Aju’s nose twitched proudly. “They taught me lots, U-ri. Learned some new spells too.”
“That’s…that’s great, Aju.”
Ash had left the bookshelves and was leaning up against the rock wall by the entranceway, his arms crossed. His face was stern, his gaze almost painfully sharp.
“Th-this is my servant, Sky.”
Sky turned to the bookshelves and bowed curtly. The glimmering of the books faded, their winking becoming more sporadic—like someone frowning at an unfamiliar sight.
Sky’s expression was hard. For some reason, though the light from the shelves fell on them the same, in it his cheeks looked pale, his skin tightly drawn across the bones of his face, casting strange, hollow shadows.
“We were about to—” U-ri began, when the old woman’s voice interrupted her.
“We know where you go, Lady Allcaste.”
U-ri thought she sensed the books shiver, as a person does when saying something they are reluctant to admit.
“Be strong, Lady Allcaste. You must be strong. And patient.”
“Huh?”
What’s that supposed to mean? And why is Aju nervously scratching at his nose?
“What connection does Katarhar Abbey have with the Hero’s escape? You said there were old ties, from a long time ago. What did you mean?”
Just then she heard the sound of hurried footsteps on the path outside. It was Dr. Latore.
“Are we all met?” the doctor asked, striding into the room. He turned to Ash. “He’s calmer now. Says he won’t try to run and hide, now that the time’s come.”
“How generous of him,” Ash said, standing up from the wall. “We are off, U-ri. Time for your audience,” he said.
Ash was brimming with energy. By comparison, Dr. Latore looked positively dejected. He stood with his shoulders slumped, staring blankly toward the back of the room.
“Am I going to meet the person with information about my brother?”
“That’s right. Try to keep up for once,” the wolf growled as he strode toward the doorway.
U-ri stepped away from the bookshelves, trying to figure out what was going on. Why was everything so mysterious all of a sudden? Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything?
“Do I know everything I need to know?” she asked the room. “If there’s something else, you think you could tell me now? Please?” U-ri ran her fingers along the spines of the books on the shelf.
Aju hopped lightly on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, U-ri. They told me everything we’ll need. Let’s just get going.”
“You know what’s going on too, don’t you! Tell me!”
“You’ll see for yourself soon enough. I think that’s better than me telling you, anyway.”
The more she heard, the more confused she became. And afraid.
I’m afraid. I’m really afraid!
Ash strode across the room, grabbed U-ri by the arm and pulled. “Enough of this!”
“No, Master Ash. Stop,” Sky said, moving to step between them.
“You stay out of this!” Ash roared. He violently shouldered the devout out of the way.
“Hey, don’t do that to Sky!” U-ri shouted, her anger rising. U-ri thrust forward with her arms, pushing Ash away from her. Still not satisfied, she lifted her hands and charged. I’m going to hit him, or scratch him, or bite him, or I don’t know what—
“U-ri!” Aju squealed from her shoulder.
U-ri swung her hands down at Ash, but they stopped inches away from the wolf’s face. Ash’s hands gripped her tightly by the wrists. She couldn’t move either arm.
“If you are an allcaste, why don’t you start acting like one? Miserable child,” Ash growled in a low voice. He flung her away, sending U-ri staggering into the arms of the nameless devout. The two stared at each other across the room.
“Lady Allcaste,” the old woman’s voice said tearfully, “please, you must follow the wolf for now. You must go to meet the one who waits for you in the depths of Katarhar.”
U-ri spoke to the voice, though her eyes stayed fixed on Ash. “I noticed you books went dim when Sky bowed to you. You don’t like him either, do you? Maybe you know why Ash seems so bent on making Sky’s life miserable. He’s been like this from the start! All high and mighty, and cruel to Sky—and now he’s keeping important things from me!”
“It’s all right, Lady U-ri,” Sky said from behind her. “It’s all right. I—”
“No it’s not all right! Not until I say it is. You be quiet, Sky.”
