James was speaking, so Rhen turned towards him. “…Again, thank you for your words on behalf of my brother. Rhen, would you please leave the room so we can vote?”
Rhen stood up and left the Chamber as majestically as he had entered it, causing several Delegates to rise involuntarily to their feet to honor him as he passed by them on his way out.
A little while later, a Council Page approached Rhen. “You can come back in now,” she told him shyly. Rhen looked up from where he was sitting on the steps to the Royal Family’s private residence. He’d picked this location to escape from the crowds. “Okay,” he said, following the girl back into the Council Chamber, his cape flowing behind him. He sat down next to Reed with a half-smile on his lips, as he waited to hear their verdict.
“The Council has voted to let you remain as Emperor of Surpen,” James told Rhen. A cheer went up among the spectators in the public boxes.
“Thank you,” Rhen said, bowing his head. He didn’t care how they had voted, but he saw no reason to be rude.
“Rhen,” James continued. “To appease those Delegates, who are still worried that the virus might be in your blood, would you mind terribly if we took periodic samples of your blood over the next year, just to make sure the virus is truly out of your system?”
Rhen considered whether agreeing to James’ request would undermine his throne. He knew his fellow Convention members would chastise him for giving the Thestrans the right to test his blood, but in the long run, Rhen decided it would be best for Surpen if the rest of the Universe was no longer terrified of him. “That’d be fine,” he told his brother. He heard a collective sigh of relief in the room and knew he’d made the right decision.
“Thank you,” James told him emphatically. By agreeing to let the Thestrans check his blood, Rhen had ended any opposition that might’ve remained to his being Emperor. It was finally over. The Surpen God of War was gone forever.
James turned to the Council and announced, “We’re finished for the day.” He rang the bell to end session and moved over to thank Rhen personally.
As Rhen stepped out into the Grand Hallway with the Thestran Royal Family, his formal military clothing disappeared.
“How did you…” Lilly began, when she saw Rhen wearing a blue tunic and black trainers, which he insisted on calling running boots. James gave her a warning look, so she closed her mouth. They’d agreed not to ask Rhen about his powers. They wanted him to feel like a part of their family, not put him on the defensive all the time.
Ceceta was waiting for them in the hallway. Laughing, she ran up to Rhen and jumped into his arms. “That was so funny!"
Rhen was about to respond, when Te and Yfetb walked past their group. Te did not seem pleased. He glared at Rhen, as he headed towards the Delegates’ wing of the palace. Rhen caught a whiff of Loreth as the two men passed and his eyes narrowed. He could smell his father’s advisor on the Neptians. So, that’s where the bastard had been hiding. He should alert James. It’d be better for the Thestrans if they stopped Loreth at once. He was too dangerous to leave unattended.
Rhen watched Te and Yfetb walk down the hallway. When they passed in front of his friend Latsoh, he froze. He had forgotten that the Thestrans were going to invite his friends to their palace to teach him. Rhen’s eyes ran down Latsoh’s thin body, taking in her long, red hair, green eyes, pale skin and sculpted elfin ears. When he looked back up at her face, he saw that she was smiling at him. Latsoh winked and Rhen chuckled. He released Ceceta and strode over towards her but stopped short. A lot had happened since he’d last seen her and he wasn’t sure how she felt about him.
Noting his discomfort, Latsoh closed the distance between them, reaching out to give Rhen a big hug.
Rhen laughed and grabbed her up into his arms, spinning her about in a circle and making her shriek with delight. Latsoh was still giggling like a schoolgirl when Rhen put her back on the ground.
Staring up into Rhen’s black eyes, Latsoh felt herself blush. She’d forgotten how much she loved Rhen. She’d missed him when he was the Surpen God of War. Glancing past him, she realized that the Thestran Royal Family was watching her. Latsoh dropped her head down, letting her hair cover her face. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her father. He was glaring at her and she knew the next time they were alone, he’d ask her, once again, to end her friendship with Rhen. Rhen had challenged her Dad, when they’d first met, and her father had never truly forgiven him.
