The Indoctrination

by K. L. Bone

  “There’s that smile,” Lord Kavra said. The driver got out of the car and opened the door. I quickly slipped inside, overjoyed at the surprise. I had never been in a limo before. I played with the rainbow lights and gleefully accepted a glass of white wine which Lord Kavra poured for me. Lord Kasar and Kavra did not mind if I drank as long as one of them was with me to regulate the amount. I watched the large buildings and various landscapes pass by as I stared out the tinted windows. Occasionally I would see others in front yards or along the side streets that stared at us as we drove by, probably wondering who had arrived in such luxury.

  “Servants are always on staff within this complex, which is why we did not bring any with us,” Lord Kavra explained.

  We pulled up in front of a large old fashioned castle gate. We drove forward. The gate rose vertically allowing us to drive underneath as we entered Lord Kasar’s domain.

  “I like it.” I said. “It’s like a castle from a storybook!”

  He smiled, “let me guess…you were a Snow White fan?”

  I shook my head, “Sleeping Beauty,”

  “Ah. The peasant girl who was really a Princess.”

  A moment of silence followed as my mind spun to nights long ago. “Or the orphan,” I said softly.

  “No longer,” Lord Kavra cut in. He moved to where I could see him more clearly. “You are a child of the Empire now. Lord Kasar’s only child, and mine,” his voice was almost fierce.

  “But why?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you know why he chose me? I asked him once, and he wouldn’t answer.”

  Kavra glanced at me with a strange look on his face as the car continued to move toward the large white and black building in the distance. It was a look that I was not quite old enough to place. His voice was soft, barely a whisper as he answered, “I only know that he has always loved you.” To this day, I wonder if that look on his face was a lie.

  The moment died as the car came to a stop and Kavra climbed out of the limo. He held his hand out to me which I took graciously. “Welcome to your castle, Beauty.” I stepped out and found myself standing on a path of shiny black rock. “Careful, it’s a little slick.”

  In my small heels, I reached Kavra’s shoulder and took a step away from him to view my surroundings. The walkway was long, lined on both sides with large torches. The flames burned brightly reflecting off the black rock. At the end of the walkway were two large black doors with handles that appeared to be carved out of bone. Statues of fallen angels stood on either side of the doors, their faces staring down at the earth as though forever forbidden to glance towards the light of the heavens.

  Lord Kavra said, “He always was old fashioned. I mean, come on, would it kill him to use lamps instead of open flames?”

  “Yes,” I said fondly of my adoptive father’s hatred of unnatural light. “I think it just might.” Kavra laughed. .

  We walked down the long path between the flaming torches and approached the tall black doors. Vines crawled up the doors, embedded into the walls, wrapping themselves around the dark bone handles. The doors opened wide revealing two men dressed in black tuxedoes standing on either side. A few steps behind them stood a third man. He wore a suit of dark red, resembling something out of the middle ages. It had a frilly, black shirt with long sleeves, a red jacket and full tales. He bent into a deep bow, “Welcome home, my Lady”

  “Thank you,” I replied motioning for him to stand.

  “I notice you didn’t welcome me home,” Kavra said.

  “You mean you’re staying? Who said you could come in? I didn’t get orders saying I had to deal with you.”

  “Chrissa, may I introduce Prestac 2, your less than humble servant for the next few months. Don’t worry, if he gives you any slack just let me know.”

  “Could say the same for you,” Prestac shot back.

  Kavra ignored the comment. “Make yourself useful and grab our bags from of the car.”

  “Not unless you say please.”

  “I will do no such thing. I’m a Lord and you are not. Now get my bags!”

  Prestac rolled his eyes and said, “Okay already. He gets testy after long flights doesn’t he?”

  “A bit,” I replied, liking Prestac instantly.

  “One day,” Kavra cut in, “I will get the respect I deserve. Why do you treat Kasar so differently?”

  “Because Lord” he emphasized the word, “Kasar would string me up by toes if I didn’t.”

