Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (20 page)

Karma turned to Nikura who appeared to be sleeping. 
“Nikura,”
she said, sending her thoughts so that Kapia would not hear her.

“Yes?”
Nikura responded, though he did not open his eyes.

“I have the feeling that letting Tomas touch the Ti-Ank would be a very bad thing to do.”

“That seems sensible to me,”
Nikura replied.

“Why?”
Karma asked.
  “Why would it be bad?”

“I am not a reader of palms or portents,”
Nikura replied. 

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I cannot see the future,”
Nikura replied. 
“Nor can I see into the hearts and minds of men.  Or women, for that matter.”

“Then why did you suggest that I carry the Ti-Ank openly?”
she asked.

Nikura opened his eyes and stared at her for a long moment.  Then he closed them again.
  “I believe I shall take a nap now.”

Karma rolled her eyes and gave up.  She didn’t understand Nikura, and doubted that she ever would, in spite of the fact that he was unable to lie to her.  She shook her head as she thought about the people around her. 

Why did Kapia and Zakiel dislike Tomas so much?  Why did Tomas seem so intent on making Zakiel look bad?  Why did he want to hold the Ti-Ank when most people didn’t want to go near it?  Why did Nikura tell her to display it, and why wouldn’t he explain why?  And why had Marene wanted so badly to join the expedition?  Marene had not struck her as the type of woman who would voluntarily consider riding diploback through the wilderness for weeks on end for any reason, let alone the one she’d used.  Was it really Zakiel she wanted, or was there something else?  The only thing she knew for certain was that she had far more questions than answers.

***

They rode for several hours before Zakiel called a halt for lunch.  By then Karma was more than ready to get down and stretch her legs, but she wasn’t sure about jumping down from the saddle.  It was a long way down, at least eight feet, she guessed.  She was in no hurry to break her leg again.

“Please, Lady Techu, allow me to help you,” Prince Zakiel said, reining his diplo to a stop just in front of Dippy.  He leapt easily from his saddle, a good nine feet as his mount was taller than her own, and tossed the reins over his diplo’s neck.  Karma removed her staff from the loops on her saddle, taking her time as she tried to hide her surprise at the Prince’s unexpected gallantry.  She swung her leg over the horn just as Zakiel reached up for her.  He caught her by the waist as she slid down, setting her gently on her feet.  

“Thank you,” she said, not quite daring to meet his eyes for fear she’d blush.  She’d never been prone to blushing and was irritated that she was doing so much of it lately whenever he was around.

“You are most welcome,” he said, using that deep tone that seemed so intimate to her.

“Brother?” Kapia asked.

“Yes, Sister, one moment,” Zakiel said releasing Karma and stepping back slowly.  He tore his eyes from Karma’s face and turned to help Kapia down from her saddle. 

Lashi approached with a basket containing water and food which she quickly handed out to Karma, Kapia and, at a nod from Karma, Zakiel as well.  They devoured the food hungrily as they stood in the shade of their diplos, then drank their fill of the water that was now only faintly cool.  Nikura joined them when he saw Lashi set a plate of food down for him, along with a bowl of water.

“I think I need to see the view from the other side of those rocks,” Karma said when she finished eating.  “How about you Kapia?”

“Yes, please,” she replied, handing her dishes back to Lashi with a smile.

Zakiel stared, wondering what they were talking about.  Why would she need to go behind some rocks to see a view?  Surely it couldn’t be any different than the view from where they stood.

Kapia raised a brow at him, emulating Karma exactly.  He hid his smile as he watched them walk away from the line toward a pile of reddish rocks a dozen yards away.  Suddenly he realized what it was they were doing, and much to his embarrassment, he felt is face heat.

The sand was white and loose, making walking difficult for them since they didn’t have the diplos’ broad webbed feet.  Kapia wished she’d thought to grab her staff from her saddle as Karma had, but she didn’t want to turn back for it.  She realized that the longer her feet stayed in one place, the deeper they sank into the sand so she began to walk faster, picking her feet up as quickly as she could.  Within a few moments she was running so fast that she reached the rocks well ahead of Karma and had to wait for her to catch up. 

Zakiel watched as Kapia and Karma walked around the boulders and out of sight, his body tensing with worry.  He resisted the urge to follow them, telling himself that there was no reason for concern.  The women needed a few moments of privacy, and they were only a dozen yards away.  Besides, if there were any danger, he knew precisely how good Karma was with that staff she carried. 

Not Karma,
he admonished himself,
Lady Techu.
 
You do not have leave to call her by name, and if you don’t stop thinking of her that way, you will surely slip eventually.

After a few minutes of berating himself, he returned to worrying about the women being so long out of his sight.  Only when they came back around the boulders and into view did he begin to relax.  He watched them struggle through the loose sand, promising himself that next time he called a halt, he would do it where the sand was more firm, and the boulders closer.

He smiled as Kapia began running, picking her feet up high in an effort to keep them from sinking into the sand.  Running was, indeed, a good way to cross areas of loose sand without getting bogged down to your ankles in it.  Unfortunately, it was also a good way to deplete the body’s reserves and increase the need for water, neither a good idea in the Duat.

Kapia had a wide smile on her face as she ran toward him, her eyes bright in a way that he had not seen in years.  She looked happy, and it warmed him to see it.

“I know, it’s dumb to run,” Kapia said when she reached him.  “But it’s only a few yards.”

Zakiel returned her smile, then continued to watch Karma make her way slowly toward them, leaning on the Ti-Ank for balance.  When she was half way between him and the rocks, he heard the low, distinctive call of the alarm horn.  He spun around, his eyes scanning the sky even as the horn cut off mid wail.

Zakiel grasped Kapia’s shoulder, urging her toward her mount.  “Get beneath the diplo,” he said.

