CHAPTER 23

The two women left the drakes to their meal and returned to the doorway leading to the stairwell, where Katarina scattered her light marbles.

"What’s the play? Charge in like last time?" Sasaki asked, and Katarina shook her head.

"That was a Witch. This is something else." She replied simply.

Sasaki waited expectantly for more, but after a moment, she prodded the taller woman. "...and?"

"What?" Katarina asked curiously.

"Nothing else? No tidbit of information you feel like passing along?" Sasaki asked truculently.

"Well..." Katarina began, and then stopped. "You’re not really interested in being a Witch Hunter, so I doubt it would be helpful to you." Katarina replied simply. "I just don’t think it’s from a person. We’ll find out when we get closer."

"Is this you playing games with me?" Sasaki asked, rolling her eyes.

Katarina shook her head. "Just don’t want to waste your time." She replied simply.

Sasaki sighed. "I didn’t say I didn’t want to." She replied, brows lowering. "I have shit to take care of first."

"I could come with you." Katarina offered, and Sasaki barked a laugh.

"No." She replied flatly. "I may be contrary and I may fight with every breath against the ridiculousness of the society I was raised in, but I am Yamato, Katarina." She said determinedly, "I would not let you set foot on our lands even if we were lovers."

Katarina settled her hand on her hip and gave her a skeptical look, but then shrugged indifferently and gestured down the hall.

"It’s most likely we’ll find some sort of magical device that guards or protects something." She offered casually. "Maybe a treasure, maybe books or heretical texts, maybe a weapon, or you know, whatever they thought was valuable at the time." Katarina remarked dismissively.

She began picking up the marbles and tossing them down the hall as they moved. As the hall was illuminated, there appeared to be a pile of detritus or debris further in.

"What do you suppose that is?" Sasaki asked with a gesture.

"Dead people." Katarina replied, deadpan. Sasaki jerked her head around in shock. Katarina pointed wordlessly, and Sasaki squinted but couldn’t see anything.

"Whatever you’re seeing, I’m not-" She started, and spotted a skull laying between the floor and the wall.

"Oh." Sasaki remarked quietly. Katarina nodded.

"What do you think?" Katarina asked, and Sasaki adjusted her sword. "It’s a trap." She replied.

Katarina nodded. "Well, you’re about as smart as the average beastman, then." Katarina joked. "Those corpses have rotted away to bones. Those beastmen back there never even came this way." She observed. "No tracks." She finished.

"Then you’re an idiot, going where they fear to tread." Sasaki replied mockingly. Katarina shot her a look, and Sasaki answered it with a grin.

"You want to get shot?" Katarina warned. "Comments like that’ll get you shot." She warned, and Sasaki laughed nastily.

When they arrived at the pile of corpses, they discovered a doorway, with the bodies heaped just in front of it. They examined the bodies carefully. There were a few of them; one was a massive and deformed skeleton, human-shaped but the arms were entirely too long.

One was dressed in all sorts of accouterments. Katarina examined that one curiously. Something kept drawing her attention back to it again and again, but she couldn’t pin down why.

The skeleton was missing its head, and Katarina surmised that was the skull they’d spotted against the wall. The clothes were rotted shreds that clung to the bones of the corpse.

Tucked in the rotted shreds of clothing was an old-fashioned muzzle-loader. Her eyebrows shot up.

"I don’t know about the others... but this was a Witch Hunter, Sasaki." Katarina mentioned quietly.

Katarina stripped off her gloves and tucked them behind her belt, and squatted in front of the mummified corpse of the fallen Witch Hunter.

Without completely understanding what she was doing, Katarina took the skeletonized fingers in her own, gently, reverently.

"Three is the number of the Goddess." She began, as Sasaki stared at her in bafflement. "The number of power. The number of the Woman."

The hallway was dark, dimly lit, but in her mind’s eye she replayed the ceremony she’d performed with her master ten years before, when she’d become an apprentice. She could still remember the flickering of the campfire, the relentless blaze of his eyes, mouth drawn in a perpetual scowl. A tingling thrill started at Katarina’s fingertips. She was certain this was why she’d been drawn to the corpse.

