Laura Jo Phillips (38 page)

Aisling and Karma followed Captain Singer and Torl to a shade near the front of the boat and selected cushions to sit on.  The Gryphons took up positions at the low railing, not exactly hovering, but close enough that Aisling had to struggle not to roll her eyes at them.  Instead, she looked around, suddenly realizing that there was no one else in sight other than their small party, and an animal that appeared to be the largest cat she’d ever seen just stepping onto the boat from the dock.  She looked up and down the deserted beach, unable to discern where the cat had come from.

She watched as the cat walked to a rear corner of the boat, sniffed a large red cushion that was positioned there beneath a sunshade, then stepped onto it and sat down, wrapping it’s long tail neatly around it’s paws.  The animal was about two feet high at the shoulder with a long, lithe body covered in very short blue-grey fur with silver spots that glinted metallically in the sunlight.  It had large blue eyes that met Aisling’s straight on as she stared at it.

“Have any of you ever seen such a big cat?” she asked in surprise.

The cat blinked and twitched one of it’s high pointed ears, giving Aisling the impression that it was annoyed.

“I am not a cat.”

Karma turned to Aisling.  “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Aisling asked.

“A snooty male voice saying that it’s not a cat,” Karma said as she looked back at the cat. 

“Nor am I snooty.  What is a cat?”

“He just asked what a cat is.”

“Um, no, I didn’t,” Aisling said as she glanced from the cat to Karma and back again.  “I didn’t hear a thing.”

“I think that cat said it,” Karma said.  “In my head.”

“I am
not
a cat!”

Aisling stared at Karma in surprise, watching as she frowned and turned back to the cat.

“Fine, I got it, you aren’t a cat,” Karma said.  “What are you?”

Aisling looked back at the cat to see if it responded to Karma’s question in some way, feeling a bit foolish as she did so.

“I am a sphin, of course.”

“What’s a sphin?” Karma asked.

Aisling looked at Captain Singer, then Olaf, Rand and Rudy.  They were all watching Karma now.

“
I
am a sphin, as I just told you.  Don’t you listen?”

 “Oooo-kaaay,” Karma said, clearly talking to the animal.  “Do you have a name?”

Aisling turned back to the cat, which was staring straight at Karma.  It’s ears twitched again, then folded back, giving an impression of obvious annoyance. 

“Of course I have a name.  Do
you
have a name?”

“What is your name?” Karma asked, speaking with exaggerated slowness.  Aisling saw the exasperation on Karma’s face, and knew that, as impossible as it seemed, she and the animal were communicating with each other. 

“
My name is Nikura
. 
Now, if you don’t mind, I must focus on my task for a moment.”

The sphin turned his head slightly toward the rear of the boat and narrowed it’s round blue eyes to slits.  Aisling had the impression that the animal was concentrating on something and, as she watched, the boat began moving away from the dock.  She glanced over the railing behind her as the boat slid smoothly through the water, heading for the center of the river.  She looked around, looking for some means by which the boat was being guided, but there was no one on the deck other than the cat...er...sphin, and their party.

“Captain Singer, do you know how this boat’s being powered?” Aisling asked.

“There are domesticated animals called
revedus
beneath the boat,” Captain Singer said.  “They paddle along, pulling the boat as they go.”

“Who controls the animals?” Karma asked.

“I don’t know,” Captain Singer replied.  “Our policy is to never ask specific questions that are not related to our main directive, which is the welfare of the populations on the planets we visit.  It just so happens that someone told me about the
revedus
on our last visit, which is why I know about them, but I don’t know any more than that.”

Aisling wondered how anyone could go to different worlds all the time and never ask questions.  She knew that her parents had done it for many years, but she doubted she could live up to that standard for more than a day.  Unless she was under cover of course.

As she watched, the cat blinked, his ears perked up straight again and he turned his face back toward Karma.

“
What is your name?”

 “My name is Karma,” Karma replied.  “I wonder why it is that I can hear you when my companions obviously cannot?”

The sphin tilted his head slightly and stared at Karma unblinkingly for a long moment. 
“I would say that you are
Techu
, but you do not carry a
ti-ank
.  Therefore, I have no idea why you can hear me.”

Karma shook her head and sighed as she turned back to Aisling.  “I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

“What did he say?” Aisling asked.

 “Something about me not being a...tenshoe?...because I don’t have a...well, I’m not sure what it is I don’t have,” Karma replied. 

“Not tenshoe,
Techu
,”
Nikura said irritably.  “
A
Techu
is a speaker for the dead.”

Karma gasped in surprise.  She glanced at Captain Singer, but decided she didn’t really care all that much what she thought.

“He says that a
Techu
is a speaker for the dead,” she said to Aisling, trying to sound casual.  “He also said that I’m not one because I don’t carry something called a...a...,”

“
A
ti-ank. 
Do all of your people have such poor memories?”

“A
ti-ank
,”
Karma repeated, ignoring the cat’s question.

Aisling’s eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t say anything.  She glanced quickly at the jacket pocket where Karma kept the ankh, then met Karma’s gaze.  Karma gave her a tiny nod.

Neither of them knew what a
ti-ank
was, but they had an idea.  Until they knew whether or not being a speaker for the dead was considered a good thing, they would keep silent about it.

“
Captain Singer, are you familiar with this animal?” Karma asked.

“Yes,” Captain Singer replied.  “I have seen him in the palace a few times, usually with King Rhobar or his son, Prince Zakiel.  I believe he is their pet.”

