The Surpen King_Part 1_Return of the Gods

by Charity Kelly

  Standing up, the Black Angel held out his hand to Kate. When she touched his fingers, she found her body had been healed. “Thank you,” she said as she rose to her feet.

  Rhen glanced over at James. The Thestran King was using his own powers to heal his wounds. Turning, Rhen walked over to William. He held out his hand to William, offering to heal him. William glared up at him with hate-filled eyes. Rhen couldn’t figure out what was bothering William and he didn’t have the time to stand there waiting for William to take his hand. He dropped a power ball onto William’s abdomen to heal him then marched over towards an elfin soldier who was losing blood from a severed artery.

  Bosternd and Nk, along with several battalions of Surpen soldiers, ran out of the palace towards them. They’d helped Jet and Tgfhi win the battle inside the palace and were on their way to help the Black Angel. They rushed over towards the Zorthans, who were lying on the ground. "Take the Zorthan soldiers to the Thestrans’ jails below the palace," Bosternd told his men.

  The Black Angel turned and walked over to Sage’s corpse. Her head was bent backwards at a right angle. He was relieved to see that she hadn’t been poisoned. He could heal a broken neck. Kneeling, the Angel pushed a ball of white energy into Sage, healing her and bringing her back to life.

  By now, Ceceta and her friends had run out of the palace to join the others. They watched as the Black Angel continued to heal the Thestrans around him. Charlie wandered up to the group, looking dazed. His mind wasn’t quite right yet. He knew there was something important that he was supposed to remember, but he couldn’t grasp what it was.

  “Where’s Lilly?” Jet asked.

  “Yeah, where is she?” Latsoh said, turning left and right as she searched for Lilly.

  James shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jet. She’s gone. The Zorthans hit her with one of their blasters.”

  Jet staggered back. “No,” he gasped. “Where… where is she?”

  James pointed towards the docks. Rhen followed his gesture. Half of Lilly’s body was missing. It had burned to ash from a Zorthan’s blaster. Jet started running towards the docks.

  Rhen phased himself beside Lilly and sighed with relief. She’d only been hit with a blaster. There wasn’t any Vivist poison inside her. Using his powers, he healed her body before bringing her back to life.

  As Jet neared them, he cried out with joy. The Black Angel had saved Lilly! Jet watched as the Black Angel helped Lilly to her feet. His wife was sobbing uncontrollably. “Lilly!” Jet screamed. “Lilly!” Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Jet felt like the Black Angel had saved his own life. He sprinted the last few yards and scooped Lilly into his arms, hugging her tightly while crying with relief.

  The Black Angel turned away from them. He wanted to finish what he could before the poison overwhelmed him. Holding his hands out, he sent a wave of white powers out over the Thestran’s grounds, healing the soldiers who hadn’t been stung by the Vivists. He wished he could heal everyone, but his powers weren’t strong enough to stop a Vivists’ poison. He made a tent appear near the entrance to the palace and placed the dead soldiers on cots within it. It was the least he could do.

  Satisfied that his work was done, Rhen turned to find the Thestrans had gathered around him.

  It was quiet on the lawn. Everyone stared at the Black Angel, waiting for him to speak. Rhen had used every last bit of energy that he had. He felt the pain of the Vivists’ poison enveloping his mind and knew he wasn’t going to make it. He wanted to talk to Ceceta, but he couldn’t. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but nothing would come out of his mouth. The poison had taken his voice from him. Standing there, he felt the world growing black.

  Charlie stepped forward. His mind had cleared. “So, when did you become immune to a Vivists’ poison?” he asked the Black Angel, as the Angel fell to the ground with a thud.

  “I guess he’s not,” William said, watching the elves pass out around him.

  Before anyone could move forward to help the Black Angel, there was a flash of light and a loud bang. A man wearing a black cloak and carrying a brown canvas sack bent down over the Black Angel. “Hell,” he cursed. “I misjudged the timing. I’m too late.” He chuckled to himself and said, “It figures,” before coughing into his hand.

  Standing up, he threw back the hood of his cloak, revealing an older, gray-haired Rhen. The Thestrans were confused. What was Rhen doing here? How did he get here and why was he so old?

