King of the Streets (The Two Moons of Rehnor), Page 3

  "This is who we are paying our taxes to?" Byl grumbled. "He doesn't care a whit for what we think. All he wants is clean, but empty streets, to house his friends."

  "I'd rather pay my taxes to the boy who keeps us safe," Claire sighed. "At least he makes sure we don't get hurt and still get paid."

  "The boy." I realized I hadn't delivered the kid's message. "Prince Akan," I yelled and ran after him. "Your Highness, I have something to give to you." The Prince looked my way one more time. He brought his handkerchief to his nose as I handed the Karut's envelope to his retainer.

  "I don't understand." The Prince shook his head. "What is this document you wish to present?"

  "It's a copy of a deed, sir," the retainer replied. "All these buildings have been recently purchased. I'm afraid they don't belong to the Crown anymore." A great cheer rose up from those in the streets. "It seems there is a permit application here as well and a request for a land use deviation to change from commercial to residential classification. The buildings are to be converted and improved to current code in order to be sold as low-income condominiums." The Prince looked up, his eyebrows high. He was confused as surely we all were.

  "Who gave you these?" he demanded, turning back to me with a frown.

  "The boy," I replied equally surprised. "He must have used all the coins he collected to hire an attorney. Either that or he's a hell of a lot smarter than we thought."

  "What boy?" the Prince persisted furrowing his brow.

  "The one who has that which was never yours. He says you know him." The Prince's face grew pale, and his hands began to shake.

  "The boy? Could you possibly mean the Karut? Is he living here amongst these streets? I shall conclude my visit immediately and go home forthwith. I believe my luncheon begins very soon. I wish to return to the Palace right at this moment." With that, he sped away and our streets belonged to us again although now I expected the Karut would want some rent.

  ****

  I was walking down the street, my pocket filled with coins, looking for the Karut to pay my share. It was early in the spring when the skies still threatened rain but was warm enough to go about without a coat. I had a cap upon my head and was feeling dapper. At twenty years old, I was looking my best as I'd been eating well and staying in shape. My beard had filled in nicely in a deep dark chestnut color just like my hair. I had girls after me every day and not the kind I had to pay. Every one of them wanted to marry me. I was enjoying my life as unseemly as it was. Not even the Karut could ruin my cheerful mood, although he tried. I was bothered by the tithes that I owed him each week and the rent I paid him every month on time. That kid was getting rich as a result of selling condominiums to all the guys who worked for me and others from the street. He wouldn't sell to me which defied an explanation and pissed me off beyond anything else he did.

  How to get rid of that kid? I contemplated. I'd like to get him off my back. I was tired of his dictating terms and collecting the coins from my struggling business. I was twice the size of him and had armies of my own men. Why couldn't I just shoot him and leave his body to rot? I resolved to do exactly that. It was now or never going to be, so I wrote a note and left it near a street lamp. It read "Senya, see you tonight at the park. We have some business to settle there." Then, I went back to my lair and gathered my boys. "Bring every gun and knife you've got. We're finally going to end his rule. We won't stop until every drop of blood is drained from his body."

  "Are you sure about this," Smirt mumbled while the others stared at me.

  "I'm sick and tired of paying my tithe to a kid half my age. What does he do with all that money anyway? He's dressed in rags and as skinny as if he was starving. You'd think with all the coins we're giving him, he'd be living in a palace. I'm going to end it once and for all and whoever joins me gets a reward. I just don't understand why all of you are afraid of him."

  "You'll find out," Smirt mumbled. "It's been nice knowing you, Reg. You've been a good friend all these years."

  That night when the Child Moon was high, and the Mother Moon had already dipped behind the sea, my boys and I headed out to the park with our guns. The Karut was nowhere to be found, so we stood around and waited just in case. We waited half the night or so it seemed until the Child Moon had disappeared, as well. We got cold, and the sky grew dark as clouds came up and obscured the stars, but I was steadfast in my determination not to pay another coin.

  "He's afraid of us," I announced to the crowd. "He would have shown up by now if he wasn't, obviously. I am declaring myself once again King of the Streets. The coins meant for him will go instead to me, and I will share them with you my loyal and faithful army." My men looked on nervously as Smirt gave each a coin and thanked them for their service and their duty. Just then a bolt of lightning jagged across the sky. It lit up the park until it was bright as day. Another bolt followed striking a tree and setting it afire. Thunder boomed directly overhead and then hail the size of stones pelted down on us as we ran for cover in our building. My men scampered to safety in our loft while I stopped to light a cig, and when I raised my head again, I found myself staring right at the Karut.

  "Ach Reggie," he sighed smoking his own cig and blowing the smoke back in my face. "Were you looking for me to pay your tithe?"

  "Not anymore, Karut," I declared and pulled my gun from the waistband of my pants. "I'm done doing everything you say."

  "Sure Reggie," he chuckled a little. "Come on, I'll be showing you where all your money goes. When we're done with our little tour, you'll be leaving this town."

