RHEN

by Charity Kelly

  Ceceta laughed a hollow laugh. “No insults taken. We know all about those nasty, little bloodworms.”

  “Right,” Kate said. She shook herself, to calm down. “Let’s try that again.” Kate held onto Rhen’s head and repeated her actions to enter his body. About two minutes later, she pulled herself out of his head. She stepped back from him with a look of horror on her face before turning towards the back wall. Walking away from everyone, Kate put her hands up to her cheeks.

  “Is everything okay?” James asked.

  Instead of responding, Kate gave herself a rough shake and turned around. She marched over to the couch and sat down next to Rhen. Reaching out, she patted him on his thigh making him flinch. “So,” Kate said. “You don’t know why your head hurts?”

  “No, why?”

  “You’re sure, you don’t know what’s going on inside your head?”

  “Do I get a prize if I guess?”

  “You have a Zorthan robot in your skull,” Kate told Rhen. Rhen laughed at her with disbelief and started to rise, but Kate reached out to stop him. “I’m not joking,” she insisted.

  Rhen sighed and sat back down on the couch. In a tired, condescending tone of voice, he asked, “Wouldn’t I know, if there was a robot in my brain?”

  Kate paused. “That depends. Do you have any idea, when the robot was placed in your skull?”

  Rhen and Ceceta’s faces paled. It was obvious they both had some idea of when it might have happened. “What kind of robot is it?” Rhen asked.

  “It’s a Zorthan Mind Controlling Robot. Have you heard about them?” Kate inquired while the rest of her family gasped.

  Unlike the Thestrans, Rhen had never heard about the Zorthan’s mind controlling robot.

  James informed him that they had caught the Zorthans making this rather heinous device in the twelfth solar system about ten years ago. “The robot is placed into the base of your skull,” James explained. “It’s not very large, and it doesn’t seem to bother its host. After a few years, it synchs to the host’s body and the Zorthans can use it to control you.”

  “When it’s being used, the host acts like a zombie,” Rachel said. “The host will only eat, sleep or go to the bathroom when given permission.”

  “I thought we had abolished those devices along with all of the information on how to create them,” the Wood Elf King said. He gave Rhen a nervous glance, as if the Surpen Prince would attack him at any moment.

  “We did,” Kate told him. “This one must have been placed into Rhen’s mind before we had a chance to destroy it.”

  “Nice,” Charlie said with a laugh. “You have an out-of-date robot running your brain little brother.” He laughed again and lifted his hand towards Rhen, pretending to hold a remote-control device. “Beep, beat up William, beep,” he ordered Rhen in a mechanical voice.

  “No, Charlie,” Kate told him. “The robot hasn’t been initiated yet. It’s synched with Rhen, but it’s not operational, although it appears to be shifting into place.”

  “Well, let’s get it out,” Rhen said, phasing his hands into his skull.

  The Thestrans stared at him in shock. Rhen could phase? They had thought that Kate was the only person in the Universe who could phase, but Rhen was doing it right in front of them. He had healing powers and phasing powers.

  Rhen closed his eyes and moved his fingertips around the metal device in the back of his head. His face contorted with pain, when his fingers became solid while he pulled the robot towards the back of his skull. He gasped in agony and Ceceta yelled, “Help him.”

  James and Charlie grabbed Rhen’s forearms and pulled. There was a horrible, bone-cracking sound as a part of Rhen’s skull split open, and a loud, metallic hiss when a small black stick-figured robot that was shaped like a dog popped out of Rhen’s head. The robot’s joints hissed as they were exposed to the air.

  James and Charlie threw the robot across the room. It banged into the stone fireplace before falling to the floor with a loud clank. During the commotion, the couch that Rhen had been sitting on, tipped over backwards, and Rhen tumbled off it onto the floor, holding together the back of his head while his body worked to heal itself.

  “Themrock! That thing is hideous,” James exclaimed. He stared with horror at the robot lying on the fireplace stones. “By the Genister Gods. It’s moving.”

  “Oh, no,” Kate said. She watched the robot rise onto four legs. A red beam projected from its head area as it scanned the room. “Quick, we must keep it away from Rhen. It’s synched to him, so it’ll be able to find him.” Everyone in the room grabbed something with which to fight the robot.