  The older Rhen put the bag he was carrying down onto the ground. He appeared confused for a moment, then he pointed at Ceceta. “Help me get his shirt off.”

  Ceceta could tell there was something wrong with him. His eyes appeared off and he was hunched over slightly as if he were in pain. Stepping forward, she immediately began to help the older Rhen undress the Black Angel. As she unwrapped the scarf from the Black Angel’s face, making it visible to everyone, they gasped.

  “Rhen!” Kate exclaimed, stepping forward for a closer look.

  “I don’t believe it,” William said.

  “The Black Angel is Rhen?” Jet asked, while the Surpen soldiers around him murmured with surprise.

  “Yes,” Bosternd told them, when Ceceta didn’t respond. “Emperor Rhen is the Black Angel. Since the day he got his powers, he’s wanted to use them to help people, but he knew his father wouldn’t let him, so he kept his powers hidden. He struggled over his decision for years, until the Genister known as Thellis gave him the clothes he’s wearing now and told him to do what he knew was right. Rhen’s been the Black Angel ever since.” The Surpen soldiers pounded their chests to honor their Emperor.

  “So, does that mean he’s Themrock too?” James asked Bosternd.

  “Yes,” Bosternd said. “Your brother is the Genister known as Themrock. Although he doesn’t realize he’s Themrock.”

  “What?” James asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “This whole thing is ridiculous,” William said. “How can our brother be a Genister? It’s not possible.”

  Bosternd was about to respond when he saw the older Rhen pull off Rhen’s shirts. He winced at the black circular mark that was left over from the Vivist’s stinger on Rhen’s back left shoulder.

  “Oh,” the older Rhen said, sounding surprised. “That’s bad.” He paused, losing his train of thought, then shook his head and pulled a shot out of his bag. The older Rhen jabbed the shot into Rhen’s wound, injecting something, before laying Rhen down on the ground. Sighing, he stood up to address the crowd that surrounded him.

  “Hi,” he said, trying to sound cheerful. Ceceta winced at the pain she could hear behind his voice. He was trying to hide the fact that he was injured.

  “Wow. Look how young you all are.” The older Rhen smiled at them, as they stared at him in silence. “Okay.” He clapped his hands. “Enough chit-chat.” He laughed at his joke, then paused, looking confused. Ceceta was about to ask him what was wrong when he said, “Why did I come back in time?” He glanced down at the ground and noticed Rhen. “Look!” he said with amazement, “it’s me… ”

  A moment later, he sighed. “That’s right. I’m here to save everyone.” Turning to the crowd around him, the older Rhen said, “Listen up people! I don’t have long! I’ve come back in time to tell you we screwed up. I’ve just been poisoned by a Vivist and unfortunately, the Vivist’s stinger has broken through the seal I’d placed on the Rasack bite I got as a kid, which means I’m now being eaten alive by the combined poisons of the Vivists and the Rasacks.”

  The older Rhen covered his mouth and gave a wet cough. He stared at what was in his hand then noticed the body at his feet. “Look! It’s me…”

  Ceceta’s skin prickled. This was bad. Very bad. “You need to keep going,” she told him. She could see that he was struggling to hold it together. The longer he took, the less coherent he would become.

  The older Rhen raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.

  “You came back in time,” Ceceta prompted hi
m.

  “Oh, oh, yeah. I’m dying. You need to save me. I came back in time to tell you to save me. If I die, the Universe ceases to exist, and so do all of you.” He pointed at Ceceta with his finger then stopped to stare at his hand, looking confused again.

  “Themrock?” Ceceta asked. She wasn’t sure if this older version of Rhen knew who he was.

  “Yes?” Themrock said.

  Ceceta sighed. “Please, tell us. How can we save you?”

  “Look! It’s me…” Themrock pointed at Rhen’s body.

  “Themrock, help us save you,” Ceceta said.

  Themrock’s eyes lost focus again then he blinked and continued, “Rachel made an anti-venom that will save me, but it’ll only work if you give it to me continually. If I miss a shot, I die…” He lost his train of thought and glanced up at the sky.

