The Surpen King: Part 1 - Return of the Gods (Themrock Book 2)

by Charity Kelly

  “I think he finds it amusing.”

  “Will it strengthen Thestran?”

  “No,” Nirs clicked. “It’d take a century for Thestran’s military to catch up to the Surpens’."

  Sinter grunted in agreement. “You said the Zorthan Prince is taking a Thestran class? Why would the Thestrans allow a Convention member to take one of their classes? I can understand their willingness to bend the rules for Rhen, since he was a part of their birth family, but the Zorthan Prince?”

  Nirs had asked the same question. “The Zorthan Prince told me that the Thestrans had banned him from their planet, but then Rhen had threatened to stop teaching his fight class if they didn’t open it up to everyone.”

  Sinter pawed the ground. Rhen’s fight class was open to everyone? That was interesting. “Getting back to the planet you just conquered. Did our Lord Therol have anything to say about it?” Sinter was angry that he hadn’t been the first one to start conquering new planets and he wanted to check to see if Therol was advising the Vivists on the side.

  “Therol?” the Vivist King clicked. “No. I haven’t seen or heard from Therol in ages. He disappeared around the time of Andres’s death.” Nirs watched Sinter carefully. He’d had word from his spies that Sinter had been in communication with Therol. It seemed the Genister God Therol preferred the Rasacks to the other Convention members, which didn’t bother Nirs in the slightest.

  Sinter’s head tipped upward. “True. He’s been gone for a while,” he replied vaguely.

  Nirs remained silent. He knew the Rasack King was lying, but he hadn’t expected him to lie to a fellow Convention member, especially a non-human one, about a topic as benign as the location of the Genister God who supported them.

  "So, the Thestrans let you conquer an independent planet in their space and they did nothing to stop you," Sinter recapped. He swished the purple tip on the end of his tail. "I guess we should see how far we can push them before they decide to retaliate."

  "Indeed," the Vivist King clicked. "Although you should probably check with Rhen first before you start attacking Thestran planets. I believe he’s become rather fond of them. You don’t want to anger a fellow Convention member."

  Sinter hissed with fury, his slitted eyes narrowing. "It's against the Convention's laws for one of our members to protect the Thestrans. Rhen will abide by our rules."

  The Vivist King wasn't so sure about that. Rhen had been spending a lot of time on Thestran. He clearly liked being around them.

  “As you say,” Nirs clicked in agreement, rather than start an argument with the Rasack King.

  "Happy mayhem," Sinter called out. He turned off his screen and called for his second-in-command. It was time to begin.

  Chapter 36

  Te’s Manor House – Neptian

  Loreth waited for Te to stop talking before asking, “You honestly think Yfetb has a shot with the Ventarian princess?” Sometimes he just couldn’t believe Te’s stupidity.

  “Definitely!” Te exclaimed. “She’s with a member of the Convention. Her mother must be furious. I bet Queen Chara’s trying to find a way to break off the engagement. She doesn’t want to lose Thestran’s support or anger Surpen. If Yfetb were to make his intentions known, I’m sure he could win the Ventarian princess’ hand in marriage. Think about what that could do for us.”

  Loreth sighed. Ventar was completely self-sufficient. Chara’s powers over love made her invincible. She’d have no reason to object to her daughter marrying a member of Surpen’s Empire, because it meant nothing to her.

  In fact, Loreth was sure she’d probably be thrilled by it. Crystam hadn’t shown any powers yet, but every fifth generation of Ventarian princess developed their powers in their mid-twenties. The Ventarian Queens, who developed their powers later, were always more powerful than the queens who were born with their powers, which meant Crystam would soon be getting her powers — and when she did, they’d have to sequester her from everyone.

  Loreth reached up to pull at his unibrow. One of Crystam’s ancestors had begged him to end her life. Not long after Themrock had been locked away in a Void Box, she’d called out to Therol, asking him to kill her. Curious, he had flown down into her chamber and listened to her story. The Queen was living in an enclosed room the size of a stadium. She’d been locked into it several years ago to protect her people. The very sight of her would kill a mortal. Her voice would make their heads explode. The Queen’s meals were pushed into her room through a tiny, rectangular door. She had no contact with the outside world. Even her dishes, when she was finished eating, had to be burned.

