Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane Read online

  Slowly the blade rose. At its tip sat Tae’s throat. A light push made it dimple the flesh. As the blade moved forward the tiniest bit, its edge was stained red with blood.

  Her trembling ceased. A decision had been reached. With the same speed that she raised it, she pulled the knife away again. Tae heaved a heavy sigh.

  Just as she finished sheathing the knife, the door flew open without warning. It was Granny Viper. The first thing she saw wasn’t Tae’s face, but rather what the girl had in her hand. As she wrested the weapon from the girl with incredible force, Granny was probably disappointed by the complete lack of resistance. “Why you—”

  “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” Tae said in a voice so faint it was barely audible.

  An instant later a harsh slap landed on the girl’s cheek. Exposed by the way the shock of the blow turned her head, the other cheek resounded with another smack. A wrinkled hand seized the girl by the collar and shook her.

  “Listen—and listen good,” Granny said, hammering the words into the face of the young girl gazing back at her absentmindedly. “You’re valuable merchandise to me. It’d be a hell of a thing if you went off and damaged yourself now. I’ve got a duty to deliver you to your home without a mark on you. I’m responsible for you. And I’ve always met my responsibilities. Now, I’m not about to let you blemish my tidy reputation, either. You hear me? The next time you pull something like this, I’ll forget all about bringing you home and I’ll kill you myself. You remember that!”

  Tae waited until the old woman had finished her threats. “Please, just kill me,” the girl then mumbled.

  It took Granny a few seconds to realize what she’d just heard. “What did you say?”

  “I never even wanted to go home in the first place. So, if there’s anything you don’t like about me, go ahead and kill me here and now.” Though her tone was hollow, a resolute will lay behind it.

  “So, you don’t wanna go home then?” Granny said, sounding somewhat obtuse. She wasn’t badly flustered. In fact, the look she gave Tae was almost gentle.

  Tae was silent. A great weight had suddenly been lifted from her chest.

  “Swear to me you won’t try any more of this foolishness,” Granny bade her in a low voice.

  The girl’s pale visage was still aimed at the floor. For the longest time, the two of them simply stood there.

  Clucking her tongue, the old woman said, “You’re an obstinate one. But let me make it perfectly clear I’m pretty obstinate myself about you not doing anything else stupid. I don’t care if you try hanging yourself or drinking poison—I’ll bring you back to life and deliver you home. I’m not about to let a slip of a girl like you soil the name of Granny Viper. The Nobility did something to you, didn’t they?”

  Tae’s face shot up. “Don’t ask me about that,” she said.

  “Good enough,” the old woman said with a nod. “It seems just asking you was effective. Well, I suppose if you’ve come around that much, you’re not likely to do away with yourself so easily. Until we can get across this desert, just keep remembering all the bad things that happened to you.”

  “As far as memories go—I don’t really have any.”

  “Is that a fact? Then you just have to think about what lies ahead. A person can live without memories if need be.”

  Tae’s eyes shot up to the old woman’s face. “Is that what you do, Mrs. Viper?”

  “Spare me,” Granny Viper said with an exaggerated frown. “I’ve got hopes and dreams, too, you know. I’m out to make a load of money quick, then open myself a fabric store.”

  “A fabric store?” Tae said with amazement.

  “Yep. It may not look like it now, but I have really fine taste in clothes. See, before I got into this line of work, I had a place in the Capital. I always made children’s clothing, and eventually I even made a business out of it.”

  “A fabric store,” Tae muttered once more.

  “Traveling together all this time, I’ve noticed you like kids, don’t you?” Granny said in a gentle tone. “And since we’re on the subject of fabric, you may as well know there’s a sewing machine in the storage compartment under your bed. You can use it if you like.”

  “Can I really?”

  “You can’t wear that miserable puss forever. I just said I’d let you borrow my precious sewing machine, and I’ve never let anyone touch it before. Have to get you to cheer up, anyway. You sure look happy as a pig in slop, but are you sure you know how to use a sewing machine now?”

