The Quest for the Heart Orb (The Orbs of Rathira)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “You will stay?”

  “Do you object?”

  “No, not at all,” she said.

  “Then I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to,” he promised. “When you wake up, I will be here.”

  “Thank you.”

  ***

  The announcement of King Rhobar’s passing the next morning was a blow to everyone. Rhobar had been a good king, and a good man. Most of the Hunters had known him since childhood, their own fathers having been close friends of the king.

  Zakiel led them all in the Song of Passing, the traditional mourning song for one of high station. He didn’t miss the curious looks he received from Tomas, Bredon, Garundel, and a few others for his choice and he understood them. He should have sung the Song of Two Kings, the formal song of one king’s passing and a new king’s acceptance of the position, powers, and responsibilities that went with the title. But he could not bring himself to do it. Not yet. There would be time enough for that when he returned to Ka-Teru. After the Djinn and Marene were vanquished and their world was safe.

  Zakiel gave everyone a few minutes after the completion of the song to prepare for the day’s travel, then signaled that it was time to leave. For the first time since beginning the Orb Quest, Zakiel was glad to ride ahead of everyone else. That way, no one could see the tears on his cheeks.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was early in the afternoon on the day they reached Coris, the landing on the banks of Ank-Teru, the River of Life, where it met the mountains, lightening everyone’s spirits for the first time in days. Karma was almost surprised to see the same valley they’d camped in on the first night of the Orb Quest, even though she’d known it was their destination.

  “It’s nice to breathe the scent of my homeland once again,” Zakiel said as they stood beside the river waiting for the tents to be set up.

  Once they’d reached the river, it had taken less time than expected to climb out of the mountains since everyone was so eager to leave the cold behind. Even the diplo had walked more quickly than usual, as though anxious to reach the desert they’d been bred for.

  “It’s too bad we can’t float upstream as quickly as we came downstream,” Karma said.

  “I know, valia,” Zakiel said, “but we are nearly there.” Karma started to turn in his arms, then stopped as they both watched Bredon approach, the expression on his face warning them that he brought news.

  As soon as their tent was ready Karma, Kapia, and Nikura sat in a circle with Zakiel and Bredon. Timon stood outside with orders to keep everyone away until further notice.

  “All right Bredon, we’re ready,” Zakiel said.

  “All four of the Djinn kings have agreed to create a new scepter.”

  Zakiel took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he endured the sudden rush of adrenaline that flooded his body at the news. “How long will it take them to make it?”

  “Marene suspects it will take about a week, but there’s no way to be sure. She is now certain, however, that she can unmake the tear in the pyramid.”

  “Unmake?” Kapia asked.

  “That’s the word she used,” Bredon said with a shrug.

  “We’ll have to make sure she does it before the Djinn complete the new scepter,” Zakiel said.

  Karma grimaced. “I don’t like having to rely on Marene for something so important. Isn’t there some way we can close the tear ourselves?” She turned to Nikura. “What about the Ti-Ank? Can it be used to close the tear?”

  “No,” Nikura said sharply. “You go cannot go anywhere near the tear with the Ti-Ank. The results would be quite catastrophic.”

  “Why?” Karma asked, surprised by Nikura’s vehemence.

  “Wait, please,” Zakiel said, holding up one hand as he looked back and forth between his wife and the Sphin. “Karma, will you use the Ti-Ank so that we can all hear Nikura?”

  “Of course,” Karma said, reaching for her staff. She focused for a moment, then Nikura was surrounded by a golden light that only she could see. “All right Nikura, go ahead.”

  “We call the passage from Skiatos to Rathira a tear, as though it were a rip in a piece of cloth,” Nikura said. “In reality, it’s a conduit made of pure energy that connects Rathira to Skiatos across an intra-dimensional rift.

  “The Ti-Ank works by converting the raw power of Rathira into a focused stream that can be manipulated by Lady Techu, or whoever else possesses the talent and strength for it. The user must feed their own energy into the Ti-Ank to make it work, of course. In short, the energy in the Ti-Ank, regardless of its source, can be used to control the power of Rathira.”