  Haltingly, the robot made its way across the floor towards the over-turned couch and Rhen’s prone body.

  Sage smashed a lamp down on top of it while James slashed at it with an ancient sword. Their efforts did nothing to stop it.

  The Wood Elf and Air Elf Kings jerked Rhen to his feet and pulled him towards the exit.

  “It’s bloody evil,” Lilly shrieked, when the robot jumped over the couch in pursuit of Rhen. She grabbed a vase of flowers and threw it at the robot, hoping the water would short circuit it or the weight of the vase would crush it, but nothing deterred the robot.

  William and Rachel reached down to grab hold of it. The robot slashed out at their hands with its back legs, making Rachel cry out in pain and let go. William continued to hold on, but the blood from his hands made it difficult for him to get a good grip. The robot jerked to the right and William felt it slip free from his fingers.

  The Elfin Kings moved Rhen towards a different exit to outmaneuver the robot. As they passed by the bathroom, Reed stepped out carrying his wet shoes. He stared at everyone with surprise, until he noticed the small robot walking towards him. “Stop it!” Lilly screeched. Reed jumped on top of the robot, covering it with his body. The robot cut him deeply in his chest. Despite the pain, he held on. Sage pulled a copy of a Genister whip off the wall and wrapped it around the robot’s legs. As soon as her whip was secure, Reed released the robot. Rachel rushed over to heal Reed’s wounds with her powers as Sage pulled back on the whip, the robot thrashing about on the opposite end.

  A moment later, Sage cried out when the robot sliced through her whip with its laser.

  Free again, the robot turned and continued towards Rhen. As it passed the fireplace, Kate slammed it with a blast of her powers. The explosion caused it to tumble back against the hearth, but it recovered and charged past her straight for Rhen. “No!” Kate shouted, when the robot leapt into the air straight for Rhen’s bent head.

  At the sound of Kate’s scream, Rhen looked up. He saw the robot flying at him and blinked. The robot stopped short, suspended in mid-air, inches from his face, before falling to the ground in a thousand tiny, hissing pieces. Rhen grunted and shook himself free from the Elfin Kings to walk towards the bathroom. His head had already healed, but there was blood all over his face and hair. He flung the door to the bathroom open and turned on the sink, filling it with water. Covering his mouth and nose with a towel, Rhen dunked his head under the water, rubbing at his hair to get the blood off. When he was done, he walked out of the bathroom.

  The room was silent. No one had moved. Rhen could see confusion, fear and concern on their faces. As soon as he tossed the towel he was holding back into the bathroom, they all started talking at once: “What was that doing in your head?” “How come you never felt?” “How did you stop it without moving a muscle?” “Who put that in your head?”

  “Punishment Island?” Ceceta asked quietly. She stepped up beside him and took his hand. Rhen nodded.

  “What’s Punishment Island?” James asked.

  Reed and Charlie glanced at each other. This was the second time today they had heard about Punishment Island.

  Ceceta squeezed Rhen’s hand. She wasn’t going to answer. If Rhen wanted the Thestran King to know about Punishment Island, he would tell him.

  After a long pause, during which Rhen debated
what to say, he lifted his chin up and said, “It’s nothing.” Throwing his arm around Ceceta, he pulled her towards the door, calling out over his shoulder, “Thanks for your help. I didn’t know that thing was in my head.”

  Kate was going to follow him, but James waved her off. There was no point to it. Rhen wasn’t in the mood to talk.

  “Was the robot controlling him?” Reed asked the room, in the silence that lingered after Rhen’s departure. He plopped down into the chair beside him and watched the others take seats.

  “No. It was rotating around in his skull,” Kate said. “Positioning itself to take over. That was the pain he was feeling and the bump on the back of his head.”

  “So, whoever put that into him, was getting ready to take control of him,” James said. “It had to have been Andres. Clearly, he’s having trouble controlling Rhen. We got that thing out of Rhen just in time.”

  “Yeah,” Lilly agreed. “Andres was probably intending to use the robot as his insurance policy to keep Rhen in check, after he becomes the Surpen God of War on his 18th birthday.”

