by J. Naomi Ay
“I know you think me crazy,” I said quickly, catching up to her. “Sometimes, even I think I have lost my wits. If you look at him, you will see it, the aura, the Heavenly glow.”
“Oy vey, Garinka,” the MaKani sighed. “All I see is the aura and glow of a really crabby, unhappy man who works too hard and doesn't sleep or eat enough.”
“No,” I protested, shaking my head as she walked forward without me. “I tell you this not because I am some crazy old Karupatani woman with too much time on her hands. I know of these things.”
“You could have fooled me.” She stomped through the brush. “You’re sounding an awful lot like a crazy old Karupatani woman with too much time on her hands.”
“Ten years ago when my father-in-law the King died, I had nothing more to do with my life. My children were grown, Tuman was gone already as many years as Pedah was dead. There was no purpose for me until one day I received a letter. It said at the behest of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Rehnor, I was to be admitted into the University of Turko. My education and all expenses were paid by HIM. I packed up, and I left immediately telling my son and daughter I was off to live with my sister.
For ten years, I have been studying, and for the last couple now I have an associate professorship. My son and daughter still think I visit my sister every year for nine months at a time.”
The MaKani pulled up short so that I nearly bumped into her.
“You are a university professor?” she gasped. “In what?”
“Philosophy,” I replied. “I am a Doctor of Philosophy. I have studied intently the ancient religions, the writings of Karukan and those who came before him, and my graduate thesis was on the Archangel Mika’el. You can see now, I know a little bit about the subject.”
She stood there with her mouth open so wide a bird could enter.
“Come now, let's hurry,” I said. “The banquet is beginning soon and we have conveniently avoided assisting in preparations. I suspect your surly husband is objecting to attending. We will need to convince Keko to dress him appropriately, and we can quickly plait his hair before we get our own selves ready.” I started to run.
“Garinka!” she screamed, racing after me. I slowed to a walk. “I'm sure you know what you are talking about, but this is absurd. Senya is not the least bit angelic. Senya is boorish and surly and arrogant and all too mortal. Look at him, he can hardly walk now. We have a son! He has a mother and a father. He's not some divine creation! He's a mutant!”
“I will get you a copy of my book, MaKani.” I mounted the steps to her house. “You can read my conclusions there, and then we can discuss your objections intelligently.” Keko was in the kitchen cooking eggs on the stove. “Keko, there is a banquet tonight,” I told him. “You need to dress the MaKennah, not prepare dinner.”
“He won't go,” Keko grumbled. “I am cooking his eggs.”
“Oh yes, he will.” The MaKani stormed up the stairs. “You get his clothes ready, Keko.”
I followed her into the office where the men from the Imperial court were busy working away at their desks. The MaKennah was pacing, a Mishnese cigarette in his mouth, as he listened to two faces that spoke on the vid.
“Sorry gentlemen,” the MaKani interrupted. “His Imperial Majesty has another appointment to attend to. You may reschedule this conversation for tomorrow. Eberly, Garing, go home. You're off duty now.”
“Yes, Madame.” The men jumped up, and the vid went dark. “Sir!” They bowed quickly and raced out of the office and down the stairs before the MaKennah could tell them otherwise.
“I am not going,” he growled. “And you can't just come in here and interrupt my meetings.”
“So sue me,” the MaKani replied, reaching for his arm. “A thousand Karupatani chiefs are waiting for you.”
“They already saw me. I was just at worship.” He shook off her arm.
“Well a thousand chiefs' wives and two thousand chiefs' children are waiting to drool over you.”
“I don't want to go.” He sat petulantly down at his desk.
“I don't care what you want.” She grabbed his arm again. “Let me tell you about my delightful day.” She pulled him until he reluctantly rose to his feet and then he let her lead him across the hallway. “I've been cleaned and purified in frigid water though now you can't tell because Garinka and I were lying in mud for the last half hour. I've given loads of advice to women whose husbands aren't giving them any attention as if I should know how to deal with that? My husband hasn't touched me in ten years either! And, to top it all off, I got to hear in great detail about all your virgin conquests. Now, Keko is lying out whatever it is you're supposed to wear to these things and Garinka, and I are going to fix your hair. After that, we'll go have a quick dinner and you'll smile at the people or frown for all I care, and I'll wear my pretty dress as per my job description. Then, when we come back I'll rub some more menthol gel into your leg, and if you're a good boy and let your alternate personality Senya come out to play, I might rub you someplace else too.”
“Don't toy with me, Madame. I have no desire to play games only to have you run off again.”
“I told you,” she said, making him sit in a chair next to the hearth and grabbing a handful of his hair. I took the other side and separated it into three sections. “I'll stay but only if you stay too and quit calling me Madame. My name is Katie in case you've forgotten. Sweetheart works too or My Love or even Milaka MaKani. I always kinda liked that. But I'm not your Madame and I'm not your servant.” She continued to berate him as she deftly plaited his hair. She held up a few strands of the hair that looked as if it were spun silver which oddly made a thick band through the black. “Aren't these pretty? Only Senya can grow sparkly silver hair to match his eyes.”
I raised my eyebrows to her. Was this not further proof?
