Bactine

by Paul Kater

  The two servants both quickly left.

  Daniel carefully used the sleeve of his brown tunic to wipe the sweat from Rayko's face. As he did so, she took his hand with both her hands and lay it against her cheek.

  "Please... one moment..." she whispered.

  Daniel's hand was cool against her face, he felt the difference too. He bent over and put his other hand over her other cheek. A flash of his dream came back to him as he smelled her flowery scent again, even through the heat of her sweating.

  One servant returned, carrying a bowl of water and several towels. Daniel slowly took his hands away from the warm face, stuck a towel in the bowl and cooled her face with it.

  "Why didn't you do this already?" he asked the servant.

  "She only wanted the preacher, sir," the servant apologised. "We wanted to but she refused."

  Daniel bit away a remark that a hurt and feverish girl did not have to refuse anything, but again, this was not the time to do that.

  The doctor was brought into the room. "Oh dear, this looks serious," he said.

  Daniel stepped aside to let the man do his work. Dammit Rhonda, where are you when I need you, he thought to himself. He was certain that the doctor was very capable, but the things the man carried in his bag did not fill him with much confidence. To his surprise he saw how Rayko even tried to push the doctor away.

  "Preacher..." she repeated.

  Daniel kneeled by the bed and took her hand. "I am here. Be calm. Let the doctor do." It seemed to calm her down.

  The doctor gave her a few small pills, that she barely could swallow down. With the help of luke warm tea it worked, however.

  "This is medicine against the fever," the doctor said, "and something to help her sleep. A fever is not uncommon in situations like these."

  Daniel wondered how often the doctor had encountered a situation like this, but remained silent. Sygra thanked the doctor, who was then taken to the front door again. The preacher sat down on the bed again and looked at the pale face. She did not look like someone who would play a game of any sort, he thought.

  "Preacher... tell me of Nahmyo," she whispered as she dropped a hand on his knee. She closed her eyes.

  Daniel swallowed hard. He was getting into quicksand and there was hardly a way to avoid it. Suddenly he heard a whisper behind him. He recognised the voice of the senator. After the first line he knew what he had to do: simply repeat the slowly spoken words.

  "Nahmyo was on the world... she had been sent with a message... to tell the people about life... and the world around..."

  Sygra and Daniel spoke for several minutes. Daniel noticed how Rayko was falling asleep, as she was relaxing. At a certain point Daniel stopped talking, Sygra holding still also.

  "She sleeps," Daniel said as he turned to the senator.

  "You did well, Daniel," the thin man smiled.

  Daniel got up after placing Rayko's hand under the cover. Quietly all but one servant left the room. The servant would watch over Rayko.

  "I did nothing but repeat your words, senator," said Daniel.

  "You were there. That was more important. Now we should try to get some more sleep. Interruptions like these will take their toll over the day."

  Daniel nodded. Silently he went back to his room, took off the brown and grey clothes and fell into the bed again. There were no more dreams waiting for him.

  The next day he woke up amazingly refreshed, despite the broken night. He dressed in what the servants of the senator had arranged for him and headed to the room where breakfast was being served. Sygra was already there and greeted him.

  "You are up early, sir," Daniel said as he sat down, ready to be surprised what would come from the kitchen.

  "Old people sleep little," Sygra said with a wink. "Once again, my gratitude for being here, Daniel."

  Daniel shrugged. "I have few options. It is not easy being dead, and this house is a lot more inviting than the average coffin."

  The day crawled on for a while. Rayko was asleep and Daniel was reading the book that his host had supplied him with. He jumped as the hydger rattled. He saw Huajo's call sign.

  "Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy," Daniel said, "good day."

  "Good day, Mr. Zacharias." Huajo had a smile on his face, which was something that made Daniel feel good. "I think I am bringing excellent news."

  "That sounds very positive, sir, you have my full attention."

  52. I come to help

  Somewhat earlier that morning, at the house of the Dogom ko Tzuy family, there had been a very unexpected visitor. Gaguran Slindris...

  "Good morning, Seigner," Gaguran said. "My lord, Seigner Dandra ko Galem, has ordered me to come here. He wants you to know, and so do I, that all my services are yours to use, in order to find Miss Rayko."

  "Mr.Slindris, good morning. I must say that I am quite surprised about this offer. Pleasantly surprised, do not get me wrong. Please, sit down. Can I offer you something?" Huajo was in his element. The plan they had been working on was still going well.

  Gaguran sat down and accepted tea and the inevitable cookies that this house seemed to have growing somewhere in abundance. "As you may be aware of, Seigner, I have a special affection for Miss Rayko," the mouse said, "so it is very important and dear to me that she is found."

  "I understand, Mr. Slindris. I have yet to deploy people to all kinds of places, but that will be done today." Huajo had indeed prepared a few search crews who would be heading out today, it all had to look as genuine as possible.

