The Quest for the Heart Orb (11 page)

“We’re fortunate it didn’t attack anyone sooner,” Garundel said, hiding his surprise.  That was the most Marl had said in weeks, and he hadn’t even had to drag it out of him.  What had changed?  “Thank you, Sir Marl, for your quick actions.” He paused to look Marl up and down with a critical eye.  “You appear to have recovered well from your ordeal.  What do you think about returning to full duty?  Are you ready for that?”

“Very much so, Sir Garundel,” Marl said, mildly surprised.  He’d thought he was being kept off regular duty because he was no longer trusted. 

“Excellent.  I’ll tell Sir Tomas to add you to the rotation beginning tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Sir Garundel,” Marl said, trying to quell the rush of excitement that filled him.  Regular rotation meant he’d spend at least two hours each day in close proximity to the women.  And Ren.  He tried to tell himself it was a mistake, that he should ask Garundel to modify his rotation, but he could not make himself say the words.

Instead, he watched Garundel walk away, then turned back to see if he could catch another glimpse of Ren.  Unfortunately, the women were nowhere to be seen.  He leaned against the building and prepared to wait.  They’d return before too long, and he really wanted just one more quick look at Ren.

Chapter Four

“
Djeb-Ib
,” Zakiel said, shaking his head.  “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“
Djeb-Ib
?” Karma repeated slowly.  “What does that mean?”

“
Ib
is an ancient word that means mind, heart, and soul, collectively.  It’s that which makes a person who and what he or she is,” Zakiel explained.  “
Djeb
simply means
tower
.  Kapia didn’t tell you this?”

“Not the name, no,” Karma said.  “She did say that the palace was built around the tower, and that it’s filled with water.”

“Yes,” Zakiel said.  “The water in the tower isn’t river water.  It’s spring water brought up from deep within the earth, though no one knows how.  It’s said that Vatra Gariel created the tower and whatever method keeps it filled, and I’ve no doubt that’s true.  I was taught that the tower was built to help keep the palace cool, and to provide a ready supply of clean water to the palace.  Suddenly, I have my doubts.”

“What do you mean?” Karma asked.

“The fact that it’s the location of the Heart Orb makes me think that the palace was built around the tower in order to hide it, and the cooling effect is just a benefit that someone noticed after the fact, which became a good excuse for the tower’s existence,” Zakiel said. 

“Wait, I seem to remember that the stele at the entrance to the island indicated that Arth Mar, the Builder, built Ka-Teru.  Now you’re saying King Gariel built it?”

“Arth Mar did build Ka-Teru,” Zakiel said, proud of Karma for remembering something he doubted most of his own people would know.  “Early battles with demons all but destroyed the original palace.  After the pyramid was sent away, King Gariel rebuilt the palace, and much of Ka-Teru as well.”

“I see,” Karma said.  “You look worried.”

“I am,” Zakiel said.  “If the Heart Orb is in the tower, I don’t see how it can be retrieved.  The tower is as tall as the palace and we’ve no idea how deeply into the ground it goes.  Since we don’t know how the water is pumped into it, we can’t stop it, or empty it.  I’d suggest using the power of Vatra, but only an Orb Maiden may claim an orb.  I’ve no doubt that tampering with that tower in any way, as Vatra or not, would be an enormous mistake.”

“I don’t think retrieval is going to be a problem,” Karma said.  “Ren is Mareon.”

Zakiel stared at Karma for a moment, then chuckled.  “I didn’t know that the Mareon still existed.  Once again luck shines upon us.”

“I’m not so sure it’s luck,” Karma said.  “Not completely, anyway.  There are too many coincidences for my taste.  Such as Tiari’s eyes being unique in their ability to see the path in the cavern, and only Kapia’s blood being capable of opening the Cradle of the Moon Orb.  Now we learn the Heart Orb is in a tower filled with a hundred feet or more of water, and Ren just happens to be able to shift into a Mareon with gills, scales and a tail.  It’s too much to be mere luck.  And I’m not going to touch my own arrival on Rathira with the Ti-Ankh.”

“I see what you mean,” Zakiel said.  “But how could anyone have known so much of what would happen a thousand years in advance?”

“Maybe Vatra Gariel was able to see the future,” Karma suggested.  “Or maybe one of the shaman who aided in the creation of the orbs and the pyramid had the ability.  Who knows?”  Karma sighed.  “It doesn’t really matter.  All that matters right now is that we know where the final orb is, and how it can be retrieved.”

