Quest for the Sun Orb

by Laura Jo Phillips

  ***

  “You can open your eyes now, Tomas,” Tiari said as soon as they were both safely on another narrow ledge at the far side of the Cavern.

  Tomas looked down, relieved to see solid rock beneath his feet, and feel a wall at his back. He leaned over and kissed Tiari. “Thank you, Tiari mine,” he said, holding her closely for a long moment. He then kissed her on the forehead and released her. “What next?”

  “I’m not sure,” Tiari said. “I can’t see anything at all except that path we just left, so it must be your turn.”

  Tomas looked around, squinting in the faint red light. He had to strain his eyes to see more than a couple of feet away, and even then it took a few moments to process the images. After a few moments he made out what appeared to be a deep indentation in the wall several yards from where they stood. The beginnings of a doorway or tunnel?

  “I think I see something, but we’ll need to get closer to it,” he said.

  “You lead the way this time,” Tiari said.

  “Put your hand on my back,” he said as he turned around. As soon as he felt her hands on him, he began walking forward, keeping close to the wall. “Yes, there seems to be another tunnel or room here,” he said. A few more steps and he turned into the opening to see that it was another dark, narrow tunnel.

  “Your turn again,” he said, stepping behind Tiari. Now that there wasn’t a steep drop off on one side of them, they both relaxed a little as they followed the tunnel which switched back and forth several times before ending in a large, brightly lit chamber.

  “I can see,” Tiari said, shocked. “How is it that I can see?”

  They stood together, side by side, and examined the huge chamber. Running all the way around the room was a wide ledge which they were standing on. In the center of the room was a circular platform with nothing on it save a pedestal which held a bright, golden orb. Separating the ledge from the platform was a thirty foot wide moat of lava. A line of broken black rock that had once been a pathway was all that connected the two.

  “I think you can see because that is the Sun Orb in the center there,” Tomas said, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he studied the room. “The only way from here to the orb is that path.”

  Tomas stepped closer to the black rock path and knelt down. He held one hand out toward it and hissed as he jerked it back. “This rock is hot, Tiari. Very hot.” He stood up, eyeing the broken pathway carefully. “It looks like the heat has caused it to break down in several places. It’s not going to be easy crossing from here to the orb.”

  “I have to try,” Tiari said. “At least I’m able to see.”

  “You are not doing this,” he said with a frown. “I will cross over and grab the orb. You wait here.”

  “Tomas, you can’t,” Tiari said. “I am the only one who can claim the orb.”

  Tomas froze as that simple, undeniable fact, sunk in. There had to be a way around it. “All right,” he said, “I will carry you across. You grab the orb and I will carry you back.”

  “That won’t work either,” Tiari said patiently.

  “Why not?” Tomas asked.

  “Tomas, why do you want to carry me?”

  “So you don’t get burned,” he replied.

  “And if you get burned?” she asked.

  “I’ll live,” he said with an indifferent shrug.

  “It’s a long way out of here,” she said. “If you can’t walk, how will you get out? I can’t carry you.”

  “Then, Tiari mine, you will have to leave me,” Tomas said in a gentle voice, already saying goodbye to the life they would have shared. Her life was worth the sacrifice. He did not even have to think twice about it.

  “I will not,” Tiari replied flatly. “Do not think it, do not ask it, because I will not consider that for even a moment.”

  “There is no other way,” Tomas said. “You cannot let all of Rathira be destroyed.”

  “I can and I will,” Tiari replied, scowling at him for the first time. “Do not doubt me, Tomas. Ask yourself what you would do if the situation were reversed. Would you leave me?”

  “No,” Tomas said.

  “Do you think that I love you less than you love me?”

  “No,” Tomas said, suddenly horrified by the realization that he was going to lose this argument, when he had not been horrified by the idea of giving his life for hers. “What do you have in mind?”

  “If you become injured and can’t walk, I can’t carry you,” she said again. “On the other hand, you can carry me.”

  Tomas knew she was right, and he cursed the knowledge. Was he really meant to stand here and watch his beloved Tiari walk across burning rocks while he did nothing?

  He shook his head, unable to accept such a fate. “I cannot do this...please, Tiari, do not ask this of me.”

  “There is no other way,” Tiari said. “I’m sorry Tomas. Truly I am. But this is what we must do. Please trust me on this.”

  Tomas knew that her reasoning was sound, but he would have continued arguing had she not said that last sentence. Trust. As Jahil had warned, if they did not fully trust each other, they would fail, and Rathira would cease to be. And now he understood why. Neither of them would go on if the other fell. They had to do this, together.

  He took a deep breath and blew it out, then he looked down at Tiari’s feet. She wore leather riding boots just as he did, which had a hard leather sole. How long would it take for the leather to get hot enough to burn her feet? Not long enough, he feared.

  “My belt is made of thick leather,” he said, already starting to unbuckle the belt at his waist. “I can cut it in half, then wrap it around your feet to give you more protection.”

  “No, Tomas,” Tiari said, stopping him. “I have little experience running, or even walking quickly. If you wrap that around my feet, I’ll be unstable. I’ll fall before I get half way there.”

  The thought of her stumbling from the uneven path into the lava made Tomas shiver in spite of the heat pouring from the lava. “Take the overskirt off,” he said gruffly.

  Tiari reached for the hook and released it, letting the circle of fabric fall where she stood. “Thank you, Tomas. I didn’t think of that.”

  Tomas nodded, but said nothing. “It will be all right,” she said in a soothing voice. “It’s not that far. I will go as quickly as I can, grab the orb, then return. If necessary, you can carry me back. It will be fine.”

  “If you really thought that, you would let me carry you across,” Tomas said.

