And then he saw them coming towards him – Laura and D'oji'mon, with Jay-lee trailing behind. They'd left the rest of the family and Chantal's relatives on the tower and were marching on him with determined looks on their faces. D'oji'mon had obviously decided to tell Laura what Kay-low had said and she glared at him, stopping in front of him.
"So, your majesty, what's next?" she asked defiantly with her fists on her hips. "We're not good enough for you?"
"I'm not royalty," he snapped.
"Sire means royalty," she retorted. "And I know you consider yourself superior because you can read our minds. But we can't read yours, so just say it out loud!"
"Fine!" He jumped to his feet, towering over her, since he'd become very tall. But he was also quite skinny, so D'oji'mon squared his shoulders and put himself between them – the two young men were the same height, but the Ulba'wissian had more muscles.
Kay-low glared at the drummer. "I'm not hitting a woman, asshole, move away," he said through clenched teeth.
"I don't trust you anymore," D'oji'mon replied. "You're revealing yourself as something I don't like. And I know you're going to hurt Laura with whatever you're going to say."
"Well, your body mass won't protect her from words." Now they were almost nose to nose and Kay-low was fighting the urge to punch D'oji'mon. He might place a good right one, but then he'd be beaten back tenfold.
"Guys!" Laura snorted. "Take down the testosterone level, will you? D'oji'mon, let him speak."
D'oji'mon moved to the side and she met Kay-low's stare.
"Well?" she asked, crossing her arms on her bosom. "What do you have to say?"
"It's over," Kay-low snapped. "You, me and the stupid band. Feel free to find another guitar player, I'm sure there are plenty of locals who would love to join you."
"Fine." She raised her chin. "Good luck. If you think you have enough talent, go make it on your own!"
"I have talent! I'll show you!" He shoved her out of the way and stormed away from her before he did hit a woman and made things even worse.
"He'll make it because he's Kay-low Meraini-Vaurabi," he heard D'oji'mon say with contempt. He almost turned around to punch him, furious. He'd prove the universe he could make it without using his father's name, damn them!
He went back to the hotel and started packing. Jay-lee joined him as he zipped closed his bag.
"D'oji'mon is taking care of Laura's broken heart," he announced. "Where are you going?"
"Away," Kay-low grumbled. He knew the drummer had a crush on the singer but didn't say anything because he knew she was in love with Kay-low. But now that Kay-low had dumped her, he was ready to console her, of course. Stupid woman.
"Kay-low, you don't have to leave. We can do another band. All Sire, like D'oji'mon suggested. We don't need to tell our family names, we choose another name for the band and I can write the songs and you can sing them..."
Kay-low huffed. "So you don't mind if I sing the songs you've written?"
"Of course not. I wrote them for you."
"What?" Startled, Kay-low stared at his friend. Jay-lee wrote very romantic love songs, and Kay-low had always assumed his friend had some kind of muse he didn't like to talk about.
"You are my muse, Kay-low," Jay-lee said, serious. "I don't need the others. But I do need you."
Kay-low scoffed. "And what do you want from this talentless Sire?"
"You are not talentless. You have the Vaurabi blood. You're also a grandson of the late Emperor, much like Shan-leo."
"So you suggest I resurrect my grandfather's empire, with me at the head?" Kay-low asked, sarcastic. He'd heard his mother suggesting such a thing often enough to be determined to do the exact opposite of what she wanted. He wasn't into politics – much like Shan-leo – and didn't intend to govern the galaxy. At the moment he struggled managing his own life, imagine a whole galaxy with billions of Humanoids!
"I don't think you want to be emperor," Jay-lee replied. "You want to be loved for who you are – and you don't realize how much you are loved."
"By the likes of Laura." Kay-low snorted and averted his eyes. "I want the other Sire's respect."
"And you have it!" Jay-lee assured him. "If you think you need a mind link to be a real and true Sire, well, I can do it. I do have the gift, even if I'm not a Holy Shermac. And I'll happily do it with you. You only need to ask."
