Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [275]
“The mirror?”
Kee Keema took a step toward the mirror, reaching out his hand as if to touch it. Then, thinking better of it, he stepped away.
The Precept-King nodded. “All Travelers find the Mirror of Truth at some point during their journey through Vision. Each of them, in their own way, will find it. Yet, when their journey is done, they must return it to the Goddess. They’re not allowed to return it to the world of Vision. It is too dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes. The Mirror of Truth may be used to go between this place and the real world, you see.”
Wataru looked at Meena. A spark of understanding lit in her eyes. “I was always told I should never let my mirror leave my possession—though I had no idea what it could do. I don’t think my parents knew either.”
“That knowledge is forbidden,” the Precept-King said, smiling gently at Meena. “But now, you know its secret, don’t you?”
Meena nodded hesitantly. “Not that I would ever dream of doing anything with it myself.”
“Ah, if only everyone in Vision was as honest as you.”
The Precept-King cast his eyes downward, spotting the hammer lying at his feet. He slowly reached down to pick it up, and placed it on his lap. It was as though he hadn’t even realized it had dropped out of his limp hands until now.
“This Mirror of Truth is actually a collection of twelve mirrors once held by the Travelers who lived here. Each mirror has a soul, you see. Those souls have fused, and here they have a form. That is what we were protecting. We sought to keep anyone with schemes to travel between this world and the real world away.”
Wataru felt his heart beat faster in his chest. “Twelve? You’ve added one more to your number.”
The Precept-King looked at Wataru and smiled. “Indeed. You see, one of us escaped quite recently. Even now, he is still at large. He is the fugitive, the breaker of the oath with the Goddess, the traitor. He is the rebel that appeared from among us. That is why we must be punished.”
“And that punishment…” the words caught in Wataru’s throat. “This frozen city? Did the Goddess do this?”
The Precept-King nodded. He lowered his chin to his chest and closed his eyes.
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?” Kee Keema spoke. His speech was still slurred, numbed by the cold. “The Goddess we know is benevolent. I can’t believe she would punish everyone for just one broken promise. There must be some mistake?”
“Gods are ever strict,” the Precept-King said, his eyes still closed. “And men ever weak. Their eyes filled with greed, they scheme foolishly against the heavens. The Goddess knows this all too well. After all, it has happened many times before.”
One of the twelve, escaped. Still at large. And the Goddess is furious. Wataru’s heart beat even faster. “An emergency call went out to the Highlanders in the lowlands. They’re looking for a fugitive!”
Meena’s eyes opened wide. “That’s right! They said he he stole vital national secrets and was heading to the north. Maybe he’s the one…”
The Precept-King’s jaw tightened. “Is this so? Then, yes, it probably is him. So the Goddess has acted on her own, has she?”
That solves the mystery of the fugitive’s origins.
“As it turns out, we happen to be Highlanders,” Kee Keema said proudly, his eyes brightening with interest for the first time since arriving in the cold city. “If this fugitive was one of yours, maybe you have some clue as to his whereabouts, where he might’ve gone? It’s our duty to find him.”
Gripping the back of his chair, the Precept-King tried to stand, but his legs were unresponsive. Giving up, he sat back down. “Then you understand our predicament better than I thought. The reason I summoned you—the reason I asked you to come all this way—was to capture that fugitive. I do have a clue as to his whereabouts. I can tell you exactly where he is now.”
“How?”
“The mirror will show us. Please, give me your hand.”
Wataru and Meena grabbed the Precept-King’s arms, and managed to help him stand. Slowly, he hobbled over to the Mirror of Truth, and standing before it, he raised his