by J. Naomi Ay
I hit my fist against the granite kitchen countertop to emphasize my point. At the time, the idea that Dad had cheated seemed more sinister than anything else he had ever done, including arbitrarily kill people, or wreck a planet.
“Really?” my brother asked. “Those both seem like fairly big offenses to me.”
“Yep," Zem agreed. "And, I liked the mental institution. Sometimes, I wish I was back there."
“Sometimes, I wish I was there too,” Taner grumbled.
“Sometimes, I think we already are,” Kinar added.
"Are we absolutely sure that Arsan isn't Mom's son?"
Rent joined me in the kitchen. He opened the fridge, and gazed longingly inside as if something edible had magically appeared in there.
It was still empty, which I guess proved the point that Arsan’s powers were definitely more limited than Dad’s.
“I don’t think the Captain would like to find out about another lost baby who she forgot,” Zem said.
"He might be yours, Steve,” Rent continued, letting the refrigerator door swing shut. “He did look a lot like you."
"I am not certain of anything," Taner replied. "Especially, when it comes to your father. There have been times when I have thought his actions were purely to infuriate your mother."
I was determined to continue defending my mother’s honor, and my own for that matter, when a bolt of lightning crossed the snow-white sky, ending this conversation. A clap of thunder boomed overhead, rattling the building, so much so, it nearly knocked me off my feet.
“It’s starting,” Kinar announced. “This is what I have come to tell you.”
"What's starting?" I demanded.
"A storm," Zem replied.
"You are all instructed to stay here until the flooding has concluded," Kinar continued. “He sent me up here to wait with you. The lower floors shan’t be safe.”
"Oh no," Taner moaned. "Not flooding again. Why can't he think of something else? Locusts or boils or frogs or something."
"Who?" Rent asked. "I don't understand what's going on."
“What about Eberly and Garing?” I demanded, gripping the countertop, as the building began to shake and quake. The light fixtures overhead swung ominously, their crystal panels clinking against each other.
“Apparently, Eberly and Garing weren’t as loyal,” Kinar said. “Pity. I rather liked them.”
Now, one of the chandeliers broke loose and plummeted right in front me, sending tiny crystal shards all over the floor.
“Everybody get under the dining room table,” I shouted. “I’m going to go get Sara.”
“I’ll go too.”
My brother raced to the door with me, as the floor rolled beneath us, and a bolt of lightning seared across the ceiling of the room. It left a dark, smoking, jagged scar on what had been an off-white glossy paint, which my mother had personally selected, after testing about three thousand other colors.
“Maybe we should stay here,” Rent suggested, crawling on his hands and knees back to the dining room table.
“Probably a good idea,” I agreed, watching Mom’s curio cabinet topple over.
The impact crushed her large collection of cute but useless things from her travels all over the galaxy. If Dad was doing this to infuriate Mom, he was definitely making a good job of it.
"The Princess and Loran are playing Imperial Quest on her vid,” Kinar said, reminding me why I was on the floor in the middle of the room. “I checked on them before I joined you. I dare say, they will think this roiling is part of the game, as they were wearing sim helmets, and laughing quite merrily.”
“Were they clothed?” I asked, crawling back under the table with the rest of them.
“Quite.”
The building rocked again. Another chandelier crashed to the floor, and Mom’s scale model replica of the Starship Discovery fell off the shelf above the refrigerator.
"That’s a shame,” Zem remarked, as a tremendous roar sounded from outside.
The wind had picked up considerably, and was howling through the holes in the windows. The good news was, it had stopped snowing. In fact, it had warmed up so much that the mountains of snow, and spears of ice were instantly melting.
The beach had turned into an extension of the ocean, breaching the seawall, and crashing into the lower floors of the Palace. Salt spray reached up to our windows, obscuring our view of the chaos outside.
"Kinar,” I shouted, conversationally. “Did you say you saw Dad downstairs in his office?”
"What?" Kinar shouted back, his voice carried away by the swirling wind.
