The Rose Princess Read online

  “I said wait, blast it! If you’re always that cold to folks, you won’t meet a pretty end.” Mama Kipsch then added, “Though I suppose even if you aren’t cold, you still won’t have a peaceful death. Wait, already! Whatever became of my grandson’s remains?”

  “I let them float down the river,” D replied. “Those were his instructions.”

  “That’s a lie,” the old woman said, stomping her foot angrily. “Who in the world would ask someone to chuck their body in a river? For starters, if it was only six miles from here, that wouldn’t have been very far to bring him back. I think you’re trying to hide something.”

  “He said he didn’t want you to see the body. By the look of it, he’d hit quite a few rocks on his way down the river. Do you want to hear the details?”

  “No, spare me.”

  “I’ll be on the edge of town,” D told her. “Find me if there’s anything else you want to know.”

  As the horse began to move, Mama Kipsch let go of it.

  Once the rider had gone so far he wouldn’t have seen her if he’d turned and looked, a hoarse voice said, “That’s one hell of an old girl!” The amused tone issued from D’s left hand, which was wrapped around the reins. “Of course, if she wasn’t such a tough old bird, there’s no way her grandson would’ve been able to do what he did, either.” Chuckling, it added, “Floated him down the river, did you?”

  The voice was then choked out in an anguished cry.

  Although D had clenched his left hand tightly, not the least bit of that strength was conveyed to the reins.

  —

  Heading straight for the edge of the village, D arrived at a pile of mysterious ruins after twisting and turning down several narrow paths.

  Rising from the center of a clearing covered by a wild green carpet of grass, the walls of stone and metal looked like they’d been melted by extreme heat in places, or had crumbled in others. Although the structures no longer retained their original shapes, a concerted gaze would reveal the remains of stonework foundations, paved corridors, and the partitions that had delineated each individual room. Amid grass and white flowers that swayed in the breeze, the remains were more than six hundred feet in diameter, spreading in a way that perfectly illustrated the vain nature of mortal existence and the callousness of the winds of time.

  Passing through what little remained of the bronze gates and stone pillars, D entered the ruins. The wind snarled above him. Perhaps due to the legacy of some ancient architectural technique, the wind blew through the gate and took on a strangely morose whistle before it blustered against the traveler in black.

  Tethering his cyborg horse to a wooden pole that looked to have been part of a fence and then taking the saddle and bags from it, D gazed off to the west.

  Green hills rolled on and on like something out of a painting. At the summit of the one farthest back there towered a solemn castle. This region could almost be considered mountainous, and while the Nobility’s manors in such places had mostly doubled as fortresses, this was an exception. It had been constructed with a grace and refinement befitting the character of those who lived by night. Surely it had to be the castle of the “princess” the murderous knights had mentioned.

  However, D returned his eyes to the ruins without any particular emotion, then began to walk around the barely extant roof and ramparts with a measured gait that made it seem like he was performing some sort of inspection. When he’d gone halfway around the perimeter, the ostentatious roar of engines could be heard growing closer from the same path that had brought him there.

  Elena and her friends had stopped their motorcycles in front of the ruins. The air carried the heavy scent of gasoline. Just as the bikers were about to enter the area, they froze in place as if they’d just taken a jolt of electricity, and then backed away as D appeared.

  Even the sirens who lured captains to their doom with their lovely countenances and sweet songs would’ve undoubtedly fallen victim to his beauty in exactly the same way with just one glance. But far surpassing his good looks was the ghastly aura that knifed into the flesh of all who beheld him—something that gave Elena the feeling they were dealing with a fiend even more powerful than the four knights.

  “I’ve come out here because I’ve got something talk over with you,” the girl finally managed to say. The words caught in her throat, and her voice was terribly hoarse.

  “What kind of talk would that be?”

  As the young man spoke, his unearthly aura seemed to wane, and Elena let out an easy breath. A slight spell of dizziness came over her, but she was able to stand her ground. Her friends were watching. She couldn’t make a fool of herself.

