by J. Naomi Ay
Berkan was sent home. I was given a week without pay. Senya was flogged. In the central courtyard in front of any and all who cared to watch he was given six lashes with a horse whip. Loman was outraged, but it was the King's decision and there was nothing that could have been done. Senya had disobeyed direct orders to stay in his room at night. He had left the Palace walls without the accompaniment of guard, and he had not only sliced up the arm of a transient but killed another.
"Why did you do that?" Loman screamed at the boy before taking him for his punishment. "How could you?"
The boy just flashed his silver eyes impassively back at Loman.
"You can't just kill anyone that bothers you!"
Senya was also implanted with a tracking chip. It was put in his upper left bicep next to his identity chip. Akan had lobbied long and hard for a control chip too, but the King, at least for now, would not have it.
That next week was exceedingly difficult without Berkan and with Senya confined to apartments. Senya was sore physically and did little more than lay around on his bunk. He refused to speak with anyone, even me. I was dying of boredom and frustration one afternoon when I received a text.
“Meet me outside the Clock Tower in New Mishnah at 1700 today – Tuman de Kudisha.”
The Clock Tower was a brand new shopping mall in New Mishnah that featured an enormous clock tower at the front of the complex. Tuman de Kudisha, I knew, was one of the Karupta princes, the youngest which made him my age. Curiosity overwhelmed me, so I arranged for guard relief and checked out a speeder. I wasn't worried about Senya. Like I said, he hadn't moved from his bunk all week.
At just before 5PM, I parked the speeder and walked to the Clock Tower. It was a brilliantly sunny day, one of the best summer in Mishnah had to offer. The sun was hanging low over the mountains, and the sky was ablaze with color. The Palace glowed pink on the horizon, out by the ocean.
I picked up an iced coffee at a kiosk and stood in front of the Clock Tower for a few moments enjoying the view. Two small boys in swimsuits and wet towels passed in front of me.
“That was so cool!” one of them said as their mom followed behind with a little girl wrapped in her towel.
She smiled at me, and I smiled back at her when a limo pulled up in front of me. The passenger door flew open, and a hand beckoned me inside. I slid in on the smooth leather seats. Up until a month ago, I had never ridden in a limo. Now it was my primary means of transportation.
I boarded the limo and was surprised to discover Prince Tuman along with his brother.
“Taner, I am Tuman.” The man across from me extended his hand and shook my own, something I could never imagine doing with a prince of Mishnah. Tuman was a large man and strongly built, with thick black hair that hung in plaits next to golden hued skin.
“Your Royal Highness,” I replied and offered my hand to his brother, as well.
“Pedah de Kudisha,” the second man said as we shook. Pedah like his brother had long legs that stretched across the limo but seemed slighter, if by only a little bit. His hair was cut short and while straight, stood up in a tuft at the back as if he suffered a cowlick. He bore a thin mustache and goatee and wore thick wire rimmed glasses that look almost comically at odds with his traditional Karupta clothing. Never the less, the two were obviously brothers and obviously closely related to Senya for the resemblance was strong enough between the three of them that the boy could have been sired by either one.
“You may call us by our names,” Tuman said with a bit of a laugh. “We are much less pretentious in Karupatani.” He waved at the driver to take off, and we swept up and out of New Mishnah before soaring over the mountains.
“So tell us how our nephew doing?” Pedah leaned back in the cushions and stroked his small beard, gazing at me with eyes so dark they were nearly black.
I chuckled nervously and glanced from one to the other brother. I read no hostility in their expressions, only curiosity, yet I wondered if I had made a mistake by joining them here. I was virtually indefensible in their speeder and at odds with my own king who chose not to share any information with them.
The brothers smiled at my hesitation.
“Are either of you by chance telepathic?” I asked noting the knowing glance that passed between them.
“Not at all,” Tuman replied. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem to know already.”
