Betrayal (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 14), Page 3

  As Rent watched the new people swarm into the foyer, a whiff of cigarette smoke interrupted his quiet contemplation. Immediately, his heart seized and his chest began to hurt.

  “What’s shaking?” It was Steve.

  “Besides my nervous system? Kari-fa, Steve, can’t you smoke another brand? You give me a heart attack whenever you come near.”

  “Sorry, dude. I always liked these.” He took out the cig and gazed at the gold foil paper appraisingly. “If I ever get out of here, I promise I’ll buy Camels or Marlboros.”

  “Not Marlboros,” Rent mumbled, taking a deep breath. “I hate the smell of Marlboros even more.”

  “That, I’ll never understand,” Steve replied, as a woman’s laughter carried from the courtyard below, causing both men to lean over the rail and gaze downward.

  Above them, the roof was opening to allow the warm, tropical Rozarian breeze to swell through the building. The foliage in the center piazza stirred. Two women were admiring the flowers in bloom, the hibiscus, bougainvillea, plummeria, and jasmine. Their fragrances mingled and drifted throughout the house, especially at night. Rent would lie in his bed breathing in these scents, imaging his mother planting these as seedlings. He thought of her sleeping in the room next door, happy with her flowers and her life, unlike him now, terrorized and afraid.

  “Nice,” Steve murmured, taking a long drag on his cig, while nodding at a brunette who was walking alone.

  She peered in the kitchen, and the living room with the enormous picture windows gazing out at the sea. Then, she strolled toward the courtyard to greet the other women.

  “Nice,” Rent agreed, admiring the woman’s long legs, as well as everything north, which was clothed in a linen designer suit.

  The woman shook hands and smiled energetically at all the other employees.

  “I’ve got dibs,” Steve declared.

  “No, you don’t. You’re married.”

  “That never stopped me before.”

  “Well, it should have. You might have managed to stay married longer than six months.”

  “Hey. I’ve been married to Joanne for almost two years.”

  “Eva?” Kinar interrupted from one floor below, peering over the balcony just outside his office. “Would you mind coming up here?”

  The brunette turned and waved her hand.

  “Right away, Lord Kinar,” she called in Mishnese.

  “Eva,” Steve said, drawing out the name as if it had three syllables.

  “Eva,” Rent repeated, as if it had just one.

  Eva looked up in their direction, her eyes growing wide as she recognized the Imperial Princes.

  “Sirs.” She curtseyed deeply from three floors below.

  “Eva,” they both muttered, nudging each other like adolescents in junior high school while Eva rose, and gracefully walked up the stairs.

  She disappeared into Kinar’s office, a place neither Prince desired to go, as it sat directly outside their father’s inner sanctum.

  “Come on. Let’s go take a walk outside. We’ve got things to discuss.” Steve extinguished his smoke, and pulled his brother’s arm. “If she’s going in to meet the old man, he’ll be too preoccupied to worry about us.”

  “Okay,” Rent agreed, following his brother.

  The Princes headed down the stairs as one of Taner's lackey's led the rest of the milling employees out of the courtyard towards the annex buildings.

  “Your room assignment,” the courtier's voice announced, “Will be on your employee ID which you may use to scan yourself in to both your flat and your office.”

  Steve and Rent, in the meantime, exited out the front door, heading up into hills, toward the waterfall.

  “We used to camp here. Can you believe that? Mom used to love to sleep outdoors in a tent, although most of the time, I had the tent alone."

  "Why was that?" Rent was only half listening to his brother. His mind was still on Eva and what she might be doing in their father's office.

  "Dad never liked confined spaces, so they stayed outside until he left to go do whatever he does in the middle of the night. Then, Mom would crawl in with me. I used to love that."

  "You have Mommy issues, Steve."

  "You think?"

  "I don't have to think. It's totally obvious."

  They had reached the waterfall and pool, which was filled with crystal clear blue water and colorful rocks. Trout darted along the bottom feeding on green plants, while birds chirped in the surrounding trees.

