Across the street was a line of brightly colored roofs. All of the homes were made of stone. Out on the Frontier, where one gust of the cold wind could freeze you to the bone, it was said to be the best sort of insulator. Behind the stone houses was a black mountain range projecting into the melancholy darkness of the sky. The colors worn by the people coming and going on the street were equally dark and oppressive.
Spotting a bus station soon after leaving the dock, D walked over to the barrack-style office with his cyborg horse and asked which way it was to the village of Florence.
He was told he’d have to make his way out of the north end of town, and then go over a mountain. The official grew pale as he also advised the young man not to go after sundown. “The area around the village used to be crawling with Nobility. Even now, there’re plenty of odd happenings in those parts at night. And the lone bus that’ll go there only runs in the daylight.”
Leaving the office, D quickly got back on his horse. He didn’t so much as glance at the people coming out of the landing. Undoubtedly Glen was out there somewhere, with his gaze pinned on the Hunter.
With a piercing screech, an engine-driven truck stopped right next to him. Though the empty cargo bed of the truck was wide open, the front seat was enclosed by iron plates. The door opened with a loud creak of its hinges, and Su-In stuck her head out.
“I suppose this is good-bye,” she said, her cheeks as rosy as apples thanks to the chilly air.
“Where are you headed?” D asked her. Perhaps he had some sort of hunch what she was going to say.
“Florence.”
“Live there, do you?” asked the Hunter.
“That’s right.”
“I hear the roads are dangerous by night,” was all D said as he tugged at his reins.
“How did you know that?! Say,” Su-In called out to him, somewhat flustered, “if you’re going that way, at least let me go along with you. As it happens, the road splits in quite a few places, and when it comes to dealing with strange characters, I’ve got more experience. The fact is, I’m in a hurry, too.”
“If you slow me down, I’ll leave you behind.”
“Funny—I was about to say the same thing to you,” Su-In shot back, letting her white teeth show.
From beside her, someone else commented in an austere tone, “I’ll forever be in your debt,” and bowed without looking at D. It was the same traveling holy man who’d stepped in to stop the fight between Su-In and the bald warrior back at the other landing.
“He helped me out when there was trouble back at the dock. Said he came to spread the word hereabouts, and that he’d love to go see Florence, too.”
“Well, I’m leaving right away.”
“So am I,” Su-In replied, a confident grin on her lips. As she sat behind the wheel of the truck, it was as if the simple country girl had become an entirely different person.
Just as the cyborg horse’s iron-shod hooves tore into the ground, the truck’s gasoline-powered engine gave a mighty roar.
Five minutes after leaving town, they came to a steep mountain road. The narrow lane that seemed to creep across the mountainous terrain disappeared between the trees.
Su-In stopped her truck. “Care to live a little dangerously?” she asked D.
“How’s that?”
“The regular way is to the right. But that’ll take us till noon tomorrow. If we go this way, we’ll get there by morning,” she said, her pale finger indicating the slope before them.
At first glance, it didn’t seem like much more than an area densely overgrown with trees and weeds, but a closer look through the faint darkness revealed an almost metallic glint barely discernible between the bizarrely twisted stalks and leaves. Apparently it was a road.
“This was the Nobility’s road. It punches straight through the mountain and runs all the way to Florence. As a matter of fact, the road we’ve been using up till now is part of the same one; it’s just been covered with dirt. Folks tried to get rid of it, but even a pile of gunpowder couldn’t put so much as a little bitty crack in it. I suppose the Nobles’ vehicles could’ve driven there in two hours, but we’ll be lucky to get there by morning. Yeah, I know it looks like hell, but once you’re on it, the bushes and trees don’t really get in the way much.”
“Good enough,” D said, wheeling his horse around. A second later, he raced ahead. The truck sped off just a little behind him.
Just as Su-In had promised, the grass and shrubs weren’t much of a hindrance at all. The iron-shod hooves rang out loudly on the road. Though various shades of green hid either side of the road, it had to be easily thirty feet wide. It was constructed of a reinforced plastic—undoubtedly, this highway had been intended exclusively for high-speed cars. In ages past, robotic horses and electronic cars designed to resemble elegant carriages would’ve passed this way bearing the lords and ladies of the Nobility. But all of that had become mere dreams of distant days, and now the hooves of a Vampire Hunter’s mount and the sickly rattle of an engine echoed across it.
They continued down that road for perhaps two hours. The world had already surrendered itself to the mastery of darkness, and yet there wasn’t a moon or even a single star to be seen in the stagnant heavens. It was just the sort of dark night that robbed all who dwelt on the Frontier of any peace of mind.
Off in the distance, there was the howl of what sounded like a wolf.
Rider and truck traveled side by side, with the vehicle’s headlights throwing bright circles on the road ahead as they zipped along at around forty miles per hour.
Suddenly the old priest turned to the woman in the driver’s seat and said, “My word, the aura of the supernatural has gotten thick out here. It certainly is a comfort having him along with us,” he groaned, the most solemn of expressions on his face.
“It sure is. He’s a hell of a man. I bet he could take this mountain road without any light at all.”