  “What?” James asked.

  “Why do you think Rhen will become the God of War on his 18th birthday?” Reed asked.

  “Seriously?” Lilly asked. “Don’t any of you pay attention? Eighteen is the age a Surpen boy becomes a man. It’s obvious that Andres believes Rhen will turn into a God of War when he turns 18.” She paused and glanced over at her mother. “When is his birthday?”

  Kate flushed. “Um, it’s in five months.”

  “I think,” James said, rolling his royal ring around on his finger. “If Andres went so far as to put an experimental robot into Rhen’s brain, then he may have taken other measures to control out brother, in case the robot failed. We need to find out what else he might have done to Rhen and stop it.”

  “Punishment Island,” Reed said. “Whatever was done to Rhen must have taken place on Punishment Island. We need to find out what happened there.”

  “How?” William asked.

  “Ceceta is the key,” James said. “Lilly, Sage and Rachel-go to the University. Work on Ceceta. Get her to tell us about this place. Also, try to make more of an effort at convincing Rhen that he’s a Thestran. The rest of us will stop by daily to further our goal of making him accept his Thestran heritage.”

  “That might be harder than you think,” Reed said.

  “Why?” James asked.

  Reed turned to stare at his parents. “Because he isn’t Thestran, he’s Surpen.”

  “Why would you say that?” Henry asked his son.

  “Because you made him so,” Reed growled at his father. Henry opened his mouth to protest but Reed raised his hand to silence him. “While Charlie and I were on Surpen, we learned something about Rhen and Ceceta’s past, something that you ‘forgot’ to tell us about. Would you care to enlighten the rest of your family about Rhen’s childhood?”

  “We did at Sage’s wedding,” Kate said.

  “No,” Reed said. “You told us a partial truth at Sage’s wedding.”

  Henry and Kate glanced at each other. “Mom, Dad,” James said. “What’s going on? If you have information on Rhen, you need to share it.”

  “They don’t have any information on Rhen,” Reed said. “Because they didn’t see him or talk to him for the entire time he was on Surpen. The first time they saw Rhen again, after abandoning him at the age of eight, was three weeks before Sage’s wedding.”

  “No, Reed,” Lilly corrected him. “They visited Rhen twice a year, every year, the week after Themrock Day and a month after the Summer Giy Flower Festival.”

  “No, they didn’t. They were lying to us.”

  “They totally visited Rhen,” Sage said. “It was their routine.”

  “That’s what they told us,” Reed said. “Not what they did.”

  “Mom, Dad?” James asked.

  Henry took a deep breath and then blew it out. His silence confirmed Reed’s words. “Oh, Themrock,” the Wood Elf King sighed, turning away from the Thestran Royals.

  “Zorthan wart,” James swore. His family glanced at him in surprise. James never swore in Convention terms.

  “Mom,” Lilly said. “How could you do that?”

  “We tried to see him,” Kate said.

  “And Ceceta?” Reed asked. “Did you try to see her too?” Henry shook his head. “Why not?”

  “Well, she had her own family…” Kate said.

  “That you knew went on a rescue mission to save her from Punishment Island,” Charlie said, sounding sober. “You did nothing to help them, and they were slaughtered.” He stood up abruptly from his chair, and with uncharacteristic grace, strode out of the room.

  “She wasn’t elfin,” Kate said in her defense. “Everyone knows how the elves feel about marrying out of their race. It’s against their rules. If Ceceta’s family wanted her to return to Neptian, it was for the best for Rhen.”

  “You can’t blame your blatant neglect of your son and his wife on us,” the Fire Elf King said. “He was a Thestran Prince. We would’ve accepted his decision without question.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have,” Kate snapped.

  “Let’s not fight,” Reed told them. “We need to stop Universal warfare. Whatever mistakes were made in the past must be forgotten. Rhen hasn’t had contact with us in years, but he’s here now, so let’s get to work to remedy the situation. Fighting amongst ourselves will be our downfall.”

