The Quest for the Heart Orb (The Orbs of Rathira)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Karma nodded to herself. She was glad Kapia had gotten to this point, because it was a far more serious matter than she’d seemed to understand. “If I were to guess, I’d say that you thought he didn’t take you seriously as a woman, and thought that proving to him how wrong he was would make a difference.”

  “I’m not even going to pretend I’m surprised,” Kapia said with a wry smile. “You understand me all too well sometimes. Good thing I love you and trust you so much.”

  Karma returned Kapia’s smile, but her heart was aching for her. She wished she understood Bredon half as well as she understood Kapia. “Why not let Zakiel do this on your behalf,” she suggested.

  “I can’t,” Kapia said, shaking her head. “If it’s going to be done, I have to be the one to do it.”

  “You want to see his face when you ask,” Karma guessed, and Kapia nodded. “Do it, Kapia.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” Karma said. “It’s past time for the subject to be raised between you and if he won’t do it, you need to.”

  “What if he gets angry?”

  “What if he does?” Karma shot back.

  “Good point,” Kapia said. Then she sighed. “Now all I have to do is work up the courage to ask Bredon.”

  “Ask Bredon what?” Bredon asked, coming up from behind them and reining his diplo in beside Kapia. Kapia’s cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t try to hide it from him.

  “Let’s ride up ahead just a bit. I’d like to talk to you privately.”

  “Of course,” Bredon said. He looked at Karma. “Please excuse us, Lady Techu.”

  Karma rolled her eyes at him. “Of course, Sir Bredon.”

  Bredon laughed as he and Kapia rode ahead of Karma, their diplos as close together as they could get them. “I’ve been thinking,” she began. “About us. I know that it’s not proper for me to bring this subject up, but I’ve come to understand that you’re not going to, so I’m going to do it anyway.”

  “Kapia, my love,” Bredon said, “you may say what you will to me, and proper be damned.”

  Kapia nodded, his words giving her the courage she needed. “Before you were possessed by Marene, you told me that you wanted to marry me one day. Has that changed, or do you still feel the same way? Do you still want to marry me, Bredon?”

  “More than anything, Kapia,” he replied solemnly, all humor gone. “Do you doubt it?”

  “Yes, I do,” Kapia said. “Every minute we’ve spent alone together these past couple of weeks is a precious memory for me, just as I asked for, and I don’t regret a moment of it. But I wonder if it’s changed your opinion of me.”

  “In what way?” he asked, confused.

  “Perhaps you think I’m too wanton to be a wife.” Kapia’s lips were numb with fear, but she managed, from sheer strength of will, to keep her voice steady and calm.

  “Never,” Bredon said. “I love you, Kapia. You could not possibly do anything to change that, least of all make it possible for us to express our love for each other.”

  “Then why have you not asked?”

  “I can think of nothing I want more in this world than to take you as my wife, Kapia,” Bredon said. “But we can’t be married. Not now. Not yet.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “You know as well as I do that if we were engaged, no one would think twice about us spending time alone together, and yet you’ve never said a word about marriage since your return. I think I have a right to know why.”

  “You know the laws as well as I do,” Bredon said, pulling away from her as he straightened in his saddle and faced forward. “No man may engage a royal daughter without approval from the current king, as well as whoever is next in line for the throne.”

  “Do you think Zakiel would deny us?” she asked, not missing the way he was distancing himself from her.

  “No, I don’t, but your father might, and breaking the law before I even ask him is unlikely to help matters. We have to wait until we reach Ka-Teru to ask King Rhobar.”

  “What if one of us doesn’t live that long?” Kapia asked, voicing her greatest fear. “You know how I feel about regrets, Bredon, and you said you agreed with me.”

  “Regrets are better than the alternative,” Bredon said, glancing at her quickly, then away again.

  Kapia frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “What if, as you said, I die?” Bredon asked. “You are barely old enough to be a bride, Kapia. And you are far too young to be a widow. You can’t want that.”

