The Courier's Quest (The Bolaji Kingdoms Series Book 3)

by T. S. Valmond

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Omi said as he pressed the knife deeper into Rasha's side.

  Rasha let out an uncontrolled wince but kept her hands up.

  "Son, what do you want?" Her father said, raising his own hands and stepping between the young man and his wife.

  "Interesting choice of words, father."

  Rasha watched her father's eyes widen in disbelief then squint to scrutinize Omi.

  "Father?" Rasha asked as she watched her father's face deepen in color.

  "That's right, sister, you and I are blood related."

  "No," Rasha's mother said stepping from behind the king. "It can't be." Her eyes flew to Sochi's. "Is it him?"

  Sochi shook her head. Rasha had difficulty following the conversation. She tried to piece together what Omi had said in the woods with what was happening now and it just didn't make sense.

  "Don't move, Aunt Sochi. I'll strike her down right in front of you all, don't think I won't," Omi said between clenched teeth. His jabs were sharp as he became more agitated. "She's taken everything from me."

  "Who told you?" Rasha's father asked.

  "I discovered the truth a few years ago when I learned I wasn't the legitimate child of my parents. I was raised in Buku and played with the prince, but I never dreamed I was one. Then I learned the truth."

  Rasha's mother shook her head.

  "Sorry to disappoint you, mother, but I'm here to take what belongs to me."

  "You poisoned half the world to get to this throne?" Rasha said angrily. "You'd jeopardize our relations with the beasts and every species off-world to satisfy your revenge?."

  "Not revenge, birthright."

  "You're wrong," the king said.

  "You're sick," Rasha said at the same time.

  "Tell him, tell him the truth," Rasha's mother said, looking from Sochi to the king. "He deserves to know. They both do."

  "If I tell him, then everything will come unraveled. I can't throw away all we've worked for."

  Omi's grip on her faltered for the first time and she stepped to his left, pushing him forward while holding the hand with the knife. He struggled, but she took him down quickly, placing her foot on the back of his neck and stretching his arm back until he dropped the knife. Before he flinched to grab it again, Sochi had her sword out and pointed at his nose.

  "Don't you dare move,” Sochi said, "I'd hate to hurt my only son."

  Rasha lifted her foot off of Omi's back and dropped his arm. She stared at her aunt then back at Omi.

  "Your son?" Rasha asked. She thought she knew everything about her aunt.

  It felt like a betrayal to find out she had a child. Then Rasha's gaze fell on her father. He paced back and forth, he mumbled something to himself before running a hand over his face.

  "Let him up," he said to Sochi. She complied but kept the sword on him.

  Rasha crossed to her left and out of reach, even though his knife remained safe in her hand. Still struggling with her own feelings, she tried to listen as the three adults in the room took a breath. Her mother sat down and fanned herself as if she'd lose consciousness. Her father stopped pacing. He put a hand on Omi's shoulder and one on Sochi's sword, lowering it to the floor.

  "You've been mislead. I'm not your father. You think you've been robbed of the throne, well so do I." The king glanced at his wife before continuing. "We were unable to produce an heir. Left with few options, we did what we had to keep the royal family line intact. My sister's indiscretion gave us an opportunity that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to use."

  Rasha looked at her aunt's face and saw she'd flushed a deeper purple.

  "Xeku?" Rasha asked.

  "No," Sochi shook her head. "There was another, he's long dead now. Our love was a passionate affair that our families wouldn't permit, each wanting to keep their royal lines as pure as possible,” she scoffed. "Now look at the mess we made."

  Rasha was shaking her head. "But technically he is royal."

  "Of course he is, but his father's family refused to allow us to marry. I became pregnant and before I was able to tell him, his family sent him to fight in a battle between the Buku and the Vol. He died there, and I never saw him again. All that I had left were my babies." Sochi glared at the king and Rasha realized what she'd just heard.

  "Babies?"

  Sochi nodded. "Yes, twins. One girl and one boy. One Chilali purple and one white of the Buku." Her eyes filled as she looked between Rasha and Omi.

  Then Rasha looked at Omi, shaking her head.

  "No," she said. Her mother was fanning herself and the tears were flowing down her face. "You mean, you're my mother?" Rasha wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Instead, a sound like choking escaped her throat.

  Sochi nodded. "And Omi is your twin brother. Your father thought it best that I not raise either of you as my own. It ensured a pure purple child would inherit the throne and neither of you would ever learn the truth."

  Rasha's rage was replaced with hurt as her aunt–no, her mother spoke. She'd never understood why she didn't take after either of her parents. It explained a lot. Sochi's undying devotion to her while her parents kept her at arms’ length all while pushing the throne on her. Omi, hadn't blinked in a minute as he looked from Sochi to the king, shaking his head. All of that revenge and it got him nothing in the end.

  "So you see, neither of you has a true claim on the throne for as long as I'm alive."

  "Liar!" Omi crossed the room in two strides and stood nose to nose with the king. "If you die, the throne falls to the nearest male. I'm your sister's son. I have as much a right to the throne as her." He pointed at Rasha.

  Rasha's shoulders fell. Now she understood.

