Bactine

by Paul Kater

  "I will. Thank you, preacher."

  Daniel walked out of the room and quietly went into his own. There he changed into his remaining suit, which had suffered quite a bit from the experiences of the days before.

  -=-=-

  Huajo left the carriage that had brought him to Clelem's house. He had made sure the man was at home by announcing his upcoming visit. Clelem had reacted a bit surprised about the call, but had invited his fellow ship owner over.

  The fat man had some trouble getting in and out of the floater-carried basket. After was ordeal, he entered the reception building. Clelem himself was there to greet him, the way it was proper to do among equals.

  "Dear friend," Clelem said, "I must say I am still surprised about your announcement. Please, follow along to the house. My wife is looking forward to meeting you again."

  "Thank you, dear friend. It has been too long ago that I paid you a visit, especially in this testing time," said Huajo. He noticed the quick glance of Clelem that betrayed caution.

  "I take it that you have heard that our child has gone missing," Clelem then said. "Yes. We are very worried about her. And even Warlem, our no-good son, seems to be at a loss about Rayko's disappearing."

  They walked on to the large hall with the fountain. Ugidra was waiting, standing next to the basin. "Dear Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy, such a surprise, your visit," she said as he greeted her.

  "I wish the reason of my visit was a more cheerful one, dear lady," Huajo said. "I have heard of the strange vanishing of your daughter, Rayko. I want to hear from you directly, dear friends, if there is any news concerning her."

  As they walked over to a couch, Ugidra shook her head slightly. "No, alas, there is no news. We have asked the police force to search, but they have not found any trace of her."

  Clelem sat on the couch, next to his wife, and said nothing. He just looked sad.

  "And then the horrific explosion that happened in Skarak," Huajo remarked. "It looks as if there is a plague going around lately."

  Clelem and Ugidra both acknowledged having heard of the explosion. "Many dead there, I have heard," said Clelem, holding a cup of tea. "It is such a shame."

  "I know," Huajo said. "I want you to know, that if there is anything I can do for you to find your daughter back, you only have to ask. I have people, I have ships and I have connections. Do not hesitate."

  Ugidra thanked him abundantly, even though offering was all he had done so far. Clelem nodded and at that moment the mouse came in. Gaguran walked up to his boss and whispered something.

  "I hope you can excuse me, dear friend," he said and walked off with his serving man. A few minutes later Clelem returned, seemingly relieved about something.

  Huajo had kept an eye on the man, without Udriga noticing that. He was good at these things, as he was in the game of business since long.

  Clelem sat down. "I really would like to thank you, dear friend, for your generous offer. And I am sure that Ugidra will agree that we would appreciate all effort that you could put into finding our girl again."

  Ugidra beamed at her husband, for the sudden support he gave her. "Yes," she affirmed one more time, "we really want to have her back."

  Clelem nodded. "I just heard, from my serving man, some more distressing news about the building that exploded, in Skarak. It seems that one of the people who died in that terrible accident was the security man, Mr. Zacharias, who was so brave in rescuing the crew of my ship."

  Huajo had to hand it to Clelem: he was a fabulous actor. The man looked seriously grieved, how he sat there, with his head hanging down and his sagging shoulders.

  Huajo put a big hand on the man's shoulder. "That, my friend, is awful. I know how much you valued him. I heard you even invited him to a party one day. Not even so long ago."

  Ugidra watched Clelem. Clelem himself nodded. "Yes. I did. He appreciated it. He was worth it. He even danced with our daughter..."

  Ugidra took Clelem's hand and tried to comfort her husband. "Maybe, Seigner, it is best now that you give Clelem some time," she said.

  Huajo nodded. "Of course, my lady." He got up and followed Gaguran who took him to the floater. The serving man did not even wait until Huajo had arrived at the foot of the hill, which told Huajo something...

  -=-=-

  "I am sure that this serving man of his came to tell him something about the building you lived in, Mr. Zacharias," Huajo said to the face on his hydger.

  "It certainly sounds like that," Daniel agreed. "I hope his wife was not too shattered about the news that I am dead. She was the one who asked me to find their daughter in the first place."

  "She looked more concerned about her husband. But that could be because he was there." Huajo was not sure about that. "The man has a set of very nasty traits, this much I have discovered. And the serving man he has, that is a character to avoid as well."

  "I can only agree, sir. I would not trust that man further than I can throw him," said Daniel.

  "Anyway, Mr. Zacharias, I have done that part of the plan. Now we can but wait. I will be at my house. If anything perspires, I will let you know."

  "As I will inform you, Seigner," Daniel said. "Thank you for the update and I hope you will have a good day." He closed the box. "Okay, Mr. Dandra ko Galem. The bait is out. Now it's your move."

  The senator was not in at the moment. Daniel had an idea. He put the hydger in his pocket and went outside, to the garden. Kernak, the huge Kotrvayk, lay silently under the leaves of a low tree.

  "Hello Kernak," Daniel said, calmly. He did not want to startle the large animal, so letting her know he was near was the best thing he could think of.

