The Quest for the Heart Orb (24 page)

“Different?”

“She will sit you down and explain the facts to you,” he said.  “I will not use words.”  Seeing the confusion in Ren’s eyes, he smiled, then bent his head, moving slowly so as not to startle her, and pressed his lips gently against hers.  He heard her breath catch, and felt an unexpected thrill run through him.  He ran the tip of his tongue slowly over her lips, tracing their contours before slipping his tongue into the warmth of her mouth.  It was, he knew, far too much for a first kiss, but he couldn’t help himself.  After weeks of denial and misery, he needed this small taste of her as much as he needed his next breath.  He managed, with much more difficulty than he’d expected, to keep it both gentle and brief.  When he raised his head and looked at the expression of arousal and wonder on her face he nearly spilled in his pants, something he’d never done, not even as a boy. 

Ren’s eyes opened slowly, and this time it was his breath that caught.  The barely tapped passion in her eyes was the most exciting and erotic sight he’d ever seen in his life.  That’s when he realized his mistake.  Now that he’d had a taste of her, it was going to be pure hell trying to keep himself from claiming her fully.

Chapter Eight

The next morning, before Karma dressed for the day, Zakiel insisted on inspecting her carefully.  As she’d suspected, she had a few bruises on her back and shoulders from hitting the ground so hard.  The worst of them was a long purple stripe in the shape of her belt on her lower back that was tender.  Her neck was also a bit sore, but she kept that to herself.  As it was she had to make several promises to Zakiel regarding her activities until they faded. 

Once camp was struck, Zakiel called everyone together to tell them about the
caraspu
.  During a check of each person’s neck it was discovered that both of the cooks who’d fought a few weeks earlier had the circular white scar, as did three drovers, and two other servants.  Fortunately, no one had the open wound that indicated the demon’s presence.  It appeared that the miniscule demon had passed from person to person among their company for some time.  Gavon’s body still had an open wound, indicating the demon’s presence at the time of his death, which signaled the demon’s death as well.  Nevertheless, every single member of the Orb Quest, from Prince Zakiel himself down to the youngest apprentice drover, would have his, or her, neck checked twice each day. 

Around mid-morning the trail narrowed, so Marl and Ren dropped back behind Karma and Kapia, while Tomas and Tiari rode in front of them.  Karma smiled at both couples.  Even with the constant threats of danger and attacks, love, it seemed, continued to blossom.  Everyone knew of Marl’s and Ren’s formal courtship, the glow on their faces more telling than the golden bead on Marl’s
egora
.  Hunters had been congratulating the couple all morning, and Karma knew, if Ren didn’t, that the smiles and words of happiness were for more than their courtship.  Marl was well liked by his brothers in arms, and they were relieved to know that his long ordeal had ended.

Karma glanced over at Kapia who rode beside her and her smile faded.  “Kapia,” she said in a voice too low to be easily heard by anyone other than Kapia or Nikura.

“Yes?” Kapia asked.

“You seem very quiet today.  Is something wrong?”

“That should be my question to you,” Kapia said.  “How are you this morning?”

“I have a few bruises, and have promised not to mount or dismount Dippy on my own for a few days, but otherwise I’m fine.”

“And the babies?  Bredon told me that he sat on top of you.”

“He did, but it wasn’t that bad, and the babies are fine,” Karma assured her.  “I even asked Tiari to check, and she still sees a two bright lights, and even a hazy golden aura around each of them.  Kapia gave her a relieved smile, but Karma knew there was something else bothering her.  “Your turn,” she said softly.

Kapia looked at her, then away.  “There is something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Of course.”

“I know that my meeting with Bredon in his tent is outside the bounds of propriety, and that some people were surprised by it, though I think everyone understands.” 

“Everyone here is aware of what the two of you have been through,” Karma said, answering the unspoken question.  “In fact, I think your straightforward manner seems to have convinced everyone that you’re not doing anything wrong,”

“That’s a relief since I’m considering doing something else.  Something that’s far enough outside the boundaries of propriety that, if it gets out, I know some will be angry about it.  At the same time, I honestly don’t know what else to do.”