“U-ri,” said a quiet voice. Someone grabbed her by the elbow and gently pulled her away. It was Dr. Latore. She hadn’t even noticed him come into the room. “We must go. There is little time.”
U-ri stood there with her mouth in a pout, ready to retort even though she had no idea what she might say, but the doctor’s eyes fixed on her. “It will not be in the proper state for you to speak with it for much longer.”
“It?” U-ri gasped. What’s this now? I thought we were going to see a person, not an it!
U-ri swallowed her outburst and let herself be led from the room. Dr. Latore turned to Sky. “You will stay here. Please. For U-ri’s sake.”
U-ri didn’t see how Sky could be any better informed than she was about all this, but he simply nodded and withdrew. In fact, he stepped back so fast, he hit the bookshelves behind him. The books blinked and glimmered like fireflies caught by a sudden rain.
Ash walked silently ahead. The three had gone a ways down the path when U-ri turned to Dr. Latore. “I’m sorry. I won’t act that way again.”
The doctor smiled at her. But it wasn’t the kind of smile that had charmed her the first time they’d met. There was sorrow in his eyes now, and U-ri could see it.
Ash walked swiftly, apparently familiar with the twists and turns of the cavern’s many paths. Dr. Latore walked behind U-ri, who occasionally had to jog a little to keep up with the wolf.
The three of them were alone. Aju had protested loudly when Ash said he couldn’t go either. The wolf had scooped him up and for a moment it looked like he was going to toss the little mouse against the wall. U-ri had run to stop him, but for some reason, it was Sky who talked her down. Aju would remain with him and the books. It was better that way.
Now that she was actually walking down to the bottom of the catacombs, it seemed far more distant than she had imagined it would be from the top. As they passed down the levels, the candles along the walls that lit their way were replaced by torches. And they were fewer and farther between—though U-ri didn’t notice that so much as she noticed the increasingly large pools of darkness around them. A railing ran down the path along the inside edge, and when she peered over it, all she could see were flickering torches burning below. There were few monks down this far, and fewer residents.
“In the lowest levels, there are solitary chambers for the gravely ill. That’s where we’re headed now,” Dr. Latore informed her.
“Solitary chambers?”
“Dmitri has told you of the creatures that rose from Kirrick’s undead army, and the venom they carry?”
U-ri nodded, slowing her pace. They had been walking so quickly she had to catch her breath.
“Once the poisoning makes itself known, the victims do not live long. Yet, in their remaining days, they often become quite violent. It falls to us to protect the other patients, and the victims themselves, from harm. Thus the solitary chambers. We might say that their maladies are the side effects of the magic used to raise the dead.”
U-ri blinked, surprised to hear the doctor use the same kind of medical language doctors in her world used.
“Because the venom is magical in nature, medicine is of little use in its treatment. We must rely on magical means ourselves.”
“Has any progress been made in countering the venom’s effects?”
The doctor shook his head. “Once men have set their hearts on a path, they can be very passionate about making progress—but should their direction
change, or the need arise to backtrack, they find themselves far less prepared than they were before.”
U-ri thought she understood what he meant.
“Even if they did find a way to cure the venom’s effects now, it would be of little benefit to the royal house or the nobles. I’m sure things work the same in your world, lady U-ri. There are few who would devote their time and efforts to something that bears no reward of riches or power.”
Though his tone remained gentle, U-ri realized that Dr. Latore was criticizing the mages of the Haetlands, and harshly.
Finally the three arrived at the lowest level. A large pair of torches stood at the bottom of the descending spiral path. All above them was dark. Sparks flew up from the torches, ascending along with the smoke into the blackness over their heads.
Once again, U-ri felt herself growing afraid. It occurred to her that if for some reason she never made it out of this place, she would never again see the light of day. She tried to banish the thought from her head, but could not.
