Koven and Rusa followed Tal. She had taken them deep into Ceros, now to be called New Allor. The day was filled with many things, but mostly death. Tal had presided over the execution of nearly two hundred priests before returning to her quarters.
Most priests were not afforded an opportunity to plead. Tal was immediate and final in her sentencing. “All Ceros priests must die,” she repeated as they were brought before her. Those that tried to plead had their heads taken mid-sentence. Those that didn’t were permitted a moment to prepare themselves. Tal made sure that she performed the first execution. Her sharp sword cleanly detached the head of a young priest trying to argue that he could adapt to the Cult of Allor. It rolled ear over ear a few times before it came to rest.
When she arrived back at the temple, she took off her blood-soaked robe and threw it on the floor of her quarters. She reached out and pulled the insignia of her PPS and the millions of little black metal shavings snapped away from her body and formed her shape as if on an invisible mannequin.
Koven and Rusa came into her room cloaked just as she began to wash the blood from her face. Koven marveled at such a fine-looking woman of her age. Her naked body was tight, and she had the muscular arms of a woman that did military training. She leaned over the bowl of water to rinse the last of the blood from her face. Then she went into the room with a pool and a balcony overlooking the city. She dove into the water and came back up after a long time under the surface.
Koven enjoyed looking at her and he felt himself getting aroused. If Rusa wasn’t with him he would have stayed and watched her longer. He found her striking features attractive, her dark black hair, her brown eyes, her long, thin nose. Her breasts were beginning the natural droop of age, ever so slightly.
Koven went to the table and bed and took Tal’s PPS and her comms device. He and Rusa looked for her transport device, but it wasn’t to be found. They made their way to a secluded place and then used their transport devices to return to the cruiser.
Koven was logging the tech into the inventory. Finding the model numbers and serial number on the devices is often not easy since the advent of micro printing. As he held the comms device under the microscope lens, Rusa came up behind him. She put her arms around his waist and hugged him slightly.
“Did you know that I am programmed with a hundred forty-one distinct pleasure apps?” she whispered in his ear.
“No, I didn’t,” he said as he continued to look for the serial number.
“I am capable of highly pleasurable performance in areas from anal to bondage to vaginal muscle massaging.”
“I had no idea,” he replied nervously.
“Yes. You are welcome to take advantage of these capabilities. In fact, if it would help clear your mind and thus contribute to the effectiveness of our communications, then I strongly recommend it,” she added.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” said Koven, and regretted his words as they left his mouth. His words contradicted the physical evidence now very visible through his PPS.
“OK. If you change your mind,” she said.
“I want to go back down to the planet and wait to see if we can get other devices while they are sleeping,” Koven said. He turned and left the bridge. Rusa followed.
When they arrived, they had hoped to find everyone asleep. It wasn’t to be. There were guards running down the hall. Stomping her feet as she walked, Tal walked past them. She had an angry look on her face. Her dark blue robe was flowing as she walked, and her hood bounced slightly off of her shoulders. Koven remembered how pretty she looked in the pool. She walked within three maatars of him as he stood quietly with Rusa beside one of the large columns of the temple. If his PPS hadn’t been activated, his nose would have detected the scent of cucumbers as she passed.
“Yes, wake him up,” she ordered the woman walking beside her.
“Yes, Mother Tal,” said the woman, and ran ahead.
Koven and Rusa followed her.
Tal went into the nave of the temple. Pilgrims were permitted to wait, and at night sleep in the massive room while waiting to see Allor during his morning healing. Pilgrims didn’t bathe often and they were dirty, very dirty. Behind Tal were twenty men and women of The Expected.
“Go to the far end of the room and stop them from leaving. I’m going to search every single person in here. My sword will show no pity.”
A man in an ugly green robe yelled orders.
“First ten, go block the exits.” And the ten men and women ran to the far end of the hall.
“Something has been stolen from me,” Tal said in a loud voice, standing at the pulpit and looking down at the pilgrims. “And I intend to find it. You will all be searched. If you come forward with it now, I promise your death will be swift. Else I will cut your limbs from your body one every one hundred tox until you die. A wise person would choose the first.”
“Let’s go. Nobody is going to be asleep tonight,” said Rusa.
“Agreed,” said Koven. They made their way back through the long hallway behind the altar. They moved quickly to the side as they saw Allor and Pens walking down the hall together. Allor had the same annoyed stomp as Tal.
“There is a man that lives on the outskirts of this city, Eckly Bik,” said Allor. “He specializes in finding things. He tried for years to find me and catch me when I was a young thief,” Allor said. “He failed, but only just…several times.”
Pens motioned for one of the men walking slightly behind them.
“Make it happen. Bring him to us. ALIVE and unharmed. No chains,” said Pens to the man in the red robe, who turned around and pointed at two others to accompany him as he walked back from where they came. They would go to the tithing records office to find Eckly Biks’s address.
Tithing records were the most accurate records on Earth 7. Everything from births and weddings to deaths were recorded in the tithing records. And it was the responsibility of followers to make sure the records were kept accurate. A parent dying not recorded at the Tithing Office could result in additional tithing demanded from the children.
People in the Tithing Office wore purple robes because one night, after too much wine, Canto thought it would get them more respect. But just like everywhere else that had taxes, it gave the hatred of the many a visual focus. Most that worked in the Tithing Office changed from purple robes to a different color after work.