Quest for the Sun Orb (42 page)

“Almost where?” Tomas asked.

“Almost to the far side,” Tiari said.  “It’s hard to tell because of all the turnings, but we’re close.”

“Do you see anything over there?”

“No, but I can’t actually see anything at all except for this glowing path,” Tiari reminded him.  “Once we reach the other side, we will need to rely on your eyesight.”

“I suppose this is why Jahil said we must trust one another,” Tomas said. 

“I’m glad that is not a problem,” Tiari said.  “All right, I’m ready to go on now.”

“You sure?” Tomas asked.  “We don’t have a time limit as far as I know, so take what rest you need.”

“No, I’m fine now,” Tiari said.  “I just needed a moment to take a deep breath.”

“All right, but if you need to stop again, don’t hesitate,” Tomas said.

“Thank you, Tomas,” Tiari said.  She looked around at the confusing maze of twisting turning pathways and took a step, feeling Tomas move with her. 

“Tomas, when we are married, where will we live?”

“We can live wherever you like,” Tomas said.  “I would prefer to stay in Isiben, but if you don’t like it there, we can go elsewhere.”

“What is Isiben like?”

“That might take a while,” Tomas said. 

“I think we have time,” Tiari replied with a grin.

“”Yes, I suppose we do,” he agreed with a chuckle.  “Well, Isiben is a large country, but most of it is desert.  There is a river that runs through it that we call
Ank-Teru
, the river of life.  There’s a wide place in the river that holds an island we call
Ka-Teru
, the soul of the river.  That is where the palace is situated, and where the king and the royal family live.  Ausar, the people’s city, is on the far bank of the river.  On either shore for miles up and down are farms.  Farms must be situated next to the river of course, otherwise there is no water for the crops or the herds.”

“That makes sense,” Tiari said.  “That’s why you call it the river of life, isn’t it?”

“Exactly,” Tomas replied.  “My mother was King Rhobar’s younger sister.  She inherited an estate on Ka-Teru from their parents, near the palace.  My father was also from a prominent family, the House of Lorin.  He inherited a small estate on Ka-Teru, as well as a farm along the river.  When they died both estates, and the farm, came to me, their only child.  As I had no desire to become a farmer, I gave my father’s estate back to his family, where I believe it belongs.” 

“That was very thoughtful of you,” Tiari said.

Tomas shrugged, embarrassed by the praise.  “My father’s family struggled for many generations for their wealth, and the right to own land on Ka-Teru.  Why should they have lost everything to a small boy who had no need of it, nor any interest in it?  Giving it back to them was simply the right thing to do.”

Tiari smiled, proud of the man who would soon be her husband.  He was so much more honorable than he realized.

“I still own the estate left to me by my mother,” Tomas continued, “but I have not lived there since their deaths.  I also have rooms in the palace given to me by my Uncle, King Rhobar, but I have not used them more than a few times in recent years.  As a Knight, I have a room in the Hunter’s compound near the palace, and that is where I generally stay when I am in Ka-Teru. 

“So we will live there?  With other Hunters?” Tiari asked.

“No, that is not a place for women,” Tomas replied.  “We can either live in the estate my mother left to me on Ka-Teru, or we can live in the palace.  I am certain King Rhobar will welcome you with open arms.  Or, if you prefer, we can live in the city of Ausar instead of Ka-Teru.  I inherited the means to purchase whatever you would most like to have.”

“Would you want to live in the house your parents lived in?” Tiari asked.

Tomas took a few moments to search his feelings before answering.  “I have not stepped foot on that property since the day my parents passed to the beyond,” he said.  “Now I find that I want very much to go back there, with you, Tiari-
mena
.  I want us to make it our home, and raise a family there.  If that is all right with you, of course.  If you don’t like it, we can live elsewhere. “

“I cannot imagine why I would not love it,” Tiari said.  “After all, in comparison to where I grew up, I am sure it is quite wonderful.  Will you tell me about it?”

“I can tell you what I remember,” Tomas said.  “I have not been there since I was a boy of ten.”

“That’s fine,” Tiari said.  “Any errors you make I will be sure to hold against you later.”

