Zaldizko - Chapter 21 The Office Of Exacles

My mind was struggling to keep up with the milky crystal corridors that shimmered with a pinkish white light as we walked.

At first, I thought that the walls were moonstone, but I soon realised they held a smoother and more translucent texture.

_”Fascinating. This is the first time I’ve walked through a corridor made from milk tourmaline. The semblance magic imbued within the walls causes the stone to cast those delicious watermelon streaks to give you that walking on a cloud feeling,”_ Death said in my mind that almost made me blurt out with a strange reaction.

_”Why have you been silent Death?!”_ I curtly thought whilst hiding my relief.

I was conscious of not drawing unnecessary attention from Lyra and Buru.

_”We were staying low until I knew that we were safe to talk. Besides, Small Cap’s body needs a lot of daytime rest. Fortunately, you weren’t body searched or had your belt taken off you.”_

_”Isn’t mind speaking secure enough?”_I frowned.

_”Not with you. Your mind is like an open tent with a welcome sign. I’ll need to teach you the skill of mind shielding once I’ve returned to my body,”_ he lectured me.

_”For now, I’m acting as your shield, but it won’t block anyone who is a semblance master pertaining to telepathy.”_

My thoughts naturally returned to that weird dream with Leinard with hopes Death hadn’t seen it.

_”I did and that is another matter for discussion, once this whole thing is behind us.”_ Death sternly confirmed, making me cringe with an urge of finding a hole to crawl into, so I could lie low for a while.

_”Me find good bark Freend can hide behind.”_ Small Cap chipped in with his version of a consoling pat on the back.

_”Thank you, Small Cap, I won’t need the bark, but I appreciate the gesture. You’re a great friend.”_ I reassured my spider friend and felt a rush of good cheer from his mind.

Colin and I continued to follow Lyra’s lead in silence. I could tell by his eyes that he was carefully considering the situation and possibly for the moment we would be able to break for an escape.

Right now, we had no idea of our surroundings, so it was best to play safe for the time being.

I was also curious about the person who was a splitting image of Leinard. Did Leinard and Trix have an older brother that I didn’t know about? I was sure I would learn soon enough.

The tourmaline corridors finally ended at a destination. I blinked with surprise at the sight before me.

Office? You’ve got to be kidding me.

The Office of Exacles was a weird pentagon shaped chapel that was five times bigger than the Butsudan Hall.

Milky tourmaline walls provided a backdrop to silver statues of winged snakes (baring their fangs) at each corner of the room.

I glanced to my feet and saw a sharp pointed star drawn (with tourmaline) across the entire silver floor area; each point of the star ended at one of the snake statues.

Leinard look-a-like was waiting for us at the center, before moonstone steps that led up to a wide dais where four statues of armed men on rearing horses were displayed.

I gasped with awe when I saw letters of silver light animated across the surface of the statues.

_”The statues are made of bluestone. A lot of semblance magis use this stone for tapping into Chiorntex energies. I’m not surprised that residual magic will linger on these statues if they were used for divination purposes.”_ Death’s voice intruded on my thoughts.

“Thank you, Buru and Lyra. Please wait outside.” Leinard look-a-like ordered.

“Sire! They could be dangerous. At least let us wait by the door.”

I was surprised by Lyra’s complaint.

“Lyra.”

I blinked with more surprise at the nervous gulping movements her slender throat made.

“As you wish Sire.” She bowed and stepped out of the room with Buru.

The room fell silent upon the closure of the double iron doors that had been out of view until now.

“Follow,” he stoically ordered us.

Colin and I exchanged a look of caution as we followed the man up the steps to the dais.

“Famine.” I flinched at my name being spoken aloud and reverberating around the room.

I met the Leinard look-a-like’s unreadable grey eyes.

“Why are you here?” His voice was expressionless.

“Well, yanno, not like it was in my holiday plan.” I fumbled nervously and swallowed another nervous breath.

I felt my heart racing as I waited in silence for his response.

_”Hang in there Baby Brother. Try to think of him as just another man.”_ Death’s pep talk wasn’t doing me any favours.

_”Men are dangerous Death. Surely you of all people should know that.”_ I answered back.

_”Of course I do. I can sense potential dangers from this man. Especially since he wears the same face of the man you love. Right now, he’s just a man who wants to talk to you. Go with that.”_

I was not able to stop the deep blush that surfaced to my cheeks at Death’s assumption. What was he saying? I loved Leinard? No way!