Pedah nodded. “We have a suspicion. The MaKennah is a bit of a challenge, is he?”
“An understatement if there ever was one,” I sighed. “Have you ever met Senya?”
“We have not yet been so fortunate,” Tuman replied. “We know a little of the MaKennah from your press, but not even our father has been granted an audience. Your king provides us with precious little information and no opportunity.”
The limo was high over the mountains now. I saw the western ocean in the distance and beyond that was the continent of Karupatani.
“You will be back in Mishnah within the hour.” Pedah followed my gaze. “We are only going for a scenic drive. Have you ever seen our country?”
“No. I was stationed briefly in Farku on the west coast but have never crossed the ocean.”
“I went to school in Farku,” Pedah said, once again stroking his beard. “The University. That’s where I received my doctorate.”
Tuman rolled his eyes. “I went to school there too, but all I learned was to speak Mishnese and use a fork. They didn’t give me any diplomas for this.”
“Perhaps you did not master it well enough,” Pedah smirked. “Both your Mishnese and your skills with a fork are lacking. Don’t you think so, Taner?”
“His Mishnese sounds fine to me,” I replied. “Certainly better than Senya’s.”
Both brothers leaned forward hungrily as if I were feeding them with bits of gossip.
I finished my coffee, which I had almost forgotten was still in my hand, and stared out the window as we flew over the ocean following the sun.
“The MaKennah?” Tuman prompted.
“He's pretty miserable,” I replied, my tongue loosening. “Berkie, Loman's boy, lives with us, and that helps, but Senya still seems very depressed. He spends an inordinate amount of time sitting next to the window as if he was locked in a cage. He goes out of his way to break every rule and can go for days without speaking a word to anyone.”
The brothers exchanged glances again. I wondered if I had said too much.
“Does he get along with his grandfather, your king?” Pedah asked.
“No. Well, I think he's okay with the King although he bristles at anything the King suggests whether it's his clothing or what he should or shouldn't be eating or how he speaks. Senya has a very thick street lilt that seems to come through even when he’s speaking the Noble Mishnese.”
“What of his grandmother and uncle?” Pedah prompted.
“The Queen has absolutely no interest in him and won't even acknowledge him as her grandson. As for Akan, to put it bluntly, the Prince despises him and is doing everything possible to make Senya even more miserable.”
Tuman nodded. Pedah stroked his beard. We were above the Karupatani continent now and flying in a valley following the course of a river. The trees were tall and evergreen, and the river was a deep rich blue.
“He is extremely intelligent,” I continued. “I mean probably on the scale of a genius or something. He has never had any formal education, yet his tutors say that he picks up everything instantly. He knows things that a normal kid his age couldn't possibly know. He does things that nobody could possibly do.”
Tuman nodded again.
“Such as?” Pedah’s dark eyes seemed to pierce my own.
I shrugged and stared out the window reminding myself of Senya. On one hand, I didn’t think I should be revealing too much, but on the other, it was relieving me of a great burden to share Senya with his uncles.
“Senya knows the future,
the past. He’ll tell me what I will do before I do it. He’ll turn to us suddenly and speak about an event that will happen years from now.”
“Fascinating,” Pedah mused.
“What else?” Tuman asked.
“He knows your thoughts, he can direct your thoughts, he can move things, he can change things, create stuff from nothing.”
“What sort of stuff?”
“Fire. Snakes. I don’t know.” I shivered involuntarily, recalling the smell of the burnt snake.
"He can be violent too. He killed a guy outside the Palace last week because he grabbed Berkie. It didn't even faze Senya. Stuck a knife in a man's throat. Probably wasn’t the first time he had done something like that." I swallowed hard and look out the window. The valley had opened up into a vast area of farmland, pastures, gentle rolling hills and a village. "He does all this, and he can’t even see."
Both Pedah and Tuman's eyebrows flew upward.
“He can’t see what?"