Tomas laughed, then cast back, seeking childhood memories that he had for years avoided.  “It is a large house,” he said, “three levels high.  All of the main rooms overlook the river.”

As Tomas spoke, Tiari tried to picture the house he described while being careful to watch where she was leading them at the same time.  She wondered what it would be like to live in such a place with Tomas and their children.  It was, she soon realized, beyond even her imagination, but she very much wanted to live through this trial so that she could experience it.

***

Karma focused on the smallest of the
kadjet
approaching them, which was only two segments long.  She widened the Ti-Ank’s beam, and waited for it to come just a bit closer.  She needed to take the entire thing out at once or it would simply multiply, and the closer it was, the easier it would be to fully engulf the thing in a single beam.  She heard a flapping sound from behind her and tensed, knowing she would lose the
kadjet
when she turned to face the new threat.

“I got it,”
Nikura said, flashing past her in a silvery blur. 

She heard an odd ripping sound, then a gurgle and thump. 
“These things are disgusting,”
Nikura said even as she heard him leap into the air for yet another one. 
“It takes forever to cleanse the bitterness from the palate.”

Karma laughed softly, but refrained from pointing out that this was yet another argument in favor of opposable thumbs.  He was, after all, guarding her back. 

“And I know how you dislike getting blood on your fur,”
she said instead.

“True enough,”
Nikura replied. 
“Sometimes, though, the pleasure of the hunt exceeds such concerns.” 

“That’s good to know,”
Karma said, watching Nikura from the corner of her eye as he leapt twenty feet straight up into the air and literally yanked an unsuspecting harpy from the sky.  She shook her head in amazement and left him to it.

Zakiel roared as he battled several harpies a few yards to her right just as the
kadjet
grew close enough for her to engulf.  She let loose a wide beam of energy and the
kadjet
vanished in a satisfying flash of white light.  She immediately looked for a new target, pausing when she heard a shout from Kapia.  She turned to check on her student, then nodded in approval at Kapia’s fierce grimace as she stood over the still body of a harpy, her staff held ready to take on a new opponent. 

Karma returned her gaze to the sky and selected another
kadjet
.  This one had three segments, and she worried about her ability to take it out in one shot, but she had to try.  Just then three separate lines of flame shot skyward, enveloping the individual segments of the
kadjet
at the same moment.  She looked around, shocked to see three Argiari standing side by side, bright gouts of flame pouring from their wide open mouths.  She grinned, then turned to see if their method worked.  By the time she looked back, there was nothing of the
kadjet
but ash.  Suddenly feeling as though they might have a chance to win this battle, she searched for another target. 

She chose another three segment
kadjet
and focused on it.  She poured more energy into the Ti-Ank, which drew more power from the sun.  She felt the familiar spike of pain in her head and ignored it as she built the power higher and higher.  Just as she released the broad beam of deadly light, something slammed into her back.  She saw her target flash out of existence as she fell forward, tightening her grip on the Ti-Ank and pulling it close to her chest, her only thought to protect it at all costs.  She never saw the rock that her forehead smashed into, sending her straight into oblivion.

***

“You can open your eyes now, Tomas,” Tiari said as soon as they were both safely on another narrow ledge at the far side of the Cavern. 

Tomas looked down, relieved to see solid rock beneath his feet, and feel a wall at his back.  He leaned over and kissed Tiari.  “Thank you, Tiari mine,” he said, holding her closely for a long moment.  He then kissed her on the forehead and released her.  “What next?”

“I’m not sure,” Tiari said.  “I can’t see anything at all except that path we just left, so it must be your turn.”

Tomas looked around, squinting in the faint red light.  He had to strain his eyes to see more than a couple of feet away, and even then it took a few moments to process the images.  After a few moments he made out what appeared to be a deep indentation in the wall several yards from where they stood.  The beginnings of a doorway or tunnel?

“I think I see something, but we’ll need to get closer to it,” he said.

“You lead the way this time,” Tiari said. 

“Put your hand on my back,” he said as he turned around.  As soon as he felt her hands on him, he began walking forward, keeping close to the wall.  “Yes, there seems to be another tunnel or room here,” he said.  A few more steps and he turned into the opening to see that it was another dark, narrow tunnel. 