Thunder boomed again. Lightning flashed, outside this time, and that roaring sound, the one that might have been a tornado, was, in fact, a tornado. It slammed against the Palace walls, and might have taken half the building with it.
"Are you certain he said to wait here?" Taner screamed. "This doesn't appear to be entirely safe."
"Yes, I am absolutely certain," Kinar yelled. "Hopefully, it won't last much longer."
"Oh, he's just getting started, probably," I remarked. "You did say there would be a flood."
"Yes, flood," Kinar agreed. "He specifically said, stay on the third floor, as the water shall overcome the first two."
The ocean began to rise, the crashing of the waves drew even closer. As the water started to rush through, and swamp the lower floors, we could hear the panicked shouts of Petya's people.
The Rossorians were caught up in the deluge, and washed away. If they were lucky, they’d have drowned instantly. If not, they might have been ripped apart by the savage currents, which tore through the Palace, before heading down the hill to the old city, and the River Nika.
"Well, that's one way to get rid of them," Rent remarked. “Clean them all up in one fell swoop.”
"Did he suggest we build an ark?" I shouted to Kinar.
"What about my brother, Kie?" Ber asked. "Is he still downstairs with Duke Petya?"
"I'm sorry, Ber," Kinar replied. "I am afraid he is, or at this point, probably was."
"Oh, Ber," Carolie cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. "At least you made the right decision to stay with us."
"That's a tough one, dude," I said, lightly punching the guy in his arm. "We're here for you. All of us, even though you're technically a Korelesk, and one of our mortal enemies."
“I have to save my brother,” Ber said, unfastening Carolie, and climbing out from under the table.
“Dude, bad idea,” I called.
Despite the continued rocking and rolling of the building, the ocean crashing just a floor below us, and now, what sounded like pieces of the Palace breaking off and falling into the courtyard, Ber raced out the door. The good news was, it was no longer guarded. The bad news was, my step-daughter burst into tears.
“Steve!” she wailed. “Don’t let Ber die!”
“But…”
“Steve!!!”
Crap. I clambered out from under table.
“Come on, Rent.”
“What?”
“We should probably head down there and greet Dad anyway.”
Coincidentally, I noticed that the floor had stopped shaking. Rent sighed heavily, and stood up.
“Do you guys want to use this?” Zem asked, lifting his hand, and waving Dad’s light sword.
“Where in the hell did you get that?”
“You left it in the car,” Zem replied.
“Kari-fa dude! You could have told me before!”
“You didn’t need it before.” Zem shrugged.
“Wait a minute, Steve.” Rent pulled my arm. “What if we’re supposed to use it on Arsan? Remember the note? Kill my brother, or yours?”
“Kari-fa,” I hissed again. “Maybe, I’ll use it on you. Quit being so stupid. I probably mistranslated the whole thing. Maybe it said, ‘Kill your idiot cousin Petya when you get the chance.’”
“Okay. Let’s take the back way.”
Rent crossed to the private stairway ad
jacent to our parents’ bedroom. It led directly into Dad’s office, and allowed him to move about the building without being observed or guarded.
As we headed down there, the roar of the swelling ocean accompanied us. It felt like we were entering a submarine, and I fully expected to see fish swimming by the stairwell’s windows when we got to the second floor.
“You know, Steve,” Rent said hesitantly, before I pushed open the last door to Dad’s office. “He did tell us to wait upstairs. I think I’ll go back up. You can handle it from here.”
“No way, bro.” I grabbed his arm as he attempted to turn around. “It’s reunion time.”
Rent shook his head. “Dad, and I, well, our relationship has always been…uh…distant. I’m sure we can reunite after he’s done destroying…everybody and everything.”
The building shook again, knocking us both against the door.
“Seriously, Steve!” Rent shrieked. “You think he’s going to be happy to see us after what we’ve done? We bankrupted his company, decimated his empire, and burned down his palace. Can’t we just leave a note with Kinar telling him we’re going to go find Mom?”