  Kavra and I looked at each other and said in unison, “That’s true.”

  The walls of the house were deep reds and black. Hand painted portraits and gold rimmed mirrors lined the long hallways. Chandelier style structures holding fifteen candles each provided extra light to the large fireplaces found in every room. “So dark,” Kavra muttered. We walked down the walls, “Once Kasar got promoted, one of his first priorities was to change his manor as quickly as possible. He had the former house completely destroyed and built this one from the ground up. Then once he adopted you, he added this.” Lord Kavra opened a door on his left and walked into the room. I followed.

  We entered a vast room. The walls were crimson. The fireplace was black marble. The flames were red. The four post bed was covered with a red bedspread. The posts were gold. A large painting in a gold frame hung on the far wall. I walked towards the painting to get a better look. As I reached the portrait, I gazed into the darkness of Lord Kasar’s sapphire eyes. He wore a black suit from the medieval ages, the sleeves synched tight with ruffles down the front of his white shirt. He stood on the bow of an ancient sea ship, black sails blowing in the wind. Before him laid an endless dark blue sea. The waves seemed to rise as though blown by an angry wind. The edge of the shirt was raised slightly to the left and Kasar’s long hair was out to the side. “Wow,” I whispered.

  Then I turned to the left and saw another portrait. This man stood on a similar ship only the sails were a deep burgundy. Behind him were twelve other ships, each bearing sails of a different color. The man wore a black shirt with gold buttons. It was unbuttoned low enough to reveal his deep, tanned skin. His dark brown eyes stared into me as though he could see deep inside my soul. “Who is that?” I asked in a soft voice.

  “That,” Lord Kavra replied, “Is Emperor Dehartra. The ships behind him are representative of the other members of the first Council. Lord Kasar insisted this painting be placed in your room. He thought you would find it inspirational.”

  “Kasar has told me many stories about him.”

  “Yes,” Kavra said. “Dehartra found eternal glory through defeating our first enemies. Lord Kasar is convinced that the man responsible for the defeat of the Lorids will be just as eternally famous. He dreams of being that man.”

  I continued to stare at the blond Lord in the picture. “Emperor Dehartra had a human host?”

  “Near the end of his life, yes. He was one of the first to acquire a human body. Though it was not a planet we considered worth our while for a very long time. It was just an exploration team.”

  I kept turning and then faced a third wall on which hung an empty frame. I turned back to Kavra curiously.

  “That frame,” Lord Kavra informed me, “will someday be for your portrait.”

  “Mine?”

  “Yes,” he replied. “One day when you have risen to the rank of a Setian Lady, when you are one of the top ten, your portrait will be placed on that wall.”

  I was not sure how to respond, so I turned to the rest of the room. A black desk sat in the left corner. The closet door was covered with a large mirror. Sheer black and red material hung from the canopy bed. It was parted neatly to reveal the satin black pillows on top of the red bedspread. .

  Lying on the bed was a deep blue gown. I walked towards the bed and reached out to touch the satin material, running my hand down to the clear sequins trailing down the front, sparkling various colors around the room in the warm firelight. A simple note said, “Welcome home, Chri
ssalynn.” As always, it was signed with an elegant “K.”

  “He always buys you the most beautiful gowns,” Kavra commented softly. I nodded in agreement.

  “It’s been a long ride. I am exhausted. What do you say I get some of the maids in here to run your bath and we call it a night? Tomorrow I’ll show you around Setianta and provide you with some books to study. It should help you come up with a program for your two prisoners.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Two maids came in and ran the bath filled with sweet smelling oils and petals of exotic flowers. I sank into the steaming water. Thirty minutes later I climbed out and slipped into the jade satin gown that had been laid out for me. I wrapped the robe around me for a moment as Lord Kavra entered the room. “I am just down the hall, two doors to the left, if you need me. Otherwise the servants are at your disposal.”

  “Okay,” I replied. “Goodnight, Kavra.”

  “Goodnight, Chrissa.” He closed the door behind him. I hung up my robe and climbed beneath the warm covers and soft sheets.

