Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [255]
Wataru had nothing to say.
I wonder where everyone went who lived on Bricklayer Street? He hoped they had escaped, but he feared that many had been arrested and imprisoned.
And the Knights of Stengel helped him do it.
Wataru remembered what Fanlon had told him about High Chief Suluka in Bog sharing some of Branch Chief Pam’s feelings about non-ankha. Suluka was the one who decided the Knights should be all ankha too.
Above all the destruction, the Cistina Trabados Cathedral still towered, its great bell sparkling in the sun. Somehow, seeing it from the air made it seem all the more threatening. The shadow it cast upon the town dominated more than ever before. The cathedral basked in the sun, while Bricklayer Street was cast in darkness. Wataru knew it was impossible, but it seemed like the church’s shadow was trying to swallow the entire town.
For anyone who didn’t see eye to eye with the cathedral and the followers of the Old God, Lyris would be a very dangerous place to live. Even for a Highlander.
Lyris did not have a town gate like the one in Gasara. But checkpoints had been set up by both Highlanders and the Knights of Stengel. At the entrance where Wataru had first entered Lyris, a large blockade of logs had been erected. This handily blocked anyone from coming in or out of the town.
“What will you do, my young Highlander?” the karulakin asked.
“Let me down in a forest outside town. I’ll find a way to sneak in.”
“Very well. Be cautious.”
The karulakin flew away from town, setting course for the nearby woods. After making sure no spies were lurking about, Wataru was delivered safely to the ground. The whole time, Wataru thought about how he was going to get inside Lyris.
Maybe I can pretend to be an ankha kid who lives there. I’ll say I’m coming back from some errand. Wataru discarded the idea immediately. They’d suspect me in an instant. None of the well-to-do ankha living here would send their kids out on an errand with martial law in effect. Maybe I could pretend I was lost, that I didn’t know my way home. Excuse me, Mr. Knight sir, could you help me find my home?
Wataru stood, chewing his lip, pondering his options (none of which sounded particularly appealing), when he felt a strange warmth at his waist. He looked down to see the Brave’s Sword shining. Wataru quickly drew the blade from its sheath.
—Wataru, Wataru.
It was the voice of the spirit in the second gemstone.
—You remember using this sword as a mageblade in the Swamp of Grief?
—Now that we are two, there is another use for this sword.
—Raise it, lift the sword!
Startled, Wataru brought the sword to eye level. Of its own accord, the tip of the blade moved, tracing a pattern in the air. Right and left, then up and down forming a cross. All the while, the shining blade reflected Wataru’s own face.
Suddenly, he felt lighter. What’s going on? Is this the new power? If it was, it was nothing like the magebullet he had fired in the swamp.
Then, Wataru realized he could no longer see the sword. In fact, he couldn’t see his own hand gripping the sword, although he still felt the hilt firm within his grasp.
I’m invisible!
The Spirit spoke.
—Wataru, this is the sword’s new power. As long as the cross is bound, your form cannot be seen. The sword has created a sacred barrier, hiding you from all eyes.
—Yet you must listen, for this barrier draws its energy from your own body. Do not maintain it for very long. Unform the cross as soon as you find a place to hide yourself. Hold it too long, and your strength will falter, and you will fall.
“Understood!” Wataru felt himself fill with courage.
It was time to find Elza.
The branch in Lyris was overrun with people, both Knights and Highlanders. Branch Chief Pam could be seen sitting in a back room across the table from a Knight of Stengel, his helm resting on his knee. The two were engaged in a heated debate. From the armor and crest he wore, and the attitude of the Knights around him, it was clear this was Captain Zaidek.
Elza was nowhere to be seen.