A King Ascends, page 8
“Tariq, please listen to me,” she pleaded with her husband.
“There will be no children in this household. Not now, never. There will be no children, not ours, not our servants. I won’t have any rats under my feet,” he stormed at her.
“But, when we married, I thought you wanted children.”
“No, dear, all I wanted was you and the connections and prestige you could bring me. I have all that, but I find I no longer want or need you.” He sneered at her as he moved closer.
She drew back in disgust and the beginnings of fear.
“You are despicable, and I’ll file for an annulment,” she spat at him and turned toward the door.
He flushed red in anger as he wiped the spittle off his face. He grabbed her savagely by the neck, and at the moment before he hit her, he saw the fear and horror bloom in her eyes. The blow broke her neck, and it confused him to find it saddened him. Not seeing her dead body, but something else. It held him immobile. Murder did not sadden him, but he experienced such a rush of joy at the power of life and death. Surprised, he only wished the feeling had lasted longer. Thoughtfully, he went about covering up his crime. He didn’t worry about repercussion—luckily, he already had loyal guards that knew not to cross him. Now, years later, he felt nothing for his dead wife, but he still loved the rush.
This thought brought him back to the man lying on his floor.
“Senator Madden, wake up now. We need to discuss your attitude some more.” He nudged the senator roughly with his foot. The senator stirred slightly. “Come now, surely you can see my position?”
The senator slowly, unsteadily, gained his feet. He spat fully into the general’s face. The guards stirred and took a step forward, but the general motioned them back and calmly wiped it off. He stared into the senator’s eyes and said, “A shame,” then calmly broke the senator’s neck.
“I’ll take that as a no,” he said to the body. “Bring in Senator Cipano,” he commanded, as he sat back down at his desk.
“Do you want me to remove the body, sir?”
“No. The senators can reunite here.” He waved the soldier away.
They escorted the senator in with a soldier holding him up on each side. He noticed in horror the body of Madden on the floor at his feet.
“Senator, so nice of you to join us. I hope your stay has been beneficial for me.”
The senator stood rigid and tight-lipped, staring at the general.
“Break his arm,” Tariq ordered, and the two soldiers held him while one broke his arm.
When he could stand again, cradling his arm, he remained silent, wondering what else Tariq would do. He looked down at Madden’s body, wondering whether he would join him soon.
“Are you going to kill us off one at a time?” His pain-filled voice sounded feeble, even to himself.
“My dear fellow, all this would end if you only agree to back me.”
“Why should I back you? For all I know, you have already killed the royal family and imprisoned the senators.”
“The royal family is being taken care of; you don’t have to worry about them. You need to think about you and your family.”
“I sent my family out of harm’s way at the first sign of your coup d’état. You’ll never find them.” The senator stood tall, but Tariq could see the fear start in his eyes. What a sweet sight. He loved seeing the fear bloom and flower in the hearts of his prey. The general pressed a button on his desk and displayed a view of a dungeon cell. The senator stared in disbelief as he saw his wife and oldest daughter holding tight to each other. His other children were not visible to him. He prayed that they, at least, had found refuge.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I want you to spy for me, that is all. Just report any talk or action against me you see or hear as you go about your duties. Your family will stay in their present accommodations and will remain unharmed if you do what you are told. The alternative is the same fate as Madden. Agreed?”
“Will they then stay unharmed and unmolested by you and your guards?” he asked, looking longingly at his family.
“Of course, my good man. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The senator reluctantly nodded his agreement and was taken away to a doctor to tend his arm.
“Take this trash,” Tariq commanded his aide, nudging the dead body with his foot, “and put it in with the senator’s lovely wife and child.” He thought of his long-ago decision to have no wife and no children. They made such lovely hostages.
“Sir? You have a letter from Minister Wayne,” announced one of his soldiers at the door.
Tariq held out his hand for the missive.
After the man had left, Tariq broke the seal and stared at the latest demand for news. When he had left the Southern Military Alliance for the capital city, he knew his plans were much bigger than what the ministers of the Alliance wanted from him. So far, he had ignored the demands for information. This missive was no different, but it did include a threat to travel to see him and take him to task personally.
Calmly, he carried the letter to his desk and set it on fire. Twirling it so the fire spread rapidly, he threw it into the fireplace.
“Come and visit me, dear Minister. I would love to see you,” he murmured. “I will even have a welcome surprise, just for you. You can talk with dear Minister Zachari and compare notes. Oh, wait, you can’t because Zachari is dead. Maybe you can talk to him in Hell.”
And he left the room with a smile on his face that made even his soldiers move back.
One of those soldiers thoughtfully considered what he had overheard as he stood by the door. He quickly left the others as soon as he could and sent a call to Minister Zilri with his interesting news.
CHAPTER 16
When Jon and Alexis flew back in the enclosed air car, the crying of the children over the death of their beloved dog saddened them. Lu-zan tried to distract the children by telling them stories of his homeland.