  “Agreed,” James said with fatigue, rubbing his aching eyes. He would talk to his parents later about their abominable behavior towards his brother. “Get some rest,” he told the group. “We have a lot of ‘catching up’ to do with Prince Rhen, starting tomorrow.” Glancing over at the Elfin Royals, he said, “We’ll need your help now, more than ever.” The Royals bowed their heads in agreement and left.

  Back at the University, Ceceta sat down next to Rhen on their bed. “You couldn’t feel it in your head?”

  “No. After I received my powers, I felt something in my head, but I thought it was Layla. I had no idea they put a robot in my skull.”

  “Do you think Andres ordered it to be placed in your brain?”

  “No,” Rhen told her. “He wouldn’t have done that. I doubt if he even knew it was there. In all probability, Loreth did it without Dad knowing.”

  “Love… Andres had to know,” Ceceta pushed.

  “Ceceta,” Rhen said. “Dad loves me. He never would’ve done something like that. He’s always been there for me, supporting me, helping me, encouraging me. Loreth has strained our relationship, but he hasn’t destroyed it. There’s no way that Dad knew.”

  Ceceta was positive that Andres and Loreth had cooked up this entire scheme, but she didn’t want to fight with Rhen. “It took you a while to heal, after you pulled it out,” she said, changing the subject.

  “Yeah,” Rhen said, lying down on the bed. “My healing powers were still recovering from earlier. He rolled over onto his side and pulled Ceceta in towards him. “Didn’t you promise me something for letting Kate look inside my head?” Rhen smiled as Ceceta reached out for his tunic.

  Chapter 21

  Elfin University – Student Dining Hall

  The Thestran Royal Family found Rhen and Ceceta chatting with their friends at breakfast the next morning. They had already finished eating and were waiting for class to begin. “Mind if we barge in?” Rachel asked. She sat down next to Erfce with her tray of food. “I feel like I’m a student again,” she said, opening a carton of milk.

  Erfce blushed as he watched her arrange her meal. He’d had a crush on Princess Rachel since he was 9. Latsoh kicked him under the table, making him jump. Erfce’s heart soared, when he saw what appeared to be jealousy on his future wife’s face. “You’re drooling,” Latsoh mouthed. Trying not to smile, Erfce dropped his eyes to his plate. He counted the months that were left before his and Latsoh’s engagement. He couldn’t wait for his life to catch up to his visions.

  It wasn’
t long before the Thestran Royal Family found itself surrounded by adoring students. Rhen inched away from William, to give his fans more access. After yesterday’s chaos, he didn’t feel like dealing with the Thestran Royals. He knew they were there to pester him with questions.

  Gulping down the last bit of blood in his glass to make a speedy get away, Rhen paused, when Tgfhi slapped a rectangular present, wrapped in red paper, down on the table in front of him. Placing his glass back on the table, Rhen glanced up. “What’s this?” he asked. Surpens only gave gifts for marriages and births.

  “I’m not telling, open it.”

  Rhen grinned and reached out for the present. He slid his finger under the tape, opening it. Inside, he found a pair of black, canvas, running boots. “Oh,” Rhen exhaled, holding them up in the air. He had admired an identical pair of green running boots that Tgfhi had worn once before. “You remembered.”

  “And, I thought you could use them,” Tgfhi said.

  Rhen turned around on the bench and kicked off his military boots. With care, he put on his new shoes.

  “I hope they fit. Ceceta told me your size, but you never know,” Tgfhi told him.

  “They’re soft inside,” Rhen said.

  “Like, duh,” Latsoh said. “Everything’s softer than military boots.”

  Rhen gave her a look before standing up. He walked around in a circle, keeping his eyes on his feet. “I didn’t realize how bouncy running boots would be,” he said, sounding surprised.

  “They’re trainers,” Tgfhi told him with a groan. “Why do you keep calling them running boots?”

  Rhen bent over to rub his hand against the rubber sole of one of his shoes. “Because that’s what they are. Boots to run in.” Tgfhi tossed a piece of his toast at Rhen. It bounced off Rhen’s shoulder onto Erfce’s plate.

  “Why’d you give him trainers?” Crystam asked.

  With a twinkle in his eye, Tgfhi said, “So, the next time his Dad shows up, he can run the hell away!” Everyone at the table laughed, including Rhen.