Of Blood and Angels (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 3) (16 page)

“Of course, Sir,” Kinar replied as an
orderly knocked on the door and then entered with a wheelchair.  Senya removed
his hand from my neck as I stood up.  A piercing pain seared across my skull
again.  I collapsed in the chair and immediately, he put his hand back on my
neck.  The pain disappeared.

“What are you doing?” I cried.

“It’s kind of like acupuncture with
energy,” he replied, holding my head.  “I am neutralizing your nerve endings.  
I'm going to put you to sleep now, yes?  We'll chat on the other side.”

“Thanks, Senya,” I said.  “Did I hear you
right?  Did you call me m'lord?”

“That's right, Berk,” he said as the world
went dark.  “I've made you Earl of Korelesk.”

A week later both Senya and I went home. 
He went first to Karupatani for a day and then on to his home on Rozari and I
returned to my house in New Mishnah where Luci parked Marik on the bed next to
me and turned on his cartoons while she went to lie down on the sofa.  Marik
ate little oat cereal things while watching all sorts of animated chaos on the
vid and our bed was quickly covered in little bits of them.  He laughed and
pointed at the silliness and I began to feel better just watching his joyful
little face.

"You're getting a new brother soon,”
I told him during an advertisement.  “And a new friend.”

“I don't want a brother,” Marik replied
smashing some of the oat things.

“What about a friend?” I asked.

“A friend is okay.”  He tossed a handful
into his mouth.  Most ended up on my sheets.  “As long as he doesn't play with
my toys.”

“Oh, I don't think he'll do that.  I think
you'll want to play with his toys.  Your friend is going to be a prince and
live in the Palace where grandpa works.  Perhaps you and your new brother will
be able to visit him there.  Would you like that?”

Marik nodded.  “What's his name?”

“Prince Shika de Kudisha,” I replied.  At
this moment, my father and Luci walked in.

“Prince Shika de Kudisha,” my father
repeated.  “Still safely tucked away in his mother's womb and already causing
problems.”

“Is he?” I asked.  Marik's show was
playing again.

“Shhh!” he told us, putting a finger over
his lips.  “Zip it up, Grampa!”

“Can you take him out of here, Luci,” my
father asked as Marik started to scream in the way that four year olds do when
they do not get what they want.

“But I want to hear what you are saying,”
Luci whined, picking up the boy.

“Well, park him in front of the other
vid,” I suggested and told my father to sit down.

“How are you feeling?”  My father lowered
his bulk into a chair that strained beneath him.

“Much better.  Perhaps tomorrow even I
will get up and go back to work.  Senya said my aneurysm was the size of a golf
ball.  It would have killed me if it burst.”

“You were fortunate he noticed it.  What
brought him here anyway?”

“He wanted to meet with our team regarding
the propulsion systems on the new ships.  He's developed a process to combust
fermium and use it as the energy source.”

“Ah,” my father nodded.  “That was why he
has deeded all the waste soft rock from the Child Moon to SdK.  The fermium
lies within that.”

“Deeded it?”

“The moons are his duchy,” my father
scoffed.  “Frankly, all Rehnor belongs to him now as the King defers everything
to him.”

“So that was the point of his audience
then?  Was there anything else interesting in Lord Dickon's discussions?”

“The MaKennah is effectively Regent now. 
There is always business to discuss.  A billion people require a fair amount of
governance.”

“How does he propose to manage the planet
as well as the company?” I asked as Luci rejoined us.  She sat heavily on the
edge of the bed.  "He can't go on like this.  It's obviously wearing him
out."

“Yes, he did look a mess when he was here,
and exhausted.  He insisted that much of what needs to be done can be done from
his organization on Rozari.”  My father frowned.  “He's going to expand his
staff there.  Kinar will relocate there.  You'll probably have to start making
trips back and forth when you feel better.  He wants Yokaa to continue to be
the face of the government while you all work quietly behind the scenes.”

“And what about the baby?” Luci inquired,
her hands circling her own extended belly.  “Shouldn't she come, and let him be
born here?”

“Ah,” my father sighed.  “That is becoming
a bit of a problem.  We told him she needs to be here and be monitored even if
he chooses to remain on Rozari but he refused to bring her."

“Perhaps Katie wants to have the child
born on Rozari or on Earth?” I suggested.

