Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (24 page)

“The reason I came back was to ask your opinion on something,” he said, his smile fading.

“All right,” Karma said agreeably.  “What is it?”

“We’ve been traveling for two weeks now and, according to the charts, we are making very good time,” Zakiel said.  “We are, in fact, several days ahead of schedule.”

“That’s very good news,” Karma said.

“Yes, and it is in large part due to you and Kapia,” he said.  “We expected that the two of you would slow us down, but you haven’t.”

“That’s good to know,” Karma replied, pleased that she and Kapia had done so well.

“There is an oasis about a one day’s travel from here,” he said.  “The problem is that it’s directly opposite from the direction we are heading.

“We have enough water to reach the next well, especially since we are ahead of schedule.  But, as you have seen, the water in the wells is limited and sometimes brackish.  It’s adequate to keep us and our diplo alive, so going out of our way is not necessary.”

“But it would be nice to refill all of the empty barrels with fresh water, and perhaps take a bath,” Karma said, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the thought of the well water.  The deep desert wells spaced several days apart across the desert were all that allowed caravans such as theirs to make the deep desert crossing.  But the water was limited, warm and tasted terrible.  She longed for a drink of fresh, cool water.  And the idea of a bath was almost too good to imagine.

“Yes, exactly,” Zakiel said.  “I just don’t know if we should take the risk of losing two full day’s travel.  If we cut south now, we should reach the oasis well before nightfall, but it will take all most of tomorrow to return to this position.”

“Let me ask Nikura,” she said.  She turned to her right, surprised to see the Sphin sitting up on the platform on his diplo, his nose in the air, eyes narrowed to slits.  He was generally asleep at this time of day.

“Nikura, have you been listening to our conversation?” she asked.

“
Yes, of course,”
Nikura replied as he continued to sniff the air. 

“What do you think?  Should we take the risk?”

Nikura sniffed the air for another moment, then turned his large eyes on her. 
“I believe so,”
he said. 
“As Prince Zakiel says, the water is abundant, clean, and fresh from the scent.”

“What about the time factor?” Karma asked. 

“We are in the deep desert,”
Nikura said. 
“Passing up the opportunity to thoroughly replenish our water would be foolish in the extreme.  The brackish well water is sufficient for life, but it takes a toll on the diplos that will slow them down considerably until they are able to refill themselves with fresh water.”

Karma turned back to Zakiel and told him what Nikura had said.  “He did not say so, but I think that without fresh water for the diplos, the time factor will become an even larger issue.”

“Agreed,” Zakiel said.  “We shall cut toward the oasis, and look forward to bathing this evening.”

“Now that is something to look forward to,” Karma replied with a laugh.

She watched as Zakiel urged his diplo to a trot and rode back to the head of the line.  A minute later the caravan turned, raising a low murmur of conversation and curiosity along the long line.  Karma was not too surprised when Lashi urged her diplo forward a few minutes later with a container of water from one of the large, well stocked baskets she carried with her on her diplo.  Karma knew that Lashi would never ask a direct question, but she would hope for information.

Karma accepted the water and drank it down, then leaned over to return the cup to Lashi.  “Thank you, Lashi,” she said.  As always, the older woman blushed to be thanked, but Karma did it automatically and had no intention of changing her habit.

“By the way, Lashi,” she said as the woman returned the cup to its basket and prepared to return to her place in the line.  “We will be stopping at an oasis for the evening.  It is expected that there will be enough water for bathing.”

“That is excellent news, Lady Techu,” Lashi said with barely restrained excitement.  “I will be sure to have a bath ready for your earliest convenience once the tent is set up.  Will there be water for the washing of clothes.”

“I believe so, yes,” Karma replied.  “Please let Caral know as I am certain Princess Kapia will wish a bath as well.”

“I will indeed, Lady Techu,” Lashi said with a quick bow.  Then she turned to hurry back to her place.  Within minutes, there was a rise in the level of murmurs as the news that they would be stopping at an oasis for the night travelled through the caravan. 

