Sarah scoffed, hoping to cover her mistake. “I’m close with everyone. We live together in one room watching Rhen for hours at a time. I can honestly say I know Jack, Shno and Aaron better than I know my own family."
Plos laughed, thinking she was joking. “So what’s going on now?”
"Ceceta’s been having us comfort Rhen. We take turns lying in his bed, hugging his body while talking to him about life. It’s actually been really helpful. He used to shake and cry out in his sleep, but when we’re with him he’s calm.”
"He lets you hug him?" Plos rubbed his toe on a drop of water that had fallen onto the stone floor from the condensation that sometimes formed on the clear tubes.
"Not exactly. He's kind of in a daze. He hears us, but he can’t respond." Sarah paused in the hallway to lean her back against the wall. A couple of the palace’s servants were cleaning the spare room they’d been given. She wondered if they were heading over to Rhen’s hospital room next.
"I’d like to help out.”
Her dad sounded excited by the idea. Sarah kicked herself for getting his hopes up. Before Rhen had increased the venom in his body, Plos had been stopping by daily to talk with him. Rhen tended to stare at him blankly, but her dad hadn’t been deterred. He wasn’t afraid to work to build a relationship with Themrock. "Sorry, Dad. You can’t. Bosternd made a list of people who he considers Rhen has a personal connection with. If your name isn’t on the list, you aren’t allowed to comfort him.” When her dad frowned, she quickly added, “Don’t take offense."
"It's hard not to. He’s our God and Bosternd is keeping him from us.” He hesitated a moment, considering the situation then chuckled. “Naci must be livid."
Sarah laughed as well, remembering Naci’s pinched face when Bosternd had told him he couldn’t comfort Rhen. Aaron had thought his dad was going to explode. "He is.”
“So, does this mean you have a relationship with Rhen?” Plos’ voice rose as he finished his question. Sarah hesitated. Her connection to Rhen stemmed from the fact that she had married out of her tribe. She and Aaron had both bonded with him over their situation. Her dad made a small, humph sound as he waited for her answer. “Yes, I’m close to him.” She watched his face light up and hoped he wouldn’t ask for specifics.
Plos shifted his communicator to his other hand. “Ask him to come to our castle.”
“I will when I get the chance to, Dad.” Sarah’s eyes dropped to the floor. She had no intention of asking Rhen to visit her home, but her father didn’t need to know that. All of the guard elves had discussed the subject and they’d agreed that they would let Themrock live his mortal life the way he wanted to. They wouldn’t beg him to come to their castles. If he came to their homes, great, but if he didn’t, then that was his choice.
"Fantastic! Well done, Sarah. Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She was relieved he didn’t question her about the vagueness of her answer. Sarah noticed that Bosternd and Nk were leaving Rhen’s room. “I think I should head back now.”
Plos frowned. He had wanted to talk longer, but his daughter’s duty to Themrock was more important. “Thanks for calling, sweetie. I’ll see you soon, I hope.”
“Bye, Dad. I love you.” She waved at the screen.
“I love you, too,” Plos said, before Sarah could disconnect.
Sarah closed her communicator and headed back to Rhen’s hospital room. She walked in as Ceceta threw a pillow at Thellis. It flew right through Thellis’ transparent green form and fell down onto Charlie’s plate of food, causing his meal to fly up onto his face and shirt. Charlie grunted as he stared down at his clothes.
“Oh, Charlie,” Ceceta exclaimed, rushing over to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was just trying to get Thellis’ attention. He needs to feed the dragons.”
Mary, who was sitting beside Charlie, grabbed some napkins off the table in front of her then shooed Ceceta away as she helped Charlie clean up. She didn’t have anything else to do right now, since Rhen wasn’t signing, so she felt useless. “You’re the best,” Charlie said, as Mary wiped off his shoulder. “Thanks.”
Mary blushed. She thought Charlie was cute. “You’re welcome.”
Charlie leaned closer. His eyes soaking up the deep brown color of her hair. “I’ve heard your voice many times now and you know what?”
Mary felt a tingling sensation in her body at having him so close. “What?” she whispered.
Charlie breathed in her scent and felt his own heart rate increasing. “Every time you speak, I think I’m hearing the voice of a goddess.”