Latsoh raised her chin in defiance and flicked her hair back behind her ears. Rhen’s head was tilted and he appeared confused by her embarrassment. “So, how the hell are you, you big baby?” she asked, making Rhen laugh and the tension diminish. “Honestly,” she added, “the next time you decide to conquer the Universe, why don’t you start with Crithnians? I’ve always wanted to visit their beaches and I was kind of hoping for a free trip.”
“Sure,” Rhen said, his smile warming Latsoh’s heart. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’ve been thinking about the real reason why you started conquering the Universe,” Latsoh continued. “It was because you didn’t want to take your final exams, right?” Rhen laughed again and nodded. “I guess they finally caught on, though. Don’t worry,” she told him, lifting up her book bag. “I’m here to save the day.” She tapped her bag. “All the answers to last terms’ exam questions are right here.”
“Excellent,” Rhen said. He reached out to take the bag from Latsoh.
“I really did miss you, Rhen,” Latsoh whispered, passing her bag into his hands.
“I missed you too,” he said, as the Thestrans surrounded them.
“Why don’t we go to the library?” Ceceta suggested. “There’s no reason why we have to wait for the others to start studying.”
Rhen rolled his eyes. He was hoping to skip studying and use his powers to pull the information out of Ceceta’s mind later. It’d only take him a few minutes to learn everything he needed to know for the exams by reading her mind. Did Ceceta really want to go to the library to study? Ceceta tugged on Rhen’s hand and begrudgingly, he started to walk with her towards the Royal Family’s library. As they neared the private staircase, Rhen paused and bent his head down, as if he were listening to something. “I’ll be right back,” he told Ceceta, before disappearing.
Ceceta and Latsoh sat in the library waiting for Rhen to return. When Ceceta felt they’d waited long enough, she kicked the leg of the table she was sitting next to and said, “Where is he?”
Latsoh glanced about the library, worried that they might get in trouble for making noise. When she realized no one else was in the room, she put her feet on the desk in front of her and tilted her chair back. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Latsoh had already perused most of the racks, hoping to find some Elfin History books. Unfortunately, it looked like the Thestran Royal Family was in the same boat as the elves. No one had any history books on the elves or the Genisters.
“He could’ve at least told us where he was going.”
Latsoh shrugged. She knew Rhen would be back as soon as he was finished with whatever he was doing.
“I really need to put a locating device on him,” Ceceta grumbled. “I should wrap it around his damn neck.”
“Relax, Ceceta. It’s not a big deal. He’ll be back soon.”
Ceceta grunted in response.
Suddenly, music began to play from the speakers in the room. Somebody was playing a recording of the concert Rhen had performed before he had become the Surpen God of War. “Paging Rhen to the music room," Charlie announced. "Your presence is required at once.”
"I guess he doesn’t know that Rhen’s missing," Latsoh said.
Ceceta sighed and rose to her feet. "Let's go tell him. It’s not like we’re doing anything else."
They bumped into Rachel on their way to the Family’s private music room and she told them that Charlie was in the main concert hall downstairs off the Grand Hallway.
When Ceceta and Lats
oh entered the concert hall, they found hundreds of people milling about. After Rhen’s concert at the University last year, a student, who had recorded his performance, had sold billions of copies of the tape to people all over the Universe. While Rhen was the Surpen God of War, his music had been banned, but the ban had only made his music more popular among teenagers. Students from the University began selling photos of Rhen and without his knowing it, Rhen had acquired an enormous following.
Charlie was down on the stage, dancing back and forth in a zig-zag motion, his arms high in the air. Every now and then, he’d bump into one of the many instruments that were on the stage, sending it clattering to the ground.
Latsoh laughed at him, as they made their way to the front of the stage.
When Charlie spotted them, he danced over in their direction trying to look sexy, his shoulders rocked back and forth and his arms were out at waist level with his palms facing skyward. Ceceta turned away to try to hide the fact that she was laughing at him, while Latsoh belly laughed in his face.