  Coughing once, she said, “You impressed the hell out of us. So we were thinking we’d let you hook up with our outfit.”

  Seeing D turn his back on them, the members of the group looked at each other. There was neither turmoil nor anger on their faces. All of them had seen with their own eyes the true power of the traveler in black.

  A young man straddling a bike a bit larger than the rest rose from the seat. In keeping with the size of his vehicle, he was about six and a half feet tall. “I told you he wouldn’t go for it, Elena,” he said. “Seriously, why would he ever join us? Any way you look at it, he’s a lot tougher than we are. All we can do is try to get on his good side.”

  “I’m not about to bow and scrape to some drifter I don’t know from a hole in the ground!” the girl exclaimed, vermilion rising in her cheeks. Pressing her lips into a hard, straight line, she continued, “Everyone, head on over to Grau’s bar. I’m gonna stay here and hash this out.”

  “Hey now,” the giant shot back.

  “Just who’s the leader here, Stahl?”

  “You are. And I don’t think anyone here questions that. It’s just, this time—”

  “This time I’m in over my head, so you thought you’d shoot your mouth off? So, I suppose you’ve just been watching out for me all this time, have you?”

  The girl’s eyes blazed with a fierce light that silenced the giant—Stahl.

  “Okay,” Stahl said after closing his eyes and persuading himself. Gripping the handlebars once more, he shouted, “You heard what she said, people. We’re going to Grau’s!”

  Once she was sure the roar of their exhaust and all other signs of them had vanished, Elena glared at the ruins.

  There was no sign of the traveler.

  Putting one hand to the left side of her chest, the girl tried to get her breathing back under control. The weapon she had wound about her waist felt unreliable. Still, Elena sent herself into the ruins with a gait that firmly planted one step after another on the paving stones.

  Although she soon found the horse, D was nowhere to be seen. The ruins covered quite a large area, and there were plenty of places to hide. Having played here since childhood, Elena knew the area like her own backyard, but finding the traveler on the first try would be difficult.

  “Just you wait and see. I’ll show you what you get for ignoring me!”

  As she spoke, the right hand that’d rested on her hip came up, and a streak of black shot out and wrapped around one of the ruin’s stone beams. A second later, Elena was swinging easily into the air.

  From the top of the highest beam—some thirty feet up—she commanded a view of the whole ruins. But as much as she strained her eyes, all she could find were scant spots of green between the ruins and the ground below. Although she was supposed to be searching for D, Elena then turned her gaze to the west. Even before her eyes had focused on the manor, her lips twisted and her teeth gnashed.

  Just as her anger was approaching its peak, a voice called out behind her, “Don’t even think about it.”

  The fact that it took Elena a full second to turn in amazement showed just how angry she was.

  A metallic clatter resounded from her right hand, and out of her fist spilled a long, thin chain. With a weight the size of a small stone at one end, it was this same chain that had all
owed her to swing up there.

  The young man of unearthly beauty who stood behind her was met by a razor-sharp gaze.

  “These ruins haven’t done you any harm,” said D.

  “Well, I’ll take it out on you, then,” Elena replied as she toyed with the chain in her hand. She must’ve had nearly fifty feet of it wrapped around her trim waist. It wasn’t the sort of thing they taught girls at finishing school.

  If D hadn’t come out when he did, she probably would’ve broken some of the beams or knocked a hole in the ceiling.

  “You’ve been a real jerk,” the girl continued. “And just to clear something up—if you think we’re afraid of those lousy knights, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “What do you want?” asked D.

  The wind fluttered the hem of his black coat. Some of its threads were loose, and the lining was visible. The edge of the garment was badly frayed.

  “To do this!” the girl cried.

  A whirring flash of black ripped through the wind to coil around D’s arm and torso.

