Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira

by Laura Jo Phillips

  Karma turned to Zakiel and reined Dippy in, relieved when Zakiel did the same. When they both came to a stop she told him what Nikura had said about the harpies being a diversion.

  “He says I need to ride ahead to meet a...well...I don’t know what.”

  “Why would he suggest you get yourself killed?” Zakiel demanded angrily. “That is absurd.”

  “We do not have time for this,” Nikura snapped.

  “I must hurry,” Karma said before urging Dippy forward once more. Zakiel stared at her in disbelief, then ordered his own mount to race after her.

  “Tell me what it is you’re going to do,” he shouted when he caught up to her.

  “I don’t know yet,” Karma yelled back. “Nikura said I need to use the Ti-Ank.”

  Zakiel glared at the Sphin. “You better be right about this, Nikura.”

  A few minutes later Karma reined Dippy in once more just after they rounded a low mountain of gray boulders. Zakiel pulled up beside her, but when he looked ahead he saw nothing but more sand and one large yellowish boulder much like those they had just passed, except for the difference in color.

  “Why did you stop?” he asked.

  “Because Nikura said to,” she replied, searching the landscape for some sign of danger.

  “Ken-No-Kel,” Zakiel hissed.

  “As expletives go, I like son of a bitch better,” Karma said.

  Zakiel frowned at her in confusion, then shook his head. “That,” he said, pointing toward the gigantic yellow boulder, “is a Ken-No-Kel.”

  Karma looked at Zakiel, then at the boulder. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about when the boulder moved. She gasped softly in surprise, then froze in fear as the boulder seemed to unfold itself, changing from a very big rock to an impossibly huge...monster. It was the only word she could think of that fit.

  The thing had a broad head that appeared to be all mouth, filled with row after row of long, razor sharp teeth. Its body was long and wide, with an equally long tail tipped with a ball of wicked black spikes. It had six short legs that ended with curved claws rather than feet, and it was covered with thick overlapping scales.

  From nose to tail, the beast had to be at least thirty feet long, and when it opened its mouth and roared it was so loud that Karma winced and clapped her hands to her ears. It lowered its head and looked at them with tiny white eyes, long streams of yellow saliva dripping from its mouth.

  “A Ken-No-Kel is a mountain demon,” Zakiel said, speaking fast without taking his eyes from the beast. “Its saliva and blood are both venomous and acidic, and will burn through anything. The scales are hard as stone and cannot be pierced with a sword or spear, though if you aim carefully, you can slip a blade in between them. It uses its tail as a weapon, wielding it like a slow moving whip to throw the spikes at its enemies.” Zakiel looked at Karma, his expression grim. “I have never heard of a creature such as this in the desert. It is said to live in high, rocky mountains, far to the northwest.”

  “I wonder how it got here,” Karma said as she watched the yellow venom drip onto the sand, sending up clouds of steam. It was still watching them, but didn’t appear to be ready to attack. “How do we kill it?”

  “As I have said twice already, you must use the Ti-Ank,” Nikura said.

  “You want me to try to put it to sleep?” Karma asked doubtfully.

  “Of course not,” Nikura replied. “Demons do not sleep.”

  “I don’t think that talking to it is going to help,” Karma said tersely, “and hitting it with my staff would just be stupid. If you have another idea, now would be a good time to share it.”

  “You must infuse the Ti-Ank with your energy, as before,” Nikura said. “Then draw the power of the sun to it. And you must hurry, before it rolls back into a ball.”

  “Why? What happens if it rolls into a ball?”

  “It moves very slowly in its current form because it has very short legs and no real feet,” Zakiel answered. “When it rolls into a ball, its scales push it along the ground. It’s very fast and very heavy. It could flatten our entire caravan so quickly they wouldn’t have time to scatter.”

  “Okay, that’s a mental image I could do without,” Karma said, shuddering slightly.

  “Karma,” Zakiel said urgently. Something in the way he said her name frightened her. “I am going to harry the Ken-No-Kel while you go back and warn Bredon and Garundel. The caravan must be broken up. This thing can follow only one trail at a time, so most of our people should be able to escape it. I ask that you watch over Kapia for me.”