  “Themrock, where’s the anti-venom?” Ceceta asked.

  “Oh.” Themrock glanced down and saw Rhen at his feet. “Look! It’s me…”

  Ceceta felt like pounding her head on the ground. “Themrock! Give us the anti-venom.”

  Themrock blinked. “Right.” He picked up the bag at his feet but had to wait a moment to catch his breath. When he could talk again, he said, “To stop me from dying, you need to give me a shot every hour for the next two and a half weeks.” He hesitated. “Um, maybe it was three weeks... yeah, make it three weeks to be sure. There are enough shots in here,” he pointed at the bag, “to last you the three weeks.” He coughed a wet cough and winced. Ceceta thought he was going to lose track of the conversation again, but he surprised her by pulling a large, opaque mason jar out of the bag. “Rub this ointment on my wound whenever it gets bigger than the size of a walnut.” He put the ointment back into the bag and his eyes fell on Rhen. “Look! It’s me…”

  William laughed.

  Themrock glanced over at him and frowned. “I’m dying.”

  “We can see that,” Ceceta said. He was getting worse. She needed to speed this up before he forgot to tell them what he’d come to say. “How do we save you? Is it just the shots and cream?”

  “What?” Themrock asked.

  Before he could look down at the ground and see himself again, Ceceta jumped to her feet and said, “Do you have anything else in the bag that we need?”

  Themrock opened the bag and rooted around. He pulled out two thin, blue bands. “These are good.” He snapped the first band onto Ceceta’s wrist and clicked a button on it to activate it, before crouching down to place the second band around Rhen’s ankle. He was about to stand up, when he noticed the bright orange socks sticking out of Rhen’s trainers. “Oh,” he said. “I miss those shoes. They were my favorite.” He reached out to grab the toe of Rhen's right shoe and shook it. “I love my orange socks,” he mused, before falling to the ground in a coughing fit.

  Ceceta leaned down over him. Themrock sounded horrible. “Are you okay?”

  When Themrock could speak again, he said, “I’m dying.” He opened his cape and lifted up his shirt to reveal a blackened, half dissolved torso. Tgfhi and the others drew back with disgust at the sight. “I’m dying,” Themrock repeated. “I came back in time to tell you that the Universe ceases to exist if I die. Not even your souls will remain. You must save me to save yourselves.” He dropped his shirt and turned to get up, but noticed Rhen lying underneath him. “Look! It’s me…”

  “Themrock, we will save you, but you have to finish explaining what we must do,” Ceceta said. She lifted her hand and shook the blue band he’d put on her wrist in front of him. “What’s this?”

  Themrock laughed and stood up. “I made that. It’s a timing device. Yours will sound off first, when you need to give me my next shot. If you don’t give me my shot within five minutes of the alarm, the band I put on my ankle will sound off. My band makes a sound that’ll drive me nuts, so if you’re not there in time to administer my next dose, I’ll give it to myself just to turn off the noise.” He glanced down at his foot. “Wait? Where’s my band?”

  Ceceta pointed towards Rhen’s foot.

  “Oh, there it is.” He paused looking confused. When his eyes reached Rhen’s face, he said, “Look! It’s me…”

  “Is there anything else, Themrock?” Ceceta asked, wishing she hadn’t pointed at Rhen’s foot.

  “What?” Themrock glanced over at Ceceta.

  “Do we need to know anything else to save you?”

  “No.”

  “May I see your bag?”

  Themrock appeared confused. “Bag?”

  Ceceta reached out and gently removed the bag from Themrock’s shoulder. She opened it and searched inside. “What are these for?” she asked, holding up two pairs of metallic blue shackles.

  “Oh, those are important. Remember to use those.”

  “For what?”

  “For when the pain gets too severe. If you don’t use those, I’ll destroy everything. My powers will fly out uncontrollably and…” He lost his train of thought. Ceceta shook the shackles. Themrock blinked and said, “Don’t let me leave the hospital. Lock me up with those if I try to leave. I can’t break through them. They’re Genister restraints.” Themrock winced and bent over coughing.

