Who was that?”

The wolf and the doctor exchanged glances. The kind smile faded from the doctor’s face. “Perhaps I should arrange a meeting,” the doctor said to Ash.

“If time and circumstances allow,” Ash replied.

“Very well,” Dr. Latore said, standing. “We should go quickly, then. If warding magic’s been used, there might be some…difficulties.”

“We are ready,” Ash said.

Dr. Latore bid them farewell and quickly left. U-ri followed him with her eyes. She had wanted to speak with the doctor longer. Actually, she didn’t need to talk. She would be happy just staring at him. “What are you talking about, and what’s the big rush?” she asked, turning to Ash.

“I’ll explain when the time is right.”

“Why not now?”

“This is why I don’t like working with girls,” Ash growled, not bothering to mask his displeasure at all now that they were alone. “Try thinking about my position for a change, instead of pining over that physician.”

“But he was so nice…” U-ri said with a sigh. She liked seeing Ash so visibly annoyed.
Maybe he’s more human than I thought.
U-ri grinned inwardly. She decided to change the subject. “With a doctor and all, this is really a proper town, isn’t it? How many live here? One hundred? More?”

“I’m not sure exactly. They’re not eager for anyone to know. I do know that the monks alone number eighty in all—” Ash frowned at U-ri. “You seem unreasonably taken with this cave, so let me be frank. This is not a happy place or even a pleasant one. The people here—”

“Are poor, or sick, or homeless,” U-ri said, cutting him off. “Saulo told us on the way in. I saw children too.”

“Orphans, for the most part.”

“You seem to know a lot about this place, Ash. And Dr. Latore…”

Ash furrowed his brow, his mood still as dark as the low ceiling above them. “There are people here like Udsu, the springfoot you met in Kanal. No other place will take them in. They are driven out, chased, hunted, until they find this place. And here they die. Down in this cave far below the ground.” Ash shook his head. “And when they die, they need to be buried. That’s where I come in.”

U-ri nodded, understanding entirely. Udsu was going to die. The flush left her cheeks.

“There is a graveyard on the very bottom level of this cavern. I am the undertaker there as well.”

“I see—” U-ri began, when she heard a voice calling quietly, “Lady
Allcaste.
”

She looked around and saw two bookshelves standing in a corner of the room. She seemed to be in a sort of living room. There were paintings on the walls and flowers—probably dried, given that they were far from any sunlight—in a vase on the table.

“I’ll go say hi,” Aju offered. He hopped from U-ri’s shoulder and quickly scampered up the bookshelf. The books with their old, cracked bindings tittered as the mouse’s tail brushed their spines. U-ri smiled in their direction and bowed curtly in greeting.

“That reminds me,” she said, turning to the wolf. “Where’s Sky? He was with you, wasn’t he?” U-ri felt a sudden chill run down her spine. What if Sky had fallen someplace else, apart from all of them?

“He’s been down in the infirmary, playing nurse,” Ash told her, his tone as cold as it always was whenever he spoke of the nameless devout.

Why does he have to be so mean to him all the time?

“He said he couldn’t sit still, he was so worried about you. At first he was determined to go searching for you himself. Saulo had to stop him. Your servant gave the man no end of trouble.”

“I’m sure Sky was very concerned! He’s supposed to be, you know.” U-ri stood. “I’m going to look for him. Where is this infirmary?”

“Leave him be. We don’t have time for—”

“I’ll be right back, promise!” U-ri shouted, dashing out the door.
What’s his problem?
She wanted to see Sky as soon as she could. She couldn’t imagine how distraught the poor fellow must’ve been this whole time, separated from the person he was supposed to protect. She ran down the spiral path, her vestments billowing out behind her.

The further down she went, the more people she saw. With their sunken eyes and thin faces, the residents of the subterranean abbey couldn’t have been more different from the people U-ri had encountered on the streets of Tato. The only ones walking with any pep at all were the black-robed monks. They were the only ones who weren’t startled to see her. Everyone else froze, eyes wide, sometimes even backing away from her, fear plain in their eyes.

There were two infirmaries in the complex, one on either side of the large passage in which she now stood. She looked in one room, but Sky was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she found a boy sitting in a bed, crying. A monk with a vial of medicine was stroking the child’s hair, muttering something in a low, soothing voice. The child’s mother was there too, crying along with her boy. There were some others in the room—all women and children, lying on wooden pallets jammed in so close together that the monks had to walk sideways like crabs to get between them.

The scent of blood and something worse hung in the air. She started to walk out when someone grabbed her wrist. U-ri shook herself free and whirled around to see an old woman lying on a bed by the door. The woman drew her hand back as though U-ri had bit it, and shrank from her.

“I-I’m sorry,” U-ri stammered. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” U-ri knelt down by the woman, her nostrils filling with the smell of medicine and the old woman’s own stench. She was terribly frail, and going bald. What little hair she had left was of the purest white. One of her eyelids was closed, and a membrane the color of curdled milk obscured her other eye.

“Please help me,” the old woman said, her tongue thick in her mouth. She had lost most of her teeth, and her lips were cracked and blistered.