  Slowly the big red head looked up at him as he came closer. Daniel kneeled down with Kernak as she sat up, her large yellow eyes directed at him. Only then Daniel noticed that the eyes of the Kotrvayk never seemed to blink.

  "You are one special creature, you know," said Daniel. "Nah, you probably don't. But to me you are. I have never seen one like you, and I've been around."

  Kernak gently pushed her nose against his shoulder. Daniel had no idea what that meant.

  "Do you know what I am supposed to do here?" he asked the large animal who kept pushing him. As she pushed him over, he laughed. "Hey, what's that? Do you want to play?"

  As if she understood him, Kernak walked off a bit, took a large piece of wood, it looked like a branch of a tree, between her teeth and carried it to him. She held it up and prodded him with it.

  Daniel grinned and took the branch in both hands. A low growl came from Kernak's internals as she slowly tugged at the branch. Daniel pulled back. And Kernak pulled. Soon after that, they both were tearing at the piece of wood as if they were crazy. Daniel did what he could to get the animal off her spot, but she had four big paws and her large tail and would not budge.

  Two servants had come out to watch the strange wrestling match and whispered to each other. Daniel had noticed them come out but he did not spend any attention on them. The fight with the animal was too intense, too fascinating and too much a great distraction for him. It took his mind off things. All these things that were bothering him, enveloping him. All that counted now was to either wrench the wood from Kernak's jaws, or to pull her from her spot.

  Kernak had no trouble with Daniel's struggles. It was as if she pulled exactly as hard as he did, matching his powers and not overgoing them.

  After almost twenty minutes Daniel had to give up. He was soaking wet from sweating, from the fight. He dropped to his knees and laughed, laughed as a madman. "You are a rotter, Kernak," he laughed, slapping at the animal who had dropped the branch. "You know how to distract people."

  The big red head was close to Daniel's face. He could not resist. He put his arms around the thick solid neck and hugged the animal, still laughing. Kernak let him hug her, as if it was part of their game. Then Daniel let go and just lay down on the ground, catching his breath again. Kernak prodded him one more time with her nose, and then went back to
her spot under the low tree.

  Daniel felt free. He felt good. For a short time there were no attempts on his life, there were no plans and plots, no pirates and other nasty people. After a while he sat up.

  The servants were still looking at him.

  "I did not hurt her, you need not worry," Daniel said to them.

  "It is not her we worry about, Mr. Zacharias," one of the servants said. "There has not been a human being who ever took down a Kotrvayk. It is a miracle that she wants you as a person to play with. This does not happen often, sir." They bowed and left him alone again.

  Daniel frowned. Why had they bowed? People here were very polite, but so far nobody had bowed for him. "Weird," he mumbled as he got up. Before he went inside, he kneeled with Kernak and petted her for a while. "Thank you, Kernak. This is what I needed. I owe you."

  A deep rumble was his reward. Daniel went inside and found it was time for a bath.

  51. Preacher

  Daniel and Sygra had taken their supper together. Rayko was not strong enough, and still in too much pain, to join them.

  Sygra asked Daniel about the day, and Daniel told him what had gone on so far. He also told the senator about how he had talked to Rayko, while she had thought he was someone else.

  "I see how that troubles you, Mr. Zacharias. But believe me when I say that it is good for her to talk to a preacher. Everyone can be a preacher and a follower. So why not you. From what you told me, and what she told me, you two do not get along too well. Maybe if the preacher talks to her more, that situation can be changed. If you want that, of course. Otherwise, it is good for her to speak with a preacher about what troubles her."

  Daniel did not look convinced. "I still feel I am fooling her, senator. I mean, I know who she is, but she doesn't know who is under that hood. And what do I know of the Litany of Nahmyo? Other than what you told me, that is."

  "That can be remedied, Mr. Zacharias..."

  "Please, call me Daniel, sir."

  "Very well. If you call me Sygra, when we are alone."

  Sygra got up and walked to his bookshelves. Without hesitation he took one of the older volumes and gave that to Daniel. "Here. Read it as much as you can. Or skim through it and pick some passages that sound good."

  Daniel looked at the book. The leather was old and beaten, and many-coloured. The letters in the leather were faint, but clear enough: 'Litany'. "Thank you, sir. Sygra."

  The senator nodded with a smile. "I will lend you the book. Hand it back when you feel you are finished with it, Daniel."

  They ate in silence for a while.

  "I heard something interesting from my servants," Sygra said. "Did you play with Kernak?"

  "Yes. I did. She invited me. Pulling a stick. She is one strong animal, sir- Sygra."

  Sygra smiled. "Yes. She is strong. Amazingly so. It is good to know that she likes you so much. When Rayko is well enough, I will introduce her to Kernak also. I am quite convinced Kernak will appreciate her as well."

  "Appreciate?"

  "Ah. You do pay attention, Daniel. Yes. Kernak can accept many, but appreciate only few. She appreciates you. Enough to play with." That was all Sygra wanted to say about it, because whatever Daniel said, he would not divulge more.