***

Karma ran a comb through her damp hair, rejoicing in the sensation of being clean after a long, hot bath.  They’d reached the oasis more quickly than they’d expected, so had a couple of hours before sunset to set up camp.  The oasis was a large pond filled with fresh, cool water fed from an underground river, so the first thing everyone had done was drink their fill of it.  

While waiting for their tent to be set up, Karma and Kapia had sparred even though it was earlier than usual.  Many of the Hunters had watched, though neither Karma nor Kapia noticed them much any more.  They kept out of the way and, except for a few words of encouragement now and then, and praise for Kapia’s progress when they were finished, they did not interfere.  On a couple of occasions both Karma and Kapia had sparred with Prince Zakiel, and the Hunters had greatly enjoyed watching.

When they’d finished their sparring, Karma sent Kapia ahead to their tent and called Prince Zakiel aside.

“Highness,” she said, “if you and the other men would like to take a swim in the pond, I will make certain that Kapia, Lashi, Caral and myself remain within our tent for at least another hour.  Longer if you think it necessary.”

Zakiel smiled, no longer surprised by Karma’s thoughtfulness.  “That would be most appreciated by all of us, Lady Techu,” he said.  “I believe that an hour will be plenty of time.  However, I will send my personal attendant, Timon, to your tent to let you know when we are finished.”

“Perfect,” Karma agreed with a smile.  She hurried to her tent, anxious for her own bath.  No sooner had the flap closed behind her when she heard the shouts of the men after Zakiel gave them the news.  She laughed, then explained to Caral and Lashi why they could not go outside the tent for awhile.

She went into her chamber, delighted to find that Lashi had filled her tub with hot water, and added her favorite lavender oil to it.  She could hardly wait to get into it and once she did, she stayed until her fingers and toes started to wrinkle. 

Lashi and Caral had also filled several large waterproof baskets for doing laundry and there were damp clothes strung everywhere, but neither she nor Kapia minded in the least.  After two full weeks of no bathing and no clean clothes, in a world full of sand that got into and under everything, the last thing she was going to complain about was wet, clean clothes hanging all over the tent.

“Karma, may I come in?” Kapia asked from the other side of the flap that served as a door to her section of the tent.

“Of course, Kapia,” she called.

Kapia burst through the opening with a grin on her face.  “Karma, we’ve been invited to dine with Zakiel, his knights, and some of his friends.”

“All of them?” Karma asked. 

“It is an informal gathering, so no, not all of them,” Kapia said, knowing she meant Tomas.  “However, Bredon will be there.”

“Sounds like fun to me,” Karma agreed.  “Do we have anything clean to wear?”

Kapia’s face fell.  “Clean yes,” she said.  “But I doubt that anything is dry.”

“I think it might be more refreshing to wear them damp anyway,” Karma said.  “So long as they aren’t transparent, that is.  I doubt it will take long for them to dry in this heat.”

“Now that you mention it, I agree,” Kapia said.  “I’ll let Caral and Lashi know, shall I?”

“Yes, please,” Karma said.

As soon as Kapia left, Karma turned back to the mirror and examined her reflection.  Long days in the sun had turned her skin bronze, in spite of the protective lotion Lashi insisted she apply liberally several times a day.  Her hair, usually dark brown, now had lighter reddish streaks in it, also from the sun, but they were not unattractive.  She thought they made her ordinary hair color much brighter, and it enhanced her eyes somehow.  She was also pleased that her hair was growing so quickly.  It was to the middle of her back now.  She ran her fingers through a lock of straight, fine hair, then dropped it as she turned from the mirror. 

“What difference does it make what my hair looks like?” she asked herself testily.  “I am not here for my looks.”  She twisted her hair, rolled it up and stabbed a polished stick through it, determined not to look in the mirror again.  Then she went in search of something clean to wear.

