Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [292]
The strength was sapped from Wataru’s body. Meena, unable to restrain herself any longer, ran to his side for support. Addressing Mitsuru, she shouted, “You call yourself a friend? Do you even have a heart?”
Mitsuru stood smiling, both hands on his staff. He didn’t even look in Meena’s direction.
He lifted the gemstone-tipped staff above his head and began to chant. His voice was too low to be heard from where they stood, but the effect of his words soon became clear.
This spheres of wind hovering above the sea began to stir. They broke apart for a second before coming together as one. Soon they had transformed into a great cloak of wind, wrapping itself around the sailship. Gently, Mitsuru’s sailship rose from the surface of the sea. Riding on a platform of wind, it lifted into the air.
Wataru looked up and made eye contact with Mitsuru. “Goodbye,” he heard him say.
The cloak of wind around the ship undulated, then extended, becoming a tube that stretched out over the endless sea. The sailship carrying Mitsuru slid along it, disappearing into the distance.
Wataru watched it recede, becoming smaller, and finally disappearing where the sky and the sea became one.
He’s gone.
“They’re already out to sea,” Kee Keema said, stunned. “If they can ride like that, there’s no way we’ll catch them by sailship. Once they’re out on the open water, even if his magic runs out, they’ll have the wind in their sails to take them to the north.”
Meena grasped Wataru’s arm with a trembling hand.
—Goodbye.
Wataru had seen a light flash deep in Mitsuru’s eyes. It was a spark, he thought, that reflected an ongoing internal conflict. Despite what he said, Mitsuru was still grappling with a difficult moral dilemma. Would he do the right thing or continue pursuing his personal agenda?
Or maybe there wasn’t a light in his eyes at all. Maybe the conflict was in me—between the half of me that’s given up already, and the other half of me that wants to win. Who’s right? Me or Mitsuru?
So, Wataru thought, which is it?
Chapter 41
Night in Gasara
Twilight wrapped itself in a curtain around the town of Gasara.
The large gate at its entrance was closed. Here and there on the giant wall circling the town, torches burned and sputtered, shooting sparks into the sky. There seemed to be more torches now than when Wataru had last been here. There’s a need for more security, I guess.
Still, even in the midst of all the Halnera turmoil, there had been little rioting in Gasara. More or less, it was business as usual for everyone.
Initially, there had been some fear that Gasara would be susceptible to infiltrators from the North. Because the town was a popular destination point for traders, many believed outsiders would attempt to spread the tenets of the Old God. Yet that was not the case. People who knew the real conditions in the North were less susceptible to rumors. The ankha in Gasara knew first-hand that simple faith in the Old God wouldn’t save them from Halnera.
Most significantly, Gasara had Kutz the Rosethorn, widely regarded as the toughest branch chief in the land. That alone was a huge difference from Lyris. The truth about Halnera didn’t faze her, nor did she let it concern the people in her town. If the Goddess must choose someone to protect Vision, what business was it of theirs to protest? The one chosen by the Goddess was given a great and important task. They should be proud, not quivering with fear.
When people came to her, frightened and worried, she would laugh them away. “Don’t be so obsessed with yourself. The Goddess sees all. I hardly think she would rely on a sniveling coward who’s afraid to die for such a vital task. Sorry, chap, but you were never in the running to be the sacrifice.”
Wataru stood on the watchtower, looking down on the town. The top level was about six stories high. The guard had warned him when he started climbing