RHEN

by Charity Kelly

  “They were taken aback,” Rhen agreed. “They weren’t expecting me to look like King James. From the portraits of him that I’ve seen in the Thestran Castle, we didn’t look alike as children.”

  Reed frowned. There were only two portraits of James as a child in the Thestran Castle, one was in James’ private study, which was always locked and guarded, and the other was in James’ bedroom. Was Rhen lying or had he gained access to those locations?

  “If the Thestrans had wanted Rhen, they would’ve returned to get him like Ceceta’s family did. Lot of good that did them in the end,” a general said in a flippant voice.

  The room became silent.

  Rhen stood up to refill his drink.

  “That was out of line,” Bosternd said.

  “I’m sorry,” the man said. “I didn’t mean to bring up your wife’s misfortune. Rhen, please forgive me.”

  Rhen waved his hand in a dismissive gesture towards the man. “It’s fine.”

  “I was only trying to emphasize the fact that her family cared about her and yours didn’t. If they had, they would’ve attempted to rescue you from Punishment Island. Maybe Ceceta’s family wouldn’t have been slaughtered, if yours had helped. General Bondson told me your parents did nothing, when they were told that Ceceta’s family was trying to rescue her.”

  Rhen jerked around and glared at the man. The pupils of his eyes expanded, turning them black.

  “Get out,” Bosternd bellowed.

  After the General had left the room, Rhen closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, fighting to regain control of his anger.

  “I will have him whipped and lower his rank by three stations,” Bosternd told his Prince. “Is that acceptable?”

  Rhen nodded once then downed his beverage. When he dropped his glass away from his face, they saw his eyes had returned to normal. “You…” Rhen cleared his throat. “You don’t have to have him whipped. I, personally, don’t find it very effective. It never stopped me.” The generals chuckled. Rhen was trying to repair the mood in the room. He knew he had slipped. He had felt his anger change his eyes. Most of them had never seen him do that before. Rhen closed his eyes again, when he realized the Thestrans had seen it too. Rasack’s puss, he swore to himself. How was he going to handle that one?

  “Are the Thestrans afraid of you Rhen?” a general asked, hoping to regain their earlier camaraderie. “Do they think you’ll eat them?”

  Before Rhen could answer, his friend Authe yelled out, “I’d eat them. I’ll start with their women.” The generals laughed with ease, their relaxed natures returning.

  “Like the Black Angel would let you eat a Thestran,” Ngi said. He lit the Tgarian cigarette that was in his mouth.

  “That guy is amazing,” the general beside Bosternd said. “Did you hear what he did to the Rasacks who attacked those missionaries?”

  “Are the Convention members still trying to get in touch with him?” Rhen asked.

  “More so now than ever,” Ngi said. “They believe he has God-like powers and they want to capture him.”

  “No, they want to worship him as they do Therol,” Bosternd corrected.

  Reed narrowed his eyes. The Convention members worshipped someone named Therol? Who was he? Why hadn’t they heard of him before?

  “That’s bound to anger Therol,” Authe said. “He likes to be the top dog. He’s not going to want to share his throne.”

  “God-like powers?” Rhen scoffed, returning to Ngi’s earlier comment. “You insult God by saying something like that.” Ngi bowed his head in deference to Rhen’s comment.

  “If I could have one wish, it’d be to meet the Black Angel before I die,” Ngi informed the room, the other generals agreeing with him.

  “Oh, shut up,” Rhen barked. The generals were startled by his reaction, so Rhen said, “Before I left, we never discussed the Black Angel. What’s happened to you guys?”

  “Three months ago, the Black Angel saved Authe’s family as well as a hundred other Surpens from death when the bridge they were on began to collapse,” Bosternd said. “It was the most amazing rescue anyone has ever seen. The way he wielded his powers… it was truly breathtaking. The event was caught on video, so everyone’s seen it. The Surpen’s have been talking about him ever since. You should see the footage.”

  “Hm,” Rhen said. “I’m glad your family is alive Authe. The Thestrans also have their belts tied too tightly on this subject. They spend hours trying to figure out who the Black Angel is. I guess I’m just sick of hearing about him all the time.”

