“The transfer ritual was excellent, by the way. I enjoyed participating immensely!” The chuckle arising from his throat was caught in phlegm, and as his mouth cracked open to cough, the spiky lower teeth appeared now to be missing altogether, the mouth an empty cavern.
“Enjoyed participating? Who are you?”
Tell me who he is… show me… work for me!
“You can call me Uncle Toby.”
“Uncle Toby? We are related?”
He laughed, this time the lower teeth reappearing. “No, but you can consider me your uncle, someone to turn to for help and advice. Look at it this way – you can unburden yourself, tell me everything, use me in a similar way to a Catholic confessing to a priest.” Another throaty chuckle bobbed up and down in his throat. “So that is how we will proceed, Lenka. We will have no secrets from each other, and you will come to regard me as your most trusted friend.”
While he talked, the light from the oil lamp dimmed, the yellow flame fading incrementally until there was little more than a wisp of grey emanating from it. He doused all light, the darkness of his aura seeping across the floor, crawling up the walls, spreading like a contagious disease.
“You can pour it all out, my dear – how the people you cared for deceived, disappointed and upset you. And we will write everything down in order to analyse things, help you understand matters better. You can keep a diary, write all you can remember from your home life, going all the way back to your very first memory. You will explain your weaknesses, desires, and the responses of those around you. After that we will move to your experience here in Ingolstadt. In time I will know everything about you and your mind and what your reactions are likely to be in any given situation. In this way we can assign to you the most suitable work. So, you see, it is very important not to deceive us, Lenka. I will know if you hold anything back.”
Tell me who he is… show me!
“And if you do hold back or attempt deceit, be assured the punishment will be of a kind you cannot even conceive. We excel in this particular field.”
She felt the cold trickle of understanding. And recognition. The smell of him…
The goats head, the fire, the rape!
“And most of all, Lenka, you will tell Uncle Toby, who is your friend – the best friend and only friend you will ever have – all that you foresee, receive from Spirit, and discover through mind reading. I understand you have excellent abilities, so nothing less than excellence will be accepted. In return for such loyalty, you will of course be rich beyond your wildest imagination. We look after our people. You will enjoy the fruits of a most privileged and exalted life to be envied the world over. Every success will be yours. You, my beauty, will live in abject luxury with no cap on material wealth. Most of all, you will belong to the most important movement in history and be right at the heart of der Orden der schwarzen Sonne.”
She nodded.
“You must thank me. Say, ‘Thank you, Uncle Toby.’”
“Yes, thank you, Uncle Toby.”
“I will ensure every need is met for the rest of your life. All you have to do is be a loyal member of der Orden der schwarzen Sonne. Loyalty, Lenka. Total, unquestionable loyalty. You understand?”
“Yes, Uncle Toby. Thank you.”
He nodded, stood up, then left without another word, his footsteps echoing dully on the cobbles. He had not revealed his eyes, keeping the hat pulled down at all times. And no wonder, she thought, because if anyone were to look into them, they would know he had no soul, no spirit, not even the tiniest spark of human life.
The chill of his presence lingered.
The next part, what was it? Trust or obedience? Which was true? What about failing it? If she failed, would they cast her onto the street and refuse to let her join? Because that would be preferable. This whole thing had been an illusion, a gilded trap she’d fallen right into. Already, the heartache of Heinrich’s duplicity had faded, knowing now that he was nothing more than a seductive conjuror with a black heart.
You knew… you knew…
She quashed the voice. Yes, she had known, deep down. Yet the longing for pretty dresses and the admiration of a handsome man had won out. Stupid, stupid… She gazed into the blackness. What would happen next? Was it possible to escape? Once out of this dungeon, up the steps to the light… yes…
Her stomach growled. And it was freezing. When Asp came back, she’d ask if it was possible to leave and not complete the process. Yes, that’s what she’d do. Take her chances with the demons – after all, at least she now had more knowledge of the occult and how to manage the dark ones.
Shivering violently, she talked herself through it. The essence of Uncle Toby still crawled all over her skin, the memory of his violation repellent and despicable. It had definitely been him – the stink of that scaly skin was unforgettable.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Asp’s footsteps sounded in the corridor outside and the bolts shot back.
She stood up, hands gripping the bars.
The door was opened, the cage unlocked, and he yanked her upright. For a second or two, she wobbled and held on to his arm. “Asp, I need to ask—”
He shook her off as if she were a leper. This wasn’t Asp. He was thinner, wiry, the voice a snap. “Stand up straight! Come with me. Hurry up.”
“Where are we going?”
“Third gate – Gate of Death.”
Confused, she stumbled along. They were not going to kill her or that would defeat the object of the process.
“I don’t want to do this, to carry on.”
The man’s thoughts were impenetrable. There would be no help forthcoming.
Show me what’s happening, demons. I’m giving you work – inform me!
All she had wanted was to be young and pretty and flirtatious, to have fun, to have a better life. She had to get out of here. Her feet dragged.
“I have changed my mind. I don’t want to continue.”
“Hurry up!”
Look where her ego had brought her – being rushed headlong to a fate from which there was no escape. They had all seen her weaknesses, from her mother to Heinrich. Stupid, stupid, stupid… and now it was too late. What had she done?
The final door loomed ahead.
The Gate of Death, he’d said. Death? No one had mentioned death. This did not make sense, not at all.
“No! Listen to me, please—”
“Quiet!”
After three knocks, the door was opened to reveal a vast tank of water. At which point a sheet was thrown over her head, her arms were bound with rope, and she was thrown in.
There had been no warning and no time to hold her breath. Flailing around wildly, she gulped down water, kicked and bucked, but to no avail. She sank to the bottom in seconds.
Pain ripped through her chest, and her mind blacked.
And when she came to, it was to find someone untying the sheet and another banging hard on her back. Gasping, coughing and ejecting water all at the same time, she only vaguely heard the command “Get her ready now. Take her to the hall.”
A masked woman stepped forward with an armful of towels and a white robe for her to wear. “Now you are dead from your old life. You have passed successfully through the Gate of Death and, like a serpent shedding its skin, can begin anew. With us. You will have a new name, a new identity and a new code of conduct. Congratulations, Lenka. Follow me and we will take you to the hall. I am very excited for you. Are you not excited?”
Numb, shivering, she could only stare back at the woman and shake her head.
“Ah, don’t be afraid. The final part of the initiation is always the worst, but once you have crossed that line, it will become easier.”