Toth

by James C. Glass

  Nimri pointed the staff again, but Davos just stood there, without reaction. “Feeling anything?” asked Michael.

  “No—nothing.”

  “Turn it up, counselor, all the way up to full power.”

  Nimri twisted the staff again, a faint hum now coming from it. “Hmmm,” said Davos. “A little something, now, just a little in my neck.”

  “Turn it off, counselor. That’s all I need.”

  “What is it?” said Krisha.

  “I know the source of pleasure and pain in these people, Krish. It’s sitting over there under Cletus’s microscope, if you want to take a look. It’s also lurking under the baptismal scar of every villager, and now I know how to control it with a simple electromagnetic shield. Not bad for an old marine, huh?”

  Michael led them to see Cletus’s biochip, feeling pleased with himself, but thinking; I can’t put a shield on every Charni in the sea, but Toth can forget about using pain against any villager who goes along with us.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  A skull-shaped island loomed ahead of them, and the boat slowed. Jezrul was at the wheel. Diego had awakened at last, but had said nothing. He looked sadly at Kari sitting opposite from him, still bound hand and foot. The other counselor was at the bow, waving a lamp slowly back and forth as they came closer in, passing to the south a few hundred meters from a steep, featureless slope. It was not a large island, more a monstrous boulder thrust up from the sea, dark and dangerous looking, devoid of life. Kari lost sight of it as it passed behind her position on the deck by the railings. They circled it, turned sharply, and headed in on a collision course from the east side. “There it is,” said Jezrul. “Bring us in straight to the platform.”

  The other counselor nodded, put down his lamp as the engine of the boat came down to near idle speed. For the next minute he gestured for Jezrul to move the boat right or left, stars disappearing as a mountain of solid rock blocked out the western sky nearly to the zenith. They came to a stop with a gentle bump. Immediately there was a whirring beneath them and the boat was rising from the water. Two lines of yellow lights converged into the rock before them. They stopped suddenly, and then slid forward, passing into the mountain through an opening only meters high above their heads, and there was the rumble of a huge door closing behind them.

  Light appeared with the brilliance of a sun. Kari squeezed her eyes shut, opened them slowly to see a cavern. Hand-railed walkways wound up vertical walls to closed, metal doors, and racks of blinding lamps hung from a ceiling tens of meters above them. Immediately it was warm in the cavern. Jezrul came over, pulled her to her feet and untied her ankles. “Welcome to the true House of Toth,” he said. He took her arm and steered her towards the bow where five men in full battle dress were waiting. With visor helmets, shining vests, and laser rifles at the ready, the men stood silently as Jezrul lifted Kari out of the boat and placed her on her knees on a metal grate. “Take her downstairs,” he said, and two of the men lifted her to her feet. A thousand needles reminded her feet were still there, but just now waking up again. They marched her along a walkway to a red door and down a gloomy, rock staircase to another door that opened to a cold hallway. There were closed doors with small windows covered by thick wire mesh. They opened one door, and pushed her rudely inside, hands still tied behind her. As the door slammed shut a light came on, a bare bulb hanging two meters above her head. There were bare walls, a toilet, and a torn cot in a corner. Home sweet home, she thought in disgust, and sat down on the cot, twisting her wrists against the rope. They were sore, but the bond had loosened enough that feeling had returned to her fingers. When you have pain you know you’re alive, she assured herself, but for how long? She leaned against the wall and waited for a long time. Finally, Jezrul himself came for her.

  The door rattled and opened, and he was standing there. “Lord Toth will see you now. Get up.” He walked behind her; his breath heavy on her neck as he untied her hands, then took her arm in his hand. “I think you are fortunate, for He seems to be in good humor tonight. Your ship is destroyed, and your companions are scattered.”

  “It didn’t seem that way when we left,” muttered Kari, but Jezrul squeezed her arm so tightly it was immediately numb.

  “Be careful what you say and it will go better for you.”

  He took her to the stairwell near her cell and they descended three flights to a door with fingerprint entry. Jezrul pressed his index finger against a lighted, opaque pad and the heavy door clicked open. Two men met them, one quite young, in a long robe. “Rudy,” said Jezrul, “our guest has arrived.”

