Toth Read online

  “Yes, and a good way to live,” said Davos. “I think you will like this day.”

  Again Michael felt respect and growing affection for this man: quiet dignity and strength, responsibility for family, molded by a simple life of physical labor at sea. There was a serenity that he envied; a serenity he suddenly realized was missing in his own life, a sense of meaning, of place.

  They clambered aboard a boat painted white, bow pointed seaward, and the crew of eight scattered to their stations. Long lines to the stern tied the skiffs. Michael and Osen stood in the bow as sails were unfurled to catch the morning breeze, and two men cranked up a great stone anchor at their side. There was a gentle shudder as the sails filled, and they were moving out to sea, Davos pulling at the rudder astern. On both sides of them the other boats were on a parallel course, bows rising and dipping under white sails.

  Osen turned to Michael and said, “Ever been on a boat, sir?”

  “Not like this. Not with sails, and on a real sea. There were some small rivers to cross on Rigal Six, and we did it in little rubber boats at a time when we were running for our lives. No, it wasn’t like this at all.”

  “I’ve never been on water, sir. It’s—peaceful.”

  “Not much water on Brown’s Planet, at least not on the surface. The vineyards I saw there had wells going down at least forty meters, maybe more. Did you grow up there?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Go to the academy?”

  “Just basic, sir.”

  “No further? No officer training?”

  “Couldn’t, sir. The revolution started, and I felt I should be with my mother. A lot of the farms were being raided, and she was alone.” The boy looked away from him, and out to sea.

  “And your dad was in deep space.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So how did you hook up with Mootry? He’s particular about his crew.”

  Osen still wasn’t looking at him. “Volunteered, sir. After the revolution, a lot of lands were confiscated and parceled out to whoever would work them. A good part of Colonel Mootry’s crew mustered out there, and took up farming. Mom was sick, and we couldn’t sell the farm with all that free land available. She died a week before I shipped out.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Michael.

  “Yeah, well, I’m where I want to be, and the farm’s still there.” Now Osen looked at him again. “You going back to Brown’s, Major? This is your last drop, isn’t it?”

  “Probably, but I haven’t decided yet. Mootry wants to muster out here, but I don’t know if that’s wise.”

  “Kind of a hostile place here, sir. Some funny things going on.”

  “Seems that way,” said Michael, but then Cainen Nimri, who came up beside them and pointed his staff out to sea, interrupted them.

  “We’re nearing the fishing area, Leader Queal. The men will soon deploy their nets if you would like to watch. Today we fish deep for the Yellowfin.”

  “Lead the way,” said Michael, and without thinking he put a hand on Osen’s shoulder, startling him. “Let’s do some fishing, private.”

  Behind them the crew had begun unfastening nets rolled up on thick poles along the railings. There were two each on starboard and port sides, hinged and connected by thick ropes to two hand-winches amidships. Davos was standing, the tiller between his legs, and guided the boat by leaning from side to side as he looked ahead. Nimri stood at the bow, staff in hand, and watched the sea. Land was still visible, the hills above the village, the dark speck that marked the encampment on the plateau. It occurred to Michael they were not nearly as far out as the time he’d first seen the boats during the drop.

  Nimri held up his hand, and the men watched him, and when he suddenly lowered it they swung the poles out from both sides of the boat. Cranks on the winches whirred as the weighted nets sank into the sea. Only when the nets were fully extended did the crew shorten sail. Michael noted the high angle of the poles aft, the forward poles parallel with the water. He surmised the nets formed giant scoops traveling along with the boat. The Yellowfin must be school fish, he thought. He walked the length of the boat to stand by Davos, who scowled at him.

  “We’re not out far enough,” said Davos. “There will be no fish here. I think Nimri prefers we not see a Charni today, with visitors on board, but the Yellowfin have moved out to the barrier, and that is where we must go to find them.”

  “What is the barrier?” asked Michael.

