CHAPTER 77
Billy, Prince, and Princess landed before the Matriarch’s front gate. Emily screamed, ecstatic to see him again. She already delivered their sixth baby and was eager to start another. Billy held out his arms and she leaped into them, kissing him on the mouth with the passion of a newlywed. To his credit, he turned his head and tried to pry her off him. She backed off confused, saw the pained expression on his face, then noticed the pregnant woman next to him. She assumed the lady was with the guy who looked so much like her. She looked ready to burst any day now.
"The fiancée I told you about..." Billy began before Emily screamed in horror at her blunder, then ran red-faced into the house.
“She’s in love with you,” Princess concluded with a deep sigh.
“My parents approved the match before I even hit puberty,” he weakly explained.
Billy’s kids with Emily now ran out, shouting “daddy!” The five, four, and three year olds tackled him with such enthusiasm it made him cry. The two year old led the one year old by the hand, who looked up at him like he was a giant. Later, inside, the twins would see Billy’s baby face actually on a baby.
Billy, eager to change the conversation, whispered to William, his oldest kid, who looked up at the twins and smiled. Something about that smile unsettled Prince.
“How can your firstborn look just like you, yet also mature?” Prince asked.
“I want to show you guys something.”
Billy led them towards the woods, searching for something close to the ground, the twins a few steps behind him, looking over his shoulder. Then an enormously loud primal scream exploded behind them, several times larger than a normal human voice. Both Prince and Princess dived to the ground while drawing wands. If they had their wands already in their hands, they may have blasted William, who was rolling in the air laughing.
Billy collapsed on the grass laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. He balled up like an infant, completely helpless as Prince kicked him, tears flowing like rivers. His son hovered above them, doing his own version of the four-flaming-wand dance that Diva helped Billy develop. Except the boy was a much better dancer, doing graceful somersaults with the agility of a veteran.
“You bastard!” his fiancé screamed at Billy, trying hard not to laugh.
“I’m so sorry,” Billy lied, knowing they knew he wasn’t sorry. “I’ve been planning this ever since Emily did the same thing to me. Oh, he scared me so bad I nearly peed myself. My legs shook so much I couldn’t even stand! I had no idea how terrifying it is for someone to scream so loud at one’s back. Every warrior hates feeling vulnerable -- I just never felt it so keenly before.”
After nearly crapping himself, Prince stared up at the boy with both envy and admiration. “That was awesome!”
Indeed, Princess now smiled up at him, seeing him in a completely unexpected light. She held out her arms and the damn kid dropped into her embrace with a laugh that only kids can do. He hugged her so fiercely that she found herself kissing him as if he were her own.
“I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful,” the boy said, looking deeply into her eyes, his adorable face radiating as much innocence as many hours of practice can manufacture. Princess burst into tears and opened her heart, loving the oldest son of her fiancé despite all the complications that this would bring.
“This is William,” the father introduced them. “Not Will or Willy or Billy, but William, after my father.”
“You gave him Millennial Wands?” Prince suddenly demanded, examining the kid’s sticks. “You had another set of Millennial Wands?”
“Show them, William.”
The five year old flew up and shocked them. Not just with the eight meters of flame from his hand wands, but from the four meters from his boot wands. The Khan’s unique ability was looking more common.
“William, you’re incredible,” Princess told the boy. “I need to bring my daughter Elizabeth here to meet you. Your dad also gave her millennial wands when she shot flame from her boot wands.”
“Is it true you’re the most powerful woman in the world?” William asked, staring at her like a puppy.
Princess laughed, knowing what he was doing, but unable to defend herself against it.
Billy got up to warn her. “Princess, William is just practicing flattery on you. His real target is the king. He wants to be named in the line of succession -- not because he wants power, but because he thinks it’d be hilarious. He ingratiates himself so well that poor grandpa runs at the sight of him.”
“Don’t be jealous, papa. Not everyone can be a world famous hero like you.” The boy touched noses with Princess. “I hear you have an amazing wingspan.”
Billy warned her again. “You see? Better lock up your dignity or he’ll take that, too.”
