Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (17 page)

“You’re welcome, Nikura.”

When she looked up again she was surprised to see Kapia and Zakiel standing in front of her.  Kapia walked around Lashi and sat down on her cushion, while Zakiel sat down on the deck across from them.

Karma had been in Prince Zakiel’s presence enough over the past few days that she could now pretend to be relaxed.  Unfortunately, she had yet to figure out how to stop herself from reacting physically to the man.  Even now, sitting in the bright, warm sunshine, she felt her skin pebble the instant she looked at him. 

“I thank you for inviting me to eat with you,” Zakiel said, accepting the plate that Lashi handed him without a glance.

“You’re welcome,” Karma said, steadfastly ignoring how the rich timbre of his voice touched something deep inside of her.  She wanted to tell him it had not been her idea, but she was getting the hang of these people and their customs and knew that a comment like that would sound rude.  Since he appeared to be making an effort to appear less cold than usual, if not exactly friendly, she would do the same.

“How much longer before we reach the landing at...what was the name of that town?  Coris?” she asked as she picked up her own plate and began to eat.  She had been included in some of the discussions for their journey, most particularly those concerning specifics of their route.  Not knowing the first thing about Rathira or the country they had to travel through, much of it had gone over her head.  But she remembered some of it.

Lashi caught her eye and she nodded, dismissing her.  Lashi gratefully stood up and hurried back toward the hatch where she sat down on the deck to wait until they were finished eating.

“Yes, Coris,” Zakiel replied.  “With this wind, I think we’ll reach it in about another hour.” 

“We’ve made good time then,” Karma said, looking up to measure the sun.  “It’s only mid-afternoon.  We didn’t expect to reach the landing till nightfall, if I remember right.”

“That is correct, Lady Techu,” Zakiel said.  “I have been trying to decide if we should use the extra daylight to begin our journey overland, or if we should camp as planned when we reach Coris.”

“My understanding was that it would take a couple of hours to unload the provisions from the boats and ready the pack animals, but that it could be done in the dark, and would therefore not cause a delay,” Karma said as she picked up the pitcher of juice that Lashi had set out and rummaged through the basket for cups.

“That was the plan,” Zakiel agreed.  “Only now, we will have three, perhaps four hours of daylight, and at least two of those will be needed for preparation.”

“Sounds to me like spending two hours to prepare to leave, traveling for one hour, then stopping before dark to make camp is a lot of extra work for little gain,” Karma said.

Zakiel ate silently for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought.  Karma poured the juice into the cups she found in the basket and handed them out, then went back to her own meal. 

“I am worried about time,” Zakiel said in a low voice, obviously not wanting to be overheard.  “Ever since you, and Nikura, told us that it was an issue, I have done all I can think of to ensure that we move as quickly as possible.  It seems wasteful to lose four hours of daylight in one place.”

“I understand,” Karma said.  “In this instance though, I don’t think that we’re going to get anywhere if we try to travel today.”

Zakiel’s head came up, his blue eyes fixed on her.  “Would you ask?”

Karma sensed it had been difficult for him to ask her that, which indicated just how important it was to him.

“Sure,” she said.  She put her cup down and turned to Nikura who, having finished his meal, was now licking his paws and swiping them over his face in typical cat-like behavior.  Luckily he didn’t need his mouth to talk, so she wasn’t concerned about interrupting his bath.

“What about it Nikura?” she asked.  “Should we try to get some distance from the river once we reach Coris?”

“Humans,”
Nikura said scornfully. 
“I can think of no reason to waste energy on useless and pointless maneuvers, but then, neither do I walk on two legs, so what do I know about it?”

“I suppose that you believe four legs are preferable to two,” Karma said.

“Decidedly,”
Nikura replied.

“Interesting,” Karma said, smiling sweetly at the Sphin.  “Personally, I prefer having two legs since having hands means I don’t have to wash my face with spit.”