“So, where’s the main man?” Charlie asked, when Ceceta had turned back to face him. He did a quick twirl and lost his balance but then recovered and tried to do the same thing again, so it’d look as if he’d meant to stumble.
“I don’t know,” Ceceta said. “He left right after the Council meeting and hasn’t returned.”
Charlie cocked his hip and rolled his shoulders back. Latsoh couldn’t stop herself from exclaiming, “By the Genister Gods, Charlie! You’re such a goofball. I’m glad you’re not a Fire Elf or I’d be embarrassed.”
“What makes you think I’m not a Fire Elf?” Charlie asked. He tried to undulate his hips closer to Latsoh in a sexy manner that only succeeded in making her laugh again. Seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with Latsoh, Charlie stepped back, pointed his index finger at her, then sashayed off towards some women who were dancing on the right side of the stage.
“God help any woman who ends up with him,” Latsoh gasped, her sides aching from laughing so hard.
“I think he’s sweet,” Ceceta said, as she watched Charlie dance on the other side of the stage.
“He’s weird,” Latsoh replied.
Ceceta shrugged. Although the Thestrans didn’t seem to care much for Charlie, Rhen liked him, which was high praise in her book.
They waited by the stage for a while. When Rhen didn’t show, Ceceta decided to go back to the library. “I’m going back upstairs to wait for him there since that’s where I told him to meet us,” she told Latsoh, who followed her out of the room.
When they entered the library, they bumped into Lilly, Reed and Jet, who seemed to be loitering about. Clearly, the Thestrans were getting worried about Rhen’s absence.
“Should we be concerned?” Latsoh whispered to Ceceta.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, pulling out a chair by the desk they’d been sitting at earlier.
Just then, Rhen materialized near the front of the room. He took a step to his right and bumped into a table that was near the door then laughed at his mishap.
“Themrock,” Latsoh breathed out. The front of Rhen’s blue tunic was covered in blood, as were his arms and hands.
“Rhen!” Lilly cried out, moving towards him. “What happened?”
Rhen waved her off. “Nothing. Bartar had a baby.”
“What?” Latsoh asked.
“Congratulations, Sir,” Jet said in Surpen, while Rhen repeated, “Bartar had a baby,” for Latsoh.
Ceceta clapped her hands, interrupting any further questions from the Thestrans. “A baby? That’s great! I didn’t even know that Bartar was a girl. I thought your Surpen Beast of War was a boy. Is everything okay? Why are you covered in blood?”
Rhen glanced at his hands, as if noticing for the first time that they were bloody. “Bartar let me feed her baby his first meal. He preferred the Zorthan goats we had on hand to the Rasack’s possums.”
“Oh, she had a baby boy,” Ceceta said.
Rhen nodded then turned to put Latsoh’s bag, which he was still holding, onto the desk in front of him. With care, he emptied its contents onto the table.
“Love, why don’t you change…” Ceceta began.
Before she’d finished speaking, Rhen was wearing a clean purple tunic that was embroidered with patterns made from silver and an iridescent blue fabric. The blood and dirt that had been covering him was gone.
“You know I prefer it when you use soap and water,” Ceceta told him.
Rhen rolled his eyes at her, but Ceceta continued to glare at him so he made his way across the room to the bathroom. He returned a few seconds later, his hands dripping wet. Sitting down in a plush, beige chair by the table, he pulled Ceceta down onto his lap.
“You should’ve told us where you were going,” Ceceta scolded him.
“Sorry. I had to bolt or I would have missed it.”
Rhen reached up to rub Ceceta’s back. She closed her eyes, enjoying the massage. A moment later, her eyes flew open. She shifted on his lap, pulling away from him. “It’s not yours, is it?”
“What?” Rhen asked as Jet snickered.
“You and Bartar, while you were a dragon, you didn’t…” Ceceta began.
“Oh, Vivist’s spit, Ceceta,” Rhen swore. "I can't believe you just asked me if I had relations with my Beast of War. Seriously?!"
