by J. Naomi Ay
“So what can I do? Even though I am a duke, there’s no way I’m going to attempt to speak to The Man.”
“You don’t have to,” Joanne insisted. “Steve wants you to get him a spaceplane. Park it in a lot somewhere. Leave it waiting for him. He and Rent will break out, and they'll take it."
"That's it?" Jim asked, holding the whale to his lips.
That was easy enough. Jim had a spaceplane he could spare. Jimmy's Chariot was sitting on blocks, unused in his backyard after the charity, Spaceplanes for Kids refused to take it. It was running, but the interior was in need of serious repair. Some of the boxes were faulty, and sometimes the landing gear stuck. It was still a good plane though. It was also free, and ready to go.
“Tell them to come get it from my backyard. Anytime. It’s all theirs. I'll leave the keys in the ignition. Good enough?"
"Good enough." Joanne nodded, downing the rest of her drink. "Once they're gone, maybe you can help me and the kids escape too."
“Where do you want to go?” Jim asked.
“Anywhere but here.”
Chapter 6
Eva wasn't quite certain how she came to be the Imperial Finance Minister so quickly. She was flattered, of course. Honored. She was given a salary commiserate with the position, a flat in the villa's annex, and an assistant.
Jullee was Rozarian, born and raised in Kalika-hahr to parents who were still employed at SdK. She was as excited about the position as her boss.
Every morning, Jullee had hot coffee waiting for Eva. Every afternoon, she brought her a diet soda with a slice of lemon. After work, the two women would often head into town, especially if it was Ladies' Night at the Cowboy Corral.
"I saw Rent today," Jullee remarked one night, sipping daintily at the mug of beer in front of her. "He was sitting in the courtyard staring at the glass panels. He was there for literally an hour. I timed it. He hardly moved."
"Did you go speak to him?" Eva asked distractedly, her mind still far away.
She was working out some calculations in her head, money supply infusions that would restart the Rehnorian economy. She had several ideas on what exactly to do, ideas she would present tomorrow morning at Taner's meeting.
Jullee had prepared her presentation, so Eva was just triple checking the logic behind her argument. She was good at this, she knew. It would be a slam dunk.
"No, I didn't. I was afraid to. He's so cute though. I just want to wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss his face."
"Careful," Eva cautioned.
Rent had a reputation for being a total louse. Even back on Rehnor, when Eva had worked at the aerospace subcontractor, she had heard about it. He was oblivious to anyone's feelings, including his own.
"I will," Jullee giggled, and started chatting about something another administrator had said, something Eva had no interest in hearing.
She smiled like she was listening, while glancing at her reflection in the bar's mirror. Eva decided she looked tired. She hadn’t slept well since arriving on Rozari.
It could have been the time change, or the subtle difference in atmospheric pressure. It could have been the red dust, which was wreaking havoc on her sinuses.
Maybe, it was the different bed, or the rich food she was eating every night. Whatever it was, it wasn’t helping.
Eva stared into the mirror trying to determine if she was sprouting gray on her temples, when she recognized two people reflecting back. Between the various bottles of colored liquors, resting on the glass shelves in front of the mirror, Eva discovered Prince Shika’s wife, Joanne, and Jim Mattson sidling into a booth. This was the same Jim Mattson who Eva had been speaking to right before she locked her office for the night.
Eva tried not to turn around. Instead, she ducked her head, spinning sideways on the barstool, while pretending to pay attention to Jullee’s chattering.
Joanne and Jim were now leaning across the table, their heads together, their hands nearly touching. If they were having a clandestine affair, how could Eva keep silent about it? It would bring into question Jim's integrity as company president, as well as Joanne's faithfulness to the Imperial Prince.
If Eva sat on this information, her own loyalty would be in doubt. No, she had to tell someone. She should inform Lord Taner.
"Sorry, I've got to go," Eva interrupted Jullee. "I just remembered something I forgot to do."
"Really?" Jullee had just ordered her second beer.
"You stay," Eva insisted, throwing a few coins on the counter, and shouldering her purse.