  “No,” Karma said, shaking her head firmly. “Nikura said I must defeat it with the Ti-Ank, and that is what I’m going to do. Bredon will allow no harm to come to Kapia.”

  Zakiel met her eyes for a long moment, then nodded, the black and orange stripes of the Tigren appearing on his face as she watched. “I will distract it while you prepare.”

  Karma opened her mouth to object but Zakiel had already kicked his mount into a run. The diplo did not move as gracefully as a horse, but when it ran, it moved fast.

  She saw Zakiel drop the reins and pull both of his swords, the Tigren stripes now covering his chest and arms. He guided his diplo with his knees and raced in a wide circle around the beast to its side, drawing its attention.

  Karma slid the staff from its loops and looked around. The sun was still low in the sky, the mountain of rocks behind them casting a large shadow that they were standing in. Before anything else, she had to get out of the shadow.

  She turned Dippy and trotted away from the rocks and into the sun, gripping the staff tightly in her hand. “Do I need to dismount?” she asked Nikura.

  “No time,” Nikura said. “You must hurry.”

  Karma turned Dippy so that she faced the creature, then looked up at the sun. She turned the Ti-Ank so that the metal surrounding the dark blue winged ankh glittered brightly, then took a deep, calming breath. She’d practiced enough that reaching for her own energy and channeling it into the Ti-Ank was fairly simple. Within a few moments she sent her energy out through her arm, into her hand, then to the staff and up to the ankh.

  “Good,” Nikura murmured softly. “Now use your energy to pull power from the sun.”

  Karma had no idea how to do that, but she didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, she sent her energy out, focusing on the sun, and hoped it would work. After a few moments, she felt a new, different energy gather in the Ti-Ank. She opened her eyes and saw that it was bright yellow. She tilted it just a fraction, and was pleased to see a bright beam of golden light shoot from the center of the ankh to the sand a few yards in front of the Ken-No-Kel.

  The thing roared and she glanced over in time to see Zakiel racing away from it, holding one sword out as it dripped green blood onto the sand. It turned its head toward Zakiel and snapped its huge jaws, spraying yellow venom all around itself, but Zakiel was too far away for it to touch him. It roared again, this time in frustration as it turned further and took a few slow steps after Zakiel. Karma spotted the wide stream of green blood flowing from between two scales in the thing’s flank, courtesy of Zakiel’s sword.

  She took another breath and focused on her task. Dippy shifted nervously and she reached out with her free hand to pat him soothingly while she aimed the beam of light at the creature’s shoulder.

  “More energy,” Nikura said, “you must use more energy.”

  Karma realized that the light was burning it, leaving a steaming trail along its side as it cut through the scales, but it was not causing enough damage to do more than enrage it. She closed her eyes and narrowed her focus, reaching deeper within herself, straining to send as much of her own energy out as she could, then using that to pull in more power from the sun.

  Another loud roar sounded and her eyes flew open to see that it was working. A thin, bright laser beam of white light had sliced deeply into the beast’s side, wounding it badly. The beam of light weakened and she closed her ey
es again, straining to increase its strength.

  Zakiel raced away from the Ken-No-Kel, then turned to watch in awe as a thin beam of light shot from the Ti-Ank to its haunch. He knew it needed to be facing Karma to give her the best chance of killing it quickly, so when the beam of light faded, he raced toward its head, shouting to draw its attention. The giant tail swung out and around, but the diplo was far more agile than it appeared and easily leapt over it. Zakiel looked back, pleased to see the beast’s head following him as it turned back around. Satisfied, he checked the position of the great, spiked tail, then moved closer to Karma. He kept himself in between her and the enraged Ken-No-Kel, while staying out of Karma’s line of sight so he did not interfere with the beam.

  Again the beam grew thinner and brighter, leaving a huge, gaping wound across the monster’s chest. It swung its huge tail through the air, slamming it against the ground only a few feet away from Zakiel as it flung its head from side to side, sending yellow venom spraying high into the air.

  “Look out!” Zakiel shouted, his voice closer to a roar than a shout with the Tigren so close to the surface. He kicked his diplo into a run toward Karma, knowing that the venom was going to land on her if she didn’t move. As he’d feared, her eyes were closed and she was focused too deeply on what she was doing to hear him. He leaned down and snatched Dippy’s reins as he flew past, ducking his head below the Ti-Ank’s beam as he dragged the diplo, Karma, and Nikura out of danger just before a spray of droplets hit the sand where they’d been standing. He released Dippy’s reins and moved back out of the way before turning to watch Karma and the beast, ready to drag Dippy out of danger again if necessary.

