The Quest for the Heart Orb (25 page)

“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
.”

“Ten at once?” Karma asked, frowning.  “That seems excessive.”

“Yes, I thought so too,” Zakiel replied.

“Thank you, Sir Marl, for protecting Hara Ren,” Garundel said.  All of the women turned in surprise to see Marl standing behind Ren and the four diplos, in an impressively large ring of impressively dead gargoyles.  It looked as though Marl had a bit of a temper when it came to protecting the woman he loved.

“It was my honor, Sir Garundel,” Marl replied, though he only had eyes for Ren, who dropped the reins she was still holding and hurried toward him.  The others turned back around to give the couple some semblance of privacy.

Jenz came forward and spoke quietly to Garundel.  Tomas took Tiari’s sword and wiped it clean for her, while Bredon continued to stare back and forth between Kapia, and the dead gargoyles in front of her, his expression caught somewhere between horror and pride.  Kapia noticed that he was still pale, though not as much as he’d been a minute earlier.

“Casualties?” Zakiel asked when Jenz left.

“We lost three Hunters and one servant,” Garundel said.  “All from poison bites or scratches.”

“Damn,” Zakiel swore.  He glanced at the sky.  “This storm is going to hit soon, but we certainly can’t camp here now.  Let’s get as far as we can from this place in a quarter hour, then set up camp as quickly as we can.  We’ll honor our fallen brothers later.”

“Yes, Highness,” Garundel said with a quick bow.  He stepped away and spoke quickly with Tomas and Bredon, then they split up, each going in a different direction.

“None of you were scratched or otherwise injured?” Zakiel asked Karma.

“No, we’re all fine,” Karma said, grimacing at the dead demons that littered the ground.  “Let’s get out of here.”

“Yes,” Zakiel said, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.   Just as he started to turn away they all heard a harsh gasp of indrawn breath, followed by a shout of horror.

***

“Thank you, Marl, for keeping me safe yet again,” Ren said.

“It is my honor and privilege to guard you, beloved Ren,” Marl said, reaching up to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand.

“It’s kind of you to say so, but I’ve no doubt your skills could have been better used elsewhere,” Ren said. 

“You forget how important you are to Rathira,” Marl said, smiling down at her.  “There is no better use for my skills than using them to prevent harm to you.”

“I appreciate that, Marl,” she said.  “But I need to learn to defend myself like the other women do, so no one has to guard me.” 

“If it’s your wish to learn the use of a weapon, it would be my honor to teach you.  Or to find another to teach you, if you prefer.”

“If I must learn, I would learn from you.”

“I will teach you, but only if it’s truly your desire to learn.”

“It is,” Ren said, placing her hand over the one he still held to her cheek.  “This is the Orb Quest, and everyone fights.  Everyone but me.”

“That’s not exactly true,” Marl said.  “Everyone has duties to perform, and they are all important, but neither the drovers nor the servants fight.”

“I know, but I still feel like I’m not doing my share.”

“You are an Orb Maiden,” Marl said.  “As such, you have an enormous responsibility, and you will face more than your share of danger soon enough.  There’s no need to take on more.”

“Perhaps,” Ren said uncertainly.  Then she smiled up at him.  “Thank you, again, for keeping me safe.”

Marl had just opened his mouth to speak when his entire body suddenly jerked, and burning pain exploded in his leg.  He looked down to see a not quite dead gargoyle slump to the ground after expending the last of its strength to swipe at him with its black claws.

Ren followed his gaze down to the three shallow wounds on the side of his leg, just below the knee.  Then she glanced up into Marl’s eyes, remembering what Prince Zakiel had said earlier.  The gargoyles’ bite
and
claws were poison.  Marl slumped to his knees, his face already ashy gray.

Everything inside of her screamed in denial.  She dropped to her knees in front of him, her hands going to his shoulders in a useless effort to support his weight.  A thought exploded in her mind.  It was crazy.  Absurd.  Preposterous.  It was all she had.

“Water,” she called out sharply as she struggled to keep Marl from falling over, barely noticing that others were already surrounding them.  Someone killed the dying gargoyle and dragged it away while large hands took hold of Marl’s shoulders and lowered him gently to the ground.

She crawled quickly to his side, right next to the wounded leg, accepting the water bag that was shoved into her shaking hands.  Relying on instinct alone, knowing she had very little time, she yanked the glove off of her right hand and dropped it, then opened the water bag and poured the water over the back of her hand and wrist.  Pale flesh immediately transformed into blue-green scales, but it was the spines on the back of her wrist that she wanted, so she poured the rest of the water there.  It took precious seconds for the spines to develop, but already Marl’s breathing was fast and shallow.  She heard someone saying
“No no no no,”
over and over again and she wanted to tell them to stop, but couldn’t seem to form the words.