Worrow thought about that for a few moments, his forehead furrowed in thought. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind about something. He gestured for his apprentice to leave them, and waited until the flap of the tent closed behind the young man.
“Sir Bredon, I ask that you check now to be certain that Marene is not listening.”
Bredon did as Worrow asked, checking carefully to be sure. He nodded. “She is still sleeping,” he said.
“I know nothing of the artifact you speak of,” Worrow said, his brow furrowed with worry. “But Darkly Fen is a dark and treacherous place that is never spoken of. Those who enter, do not return.”
“Demons?” Bredon asked.
“That has long been my suspicion,” Worrow said.
“I know very little of this place,” Bredon said. “Why do you treat it with such secrecy?”
“Do you know, Sir Bredon, that the female who currently resides within you is now demon?” Worrow asked, his voice almost gentle.
“I felt that she was evil, but demon?” Bredon asked in surprise. “How do you know this? How is such a thing possible?”
“She attempted to steal the Moon Orb,” Worrow said. “She lost the battle and somehow possessed a demon. When she did that, she became fully demon herself. The demon was destroyed, however, and Marene had no choice but to find another to possess. She used you. Now, she wants you to enter Darkly Fen in search of an object of power. A place I believe to be guarded by demon-kind. I wonder why it is that such an object should be surrounded by demons, yet no demon has used it?”
Bredon thought about that, but no answer came to him. “I don’t know, Worrow,” he said finally. “All I know is that this is the only chance I have to be rid of her. I must take it.”
“How do you know that what she told you is true?” Worrow asked.
“Unless you know of another way, it is a risk I must take,” Bredon said. “I cannot return to the Orb Quest as I am. Nor do I intend to wander the world alone for the remainder of my days while sharing my body and mind with Marene, be she demon or not.”
“I might be able to help you,” Worrow said. “I make no promises, but I am willing to try if you are.”
“I am willing, Worrow,” Bredon said. “What do you want to do?”
“That depends,” Worrow said. “How do you think Marene managed to gain entry into your mind?”
Bredon stared at Worrow for a long moment, his face stoic as his mind raced. Why had he not expected that question? Now that it had been asked, he realized he should have prepared for it. He could not, would not, answer it. But he had to say something.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “I was more concerned with how to get rid of her, or how to control her than I was with wondering how she got there. Can you tell me how it happened?”
Worrow studied Bredon carefully before nodding slowly. “Yes, Prince Zakiel, Princess Kapia and Lady Techu told me how it happened.”
“They know?” Bredon asked, his lips suddenly numb with shock though he was very careful not to allow his feelings to show.
“Yes, they believe so,” Worrow replied. “The knife that you gave to Princess Kapia contained dark magic. Nikura sensed it when the Princess prepared to use it while attempting to retrieve the Moon Orb. They assumed that was how Marene was able to find them. Nikura also scented blood on the knife, which Princess Kapia confirmed as being yours since she’d seen you cut yourself with it.”
“I gave that to her so that she could use it to protect herself,” Bredon said. “Instead, it drew evil to her.” His eyes widened suddenly in fear. “Please tell me that she does not still carry the knife.”
“No, she does not,” Worrow replied, mildly surprised by the question. “Why would you imagine she would?”
“Because the knife has long been important to my family,” Bredon said. “I was afraid she might retain the knife for that reason.”
“She no longer carries it,” Worrow said. “I do not know what she did with it.”
“I don’t care what she did with it so long as she doesn’t have it with her,” Bredon said. “There is nothing more important to me than Kapia’s life and safety, not even Mintaka-Til, The Blade of the Builder. Worrow, do you really think you will be able to help me?”
“I will try,” Worrow said. “I will have you drink a special tea that will make you sleep deeply for a time. If you agree to it.”
“Yes, of course I agree,” Bredon said.
Worrow nodded and called his apprentice back inside. He gave him careful instructions on preparing the tea, then turned back to Bredon. “I do have one concern with this tea I’m about to give you. It is possible that it will affect your memory for a day or two.”