  Karma opened her eyes and adjusted the angle of the beam, slicing it across the Ken-No-Kel’s chest again. It reared up on its back legs and tossed its head and upper body back and forth, sending its thick, green blood flying all around it, causing billows of acid steam to rise from the sand. Karma reached even deeper, her eyes narrowed on the beast’s neck, precisely adjusting the angle as she waited for the right moment. Seconds later it slammed its forelegs back to the ground, whipped its tail around in a wide circle, raised its head high and opened its mouth to roar its fury, and she saw her chance.

  Gathering every ounce of energy she could into the Ti-Ank, she sent it all out toward the Ken-No-Kel, pulling the Ti-Ank sideways so that the beam sliced across the creature’s long, thick neck. The roar cut off and the beast froze for one, interminably long second. Then the monster’s head slid off the neck and onto the sand with a wet, slurping sound that Karma thought she would hear in her nightmares forever.

  She let out a long, slow breath, releasing all of the energy she was still holding. The glow faded and she slipped it back into the loops on her saddle with shaking hands. The Ti-Ank secure, she turned to look for Zakiel, already feeling the familiar darkness of exhaustion beckoning to her. But Zakiel wasn’t there.

  She turned to the other side and started to relax when she saw his diplo standing a few yards away from her. But Zakiel was not on the diplo. She frowned again, wondering where he’d gone. Before her mind had even finished the thought, she looked down, her heart stopping when her eyes found him lying on the sand beside his diplo’s feet.

  Karma leapt off of her diplo without thinking, falling to her hands and knees in the sand, forcing her mind and body to ignore both the pain and its demand for rest, ruthlessly shoving the dark blanket of unconsciousness back. She would not pass out. Not now. Not when Zakiel needed her.

  She scrambled to her feet and raced to Zakiel’s side, spotting the ugly, black spikes embedded deeply in his chest long before she reached him. She fell to her knees beside him, her hands automatically reaching for the spikes. Before her fingers closed on them, she hesitated. Would it make things worse if she removed them?

  “Take them out,” Nikura said, as he joined her beside Zakiel.

  Karma stared at him for a moment, then grabbed hold of the spikes and pulled them out, one by one, and tossed them aside. There were seven of them, each one leaving a deep, bloodless wound in Zakiel’s otherwise smooth flesh. The stripes of the Tigren were gone, though she hardly noticed.

  She placed her hands lightly over two of the wounds, straining to feel some trace of movement caused by breath or blood or heart, but there was nothing. She stared at his face, memorizing every detail; a tiny scar on his chin, the dark lashes and stern brows, the mark in one cheek that became a dimple when he smiled. All of this and more she carved into her mind, determined that she would never forget a single thing about him. She wished that his eyes were open so she could see their bright, intense blue one last time, then decided it was better that they were closed. She did not want her last memory of them to be empty, glassy, and lifeless.

  A deep, hollow pain began in her chest and grew rapidly until it seemed to encompass her entire body and soul as she struggled to accept the fact that he was dead. Prince Zakiel, with his tall, strong body, his so rare, but so warm laugh and mysterious, sometimes icy eyes, was gone forever. She would never know more of him than she did at that moment, a thought that hurt so badly it took her breath away.

  As the empty pain continued to spread she gasped for air, unaware of the deep, harsh, keening sounds she was making. This time when the dark blanket of exhaustion slipped closer she welcomed it, unable to bear the pain of losing him for another moment. Her body slumped forward over Zakiel, the keening silenced, but the tears still leaking from her closed eyes continued to drip down upon his chest, bathing the wounds that had stolen him from her.

  ***

  Sir Bredon and Sir Garundel each led five of their Hunters after Zakiel and Lady Techu as soon as the harpies had flown away. The rest of the Hunters were left to guard the caravan, save for two of Sir Bredon’s most trusted men who were commanded to watch over Kapia. As soon as they came around the mountain of boulders they’d reined their mounts to a skidding stop, Sir Bredon holding up one hand to halt the Hunters behind him as he quickly took in the scene before them.

