Chapter 4
Counter Attack
"Here are some clothes for both of you." The maid set the pile on the end of the bed and left the room.
I slid off the bed and pressed the scanner on the back of my collar. It opened instantly. I carefully took it off, pelling up the glued on portions one by one. Laying it on the couch, I removed the skirt as well and placed it next to it.
"Sora," I whispered, "do you want to change?" Grabbing the blue shorts, I pulled them on.
He didn't move. His eyes were swollen and red. I had barely calmed him down enough for him to stop crying.
"Come here. I help you take it off."
He crawled over and sat on the edge of the bed. I gathered up his hair and moved it out of the way. Sora pressed on the back panel, and the collar released. He sniffed and wiped his face. I laid the collar on the bed and sat beside him.
"Your master is going to be fine." I put my arm around his shoulders. "They're fixing him up right now."
He nodded and started playing with his hair. I removed the diamond pins. Once finished, I walked to the dresser and put them in a bowl. Sora had taken off his skirt by the time I returned. I handed him the white shorts. He slipped them on, before crawling back to the top of the bed and curling into a ball. I laid down at this side.
"He'll be okay, Sora." I brushed back his hair from his eyes.
"I know," he said softly. "But what about Helix. The empire, we were attacked. My master is in danger. People are trying to kill him." He hid his face.
I wrapped my arms around him. "Tobias will fix it. He'll punish whoever did this. Helix, the empire, you and me, he'll take care of it." I tightened my hold on him. "We have nothing to worry about."
***
The door opened and light spilled onto my face. I rubbed my eyes and carefully sat up as to not wake Sora. The empire walked over to his pet and kissed the boy's cheek. His arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling.
"Thank you, Raja."
I took in a deep breath and slipped from the bed. "Have you heard from the general?"
"He's meeting with the armed forces leaders. I was on my way there, but I was ordered to rest instead," he laughed, shaking his head. "An emperor being told what to do by my own general." He tucked Sora's hair behind his ear. "Comical."
"The empire needs a leader," I said softly.
Eric nodded. "I've had a room prepare for you. Tobias will come and get you as soon as he can."
I nodded and walked to the door. Looking back, I saw Eric carefully picked up his pet. Sora's eyes opened. Tears of joy filled ran down his face as he threw his arms around his master. The emperor did his best to soothe the boy and whispered in his ear.
Stepping out into the sitting area, I closed the door. A maid was waiting for me. I followed her down the hall to my room for the night. I walked into the bedroom and stared at the oversized bed. I didn't want to be alone. After what had happened the night, I wanted my own lover to tell me we were safe.
Going to the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes and climbed into the tub. I started taking out my hair and ran my fingers through it to get out the tangles as the water level rose. I quickly washed and dried off before going back to the bedroom. I flopped down on the mattress. Closing my eyes, I prayed Tobias would be there when I woke up.
***
I stared at the empty space next to me. He hadn't come. I sat up and climbed out of bed. After putting on some clothes, I wandered down the hall to the emperor's room. I knocked and poked my head inside.
No one was in the sitting room. I entered and went to the couch. I laid across it to wait. At some pointed I drifted off again until I heard a door opened. I sprang up, but just saw Eric and Sora exiting the bedroom.
"Tobias didn't come?" asked Sora.
I shook my head. "I guess this isn't a simple thing to fix."
Eric kissed his pet's cheek. "I need to make a few phone calls. Wait with Raja, I'll send someone up with breakfast."
"'kay," he said lowly. He wandered over to the couch across from me. His eyes remained on his master until he left.
"Feeling better today?" I asked.
Sora shook his head. "Why did this have to happen Raja? We've been at peace for so long, why did it have to end now?"
I shrugged. "I just want Tobias to be okay." Laying down, I sighed. "Why couldn't our masters have different jobs?"
A waiter entered with a tray and placed it on the table between us. "If you want anything else, just let us know. Someone will be by to help you get ready for the day shortly, Sora."
He nodded. "'kay."
She left, and we glanced at each other.
"They're acting like nothing happened?" I muttered. "No one wants to get dressed up, after nearly being blown up."
Sora chewed on his lip and ran his hands down his hair. That was probably not the best thing to say. I took off the lid from the tray. Pancakes and orange juice sat underneath. I moved to the ground and sat crossed legged.
"Well, we better eat before they get here." I pushed the other plate toward him.
He slowly knelt on the floor. We ate quickly. Sora didn't eat much, but I finished mine. I was regretting it though as my stomach was feeling uneasy once I was done. Sora's attendants arrived and whisked him away to the bathroom. They were all acting so normal. I had a suspicion that Eric had asked them to act like nothing happened for Sora's sake.
I slipped from the room with no one was watching and returned to my room. Going to the bathroom, I found a brush and combed out my hair. It wasn't laying properly, but I didn't bother trying to fix it. A door opened in the other room.
"Raja?"
My eyes grew wide, and I ran to him. I leaped into Tobias's arm and wrapped my legs around his waist.
"You're safe."
He laughed as he hugged me. "I missed you too."
I leaned back and saw the cut on his cheek. "What happened?"
"Tripped," he assured me, setting me down. "Are you ready to go home?"
I nodded. "You're coming to, right?"
He nodded. "Just for a little awhile."
Bowing my head, I frowned. "Do you find who did it?"
He brushed back my hair and kissed the top of my head. "Let's talk about it at home."
Taking his hand, I walked with the general to the car waiting outside. I kept glancing up him and saw the hardness in his face. He was mad, worried, maybe even anxious, and I couldn't do anything to help him. In this world, I was just a slave, and I doubt we'd ever have that talk he mentioned.
***
"Raja, I brought lunch." Nina opened the door.
