The Gods' Gambit (13 page)

Once, Batka took a risk that bordered on madness just to
help two complete strangers – serial killers – to break out of jail. They had
terrorized several small towns before being captured and sentenced to death.
They had killed together as a team. They had found pleasure in torturing their
victims for hours before killing them. Batka used his connections and spent a
lot of money to arrange the transfer of the killers from one prison to another.
During the transfer, his hitmen attacked the police convoy and freed the
killers. They were taken to Batka’s ranch and, after a short stay, put on a
ship sailing abroad. Batka had chosen Laptin to take them secretly out of the
US. So Laptin had the chance to spend some time in the company of the two men,
which was enough for him to understand what type of people they were. Both were
callous, cruel and not very intelligent. They did not possess any qualities
that justified the means and risks taken to set them free. That was the first
time Laptin questioned the actions of the man he had admired for his
exceptional mind and resolution.

Had Batka contracted a peculiar eastern disease, which was
now eating his mind, dragging him into madness? That question had started to
bother Laptin. He was soon to get an answer to this and other gnawing
questions.

One night, Batka called Semeon Laptin to his house. Laptin
thought they were going to talk business, but they did not. Batka asked Semeon
to sit next to him on a couch in the reception room. He then studied him with a
look that felt like he was piercing Laptin’s soul and said, “I know you’re a
bright man, Semeon. You wonder why I have changed. You wonder what happened in
Pamir. I would wonder the same if I were in your place.” Warm lights glinted in
his eyes – an echo of the man he once was.

“I’m happy to work for you. You don’t owe me an explanation.
However, your trust means a lot to me,” Laptin replied diplomatically.

Batka nodded approvingly. “I’ve always liked your tact.” He
was silent for a moment before he continued. “Tell me, Semeon, what is it that
people want the most?”

The question took Laptin by surprise. “Even though it may
sound simplified – the answer is money,” he responded.

“Right. The first thing people want is money. When this
desire is fulfilled, they want more money. Let’s say they get this as well.
What’s next?”

“Power,” Laptin answered without hesitation.

“Agreed. A man with an awful lot of money manages to acquire
vast political and social influence. What more would he want to possess?”

“There’s nothing greater. Those two contain all there is,”
Laptin said with conviction.

“Allow me to disagree this time,” Batka said. “There is
more. The ultimate achievement ... the Secret.

Laptin didn’t understand what his interlocutor meant.

“The heart and the mind of such people could be seduced only
by the Secret,” Batka added.

“I think rich people just want to get richer and more
powerful. It can be done through associating with their like. They also want to
maintain and protect what they possess,” Laptin said.

“Well said, Semeon. But what if you didn’t need any allies?
What if you could
see
in advance the moves of those who play against
you? What if you knew exactly which steps to take to guarantee success? Only
the Secret provides such abilities.”

“Secret knowledge?” Laptin asked.

“Knowledge is a tool. The core meaning of the Secret is that
it is personal. Through it one can overcome one’s humanity. The man of the
Secret is a god, master of matter, time and space. That, of course, is the
highest achievement. The Secret has many levels.”

Laptin had never heard Batka speak like that. He was
confused.

It was as though Batka had read his mind. “I say all this
because it’s connected with a big plan we need to implement. I want you to be
part of it.”

“Count me in,” Laptin said without thinking. He was relieved
that the conversation seemed to have turned away from that peculiar subject.

“No rush. I want you to think carefully before answering.”
Batka paused and peered at Laptin. “Semeon, are you ready to learn the truth
about this world? Are you ready to embrace it and serve?” he asked with a
resounding voice.

After his initial surprise, a disdainful thought flashed
through Laptin’s mind:
Religious gibberish. How pitiful.
He immediately
felt remorse for his shallow thinking. Batka was not a man who would preach
about saving souls. There was something else. He suppressed the unexpected
feeling of fear that clamped his throat and responded, “If this is your way,
I’m ready to follow it as well.”