  “Far out, maybe an hour, it is the place where the Charni live. Toth has put them there to make a barrier we are not supposed to cross. The waters beyond are dangerous.”

  “There’s a large island out there,” said Michael. “I saw it from our ship. Hasn’t anyone ever gone there?”

  Davos looked at him nervously. “One time—years ago, some people left the village and tried to go there. They never came back. We all knew the Charni would get them.

  “So you know about the island. Why did you let the people go?”

  Davos looked away from him. “They—they wished to leave the village. They’d made trouble, and rejected The Law. We could not stop them from leaving. Perhaps some of them reached the island, but I doubt it. Their boats were very small.”

  “They were expelled from the village for questioning the Law,” said Michael.

  Davos gave him a quick glance. “Yes.”

  “Sounds like a death penalty to me. Is that part of The Law?”

  “It’s not meant to be,” said Davos.

  Michael looked around him. The crew was at the railings. Osen talked to Nimri at the bow. Michael leaned close to Davos. “People still question The Law, Davos. I’ve even heard you say things about it. I know Nimri is your first-born son, that all first sons are taken from their families to be servants of Toth, and that your son-in-law opposed The Law before he was killed on your boat.”

  Davos looked at him, horrified. “Who—?”

  “Who is not important. I know. Right or wrong, there are people who think Gini’s husband was murdered because he opposed The Law. What happened? How did he die?”

  Davos’ face was grim. “It’s not a thing I want to talk about. He was a good man, a good father and husband. My daughter still grieves for him, and your arrival has brought her new pain. I think you remind her of Lebyn, her husband. There are similarities between you.”

  Michael touched the man’s shoulder. “If there are wrong things happening in the village, I can’t leave until I know about them. It’s part of my job. Tell me.”

  Davos glanced towards the bow, swallowed hard and said, “Jezrul was our guide that day. We were in close, and suddenly the Yellowfin filled our nets to bursting. One net tore at the surface, and Lebyn, my son-in-law, leapt into the water with rope to repair the break. Jezrul went to the railing, and stretched out his staff, and—and suddenly a Charni was there. A Charni, so close to shore!”

  Nimri was now watching them standing close together. He interrupted Osen’s conversation with a wave of his hand, and started walking towards them. Both men saw him coming at the same time.

  “It cut Lebyn is half at the waist with one bite, and was gone in an instant. It didn’t attack the net, didn’t stay to feed on the Yellowfin boiling around us. It killed Lebyn, and swam away.”

  “Do you have questions I can answer, Leader Queal?” asked Nimri, stepping up in front of them.

  Michael smiled. “I was learning about the nets, and Davos thinks we’ll have to go further out to catch fish today. He says we might even see a Charni.”

  “The Charni are further out, and the Yellowfin are near. You will see. Toth will bring them to us, and I am his instrument. Watch me, and you’ll believe.” Nimri wasn’t looking at Michael; his blue eyes were focused directly on his father. “This boat will be low in the water when we return.” He turned, and walked back to the bow where Osen awaited him.

  Michael patted Davos on the shoulder. “Another time,” he said. “I want to talk some more about this.” Then he
joined Nimri and Osen at the bow.

  They sailed for over half an hour before the Yellowfin came. Nimri stood silently at the bow, studying the water ahead, and for the first time Michael noticed the plug in Osen’s left ear. He had his radio, alert for an emergency message from Krisha or Mootry. Again, Michael was impressed by the boy’s professionalism, his watchfulness. They watched with Nimri, and suddenly the water ahead of them turned a deeper blue, and there were choppy waves swaying the boat from side to side. Nimri held out his staff over the water, and closed his eyes. A hum came from deep in his throat.

  Osen’s hand slipped inside his jacket. He looked at Michael, and wiggled an eyebrow at him.

  Nimri hummed a kind of mantra, and behind them the crew stood silently at the railings, watching him respectfully. The hum, the gentle rocking of the boat seemed to penetrate Michael’s mind, blanking it out, lulling it into a relaxed state approaching twilight sleep. He closed his eyes …

  “YELLOWFIN!” screamed a crewmember.

