Coda II

The van stopped.

Miyuki and Fujiko stared at each other.

“We’ve stopped,” Fujiko said.

“Yeah,” Miyuki replied.

The van’s rear lock clicked open, and the door folded outwards. From outside came soft moonlight and tolling rhythmic bells.

“Should we check things out?” Fujiko asked.

Miyuki nodded.

The landscape beyond the van was unlike anything in Sapporo. Archaic towers replaced the city’s multistoried apartments. Belltowers chimed above them on sturdy, ivy-ridden, ramparts.

The van had parked on cobblestone road, flanked by dilapidated houses. Further ahead, the road converged on the marble steps of a cathedral. Above the grand doors stood statues of princesses and saints guarding its glinted windows and slated roof.

Unlike other buildings that had fallen into disrepair, the faces of the women carved in immaculate limestone bore no sign of erosion. They basked beneath a looming clocktower and beneath the pale light of a moon that seemed closer than usual

No, it was closer.

“We’re within Castle Gramarye,” Miyuki murmured.

“What’s going on?” Fujiko said. “How did we get up here?”

Miyuki opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it.

She had nothing helpful to offer.

The front door of the van popped open, and their chauffeur appeared. Tattered robes flowed from the driver’s seat, followed by porcelain hands and a faceless veil. The phantasm said nothing, but it stared at Miyuki and Fujiko to regard their presence.

Miyuki snapped off her handcuffs. Fujiko opened an eye to dismantle hers, but the phantasm swiveled before she uttered a word. It slinked slowly towards the cathedral. After several paces, it turned its mask back to linger on the two of them.

“Is it asking us to follow?” Fujiko wondered. “Miyuki?”

“I’m not sure,” Miyuki hesitated. “I think so.”

Cautiously, the two of them stepped towards the phantasm. It turned around and walked again. When Fujiko and Miyuki fell behind, it stopped to look at them again.

The doors of the cathedral creaked open. From the outside looking in, all Miyuki and Fujiko saw was a darkness consuming moonlight. The phantasm stepped in. Its body crossed through a threshold that rippled like water.

“I’m not certain we should follow it,” Fujiko said.

Upon Fujiko’s suggestion, the phantasm peered from beyond the cathedral doors. It said nothing, but its menacing third arm manifested below the neck.

“It looks like it’ll force us if we don’t,” Miyuki said.

A cautious look crossed both their faces. They both knew they stood no chance against it.

They followed up the marble steps then crossed into the world beyond. The face of the doors were chiseled with white uneven ridges. They pulled back, creaking against smooth marble and until they closed with a deep thud.

In the clocktower overlooking the fortress, the stone eyelid of Castle Gramarye rumbled.

Ashes in the Glasshouse - END