The Quest for the Heart Orb (43 page)

“I can’t wait any longer,” she said.  “We can go slowly later.”

Bredon froze, every muscle tense as he argued with himself.  Suddenly Kapia raised herself up on her elbows and looked him in the eye.  “Bredon, I like it when you call me little flower because you’ve done it for as long as I can remember,” she said.  “But if you don’t stop
treating
me like a delicate little flower right now, I swear I will kick you out of my bed.”

“I see your tigress shows herself in both war and love,” he said with a grin.  She arched an impatient brow and he laughed.  Then he leaned over and pressed his mouth to hers while pressing her firmly back to the bed. 

Kapia relaxed as Bredon’s tongue claimed her mouth, thrusting and retreating while one hand reached between her legs.  She parted for him, then shivered has he slipped one finger inside of her while his thumb rubbed her most sensitive spot, sending chills racing over her skin.  He added another finger and began kissing her jaw, then her neck.  He nipped her just below the ear, the small pain sending a rush of inexplicable pleasure through her.  She arched against his hand and moaned helplessly, so intensely aroused that she barely noticed when he added a third finger, stretching her carefully.  He bit her earlobe, then swirled his tongue over it, causing her sheath to tighten around his fingers.

“Bredon, please,” she gasped.  Bredon nipped her one more time and nearly came at her creamy response.  She couldn’t wait any longer and neither could he.  He raised himself up and over her, spreading her legs wider to make room for himself between them.  She looked up at him with such trust, and such passion, that it brought tears to his eyes.  Her heat and her scent beckoned him so strongly that he wasn’t altogether sure he was capable of resisting any more.  But he had to ask her, one last time.  Not for his sake.  But for hers.

“You’re certain Kapia?” he asked between gritted teeth.  She stilled, her eyes searching his in the dim light for a long moment.  Then she smiled. 

“Positive.” 

That was all he needed.  He pressed into her, fighting to go slow, but Kapia wanted none of that.  She arched her back in an effort to pull him inside of her but her strength was no match for his.  “Bredon, please, I need you,” she said.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

She glared at him, but he saw the hurt underneath.  He’d made them both wait too long for this as it was.  “I love you, Kapia,” he said, then arched his hips and pressed steadily into her, giving himself up to the pleasure of her hot, velvety body surrounding his.  Kapia’s eyes widened, her hands tightening on his shoulders.  He started to ask her again if she was sure, then bit his tongue.  He looked directly into her loving gaze and thrust all the way in.  They both stilled, gripping each other tightly as they savored the moment.  Finally, they were joined together as one, as they were meant to be. 

Something inside of Kapia relaxed for the first time in months.  This was what she’d needed, what her heart and soul had craved for so long.  Not just the physical joining, but the sense of being one with Bredon in every way, even if it was only for these few moments.  If Bredon died tomorrow she would always mourn him.  But at least she would have this memory of them joined together in mind and body to hold and cherish instead of the sharp pangs of regret she’d experienced while he’d been gone. 

Bredon began to move within her, slowly at first, with long strokes that inflamed them both, then faster, and faster, until finally, Kapia’s entire body tightened and her mouth opened wide.  Bredon leaned down to capture the scream of her orgasm in his mouth, then gave it back to her as he joined her in ecstasy.  When Kapia felt him pulse inside of her as he gave her his seed, she tightened her arms and legs around him, and closed her eyes in silent prayer

Chapter Nineteen

Just after sunrise Karma, Tiari, Kapia, Ren, their men, and Nikura stood on the wide balcony outside of the King’s private sitting room.  They looked over the railing at the array of gigantic statues below, noting that the top of every head had a flat area that was perfectly even with the floor of the balcony.  Kapia ran her fingers along the railing until she felt a catch.  She slid it to one side, and opened a hidden gate.

“I can see the pathway,” Tiari said.  “It’s very narrow and enormous, like a giant maze.  It touches every statue of course, so it has to be.  This is going to take a long time.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Tomas said.  “I’ll be right back.”  He stepped inside, then returned a moment later.  “When Tiari and I crossed over lava on a trail only she could see, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get back across with her injured and unconscious.  I soon discovered that, with the aid of the Sun Orb, I was able to see that the trail was a transparent material of some sort.  It’s not invisible or mystical.  It’s just something that only she can see without help.  I was able to see it with the help of the Sun Orb, but we’re in sunlight now, so that’s not the answer this time.”

