Toth by James C Glass

Author:James C Glass [Glass, James C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC.
Published: 2011-02-04T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A skull-shaped island loomed ahead of them, and the boat slowed. Jezrul was at the wheel. Diego had awakened at last, but had said nothing. He looked sadly at Kari sitting opposite from him, still bound hand and foot. The other counselor was at the bow, waving a lamp slowly back and forth as they came closer in, passing to the south a few hundred meters from a steep, featureless slope. It was not a large island, more a monstrous boulder thrust up from the sea, dark and dangerous looking, devoid of life. Kari lost sight of it as it passed behind her position on the deck by the railings. They circled it, turned sharply, and headed in on a collision course from the east side. “There it is,” said Jezrul. “Bring us in straight to the platform.”

The other counselor nodded, put down his lamp as the engine of the boat came down to near idle speed. For the next minute he gestured for Jezrul to move the boat right or left, stars disappearing as a mountain of solid rock blocked out the western sky nearly to the zenith. They came to a stop with a gentle bump. Immediately there was a whirring beneath them and the boat was rising from the water. Two lines of yellow lights converged into the rock before them. They stopped suddenly, and then slid forward, passing into the mountain through an opening only meters high above their heads, and there was the rumble of a huge door closing behind them.

Light appeared with the brilliance of a sun. Kari squeezed her eyes shut, opened them slowly to see a cavern. Hand-railed walkways wound up vertical walls to closed, metal doors, and racks of blinding lamps hung from a ceiling tens of meters above them. Immediately it was warm in the cavern. Jezrul came over, pulled her to her feet and untied her ankles. “Welcome to the true House of Toth,” he said. He took her arm and steered her towards the bow where five men in full battle dress were waiting. With visor helmets, shining vests, and laser rifles at the ready, the men stood silently as Jezrul lifted Kari out of the boat and placed her on her knees on a metal grate. “Take her downstairs,” he said, and two of the men lifted her to her feet. A thousand needles reminded her feet were still there, but just now waking up again. They marched her along a walkway to a red door and down a gloomy, rock staircase to another door that opened to a cold hallway. There were closed doors with small windows covered by thick wire mesh. They opened one door, and pushed her rudely inside, hands still tied behind her. As the door slammed shut a light came on, a bare bulb hanging two meters above her head. There were bare walls, a toilet, and a torn cot in a corner. Home sweet home, she thought in disgust, and sat down on the cot, twisting her wrists against the rope.

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