My Enemy's Son (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 2)

by J. Naomi Ay

“He lives here?”

  “He will. Senya's the Crown Prince, Thad. When his grandfather, the King dies, Senya will be king. He's the Crown Prince of Karupatani too and Duke of everywhere else. The whole planet will belong to him. That's why he can't do whatever he wants. Everything he says and does has ramifications whether he likes it or not.”

  “You. Are. Shitting. Me.” Thad enunciated slowly and collapsed on the sofa. “Wow. Wow. Ron? Really? Wow. So are you like a prince too?”

  “Me?” I coughed. “Not me. I was an unemployed loser until yesterday. Now I'm…I don't know what I am but I'm back to serving Senya again. I hope I can do what he wants me to do.”

  “Wow,” Thad said again, shaking his head. “I wonder if my mother knows this. So, do the rest of you guys have weird powers too?”

  “No,” I replied, taking my torte over to the table and waving at the fridge. “You're welcome to anything in there or we can order up from catering. No, the rest of us are just normal. Senya is one of a kind.”

  “Wow,” Thad repeated.

  “Perhaps you should learn Mishnese,” I suggested, trying to swallow and speak at the same time. “If Senya likes you, you may have a place here, if you want it of course.”

  Thad shook his head. “I'll just worry about the company for now. This is totally blowing my mind.”

  “You should probably get some sleep while you can. Senya may decide at 3AM he wants to leave. He doesn't keep normal hours like the rest of us.”

  “Okay.” Thad nodded.

  “The room over there used to be Taner's office but I can have a bed set in there for you or I can arrange for you to have a suite in one of the other buildings.”

  “Where are you going to stay?” Thad asked.

  “Probably right here on the sofa. When Senya comes back, if he wants something, I have to be awake.”

  “I'll wait it out with you then,” Thad replied with a nod. “I can always sleep on the spaceplane.”

  “I'm going to try and sleep a little then.” I curled up on the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Thad? This girl that Senya's in love with…is she..?”

  Thad laughed. “She's absolutely normal if that's what you're asking.”

  “She's not after him for his money or his crown, is she?”

  “I don't think so,” Thad replied with yawn. “She probably doesn't even know about all this. She doesn't seem the type to care about money or diamonds or any of that kind of stuff. Hell, she's a Spaceforce officer on the command fast track.”

  Now I started to laugh. “What kind of woman would be in your Spaceforce? Is she big and strong like a man?”

  “No, not at all. What difference does it make?”

  “It's important. After all, Senya’s wife will be our Queen.”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Thad snorted. “Katie Golden, Queen of Rehnor. That would be a kick.” He lay down on the opposite sofa and stared at the ceiling too, chuckling softly. “Do you think he's really been after her since he was twelve?”

  “We both lived here when we were twelve. I don't recall ever seeing a Human girl, not that I would know what one was even if I did. They used to parade all these girls in front of him, every eligible girl in Mishnah. He never wanted any of them. I would have taken every one of them, even at twelve.”

  “But you really wanted that big ass maid,” Thad smirked.

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “You should have seen her. Sweet.”

  I was almost asleep when Thad spoke again.

  “Hey Berkan, I've got another question.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “This killing something that Ron went to do. It's not like a person is it?”

  I would have laughed except I was too drowsy. “No Thad,” I replied. “He's really not homicidal although...well, he can be. Just don't piss him off. He's been known to...well..."

  "Really?" Thad gasped.

  "Really. When he gets mad, it’s best to disappear…quickly.”

  Thad gulped loudly.

  "I'm sure that's not what he's doing tonight though. He's probably out hunting or fishing. It's not as strange as it sounds…well, maybe it is but I doubt he’s out there killing anyone. Probably."

  “Okay,” Thad replied and curled up to sleep. "But then again, you haven't really known him for the last twenty years."

  "Right," I agreed and fell asleep.

  “Let's go Thad!”

  It was morning and the sun had risen but it was still grey and the sky looked as if it would shed more rain. Senya had come from the shower dressed in clothes that were like Thad's, from another place, and he wore those dark sunglasses to hide his eyes.