Rent did have a point.
“Or, we could tell our new brother, Arsan to explain it to him.”
“That’s actually good idea,” I agreed.
“Kie!” Ber shrieked on the other side of the door. “Please Sir, don’t kill my brother.”
“Kari-fa,” I moaned, and pushing the door open with my foot, I hauled Rent inside.
Dad was standing in the middle of the room, dressed in dirty jeans, and that old leather jacket Mom had bought him a thousand years ago. He had a cigarette on his lip, and looked pretty much the same as before, except for that really bright glowing silver light that was coming from his eyes, and that odd, hazy silver fog that surrounded him.
He looked good for an old guy. Actually, he looked better than me. I decided that going on vacation was probably a good thing, and something I ought to consider as soon as I got out of here. Joanne and I would go someplace far, really far away.
Dad ignored us. He was busy. He had Petya hanging upside down in the air in front of him, and Ber’s brother, Kie, while still in his wheelchair, was fastened to the wall above that antique vase that originally had belonged to the Saint, Markiis Kalila.
While I personally thought the vase was ugly, and didn’t feel any real connection with great-great-great-great-granddad Kalila, it would have been a shame if Kie fell, and broke the priceless antiquity.
Both of them, however, were in a better position than Ber, who was fighting the raging currents.
All the windows behind Dad had splintered, and the ocean was rushing in, parting around Dad as if he was an island. It washed away the other furniture, and probably everyone else who had previously been here.
The huge conference table was attempting to leave, but it was stuck in the double doors that led out to Kinar’s office. Ber was clinging to it while begging Dad for his brother’s life.
Kie, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy being pinned to the wall. He was cackling in an oddly deep voice, his eyes shining with an even odder orange light.
“You can’t stop me, Mika,” he chortled. “You may kill my minions here, but I shall acquire more. My words are like honey, and man is weak, and easily led.”
“Kie? What are you saying?” Ber gasped.
“He’s not Kie,” Petya snapped. “He’s possessed by Rosso, can’t you see that? Uncle Senya, if I apologize and promise not to usurp you anymore, will you let me down?”
“You are a fool, Petya,” I shouted, interrupting Dad in case he wanted to respond. “And, a traitor. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t kill you.”
“But Shik, we used to be best friends. Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Not at all,” I insisted. “Sam was my best friend too, and Dad killed him. He even killed your father, Berkan, who was his very best friend since they were twelve.”
“My mother did that,” Petya protested.
“No, she didn’t, but maybe, for old time’s sake, we can be lenient. After all, you’re probably too stupid to know any better.”
Dad turned his face to me. His brow furrowed quizzically, as if he couldn’t remember who I was, or Rent, for that matter, or why I was interfering in Petya’s imminent execution.
My brother took the opportunity to step behind me, so that I would take all future bullets.
“Chicken,” I hissed, and shoved him in front again.
Dad frowned and looked away, apparently none too pleased to see us. I guess Arsan was the only favored son these days.
“What say you?” Dad took a long drag on his cig, asking the question rhetorically, I assumed, to Rent and me.
His voice was echoing strangely across the rushing waters, and something was wrong with his hand. Actually, as I looked closer, I realized he was missing a finger.
“Kill him, Mika,” Kie howled, as if the question was meant for him. “You are no better than me despite your lofty pretensions.”
“You’re not Kie,” Ber gasped. “Kie would never suggest such a thing. You are Evil.”
Kie laughed again, turning his orange eyes on Ber, and pointing his finger.
“Ber!” I cried. “Duck!”
I tried to race across the room, although the water was waist deep at this point.
“Enough!” Dad barked.
He raised his hand with the missing finger, and Kie’s wheelchair went crashing into the water. The table became dislodged, sending both Ber and Kie rushing into Kinar’s office, and from there out of the building.
“Ber!” I cried again, diving underneath, and swimming as fast as I could.
