by Paul Kater
Her piercing look made him feel slightly uncomfortable. "Is something the matter?"
"If you ever so much as dare to hint to me that you are not a preacher, Daniel, I will kick you. And I will not stop until Nahmyo herself comes to tell me otherwise."
"Come on, you're exaggerating," Daniel said. "It's just a friendly animal."
"It is a Kotrvayk, Daniel. Apparently you don't know what they can do." She relaxed somewhat.
"Kernak is not dangerous for me, Rayko. Would you like to meet her?"
Her eyes became small slits. "You know... I have heard of preachers gone insane. Don't make me believe you are one of them, please."
"You saw what I can do with the Kotrvayk, Rayko. The senator also said that she would be friendly with you. I don't know how he knows, but he was right about me."
"And you may be wrong about things, Daniel. A preacher is not infallible..."
"That is a fact," the senator said, who entered the room, to both people's surprise. "It is also a fact that I know that Kernak will not hurt you, Rayko. Daniel was right in that respect."
"Hmmf. I can't go out to her anyway," she tried.
"I'll carry you. I've become good at that lately," Daniel grinned.
Rayko did not look amused.
"You don't have to, Rayko," Daniel said. "Nobody wants to make you do anything you're afraid of."
"I'm not afraid!" she snapped at him, faster than she had intended to. "I'm just not sure."
Sygra suggested that she would sit in the chair, inside the house, just beyond the door. If she did not feel secure, there was someone standing by her, to close the door at any moment. "You just have to say the word."
She agreed with that, so a little while later, she sat close to the outside door.
Daniel sat with Kernak, talking to the animal. Then he turned to the door. "Tell me when you feel safe, Rayko. Kernak will stay with me, she won't come faster than I walk."
Rayko still was not convinced, but there was a servant with the door and the senator was with her also, so there was little chance something failed. "Yes. I am ready."
Daniel got up. "Come Kernak. Let's greet Rayko." As he made a step, Kernak rose and slowly walked along with him as his hand rested on the large red-haired head. Daniel kept his eyes on the young woman. She was visibly tensing up as the Kotrvayk approached.
"Wait here, Kernak," Daniel said. He kneeled down and held on to the thick layer of hair on the animal's side. She looked at him and waited.
"Are you well, Rayko?" He remembered how she hated the word 'okay' so he did his best to avoid it.
She looked up at the senator, who just smiled. She then turned her eyes at the animal and nodded. "Yes. I can do it." She felt wildly excited.
Daniel got to his feet again and calmly walked over to the opening of the door.
Kernak followed him, walking surprisingly lightly for such a large animal. As if she understood, Kernak came to Rayko very slowly. Her head hovered several inches from the woman's knees but did not touch her.
Daniel and the senator watched how Rayko looked at Kernak, and how her curious looks seemed to be returned. Then Daniel slowly stroked Kernak's head.
After seeing him do that, Rayko slowly reached out and touched the red haired head. It was clear that she was holding her breath. Kernak clearly enjoyed all the attention.
"Senator," Rayko whispered, "I am touching a Kotrvayk..."
Sygra touched her shoulder for a moment. "Yes. You do. She likes you, Rayko."
After a few minutes of careful petting the huge pet, Rayko was tired again. She felt sorry that she had to be carried to her bed again. "It was magical, Daniel," she said, "to touch her, and not to be afraid of her."
"I know. She scared me too, at first. You have made a very powerful friend, Rayko." Daniel put her in the bed that had fresh sheets now.
"I did, yes. And, uhm, Daniel? Thank you for helping me overcome the fear."
"Sure. I'm glad it worked out so well," he said. "You'd better rest now. I'll come and have a look occasionally, to check on you, if you want."
"Yes. I'd like that." She looked at Daniel, and she saw a different person. "Thank you, preacher."
Daniel winked at her and left the room.
"You're not so bad after all, Mr. Zacharias," Rayko whispered.
-=-=-
"You are working miracles with that girl, Daniel," said Sygra. "She starts to trust you, instead of wanting to take your eyes out."
Daniel grinned. He had noticed the change in her as well. And the one in himself. Then he talked to Sygra about the call he'd had from Huajo, earlier that day, and told the senator about the plan he had made, together with the ship owner. "It would be great if we could have some official backup of sorts, just in case," he ended.
"I see that you are determined to do something drastic, Daniel," said Sygra. "I will see what I can do for you, but as usual, there is nothing I can promise."
Daniel understood. The senator was influential in inter-planetary affairs, but not so much in local things. Especially the fact that they were going against one of the most powerful and respected people of the Zoroon community made things a tad more complicated.
Sygra had some lunch and left again. Daniel in that time made contact with several people and informed them of the plan he wanted to deploy the next day.
Most of the people he called were immediately ready to help. Some, as he had expected, were not so enthusiastic. The action against Clelem would mean going against their employer. Daniel could not blame them.