  The young man nodded and gestured to his left to a gloomy room lit only by the screens of many computer terminals lining the walls around a central, stone chair, now empty. He walked in front of them and stood before the chair. “Lord, the woman has arrived as you requested,” he said reverently.

  A ring of lights in the floor around it illuminated the chair, and suddenly a man was sitting there, head cloaked by the hood of his robe, a sharp chin and beak of a nose protruding from darkness. Slender, bony fingers gripped the armrests. “Ah, our visitor from the stars, and as lovely as you said, Jezrul. I have not seen your kind in hundreds of years. What is your home planet, Miss?”

  “Ceti, sir. Why have you brought me here?”

  “Ah, Ceti, a site of the Rubion wars. I served there as a young man aboard Her Majesty’s Vessel Turlock to help undo the foolish destruction caused by political ambition. Do you remember trees on Ceti, miss?”

  “Many of them,” said Kari. “Lumber was a major industry when I was a child. Sir, why am I here?”

  “After the war not a single tree was left standing. The reforestation project was my first of many. I love trees, don’t you? They give beauty to the land and oxygen to the air we breathe. I miss the smell of them.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Kari.

  “It’s one of the few things I remember fondly about your world. It has been a long time, of course, but I suppose the Church is as corrupt as ever.”

  “Sir?” Jezrul was still squeezing her arm, and Kari glared at him.

  “The heavy tithing, the forced confiscation of property, required membership for political office, that sort of thing.”

  “You’re talking about hundreds of years ago, sir. None of that exists now.”

  “Hmmm. Well, it was true when we came here to escape it. We have no church, worship no gods, and live simple, productive lives. Would you change that if you could?”

  “We didn’t come here to change anything, sir. We’re a survey ship. Our job is to take a census and report on the progress of the colony, nothing more. We’ve come with no bad intentions, and now you’ve attacked our ship and kidnapped me. Why? We’ve done nothing to provoke you.”

  Toth leaned forward. “Your very presence here is a provocation. You’ve brought a military force with you, encouraged dissent by your questioning, and violated The Law. For example, you knew that only The Baptized were allowed in My Sanctuary, yet you accepted the invitation of Counselor Segur to join him there.

  “We’re told that First Counselor is your spokesman, and since the invitation came from him we naturally thought—”

  “He hid you away for his own purposes and used you as a spy!” The old man had become suddenly angry, his voice rising in pitch.

  “I deny that, sir! He hid me during a baptism I was invited to see. He didn’t want the people there to be upset by my presence. I was supposed to leave right after the baptism, but you sent him away and I couldn’t leave.”

  “You remained to hear my conversation with Jezrul. That’s spying, and it is why you are here.”

  “I’m not concerned with the overthrow of Counselor Segur; that’s your business. But you plotted to kill us and destroy our ship! It makes no difference whether or not I was there to hear it! You were going to do it anyway! You have committed a hostile act against the Rubion Federation, sir, and the responsibility is entirely yours! And tell this servant of
yours to let go of my arm. He’s hurting me!”

  Toth leaned back and smiled. “Release her, Jezrul. It’s enough that she’s here and we should be courteous. My only concern now is their land troops and they will surely come to us in search of the woman. Rudy, is there anything new about the ship?”

  “Nothing, Lord, it has disappeared. The ship was under drive when we fired. It might have been vaporized.”

  “Perhaps,” said Toth, rubbing his chin reflectively. “You will keep watch over the skies and the sea. Any approaching boat is to be incinerated without warning and if you do see another planet-fall vessel coming in, I want it shot out of the sky immediately.”

  “Yes, Lord Toth.”

  “As for you, young woman, I will not hold you entirely responsible for the people who have sent you here. For the moment we will be gracious hosts. Jezrul, I put her entirely in your care. See to her comfort in any way that seems fitting to you.”

  Jezrul smiled. “I will, My Lord, with your permission.”

  “You may leave, now, and bring Diego back with you.”

