Free Only the Animals by Ceridwen Dovey Page B

relatives and friends who had also been bred and trained at the Society, who were working as guard dogs, making sure that the slaves who were carrying out my Master’s grand renovations of the castle did their work properly.Our favourite place of all was the castle crypt itself, huge and dark, with a single flame that never stopped burning. If we barked down there, the sound was tremendous; dozens of dogs barked back at us out of nowhere.
    If Blondi wasn’t at the castle, I would stand watch beside my Master and Professor Wüst while they sat cross-legged on the crypt’s stone floor to meditate in silence. Afterwards they would talk through aspects of their beliefs so that my Master could in turn provide strong spiritual guidance to his underlings.
    On my final visit to Wewelsburg – it was the last time I was to accompany my Master to the castle before my betrayal, before my banishment – he and Professor Wüst, after meditating for some time, began to discuss how to inspire their followers to be courageous in battling our enemies, for a war had been declared, and Germany was destined to win it.
    â€˜I have been giving this some thought,’ Professor Wüst said. ‘We need to focus the men on the spiritual dimensions of battle. Perhaps we could mention Krishna’s injunction to Arjuna to kill his kin, and his assurance that Arjuna would in no way do any damage to his higher self in carrying out this sacred duty.’
    I already knew who Krishna and Arjuna were; like me, they were vegetarians.
    My Master mused on this. ‘I think we may even be bold and compare the Führer to Krishna. Our leader, too, arose at the time of his country’s greatest distress, when we Germans could not see a way out. He is the reincarnation of one of those great figures of light. A line came to me in my sleep last night, and I would like to use it somehow – the one who merges with the Führer frees himself from everything, and is not bound by his deeds.’
    â€˜That’s very good,’ Professor Wüst said. ‘One issue, however, that has been concerning me is how we explain to the uninformed that the inspiration we take from ancient India, and Hinduism, goes all the way back to the Aryan conquerors who invaded that country thousands of years ago, who inspire us through their example, and with whom I believe our Germanic peoples share a spiritual heritage.’
    This seemed to irritate my Master, and he raised his voice. ‘That is why I am working so hard on transforming this castle into a private sanctuary, a spiritual retreat for the highest leaders among us! If we can educate them properly in our ideology, they, in turn, will educate their subordinates.’
    I growled at Professor Wüst. I did not like him. I had seen him secretly eating meat at mealtimes when my Master wasn’t watching.
    â€˜If our Führer is Krishna, do you know what that makes you?’ Professor Wüst said with reverence. ‘You are Arjuna, the greatest warrior of all the lands.’
    â€˜I am Arjuna,’ my Master said, smiling, and again, more loudly, ‘I am Arjuna.’ A hundred eerie voices repeated his words, reverberating around the crypt.
    â€˜Shall I read to you now?’ Professor Wüst said to my Master. ‘I have a parable from the ancient Chinese sage Zhuangzi that I would like to share.’
    This was part of their ritual. At the end of each session, my Master lay flat on his back on the floor in what Professor Wüst called ‘corpse pose’, while the Professor read aloud to him.
    â€˜Lie back, close your eyes, let the words infuse your being so that you may take the highest wisdom from them,’ Professor Wüst said. ‘Breathe deeply, in and out, in and out.’ He waited until my Master was still except for his chest rising with each breath; then he began to read:
    Count Wenhui’s cook was busy dismembering an ox. Every stroke