After all these things, he carefully looked in on Rayko. She was sleeping, the book resting on her knees again. Daniel smiled as he saw her. How different things had become in these last few days. As he was closing the door again, he heard her say his name.
"Daniel?"
When he looked again, she was awake. "Oh... I thought you were sleeping..."
"I was dozing. Are you busy?" she asked.
"Not anymore," he said.
"I would like to talk with you, Daniel."
Daniel pulled up a chair. "Is there anything in particular you want to talk about?"
"Yes. I want to know what you think of me. And, if you want, I will tell you what I think of you."
They talked for a long time.
55. At the shipyard
Huajo Dogom ko Tzuy stepped from the carriage that had taken him to the shipyard where Clelem's new ship was being built. Together with a servant he walked up to the gate where he announced himself.
"Good day, Seigner," the man there said, "Seigner Dandra ko Galem has not arrived yet, but please, come in. I was asked to see that you are welcomed."
Huajo was not pleased, but shrugged it off.
Clelem came only a few minutes later. The man looked warm, he could have been running, Huajo thought.
"Dear friend," said Clelem, "I hope you can forgive me, there were a few small things that I had to take care of prior to our meeting."
"That is quite alright, dear friend," Huajo answered. "The weather is good, and it has been too long ago that I was at a shipyard. I have looked around."
"And rightly so, my friend. Allow me to start with the most important thing." Clelem reached into a pocket and brought out a small silk pouch. "Here is your gem. Again, my profound apologies for this."
Huajo smiled as he accepted the pouch. He also had no qualms with checking its contents. "I see you have taken good care of it, dear friend," he said as he was satisfied. He handed the gem to the servant, who carefully tucked it away. Huajo had always been someone for caution and extra hands around.
"And now, since you agreed to it, I am more than curious about your new ship, dear friend," Huajo said with a smile.
"Oh, most certainly you are welcome to look at it. Please, accompany me." Clelem smiled and walked ahead of his guests, obviously proud. Or eager to show off.
Clelem was good in making it painfully clear that Huajo was not walking fast. He kept going just a bit too fast,
and then wait while looking back. One time he even went so far that he apologised there were no carriages available on the yard. It did not make Huajo like the man any better.
Finally they arrived at the ship itself. Huajo was seriously impressed by the sheer size of it. The original Pricosine had been as large as the ships Huajo owned. This one was larger. And visibly larger. "This is amazing, dear friend." He did not hide his amazement. "Your architects have done an outstanding job."
"I guided them myself," said Clelem, a stranger to modesty. "I assume it is easiest for you to enter through one of the lower hatches, my dear friend. I have arranged for a few people along the gangway, to assure your safe arrival. These planks are long. And high over the ground."
Huajo frowned for a moment as he stepped onto the gangway to the middle cargo bay. It was true: he would never have made it up the main plank to reach the deck.
Huajo struggled to get to the cargo bay and needed a rest before he could go on. Clelem had anticipated that, as there were a few chairs waiting, and even a bottle of chilled wine.
Clelem talked a mile a minute about the new ship, its capabilities and the amount of cargo it would be able to transport. Just before the talk became boring, he ended his monologue and offered Huajo to continue the tour.
After a quick view of the immense cargo bay ("we will skip the others, they are the same") Huajo was facing the climb to the deck. He seriously considered losing weight, or never to visit a ship again. He did make it to the top of the stairs, though.
"I need a little while to catch my breath, dear friend," Huajo wheezed as they had emerged from the ship's innards.
One of the men on deck turned to the ship owner. "You can take all the time you want, fat man. We have a nice big cage for you where you can rest, while you estimate how much your family will pay for your safe return."
Huajo stared at the man. "How dare you strike such a tone to me?"
Huajo's servant was knocked on the head by another worker.
The man who had uttered the threat grinned. "Allow me to introduce myself. Birkle Asciza, professional pirate. And no, I am not at your service. Consider yourself at mine."
"Dear friend," Huajo started to say, but the man who had knocked down the servant hit Huajo hard in the face.
"Shut up, fat man." Birkle turned away from Huajo. "Put him up until we need him."
Many rough, strong hands, belonging to pirates, grabbed Huajo and pushed him over the deck. The plan was not going the way it was supposed to.
-=-=-
"Do you know where Daniel is? Mr. Zacharias, I mean? Or the senator?" Rayko had asked every servant in the house, and they all told her the same thing: "The senator is away for urgent business, miss, and Mr. Zacharias left very early today. We do not know where he is." So she continued worrying.
-=-=-
Huajo was pushed down the stairs, to the cabins below deck.
"Move faster, fat man," one of the pirates yelled, "or we'll use out boots to help you on!"
"Sounds like we have a change of plans on our hands," Daniel whispered to his friends.
They were hiding in one of the most aft cabins since early morning. Daniel had guided them over the unprotected shipyard and the fence, long before the real work crew would arrive. The sound of shouting in the corridor meant that there had come an end to their waiting.
