RHEN

by Charity Kelly

  James had now fallen to his knees and was rubbing himself against her left leg. Chara felt he needed to know about the Zorthans and Vivists, so she waved her powers away from his body. When James’ eyes came back into focus, and he glanced over towards his wife looking guilty, Queen Chara knew she could speak to him. “James,” she said, waiting for him to finish getting control of himself.

  After a moment, James nodded, but he kept his eyes trained on his wife. He knew that if he looked at Chara again, he would turn back into a sex-starved idiot.

  “Look over at the third-floor windows on the right side of the building. Do you see a number of Zorthans watching Rhen?” Chara asked.

  James’s head jerked around as he scanned the building. Chara was right. On the third floor, he could see several Zorthans, wearing military gear, hanging out of the windows. Some of them seemed to be dancing, and as he squinted his eyes, he saw they were also singing along to Rhen’s music.

  “Themrock’s Balls,” James exclaimed with anger. The people near him glanced over at him. James pointed up towards the Zorthans. “Look. Zorthans, dancing and singing to Rhen’s music, as if they’d been invited.”

  “And a Vivist,” Queen Chara said.

  Everyone gasped. They searched the University’s windows for the Vivist. “Not a Vivist,” William told them, walking up behind them. “I counted at least six of them, when I came out of the portal.” William was careful to keep his eyes averted from Chara. He had noticed the horde of people lying at her feet and he had no intention of becoming one of her victims.

  “They can’t stay,” James said. “We are not entertaining Vivists and Zorthans.”

  “You’re not,” the Fire Elf Prince, Aaron, said, struggling to pull his parents away from Queen Chara’s long skirt. He stepped on Mr. DiGrego by accident as he worked to haul his father away from Chara, adding, “Rhen is. He’s like a God of music.” With effort, Aaron removed his father’s hands from Chara’s skirt and dragged him towards the Teachers’ Residence Hall, dumping him onto the ground by the stairs before returning to get his mother.

  James watched the Zorthans as they laughed and sang to Rhen’s music. “No,” he said, shaking his head and turning to go. “I can’t allow this.”

  Kate stopped him, putting her hand on his sleeve. “Ceceta told us that Rhen is the ‘King of Music’,” Kate reminded him. “Let them watch, let them adore him and let them realize that he’s one of us. It will help us in the long run.”

  “But he doesn’t consider himself to be one of us and they know that,” James said.

  “I know, but watch him with his friends. Rhen’s one of us, whether he wants to admit it or not,” the Water Elf Queen said. She pulled on her husband to try to remove him from Chara.

  James struggled to keep himself from having the intruders arrested. He hated the Vivists and Zorthans with a passion. They, along with the Rasacks, were a plague on the Universe. He realized Kate’s advice was wise and slowly calmed himself down. Motioning for several of his soldiers to approach, James told them, “Surround the rooms where the Vivists and Zorthans are located. They’re not allowed to wander the University’s grounds.” After his soldiers had left, James marched over to his wife to apologize for falling under Chara’s spell.

  Several hours later, Rhen was starting to tire. During his last two songs, he sat on a chair and slid himself back and forth across the stage, which drove the teenage girls, who were watching him, crazy. Every time Rhen would near the edge of the stage, they would reach out to try to touch him, but he would slide away from their grasp.

  Rhen paused after his last song and fell silent. Then, unexpectedly, he leaned back in his chair and started to sing an old Surpen war song. Rhen’s performance, up until this point, had been spectacular, but now his audience was starting to fidget. It seemed as if Rhen had lost track of what he was doing. When the final chords of the war song began to repeat themselves for the fourth time, some of the students giggled uncomfortably.

  Suddenly, everyone felt a cold, swirling, dizziness in their minds. When it cleared, they were left with an image of the back of a Surpen Beast of War in their heads. They realized they were looking at the beast through Rhen’s eyes as he was riding it high into the sky. Someone was transmitting Rhen’s memory. Whatever Rhen had been thinking about, when the Surpen song was repeating itself, was now in their minds.