  Thad snorted and grumbled.

  “Come on,” Senya said impatiently. “Get up, Thad.”

  Thad rolled over on his stomach, his arm hanging down the short length of the sofa and dragging across the floor. He snored loudly. I sat up and tried to recall where I was and what I was doing here. My back ached from sleeping on the small sofa with my legs propped up on arm rest. Senya sat down next to me.

  “You okay, Berk?” he said, studying me from behind his dark glasses.

  “Sure, Sir,” I replied, rubbing my eyes. At least I was not hung-over. Did I ring Luci last night? I probably should have. She would be upset if I didn't. “So you're getting married too, congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” Senya replied and lit a cigarette. “She'll be quite pissed off after waiting a year.”

  “That's the way it always is,” I sighed. “They always find a reason to be pissed off at you. Either you're not working or you're working too much and not paying attention to her. You're too messy or straightening things up in the wrong way. You eat too much or don't eat enough of what she made. Let me tell you, it never ends.”

  He smiled. “That's alright. I won't mind that.”

  He probably wouldn’t, I thought. Having lived like an orphan practically his entire life, he might like someone nagging at him constantly. Someone was better than no one.

  “That it is,” he agreed, even though I never said it. “Listen Berk, you're going to be fine. I wouldn't put you in charge of my company unless I had faith in you. It will be a bit overwhelming at first but you'll rise to the occasion. Trust me in this.”

  “Okay,” I nodded. “I always trust you, Senya. Is it blind faith or faith in the blind?”

  “Either one works. Just ring Thad or me whenever you need to, yes?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Alright, Thad time to wake up,” Senya announced and pointed his finger at him.

  “Yow!” Thad screeched, clutching his butt and falling off the couch. I burst out laughing. Senya smiled wickedly.

  “I'd like to go now,” Senya said. “We've got work to do back on Rozari and a board meeting in the new facility on Cascadia III on Saturday. Thad, send a spaceplane for Berk. He should come to that meeting too.”

  “Right, right,” Thad mumbled, clutching his butt cheek. “Shit, Ron! You could have just shaken my shoulder or something.”

  “This works better.” Senya rose to his feet and grabbed his bag and attaché. “Berk, ring over and tell our pilots we are enroute.”

  “Yes, Sir.” I stumbled up as well and a moment later we were all heading out across the Palace.

  We were walking along the outside hallways on the third floor and Thad was busy reciting to me the list of medical devices patented by our company. It had started to rain again. As we rounded a corner, crossing over to the adjacent building through a sky bridge, we bumped into none other than Prince Akan and Lord Phylyp with a retinue of bodyguards. We all stopped short.

  “Well, well, well,” Akan said. “It's Senya and Berkie back from the dead. And look who else they have, a new friend.”

  “Come on, Ak.” Lord Phylyp put his hand on Akan's arm. “Let's not start something today.”

  “And why not? Every day is a good day to start something with our dear nephew. Look how big you have grown! Shall we strip h
im naked like we did the first time and see how big he is everywhere?”

  Thad and I glanced at Senya. He stood patiently with a bored expression on his face.

  “Do you know why he came to visit us after all this time, Phylyp?” Akan continued. “He found a little girl willing to marry him, a little Human girl of all things. Seems no good Mishnese girl would do it and of course all Karut's look like dogs so he had find something else.”

  “What's a Human, Ak?” Phylyp asked.

  “Something like that fellow.” Akan pointed at Thad. “Shall we strip him naked and see if he's got balls?” Phylyp appraised Thad as Akan laughed.

  “Get out of our way, Akan,” Senya said humorlessly. “Go play your games elsewhere.”

  “Oh really, Senya? And if I don't move out of your way what will you do? I have four guards with me and you just have Berkie and that thing.”

  Senya turned his face to the sky as if he was considering this.

  “Come now, Nephew, tell Uncle about your little Human bitch. Does she know who you are? Does she know what you are? Does she know how much you like it up your ass?”