Stroro was at the door, listening intently. He raised a hand and with his fingers he counted down from four to one. On one he threw open the door and the men streamed out into the corridor, rapidly assessing the situation and knocking down the four pirates in a surprise strike.
The sticks with the sharp hooks they used as weapons worked well. The floor of the new ship was soon colouring red.
Daniel held his hand over the mouth of the for now free again ship owner. "Change of plan," he whispered, and let Huajo go only after the man had nodded.
Tomlin, who was in the group, whispered that he and three men would go up to the bridge and secure that.
"Okay, the rest of us go out and try to take out as many pirates as we can. Be careful with that Birkle type, and his monkey if it is here. That's a phenomenal beast."
The crew nodded. They had seen the Bonto in action more than they cared for.
"Let's do it," Tomlin said, and the men charged up the stairs, spread out and started the fight.
At that point everything went crazy. Men were hacking away at each frantically, Tomlin and his men fought a fierce battle on the bridge and made sure that was in their hands to stay.
The odds against Daniel and his men proved to be going up. The number of pirates was staggering, they seemed to multiply instead of diminish.
For some reason, Huajo staggered up to the deck, screaming, and almost walked into the arms of Birkle who was keeping to the side and out of the real danger-zone in a very remarkable way.
The pirate captain pulled a kind of dagger from his belt. It was made of Polychlon, and sharp enough to hurt someone very badly. "Stop your screaming, fat man," he yelled as he stuck the dagger against Huajo's throat. "Stop, or I will stop you!"
"No! Let me go! There's a monster!" Huajo tried to struggle himself free. He partly succeeded: his weight was enough to press Birkle against the wall under the bridge. The pirate was taken by surprise that way and his arm jolted, leaving a deep but over Huajo's throat and shoulder.
A second later, the Bonto came running up the stairs. Something had made it very angry. It grabbed the first available person, which was a pirate, and broke the poor man's back with one swing of an arm.
Daniel saw the animal come out of the opening in the deck and grabbed extra good hold of his stick. A pirate came at him before he could move towards Huajo though, and he was fighting again for dear life.
Clelem had been hiding behind a few large barrels. He had found a piece of rope and a short stick. Suddenly he saw Daniel, fighting one of the pirates and the odds were against his former security man. The pirate was forcing Daniel back, and that was in the direction of Clelem's barrels. At the moment Clelem estimated to be the right one, he got up, threw the rope around Daniel's neck and yanked hard.
Daniel fell backwards over a barrel, his breath cut off and the pirate coming in for the kill, while his former employer tried to strangle him with the rope and the stick.
Birkle screamed at the Bonto to kill, and pushed Huajo towards the animal. The bleeding ship owner tripped over his own feet and fell on the deck.
Brinno and Darigyn charged at the pirate captain from two sides. Brinno was intercepted by a pirate, Darigyn slammed full into Birkle who was about to throw his dagger towards someone. The dagger flew as an unguided missile and hit the Bonto in the shoulder. The animal wailed out loud and yanked the sharp thing out of the wound.
A loud scream was followed by a solid body that flew over Daniel, who was still in his desperate situation. Tomlin had jumped off the bridge. Despite spraining an ankle he had managed to get to the pirate before the pirate got to Daniel. The pirate was sent flying over the side of the ship, his trajectory leading him to the hard floor of the shipyard.
Clelem was too busy killing Daniel to notice the heavy boot coming towards his head. The result was therefore his own fault. And his own problem. Tomlin's foot connected to the side of Clelem's face with a bone-cracking sound. The man's head collapsed to the side, the side of his face a mess of torn skin and blood.
Tomlin did not need much time to see that Clelem was finished for the fight and helped Daniel get rid of the rope around his neck.
"Thanks man," Daniel coughed.
"Don't mention it. Kill a pirate for me," Tomlin grinned, as he handed a sharp stick to Daniel.
Darigyn was thrown to the side. It was not fair, he had only had two good punches at Birkle. The Bonto however, who had been hurt by the pirate captain, claimed its own revenge.
Birkle was relieved that he had been freed of the sailor. He was relieved too soon. The Bonto had seen who had thrown the dagger. It had no idea
that Birkle had not aimed it at him, it just felt the pain of the wound, and the dagger in one of its hands. The Bonto grabbed the captain by the shoulder and had a swing at the man. With the dagger. Birkle tried to ward off the arm and the knife, but that did not help. The dagger went into Birkle's shoulder, but the force that the Bonto put into the strike shattered most of the pirate captain's ribcage, dragging the dagger through most organs it encountered.
Then a thunderous roar lashed over the fighting men. It marked the end of the fighting too, as all eyes were suddenly at the large red-haired Kotrvayk that was standing in front of a thin man in a green robe. From behind the senator, for it was him, a score of policemen swarmed over the deck. They started to disarm everyone, friend or foe, as for them there was no difference.