“Agreed,” Zakiel said.  “Did they get an indication of how much time we have?”

“Only the feeling that we should begin moving again.  We all agreed tomorrow was best.”

“Are you sure you’re up to that?” Zakiel asked, torn between the desire to return home as quickly as possible, and the need to protect Karma and their unborn children.

“If I get tired, I’ll let you know,” Karma said.  “Tiari says she’s almost fully healed as well, and besides, she’ll be riding, not walking.”

“Very well,” Zakiel said, then called for Timon.  A moment later Timon appeared as though from nowhere.  “Please summon Sir Tomas, Sir Garundel, and Sir Bredon.”

“Yes, Highness,” Timon said with a bow.  He turned and left as quickly as he’d come.

Zakiel got up and went into their sleeping chamber, returning a moment later with his charts which he proceeded to lay out in front of them.  “It looks like our best route is to go over the mountains to the northeast to where the river cuts through them.  From there it’s a short journey to the desert.”

“Looks like we’ve come full circle,” Karma said, studying the map intently.  “An odd, lopsided and uneven circle, but a circle nonetheless.”

“It won’t be easy in the mountains this time of year.  It’ll be cold and wet.”

“We prepared for winter before we came north,” Karma said.  “We’ll be fine and besides, we have no choice.  It’s either that or retrace our steps, and it’s easy to see that would be twice the distance.  How long do you think it will take us to reach the river?”

“At a guess, three weeks, depending on the weather.  Maybe less.  From the river, it’ll take another day through the mountains to reach the desert.  It’ll take another three or four days to reach Ka-Teru up river.”

“That’s nearly a month,” Karma said.  “We definitely need to get started.”

“Agreed,” Zakiel said.  The door opened, and Timon stood aside to let the Knights enter, led by Bredon.

Karma greeted the men politely and spoke with them for a few moments.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will let you have your meeting.”  The men bowed as she gestured to Lashi, who got up and followed her into the tent.

“We need to get busy packing, Lashi,” Karma said.  “The day is half gone, and we leave in the morning.”

“Don’t worry, Lady Techu,” Lashi said.  “This period of rest has given us time to finish sewing winter clothing, make some necessary repairs, and put several fresh coats of weatherproofing on the tents.  That will make a big difference if we must travel through rain and snow.”

“That’s good to know,” Karma said.  “Will it be too much trouble to prepare for travel by morning?”

“Not at all, Lady Techu,” Lashi assured her. 

“You’re such a blessing, Lashi,” Karma said.  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Thank you, Lady Techu,” Lashi said, pleased.  “May I speak freely for a moment?”

“Of course,” Karma said.  “You can always speak freely with me.”

“Then may I say that had I a daughter, I would have her be like you,” Lashi said.

“That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, Lashi,” Karma said, blinking back tears.  “Thank you.”

Lashi nodded, though she found it impossible to hide her smile.  She took a deep breath.  “I better get started.  Oh, perhaps I should inform Caral so that she can begin readying Princess Kapia’s things.  And Lady Tiari will need help as well.”

“Caral cannot do for Kapia, Tiari, and Ren all on her own,” Karma said.  “Would you mind continuing to help her out?  I wouldn’t ask, but there is no one else.  And I’ll speak to the other women.  None of us will mind doing a few things for ourselves.”

Lashi’s eyes widened, then narrowed, her chin going up stubbornly.  “Excuse me, my Lady, but it would be unseemly for either you or Princess Kapia to do chores.  I’d never be able to hold my head up again were I to allow such a thing to occur.  It would be nearly as bad for Lady Tiari and Hara Ren.  They are Orb Maidens, regardless of their birth or upbringing.”

“What do you propose we do then?” Karma asked, hiding her smile at Lashi’s quiet outrage.

“My duties for you are lessened greatly because Timon does so much, which has left me free to help Caral in the women’s tent,” she said.  “If we can have one of the youngsters among the drovers help with setting up the cots and trunks at the end of each day, collect firewood and draw water, that would help a great deal.”

“Excellent idea, Lashi,” Karma said.  “I will speak with Caral and then ask Timon to make arrangements for the extra help.”

“Thank you, Lady Techu,” Lashi said with a deep bow.  She watched Karma leave the tent, then set to work.

