Toth Read online

  “Your report is—”

  “I’ve already read it, and talked to Osen and taken a tour of the camp. You okay?”

  “Why do you ask, sir? Sure, I’m okay.”

  “I’ve just never known you to go to sleep in the middle of the day like that. Feeling the stress? Middle age creeping up on you?” Mootry smiled.

  “Guess so. I closed my eyes, and boom I was gone. Didn’t mean to sound defensive about it.”

  Mootry clapped him on the shoulder. “Didn’t take it that way. Feel tuckered myself. This is the last time for me. God, I saw some beautiful country coming in. What do you think of it?”

  “What I’ve seen looks like pictures of the tropical islands on old Earth.”

  “Pretty women?”

  “You still thinking about settling here? We don’t know what we’re up against.

  “We will. You’re the best diplomat on the ship, Mike, and the smartest combat marine I’ve ever led, once upon a time. Leave the military stuff to Krisha and do your thing. I’ve decided. This is going to be the place for me, with or without you. When I come down here again, I’m here to stay. There’s nothing for me anyplace else.”

  Michael bowed his head, speechless.

  “It’s the same for you, isn’t it? You have a kid who’s grown up barely remembering you, an ex-wife old enough to be your mother, and a long deep-sleep to anywhere else worth living on.”

  “I don’t know, Floyd. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “There’s time. I could do this much for you, Mike. I could make you Commander of Belsus for the trip back to Brown’s Planet, and you could retire an old man. If you stay here, I’ve been thinking about naming Krisha for the job.”

  “Krisha?”

  “Yep. Good experience, a military mind, and total dedication to The Corps. You disagree?”

  “Well, no. I just never thought of her as a Commander.”

  “Think about it, then, but don’t mention it to her, because I haven’t. Oh, I think you’ll find Osen a little more relaxed in the future. We had a chat.”

  “You sent him here as my bodyguard, didn’t you, to keep the old Major from getting his ass shot off? He’s a fuzzy-faced kid, Floyd.”

  “I want you around, Mike, and he’s qualified, believe me. We get things settled here I’ll tell you all about it, how I found him, why I trust him. Let’s leave it that way.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Damn it, the name is Floyd. No more ranks, just two old farts getting ready to hang it up. I hope it’ll be here, Mike. I really want it that way. What do you say we take a look around? I have lift-off in about an hour.”

  When they stepped outside, Osen was standing there, rifle slung. He fell into step behind them, and as Michael saw it, Floyd smiled. “Doing his job,” he said quietly.

  Cooking odors were thick in the air as they toured camp. They passed Krisha and Kari eating under the awning of their hut and talking in low tones. Dark clouds were moving in from the southwest, a swirling, foggy mantle below them announcing the coming of rain. They climbed to a ridge north of the knoll overlooking the village and saw unblemished, tree-covered hills north, east and west. The sea sparkled to the south of them. They stood in utter silence for a few moments, taking it all in, each man lost in his own thoughts. As they left the ridge, Floyd muttered, “This is the place,” and Michael knew that his old friend’s decision was now irrevocable, and that what happened in the next few days would determine the future courses of both of their lives.

  He was still thinking about this when they shook hands at the flyer. “Get it over with,” said Floyd, smiling. “I’ll be back when it happens.” He climbed aboard as the turbines whined, and then the flyer lifted off and headed out to sea before soaring in a great arc towards the orbit of Belsus. Michael stood there with Osen, wondering why the boy’s face was suddenly looking so grim.

  That night it rained on them briefly, and when Michael went outside to walk the perimeter he saw the hills lit up in a green glow that took his breath away. Bright emerald streaks of light shimmered throughout the trees, as if some cosmic painter had been at work. He wished that Floyd had been there to see it, the sudden vista of shimmering color that came with the rain.

  He was still thinking about it when they saw the warning sign on the trail to the village the following morning.