“In this pitch black? He couldn’t possibly . . .” the priest said, his words dying out. But he soon gave a nod of acceptance—even he must’ve been able to see the power within the young man who rode alongside them. “Who on earth is he? The other man back at the dock was certainly good looking, but he couldn’t begin to measure up to this one for sheer other-worldliness. Seems like he might have some blood that’s not entirely human . . .”
“Could be.”
“Lowly wretch that I am, I did happen to see a picture postcard of your village back in Cronenberg. It really is quite a nice—”
“Look out!” Su-In shouted.
The vehicle’s rubber-wrapped wooden wheels squealed harshly, and the priest went nose-first into the windshield.
Catching a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye, Su-In leaned out the window. “D, what was that just now?” she asked.
Something white had cut right through the bright ring of the truck’s headlights. Judging from the fact that he’d halted his horse, D had clearly seen it, too.
“It was human in form,” said D. He was gazing off to the same side of the road where it had disappeared.
“In form?”
“I could see right through it. Probably a phantasm or some kind of holograph. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?”
“It seems this used to be a hunting ground for the Nobility. Maybe it’s a ghost.”
“I couldn’t say for sure. And I don’t have time to look into it. Let’s go.”
Nodding, Su-In said, “You’re decisive. I like that.” She sounded quite charmed.
Once more they raced off into the darkness, and another hour passed.
Still holding a handkerchief to his brow as he leaned forward in his seat, the priest said, “Hey, that looks like—”
“A tunnel,” Su-In said.
Ahead of them, a glowing half-moon shape was rapidly drawing nearer.
“But there are lights burning inside!”
“Well, that’s because it was built by the Nobility,” the woman
replied. “This road is over ten thousand years old, you know.”
Neither D nor Su-In halted. In no time, hoofbeats echoed all around them. Then they stopped. Su-In slammed on the brake as well.
The road seemed to run on forever in a straight line, but out in the middle of it a lone figure was simply standing. It was a man garbed in a blue cape.
Su-In knit her brow.
Something glittered as it fell from the man’s body to his feet: drops of water. The droplets rained from every inch of his form, as if he were some drowned soul just pulled from the water. With flowing blond hair, an unwavering gaze, and a regal nose—he had to be a Noble.
For several seconds, no one moved at all. Were they waiting to see how the other would react?
Then there was a harsh clattering. Seeing D galloping into action, the priest gasped. As the Noble stood stock-still, a flash of light from the mounted Hunter blazed toward his neck.
“He vanished!” the priest exclaimed.
At the sound of the old man’s voice, Su-In—who was still at the wheel beside him—returned to her senses and a cry of “Huh?!” escaped her.
There was no one on the road D was doubling back over.
“It was just an illusion. There was no substance to it,” D said matter-of-factly.
“What do you suppose it was?” Su-In asked him, her voice seeming to cling to him for support. “It was a Noble, right? Never saw one on this road before—I was really scared. But it’s been over two hundred years since there were any Nobility around here. I’ve never heard of there being any vengeful spirits wandering around, either.”
Saying nothing, D stared at the spot where the Noble had stood.
The two other pairs of eyes followed his, and at least one of those present let out a cry of astonishment. A glistening stain remained on the semitransparent floor. A puddle of water.
“This is salt water,” said D. Su-In didn’t see him as he put the palm of his left hand to the puddle. “Sea water . . .” The words were fragmented, but clear. He was contemplating their import.
For a while, there wasn’t a single sound.
“Shall we go?” D finally suggested.
“Sure,” Su-In responded, her tone already rock-steady once again.
Thirty minutes later they came out of the tunnel—there was forest to either side of them. Between dead trees that looked like the broken fingers of giants were scattered the rotten and collapsed remains of what seemed to be buildings.
“Would you happen to know what those are?” the priest asked with deep curiosity.
“They’re said to be vacation homes for the Nobility, but I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh, so this was some sort of resort then? Even as cold as it is here?”
“It only got like this around here after there was some trouble with the weather controllers. While I’ve never seen it that way myself, legend has it this area was a tranquil getaway spot, lush and green, thousands of years ago. There are more ruins near the village.”
“You don’t say.”
“All things come to an end, whether they have life or not. See for yourself.”
Following the woman’s remark, the priest focused on the point she indicated through the windshield and gasped. At some point, the truck and D had been surrounded by pale blue lights. Wolves. Wrapped in a dazzling phosphorescence, dozens of them raced all around the truck and horse. From their eyes spilled streaks of flame, and from their savagely rent lips came gouts of burning blue breath.
“Oh, this isn’t good at all!” the old priest cried. “Those are pets of the Nobility—‘Children of the Night.’ Nothing on earth savors the taste of human flesh more than these creatures!”
“Get a grip on yourself. You’re not very enlightened for a priest, are you?” Su-In said scornfully. “They’re all illusions. The real pets died off ages ago.”
“Well, I’ll be!” the priest said, breaking into a grin and lightly smacking himself on the cheeks. Laughing aloud, he claimed he’d suspected it was something like that all along.