Turning her back to the couple in the booth, while keeping her face hidden behind her hair, Eva hurried out of the restaurant to the bus stop.
Catching the first shuttle back to the coast, Eva resolved to speak to Lord Taner right away. However, she wasn’t certain exactly what she ought to say. True, they were sitting closely in a booth, but maybe it was innocent, and Eva had panicked. On the other hand, if she didn’t report them, her silence would be both aiding and abetting.
Unfortunately, as soon as Eva arrived back in the villa, her cell buzzed with a page from Lord Kinar.
“Eva, are you in the building?” he inquired. “Please come to my office for a moment to answer some questions.”
“Right away, my lord,” Eva replied, hurrying upstairs.
Kinar’s office. Eva grew nervous, knowing she would once again be so close to the Imperial Presence. As congenial as Lord Kinar was, his proximity to the Emperor frightened her nearly half to death.
As Eva climbed the staircase, she thought back to the first moment when she had arrived within the Imperial Court, whereupon she had been greeted by Lord Taner’s under-secretary, Lord Wessel.
“Oh, you must be the new Finance Minister,” Wessel had said, upon reading the handwritten note Eva presented. “We were told you would come.”
“Finance Minister?” Eva had gasped. “Surely, not me.”
Wessel studied her carefully.
“Eva, brunette, five foot eight, forty-three years of age? Masters of Finance from the University of New Mishnah? Eighteen years of experience concluding with Vice President of Interplanetary Aerospace?”
Yes, that was her résumé, although she had never submitted it to anyone.
“Go on then,” Wessel had said, and so off to Rozari, Eva had gone.
Now, only weeks after arriving, and while still getting accustomed to her new responsibilities, Eva found herself standing nervously inside Kinar’s office.
“Come in,” Kinar waved, noting her hesitation, “You’re wanted in there.” He inclined his head toward the Emperor’s inner sanctum.
“Me? In there?” Eva squeaked, her heart racing in panic.
“Yes, Miss.”
Eva began to sweat, even though the aircon was blowing profusely. She turned back toward the door as if to check for someone behind her.
Kinar smiled a little, noting her distress.
“The topic is the budget for the next fiscal year,” he said, gently.
“Oh!” Eva nodded.
Budgets she knew like the back of her hand. She could do this, she told herself. She could go in there and speak intelligently. After all, the Emperor had personally selected her for this job.
“Go on then,” Kinar prodded. “And, don’t be surprised if HIM either snaps at you, or ignores you altogether. He’s quite irritable today. His leg pains him, amongst other things. But, don’t worry. He won’t kill you, or at least not yet. He’ll give you a few more chances to screw up.”
Eva forced a laugh and nodded enthusiastically before smoothing her skirt and striding confidently across the room. She wondered briefly if she needed her tablet, as she had brought nothing with her, but a handbag. Unfortunately, Kinar had already buzzed the door open, so she was visible to everyone inside.
“Come in, Eva,” Taner called, and so, she did.
Eva dropped to the floor in obeisance, as she had been taught back on Rehnor, her eyes briefly catching a glimpse of the Emperor pa
cing before the windows.
The office was small, really not more than a large den with a desk and credenza, a sofa and side tables, as well as several chairs scattered about for the meeting’s attendees.
Behind the desk were large windows which looked out at the forest, large trees obscuring the orange and yellow sky where the Rozarian star was just now setting.
“Get up, Eva, and join us here,” Taner ordered, pointing at an unoccupied chair next to his own.
Hesitantly, Eva rose, glancing first to Taner, and then, back to the Emperor. This was the first time she had encountered him since she had helped care for him during last winter’s horrific storm. That whole episode seemed like a distant dream, although being here now, seeing him now, was even more disconcerting.
“We were discussing the Mishnah’s financial situation,” Taner’s assistant, Wessel said by way of introduction.
Eva nodded as she sat, glancing behind her again at the Emperor. He had his back to all of them, his long, black hair curling wildly across his broad shoulders, his arms crossed in front of his chest as if he were contemplating the dark forest.