  Rent took off his shoes and sat down on the ledge, sticking his feet in the water, and watching the reflection bend them. He tried to imagine what it must have been like to be five years old, and acting like a real family on vacation. Would he have pretended to fish with a stick, or roasted marshmallows over a campfire? At night, would he have hidden in a tent with Steve, and made hand puppets on the wall?

  Rent couldn't imagine it. It was too farfetched to believe. Not because of his mother. No. He could see her doing all of that. But, his father? No way. His great Imperial Father acting like a real dad? He’d sooner believe that he had entered a parallel universe, and was actually dead.

  "So, Revak." Steve began to say, while walking in circles around the pond. His hands were in his pockets, and he was kicking up dirt.

  “Don’t call me that,” Rent interrupted. “I hate that name.”

  “I don’t care, Revak. It’s time for you and me to evacuate from here. We need a spaceplane, and some funds. I'm going to send a message to Jimmy Mattson. I’m pretty certain he’ll help us out, so be prepared to act quickly."

  "It'll be dangerous for him," Rent said, as a trout came to check out his big toe. It bumped against him. His silver scales reflecting all sorts of colors.

  “Joanne will approach him since she’s the only one who is allowed out. It’ll be Jim’s decision if he wants to help, but he’s a good guy. He’ll do the right thing.”

  "Okay," Rent agreed, pulling out a foot and studying the way his skin had pruned. "Steve, I've got ask you something. I'm really confused."

  "What?" Steve sat down on the ledge across from his brother. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit up.

  "I don't understand who he is."

  “Jimmy?”

  “No. Dad. The big man…”

  "Ha! Join the club, baby bro."

  "No, seriously. Back in Mishnah, in his office, how did you know to kill that guy, Luka?"

  "The note, dude. Remember? The one that was written in Karupta?"

  "But, he doesn't have any brothers, and like poof, the guy was gone.”

  "Right." Steve breathed a long puff of gray smoke into the air. "The thing is, Rent, our dad is...well...he's sort of...well..."

  "Why did Luka call him Mika if his name is Sehron?"

  "Yeah," Steve sighed. "Like I was saying, our dad is...well...some people think he's..."

  "What?"

  "I don't know." Steve tossed his burning cig into the pond.

  "I thought angels were supposed to be good. You know, angelic."

  "Nope." Steve started walking back down the hill.

  Rent wiped his feet on his socks, and slipped on his shoes.

  "They can be evil too,” Steve continued. “Just like people, I suppose. They can be one way and turn into another, especially the kind that get kicked out, and fall down."

  "How do you know all this?"

  "Sorkan, our granddad used to tell me all kinds of stories. It was all written in the ancient books, the ones the Great Father Karukan wrote. At the time, I had no idea he was referring to...you know..."

  "Yeah."

  “Somehow, I don’t think Gramps knew either. He was a cool dude though, Rent. Too bad you never got to meet him.”

  “Yeah,” Rent agreed again, following his brother back to the house. Back to their prison. Back to the vault of so many memories of which none of them were his. “Steve, if Dad’s a…you know…what does that make us?”

 
Steve pulled up abruptly, causing Rent to plow into him.

  “Losers, Prince Revak.” Steve swiped at his brother’s arm. “It makes us prime targets for evil angel assassination. As far as I’m concerned, we need to blow this popsicle stand. Keep your bag packed and your toothbrush handy.”

  “Okay. Earth, right?”

  Steve nodded. “Right.”

  “It’s a big planet, Steve. How are we going to find her once we’re there?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”

  The brothers didn’t have a choice in any case. Rent knew this with absolute certainty. There was one thing that bothered him though. Actually, there were a lot of things that bothered him, but this one thing was niggling at the back of his mind. If their mother was hiding on Earth, why would she consider coming back with them, and why would they consider coming back once set free?

  Chapter 5

  Jim Mattson thought he would enjoy his second term as president of SdK Corporation. He had returned to his old office on the fourteenth floor of the SdK Tower, a building constructed during his last term of leadership several years before.