  I gulped. Thad cautiously moved behind me. “Would this be a good time to run the other direction?” he whispered in my ear.

  “You haven't, have you,” Akan sneered. “Of course not. You may be big and tall now but you're still a dirty, whoring, horkin addicted, street rat. Not even a lesser life form like a Human would want that.”

  “We should probably go now, Sir,” I said quietly and pulled at Senya’s arm. “Your spaceplane is waiting.”

  “Ak, that's enough,” Phylyp hissed at the same time.

  “I'm not done having a reunion,” Akan replied, brushing off Phylyp. “Why last time I saw my dear nephew, it was right after he killed my Lord Governor of the Child Moon. A good friend he was. Perhaps I should pay him back by killing one of his friends. Choose, Senya. Which one, Berkie or the Human?”

  “Why don't I kill your friend instead?” Senya growled and picking up Akan by the neck, he slammed him against the side of the building. “I haven't paid you back for killing all of my Karupta friends, you bloody motherfucker.”

  “Karuts are lower than dogs,” Akan coughed and his lips started to turn blue. He clutched at Senya’s hand trying to remove it from his throat. Phylyp turned and called to his guards but they all stood as if paralyzed.

  “Senya,” I cautioned. “Senya put him down.” Akan began to struggle wildly, pounding Senya’s hand and kicking about.

  “You massacred every last one of them,” Senya hissed, ignoring me, oblivious to Akan's struggles.

  “Stop it! Stop it!” Phylyp screamed and threw himself on Senya's arm, trying to break the hold he had on Akan. Senya knocked Phylyp aside which sent him crashing into the wall. Phylyp crumpled and lay there stunned.

  “Senya!” I said louder. “Let him go!”

  “Look, Uncle. Watch your friend die.” Senya whispered to Akan whose face was white as sheet. Akan’s eyes had bugged out yet they swiveled toward Phylyp as his friend tried to rise unsteadily to his feet. Senya held out his hand and pointed at Phylyp. Phylyp gasped, clutched his chest and then collapsed face forward on the marble floor.

  “Holy shit!” Thad shrieked behind me.

  “Senya!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as my father came barreling around the corner.

  Loman tackled Senya, knocking him against the wall and causing all three of them to tumble to the floor. Senya lost his grip on Akan, who choked and coughed but caught his breath. He crawled over to Phylyp and begged for his guards to do something. Two of his men went running for a medic while Akan pounded on Phylyp's chest.

  “You're a bloody doctor,” my father raged, picking himself off of Senya and yanking Senya’s arm with him. “Help the man!”

  “No!” Senya shook his head and pulled his arm back from my father’s grasp.

  “He's dead!” Akan wailed.

  “Help him!” my father yelled again and slapped Senya across the face. Senya's eyes blazed as he fell back on his ass and for a moment I was certain my father would be the next dead man. “Help him,” my father hissed between his teeth.

  Senya held out his hand and pointed at Phylyp though he glared at my father with his brilliant eyes. Phylyp's body arched upward as if he had been shocked with electricity and then he collapsed again but with a cough, he started to breath.

  “Thank the Saint,” my father grumbled, dusting himself off and straightening his trousers. “It's always something with you, isn't it? Get off with you now before you break something or kill someone else.”

  “Fuck you, Loman,” Senya growled and started to climb to his feet but before he was fully upright, his eyes blazed again and he collapsed on the floor, hitting it with a painful thud.

  “Blessed Saint!” my father cried. “Help me, Berk!” He threw himself on Senya but even under my father's heavy weight Senya was rocking about in convulsions. I hurled myself down on him, too, trying to pin down his legs while my father held his arms and tried to keep his head steady. A great clap of thunder roared overhead and in an instant, we were soaked as giant hail pelted down on us from every direction. Lightning scorched the courtyard hitting the walkways, bouncing off the golden railings and blasting the walls behind us. Thad was kneeling on the ground next to me, pinning down one of Senya's legs and shrieking as a bolt of lightning blasted right over our heads nearly frying us.

