Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (33 page)

“Nervous about what?” Karma asked, frowning at the serious expression on his face. 

“Karma,” he said, turning so that he was looking straight ahead rather than at her, “you grew up on a world much like Rathira, so I hope you understand how important our customs and beliefs are to me.”

“Yes, I understand that,” Karma said, an icy feeling of dread seeping through her veins.

“Our kiss last night taught me just how much I want to break some of those customs,” he said, still not looking at her.  “But I can’t, Karma.  I respect you, and myself too much.  Aside from that, it would be seen as turning my back on everything I was raised to believe in.  I am to be King, and am held to a higher standard than most.  I cannot disappoint the people I am to rule, or risk their disrespect.” 

Karma’s heart began to race as she tried to decipher his meaning.  As she dropped her gaze and started to turn away, she noticed the
egora
on his arm.  She had looked for it the evening before, but he hadn’t been wearing it then.  He was wearing it now though, and there was no mistaking the single gold bead glittering brightly in the sunlight, outshining all of the other beads. 

Had he taken it off the night before so that she wouldn’t see the gold bead? she wondered.  It certainly seemed so.  Apparently Marene had not been lying about her relationship with Zakiel after all.  Which meant that he’d not only taken advantage of her, he’d planned it in advance by taking off his
egora
.

She had to struggle to tear her gaze from the golden bead, so hurt and so angry that she felt as though she were going to be sick.  He had played her for a fool, and she had fallen for it without a moment’s hesitation.  She had allowed him to kiss her.  Her very first kiss, and it had been a lie.  He and Marene deserved each other.  How could she have been so stupid? 

“Karma?  Are you all right?”  Zakiel moved his diplo so close that his leg brushed hers, but he barely noticed.  He was too worried about how pale Karma had suddenly become.

Karma heard his voice as though from a distance.  It sounded hollow and faint beneath the roaring in her head.  She turned slowly to look at him, wondering idly why it seemed to take such effort to move.  He was looking at her strangely, as though he were worried about her.  That made her want to laugh, but she couldn’t seem to remember how.

“Lady Techu, turn away from him and breathe
,” Nikura said urgently, breaking into her disjointed thoughts. 
“If you don’t, you will pass out and fall to the ground.  I am certain you do not want to embarrass yourself, so turn your face away from him, close your eyes and focus on breathing.  Do it now!”

Karma followed Nikura’s instructions and turned her head, then closed her eyes.  She felt Nikura leap onto Dippy behind her, felt the soft brush of his fur against her arm.

“Do not think of me,”
Nikura said. 
“Breathe, think of nothing else.”

Karma nodded and tried to take a deep breath, but she couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs.

“Karma?” Zakiel called again, but she did not respond.  She kept her eyes closed and thought about nothing, keeping her breaths short and shallow since she couldn’t seem to breathe deeply.  She felt Nikura press against her back, and was comforted by his presence.  Then she heard him hiss, and growl.  She was so startled she nearly turned around.

“No, remain as you are,”
Nikura said, his voice calm in her mind in spite of the growls she heard coming from him. 
“You must breathe, Lady Techu, breathe.”

Karma nodded and did as Nikura said, wishing she could close her ears as easily as she closed her eyes.

“Nikura, what is your problem?” Zakiel demanded angrily.

Nikura continued to growl, and she felt his body tense behind her.

“Too bad you are needed, Nikura,” Zakiel snapped.  “Otherwise I’d have your hide for this.”

As soon as she heard Zakiel ride away, Karma felt the weight pressing against her chest ease enough for her to take her first really full, deep breath.  She sat hunched over in the saddle, head down, eyes closed, breathing in and out slowly without thinking of anything else.  After a few minutes, Nikura leapt back to his own diplo, but she sensed his eyes on her, and knew he had not abandoned her.  Eventually she heard Kapia and Goldy return and take their usual place beside her and knew she had to pretend all was well. 

“Karma, is something the matter?” Kapia asked.

