by J. Naomi Ay
"He was the worst of the lot," Senya remarked lighting a fresh cigarette. "I regret that he died so quickly. I should have liked for him to suffer a little longer, but our time here is short. Would you like to choose the next victim, Tuman? Oh sorry, I forgot you don't like to make choices."
"Stop it, Senya! This is enough. You can execute these men, but surely there are more. How can you condone what he is doing?" I demanded of my brother.
"He is freeing the slaves of Xironia." My brother shrugged.
"Ay, but Tuman is correct," Senya frowned. "I will kill each of these men, but there are many other masters ready to take their places. These men are merely symptoms of a systemic disease."
"Which can't be cured until you die, brother," Pedah added.
"My death will free these slaves?" I protested. "I just can't believe how that could happen."
"The slave girl, June," Senya replied, heading down the steps and out into the street. "It is she who holds the key to a free Xironia."
"If you die, she comes to Rehnor. If you live, she dies in the spaceplane. It's your choice, Tuman." My brother followed Senya.
"There must be another way," I insisted. "If you know she must come to Rehnor, then bring her and let me live!"
A moment later, I was back in the hospital room next to my bed. Garinka had fallen asleep in the chair by my side. Her head was perched on a pillow, and she was snoring softly. Senya stood by the window, his back to us, seemingly gazing outside.
"All history is written by the actions of a single man," he said. "Though everything seems random, it is all related. You see, Tuman, I cannot bring the girl here just because you will it. That is not how it is supposed to be. The events must go in the proper sequence, or the results will all be changed."
"I don't want to," I wept. "I want option one! I'm not ready to die. Please brother, speak to him. Grant me a little more time."
"It was never my choice," Pedah replied, gazing fondly at my wife. "I can do nothing for you."
"Senya, please? You have given me the option. You have asked me to make a choice. I choose life for me now. Can you not honor your word?"
"Unfortunately, Tuman, you have reached the wrong conclusion, so I must revoke this privilege that was conferred on you. Your soul is needed elsewhere. It is time for you to move on." He turned around to face me, his eyes flashing brightly in my face.
"No!" My heart froze and ceased to beat. I fell back upon the bed and into the body that lay so still. The last thing I heard was a clap of thunder as Senya raised his hand. Everything went dark, and I was nowhere anymore. I was dead.
Chapter 22
Shika
"So what exactly were you two doing there?"
I couldn't stop laughing even though my mom was stroking her knee, insisting it was broken before changing her mind to just a really bad bruise. Berkan was gingerly stepping out of the room on the balls of his feet, hunched forward and leaning on Luci. It was pretty apparent what his problem was.
"Nothing," Mom snapped. "There's a rat in here and when I catch him, I'm going to skin him alive."
"I think, there's probably more than one rat," I snickered and went over to the kitchenette to fix myself a drink. "How come you don't keep any alcohol in your office? That's all Dad keeps in his."
"That’s a good question. Maybe I should start. Actually, I think I'm going to go upstairs to lie down. Help me up, Shika." I took Mom's arm again. Together we got in the lift to head up to their suite on the top floor. "Have you heard any news?"
"As a matter of fact, I just heard over the wire that there's been some kind of coup on Xironia."
"Seriously?" At that moment, the lift door swished open, and Lord Eberly stood there. His nose was red, and his eyes were puffy. He looked like he had a fever.
"Madame," Eberly cried. "The Joint Chiefs urgently request your attention."
"Are you alright, Dude?" I asked.
"No, Sir. I've got the flu, and now Garing is sick as well."
"Is this about Xironia?" Mom limped into her living room. "What's going on there?" Eberly opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a series of wet coughs.
"Go back to bed, Eberly," I ordered him. "I'll brief Her on the situation. I settled Mom on the sofa and turned on the vid so we could be included in the conference. "While you were fooling around with Dad's best friend, Berkie, two of the rulers fell over and died. One's trachea collapsed and choked him to death. The other had a stroke about two minutes later. The third guy is supposedly hiding out in the forest somewhere while a couple of Generals lead a resistance to overtake the Palace."