  “Of course I don’t want that,” Kapia said. “But if we have a limited time to be together, then I want to make the best of it. I want to cram as much loving into that time as possible so that I have something to remember if the worst does happen. Wouldn’t you want the same, if I died?”

  “Of course I would,” Bredon said, “but it’s different for me than it is for you.”

  “How is it different?” Kapia demanded, her temper flaring.

  “Because you can get pregnant, Kapia, and I can’t,” Bredon said softly, deflating her temper immediately. “What if that happens, and I’m not here to help you raise our child? You’d have to do it alone.”

  “No, I won’t ever be alone,” Kapia said. “I have Karma and Zakiel, Tiari and Tomas. They’re my family too, right along with Father, and they will always be here for me. And, don’t forget, I’m wealthy in my own right. Our child will never go without no matter what happens.”

  Bredon rode silently for a few minutes, arguing with himself. He wanted to marry Kapia and take what joy they could from the time they had, just as much as she did. Their time together had served to take the edge off of his overwhelming desire for her, but each time it became harder to let her go without claiming her fully. But there was still one thing she didn’t know. One thing that might very well change her mind about wanting to marry him. One thing that would make marrying her the most selfish act of his life. He turned to look into her eyes and his heart turned over at the hope and the love he saw there.

  “Kapia, once again I ask for time to think on this,” he said. It hurt to watch the disappointment fill her eyes, but he had no choice. There was too much at stake and he needed time to think with a clear head. “Just a day or two. Will you agree to that?”

  “Yes, Bredon, I’ll agree to that,” she said, dropping her eyes with a sigh.

  “Thank you,” Bredon said. “Please understand me, Kapia. I love you more than my life, and I want to be married to you more than I want anything else in this world. But I cannot allow myself to do anything that will hurt you.”

  “I understand, Bredon.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not true. I don’t understand. But I do understand your need for time, and I’ll give you that if you’ll try to understand something as well.”

  “Which is?”

  “You said you won’t do anything that will hurt me. Please try to understand that losing you without ever having you will hurt me more deeply than anything else ever could.”

  ***

  After lunch Tiari, Ren, and a subdued Kapia resumed their usual positions side by side with Karma and Nikura. Now that Ren was settled in, Marl was no longer required to remain at her side all of the time, so had returned to the regular rotation. He was currently guarding the rear of the company, and the regular guards watched over the women.

  Karma was worried about Kapia. It was clear that her conversation with Bredon had not gone very well, but there were too many people around for them to speak privately. As much as she hated seeing Kapia upset, it would have to wait.

  The wind began to blow out of the north again, lightly at first, but more and more strongly as the day wore on. The clouds thickened and darkened, and the temperature dropped rapidly. It was barely late afternoon when Zakiel decided to order a halt. The loss of a little more time wouldn’t matter if they all froze to death in the coming storm before they could erect the tents, and besides, he was worried about Karma’s bruises. He’d just announced his decisio
n when Nikura hissed a warning, capturing Kapia’s attention as well as Karma’s.

  “This is new,” Nikura said, turning to stare westward.

  “Somehow, I doubt you mean that in a good way,” Karma said, reaching for the Ti-Ank at her waist and extending the staff to its full length. She glanced at Kapia and nodded, giving her the signal to warn everyone that demons were about to attack.

  "I never mean new in a good way, Lady Techu."

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Karma asked. “Let’s have it.”

  “Gargoyles,” Nikura said.

  Karma stared. “Did you say…gargoyles?”

  “Yes, I did,” Nikura replied, flicking a glance her way before returning his gaze to the sky. "Has your hearing deteriorated again?"

  “Gargoyles,” Karma repeated flatly, ignoring the sarcasm.

  “You are familiar with gargoyles, I take it.”

  “I’m familiar with ugly statues that were used to channel water from the roofs of ancient buildings that are called gargoyles,” she said. “They aren’t real, living, breathing creatures. Or animals. Or whatever you call them.”