Jon had a bad time traveling through the forest and waiting to climb into the container. He was weaker than he thought. The rest of the party had struggled to get him and Phillip back to the camp using the anti-gravity disc. He didn’t fit into the container because of his height, but he was so tired he actually fell asleep next to Phillip on the floor of the air car. Mari and the kids asked a lot of questions that Lu-zan and Alexis tried to answer. The kids were especially fascinated by Jon. Alexis found peace watching him sleep and listening to the banter from the group in the air car.
Mari, Phillip, and the kids had made their farewell a moment to remember by giving their guests cookies for their trip off planet. Luzan delighted in receiving lots of his favorite fruits. Alexis checked Phillip one last time before they left.
“Thank you for all your help,” Jon said to the family. “Maybe one day I can explain to you what this means to me. I will never forget your bravery and kindness for as long as I live.”
Alexis drew Phillip aside and gave him a huge hug. Turning to the rest of the family, she thanked each gravely and wished them to be safe after they left.
Jon and Alexis ended up needing to squeeze themselves into the container after all. Lu-zan traveled back to the spaceport with the container in tow, but no one questioned him about it or what it contained. The surrounding people assumed the container had provisions from that trip and not a very uncomfortable Jon and Alexis.
When Lu-zan and the contained got back into their quarters, he opened the container to let a relieved Jon and Alexis climb out. Jon stretched his back and moaned. “I think you enjoyed that,” he accused Lu-zan with a wry grin. Lu-zan offered a back rub to Alexis but laughed when Jon glared at him. Lu-zan offered one of his precious fruits in appeasement. He graciously gave way to Jon with a shake of his hand in Alexis’ direction. Jon smiled and bit into the fruit.
Lu-zan was very grateful they had assigned him a large space on board the ship. They would need it with two extra people. There were several problems that needed to be addressed as soon as possible.
“Could you come to my quarters as promptly as you can? And could you bring the ship’s doctor, too? Thank you,” Lu-zan requested of the ship’s captain.
“Why are you asking for another doctor? I can examine Jon,” Alexis said, as she tried to hold on to her temper.
He gently told her, “We don’t need another doctor for Jon. We need the ship’s doctor in order to ration food, oxygen, and other consumables, which are finite on board a ship. We now have two extra people on board that will cause adjustments. No one is questioning your expertise, Doctor. We are all very impressed with your skill in dealing with this one.” He gestured to Jon.
“Oh, I’m sorry for assuming otherwise,” Alexis answered levelly.
“No need to apologize. You are just not used to thinking in terms of payloads.” He smiled, and she smiled back.
The prized fruits were being carefully unwrapped by Lu-zan. Mari had sent enough for the entire crew, and so Lu-zan was being especially careful. He handed one each to Jon and Alexis and reserved one for himself, but he laid the rest in a container to give to the crew. He laughed when he saw the look on Jon’s face as he bit into his fruit. Alexis blissfully said, “If I had known that Mari could make ambrosia, I would have made it a point to meet her earlier. I think Phillip has been holding out on me. What a wonderful treat.”
Jon looked at Lu-zan when a knock sounded at the door. He and Alexis retreated to the bedrooms section of the quarters to conceal themselves until Lu-zan signaled that it was okay. Jon knew both of the visitors, so he waited for Lu-zan to signal him an okay to emerge. They only appeared when the okay came, and the doctors made introductions. Lu-zan explained about Jon and the prefect.
“Jon, that is terrible. Of course we will help,” interjected the captain.
“Captain, what Jon went through has resulted in physical changes, as you can see. I want to document them. Then we will need to disguise him so he can have freedom of movement.”
“I’ll need an extensive disguise,” Jon said lightly.
“In part, that is why I wanted to meet with you in my quarters. Dr. Michaels has done a remarkable job with the injuries Jon suffered from the crash, but mostly she has been working without information on Tyrean physiology. I thought Dr. Aorangi and Dr. Michaels could well use our time by asking Jon to submit to a more detailed examination to set a baseline to help in his care. Also, is there any way to change his eye color and eyelid dye?”
“Of course. With Dr. Michaels’ help, we can use the ship’s extensive medical lab and database to help,” Dr. Aorangi replied. “I’ve wanted to examine Jon for years—medically, of course.” Her eyes twinkled as Jon blushed.
“He will need a few sets of clothing also; the last set didn’t survive the crash, so Phillip donated what he is wearing,” Lu-zan said, eyeing the ill-fitting ones covering Jon.
“Captain, I also wanted to plan a stop to get supplies.” The captain and Lu-zan sat down to go over star maps, and Jon went with the two doctors, who discussed tests that they should run.
Later, Lu-zan took advantage of the time to work with Jon and Alexis on relaxation techniques. Jon was already familiar with them, so Lu-zan spent most of the time working with Alexis, who, though she listened to what Lu-zan was saying, also kept a close eye on Jon as he went through his routine. Lu-zan also monitored Jon, noting that he was tiring.
“Hey, slow up a little,” Alexis protested. “I’m new to all this.”
“You’re right. We should take a break,” Lu-zan said in agreement.
Jon was happy to take a break. It dismayed him to discover how tired and sore he was. He had thought the cocoon had healed him completely.
Jon retired to his bedroom, where he fell into a deep, healing sleep. This put Alexis at ease as it assuaged her that he was finally able to fully relax. Sleep had already proven extraordinarily good for Jon, but this was the first time he could really stretch out to his full height.
