by HR Moore
'We need to plant some trees,' she said, between mouthfuls.
'Huh?'
'For carbon-offsetting purposes.'
'Oh, yeah, the Pagans have an impressive negative carbon footprint. We don't use jets often, only when there's a pressing need, and we believe in living in harmony with the earth.'
'Oh, good.'
They ate in silence for a few moments.
'What did Rose mean yesterday? When she said someone else might try to claim me?'
Caspar stilled, looking at her over his latte. 'She meant that someone like the Templars might try to take advantage of the recent discord between you and I, and convince you to join their ranks.'
'Why would they?'
'Once you've registered as part of a nation, it's tricky to get out. In every new lifetime, you can choose which nation you want to be in, but as soon as you've chosen, you have obligations. Some nations take those more seriously than others.
'The Buddhists let people come and go freely, and so do the Pagans … mostly anyway. But the Templars view their demons as assets to be deployed in whatever way their leadership sees fit.'
Amari swallowed a mouthful of croissant. 'What happens if a demon goes against Templar orders?'
'They're tortured, or killed … or worse.' Caspar's eyes went dark.
'Worse?'
'Their loved ones are tortured and killed. Or they're killed permanently, never to be reincarnated again. The Templars don't believe in mercy.'
'Why would the Templars want me?'
She played with a strawberry, her appetite waning.
'Endless reasons. You're an incredible strategist with lifetimes of experience. You have extensive knowledge of the Pagan nation, and others. They know it would hurt the Pagan leadership to see you go … Rose relies on you. We all do. And they know what you and I are to each other.'
'You think Raina might choose to register as a Templar?' A sadistic, merciless nation—really? This was what she'd left her happy human life for?
'Honestly, I don't know. Their leader—Jamie—and you … have a past. And it sounds like something happened between you two, during the time we were apart.' Caspar looked at his hands. 'So I guess there's a chance you'll choose them.'
'The guy on the beach? In the memory? He's the Templar leader?' He'd seemed like a puppy dog …
'Yes. Horrible, slimy little piece of work. You wouldn't have given him the time of day under ordinary circumstances.' Caspar's fists clenched.
'Then what happened?'
His eyes flicked up to hers. 'That's what I want to know. What the hell happened?'
Chapter 17
Amari and Caspar sat in the back of a Toyota pickup, blindfolded, hot and uncomfortable, bouncing down a dirt road towards a destination unknown.
'Are we nearly there yet?' asked Amari, for the tenth time.
Her words were, once again, met with silence. They'd been on the road for several hours, at least.
She sat in the middle seat, Caspar next to her, his hand on her leg. He seemed relaxed, resigned to whatever length of journey they would have to endure, but Amari wasn't wired that way.
'Seriously? You've got nothing? Doesn't this bother you?'
'Was that a question for me?' asked Caspar.
'It's for anyone who'd like to chip in.'
'We can't do anything about it,' said Caspar, squeezing her leg. 'I'm sure it won't be too much further.'
Sometime later—Amari wasn't at all sure how much—the pickup came to a sedate stop, and they were told they could remove their blindfolds. They had to turn away from the assault of the light, waiting for their eyes to adjust.
Amari was stunned by the beauty. The dazzling sun reflected off a beautiful, crystal-clear, deep blue lake, with snowcapped mountains in the distance. Lush green trees lined the banks, and behind them, a beautiful temple butted up against the cliffs … no, was built into the cliffs. Amari couldn't help but stare.
'The water in the lake comes from a glacier,' said Caspar. 'It's perfectly pure.'
Amari's eyes were alight, taking in as much as she could. She couldn't believe how flawless everything was.
They walked towards the temple, through a wooden pagoda, into an open area with an engraved stone column at its center. It must have been fifteen meters tall, towering above them, topped by an elaborately carved circle with eight spokes.
They walked past the column and up a set of stairs cut into the stone. At the top was a set of stone pillars carved with flowers and animals and symbols, most of which Amari recognized as Buddhist iconography.
