The Surpen King - Part 2 - Rise of the Elves

by Charity Kelly

  “Damn!” Thellis said appearing in the room a second too late. He watched as Rhen jerked. White light poured out of his eyes and mouth as well as the hand carvings and cracks between the stones in the room. “Why didn’t any of you stop him? You do realize his memories could come back now.”

  “We couldn’t stop him,” Aaron yelled as the clouds beneath them shifted, the Air Elf castle tripling in size. “He wouldn’t pay any attention to us.”

  More Genisters appeared in the room. They cursed when they saw Rhen stuck to the pillar. “Who let him in here?” Thamber demanded, her golden powers flaring around her. “Where are the tigers?”

  “Layla brought him here,” Jack told her.

  “Rhen did something to the tigers,” Thellis added. “They can’t seem to leave the Wood Elf castle.” When Thamber started to chase Layla around the room, Thellis yelled, “Stop! Let’s keep calm. This may mean nothing.”

  The pressure in the room increased, hurting their ears. Suddenly, there was a power surge. The elves’ hair rose, their skin tingled and they gasped as Themrock’s powers filled their bodies.

  A second later, it was over. The pillar released Rhen and he fell to the floor, his eyes glowing white. “That’s a good sign,” Thellis said, floating over towards him. “His powers remained white. We may be okay.”

  “He isn’t bleeding,” Jack said.

  “No. With Layla outside his body, he was able to give you his powers without hurting his mortal form.” Thellis jumped when the stone structure beside him began to change shape. The stones twisted and turned until they formed a massive, blue metallic door. Genister carvings were etched into the door frame on all sides. Thellis laughed and was about to comment on the door, when Chaster asked, “What power did Themrock give us?”

  Jack knew. “We can fly now. That’s our power.” His Dad gave him a look, so he added, “My dragons told me.”

  “And your combined elfin power is the ability to control the weather,” Thellis added.

  Sarah wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “We can control the weather?”

  Thellis nodded. “Yes, only in small areas though. The Air Elves can control it planet wide.”

  Rhen moaned. “I’m exhausted.” He rubbed his eyes with both hands.

  Aaron crouched down beside him on the floor. “Would you like me to help you to a bedroom?”

  “Yes. I’d like to rest before going to Neptian.” Rhen struggled with Aaron’s help to sit up. He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the light. Reaching up, he felt his hair. It hadn’t grown. He glanced down to see he was still wearing a tunic. Rhen shook his head. “I had thought.” He chuckled. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I had thought… oh, this is embarrassing.” He covered his face with his hands and groaned.

  “Thought what?’ Sarah asked.

  “I’m almost too embarrassed to tell you.” Rhen dropped his hands down from his face and said, “I had thought that I might be Themrock. I had a feeling that if I put my hands in the last carving, I would become a Genister.”

  Thellis floated down towards him. “Seriously? You thought you were one of us?” He rolled his eyes. “Moron. I can’t believe you’re the person who will find Themrock.”

  It had seemed logical to him at the time. Rhen tried to explain. “I thought because Layla won’t leave me and my powers–”

  Thamber interrupted him. “Layla’s lazy. She won’t leave you because she wants you to do the work of finding Themrock for her.”

  Rhen wanted to continue. “When we were at the Wood Elf castle, one of you Genisters put a helmet on my head and then everyone pretended I had passed out. Why would you do that? It made me start to think that maybe I was Themrock.”

  Thellis was speechless. He couldn’t think of anything to say.

  Rhen continued, “And then there’s the fact that the elves are always acting so weird around me. They’re always asking me to come to their events. Why? They don’t ask James, their King, to everything. Also, I always seem to pass out when my hands touch Themrock’s handprints but nobody else does. How come I–”

  “Okay,” Charlie called out. “You got us. I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

  “Shut up!” Thellis barked.

  “Trust me,” Charlie said to Thellis, his hand out, telling him to stop. “I understand where you’re coming from, but eventually someone has to tell Rhen that he has Theofayophobia.”

  Thellis hesitated, digesting Charlie’s words, then his green form started to shake. He wanted to laugh. It was the perfect response to Rhen’s questions.

