Green Desert - Chapter 6.1.2 - Bhanar

I almost replied, “I am the man with the gun,” but I saw the newcomer had a shoulder holster partially hidden by the jacket he carried. Instead I answered, “My name is Bhanar.”

The dark-haired man eyed me oddly, but then put on his sunglasses and I couldn’t see how he was eyeing me.

Séara and Zhíno started to relax. Or at least the policewoman did, lowering her gun and standing more casually. Zhíno stayed behind her.

Umo calmly queried, “What, may I ask, is your last name?”

Why did he want to know my last name? What difference would it make? . . . Unless he recognized my first name, my age, my face perhaps.

Unless he was a royalist.

Crap. I didn’t need this right now.

I could lie. I could give a false name. I caught Séara’s gaze, full of furrowed brows and frowning lips. I couldn’t lie to a cop, not to her.

“Bhanar Narak.”

Umo smiled––a genuine joyful smile––and dropped to one knee, his head lowered. “Your Majesty!”

Zhíno spluttered, “What the. . . What the hell is going on?”

Séara pointed a finger southward. “Here comes another.”

Indeed, a second formally-dressed man approached through the desert scrub. Skinnier, with shinier hair. Was he also a royalist? Was he also going to bow? Did he also think I was the rightful emperor?