The Book of Heroes

  Then she heard the voice again in her ears, calling directly to her heart, it seemed. Yuriko. U-ri straightened herself and gritted her teeth.

  “I won’t turn back. I’m an allcaste, and I’m going to meet the Hero.”

  U-ri stepped forward, her vestments of protection billowing up behind her.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Reunion

  “Get ready. The world is about to change.”

  Ash’s piercing warning came as they stepped through the rift. U-ri found herself unable to walk through the rift with her eyes open, so she had closed them, but she soon discovered the meaning of Ash’s words for herself.

  What is this? Are we really below ground? No way! This isn’t underground, this is—

  “Are we inside the palace?”

  They were standing in the center of a large octagonal hall, stone walls on all sides. U-ri spun around, looking in every direction, but nowhere could she find the rift they had just come through. Corridors led from the hall in four directions, and in the corner directly before them stood a raised, semicircular platform with a railing that ran along its length. U-ri assumed the platform was flat on top, like a stage, but it was so high up—at least as high as a five-story building—that she could only guess. Stairs climbed to the top on either side of the platform.

  The ceiling of the hall was even higher above their heads. She had to tilt her head back a full ninety degrees to see it. The ceiling was also octagonal in shape, with a mosaic of gold, silver, and some black stone—obsidian, U-ri guessed—adorning its center.

  “The crest of the current king, Harvein the Second,” Ash said, looking up. His breath was white in the air. For the first time, U-ri noticed the freezing cold.

  “You may recall the story I told you of the Haetlands royal family’s long history of sibling rivalry? That is why our kingdom has more than one royal crest, in case you were wondering.”

  Countless candles had been set in holders along the walls, so high up it made U-ri dizzy to think of how anyone managed to change them. The weak flames flickered, yet managed to light the entire vastness of the hall. A pair of much larger sconces stood before the central stage, illuminating the relief on the wall behind it—and something else.

  “Someone’s there!”

  Ash had his foot on the first step of one of the staircases. “If my memory is correct, this room is the king’s audience chamber.”

  The metal studs on his boots rang against the stone steps. U-ri hurriedly followed after him, and taking Sky’s hand, she began to climb.

  “Odd that we should first enter here—directly into what was once the very heart of the palace.” A great stone throne sat atop the platform, its back to a large painted relief on the wall. A thick cloak hung over the back of the throne.

  “Who’s there?”

  A knight in silver armor sat slumped against the railing of the platform, facing the throne. A large double-edged sword lay on the ground next to his leg. An arm that had once been the knight’s was attached to the sword, but no longer to him. In the dim light, the blood that had spilled from his shoulder looked black as tar. The blood had clearly been drying for some time, though the nearest candles reflected wetly off its surface.

  “He’s one of the rescue party.” Ash knelt by the fallen knight. “Good sir,” he said, “if you still draw breath, tell me what happened to the occupants of the palace.”

  U-ri stepped closer, noticing the delicate ornamentation on the knight’s armor. The grip of his sword was similarly decorated. He must have been a man of some stature.

  “All dead,” the knight whispered. Merely drawing breath seemed painful for him. Not only his arm, but his face too had been savaged terribly. It was not the kind of wound such as a sword or spear might make. The deep gouges in his armor and in the side of his face suggested giant fangs and wicked talons.

  The knight spoke again, his voice growing weaker with every word, “—or they were swallowed by the darkness as they lived. They became…started to become—”

  “Don’t talk, you’ll wear yourself out,” U-ri said as she and Sky tried to help the man lie down on his side. He resisted, feebly batting at them with his remaining arm. U-ri noticed he was missing an eye as well.

  “The palace is as you see it,” he continued, his voice somewhat stronger. “It was an evil magic that did this…twisted the very fabric of the place. Rooms in place of other rooms, nothing where it should be. I know these halls well enough to walk them blindfolded, and still I despaired of finding the way out.”

  The knight’s breath came in pained, ragged gulps as he turned his face to look toward the throne. “The king is over there. If you can, please take him outside.”