Kapia obeyed immediately without pausing to ask why, earning herself a quick nod of thanks from Zakiel.  He spun around, reaching for his swords as he scanned the sky, pausing when he saw the reason for the alarm near the end of the line. 

“Harpies!” he growled, spotting the pale blue figures attacking from the sky.  He took two running steps toward the battle, then skidded to a stop at a sound that nearly froze the blood in his veins.

***

Karma watched Kapia run through the sand toward her brother.  She was tempted to follow Kapia’s example, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself.  She’d been told more than once that she ran like a girl.  Logically, she knew that, since she was, in fact, a girl, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with running like one.  But realistically she knew it was an insult which meant she looked ridiculous when she ran.  She had no wish to look ridiculous in front of Zakiel, or anyone else, so she continued her slow struggle instead.

When she heard a horn in the distance she paused and turned toward it, wondering what it was, and why it cut off so suddenly.  She heard Zakiel shout and turned back toward him in time to see Kapia dive beneath Goldy.  Then she heard a strange flapping sound behind her.  She spun around as quickly as she could in the deep sand, bringing her staff up in a defensive position as instinct warned her that she was in danger. 

“What the...?!” she yelped in surprise at the sight of the two figures rapidly approaching her from above.

They were about her size and the same light blue as the desert sky, with the wings and bodies of birds, and humanoid heads and chests.  They hovered before her, their frantically flapping wings wafting their stench into her face, causing her to struggle not to gag.  They had filthy, matted blue hair, orange eyes, and mouths full of sharp black teeth that they bared and snapped at her, spraying foamy spittle as they screeched and growled.  The most offensive feature to Karma’s mind was the large, female breasts on their chests.

It took only a moment for her to take in their appearance before they darted forward, their large scaly feet tipped with sharp black talons stretched toward her.  She raised her staff and swung it at the nearest of them.  It screamed as it fell back, but she was already swinging the end with the ankh toward the second one.  It shot upward with amazing speed, dodging the hit.  Her eyes went back to the first one, which had already recovered and was flying toward her again.  She shifted her grip on the staff and twisted at the waist, knowing that she could not spin in the deep sand.  She waited for the thing to get a bit closer, then swung at it with all of her strength, hitting it solidly in the side of the head.  She heard a dull crack and the thing fell to the ground like a rock.

She sensed rather than saw the second one as it flew down at her from above, and she dropped to her knees to dodge it’s talons at the last second.  She was off balance, her feet hindered by the deep sand, but she managed to raise the staff up over her head just as she heard a deep, growling roar behind her.  She looked up in time to see a shiny blade cut through the thing as it tried to grasp the staff with its clawed feet. 

Karma turned her head just enough to see that Zakiel was standing behind her, his face tilted to the sky, and took a moment to wonder how he’d gotten there so quickly.  She turned back at the sound of renewed screeching, just in time to take a swing at a new creature at the last possible second before it was able to sink its claws into her.  She knew that another one was fighting with Zakiel, but she kept her eyes on the one before her. 

It hesitated a moment, flapping it’s wings as it’s fiery orange eyes stared at the ankh on her staff, then it opened it’s mouth and screeched so loudly Karma thought her ear drums would rupture.  It shot forward and Karma automatically jerked backward.  The sand shifted beneath her and she fell onto her back in the sand.  She struggled to keep her grip on the staff, but the thing was on top of her, its talons wrapped around the staff, an expression of triumph on its grotesque face.  Karma knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the thing tore the staff from her grip.

Suddenly, a silver blur shot through the air just over her head, its six inch claws slicing through the creature’s throat so fast it never had time to register its surprise.  Its head flew sideways and Karma shoved the staff up and over, relieved when the thing’s body fell to the sand beside her.  Then, silence.

“Are you all right?” Zakiel asked frantically as he knelt beside her.

“Yes, I think so,” she replied, her eyes on the sky as she fought to sit up. 

Karma frowned, suddenly realizing that his voice sounded odd.  She turned to look at him and froze for a long moment, an overwhelming sense of
rightness
flooding her.

“Those must be the marks of the Tigren,” she said, her tone calm and matter of fact, though inwardly she was surprised at the sight of the black and orange stripes that covered his face, neck, chest and arms. 

“Yes,” Zakiel replied, his voice cool again.  “Do not worry, Lady Techu, they will fade in a few minutes.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Karma said, holding out one hand.  “Would you help me up, please?”

Zakiel held out one hand, spreading his fingers to display the sharp claws that emerged from each finger tip.  “Don’t you want to wait until my hand becomes normal again?” 

Karma heard the challenge in his voice, and ignored it, placing her hand in his without hesitation.  Zakiel had no choice but to help her up, though he was very careful not to scratch her.

Once she was on her feet she looked up at his face, reaching out slowly to run one finger along his jaw.  She smiled to realize that while the markings looked like fur, they were actually on his skin.

Zakiel remained motionless, the light touch of her finger sending a wave of such heated desire through him that he hardly dared breathe.  Why was she smiling?  Why wasn’t she backing away in fear and horror?  He was afraid to ask, but he had to know.

“Why are you not disgusted?”

“Disgusted?” Karma asked in open surprise.  “Why would I be disgusted?”

Zakiel’s icy eyes blinked, but he didn’t answer her question.  Karma studied him for a moment, noting the tension in his neck and shoulders that told her more about how he really felt than the cool expression on his face.

“I spent several months on a world of shifters,” she said.  “They are good and honorable men and women, and their alter-forms, as they call them, are beautiful and powerful.  I once thought that my destiny lay there, among those people, but I see more clearly now.”  She tilted her head slightly and smiled.  “Personally, I like those stripes.  I think they’re unique and, in a very masculine way, quite beautiful.”