"The Admirals are inquiring whether or not you wish to lend SpaceNavy support," Eberly sniffed still standing by the door sneezing germs into the room.
"Get going," I told him again and then sat down next to my Mom to listen to the Joint Chiefs. For the next twenty minutes or so, we discussed the various opinions on whether or not we should send a ship or two to assist. My old stomping ground, Queen of Rozari was already in the sector.
"Let's monitor it," Mom decided. "You move the Rozari into orbit but let's see where it goes without our interference."
"I think we already interfered. Where did you say that Dad went?"
Mom glared at me and then signed out of the conference.
"You think he did this?" she asked. "Why? That's totally contrary to his normal modus operandi."
"I don't know. Whoever knows why he does what he does?" I took off my shoes and put my feet up on her table. Mom glared at me again. My feet weren't nearly as ugly as my dad's but somehow she objected to seeing them more. "I probably should call my wife and get it over with."
"Is she upset because you've been grounded?"
"She's upset at me for every possible reason. My grounding just gave her an excuse to bitch at me this week."
Mom made a sympathetic noise but didn't comment further. If she did, I'd probably have an adverse reaction and start defending Hannah.
"Actually, Shika," she said. "You were very good in this conference just now. Since you're here in Mishnah anyway, maybe you should spend more time here and help me out. Would you like your own office downstairs? Maybe we should have your posting moved from the landbase to the Palace?"
I tossed the idea around for a moment. It would certainly shoot me back up to the top of the food chain. It might derail my chance to be a ship captain, but on the other hand, why did I need to be a ship captain when I was already the Imperial Prince?
"I'll think about it."
I turned on the vid so we could watch the Galaxy Net News where the coup in Xironia was being discussed by talking heads. A live video feed was showing the crowded streets there as some General stood on a balcony and announced that the slaves were now free. There was lots of noise and all sorts of chaos as a bunch of people who looked like that Xironian chick, June, took off their collars and celebrated.
"There were these plagues set upon us," some breathless guy told a reporter. "After it started raining blood, all the masters were terrified of what would happen to us."
"Plagues? Raining blood? Is the dude serious?" I turned to my mom.
"Oh God," she murmured and held her head.
"I guess it worked."
"It always does," Mom sighed. "So, do you think Hannah would have a problem living here?" She asked hesitantly, though she knew full well my wife would go ballistic.
Hannah loved being in space. She loved the SpaceNavy. Hannah loved being a space doctor. The only thing Hannah didn't love these days was me. I wasn't sure how much that bothered me though. The whole time we'd been married she kept trying to convince me that I wasn't who I was, but I was tired of pretending to be someone else.
I was Senya and Katie's son. My last name was de Kudisha. I was raised the Imperial Prince, and I was as comfortable around kings and presidents as I was in the company of ensigns and spaceman. Maybe it was time for me to come home and start working the family business.
The Fr
ench doors on the balcony swished open just then letting a gust of cold wind blow through the room. My dad walked in as casually as if he had just been out on the beach for a stroll. He took off his cloak and dropped it on the floor.
"Hello Shik," he called, smiling broadly at me. "It's nice to see you looking so alive."
"Hey Dad. How's it going? So you're not mad at me for being grounded?" I figured it was best to get it over with since he knew everything anyway.
"It is what it is." He shrugged and walked over to the sofa where my mom was perched. "And how is my little kitten, Katelina, who is a beautiful as an Abalonea snail?"
"Very funny," Mom growled. "I know you're behind everything that happened. Don't think you can just come waltzing back in here and expect me not to want to break your neck."
"I am not waltzing. I am limping, which come to think of it, so are you. Your dancing days are over, My Queen. From hence forth, you shall be confined to sitting out the ball in chair."