The pillars had been cut out of the cliff itself, making for a strange transition at the tops. The carefully carved stone starkly contrasted with the rugged natural stone above. In the middle of the pillars stood an open archway. Amari and Caspar stepped inside, following the Buddhist demon escorting them.
They found themselves in a colossal stone cave. Amari's mouth dropped open at the hall full of stone structures and intricate carvings. In some ways it reminded her of a Christian cathedral, but instead of being built from the ground up, brick by brick, it had been carved, thousands of years before, out of the solid stone of the cliffs.
The hall must have been forty metres long, fifteen high and wide, with stone arches supporting the roof. How ancient humans had managed such a miraculous feat, Amari couldn't fathom.
Ornate pillars ran the length of the hall on either side, space behind them for a walkway. At the far end stood a domed structure. A pillar with three horizontal rings protruded from the top, and it, too, had space behind it, separating it from the wall.
The walls were like nothing Amari had ever seen, polished yet highly elaborate, featuring carvings of people, animals, and plants, symbols and patterns. Amari couldn't even begin to comprehend the amount of time, the number of people, the level of devotion that must have gone into the hall's construction. Lifetime upon lifetime's worth of sweat and determination and fervor, an endless string of people painstakingly chipping away.
Caspar put his hands together and performed a little bow, pointed toward the far end of the hall. Amari copied him.
'It's quite something, isn't it?' said Caspar.
'That's the most obnoxious understatement of all time,' she replied, not looking at him, her eyes hungry to take in every detail.
'The dome at the end contains holy scriptures and relics. They're buried inside, and the dome was built on top.'
'This hall's used for worship?'
'Meditation, yes. There are more rooms through those doors,' he said, indicating toward the doors on each side of the hall, near to where they stood.
'More?'
Caspar laughed. 'Yes. There's an assembly hall, a dining hall, a garden, and accommodations.'
'All carved into the rock like this?'
'Most of it.'
'How long did it take to build?'
'Hundreds of years. Thousands, if you count the ongoing work.'
'Did you … were you here? When they built it?'
'Some of it, although I came in at the later end, and was only suitable for grunt work; I lacked the finesse of the master carvers. I only dedicated one lifetime to this particular cause.'
'A whole lifetime?'
'Yes. These caves aren't the only ones. There are a number of examples across Asia.'
'It's crazy what people achieved, with only their bare hands.'
'It is,' agreed Caspar.
'This way,' said the Buddhist, who'd stood patiently while they marveled.
He led them through the left-hand door, along a corridor with windows overlooking the lake. They entered another hall, this one squarer than the first. It had a flat ceiling with a lotus flower carving protruding from the centre, and more pillars around the outside. It was lighter than the meditation hall, due to the windows cut all along one wall.
They continued down the corridor, until they entered a garden chamber at the very end. It too had windows all along the lake-side wall,
but also had a hole at the back of the chamber, where part of the ceiling had collapsed, allowing sunlight to pour in.
Plants had been cultivated here, and there was running water, sprouting up from a split in the rock floor. It trickled along the length of the room, flowing out through a hole under the windows.
On the far side of the garden sat a small, unassuming monk dressed in maroon robes, meditating on the unforgiving rock.
The Buddhist who'd escorted them left the room, and Caspar went to sit opposite the meditating monk, sinking down to sit cross-legged too.
Amari sat next to him. 'What are you doing?' she whispered.
'Meditating,' he replied, with a smirk.
'Okay …' said Amari. 'How do I meditate?'
'Just close your eyes, relax your body, and pay attention to your breathing. If you notice your mind wandering, bring it back to your breathing. In and out.'
'That's it?'
'That's it.'
'Seems simple enough.'
Caspar gave her a look and huffed out a laugh. 'If you say so.'