_”You can fool yourself Baby Brother but not me. You’re too transparent.”_

“You okay there, Famine?” Leinard look-a-like asked with a raised brow.

“It’s not fair that you know my name, but I don’t know yours. Even a prisoner has the right to know the name of his guard, right? For last meal requests and what not,” I nervously rambled that made Colin tense.

We flinched at the hearty laughter rebounding off the walls from the Leinard look-a-like.

“Okay. I’ll grant you this boon. However, once I give you this, you are to pick one of two choices.”

I felt like groaning at the dj vu.

“Guess we don’t have much choice.” I reluctantly nodded.

“I’m Brystagg De Marc Aueralius.”

My heart skipped a beat. So, he was related to Trix and Leinard. If that were the case, why was he a prisoner at Hell’s Labyrinth? Wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest to Trix and Leinard’s positions? The more I thought on the matter, it opened to a book load of questions.

_”Hey Death, can you work out what’s going on?”_ I thought, hoping he would be able to shed some light.

_”No. We best learn a bit more of who this Brystagg is. Although, from what I’ve gathered from Lyra and Buru’s reactions and the fact that they call him Sire gives me cause to think he belongs to royalty and of a high position,”_ Death explained.

I glanced at Colin from the corner of my eye and was impressed by his calm expression.

“You’re a very calm person, aren’t you?” Brystagg addressed Colin with his question.

“He can’t speak like you and I,” I answered for Colin, which stirred a pensive reaction from Brystagg.

“Mute?” He directed his question to Colin who confirmed with a nod.

“What?! You could hear me the whole time!” I blurted.

Brystagg’s laughter echoed about the room.

_”Famine learn to hold back those impulses of yours will you! You’re making me nervous!”_ Death scolded me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“You’re a laugh,” Brystagg said after he had calmed down. “I take it you can communicate with this knight at some level.”

I nodded my head and whimpered when Brystagg revealed a dagger that was hidden in his boot. He went behind my back and freed my hands from the binds that hand contained them. I rubbed my aching wrists and glanced at the man with surprise.

“W-Why did you free my hands?” I was afraid now.

“Good will,” Brystagg answered, which didn’t allay my fears.

He drew our attention to the statues before us, focusing on the hooded one in the center.

Silver light illuminated an image of a robed magis with his gauntlet hands pulling hard on the reins of the rearing steed with hollow-eyes and a snout twisted with an evil snarl.

I felt like fainting at the animated letters of silver light moved around the statue’s bluestone surface.

“F A M I N E,” I spoke aloud.

“Yes, the name I remembered seeing on this statue,” Brystagg confirmed.

He made us look at the other statues. On the far right, Death was portrayed as an image of a sinister figure fully clad in heavy armour, one gauntlet hand held a scythe and the other tugged the rein of his steed. War’s armour had horns on the helmet and at the joints, his rearing horse had a nasty snarl that looked ready to mangle heads. On the far right was the name of Pestilence whose image was simple; a robed man with an arrow nocked in a longbow posed for release. Like my statue, his face was hidden behind a hood.

“Pesti,” I whispered with longing.

“The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse who carry the Hana of our World.” Brystagg’s voice held both reverence and a tang of bitterness.

I frowned. Where was he getting this information? Did he have a copy of the ratty book War had found in the Archive Tower dungeons?

_”What book was this?”_ Death’s voice butted in, which I ignored.

“What is that?” I gulped down my question.

Brystagg peered at me for some time as he weighed up his next words.

“A prophecy of a dark kind. The books I have read from this place stipulate a prophecy that will bring about the end of times.”

His voice became sober.

“If the Four Hana breaks in the Age of Apocalypse, Sol will face a threat of annihilation at the hands of four gods known only as the Zaldizko. This term translates to the horsemen. Roughly, the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse.”

“Ha, ha, right, like that’s going to happen.” I fumbled nervously.

Brystagg changed the subject. “So, about the choices.”

It was obvious Colin and I would pick choice number two, which saw us become part of Brystagg’s gang under the watchful eyes of Lyra and Buru.

We’d be able to learn more of where we were and about these people whom we had to play nice with.

He called Lyra and Buru back into the room when our choice had been confirmed and left us to their care.