“Affect it how?” Bredon asked, suddenly wary.
“You may not remember anything that happens for a period of time after you drink it,” Worrow explained.
“Why not?” Bredon asked, not liking this at all.
“The tea will send you into a very deep sleep, quieting both your thinking mind, and the part of your mind that remains awake even while you sleep. This will allow me to delve into your mind much more deeply, so that I can find Marene and attempt to vanquish her. But, as I said, it may cause memory loss for a short period of time.”
Knowing he had no other choice, he drank the bitter tea that Worrow’s apprentice handed him. It didn’t take long for the brew to take effect. He remembered Worrow telling him to lie down and relax, that he would awaken soon. And after that, nothing.
Bredon fed his fire and sipped his tea, going over every moment of his time with Worrow again, step by step, searching for some further scrap of memory that would tell him what had happened after he’d drunk Worrow’s tea. But his mind was a complete blank from that moment until he’d awakened to find his diplo tied to a tree and himself on the ground in his bedroll.
Finally, he came to a conclusion. If he didn’t know what had happened, maybe Marene did. If Worrow’s attempt to remove her had failed and she was still inside of him. Bredon set his cup down and braced himself for the worst before reaching into that corner of his mind where he’d found Marene before.
And found her.
He sighed deeply, then swallowed back his disappointment. It would not do to reveal any sort of weakness to Marene. When he was certain his emotions were tightly under control, he pushed at Marene, trying to waken her. It took a few jabs to get a response, but he was determined. He needed to know how much time had passed since his last memory, and what had happened during that time. Where was Worrow? Why was he alone? Where was he?
“What?” Marene snapped.
“I don’t remember anything that happened after drinking Worrow’s tea,” he said. “Fill me in.”
“What makes you think I know anything?” Marene asked.
“Don’t play games with me, Marene,” he warned in his sternest, most commanding tone, the one that made even experienced Hunters stand tall and listen. “Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing happened,” Marene replied. “Worrow tried to evict me, and it didn’t work. When he realized he was talking to me rather than you, he got very rude and refused to speak further. He packed up his tent and his people and went back to wherever he’d come from.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know,” Marene replied. “One day, three days, what difference does it make? Now leave me alone. I did my share while you slept, now it’s your turn.”
“Worrow told me that you are demon now, Marene,” Bredon said.
“Worrow doesn’t know as much as you, or he, thinks,” Marene replied testily. “Now leave me alone, Bredon.”
“First tell me what where we are.”
“On the way to Darkly Fen,” Marene said.
“Which direction is it?” Bredon asked, wishing he’d gotten the information from Worrow. He’d been sidetracked by the idea of Worrow ridding him of Marene.
“South,” Marene replied.
Bred
on felt Marene withdraw and knew that she would not respond further. He sat for a time, trying to come up with new options. In the end, he decided that there weren’t any. Whatever Worrow had done, it hadn’t worked. Demon or not, he had no choice now but to go along with Marene’s plan to retrieve this mysterious artifact from Darkly Fen. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that there was another choice, but he refused to listen. Defying Marene and spending the remainder of his life with her in his head meant giving up Kapia, and as far as he was concerned, that was not an option at all.
His decision made, he got up and checked the diplo, scratching it behind the ears for a few moments as he thought about Kapia. It had only been a few days since he’d seen her, but it felt like so much longer.
When he returned to the fire he took off his boots, finished his tea, and crawled into his bed roll. It was still another hour before full dark, but he was ready for sleep. His mind didn’t remember anything, but his body was exhausted.
Chapter Five
Tiari sat as still as she could in the saddle, afraid to move for fear that the animal beneath her would suddenly take off running. She glanced down at the ground, which was much too far away for comfort, then quickly looked up again. She was startled to see Tomas walking toward her from the far side of the clearing.