They meditated for a time, although, seeing as their phones had been confiscated, it was impossible to tell exactly how long. Amari lost concentration easily at the beginning, her mind wandering to the lake, the monk, the caves, when they would have their next meal, what the food would be … But after a while, she got the hang of it, catching her mind before letting it scurry away. She was wholly consumed by the time Caspar took hold of her hand, pulling her back to the world.
Caspar put his hands together and bowed to the monk. The monk did the same. Amari, feeling a little foolish, copied them, and the monk returned the gesture.
'Caspar,' said the monk.
'Tsering,' said Caspar.
'Who is this you have brought me …? It is Raina's great power, but … muted, is it not?'
'This is Amari. Raina is yet to awake.'
Tsering slapped his leg and let out a shout of laughter. 'Ha! That old sack! So stubborn. More stubborn in old age, I think.'
Amari scowled.
Caspar laughed. 'I can't say you're wrong.'
Amari resisted the urge to hit him, fairly sure such behavior would be frowned upon in present company.
'You come about the Templars?' said Tsering.
Caspar nodded. 'How much do you know?'
'Only what my envoy at the Registerium has told me. Rose visited the Registerium to report hostile behaviors, saying the Templars want war.'
'And, understandably, the Registerium don't want to act. Not yet anyway,' said Caspar.
'So you're here to butter me up, in case it comes to side picking.'
'You know as well as I do how this goes,' said Caspar.
'When will you have had enough? Warmongering? Killing? Lying? Stealing? Ending lives, needlessly. And for what? Eh? Lust. Lust of the body. Lusting after possessions. Clinging to impermanent things. You people will never find peace, enlightenment.'
'My philosophy is the same as yours, ever since you taught it to me,' said Caspar. 'Right views, right speech, right action. I don't want war. I want …'
'… you want her,' said Tsering, pointing at Amari. 'And she is a corrupter, a warmonger. Suffering will follow wherever she goes. Suffering we must leave behind on the path to enlightenment.'
Amari recoiled at the quiet ferocity of his words.
'Love is its own kind of enlightenment,' said Caspar.
'Love of this kind is suffering, embracing impermanence.'
'We can't all be celibate,' said Caspar.
'No. Only those of us who want to be happy.'
'I would have thought, with all the time you've spent working towards enlightenment, you'd have reached nirvana by now, and would no longer be with us. Maybe your teachings aren't quite as perfect as you like to believe,' said Caspar, with a little smile.
'I'll reach enlightenment when it is right for me to do so. Until then, I can but follow the eight-fold path. You are ignorant, so much bad karma.'
'I hope to buy some good karma with the gifts we've brought you,' said Caspar. The Pagans made a point of being generous with their allies, and Tsering knew it.
'Charity is enlightened. I thank you for your gifts, whatever they are. Now tell me, what else do you have to say about the Templars?'
Caspar relayed everything he knew.
Tsering spent several minutes pondering Caspar's words, then said, 'I will think on this further.'
'May we stay until you've done so?' asked Caspar.
'Of course; it is our pleasure to host the Pagan nation. You shall be in separate accommodations, in the dormitories. And everybody here contributes, as you know.'
'Thank you,' said Caspar. 'We're honored to help in any way we can.'
'Well, that was a delight,' said Amari, as she and Caspar walked back to the meditation hall alone.
Caspar laughed. 'Tsering never liked you. He thought I would rejoin the Buddhists eventually, but then I fell in love with you, and he knew all hope was lost. And he's right, you're not a natural Buddhist.'
'Would you have gone back to the Buddhists, if not for Raina?'
'No. I've told him that, but I can't make him believe me.'
Another monk greeted them in the meditation hall. 'This way to your accommodations,' he said. 'Your bags are already there.'
They followed the monk across the meditation hall and out the other side, into another large hall. A number of doors led off it, at the back and along the far wall. Thick mats lined the near wall, and Amari spotted Caspar's bag towards the middle.
'This is where you will sleep,' the monk said to Caspar.
'Thank you,' said Caspar.
'And you will be through here,' said the monk, leading them through a door that led out into the sunshine.