Nikura stopped licking his paw, set it down on the deck, and stared at Karma for a long moment.  Then he turned around, laid down and began swishing his tail irritably against her leg.

“He thinks it would be a waste of energy to travel today,” Karma said, turning back to Zakiel.

Zakiel made a choking sound, cleared his throat, then grabbed his cup and gulped his juice.

“Are you all right?” Karma asked.

Zakiel nodded as he set his empty cup down.  “Yes, I’m fine, Lady Techu,” he said, sounding a bit strangled.  Karma studied him carefully while she refilled his cup from the pitcher.  His voice sounded a little strange, but he seemed all right otherwise.

“Brother,” Kapia said, “did you know that Cousin Tomas has joined us?”

Zakiel’s jaw clenched and his eyes darkened.  “Yes, Sister, I know,” he said tightly.  “Father informed me early this morning that he and five of his archers would be joining us.”

“Five?” Kapia asked in surprise.

“I declined his offer,” Zakiel said.  “The Path of the Duat Wells provides water for seventy-five men, or women, and ninety diplos.  We had room for only two more, and I had to cut two pack diplos for them.  I refused to cut more.”

“So you’ve spoken to him?” Kapia asked.

“No, I have not,” Zakiel replied.  “Nor have I seen him as yet.  I discussed the matter with Father.”

Karma listened to this exchange with curiosity.  “You two don’t much like him, do you?”

“He is our Cousin,” Zakiel replied, not meeting her gaze.  “More than that, he is a Close Cousin.  Our only Close Cousin.”

“What’s that mean?” Karma asked.

“We have many cousins,” Kapia answered.  “Hundreds.  Anyone who has a trace of royal Feenis blood is counted as a cousin, and such things are carefully documented.  A Close Cousin is a true cousin.  Only the children of one’s parent’s siblings are counted as Close Cousins.”

“So Tomas is the son of your Aunt or Uncle?” Karma asked.

“Yes,” Kapia replied.  “He is the son of our mother’s sister.  Aunt Ahnset died when he was a child.  As there were no other close relatives, he came to live in the palace with us.”

“That doesn’t explain why you don’t like him,” Karma pointed out. 

“We did not say that we don’t like him,” Zakiel said, his voice reverting to the coolness she had come to expect from him.  “He is Blood, close family, and is honored as such.”  Zakiel put his plate down and rose to his feet.  “I thank you, Lady Techu, for sharing your meal with me.” 

“You’re welcome,” Karma said.  Before the words were fully out of her mouth Zakiel turned around and walked away.  She watched him until he reached the other side of the boat, leaned against the railing and stood watching the river again.

“I really didn’t mean to insult him,” Karma said, turning to Kapia.  “Or you, either.  I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t have.”

“Your apology is accepted,” Kapia said, with a deep nod.  “Do not worry about it,” she added when she saw Karma’s frown.  “Tomas is family.  For us, that is a fact that we cannot change.”

Karma nodded, not sure she understood, but accepting the explanation.  “Hey, did you want some more food?”

Kapia smiled.  “No, but thank you very much.”

Karma turned to Lashi who was cleaning up the remains of their lunch.  “Lashi is very good at what she does,” she said.

Lashi did not respond of course, as she was not supposed to be listening, but Karma saw the woman’s tiny smile and was pleased that she understood the compliment.

“Now I feel the need to move around,” Karma said.  “I wish there was enough room for us to spar here.”

“As do I,” Kapia said.  “We can spar when we reach land though, right?”

“Absolutely,” Karma agreed.  As much as she wanted to get up and walk around, there were so many warriors on the deck that she decided to stay put.  If Zakiel was correct, they’d be off the boat very soon anyway.

“Kapia,” she said in a low voice, getting the girl’s immediate attention.

“Yes?” Kapia asked, leaning toward her and keeping her own voice low.

“There is a man standing at the rear of the boat who’s been watching you ever since I woke up,” she said.  Kapia’s eyes widened and her face turned pink. 