  “No need to apologize, boss,” Authe said. “When you finally see him in action, you’ll become obsessed with him, just like the rest of us.” Rhen smiled before nodding at Authe’s words.

  They continued to talk for a while. Rhen discovered that his father had set his sights on the Planet of Milow. The generals were expecting a declaration of war soon. “It rains a lot on Milow,” Ngi said. “We might find this to be our most difficult battle yet.”

  “We’ll do fine. I’ll meet you there with Legion 437,” Rhen told them, to ease their fears, but instead of calming them, it made them more anxious.

  “Meet us?” Nk asked. He sat up straighter in his chair. “What do you mean?”

  “Laugh all you want,” Rhen told them, “but I’m going back to Thestran to finish that schooling.” The generals didn’t look happy with his announcement. Rhen rose and took his glass to the sink. He returned to the table to stand behind Bosternd. Placing his hands on Bosternd’s shoulders, Rhen looked around at the generals. “I know, that while I’m gone, you’ll offer the King every loyalty you would offer me.” Everyone agreed. “Good,” Rhen said. “I would hate to return to Surpen to find Andres unhappy with his soldiers.” Again, the generals assured Rhen that the King could count on them.

  Rhen smiled and moved about the room, slapping each man on their arm or back to say good bye before leaving with Reed and Charlie.

  As the three of them walked up towards the Surpen castle, Reed and Charlie saw seven large, reptilian-like animals flying in towards a paddock in the distance.

  “Are those dragons?” Charlie asked, his mouth dropping open in awe.

  “No. They’re Surpen Beasts of War. At this distance, they do look a little like dragons, I guess.”

  “I was going to say,” Charlie exclaimed. “At the University, you study dragons in your fourth year. Every year the University hopes to capture at least one of the rare beasts for us to examine, but they haven’t caught a dragon in ten years. If you had tame dragons working for you on Surpen, that would be… amazing!”

  “Dragons are rare?” Rhen asked. “I thought they lived everywhere. When I was a child, I used to see so many of them, I had to yell at them to leave me alone.”

  Reed laughed. “Rhen, when you were little, you had imaginary dragons. You used to talk to them all the time. Once you even brought a dragon to dinner, but you told us he was invisible, so we couldn’t see him.”

  “But,” Rhen said, in a faraway voice. “I don’t remember them being imaginary.”

  “Rhen,” Reed said. “In the bunker, your eyes turned completely black, why…”

  “What are you talking about?” Rhen asked. He had given it some thought and had decided to deny it had ever happened.

  “Really,” Charlie said. “That white part in your eyes disappeared, when that general spoke about Ceceta’s family.” Charlie threw up his hand to point at Rhen’s face and accidentally poked him in the left eye.

  “Ow,” Rhen said, placing a hand over his eye and rubbing it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’s impossible.” Lowering his hand, he said, “Look at my eyes. They’re perfectly normal.”

  “Well,” Charlie said. “They’re not perfectly normal now. That one is black and red.”

  “Because you poked me,” Rhen said.

  “Was it true what they said?” Reed asked. “About Ceceta’s family? Did they try to rescue Ceceta?”

 
Rhen stared off into the distance at the Surpen Beasts of War. Their long tails swished with pleasure as they headed across the fields towards their stable. He turned, gave Reed a nod and started to walk towards the castle.

  “Did Mom and Dad know about their attempt? Did they really refuse to come to their aid?” Reed asked, praying Rhen wouldn’t nod his head again.

  “They didn’t like the fact that I got married at 8,” Rhen said. He turned around to face them. “They said I was causing a scandal. Although they didn’t stop my wedding, they ignored it, hoping it would go away. They turned their backs on Ceceta and snubbed her family.”

  “Why did Ceceta’s family try to ‘rescue’ her?” Reed asked.

  Charlie, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, began to hum a tune.

  Rhen struck him across the face. “Don’t sing,” he admonished. “It’s against the law.” Charlie’s eyebrows shot up, but before he could comment, Rhen inhaled at the sight of the three men, who were walking towards them. The soldier in front, with the scar on his face, was the same man, who had read Rhen’s punishment at the University. “Aul,” Rhen said. “Charlie, it’s one of the generals I warned you about. Mark me.”