  Nikura paused to see if everyone was following him. Since no one asked any questions, he continued. “If the Ti-Ank were to come too close to the tear’s energy, it would immediately begin absorbing it, just as it absorbs the energy Lady Techu sends into it. But you, Lady Techu, are nowhere near strong enough to withstand or control that much energy flowing into the Ti-Ank, or the unimaginable power that energy would draw from Rathira. It would destroy you in an instant.”

  “I have the power of the Tigren and the Vatra,” Zakiel said. “Not the full power, but if I used the Ti-Ank would I be able to do what needs to be done?”

  Nikura thought about that for a few moments before answering. “I don’t believe so, Highness, no.”

  “How much power would be needed to destroy the tear?” Bredon asked. “Do you know?”

  “The tear cannot be destroyed,” Nikura said. “Not in the way you mean it. It can be unmade, just as Marene means to do with Zatroa. The only other option is for the energy that the tear is made of to be used, depleted in some way. Vatra Gariel intended to use the energy of the tear to create a shield around Rathira that would block future tears. Unfortunately, he discovered that he’d have to be able to control two different energy sources to succeed, and he did not have that talent.”

  “Two different energy sources?” Karma asked. “Like I do with the Ti-Ank?”

  “Yes, exactly,” Nikura said. “You use your own power to gather and focus the power of Rathira. Vatra Gariel tried to use the energy of the tear to gather and focus the power of Rathira to create a shield, but he failed. That was, in fact, our last attempt to manage the tear ourselves before building the pyramid and creating the orbs.”

  “That was also when the Ti-Ank was created,” Zakiel said.

  “Yes, it was,” Nikura agreed.

  “All right, I’m convinced,” Karma said. “No Ti-Ank around the tear.”

  “I wonder if there’s some way to double my power as Vatra,” Zakiel said. His eyes went to Bredon. “Could Marene make me more powerful using the Djinn’s scepter?”

  “I’ve no idea, but I can certainly ask her,” Bredon replied.

  “No,” Karma said sharply. “Your father made it perfectly clear that you cannot withstand the full power of Vatra until you can summon it yourself. I will not help you summon it, nor will I stand by and watch if you ask Marene to do it. You have to share your power with another, Zakiel. You can’t throw away your life doing something you know will destroy you.”

  “What I can’t do, valia, is plan our best course of action when I don’t know who I’m supposed to give that power to, what it’s to be used for, or even how to go about transferring it to begin with,” Zakiel said, struggling to hold his frustration in check.

  “Then we need to come up with a plan that doesn’t rely on the Vatra’s power,” Karma said.

  “Our best hope is for Marene to remove, or unmake, the existing tear from the pyramid before the Djinn can use it as a beacon to create a new one,” Bredon said.

  “How long will it take us to reach Ka-Teru from here?” Karma asked.

  “Four days on diploback if we push them hard, and if we leave the spare diplos, tents, and luggage behind.”

  “If it takes a week for the Djinn to make a new scepter, then we’ll have plenty of time,” Kapia said, then immediately blushed. “Sorry. We still have to
get past the demons, don’t we?”

  “Yes,” Karma said. “Not only that, but Ren needs to retrieve the Heart Orb, and we don’t have a clue where the keystone is, or even what it looks like. We’ll need both before we can summon the pyramid.”

  “You don’t have any idea where the keystone is to be found?” Zakiel asked Nikura.

  “No one does,” Nikura replied. “However, I suspect that the three orbs together will provide the Orb Maidens with the location of the keystone. I assume it will be somewhere near Ka-Teru since that is the location of the final orb.”

  “Let’s hope your assumption is correct, Nikura,” Zakiel said. “We won’t be able to travel anywhere else for it. Our time is up.”

  “I’m confused as to why time is such a concern,” Kapia said. “Since the Djinn need us to retrieve the pyramid before they can create a new tear, it seems to me that we can take our time until we actually recall it.”