Mary giggled and looked away. She wasn’t sure what to say. Was Charlie teasing her? “You’re funny.” She took the used napkins towards the buffet table so the servants could take them away when they cleaned.
That was not the reaction Charlie had wanted. Jumping off his chair, he followed Mary. “No, really, I’m serious.”
Mary glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Charlie, you’re not serious about anything.” She dropped the napkins onto the end of the table. She felt bad about making more work for the palace’s staff but it was highly unlikely that the royal family would approve of her taking them to the laundry room.
“Actually.” Mary turned around to find Charlie standing right behind her. He was so close she couldn’t see anyone else in the room. She studied his deep blue eyes and felt a warmth building in her chest. “I’m a very serious person,” he said. “What you see most of the time is my act. I’m pretending to be something that I’m not, just for fun.” He leaned in towards her and whispered, “You see, I’m a Genister just like Rhen, but I’m in disguise. I’m fooling people into thinking that I’m a no-good waste of an elf.” Charlie stepped back and grinned, his arms wide. “I’m doing a good job, right?”
Mary laughed. “Oh, Charlie. You’ve got an incredible imagination.”
Charlie clasped his hands to chest. “Words from a goddess.” He leaned in towards her, as if he were going to kiss her, but then hesitated and stepped back. The moment became a little awkward until he said, “Say ‘oh, Charlie’ again only this time make it sound like we’re in bed.”
Mary couldn’t believe he’d just said that. She slapped him across the face and marched off. Charlie turned to find everyone staring at him. “She likes me,” he announced, while Mary stuck her tongue out at him.
“Welcome to the club, Mary,” Sarah called out. “Now you feel the same way about Charlie that we all do.”
"Charlie," Ceceta said, "it's your turn to be with Rhen."
“Victory!" He jogged over to Rhen's bed. After lying down and pulling Rhen's shivering body into his, he said, “Do you remember when you used to climb into my bed at night little brother? I hated that. I used to pinch you until you’d cry, but you still wouldn’t go back to your own bed. You were always scared of something. We all thought you were a pain in the butt.” Charlie chuckled to himself. “You’re still a pain in the butt. I’ve never slept with any of my other brothers or sisters, but now, I’m sleeping with you.” Charlie nestled himself into the bed and rolled Rhen on top of him. “You know, I kind of like it. You’re like a big blanket, a big, heavy blanket. What do you eat? Rocks? Why do you weigh so much? I think you’re fat. Yes, you’re definitely fat. You should go on a diet. From now on, I’ll call you fat Rhen. Yeah. I like it. Wait. Why do we even call you Rhen? Your given name is Max. Let’s call you fat Max. That’s good. From now on, your new name will be fat Max. Perfect. Owwwww!” Charlie whined when someone suddenly hit him on the head. He looked up to find Ceceta’s face staring down at him.
“Charlie, did you forget that Rhen will remember everything you say to him?”
“Oh, Gods,” Charlie squeaked, as everyone in the room laughed.
***
Tgfhi walked into his office and flopped down onto the chair behind his desk. He hadn’t been back to his home planet of Tgarus since before the last school break. He stared out the window at the
capital city. The air was full of landjets and spacejets rushing off to their destinations. It must be quitting time. Tgarus was a medium-sized planet. They had several cities that boasted over a million inhabitants each. The farmland between each city had been carefully plotted so that each farmer received five, equally sized, rectangular sections of land. All manufacturing was done in the mountains that riddled the northern and southern hemispheres of the planet. Seen from above, Tgarus’ countryside looked like a patchwork quilt stretched between two rocks.
Tgfhi sighed and leaned back in his chair until it made a creaking sound. He was feeling guilty about being relieved at the idea of having some time away from Crystam. The two of them hadn’t had a civil conversation since Erfce and Latsoh’s wedding announcement. Tgfhi rubbed his eyes. He missed his easy relationship with Crystam. Why wouldn’t she just set a date for their wedding? A heavy weight settled in his chest. What if she didn’t want to get married? What if she wanted to break up but was too afraid to tell him?
No, he thought, reaching for the papers his dad had left for him. Crystam loved him. He was sure of it. There had to be something else going on. He wished she’d tell him what it was so he could help her.