  The audience watched as Rhen looked up into two suns. The light blinded him for a moment. He turned his head to the right, to clear his eyes, and stared down at a battle scene that was playing out below him. With a tired sigh, Rhen clicked to his Surpen beast. The animal turned and dove towards the ground at a sickening speed. Rhen’s eyes scanned the battlefield, assessing his army’s strengths and weaknesses and taking in his enemy’s battle plan. The Surpen Beast of War that he was riding, tilted its wings and skimmed over the battlefield with grace. Rhen’s arms were resting at his sides. His swords were in his hands. He knew where he needed to strike, and he was waiting for his beast to get closer.

  When they arrived above the weak spot in his ranks, Rhen flung himself sideways over his beast, clutching his saddle with his thighs as he dangled almost below his beast’s stomach. With vigor, he lashed out with his swords, slashing and stabbing at his enemy, butchering and decapitating countless numbers of soldiers as he flew over them. Rhen’s men cheered. He barked out orders to them in Surpen while his beast spun in a circle above their heads, flipping Rhen back up into the saddle. They had reached the end of the weak spot and needed to turn around to have another go. Rhen clicked to his beast. The animal flipped about, its wings beating against its own draft. When they drew closer to the weak spot, Rhen flung himself over the side of his beast again, so he was almost upside down as he slashed out at the enemy soldiers.

  By now, the opposing forces realized they were unable to defend themselves from Rhen’s attack, so they fell back to regroup. As Rhen pulled himself up into his saddle, he glanced towards his right to determine his enemy’s next move and his eye caught sight of a woman and child being chased by a group of men. Rhen couldn’t figure out where they had come from, perhaps the farm house to the left of the battlefield? If they were the farmer’s family, why hadn’t they left earlier, before the war had begun? Rhen kicked his war beast and barked to it with urgency. The beast shot forward as Rhen leaned down over its shoulder, urging the animal to fly faster.

  Deep over enemy territory, the soldiers below Rhen fired at him with their blasters. Rhen swung around his beast in circles, using his swords to deflect the blasts. As he neared the woman and child, he sheathed one of his swords, leaned over in his saddle and scooped them up into his right arm. Making a clicking sound, he told his beast to climb straight into the sky. A blast from one of his enemy’s weapons caught Rhen on his side. Rhen grunted in pain and looked down at the hole that had been blown through his abdomen.

  At that moment, the woman and child struggled against Rhen. He lost his grip on them and they started to fall. Rhen swung himself down, underneath his beast, catching them, and tossing them back up on top of his beast. He let go of his saddle and made a loud cluck sound. Rhen’s Surpen Beast of War swung its tail forward, hitting him and sending him sailing through the air towards Surpen’s side of the battlefield. Rhen landed on the ground near his tent, rolling several times, until his momentum slowed. With a shake of his head, Rhen stood up. He searched the sky for his beast. The animal was headed straight for him. Rhen smiled and looked back down at his side to check his wound. Although his clothes were a tattered mess, his body was fine. He had healed.

  Rhen’s beast landed in a run, coming up alongside him. Rhen helped the woman and her child down from his saddle. Turning towards his tent, Rhen was about to tell them to wait for him, and he would release them after the battle, but a sword lashed out from Rhen’s left, striking the woman and child and killing them both. As Rhen watched them fall to the ground at his feet, fury filled his young body. He pulled out his own swords to
kill the person responsible for their deaths, only to find his father glaring at him.

  “We’re at war,” Andres bellowed. “What do you think you’re doing saving slaves? Get back to business.” His father growled and raised his sword as if he were going to hit Rhen.

  Rhen ignored Andres. He looked down at the woman and child lying on the ground at his feet. The people watching Rhen’s memory could sense something strong building within him, but they never knew what it was, because at that moment, everyone at the school felt a blow to their face. Snapping out of the memory, they looked up towards the stage to find Rhen standing over Erfce. Erfce’s nose was bleeding and he had fallen to the floor. He stared up at Rhen in shock.