“Anything. He can’t see anything. Those weird silver eyes are just for show because they don’t work. He sees by reading your mind. Berkie’s his conduit right now. Whatever Senya wants to see, Berkie looks at. Shit, this kid is scary.” I rubbed my temples and looked at the princes. “Does this make any sense to you? Is there some Karupta legend or something that maybe explains how he can do all this, be like this? I’d really like to know how I’m supposed to protect him when I’m scared shitless of him myself.”
Tuman pursed his lips and looked at his brother. Pedah stroked his beard and started to hum.
After a moment, when neither of them said anything, I sat back in my seat and sighed. “Just forget it,” I said. “I’ll deal with it. I’ll figure it out.”
Tuman looked out the window and pointed at the village below.
“This is our home,” he said. “Over there is a landing strip. You have my number. Send me a text and tell me when you are coming.”
We soared up over the mountains and across the rest of the continent.
“You think I should bring him to you?”
“We have much to teach him.”
“He already knows bloody everything,” I snapped.
"Ay yah,” Tuman said. “You Mishaks have taught him well to trust no one, to kill before they may kill you."
I stared at Tuman, unable to respond.
“We do not wish to insult you, Taner.” Pedah continued. “You are doing an admirable job with him. Were you not, he would have probably killed you by now. Perhaps you are even destined for a high office in the future if you continue to earn his trust. There will come a time though when you can no longer protect him from Prince Akan and then you must bring him to us.”
“I can protect him,” I said.
“He has left the Palace without you.”
“He was punished soundly for that. So was I. He won't do it again.”
“Won't he?”
“We have him chipped now.”
Pedah considered this.
“He is the MaKennah ka Rehnor,” Pedah said carefully. “Not the family dog.”
We were approaching the coast of Mishnah. The sun had set and the Palace was a lighted beacon in the darkness.
“He is too much for you, Taner my friend.” Pedah said as we glided down into New Mishnah. “He needs to be with us.”
“We’ll see about that,” I replied getting out of the limo.
When I returned to the palace, I discovered that all hell had broken loose.
“So somehow he gets past your relief guard,” Loman said from behind his desk. I was standing in front trying very hard not to squirm. Loman's face was purple, and he had at least four candy bar wrappers on his desk. “And he disappears into the forest.” The forest was about twenty acres of undeveloped land on the north side of the Palace. “We've got him chipped now of course so it should be no problem to find him. I send two teams out with their GPS readers, and we've got a strong signal. Except that, get this, he's up in a tree. And, get this Taner, the base of the tree is not growing from the ground. Nope. This particular tree base is halfway down the side of the cliff. There's a huge chasm and a river that runs through the center of the forest and this particular tree happens to be located there.”
Loman opened another candy bar. “I can't even begin to imagine how he possibly got up there. Or even across the bloody chasm. Does he fly, Taner? Have you noticed maybe that he can grow wings and fly?”
“No, sir,” I said quietly. “Not that I have noticed.” But with Senya, I didn’t add, anything was possible.
Loman pounded the desk. “Shall I tell you what happened next?”
I nodded.
“Our teams were on the opposite side of the chasm yelling at the boy to come down when surprise, surprise, a team from Akan's personal security force decide to join them. They announce that the Prince is demanding that the MaKennah be brought to him immediately, and they are to stop at nothing to do so.”
“Blessed Saint,” I mumbled. “Is Senya okay?”
“No,” Loman snapped. “He's not okay. He's in the hospital now with a broken arm, broken rib and a fair amount of bumps and bruises. Fortunately, that's all he's got after falling Saint knows how far down the chasm. That was after one of Akan's goons shot him in the arm.”
“Blessed Saint!” I nearly fell off my feet. “He fell down the chasm?”
Loman shook his head and sort of laughed.
“Two of my men insist that he grew wings and flew down. That's why he wasn't killed. Blessed Saint, I could use a drink.”
“What happened with Akan's goon? The one who shot him?”