Karma studied Kapia for a few moments as she turned her words over in her mind, then she nodded.  “I see.”

Kapia smiled, not entirely surprised that Karma had figured it out so quickly.  Karma had a habit of doing things like that.  “What do you think?”

“I wonder why a few days earlier you didn’t care about this subject, and now you do,” Karma said.  “Has something happened?”

“Oh, I cared, I just thought it best to give Bredon time.  Now, I have a better understanding of…certain things.  I thought that…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.  What matters is that now I’m more concerned with his hesitation than I was before.  A lot more.”

Karma nodded to herself.  She was glad Kapia had gotten to this point, because it was a far more serious matter than she’d seemed to understand.  “If I were to guess, I’d say that you thought he didn’t take you seriously as a woman, and thought that proving to him how wrong he was would make a difference.”

“I’m not even going to pretend I’m surprised,” Kapia said with a wry smile.  “You understand me all too well sometimes.  Good thing I love you and trust you so much.”

Karma returned Kapia’s smile, but her heart was aching for her.  She wished she understood Bredon half as well as she understood Kapia.  “Why not let Zakiel do this on your behalf,” she suggested.

“I can’t,” Kapia said, shaking her head.  “If it’s going to be done, I have to be the one to do it.”

“You want to see his face when you ask,” Karma guessed, and Kapia nodded.  “Do it, Kapia.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really,” Karma said.  “It’s past time for the subject to be raised between you and if he won’t do it, you need to.”

“What if he gets angry?”

“What if he does?” Karma shot back. 

“Good point,” Kapia said.  Then she sighed.  “Now all I have to do is work up the courage to ask Bredon.”

“Ask Bredon what?” Bredon asked, coming up from behind them and reining his diplo in beside Kapia.  Kapia’s cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t try to hide it from him.

“Let’s ride up ahead just a bit.  I’d like to talk to you privately.”

“Of course,” Bredon said.  He looked at Karma.  “Please excuse us, Lady Techu.”

Karma rolled her eyes at him.  “Of course,
Sir
Bredon.”

Bredon laughed as he and Kapia rode ahead of Karma, their diplos as close together as they could get them.  “I’ve been thinking,” she began.  “About us.  I know that it’s not proper for me to bring this subject up, but I’ve come to understand that you’re not going to, so I’m going to do it anyway.”

“Kapia, my love,” Bredon said, “you may say what you will to me, and proper be damned.”

Kapia nodded, his words giving her the courage she needed.  “Before you were possessed by Marene, you told me that you wanted to marry me one day.  Has that changed, or do you still feel the same way?  Do you still want to marry me, Bredon?”

“More than anything, Kapia,” he replied solemnly, all humor gone.  “Do you doubt it?”

“Yes, I do,” Kapia said.  “Every minute we’ve spent alone together these past couple of weeks is a precious memory for me, just as I asked for, and I don’t regret a moment of it.  But I wonder if it’s changed your opinion of me.”

“In what way?” he asked, confused.

“Perhaps you think I’m too wanton to be a wife.”  Kapia’s lips were numb with fear, but she managed, from sheer strength of will, to keep her voice steady and calm.

“Never,” Bredon said.  “I love you, Kapia.  You could not possibly do anything to change that, least of all make it possible for us to express our love for each other.”

“Then why have you not asked?”

“I can think of nothing I want more in this world than to take you as my wife, Kapia,” Bredon said.  “But we can’t be married.  Not now.  Not yet.”

“Why not?” she asked.  “You know as well as I do that if we were engaged, no one would think twice about us spending time alone together, and yet you’ve never said a word about marriage since your return.  I think I have a right to know why.”

“You know the laws as well as I do,” Bredon said, pulling away from her as he straightened in his saddle and faced forward.  “No man may engage a royal daughter without approval from the current king, as well as whoever is next in line for the throne.”

“Do you think Zakiel would deny us?” she asked, not missing the way he was distancing himself from her.

“No, I don’t, but your father might, and breaking the law before I even ask him is unlikely to help matters.  We have to wait until we reach Ka-Teru to ask King Rhobar.”

“What if one of us doesn’t live that long?” Kapia asked, voicing her greatest fear.  “You know how I feel about regrets, Bredon, and you said you agreed with me.”