“Regardless of what Katie wants, the child
will be born in Mishnah at the Palace,” my father stated unequivocally.  “He
cannot become king if he is born anywhere else.  When Lydia was carrying Senya,
she was monitored daily.  As it was, he came nearly six weeks early.  If Prince
Shika is anything at all like his father, Katie should be under constant
supervision."

"Senya is a doctor," I reminded
him.

"As he has reminded us.  So we have
made a compromise.  Luci, how is your Rozarian these days?”

“Passable,” she replied.  “But Loman, I'm
due in four months.  I can't go back to work now, not with two babies.”

“It won't be work,” my father said.  “You
will go to Takira-hahr in about a month and attend the Lady until your time. 
Marik may go, as well.  There will be plenty of servants to assist the both of
you and in the meantime, you will get to know the MaKani and try to teach her
Mishnese.  When you are ready to give birth you will return and the MaKani will
come to the Palace for her own lying in.”

"What about some of the other court
ladies?" I protested.  "Why Luci?  How can she attend to the lady
when she, herself, is due at any moment?"

"It will not be difficult,” my father
insisted.  “The MaKani really just needs someone to sit with her and keep her
quiet.  She should not be jumping around and doing her martial arts and
things.  She should be calmly gestating and learning her Mishnese.  The
MaKennah specifically requested Lady Korelesk attend her in this, so Luci it
is."

“Oh, Loman,” Luci gasped.  "He chose
me?  Wait a moment.  Who is Lady Korelesk?"

“Oh, right,” I said.  "I forgot to
tell you that little bit."

Luci's eyes grew wide, as I knew they
would.

"I'm the Earl of Korelesk now, fancy
that."

Luci shrieked.  "The MaKennah made
Berkie an Earl?"

“He did,” my father smiled and rose to his
feet.  He opened the door and shouted.  “Marik!  Come tell Grandpa all about
your new school.”

Chapter 13

Katie

“Who took my dishes?”  I picked up the
plate that Tilia set in front of me.  “This isn't my set.”

Tilia shrugged.  She set some gold cutlery
down next to me.

“This isn't mine either.”  Each piece was
twenty-four karat gold and had the Eagle Crest embossed on it.  The dishes were
bone china and had a thick gold rim with the Eagle Crest embossed in gold in
the center.  The glass of milk Tilia presented to me was in a crystal goblet
with a gold rim and the same embossing.

“Where did all my stuff go?” I asked
again.

Tilia looked at me blankly.

“Forget it,” I snapped at her even though
she probably didn’t know anything anyway.  She just got here a few days ago
too.  “Don't you have a life?”

“We serve you, MaKani,” she replied.

I got up and left.  My house was full of
strangers.  My stuff was gone, replaced by all this stuff from Mishnah.  My
husband was gone and didn’t even bother to let me know where he went or what he
was doing.

I headed down to the beach for a walk.  My
OB at the SdK Medical Center said exercise would keep my blood pressure down
but I think she was wrong.  Nothing would keep my blood pressure down.  I rang
Thad.

“Do you know when he's coming back?” I
said.

“He didn't say,” Thad replied.  “Berkan
needed brain surgery and then I think he went to Karupatani.  Gotta fertilize
that dirt too.”

“Very funny,” I muttered.

“I heard you're getting a house guest
though,” Thad reported.

“Who?”

“Luci and their little four year old
hellion, Marik.”

“What?” I cried.  “What are you talking
about?”

“Luci is supposed to be coming to live
with you next month.  After that, you're being recalled to Mishnah to give
birth in the Palace.  Your little monster has to be born in the same place your
big monster was born just like all the kings before them.”

“The hell with that!”

“Hey, I'm just the messenger delivering the
news I heard over the wire,” Thad said.  “Chat later, Kate.”  He hung up.

“That's it,” I decided and went back to
work.  I didn’t need to sit around and gestate and I certainly was not going to
sit around waiting for Luci to move in.  Admiral Tim had a project for me.  I
put my uniform back on, I snapped my Commander bars onto my epaulets and I took
my Lexus to Landbase Rozari. 

When I was at work, I snapped at everyone
and I don’t think it was due to my hormones.  I had tolerance for nothing. 
Admiral Tim liked this version of me.  Command liked this version of me.  I was
given a window office and more projects to keep me here as long as I wanted. 