Unlike Taner and Wessel in their courtly robes, the Emperor was dressed in only a t-shirt and jeans, the Karupta eagle branding winging darkly up his left bicep. Eva smiled a little to herself at this, recalling when she had first seen it. How different the man appeared now, so tall, strong, and commanding.
"We are not going to reconstruct Mishnah quite yet," His Imperial Majesty announced, his deep voice returning to the conversation. "Therefore, we shall not require more than a half billion in interplanetary transfers to keep vital services operational."
"But, Senya, half a billion won't even scratch the surface,” Taner protested. “In Turko alone, I could use all that within mere months."
"The flooding virtually destroyed both Old and New Mishnah, Sir," Wessel added. "To rebuild will require at least three times that amount."
Eva wondered at what point she should interject. She knew there were at list six billion in cash reserves at SdK Rozari, all of which were available to loan to the government for remediation and infrastructure rebuilding.
"Are you not listening to me?" the Emperor snapped, beginning his pacing once again, that familiar limping gait beating a pattern across the floor. "I said we are not going to do it. Not now, perhaps not ever, regardless of what funding we have available."
"And why not?" Taner demanded. "Eva, tell HIM what you had told me about the available cash reserves. Next year’s budget should allocate..."
"No, Taner. I shall tell you when, and there shall be no allocations in any budget until then. This is enough discussion. Be gone with you. I have other business to attend."
Taner and Wessel looked surprised, while Eva quickly jumped to her feet.
"Senya, we haven't even begun to discuss the other items on our list."
"Later, Taner." The Emperor leaned heavily against the desk, his bad leg stretched out awkwardly in front of him. "Go on." He waved them away, and then, bent his head to light a cigarette. "Eva, you stay," he called, as if it were an afterthought.
"Yes, Sir?" Eva stood.
Taner waited as well, his eyebrows raised, his mouth set in a frown, his gaze on Eva, questioningly.
“Your name is not Eva, Taner. Get out.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” Taner snapped, ushering Wessel through the door.
Eva waited, unmoving, while the Emperor took a long drag on his cigarette. He held it awkwardly in his left hand, drawing Eva's eyes to the missing finger, the little stump where it and his wedding ring had been.
"You have something to tell me?" he prompted impatiently, exhaling a cloud of gray smoke into the air.
Eva watched it swirl toward the vents in the ceiling.
"I..." she floundered, her tongue catching in her throat. A wave of heat washed over her brain, briefly making her dizzy.
"Jim Mattson and Shika’s latest wife," the Emperor said with a sigh. "They think they are concealing something from me. You need not concern yourself with this. You are dismissed now. Thank you, Eva."
He made a move to turn away, but his bad leg wouldn't follow.
"Kari-fa!" He stumbled, catching himself on the desk.
"Oh!" Eva gasped, rushing forward. "Oh, I'm so sorry. May I help you? Take my arm, and I'll assist you to your chair."
"No." He shook his head, his long hair falling in front of his face. Half dragging his reluctant limb, the Emperor moved away, his face twisted with pain. "Kari-fa! I should have cut the bloody thing off. Having none could not pain any more than this."
"Is it worse than usual, Sir?"
"Yes. It spasms." Collapsing in the chair, he tipped his head back and drew a long, tortured breath. “Fuck this damn existence. How much more must I take?”
"Would you allow me to massage it?" Eva asked bravely. "Reggie used a menthol gel when you were ill. I could do that, if you would like, Sir? It seemed to help you at the time."
"No. Go away. I said, you are dismissed."
"Thank you, Sir." Eva curtseyed, not certain why she was so disappointed. She rose, and made to go.
"No. Wait."
"Yes, Sir?"
"If you would...if you wouldn't mind?"
"No, Sir. I mean, of course, Sir. It would be my pleasure."
Eva crossed the room again, standing before him, and studying the leg splayed out at an odd angle. In the meantime, the Emperor reached into a drawer and extracted a pot of menthol gel.