  “What?” Rhen asked.

  Charlie squatted down beside Rhen, his face looking sad. “Theofayophobia. We think you have it. It’s a fear of the God of elves. Rachel thought that if you visited the elfin castles, it might help your phobia, so the elves have been working to get you into their homes.”

  Rhen was dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

  “Theofayophobia,” Charlie repeated, his hands waving about in the air for emphasis. “You’re afraid of Themrock. That’s why you pass out after putting your hands in his carvings. You’re terrified of him. It’s a hell of a thing, considering you’re supposed to find him and then work to protect him from Thaster. If you pass out when you see Themrock, where does that leave him?”

  Rhen had never heard of it before. “I don’t know. Why would I be afraid of Themrock?”

  “Well,” Charlie said. He stood up and began to pace in front of Rhen. “First of all, phobias are irrational. They never make sense. Secondly, you didn’t always have it. We think you’ve been developing it because Layla’s been inside you too long. There’s some chemical imbalance that she’s causing.” Charlie paused. “The changes in your body are making you afraid of Themrock.” He sighed and shook his head. “You’d have to see Rachel to have her check you out to confirm this but that’s what we think. Ceceta said you hate doctors, so we can’t talk about it in front of you. We haven’t wanted to alarm you, you know? We didn’t want to put any more pressure on you. If you’re up for it though, you might want to stop by Rachel’s office to have her examine you so she can confirm it.”

  Rhen was stunned. He had a disease? “Theofay… scared of the God of elves?” Rhen glanced up at Charlie. “Wouldn’t I be afraid of all Genisters then?”

  “No.” Charlie waved his hand at Thellis and the others. “You’re around them all the time. They don’t seem like Gods, do they? But Themrock? Now, he’s a God. Everyone’s always worshiping him and talking about him, right? It never ends.”

  Charlie’s reasoning made sense. “Rachel can tell me if I have this illness?”

  “Phobia,” Charlie said. “You’re not physically sick, although if we don’t try to limit the amount of time Layla spends in your body, you might become ill. Yes, Rachel will be able to tell you if that’s what’s causing your blackouts.”

  Rhen liked that idea. “I definitely need to stop passing out when I get near things that remind me of Themrock. I don’t want to be useless when it’s time to protect him.” He leaned forward, putting his hands on the clear stones to get up. Aaron and Jack helped him rise, while the Genisters blocked his view of the portraits on the wall with their bodies. “Thanks for trying to help me with my illness,” he told the elves. “Ceceta’s right. I do hate doctors, but I’ll go to Rachel after resting for a bit. It’d be nice to get rid of my Theo… you know.”

  “That would be great, Rhen,” Charlie said, putting his hand on Rhen’s shoulder. “The Genisters will continue to try to get Layla out of your body so the phobia doesn’t worsen. Maybe, now that you know about it, you can help them?”

  “That’s why they’ve been hanging around me lately?” Rhen asked. He’d wondered why the Genisters seemed to want to be with him all the time.

  “For sure,” Charlie said.

  Rhen paused. “And the tigers?”

  Charlie looked surprised. “Can’t you guess why they’re following you?”


  Rhen was thoughtful for a moment. “Yes. If I pass out, then someone needs to be there to protect Themrock. I’m glad they came back to help.” He yawned. He needed some sleep.

  As Aaron and Jack walked Rhen to one of the castle’s bedrooms, Thellis flew around Charlie in circles. “You’re a genius! Theofayophobia! Where the hell did you come up with that? It’s amazing. If I were mortal, I’d kiss you. Thank you!”

  Thamber flew down and hugged Charlie. “You saved the day. For a mortal, you’re pretty smart.”

  Crap. They thought he was smart. What was he going to do? He didn’t want them focusing on him. If they learned he was Theter, they’d make his life miserable. Charlie noticed Layla pouting by Thamber’s portrait. He pointed at her. “Stop giving Rhen Theofayophobia. It’s a serious illness. You need to stay out of his body from now on.”

  Thamber stepped back from Charlie. His face was screwed up with anger as he yelled at Layla. Oh, Gods, she thought. Charlie actually believed Rhen was sick. He wasn’t a genius, he was insane. Charlie pointed his finger at her next. “We’ve done everything we can to help Rhen. You should do more to keep Layla away from him. Maybe then he could conquer his phobia.”