“The cavern sides do not fall straight down,” Ash said, wiping a lock of sweaty hair off his forehead. “The entire cavern slants gently, you see. Perhaps you noticed it on the way down?”
She hadn’t. U-ri shook her head.
“To use a metaphor you might understand, think of it as an ant colony.”
That did seem to fit with what she had seen—the countless side passages and innumerable rooms. It was a bit like a giant ant colony. She had seen a picture of one in her biology class.
“We should show our respect to the monks of Katarhar that made this place livable for men. No matter how dark it was, or how stifling the air, these caves are homes now thanks to their work. We may be underground, but this is no underworld. For many people, this is the only place they can live a free life. The only place they are safe. So don’t look so glum,” Ash concluded. “You do a disservice to the glyph upon your forehead.”
Ash smiled wryly, and U-ri understood he was trying to cheer her up in his own way. She lightly touched her fingers to her mark. For a brief moment, it flashed white in the darkness. She felt a faint warmth beneath her fingertips. It was a vote of confidence. The glyph was urging her onward.
“In the place where we now go, you may see and hear things that surprise you, even terrify you. But you must not despair. You understand?”
“Remember that the people who live here have come here of their own free will, Lady U-ri.”
U-ri nodded, and Dr. Latore stepped forward, removing a large ring of keys from beneath his cloak. The ring was silver, and the keys on it too numerous for her to count. It looked heavy.
“This way.”
He walked toward a wide opening in one of the rock walls. A tunnel led from there, its entrance barred by an iron gate. Dr. Latore turned his key in the large lock, and a small section of bars opened outward. “Please watch your step.”
There were no side passages in this tunnel. Holes in the wall opened directly onto small rooms. Each of the openings was barred by an iron gate similar to the one at the entrance. The torches from the cavern outside were gone—the main source of light here came from candles stuck directly onto bent nails that protruded from the rock face. Tears of wax ran down the walls beneath each of them, all the way down to the floor of the passage where they formed white misshapen lumps. It was cold down here. A layer of chill air drifted along by her feet.
All the rooms they passed were empty, save for some crude wooden sleeping pallets. There were no occupants.
“We have our hands full with one special guest at the moment. All the other patients have been moved to higher levels.” Keys in hand, Dr. Latore took the lead. They walked a bit farther, until they came to another iron gate blocking the passage ahead. He opened it. Beyond that was another gate.
So that’s why he needs all those keys. But I wonder why they need all these gates?
U-ri felt herself tense. Her feet were moving more slowly now. Fear made her breath come in shallow gulps. She wished Sky had come. She wished Aju was there to make wisecracks and cheer her up.
“Do not be afraid,” Dr. Latore said, looking over his shoulder at U-ri. “There is no one here you need fear, Lady U-ri.”
Just then, a heavy creaking sound came from farther inside the cavern. It was the kind of sound you might hear when pushing open an old door with broken rust-covered hinges. Or the sound a coffin lid might make when opened for the first time in a hundred years.
The three stopped in their tracks. U-ri shivered as a sudden realization hit her. That’s not a sound. It’s a voice.
A chill ran down her spine. U-ri turned and fled. I can’t take it. I need to get out of this place! I can’t stay here, not for another moment!
She slammed into the iron portcullis behind them with her entire body, fumbling clumsily for the handle to the smaller door. Her knees buckled, cold sweat streaked down her back, her eyes filled with tears.
“Lady U-ri!” Dr. Latore was calling to her.
U-ri didn’t care. Nothing I need to fear, my foot!
Again the voice drifted from the cavern ahead. This time it was louder. She could make it out more clearly. It sounded like someone, or really, something, groaning.
U-ri finally managed to open the small doorway in the gate. She crouched down, yet still managed to hit her head as she stumbled through to the other side, when she heard the voice groan a third time, the sound echoing off the ceiling and walls of the narrow tunnel, chasing after her.
“Yur…U-ri.”
U-ri froze.