The first time she’d looked at the Prince, she’d thought him beautiful, and he was. Compared to Una, the only person she’d seen since her mother’s death, all of these people looked beautiful to her. But there was something about Tomas that drew her, and it was more than his physical beauty, which he certainly had plenty of. In many ways he was the opposite of the Prince.
Where Prince Zakiel had black hair, Tomas had blonde. The Prince’s eyes were a cool blue, Tomas’s eyes were warm brown. Tomas was not as broad shouldered as the Prince. He had a longer, leaner build that she found interesting to watch as he moved toward her in his black leather pants, his black vest shifting with each step to give her a tantalizing view of his muscular chest.
Tiari felt her cheeks heat and dropped her eyes, shocked at herself. Why had she been staring at him that way? And why did she have such strange, quivery feelings inside of her whenever she looked at him? Or thought of him? There was so much she didn’t understand, so much she didn’t know.
“Are you ready to get down?” Tomas asked, stopping beside her diplo’s head.
“I think so,” she replied, trying to pretend she was unaware that her face was bright red. She turned to see both Karma and Kapia talking to their attendants, neither of them on their diplos. “Is everyone stopping now?”
“Yes,” Tomas replied. “Prince Zakiel has decided we’ll camp here for the night, then get an early start in the morning.”
“In that case, yes, I would like to get down now, please,” she said, hoping he didn’t notice the slight tremble in her voice.
Tomas moved so that he was beside the diplo. “Swing your leg over and slide down,” he said. “Don’t worry, I shall catch you.”
In spite of Tomas’s calm words, Tiari was quaking with fear. But it wasn’t Tomas, or the diplo, or even falling that frightened her, though she was a little nervous about that last one. It was the fear of failing. Failing to be what these people expected her to be. Failing to be likable enough for them to want to keep her with them. Failing to learn everything fast enough so that they did not see her as a burden or, worse, a helpless cripple.
There was just so much! The past two hours had taught her how little she knew about the world. She’d gone from a cold, dark, lonely existence to an abundance of everything so quickly that it was more than a little overwhelming. Nevertheless, she was determined to learn as much as she could, as quickly as she could, and she had chosen Karma and Kapia as her role models. She’d realized at once that they were strong, brave, confident young women, and she wanted to be like them.
The one thing she was not afraid of was returning to her small, dark hut. On that matter she was absolutely and irrevocably decided. She would fight to the death before she allowed anyone to lock her away again.
Tiari released her grip on the saddle and cautiously raised her right leg up and over the neck of the diplo. Knowing that Tomas was standing beside her, ready to catch her if she fell, made her feel safe, though she wasn’t sure why since she barely knew him.
Once she had her leg over and was sitting sideways on the saddle, she breathed a soft sigh of relief and smiled down at Tomas. “I did it,” she said.
“Yes, you did,” Tomas said, returning her smile. “Now, just let yourself slide down and I’ll catch you.”
Tiari nodded, then swallowed hard before pressing her hands against the saddle, pushing herself into a slide. She’d slid only a few inches before Tomas caught her around the waist and lifted her away from the diplo, setting her gently on the ground.
“Thank you, Sir Tomas,” she said after he released her and stepped back, remembering what Karma and Kapia had told her about using first names without permission. She’d forgotten earlier, and called Tomas by name at least once. She’d have to be more careful, she admonished herself. She needed to memorize all the rules, and quickly, so she didn’t offend anyone.
“You are most welcome, Hara Tiari,” he replied with a polite bow. They stood quietly, staring into each other’s eyes for a long moment, drinking each other in.
“May I ask you a question?” Tomas asked.
“Of course,” Tiari replied. “What would you like to know?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, and if I am, I apologize beforehand,” Tomas said, feeling nervous all of a sudden, “but, how well can you see?”
“That’s not a rude question,” Tiari replied. “I know my eyes look different.”
“That’s a relief,” Tomas said. “ I didn’t want to hurt your feelings or upset you. But I am curious.”