  U-ri jumped back in surprise. She had thought what lay over the throne was only a cloak.

  Ash walked over and almost reverently lifted a corner of the cloak. The cloth was covered with fine embroidery, and the hem lined with jewels. Yet it was marred with dark splotches of blood and torn clean through in places.

  A man’s arm swung out from beneath the cloak, but it was gravity that moved it, not life. And the arm wasn’t so much an arm as the bony remains of one, hung with tattered strips of dried skin.

  His face a blank mask, Ash swept the cloak away, revealing the body. A delicate lace collar still hung around the corpse’s neck. All the hair on U-ri’s body was standing straight on end.

  “It attacked the king’s chambers first.”

  Ash acknowledged the knight’s pained whisper with a nod.

  The knight continued, “By the time we arrived, the king was already as you see him now.”

  “I see no crown.”

  “It was stolen.”

  Ash nodded again, then asked, “You are one of his personal guard?”

  “I was in the third…squadron. Perhaps my captain is…yes, he must still be alive. You, if you should meet my captain…”

  Ash turned to the dying man. “First tell me something. A part of Kirrick’s remains was buried somewhere inside this palace. A knight of the personal guard should know where that is. I’m sure a guard was posted.”

  At the sound of Kirrick’s name, a look of violent disgust passed over the knight’s bloodied face. “What’s this now? Kirrick? So Kirrick has come back to claim what was his?”

  “The thing that attacked the king, what did it look like?”

  The knight’s remaining eye swam with fear. “It…had no shape. It flew in like a fell wind. A dark shadow…bearing the stench of blood.”

  “Did it say anything?”

  The knight barely managed to shake his head. “There were…no words.”

  Ash turned again to the body of Harvein the Second and casually tossed the cloak back over it. “Perhaps only the king knew the location of the remains. That is why Kirrick went for him first, to drink of his knowledge and memory.” Ash straightened and said, “Looks like there’s no way to go but further in.”

  U-ri blinked with surprise. “You’re just going to leave him there? Wasn’t he your king?”

  “And now he’s just a corpse. There’s no saving him,” Ash grumbled as he headed back toward the stairs. “Nor do I think that knight there would look kindly upon me touching the corpse. Lowly undertaker that I am.”

  U-ri had her hand on the knight’s armored shoulder, and she felt him tremble violently at Ash’s words.

  “What?” he gasped, his bloodshot eye looking like it might pop out of his skull. “An undertaker? Your hands are stained with the demons’ blood! You touched the king!”

  The knight struggled to stand, and U-ri hurriedly held him down, placing one hand on her forehead, thinking to heal him. But the knight pushed her away with a growl. “You’re only a child! What are you doing in this place?”

  “Just sit still a moment.”

  “You are friends with that cursed man? If so—” the knight’s mouth twisted with rage. “Stay…stay away from the king, you foul creature!”

  “U-ri, somethi
ng’s coming!” Aju squeaked from her collar. U-ri looked up. Next to her, Sky braced himself. The two were scanning the chamber when something stung U-ri’s cheek.

  “The ceiling!” Aju screamed.

  “Hurry!” Ash shouted up from the bottom of the stairs. “Get low!”

  U-ri crouched by the railing and looked up.

  Far above their heads, the royal crest was starting to break apart. First the silver and gold parts, then the black gems broke away and fell down in streams of dust. The streams narrowed, twisting like cyclones, bending through the air of the cavern, tangling with other streams, then breaking back into showers of dust—

  Then the streams began to take shape.

  From the black dust grew a pair of wings, and soon from the swirls of debris emerged a bird of dust. A bird as large as U-ri. Its long beak snapped shut with a loud clap that reverberated through the chamber. Soon another bird-thing formed, then another, and another, their numbers increasing as she watched.

  The gold and silver streams of dust became gold and silver snakes, but snakes with arms as long again as their bodies. Three claws formed at the tip of each arm, each as sharp as a blade. The snakes’ arms tangled together in the air, their claws sparking like flint where they met.