I spent all day and half the night in my
office.  I took the Captaincy exam and passed it with flying colors.  I
returned home to see that Senya had been there.  The Andorians had done the
laundry and I saw which shirts he had worn because they were freshly pressed
and hanging in the closet.  His shoes were polished and lined the racks on the
floor.  Everything else was clean and orderly, straightened by the Andorians
the moment we left.  Our house was like a hotel and we were strangers that
passed in the night, checking in and out of the same room, never seeing each
other.  If he slept, it was in another room or while I was not there and then
the bedsheets were quickly straightened before I returned.  Perhaps he didn’t
sleep at all.

The annex buildings adjacent to the house
had been completed.  The Andorians and other people lived there but I only
interacted with the Andorians.  I saw people going in and out of the offices on
the second floor and across the sky bridge I heard Mishnese being spoken.  The
Rehnorians had taken over my house.  They had taken my husband.  I would not
let them have my baby too.

Luci moved in.  Actually, she moved into
one of the apartments in one of the other buildings where the staff lived.  She
was sitting at my dinner table when I came home from the Landbase.  I was about
four and half months along and she looked like she was ready to pop at six
months.  Marik was sitting at the table in a booster seat tossing peas on the
floor which Siria promptly picked up.

“Sit down,” I ordered Luci as she
struggled to get her bulk out of the chair.

“Madame,” she said and insisted on
standing.  I looked at her feet, which were puffed to about double the size
they should have been.

“Luci sit down and stay down,” I sighed,
taking off my dress coat and handing it to Tilia.  I was half the size of Luci
but I felt equally enormous.  I sat down at the table because I was starving
which was a symptom of my condition.  Every time I ate, I was hungry again in a
matter of minutes.  Siria left Marik's peas on the floor and fetched dinner,
which was grilled chicken without spices or sauces.  She put an enormous glass
of milk down beside me too.  Luci sat in front of her plate and waited for me
to pick up my fork.

“Luci eat for heaven's sake!” I said.  She
blushed furiously and then picked up her fork again.  Marik threw his peas at
me.

“You're mean,” he said.  “And crabby.”

“Marik!” Luci shrieked and Siria came
rushing to my defense, blocking me from the pea attack.

“Stop it, all of you!” I yelled and glared
at Marik.  He pursed his lips and stared me down.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Marik, I told you,” Luci said calmly. 
“This is Her Roya….”

“I'm your Auntie Katie,” I said, pursing
my lips just like him and staring back. 

“I don't have an Auntie Katie,” he
protested.

“Well you do now,” I snapped.  “So get
used to it.”

Luci looked at me aghast.

“Ok,” Marik agreed.  “Is this your house?”

“Yep.”

“How come you need that thing to talk for
you?”  He pointed at the Universal Translator sitting on the table.

“I don't speak Mishnese and you don’t
speak Rozarian.  Do you?”

“Nope.”  He shook his head and then looked
to Siria, holding out his arms to be picked up.  “I'm done.”  Siria lifted him
out of his chair and he proceeded to scamper off into the courtyard.  Siria
looked to me for instructions.

“Go ahead,” I shrugged, “make sure he
doesn't destroy anything, I guess.  And keep him away from my guns.”

Luci went pale.

“Just kidding,” I winked.  “They're locked
up in my office.”

Luci and I ate in silence and then we both
went to our beds as I was tired from working all day and she was tired from
traveling.  I thought it very cruel of whoever had decided to send her here to
babysit me.  I was sure she would rather have been at home in her own house
with Marik and her own husband.

In the middle of the night, I was wide
awake.  The baby was doing somersaults.  I lay there for a while marveling at a
sudden lump in my belly, which a moment later disappeared as he swam into a new
position.  The moon shone in from the deck door lighting up the night, so it
was very nearly as bright as day. 

I wondered where Senya was.  I had been
back on Rozari for more than a month and had neither heard nor spoken a word to
him.  I didn’t understand what was going on, why he was purposely avoiding me. 
Since I couldn’t sleep, I reached for my tablet and checked my email.  There
was a message from Captain Richard asking me to call him and so I did, having
no idea what time it was on the Discovery.  I expected to leave a voice mail,
but in fact, he answered.

"Captain," I said.  "You
asked me to call?"

"Captain," he laughed. 
"You're a full captain now too, Kate.  You get the privilege of calling me
by my first name.”

"I’m honored, Richard," I said
cautiously.  He laughed again.

"Listen, Kate," he said. 
"I've already spoken to Admiral Mattson, so I know he's okay with this. 
Tony Fong signed on as Staff Captain for the next cruise but was offered
command of the Lexington.  Now I've got a vacancy I need to fill.  You want
it?  I don't need to tell you if you take Staff now, you're direct in line for
the top spot when I retire."