As more adults from the house gathered around, she motioned them back then, with a deep breath, extended flame fourteen meters. All that fighting and flying paid off.
The crowd mobbed her, all talking at once, accepting her as one of their own. The woman who had to be the Matriarch -- she just gave off that kind of authority -- picked her up like she won a championship. The English started singing a song as they put her on their shoulders and carried her to the house like a Roman senator. This was not the awkward reception she had been dreading.
Maybe this won’t be so bad, after all, Billy privately wondered.
The Matriarch met the guys outside the front door. Her one good eye examined Prince like an Arabian horse. “Is this the Indian you keep bragging about?”
“Show her, brother,” Billy urged him.
So Prince extended flame fifteen meters.
“Does he understand the rules?” Susan asked Billy.
Prince looked alarmed. Billy put a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Every time I visit, Susan makes me ‘donate’ five times a day. I strip, put on a blindfold, then women who wish to have my children have their way with me. Few speak and I never know their identities. Susan prefers this because it reduces jealousy, gossip, and back-stabbing. It’s more like a medical exam than sex. For hot sex I need your sister.”
Billy smiled when he said it, so Prince didn’t hit him as hard as he wished.
Princess planned to share Billy with several hundred women on their honeymoon so her children could have as many powerful siblings as possible. She’d continue this for the next two years. Princess, Susan, and Emily would spend hours discussing the logistics, reviewing potential recruits, and organizing tracking systems.
“Susan keeps track of the results. Since her son runs Global Bank, she arranges for any children to receive a kilo a year for eighteen years. It’s basically what they did to us in Europe and Asia, but with barely edible food.”
“I can’t wait to start,” Prince said.
“Is he always this easy?” Susan asked Billy.
“He matures slower than wine.”
“If you’re ready,” she said, taking Prince away, “I’ll show you where you can bathe. You’ll be very busy for as long as you stay here.”
Against everyone’s expectations, Prince would soon fall so deeply in love with one of Billy’s cousins that he’d marry her when Billy wed Princess. A duel wedding for the twins was the perfect way to close the circle since they met Billy three years before.
Billy entered and found Princess and Emily whispering suspiciously in the corner. He felt naked every time they looked at him. He never expected them to get along, much less conspire against him. His fiancée waved him over, and he dragged his feet the entire trip. It reminded him when he was just a kid and his father made him fly as slow as possible.
“We’ve agreed to raise our kids as siblings,” Princess told him, “since a threat to one is a threat to all.”
“I appreciate you informing me,” Billy said carefully.
“You should impregnate her before we honeymoon.”
Billy sometimes wished his fiancée was more possess
ive. “Yeah, impregnating her before our wedding is better than after,” he said dryly. “But, hey, if you two are really into each other, maybe Emily should join us on our honeymoon.”
Billy said it sarcastically, but apparently not sarcastic enough.
“You are so hot,” Princess told Emily.
“You’re just saying that.”
“I’ll prove it.”
Princess pushed Emily’s hand south to the land of milk and honey and Billy could tell when she arrived by the freakishly big smile on her face. Princess exploited the moment by teasing her with a ridiculously long kiss that sent the Englishwoman into the clouds.
“Why can’t you kiss like that?” Emily demanded of Billy with a straight face.
Princess laughed it off. “Lesbians are the best kissers. Did you know that 94% of all women sometimes fake an orgasm? The rest are gay.”
Billy would have left if watching them kiss didn’t give him an unbearable hard-on.
“Can I have you?” Princess asked Emily as if ordering lunch.
“Now and forever!” Emily answered with an enthusiasm that made Billy swoon. You’d think it was the girls getting married. “I have so much to learn.” As if Billy didn’t teach her anything these past six years. “Billy, you can join us if you’ll promise to pay attention.”
The world’s most powerful man meekly followed them to Emily’s room, as they chatted happily, hand in hand. He feared they’d be enemies, but never imagined he should fear them becoming lovers. He felt replaced.
As a child, he acted like a man. Now he felt like a kid, surrounded by demanding women planning his wedding. They told him what to wear, what to do, and who to sleep with. No wonder he spent the last decade at war.