  Chapter IX

  The next morning I dressed in a comfortable pair of black slacks and a sweater of pale blue. I met Kavra in one of the many banquet halls. After a quick breakfast the table was cleared and Kavra presented me with several large books to help me with my torture studies. They were from multiple planets, including two from earth describing various forms of ancient practices. I started with a book from Verost which I had the computer translate for me. I was also given the profile of the victim I would meet later that week in order to study their species’ anatomy, physiology and level of mentality. All were deemed important by the committee of Practical Torture Standards (PTS).

  A knock on my door made me look up. Lord Kavra walked in. “Ready to explore?” he asked. I nodded and grabbed a black leather jacket, a favorite of mine on cool afternoons such as this one. We left the house by climbing into the back of a limo, black this time and headed out of the neighborhood toward the center of the floating city. I asked many questions about various buildings and what different signs said, as I was still working to learn the Setian language. It was a single language learned by all members of the Empire as children. I was getting better, but there were still a few words and symbols that escaped me.

  We arrived outside of a large building that Kavra informed me was the largest museum on the home world. “What do you say we go in?” he asked. I nodded and climbed out of the car. We stood before a flight of white, marble stairs leading to two vast golden doors. Words I did not recognize lined the edge of the doors, black symbols etched forever into the white marble. “Only in death,” Lord Kavra read, “lies eternal glory. Long live the Setian Empire.”

  I walked up the stairs with Lord Kavra’s arm in mine. The golden doors opened before us as we stepped into a large marble hallway.

  A tall woman with long black hair walked toward us. She was wearing a blue suit with a white dress shirt underneath. Her black heels echoed across the hall as she strolled across the room. She held out her manicured hand as she said, “Lord Kavra, Lady Kasar, I am so glad that you could join us. Would you like the grand tour, or would you rather explore on your own?”

  “It is up to Chrissa,” Kavra said.

  “The tour!” I said excitedly.

  We spent the next three hours walking through the museum gazing at various artifacts from the many worlds which composed the Empire. She answered my questions along the way as I attempted to absorb all the information I could concerning the different species and histories on display. My favorite, of course, was the section on the Setian world. I got to see a preserved Ferdkin, one of the original species that the Setians formed a symbiotic relationship with. They stood almost nine feet high on seven legs. Brown or black fur covered their bodies and three arms and their five eyes came in brown, red, or green. Two sets of lips and three ears lined the sides of their faces. Today this simple species was almost extinct, most having been killed from disease brought in from one of the first Setian wars, a chemical virus spread by enemies of the Empire.

  Also in the museum was a wing dedicated to the first Setian Lords and the Emperors who had ruled since. I entered a long, narrow hall where the lights began to dim. “That is the Emperor’s Hall,” Kavra informed me. “It contains portraits and information of every Emperor to ever sit upon the mighty throne.”

  I entered the long corridor, my own small heels echoing with each step. I was beginning to regret wearing them as the hours of standing were starting to make my feet hurt. However, my discomfort seemed minor as I entered this almost sacred hall. Emperor Keithem defeated the Hertias. Emperor Fedmick initiated the first infestation of the Hordes while Emperor Derickt completed the conquest. Emperor Keritn conquered the Slith nation while Emperor Keverat signed the treaty of Palta, one of the Empire’s favorite allies. Then, of course, there was Emperor Jeritam, famous for winning the first battle ever fought against the Lorids, the most revered and still feared enemy of the Empire. Faces rose and fell before me as I walked through the mighty hall of ancient heroes.

  Then as I reached the end of the hall, a portrait stood much larger than the others. When it finally came into clear view, I could not help but stand in awe. Here at last sat a man whose power seemed to radiate above the others. Dressed in a suit of jet black with a beautiful gold buttoned shirt underneath, the Emperor sat upon a black, carved throne that looked as though it was made of thin ivory, or perhaps even bone. Twelve other chairs stood behind him, six on each side becoming smaller and smaller within the portrait, creating the illusion of the chairs fading into the distance. The dark gaze of Emperor Dehartra pierced through those who stood before him, demanding all to bow before his glory.

