Baba Lenka

by S E England

  “And what was the nature of the ceremony?”

  She stared into her empty glass, flinching at the barrage of images. Did he have to ask this? How necessary was it?

  “Demonic?”

  “Yes.”

  “The transfer of power was definitely made to you?”

  The memory of raw heart being crammed into her mouth, of claw hands holding her down while the horned man raped her triggered an eruption of panic. She nodded, gripping the glass, trying not to cry.

  “So, Lenka – now you can do more than just read minds and project dreams, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you give me an example?”

  She shook her head.

  “Come, now, try harder.”

  “Herr Blum, who are you? I do not see why I am here. Is it to study my abilities or something? Are your students going to poke fun or call me a witch?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “I have no students. I am not a lecturer, of that you can be certain.”

  “Then I don’t understand—?”

  “You have confided in me, so I will now confide in you. My father pays for these rooms in order for us to host meetings here. He is a banker and a good friend of the Dekan, as I am. We make sure the university is lavishly rewarded, of course.” He indicated the opulent furnishings. “As you can see.”

  The urge to walk out was overwhelming, but something about him kept her transfixed.

  “Do not look so puzzled and frightened. What we do is work with the best of minds, the most forward thinkers and the most influential people. Not just here in Germany but all over the continent and beyond. Think of the highest families in the world – royalty, those at the top of the military, law, universities, medicine, finance and government – these are the people who belong to our group, the elite within the elite. And this is the core of the movement, right here in Ingolstadt. These are exciting times for those who are enlightened – very exciting.”

  “And you would like me to be in this group?”

  “I am not sure yet. I want you to tell me how things have changed since your grandmother passed.”

  “And if I do not? If I do not wish to join this group so you can have me tell your fortunes, be the gypsy turn at the circus—”

  “How well are you feeling this evening, Lenka? Better than yesterday, I expect?”

  Her heart jumped. Immediately she glanced down so he could not see her eyes.

  “You have to give your demons work, Lenka, or you will become extremely sick – just like your late grandmother. And I have plenty of that for you. I know you, gypsy, and I know your hidden wishes. We knew your great-grandmother – Baroness Jelinski of Russia. Has your mother told you nothing? You do not know who you are? You do not know how she was chased out of Russia, the family forced to resettle in Romania?”

  She shook her head. “I know a little.”

  “You are quite alone, aren’t you, Lenka?”

  “My aunt and uncle are here—”

  He shook his head with feigned sadness. “Tell me how you have been lately, since the funeral – unwell, yes?”

  She sighed in defeat. “Yes, you are correct, although I do not know how you are aware of that. It is true, I have been feeling weak and ill with some kind of fever.”

  His smile was magnetic. He seemed to read her mind, to have crawled right in. “And now? You look healthy, really rather glowing, if I may say so. How can this be if you are not giving your demons work, I wonder?”

  Her tongue loosened, and the truth burst out. “When I first came here, just a few days ago, I could see through to the true self of my aunt and uncle. I saw particularly what he was and what he does. He disgusted me with what I saw—”

  “Show me with your mind.”

  She conjured up the images easily, looking into his eyes as she did so.

  “Ouch, that pig makes me sick, too.”

  “Oh, he’s hateful. So I cursed him, just yesterday evening, and I think he will become very ill soon.”

  Heinrich laughed.

  Allowing herself a small smile, she sat a little further back on the sofa. “He was looking a little peaky when I left this evening, but my own illness has completely vanished. I feel very well indeed – as you say, healthy.”

  He nodded. “Well, please do keep me informed regarding your uncle’s health.”

  She smiled, sipped her drink.

  “Tell me, are you at all aware of unrest in the countries around us? Have you heard of Kaiser Wilhelm the Second in Prussia? And the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Austria?”

  “Oh! Um, a little from my father.”

  “And Serbia?”

  She shrugged. “No, I am sorry.”

  “That’s all right, you are just sixteen, how could you? But I can teach you these things, more about history and politics. An example for you – for many hundreds of years, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have been the rulers, and the church has steamrollered the people with its hypocrisy and lies, stamping out our origins and beliefs. Thousands of witches were burned or drowned here – more than anywhere else in Europe, eradicating ancient knowledge and customs. What is happening, Lenka? Do you think we should do something about this?”

  She nodded.

  “Do you have a religion of your own? In your village?”

  “I attended Bible classes.”

  “And do you believe in Christ? In God and Jesus?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “The Christian Bible is instructed here at the university, did you know? It is all done with force and indoctrination – thou shalt not do this and thou shalt not do that…”

  For an hour he talked about religion and questioned her about her friends and schooling, finally coming around once again to the reasons she was here. This time it was much clearer, and it seemed he had confided in her quite a lot, was talking to her as an equal now, not a gypsy fortune-teller.

  “Kaiser Wilhelm is suggestible, highly volatile – not adhering to the policies of his advisers. He is what is known as a hothead, Lenka, which is an excellent opportunity for us. There are problems arising in the Baltic countries, and with some manipulation we can bring the entire system crashing down. Within our lifetime, both empires could be brought to their knees…there will be tremendous death and destruction, but then after that—”

  Her head became suddenly dizzy with images, of lights dimmed and the haunting sound of sirens echoing across deserted towns. Hordes of people were running along cobbled streets, ushering children along, carrying masks… She clutched her temples. “This will happen!”