“U-ri.”
That rasping voice in the depths of the cave was calling out to her. Gripping the bars of the gate, U-ri looked up. She could easily imagine how she must look: like a ghost, all the color drained from her features. If a real ghost saw me, I’d probably scare it to death. Again.
“I’m sorry…U-ri.”
U-ri stopped breathing, her mouth open. The chill air of the cavern stabbed at her throat. She began to cough, doubling over with the exertion. Dr. Latore walked back to her and patted her gently on the back.
“He wants to meet you. No, he has to meet you—he’s been steeling himself for this just as you have,” Ash said. “He’s even apologized for knocking us out of the sky with that barrier.”
U-ri clung to him, standing up with his support. A tear streaked down her cheek. “You mean he’s the one that told me to stay away?”
Ash nodded. Dr. Latore kept patting her on the back, trying to rub out the chills.
Is it my brother?
A strange mixture of hope and fear froze the question in her throat before she could even form it, but Ash seemed to understand all the same.
“No,” the wolf said calmly. “It is not your brother.”
Dr. Latore shook his head. The lump in U-ri’s throat unfroze, and she felt like she could move again.
“This is just a clue to guide you along your path, U-ri. He is not Hiroki Morisaki, nor his remains. I’ve said this many times. You—” Ash’s voice dropped lower and became even more stern. “You need to learn how to listen better to others. As you are now, you hear nothing and think less. You are drowning in your own emotions; they toss you this way and that, like a leaf in the wind.”
It would have been an unfair criticism of an elementary school girl. But U-ri wasn’t a little girl anymore. She lowered her head and let him speak.
“I’m sorry.”
U-ri passed back through the gate and returned to stand next to the wolf, her head hanging.
Dr. Latore’s large, warm hand touched U-ri’s shoulder. The voice moaned her name again, louder than before. She could make out the word more clearly this time.
It’s crying, she thought. Whatever it is—imprisoned here in this cavern of its own free will—it’s crying.
U-ri strained her eyes and looked through the darkness there beneath the earth, the treacherously flickering candle her only source of light.
The voice was still crying in short
, wet sobs. U-ri felt another emotion enter her now—along the same pathway, now thawed, that had kept her from asking her question aloud by the gate. It was an emotion she could not name, or well express, even as it filled her chest and stabbed at her heart.
I pity you.
U-ri walked deeper into the cavern. Dr. Latore lifted an eyebrow, then followed after her. They came to another gate, and he stepped ahead, unlocking a padlock the size of a child’s fist to open it. “This is the last lock I will open. There is one more gate beyond, but it remains closed.”
U-ri went to the gate.
A bent nail protruded from the rock face directly in front of her, on which was stuck the remains of a single candle, still burning, but so weakly it looked like it might flicker out at any moment.
All of the candles up until now had been affixed to the side walls. This was the first one she had seen straight ahead.
This is the end. The deepest part of the depths.
She turned her head slowly to look off to the right, where the cavern seemed to extend further. Her feet shifted beneath her until she was facing a final set of bars hanging in the gloom, just at the edge of the tiny circle of light cast by the candle. Utter darkness swallowed everything outside that. The sobbing she heard coming from beyond the bars stopped. The cavern was silent, save for U-ri’s own quick, ragged breaths. Even those she heard not with her ears, but internally. The sound seemed contained within her body. Outside her body, everything was quiet and dark, dark, dark.
Then there was a rustling of cloth. Dr. Latore came in through the gate behind her. U-ri was surprised to notice Ash standing next to her on the other side. She hadn’t even seen him come through, and he made no sound. He was like an image with no physical presence, a hologram.
“Gulg,” Ash called through the bars in front of them. “I’ve brought her.”
Did the darkness just shift, or am I seeing things?
Ash chuckled. “Actually, I take that back. She came here by herself. She came here to see you. She wants to know where her brother’s gone. So stop making things difficult and talk to her.”