  * * * * * * *

  Kari and Krisha had also seen the flickering lights in the trees that night, but then they argued and Kari retired angrily to the hut, and flounced down on the cot to pout. With a little reflection she decided she was really angrier with herself, knowing Krisha’s protective instincts where she was concerned. She should never have shared her fears of Diego, the way he’d touched her, his fathomless eyes boring into her face and body from so close up. And now Krish was insisting she withdraw from the visiting team, feign some illness, anything. She was always watching, jealous of a look or a touch, smothering her like a mother hovering over a small child. Sometimes, it was just too much.

  She knew that Krisha loved her, loved her more than life, and would gladly die for her if the situation arose to require it. Her own feelings were deep, too, in ways Michael could never understand. Did she still love Mike? Probably. Hadn’t she told him so? Or was she just being kind, saying things to ease the hurt and loneliness she knew was there inside him.

  In some ways they were alike, Krisha and Mike: the hard, outer shell, a sense of total responsibility, but inside, something soft, sensitive, vulnerable. It was that extra softness that had drawn Kari to Krisha, that special understanding and knowledge that only a woman could have, a woman who knew her own body, the special places to touch, the—

  Kari removed her clothes, and lay back on the cot in the bright light of the lantern. “Krish,” she called. “Come in, now. It’s getting cold out there. Please?”

  The woman understood the tone of her lover’s voice. The flap of the hut moved aside, and Krisha was standing there, looking down at her. “Let’s not fight, Krish, I won’t see you for three days.”

  Krisha’s eyes were moist. She stripped off her clothes and turned the lamp down low, then crawled onto the cot and put her arms around Kari, snuggling her. “I’m sorry, baby; sometimes I don’t know when to quit pushing people around.”

  “Mmmm,” said Kari, massaging a hard bicep with one hand and a breast with the other. “I’m cold, Krish.”

  Their mouths met gently, and Kari sighed. “Oh, Krish, I do love you. Don’t you ever doubt it. Don’t you ever, ever doubt it.”

  They lay there cheek to cheek, Krisha breathing in her ear. “Baby, I promise I will always be there for you when you need me. Oh God, I love you, Kari. I worry too much about you.”

  Kari felt hot tears on the side of her face. She wrapped her arms around Krisha and rocked her like a baby. “Hush, now, my darlin’ and hold me tight. Tomorrow is tomorrow, and tonight is real.”

  After a while, when they were both satisfied, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  CHAPTER SIX

  They left camp near sunrise. The morning was shrouded in fog rolling in from the sea, and up into the hills in a network of misty tendrils. Krisha walked them to the edge of the plateau and Michael stopped with her briefly while the others went on. “I’ve placed two cameras and a receiver, sir,” she said. “The knoll summit and north on the ridge. We can see most of the village, especially the area around the obelisk, and Osen has the radio. My people are just below the knoll, with a monitor linked to me. If there’s trouble, they can give you cover fire and we can be there in fifteen minutes.

  “Only on my orders,” said Michael.

  “Unless you’re incapacitated, sir. In that case, do I have permission to take whatever action I think is necessary?”

  “Yes, if you see we’re threatened.”

  “I’d appreciate regular contact and a set rendezvous point. Kari tells me the trail goes along a cliff up there, just before the village comes into view. I’ll h
ave someone in the trees at all times, on the radio link. They’ll also monitor any activity on the trail, and give you more cover if you have to pull out fast.”

  “Good,” said Michael. “If all goes well, we should be back in three days. If we’re not, get in there and find out why.”

  “Done, sir, and good luck.”

  Michael walked away in a hurry to catch up with the others, but he had only begun to traverse the seaward slope of the knoll when he saw them ahead, standing in a group, waiting for him. Kari gave him a worried look when he came up to them. “We have a message,” she said. The group parted, and there in the middle of the trail was a flattened piece of bark protruding from a cairn of small rocks. Someone had written on the bark, neat block letters in charcoal:

  DANGER FOR YOU

  GO BACK

  “Well, that sure gets our day off to a good start,” said Utaki.