"I know that," I said quickly,
thinking through the implications.  Staff Captain was one chair away from
commanding the ship.  That's what I've always wanted, right?

"You need to think about this,
Kate?" Richard asked.  "I'm a little surprised."

"I'm pregnant," I reminded him.  "I'm
trying to imagine how I'm going to handle it all."

"You can take your leave and do what
you need to do.  I'll hold your chair for you."

"You won't need to do that.  If the
Admiral is willing to release me, then I don’t see any problem with it."

"Awesome," Richard said. 
"He asked for four weeks so you can finish the project you're working on. 
We'll pick you up at Spacebase 35 on the 5th of next month."

"Yes, sir," I replied and signed
off.  The baby kicked me hard in the rib.  "I'll assume that means you
concur," I told him. 

The Rehnorians thought I would be coming
back to Mishnah with Luci on the 15th.  They would be in for a little surprise
when I disappeared on the 5th.

Screw them, I decided.  Screw every last
one of them including and especially Senya.  My son was going to be born aboard
the Discovery, somewhere in space.  He was not going to be King of Rehnor and
if I could help it, he wouldn’t even know he was half Rehnorian. 

"And besides that, your name is
Steven," I said out loud.  “Just like my grandfather.” 

In four week’s time, I was going to walk
out of this house just as I did every morning and I wouldn’t come back.  Ever. 
I would get my dad to file for my divorce and I would change my name back to
Golden.  I would be Captain Katie Golden and her son Steven Golden and we would
be just fine.  That's what I was going to do.  After that, I had no problem
sleeping.

"Berkie's coming in for meetings next
week," Luci told me. 

"That's nice," I replied.  I
would be gone before he got here.  I was leaving in two days but nobody knew
this. 

Luci and I had taken to sitting out on the
deck in the evening.  Sometimes we even fell asleep in the deck chairs because
they were so comfortable.  For Luci's sake, I had made an effort at learning
Mishnese.  I wanted her to feel like she had accomplished something before I
ran off.  I hoped she didn’t think it was her fault that I ran away.  I hoped
she wouldn’t get in trouble because of me.  I really liked Luci and Marik.  If
things were different and I ever did go live on Rehnor, I could imagine that
Luci and I and all our boys would be very close.  We'd be like family.

"I think His Royal Highness will be
here as well," she said, glancing cautiously at me.  "I think that's
what Berkie said."

Perfect, I thought.  I will be long gone. 
Let His Royal Highness try to explain to everyone how he got dumped.  Of
course, on the other hand, maybe he has been waiting for me to leave.  Maybe he
knows I'm going because he always knows everything.  Perhaps, all this time he
was just waiting for me to get out of the house before he came back.

"Are you crying, Katie?" Luci
asked.

"No, no."  I shook my head. 
"I just have a speck of dust in my eye."

"He's been busy, Berkie said."

"I wouldn't know."

"He's been at the Palace for meetings
every day and then back in his SdK office for meetings every night."

"I'm sure Berkan has been busy
too," I replied.

"Oh very," she said.

"But he still manages to call
you."

Luci had no response.

Two days later, I packed my uniforms and other
items in my kit, and headed out.  Before I did, I stopped at the offices on the
second floor.  Kinar, I assumed he was Kinar because that’s what the placard on
his desk said, jumped up and bowed to me.  He spoke to me in Mishnese and
explained that His Royal Highness was not in at the moment.  I shook my head
and tried to indicate that I really couldn’t care less where His Royal Highness
was. 

I walked into Senya’s office despite
Kinar's protestations and looked around.  There were no drawings of medical
equipment anymore on his desk; no jars of brains or other parts.  What had been
the lab was now a conference room.  There were stacks and scrolls with the
Eagle Crest letterhead embossed in gold.  Every page was filled with something
written in Mishnese and waiting for a signature at the bottom. 

I opened the top drawer of his desk and
found gold pens stamped with this same crest.  There were cigarettes with gold
foil tips lying about waiting to be smoked.  I took off my wedding ring, the
ring worn by Mishka Kalila's Queen and dropped it in the drawer with the pens
and cigarettes.  Then I left.  I took the Lexus to the spaceport and abandoned
it there.  In two days’ time, I was aboard the Discovery wearing Captain's bars
and taking over as Staff Captain until Richard's retirement next year when I
would become Ship Captain.  Now I was home.