  “Ah!” Elena gasped, but the wind devoured her cry. Stunned, she stared at the tree branch her weapon was wrapped around. D must’ve had it ready all along. No doubt he’d figured out earlier what kind of weapon she carried. He stood in exactly the same spot as before.

  “You’re good,” Elena remarked.

  Her second shot made a beeline for D’s chest.

  D turned one shoulder toward her and avoided the endlessly stretching links.

  Behind him, the chain whipped around without slowing down at all, headed back in the opposite direction, and wrapped around D’s neck.

  “Sucker! That’s like the first trick you learn to do with a weighted chain. Where are all your tricks now?” she asked. “Or were you just lucky last time?”

  “Not really.”

  Elena looked all around despite herself—she didn’t think the hoarse voice she’d just heard belonged to D.

  A second later, the inky black form leapt into the air. The move was so unexpected that Elena was left without any options.

  Light shot out above her head.

  With a shriek, the girl extended both arms. Even given the outstanding reflexes with which she’d been blessed, the girl still found her own reaction miraculous.

  Her chain stopped the steel with a cha-chink!

  But Elena couldn’t move. D held his sword with one hand. Elena, however, was using both hands. Even taking the strength difference of their respective sexes into consideration, she should’ve at least been able to jump out of the way. Yet she couldn’t move at all, as if her body had been turned to lead.

  But that wasn’t entirely true, either—her hands alone continued to sink, slowly but surely.

  When the edge of the chain finally touched her forehead, Elena exclaimed, “I give up!”

  The way she coughed up the words, it seemed like she was spitting up blood.

  —

  III

  —

  To be completely honest, she wasn’t even sure that her words were enough to save her. He’ll just cut me down here and now—that was her strongest feeling. Somewhere in her heart, she thought it would be inevitable coming from that young man. And that was why she was left so stunned when the pressure she felt was gone so suddenly.

  But the surprises didn’t end there.

  D had turned his gaze toward the manor as if he’d lost all interest in her, but she saw his right hand.

  “Where’s the sword!” the girl exclaimed.

  It was at that point every inch of Elena’s flesh rose with goosebumps. She’d seen a flash of steel, felt it strike her chain, and had even heard the sound of it. Although each of these had the earmarks of a fierce blow from a skilled blade, she had to wonder if it’d all been an illusion. Could it be the blow she’d barely managed to stop, and then struggled with all her might to deflect with absolutely no success, had been nothing more than a barehanded chop?

  “Is there anyone in the manor aside from the four knights?”

  It was only several seconds later that the girl understood that D was asking her a question. And she didn’t answer until several seconds more had passed.

  “I don’t know. No one’s been inside.”

  That was all she said before she hung her head. She’d realized that if D was holding his sword, she’d never be able to stop it and would inevitably be cut in two. Then, she suddenly thought of something. Looking up again with desperation on her face, she asked, “Do you want something up there? Say, could it be—you’re a Vampire Hunter, aren’t you?”

  “Ever been outside it?” asked D.

  “Sure I have. Plenty of times,” Elena replied, feeling the center of her chest grow hot. In dribs and drabs, blood began to work its way through her frozen heart once more. “There are no defense systems next to the castle walls. There used to be all kinds of stuff set up in the old days, but if there’re any now they’ll only be on the inside.”

  “How about entrances?”

  “Nothing but the castle gate—I was going to say, but there’s one more. Again, this was a long time ago, but when some folks from the village were preparing for guerrilla warfare, they made a hole in the wall the day before. Not long ago—maybe three days back—I was out that way and it’s still there. Don’t worry,” she added, “it’s more than big enough for you to get through. So, you going up there?”

  “If you don’t have any business with me, go home.”

  “No way. Take me with you,” Elena said as she felt power surging through her body.

  All of her despair was banished. The young man who’d bested her like she was a mere infant was going to fight the Noble up in the manor. The mere thought of it was enough to make her body tremble with excitement.