Su-In then said to him, “But they sure act like you’d expect pets of the Nobility to. Even though they’re just illusions, they still go after humans. Listen to that.”
The sound of trees being shredded shook the holy man’s eardrums, leaving him pale as a corpse.
“It’s okay. Tough as they are, they can’t eat a truck. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be so sure about him.”
“You needn’t worry,” the priest said, his voice swollen with confidence for some reason.
The luminescent forms were closing on D, too. It was impossible to say whether what gushed from their gaping maws was fiery breath or glowing spittle. One of the beasts was like a speeding ball of light as it came at him with all its might to bite into the horse’s right flank. But the very instant it seemed to sink its teeth in, there was a vertical slash of silvery light and the beast’s head separated from its body, sailing through the air and vanishing before it could strike the ground.
Two more raced toward the rider this time, blue streaks trailing behind them. Not even bothering to turn, D made a sweep of his sword to the right. As if drawn to the weapon, the vicious beasts launched themselves right into the silvery arc, and were reduced to flecks of light before they vanished. D’s skill with a blade was such he could’ve stopped a foe at the speed of sound.
The wolves’ speed dwindled swiftly. D tore right through their midst, and the truck did the same.
After meeting with no other eerie beings, the group reached the exit of the short, final tunnel just as the pale light of dawn was brightening the eastern sky. The Nobles’ thoroughfare twisted off into the distance, while to the left of it—beyond the sheer black walls that supported the road—the gray sea lay peacefully. The glittering points near the horizon must’ve been chunks of ice. The heavens were heavy with clouds the same shade as the sea. Although the distance wasn’t quite clear, a thin line that broke off from the white road went on to run along the cliffs at one point, while at the end of it lines of rooftops of some sort of community could be seen. The roofs themselves were all bleak shades quite at odds with the colorful name of Florence.
Though the heater was on in the truck’s cab, the priest pulled his collar tight and shivered nonetheless. Su-In had just opened the door and climbed out of the cab.
Looking up at D on his mount, she said, “We’re there at last!”
There was no reply.
Long hair billowing out in the chill air that swept in from the sea, the figure of beauty silently gazed at the village that lay ahead. If his eyes could read the whole tale that was about to begin, Su-In thought, the results must be incredibly tragic, and that was enough to leave her frozen in a daze.
The sky, the sea, the wind, and even the young man himself all looked terribly sad.
“Say,” the woman began, finally able to speak when the figure on horseback pulled his reins tight, “now that we’ve come this far, I suppose it should be fair to ask you something. Where are you going in Florence?”
“The home of a girl named Wu-Lin.”
Su-In’s eyes went wide. “You know her last name?” she asked.
“No.”
“What are you going to her house for?”
D turned to Su-In. Not because the intensity of her tone almost made it sound like an interrogation, but because of the way she’d said “her.”
“Is she an acquaintance of yours?” he asked.
Never averting her eyes from the young man’s bottomless gaze, Su-In said, “Now, this might seem like a terrible thing to say, but that’s one name I never wanted to hear from you. Wu-Lin is my little sister.”
Gazing at the woman’s face for a while, D proffered his left hand in Su-In’s direction. It was balled in a fist. He then opened it.
Su-In stared down at the mysterious bead that appeared in the palm of his hand, utterly stunned. “I could see if some other guy had it—but why you?” Su-In asked, tears spilling from her e
yes. “My little sister—is she dead, then?”
“Yes,” D said, his tone soft but clear. It was as if he were some beautiful messenger for the afterlife. “Her last words were a request that I bring this back to her home. You should take it.”
Su-In didn’t put her hand out. “So you came all this way to deliver that? Someone like you? I find that really hard to believe. I can’t take that from you.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I did, you’d turn around right here and be on your way. That’s the kind of person you are. Please, just come back to the house with me and tell us about Wu-Lin. You see, I’m actually the one who let her go off to Cronenberg.”
The tiniest bit of emotion stirred in D’s eyes. Closing his five fingers once more, D pulled the fist back and grabbed his reins. But the bead didn’t fall from his hand. It’d suddenly vanished from his palm.
“Thank you,” said Su-In.
As soon as the words had left the woman’s mouth, someone behind her said, “No, it’s I who should be thanking both of you.”
It was the traveling priest, who’d apparently gotten out of the truck at some point. His head was bowed.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he continued. “I’ve neglected to introduce myself, haven’t I? I’m known as Ban’gyoh, which means ‘the savage dawn.’ I’m also the founder of the Church of the Third Coming. Though to be honest, I should add that it’s a new faith with no adherents aside from myself. No money, no followers, and no home at present. All I have is a faith in my beliefs as I travel the wide world, promulgating this new religion. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
And saying that, he promptly turned and started back toward the truck. But on the way, he stopped and looked over his shoulder to say, “And you, sir—though you may appear less than amiable, you must in fact be truly admirable to have come so far to deliver a keepsake. It may well be that you have the blood of God in you. I’m certain someday soon you’ll be showered with blessings.”
And with that, he went back to the passenger seat of the cab and shut the door.
“That sure is one wacky priest,” a hoarse voice declared.
Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part 1 Page 8