“All right. It will be a long-lasting strategy. Our heirs
will carry it on. I’ll announce it to some chosen people.” Batka continued to
stare at Laptin unblinkingly. “I’ll also offer the Secret to people who have
everything but it. In Pamir, I inherited the Secret and the world. I’m Prior
who resides on the very top of the World Mountain and Alexander is my
successor. Now listen...” He proceeded to tell Laptin what had happened in
Pamir.

The hermit had waited for Batka in front of his cave as though
he knew about his arrival. Without paying attention to the villagers’ gifts, he
asked Batka to have tea with him in the cave alone. “You will tell the village
people that I have no more interest in them, or in their children,” he said.

That statement satisfied Batka, because the villagers
insisted that the hermit had put charms on their children. A father from one
village had killed his son because ‘the hermit had put the devil in him’.

However, the hermit’s next words took Batka aback. “I waited
for you. Every single day of my life has been preparation for our meeting. Now
you are here and I can retire. But first I have to hand down to you the mark of
the Great Snake who governs the world.”

Batka tried to say something in response but couldn’t. His whole
body was numb. Too late, he realized that the hermit had put something in his
tea.

“Yes, I put you in this state,” the hermit said as if
responding to Batka’s thoughts. “I need your undivided attention. You see … you
and I are what people hate and fear most deeply in their minds. We are Stewards
of the Great Heavenly Dragon. We are the rightful governors of this world,
which was taken from us a long time ago. You are the Prior who comes after me
and you will choose the Prior who will come next. We have ruled the earth since
before the dawn of so-called civilization. In that time, the people were
divided into castes: the caste of the living gods, the cleansed ones, the
followers and the barbarians. The higher castes inhabited the three rings in
the centre of the world. The caste of the living gods, composed of the Prior,
the high priests, the nobles and the sorcerers, resided in the highest Inner
Ring. The cleansed ones, whose role was to fulfil the will of the gods, lived
in the Middle Ring. The followers, who lived to serve, shared the lower Outer
Ring. The uncultivated part of the world was home to the barbarians. There was
order and harmony at that time. All creatures venerated the Heavenly Dragon. He
is the self-created first being in the universe. The Prior is his steward in
the world. He carries the innermost secret mark of the Heavenly Dragon that
gives him the right to govern this world. In those times, the inner eyes of all
people were opened and they could see the Truth. All, although with different
clarity, were capable of
seeing
the World Mountain – the archetype of
all worlds. Life on earth was established by its semblance. That is why
everybody knew his place and followed the rules, until the time came when
rebels appeared amongst the barbarians and started to challenge the order. They
lulled the vigilance of the Prior and the living gods. The rebels developed
magic which allowed them to hide from the all-seeing Eye through which the high
priests watched over the world. This is how the epoch of chaos arose, and the
world still remains in its grip. The Priors had to live hidden in remote lands.
From time to time a Prior would make an attempt to regain his place in the new
world, but none ever succeeded. Yet the line of Priors has survived until today
together with the legacy of the Heavenly Dragon.”

After a period of silence, the hermit continued. “After
long-lasting millennia of oblivion and fighting for basic survival, the time
has come for us to take our rightful place. The weakness of the Priors until
now has been their separation from society. We’ve led a marginalized life for
too long. You are the first Prior who resembles many of the old rulers of the
world. You have high status in the world and from me you will inherit the power
of the Great Heavenly Dragon. You will be king and high priest. I know you.
I’ve seen your path in my dreams. You are the Prior who can return the old ways
to the world.”

“I lay helpless in the cave. I wanted to call for help from
my men who I’d left to wait for me outside, but my body was lifeless. I
couldn’t even move my eyelids,” said Batka. “In that situation it was
impossible for me to think deeply about what he was saying. I started to think
that this crazy hermit was going to kill me. That’s when he transmitted the
power of the Heavenly Dragon to me, and I realized the truth about the world.
Of course, I had many questions to ask. I needed to know many more things.
That’s why I stayed there for so long.”