"Six is the Goddess’ number doubled; it stands for her people, male and female, alike and different, given the world to tame and subjugate." She stated, as if reciting a verse. The tingle crawled down her fingers, into the scars of her palms.

Katarina took a breath and held it, the thingle was becoming an ache, an agony she remembered. It burrowed deep into her hands, slicing the flesh apart.

Katarina cast her thoughts back to her initiation; that time she’d had to drive a knife through the palms of her hands.

She stared into the space where the skeleton’s head would have been.

"Seven. Seven is the number of the Goddesses’ people, plus one, for Herself, the golden heart of the Lily that flowers around her."

Immediately, the raw, rusty agony leapt up Katarina’s arms in cruel curves and spirals. It didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the first time.

"I accept your burden, and stand ready for what comes." Katarina finished tightly, and the pain flared for a moment, white-hot, and then winked out.

Katarina lost her footing and fell from her squat to lay heavily on her side. The skeleton was once more just a skeleton, a jumbled mass of decaying bones. Whatever had made them stand out to Katarina was gone.

"What... what was that?" Sasaki asked curiously.

"A Witch Hunter ritual." Katarina replied after a long moment. "He was trained in the old ways, as I was."

"What does that mean?" Sasaki asked curiously, hunkering next to the Witch Hunter, who was flexing her hands.

"Just what it means, Sasaki." Katarina replied simply.

Katarina reached into her pack and rolled out a piece of leather and began stripping the corpse of its jewelry, adding rings and bracelets and necklaces and trinkets and the like.

"What’s that, are you... looting him?" Sasaki asked, a touch of distaste in her tone. Katarina shook her head.

"I told you, right?" Katarina replied. "We burn our dead." She replied. "If we’re lucky, something in these trinkets will give us a clue as to their identity. If nothing else, a mage back at the Holy Church can scry their end." Katarina replied. "If there are no clues, then yes, I’ll take their things. Except for the gun, the gun will be returned to the Church." She summarized.

"Are they even Anglish?" Sasaki asked. Katarina shrugged. "Don’t know. Doesn’t matter; they were a Witch Hunter. But only Witch Hunters carry guns." She replied, and then smiled.

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"Hey, wipe that smug look off your face. The Yamato have been fine without firearms for five thousand years."

Katarina nodded, and then rebutted. "Except the world is much larger than the Yamato islands." and Sasaki nodded reluctantly.

"So how did they die?" Sasaki asked.

Katarina smirked. "You can’t figure it out on your own?" She asked, and Sasaki frowned at her.

Katarina gestured at the door on the opposite side of the hall. "Open the door and you lose your head." She explained. "Though I think I might lose my shoulders, too." She added.

Katarina moved out of the way of the door, planted her back against the wall, and glanced at the opposite wall briefly before carefully pulling on the doorlatch and pushing it open.

Instantly, a beam of magical energy played over the hall from inside the room, seeking a target.

Katarina rolled her eyes at Sasaki, who was against the wall on the other side of the doorway. Sasaki gestured at the beam that tracked through the confines of the doorway, searing a smoking line in the floor and wall as it tracked about, seemingly seeking a living target. After several seconds, the beam winked out.

After waiting a full minute, Katarina stuck her hand out and waved it, but there seemed to be no response.

"What do you think?" Sasaki whispered.

"Either the device is very dumb, or it’s very smart." Katarina whispered back, and then peeked into the room.

The room was octagonal, and at each point in the octagon, there were two short pillars topped with glowing crystals. A beam of some blue or blue-green energy connected to each pillar, all intersecting at something in the middle that was obscured by the brilliance.

"Is it safe?" Sasaki asked, and Katarina nodded once, shortly. "I think it triggered when the door broke the beams." She replied. "Don’t cross the doorway."

"Beams?" Sasaki asked curiously, and took a peek. "Oh."

