The Adventures of Deacon Coombs (41 page)

“I scoured travel records. When first we met on Aralia, I still had not visited Goharn Lok. After your departure, I promulgated the rumor that I was on the journey with you to Nix. Sorry, but I needed to buy time. When the
C’oulbaa
was ready to depart, Chuen had still not given me Lok’s name. So I took advantage of my position in the union and issued new orders to command the
G’uillger
upon its arrival.”

Deacon clapped exuberantly. “Hurrah for the truth.”

“I finally found Goharn Lok, but he has not been cooperative in these matters. I think that he can be bought off.”

“I wouldn’t try that,” said Deacon.

“All in the line of duty.”

Lyanna said, “I am beginning to understand you, Chubby Eaves,” echoing what Deacon was thinking.

“Goharn has information that will help us.”

“I thought that I heard the word
us
,” said Lyanna.

“Sure. I am a part of the team now. I have been truthful with you.”

“Not quite!” Deacon said.

“Why not?”

“Tell me why you and Travers took the
Sleigher
to Nix. What happened there?”

“I don’t understand the question.”

“I have come to the conclusion that the last trip of the
Sleigher
to Nix was not an act of Urzel bending Vesper waves, as you would have the Tetrad Alliance believe. You and Travers purposely took her there. In his dying breath, Travers urged me to find you. He said that Chubby Eaves knows the truth. Chubby has the secret. Tell us the secret, or you’re locked up by the Owlers until our return.”

The messenger of death

As Chubby remained silent, Deacon prompted him. “As powerful as any being will ever evolve to, neither Urzel nor any man will ever be able to bend Vesper beams, as you would want us to believe. Travers has already confessed to me that you took the ship there.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” said Chubby. “The traders’ union bribed officials at the Jabu Vesper station—just the two whose cooperation was required to make our scheme… I mean plan… work.”

“Another Aralian skill—bribery. Bribed them to do what?” Quobit wanted to hear it, so she instinctively positioned herself closer to Eaves.

“Vesper our ship to the nearest station at Nix at a time when that station was inoperable because of repairs. It is an obsolete station but served our purposes. Our arrival went unnoticed because there were only two operators there when we arrived. They too were—how shall I say—cooperative.”

“Officials there were compensated too?”

“Yes, they were very well compensated. I like that word. The official at Jabu altered the records, and sorry Quobit, but Maretz personally assisted us in our escape to Nix. From the station near Nix, we traveled a route to Nix that led us directly to the planet.”

“Travers and you and the crew went there to assassinate Urzel, didn’t you?”

Lyanna felt anxiety as she waited for Chubby’s answer. Chubby wrestled with his words. “Yes, we wanted him dead. We had a grandiose plan of assassination.”

“Did you have proof at that time that Urzel was the creature behind all these problems of the union?”

“We found a missing trade ship in a dormant volcano on Nix. We found the missing arms hidden deep in caves in a mountain.” Chubby was uncomfortable talking about this subject. As Deacon let his mind switch moods to intercept his thoughts, he could only decipher one word—
Urzel
!

“What else happened there? Did you unleash the monster?”

Chubby glared at Deacon. It was if he had stopped breathing.

“Right now you must tell us exactly what happened on Nix. Time grows short to capture this creature.”

Chubby exhaled. “We landed on a remote sector of the planet. Our plans were simple. Travers and I split the group into three parties. For days, we kept in contact with each other, scouring the planet for him, searching for his hideout. It was my team that found the abandoned ship. It was Travers who found the stolen weapons. We never heard again from the third group. Then Travers lost his crew.” His voice began to quiver. “Travers and I sat on a ledge overlooking a campsite, pondering our situation. It was then that we recorded the savage firing the laser gun into the fire. It was then that we realized that either the natives had helped themselves to the discovered weapons or someone was arming them. Stunned, we ran in fright back toward the ship. As we approached, we heard the wailing of Aralians. Travers and I foolishly split up to search for our comrades. After many hours, Travers did not answer his communicator. My crew had vanished too. I was alone.”

As Chubby continued, terror flavored his voice. “I pondered about what a tragedy this journey had been. We had carefully chosen our crew to accompany us here, and suddenly they were all gone. We had irresponsibly gambled away top tradesmen to satisfy our revenge on a madman we hadn’t seen.

