“No, thanks,” Rhen told her, returning the invitation.
“Why not?” Latsoh asked feeling frustrated. “Why won’t you go to any of the elfin events that you’ve been invited to? I’m inviting you to my home for the biggest religious celebration of the year and you’re turning me down. Do you have something against elves?”
Rhen sighed. Latsoh was being so Latsoh. “First of all, I don’t have anything against the elves. Although, I’ve noticed that the older elves hate me and they don’t want me around.”
Latsoh nodded hesitantly. Rhen was right. She had thought that he hadn’t noticed, but clearly, he had. The older elves couldn’t get around the fact that not only did Rhen eat meat but he was also a warrior. Elves were pacifists. At least, they used to be until Andres’s War. Now each elfin tribe had its own army. Rhen was also married to a non-elf, which caused a lot of strife because the younger elves were now open to the idea of marrying out of their tribe. The Elfin Priests in each branch had been telling the elves not to follow Rhen’s actions or they would anger Themrock.
"I won’t deny it,” Latsoh said. “They believe you’re 'unelfin.' As the most famous elf in the Universe, you kind of set a bad example for our race. That’s why I want you to come to our Themrock event. I think it’d be good for them to get to know you and you’d have a blast. I’m sure of it."
“Which brings up the second reason why I’m not coming,” Rhen said. “I get over 50,000 invitations a day from my nineteen solar systems alone. If I start to attend functions, then I must attend all functions, because if I didn’t, I might insult someone by not choosing their event and that, Latsoh, would hurt Surpen. As you know, I’d never do anything to hurt Surpen.” Rhen faltered as an image of today’s battle flashed in his mind. “So,” he began, after giving his head a shake to clear it, “the only functions I can go to are small, private, personal ones that include my family and friends, such as Crystam and Tgfhi’s wedding, whenever they finally decide to set the date.” He poked Tgfhi in the chest.
“Hey,” Tgfhi protested.
Rhen ignored him, and continued, “Or Universal functions like Reed’s jet bike races.”
Latsoh frowned and Rhen thought she might argue with him, but a moment later she nodded. “I didn’t fully understand your position before. I’ll explain it to the others so they stop complaining about you.”
“The elves complain about Rhen?” Tgfhi asked.
“They say he thinks he’s too good for us.”
Jet snickered beside Rhen at the absurdity of Latsoh’s comment as they headed into their next class.
Chapter 38
Bosternd’s Office – Surpen Military Headquarters
"Rhen 's going to be upset," Nk said as he stepped into Bosternd’s office.
"About?" Bosternd looked up from his computer to see Nk sitting down in the chair across from his desk.
"Guess how many Surpens want to have their bloodworms removed?”
Bosternd shrugged. “I don’t know. How many?”
“All of them!” Nk replied dramatically, throwing his arms out on either side. He paused and reached up to stroke his chin. “Well, everyone but you, Bosternd." Raising his knuckles to cover his mouth, Nk coughed out the words, “Kiss-ass.”
Bosternd sneered at Nk, making him laugh.
When Nk had quieted down, Bosternd said, "You’re right. Rhen won’t be happy when he hears that. By removing their bloodworms, the people will be declaring their opposition to Andres’s reign. Rhen never realized how much the people hated his father."
“Yeah. He was clueless about it, which I always found odd. How could he have missed it?”
“Come on Nk. Andres was the only person to show any interest in Rhen when he was growing up. Rhen loved him. He still can’t believe his father sold him out to Loreth. He loved his father so much it never occurred to him that the people hated Andres.”
“I guess you’re right,” Nk said. His eyes scanned the files on Bosternd’s desk. It looked like Bosternd planned to work all night. “You know there’s a Moon Festival tonight, right? It’s going to be a big one. I heard Authe got fireworks from the Zorthans.”
Bosternd snorted. He knew all about it. He’d approved the order. “Authe spent a fortune on them. I even had to send him some extra men to unload the shipment.” Bosternd lowered his head to look at his computer. He needed to get back to work.
