Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [238]
Wataru nodded, but he wasn’t completely satisfied. “Dr. Baksan, there’s something I don’t get. I would never wish for something as cruel as a human sacrifice. If Vision really is a reflection of my own heart, how could such a harsh tradition exist?”
“Oh, I think you know why!” Dr. Baksan cut Wataru off in a loud voice. Then, arms still crossed at his chest, he turned back around—a little too fast for his wooden boots.
“Ack!” the scholar yelped, falling backward onto the floor.
“Dr. Baksan! Are you okay?” Wataru shouted, peering beyond the platform boots. At that moment, the door to the study flew open.
A roar sounded through the room. “Where’s Dr. Baksan? Come out! I said come out!”
Wataru slipped between the piles of books and turned toward the door. He peeked out from between two weighty tomes.
“Stay back! Nobody come close! Do what I say, or she gets it!”
Wataru gulped and ducked down behind the stack. When he took another look, he saw a giant man—the beastkin—standing at the door. He wasn’t alone. The woman starseer they had passed earlier was with him. He was holding her pinned. Her arms were behind her back, and one of his sharp claws was at her throat.
“I know you’re here, Dr. Baksan! Come out! You want your student to die?”
“I am here!” the scholar said in a loud voice. “I’m here, but I’m afraid I cannot get up by myself!”
Wataru looked behind him to see Dr. Baksan lying on the floor, pinned underneath one of his tall wooden boots. Wataru must’ve knocked it over with his knee when the door slammed open. Hurriedly, he rushed over and began helping the diminutive starseer up.
“I am here!” he shouted again as soon as he was on his feet, and began to run for the door. Wataru grabbed him by his collar a second time and held him back. “Don’t run out there. He has a hostage!”
“What?”
“Sir?” It was the woman starseer. She was sobbing. “I’m sorry, I know you’re busy. But I think he’s going to kill me!”
“Eh? Romy? Is that you?”
This time the scholar bolted for the door faster than Wataru could grab him. Wataru crept along the floor to the opposite side of the stack of books. He wanted to get a better look at the beastkin.
“Ach, Romy! What’s the meaning of this!” Dr. Baksan said, running to the door.
The beastkin man lashed out with a powerful kick. “I said stay back! Back! Where’s Dr. Baksan?”
The scholar dodged the kick at the last moment, sprawling on the floor. He stood up, coughing and waving his arms. His nose was bright red. He was furious. “I’m Dr. Baksan! You told me to come out, so here I’ve come. Now let go of my student!”
“Be careful, sir,” the woman named Romy said. “He’s serious!”
“And I’m not?!” Dr. Baksan roared, hopping to his feet. “Fool! I don’t know why you’ve come here, but this violence is utterly unacceptable! If you’ve something to say, I’d have you say it without threatening my students!”
The request was reasonable enough, but Wataru wasn’t sure the beastkin holding Romy would react in a reasonable fashion. His overall appearance reminded Wataru of the Highlander Trone in Gasara, but he was almost twice Trone’s size. He wore simple cloth garments that were dirty and torn. His eyes were bloodshot with excitement, and there was foam at the corners of his mouth. His breathing was ragged, and his breath was hot. Even the nails on his feet were sticking straight out.
Blood was dripping onto the floor. For a moment, Wataru was afraid that it was Romy’s, but then he saw an arrow sticking into the beastkin’s left calf. One of the Highlanders on watch must have shot him.
“You, little old man! Are you really Dr. Baksan?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” the scholar raged, stomping his feet. The beastkin frothed at the mouth and pinned Romy’s arms behind her back even tighter. She gave a little yelp.
“You look like a man of knowledge. So tell me. How do I make sure I don’t get chosen?”
Dr. Baksan stood absolutely still and stared at the beastkin. “Oh, is that it?” he asked at last.
“Of course it is! I know you know too! That’s what you’ve been