  “I agree that they’re ugly, but I’m afraid that they’re quite real,” Nikura said. “And they’re called demons. Somewhat formidable demons, in fact.”

  “I knew you were going to say that,” Karma said just as Zakiel joined them. "It's never, we're about to be attacked by demons, but they're only mildly irritating creatures that will run away when you shake your finger at them and use harsh language.”

  Nikura tore his gaze from the sky again, only this time he stared at Karma for a long moment, nonplussed. Karma had the distinct impression that, for once, Nikura was completely at a loss for words. He continued to stare until she arched a brow at him. Then he blinked slowly and asked, very seriously, “Where would the fun be in that?”

  Zakiel suddenly wished he could still hear Nikura. From the expression on Karma’s face, the Sphin was in more immediate danger of being whacked with her staff than any demon. The best he could do was try to divert her attention.

  “What is it?”

  “Gargoyles,” Karma replied, turning her gaze on him, the stars in her gray eyes flashing a warning. “Don’t you dare laugh.”

  “Why would I laugh about gargoyles?” Zakiel asked blankly.

  Karma sighed heavily and shook her head. Zakiel knew he was missing something, but whatever it was would have to wait. “How many?”

  Karma glanced at Nikura, then looked back at Zakiel. “He says there’s a pod of them, whatever that means.”

  “A pod is a group of approximately a dozen,” Zakiel said. “They’re smaller than harpies, but smarter, faster, and extremely poisonous. The good news is that they don’t fly more than about thirty feet off the ground, if that. Well within bow range.”

  “Tiari, do you see any weaknesses?” Karma asked.

  “Only their weight,” Tiari replied. “They’re slow and ponderous while flying, and once they touch the ground it’s difficult for them to get back into the air. Unlike harpies, their legs are strong and they run quickly, so be careful.

  “You won’t be able to use the Ti-Ank to burn them, or freeze them,” Nikura said.

  “Why not?” Karma asked in surprise.

  “Because they don’t burn. Or freeze.” Karma waited. Nikura’s ears twitched. She glared. “If you send a beam at them from either the sun or the moon, it will only make them stronger. They absorb it somehow. A lesson learned by Techu Samyi a thousand years ago.”

  “Well that’s just great,” Karma muttered. She looked at the ground, but it was soft, grassy earth. Then she eyed the sparse stand of trees on either side of the trail. “Damn,” she said.

  “What?” Zakiel asked.

  She told him what Nikura had said, then added, “I was looking for boulders, rocks, even an old log that I can bludgeon the gargoyles with using the Earth power of the Ti-Ank.” She reached for the winged ankh at the head of her staff, gave it a quick twist to remove it, and placed it carefully into a skirt pocket. Then she removed her cloak and hung it on her saddle.

  “What are you doing?” Zakiel demanded.

  “Getting ready to fight like everyone else,” she said. “A few bruises aren’t going to get in my way, so I don’t want to hear a word about them.”

  Zakiel decided that this was neither the time nor place for an argument, which was a relief to him, though he’d never admit it. “Can’t you pull up one of those trees?”

  “No,” she replied, shaking her head. “Those trees are natural to Rathira, and they’re alive. The Ti-Ank won’t work against them.”

  “Then I’ll cut one down,” Bredon said, but before he could leap from the saddle Zakiel stopped him.

  “Too late,” he said sharply. Everyone looked up to see the dark flock of creatures flying toward them. “Their bite and their claws are poison,” Zakiel said loudly enough for everyone to hear, drawing his swords while the markings of the Tigren and the Vatra appeared on his face, neck, chest and arms. “Archers, aim at their wings to bring them down,” Zakiel ordered. “Everyone else remember, as Lady Tiari said, these are not harpies with useless legs, so be careful.”

  Karma dismounted, removed her overskirt, tossed it up to her saddle with her cloak, then went to stand beside Kapia. A moment later Tiari joined them, walking slowly but without pain, and Nikura took the position at Karma’s right. Ren dismounted, went straight to Dippy, and slid the reins over his head, then did the same with Goldy, Nosy, and Spot. She’d come to like Spot a great deal, but she was still nervous around the other diplos, though she hid it well. She gathered all four diplos together and held onto the reins tightly, trying not to imagine what would happen to her if they took off running in four different directions.