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how that happened,” Erfce said, his hand cupped his nose as he shivered from his powers. “You’ve never opened up your mind to me before. It was so unexpected. Your mind has always been silent and then, suddenly, there was this overwhelming image flowing out of you.” Erfce lifted both of his hands towards Rhen. “Please forgive me. I didn’t know how to block it. I haven’t learned how to block such powerful images.”

  Rhen raised his hand as if to strike Erfce again, but before he could, twenty Surpen soldiers marched onto the stage. They had been sent by Andres to bring Rhen home for his punishment for playing music.

  Angry at Erfce’s betrayal, Rhen threw the microphone down onto the ground beside his friend. He released the instruments that were floating in the air, causing them to crash onto the stage. Snarling several Surpen curses at Erfce, Rhen turned and walked off the stage into the University building, surrounded by the Surpen soldiers.

  The crowd was silent as they digested the images Erfce had sent to them. Picking up Rhen’s discarded clothing, Ceceta and her friends made their way up to her apartment to escape. Lilly, Sage, Reed and Charlie joined them. As Lilly healed Erfce’s broken nose, he apologized again. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. The images were just too strong for me. I couldn’t stop them.” Lilly patted Erfce on the shoulder. She understood. He didn’t need to explain it to her.

  When it was time for dinner, they left Ceceta’s apartment for the student dining hall, pushing their way through the remaining crowds of people. The entire Wood Elf Army was present now, organizing people into groups and ushering them to both the school’s portal and the portal in the Wood Elf Castle.

  As Ceceta and the others arrived in the dining hall, they heard Rhen’s music playing in the back of the room. One of the students had recorded Rhen’s performance and was playing it for the student body, taking orders for copies. His table was surrounded by students and teachers.

  “Unbelievable,” Tgfhi said. He sat down next to Ceceta, who was eating her meal. A gust of air blew past them. Tgfhi turned around to find a Surpen soldier in full military gear standing behind him. “Uh, Ceceta?”

  Ceceta swallowed the food in her mouth and shifted in her seat. As soon as she saw the Surpen soldier, she paled and dropped to the floor in a bow. The soldier tossed the scroll he had been holding, down onto the floor in front of her. Ceceta whipped her hands out, grabbed it and pulled it in towards her body. While she was reading the scroll, she realized the student dining hall had become quiet. The students and teachers had noticed the Surpen soldier’s presence, and they were approaching him, hoping to learn if Rhen would soon be arriving.

  “Where did you come from?” Charlie asked the soldier. The man stared at Charlie with a blank expression before turning back to Ceceta, who was pulling a pen and paper out of her bag on the floor.

  “Ceceta, how did he get here?” Sage asked loud enough for her to hear.

  “Rhen sent him,” she whispered from the floor, writing a note to Rhen.

  “What?” Sage asked.

  “Rhen has the power to appear and disappear where ever he wants to. He can do it not only with himself but with others,” Ceceta clarified in a louder voice, hoping the soldier wouldn’t report her to Andres for speaking in public.

  “You mean he doesn’t need a portal?” Sage asked. She’d never heard of someone not needing a portal.

  “No,” Ceceta said. “But you already knew that. He used this power of his on Latsoh, Crystam and me after he made his typhoon. Remember? He brought us out onto the lake to stand behind him.” Sage frowned. They had been so taken with Rhen’s powers over water that none of them had considered how he had moved Ceceta and her friends. “The number of times I would be walking down a corridor or reading in my bedroom and then poof,” Ceceta said. “I’m standing next to him on a hill or sitting in front of him on his war beast or lying down…” she paused and blushed, giving the table a furtive glance before turning back to the scroll in her hands. No one needed to hear her finish that thought. From the look on Crystam’s face, she could see they already knew where she had been going.

  “So, if he doesn’t need a portal, why does he use it?” Charlie asked.