  Lady Techu had just sliced the beast across the chest for the second time, and they realized at once that if they rode into the fray, they would only interfere. They watched in tense amazement as the beast reared up, then slammed down, its head and neck stretched toward the sky, offering Lady Techu a perfect target which she did not hesitate to take advantage of. Lady Techu used the Ti-Ank to deliver a killing blow to the Ken-No-Kel, their Prince looking on with an expression of pride shared by every other Knight and Hunter watching.

  Then, the unthinkable had happened. Just as the white beam of fire began to cut across the beast’s neck, its tail whipped back and around, the mass of deadly spikes at its tip aimed directly at Lady Techu. Prince Zakiel was to Lady Techu’s right, but behind her, so it took only a moment for him to kick his diplo into action and race forward a scant few yards, putting himself between Lady Techu and the spikes at the last possible second. The Ken-No-Kel’s aim was poor as it was already dying, so most of the spikes flew well over the Prince’s head. But not all of them. The Hunters watched helplessly as several of the long black spikes hit their Prince in the chest. He froze for a long moment, then slipped slowly off his diplo and onto the ground.

  As a veteran of too many battles to count, Sir Bredon was no stranger to death. Even so, he was so horrified by the sight of Zakiel’s body lying motionless on the sand that he couldn’t make himself breathe, let alone move. Only when he saw Lady Techu leap from her saddle and race toward Zakiel did he kick his own diplo into motion. By the time the Hunters reached their Prince and Lady Techu, it was clear there was nothing to be done. They all dismounted, then silently surrounded the couple, their hearts heavy at the sight and sound of Lady Techu’s grief.

  When she slumped over Zakiel’s body and fell silent, Sir Bredon was initially afraid that she too had died. Then he remembered Zakiel telling him of the physical toll required for her to use the Ti-Ank, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still breathing.
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br />   Sir Bredon stepped forward, feeling strangely uncertain about what he should do. As he stood there, hesitating, Nikura sprang to his feet and began growling as he pressed his head against Lady Techu’s shoulder as though trying to move her away from Zakiel. Bredon frowned at the Sphin.

  “What’s wrong Nikura?” he asked.

  Nikura looked up at him and growled, then nudged Lady Techu again.

  “All right, I’ll move her,” Sir Bredon said. He bent down and slipped his arms beneath her, then lifted her off of Zakiel. He stood up, holding her in his arms as he gazed down at his Prince, cousin, and life long friend, wondering what he was supposed to do next.

  Suddenly Nikura butted him in the leg. Hard. Bredon frowned down at the Sphin, who only butted him again. Nikura was large enough that when he shoved, he put some force into it, causing Bredon to take a couple of steps backward. “What is wrong with you?” Bredon demanded.

  Nikura shoved at him again. This time Bredon took another two steps back, but the Sphin hit him yet again. When Bredon was a dozen feet back, Nikura turned around and crouched down, his eyes fixed on Zakiel. Bredon shook his head and started to turn away. He would move Lady Techu away from Zakiel’s body before she woke up, so she would not see him again as he was. Then they would place his body onto his diplo, and take him back to the caravan. His heart ached with the knowledge of how difficult this news was going to be for Kapia.

  He’d taken only a couple of steps from the circle when a sudden hissing noise caught his attention. Curious, he turned back to see what was causing the sound, and gaped in open shock at the sight before him. Prince Zakiel’s body had burst into bright red and blue flames that shot ten feet up and gave off such a wave of heat that all of the Hunters stumbled back several feet to avoid being burned.

  “What...?” Bredon exclaimed, stunned and confused by the sight. When understanding hit him, he gasped aloud. “Can it be?” he whispered. “Can it really be?”

  He placed Lady Techu on the ground a safe distance away before turning back to watch the flames, surprised to see that Zakiel’s body had been reduced to little more than gray ash in the few moments that his back had been turned. The flames gradually became smaller and smaller until they died out, leaving a heap of smoking ash behind. Several of the Hunters started talking, asking what was happening, but Bredon kept his eyes on the ashes and waved them to silence. He didn’t know how long it would take. He knew only that he wasn’t moving until it happened. He didn’t have to wait very long.