  “You’ve forgotten why we have to retrieve the pyramid to begin with,” Zakiel said. “If we don’t recall the pyramid before the thousand years are up, it will snap back, causing an event that will destroy Rathira completely. Unfortunately, we don’t have precise records as to when the thousand years will be up. Our earliest estimate is about a week from now.”

  Kapia blushed again. “I’m sorry, Zakiel, I should have remembered that.”

  “It’s easy to forget one danger when we’re so focused on another,” Zakiel said with a little smile. He made up his mind. “We’ll spend the rest of this day making the necessary adjustments to lighten our load and reduce the size of our party. In the morning we’ll make for Ka-Teru as fast as we can. Once we get there we’ll assess the best way to reach the island. If we can’t do it on our own, perhaps Marene will consent to help us.”

  “Do you want me to ask her?” Bredon asked.

  “Not yet,” Zakiel replied. “As Karma said, I’d prefer to do as much without asking her for help as possible.”

  ***

  It took the remainder of the day to decide what, and who, to leave behind with the spare diplos and make the necessary preparations. The streamlined version of the Orb Quest would include all of the twenty six remaining Knights and Hunters, four drovers to care for the animals, Prince Zakiel, Karma, the Orb Maidens, and Lashi, Caral, and Timon. Karma hadn’t expected Lashi and Caral to accompany them, and wanted them to stay behind where they’d be safe. Kapia, Tiari, and Ren agreed with her, but none of the men did. Evidently the idea that they might need to brush their own hair or fetch their own food was simply not to be allowed. Timon, apparently, always accompanied Zakiel into the field but at least he would be armed.

  There was a feeling of heightened energy throughout the camp while the preparations were being made, particularly among the Hunters. This was the final leg of their journey, the culmination of all that the Orb Quest had been through over the past few months, and everyone was looking forward to having something to fight besides the weather. Almost everyone.

  Marl walked toward the women’s tent, his own excitement tempered by the knowledge that for each step they took toward Ka-Teru, the closer Ren got to the water tower, and the Heart Orb. He knew how much danger both Kapia and Tiari had faced while claiming their orbs, and he had no doubt that Ren would face danger as well. The difference was that, unlike the other Orb Maidens, Ren would have to claim the Heart Orb alone. He couldn’t go underwater with her and guard her back. No one could.

  It was knowledge that ate at him each and every day, but there was nothing to be done about it. He was going to have to watch the woman he loved go into danger alone and unarmed, without aid or protection of any kind. He’d stand at the top of Djeb-Ib on the roof of the palace and guard the tower with his life, of course. But, if there were already demons in the water, a real possibility since they’d overrun Ka-Teru, there’d be nothing he could do to help Ren.

  Marl nodded to the Hunter standing guard in front of the women’s tent, then looked around for Stiven who was supposed to be guarding Ren. “Corbon,” he asked. “Where is Stiven?”

  “He’s watching over Hara Ren,” Corbon replied. “She went down to the river, and asks that you come to her there when you can.” Marl bowed briefly in thanks, then turned and headed toward the beach.

  Ren sat on the sand at the water’s edge, watching as the last remnants of daylight faded from the sky, leaving the river a swath of impenetrable inky blackness. From the first moment she’d laid eyes on the river she’d felt a pulling sensation, as though the water itself called to her. At the same time, something else warned her that the time was not yet right for her to enter the water. As the day had worn on, the opposing urges had grown stronger, giving her a painful headache.

  “Ren?” Marl said, approaching quietly.

  “Hello, Marl,” she said, relaxing at the sound of his voice.

  “Are you all right?” he asked after settling down beside her. “You seemed distracted today.”

  “I am distracted,” Ren said. “I have this compulsion to get up and leap into the water. It’s been growing stronger all day long.”

  “Then perhaps you should give into it,” he said.

  “No, not yet,” Ren said, shaking her head. “I must wait until we come within sight of the city, or risk losing the orb altogether.” She turned to look at him, the expression on her face one of absolute bafflement. “I’ve no idea why I said that, or even what it means.”

  “Do you mean Ausar, or Ka-Teru?”