“Garinka,” he hissed under his breath. He heard my thoughts. He did not like when I published my thesis, and everyone in the Empire could read my conclusion. I did not care. There were millions of books published about him and theories that were far stranger than mine. Mine was the correct one though.
“My goodness you are ornery,” the MaKani said cheerfully and then finished her plaiting. She threaded through the eagle feathers, fastening them with beads as I had shown her how to do years ago. “These are getting a little ratty. How about some fresh ones? Do your new feathers have silver in them too?”
He frowned miserably.
“Okay, well I'm done,” the MaKani said. “I've got to go change.” She disappeared into the bathroom.
I finished my plaiting and fastened the feathers.
“Your time here is not over, Senya,” I said, fixing in the last of them. “You might as well accept that and stop being so unhappy.”
“I have not asked for your opinion, Garinka.”
“And when have I ever waited for your permission to speak? She has forgiven you. Now forgive her and go on with your lives. Be happy, Senya. You cannot get back to where you want to go until you are happy.”
“Garinka, enough of this!” he snapped and stood up. “Keko, where is my robe?”
“Do you deny it?” I demanded as he stormed away.
He did not respond which was proof enough for me. He could not deny it, and after forty years, I knew he would remain silent rather than speak the untruth.
Chapter 26
Katie
The banquet was not a disaster but close to it. He couldn't sit on the floor, and while he was certainly welcome to sit in a chair or on a cushion, nothing was comfortable and so he stood and paced. The people stared at him as if he were some kind of apparition that had manifested before them. For all the bragging about knowing him by the women earlier, now they were positively struck dumb in his presence.
“Do you want to eat something?” I asked after the benediction and after the chiefs had quickly paid their respects.
“No,” he replied. “I want to go.”
“You have been her
e all of twenty minutes,” Sorkan protested.
“You may stay,” Senya said as he left. “And you may stay too, Madame.”
I ran after him out of the hall. “What is going on with you?” I grabbed his arm, which he promptly pulled away.
“I don't make public appearances even in Karupatani,” he snapped, limping back through the woods toward the house at a surprisingly quick pace.
“You're afraid everyone will see through the mystique?”
No response.
“Then what is it?” I demanded as we mounted the steps of the house. He stopped for a moment and leaned on the rail, breathing hard. Maybe he was moving too quickly. “Senya?” I put my hand on his arm again, but this time, he didn’t pull away. “What is it, sweetheart?”
He turned and faced me, the silver light flickering in my face, blinding me.
“Senya?” I reached up and touched his cheek. “Let me help you.”
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but decided against it.
“What?”
He shook his head and then sat down heavily on the steps, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.
“I think you need to get away from all of this.” I sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder. “Why don't you go fly around for a bit? What sounds better, snake, fish, or small furry creatures? No, I've got a better idea. How about a goshawk? Yum!”
No response.
“Go,” I told him.
“I don't do that anymore.”
“Because you're afraid of bears?”
“Because I am afraid of me.”
“Listen to me,” I said, taking his hand. “You need to go and do what you do. You need to be what you are.”
I held his hand tightly, studying the Firestone rings on his third and fourth fingers. My grandfather's wedding band was still on the fourth finger of his left hand, and it shown for a moment in the moonlight as he raised the cigarette to his lips. I wondered what happened to my own wedding ring. Maybe it was sitting at the bottom of an ocean on Derius II or was swallowed by a fish. That wondrous crown jewel harkening back to Markiis Kalila's queen could have been rolling around in the belly of a shark today.
“Will you go?”
“No.” He finished his cigarette and pulled himself to his feet. “Keko, make me some fresh eggs,” he ordered and went in the house.
I sat on the steps watching the ascent of the moons as they rose higher, filling the night with their golden glow. It was said they chased each other across the sky. I wasn’t sure about that. I thought maybe they both were chasing the sun instead and never catching him.
When I came in later, Senya had already gone back to work in his office.
Four nights I had spent now in Karupatani, one in a tree, one in the sickbay, one on the couch and one alone in the big bed upstairs. I was done. This cement wall encasing him was too thick, and I was chipping away at it with a toothpick. If he preferred to sleep on his office couch or not sleep at all just because I was in the bed next door, then there was no point in me hanging around anymore.
I got dressed in the suit I came in and went into the office where Eberly and Garing were already at work. “I'm going back to Mishnah,” I told them. “Could you please get a speeder ready for me?” Then I grabbed a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry that Keko had left on the kitchen counter. I headed over to the landing strip.
“Where are you going?” Garinka demanded, catching up with me as I walked through the village. The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny today, and the village was packed with people although they cleared a path for me.
“I'm heading back to Mishnah. There's no point in me staying here any longer. At least back at the Palace there is work I can do.”
“You have work to do here to,” she insisted, reaching for my arm and pulling me to a halt. “More important work, I think.”
“Right,” I snorted. “I would rather go start my tour of the outer banks of the Empire instead.” I shook her off.
“No!” she cried and waved for Lookah to come help her.
“You two are going to prevent me from leaving?” I demanded. “To do what? What great and noble work do I need to do here? Sorry, but the Great Emperor is a lost cause. It's going to take a lot more than anything I can do, for him to earn back his Heavenly wings.”