Karma shook her head slowly, and opened her eyes.  “I am more tired from yesterday than I thought,” she said, speaking each word carefully in a low voice.  She was satisfied that she sounded almost normal, but she was not yet ready to look at Kapia.

“Can I get you anything?” Kapia asked.

Karma started to shake her head, then changed her mind.  “Some water would be nice, if you would call Lashi for me.”

“Of course,” Kapia said. 

A few moments later Lashi held a cup of water out toward her and she took it carefully, not meeting anyone’s gaze.  She drank the water and returned the cup, thanking Lashi automatically before facing forward again, her eyes staring blindly ahead.

“Karma,” Kapia said, her voice low and uncertain, “is there anything I can do to help you?”

Karma took a slow, deep breath, then summoned a smile from somewhere as she turned to face Kapia.  “I’m fine, Kapia, thank you.  Don’t worry.”

“All right,” Kapia said, hiding her shock at Karma’s pale face.  She did not know what had happened between Karma and Zakiel in the few minutes she was gone, but whatever it was, it must have been truly devastating for Karma.

She urged Goldy a little closer to Dippy, determined to keep a close eye on her friend.  She glanced over at Nikura, noticing for the first time that the Sphin was sitting up on his cushion, his eyes fixed on Karma.  Never before had she wished for the ability to speak to the Sphin as Karma did.  Until now.

They rode in silence for the remainder of the morning, the first time since the beginning of their journey that they had not whiled away the hours talking.  Kapia spent most of that time worrying about Karma, but Karma spent that time trying to pull herself together.  By the time a halt was called for lunch, she had recovered enough to behave almost normally.

When Bredon rode back to help Kapia down from her saddle, Karma tensed, unsure if Zakiel would do the same as had become his habit lately.  When she saw him from the corner of her eye hanging back, she breathed a slow sigh of relief.  She was confident that, given a little time, she would be able to face Zakiel calmly and coolly.  Until then, however, she could not bear to have him near her.  Never before had she felt as she had when she’d seen that gold bead on Zakiel’s
egora
.  She hoped never to feel that way again.

“Sir Bredon,” she said after he released Kapia, “would you mind assisting me as well?”

Bredon looked surprised for a moment, but he did not refuse her.  She saw him glance toward Zakiel, but so long as he helped her down, and back up again, she didn’t care.  She would not,
could not
, allow Zakiel to touch her.  If he tried, she would not be responsible for her actions.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Sir Bredon released her and stepped back as though afraid to hold her too long, or stand too close. 

“Thank you, Sir Bredon,” she said.  Then she turned around and walked away from the line toward a sand dune a short distance away.  She felt Nikura brush against her leg and reached down to stroke his head as she walked.  A few minutes later she sat down in the sand on the opposite side of the dune, relaxing completely for the first time in hours with the knowledge that no one could see her.

“Let me know when they’re ready to leave again, will you?”
she asked Nikura.

“Of course,”
Nikura replied.

**

“Hello, Brother,” Kapia said softly, reining Goldy in beside him several hours later. 

Zakiel looked at his sister in surprise.  He hadn’t even heard her coming.  He glanced at the sun and realized it was getting later than he’d realized.  It was strange.  He felt as though it had been the longest day of his life, and yet at the same time, he couldn’t believe how late it was.

“Hello, Sister,” he said.

“Lady Techu doesn’t remember if she told you where we are supposed to turn west,” Kapia said.

“No, she didn’t,” Zakiel said.  “I suppose I should go ask her.”

“No,” Kapia said, a little more sharply than she meant to. 

Zakiel frowned.

“I apologize,” Kapia said.  “It’s just that she already told me.  She said to look for a rock formation in the shape of a large fish.  From there, we are to head directly west for about one and a half days.”

“Thank you, Kapia,” Zakiel said.  “There are some rock formations ahead.  I think we will stop and camp there, even if there are no fish among them.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Kapia said.  “It’s been a very long day.”