“In my state of exhaustion, my eyes started to play tricks on me. As I stared out over the plains where campfires dotted the landscape, I dreamed that I saw a mountaintop on the far side of the valley rise into the heavens. I furiously rubbed my eyes to make the mirage disappear. It did not. Instead it grew higher and higher into the sky, the outline becoming clearer to me. Now it towered over everything in sight. I was petrified.

“Then”—Chubby had them on the edge of their seats as his voice trembled—“as I feared for my own sanity, I heard a voice. It started as an excoriating gurgle, climaxing in a paralyzing laugh. It overflowed in the dells, rebounded off the cliffs behind me to strike at me, smother me, stab at me, cause me to sink to my knees and cover my ears. The ground shook as it grew louder.

“I dared to open my eyes, and as I did, the mountain slowly, slowly, slowly opened its eyes. Two deep-set, hot-burning red coals looked out from the darkness from the other side of the valley and scorched my soul. My body convulsed into spasms as a crevice in the rock exposed shimmering white teeth. The mountain was alive.

“Deacon, oh my lords of Aralia, it was no mountain. It was he whom we sought. He wore a pointed black hood, with those two hellish eyes and menacing teeth reaching over the plains now to the spot where I stood. He rose hundreds of feet higher, standing over me, laughing. I fainted as my heart went into palpitations.”

It was apparent to Deacon that Chubby was filled with consternation. “When I awoke, I was in a small cave. Drained of all energy, too weak to run, I sat and waited. Finally, he came.”

“What did he look like then?” Lyanna asked.

“It was difficult to see him in his oversized robe, but he was very tall, slender. That black robe with the pointed hood disguised all his other features. It never leaves him. The only other parts of the body exposed to me were his hands. They had long, slender fingers with a wizard’s long, pointy nails. Those haunting red eyes visit my dreams every night.”

Chubby took a break and moved to sip some water. Deacon remembered the dreams he had had of late. He recalled those eyes, so he sympathized with the Aralian.

Chubby resumed his tale momentarily. “He paced around me, taunting me, blaspheming me. The voice was so deathly mesmerizing. He told me that he was Lord Urzel Lok, destined for glory, and that he hoped that I had enjoyed his demonstration of mental powers as he towered over me by hundreds of feet. He said that he had encountered Travers years ago when his disabled spaceship landed on Nix; that he had taken the place of one of the crewmen to escape from this horrible place to our worlds. I listened, unable to move.

“Then he sat on his haunches, positioning himself close to me, telling me that he had now hatched a perfect plan to conquer the Alliance and that—here is my terrifying secret—that I… was to be his appointed messenger. I interrupted him, demanding to see my crew.

“Whirling around me in his gown with a bout of hysterical laughter, he left to return shortly and parade all my crew members in front of me, one by one. My friends. My dear comrades. They all wore the look of torture: glassy eyes, watery mouths, crumpled bodies. They were all insanely mumbling—mumbo-jumbo. Jonessee, my dear friend, showed a glimpse of recognition, so the monster lifted his arms horizontally and flapped his robe up and down, chanting. Jonessee screamed, and I watched him helplessly roll about on the floor, begging for the pain to desist. I cursed this Urzel. I was afraid, but I was helpless to defend Jonessee. Then Urzel spat at me. ‘This is what I do to those who come here to plot my demise,’ he said. He hissed this statement at me four times. Jonessee died in front of me. I was powerless to help him.” Chubby sank to his knees to cry as Lyanna knelt beside the Aralian and cradled his head in her arms. Deacon sat mortified, wondering if they would ever find Urzel’s weakness.

Chubby began to speak again, the words barely decipherable as they rolled out of his mouth during his weeping. “Lord Urzel told me that he had snapped the minds of all of my crewmates, that they were useless humans. He said that… that… that I would be the only sane one to return from this doomed adventure. I would suffer all the guilt of this foolish escapade.”