Kay-low's eyes widened in shock. That was the weirdest declaration of love he'd ever received, but also the most scary. Jay-lee had the mind link gift, like Shan-leo. And suddenly his friend was just another powerful Sire – much like Shan-leo – who made him feel stupid and useless more than ever. Jay-lee wasn't even a member of the most powerful Sire families and he could do things Kay-low could only dream of. And he loved Kay-low the way Kol-ian loved Ker-ris.
Kay-low clenched his teeth, glaring at Jay-lee and strengthening his mind shields. He wanted respect, not feeling belittled by his best friend. Even if that best friend was saying he loved him very much, it was coming out of nowhere and felt almost contrived. I mean, if he were really so in love, surely he could have given me hints before, couldn't he?
"Don't be mad, you didn't give me many chances to speak up before," Jay-lee chided.
Kay-low grabbed his bag and shoved Jay-lee aside. "Stay away from me," he muttered storming out of the room. So now it was his fault if Jay-lee hadn't dared show his love before? Kay-low felt betrayed and sick of it all.
He took the first train to Berlin while everybody else was still in Paris and reached the spaceport. The New Shermac Pride was too big, but there was the Haiduc... Surely Shan-leo wouldn't report that his starship was stolen by his cousin.
Wim had taught him some tricks and he easily broke into the Haiduc. He checked the star maps, chose a course and requested permission to leave. He was still in the solar system when Shan-leo called.
"Kay-low, what the fuck are you doing?" he demanded, frowning at him from the comm screen.
"Did you just swear, my lord Shermac?" Kay-low teased.
"You're not even funny! Where are you headed?"
"Not telling you. Send the Galaxy Police after me."
"You wish." Shan-leo scoffed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting. Away. From you. All of you." Kay-low glared at the screen. "I'm sick of you. All of you."
"Well, you didn't go easy on us either," Shan-leo said ruefully.
"Sorry, my most lucky cousin, I'm not as good as you and never will be, so just leave me alone!"
Shan-leo sighed. "Don't put yourself in trouble. You know where to find us if you need us."
Shan-leo signed off, shaking his head. Except for the initial swearing, Lord Shermac was back to his usual, quiet self. Not even funny. Trying to get Shan-leo furious was obviously an impossible mission.
Kay-low stuck his tongue out at the blank screen and went back to stare at the stars on the main screen.
2. BANDS
"Ma li mortacci de li mortacci..."
"Daniele, leave the dead ancestors alone," Kol-ian snapped. "That's my son you're swearing at, you don't want to piss off my dead relatives, do you?"
Daniele glared at him. "Your bastard son used my daughter and then dumped her!"
"And now you feel like Spencer Tracy because she found herself a new boyfriend with a much darker skin than Sidney Poitier's," Kol-ian retorted. "Your daughter is twenty and she can take care of herself."
"She's just like me, fell in love with a mighty Sire who never really cared," Chantal said, thoughtful. "Although at least you never gave me any illusion. You took me away from Earth, but never said you loved me."
"Because I didn't, but I cared enough not to give you wrong illusions," Kol-ian replied. "I don't know why my son decided to play with your daughter's heart."
"Because he's a son of a bitch!" Daniele exclaimed.
"Tell that to Bess-lin Meraini – to her face, if you dare," Ker-ris said with a smile.
"True, Dad, Kay-low can go
fuck himself for all I care," Laura added, nestled against D'oji'mon. Kol-ian knew she hurt, but she'd put on a brave face and was doing her best to forget her first love with her devoted drummer. "He never really cared for any of us, did he?"
"I'm afraid not." Kol-ian sighed. "He liked the idea of a band, but... I don't know. I was a rebel for other reasons and had other kinds of conflicts with my father. But now I know how the Emperor felt, since I didn't talk to him – much like Kay-low is doing with me."
He sighed and Ker-ris squeezed his shoulder. Not that Ker-ris ever had real problems with Shan-leo – or his own father...
"Obviously the blood mind link isn't strong enough." Shan-leo sighed. "With either of us. I don't get him anymore either. I don't know why he seems to hate me lately."
"Because you're superior to him," Jay-lee said. He sat in a corner of the lounge of the New Shermac Pride as if he didn't want to intrude in the family discussion, but maybe he knew more than the blood relatives.