“Yes, it has been,” Zakiel agreed.  He hesitated a moment, then decided to ask the question burning within him.  “Is Karma all right?”

Kapia shook her head.  “She says she is, but I don’t believe her.  I am very worried about her.  I know it‘s not my business, but what happened?”

Zakiel shook his head.  “She hasn’t said anything to you?”

“No,” Kapia replied.  “She will not even admit that there is anything wrong.”

“Maybe a good night’s sleep will help,” Zakiel said.  “I will try to talk to her in the morning.”

“That’s a good idea,” Kapia said, the sadness in Zakiel’s eyes putting a lump in her throat that made it difficult to talk.  She turned Goldy around and rode back to Karma’s side, her heart hurting for both of them.  She wished she knew what was wrong, or how to help, but neither of them would tell her.  All she could think of to do was remain close in case Karma needed her.

Chapter
17

Zakiel awoke from a sound sleep, a deep, ground shaking roar still resonating in his ears.  He sat up and tossed his blanket to the side in one motion, then froze at the sound of a woman’s scream. 
Karma
.  He leapt to his feet and raced through the tent, only to have Timon shove his pants at him before he exited. 

He did not want to take the time to put his pants on, but he knew he would be going into the tent where both Karma and Kapia slept and he could not go there naked.  He bent down and shoved his feet into the pants as he listened to the shouts and yells of the Hunters as they converged on the women’s tent.  Seconds later he raced outside, still tying the laces on his pants as he ran.  He cut through the crowd of Hunters surrounding the tent and hurried inside, following the sounds to the chamber where Karma slept.  As soon as he pushed back the flap and stepped into the chamber he stopped, struggling to make sense of what he was seeing.

Karma stood against the wall, her staff held before her, while Nikura paced back and forth in front of her with his hackles raised and his teeth bared.  On the floor beside Karma’s bed lay a man whose identity was hidden by the Hunters holding him down.  There was blood splattered everywhere and Zakiel’s eyes flew back to Karma, searching for signs that she was injured.  There was blood smeared across the front of her night shift, but she seemed unharmed.  Nikura had blood on his face, chest and forelegs, telling Zakiel that whoever had entered Karma’s chamber had battled with the Sphin.  Battled and lost.

Satisfied that Karma was safe for the moment with Nikura guarding her, he stepped around to the other side of the chamber and knelt down to see who the perpetrator was.  He was shocked to find Saigar lying beneath Garundel, Bredon and Carbinel.  Nikura’s razor sharp claws had made a mess of the man’s face, arms and chest, but there was no doubt that it was Tomas’s man.  And he was alive.  Although his wounds were numerous and bloody, they did not appear to be life threatening.

“Get him out of here,” Zakiel ordered.  “I will deal with him soon.”

The Hunters nodded, then reached down and picked Saigar up, none of them inclined to handle the man any too gently.  As soon as they were gone, Zakiel approached Karma.

“I’ll be back in a moment,” he said gently.  She nodded, but her eyes were wide and even more shocky than they’d been earlier that day.  Zakiel looked down at Nikura.

“Guard her, please,” Zakiel said.  “I shall return in a moment.”

Nikura nodded as he continued to pace, clearly too wound up himself to remain motionless.  Zakiel did not want to leave them, but he had to, just for a moment.  Reluctantly, he turned and hurried out of the tent, grabbing the first Hunter he saw.

“Harmin, go down to Tomas’s tent and rouse him.  Tell him he is to report to Garundel immediately, then do not allow him out of your sight.  I want to know if he hesitates for a moment, or if he stops to talk to anyone.”  Harmin bowed quickly, spun on his heel and raced away into the darkness.

Zakiel turned to another Hunter standing nearby.  “Corbon, find out who had guard duty on the women’s tent tonight, and who is missing.  Either Saigar had an accomplice, or there is a dead man around here somewhere.  And tell Sir Bredon to double the guards, but relieve those who were on duty tonight.”