Quest for the Sun Orb (14 page)

“Can you hit both hearts at the same time?” Tiari asked nervously.

“No, I can’t,” Tomas admitted.  “But don’t worry.  If it can be done, Lady Techu will do it.”

Just then the remaining
kadjet
swooped down toward the center of the circle where Karma sat with the Ti-Ank, it’s many clawed feet snapping at the swords and spears that reached up to hack at it in an effort to drive it away.  No one dared try to kill it, but they did their best to injure it.  It caught a Hunter by the arm in one set of claws, and Tomas nearly let his arrow fly before reminding himself that to do so would be a disaster.  If it was killed, they’d have eight more exactly like it to deal with.

He watched as Zakiel, his Tigren fully manifested, leapt to his feet on his saddle and began swiping at the
kadjet’s
legs, the Tigren’s razor sharp claws slicing through the spindly insectile legs that held the Hunter with ease.  The Hunter fell to the ground, his scream cutting off sharply.

Tomas continued to follow the
kadjet
with his arrow until it was some distance away before looking back to check on the Hunter.  The man was alive, thanks to Zakiel, though bleeding badly.  He would not get help until the remaining demon was destroyed.

“I’m frightened, Tomas,” Tiari admitted in a low voice.  “I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s true.”

“There is no shame in fear, Tiari,” Tomas said.  “You sit there on your diplo, in the open, without a weapon to defend yourself, so that you can help the rest of us in a way that no one else can.  You’ve conquered your fear, and that is the very definition of real courage.”

“Are you afraid, too?” Tiari asked.

“Yes, I am,” Tomas admitted, amazing himself.  “I am afraid that something will happen to you, that I will fail in my duty to protect you.”

“Protecting me is not your duty, Tomas,” she said.  “If something happens to me, you cannot take responsibility for it.”

“Protecting you is my duty, Tiari,” Tomas argued calmly, not taking his eyes from the
kadjet
as it circled above them.  “It is a duty I have chosen for myself, and I mean to uphold it.”

The
kadjet
screamed and Tomas tensed, knowing it was about to attack again.  He kept it in his sights, hoping that he’d been right, and that Lady Techu would find a way to destroy the thing.  Just as that thought ran through his mind twin beams of brilliant light shot skyward and the
kadjet
vanished in a blinding flash.

Tomas blew out a sigh of relief, but didn’t lower his bow until he’d scanned the entire sky one last time.  When he was certain that there was no more danger he released the tension on the bowstring, lowered his bow, then looked to the injured Hunter still lying unconscious on the ground.  He was surprised to see Kapia kneeling in the dirt beside the man.  She’d already wrapped a long strip of lavender colored cloth, obviously torn from her skirt, around the Hunter’s arm to stop the bleeding, proving that she’d gone to help the Hunter before the final
kadjet
had been destroyed.  Tomas wondered how it was that he’d failed to notice how courageous his young cousin was.  Which reminded him.  He turned to face Tiari.

“I thought that you were supposed to climb under your diplo, not stay on it and stand in the open,” Tomas said, trying not to sound accusatory.

“I had no means of getting down,” she replied simply.  “Not that it would have mattered.  I was meant to see what others could not see.”

“Meant?” Tomas asked.  “Someone told you this?”

“Yes, in a way,” Tiari replied.  “When I was a little girl, my mother used to tell me that my eyes were this way because I was meant to see what others could not.  I remembered that as I sat there in the trees, listening to Karma.  Somehow I knew that I was supposed to see their hearts for her, that it was my responsibility, and that if I didn’t do it, people would die.  So I got Nosy to move out of the trees so that I could see these...things...whatever they’re called.”

“They are called
kadjet,
” Tomas said.  “They’re demons.  And I’ve changed my mind.”

“About what?” Tiari asked.

“About having a stirrup put on your saddle,” Tomas replied.  “I’m going to personally make sure that tomorrow morning you have a stirrup, and that you know how to use it.”

“Thank you, Tomas,” Tiari said, smiling.  “I will feel better if I can get up and down on my own.”

“As will I,” Tomas said.