"I'm not!" Shan-leo protested.
"Unfortunately, that's how he feels." Jay-lee sighed and averted his eyes. "I'm sorry. I tried to help, but I failed."
Kol-ian stared at the young man who was now avoiding eye-contact. He recognized the symptoms and smiled.
"You didn't fail, Jay-lee. Did you tell him your feelings?"
"Yes, and that's why he ran away without me."
"But he'll come round, Jay-lee. Just wait and see. He will realize that you're the one and come back to you. Anyhow, we'll let him wander for a while. I'm sure he'll calm down and grow up..."
"If the Vaurabi pride or the Meraini ambition don't get in the way," Jay-lee grumbled without looking at anyone in particular.
Kol-ian glanced puzzled at Ker-ris.
I'm afraid he's right, amatan. Kay-low has the Vaurabi pride and the Meraini ambition... and he left the one who cared the most for him behind.
Kol-ian pursed his lips, staring thoughtfully at Jay-lee.
You think we should go after him? We can trace the Haiduc and...
No. Like you said, he needs to grow up. And he needs to do it on his own.
I wish I could send someone to protect him...
Hey, you survived, didn't you? An Imperial Prince on the run... for how many years? Give him a break. He's your son. He's tougher than what you think...
***
"Nice tattoos! Where did you get them?"
Kay-low's first stop had been on a terraformed planet inhabited by a race of stockily-built people, a little taller than pure Humanoids. They had dark skin and black hair, with tiger-like stripes on their bodies, ridges on their ears and small, silver eyes. They wore simple clothing that left very little to the imagination and their planet was mostly dry and hot, which allowed for their body display. They were playful and well-known for their music, hence Kay-low had landed at their main spaceport to learn more.
The compliment had come from a group of four quite similar locals – although they all looked the same to Kay-low with their strange characteristics – who had surrounded him in a music store, where he was perusing the local instruments. Not that he intended to abandon his guitar, but he was curious about new sounds.
"There's a great Xi-kongian artist on Marc'harid," he answered. "Yoshio immigrated eight years ago. He's very good and very expensive."
"We can see that he's good," one of the four purred, brushing his bare arm with a clawed finger. "So you're rich?"
"I don't have money problems," he answered. His mother hadn't frozen his account yet, maybe his father hadn't told her they'd lost him.
"You a musician?" The question came from a female looking more like a striped lioness than a Humanoid. Although her breasts were definitely human.
"Yes. I was curious about your music."
"Come to our show tonight!" The one who had spoken first grinned, handing him a card. "The Tigers are hoping to make it off this godforsaken planet. Please, be brutally honest after the show. Tell us if we have a chance."
"I think anyone has a chance these days," Kay-low said, looking at the card. "I mean, we managed to set up two shows on Gaia from Marc'harid..."
"Ooh, wait! I thought you looked familiar!" The female clapped her hands in delight. "Italian Ignorance! You're the guitar player! Where's the rest of the band?"
"I quit," he muttered, averting his eyes.
"Ah, yes, happens all the time." The leader sighed. "We'll always stick together, but we are family."
Two brothers and two sisters, obviously. So they did resemble each other after all. Their mind patterns were similar as well.
"I'm an only child," Kay-low said. "No chance I can sing with my siblings..."
"Come to our show tonight and tell us what you think." The leader patted his shoulder. "We might have an opening. We're always looking for guest musicians from other planets..."
"Thanks." Kay-low nodded and watched them leave. They were obviously very united and in perfect harmony.
He sighed. His band was also a sort of family – until he'd decided he wanted more. The others didn't dream big enough. He wanted success. He wanted to be a superstar. That wasn't going to happen with Italian Ignorance, so he was happy to be on his own. Even if he couldn't use his family name – there were no Sire performers, although in Kay-low's opinion most Sire acted all their lives.
The Sire aristocracy had a public and a private face, something he'd always refused to have. He wanted to be himself at all times – grumpy if he felt sad or singing his heart out when he was happy. Kol-ian had admitted he'd felt free on Earth where court etiquette didn't apply – not that there was a court etiquette anymore, but no Sire had bothered hitting a stage yet.