“What does he look like?” she asked.

Karma heard the barely concealed hope in Kapia’s voice and hid her smile.

“Not so tall as your brother, but with broader shoulders.  He has red hair and is wearing a green kilt and silver bracers.”

“That is Sir Bredon,” Kapia said, with a shy smile.  “He is a cousin, but thankfully a distant one.  Are you sure that he is looking at me?”

“Positive,” Karma replied.  Kapia flushed a deeper shade of pink, but she clearly had no objection to being stared at by the man.

“Have you been doing those exercises I gave you?” she asked Kapia.

“Yes, I have,” Kapia replied, her eyes lighting up.  “Do you want to see?”

“Not right now,” Karma said.  “Instead, I want to show you one that you can do while we sit here.”

“Wonderful!” Kapia exclaimed with a grin.  “What is it?”

Karma returned her smile.  Kapia’s excitement and enthusiasm were contagious.  As she proceeded to demonstrate the new exercise designed to strengthen calf muscles, she felt hopeful that she would eventually be able to get Kapia to relax enough while sparring to forget whatever she’d been taught.  If she failed, Kapia’s self confidence might never recover. 

Chapter
10

“What in the nine hells are those things?” Karma gasped as she looked down into the valley beyond their camp.  She and Kapia had thought to find a quiet place out of the way for sparring before nightfall.  Instead, she’d found a herd of...well...whatever they were.

“Those are diplos,” Kapia replied, frowning at Karma’s reaction.  “Haven’t you ever seen a diplo before?”

“No, I can honestly say that I have never seen one of those before,” Karma replied, shaking her head. 

“But you said you knew how to ride.” Kapia reminded her.

“Yes, I did,” Karma replied.  “And I do know how to ride. 
Horses
.  I said I could ride a
horse
.  I told your brother what a horse was, and he said we’d be riding much the same thing.  These are NOT the same as horses.”

“What’s a horse?” Kapia asked.

“A horse is a four legged animal, with fur and hooves, that does not eat meat, that one rides on the back of.  They are not reptilian, they do not have claws, they do not have fangs, and they do not look like dinosaurs.”

“Diplos do not eat meat or have fur, but they are used for transportation,” Kapia said.  “I don’t know what a
dionsor
is, but they sound much the same as your horse in function, if not form.”

“They don’t eat meat?” Karma asked skeptically as she studied the animals milling about.  As she watched, she realized that many of them were grazing on the tall, ashy-green grass that grew in the sandy soil close to the river.

“No, and they are very gentle,” Kapia said.  “They are fast, short distance runners.  But can walk all day long without tiring, and they walk quite fast.  They can also travel through the desert for days with little food or water.”

“Why did Zakiel choose to use diplos?” Tomas said, joining them on the rise.  “I thought that time was an important factor.”

“It is,” Karma said.  “Is there an alternative that we should be using?”

“I would have thought strikels to be a wiser choice,” he said.

“Strikels?” Kapia asked doubtfully. 

“They are very fast,” Tomas said.  “Unlike diplos, they can run all day long.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Kapia agreed in a soft voice. 

 “A smaller party on strikels would travel much faster, and with more economy,” Tomas continued.  “Of course, I’m sure Zakiel has his reasons for doing things this way.  I was not present for the planning of this endeavor, and I should not criticize him without further information.”

“Excuse me, Karma,” Kapia said, “I just remembered I need to do something.  She bowed her head briefly, then turned and hurried back down the hill toward camp.

“Poor child,” Tomas said softly as they watched her walk away.

“Why do you say that?” Karma asked.

“She’s so frightened of Zakiel,” Tomas said.  “Always has been, and for good reason.  Even when he’s not around, she’ll always defend him and never say a bad word about him.”

“You’re saying she defends him because she’s afraid of him?” Karma asked. 

“Yes,” Tomas said.  “I know, it doesn’t make sense, but fear isn’t always a logical reaction.”