Chapter Eight

Bredon awoke the morning after finding himself in his bedroll feeling better than when he’d gone to sleep, though still a little sluggish.  After eating breakfast, thanks again to the Sirelina, he’d retraced his steps to where he’d awakened the previous afternoon and located his back trail.  He’d definitely been moving south so, with no better idea of his current location, or where Darkly Fen actually was, he continued in that direction.

He tried repeatedly to get more information from Marene about the location of Darkly Fen, or even how long it would take to reach it, but she refused to respond to him no matter how hard he pushed at her.  Eventually he gave up and just kept traveling south.

As he rode, he thought of Kapia.  He knew that he didn’t deserve her.  Knew that he had betrayed her, in body if not in heart and mind.  He wondered if it would have made a difference if he’d told her the truth from the beginning.  After spending some time considering that question, he came to the conclusion that it would have been a mistake.  Kapia would never want anything to do with him if she knew the truth.  No, what she didn’t know could not hurt her.  Or him. 

Bredon stood in the middle of the palace corridor, gazing blankly at nothing as he wondered where he was, and how he’d come to be there.  He felt an itch on his left shoulder blade and attempted to scratch it, but he couldn’t quite reach it.  He tried to ignore it, but it got worse the more he thought about it so he tried to reach it again.  Finally he backed up to the wall, looked in both directions, then leaned back and rubbed his shoulder blade against it.  He closed his eyes in relief as he shifted back and forth until the itch was gone.

“Sir Bredon?” Kapia asked, coming around the corner just as he stepped away from the wall.  He wondered for a moment if she’d seen him, then his mind went blank as he watched her walk toward him.  She was so beautiful it took his breath away every time he saw her.  He smiled, and just as she returned it, he remembered.

Marene visiting Zakiel in the palace library.

Marene tripping on the stairs.

Marene insisting that she needed help to her quarters before calling for a physician.

Marene scratching him on the back of his hand with something...a fingernail?...her ring?...and a growing sense of lightheadedness.  By the time he’d reached her rooms, he’d needed more help standing than she had. 

She’d made him a cup of hot tea, insisting it would make him feel better, but it had made everything hazy and dreamlike.  And then....

“Bredon, are you all right?” Kapia asked, frowning as she stopped in front of him.

“Yes, I’m fine, Cousin Kapia,” he said, putting a smile back on his face.

Kapia’s frown deepened.  “You look ill.”

“No, I’m not ill,” he replied.  “Tired.  I was up tending to duties until quite late last night.  The quest begins tomorrow morning, and there is still much to be done.” 

Kapia’s eyes narrowed slightly as though she knew he was lying, and for a moment he was sure she was going to call him on it.  But the moment passed, and she only nodded.  “Very well,” she said.  “If you will excuse me, I am to meet Karma for breakfast and I’m already late.”

Kapia walked away, glancing over her shoulder at Bredon just once before turning the next corner.  He was still standing in the same place, back against the wall, his face so white and pasty that the smattering of freckles across his nose stood out starkly.  She wondered what was really wrong with him.  She didn’t buy his story of being tired for a moment.  His forehead was beaded with sweat, his red hair damp with it, his lips nearly as white as his face.  And he was trembling.  Big, strong, solidly reliable Bredon was actually
trembling
.  That shook her more than anything else.

But there was nothing else she could do.  She’d asked him what was wrong, he’d told her, and she could not ask him again without accusing him of lying, and she would not do that.  If he didn’t trust her enough to tell her the truth, there was nothing more to be said.  Propriety dictated that she accept his words as truth no matter how obviously untruthful they were.  So, she walked away.  But that didn’t stop her from wondering why he looked so bad.  Or why he’d lied to her.  Or why he was standing in the hall outside of Marene’s rooms shortly after dawn.

“Kapia?” Zakiel called again.  “Are you all right, Sister?”

Kapia jerked back to the present and turned to look at her brother.  “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied.  “Just daydreaming.  How’s Karma?”

“She’s tired, but otherwise well,” Zakiel replied.  “Would you like to see her?”

“Yes, if she’s up to it,” Kapia said.  “

“I’m up to it,” Karma called out from within the tent.  “I’m also fully able to hear through the walls of the tent.”