  "They didn't want you because you're not purple. You? Represent Chilali and not be the precious purple? No, that would be too much." Rasha let out an incredulous laugh. "Ironic, isn't it, your highness?" She spat out the title sour on her tongue. "I never wanted the throne, and he always did." Rasha threw Omi's knife down on the floor and it clanked until it hit the rug near a chair behind her.

  "What's my brother's name?" she asked. Omi seemed surprised, as if he hadn't even thought to ask the question.

  "You are and have always been Rasha. I insisted on it. Your brother's name is Karil."

  Rasha repeated the name to herself and Karil did the same.

  He'd tried to kill them all for the Chilali throne. Her brother had tried to kidnap Ladi and Zele. How could the two of them share blood, let alone a mother, and be so different?

  Now they all stood in the room together, regarding each other as if for the first time. In a way, Rasha realized it was the first time they were meeting each other, knowing who each and every person really was to her.

  Karil seemed to be doing the same. He looked down at his hands and then clenched them into fists.

  "I'm nothing," Karil said, looking down at the floor.

  Sochi moved to stand by him. She started to reach for him, but at his angry glare, she dropped her hand back to her side.

  "That's not true. You're the child of two parents who loved each other and were separated by unfortunate circumstances. You have a mother who loves you despite what's transpired because not a day has passed when you weren't in my thoughts." Her eyes went to Rasha and she felt the power of that love behind her eyes. Hadn't it always been there?

  Hadn't she always, in the back of her mind, in her heart of hearts, wished that Sochi had been her mother all along? Why did it break her to know that it was true? It might be the knowing that the king and queen never really did care for her as their own. They didn't really love her, they wouldn't love her. She was just the twin with the purple skin who inherited the throne. Rasha wanted nothing to do with any of it. She'd wanted a connection to them. The family that she'd always wanted was based on a lie. Her real father was dead and her brother was both a muke and a twyllo. How could she forgive Sochi, her mother, for the lie that brought them here? She didn't have an answer. She w
alked out of the room and didn't look back.

  35

  JAK FOUND RASHA STANDING OUTSIDE of the Ishola Palace by the pond. The grounds were dark and the only light came from the full moons above. He didn't touch her, but she must have sensed him staring at her because she shifted back and forth as if uncomfortable with being watched. He waited a minute, then stepped across the bridge and leaned over the rail beside her. Rasha was upset about something her parents had said to her. When did she ever leave their presence with her dignity still intact?

  Jak didn't ask her why she was standing out on the pond by herself. He didn't ask her how her parents were doing. He didn't ask her anything. She'd tell him when she was ready and not a minute before.

  "The Choosing went well, I think. Of course, no one was surprised but I think it will be a good match. The hardest thing about being with someone is trusting them. If you don't trust them, there's no amount of attraction that will overcome it." Jak picked up a rock and threw it across the water, making waves. "Ever notice how no matter how small the pebble it makes the same number of waves as a large stone. The size of the ripples may change but no matter what, the little waves meet the shore."

  Was her news a big stone or a small pebble? It felt like it might be a big stone. Jak picked up another rock, a larger one, and tossed it into the water just to prove his point. The waters rippled and raced to the edges of the pond. They were both quiet for a long time. Rasha lost track of how long they stood there before she broke the silence.

  "Sochi is my mother and Omi is actually my twin brother, Karil," she blurted out.

  Jak turned to stare at her to make sure she wasn't joking. She gave him a raised eyebrow in response. He let out a long whistle. But he didn't say anything right away. He needed to gather his own thoughts first.

  This was a big stone kind of problem, he decided. He looked down and found a smooth rock and weighed it in his hands before tossing it out over the water.

  "Your twin has a rightful claim to the throne, but your father isn't keen on an illegitimate heir,” Jak stated things in summation. He'd understood what the obstacles were, but she wasn't done.

  "He's also not purple. A true problem for a people too proud of their color. Not that it matters now that he’s in prison."

  Jak nodded but didn't say anything more. He had a million questions but probably not as many as she had.

  "How's Omi–I mean, Karil handling his emprisonment?"

  "I don’t know. Since he hasn’t tried to escape that might be a good sign." Rasha huffed out half a laugh. "But Sochi, she's trying with him. I’ve been told that he gets daily visits from her. If there's any good left in him, she'll find it."

  Jak threw another stone across the water. It skipped four times before it disappeared into the black water.

  "What do you want to do?" He asked.

  "I can't do anything about him right now. But eventually he'll need to answer for his crimes. He killed people to get to my family. They may not be who I thought they were, but we're still family."

  "Will you and Sochi mend?"

  Rasha thought about it for a moment. Hadn't Sochi been her favorite aunt? Could Rasha forgive her for being pressured into making a choice that separated her from her own children?

  "Yes, but not today," Rasha said.

  That would complicate things, but he wasn't sure for how long. There was something he had been wondering about, only he wasn’t sure if it would take her mind off of her problems or add to them.

  “Yinka and the children? Have you heard anything? Did they make it?”

  Rasha shook her head.