Katarina took a breath and checked the loads on her gun, loosened her sword in her scabbard, and extended her antimagic field. As soon as the field cut across the beams, something in the center of the brilliance fired again and slammed into the antimagic field with enough force to push Katarina back a step.

Sasaki huddled against the taller woman, eyes wide and fearful, her hair billowing out and whipping back and forth. Katarina took a step forward, and then a second. The beam seemed to intensify, but Katarina lowered her head and grimly stepped forward, Sasaki clinging to her, eyes now squeezed tight against the brilliance. She took another step forward, and then another, and then her barrier overlapped a pillar in the center of the room and the beam whiffed out, killing the overwhelming brilliance in the room.

The crystal on the pillar toppled off, hit the floor, and went a sickly yellow, then brown, and then a charred black. It blistered, and then cracked apart.

"You always do that?" Sasaki asked, touching the crystal with the tip of her shoe. She jerked it back with a hiss, and the tip of her shoe smoldered, releasing a wisp of smoke.

"Sometimes." Katarina replied. "My ability to cancel out magic can sometimes destroy magical devices." She replied. "Makes me real popular at inns with private bathtubs. Places like that use magical water heaters." She added.

Sasaki gave Katarina a nonplussed expression. "We’re not going to talk about him at all?" She quipped, and gestured at the young man that floated in a coccoon of blue-green energy, sustained by the crisscrossing beams of magical power. Sasaki wasn’t well-versed in judging the ages of the Anglish, but she had him pegged somewhat younger than she herself was.

"Well, I figure that’s the easy part." Katarina replied comfortably. "The flow of magic starts with him, flows out along the beams to the pillars, cycles around, and then flows back." Katarina explained comfortably. "We shut down at least some of those pillars, that will disrupt the flow, freeing this guy." She replied. "Since he’s a mage and there’s no mark of Sanctioning, he has to die."

Sasaki folded her thin arms across her chest. "You can’t honestly expect me to believe that claptrap. You made it up." She accused impudently.

Katarina shook her head and tapped her temple. "Auravision." Katarina replied. "I can see the flow of magical power. Trust me when I say it starts and ends with him. We have to disrupt the magic first."

"He’s right there, Katarina. I can cut him in half right now." Sasaki advised.

Katarina shook her head. "He’s well protected in there."

Sasaki sighed. "We can’t get any easy breaks, can we?" She complained, and Katarina chuckled.

"You’re kidding, right?" Katarina replied with a grin. "We’ll fall back to the door, and burn out those crystals in the outer ring. Easy." She explained.

"You’re always so nonchalant." Sasaki complained. "Isn’t there something that sets you on edge?" She asked, and Katarina nodded. "A lot." She replied, her voice losing its sardonic edge. "There’s a lot that I’ve seen and done that..." She paused, and shook her head. "Too much." She gave Sasaki a smile though, completely free of cynicism. "But the Golden Lady watches over her children, Sasaki." She added simply.

Sasaki let out a sigh and her shoulders slumped. "I can’t-" She began, and shook her head. "I wish I had such faith." She finally admitted.

Katarina let out a sigh. "A conversation for another time." She said after a long minute. "Let’s wrap this up. I’m hungry and I want to get out of here."

The two of them retreated under cover of Katarina’s antimagic field to the door of the chamber. After the crystals sizzled and fell apart, the beams flickering around the chamber died by reluctant degrees. The cocoon faded around the man, who drifted to the floor.

"Now?" Sasaki asked, and Katarina shook her head. "Nah. Let’s let this play out." She replied insouciantly.

After a long moment, the man stirred, raising his hands in front of his face. He appeared to examine them carefully, as if seeing them for the first time. Katarina settled her feet, causing her spurs to jingle. The man’s response was immediate. He rolled to his feet gracefully.

"Jub ner libh geb junxar zir?" He asked, and the two women gave him two equally baffled expressions. He was a hale and hearty adult, Katarina judged, placing him around her age. She frowned. He was definitely different before he’d woken up. Younger, perhaps?