  Ash lifted a two-handed sword above his head and ran for the staircase. As though they had been waiting for that signal, the creatures of gold, silver, and black rushed down from the ceiling as one, howling as they descended toward him.

  “Sky, watch the knight!” U-ri shouted as she hefted her mace. Aju dived under the collar of her vestments and began chanting furiously.

  “Swing your mace, U-ri!”

  She did so, and a translucent disc appeared, shining as it hovered in the air before her.

  “That’s a shield! Grab it!”

  Mace in her right hand, shield in her left, U-ri met the creatures as they slid down through the air. The orb at the tip of her mace flashed brilliantly, its light enough to send the creatures spinning and writhing away from her. She actually struck a blow, shattering the claw of the snake that reached for her like it was an exploding chandelier. Its body cracked down the middle, the severed halves crumbling back to inanimate dust before Uri’s eyes.

  Aju jumped atop her head. “Don’t let me fall off, U-ri!”

  Standing on his hind legs, the mouse began to spin, singing the words of a spell. As he spun, tiny orbs of light sprayed forth from the tip of his long tail. Each orb was no larger than a pea, yet when they hit, the creatures roared with rage and pain.

  Ash stood his ground in the middle of the hall, swinging his mighty blade, hewing down like a farmer cuts wheat any creature foolish enough to have been lured away from the throne. The dust from their remains billowed like clouds, until U-ri could barely see him through the haze.

  “Ack, I’m getting dizzy!” Aju squeaked. He tumbled down onto U-ri’s shoulder. One of the black winged creatures darted toward them, and U-ri met it with her mace. Close up, the thing was even more repugnant than she had imagined. It had no eyes, nor anything you could call a face. Its beak looked like a metallic pyramid emerging from its body. The tip of the pyramid opened, swallowing the head of her mace, and the creature exploded from the inside.

  “Now that’s just disgusting!” Aju leapt from U-ri’s shoulder through the air onto Sky’s head, spitting out dust particles from the creature as he flew. Sky huddled over the wounded knight, a human shield for the fallen man.

  “U-ri!” Aju squeaked. “Swing your mace this way a bit! Sky, grab that shield and fight!”

  Sky reached out and grabbed the translucent shield, holding it out in front of himself with both arms. The knight was sprawled on the floor, grasping for the hilt of his sword. A gold and silver snake darted toward them and slammed into Sky’s shield, then screeched as it was repulsed and sent tumbling against the throne.

  “Sword…my sword.”

  The knight had just managed to get his fingers around the hilt when a pair of black wings hurtled through the air, directly toward the knight’s back.

  “Look out!” Sky let go of the shield and threw himself over the knight.

  “Sky!”

  It all happened so fast, U-ri could do nothing. She had only just lifted her mace when the creature’s gleaming beak slammed into the nameless devout.

  U-ri screamed and kept screaming. But nothing happened to Sky. The creature passed right through him and vanished. It was as if his body had simply absorbed the monster.

  U-ri’s head wobbled, the shock silencing her.

  Sky looked up at her. His eyes were blank.

  “Will you pick up the shield, Sky!” Aju shrieked. “Pick it up now! Quickly, quickly! Do it!”

  Hand still on his sword, the one-armed knight twisted his head to look at Sky. His one good eye opened wide. “What are you?” he said, and then in a whisper, he added, “…cursed thing,” just loud enough for U-ri to hear.

  She couldn’t believe it. Though he could barely move, the knight was pushing himself away from Sky. With all the strength that remained in his damaged body, he sat up and pointed the tip of his sword directly at the nameless devout.

  “Who are you? All of you!” The knight’s face was twisted with fear and rage. His voice cracked, and spittle flew from his lips. “Who are you? You’re friends of the thing that did this, aren’t you!”

  As she hammered at another one of the creatures, U-ri shouted back, “We are most definitely not cursed!”