Nk stood up, but instead of leaving, he lingered, leaning against the back of the chair that he’d been sitting in.
Bosternd felt Nk’s eyes on him, so he glanced back up.
“Why don’t you put that work away and join us?” Nk asked
Bosternd sighed and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his hands over his short crew cut. He’d love to quit for the day, but if he did, they wouldn’t be prepared for their meeting with Rhen in the morning. “I’ll be out in a minute. I haven’t finished organizing everything for tomorrow. You got my message that I want to change Rhen’s schedule?”
“Yeah, why is that?”
“Jet told me that he felt Rhen was doing too much, that he might be burning out. Rhen’s been spending a lot of time spacing out, and it’s got Jet worried. I contacted Professor Dewey and we rearranged Rhen’s schedule. We’ll get him in the morning, he’ll attend classes after lunch, and then he’s on his own after dinner. Any classes that don’t fit in with his new schedule will be dropped.”
Nk bobbed his head. “Not that it matters, but will Rhen have enough credit hours to graduate to the next level if he’s not taking a full course load?”
Bosternd smiled. They both knew that Rhen couldn’t care less about his Thestran education. He was only at the University for Ceceta’s sake. “Yes. Professor Dewey assured me he’d still be able to graduate with Ceceta, even with the lighter workload.”
“So, we get him all morning? That’s great. I always felt our time was too rushed. It’ll mean more work for us, though.”
Bosternd gestured with his hands towards the piles of paper on his desk. “Only in the evenings. Less work for us during the day. It evens out and it’s worth it if we can keep Rhen healthy and happy.”
“Yeah,” Nk said. “We need to keep him going, because I sure wouldn’t want his job.”
“Nor I,” Bosternd agreed. “Go, get ready for the Festival. I’ll join you once I’ve gotten everything sorted out for tomorrow morning’s meeting.” He watched Nk hesitate then step backwards to check the hallway. It seemed there was something else on Nk’s mind.
Nk glanced left and right down the hallway before approaching Bosternd’s desk. Leaning over, past Bosternd’s computer, he whispered, “You should know that there’s a rumor going around that the Convention members are going to hold a meeting and they aren’t inviting us.”
Bosternd had heard the same thing. He’d already contacted his spies on Zorthan for confirmation. It appeared the Rasacks wanted them out of the Convention for Rhen’s little stunt on Noran.
“I know,” he told Nk, deciding not to tell his friend the rest of what he’d heard. Let Nk enjoy his evening. He’d break the news to him in the morning on their way to meet with Rhen.
“That’s not good,” Nk said. “Rhen infuriated Sinter when he helped Noran. I bet Sinter will try to find another way to get revenge.”
“Yeah,” Bosternd said quietly. “Like I said, I’m glad I’m not the King of Surpen. Rhen’s better at dealing with this stuff than I am.”
Nk nodded and wandered back over to the doorway. “Does Rhen know about the changes in his schedule?”
“We’re telling him tomorrow morning.”
“I hope he’s happy with it.”
“I’m sure he will be.”
Nk leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. Bosternd could tell he wasn’t finished. He wished Nk would get to the point. He wanted to get back to work. If he didn’t, he might miss the fireworks.
“It’s funny how fast everything’s changed, you know?” Nk said
.
Bosternd had no idea what he was implying. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just… things seem to be changing really fast.”
“What’s bothering you? Are you talking about the changes we’ve made on Surpen? If I remember right, you wanted these changes more than anyone I know. You were moaning about making social changes to our society back when we were at the Academy.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Nk replied defensively, dropping his hands to his hips. “I like the changes. It’s just… I wasn’t exactly expecting some stuff.”
“What are you talking about? Should I be worried?”
Nk laughed. “No,” he said. “You definitely don’t have to worry.” He paused for a moment before saying, “From the recent tests we’ve given our newest recruits, we’ve discovered that the women soldiers fight better than most of the men.”
Bosternd’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I find that odd.”
“Let me clarify. They kill better than the men.”
Bosternd leaned back in his chair as he considered Nk’s words. “Why do you think that is?”