  “I’ve got some serious ill will toward those clowns,” Elena said. “The princess, in particular. Come on, you’ve gotta let me help you. I take back what I said earlier. I’ve got no problem with you running the show.”

  “It takes more than ill will to destroy a Noble,” D said frostily as he looked up at the sky.

  Elena imagined he was calculating how long he had until sunset.

  The figure in black leaned forward casually. Without a sound, he drifted down from a height of fifty feet. The way his coat spread out reminded the girl of a certain creature. It looked just like a—

  As the traveler was heading for his horse, the girl called out to him, “I’m going, too!”

  And with that cry Elena tightened her grip on her chain and raced after D.

  —

  Less than five minutes after leaving the ruins, Elena found herself mired in a new sense of surprise. Although her bike was supposed to be twice as fast as the average cyborg horse, she could barely keep up with the galloping rider. Since it didn’t look like he was riding a custom model, the only conclusion she could draw was that it was due to his horsemanship.

  When they reached the foot of the hill, D looked back at the girl and said, “Wait here.”

  “Not a chance,” Elena replied, shaking her head. “After all, I haven’t even told you where the hole is yet. I don’t care how good you are, you’ll still be looking for it when the sun goes down. And once that happens, much as you may hate it, the princess will be in her element. Even if that doesn’t happen, the four knights still move around by day, too. You could use all the friends you can get.”

  Saying nothing, D rode up to the bike and leaned over. His left hand reached out and took hold of the handlebars. A second later, he let go and wheeled his horse around. He didn’t lash his mount or give it the spurs; he simply rode on with the reins in his hands.

  “Of all the nerve,” Elena spat. But as she gave the accelerator a twist, her eyes bulged in their sockets.

  Her bike wouldn’t budge. Although the engine was running, the transmission wasn’t functioning.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she grumbled. “I just tuned the damn thing this morning!”

  Without
so much as a backward glance at Elena as she wildly wrestled with the throttle, the black pair of rider and mount swiftly disappeared in the distance.

  “You’re gonna pay for that, buster!” Elena shouted with all the anger in her heart.

  —

  The layout of the grounds around the manor and the traps set there were things D had committed to memory.

  Mazes, quicksand, flooding areas, spear-lined pits, swarms of monstrous insects—these were not the only death traps that might prove inescapable for invaders. The electronic brains that controlled everything surely maintained their constant vigil through the day, too. And even if someone made it through all of those defenses, the four knights would be waiting for him. This wasn’t the sort of place anyone who valued his life would go.

  D advanced in silence.

  Suddenly the scenery changed. Greenery so dark it was nearly black seemed to have been utterly rooted out, leaving the reddish brown soil exposed. Bereft of a single rock or tree or blade of grass, the tableau that stretched before him was one of relentless destruction and ruin.

  Without even a moment’s hesitation, D rode right through the area. Soon he heard the sound of running water growing closer. After continuing on for another five minutes, the horse and rider found their advance blocked by a powerful torrent of water.

  Clear as glass, the river seemed to swerve away from the hill to its west—where the castle loomed—as it rushed along to provide water for the entire region. Further upstream—about sixty feet from the Hunter’s present location—a rope bridge spanned the river. Thirty feet in the air, it stretched three times that length and ended at the base of a steep slope that led directly to the castle gate.

  When he was just fifteen feet shy of the bridge, a voice that D alone heard said, “This sure is fishy.” The words echoed from the vicinity of his left hand, which was wrapped around the reins. “The brush we came through earlier, this river, the bridge—they’re rigged with all kinds of traps. That’s what my gut’s telling me. What,” the hand then exclaimed, “you’ve already started across it?! You just don’t listen, do you?”

  Yet for all the objections and dissatisfaction the voice had carried, D crossed the bridge without incident and came to a path that ran like a tunnel through rows of trees with interwoven branches. The sun was blotted out, and shadows and light began to form a vivid mosaic on the rider and his horse.