  “Where should I take them?” she asked.

  Karma glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Right where you are is fine, Ren. Stay between the diplos, and behind us. You should probably kneel down so you don’t provide the demons with an obvious target. Yell if any demons get close to you.”

  “All right,” Ren agreed, going to her knees beside Spot’s front legs. She was surprised when Dippy and Spot shifted closer together, their bodies providing a shield above and around her, and wondered if it was an accident, or deliberate on their part. Before she could make up her mind, chaos erupted.

  Men shouted and arrows flew skyward as the group of dark winged creatures attacked from above. The archers brought several of them to the ground where men ran them down with spear and sword before they could gain their feet, but Ren was far more interested in the three that dropped down almost on top of the women in front of her. They were the ugliest things she’d ever seen in her life, with canine bodies and monkey-like faces filled with long, black teeth that dripped equally black saliva. The air was filled with their screeching, a harsh sound like stone ripping that grated on her ears.

  Two of the creatures attacked Karma at once, and a third one landed right in front of Tiari. Ren could hardly believe her eyes as the delicate, soft spoken woman reached out and calmly beheaded the gargoyle with a single slash of her small sword. A low shout snagged Ren’s attention and her gaze shifted from Tiari to Kapia in time to see her swing one end of her staff at the head of a gargoyle flying straight at her, knocking it to the ground. She shifted smoothly to the side while swinging the other end of her staff around so fast that Ren could hear the whistling sound it made just before it struck the gargoyle, crushing its head.

  Ren grimaced, but didn’t turn away as another gargoyle charged Kapia, marveling as she put it down as quickly as she had the first one. Karma’s staff whirled and struck even faster than Kapia’s, too fast for Ren to see as anything more than a blur. She gasped when Nikura leapt straight up into the air and pulled a passing gargoyle down with a set of long, wicked looking claws.

  Ren didn’t know how much time passed. It might have been one minute, ten minutes, an hour, or more. She knew only that the three women in
front of her, and the Sphin, stood their ground and fought bravely and coolly, never faltering for a moment. Then, suddenly, silence fell.

  “Are you all right, Ren?” Kapia asked, turning to check on her as soon as she was sure the attack was over.

  “Yes, I’m fine, thanks,” Ren said, climbing to her feet and patting Spot and Dippy affectionately.

  “Thank you, Nikura,” Karma said, looking at the pile of dead creatures lying before them.

  “They don’t taste as bad as harpies,” Nikura said as he sat down and prepared to give himself a bath, his lethal claws once more hidden within his paws.

  “Well, that’s good news,” Karma said, rolling her eyes.

  “I’m curious,” Kapia said as she gestured at the dead gargoyles in front of them with her staff. “If there were only twelve, how is it that…well…more than fifteen of them lie dead before us?”

  “Several more pods attacked from the north, south and east while our attention was diverted by the one coming in from the west,” Karma replied after listening to Nikura’s answer.

  “I’d say we did fairly well for ourselves,” Tiari said, holding her sword away from her so as not to get any of the black gargoyle blood on her clothing.

  “I agree,” Karma said, her eyes on Zakiel who was striding toward her with Garundel, Tomas, and a very pale faced Bredon.

  “It appears that you women were their main targets,” Zakiel said, looking at the dead gargoyles on the ground in front of them. “They hit you in a concentrated attack while the rest of them kept us busy.”

  “That’s a first,” Kapia said. “They usually go after Karma because of the Ti-Ank, but not me or Tiari. Why come after us now?”

  “That’s a good question,” Karma said.

  “I tried to summon Vatra,” Zakiel said. “Obviously it didn’t work. Thank the Sky Warriors you women can defend yourselves so well. Ten of them attacked me at once, so without Vatra, it was impossible for me to get to you. I’m sorry, valia.”