  “A friend—or an enemy,” said Michael. “We won’t know until we get there.” He pulled up the bark, threw it and the stones off the trail and down towards the sea. “Come on, we’re late.”

  He marched them hard along the trail until they reached the cliff in roiling mist. The obelisk and the village were not visible at this height, and came into view only when they had descended the winding trail far into the trees. In the gloom on either side of them they saw the strange, green lights of the night before flickering dully. Looking closely, Michael could now see that the light was coming from long tendrils of moss hanging from the lower branches of the trees, and draped over the undergrowth like glowing beards.

  They came around the last bend in the trail, and Michael saw Diego waiting for them in the amphitheatre. Several villagers were with him. He turned to the others and said, “Okay, here we go. Look sharp.”

  They walked casually into the village, and around them people appeared in the doorways of their white houses to watch. The fleet of fishing boats was anchored just beyond the surf, and several men were sitting on overturned rowboats on the beach to mend their nets. Michael smiled and said, “My Commander has allowed us to accept your hospitality for three nights. After that we must report back to our camp and the others will be expecting us then.”

  “Three nights are quite enough,” said Diego, “and your host families await you. There will be no fishing today. It is a sacrifice for the welcome rain He has sent. You might first want to see our inland harvest areas, and get to know your hosts.”

  “Whatever your wish, Counselor. We’re here because of your courtesy.”

  Members of the host families came forward to greet their guests. Davos Grigaytes shook Michael’s hand firmly, held on for an extra heartbeat and muttered, “So, you have returned. We thought perhaps you would not, but the women have prepared a welcome. This way.”

  They walked together to a white stone house at the edge of the beach. Packed flowers and herbs fronted the house, and the weathered hull of a sailboat leaned up against the north wall in gloom. The little boy Uhel watched them from a window, his face somber. He seems like such a sad little boy, thought Michael, and then Leah Grigaytes was in the front doorway, smiling warmly and beckoning them inside. “This is our home,” she said shyly as he stepped inside behind Davos.

  The interior of the house was finished in wood, the furniture rough-hewn and sturdy. The wall of the entryway had a line of wooden hooks; a heavy jacket hanging from one of them, and above this was the carved symbol of The New Christians. The symbol of Toth, Michael reminded himself.

  To his left was the kitchen with an open hearth, a kettle and spit hanging low over glowing coals, and the girl Deena stood at a massive chopping block, hacking away furiously at colorful fruits and vegetables. He smelled fish, and something sweet, both mixed with wood smoke.

  Leah said, “We will eat soon. I’ll show you where you sleep.” They turned into a kind of sitting room with two large chairs and a rough cot woven from broad, flat plant fibers. A mat made from finer fibers lay folded at one end of the cot. The walls were bare except for one shelf over the cot, which displayed a colorful collection of seashells and pieces of driftwood twisted into bizarre shapes. A harpoon stood in one corner, tipped with a crude steel blade, the first piece of metal Michael had seen on Emerson. “This room is for you,” said Leah.

  “It’s more than enough,” said Michael. “Thank you.”

  A doorway led to a hall beyond the room. Gina emerged from it, bowed, and immediately Michael felt his heartbeat quicken. “Welcome, Leader Queal,” she said. She was dressed like the other women: white blouse and long skirt patched together out of many pieces of multicolored cloth. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and held there by a wooden comb. “I’m pleased to be here,” he managed to say, his eyes again drawn to hers, but then there was a knocking sound behind him and he turned to see a tall man robed in white standing in the entryway.

  “The blessings of Toth for those in this house.” He bowed to Toth’s symbol, folded his hands across his chest and came into the room, looking only at Michael. “I am called Cainen Nimri, Leader Queal. I will serve as your guide while you’re with us.”

  “Master Nimri will also be staying with us,” said Leah, her face suddenly expressionless. “Let us now eat so you can get about your business.”