  "Are there already things that have reached you, sir, that would be of benefit for the peace of mind of my Seigner and his lady?" Gaguran asked. The order that Clelem had given him was simply to find out how much Huajo already knew.

  "I am sorry, sir, there is no news yet," Huajo said. "You can rest assured that I will not delay in telling you if something arises."

  Gaguran nodded. "Of course, sir. I am just asking, of course, as you are probably very well aware of the crisis my Seigner and the lady are going through."

  Huajo noticed that the man seemed nervous.

  Clelem had told Gaguran to offer his services, in order to get an inside take on things concerning Huajo. Gaguran at first had had his doubts and arguments against that. It had been rough on him to arrange Rayko's kidnapping. When later he had learnt that Clelem had made sure that Rayko had been taken to the cellar in the building where Gaguran himself had ordered the implosion grenade to be installed, he had started to rebel against Clelem.

  Clelem however had ways to pull Gaguran over his problems. The prospect of money and influence, and later also his pick of a woman to get over Rayko, had done the trick in the end. Enough money and influence were the things that had beckoned Gaguran as his dream goal. So he had given in. With the wry certainty that, if he could not have Rayko, nobody would. It was not the first time his boss had asked to make sure someone's end was hurried.

  "You seem ill at ease, Mr. Slindris," said Huajo as he got up. He walked around his desk and patted the man on the shoulder. "I can understand that. You are in a very difficult situation now, of course, with so many contradicting things to do."

  Gaguran frowned for a moment. "I am not sure what you are referring to, Seigner..." He was not going to be easy to read.

  "What I mean, sir, is that you are facing the loss of someone dear, who has so far not returned your feelings. This must make for a very uncomfortable working environment, unless I am mistaken." Huajo smiled, almost as a father figure.

  "It is... awkward, indeed." Gaguran was certain he could admit to that. After all, he was in a strange situation, all things considered.

  "I assumed so much," Huajo nodded. "Therefore I thought it might be interesting for you to expand your horizon. Fly out to a new employer, for instance, to be away from the hardship that is put onto you."

  Gaguran worked through the words he heard carefully. "Are you offering me a position, Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy?"

  "Let us say that I would not be aga
inst such a thought," Huajo smiled, playing it safe enough and yet opening a door for the man.

  "Sir, I do beg your pardon. My loyalty is with Seigner Dandra ko Galem. I do not see the need for me to change position. My relationship with the Seigner is strictly on terms of business." Gaguran got up. "I think I should return now, sir. I thank you for your time."

  Huajo got up also, his large body making him sway and bump into Gaguran. "I am truly sorry, Mr. Slindris," he said, "my knees, you know."

  Gaguran nodded. "No harm done, sir. I will hear from you about any news." The mouse nodded and quickly left the house.

  -=-=-

  "And so, Mr. Zacharias, was the meeting with Mr. Slindris. I should add, that while I accidentally bumped into him, something personal of great value made its way into his pocket." Huajo's face in the small display almost burst of pleasure. "I have learnt that it is always a good thing to play things safe while being engaged in dangerous games."

  Daniel nodded. "Be careful, sir. It is after all your throne that is at stake at the moment."

  "My throne, Mr. Zacharias, is very solid. It has stood up to a wager before, and all of those have made it more stable. I do take it that you appreciate this information."

  "I certainly do, sir. Thank you very much." With a grin, Daniel closed his hydger. Yes, the plan was in motion. Now everyone had to keep to it. That was the worrying bit.

  -=-=-

  Gaguran, in that time, was in the working chamber of Clelem, reporting on how the visit and the offer had gone.

  "So he did accept your offer? That is good. Too bad that he knows nothing, or at least says nothing. That fat fox is one to be careful with."

  "Yes, sir. There is something else. He offered me a position." Gaguran had to tell this. He had never held something from Clelem; history showed that he was bad at keeping secrets from that man.

  "A position? Hmmm, interesting. You accepted of course?" Clelem smiled slyly, knowing that Gaguran would never do that.

  "Of course I did nothing of the kind, Seigner, and I told Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy that as well. My loyalty is with you."

  "And that is where it has to be, my valued Mr. Slindris." Clelem nodded slowly, writing tiny crosses on a piece of paper in front of him. "You are free to leave, now. I have business to attend to."

  Gaguran nodded and left the office in silence, while Clelem was brooding on his plans. The Pricosine 2 was almost ready to be sailing. He needed a fresh crew.

  Clelem's hydger rattled. He frowned at Huajo's sign. "My friend, good day."

  "My friend," said Huajo. "I am grateful for your offer to let your serving man help me in finding your daughter. But something unfortunate has happened during his visit. I am, of course, not saying that your man is responsible for it, but the time in which it happened is too coincidental."

  Clelem wondered about that. "What happened, my friend?"