  Aul was marching straight for them. The smile on his lips pulled the scar on his cheek tight, making a gruesome white line. Charlie froze at the sight.

  “For God’s sake Charlie, help me out,” Rhen pleaded.

  Aul stopped a few feet away from Rhen. His smile widened so much it made him look almost comical. “Well, well, well,” he said. “And what rank are you now, boy?” He leered at Rhen as the men with him snickered. Aul leaned forward towards Rhen, making Rhen lean back, away from him.

  Suddenly, Reed stepped forward. He pushed Aul, knocking him aside. Grabbing Rhen’s head, Reed pulled him forward and kissed him. As soon as their lips connected, Reed felt a surge of adrenaline course through his body. He felt invincible. It was an incredible feeling and he couldn’t figure out why he was experiencing it. Releasing Rhen, he stepped back to find his brother staring at him with astonishment. A thin smile crept across Rhen’s lips, and it looked as if he were about to laugh. Reed nodded to his little brother then turned to face Aul.

  Aul was livid. “How dare you. I was here first,” he barked, reaching down to draw his sword.

  Still feeling the adrenaline rush from kissing Rhen, Reed struck Aul in the face, dropping him to the ground. Reaching behind him, Reed took Rhen’s arm and jerked his brother forward, towards the castle. Charlie stumbled along behind them, barely keeping up.

  They marched through the gate in the castle’s perimeter wall and into the castle. As soon as they were alone in the darkened corridor, Rhen and Reed started to laugh, wiping at their mouths with their hands. “That wasn’t quite what I had meant,” Rhen told Reed, “but it worked. Thanks. I owe you one.” He turned on Charlie. “And you,” he said, pointing at Charlie. “After everything I’ve done for you at school, all those times when I saved you, the fact that you can’t help me out the one time when I need it, that’s just plain wrong. Don’t come knocking on my door at school for the rest of this semester.”

  Charlie shrugged looking sheepish. “Sorry. Aul was just so intimidating looking.”

  The smile faded from Rhen’s face. “Yes, intimidating is the right word,” he said before turning to walk off down the hallway.

  Reed and Charlie followed Rhen through Surpen’s castle until they arrived at the main portal. “Thestran Royal Castle,” Rhen said, watching the portal come to life. He motioned for Reed and Charlie to go through first then paused, when he saw his mother running towards him. Orpel flung herself into his arms and hugged him. “It’s okay Mom. I’ll see you soon,” Rhen said. Bending over, he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

  “I’ll miss you,” she called out, after his departing figure.

  As Rhen stepped out of the portal onto Thestran, he turned and the world started to spin, an enormous amount of pain searing through the back of his skull. Reaching backwards, he clutched the portal with one hand and stumbled, his other hand rubbing at the back of his head.

  “Are you okay?” Reed asked, from somewhere to his left. “Your face is white. Is your head bothering you?”

  “Yeah, it’s nothing… just a headache,” Rhen said quietly, his eyes squeezed shut from the pain. “I’m still recovering from earlier. It’ll go away soon.” After a moment, he released the portal and stepped forward towards the Thestran Council Chamber door. “So,” he asked, straightening up and dropping his hand to his side. “Was that fun?” Reed and Charlie had lost their Surpen disguises the minute they had walked through the portal.

  “Totally. You have so much power,” Charlie told him. “I wish Mom had left me on Surpen instead of you.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  They walked out of the Thestran Council Chamber into the Grand Hallway to find the rest of the Royal Family and the Elfin Royals waiting for them. Everyone cheered when they saw them. “You made it,” Kate said, her hands raised in the air for emphasis. “We weren’t sure the King would let you go.”

  “He almost didn’t,” Charlie said. “But then Rhen pulled some awesome moves on him. Rhen promised the King he would always be Surpen and never betray him. Then he told Surpen’s generals that they had to obey his father. It was amazing. The power he has, it’s so… alive. I love it. Mom, why didn’t you take me to Surpen?”

  Reed glared at Charlie. Hadn’t Charlie heard anything the Surpen Generals had been saying? He was about to make a comment, when he noticed Rhen close his eyes and rub at the back of his head again. Maybe now wasn’t the best time.