  “What is the difference between the two?”

  “Ausar is the city of the people,” Marl replied. “Ka-Teru is on an island a couple of miles beyond it.”

  “Ausar,” she said without hesitation. “It will be on the far bank, right?”

  Marl nodded, but he was confused. “I thought that the orb was in Djeb-Ib, the water tower in the palace.”

  “I thought so too,” Ren said. “And maybe it is. But I still have to go into the river. I feel it. I just don’t know why.”

  “Trust yourself, Ren,” Marl said. “You have good instincts. They will not steer you wrong.”

  “Why do you have so much faith in me?”

  “Because I see you, Maiden of the Heart,” Marl said, brushing her cheek lightly with his fingertips. “I see your heart, and your will, and your quiet courage.” Ren leaned her cheek into his hand and smiled, then turned her gaze back to the river. Marl reached for her hand, entwining their fingers.

  “Marl, may I ask a favor of you?” she asked after a long silence.

  “Whatever it is, it is already granted.”

  “Will you wait for me, when I go into the water?”

  “I will not move from the place you leave me until you return,” he promised. They fell silent again, needing no words. They were together, their hearts in tune with each other, and that was all either of them needed at the moment. Marl waited until the moon peeked above the horizon, then he tugged gently on her hand until she turned her face to his. “Will you marry me, Ren?”

  “Of course I will,” Ren replied, smiling as she squeezed his hand gently. “Did you doubt it?”

  “No,” he said. “I will never doubt you. You fill all of the empty places in my soul.”

  “As you do mine,” she said softly. “Will you speak with my father?”

  “First thing in the morning, beloved.”

  “Thank you.” They fell silent again, watching as moonshine lit a silver path along the river and fish leapt into the air, seeking insects drawn to the light. This time, it was Ren who broke the silence. “I need to ask Kapia and Tiari to check the orbs again.”

  “Check the orbs?” Marl repeated questioningly.

  “Yes,” Ren said, then explained what she meant. “I suddenly feel that it’s very important we do that before we go any further.”

  “Now?” Marl asked.

  “Yes, now,” Ren said, sighing softly. She would have preferred to sit with Marl a little longer, but once the idea had entered her mind, the need
to follow through on it grew stronger by the moment.

  Marl stood and reached down for her. She smiled up at him as she placed her small hand in his large, calloused one. “Do you think it’s too late to disturb them?” she asked, brushing the sand from her skirt.

  “This concerns the orbs,” Marl said. “I don’t think any time would be too late for that.”

  ***

  Ren, Tiari, and Kapia took their hands from the two glowing orbs at the same time. Karma gestured to Lashi, who brought them hot herbal tea, a blend intended to help them all relax. Karma wanted some, but passed, the health of her babies too important to risk for the pleasure of a cup of tea.

  “I understand now why I’ve had such a strong feeling that I needed to go into the river,” Ren said. “What I do not understand is Marl.”

  “Marl?” Karma asked, glancing at the other two women who both shook their heads. “What about Marl?”

  “You didn’t see anything about Marl?” Ren asked Tiari and Kapia. They shook their heads again. “The orbs indicated that he’s supposed to go into the water with me,” she said. “I just don’t understand how. If he were Mareon, he would have told me.” She bit her lip nervously. “Wouldn’t he?”

  “Of course he would have,” Karma said. “There’s an explanation for what you saw, Ren. We just need to figure out what it is.”

  “I didn’t see anything about Ren, or Marl, or the Heart Orb,” Kapia said. “What about you, Tiari?”

  “No, I didn’t either,” she replied. “Did you see anything about the Heart Orb, Ren?”

  “Yes, I did,” Ren replied, lowering her voice so that it couldn’t be heard outside the walls of the tent. “The orb isn’t where we thought. It’s under the island, hidden behind a marked stone in the wall of the tower. Once I retrieve it, I need to find another stone and use the orb to activate some sort of mechanism. It opens a door, I think. Or…a path? I’m not sure. I just know it’s very important that I do it.”