“Regrets are better than the alternative,” Bredon said, glancing at her quickly, then away again.

Kapia frowned.  “What does that mean?”

“What if, as you said, I die?” Bredon asked.  “You are barely old enough to be a bride, Kapia.  And you are far too young to be a widow.  You can’t want that.”

“Of course I don’t want that,” Kapia said.  “But if we have a limited time to be together, then I want to make the best of it.  I want to cram as much loving into that time as possible so that I have something to remember if the worst does happen.  Wouldn’t you want the same, if I died?”

“Of course I would,” Bredon said, “but it’s different for me than it is for you.”

“How is it different?” Kapia demanded, her temper flaring. 

“Because you can get pregnant, Kapia, and I can’t,” Bredon said softly, deflating her temper immediately.  “What if that happens, and I’m not here to help you raise our child?  You’d have to do it alone.”

“No, I won’t ever be alone,” Kapia said.  “I have Karma and Zakiel, Tiari and Tomas.  They’re my family too, right along with Father, and they will always be here for me.  And, don’t forget, I’m wealthy in my own right.  Our child will never go without no matter what happens.”

Bredon rode silently for a few minutes, arguing with himself.  He wanted to marry Kapia and take what joy they could from the time they had, just as much as she did.  Their time together had served to take the edge off of his overwhelming desire for her, but each time it became harder to let her go without claiming her fully.  But there was still one thing she didn’t know.  One thing that might very well change her mind about wanting to marry him.  One thing that would make marrying her the most selfish act of his life.  He turned to look into her eyes and his heart turned over at the hope and the love he saw there. 

“Kapia, once again I ask for time to think on this,” he said.  It hurt to watch the disappointment fill her eyes, but he had no choice.  There was too much at stake and he needed time to think with a clear head.  “Just a day or two.  Will you agree to that?”

“Yes, Bredon, I’ll agree to that,” she said, dropping her eyes with a sigh. 

“Thank you,” Bredon said.  “Please understand me, Kapia.  I love you more than my life, and I want to be married to you more than I want anything else in this world.  But I cannot allow myself to do anything that will hurt you.”

“I understand, Bredon.”  She shook her head.  “No, that’s not true.  I
don’t
understand.  But I do understand your need for time, and I’ll give you that if you’ll try to understand something as well.”

“Which is?”

“You said you won’t do anything that will hurt me.  Please try to understand that losing you without ever having you will hurt me more deeply than anything else ever could.”

***

After lunch Tiari, Ren, and a subdued Kapia resumed their usual positions side by side with Karma and Nikura.  Now that Ren was settled in, Marl was no longer required to remain at her side all of the time, so had returned to the regular rotation.  He was currently guarding the rear of the company, and the regular guards watched over the women. 

Karma was worried about Kapia.  It was clear that her conversation with Bredon had not gone very well, but there were too many people around for them to speak privately.  As much as she hated seeing Kapia upset, it would have to wait.

The wind began to blow out of the north again, lightly at first, but more and more strongly as the day wore on.  The clouds thickened and darkened, and the temperature dropped rapidly.  It was barely late afternoon when Zakiel decided to order a halt.  The loss of a little more time wouldn’t matter if they all froze to death in the coming storm before they could erect the tents, and besides, he was worried about Karma’s bruises.  He’d just announced his decision when Nikura hissed a warning, capturing Kapia’s attention as well as Karma’s. 

“This is new,”
Nikura said, turning to stare westward.

“Somehow, I doubt you mean that in a good way,” Karma said, reaching for the Ti-Ank at her waist and extending the staff to its full length.  She glanced at Kapia and nodded, giving her the signal to warn everyone that demons were about to attack.

"I never mean
new
in a good way, Lady Techu."

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Karma asked.  “Let’s have it.”

“Gargoyles,”
Nikura said.

Karma stared.  “Did you say…
gargoyles
?”

“Yes, I did,”
Nikura replied, flicking a glance her way before returning his gaze to the sky
.  "Has your hearing deteriorated again?"

“Gargoyles,” Karma repeated flatly, ignoring the sarcasm.