Karma’s head jerked toward the sphin who was glaring at the Captain, his ears laid flat against his head, his long tail swishing angrily across the golden deck.

“All right, you don’t have to yell,” Karma said, wincing slightly as she turned toward Captain Singer.  “He wants me to tell you that he is not a pet.”  

Captain Singer turned to the sphin and bowed her head.  “My apologies,” she said calmly. 

The sphin’s ears popped back up and he nodded regally before turning to stare out over the river, apparently done with the humans.

“Did he tell you his name?” Aisling asked Karma softly.  “I heard you ask him.”

“He says his name is Nikura,” Karma replied a little absently.  Aisling decided she had a right to be distracted.  It wasn’t every day that you discovered you could talk to animals.

“Olaf, are you able to converse with animals?” she asked curiously.

“No, though I believe that the Lobos have that talent to a small degree,” he said.  “Princess Lariah has a very strong ability to communicate with animals.”

“I’ve never been able to do it before,” Karma said.  “The only psychic ability I had for most of my life was for putting some people to sleep.  Now I seem to have more abilities than I know what to do with.”

Karma turned toward the sphin, whose ears were cocked at an angle, though it did not turn its head toward her.  After a moment, she sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I am supposed to make it clear that my ability to talk to him in no way indicates that I am able to speak with animals, as he is not an animal,” Karma said with an air of sarcasm that, apparently, only the sphin didn’t catch.  She turned to Aisling.  “He is not a cat, or a pet, or an animal.  Nor is he polite.”

Olaf, Rand and Rudy chuckled softly, but the sphin did not deign to look at them.  He continued staring out over the water, as motionless as a statue.

Chapter
34`

Once Karma stopped conversing with the sphin, Aisling turned her attention to their surroundings.  The river was very wide, the water so calm that the surface shone like a mirror, reflecting the pale blue skies above.  Now and then small fish would leap into the air, breaking the surface with flashes of bright silver and red, but other than that there was no movement. 

When they’d boarded the boat there was nothing but white sand as far as the eye could see on either side of the river.  As they traveled further north, they began to see greenery along the banks, just a little at first, then more and more the further they went.  As the foliage increased, so did the wildlife.  There were more fish leaping into the air, and flocks of birds trying to catch them.  The number and variety of birds increased by the mile, as did the size and color variations of the fish. 

“Captain Singer, what is the name of this river?” Aisling asked.  “Do you know?”

“It is called
Ank-Teru
,” Captain Singer replied.  “The River of Life.”

Aisling smiled as she watched a flock of tiny pink and white birds fly overhead.  “That’s a good name.”

A few miles further up the river they began to see small farms along both sides of the river, usually with one or two people working the fields.  A bit further along, the farms got bigger, and there were more people working them.  They also began to see herds of livestock drinking along the banks of the river, tended to by children.  There were other boats on the river now, small fishing boats mostly, but occasionally they saw a larger boat, much like the one they were in, though not so large.  Those seemed to be pleasure boats, from the sounds of music and laughter that drifted across the water.

“Look at that, Aisling,” Karma said.

Aisling turned to look where Karma was pointing, then stood up and walked to the railing to see better.  A short distance ahead of them the width of the river doubled, then tripled before splitting around a large island.  It was set exactly in the center of the river, an oasis of lush, green foliage with buildings peeking out from among the trees and plants.  As they drew closer to the island Aisling noticed that all of the boats on the river kept a good distance away from it as they traveled along the two forks of the river around it. 

“That island is called
Ka-Teru
, the Soul of the River,” Captain Singer said, joining Aisling at the railing.  “That’s where the royal city is located.”

“Is that where we’re going?” Aisling asked.

“Yes,” Captain Singer replied.  “If we were not on a royal barge, marked with a golden deck, we would never be allowed within fifty yards of the island. 

“What would happen if one of those boats got too close?” Karma asked.

“I do not know,” Captain Singer replied.  “Nor do I want to.”

“That sounds ominous,” Aisling said.  “Are these violent people?”

“No more violent than most,” Captain Singer replied.  “The people of this country, Isiben, use a system of knowledge levels.  Those who live on the island are of the first level, and they are very careful about who they allow to visit.  The punishment for anyone stepping foot on the island, or even attempting to approach it without permission is, I am told, quite severe.”

“Is there a city for those who do not live on the island?” Aisling asked.

“Yes,” Captain Singer replied.  “The city of Ausar is situated on the east bank of the river after the forks merge about two miles north of the island.” 

As they neared the island the boat veered slightly, then slipped into a canal that was largely hidden behind a u-shaped rock outcropping.  As the boat passed into the canal, they saw a tall stele set into the rock at the edge of the water that had writing carved into it.  Aisling tried to read it, but, like the Arkandu oraculum, she recognized the letters, but couldn’t grasp the meaning of the words.

“I can’t figure out what that says,” she said.

“The writing is Rathirian script,” Captain Singer said.  “They write from right to left, but I cannot tell you what it says.”

Aisling looked to the right end of the writing and tried to read the words backwards, but that didn’t help.  The letters themselves appeared to her eyes to be Standard, but for some reason she could not understand the words that the letters spelled.  

“It still doesn’t work,” Aisling said, feeling frustrated. 

“Try reversing the letters in the words themselves,” Torl suggested. 

Aisling frowned at Torl.  “Why would someone go to such lengths to make a sign post so difficult to read?”