  "No, I'm not." I put the gun to his head. I pulled back the trigger as I had done to him once before. This time, it was touching his skull, and he couldn't escape. "You move, and your brains will be on the wall. You so much as breathe, and this bullet will pierce you through." I noticed Smirt and the boys all watching from the top of the stair. "Raise your guns," I shouted to them. "If he does anything to me, you shoot him in the back." My men scattered as a bolt of lightning soared through the broken window. "Come back!" I shouted as loud as the thunder. "It's just lightning, you idiots. It can't hurt." Then another bolt burst in and hit the gun that was in my hand. I felt the electricity race up my arms, through my neck and down my spine. I dropped the gun as I could no longer feel my legs. The Karut just sat there calmly watching and smoking his cig as my knees buckled and I fell in a heap upon the ground. My ears roared with the sound of my own blood. My heart stopped for a moment, and I was dead.

  "Are you done now, Reggie me mate, or do you need another shock?"

  "Done," I thought but couldn't say as my mouth refused to listen to my brain.

  "Are you ready to move on with your life as I said that you must do?"

  "Help me," I begged and tried to raise a hand. "I can't breathe, and my heart is hurting in my chest. I got electrocuted right here, and I'm dead or at least I think I am."

  "Will ye do it?" he asked again and held out a hand as if reaching for my own. "Promise me, Reggie, or I'll let you die for real."

  "I will," I gasped, "whatever you say. I'm too young to call it quits. Just help me and I promise I'll change my life."

  "Ach Reggie," he scoffed and tossed his cig into the air where I watched it disappear into a puff of smoke. Then the boy reached over and touched his hand to my forehead. My head filled with this strange silver light and my blood coursed with a shock that jolted my heart. My eyes wept with tears for through this pain there was a beauty I couldn't describe. I breathed in deeply and filled every corner of my lungs as my heart pounded again strong and revitalized. The pain was gone, and I felt as if I had been newly born.

  "Blessed Saint," I cried and jumped to my feet.

  "No Saint." The boy frowned in disgust. "Come on, Reggie, let's go. You've got a bunch of promises to keep."

  I followed him out into the night, carrying all the coins from my business for the last week. Whatever he wanted to do, wherever he wanted to go, I went along with him no questions asked. Neither of
us spoke, or word or slowed a step. We walked until the sun began to rise. The clouds had cleared and the horizon shown in shades of gold. When at last we stopped it was before a building on a distant street. There was a woman out front with a broom. She was dressed in a wimple with a long grey gown and somehow looked familiar, but I didn't know why. The boy nodded and waved me up the steps which I mounted as I held out the purse.

  "For you, Ma'am," I said and bowed in a dignified way.

  "Why thank you," she replied and studied me. "Are you the one who's been leaving bags of coins for us each week?" I started to answer that it wasn't me at all, but she came down the steps and kissed me on both cheeks. "If it hadn't been for you, our children would have starved. Bless you, young man and may the Saint guide your path." She turned and went inside through the door beneath a sign that read "Old Mishnah Orphan Home, You are welcome here." I backed down the steps as I stared at the door searching my brain from some sign of recognition.

  "Senya?" I called, my feet now on the street. "Hey, where did you go? I've got a question to ask about this place. Is this where we both came from?" The Karut kid was gone, disappearing into the shadows once again. I was alone at an intersection with a choice. I could go left and return to my home, or I could go right to a whole new and different place. I could get a new job and learn to be something else entirely. Not knowing where I was going or what awaited me, I turned right toward the palace by the sea. I walked a few more hours until I stood below the iron gates.

  "What do you want?" a guardsman asked. "What business do you have here?" I had no idea so for a moment I didn't speak. I just stared up at the man waiting for some direction or perhaps divine intervention from the Saint. "Are you here for the recruiting event? Do you wish to join the guard?"

  "The guard?"

  "Rumor has it," the guardsman continued. "The Crown Prince will soon return, so Captain Loman is increasing the ranks. The lad will need his own contingent as Prince Akan will surely want him dead. Are you interested, young man? The pay is good and the barracks clean. You'll have to take some tests and several months of training, but overall, the life is very nice."

  "The Crown Prince?" I murmured my mind swirling.

  "The Crown Prince, the boy who disappeared. The one who is the son of Princess Lydia and the Karut. The boy who will be king of this whole planet."

  "The Crown Prince," I echoed one more time as a lightning bolt hit me in the brain. The Karut with silver eyes, the one who owned the streets, in an odd and curious way, it all made sense. My path was now laid out right before me. "Yes," I cried emphatically. "Though he won't need an army at all, I promise to serve and protect. I pledge my life and sacred honor to the Crown Prince." Then, I, Reggie, King of the Streets, walked through those gates and became a Royal Guard.

  The story continues in

  The Two Moons of Rehnor,

  Book 1

  The Boy who Lit up the Sky

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