  A moment later, it was over. Senya had stopped his seizure and the hail around us was melting. Hesitantly, I released Senya and Thad followed suit. My father dragged himself to his feet.

  “You need to get out of here,” he said and nodded to Thad.

  “I’m ready,” Thad squeaked. “Any time now is good for me.”

  Senya lay on the ground, disoriented and mumbling something in Karupta, a trickle of blood dripping down from his lip. Akan and Phylyp were crying into each other's arms while the guards stood around looking frightened and useless.

  “Go on,” my father waved at the guards. “Take your master to his suite.” Then he turned back to Senya and practically lifted him. Come on, son.”

  I took Senya’s other arm and the two of us half dragged, half carried him to his spaceplane where we set him in a seat by the window. His head lolled to the side.

  “What the fuck happened?” he said, finally waking up. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth while I told him about the storm and the lightning and the convulsions.

  “I hate lightning,” he sighed and leaned his head against the window. "Get out of here. I've got a fucking migraine now."

  “Ring me when you get back,” I told Thad as he walked us to the door.

  “Will he be okay?” Thad asked. “Will I be okay?”

  “He should be fine,” my father replied. “Hopefully he will sleep the whole way back to Rozari.”

  "Yeah, hopefully," Thad agreed, nervously. The clouds had cleared and the sun was poking through, warming up the courtyard. Thad looked at the clear blue sky. “How the heck did that happen?” he asked. “That freak storm?”

  My dad and I glanced at Senya who was snoring quietly. Thad turned and looked too.

  “Thad,” I said seriously. “Just try not to make him mad.”

  Chapter 7

  Katie

  I should have expected it. Five days of frolicking, declarations of undying love and then I never heard from him again. Now, get back to work, back to focusing on protecting the citizens of the Alliance and advancing my rank. Don't even think about him. All men are dickheads and that one was the king of dickheads. I should have known.

  “So tell me all about it,” Caroline said, parking her butt on the couch in my cabin.

  “Nothing to tell,” I replied, flipping through the Vid Guide. “What kind of movie do you want?”

  “Love story,” she sang. “You were with him for five days. How can there be nothing to tell?”

  “I don't want a love story,” I snapped. “I'd rather hav
e action/adventure especially if it's about a woman who goes around blasting men into tiny bits.”

  “Oh come on, Goldie,” she teased. “It couldn't have been that bad.”

  “It wasn't bad,” I nearly screamed. “It was wonderful. It was totally awesome! It was the most fantastic five days I've ever had in my entire life. He told me he loved me and we were going to get married and live happily ever after except for a few periods of absolute hell and then I find out he's been screwing everything in a skirt on that entire planet and I'm just one of thousands although he assured me that this time it was different. Yeah right. I'm sure he assured every one before and after me that this time it was different.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Three weeks.” Damn my nose tingled. I hated this. I swore, I would never ever fall for another man again. This was so not me! I really needed to break something.

  “What about the flowers?”

  “So what about them?” I shrugged. “Just because he ordered a rose delivered to me every day doesn't mean a thing. It's an automatic order that he forgot to cancel.”

  “A fresh rose in space everyday has got to be expensive,” Caroline remarked, chipping off the polish on her fingernails.

  “Do you realize how much money he has? He's got this huge company with all these buildings and their own hospital and this fabulous Porsche that's probably cost more than my annual salary. A rose is nothing to him.” I put down the Vid Guide and went over to my desk where twenty-one bud vases each with a single white rose were lined up like soldiers. I tossed out the older flowers and stacked the vases in my recycle box.

  “Well it must mean something,” Caroline protested. “White roses are the symbol of everlasting love.” She sighed dreamily.

  “I don't care about roses. A text would be nice. An email would be better. A call would be like, I don't know, totally amazing.”

  “Okay, he's a dickhead,” Caroline agreed. “But lordy, he was hot. If he touched me, I would just turn into butter and melt.”

  I rolled my eyes even though I could feel my face get hot too.

  She laughed.

  There was a knock on the door. Both of us groaned at the same time.