“He's in the brig. Akan is insisting it was an accident, but the King isn't buying it.”
“Good,” I nodded. “Guess I'll head to the hospital now.”
“Glued to his side, Taner,” Loman ordered. “No relief. Not until I can vet a few more guards. Where were you anyway?”
“Princes Tuman and Pedah de Kudisha wanted to speak with me,” I said.
Loman eyed me carefully.
“And?”
“You know what they want,” I replied.
Loman nodded and looked out the window.
“Not yet,” he said.
“Guess what, Senya,” I said.
He was propped up in bed in the hospital wing of the Palace. He was in one of the rooms reserved for the Royal family, and it was decked out as nice as his apartments except for the monitors beeping overhead and the adjustable bed. He had his right arm in a sling, and his face was black, blue and yellow. The doctors had wanted to put a brace around his midsection, but because of the lashing only a few days ago, they didn't want to inhibit the welts on his back from healing. Instead, he had to stay pretty much immobile. He didn’t respond to my voice, but I was pretty sure he was not asleep even though his eyes were closed.
“When you get better I'll take you and Berkie to the new water park at the Clock Tower mall.”
No response.
I sat down in the chair next to the bed.
“But you're going to have to improve your behavior. I mean, I'm going to need to get the King's permission to take you out, and we're probably going to have to close the water park for security purposes, so it's going to be a big deal. So, in order to do that, I'm going to need a little cooperation on your part. Do you think you can do that?”
Still no response.
“You know, our track record is not too good right now,” I continued. “We've been here at the Palace now for what? Six weeks? And in that time, you've been introduced to the planet, met lots of eligible young ladies, and threatened Prince Akan how many times? Got flogged twice, got shot once, broke an arm and a rib and now earned yourself an extended stay in the hospital wing. Let's make a deal. You be good for the next six weeks. Don't get shot. Don't get flogged. Don't make the King or Akan or anyone angry, don't run off, don't kill anybody and I'll ta
ke you guys to the water park.”
“I told ye Akan would 'ave me shot and 'ye dun't do shit.”
“I was visiting with your uncles Pedah and Tuman. I'm sorry. It won't happen again.”
“Yeah it will and ye won't do shit then either.”
“I'm doing my best, Senya, but you've got to help me out too. You can't go breaking all the rules. Come on. Be good and I promise I'll take you to the water park.”
He sat silently for a moment.
“Can we go and not close the park? I dun’t like every’un always makin a big deal ‘bout me.”
“I understand, kid. Maybe we can. I’ll talk to Captain Loman and see what we can do. Maybe I can get you some dark sunglasses and how about a red wig?”
He didn’t think this was funny.
“I could get you a hat,” I offered. “Would you want to wear a hat on the water slides?”
“No.”
“Well, we'll figure something out. But, you've got to behave.”
“I wasn't doing anything bad, Taner. I just needed to be outside.”
“I know, kid. But you've got to take me with you. That's the rules.”
“I can't take you. You can't go where I want to go.”
“To the top of a tree?”
No response.
“How'd you get up there anyway? Rumors are floating around now that on top of everything else, you can grow wings and fly.” I chuckled.
No response.
“You can't, can you? Senya?”
He opened his eyes slightly. They weren’t as bright as usual but still shone in my face. He held out his good left arm and handed me a feather. It was long and black with a white tip.
“You are one strange dude, Senya,” I said stroking the feather.
“I know,” he agreed.
Senya was released from the hospital a few days later and other than having his arm cast and in a sling, looked remarkably well considering all that he had gone through in the last few weeks.
For a while, he was very well behaved although exceedingly quiet. Berkie was allowed to come back, and we returned to our busy routine. The boys were polite and studious, always on time and properly attired.