  “Yes,” Lord Kavra said quietly as though reading my thoughts. “They were all magnificent men, but none were ever quite what Dehartra was; even in the paintings.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sure. Sometimes I am not sure if it is real or just a figment of our imagination because we are taught to revere him above all others. To put it in human terms, Emperor Dehartra was our…George Washington, or Elizabeth I, or in some circles even our Jesus. His is the name we call upon both just before the brink of battle and in our highest moments of glory.”

  We soon left the museum and returned to Lord Kasar’s castle. After dinner, I retired to my room and continued my studies on ancient torture tactics. The next two days were spent in the house working constantly to prepare for my first session with my patient.

  The prisoner was a potek, a creature with light red skin which stood on two legs and had two arms on each side of its body. Its scalp was bald and it had two eyes and a pair of wide lips. It had two small holes where ears should have been and stood between six and seven feet tall. The potek was chosen by Inquisitor Verayt to be my creative piece. Since creative methods often took more time to recover from than the traditional, I would be starting with the potek.

  For the first session, I had decided to start with a simple form of a rack torture which would become progressively more complicated as the days progressed.

  Inquisitor Verayt had written in his report that this particular prisoner was highly stubborn and it was my hope that he would last a long time, allowing my training to progress to more difficult stages of interrogation. Lord Kavra accompanied me from the home planet back to the interrogation center on the nearby moon. We were once again ushered into the upper floors and a room which had been prepared for my arrival. I knew from my prepared reports that the creature’s name was Savrick.

  Savrick was lying on a large table. He had been temporarily sedated, a drug that left him groggy but still aware of his surroundings. As I stepped farther into the room Inquisitor Verayt moved to greet me and held out a black robe. I slipped into the robe and pulled it around my body. “To keep any blood from ruining your clothes,” the inquisitor informed me.

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “I was happy to receive your report on what you
planned to do. I think it should be a most interesting session for you.”

  I said, “I hope so.” I turned from Verayt and after a quick smile from Kavra, I walked toward the man lying on the table. Four other men were standing to the left side of the room. They were the assistants who would help to maneuver and monitor the prisoner through the stages of the torture. I finally reached the prisoner and stepped into his line of vision. “Hello, Savrick,” I said softly. He opened his eyes at the sound of my voice. “How are you feeling today?”

  His eyes were slightly glazed from the drugs as he asked in basic, “Who are you?”

  “My name is Lady Kasar.”

  “What are you doing here?” Savrick asked. “You’re just a child.”

  I nodded, “Yes, but I am also a Setian Lady. This will be my first official session.”

  “What?” he asked, the drugs clearly affecting him.

  “I am here to talk with you,” I clarified. “I have some questions about your Sentile allies and I believe that you have the answers I seek.”

  “And they sent a child to break me,” he asked in disbelief.

  I nodded, “First, I’m not as young as you think and second, I believe you will find me very persuasive.”

  “I will not break,” he said groggily.

  I offered him a small smile and said, “Yes, you will.” I then turned to the men waiting on the left. “Let’s administer four edt of Mori to counteract the sedative. Then move him onto the rack. I want a clovis on both of his left hands, be careful to secure each of his fingers tightly.” The men carried out my orders and a few minutes later Savrick was in position. His arms and legs were stretched tightly to pulleys connected to the wall on either side of his body while both of his left hands were wrapped protectively in steel gloves. The clovis prevented mobility of the wrist and fingers while still exposing the tips for examination.

  When the drugs had time to bring him back to full consciousness, I took a seat in a chair beside the rack and asked the first question. “I want the name of the Sentiles next target. What is it?” Savrick did not answer. “How about the name of your commander, the answer to that won’t hurt anything, will it? Give me an answer and we can sit and talk a while. What do you say?” More silence. “Okay, Savrick, we will see if you are not more talkative in a few hours.”