  The tower was adjacent to the original corporate complex, the one his father, Thad had built in Kalika-hahr decades ago. The trees surrounding the place were now old and stately, the ducks and geese paddling about the lake, great-grand descendants of the original flocks.

  Jim walked the grounds daily during his lunch hour. It was good exercise and helped to relieve the tremendous stress his position brought with it.

  When he agreed to take over again, he had no idea how much more difficult it would be this time. Gone were the easy-going staff meetings, and the casual dress code of polo and chinos, or jeans if you wanted. No longer would a stand-up meeting include fifteen minutes of jokes. Instead, everything was ice cold and formal.

  Whenever Jim passed someone in the halls, or stood in the lift with a group of employees, not a word was spoken between them. Furtively, they glanced at him, and whispered in the shadows, as if everything that had happened was his fault.

  It wasn't. Jim came on board and for the first few months, it was just like the good old days. Reconstructing the company after the divesture had been easy enough, as the Rozarian company was rolling in cash. SdK Rozari had accumulated half a century of wealth that was closeted away in long term, medium yield securities, something Thad had initiated back when the Court had first moved to Rehnor.

  All Jim needed to do was start spending it on marketing, facilities, research and development, and employees. So, he did, and SdK Rozari was trending back upward, the Board of Directors smiling optimistically for the first time in years.

  Then, all that shit happened in Mishnah, and everything abruptly changed. The Emperor returned to Rehnor, the Court moved temporarily to Rozari, and Jim's discretionary budget was immediately cut off.

  Now, there was some woman named Eva ringing him everyday to announce how much money she was transferring out of his company, funds that Jim could have used to develop his own projects.

  "I thought the divesture meant SdK Rozari was no longer under Rehnorian control," Jim complained, after the third or fourth of these type calls. "You're drawing Rozarian assets to fund Rehnorian projects."

  "It's all money that belongs to the de Kudisha family," Eva patiently explained. "His Majesty put it there for just this type of contingency."

  Sure. Now that Jim thought about that, it made a whole lot of sense. Thad would never have had the foresight to invest it like this, on his own. The Emperor must have ordered his wealth locked away in Rozari, while knowing full well that Rehnor would go to hell.

  "So what about my budgets, my plans? We're starting a retrofit of all Rozarian medical facilities. Am I just supposed to stop that? Put everything on hold?"

  "I'll be back with you tomorrow," Eva had replied. "I'll have your new budgets ready for you then. Don't worry, Jim. You'll be able to move forward with all of your projects. You'll see. It'll all work out."

  She smiled genuinely, not at all like she was intending to screw him over. In fact, there was something about Eva that made him want to believe every word she said.

  Jim smiled back. He couldn't help it. He liked her look.

  "Thanks Eva. Hey! Are you busy tonight? Maybe, I can show you around Rozari after work? There's a great place to grab dinner in the Takira-hahr Fashion Mall."

  Eva blushed, a warm pink glow rising up her cheeks and filling her face.

  "I'm so sorry, Jim. I have to work tonight. Maybe another time? I've got to run now. Kinar is paging me."

  "Another time then. Actually, I've got work to do too,” he added, just in case she might think he wasn’t busy enough.

  Jim decided to go home. It was evening, nearly the weekend. He was tired, and the conversation with Eva left him feeling out of sorts. He didn't know exactly why, but since the Imperial Court's return to Rozari, he felt like someone was pressing on his spine with their thumb.

  Grabbing his jacket and umbrella, Jim was heading to the lift when his cell buzzed again.

  "Yeah?"

  "Jim?" An unfamiliar woman's voice whispered in his ear. She spoke English with an American accent. Even though he hadn't been back to Earth since he was a kid, he recognized it. "Can you meet me somewhere? We need to talk, seriously. Please."

  "Who is this?" Jim demanded, while trying to sound friendly, his mind quickly racing through his long list of ex-girlfriends. He sorted out all who had been from Earth, and spoke with this type of accent. "Is this Sheila? Diane? Debbie? Noreen? Judy?"

  "It's Joanne," the voice replied drily. "Steve's wife. The Imperial Prince?"