Chubby stood, regaining his composure. “I am a part of this team. I have a score to settle with this devil. I have the courage to confront him a second time. Lord Urzel called me his messenger of death. I am the chosen one who is supposed to prophesize his forthcoming. Me, Chubby Eaves, who bears more hatred than anyone else in this universe, I am his anointed messenger. I am to be his prophet.”

“What message does he want you to spread?” Deacon asked, wanting this information now.

“He is going to rule all life as we know it, for it is all life that has cast him out. He will destroy any race that impedes his path. Rivers will run with blood, just as the Aralian gospel predicts. The skies will turn to fire if we oppose him, just like the Aralian gospel predicts. He is the ruler, Lord Urzel Lok, supreme commander. He has planned this Armageddon for years, and the strike time is soon.”

Quobit thought of the weak defense systems on Jabu. “When will he come? What does
soon
mean to him?”

“Don’t know.”

Deacon and Lyanna held hands tightly as Chubby strained to complete his tale. “So he placed all the crazed crewmen on board the
Sleigher
and rode with us back to Aralia. He thanked Travers for this glorious opportunity; Travers was ill every time he heard Urzel’s compliment. Urzel told us that he had mental converts everywhere in the galaxy: some through bribery, some through future promises of ruling for him, some through his mental paralysis and spells.

“We would all bow down and worship him. He spoke of how he had used people to steal weapons for him—the same ones that we searched for, every one of those caches. He talked of how he had mentally controlled individuals in the Union of Space Traders and caused them to incite riots to test his mental competence, to test his powers; he played with both sides as if they were toys. He talked of how he had recently incited rebellion on Barnard’s Planet. In fact, he has been responsible for all the sicknesses in our world. He’s been playing with us! He kills as if it is a meaningless game with one winner. He murdered Como and Geor too. He reached into their minds and planted their own seeds of destruction.”

There was more moisture in his eyes. “We’re just toys to him. We are helpless against him. I erred to go there, Deacon, but we have to live with our frailties. I should have been more forthcoming and taken Alliance forces and annihilated him and his followers. And yes, Deacon, he programmed Morris Mydloan to kill Geor’s son.”

“Why was Travers not completely affected?”

“Travers was strong. His mind was damaged. His body aged by years, but he fought every minute of the invasion of Urzel. He did not escape unharmed, as his speech was severely impaired.”

“I am sorry for the rude methods we used to snare you, Chubby. It was necessary for us to talk.”

“Apology accepted, Coombs. I avoided him on the return trip, although he sought me out and scared me further with his speeches of glory. He is totally insane.

“The last step was to position the
Sleigher
against the Vesper station. He permitted me to escape before Landrew arrived. If I propagate his coming, I will be tried and convicted of insanity. So I fled here to find Chuen and Goharn Lok to try to unravel what has happened to date. I feel more secure trying to determine what this monster is and participating in its defeat than hiding the rest of my life from it. No matter what happens, I will not be his disciple. I would rather die fighting for justice.”

A plan crystallized in Deacon’s mind. “There is still much to discuss, Chubby. It becomes clear to me that the only way to defeat it is to exploit its weakness—whatever that may be. Chubby, you said that it rode on the
Sleigher
back to Aralia?”

“Correct.”

Deacon smiled. “Hmm.”

Lyanna demanded an explanation of the “Hmm.” Chubby then said, “His powers are great. I have witnessed them. How will we ever defeat it, Deacon?”

“You must believe, as I do, that this monster does have a weakness, or you wouldn’t have signed up for what could be a fateful mission. Travers is dead. That is reality. What was your plan?”

“I don’t know. But since I have arrived here, my plan is to…” He looked at Lyanna, then Deacon, then Quobit, and then the Owlers, and said, “Join forces with you! Please do not deny me this.”

Deacon offered his hand. Lyanna joined to complete a circle with Chubby and Quobit. Deacon said, “I wish to share with all of you that I have already postulated ideas about the seeds of this creature’s destruction. I may have also figured out his startling true identity.”

Gem and Jim stood close by as the leader addressed them. “The plan I have to beat him is somewhat incredible in nature. But it must be done. It will be disbelieved by many. Therefore, it will require courage that the six of us don’t know we possess.”

As Jim and Gem joined hands in the circle, Deacon spoke. “The six of us are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.”