“Well,” Ceceta said in her defense. “You could’ve… I mean, you were shaped like a Beast of War and you were…” Ceceta noticed the tightness around Rhen’s eyes and decided to stop speaking. In her head, she could hear one of the Genisters giggling at her question. She knew Rhen could hear it too, which meant he’d only be more infuriated with her. It wasn’t until Rhen moved to push her off his lap that she realized he’d been trying to get intimate with her. Horrified that she’d ruined the moment, Ceceta grasped at Rhen’s arms, fighting to remain on his lap. The two of them struggled in silence, while the Thestrans watched in confusion and Jet turned away.
“Rhen!” Charlie yelled over the intercom system.
Rhen’s head jerked up and he turned towards the speakers above him.
“While you were gone, Charlie decided you needed to throw another concert,” Reed said. “He’s been blasting your music throughout the palace, hoping you’ll show up and play.”
Lilly scoffed, adding, “So he can get lucky tonight. He’s hoping to meet a few women while you’re playing.”
“Of course,” Reed said, as if it were obvious. “How else would he meet a woman?”
“So, are you going Rhen?” Lilly asked.
“No.” Rhen stood up, dumping Ceceta onto the floor. Stepping over her, he walked back to Latsoh’s books and picked one up.
“What?” Ceceta asked, popping to her feet, as if she and Rhen had been playing a game, not fighting.
“No,” Rhen repeated.
“But you have to,” Lilly protested. “There are literally thousands of people waiting for you. Charlie promised them you’d play a concert.”
Rhen shook his head.
“Please, go,” Lilly urged. “It’d be really embarrassing for Charlie if you didn’t show up and … well, he’s already got so many problems. I don’t think we should add to them.”
“Lilly’s right, love,” Ceceta agreed. “Please go. For Charlie’s sake. It’ll only take an hour or two and then we can start studying.” Although she said ‘studying,’ she was hoping to get Rhen alone. She wanted to apologize to him in private for her comment and hopefully take advantage of some alone time with her husband.
Rhen had no interest whatsoever in performing. He felt like murdering Charlie for putting him in this position. He wondered how it’d look if the Black Angel were to swoop in and save Charlie as Rhen was killing him. The thought made him laugh. Glancing up, he noticed that everyone was staring at him with expectant faces. They really wanted him to save Charlie. “Okay,” he told them with a sigh.
Turning from the table, Rhen used his powers to transport all
of them to the stage where Charlie was waiting.
At the sight of Rhen, the crowd went wild. Charlie cheered as well, which made Rhen feel better about his decision to sing. From the wet beer stains on his brother’s shirt, it was obvious Charlie needed help.
Rhen walked over to the microphone, while his friends moved about the stage, picking up the instruments they wanted to play. “You good?” he asked Ceceta, who was holding a flute.
“Yes. I’m ready when you are,” she called out.
Rhen was about to pull the microphone off its stand, when he heard a shout at the back of the stadium. Shading his eyes from the stage’s lights, he saw three people jogging down one of the aisles towards him.
“You weren’t going to start without us, were you?!” a tall, muscular, blond man shouted over the roar of the crowd.
“Tgfhi!” Rhen cried out, making his way to the stage’s side stairs to greet him.
Tgfhi gave Rhen a bear hug and smacked his back a few times. “Back to normal, I see, Emperor,” he said affectionately, before pulling back to look at Rhen’s face.
"If you can call Rhen normal," the gorgeous woman beside them said.
Rhen turned towards Crystam. Her white blond hair was tied in multiple, interlocking braids that cascaded down her back and her large, round, blue eyes were lit from inside with a seductive warmth.
"Themrock, did we miss you,” Crystam breathed out, pulling Rhen into her arms.
Rhen laughed and lifted Crystam into the air, spinning her about. "Princess Crystam," he said, sounding official while placing her back on her feet. "How is the planet of Ventar faring?"
"Oh," Crystam told him when she saw the twinkle in his eye. "You know, Mom. The Goddess of Love’s powers are omnipotent. What’s the old adage? Love conquers all?"
The Surpen King_Part 1_Return of the Gods Page 8