  "Right, right," Jim cried jubilantly, while sighing with relief. "How ya doing? How's the kids? How’s Shika? Love that, dude."

  "I need to meet with you," Joanne said abruptly. "As soon as possible, like right now."

  "Alright," Jim agreed, his curiosity piqued.

  In general, Jim preferred to steer well clear of the de Kudisha family, as communication with them always portended nothing good. However, Joanne wasn't really one of them, and her voice did sound a little desperate.

  While he rode in the lift across to the garage, Jim suggested they meet at the Cowboy Corral Bar & Grill. Happy hour was just starting, and it was Ladies' Night too. Jim could fill up on wings, and cheap beer while lending a sympathetic ear to whatever problems Joanne had.

  Joanne hadn’t seen Jim in several years, although she had always liked him. He was one of the few in their limited circle of friends and acquaintances who was basically normal. He was also the only other human.

  She recognized him right away. Even though he was a few years older, well into his middle age, he still had that frat boy look about him.

  “Hello Princess,” he called, grabbing her hand, and zealously kissing it with great aplomb as they met in front of the restaurant.

  “I’m not a princess.” Joanne rolled her eyes, although she appreciated Jim’s effort at gallantry. “Steve is Prince Charming, and Sara is Princess Brat, while my kids and I are just the poor relations.”

  “Why’s that?” Jim asked, holding up two fingers for the hostess. He pointed at an empty booth by the window.

  While the girl led them away, Jim scanned the place for anyone he knew, just in case this meeting with Joanne ended early. On a stool by the bar, there was a good-looking brunette who seemed vaguely familiar. Next to her was a blonde and a red, sitting three stools down, was also nice. Tonight’s selection wasn’t bad. Jim could probably find one or two to entertain, although, right now, he turned his attention back to Joanne.

  “We have what’s called a Morganic Marriage,” Joanne explained, sliding into the booth.

  Jim sat down on the other side which faced the door. He had this policy, something his dad always told him to do, ‘Face the door in case you ever need to run out quickly.’

  “I have no title, and I’m not allowed to receive any portion of the Imperial Estate.”

 
“Why not?” Jim asked, reaching for the bowl of peanuts.

  “Steve said he couldn’t confer one on me. I’d have to be upped, and only his dad could do that. So far, HIM doesn’t seem to have any inclination to do that.”

  “It’s probably better that way. Trust me, Jo, this title business is more annoying than anything else.”

  Jim caught the brunette looking at him through the reflection in the mirror behind the bar glasses. He winked, although she had already turned her head away. He wondered how she’d react if he introduced himself as Duke Kalika-hahr. He didn’t tell Joanne, but a title usually came in handy.

  “You’re telling me.” Joanne ordered a margarita from the digital display. “It’ll definitely be easier to get out if I don’t have one.”

  Jim was a little surprised by this revelation. He wondered if that was the reason for this meeting. Did Joanne want advice on how to leave Steve? It wasn’t like Jim had any clue. He had never been married or divorced, especially not to a member of the Imperial Family.

  “Do you want out?” he asked, watching the brunette jump down from her stool. She hurried out of the bar, one hand on her face. Jim figured she had a headache. Bummer. So much for that. At least the blonde and the red were still around.

  “Oh yeah. What are you drinking?” She pushed the digital display over to Jim.

  He ordered a Corona whale, and a plate of hot wings with extra sauce.

  “But, that’s not why I’m here,” Joanne continued. “There’s no way I can get out now. We’re prisoners. All of us. If I run, I’ll never see my kids again.”

  Jim nodded his head sympathetically. No wife, no ex-wife, no kids. What was the problem?

  “So why are you here?” he asked, handing her a margarita from the hovering tray.

  “Steve asked me to speak to you because he’s not allowed off the estate himself. Neither is Rent. Like I said, we’re all prisoners.”

  “But you are out? You’re here right now.”

  “I'm allowed out only to visit the kids. They’re at a private boarding school near Donika-hahr. That's where I told Taner I was going tonight.”

  Jim nodded again, and bit into a hot wing covered in sauce. The wings were good. They always were.