  "A very precious small object that was on my desk has disappeared since your man left my house. I had people search for it, but so far it has not been retrieved. I wonder if you could ask your serving man if he has seen the object. It is a ruby, set in silver, with a filligrain ship on it."

  Clelem was genuinely surprised. Gaguran had never stolen anything. "I will ask him about it, my dear friend, and I will let you know about this as soon as I know more."

  "More I cannot ask, my dear friend." Huajo nodded and ended the call. He dialled for Daniel again, to update him on the latest happenings.

  Meanwhile, at Clelem's house, Gaguran was sent for.

  "Sir?" Gaguran was quite surprised to be summoned again so quickly after being dismissed.

  "I had a disturbing message from Dogom ko Tzuy," Clelem came straight to the point. "It seems that something which belongs to him disappeared after you left. Did you take something from him?"

  "I did not, sir." Gaguran shook his head. "I wouldn't do such a thing."

  Clelem was certain of that. Well, for the most part. Gaguran had been acting a bit strangely lately. "Good. We'll leave it at that for now. Thank you."

  Gaguran left, confused.

  Clelem saw him go and was still worried.

  -=-=-

  Daniel put the book aside and got up. He had been reading for a while and felt stiff in his joints. On a hunch, he walked into the corridor and walked a few steps. He gently knocked on a door.

  "Yes?" Rayko was awake.

  He entered and stayed by the door. "Hello. I just wanted to know how you are."

  "Oh. You." Her face twitched, Daniel was not sure if it was from some pain or from seeing him. "I cope." She held a small handkerchief in her hands, toying thoughtlessly with a corner of it. "I think I have to thank you. For saving my life." Rayko kept her eyes on the handkerchief.

  "I had to do something. I could not let you die there."

  "Die? What do you mean?" Her eyes now were on him.

  Oh, crap. He could kick himself. "Well, it did not look like someone was bringing you food and water there."

  "True." She looked sad. After a while she looked at Daniel again. "How did you know I was there? Wherever that was anyway?"

  "Lucky guess, I assume." Wrong, Daniel. So very wrong.

  "Don't lie to me, Mr. Zacharias." Her tone was sharp, despite her situation. "You cannot lucky guess things like that."

  "And I am not sure if you are ready to take the truth, Miss Dandra ko Galem."

  "I will decide on that, Mr. Zacharias!"

  She should not have spoken so forcefully. She squeezed her eyes shut and almost doubled over in pain.

  Without thinking, Daniel reacted. He darted to the bed, and gently took Rayko by the shoulders. "Be careful, take it easy. Come, sit back up. You should not press down on your ribs like that," he whispered as he slowly guided her back into the pillows. He sat on the bed, watching her face relax slowly.

  As her breathing relaxed, she opened her eyes and looked at him. Very slowly she reached for one of his hands and took it in her own small hand. Without looking, she said: "It was you, wasn't it? You are the preacher."

  Daniel just looked at her.

  "You are. Your hands... they are the same."

  "I am not a real preacher," Daniel said. "The senator..."

  "To me you are a preacher, Mr. Zacharias. A preacher always is there in time. And everyone can be a preacher." A few tears appeared in her eyes and slowly rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I should not cry." She wiped the tears away.

  "You should. You've been through a lot." Daniel held her hand, he could not let go. "This is not the life you should be leading."

  "Nahmyo says," Rayko started, "that life is what comes to you, and you will be strong enough to take it."

  "Yes, otherwise it won't come to you, I know," said Daniel. "She also says that there are times in which you must pull back and work on yourself. If you are not well, you have no business facing the challenges that are waiting for you."

  Rayko did something remarkable. She smiled at him. "I told you. You are the preacher. You know this."

  "I just read it this morning."

  "That's irrelevant. You know this. 'You will know the things in time,' Nahmyo says."

  Daniel laughed without sound. She was tricking him, he knew. "At least I knew this in time. As I knew in time where to find you."

  She looked at him in a serious way. "Tell me, preacher... would I have died if you had not found me?"

  Daniel had to force himself to say yes.

  "I see..." Rayko said, in a sigh. "He must hate me very much."

  "Your father." Daniel did not make it sound like a question.

  "Yes..."

  53. Clelem

  It did not happen often, but this evening was one where Gaguran was invited to share dinner with Clelem and Ugidra. At first Gaguran was still suspicious, as the talk with Clelem earlier that day had not been the smoothest of all, but the dinner went by nicely, and there was a pleasant atmosphere.

  Due to that, the serving man was relaxing. The good wines that
had been served had helped as well.

  Clelem had talked about the problems at the shipyard, Ugidra had politely yawned behind her hand and Gaguran was sipping some of the special imported black port he liked so much. Something was off though, the mouse slowly formed his thoughts. Usually, when drinking this port, he could still feel his feet. And his hands. Slowly he put the glass on the table and looked at his fingers. They were all there. He was sure. At least, it looked like they were.