  The Queen had explained to him that one night, in a fit of rage over her situation, she’d thrown everything in her room into the incinerator. She had nothing left. There was no way she could even contact the outside world to beg them for help.

  He had listened to her story. Her plea for help had made his skin crawl. The woman’s life was worse than Thaster’s.

  Leaving that woman alive had been his only regret. He’d flown up into the air while she’d begged him to end her life. He should’ve snapped her neck. But at the time, he’d been angry over his own love’s betrayal, so he’d left her. She’d suffered for years, slowly going insane, alone in an empty room.

  Crystam didn’t even know that she was cursed. Only Chara knew Crystam’s fate and like all of the queens before her, she’d taken an oath not to tell. It was best for Crystam to enjoy her life while she still had it.

  No, Loreth thought. Chara wouldn’t be upset by Crystam’s union with Tgfhi. She was probably looking forward to raising their child. She’d be alone while she did it of course, since Crystam’s powers would’ve killed off her husband before she reached her due date, but Loreth was sure that Chara would be overjoyed to have someone to spend the rest of her life with.

  He lifted his head to look out at the Ldastar Falls and hesitated. Was that a red-power trail looping through the sky? What was Thaster doing on Neptian? He’d told the red Genister to leave his pawns alone.

  “I’ll be back,” Loreth hissed, interrupting Te’s monologue about using Chara’s powers to keep Ceceta from attacking Neptian.

  Turning invisible, Loreth flew up into the air, following the red-power trail. Thaster had been scouting villages not far from the Falls. What was he looking for?

  Loreth scanned the horizon. It appeared he was gone now. He wondered why Thaster had been studying villages on Neptian.

  Loreth sighed. He’d told the red Genister that he’d stop by Hell to see his plan. Perhaps it was time to pay Thaster a call.

  Chapter 37

  Elfin University

  “What?” Rhen whispered, when Jet poked him in his arm during history class. He’d been watching Noran, a peaceful planet not far from one of his territories. The Rasacks had just landed several of their spacejets on the planet. It appeared they were going to attack. Rhen liked Noran. He was tempted to help the Norans, but he couldn’t risk letting the Rasacks know he was involved or they might retaliate against him.

  "You've been spacing out more than usual," Jet said behind his hand, his eyes on their teacher. He’d noticed that the University’s teachers seemed to enjoy disciplining Rhen for his behavior, and since their history teacher had just noticed that Rhen wasn’t paying attention, he had hoped to wake Rhen up before their teacher could criticize him.

  "That's because… " Rhen rose to his feet. He was no longer wearing a yellow tunic but was dressed in his full Surpen military battle outfit, complete with breast, back and shoulder plates. His helmet was tucked under his right arm. The war on Noran had begun. If he was going to act, it had to be now. Turning to the right, he pointed at Prince Yekem, the son of the King of Noran, a planet in Thestran’s solar system. “Come!” he ordered, lifting Yekem out of his chair with his powers.

  Jet reached out and grabbed a hold of Rhen’s left arm as he and Yekem disappeared from the classroom. They arrived on Noran in the midst of a major battle between the Norans and t
he Rasacks. The Rasacks’ tan, muscular horse bodies and long, turquoise snake necks looked out of place on Noran’s liquid planet. Rhen changed his and Jet’s appearance, so they blended in with the Norans, then pulled Yekem towards the closest group of Noran soldiers that were being attacked. "Don't let them bite you," Rhen warned Yekem.

  Yekem nodded. He already knew that. No one could survive a Rasack bite, unless they had amazing healing powers. He was lucky they weren’t being attacked by the Vivists, since a Vivist sting was so powerful it could kill a Genister.

  Within a few hours, Rhen and Jet helped the Norans defeat the Rasacks. They refused the King's generous gifts of gratitude, asking only that their part in the battle be kept a secret.

  --

  The next morning, when Rhen sat down to meet with Bosternd and Nk, he could tell they were angry. “Okay. Tell me what’s on your mind."

  "What were you thinking?! You can't protect Noran!" Bosternd shouted. “Sinter’s going to be furious. I can’t even imagine what he’ll do for revenge. You know he’s not going to take this lying down.”