"That's what you wanted all along!" Mom shrieked and tried to jump to her feet. "Ow! Oh!" She collapsed back down on the sofa, the color draining from her face. "Did you do this to me on purpose? You could have just asked me not to plan anymore dances."
"I did ask you," Dad replied, heading to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. He took out two bottles of beer and tossed one to me. "Yet, you went ahead and scheduled a grand affaire for the New Year's holiday, despite my objections."
"I'll cancel it," Mom cried. "Please Senya, come fix my knee."
"Me? I'm a brain surgeon, not an orthopedist."
He thought that was really funny and actually, I did too.
Mom looked ready to kill us both and tried to stand again.
"Senya," she begged clutching the arm of the sofa. "Please, can't you just do that thing with your hand? It hurts like hell. I can't walk, and I'll never be able to sleep tonight." Dad drank his entire bottle of beer while appearing to consider Mom's request. "I'll be so uncomfortable lying down," Mom threatened. "I'll have to sit on the couch or in a chair with my leg up." Dad set down his empty bottle and lit up a cigarette, slowly dragging on it, letting the smoke fill up his lungs. "I won't be able to go to bed at all," Mom continued, enunciating slowly. Her eyes flickered briefly at me. "That means you're on your own there, Cowboy. Maybe that's what you wanted all along?"
Dad frowned and exhaled a cloud of gray smoke.
"Excuse us, Shika," he said which meant it was time for me to get up and leave.
"See ya," I called and taking my beer, I headed back to my own suite down the hall.
It was the same one I had since I was a kid, although it had been updated and redecorated a few times. I went inside and turned on the lights glancing around at the empty room. I lay down on my bed, an enormous king size canopied thing that Hannah had called way overdone.
Hannah had said everything here was way overdone, which it was, but on the other hand, why shouldn't it be? My parents worked hard. They sacrificed everything for Rehnor. It wasn't like they could just pick up and leave. My dad had a collar around his neck and chains on his hands and feet, as much as the Xironian slaves used to have.
I thought of that slave girl, June. I was sorry I had taken advantage of her. I probably should have apologized when I saw her the next day. Maybe I could send her some money or a gift. I decided to think about it in the morning. I'd watch the vid for a while and then go to sleep. I would enjoy this time I had alone. This is what I told myself as I tossed and turned throughout the night. I was alone, and unfortunately, I was lonely.
The next morning, we left for Karupatani as Dad's Uncle Tuman had passed away the previous day. Mom was all broken up as she had genuinely cared for the guy, but I noticed she was no longer limping, and her knee was totally healed.
They buried Tuman next to his brother, Pedah and afterward, I went back to the village to visit with all my cousins for a little while.
My dad and mom returned to Mishnah right after the service so I was sitting in the spot my dad normally would have been, on the floor in the banquet hall between my dad's cousin, Rekah and my granddad, Sorkan. The women of the village were bringing out food in trenchers. I always like roasted sheep with corn. It was a little tough and kind of stringy, but I remembered it from the years I had lived here with Gramps. It was comfort food to me and probably to Aunt Garinka as well because she ate practically a side of sheep herself.
For dessert, there was chocolate cake and Rekah stood up to make a speech, but he was weeping so much no one could understand him.
Right before the banquet ended as the last of the villagers were paying their respects, I was watching my little cousin, Pedah who had brought that slave girl, June. The two of them were sitting with their heads together just a few steps from me. Pedah had taken June under his wing and was helping her to get admitted to his school. The way he was telling her about it, you'd have thought he was the best student ever.
I tried to catch June's eye. I even lifted my hand to summon her, as there was something in her look that was incredibly attractive and appealing to me. I wouldn't have minded a repeat performance of our previous connection, and this time, I would promise to compensate her well. We could stay here for the night, or take my limo back to Mishnah and the Palace. Number Seventeen couldn't hold a candle to me, the Imperial Prince.