  Michael’s eyes snapped open, and ahead of him the surface of the water boiled with thrashing bodies on a collision course with the boat. The characteristic yellow-tipped dorsal fins waved like sails. In an instant they had passed under the bow, and the boat lurched, groaning, slowing so rapidly that Osen’s arms came around Michael to prevent his being thrown into the sea. Nimri stood firm like a statue; staff outstretched, and behind them the poles holding the nets sagged with the sudden weight of countless fish swarming below. “Bring them in!” yelled Davos, and two men rushed to each of the great winches and began cranking furiously. Others pulled up on the nets, the thick poles holding them now bending close to the water.

  Men yelled as a frothing, struggling mass of fish appeared beneath the water on both sides of the boat, then above it. One pole creaked, and made a popping sound. The crew leaned over the side, and began pulling Yellowfin one-by-one from the nets, throwing them flopping and gasping on the deck before the nets were even clear of the water. There were smiles, and glances towards the bow where Nimri still stood, humming his deep-throated mantra. Somehow he had brought the Yellowfin to them, and they were grateful. Michael and Osen watched in awe as the collection of struggling fish became a pile, a mound, a small mountain writing on the deck from rail to rail, until finally the nets were empty and one crewmember was wrapping a small break in one pole with a short length of rope.

  Nimri turned to them. “It is enough,” he said. “Give thanks in your hearts that Toth has again provided for our needs.” He walked to where the men were already reaching to swing the poles back along the railings and roll up the ends of the nets. He stood tall as they gathered around him, and hands reached out to pat his back and shoulders.

  “Incredible,” said Michael softly. “How could he see a school of fish under the water like that?”

  Osen touched his shoulder, pointed to the plug in his own ear. “He called them,” he said in a whisper. “There’s a transmitter in that staff, and I heard the signal, just like I heard it on the beach. He sent a signal that brought the fish here, a rising squeal that repeated over and over. I had the radio on scan, and this time it locked right on the frequency. Clear as a bell.”

  “But under the water, how could it?”

  “CHARNI!” screamed someone, and everyone jumped back from the railings. Michael followed their faces to port; saw a great dorsal fin slicing through the water fifty meters away, heading right for them, a long, shadowy shape just below the surface. Men cried out, and fell back into the mountain of fish. Other boats were visible, but closer to shore, and they were alone with a killer, a missile armed with razor teeth, coming straight at them like a torpedo half the length of the boat. But Nimri remained calm, stepped up to the railing and twisted his staff sharply between his two hands. He thrust it out towards the attacking Charni. Osen grunted beside Michael, and ripped the plug from his ear.

  “By the power given to me through Our Lord Toth I command you to be gone!” shouted Nimri, and he closed his eyes as if in prayer. Michael and the others watched in astonishment as the giant fish leaped from the sea only meters away from them, snapped its jaws in fury, and crashed into the water to throw a wave of spray over the men and the boat. It turned sharply, and Nimri followed it with the tip of his staff. “Be gone!” cried Nimri, eyes now open.

  Michael stepped back to the bow and watched the huge dorsal fin streaking away from them, heading towards the southern horizon from which the Yellowfin had come, the horizon on which floated the hazy shadow of a distant island. In seconds it was gone, and the men were cheering Nimri, crowding around him. Even Davos was smiling with pride for the servant of Toth who was his son.

  Osen had a finger in his ear, rubbing softly. “Maybe putting the radio on scan isn’t such a good idea. I think I’ve hurt my eardrum.”

  “The staff again?” asked Michael, and Osen nodded.

  “If you’re right, it can call the Yellowfin and chase the Charni away. If it can do that, I think it can also call the Charni. I wonder what else it can do. And how?”

  They walked from the bow to join the happy throng of men surrounding Nimri, and offered him their congratulations.