  “Right,” Thamber said as Thellis snickered. Together, they flew out of the room with the other Genisters. Charlie waited until Layla had slipped away too before relaxing. That had been too close.

  Rhen woke up to find the sun directly overhead. “Oh, no.” He jumped out of the cloud-like bed he’d been sleeping on and threw open the bedroom door. Ceceta was going to be furious. “What time is it?” he asked. Jack was floating upside down in the hallway. He flipped around and landed on the clear-stone floor. “What time is it?” Rhen repeated. Something caught Rhen’s eye. He turned and yelled out towards the empty space in front of a mirror further down the hall, “Excuse me, do you know what time it is?”

  Sarah stepped forward. “Rhen, who are you talking to?”

  “One of the Aiir People, who live in the castle.” Rhen turned back towards the mirror, “Sorry, is that high-sun: night sun or day sun?” He didn’t think it was night, but who knew where the Air Elf castle had ended up while he’d slept. Maybe it was over one of the planet’s poles.

  Jack realized his mouth was hanging open. What had Rhen said earlier? Something about Air Elves turning invisible? He focused his mind on becoming invisible and watched as his body disappeared. Before he could laugh at his new skill, he noticed five people, made of shimmering water molecules and pulsing currents of air, standing before the mirror. They were beautiful. Jack heard one of them speaking with his mind, telling Rhen that it was high sun day time. Jack sent a mind message to his father to tell him that the castle had Aiir People living in it. They were only visible, when the Air Elves turned invisible.

  “Really?” Rhen asked the person. “But we got here… wait. What time did we get here?”

  “Two hours ago,” Sarah said, her eyes watching the spot where Jack had disappeared.

  Rhen covered his eyes with his hand. He’d forgotten. He’d thought they’d arrived last night. Charlie was sitting on the floor by the door. Rhen plopped down beside him. “I think that Theofa… thing is really messing with me.” Charlie smiled sympathetically. Rhen sighed and leaned his head against the door frame. “Let’s go to Rachel. I need to fix this problem.”

  Charlie reached out to pat his brother on the arm. “That’s a good idea.”

  Rhen transported them to the Thestran royal family’s private hospital. The tigers were waiting for them outside Rachel’s office door. “Don’t do that again,” Noctav growled, his tail flicking back and forth with irritation.

  Rhen felt bad about using his powers to force them to stay in the Wood Elf castle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was sick. I won’t do it again. You should stay near me. It’s safer for Themrock if you do.”

  “Exactly,” Noctav huffed.

  While Rhen had been sleeping, his guard elves had alerted the elfin royals, Ceceta, Bosternd, and the Thestran royal family about what had happened in the Air Elf castle. Rachel wasn’t surprised when Rhen walked into her office. She performed a series of tests, recording Themrock’s physical traits for future reference.

  When she was done, she put down her tablet and said, “I’m sorry. You have Theofayophobia. The best thing to do is to face your fears. You need to try to desensitize yourself to Themrock. Visiting the elfin castles is one way. You could also try reading a book about Themrock or talking about him with the elves. You should also ask the Genisters to keep Layla out of your body as much as possible. Eventually, your phobia should pass.”

  Rhen pulled on his tunic. Charlie had been right. “It’ll pass on its own?” Rachel nodded. “Well, that’s good news at least. Thanks.” Before Rachel could say “You’re welcome,” Rhen and his guards were gone.

  Twenty Years Later

  Chapter 37

  Elfin University

  Rhen phased into the Headmaster’s office at the Elfin University. It was the third time that month that he’d had to meet with the Headmaster about his youngest son, Slate. Slate was always getting into trouble. His personality was magnetic. He never had any trouble getting the other students to go along with his crazy ideas. Rhen wondered what he was going to do about Slate. Could he give him his inheritance of seven solar systems upon graduation or was Slate too immature to handle it? As the Headmaster’s secretary showed him into the inner office, Rhen shook his head and wondered if this was what Kate used to go through with Charlie.