Swallowing the fear she felt, U-ri took the old woman’s hand in her own. “Please, don’t get excited, you need to stay calm. You’ll be all right. A doctor will be with you soon.” U-ri fled.

Outside, she leaned up against the corridor wall, putting a hand over her racing heart to keep it from beating out of her chest. U-ri gasped. The glyph on her forehead was warm—hot, even. She hurriedly touched it and felt its heat slowly fade beneath her palm.

Something has awakened it.

U-ri lowered her palm in front of her face and stared at it. She wondered if it could heal disease like it had healed the man possessed by the unattached back in Tato.

Can you
?

She pressed her hand to her forehead again. There was no reaction from the glyph this time.

Guess not. Or maybe I can, but I shouldn’t. Is that why you’re being quiet, glyph?

“Lady U-ri!” The voice was Sky’s. U-ri whirled around so fast she almost lost her balance. Sky was standing in the entrance of the small dwelling just behind her. His eyes and mouth were open wide. Sky spread his arms in greeting, and U-ri ran into them, shouting his name over and over. Sky received her standing stiff as a board, completely unprepared for her enthusiasm.

U-ri barreled into him, and they both toppled over with a loud crash on the floor. The sleeves of their black robes tangled. When she realized what she had done, U-ri shrieked and extricated herself. She scrambled to her feet, mortified. “Sky! What are you doing?”

Sky sat on the ground, dazed.

“Are you all right?”

“Lady U-ri—” The devout’s eyes regained their focus and he picked himself up, but he did not stand. Instead he crouched down on his knees and began to bow. “I beg your forgiveness. I could not be with you. I have endangered the
allcaste.
”

The devout’s bald head rubbed against the floor. U-ri stood there, flustered. People further down the corridor had stopped to stare at them. Behind her one of the black-robed monks had come out of the infirmary to see what was the matter.

“Never mind that, just get up. You don’t have to bow to me like that, especially not here.” She grabbed Sky’s arm and managed to drag him to his knees. He seemed unwilling to stand, so she crouched down to his level and stared him in the eye. “As you can see, I’m fine. Aju was with me the whole time. We had a bit of an adventure, actually. I’m glad we fell where we did. We were in a town called Tato. Oh, Sky, it was so beautiful—”

U-ri snapped her mouth shut. The devout’s eyes were filled with tears.

“You were worried, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”

“No, it is I who should apologize. I have failed you,” Sky said. He touched a finger to his wet cheek and hurriedly turned away.

He’s crying. This empty “nothing” is crying. It’s because he’s not empty. He’s not a nameless devout anymore. He has a name, and that’s Sky. I’m not just imagining this.

U-ri took Sky’s hand. Then she realized something. Something so big, she nearly yelped when it hit her. “Sky! When I was down in Tato, you were here looking after these people, right? They told me you wanted to go look for me, but they stopped you.”

Sky nodded, his head hanging in shame.

U-ri pointed at herself. “That means that you had a form, Sky, even though I wasn’t nearby. You had a body. You could walk around and do things just like normal people, couldn’t you? And everyone around you could see you! I’m right, aren’t I?”

Sky’s purple eyes went wide, and his mouth gaped open again. U-ri’s mouth was open too, and the two stared at each other like that for some time.

“Right?”

“You…are right.” In a daze, the devout touched his own body as though to make sure he was really there.

“See? You are not hollow anymore! You’re a person again!” U-ri declared loudly. Sky’s experiences while separated from U-ri had to be proof of that.

“B-but, Lady U-ri. You might not have been here, but the vestments were. Perhaps their power lent me form.”

“What? No way! The vestments of protection are just tattered old rags if you take
me
out of them. Don’t even think that!” U-ri slapped Sky on his thin shoulder. The noise of the blow echoed down the hall. The devout winced.

Maybe I hit him a little too hard. That bit about the vestments being tattered old rags might have been overdoing it too.

“Ack, sorry! Sorry, Sky.”

More than all that, though, U-ri was glad to be back with her friend again. And she was glad that Sky was still Sky. Her face was warm with excitement and embarrassment all mingled together. She thought she might cry.

“I think we’re going to see the person Ash was telling us about, the one who might have information on how to find my brother.” U-ri took Sky by the hand. “Let’s get back to the others!”

For the first time, she noticed a pleasant scent hovering around him. It smelled like incense. She looked up and noticed that it wasn’t just Sky who smelled good. Thin blue smoke was drifting from the dwelling behind him—the one he had just stepped out of.

“Wait. Weren’t you helping in the infirmary, Sky?”

“No, actually, I—”

U-ri stepped past him and into the entranceway. The place was dimly lit, with only a few candles burning low in sconces on the walls. “This isn’t an infirmary.”

U-ri walked all the way in. It was a small room, carved out of the cavern wall. The walls and ceiling were all bare rock, hung with several paintings. Some of the larger ones had been too big to hang, so they sat leaning up against the walls. U-ri saw the smoke rising from a tall, round table in the center of the room.
That’s where the incense is burning.
But what is this place? An art gallery?