“Sir Tomas?” Timon said from the doorway.

“Thank you, Timon,” Tomas said, taking the proffered burlap bag that he’d requested.  He opened the bag, reached inside, scooped up a handful of sand, and tossed it over the area directly in front of the gateway.  Much of the sand fell to the ground several stories below, but the sand that landed on the transparent walkway made it visible to everyone.

“Perfect,” Tiari said, beaming at her husband.

“Good thinking, Tomas,” Zakiel said.

“We’ll need a lot more sand since much of this is going over the edges,” Tiari said, then frowned as she looked out over the maze that only she could see. 

Zakiel nodded at Timon, who turned and sped away.  Then he turned to Tiari.  “What are you thinking, Lady Tiari?”

“I’m thinking it’s going to take a very long time for us to cover this entire maze with sand, Highness,” she said.  “The walkway is very narrow, so we’ll have to go slowly.”

“No,” Zakiel said, shaking his head.  “You women are far too important to risk.  You’ll wait here, on the balcony, and I’ll call for volunteers to spread the sand.”

Karma opened her mouth, but Zakiel shook his head firmly.  “Do not argue with me on this,
Valia
.  We haven’t the time for it, and I will not change my mind.”

Karma looked at Ren, Tiari, and Kapia, then nodded.  Zakiel was correct.  If one of them fell, all hope would be lost.  Zakiel leaned down to kiss her, then gestured to Sir Garundel who stood in the open doorway.

There was no shortage of volunteers willing to spread the sand on the invisible walkway.  Zakiel let Garundel choose a dozen men he judged best suited for the task, and in less than an hour the entire maze was revealed.

“Now what?” Zakiel asked after thanking the volunteers.

“Now Ren, Tiari, and I need to select our statues and place our orbs,” Kapia said.  “After that, it’s up to Karma.”

“What do you mean, select your statues?” Zakiel asked.

“According to the orbs, there are carvings on top of each statue,” Kapia said.  “Apparently, we’ll know which one is ours only when we see it.” 

“Be careful, Sister,” Zakiel said as he bent to kiss her on the forehead. 

“I will be,” she replied, then smiled at Bredon before stepping out onto the sand covered walkway.  Tiari and Ren followed, then they spread out, each of them taking a different path so that they could cover as many statues as possible. 

“Kapia,” Ren called ten minutes after they began, “I think this might be yours.”

Kapia crossed to where Ren stood, moving carefully on the narrow walkway.  The moment she looked at the engraving of a man holding an enormous moon between the palms of his hands she knew that it was hers.  A few minutes later Tiari found an engraving of a woman wearing the sun in an elaborate head dress, and shortly afterward Ren found an engraving of a male Mareon holding the palm of one hand over his heart, and a trident in the other.  They each placed their orb directly over the engraving, unsurprised to see that the orbs formed a perfect triangle. 

“My turn,” Karma said softly.  She extended her staff to its full length, then made her way carefully to the statue at the center of the triangle.  She knew what she had to do, and she was nervous about it.  Since the beginning of the Orb Quest Nikura had encouraged her to work with the Ti-Ank.  She’d taken his advice seriously, and had practiced every day, building her strength up until she could channel power through it with more ease than she’d imagined possible.  But she’d never even thought of trying what she now had to do.

“You will not fail, Lady Techu,”
Nikura said calmly from his perch on the balcony railing. 
“Frankly, I don’t believe you know how.”

Karma laughed softly.  “Thank you, Nikura.”  The Sphin nodded slowly, and Karma thought of how much he’d suffered for the people of Rathira, and for how long.  It was too overwhelming to let herself think of all the lives that depended on what they did this day.  But thinking of Nikura, of how long he’d suffered, and how much he’d sacrificed, was easier.  It gave her an immediate focus and incentive, and she needed both to overcome her nerves. 