  After speaking with the Headmaster for close to an hour, Rhen stepped out into the waiting room and glared at his son. Slate was lounging on a chair across from the Headmaster’s secretary. Like Rhen, he was dressed in a traditional Surpen tunic. Rhen’s other children followed the Universe’s trends, dressing like Thestrans for the most part, but Slate refused to conform to Universal styles. Rhen wasn’t sure why Slate wanted to dress traditionally, but he guessed it was to tease the female students. Slate refused to wear his military shorts, even when he was flying. The lack of modesty in that boy. Rhen rubbed his eyes. He hoped the secretary’s bent head meant she was focused on her work and not his son’s genitalia, which were visible from the angle in which he was sitting.

  Slate grinned at his dad, daring Rhen to accuse him of today’s crime. He had an extensive arsenal of excuses, one of which would be bound to work.

  “We need to talk.” Rhen looked up as Layla flew through the ceiling and entered his body.

  Slate grumbled. "Where did she come from?" His mom hated Layla, so he did too.

  Rhen shrugged. He was pleased that Layla wasn’t living inside him all the time. His anxiety disorder seemed to be gone and he didn’t want it coming back. “She's been going off on her own a lot lately. We need to talk.”

  “Sorry,” Slate said, his hands on his chest. “I didn’t mean to blow up the cafeteria. It was an accident. Who knew you couldn’t radiate metal beyond a certain temperature?”

  Rhen held up a finger, telling Slate to be quiet. “Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk.” He glanced out the window and saw the Air Elf castle floating past them on the horizon. Turning to the two Neptian tigers in the room, he said, "Wait here. We'll be right back."

  "No, we–"

  Rhen interrupted them. "We’re just going to the Air Elf castle and back. Please. Wait here. I want to talk to Slate alone." The tigers hesitated then nodded their assent.

  Rhen phased himself and Slate into the Ancestor Room of the Air Elf castle. He hadn’t been back to the room, since he’d left it twenty-years ago. Every time he’d mentioned visiting, Ceceta had come up with some reason not to. Secretly, he thought she might have developed a fear of heights. Rhen ran his hand along the symbols carved into the magnificent blue door that stood in the middle of the room, where the column had once been.

  Slate was mumbling something that sounded like an apology. Rhen shut him up with a wave of his hand. “Sit down.” He followed his son to the clear, stone be
nch that circled the room then glanced about for the tigers. He had the strangest feeling that someone had followed them. Slate started to talk again so Rhen turned towards him, shaking his head. “What have I told you over and over again?”

  “Listen, follow the rules, behave, honesty counts, um…” Slate hesitated, wondering if any of those would do the trick.

  “It’s not funny anymore, Slate. You know you have a personality that people are attracted to. You know they’ll do anything you tell them to. You have to stop taking advantage of them. They might love you now, but if you keep this up, one day, they’ll hate you.”

  “No,” Slate said, giving his dad one of his best grins. “No one’s ever going to hate me. I’ve got the stuff.” Out of all of Rhen’s children, Slate was the only one to be born a Genister.

  Rhen shook his head. “Don’t count on your powers for everything. They can take you only so far. You still need to be a well-educated and considerate man for your solar systems to run smoothly and for your life to work out.”

  Slate leaned back against the wall. “Well, I am educated.”

  Rhen snorted. He knew Slate took after Charlie. Neither of them had studied a day in their life. “Yeah? How well educated?”

  “Better educated than you are. I can read and write,” Slate snapped. He couldn’t believe his father was questioning him about education.

  Rhen put his hand on Slate’s shoulder. He didn’t want to fight. “You need to be better than me. I regret not taking my education seriously. Slate, it’s time you grow up. You need to start acting more mature.” He stood up to continue his lecture, but the picture of Thamber above Slate’s head caught his eye and brought his speech to an end.

  Rhen narrowed his eyes, as he studied the painting. Could it be? Was that Thestrst without his mask on behind Thamber’s hair. He and Ceceta had always wondered what the man looked like, but the face staring back at him was not what Rhen had expected. The mysterious orange Genister looked familiar. Rhen focused on Thestrst's eyes and mouth. They resembled someone's. Someone he knew.