Bactine (38 page)

Daniel decided to find out something more about the senator. All the rumours there were about that man were vague and confusing. The man had helped Daniel out a few times, Daniel had taken a liking to the senator.

He needed some time to find out where the senator was living. Of course, the senator lived in the Zoroon community. It was quite a surprise for Daniel to find that his address was in a public register which was stored on the hydger. There was no contact number in the register, which was hardly surprising. After finishing his food, he went back to his apartment to dress more appropriately, and then requested a carriage for the trip to the house of the senator. It was his best shot at finding the man. Perhaps there was someone at the house who could at least take a message for the senator.

The ride to Zoroon went swiftly. Daniel stared out of the window without seeing much. He was trying to think his way out of the matter of the mysteriously disappearing young woman. As the carriage stopped, he saw a remarkably small house, for Zoroon standards. The reception house looked no bigger than a large broom closet. The house beyond it was made of a peculiar kind of pink stone and was surprisingly round everywhere. The whole place looked as if large pink eggs had been thrown in a heap.

Daniel walked up to the door of the reception house. In vain he tried to locate a bell or similar device. There just was the ever present copper plate. As there was little else he could do except for banging on the door, Daniel held his ring against the plaque and waited.

As he took in the environment, one of the areas rich of plants and trees, the door opened behind him. "Seigner?" a voice asked.

Daniel turned and saw a rather aged man. "Good morning, sir. My name is Daniel Zacharias. Is the senator in, by chance?"

"Indeed, he is. I assume you want to see the senator?" the man asked.

"Yes. If that is possible."

The man nodded and opened the door. "If you would please wait here, sir, I will see if senator Dirrit ko Asac is available for you." The servant turned and left Daniel inside the small chamber as he slipped away behind a richly decorated curtain.

The curtain was very red, Daniel saw. It was embroidered with many small symbols, round and square, of which the meaning was entirely lost on him. Minutes checked in and out. Daniel thought the servant had either forgotten him, or fallen asleep after disappearing behind the curtain. Therefore it was a slight shock for him when the man came into the chamber again.

"The senator will see you, sir." The way the servant managed not to put any life or emotion in his voice was stunning.

Daniel followed him. Behind the curtain was only a very short transparent tunnel, they were through it in a few steps. That was good, as the looming pink spheres were not improving his peace of mind. They came into the house that had more or less straight walls. Everywhere he looked, Daniel saw things. Hanging on the wall, in small glass cabinets or standing on display tables. He moved carefully, with so many things everywhere. Many of them looked expensive.

The servant moved through the chaos with ease. He probably had seen the collection of things grow over the years. The man stopped in front of an oval door and knocked on it. Without waiting, he opened the door which gave entrance into a room that was oval, like the house.

Behind a large desk sat the senator, who looked up as Daniel came in. "Ah, my good Mr. Zacharias. Welcome to my home. What a surprise to see you." The man got up and shook Daniel's hand. The senator was dressed in what almost was a regular suit. No green robe this time. "Won't you please sit down, sir," the senator said as he gestured at a large and comfortable looking chair near the black desk.

Daniel noticed the gentle earth tones that the walls were painted in. On the walls he saw paintings and what could be another kind of pictures. Some were, what Daniel assumed, views of the planet. Some showed large eight-mast ships.

"So, Mr. Zacharias, with what can I help you? And may I offer you a refreshment, like tea, or some exquisite Dilurian wine?"

"Tea would be nice, senator. It is still a bit too early for wine for me," Daniel replied.

The servant man quietly left the office after a nod from Sygra.

"The reason for my visit is the disappearance of the daughter of Seigner Dandra ko Galem. Her mother asked me if I could look into this."

The senator leaned back in his chair, a pen between his thin fingers. "I see. Yes, this is a highly unpleasant thing that happened. Clelem and Ugidra told me in person, the day they found out that Rayko vanished." A slow smile came on the man's face. "You and she made the most handsome couple at the party, Mr. Zacharias."

Daniel wilfully ignored that remark. "Would you know of a reason why someone would want to take her?"

The senator folded his fingers in front of his lips for a moment. "I have been thinking about that as well, Mr. Zacharias, and so far I have come up with not much. There are people who do not like the success Clelem has with his ships, so that might be a reason."

"Do you know if she herself had any enemies? Or friends who would play a joke like that?"

The senator got up and walked up to a painting on the wall. As he stared at it, the servant came in and brought tea and wine, and some snacks Daniel had seen before somewhere.

"Do you know who this is, Mr. Zacharias?" the senator asked Daniel without taking his eyes from the painting?

"No, sir. I don't." Daniel got up and stood next to the senator, to look at the painting. It showed the pale face of a woman, surrounded by shoulder-length brown hair that stood in spikes to all sides. The face was quite plain, almost boring, but the way the artist had captured her eyes... Daniel could not drag his eyes away from them.

"This, Mr. Daniel, is Nahmyo. At least, it is how I picture Nahmyo."

Daniel searched his brain for the name and ended up empty handed. "Who is she, sir? I can't say I have ever heard about her."

The senator nodded. "That does not surprise me." He locked the fingers of his hands behind his back. "Nahmyo is the woman who founded our religion. I should say, a religion." The senator was silent for a moment.

Daniel was not certain what this had to do with his question.

"Rayko and I both follow this religion. This... philosophy I should call it, Mr. Zacharias. That creates a bond between people, as you may be aware of."

Daniel was not the religious kind, but he had heard of things like that, so he sort of nodded and waited. As he stood so close to the senator, he decided that this man could not be the mysterious person in black. Simply because he was too tall.