  Rhen felt a chill run down his spine. "How’d you find out?"

  "There were Fire Elves vacationing on Noran. They saw the whole thing. They told everyone."

  Rhen dropped his head into his hands as Jet swore.

  "We’ll deny your involvement," Bosternd told them. "It's our only recourse. I pray that Sinter believes us."

  Rhen nodded, although he knew Sinter wasn’t going to believe their story. How could he have been so stupid? He’d only meant to defend Noran. Its people would have suffered greatly under the hands of the Rasacks.

  “Let’s move on,” Bosternd said.

  “It’s too bad the Black Angel hasn’t returned,” Nk remarked, opening a file on his tablet to start their meeting.

  “Why?” Rhen asked.

  “Because he would’ve protected Noran so we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Nk told him, adding for good measure, “No offense, of course, your majesty.”

  Rhen waved away his words. How could he take offense? He knew he’d done something wrong. Nk was right. He hadn’t even considered using his alias as the Black Angel to save Yekem. He wished he had, because now Surpen was at risk and it was his fault.

  --

  Two days later, Rhen and Jet were leaving their apartment building on their way to teach Rhen’s fight class when they noticed their students were rather quiet. Glancing across the Great Lawn towards the outdoor stadium, where they taught their class, they spotted a group of Rasacks near the bandstand. “Vivist’s spit,” Rhen swore, as they walked across the lawn.

  Professor Dewey greeted them on the stage. The muscle under his left eye was twitching. “I told them no, but they insisted. They claimed that since you were teaching the Zorthan Prince and a few of his friends how to fight, they had a right to learn too. They even paid double what everyone else has paid. What should I do?”

  Rhen waited until a spacejet that was passing over their heads had moved on then patted Professor Dewey on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Just do me a favor.” Leaning in, he whispered, “Bring all of the remaining students into the main school building and lock all of the exterior doors except for that one.” He pointed towards the door that faced the bandstand. “Okay?” Professor Dewey nodded and bustled off the stage.

  Rhen turned around and surprised Jet by hugging him. With his mouth next to Jet’s ear, he said, “Instruct the men to remove their students to the safety of the school in intervals. Have the soldiers remain inside the school building until after the battle has begun. I want at least 100 soldiers left inside the school to protect the students in case the Rasacks are planning an interior ambush.” Without giving Jet time to respond, Rhen released him, then walked off the stage to greet the Rasacks.

  Rhen didn’t recognize the Rasacks who’d signed up for his class. He wondered if Sinter had sent soldiers he wanted to sacrifice since he knew that Rhen would fight back with everything he had. Walking up to the Rasack with the largest purple tuft on his tail, Rhen bowed.

  “I’m Sixth,” the Rasack replied, dipping his head in return.

  “Well, Sixth,” Rhen began, his eyes scanning the Rasacks around him. “I see you’ve finally decided to learn some battle skills.”

  Sixth bristled, his scales tightening with anger. “We’re pleased to have an opportunity to learn from you.”

  “I hope my class meets your expectations.”

  “I’m sure that it will, Emperor,” the Rasack commander hissed, his slitted eyes narrowing a fraction of an inch.

  Rhen gave him a thin smile and began to teach.

  The University's students worked with their Surpen teachers. They didn’t notice the fact that every few minutes a Surpen soldier would take his students into the school building for a new type of training. About three-quarters of the way through the class, the Rasacks surrounded Rhen, pretending to study his moves. Rhen could feel them closing in and he realized the time for battle was at hand.

  Jet watched as the Rasacks pressed in on Rhen’s position. Turning to the soldiers around him, he shouted, “Get everyone inside now!” He turned back in time to see the Rasacks lunge forward onto Rhen. There were so many of them that he lost sight of his Emperor. The Rasacks looked like a pack of wild dogs bringing down their prey.

  “Move out!” Jet screamed, as he ran across the lawn towards the circle of Rasacks with his swords in hand. The remaining students were pushed into the University building, while the Surpen soldiers, who’d been waiting inside, ran out to save their Emperor. The University’s teachers and students watched in horror from the school’s windows. No one thought that Rhen was still alive.