Scanning the documents his dad wanted him to review, Tgfhi realized Tgonar had made a mistake with the taxes Surpen had placed on Tgarus-weed farmers. The Tgarians enjoyed being a part of Surpen’s territory. They had made a killing on the trade routes Rhen’s generals had set up. These taxes were really just incidentals to remind Tgarus that it was bound to Surpen, but they still had to be paid properly. Tgfhi needed to tell his dad about the mistake so they wouldn’t get hit with any penalty fines later. Unfortunately, at this moment, his dad was on Thestran ‘lying in’ with Rhen. Bosternd had given Tgonar a spot on the list. Tgfhi was only on Tgarus now because his dad hadn’t wanted to leave the planet with no ruling figure while they were under the threat of attack. Last semester, while Tgfhi had been at school, Rhen had warned him that the Rasacks would attack Tgarus twice during that school year. The first time, Rhen had been there to help Tgfhi, but the second time Tgfhi would be on his own. Unfortunately, Rhen hadn’t told him when the second attack would occur.
“Hey, Tgart,” Tgfhi called out to his aide, who he’d seen in the adjoining office when he’d entered the room. Tgart didn’t answer. Tgfhi assumed he was deep into one of the accounts he had to complete. It was probably easier if he just typed up his own report for his father. Opening his computer, he noticed the signal was down. That’s weird. Usually the Surpens kept everything running smoothly. “Hey, Tgart,” Tgfhi called out again. “Tgart, the signal’s down. Do you know why? Are the Surpens doing any repair work?” Tgart didn’t answer.
Rising from his desk, Tgfhi walked into the office next to his. Tgart’s computer was on so he couldn’t have gone far. He bent down to check Tgart’s signal. It seemed to be off here too. Maybe the Surpens were working on it?
A shudder passed through Tgfhi’s body as he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. Oh, no, he thought. Not now. He had known that he’d have to fight the Rasacks, but he’d hoped that Rhen would be able to help him.
“Tgart,” Tgfhi said, as he stood up to give his hands more room to move. He prayed his friend was somewhere safe. “You need to call the Surpens to find out…” Tgfhi swung his hand behind him and shot ice darts out of his palm towards the approaching Rasack. The creature roared with anger as Tgfhi dropped down to his right to evade a bite from its snake-like mouth. Because he hadn’t known the exact location of the Rasack, his darts had only scratched the side of the Rasack’s tan hide.
Tgfhi backed up. Rhen had given him the ability to fight with his water powers but Tgfhi wasn’t sure if his skills would be good enough, especially in such tight quarters.
The Rasack reared, hoping to kick Tgfhi in his chest. Tgfhi morphed his right arm into an ice sword and swung at the beast, cutting its legs. As the Rasack fell downward, it tried again to bite Tgfhi.
Tgfhi watched as the Rasack’s venomous fangs swung down towards his head. He lifted his left hand, formed it into a dagger of solid ice and shoved his weapon up through the bottom part of the Rasack’s jaw into the animal’s brain, killing it instantly. He stood silently as the Rasack fell to the floor. He could feel his heart racing. A laugh bubbled up from deep within him. He’d done it. He’d saved himself. “Tgart?” he said as he ran towards the door. Where was his friend?
A thundering sound in the hallway stopped him in his tracks. A moment later, a herd of Rasacks converged upon him. He jumped back into Tgart’s office as the Rasacks, in their rush to attack, banged into the door frame in front of him. They reared and kicked, the yellow slit in their purple eyes narrowing as they tried to be the first one through the door. Since they all wanted to be to the one to kill him, none of them were moving aside. Their bodies crowded the narrow doorway as they struggled to reach him.
Tgfhi decided to take advantage of the situation. He lunged forward with his ice swords, piercing the tan, furry chests of the two Rasacks in front of him, his blade penetrating through to their hearts. As they fell, the Rasacks behind them climbed up onto their backs, hoping to reach him. Tgfhi fought them off, slashing out at their iridescent, scaly necks to collapse their trachea. He heard a group of Rasacks break off and gallop down the hallway. They were probably going to try to come at him from behind, through his own office.
Tgfhi gestured with his left hand towards the room between himself and the approaching Rasacks. With his powers, he created a wall of ice from the ceiling to the floor that was four feet thick. The Rasacks rounded the bend and slammed right into it. They hissed and howled as they tried kicking their way through it with their hooves, but nothing they did would break it.