They walked fifty metres down a compacted dirt path to a wooden building with beautiful carvings around the top. The men waited outside while Amari looked around her sleeping quarters.
The setup was much like Caspar's, with a series of small rooms off a large central area. She peeked into one of the side rooms, and found it, like the main room, contained little aside from mats on the floor, although it did have the luxury of a window.
At least, she reasoned, she'd have a wooden floor to sleep on, whereas Caspar would be sleeping on stone.
Outside, she found Caspar alone. 'We've got time to wash and change before dinner,' he said.
'The sleeping arrangements are dreamy,' she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
'Just think how much you'll appreciate the bed in the jet on the way back home.'
'Mmmm,' she purred, 'it's going to be glorious. So, where do we wash?'
Caspar laughed. 'You'll see.'
Caspar led Amari down another dirt path, and through the trees, to the edge of the lake. A little hut stood on the bank, containing a shelf full of thin, worn towels, and a couple of benches.
'Are you serious?' asked Amari.
Caspar just looked at her and smiled. He went into the hut and began to take off his clothes.
'Are men and women supposed to be in here together?' she asked. 'Because that's not the vibe I've been getting.'
Caspar laughed. 'No. Generally, any fraternization with the opposite sex is frowned upon. So, no PDA while anyone can see us. Men and women are supposed to wash at different times.'
'Well, seeing as I've already been labelled a corrupting influence …' said Amari, stripping off too.
They grabbed towels, wrapping themselves up for the short walk to the edge of the lake. Caspar discarded his towel and jumped straight in, but Amari had to psych herself up first. She knew just how cold these glacial waters would be. She inched down the stone steps, still clutching her towel around her for warmth.
'Come on,' called Caspar, splashing around. 'It's invigorating.'
'It's flipping freezing, and you know it.'
Amari took one last deep breath, threw aside her towel, and launched herself into the water.
It made th
e stream pool near Maltings seem positively balmy. Amari took staccato breaths, trying to get over the shock.
'Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,' she said, without conscious thought.
Caspar laughed. 'You'll be fine in a second.'
'Jesus. Shit. Jesus. This is so … ' She didn't have the words to describe what this was. Her brain was shutting down.
Caspar didn't stop laughing.
Amari's body eventually acclimatized, her shoulders relaxing enough for her to move. They splashed around, Caspar dunking his head, trying to convince Amari to do it too. She refrained. Once was quite enough for her.
It was invigorating, but neither of them wanted to linger. Amari's lips turned blue with surprising speed, and her teeth chattered as she climbed out and grabbed her towel. She quickly wrapped it around her freezing, shaking body, sad they couldn't use each other's body heat.
'We can walk back up wearing our towels,' said Caspar, following her out, 'and change into fresh clothes in our sleeping quarters.'
They made it halfway back through the trees before Caspar pulled her off the path, pushing her behind a tree. He dropped his clothes, discarding hers too, then kissed her with urgent lips.
'I hate not being able to touch you,' he said.
Amari drew open her towel and pulled him flush against her, the heat of his naked torso delicious against her freezing skin. She pressed her face to him, seeking any patch of warmth.
'We've been here less than two hours,' she said.
Caspar's hands roamed over her skin. 'But there's nowhere private, and Tsering doesn't like you. He's probably concocting a plan to keep us apart.'
'We're only going to be here a couple of days …'
Caspar wrapped his arms around her, and Amari hummed, appreciating his heat.
'Going to be a long couple of days,' he said.
He pulled away, rewrapped her towel, and gave her one last resigned kiss.
By the time Amari and Caspar made it to dinner—now dressed in monks' robes—they were exhausted. They'd been enlisted to help as soon as they'd entered their respective dormitories. Amari had been put on cooking duty with a group of five nuns. Caspar had been given a hammer and chisel and told to work on a new room they were carving from the stone. His hands weren't used to physical labor, and his palms were blistered and bleeding.