  The room seemed instantly cold with the appearance of Nimri, a man Michael had not seen previously, and another priest of some kind. Michael again wondered how many people had remained in the obelisk the previous day. The warmth of the Grigaytes family had abruptly evaporated, replaced with blank expressions and guarded talk. Diego has sent him to watch us, to make sure the wrong thing won’t be said.

  They went back to the kitchen and a long table with benches, on which was piled wooden bowls filled with fruits and vegetables. A plate was heaped with slabs of fish. Wooden plates and cups, knives, and forks with two tines were arranged neatly around the table. Nimri went to a place at the end without instruction, Davos sitting down opposite him. The three women sat down on one side of the table, Leah gesturing for Michael to sit alone opposite her in the middle, and when they were settled the Grigaytes family joined hands with Nimri and bowed their heads.

  Nimri said, “Great Toth, our guest and provider, we give thanks for this food and the presence of your children from the stars. In this brief time together, grant us the understanding of each other and give us the courage we need to follow our separate paths as you have assigned them to us. According to your will.”

  “According to your will,” said the others, answering his benediction.

  Bowls were passed family style, and Davos named each dish as Michael served himself: a slab of Yellowfin, raw Garbas, and Trukyams seasoned with herbs, and a delicious, yellow pulp fruit called Arcot. Only water was served for drinking. A simple meal, but satisfying, and they ate quickly, in silence. Michael felt their eyes on him as he tried each new thing. When he finally could eat no more, he put down his fork and said, “That was excellent, and I enjoyed every bite of it.” He looked around the room. “We’re missing someone, the boy Uhli.”

  “He has already eaten,” said Davos.

  “You all live together in this house?”

  “Yes, all of us. There is one house for each family and all its living generations,” said Davos.

  “And Uhli’s father? I haven’t met him yet.”

  The question seemed natural, but when Michael saw their shocked faces he knew he’d somehow blundered.

  “His father is dead,” said Davos softly. “Killed at sea—an accident—on my boat.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a bad memory.”

  “Don’t feel badly,” said Gini, looking straight down the table at Nimri. “It was two years ago, and I have my son. I still have my son.”

  “Gini,” said Davos. “We have a guest.”

  But Nimri had shown no visible reaction to her outburst. “Toth provides pain to give us strength and correct our errors. Gini has done well, and her son brings new honor to this family,�
� he said.

  “This family has more than its share of honor,” said Davos, looking down at his bowl. Michael didn’t miss the sarcastic tone of the man’s voice, or the heat of Gini’s outburst. There was a terrible tension in the room, and people were making little effort to hide it from their guest.

  “Would you like to visit one of our harvest areas, Leader Queal?” asked Nimri.

  “Yes, I would.”

  “Fine. These women will accompany us, and you can see how food is taken from the land of Tothwelt. I can provide you with figures for our consumption, but they are far below the bounty Toth provides for us.”

  “And I have my nets to attend to,” said Davos, rising from his chair. “Please excuse me, Leader Queal.” He left the kitchen, and walked out of the house. Leah looked at Nimri grimly. “Do we have permission to clean up here before we leave, Master Nimri?” Gini gave Michael a look, eyes blazing, while Deena stared down at her empty bowl. The women were furious.

  “Of course,” said Nimri, unruffled, “but we should leave soon.”

  Michael waited with Nimri in his sleeping while the women cleaned the kitchen, mumbling and banging bowls and plates together. “Excuse me, Counselor, but they seem quite angry about something. What’s the problem?”

  “They’re unhappy about my assignment to you as guide, Leader Queal. They would have preferred another.”

  “Might I ask why?”

  “I know this family more closely than others, and have guided them through difficult times. As a servant of Toth, I’ve often had to be firm with them when their wishes were not those of Our Lord. There are some resentments. These are simple people, Leader Queal. They must be guided by those of us who are called for a life of service to Toth.”

  “You enforce the laws of Toth?”

  “Yes, when it is necessary.”

  “And is there punishment for breaking these laws?”

  “There are consequences, yes, but only after repeated warnings.”

  “What kind of consequences?”