“As far as I know I see as well as anyone,” she replied. “The only difference is that I can only see in the light of the sun.”
“You can’t see at night, not even by the light of a flame?” Tomas asked.
“No, I can’t,” Tiari replied. “Nor by moonlight, or starlight. Only sunlight.”
“What if it’s daytime, but the sky is dark with clouds?”
“Even the small amount of light that filters through the clouds is sunlight, so I can still see, though not as clearly as when the sky is clear,” Tiari explained.
Tomas thought of the tiny hut she’d been locked inside of. After he’d helped her into her saddle and returned to his own diplo, he’d hung back a little to look at it. He now realized that she would have been completely blind whenever she was inside, and that thought made him angry.
“Thank you for not being offended,” Tomas said, hiding his anger carefully. “Sometimes I say things that I shouldn’t, and don’t realize it until too late. Social situations are often difficult for me.”
“I can certainly understand that,” Tiari replied. “Everything is new to me. I have no real idea of how I’m supposed to behave.”
“You need only be yourself,” Tomas said. “I have no doubt that everyone will like you within moments of meeting you.”
Tiari felt her face heat. She wasn’t sure if what he said was true or not, but she liked that he said it. She realized she was staring at him again and shifted her gaze, feeling her cheeks heat further.
“Greetings, Cousin Tomas,” Kapia said, approaching them with a faint smile. “Our tent is ready, Tiari, if you’d like to go inside now.”
“All right,” Tiari said. “Thank you, Sir Tomas, for your assistance.”
“You are most welcome, Hara Tiari,” Tomas said with another bow. He nodded to Kapia, then turned and walked away. Tiari watched after him for a moment, then turned to Kapia. “He is your cousin?”
“Yes, he is,” Kapia replied. “His mother and my father were siblings.”
“Were?” Tiari asked, walking beside Kapia toward the far side of the clearing that had been chosen for their camp.
“Tomas’s parents have long been gone from this world,” Kapia said. “He was ten years old when it happened and I think that, in many ways, he has never really gotten over it.”
“That is very sad,” Tiari said.
“Yes,” Kapia replied. “We all have some sadness in our lives.”
Tiari could only nod at the truth of that statement. “This is our tent right here,” Kapia said waving toward a structure that was at least four times the size of the hut Tiari had spent her life in.
“All of that for only two of us?” she asked in surprise.
“Not exactly,” Kapia replied. “There are three compartments in the tent. One is mine, one is yours, and the largest one, at the front, is where we usually gather to eat, talk, or work. That’s also where my attendant, Caral, and Karma’s attendant, Lashi, both sleep. The four of us, five now with you, are the only females, so we tend to stick together. I hope you won’t mind sharing with three of us.”
“That sounds wonderful to me,” Tiari said, excited at the prospect of sharing living space with other women. She had long wondered what it would be like to have friends. Would so many dreams come true so easily?
Kapia pulled the flap back and stood aside so that Tiari could enter before her. Tiari took three steps inside, then stopped as soon as Kapia entered and dropped the flap behind her. “Go ahead and have a seat there on one of those cushions,” Kapia said, gesturing toward a circle of four thick cushions in the center of the chamber that ran the width of the tent.
Kapia frowned when she realized that Tiari hadn’t moved and turned back to look at her. Tiari was standing in one spot, an expression of worry and embarrassment on her face, her eyes staring blankly ahead. The dark, heavy fabric of the tent allowed some of the fading light to filter in, but not enough for her to be certain of herself in a new environment.
“I’m sorry, Tiari,” Kapia said, understanding at once. “That was thoughtless of me.” She walked back to the entryway and pulled the flap back, tying it open with the straps sewn there for that purpose. Tiari relaxed as the sunlight coming in through the narrow opening allowed her to get a general idea of her surroundings. She spotted the cushions Kapia had mentioned and moved toward them just as a woman she recognized as Kapia’s attendant approached her.
Quest for the Sun Orb Page 6