A few days later, the Matriarch ruined an otherwise pleasant supper. “Billy, I’m sorry for the loss of your babies. Ouch! Did someone just kick me?”
Princess glared at her. Nobody could believe a guest kicked the Matriarch in her own home. Her eye patch made her look like a pirate.
“Exactly what babies are you sorry about, Susan?” Billy asked, all senses on full alert. She sat there acting deaf, so he turned to his bride-to-be. “Honey, what babies have I lost?”
Princess looked anguished. Susan left for the kitchen -- a sound tactical retreat -- leaving the bride to defend the silence.
“The Khan is paying a ton of gold for the heads of your children. He has gotten eight so far, that I have confirmed, although the Mongol News Agency says twenty-four.”
“He’s killed twenty-four of my babies?” Billy couldn’t believe it.
"Prince led the unit that destroyed one team, but there are many Imperial Guards who want revenge for you putting a price on their families."
Billy had almost forgotten about that. "But they gang-raped my mother to death!"
"The only way to stop it is to kill the Khan. But, for reasons I don’t understand, you’re waiting for the Olympics.”
“I told you! We need Genghis alive so the new kingdoms get their acts together and to motivate quads to see us duel at the Olympics.” And, he didn’t add, so I can live a few more years before withdrawal kills me.
“Then expect more dead babies,” Princess said harshly, losing her appetite. She got up, turned to Emily, and said something stunning: “Tell him about his mother.”
Emily was halfway out the door when Billy flew in her way. “What about my mother?” Emily stared at him like a dog levitated for the first time. “What’s going on?”
“Your mom was not raped,” Princess said. “Make her show you the video.”
Billy felt lightheaded. “Emily, please.”
She could not refuse him anything. Emily searched for the video, one among thousands, every heartbeat taking an eternity. When she found it, she let it speak for itself.
Of all things, Billy saw his father on the day his mother died. He looked, just, devastated. On every level. His wife’s corpse was not yet cold and already he turned into a shell of a man. William looked into the wand like a cow about to be tipped over.
“Billy, I’m using Emily’s stick to record this since you may inherit mine too soon. I’ll tell her to tell you when the time is right. The way Emily looks at you makes me trust her more than anyone on Earth. After her heroism today, I’m gonna let her have as much gold as she can carry and beg her to have your children once you’re old enough. Your mother already gave her advice on how to seduce you, even though I thought that just too weird.
“I can’t imagine how old you are now. Probably older than I’ll ever be, although I can’t see you as an old man. I was hoping to be a grandpa before I checked out. Now I only want to inflict as much pain on them as I can before I’m killed.
“I sure hope you finish this. Since you were six, I’ve always felt that if someone could stop the conflict, it’d be you. I was willing to sacrifice all of us to stop the bastards. The suffering they’ve caused is unimaginable.”
William burst into tears. The man who awed Billy turned into jelly. “They killed my wife and babies, Billy. The mass murderers burned the entire city, and blasted everyone who tried to escape. The kids I told you were my brother and sister were really my son and daughter. My wife survived the fire by blasting a hole under the house, but the Mongols not only gang raped her to death, but made her watch as they bashed the heads of our babies against a rock. I know because they left a video wand as a message to others. And they didn’t even know who I was. All they knew is that the quads from that city defied them. So it wasn’t even personal. It was policy. And that’s what unlocked my rage.
“It hurt so much I could barely fire up a wand. I went to England to escape the war. I never thought I’d ever love again. I certainly was never tempted to have more children. The loss was overwhelming. Nothing hurts more than losing a child. Three years later I was still wallowing in grief when your mom levitated me into the clouds. Wow. I had never met anyone like her. Her wands must have been magical because she had me under her spell before I even knew her name. I’ve never been more flattered than when she chose to run off with me rather than become queen of England.”
William looked down on his wife and caressed her long blond hair. “When you left, I assumed the Khan’s guards raped her. But here is her last video.” He held up Elizabeth’s wand and played her dying words, urging him to kill them all. Then she cut her own throat. “Crap! Sorry, Billy. I meant to stop before you saw that. Oh, I’m such a mess right now.