  Jezrul bowed, took Kari gently by the arm this time and guided her from the room. Five long flights of stairs ended at a brightly lit, curving hallway along which two counselors were coming towards them, nodding a silent greeting as they passed by. “These are our quarters, and I have a room for you here. I’m sure you’ll find it comfortable.”

  The tone of his voice had changed, softer now, but there was still that slight smile, brightness in his eyes that disturbed her. They stopped at a door, and Jezrul unlocked it. “You will be locked in, of course, but I’ll return in a short while to show you some of what we have here.”

  “What will happen with Counselor Segur?”

  “Who can say?” said Jezrul, opening the door for her and following her inside. “He seems in fine humor tonight, but Our Lord’s moods can change quite suddenly, a common thing among the elderly. I think he’ll be merciful since Diego has served him well in times past. The man has accomplished what he can, and I will build on it. As of this night, I am First Counselor.”

  The furnishings were elegant compared to what she’d seen in the village: a large, wooden bed with thick mattress and blankets of finely woven polymer, a dresser with mirror, standing closet, plastic writing table with chair. On the walls, three liquid crystal mood panels backed by a myriad of programmable heating elements pulsed a display of color. “There are robes in the closet and you can see me through the aperture in the door. Let no other person in this room. The other counselors are forbidden to fraternize with you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’m leaving now. Please refresh yourself.”

  He turned and left the room, closed and locked the door behind him. Kari rushed to the door to peek through the fish-eye aperture there and watched him walk down the hallway, curving out of sight. Talk about mood swings. One minute he’s bruising me and the next he’s polite. She pulled on the door handle, locked tight, a keyhole above it, and then went to the bed, sat on it, bounced on it. Very nice. She got up and opened the closet, finding three robes there, a kind of muslin, but soft. She picked one and tried it on over her clothes, looking at herself in the mirror. Suddenly she felt dirty, her face smeared with sweat, ash and wood smoke, her hair a rumpled mess. She stripped and went to the bathing cubicle, a familiar thing much like those on the ship. Bathrooms haven’t changed much in two hundred years, she thought.

  The hard spray of the shower stung the chafed places where the ropes had rubbed on her wrists and ankles. There was liquid soap, perfumed, which she rubbed over her body and into her hair twice with long, hot rinses in between. She caressed herself languidly, nipples suddenly hard and erect as she remembered the times on the ship when she and Krisha had showered together. Krisha was alive, of this she was certain, but what would she do now? Dear, protective, tempestuous Krisha. Would she try to come after her? Could she? If the ship were destroyed she would come by boat, and Toth was waiting for that, Toth and the Charni, waiting to destroy all who would dare to invade the stronghold. Diego’s attraction to her had perhaps cost him his life, might result in her own death. Now there was Jezrul, cruel one moment, polite the next, but always that strange, frightening light in his eyes. In all her years with Krisha she had almost forgotten her power over men, her usually submissive nature interspersed with moments of defiance that seemed to draw them to her and into her bed. Mike had truly loved her, but the long sleeps—and she needed the closeness, the intimacy. She needed it constantly. Krisha was always there—until now.

  She was alone on a hostile planet, and in the fortress of a powerful old man who appeared only as a holographic image to his faithful servants, a man whose single order could mean life or death for her at any moment. Krisha, Mike, the others, would they leave her if the ship had been saved? No, they couldn’t, not with Krish and Mike there and besides that their mission wasn’t complete until they’d solved the problem of Toth. They would come for her. She knew it, and so did Toth. And if they all died, what then? Death, or torture, or even worse a lifetime at the mercy of a man-god and his followers.

  Her only power lay in her own sexuality, and she would use it fully, first of all to stay alive, and secondly to make the best of whatever life was ahead of her. She ran her hands over her breasts, down to her hips and touched the place between her legs that gave her the power.

  Kari toweled down and dressed in the robe, feet bare. She lay down on the bed and stared at the mood panels for several minutes before she heard voices in the hallway outside her room. She tiptoed to the door, looked through the aperture there and saw two guards coming along the hall, holding Diego up under his arms. His feet dragged on the floor. His face was ashen, blood coming from his nose and one ear. The guards were laughing and when Diego groaned they shook him roughly. “Shut up,” said a guard. “You’re lucky to be alive. If it was up to me, I’d have torn your balls off and fed you to the Charni!”