  “When I was back home, I used one a little bit.”

  “Then give it a shot. But I’m not about to let you use it for free. After all, it wears down on the parts. I was thinking if you had the know-how, I’d have you make me a children’s outfit.” Indicating the far end of the wagon with her left hand, Granny said, “The material’s in there. But if you make a mess of it, your family will have to reimburse me when I turn you over. Okay?”

  Not waiting for a response, Granny turned her back. Once she’d reached the door, she looked back.

  “I understand the Vampire Hunter might’ve said some callous things, but don’t let it get to you. He might wear a sour puss all the time, but he’s not the kind to bully folks. However, he does have to say some hard things to stay true to himself. It’s a hard life, being so tough on yourself like that. And I hear it’s a lot worse in his case. If you could get inside his skin, it’d be so sad in there it’d kill the likes of you or me.”

  Tae didn’t know what to say.

  “Oh, I saw our new arrival coming out of here earlier,” the old woman continued. “What was he up to in here?”

  “Not a thing. He just came in to cheer me up, is all.”

  “Hmm, must be nice being a pretty young thing. But I’ll have to have a word with him. I can’t have you getting all infested with bugs and such.”

  Granny stepped out of the wagon. A figure in black stood right there.

  “Heard us, did you?” the old woman asked.

  Not answering, D just put his hand to his traveler’s hat and tugged the brim down a bit.

  “Here I was, thinking you’re cold as ice, and then you go and do something all considerate like coming out from the shade under the wagon for me. You really are worried about the girl, aren’t you?”

  “Something strange is happening to the desert,” D said tersely.

  Granny’s expression changed. “What?” she asked in equally terse fashion.

  “I don’t know. Though something’s clearly not right, I can’t be certain just what it is.”

  “You saying we should move out, then?”

  D didn’t answer her, and Granny soon fell silent, too. They’d come to a conclusion about that earlier. For the time being, they could merely wait. D’s eyes shifted ever so slightly to the east.

  “What is it?” Granny asked, unable to see anything there.

  “I hear a sewing machine.”

  “Looks like she’s finally turned around,” Granny said with a wry smile. “Now all we have to do is get out of this desert and get away from you.”

  “From me?”

  “I’m sure you’re not so thickheaded as to miss what I’m driving at. You’re a dangerous man, not just for that girl, but for all women. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that? If they haven’t, it’s because one look at you scrambles their brains.”

  The old woman stared at D’s face, waiting for some reaction. Even out in the sunlight, he looked as beautiful as a crystal that’d formed somewhere in the darkness and then been worked by the chisel of the Almighty. A weird sensation surged up from Granny’s lower half, making her shake. The praise of the present world meant nothing to this young man. Only those dead and removed from the material world could pay him his due.

  “‘There’s no place like home,’” D said dispassionately. “At least, that’s the maxim of travelers on the Frontier. But is that really the case?”

  “I don’t necessarily know how relaxing it
’ll be, but if you’ve got one, it’s generally best you go back to it. You’re talking about the girl, aren’t you? You trying to suggest I shouldn’t bring her home?”

  “Are there any hidden who’ve settled back at home after you delivered them?” the Hunter asked.

  “I wouldn’t know,” Granny said, turning away disdainfully. “I’m only responsible for ’em until I get ’em home. But once they’re there, it’s somebody else’s problem, you see. I’m not really in a position to provide maintenance and upkeep, you know.”

  “I met one once,” D said. His darkness-hued words melted in the sunlight.

  Granny gazed vacantly at his beautiful countenance. Unrestrained curiosity and excitement colored her eyes. She couldn’t conceive of this young man ever turning his thoughts to the past.

  “It was in a village in a southwestern sector of the Frontier. Apparently, he’d been run out of town by the whole community. This boy of about eight was freezing to death by the banks of the river. Not long after I heard the particulars, he died.”

  “He must’ve done something or other, right?”

  “Don’t you see?” said the Hunter.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “He didn’t do anything at all.”