  Ceceta’s heart went out to him. She placed a hand on his back until he could catch his breath. When he stood back up, she leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. He lifted his hand and pressed it where she’d kissed him. “I love you,” he said softly.

  “I love you, too.”

  “I don’t want you to die because of me. Save me so everyone lives.”

  “I’ll do my best. I’m sorry you were stung by the Vivist.”

  Themrock’s eyes lost focus. “Vivist?” He shook his head to clear it. “The Vivists come back,” he told them. “Nirs smelled the poison in my blood before he left. He brings back his army to finish me off. Make sure I meet with them as the Black Angel. If I go in costume, they’ll leave; if I go as Rhen, there will be another battle and everyone will die.” He coughed then tightened his coat around him. His eyes fell on Rhen and he said, “Look! It’s me…”

  Ceceta reached out to squeeze his arm. “Themrock?”

  Themrock raised his eyes to hers. “Oh, I’m Themrock.” He glanced down at Rhen and said softly, “Don’t tell me I’m Themrock. I don’t want to know. Okay?”

  “We won’t tell you,” Ceceta reassured him.

  He smiled. “Thank you.” His eyes drifted towards the palace and Ceceta thought he’d lost his way again but he said, “It hurts so much. There are times that I long for death.” He coughed. “I’m sorry that you are tied to me. I didn’t mean to end your lives with my own. I will fix it, if we can get through this.”

  “We will get through this, Themrock,” Ceceta said. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you die.”

  Themrock reached out to push a lock of Ceceta’s hair off her face. “I believe you. Now that you have what you need, I’m confident that it will work out. Tell Rachel thank you. Without her anti-venom, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “I will.”

  Themrock glanced down and his eyes spotted Rhen. “Look! It’s…”

  “Me,” William finished for him.

  Themrock glanced up at William. Before he could say anything, he doubled over in a fit of coughing. When he could speak again, he said, “It’s time. I must go back. Don’t let me die.”

  There was a bright light and a loud bang and then he was gone.

  Ceceta was the first to recover. She checked inside the bag one more time, then looped the bag’s strap over her shoulder.

  Ceceta took a moment to study the grounds. Fortunately for them, the entire battle had occurred on the Thestran Royal Family’s side of the palace, which meant the Delegates, who were still in the palace, hadn’t seen a thing. It appeared that the only people who knew that Rhen was the Black Angel were the Thestrans, the Surpens and the elves. Not even the Zorthans were present, Bosternd’s men had already removed them. Ceceta felt the ball of stress within her chest
lessen. She’d been worried that Rhen’s secret would be traveling across the Universe by now, but it looked like they were in luck. There was no doubt in her mind that the people who were present would be able to keep Themrock’s secret.

  She was surprised by how much better she felt, knowing she was no longer alone. From now on, she’d have help dealing with the Genisters and her husband. Ceceta closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Fantastic, she thought.

  When she opened her eyes, she found the crowd was staring at her. They were obviously still in shock. Ceceta laughed inside. It was just another day for her.

  Lifting her hand, Ceceta motioned towards Jet, Bosternd, Tgfhi and Erfce. “Would you please pick up Rhen?” Immediately, they stepped forward to help.

  As Ceceta’s friends were bending down to grab Rhen’s arms and legs, they heard her tell the stunned crowd around them. “Welcome to my life!” She laughed at the expressions on their faces then walked off towards the palace, knowing full well that they’d follow her.

  Appendix

  The Surpen King’s Characters

  THE SURPENS

  Rhen – Emperor of Surpen, adopted by Andres and Orpel, Kate and Henry’s 8th child

  Ceceta – Rhen’s wife, Neptian by birth

  Andres – ex-King of Surpen – Rhen’s adoptive father – Deceased

  Orpel – ex-Queen of Surpen – Rhen’s adoptive mother

  Loreth – Andres’ advisor – Genister Therol’s alter ego

  Bosternd – Commander of Surpen’s Army, Rhen’s friend

  Nk – General in Surpen Army, Rhen’s friend

  Jet – Lilly’s husband, Lieutenant in Surpen Army, Rhen’s friend

  Ngi – General in Surpen Army, Rhen’s friend