“The other generals and I have come to the conclusion that it’s because they’re taught to butcher animals at a young age. They understand the anatomy of living things better than our men. They know where to place their knives.”
Nk watched Bosternd’s face slowly turn red. “Bosternd?” he asked with concern. Just when he was about to rush around the desk to see if Bosternd was having a seizure, his friend exploded with laughter. Bosternd laughed so hard, tears were streaming down his face.
Nk was relieved that Bosternd was alright and he found himself joining in the laughter. Who would’ve thought that the dainty females they’d fought so hard to protect all these years were vicious killers?
Chapter 39
Thaster’s Dining Room - Hell
Thaster glanced up from his breakfast. One of his slaves was leading Therol into the room. “It took you long enough,” he said. He watched as Therol sat down on the red cushioned seat that the slave held out for him. Therol was pretending to be calm, but Thaster could see that he was nervous. His left fist was clenched so tightly the skin had turned white.
Therol took a moment to study the spacious room. Hell wasn’t so bad, if you were Thaster, he thought. The man lived in a palace with zillions of slaves to take care of his every need. Granted, the air and food in Hell had a red glow to it, because it was manufactured by Thaster, but hey, Thaster liked the color red.
“You have a nice… home,” Therol said. He studied the masterpieces on the walls, all of which had been stolen from Themrock’s universes.
Thaster bristled at Therol’s words. Therol had helped the other Genisters lock him into Hell. “For a prisoner,” he said, rising from his chair.
Therol’s eyes shot to Thaster. When he realized that Thaster wasn’t about to attack him, he took a moment to study his brother’s mortal form. After Themrock had created his Universe, Thaster had copied his creations in Hell. He’d even gone so far as to create an elfin body for himself. Therol could see slight imperfections in Thaster’s design, things that Themrock wouldn’t have stood for and would have fixed at once. Maybe Thaster didn’t notice that his mouth had the wrong curve to it, that his left arm was too long or that his hair molecules were off by a fraction, but Themrock would have.
“There’s nothing I can do about your situation,” Therol began.
“Obviously, but we both know who can, and Rhen is the key. I want to eliminate the same Genister you do, so that makes us allies,” Thaster said.
But I don’t want to kill Themrock, Therol thought. I only want him to send me home to Genister. Therol was tired of playing in Themrock’s made-up world. He wanted to go home. Thaster, on the other hand, wanted the codes to Hell so he could escape. Since Themrock had designed the locks that kept Thaster in his prison, he was the only one who knew how to open them.
“You mentioned something about a surprise?” Therol asked, changing the subject.
Thaster’s slaves were rushing about the room, clearing his breakfast dishes. Therol didn’t like the look of them. In truth, he felt sorry for the creatures. They’d all been captured by Thaster and brought to Hell. He’d mutated their human bodies to make them look alike. They were all short and red-skinned. They had small black eyes, bluish red hair, two short, thick, red horns poking out of the sides of their heads, three-foot long tails and three clawed fingers on their hands.
When Thaster didn’t say anything, Therol turned around to find he’d left. “Where is…” The slave standing beside him pointed towards the open glass doors on the side of the room.
Therol stood up and walked out of the room. He stepped outside onto the pink stones of a patio and glanced out at the gardens in the distance. “Gorgeous.” Thaster’s gardens were a masterpiece. Designed to flow from the right to the left, they were tiny worlds in and of themselves. There were mazes made from hedges, topiary gardens, herb gardens, flowering trees. It went on and on. The fountains alone were spectacular. Therol hadn’t realized Thaster had it in him to create such a marvel.
Thaster grunted. “You’re the second idiot to think my garden is anything other than a prison yard.”
“Who was the first?”
Thaster grinned, making his thin, black mustache look very long. Lifting his hand, he pointed to his right.
Gagged and bound to a chair near a mass of pink rose bushes was the second youngest Thestran Prince, Charlie.
“No way!” Therol laughed out. “You’ve got the moron! I was wondering where he went.” Therol walked over to Charlie and leaned down to look him in the eye. “Hello? Are you sober?” He waved his hand in front of Charlie’s face.