Hell, Tgfhi thought as a Rasack lunged for his shoulder with its mouth open. He hadn’t been paying attention to the Rasacks in Tgart’s doorway. In the blink of an eye, Tgfhi turned his entire body to ice. The Rasack’s teeth slammed into his frozen head, then made a screeching sound as they slid down Tgfhi’s icy cheek. As soon as the Rasack pulled back, Tgfhi thawed his body and swung his left hand up towards its head, piercing it with one of his ice daggers. Purple Rasack blood spurted down onto his body. “Gods damn you!” Tgfhi yelled in relief and anger as another group of Rasacks fought at the doorway to get through to him. Thank the Gods they weren’t an intelligent species.
He blasted the Rasacks out of the doorway with powerful jets of water. The Rasacks fell, tumbling backwards. Tgfhi followed along behind them as he blasted them down the hallway. The Rasack’s tan hides were laid bare from the force of the water. A purple sheen of their blood covered the floor and walls.
As Tgfhi neared the main corridor, he heard footsteps running towards him. He turned to see a group of Surpens approaching. Help had arrived.
“Are you alright?” the Surpen general in charge of Tgarus’ forces asked as he and a battalion of his men reached Tgfhi.
“Yes. Are the Rasacks anywhere else in the palace?” Tgfhi stopped his water jets so the Surpen soldiers, who had surrounded the Rasacks, could attack.
“We’ve found four other groupings of them besides this one.” The general turned to face Tgfhi as the Rasacks who’d been in Tgfhi’s study came barreling towards them.
The hallway’s tiled floor was coated in water. Tgfhi gestured towards it with his hands, turning the water into ice. The Rasacks’ hooves lost traction and they barreled into the main hallway, slipping and sliding until they plowed into their fellow Rasacks or slammed against the wall. The Surpens, with their sturdy boots, had no trouble with the ice. As the Rasacks stumbled about, the soldiers finished them off.
“That’s a clever trick,” the general said, nodding towards the ice. “Very helpful. Thanks.”
Tgfhi grinned. He liked it too. “You can thank your Emperor for that one. He taught me how to do it.”
The soldiers pounded their chests twice with their sword arms in salute to Rhen. “Stay here,” the gen
eral told Tgfhi.
“I don’t think so.” There was no way Tgfhi was going to sit around and wait for them to get rid of the Rasacks. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to help.”
The general hesitated. He didn’t want to risk Tgfhi’s life. Although, from what he’d seen, it was obvious the Tgarian Prince knew how to fight. “Okay.” He pointed towards his soldiers. “Break up into groups and search the palace.”
The Surpen soldiers ran off in different directions. Tgfhi joined the group that was heading towards his bedroom. They checked all of the rooms they passed then jogged down some stairs and turned right into a corridor. Tgfhi and the soldier beside him ran straight into the chests of two Rasacks who were leading a group towards the stairs. Tgfhi bounced backward as the soldier to his right was bitten by one of the Rasacks. “No!” Tgfhi threw out his hands and shot ice daggers at the Rasack, then grunted as he ducked out of the way of the one he’d run into as it tried to bite him. Reaching out, Tgfhi grasped the Rasack’s head and froze it solid, then twisted the animal’s neck until its head broke off.
“Damn,” one of the Surpens behind him said as Tgfhi dropped the head to the ground.
The soldiers rushed past Tgfhi to fight the remaining Rasacks as he bent down to help the wounded soldier. “Are you okay?”
The woman nodded. “You killed it before it could inject its poison.” She stood up and pulled down on her red tunic to straighten it. Checking on the others, she saw that they were just finishing off the last of the Rasacks. Glancing back at Tgfhi, she said, “Thank you for saving my life.” Before Tgfhi could respond, she jogged off down the corridor with the others to check the rest of the palace. Tgfhi shook his head and followed.
After they had finished checking the lower floors, they made their way to the Rasacks’ spacejets, which were docked in the palace’s spaceport. Tgfhi was surprised to find that the spacejets had been disguised to look like ordinary Tgarian ships. It was no wonder that the Rasacks had been able to infiltrate his palace. His security guards hadn’t thought to inspect the cargo inside the ships.
The Surpen King - Part 2 - Rise of the Elves Page 9