  Nimri was pleased.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Kari watched the sails of the boats get smaller and smaller, and thought about marching right out of the village and up the hill to the plateau. Suddenly she was lonely again, and missed Krisha. Michael was hardly speaking to her, and when he did it was strictly business, talk between officer and subordinate. She felt the hurt in him, the sense of abandonment, but what could he expect with the long deep sleeps out of synch with her own time in the cocoon. And Krisha was always there when she awoke. Age had changed Michael, made him softer, diplomatic, and careful with words. He was certainly not the randy young captain she’d first met and bedded. Krisha was now a constant in her life, strong and protective, but still a woman, understanding her deepest needs, and always satisfying them.

  Diego Segur stepped up beside her, staff in hand. “Are you still angry?” he said softly.

  “Of course. The others are allowed to go out to sea, and I’m left behind. I suppose it’s because I’m a woman.”

  “This is only partly true,” said Diego, looking down at her, “but it’s a tradition, and not part of The Law. Our women accept it and go about their tasks at home. Besides, I thought you’d prefer to visit Toth’s home among us and witness the baptism of a child. That is another tradition, and a ceremony attended only by our women. It acknowledges their special gifts in giving birth to our children.”

  His words softened her anger. “I appreciate your invitation, Counselor, really, and I do look forward to it. But I’ve never been in a boat before and I’m a little disappointed. When is the baptism?”

  “Soon. We have enough time to see the sanctuary before the ceremony begins. Shall we go?”

  Diego took her by the elbow, his huge hand enveloping it, and standing next to him she was again awed by his size and piercing gaze. How old a man was he? Did he have a woman, or was celibacy a part of his life as a servant of Toth? His grasp moved to her arm and she felt his warmth. Was he attracted to her? She remembered his fingers rubbing across the back of her neck, rough fingers that had sent a chill through her. Was she, in fact, attracted to this big man in a subliminal way he could sense? His hand closed warmly on her arm and she made no effort to break the contact. “Baptism is our most important ceremony,” he said. “We dedicate our children to lives of husbanding all that Toth has provided for us, living free under His simple rules.”

  They were walking slowly towards the obelisk, and the doors opened to receive them. “Is the child a first-born son?”

  “No, it is a girl, second-born to the Kaziel family. Their first-born was also a girl, but there is still hope.”

  “You place great importance on sons,” said Kari.

  Diego’s thumb stroked her arm. “Only the first-born are ordained as servants of Toth. It is necessary for each fa
mily to be represented so each of us who serve Him will remain close to the people in guiding their ways under The Law. You must understand, Kari, that we are the eyes and hands of Our Lord. In His transfigured state he can no longer be among us, and can only give us His Word. Oh, may I call you Kari?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good,” said Diego. He squeezed her arm, and then released it. “Let us now go inside.”

  They had reached the great doors beyond which were darkness. Takey had gone back to the home of his host to await his tour of the obelisk. He intended to study some of the early writings of counselors from the days when Toth had walked among the people. The rest of the team was out to sea, and it was Kari who entered a dark place with a near stranger towering over her. As they stepped into the darkness another counselor suddenly appeared and closed the doors behind them. Kari breathed deep to control her fear, but it was short-lived. Rope globes of the strangely fluorescent moss glowed along the hall before them, and her eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom.

  The other counselor, barely out of his teens, scurried ahead of them and pushed open two heavy, carved wooden doors. Diego’s hand rested lightly on her waist. “This is our meeting place, and Toth’s sanctuary among us.”

  They entered a huge room with a domed ceiling glowing green from drapes of moss hanging from trestles five meters above their heads. Kari saw concentric semi-circles of pews, the throne, the great stone altar behind it, a back wall covered with a great, plane tapestry made from plant fibers. A heavy, wooden symbol of the New Christians hung in front of it. “Very impressive,” she said. “Toth meets with you here?”

  “His image appears to us, sitting in the throne you see. He dwells in another place, but is always with His People.”

  “He talks to you?” Kari reached inside her shirt, withdrew the pendent she wore and held it in her hand.