  “You heard the King the other day, he’s forbidden from using his powers. BUT,” she said, “he can use them if we are at war. Which means,” she held up Rhen’s letter, “we will soon be at war. Surpen is close to declaring war on the Planet of Milow. Rhen won’t be returning until the war is over.” She could smell Loreth’s influence on this one and it made her nervous. Why would Loreth declare war on Milow?

  Reed leaned down to Ceceta and said quietly, “How did Rhen write that?”

  “He didn’t write it,” she said. “It was written by one of his scribes, but it contains his thumbprint to mark its authenticity.” Ceceta gave Rhen’s scroll to Reed, so he could look it over. Turning back to the floor, she pushed the letter she had written towards the feet of the waiting soldier. The man bent down to pick it up, there was a tremor in the air and he disappeared.

  “That’s amazing,” Charlie said. “Poof.” he gestured with his hands, as everyone laughed at him. “Poof, poof.”

  A few minutes later, without any warning, the soldier reappeared beside Ceceta. She dropped down to the ground again as he flung a new scroll onto the floor in front of her. Ceceta snatched it up and read it, before pulling the paper and pen back out of her bag.

  While Ceceta was writing, Lilly reached over and picked up Rhen’s letter. She pulled out an oval, translating sphere and held it over the words. Without permission, she proceeded to read the letter aloud to the others. Ceceta glanced up at her with a frown, but kept her mouth shut as she continued to write her response.

  “…and you should know that I’m not mad at Erfce,” Lilly read to the group around her. “After I got home, I had a few minutes to think about what had happened and I realized he couldn’t have stopped himself. Really, if I were to be mad at anyone, it would have to be me. I should’ve known better than to let my guard down. It was a stupid mistake on my part, one that I will not make again. Thanks for your birthday wishes. I hope to see you soon. Love, Rhen.” Lilly paused at the last part of the letter. “Birthday wishes? I thought his birthday was a month away,” she said, in a hesitant voice.

  “Why would you think that?” Ceceta asked, without looking up.

  Lilly shook her head and glanced over at Reed and Sage. She should’ve known that her mother had lied about the date of Rhen’s birthday. It should’ve occurred to all of them to look it up, instead of relying on Kate’s memory. Her mother had hesitated way too long before giving them his birthday date. Once again, her family had messed up regarding her little brother.

  “When is his 18th birthday Ceceta?” Reed asked, dreading her answer.

  “Tomorrow,” Ceceta said. She folded up her letter and pushed it forward, towards the Surpen soldier’s feet.

  “Tomorrow!” Sage and Reed shouted. They stood up abruptly.

  “Yes,” Ceceta said, turning to look at them with concern. Their reactions were unsettling. She waited until the Surpen soldier had disappeared before standing up herself. “I thought you knew it was tomorrow, because you’ve been hanging out with us more than you usually do. I thought
you were here to protect us.”

  “We are,” Reed told her. “We just didn’t know that it was tomorrow.” He turned towards Lilly and Sage. “Let’s go to the palace to inform the others.” With a nod to Charlie, who was giving them a dumb smile, Reed said, “You stay here and keep Ceceta safe.” He paused to make sure that Charlie had understood him and was coherent before leaving the room with his sisters.

  After they had gone, Charlie turned to Ceceta and grinned, bobbing his head. “Happy Birthday little brother,” he sang out, oblivious to the others’ panic.

  Reed called an emergency meeting in the Thestran Royal Castle. “Rhen’s 18th birthday is tomorrow,” he told his family and the Elfin Royals, when they arrived. “He’s been in communication with Ceceta to tell her that he will not be returning to Thestran, until after Surpen’s war with Milow is over.”

  “Surpen’s at war with Milow?” James asked.

  “Apparently, they will be declaring war any minute now,” Lilly answered for Reed.

  “Let’s go to Surpen, to get him back,” Kate said, running from the room. She stormed into the Thestran Council Chamber and halted before one of the many portals. “Surpen,” she said, but the portal did not respond. “Surpen,” she repeated. Again, nothing happened.

  James put out his hand to stop her. “Surpen,” he said. Nothing happened. It was as if the portal was broken.