Senya, to the King’s utter astonishment and pleasure became the model prince, performing his limited duties and granting audiences as if he was raised in the Palace for the last twelve years rather than twelve weeks. As promised, I took Senya and Berkie to the new waterpark the last warm autumn week before winter. With the King's permission, a dozen additional undercover body guards, dark sunglasses, a Mishnese Raven's football jersey and swimsuit, and his arm still in a sling, Senya left the Palace for the first time in nearly three months.
The boys had a raucous time at the park enjoying the waterslides immensely. I was nervous wreck. Even with the sunglasses and football jersey, it was pretty obvious who Senya was. After all, his face had been plastered all over the news these last few months. Anyone who attempted to get near to him or tried to speak to him was quickly surrounded or ushered away by our team. Cameras were everywhere, and everyone who could was snapping photos and making vids. Everyone else stared. They stared at me, they stared at Berkie and especially they stared at Senya. They moved out of the way and some knelt when we walked by. They stood immobile in their queues, which prompted Berkie to pull Senya past them all to the head of every line. Berkie thought it was great. Even Senya seemed to be having a good time. He laughed with Berkie and smiled once or twice.
After several hours of getting wet, corn dogs, milkshakes, cotton candy and funnel cakes, Berkie insisted we go into the adjacent amusement park and play the carnival games. Money was no object for Berkie for the first time in his life, and he was determined to try everything even if all he won in return was a stuffed bear. Senya wasn't interested in tossing bean bags or balls at over-weighted milk bottles. He stood with Berkie and encouraged him but would not try anything himself. As in the water park, as soon as we approached a booth, the crowd backed off.
We had almost finished our day at the park, the sky had turned to a dusky purple, and even Berkie was getting tired when we approached a booth with a substantial crowd.
“I haven't done this one before,” Berkie cried pulling Senya towards the game. “This must be a new one.”
The crowd parted for the boys to reveal a game called, Sink the Karut. It consisted of a mock-up of none other than Senya sitting in a boat. The object of the game was to throw an oblong ball through a series of hoops. You had three chances, and if you made it through all three times, the boat would sink, and Senya would tip over into the water. You would also win a bear.
“Oh,” Berkie said when he realized what the game was about. "I don't want to do this one."
“I'll do it,” Senya said, and he stepped forward and put a coin down on the counter. The carney running the booth looked at him and all color drained from his face.
“I dinn't make the game, Sir,” the carney said. "Me boss just tol' me to run it.”
“Gimme the ball, eh?” Senya held out his hand.
The carney hesitantly held out the first ball. Senya tossed it through the first series of hoops. The boat lurched downward. The second ball soared through the next series of hoops and the boat went further. The crowd behind us cheered. The last ball was just as accurate even though the hoops were smaller and further apart. The boat sunk, the effigy of Senya tipped into the water, and the crowd went wild.
“Great job, Senya,” Berkie cried. Senya smiled shyly. He started to walk away.
“Ey!” the carney called. “Ey, Sir? Ye won this bear, eh?” and held out a giant stuffed bear. “Ye gets the big un. No un ever sunk the boat afore.”
Berkie grabbed the bear which was nearly as big as he was and handed it to Senya.
“What's it for?” Senya asked.
“For nothing,” Berkie replied. “It's just nice. Girls like them.”
Senya nodded. He took the bear from Berkie and walked back through the crowd until he found a girl about his own age and put the bear down in front of her. The girl’s mouth fell open, and her eyes grew wide, but she enveloped the bear in her arms. Her mother fell to her knees and gazed up at Senya adoringly.
“Thank you, Sir,” the girl whispered and Senya smiled slightly, his silver eyes shining in her face.
Cameras snapped, and within moments the image of Senya, the girl hugging the giant stuffed bear while gazing at Senya as if he was a god, and the awestruck mother staring in the same way, were broadcast across the planet. By the time we returned exhausted to the Palace that evening, Senya with his arm in a sling and wearing the Raven's jersey, had become the pin-up heartthrob of every preteen girl on this Rehnor.
Chapter 11
Mariya