"June," I called. Pedah looked up with a questioning expression, so I smiled and pointed at the girl. "Come here."
Obediently, she rose and came to kneel before me just as I heard the sound of high heels clicking across the stone floor.
"I'm so sorry, I'm late." Kari-fa, it had to be my wife who arrived at the most opportune time. "What is going on here, Steven?"
"Oh, hey, Hannah."
"You wish for me to pleasure you again this night, Sir?"
Chapter 23
June
The woman slapped the Imperial Prince across his face. She screamed at him some words which I did not understand. Then, she turned around and ran out from the hall, her shoes making a clicking sound that echoed in her wake. The old men laughed at the woman. The Prince held his cheek and rolled his eyes.
"Do you still wish for me, Sir?" I asked. "For if not, I will go home with my friend."
"Go," the Prince replied with a sigh. "Pedah, you old dog, you be kind to her."
"I will, Shik," my friend called and took my hand.
We had to wait for one of his brothers to depart as he didn't have a flying car of his own. While we waited, we walked around the village and down to the river.
My friend told me of his life here as a child. I thought how lucky he was to live here amongst the trees, in the shadow of the mountains next to this river. The river sang a song, as did the wind, and it was joyful for one who had never heard such things.
I tried to imagine my friend as child, free to come and go, to run about the fields or ride his horse. He was fed when he was hungry and put to sleep in a bed that was warm and soft. He was loved by many mothers and his father, by these elders who smiled fondly at his face. Why would he want to run from all this wonder that was his life?
"We're positively primitive here," he scoffed. "When we get back to Mishnah, I'll show you all the cool things that are there. We have games that simulate reality. We have shows on the vid to keep us entertained. If you have money, you can buy practically anything you want!"
All I wanted was clear air like this for me to breathe. All I wanted was to walk about without my chains. I wished for all of my tribe to feel like this. I would have the old woman to know that we were again free.
"I'll help you," my friend offered and held my hand as we crossed the sky to return to this school where I would learn. "I'll move back to Xironia with you and we'll join the resistance. I already know how to fight with light swords and other weapons."
I didn't doubt his sincerity or his desire. He was young and didn't understand. Though a battle had been won, a long war was still to come. It was a war of minds, not bodies, w
hich needed to be trained.
"After we have finished this school," I told him as we arrived at the University. "After we have studied and learned all that we can do, we may return to Xironia and teach my people how to think. They must learn to take responsibility and care for themselves. They must learn not to rely on masters any longer."
"Sure, June, but that's a pretty radical plan," my friend laughed. "How could a girl like you bring about this kind of change?"
I didn't wish to share with him this knowledge, or the certainty that I had, for he would laugh again and tell me, I was crazy.
My friend wished me a good night and left me at my dormitory. This one was far more pleasant than the Xironian dormitory where I had been born. I walked upstairs into my room and sat down upon my narrow bed before extracting from my pocket the strange blue stone, which had been hidden there.
I studied the fire deep inside that sent colors of light into every facet, and I held it up and watched the rainbow reflect across my room.
"It's called a Firestone," the Angel had said, when he placed it in my hand, appearing in my tiny room just the night before. "It is written, by whom the blue stone shall be worn. You shall recognize the one, the true and rightful bearer, who shall return it to the hand where it belongs. You will protect this until it is time for you to give to him."
"Who?" I asked, though I shielded my eyes, for the Angel was too magnificent to see.
“You will know,” he said, disappearing in a flash of silver light, and so I clutched it in my hand and it made me warm.
I saw the Angel again the very next day, although I told no one that I knew it was he. I recognized him instantly, even though he appeared in the form of a mortal man, as we stood on the hill to inter my friend's deceased.
The Angel stood amongst the family. Through my lashes, I watched him there, standing beside his wife and son. Once, I saw him turn his gaze briefly to catch mine, and nod his head ever so slightly when I smiled, and placed my hand upon my womb, upon the child of his son that I would bear.