***

Tomas stood on the far side of the pond, watching furiously as Kapia and Karma walked to Zakiel’s tent in the fading sunlight.  There were half a dozen knights joining Zakiel and the women for dinner, not one of them with Blood Rank close to his own.  His higher rank notwithstanding, he had been excluded from the party just as he had been excluded from everything since the beginning of this journey.

That Zakiel hated him, had been jealous of him from the time they were children, he was used to.  But that he would take it so far as to deliberately humiliate him in this manner was nearly too much to bear.  It was a slap in the face, an insult calculated to ignite Tomas’s temper so that Zakiel would have cause to send him and his Hunter, Saigar, back to Ka-Teru in shame. 

But it wasn’t Zakiel that he was most angry with.  After all, this was a game they had played their entire lives.  It was Karma, the high and mighty Lady Techu, who infuriated him.  He had spent this entire, hellish journey courting her favor.  Taking time each day to ride with her, gracing her with his company.  He had done everything but ask her to invite him to their tent for an evening meal, and yet the woman was too stupid to understand the most obvious of hints.  And now, after all of his efforts, there she was racing to Zakiel’s tent at the mere crook of a finger. 

The sound of the other Hunters as they laughed and talked while settling in for the evening had him gritting his teeth in anger.  He wanted to order them to silence, but he thought better of it at the last moment.  It wouldn’t do to display his temper again so soon after the tantrum he’d thrown when he’d learned that there was to be a dinner that he wasn’t invited to.  He’d been doing very well controlling his temper since that first day.  But he’d been caught off guard by this latest gesture of contempt from his cousin.

He and Saigar had been treated as the least important warriors in the caravan from the beginning, ordered to guard the diplos carrying the water barrels in the center of the caravan as though they were green boys.  He had applied to Zakiel for a turn guarding the rear, and for a chance to serve as guards to the women, as was right and fair.  But of course his requests had been denied.  Zakiel had told him that he and Saigar had not been planned for, nor needed, and that the only open position for them was to guard the water.  If he did not like it, Zakiel would hold no offense against him if he wished to take his Hunter and turn back to Ka-Teru.

But it would not be that easy to get rid of him.  Not this time.  And if Lady Techu preferred Zakiel’s company over his own, then so be it.  He would no longer play the fool to her.  It would have been better had she fallen victim to his charms, but clearly she was a woman without taste or passion.  Perhaps she was one who preferred other women.  Maybe that was why she suggested that Kapia and she share a tent.  He smiled at the thought, but there was no humor in the expression. 

When the sun set, he continued to watch the party by the light of their torches, considering and discarding various plans.  By the time he turned and headed to his own tent he still had not made a final decision.  The only thing he knew for certain was that he was finished being nice. 

***

When Karma realized that she was to sit beside Prince Zakiel for the evening meal around the fire, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.  It was true that Zakiel was often warm and kind to her lately, like earlier that day when they’d discussed detouring to the oasis.  But there were also times when he still appeared cold and standoffish toward her, and even with her new, better understanding of him, she rarely understood why.  After weeks of trekking through the desert with the same scenery day after day, her mind did not feel up to the task of mentally sparring with a taciturn Prince. 

Much to her relief, Zakiel seemed to be in a good mood, and there was much laughter and good conversation over dinner.  Afterward, the Prince’s attendant, Timon, brought out a flask of wine at Zakiel’s direction, and poured a glass for each of them.

“To the success of the Orb Quest,” the Prince said, raising his glass high.”

Everyone raised their glass in the toast, then drank to it.  Karma sipped her wine carefully, then turned to Zakiel in surprise.

“This is very good,” she said.  “What is it?”

“I am pleased you enjoy it,” Zakiel replied.  “I confess that, as wines go, it is the only one that appeals to me.  It is made from a fruit that grows far to the south called a
prigate
.  I know that bringing wine on a journey such as this was frivolous, but I thought perhaps a bit of frivolity would come in handy at some point.”