The water was frigid, causing my arms and legs to tire quickly, but I was determined. Ber didn’t deserve to die, and furthermore, if he did, I’d never hear the end of it from Carolie.
Raising my head to catch a breath, I saw the boys pushed up against the balcony. Ber was grasping at it, holding Kie by the wrist, tenuously keeping him from going over the edge.
“Hang on, Ber!” I called, taking a mouthful of water.
Then, just before I dipped under again, someone swam past me. It was Rent racing across the currents as if they were standing still. He reached Ber, and pulled him away from the balcony.
“Kie!” Ber screamed, his brother’s arm slipping from his hand. Rent leapt for it, but the building rocked again at that moment, sending Kie tumbling over the side. “Kie!”
I reached the railing just in time to see Kie swallowed by the waves in what had been the inner courtyard. He resurfaced a few minutes later, face down, swept away toward the lower gates, and from there, down the hill toward the raging River Nika.
“I’m sorry, dude,” I gasped, Rent and I each gripping one of Ber’s arms.
“Now what do I do?” Ber whispered.
“You hang with us. We’re your family five times removed, or something like that,” I said.
“And you’ve still got Loran,” Rent added. “Come on.”
We made our way inside. The rushing water had stopped. In fact, the ocean was drawing it backward, pulling us into Dad’s office, setting everything back to normal. The storm had ended.
Except it hadn’t.
Petya was still hanging upside down. Dad was standing by the windows, as if he was watching the sea spill back out. However, there was now someone else in the room.
“Another new relative?” Rent mumbled.
“I guess so,” I replied. “I remember when it was just me.”
Next to the fireplace, Dad’s immense stone hearth, a man was standing. From the distance of the door, and in the dim light of the receding storm, I could have sworn he was Dad’s twin.
As I moved closer though, I saw the differences. His face was harsher, colder, his cheek, and chin more defined. His black eyebrows arched slightly upward. His black hair had less of a curl. He looked as if someone had taken all of Dad’s features, and made them sharper, and
more sinister. And, he had eyes, orange ones that could see.
“Uh oh,” Rent muttered, thinking the same thing.
The man smiled, waving his hand as if to draw me near. There was something seductive about him. Maybe, he wasn’t so bad. Something compelled me to go to him, so I released Ber wrist, and approached.
“Shika-ala,” he called softly, his orange-gold eyes gazing at me with love.
He had me in his spell. I was drawn to kneel before him. My heart swelled, and I wanted to declare my fealty to him, relinquishing my own father, who had always treated me coldly, and heartlessly.
“Steve, what are you doing?” Rent cried, but his voice was far away.
“Shika-ala,” the man repeated.
“Dad,” I wept, certain that my whole life had been a deception. This man was my real father, and I loved him.
Then, he started laughing.
“You see, Mika? You shall never defeat me. Even your own son is powerless to my will.”
“Luka!”
I blinked. In that fraction of second, the hold the man had on me was broken. My father, my real father, the Emperor, Senya had slammed the guy against the rocky hearth, and held him by the throat with his damaged hand.
“Come Mika,” Luka called, using that same seductive tone he had tried with me. “Cassie is waiting for you. Only I know where she has gone.”
“I don’t give a fuck where she is.”
“No?”
Luka lifted his hand, and in the air above us, the image of Mom appeared.
She was looking very confused. And dirty. She was sitting in some kind of spaceplane, her eyes wildly scanning the stars outside.
“Cassie,” Luka called sweetly.
“Luka? Where are you?”
“Katie!” Dad shouted, his resolution faltering. His grip eased, and Luka wormed away.
“Senya!?!” Mom screamed. “Help me!” Then, her image dissipated.
“You do care, Mika,” Luka laughed.
It was right about that moment when I remembered the lightsword in my pocket, and the note which had clearly said, ‘Use this to kill my brother.’
I whipped it out, and slashed for all it was worth, hoping that Rent was smart enough to get out of the way. He wasn’t the brother that needed killing at this moment, and I didn’t want to do it accidentally.