“No, MaKani,” Lookah said. “Today the girls are to meet with you. We are all very excited. It has been many, many years since Karupatani has had a Queen to grant audience to our daughters.”
“Girls?”
“Yes, young and almost grown. They will come before you so that you may advise them on the ways of womanhood and admire their beauty.”
“Crap. More advice.”
“We will help you,” Lookah promised as I let Garinka steer me back toward the house. Dressed back in leather and beads, at least I wouldn’t have to wear these tight high-heeled shoes.
“Cancel the car, Garing,” I said, poking my nose in the office once again. “I'm stuck here for a while longer.”
“No worries, Madame.” He waved cheerfully.
“No Mad Emperor this morning?” I noted the big desk was empty.
“He's off in the fields with Princes Sorkan and Tuman. They insisted he come while the weather was mild even though he clearly was not anxious to,” Lord Eberly replied.
“How ever did they get him to comply?”
“They brought his horse here, and the annoying beast would not stop screeching until he came out.”
I laughed. At least Tirikla was making some headway with him.
The girls were cute, and the older ones were beautiful and charming. I sat on a dais of sorts, and they gathered around me sitting on the floor unless it was their turn to dance or sing which they did in groups. Then they would come up and curtsey, and I would say a blessing over them which I had quickly memorized. After everyone had performed and been blessed, the girls would take turns asking questions which were mostly about Mishnah and what other planets were like, especially Earth, when I was a girl. Despite my earlier reservations, I had a really good time.
We were just about finished, and the children were looking forward to some cake and ice cream. A little one about four or five years old was standing and very sweetly telling me about her puppy and asking me if I had ever had a puppy when the sound of horse hooves interrupted us. Riding right into the midst of our gathering, came Senya, Sorkan, Tuman and Rekah. The little girl with the puppy questions screamed and burst into tears. A few more of the little ones started crying, as well. Lookah and Garinka rushed over to quiet them while all the bigger girls knelt down in obeisance.
“Come on,” Senya said and holding out his hand, indicated that I should join him on the horse.
“Up there? I don’t do horse.”
“I want to talk to you.”
I rose to my feet, which somehow prompted the little girl to scream even more.
“No, MaKani. No, MaKani!” she begged. “Don't go, don't go.” She raced over to me and grabbed my leg.
“We're all done here, sweetie,” I said and knelt down to hug her. “Now His Majesty wants me to go for a ride with him.”
“No, no, you can't go with him,” she sobbed, gripping me tighter. “He'll hurt you! He's scary!”
I glanced back up Senya, all 6'2” of him with his wild silver and black hair and his flashing silver eyes sitting astride that massive black horse. She was right, he did look scary. Angelic, no way. Demonic, definitely.
“It's okay, honey.” I unwrapped her little arms. “He won't hurt me. He’s afraid of my guns.”
I headed over to Senya, and just as I did, the little girl bolted forward and spooked the horse. Tirikla reared up on his hind legs, his hooves flying. Lookah screamed as the little girl's body was tossed in the air. I fell back against Sorkan's horse, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell what was going on. Senya slid off Tirikla and Rekah grabbed the reins, pulling the horse away. Several women came runni
ng up, screaming and circling around the little girl.
“Move away!” I heard Senya yell as he ran to the child's side. The women backed off enough so that I could now see Garinka kneeling beside the little girl who lay splayed upon the dirt. The child's head lay in a pool of blood and her hair was a mass of blood, mud and tangles.
“She's dead!” A woman wailed, sending the rest of the women and children into spasms of keening. Sorkan dismounted and stood beside me, reaching for my hand.
We watched as Senya knelt beside the child, his silver eyes shining as bright as I had ever seen them. He picked her up and held her against his chest, cupping her head with his hand, covering the broken area of her skull.
“Can you fix her?” I whispered.
“Shhh!” Garinka hissed and put her finger on her lips, telling me and everyone around to be silent.
A haze of silver light surrounded the little girl, swirling around her head and Senya, encompassing them in a mist.
“What's happening?” Sorkan whispered in my ear.
I shook my head. I had never seen this before. A moment later, the mist cleared, and the little girl stirred. She opened her big brown eyes and stared into Senya's bright silver ones. She reached for the light as Shika used to do when he was a baby, her small hand trying to grasp at fairy dust.
“Dena?” A woman ran forward, her arms out, tears streaming down her face.
“Mommy!” Dena cried, and Senya released her.
“What just happened?” Sorkan whispered again in my ear.
“No clue.” I watched with as much astonishment as everyone else. Senya pulled himself to his feet and limped back toward Rekah and his horse. He swung himself up on Tirikla and galloped off, disappearing into the trees.
“Mhm,” Garinka said loudly now standing next to me. She nodded slightly and raised her eyebrows so high they nearly disappeared under her hairline.
“Would you like a salmon?” Tuman asked, coming into the house with an enormous fish in his arms.
“If you filet it for me.” I was kneading a ball of dough, pounding it furiously into the counter, beating all my frustrations into it. By dinnertime, it would be a very angry loaf of bread.
