Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [340]
“We’re falling!” Kutz shouted. Like a pair of anvils, the two plummeted straight toward the blood-splattered stone terrace.
“Don’t interfere!” A voice rang in Wataru’s ears. It was Mitsuru. A light flashed in the depth of Wataru’s eyes, and suddenly, it was as though they had collided with an invisible wall in the air. Magic impacted with magic, and the world around Wataru warped and exploded.
Kutz shouted with rage and confusion, grabbing on to Wataru’s arm.
With a thud, they landed. They were on the ground. Wataru’s neck jolted with the impact.
“Where are we?” Kutz looked around. Wataru held his head in his hands until the world agreed to stop spinning around him. He shut his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw green.
They could still see the Crystal Palace, but it was considerably farther away now. Still, they could see the shining spire and the walls much clearer than when they had been over the city. Thin ribbons of smoke flowed out of the many castle windows.
“I think we’re on the castle grounds—this appears to be some kind of garden,” Kutz said with disbelief.
Somehow, the two had been transported into one of the many beautiful gardens surrounding the Crystal Palace. A gazebo stood upon a simple stone platform. It was the Garden of Victory, the very place where Mitsuru had spoken with Lady Zophie.
“Quiet here, isn’t it,” Kutz said, standing and wiping away the blood that had run into her right eye. “Not even a palace guard to greet us.”
“I think we’re inside Mitsuru’s wind-wall.” Wataru tried to stand, but his knees gave out beneath him. Kutz held him up.
“So this was spared the worst…” Kutz began, and fell silent. Now that her eyes were focusing properly, she could clearly see that the garden had been ravaged. Flowers were scattered, several trees had been uprooted, and the fence that surrounded the garden leaned at an awkward angle.
In the shadow of one of the hedges, two men appearing to be guards lay with their legs and arms splayed out upon the grass. Their blood stained the dirt an ominous black. Mitsuru’s winds had passed through here, with edges sharp as sickles. The storm had slashed through everything made of flesh.
“When we teleported above one of the terraces I was able to peek over the castle walls,” said Wataru. “There were bodies everywhere. I saw a severed head, and blood pooling in the courtyard. I think the same thing happened in there that happened out here.”
Mitsuru’s message was clear:
—I’m going to get the Crown of the Seal and no one’s going to stand in my way, be they knight or lady.
Wataru turned his back to the castle and looked out over the capital city. A great wall of wind enveloped the palace grounds, cutting off a clear view of the rest of the city. The light from the surrounding fires glowed like a diffuse crimson aura through the swirling winds.
“Why didn’t we just drop on the terrace after we teleported?”
“Mitsuru knocked us away. He knew I was using warping magic, and he used his power to create a wall of some kind.”
Wataru saw two drops of blood fall by Kutz’s feet. “You’re bleeding!” he gasped. “We need to get you some bandages.”
“It’s nothing,” she said. Her right eye was practically glued shut with blood.
“I’m going to try again. Are you ready?”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Kutz bound her whip tightly at her waist and grabbed on to Wataru’s arm.
Wataru closed his eyes. I can’t just think myself there. I need to use the power of the third gemstone…I have to get it to take me to the Crown of the Seal—to the place where the Gem of Darkness lies. I have to listen to the gemstone’s voice, I have to let it lead me.
“Please, take us there,” Wataru said softly, and he thought he heard a whispered “yes” in reply. “This is it!” he shouted to Kutz, and the two vanished from the