"Rayko, Mr. Zacharias, does not have enemies. She and I have talked about enemies and friends very often, and she is one of the most gentle and kind people on the planet."

"Hmm," Daniel commented. He had seen a rather different side of the gentle and kind person. His shins had taken part in the experience once.

As if the senator had guessed his thoughts, he turned to Daniel. "And yes, there is a lot of fire in her also."

Daniel was still looking at the eyes of the woman in the painting. They seemed to become larger, taking him in entirely. He reached out to push himself away from the wall and the image. The solid and cool wall allowed him to also divert his eyes.

"Nahmyo attracts your attention, Mr. Zacharias," the senator smiled.

Daniel returned to his chair and blinked his eyes a few times. "It seems so, indeed, senator," he replied as he reached for his tea and took a sip.

The senator sat down at the desk also and had a very satisfied expression on his face. "That is how it starts," he added, without elaborating on what 'it' might be.

Daniel did not ask, as he was not here for religious education. Then it dawned on him that maybe by knowing more of this, he could get an advantage on Rayko's vanishing act. "Can you tell me something about this... philosophy, senator? Maybe it helps me in finding the missing person."

"Mr. Zacharias... Is it so hard for you to pronounce her name? It will not hurt you. Trust me." The senator smiled.

Daniel felt caught.

"The litany of Nahmyo, as it is called, is very simple. Her entire approach to things was simple, you know. Nahmyo was against violence. She was in favour of honouring life and all that belongs to it. It sounds like an easy thing to do, but it is harder than it sounds, Mr. Zacharias."

Daniel waited for more, but there was nothing more. "That's it?"

"Yes. That is the basic idea. To remind yourself of her values, all you do is repeat her litany once a day, in solitude. That is important, as then you can hear your words. Spoken words are powerful, Mr. Zacharias. And you speak the words when they are needed."

"Oh. And... when are they needed?"

The senator smiled again. "The person who knows the litany also knows when it is needed."

Great, Daniel thought to himself. This was not getting him anywhere but to the land of confusion.

Sygra got up. "Would you care to join me for a stroll in the garden, Mr. Zacharias?"

As they left the office, Daniel remarked that there were many objects of art everywhere.

The senator shrugged. "Yes, I have to admit to that. One tries to be strong, but there is always a weakness that takes advantage of a person. Art is my weakness. Especially the objects that are... very hard to come by." He walked towards a door and asked: "And what is your weakness, Mr. Zacharias?"

"I don't want people to-" Daniel was shocked to discover what he was about to say and closed his mouth, his cheeks colouring.

The senator, his hand on the doorknob, smiled. "Yes... it is hard to admit to a weakness. Once you do, though, it is easier to deal with it. Believe me. Oh, I hope you are not afraid of animals, Mr. Zacharias. My pet is outside. Are you safe with that?"

"I am sure I can manage, sir."

"Very good," said the senator, and opened the door.

"My pet is a Kotrvayk, Mr. Zacharias. Do you know the kind? They are most impressive." Sygra stepped outside. "I named her Kernak."

Daniel was not prepared for the animal that was waiting for him. Impressive was a word he agreed on. Scary would do also.

On a small patio, just a few steps from the door, lay an animal the size of a lioness. It was covered in red hair, like a fox's. Its head was large and round. As Sygra came in its view, the Kotrvayk got up and slowly walked over to him, giving Daniel a good look of its immense, Komodo-dragon like tail.

Sygra scratched the giant animal behind the ears. "Hello beautiful, have you been good so far?"

The low rumble that came from the animal sounded frightening, but Sygra did not seem to have a problem with it.

"Look here, this is a new friend," Sygra said as if he was talking to a kitten, "this is Mr. Zacharias. If he comes here, that's good, Kernak. Mr. Zacharias is a friend."

Large yellow eyes took Daniel in. Then slowly Kernak walked over to him and gently nudged him with her big head. The gentle push conveyed an enormous strength.

"She seems to like you already, Mr. Zacharias. Feel free to play with her," Sygra said, looking sincerely pleased.

Playing was a bit steep for Daniel, so far, but he did reach out and gently patted the large beast on the head. Kernak's head reached up to his hip. As he stroked the massive head, he was surprised to see how calm the Kotrvayk was. Kernak closed her eyes and gave Daniel all the time to pet her. Her low rumbles were encouraging.

"Kernak likes you, Mr. Zacharias." Sygra's gentle voice pulled Daniel from the reverie of being friendly with such an immense animal.

"Can you tell?" Daniel asked, his hand still in the hairs of Kernak.

"Yes. That is easy. If a Kotrvayk likes someone it will release a special scent. It makes you feel good. It is easy to see that you feel good. She did that."

Daniel stared at the red-haired animal and shook his head. "Miraculous." To himself he grinned as he thought of the poodle that Malcolm had bought for his daughters. Little brother, you should see what kind of animal I am standing next to. She likes me, and not for breakfast.

"Shall we walk, Mr. Zacharias, or do you want to spend some more time with Kernak?" Sygra asked, not hurried at all.

Daniel tore himself loose from the Kotrvayk and joined the senator. Kernak calmly trotted along behind them.

"I believe, Mr. Zacharias, that you were about to mention something about your weaknesses," the senator said with a smile.

Daniel became careful and attentive again. Why did this man bring this up now? "We all have them, as you said, sir, and some people tend to talk about them whereas others just want to keep their weaknesses to themselves."

"Do you know, Mr. Zacharias, that this is a weakness in itself?"

Daniel tried to work that out but decided to attempt that later. First thing he was here for was the daughter of Clelem and Ugidra. "I am sure it is, sir, but I am not sure that finding out my weaknesses will help me to find... Rayko back."