I didn't moved from the bed and continued to stare at the ceiling.
"So," she set the tray down on the coffee table, "what do you want to do today?"
I didn't respond. I wasn't in the mood to do anything.
"Raja?" She sat down on the side of the bed and clasped my hand. "Honey, are you okay?"
Rolling over, I hid my face in a pillow. "I'm fine."
"Spending all day in bed isn't going to make me believe you."
With a sigh, I sat up and crawled off the bed.
"That's my boy." She patted me on the back. "I'm going to straight up the room and then we can go walk through the garden after you're done eating. Sound good?"
I nodded. Sitting down on the couch, I took a bit of the sandwich. Nina wandered about. There wasn't much to clean. Tobias hadn't been home in two weeks to mess anything up. She randomly dusted off pieces of furniture. I munched on some carrot sticks as she examined the closet. For once, clothes were scattered about the floor.
"It really is that man," she sighed, scanning the room. "He always blames it on you."
I scoffed. "You lived with him before I arrived in Helix. You should know the truth."
Nodding, she sighed. "It was so long ago. I've forgotten what it was like without you here."
"Less stressful," I chuckled.
"A bit." She rearranged the pillows on the couch. "But Tobias was more moody, so it has been a fair trade."
I smiled. "Do you know when he's coming back?"
She walked around and couch and took the spot next to me. "You understand why he can't be here right now?"
"Yes," I said softly. "But, I'd at least expect a phone call or even a simple message."
Nina turned me to her. "What happened at the Justice Building was an attack meant to kill Tobias and the emperor."
"I know." I wrung my hands together. "I was there. I saw the place where the bomb went off. If Sora hadn't gotten sick..." I bit my lip.
She put her arms around me. "You're safe here Raja. Tobias will stop them. This is not his first battle."
I let out a deep breath. "He is a great warrior."
"And an even better leader." She squeezed me against her.
"Yeah, you're right."
She grabbed my chin. "I'm so glad to hear that. Come on." She patted my knee. "You need some fresh air."
I grabbed the rest of the carrots and ate them as we walked out to the back door. We stepped out onto the back patio. Slaves were tending to the different assortments of flowers.
"Oh my," said Nina shaking her head. "They're trimming back the bushes way too far." She hurried off, waving her arms in the air.
Wandering down to the fountain, I took in a deep breath. Tobias being gone wouldn't be as bad if he would tell me what's going on out there. I gazed off through the only opening in the trees that showed the farmland behind the mansion. Out here, we were isolated. My technology access had even been restricted as well. I sat down on a bench sitting toward place along a path. Back in the village, we never had problems with being attacked. No one wanted to take our land.
The slaves around me stopped what they were doing and slowly stood. All eyes were on the sky. My head slowly turned in the same direction and my mouth fell open. Smoke filled the air. I rose to my feet.
"What is that?" asked a slave.
Workers started running in from the fields. One started running toward the front yard, and the rest of us followed. I turned the corner and stood with everyone else. Staggering to the front, I watched the sky turn black toward the city. It had happened again.
I jogged down the long drive that led to the mansion. Smoke billowed up from the ground in huge clouds. I had never seen something like this before.
"Raja!" yelled Nina. "Raja, come back now. Everyone," she ordered. "Inside now. Evacuated the fields. Everyone to the underground bunker."
A large roar sounded from above. Screams followed.
"Get down!"
I was thrown to the ground from the force when the bomb hit the ground. Blowing up one of the old sheds.
"Raja!"
Nina ran to my side. She helped me to my feet, and we ran back to the house. We huddled on the front steps. My eyes grew wide as a large object fell for the sky aimed at the mansion.
"Explosive device detected," blared the alarm. "Activate forcefield defense."
The bomb hit. The explosive ran along the forcefield and burned the ground along the edges. Siren rang through the area.
"Counter Attack Activated."
Canons appeared on the roof and lasers shot into the air. The slaves screamed as we huddled together. A plane cut through the clouds. It left a trail of smoke and flames behind it and nosediving straight toward the beet fields. Someone ejected from the graft and a green parachute burst from their back.
They were attacking my home. Gritting my teeth, I slipped from Nina's grasped and ran toward it.
"Raja! Raja, come back now."
Snatching a hoe from cast aside on the grass, I raced out into the field. The plane hit and dirt sprayed into the air. The man touching down and was encased in smoke from the plane. He landed with his back to me. I let out a warrior's cry and swung with all my strength. His helmet cracked on impact. The man dropped to his knees, and I struck him again. His helmet flew off into the field, and he toppled to the ground. Blood drained from the gash on the side of his head. I held the hoe above my head, ready to hit him again if he moved.
"Raja!" screamed Nina. "Get away from him now."
Two field hands pulled me away from the pilot. They quickly tied the man's hands.
Nina snatched me the moment I was in reach. "You stupid boy." She cupped my face. "What on earth possessed you to do that? It's not safe here. "Everyone," she called. "Back to the house. Bring all the wounded to the bunker." She pointed to the field hand. "Strip him of all his gear and tie him up to the whipping shed. Keep an eye on him. If he tried to escape, kill him. I'll contact the general."
She kept her arm around me as we walked back to the house. She pushed me into the hands of a kitchen helper. "Take him to the cellar. Insure that he stays there."
"Yes ma'am." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me along behind him to a door by the supply shed.
The thick metal doors opened for us. We rushed down the steps with some of the other slaves. More followed behind us. At the bottom were bunk beds lined up and row after rows of supplies. The slave sat me down on a bed at the end.
"Stay here."
I nodded.
He hurried off to help others to safety. Scooting back against the wall and pulled my legs to my chest. This wasn't just an attack, it was war.