“Your turn again,” he said, stepping behind Tiari.  Now that there wasn’t a steep drop off on one side of them, they both relaxed a little as they followed the tunnel which switched back and forth several times before ending in a large, brightly lit chamber.

“I can see,” Tiari said, shocked.  “How is it that I can see?”

They stood together, side by side, and examined the huge chamber.  Running all the way around the room was a wide ledge which they were standing on.  In the center of the room was a circular platform with nothing on it save a pedestal which held a bright, golden orb.  Separating the ledge from the platform was a thirty foot wide moat of lava.  A line of broken black rock that had once been a pathway was all that connected the two. 

“I think you can see because that is the Sun Orb in the center there,” Tomas said, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he studied the room.  “The only way from here to the orb is that path.”

Tomas stepped closer to the black rock path and knelt down.  He held one hand out toward it and hissed as he jerked it back.  “This rock is hot, Tiari.  Very hot.”  He stood up, eyeing the broken pathway carefully.  “It looks like the heat has caused it to break down in several places.  It’s not going to be easy crossing from here to the orb.”

“I have to try,” Tiari said.  “At least I’m able to see.”

“You are not doing this,” he said with a frown.  “I will cross over and grab the orb.  You wait here.”

“Tomas, you can’t,” Tiari said.  “I am the only one who can claim the orb.”

Tomas froze as that simple, undeniable fact, sunk in.  There had to be a way around it.  “All right,” he said, “I will carry you across.  You grab the orb and I will carry you back.”

“That won’t work either,” Tiari said patiently. 

“Why not?” Tomas asked.

“Tomas, why do you want to carry me?”

“So you don’t get burned,” he replied. 

“And if you get burned?” she asked.

“I’ll live,” he said with an indifferent shrug. 

“It’s a long way out of here,” she said.  “If you can’t walk, how will you get out?  I can’t carry you.”

“Then, Tiari mine, you will have to leave me,” Tomas said in a gentle voice, already saying goodbye to the life they would have shared.  Her life was worth the sacrifice.  He did not even have to think twice about it.

“I will not,” Tiari replied flatly.  “Do not think it, do not ask it, because I will not consider that for even a moment.”

“There is no other way,” Tomas said.  “You cannot let all of Rathira be destroyed.”

“I can and I will,” Tiari replied, scowling at him for the first time.  “Do not doubt me, Tomas.  Ask yourself what you would do if the situation were reversed.  Would you leave me?” 

“No,” Tomas said.

“Do you think that I love you less than you love me?”

“No,” Tomas said, suddenly horrified by the realization that he was going to lose this argument, when he had not been horrified by the idea of giving his life for hers.  “What do you have in mind?” 

“If you become injured and can’t walk, I can’t carry you,” she said again.  “On the other hand,
you
can carry
me.
”

Tomas knew she was right, and he cursed the knowledge.  Was he really meant to stand here and watch his beloved Tiari walk across burning rocks while he did nothing?

He shook his head, unable to accept such a fate.  “I cannot do this...please, Tiari, do not ask this of me.”

“There is no other way,” Tiari said.  “I’m sorry Tomas.  Truly I am.  But this is what we must do.  Please trust me on this.”

Tomas knew that her reasoning was sound, but he would have continued arguing had she not said that last sentence. 
Trust.
  As Jahil had warned, if they did not fully trust each other,
they
would fail, and Rathira would cease to be.  And now he understood why.  Neither of them would go on if the other fell.  They had to do this, together. 

He took a deep breath and blew it out, then he looked down at Tiari’s feet.  She wore leather riding boots just as he did, which had a hard leather sole.  How long would it take for the leather to get hot enough to burn her feet?  Not long enough, he feared.

“My belt is made of thick leather,” he said, already starting to unbuckle the belt at his waist.  “I can cut it in half, then wrap it around your feet to give you more protection.”

“No, Tomas,” Tiari said, stopping him.  “I have little experience running, or even walking quickly.  If you wrap that around my feet, I’ll be unstable.  I’ll fall before I get half way there.”