***

Ren walked away from the diplo paddock with Kapia, pleased with her introduction to the large beasts.  They looked frightening with their long fang-like tusks and strange, leathery hides, but they seemed to be as gentle as Karma, Kapia, and Tiari had told her.  With Kapia’s help, and the drover’s, she’d chosen a black one with white spots scattered all over its hide, and liquid black eyes that reminded her of Marl, though she would never have admitted that to anyone.

Now they were making their way back to where the huts were, and Ren found she was more relaxed than she’d been in a long time.  And hungry.  The stress of the past weeks had stolen her appetite, but it was back now, and with a vengeance.   

“Roesa?”

Ren stopped in her tracks, startled to hear her mother’s name.  A man stood a few yards away, staring at her with unfeigned shock.  He was very tall, and appeared to be older than the other men she’d seen wandering about with gray at his temples and deep lines at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth.  He took a step forward, then stopped, his frown deepening.  “You cannot be Roesa,” he said.  “It’s not possible.”

“Roesa was my mother’s name,” she said.  “Did you know her?”

“Was?” he asked, coming another step closer.  “She no longer lives?”

“No,” Ren replied, shaking her head slowly.  “She died many years ago.”

The man’s expression grew sad, and for a moment Ren thought she saw tears in his eyes.  Then he blinked several times and took a deep breath.

“May I ask, who are you?”

“I am Garundel,” he said, his eyes now fixed on hers.

It took every scrap of will Ren possessed to keep her expression from changing, to hide the sudden wave of conflicting emotions that flooded her.  She counted silently to ten, then took a deep steadying breath before she spoke.

“I have something that Roesa asked me to give to you, Sir Garundel, if I were ever to meet you,” she said.  “I don’t have it with me at the moment.”

“What did Roesa tell you of me?”

“Not very much,” Ren said, dropping her gaze to the ground as she narrowly avoided telling an outright lie.  “I was but six when she died.”

She peeked up in time to see Garundel nod, though his face was now as unreadable as stone.  He came another step closer, then stopped again, no more than a few feet away from her now.  “You are…Ren, Maiden of the Heart Orb.”  Ren heard the hesitation and bit her tongue to keep her curiosity in check.

“I am,” she said, raising her eyes again determinedly.

A distant shout caught Garundel’s attention and he looked back over his shoulder for a moment, then turned back to her with a frustrated sigh.  “I must tend to my duties, Hara Ren.  May I speak with you another time?”

“Of course,” Ren said, nearly choking on the words.  She wanted nothing more than to refuse, but that would surely raise questions she had no wish to answer.

“She’s staying with me tonight, Sir Garundel,” Kapia said, startling Ren.  She’d almost forgotten she was there.  “We’ll share the women’s tent while we travel.”

“Thank you, Highness,” Garundel said, bowing.  “Until later, then, Hara Ren.”

Ren nodded, but Garundel had already turned and begun walking away.  She stood stiffly as she watched him, struggling to accept the singular fact that, unexpectedly, inexplicably, unimaginably, she’d just met her father. 

“Come, Ren,” Kapia urged gently.  “Let’s go get cleaned up for dinner.”

“Yes, of course,” she said, turning with Kapia and blindly following where she lead.  Thankfully, Kapia did not ask any questions as she guided her back to the house and showed her into the room that would be hers for the night.  Ren sat on the edge of the cot that either Caral or Lashi had made up for her, waiting for the shock to dissipate.  When her pulse stopped pounding in her neck and wrists so fast that she couldn’t count it, she stood up and looked around the room.  She spotted her pack leaning against the wall and went to it.  There was a leather pouch tied to a loop inside the pack with a series of special knots that she worked free with trembling fingers.  The pouch was as wide as her hand and just as long, and contained a thin, flat metal box that she’d felt for years, but never actually seen.

The pouch had once had a drawstring opening, and hung from her mother’s belt.  One of Ren’s clearest memories was of watching her mother sew the opening of the pouch shut in the faint light of a small campfire.  When the pouch was sealed, Ren had solemnly promised that she would give it to her father, Garundel.  If he did not come for her before her twenty first birthday, the contents of the pouch would belong to her, and she could open it. 

Ren couldn’t count the number of times she’d held the pouch in her hands, just as she was now, trying to guess what it held.  An unexpected wave of resentment suddenly rose inside of her.  She’d kept this package safe for fifteen long years.  Long
lonely
years.  Now, when she was on the verge of reaching the age when she could finally open it and satisfy her curiosity, she had to hand it over to a complete stranger.