  The Thestran Royal Family talked about what it was like to be Surpen soldiers while they walked up the stairs into their personal quarters. “You’ve been through a lot,” Kate mentioned, turning to Rhen. “Do you want to stay here for a couple of days before going back to school? I can contact the Headmaster requesting a vacation for you.”

  Rhen was rubbing the back of his head with vigor. Distracted, he told her, “No, we’ll go back today.” Ceceta’s arm was around his waist. She watched him with concern.

  “Is it back?” she asked quietly. Rhen nodded.

  “Is what back?” Rachel inquired.

  “Oh, uh, nothing,” Ceceta lied.

  “No, tell me,” Rachel said. “I’m a doctor. I can see something is bothering him. I remember Rhen rubbing the back of his head after we returned from Ustar. What’s going on?”

  “He was having headaches and now there’s a bump on the back of his head,” Ceceta told her. “It shows up when we’re on Thestran and goes away when we leave.”

  “Ceceta,” Rhen grumbled.

  “Well, if she’s a doctor, she may be able to help,” Ceceta told him in Surpen. Rhen frowned in response.

  “You never had it before you came to Thestran?” Rachel asked.

  “No,” Rhen said.

  “And it went away when we were back on Surpen,” Ceceta told her.

  Rachel took Rhen’s arm. “Come, I want to have a look at it.”

  Kate noticed Rachel holding onto Rhen’s arm. She immediately reached out for his other arm. For the first time, Rhen didn’t jerk free from her grasp, but he also didn’t walk with them. Instead, Rhen stopped and refused to move. “It’s okay,” he told them. “I’m fine.” From the look on his face, though, they could tell he wasn’t ‘fine’.

  “A quick peek. What harm could it do?” Lilly said, from the side of the stairwell.

  “Honey, I insist,” Ceceta told him in Surpen. “I want Rachel to see your bump. Maybe she’ll know what’s causing it.” She pushed on Rhen’s back, and with reluctance, he walked with them into Kate’s sitting room.

  Rachel and Kate pulled Rhen over to one of the couches in front of the fireplace. With Ceceta’s help, they pushed him down onto the couch. Rhen frowned as he sat down. Moving around to the back of the couch, Rachel said, “Lean your torso backwards, but bend your head forward.” Rhen did
n’t move. “Lean your body back and your head forward,” she told him again.

  “No,” he said, placing his hands on the couch cushions to rise. “I don’t think so.”

  Unexpectedly, Ceceta jumped over the couch and landed on Rhen’s lap. In Surpen she whispered, “You want this tonight? You do as Rachel asks.”

  Rhen grinned, then settled back into the couch, leaning his head forward. Rachel reached out to rub at the back of his head. “You definitely have something here. I think we should have Kate phase into your body to look.”

  “No,” Rhen said. Again, he started to rise to his feet.

  “Remember what I just told you,” Ceceta hummed in Surpen.

  Sighing, Rhen sat back down on the couch and waited. Ceceta nodded to Kate, telling her to proceed. As Kate put her hands on either side of Rhen’s head, he told her, “Just don’t touch the bloodworms. They bite when they see you, and the damage they do to you in your phased state is real. Their wounds are difficult for a healer to heal.”

  Kate jerked her hands away from Rhen’s head.

  “What?” Rachel asked.

  “I’ll show you,” Lilly told them. She closed her eyes and felt the coolness of her powers as she transmitted her memory of Ceceta’s explanation about the bloodworms to them. When she was finished, she shook from the cold.

  “Wow,” Charlie exclaimed.

  “I’ll be careful,” Kate assured Rhen. She put her hands on his head and closed her eyes. Her cold powers engulfed her body while she pictured herself phasing into Rhen’s head. When her body was ready, she lowered herself down, pushing her face into Rhen’s head and disappearing within him. She was gone only a second before she pulled herself out of him and vomited to her left onto Reed’s foot.

  “Nice, Mom,” Reed said. He walked towards the bathroom to clean off his shoe.

  “Sorry,” Kate said. She wiped at her mouth with her hand. “I didn’t realize how disgusting the adult bloodworms were going to be. I’m sorry Rhen and Ceceta. I don’t mean to insult you.”