They could tell the ship was getting ready to arrive at their next destination, the moon colony of Obadiah, which orbited a protected planet in the yellow dwarf star system of X-Arlo. The X also appeared in front of the particular planet in the system that was protected. Here, the planetary name was X-Upid. Scientists routinely fought for a chance to study everything about the minor planet, from the smallest ameba to the largest living organism. The uniqueness of the planet stemmed from the fact that it had no native species and what existed there now had somehow travelled from somewhere else. But how and when were the questions. Scientists had been scrambling to answer the question of panspermia on this unique world. So, an exchange had developed on the only moon where ships could bring supplies for free docking privileges, which resulted in a sizable marketplace.
Jon, dressed in his new clothes, stood with Alexis watching the action at the docking facility. He was amazed at some items used to gain docking space. He spied Souse ale from the planet Geneve and air car parts from planet Ford. The entire group did some shopping at the market in the docking dome.
Jon and Alexis had a great time expanding their wardrobe—especially Jon, who clowned around trying on wigs and hats.
“What do you think of this one?” he asked, modeling a wig of blue hair long enough to hang down his back to his waist. “Too much?”
“I like it. We could braid it sometimes.” She hid her smile as she studied the wig. “It might be a little long.”
He finally settled on two wigs: one which covered the growths and was a color that matched his silver eyes, and a second one to pair with contacts to change his eye color. Also, he purchased skin cream to tint his skin. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about his height. Alexis relied on changing her hair color and small lifts in her shoes to change her height. She also had her eyelids temporarily dyed blue to match Jon’s.
“Will this be enough to fool anyone looking for us?” Alexis asked, tugging on her larger dress.
“People look at surface features to recognize someone. You don’t need a lot of changes. Your height alone will mark you as being from off world. I have the same problem. It’s nice to have some new clothes. I really enjoyed getting something new to wear.”
“What’s the next stop? Another planet or your home world?”
“Well, Matt promised Lu-zan that he would reserve hotel rooms when we get to Clete—that’s the nearest planet to my home world. You will love it. It has a neat collection of natural wildlife; it just didn’t develop any higher species. Human settlement there started about five hundred years ago and has been going strong ever since. It’s an agricultural planet and is really our breadbasket in the sky. It’s a beautiful world with a lot of natural wonders.”
“It sounds lovely. Maybe we should just stay there,” she murmured.
“I wish we could, but I need to get home. My father has a friend who is a senator. I should go to him first and find out what the situation is and see if he can help us.”
“Is he reliable? Are you sure of his loyalties? It has been a long while. People do change.”
“Well, that’s true, but I have little choice. He is one official high enough in the government that I remember. We’ll travel to his home and watch first in case things have changed. Then maybe we can get to talk to him.”
“Okay, Jon, we’ll do that, but first I have something I need to say. We’ve known each other for only a brief time. I want nothing to happen to you, because I like you, but also, I don’t want to be left alone on this planet. I know Lu-zan is coming down to your planet later, but I admit, I’m scared for us both.”
He realized Alexis was becoming very important to him. She had given up everything to help him, and he was grateful for all she had done, but he realized his feelings were becoming deeper than that now. He wanted to be with her and protect her from all danger. Unfortunately, she was in more danger because she was with him. Maybe he could remedy that and get her somewhere safe, away from him. It amazed him that she felt the same. At least, he hoped she felt the same.
“When we get to Tyrea, maybe you should stay somewhere you’ll be sheltered while I go alone to the senator’s residence,” he whispered. Surprise took him when she reared back from him in anger.
“You are not going anywhere without me. You still need me to help you heal,” she said, fire in her eyes. “And yes, I’m scared, but I am not a coward.”
“I just want you to be safe,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “You are NOT a coward for being scared. No coward would rescue me from a prison or travel all over with me. I think you are one of the strongest and bravest women I know.”
It took a long time to sleep. Grief and worry were playing havoc with his mind—replaying the attack, the confinement on the prefect’s ship and the cruelty of his guards, the crash on the prison planet, and the acknowledgement of his father’s death. After all the pain and worry, he couldn’t believe he had found someone so courageous. His eyes closed with thoughts of Alexis in all her moods. When sleep came, he was smiling.
Later, after dusk, Jon became aware that something was wrong. He lay still and listened, wondering what could have woken him up. A faint noise sounded from the empty bedroom next to his room. He looked at the clock and realized that they had only been asleep for a couple of hours. He got up and crept to his bedroom door, looking for anything he could use as a weapon. Not seeing anything he could use, he moved to the door to Alexis’ room and whispered her name.
She awoke instantly, but when she saw Jon, she realized that he was signaling for her to be quiet. He pointed to the window, and they moved silently toward it. There was a ledge outside, so they began to move cautiously out onto it.
“Jon?” Matt said quietly from behind him. They froze and turned to see Matt grinning at them. “Want to come back?” he asked. His eyes danced mischievously as he eyed Jon and Alexis in their nightwear.
The two of them inched back to the window. Matt helped them both back into the room. As soon as they were inside, Jon rounded on Matt.