  He sat straight up as if electrocuted. “What do you see? Tell me what you see!”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. People running down the streets, running for their lives…no, nothing more, it has gone, faded.”

  “You need practice, technique. You have a clarity and precision beyond your years but no teacher. You barely read and know little of politics, yet you see and you know. You transfer thoughts and infiltrate minds, intuit weaknesses and manipulate. You will join our group, our club, of course?”

  The man’s arrogance was staggering. “What? Just to make you rich—”

  His mouth dropped open. And then he smiled the dazzling smile of illusion and foul play. “Please, do not think I and my father are merely greedy bankers with a moneymaking plan. And do not underestimate who is in our club or who we bow down to. Not only will your demons have plenty of work to do, but you will be wealthy beyond all imagination, and that will set you free, Lenka. You will have the key to every material luxury you ever desired and more. How pretty you will look in the new-style dresses! Or of course you can go back to your aunt and uncle’s house, scrub their floors and get sick.”

  “I can have an apartment? Of my own?”

  “You can have a house of your own. And servants.”

  He refilled both their glasses.

  “So, you want to join?”

  She smiled, already
picturing the new-style dresses and hats, the ones ladies who travelled in carriages wore. “Does this club have a name?”

  “Of course. We are der Orden der schwarzen Sonne.”

  ***

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Herr Blum, or Heinrich as she was to call him when they were alone, walked Lenka home, the dutiful tutor carrying a pile of books. She would attend the university every weekday evening for one year in order to study European politics, English and French. Intensive study was required before being admitted to the Order, and this included instruction in the occult. The dark arts were practised routinely and openly by the ruling elite, and, as such, there was a great deal to learn.

  “In short, acknowledging and channelling powerful energy from the hidden world gives one unimaginable advantages,” Heinrich explained. “The trick is to pretend it doesn’t exist, that it is the domain of the mad and the bad. You see, while ever the people are kept ignorant of its reality, they have neither the ability nor the inclination to see what is really happening. They simply don’t believe in it. Yes, it is important to keep them poor, fully occupied and fearful; then they will do anything.”

  His politics left her confused, but the look in his admiring eyes did not. Nor did the promise of independence and wealth. Satan has his ways, she thought, of luring us in like fish on a reel – suffer pain and disease or be healthy and strong. Live like a gypsy in the dirt or enjoy untold riches. He made it easy. What was there to lose? Her soul? Such tales from Faust and Dante even she did not believe.

  Reaching the end of the street, he stopped. “I will leave you here.”

  She nodded, taking the books.

  “By the way, Lenka, if you ever discuss the existence of our group or repeat anything you learn, you will be locked away and tried for witchcraft. I will personally make sure you hang, do you understand? You must keep all of this a watertight secret, shared only with the Order or your life will be over. And no, you will not have time or the opportunity to pass on your legacy – that will follow you into the afterlife.”

  The abrupt switch from friendly and informative to menacingly cold caught her out for the second time that evening.

  Had she not already had proof of the hidden world, she’d have thought Heinrich a madman with all the rhetoric about secret clubs and bringing down empires. But she had. And if there was still any room for doubt, then what happened shortly afterwards would throw all further scepticism to the four winds.

  ***

  On arrival at her aunt’s house, the doctor was hurrying away down the steps, and all the lamps were on. Aunt Heide let her in, and as she entered the hallway, the most wretched howls emanated from upstairs.

  “Is that Uncle Guido?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  “Hurry – take off your coat and fetch some hot water. We must bathe him. He has a stomach poisoning.”

  She hurried to the kitchen and set some water on the stove to boil. A stomach poisoning? Perhaps he had been careless with his hygiene? Smiling, she made herself some tea while waiting for the larger pot to boil, enjoying the warmth of the fire. Overhead, Uncle Guido, she knew, was lying in a pool of his own sweat, the contents of his gut and bowels long since emptied from the chamber pot. The stench of his excretions permeated the fabric of the house, and she pitied Aunt Heide the task of cleaning it all up. She took a sip of tea. Still, Aunt Heide had said not a word when she knew what kind of man he was and what he did to small children, had she? Of course she knew! The knowledge plagued her mind day after day after day. How? Had she caught him in the act? Heard a rumour? Had a child tearfully confided in her, only to be clipped around the ear? Ah yes, that was it…the latter.

  She took another sip of tea. The large pot of water had been boiling for a while now, but he could wait for his wash and change of nightclothes. He could wait until she had finished her tea and reflected on what had happened this evening.

  When, for instance, would her house be ready? She had failed to ask. That must be clarified or she would not do as he asked.

  Oh, you will, Lenka…

  She smiled wider, her insides tingling with merriment. Heinrich Blum was not his real name, of course. The man was a liar and a magician of the highest order. We will see who you are in time, though, she thought. At times he seemed ardent, serious about overthrowing established order and infiltrating the church, at others mischievous and cleverly malevolent, as if throwing influential people into conflict amused him. Perhaps he simply liked the notion of chaos and destruction?

