The Days of the Golden Moons (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 5) (17 page)

“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 here 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 running 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.

“Shouldn't
Keko be doing that while you attend to the very busy business of being the
Empress?”  Tuman slapped the fish down on the counter next to me and found a
sharp knife in the drawer. 

Picking
up my dough. I popped it into the pan, narrowing avoiding a river of fish
blood.

“Why
are you still fishing?” I replied.  “Shouldn't you attend to the very busy
business of being the High Priest of Karupatani?”

“I
like doing this better,” he laughed.

“And
I like doing this better.”  I set the bread pan near the window to rise.  Tuman
filleted a nice length of the fish.  Taking it from him, I wrapped it in paper
and put it in the fridge for later.  “Cut off the head and I’ll take it
upstairs.  Maybe Senya wants a snack.”

“How
is he?”  Tuman sliced off the head and offered it to me. 

“Just
kidding!  No thanks.  I don't know how he is.  He's been hiding upstairs,
burying himself in his work since I came back."

Tuman
frowned and studied the fish head.

"I'd
invite you for to stay for dinner," I said.  "But..."

Tuman
shrugged.  "My wife is busy adding a fourth appendix to her book.  Another
night perhaps. "

After
he left, I headed upstairs again.  The office was quiet.  Inside I found Senya
alone staring blankly at his screen, his head hanging.  "Hey.  Another
migraine?"

He
nodded, so I started working on his neck and shoulders again.  "You seem
to be getting these a lot lately.  Who would do this when I wasn't here?"