Karma shared a smile with Zakiel, who held the tent flap open for her.  “I’ll let the two of you talk,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Kapia said, relieved that she wouldn’t have to make her admission in front of her brother.  She paused just inside the tent to give her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting, then moved to sit on a cushion across from Karma.  “Zakiel is right, you do still look tired,” she said.

“I am a bit,” Karma admitted.  “But I’ll be fine by morning, I’m sure.  You look worried.”

“I have to tell you something, and I don’t want you to be angry with me,” Kapia said.

“Why would I be angry with you, Kapia?”

“Because I should have told you this sooner,” Kapia said, not quite daring to meet Karma’s eyes.

“Something you learned when you and Tiari held the Moon Orb?” Karma guessed. 

Kapia looked up at her in shock.  “How did you know?”

“I didn’t know,” Karma said.  “Not for sure.  I just felt as though you were holding something back at the time.”

“I was,” Kapia admitted.  She paused and looked around to be sure that they were alone, then spoke in a low voice.  “When Tiari and I held the Moon Orb I heard two voices, not just the one I told you about.”

“Do you know who the other voice belonged to?”

“Yes, I do,” Kapia replied.  “I just don’t know what it means.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away, Karma.  I just wanted to think about it first.”

“Kapia, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Karma said.  “You have a right to keep your own counsel.”

“I’m glad you’re not angry with me, but I think this is something I should have shared with you.  The voice I heard was Worrow’s.”

“Worrow’s?” Karma asked, stunned.  “Is he dead?”

“Dead?” Kapia gasped, shocked in return.  “Why do you ask that?”

Karma smiled.  “Because when I talk to people no one else can see or hear, it’s because they’re dead.  That doesn’t mean that the same is true for you.  I’m sorry, Kapia.  What did he say?”

“He said that my feelings about the Moon Orb were correct, that I should trust them, and try harder,”  Kapia said.

“Do you know what he meant by that?” Karma asked.

“Yes, I think so,” Kapia replied.  “The night I got the name of that village where we found Tiari, I thought that I might be able to check on Bredon using the orb.  I tried, but nothing happened.  I think Worrow meant that I should try again.”

“And did you?  Try again, I mean.”

“No,” Kapia said, dropping her eyes to her hands which were clenched tightly in her lap.  “I’m afraid, Karma.  I’m afraid to find out that Bredon is hurt, or suffering, and I won’t be able to help him.  Or, even worse, I’m afraid I’ll find Marene instead, and discover that Bredon is...gone.”

“I understand,” Karma said.  “You have good reason to be afraid, Kapia.   Special powers aren’t easy to have, and they are even harder to use.”

“You don’t think I’m a coward?” Kapia asked.

Karma shook her head.  “No, Kapia, sister of my heart,” she said.  “I do not think you are a coward.  You have no cowardice in you.”

Kapia relaxed a little and took a deep breath.  “Thank you,” she said.  “I bet you’re never afraid.”

Karma laughed softly.  “You would lose that bet.  When I realized that I’d suddenly developed the power to speak to the dead, I was determined never to use it.  It scared the nine hells out of me.”

“You weren’t born with the ability?” Kapia asked.

“Not that I was ever aware of,” Karma replied.  “I could put people to sleep, most people anyway.  But that was all.”

“When did you find out you could speak to the dead?”

“During a very difficult and stressful period of my life,” Karma said, not wanting to think about that time.  “Once it started, it didn’t stop, but I pretended that it had.  I didn’t want that particular ability, and I was determined not to use it.  I suppose I was hoping that if I didn’t use it, it would go away.  Of course, things don’t always turn out the way you want, or even the way you think they will.  Now, here I am, using that very same ability in an effort to save Rathira, which makes me a firm believer that some things, at least, happen for a reason.”

“You aren’t afraid to use your ability now,” Kapia said. 

“Sure I am,” Karma admitted easily.  “I’m afraid every time I send out a call for someone that I know is dead, or see a figure materialize that nobody else can see.”

“Why?” Kapia asked.

“Because there is simply no telling what someone who is dead might say,” Karma replied.  “What if they tell me something that I don’t want to know?  Like when I’m going to die?  Or when someone I love is going to die?”

“I never thought about that,” Kapia said.  “Yet, you do it over and over again without hesitation.”