  A prolonged groan emanated from upstairs, and her aunt called down.

  “Lenka! Is the water ready yet?”

  She finished her tea and slowly rinsed out the cup. “Yes, ready now.”

  Upstairs, the front bedroom was dimly lit by an oil lamp, an acrid stench trailing all the way across the landing and down the stairs. She tapped on the door.

  “Yes, come in, Lenka. Hurry with the water. He needs to bathe and change his clothes!”

  Uncle Guido’s face was slick with oil and grey of hue. Reddened eyes squinted as she set down the jug of water and a pile of fresh towels. His scraggy neck and sparse hair, gaunt face and soiled bedding was repellent. How quickly he had withered from man of the house, master of the Bible class, abuser of helpless orphaned boys, to this sickly, stinking specimen.

  “Help me take off his nightshirt. We must wash him and change the sheets.”

  Guido, so severely weakened by the rapid and violent purging of his system, could do nothing but sag against the bosom of his wife as she yanked off his shirt and dipped a flannel into the warm water.

  “Did Uncle Guido eat something that disagreed with him?”

  Guido’s stomach caved inwards visibly as if it had been punched. He panted through another violent spasm as it drained his remaining strength. Terrible, embarrassing noises emitted from his body, a tide of greenish fluid spreading across the bedsheet.

  “We don’t know what it is,” Heide said. “I cooked the same meal as usual; he has eaten it a hundred times. The doctor said—”

  “I am sorry, but I’m going to be sick—” Lenka said, running from the room.

  She made sure to make noisy retching noises in the corridor outside. Like hell she would mop up his foul and putrid emissions. Darting into her room, she shut the door and sank onto the floor behind it, laughing so hard it hurt.

  Whatever Satan had to offer, it had to be better than this. Hell was here already, she thought. On God’s earth.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  True to his word, Heinrich Blum did provide Lenka with a house. On the leafy outskirts of Ingolstadt, it would be shared with a mature lady companion, who, for the sake of outward appearances, must be referred to as Aunt Sophia.

  Sophia, an adept in the occult, would provide instruction on the dark arts – how to invoke and banish demons, practise astral travel and projection, communicate with entities, and, most of all, how to protect herself from psychic attack. It was extremely important to remain in control.

  The move to her new life happened swiftly, within hours of relating to Heinrich just how ill Uncle Guido had become. They’d been sitting in the opulent lounge at the university the following evening, Heinrich leaning forwards, fingertips pressed together while she talked.

  “A most impressive result, Lenka. Indeed, it is a fine demonstration of what is to come. Will you lift the hex?”

  She shrugged. “Well, here is the thing, Heinrich. I do not know how to.”

  Neither could contain their mirth, bursting into fits of giggles like children.

  He dabbed at his eyes. “Your aunt will have quite the problem explaining to your mother how her husband contracted a fatal stomach disease within days of you being here, and then she lost you as well. She lost her daughter! So very careless!”

  Lenka nearly fell from her chair, laughing so hard. “It is so careless of her, yes, to lose two people so quickly.”

  “What will she do, your poor Aunt Hei
de?”

  “I think she will have to go looking for a spine,” said Lenka.

  “You have contempt, then? No feelings for either?”

  “No, none for anyone anymore.”

  “What about me? Do you have any feelings for me?”

  His eyes were glinting, the stare unflinching. Was he mocking her? The rapid unpinning of her life so far had left her scrabbling around for an identity, but here was a possible solution. A replacement life. But so personal, so very personal… She tried to form her thoughts. He’d had everything already planned, hadn’t he?

  He smiled, reading her mind. “Correct, yes. All down to the finest detail, long before you arrived in Ingolstadt.”

  She nodded. But he was implying a relationship. “I don’t know about any feelings. I only met you yesterday. And you are my tutor, a man twice my age!”

  He swirled his glass of burgundy for a moment before lifting his gaze to hers. “I could visit your house tonight. Imagine!”

  A stirring of deep excitement tingled inside her, but…she bit her lip… “Heinrich, who are you really? You say a banker, but—”

  “Ah! Now, that I cannot say to someone outside of the Order. No member of der Orden der Schwarzen Sonne shall be revealed one to the other until they are sworn in.”

  “And when will I be sworn in?”

  “Patience, Lenka. I told you one year. Preparation is essential – this is not a commitment to be taken lightly. For one whole year every initiate must serve an apprenticeship, and that includes you. In your case, it is to learn languages and history in addition to perfecting your particular craft. This is so you can mix with the highest echelons of society, do you understand?”

  She nodded.

  “How can you expect to be of use to us if you have the wits of a peasant girl and the occult expertise of a fortune-teller?”

  She dipped her head.

  “Normally, this process is much shorter. We recruit from the most highly educated, the most skilful adepts, and those climbing into positions of enormous power and influence. Yet here we are taking the time to educate one of the lower orders such as yourself.”