Katarina raised her holy symbol. "My name is Katarina." She spoke clearly and smoothly, baffled by the webs of lines that had appeared at the corners of his eyes. "I am a Witch Hunter in service to the Golden Lady."

"Jung vf guvf? Jub ner lbh? Jung ynathntr vf gung? Fcrnx Urthan, qnzzvg!" He demanded, and Katarina smirked, and ostentatiously placed one hand over her heart.

"Zntr Uhagre". She replied back carefully, and Sasaki’s eyes popped. Katarina could understand him? She glanced back at the guy and frowned. Wasn’t he younger?

The man jolted at Katarina’s words and shook his head and raised his hands placatingly. He noticed something on his hands and let out a screamy shock of fright. He looked at the backs of his hands, at the palms, at the backs, and then he raised his hands to his face.

"Ab!" he shouted in terror, over and over again. "Ab!, Ab!, Ab!"

"What is it?" Sasaki asked. "What’s wrong with him?" She asked.

"I don’t know." Katarina replied, eyeing the man’s silvery hair. "It looks like he’s aging."

Sasaki nodded. "He looked younger than me before we woke him up." She replied.

The man fell to one knee, his hair completely white now. His skin had gone loose and cheesy, swarmed with liver spots.

"Phefr lbh!" He screamed at Katarina, who shook her head in bafflement. He raised his withered hands and Katarina swiftly grabbed Sasaki and pulled her close as the man let loose a storm of electricity from his fingertips. The threads of electrical power snapped and exploded against Katarina’s anti-magical field in a radiant shower of coruscating sparks. Katarina glanced down at Sasaki and smirked.

"What’re you grinning like an idiot for?" Sasaki demanded, pitching her voice over the roar of electricity.

"His magic is weaker. It grows weaker with every second." Katarina replied.

Suddenly, he raised his hands and beams of power shot from his hands and struck the crystals in the room, which then fired searing beams against Katarina’s barrier, but Katarina strode forward, pulling her gun free of her holster.

"In the name of the Golden Lady, I find you guilty of witchcraft and heresy, the punishment of which is death." Katarina shouted over the magical assault, and pulled the trigger of her gun. The bullet struck him straight in the chest, blowing him backwards with a breathless scream. He flopped and jackknifed and sunfished, body jerking spasmodically.

"What did-" Sasaki began, and corrected herself. "What’s happening?"

"I don’t know if I can explain it." Katarina replied thoughtfully. "I’ve never been able to explain it properly. I don’t have the words to explain it properly. Magic flows... I guess like nerves. What I did was scramble those flows and it’s tearing him apart." She finished. "A healer I know taught me about nerves. They tell the heart to beat, they tell you to breathe. They control how you move." She added, moving her arm for emphasis. "That shot scrambled them all up." She explained haltingly. Sasaki nodded. Some of the sword techniques she knew were dependent on disrupting those nerve impulses.

The man went limp, but his aging progressed as they watched. In the span of a few minutes he had gone from a young and healthy boy Katarina had pegged at perhaps sixteen or seventeen to an old man in the advanced stages of old age, older still than Mother Swan.

"What’d you say to him?" Sasaki asked curiously. Katarina chuckled.

"He was speaking an older form of Urthan, I think." She replied. "I don’t know much at all of that language. I just told him I was a Witch Hunter."

Sasaki nodded. "Are we done?" Katarina seemed to consider for a moment, and nodded. "We’re done. Let’s go back to Aston."

At the top of the stairs, they could see the night sky. "Not much further." Katarina encouraged.

Katarina glanced back at the two firedrakes that had followed the two ladies.

"Hey you two." She greeted comfortably, and pointed at the town.

"You can come with me down there. You’ll be fed and watered and trained to fight." She encouraged, and then pointed at the forests. "Or you can head into the forests and fend for yourselves." She glanced back the way they came. "I suppose you could stay here, though I don’t think there’s much left to eat."

The two drakes hissed and chattered at each other, and Katarina gestured to Sasaki, and the two of them began trekking down the hill towards the city.