"Pull the seam," he instructed, dismissively waving a finger at his pant leg, so Eva lowered herself to her knees, tentatively touching his cuff. The seam easily came apart, held together by a nearly invisible tape of sorts. The pant leg split, revealing the straps of a tight brace running the length of his leg from nearly ankle to hip.
Eva waited.
“Kari-fa! Unlatch it,” he snapped, growing impatient with her hesitation. “Or, get out.”
Her fingers trembling, Eva unhooked the brace to reveal that hideous, twisted scar, and the misshapen, knotted muscles, which she had seen before. They weren’t so shocking the second time around, although the first time had nearly made her retch. She started near the ankle, rubbing the pungent gel in circles around his calf, and working her way upward just as Reggie had done.
The Emperor sighed heavily, placing his own hand on his hideous thigh, prodding the muscles with all but the missing finger.
“How did this happen?” Eva asked conversationally, while trying to concentrate on the efforts at hand.
She was nervous, and her heart pounded as she worked on his leg, the feel of his skin sending electrical shocks throughout her body.
“A bear,” he replied, his head tipped back again, his eyes closed with either relief or pain.
“A bear?”
“Yes, a bear,” he snapped. “I decided to play with one after my wife left me for the second time.”
“Oh.”
Eva resolved to keep quiet, and diligently began to work on his thigh. He moaned in response. He twitched once, and moved it away. Eva pressed harder, feeling the tight muscles languidly respond.
“More?”
“Yes, continue, despite how it fucking hurts.”
Eva put more gel on her hand, and started again in broad circles, in and out.
Then, something curious happened, something that gave her pause, and sent her heart racing, her blood pounding in her ears. He had touched her hair. His hand was resting on her head, his fingers testing the long tresses, rubbing them together.
Eva stopped. Her hand was trembling too much to continue. She waited, cautiously, turning her face up to his, but seeing nothing but shadows in the darkened room.
When he opened his eyes, silver light exploded into the air, shining all the way to the ceiling, highlighting the dusk, and the trees framed outside.
Now, his hand moved to her face. His fingertips gently brushing across her eyes, her nose, her chin and jaw, before finally restin
g upon her lips.
Eva remembered the kiss; that moment at Reggie’s flat when in his delirium, the Emperor had reached for her, thinking she was someone else. He didn’t think that now. He knew exactly who she was, as he pressed his thumb on her lower lip, igniting a fire that swept down her spine.
“Kari-fa,” he gasped, his voice barely as loud as a whisper. “How much more must I fall? Is there no end?”
Eva had no response, no words that could communicate what she felt, but neither were words necessary, as obviously, the question was not directed at her. Instead, she stayed motionless, not even daring to breath as his hand moved down her neck and to her chest. He cupped her breast through the thin fabric of her blouse, his silver eyes shining in her face. He didn’t speak either, although the question was implied. Eva’s answer was a willing yes. She half rose, moving closer, letting him touch her with both hands.
Eva gazed down and watched his fingers trace the pattern of her body, the missing one on the left, the firestone rings glinting on the right. The buttons became undone. Eva was surprised to discover her skin was darker than his, as he bent forward to place his mouth where his hand had been. Eva touched a lock, a sparkling black curl, as if his hair had been sprinkled with magical silver dust.
“Sir?”
Eva froze. Her body went rigid, and her heart ceased to beat.
Kinar cleared his throat. “Have you got a moment to take a call from the prime minister of Altaris VII?”
Eva backed away. She clutched the buttons of her blouse together. In a fraction of a second, she caught Kinar’s disapproving gaze, before turning her own eyes to the floor, and dropping in a curtsey.
A cigarette was lit. She could smell the whiff of fresh smoke. The Emperor spun around in his chair to face the forest.
“Put him through, Kinar.”
“Of course, Sir.”
Eva rose, assuming correctly she had been dismissed. Quickly, she secured the buttons, and made an effort to smooth her blouse and skirt. Though she would not meet Kinar’s eyes, she held her head high as she exited the office. Taner and Wessel watched her depart, their eyes following her out to the hall. She felt them boring into her back, judging her every move.