“To be sure, I checked her body. It turns out they only wanted us to believe she had been raped to distract us when they attacked. A wand doesn’t work if the quad can’t focus. I’m not saying they would not have raped her, if given the chance, but that they didn’t. I’m just happy she died like a warrior rather than a victim. How we live determines how we die. She lived with purpose, and died with purpose. It takes more courage to die well than to live well.
“Billy, Elizabeth surpassed all my expectations. Did you know I once asked her where she wanted to retire? She looked me in the eye and said she never wanted to retire. She expected to die as she lived, fighting tyranny, oppression, and servitude. She knew I’d do the same, and you know she expected even more from you. I wish I could say I was sorry we placed such a huge moral burden on you, but I’ve never seen anyone carry so much responsibility with greater grace. Ten generations of your family expect you to finish the job, regardless of the sacrifices. I do not expect you to be happy, but I do expect you to be consequential.
“The love of my life just died, Billy, so please understand that I can’t think clearly. Your mother wanted them all dead, so I think I’m gonna honor her dying wish by letting you believe they raped her. That horror will motivate you when all else fails. On those long flights, over those lonely camp fires, when you have to eat unsalted yak for the millionth time, only uncontrollable spite will get you up when your body craves sleep. Son, I ne
ed you angry. I need you vengeful. I need you cruel. Because only then will you do what must be done to win this war.
“But doing this to my only child is gonna make me feel like shit. But I’m gonna do it anyways. And I hope you can forgive me, even if I can’t forgive myself. I love you so much, but nothing means more to me than crushing the Mongols. I need you to stop them from doing to others what they did to me. Make an example out of them so that no one else ever tries to conquer humanity. There will always be war. For my dying wish, Billy, I want you to make this the last world war.”
Then William kissed his wife for the last time. Maybe he forgot he was recording because the emotional dam burst and reduced William to a sobbing mess. Billy had never seen his father like this before. Papa had always been his hero. Watching him fall apart unnerved Billy. When the video finally ended, Billy had no idea when he started crying. Or how to stop. All his life he felt like an adult. Now, within spitting distance of his 18th birthday, he became a scared little child in a big scary world.
“I’m so sorry,” Emily said, aghast at what this did to him. Could Billy still idolize his father? Would he still raid in the summer? Did they just lose the war? Could he still duel the Khan? Did she just screw everything up? She fled to her room in a panic, and seemed to take all sound with her. The house felt unnaturally silent until his bride-to-be manned up.
“I should have kept my damn mouth shut,” Princess said firmly, wiping away her own tears. “Until now, I thought I had the world’s most amazing parents. Hell, they weren’t even close. With a mom and dad like that, no wonder you turned out so great. You once told me that your father was a greater man than you’d ever be. I thought that ridiculous, but now I see what you mean. After knowing how awesome our parents were, I can’t help but fear our children will become soul-crushing disappointments.
“Emily told me about the video, but didn’t let me see it. Even with my face between her legs. If I had, I’d never have made you watch that. After all that you’ve been through; after all that you’ve done for others; after all that you’ve done for me -- I just shat on the memory of your parents. You’ll never see them the same way ever again. I stole your last illusion. I can’t believe I did that to the person I love the most -- just days before I give him another baby. I don’t deserve you. I’m sorry, Billy, but I can’t marry you. You should marry Emily instead. If anyone is worthy of you, it’s her.”
Princess loudly waddled out of the room, vehemently cursing herself.
Billy stood like a statue, wondering how he got here. The world’s most powerful quad could not move his limbs. Billy felt stuck. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. If he stood before an alter, he would have felt like many grooms, only more so.
His father never told Billy he had a dead brother and sister. His father let him believe his mother had been raped. His mother preferred him becoming a genocidal monster exterminating an entire race of people rather than a prince of England.
Billy had to pee so bad.
The Matriarch suddenly walked in with fresh baked pie that made the room smell like apples. But before she could offer Billy a slice, he asked the one question that forever changes childhood into adulthood:
“When did life get so complicated?”