Charlie grunted and said something unintelligible through his gag.
Turning back to Thaster, Therol asked, “What are you going to do with him?”
“I thought I’d lure Rhen here to save him.”
Therol laughed. “Rhen doesn’t want him. How much has his family offered you for him? If it was anything valuable, I’d take it.
Thaster frowned but didn’t answer.
“Wait,” Therol said, studying his face. “They don’t know that you have him, do they?”
Thaster’s refusal to answer said it all.
Therol laughed again as Charlie made a few garbled remarks behind his gag. “That’s rich,” Therol said. “Too, too funny.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “What are you going to do with him?”
Thaster sighed. “I don’t know. What do you think I should do with him?”
“Turn him into one of your slaves.” Charlie yelled behind his gag. When he’d quieted down, Therol asked, “Was he your big plan? The reason for my visit?”
“No. He was the surprise. I thought you’d find it amusing that he’s here. My plan has nothing to do with him.” Leaning back against the patio railing, Thaster said, “I do believe you’re going to like my plan. In fact, I think you’ll be jealous that it wasn’t your idea.”
Therol drummed his fingers on his thigh. Thaster seemed rather full of himself. He was tempted to tell his brother that he hated his plan no matter how good it was. He raised his eyebrows as he waited for Thaster to continue.
“Have the Rasacks attack Tgarus. When Rhen arrives to stop them, capture him and…” Thaster paused. Charlie was watching them a little too closely. He’d tied the Thestran Prince up for sneaking into his private quarters and drinking every single bottle of vodka that he’d stolen from Universe One, but it appeared the alcohol had already passed out of Charlie’s system. Flinging his hand at Charlie, Thaster tossed him up onto the top peak of his palace. He could see Charlie’s feet kicking as the chair he was tied to dangled precariously on the edge of the palace’s pointed peak.
“Why’d you do that? He’s not leaving Hell. He can’t tell anyone,” Therol asked.
“His very existence annoys me.”
Therol nodded. He kind of felt the same way about Charlie. “
Your plan?”
“When Rhen arrives to save Tgarus, use your Genister loop to call him to consciousness. Themrock will be pissed, but hey, I’m tired of waiting for him.” He paused to see if Therol appreciated the cleverness of his plan.
Therol couldn’t help himself from smiling. He loved Thaster’s plan. “That’s actually…”
“Good, right?” Thaster finished. “Themrock will want to protect Rhen. We’ll have him right where we want him. You can absorb his powers, becoming the most powerful Genister ever, and I’ll get the codes to Hell so I can leave this… dump.”
“You don’t want his powers?” Therol asked with suspicion.
“No,” Thaster lied. “I only want to be free.”
“You swear on the Genister Code Book?” Therol pressed.
“I do,” Thaster agreed with a satisfied grin. Therol hadn’t made him repeat his promise.
Therol was sloppy. Thaster hadn’t sworn anything on the book. They would capture Rhen, when Themrock showed up to help, Thaster would get the codes he needed to escape Hell and then he’d kill Therol and take both Therol’s and Themrock’s powers as his own. It was the perfect plan.
Chapter 40
Student Dining Hall – Elfin University
“What’s up?” Tgfhi asked, startling Rhen from his stupor. When Tgfhi had entered the student dining hall, he’d found Rhen at their regular table staring into space.
“Don’t ask,” Jet told him, sounding glum.
“Are you sure you should be seen near me? I still have another day of purgatory to live through before Ceceta will speak to me again,” Rhen snapped.
“Excuse me, but you’re sitting at our regular table,” Tgfhi replied.
Rhen grunted. He hadn’t realized he’d sat down in his old seat. “Sorry,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Tgfhi asked, sitting down across from Rhen. Erfce and Latsoh were just arriving. They placed their trays on the table and sat down next to Tgfhi, while nodding to Jet and Rhen in greeting.
The Surpen King: Part 1 - Return of the Gods (Themrock Book 2) Page 25