  Jet heard a thundering sound behind him. His heart sunk when he turned to see another group of Rasacks crest the ridge of the hill beyond the Teacher’s Residence Hall. They paused on the hilltop, assessing the situation, then galloped down the hill towards the Surpen soldiers. Jet called out to his men to warn them of the surprise attack.

  Pento, the Zorthan Prince who took Rhen’s class, pushed his way through the Surpen soldiers who’d been ordered to protect the University. He and his fellow Zorthans raced across the lawn to engage the Rasacks in battle alongside the Surpens.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Pento said under his breath as he raised his blaster and shot the Rasack closest to him. The Rasack howled as the energy blast burned a hole in the side of his chest. He swung about and lunged for Pento with his mouth wide open. Pento froze when he saw the Rasack’s poisonous fangs headed in his direction. Suddenly, the Rasack’s head flew to the side, bouncing across the grass as Jet’s sword severed it from its neck.

  “Prince Pento,” Jet said swinging around to his right to cut down another Rasack that was approaching. “Please return to the safety of the school building.” Jet knew that Rhen was fond of Pento. He wouldn’t want the Zorthan Prince injured on his account. The Rasacks had no quarrels with the Zorthans. They were here for revenge for what Rhen and Jet had done to them on Noran.

  “I can fight,” Pento insisted, pointing his blaster at a Rasack that had gotten one of the Surpen soldiers on the ground. He fired, blinding the Rasack. The Surpen soldier rolled out of the way of the Rasack’s hooves as the Rasack howled and ran straight into the sword of another soldier.

  “Yes, you can,” Jet said. He winked at the young prince then ran off towards one of his soldiers who’d lost his sword.

  “Shoot at their eyes,” Pento told his friends. The Zorthans formed a circle and shot at the eyes of the Rasacks as the Surpen soldiers battled them in close range with their swords. Their combined forces proved difficult for the Rasacks to beat.

  When Jet had a spare moment, he searched for Rhen. His heart stopped when he noticed the Rasacks who were attacking Rhen had backed away. “No,” Jet said. He couldn’t believe it. Had they killed Rhen?

  A hissing sound to his left brought him back to the present. Jet dodged the attacking
Rasack’s bite just in time. “Cover me!” he yelled to the man beside him. Turning, he scanned the area where he’d last seen Rhen. The Rasacks were searching the grounds, which meant that Rhen was still alive. He glanced towards the apple trees near the student dormitories. Rhen wasn’t there. Jet’s eyes roamed the grounds until he saw movement near the hill that led into the Wood Elf Forest. There, sitting on the ground, covered in blood and holding onto his partially severed left arm, was Rhen. Jet breathed a sigh of relief. Rhen was fine. From the smile on his face, it appeared he was enjoying the battle.

  “I’m back,” Jet told the soldier beside him as he attacked the Rasack before him with renewed vigor.

  Jet knew when the Rasacks spotted Rhen. The hissing sound they made increased tenfold, making his eardrums vibrate. He glanced quickly in Rhen’s direction to check and was pleased to see Rhen rise to his feet, his left arm had healed and he was holding a sword.

  Jet and his men bobbed and weaved among the Rasacks. The grass was soaked with so much blood that it wasn’t providing the footing they needed. When the man in front of Jet slipped, Jet lunged forward and speared the Rasack before him in the mouth, his sword coming out through the back of the Rasack’s head.

  “Move to the right,” Jet shouted. “We need new ground.” His men immediately obeyed.

  Not long after the Surpens changed position, the Rasacks realized they were losing and they began to retreat. “Cut them off,” Jet barked.

  When a group of Rasacks broke off and ran to their ships, Jet ordered one of his units to follow. “Don’t let them leave,” he told his men. “If they succeed in returning to Rasack, Sinter will think we’re weak.” He didn’t need to add that the Rasacks would never stop attacking them if they thought they had a chance to kill Rhen.

  A short while later, Jet watched as Pento shot his blaster at the final Rasack, while Jet’s soldiers speared him in his heart with their swords. The Rasack collapsed to the ground amid cheers from the University’s students, who were watching the battle from the safety of the classroom building.