As she returned his steady gaze she gathered her own power, then sent it to the Ti-Ank.  Then she shifted her gaze to the Moon Orb and, using the now empowered Ti-Ank, drew on the power of Rathira’s moon.  An icy white beam of light shot from the Ti-Ank to the Moon Orb.  She was relieved to feel Kapia join her in the effort to hold that beam in place, and without giving herself time to think about it, Karma drew on the sun, sending a beam of fire to the Sun Orb.  Tiari joined in the effort to maintain the sun beam and Karma, her heart beginning to race madly with fear and excitement, turned to face the Heart Orb.  She took time for one deep breath, then drew on the power of Rathira’s core, the essence of the planet itself, and sent a solid red beam to the Heart Orb.  She felt Ren take hold of the heart beam and wondered uncertainly what they were supposed to do next. 

Almost before she finished the thought a brilliant light flared, nearly blinding her.  She blinked rapidly, surprised to see that all three orbs had connected with each other, forming a triangle of light with herself and the Ti-Ank at its center.  A moment later, without warning, a narrow beam of white light shot from the top of the Ti-Ank into the heavens above.  For long seconds no one moved.  Then the beam vanished as though cut off, and Karma stood there, exhausted, her energy spent.

“You need to move now, Lady Techu,”
Nikura said, leaping to his feet. 
“All of you!  Quickly!”

“Get back on the balcony,” Karma shouted, retracting her staff slipping it through the loop on her belt.  “Hurry!”

“Do we leave the orbs?” Kapia asked.

“No!” Karma shouted.  “Grab them and run!” 

When she was sure the other women were hurrying to safety, Karma started back along the sand covered pathway, her limbs trembling with exhaustion.  She stumbled, caught herself, and stumbled again.  The second time her sandals slipped on the sand and she lost her balance.  As her feet left the walkway she flung her body around and grabbed desperately at the edge.  One hand missed, but the other caught and held.  She hung there for a moment, barely daring to breathe, but she could already feel her fingers slipping.  Just when she knew she could hang on no longer, Zakiel reached down and caught her wrist.  One moment she was hanging by her fingertips, the next she was wrapped safely in Zakiel’s arms.

She hung on tightly as Zakiel raced back to the safety of the balcony.  The moment his foot touched the balcony floor, there was an explosion of sound, like a giant flattening a mountain with a hammer.  Immediately afterward they were hit with a rush of wind so strong that it knocked everyone to the floor of the balcony.  The wind stopped as quickly as it had begun, followed by absolute silence.  Karma looked over at Kapia to make sure she was all right, then to Tiari and Ren.  Zakiel gasped and Karma turned around to check him, then froze.

The pyramid had returned.

They all climbed to their feet, staring in awed silence at the golden pyramid before them, the front wall of it just a few feet from the balcony.  It was much smaller than Karma had expected it to be, about twenty feet on each side, and twenty feet tall. 

“Now what, Nikura?” she asked the Sphin who was, once again, standing on the balcony railing.  “How do we open it?”

“Do you see the markings carved along the front?”
Nikura asked.

“Yes, I do,” she said, moving to the open gateway so that she could see them more clearly.  “Ah,” she said a moment later.  “I get it.”  She removed the Ti-Ank from the staff, then reached out to place it inside a deep carving that matched its outline.  Then she turned it, like a key in a lock.  A narrow rectangular section of the golden wall began to move, lowering slowly like a drawbridge until it rested on the balcony floor, revealing the pitch dark of the interior.

Karma removed the Ti-Ank and slipped it into her pocket.  “What do we do next?”

“I’ll go inside,”
Nikura said, leaping down from the railing onto the golden bridge.  “
Alone, please.”

“We’ll wait here,” Karma said out loud so everyone would hear.

Nikura crossed the bridge, then paused.  For the first time since knowing him, Karma felt Nikura’s nervousness.  As much as she wished she could stand at his side and help him, she knew that he needed to do this alone.  After a moment, Nikura entered the pyramid, disappearing into the darkness. 

They waited in absolute silence, the tension building minute by minute until, finally, Nikura reappeared in the doorway.  Beside him stood a cream colored Sphin with chocolate paws, a chocolate tail, chocolate ears, and chocolate eyes.  She was a little smaller than Nikura, with a slender, more feminine appearance.  Her cream colored face appeared almost pointed to eyes accustomed to looking at Nikura’s flat face for so long, and her eyes were almond shaped rather than round.  She was, Karma thought, very beautiful.