Italian Ignorance was a band based on Marc'harid, but it hadn't been launched as a Sire enterprise. Maybe Kay-low had more chance as a solo artist – the first Sire megastar.
That night he sat in a corner of the club where the Tigers were playing. There were actually five of them, and the youngest was the singer. It was a boy who hadn't reached puberty and who moved to the rhythm in a way that reminded Kay-low of Ker-ris's dancing. The melody was nice and the rhythm catchy and Kay-low found himself clapping his hands with the crowd, following the little singer's directions.
And then the band joined the crowd and they found him. They even introduced themselves, but their names were so complicated for him, that he gave up trying to remember them. He told them what he thought – that there were some rough edges here and there, but that might be their signature, and he was no expert anyway, but he'd enjoyed the show.
They asked him how long he planned to stay on the planet, but he'd seen and heard everything he needed already, so he told them he'd be leaving the morning after.
"But I'll keep in touch," he promised. "If I start another band and we go on tour, I'll let you know, so we can split everything – the good and the bad."
"And fans can cross-pollinate," the five approved. "Good luck, Kay-low Meraini! We hope to hear from you soon!"
And so he left again in search of a more civilized planet. The less advanced worlds had more interesting local music, but if he wanted to appeal to the widest audience possible, he better check what worked. On the Haiduc he searched the meganet for charts and hit parades – and bands looking for band members.
He checked the Italian Ignorance page and noticed the band was "on hold" for artistic differences and might come back with a new lineup soon. He prepared his own solo page as guitar player and singer, and uploaded his duet with Laura to the page, since it was the only piece of singing he'd recorded so far. He'd have to record something else soon, but as a sample, that would be enough.
He reached Vilas Lok – where the King of Music, Zaphadin, had his mansion – and booked a hotel room. The pleasure planet had plenty of venues for bands and he wanted to explore that. He also hoped that his name would allow him to meet the reclusive superstar, although Zaphadin was currently on tour. But he'd be back eventually, and Kay-low was in no hurry.
In
the meantime he could be a tourist or look for new band members while he waited for his idol to come home. Besides, Vilas Lok was also the entertainment planet and many record companies or producers had offices there. The entertainment business was the main industry on Vilas Lok and hitting their stages was considered a success by beginners and younger bands.
Kay-low was a little disappointed that no Sire owned any club or venue on Vilas Lok. That would have allowed him to play simply because he was a Sire. But Italian Ignorance hadn't managed to book a date on Vilas Lok, and he was in the same spot on his own. He didn't know anyone who could add him to the circuit, and he didn't have much on his solo page anyway.
But there were plenty of hopefuls around. Even in his hotel there were bands staying and playing at all times, rehearsing in their rooms or in the dining room. Thankfully, it was a band-friendly hotel, the place where everybody stopped on their way to fame. Normal tourists looking for pleasure went to sleep at other places.
Kay-low was still pondering his options, checking ads on his tablet for musicians or singers requests, when a minor tragedy happened under his eyes one night. He was eating and a band was playing in the background, when the singer suddenly dropped the microphone and stormed out of the room, vainly pursued by the drummer – both young women, who left the two young men on the stage, baffled.
Kay-low smiled and finished his meal. A singer fighting with her lover and deciding to go solo. He wondered if he could fill in. The drummer came back, looking dejected, and the three band members started gathering their instruments. Nobody seemed to pay attention, since the hotel had turned on the local radio. Most patrons didn't care if it was live music or a radio station.
Kay-low rose and intercepted the exiting band by the door of the dining room.
"Artistic differences?" he asked. The three looked at him, puzzled, and exchanged a glance. "Did you just lose your lead singer?" he insisted.
"Um, yes." The guitar player had very long blond hair, gorgeous features, tanned skin and a short, pudgy build. Kay-low could see on the surface of his mind that he was creative and very charismatic – much like him. A kindred spirit. But if he wanted a shot at singing the lead, he better offer himself before the band realized their loss and decided to use an existing member to replace the singer. "And there's a band contest coming. We might as well go home."
Star Minds Chasing Stardom Page 2