  Jak felt his stomach revolt against the food he’d forced down earlier. He knew their survival had been doubtful from the start. Despite being one of the first villages affected, he’d been hoping they had survived. He looked at Rasha’s face and saw the hard edge she used to hide the hurt. She’d hold on to the guilt for a while, just like she'd done with the fighters they’d lost the year before.

  "Have you told anyone about your plans?" He asked.

  Rasha shook her head.

  Jak pushed himself up from the railing and moved to stand behind her. Maybe there was a way he could help her, if she let him. She probably wouldn't turn to him, but he could hold her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms tight around her. He'd been prepared for her to push him away but she didn't. Instead, she turned around and buried her head in his chest. It broke him. No matter what happened he would never forget this moment, and he vowed within himself to make her smile for the rest of his life.

  36

  IN THE FRONT THREE ROWS of the audience, Ladi sat with the other twenty-five courier graduates while their friends and family looked on, the sun above them high in the summer sky and the crowd erupting as each new graduate received their orders. The remainder fidgeted as they waited for their turn to receive commissions and assignments. Ladi walked up to the platform and received her official courier's license and number with the entire class watching and her own family in the audience.

  "Moren, Ladi, courier number 72513." The audience erupted in applause and Rasha tried hard not to cry. They'd given her one number off of her older brother Lu. Rasha called in a favor and requested the special number.

  Ladi looked like she was going to cry, her eyes filling with emotion. She held it together, squaring her shoulders. Afterwards, she crossed the stage before taking her seat in the second row again.

  After the ceremony, they got a look at their first assignments at the same time. Ladi opened her communicator and read her first delivery and smiled. Unable to contain her excitement, she almost leapt over the rows of seats to get to her family. She would assist on a delivery from the seventh kingdom of Winaka to Ishola.

  "That's wonderful, darling," her father said.

  Her mother and father wouldn't let go of her, even after she showed them her first official assignment in Winaka. Rasha looked over at Jak, who grinned. They both had similar experiences. At her own graduation, her aunt–well, her mother Sochi was there for her and cried tears of joy and pride at that first commission.

  "We're so happy for you," Rasha said and pulled Ladi into the biggest hug she had ever given. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble."

  "I can't promise that, but I'm sure I'll blow your records out of the water."

  "We'll see,” Jak said and pulled her in for a hug too.

  Ladi let her parents into the circle. They wanted her to themselves tonight.

  "We have something for you," her mother said as she swiped another tear from her cheek.

  "Stop that, now, we're happy for you sweetheart,” Ladi's father said, pulling them both into his arms. Then he pulled something out of his pocket.

  "Your brother would be so proud. He knew this day would come long before any of us did." Her father pulled out a small object no bigger than two fingers thick and half the length.

  Ladi's eyes grew large. They all recognized it right away. A small recorder used for short personal messages.

  "Thank you. I can't believe he did this." Her voice was almost a whisper.

  "You shouldn't be so surprised. He was your biggest supporter." Her mother gave her shoulder a pat. "Let's go, supper is waiting and I want you to get a proper night's sleep before your big trip."

  Ladi waved to the rest of them and Rasha felt something in her heart ease as she clutched her amulet, wishing Lu could see his little sister now. She'd surprised them all. She'd been despondent when she'd returned from rescuing the beasts. Turning in Ebere to the prince must have been the most difficult thing she'd ever had to do. It had taken a few months, but she was finally coming around and today, her smile was so genuine it reached her eyes.

  Jak must have been reading her thoughts again, because he said, "She seems better today, right?"

  "Yes, much more like her old self." Rasha wasn't sure she could forgive Ebere as easily as the others had. She and Jak had personally seen too much of the consequences of his actions to forget i
t for a long time.

  "His sentence wasn't death, that's something," Jak said, speaking of Ebere and putting an arm around her shoulders. Again, his own thoughts lined up with hers.

  Rasha didn't brush him off this time. She didn't mind him holding her anymore.

  "Let's go," Jak said, suddenly lowering his arm and taking her hand to pull her along.

  "Where are we going?"

  "I'll show you. Come on."

  37

  "WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?" Rasha asked as they sat down at a corner table of the inn where Silae worked.

  "Saying goodbye to friends," Jak said.

  The bar of the inn was filled. They'd grabbed one of the last tables. A new waitress came to their table and took their drink orders. She was young with a short spiky crop of blonde hair and permanent markings drawn from her collarbone to her neck.

  "Have you decided what you're going to do about your little Temi and Zele?"

  Rasha shook her head.

  "I can't take them with me. As much as I want to, this off-world life, I don't know what to expect."

  "Expect that you're going to need a domesticated beast for protection and a semi-domestic flying creature for stealth missions."

  "Yeah, until the day I return and find that my dragon and my pet are done waiting for me to find them food and decide they'll eat each other." Rasha laughed, "No, I can't risk it. They'll have to stay here. I'm leaving little Temi with Chiza and Bashir. They'll take good care of him. Zele is a dragon, she'll be fine without me."

  Rasha felt a tinge of pain at the loss of them both but tried not to let it show. Jak was staring at her hard in the face, waiting to catch any change in her expression. He was so annoying.

  "You're really leaving?" Silae asked as she threw her arms around Rasha's shoulders.