  “Is that so? Then, why would they do that?” Granny asked, seeming a bit peeved.

  “The boy had been with the Nobility for three months. That was all. A doctor had even verified there was nothing out of the ordinary. He could walk in the daylight, too. And in six months with him, his parents hadn’t noticed any strange symptoms.”

  Granny was at a loss for words.

  “However, a certain woman had her suspicions about him, and she went to the mayor and the leader of the Vigilance Committee and complained to them that she’d been bitten. Though they could tell at a glance that the wound had been faked, the two men chose to interpret it differently.”

  “They wanted to get rid of a nuisance, eh?”

  “Within the hour, the whole village was beating down the boy’s door. His father was killed trying to stop them, and the house was put to the torch.”

  “How awful,” Granny said, shrugging her shoulders coldly. Tilting her head to one side, she added, “But I’m a bit surprised a lad at death’s door could hold out long enough to tell you such an involved tale.”

  “The explanation came from his mother, who was right by his side.”

  “So, he had his mum there at the very end to look after him, did he? Well, that’s something, isn’t it?”

  “She was the same woman who’d tipped off the mayor.”

  White sunlight held the two of them in its embrace. The world was unspeakably peaceful.

  Granny awkwardly made her way over to the wagon. “Well, then. We don’t have the faintest clue what’s bound to happen, but I warrant the safe thing to do is have everything ready for departure. You said there was something strange out there, but do you think it’ll be headed this way soon?”

  “I don’t know,” D said, coming out of the shadows.

  Granny casually remarked, “I hear it hurts you dhampirs quite a bit to be out in the sunlight. If someone wanted to kill you, daytime would really be the only time to do it. I guess you really can’t fight your blood—” the crone said, stopping and clamping one hand over her own mouth mid-sentence.

  Her mouth may have been covered, but her feelings showed in her eyes. They were laughing. Laughing maliciously.

  Not seeming the least bit bothered, D walked out onto the sea of sand.

  “Er, pardon me,” Lance said, coming out from behind the rocks to the Hunter’s left. Apparently, he’d been keeping out of the sun there ever since Tae had chased him off. D didn’t stop walking, so Lance jogged after him. “Your name’s D, isn’t it?” he asked. “Back in my village, folks used to say that out on the Frontier there was this one incredible Vampire Hunter who was unbelievably handsome. That’d be you, wouldn’t it? In which case, the girl and the old woman are connected to your business, right? I mean, I don’t know the first thing about this. One of them’s unbelievably gloomy, and the other’s real testy. Say, speaking of the girl—she wouldn’t happen to be one of the hidden, would she?”

  “What if she is?” D asked as he walked.

  “Hey, it doesn’t matter to me. But shouldn’t you be comforting her or something? She’s had it bad enough up till now, and no matter where she goes, folks will give her a hard time if they find out what happened to her. The least you could do is be nice to her until she gets where she’s going.”

  D stopped in his tracks and looked at Lance. “And why are you telling me this?” he asked.

  Lance diverted his gaze. His cheeks wore a thin flush—even men blushed when they were subjected to D’s gaze. Coughing, he replied, “Well, because you’re the only one for the job. Girls her age always fall for the good-looking guys. I guarantee you that. And given that, you’re far and away the top out of the three men here. Why don’t you spend some time with her? I saw her crying earlier. A girl like her doesn’t deserve to suffer like that.”

  D watched the man without saying a word. Soon he turned to face the desert. It was an endless sea of sand. “Don’t leave this spot,” he told Lance in a low voice.

  Leaving the other man behind as he nodded his agreement, the Hunter advanced about twenty paces, and then stopped. As his face slowly scanned to his right and to his left, there wasn’t a trace of tension on it.

  “Well, there’s something wrong here, and then again there isn’t,” said a hoarse voice that slipped from the vicinity of his left hand. “But something’s sure to happen all right. Better be damn careful.”

  At that instant, darkness hid the sky. D’s coat had fluttered out around him. As he whipped around, his eyes found nothing. There was naught but waves of sand dunes slumbering out in the white sunlight. Lance wasn’t there, nor was the old woman and her wagon. Even the rocky mound was gone.