  In the small library they enjoyed a glass of wine, when Sygra said: "I really hope that the preacher has time to see Rayko before she goes to sleep, Daniel."

  "Do you think that is a good idea?"

  The senator just nodded. "Go. Change. Talk to her. She's had a rough time. Ask her. Let her talk. Get to know her. And do not ask her name. A preacher works in anonymity."

  Daniel was not all fine with the idea, but he decided to follow the lead that Sygra gave him. Silently he moved through the corridor and changed into the preacher's outfit. Then he walked to Rayko's room and gently knocked. "Hello?"

  "Who is there?" The voice was stronger.

  Daniel opened the door and came in. "It is me," he whispered. That seemed to work.

  "Preacher..." She sounded really happy with the visit. "Will you sit with me for a while?"

  "Naturally." Daniel sat down, to her side, so the hood would certainly cover his face. "How do you feel now?"

  "I am better than this morning. It is still painful, but... better. I am grateful for good friends, preacher."

  Daniel held out his hand. She put hers in it. "Do you want to speak about what happened?"

  Rayko nodded. "I want to. But I don't know if I can say everything, preacher..."

  "Say what you can, and hold for yourself what is too painful." Daniel wondered where the words came from. Maybe the hood and the clothes were enchanted. He suppressed the silly chuckle. This was not the moment for that.

  "I have been thinking," Rayko said. "About my life so far, and what happened in the last days. I have had terrible fights with my father about some things I heard. And what I cannot understand is this horrible man... How he gained access to my room I still don't know. I was reading, and then he was there. He put something against my face, and..."

  Daniel felt how her hand squeezed his. Her shoulders showed him she was crying, even though she made no sound. He wondered if it would be preacherly to put an arm around her, as he felt sorry for her. Before he could make a decision, her crying stopped.

  "If it had not been for Mr. Zacharias, I don't know how long I would have been left there, in that filthy cellar..." Her fingers still held on to Daniel's hand. "Maybe I should thank him. I do not recall if I did..."

  Daniel almost said something as himself. He couldn't. Shouldn't. "Give it time. You have gone through shocking experiences. You need to take time to accept them, work through them and leave them behind. They cannot be undone, but they can make you a stronger person." The words came by themselves. He had heard something like them from a psychologist once, on star base, as he was being prepped for a mission.

  "I don't feel stronger, preacher," she said, as she looked at him.

  "It will come. Zoroon and Skarak were not built in one day. Nor will you recover from everything in one day." Daniel improvised with an old Earth saying and hoped it would not sound ridiculous. "Maybe you should sleep now. Work on recovering. On rebuilding yourself."

  Rayko nodded. Her hand slipped from Daniel's and dropped onto the bed. "Yes. I am tired." She tried to pull up the covers and groaned.

  Daniel got up and bent over. He reached down and pulled up the covers. "Is this enough?" He noticed the gentle scent, as of flowers, that rose up from her.

  "Yes. Thank you."

  Daniel's face got hot as he noticed how she tried to see who was inside the dark hood. He hoped, calling upon fire and brimstone, that the candle cast enough shadows to hide his face.

  "Would you please blow out the light for me?" Her voice sounded weak and sleepy suddenly.

  Daniel blew out the candle that was on the small table. He could now barely see her as some light from the corridor came in. "Sleep well."

  "Sleep well, preacher..."

  Daniel turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. His mind now had even more to round around with. He went to bed and had the strangest dream during his sleep, filled with bombs and cellars crashing down on him, and a bed of flowers to rest in.

  -=-=-

  "Mr. Zacharias..." Someone was shaking Daniel gently but persistently. "Mr. Zacharias..."

  "What..." Daniel refused to leave the flowerbed, but the hand on his shoulder was stronger.

  "Miss Dandra ko Galem asks to see the preacher, sir. The senator is sorry to wake you, but the lady is in low spirits." The man, who was still shaking Daniel, spoke with an urgency in his voice that Daniel could not ignore.

  "Okay... give me a moment..." He got up as the servant left the room and waited for Daniel in the corridor. Daniel became the preacher, yawned, rubbed his face and stepped out of the room. As they walked to the room where Rayko was, Daniel made sure the hood was properly hiding his face.

  There was a lot of light in the room. Sygra
was there, wearing a dark long housecoat. "Ah... preacher..." he said as Daniel entered.

  Daniel looked at the woman in the bed. Her face was all sweaty, her eyes looked strange.

  "Preacher," she whispered, holding out a hand for him.

  Unsure what to do, Daniel sat down on the bed and took her hand. It felt warm. Too warm. "What is wrong? How can we help you?" He turned to Sygra. "Has a doctor been warned?"

  "Yes. The doctor is on his way," Sygra said.

  "I am so warm, preacher..." Rayko whispered.

  Daniel felt her cheek, it was burning with fever. "Bring cool water and towels," he said, disregarding the fact that he was actually commanding the senator as well. "And something easy to drink."