  As she said it, the tip of U-ri’s mace glowed brightly, flooding the entire top of the dais with light. The white orb of light grew larger and larger, swallowing up U-ri, Aju, and Sky. Then it expanded further still, flooding over the steps until it reached down as far as where Ash was standing in the hall below.

  Smoke began to rise from the leather pads on the wolf’s shoulders. He held up a hand to shield his face from the light and roared, “U-ri, close your eyes! Everyone down!” Ash ran back toward the throne platform.

  The circle of white light filled every last corner of the octagonal hall and quickly swelled toward the vaulted ceiling. It wrapped everything in its brilliant energy, briefly illuminating the shapes of people and creatures before swallowing them whole.

  The light reached the ruins of the crest at the top of the ceiling, and the crest responded by glowing from within. A moment later, the crest exploded. Every last one of the creatures dancing in the air shattered, losing their forms in the light.

  The force of the explosion knocked U-ri to the floor. She had taken Ash’s warning to heart, and her eyes were still tightly closed. Above her head, the creatures screamed. Oddly enough, with her eyes closed they sounded different than they had before. They sound almost human. She heard the voices of men weeping in pain and sadness, screaming with rage and terror.

  “They’re not monsters, they’re people!” U-ri heard herself shout, and she opened her eyes. The world around her was made of white light. Then Ash was beside her, slapping a gloved hand over her eyes and pulling her under the flap of his cloak. There was another explosion. The floor of the hall shook. The screams rose in pitch and intensity.

  U-ri came to. It seemed she had been unconscious for a short while. She was lying on the hard stone floor. Ash knelt behind her, propping her head up. His hand was no longer over her eyes.

  Ash breathed a long sigh. “Good work,” he said, giving U-ri a pat on the head.

  Silence had returned to the hall. Half of the candles in the sconces set around the hall had gone out, and something like white ash covered entire sections of the walls. The floor was littered with burnt torch holders.

  U-ri looked up at the ceiling. The royal crest was gone, and the ceiling had fallen, revealing the utter darkness beyond. Still, within the hall it was light. It took U-ri a moment to realize that the main source of the light was herself, more specifically, her forehead. The glyph was shining more brightly than it ever had before. Not like a candle or torch or even a searchlight. It was like a warm
light that illuminated everything in the room evenly from all directions, yet it all came from her.

  “You okay, U-ri?” Aju poked his head out of Ash’s pocket. U-ri wondered when he’d slipped in there. “How about you, Sky? Can you stand?”

  Sky was lying on the floor behind U-ri, curled up like a sleeping child. The knight’s sword lay on the ground next to him. But the arm that had been gripping it and the knight that arm belonged to were gone.

  “This place has been purified,” Ash said softly. “Look. Harvein the Second is gone as well.”

  Only the tattered cloak hung over the throne.

  “Sky, are you okay? Did you get hurt? Let me see!”

  U-ri stood and reached for him, but when her hand touched the devout’s shoulder, something like sparks shot up from his body, giving her a shock. U-ri stepped back, her eyes wide. Sky crawled away from her and pressed his back against the stone wall at the far end of the dais. His purple eyes were filled with a terror so intense U-ri found herself unable to speak.

  “Did I do something?”

  Nothing.

  “What’s wrong, Sky?”

  The devout’s terror was catching. U-ri’s throat was dry. Ash stood, throwing back his cloak and stepping up beside her.

  Sky was still in the throes of fear, his eyes wide and his lips trembling. “What am—”

  “What are you?” Ash completed the devout’s question, his voice as sharp as his sword. “What did you see just now in the light?”

  Though he did not blink, something in Sky’s eyes was turning. His eyes shone with light, then went dark. There was something reflected in them, not from the outside world, but from his heart. Whatever it was, it was too small for U-ri to see clearly.

  Sky clenched one hand into a fist and began to beat his own chest. His expression did not change, yet he kept striking himself, meting out punishment. With each strike, his head jerked backward, striking the wall behind him, while he stammered, “I-I…”

  U-ri dashed forward and grabbed Sky’s hands. There were no sparks this time. His skin felt icy cold against hers.