  “Oh, boy,” D’s left hand moaned. “Just perfect. We’ve been hit with another psi attack.”

  PSI ATTACK

  CHAPTER 4

  .

  I

  .

  How strong is the attack?” D asked, not sounding at all distressed.

  “As if you couldn’t tell already. Well, I’d say it’s about five thousand rigels on the Noble scale. Enough to drive the entire population of a city mad in a millisecond.”

  “The desert doesn’t pull any punches.”

  “You said it,” the laughter-tinged voice concurred. Both he and the Hunter had far more nerve than any human.

  The sound of the wind died out.

  D looked down at his feet; waves were lapping at them. His entire field of view was filled by an expanse of deep blue sea. Crests broke here and there, turning the rays of the sun into droplets of light. It looked as though the trip across it would span thousands of miles.

  “And the purpose of all this—well, I guess it’s to gauge your abilities. What are you gonna do?”

  Giving no reply to the voice’s query, D stood there. His legs then went into motion. The waves pulled away. Before the sea could help it, the Hunter was waist-deep in the water. The waves were sensors, and their very movements most likely served to relay the results of this test.

  “Very interesting,” the voice chortled. “So, the desert is a sea, then? Seems it’s trying to surprise you, but we’ll see who gets a surprise.”

  Even before the voice had finished speaking, the veracity of its claim became evident. A “feeling” that certainly seemed like astonishment raced across the surface of the sea around D. Silence shrouded the world.

  “Looks like it doesn’t know quite what to make of you,” the voice said, seemingly beside itself with joy. “It’s times like these it pays to stick around with you. So, what move will it make?”

  D supplied the answer. He was gazing at one spot in the sea. A white wake was drawing closer at a considerable speed.

  “Here it comes. There’s a shark in the wate
r.”

  Whether or not D knew what the voice was pointing out, he remained stock-still.

  The range was about fifty yards. Forty yards . . . Thirty . . . Twenty . . .

  The wake faded into nothingness. Whatever had been knifing through the surface must’ve gone back underwater.

  “Gotta stay on your toes. Your opponent’s only an illusion,” the voice told D. “You’ll have to beat it with just your psyche. Carving it up won’t do you any good.”

  Suddenly, the surface of the water bubbled up. The dark blue form of a fish broke the surface as it leapt into the air. It was a streamlined behemoth, nearly twelve feet long and weighing a good five hundred pounds. The front end had a gigantic mouth open wide and a red gullet. The teeth were like white spearheads.

  A flash of silver tore through the entire body. D ducked ever so slightly, and the colossal fish split in two over his head, dropping into the water with an incredible plume of spray. Watery beads reflecting the white sunlight quickly turned to purple with the fresh blood spilling from the beast.

  However, D’s eyes were drawn to the two bloody trails running behind the creature. The trails had drawn closer together almost instantly, converging to form a single wake that began leisurely circling D.

  “Looks like the other side’s no slouch, either,” the voice said, its tone tense. “If your mental powers beat it, we should’ve gone back where we were the second you sliced into that thing. But since it didn’t play out that way, this could be trouble. You can kill this thing over and over, and it’ll just keep coming.”

  D’s reply was placid. “Still, it has to die eventually. Even if it’s just an illusion.”

  “Kill a dream?” the voice snickered. “I suppose you probably could, at that. Here it comes!”

  The wake died out; D felt the wall of water pushing against his lower body. Apparently his foe intended to attack from underwater. Deadly as D’s blade might be, its speed and power would be halved when underwater. In that respect, the phantasmal sea would be real enough.

  D sank below the surface. Shifting his sword to his left hip, the Hunter was poised like those who drew and struck from the waist. The movements of the water relayed the speed and distance of his foe—and for a second, a flash of crimson zipped right by D. In stark contrast to the blue sky, the streak didn’t fade for the longest time. The Hunter’s submerged foe writhed in agony.