Laptin understood that it was not the tale of the ‘World King’
that had made Batka accept all he had heard from the hermit. It was ‘the power
of the Heavenly Dragon’. In the same moment, Laptin realized what had happened
to the young Alexander. “You chose Alexander to be the next Prior,” he said.

“Yes, Semeon. The hermit transmitted the power to him as
well. Alexander went to Russia because from there the Prior who will govern the
world will rise. Together, we will pave his way. Alexander from Russia; I from
here.”

Once more, without a tangible motive, Laptin felt fear
freezing his heart. He, who had all his life considered himself fit for
extraordinary deeds, suddenly wished to be an ordinary villager who worked in
the fields during the day and drank vodka at night.
What muddle have I got
into?
He thought, panic rising within him.

In an attempt to rid himself of this sensation, Laptin said
the first thing that popped into his head. “Why did we free those serial
killers?”

Batka’s expression showed that he didn’t think this question
inappropriate. “They are my children.” This unexpected statement astonished
Laptin. Batka smiled and explained. “The Priors can initiate people who possess
the necessary potential. I call the initiation ‘touching’. Thus, these people
become initiated followers of the Great Heavenly Dragon. The touched ones
transfer this initiation naturally to their first-born child and it continues
to be transmitted the same way forever after. Only the people who were
initiated by a Prior acquire the ability to ‘touch’ other people. However, not
many have a suitable nature to receive that gift. The ones who were not
initiated by a Prior cannot initiate others. Those two men we freed from jail
had the initiation in their blood by birth. But they didn’t know they were
marked with the sign of the Heavenly Dragon. I can sense the ‘touched’ ones,
can see them, if you prefer. In fact, any ‘touched’ one is capable of sensing
his like to a certain degree. But it’s something that happens often on a
subconscious level.”

“Fascinating,” Laptin exclaimed. “So there are many people
amongst us who you can see in a different way.”

“Unfortunately, not so many. The Priors have always
encountered a very limited number of worthy people. Apart from that, with time
some of those initiated by birth lose the knowledge of what they are. Such men
and women feel somehow different from the masses but don’t know why. Often,
destructive emotions take over them – like with those two men. Such people
don’t understand that they are part of something great.”

“How does this ‘touching’ actually work?” Laptin asked.

Batka gave him a sharp look, discontented with his slow
wits. “Why do you think I have told you all this? You have the potential. You
can find out for yourself.”

Laptin swallowed through his dry throat. “I’m ready to
embrace the Secret,” he said.

Haslemere, Surrey, UK

The present day

The students from the ‘Fashion – a Practical Approach’
course at the Haslemere Centre left the classroom chatting cheerfully.
Elizabeth wrote some notes in her notebook and then left, locking the door
behind her. She liked this volunteer job. She took pleasure in seeing the
genuine interest of the young women enrolled on her course. Most of them were
emigrants from countries suffering social turbulence. She liked the thought
that her course was a sign of the new life these women now had.

She walked into the deserted street behind the centre where
she had left her car. When she got closer to her car, she spotted another car,
parked, so it seemed, too close to hers. In it, a man and a woman, both in
their thirties, sat looking at the screen of some kind of smartphone, which the
man held. As she passed by, Elizabeth saw that there was just enough room
between the two cars for her to manoeuvre out of the space. She pressed
‘unlock’ on the key fob, opened the rear door and placed her handbag and
notebook on the seat.

“Excuse me, madam. Do you know how to get to Melrose Cottage
from here? It’s a retirement home.” The driver from the car behind had come
near her unnoticed.

She straightened up and looked at him. He was tall with dark
hair and had a mawkish appearance. He had raised one hand, in which he held the
phone; he kept the other hand in his jacket pocket.