  They dragged Diego to a room three doors from Kari’s and heaved him inside, closed and locked the door, then came back towards her. As they passed her door one guard jerked a thumb at it and said; “Nice piece in there. We keep our noses clean, Jezrul says we’re gonna get some action with that one.”

  Their laughter followed them down the stairwell at the other end of the hall.

  Kari went back to her bed, lay down on it, and wept.

  * * * * * * *

  A knock on her door awoke her and she rubbed her eyes. How long had she slept? Another three knocks, softly.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you dressed? It’s Jezrul.”

  “Yes.”

  A key rattled in the lock, the door opened and Jezrul came in awkwardly balancing a plate of food and a bottle in one hand, his staff in the other. “Something to eat and drink,” he said. “You were sleeping?”

  “A little.” She stretched, and yawned.

  He put plate and bottle on the table. “You’ll find eating here to be more varied than in the village, and the wine is quite sweet. It is an extra privilege for those who work closely with Our Lord. Please, try something.”

  “Thank you,” she said sweetly. She went to the table and sat down while Jezrul rummaged in a drawer of the bureau. He returned with two plastic glasses, and filled them with wine. She wasn’t really hungry yet, but the food looked delicious. There was the usual slab of fish, but also a thick piece of bread, and vegetables familiar to her from the ship: miniature green squash, lettuce covered with slices of real tomatoes and two small, skinless potatoes cut like an opening flower and covered with a white sauce. “Where does this come from?” she said in amazement.

  “Toth provides for all. I will show you his gardens, and other wonders, when you’ve finished.” He sipped his wine. “Try some.”

  It was delicious, sweet and very alcoholic, burning a path warmly to her stomach. She drank two glasses and quickly ate every bite of food on her plate while Jezrul sipped wine and stood
watching her, amused. Finished, she looked up at him expectantly and he said; “Are you comfortable here?”

  “It’s all very nice, considering I’m a prisoner.”

  “Ah, well, that is true as long as your companions are running about, but that shouldn’t be for long. When they’re gone, life will go on as usual under Toth’s guidance, and he bears no malice towards you. I’ve convinced him that the circumstance which brought you here was caused by Diego’s weakness. Toth has dealt with him for his actions, and your part in the incident has been forgiven. But Diego’s punishment was somewhat severe for a man his age.”

  “He looked half-dead when I saw the guards bringing him back to his room.”

  “But he will live. Our Lord is more merciful than I would be in such a case. He rewards those who have given him faithful service in the past, regardless of their stupidity, but Diego’s days are finished. I am First Counselor now, and Toth has placed you under my care. You heard his command. I will carry it out all the days you’re here. You are mine, Kari, from this day on. You will be one of The Baptized in Toth.”

  His soft voice helped Kari keep her composure. “Assuming I’m not rescued first, of course,” she said. “In the meantime I will do what I’m required to do.” He’ll like that. She looked at him submissively, saw the light come to his eyes again. I will use my own, special powers to do that, she thought.

  “Shall we go now? There’s much for you to see, and if there is to be the fighting I expect, you’ll be confined to this room until it’s finished.”

  He escorted her from the room. Kari expected to see a cloistered, dreary place like the interior of the obelisk, and at first it was like that. Hallways curved around the perimeter of the great rock mountain, room after room with closed doors, and the floor was cold on her bare feet. There were no elevators, only stairwells with spiral staircases of stone. As they toured the fortress, she counted twelve distinct levels above the throne room of Toth. Power came from a great fusion reactor far beneath the island, Jezrul explained, providing power and desalinized and heated water for their needs. A virtually unlimited source of power fed seven gun emplacements with laser cannon and electromagnetic rail weapons huge in size. Two-hundred year old technology, she thought, but clean and functional and deadly. Jezrul held her arm gently wherever they went; leaned close, spoke intimately to her. Gun crews and robed counselors noticed her with delighted surprise, but looked away as she came near. I am his, now, she thought. I am his status symbol, like the staff he carries.