  Tiari did not reply. She simply waited for Tomas to come to grips with what had to be done. Tomas returned her gaze, trying to decide what to say to her. If he told her to hurry, she might fall. If he told her to go slowly, her feet might get burned more than absolutely necessary.

  “Tiari mine,” he said finally. “If you fall, I promise that I will follow you.”

  A wave of fear washed through her. “I will be careful, Tomas. I promise.”

  He leaned down and kissed her hard and fast, then released her. “Go now,” he whispered.

  She nodded, then turned and faced the broken path. Not wanting to make this any harder for Tomas than necessary, she plunged ahead. The path was even more uneven and broken than it had appeared, forcing her to go slower than she would have liked. Knowing that Tomas would follow her if she fell forced her to be more cautious than she might otherwise have been as well, so she paid strict attention to each step. She managed three steps before the heat began to seep through the leather of her boots and the thick wool socks she wore. Five before it became uncomfortable. Eight before she had to bite back a yell. By the tenth step she was biting down on her lip so hard that she tasted blood. She looked up, relieved to see that she had only a couple more steps to go. She took them quickly, then, unable to help herself, she leapt the last little distance. She fell to her knees on the platform, relieved to find that it was almost cool compared to the rock pathway. She stayed there for a few moments, panting harshly as s
he waited for the pain in her feet to ease.

  “Are you all right?” Tomas called after a few minutes. She forced herself to her feet and turned to wave at him.

  “I’m all right,” she said. Then she turned and spent a long moment staring at the golden orb. For some reason it didn’t hurt her eyes to stare straight at it, even though it glowed so brightly that it lit up the entire chamber. It looked just like the Moon Orb except that it was a bright, golden yellow. She reached for it, heart pounding, and lifted it from the stand. It was cool to the touch, like the Moon Orb, it’s surface silky smooth. She held it for a moment as she gauged its weight. How was she going to carry this without dropping it as she ran back along that accursed path?

  She remembered the first night she’d met Karma and Kapia, when Kapia had twisted the Moon Orb, causing it to collapse into a smaller orb. She turned the Sun Orb around until she thought she saw a faint line dividing it in half. She placed one hand on either side of it as Kapia had done, and twisted. The orb immediately began to collapse in on itself, the facets folding flat against one another until it was small enough to hold in the palm of her hand. Unfortunately, it no longer emitted enough light for her to see by. She looked toward Tomas, but aside from the palm of her hand where the orb rested, she was completely blind. She twisted the orb again and it expanded once more.

  She took her vest off and, after a few attempts found a way to wrap the orb and tie it around her waist securely, while still allowing plenty of light to shine through the fabric. By then the pain in her feet had become a dull, burning throb. If she didn’t have to run back, she thought she’d probably only have some blisters and minor burns. But she did have to go back.

  “I’m ready now,” she called to Tomas.

  Tomas had been pacing the ledge that ran around the room while he waited for Tiari to prepare for her return run. Now he hurried back to where the broken path began, and stood ready to catch her when she reached him. Tiari took a deep breath, focused on Tomas, and took the first step back onto the burning rock.

  The heat built up more quickly this time, or maybe it was just that she was already mildly burned. She gritted her teeth and kept going, one step after another, after another, focusing all of her will on picking each foot up and moving it forward. By the time she was half way across she realized her teeth were cutting so deeply into her lip that her mouth was filling with blood, so she forced herself to open her mouth. Two more steps and she began to scream, but she ignored it, not bothering to make herself stop, and kept going. One more step, then another, and another, and suddenly Tomas was there and she was in his arms and darkness fell.

  Tomas began roaring at the same time Tiari began screaming, every particle of his being insisting that he run to her. He forced himself to remain where he was, unwilling to ruin her sacrifice by injuring himself too badly to carry her from this hellish chamber of horror.

  When she was still a couple of steps from the end, he could endure no more and leapt out onto the fiery rocks, snatching her into his arms. He spun around and ran back so quickly that the heat barely had time to seep through his boots.

  As soon as he was safely on the wide ledge he fell to his knees, rested Tiari’s limp body across his lap and reached for her boots. He yanked them off, one after the other, as quickly as he could, knowing that the super heated leather would continue burning her if he didn’t remove them. They were so hot that they burned his hand when he grabbed them, but he barely noticed. He pulled the thick wool stockings off of her feet, thankful that she’d worn them as they surely had provided her with extra protection. He set the socks aside and examined her feet, tears springing to his eyes when he saw the raw, red burns. He was suddenly glad that she was unconscious as he had no way to ease her pain, no water to pour over the burns, nothing to treat them with. All he could do for her now was get her out of here as quickly as possible.

  He balanced Tiari in his arms and shifted the Sun Orb slightly so that it rested on her stomach and provided light for him to see by. He glanced at her boots and stockings, deciding to leave them behind with her skirt. He didn’t need anything else to carry. Then he stood up and made his way out of the chamber.

  The orb provided plenty of light for him to navigate the twisting tunnel that led back to the center of the mountain. As he walked, he wondered how he was going to get them back across the Cavern without forcing Tiari to wake up and guide him. Once she was conscious, her pain was going to be excruciating. He was so worried about that problem that it took him a few moments after exiting the tunnel to realize what he was seeing.

  The light from the orb illuminated the Cavern with what seemed to be pure sunlight, revealing an almost straight path that stretched across the mile wide void that he’d been unable to see with only the dull red light from the lava below. He stepped closer to the edge, then shifted the orb slightly so that he could finally see the path that Tiari had followed. Once he saw a portion of it, that helped him to see the rest of it and he paled at the sight. Tiari had said it was confusing, but when he saw the dozens and dozens of twisting, turning paths made from what appeared to be thick glass, he wondered how she’d managed to get them across at all.

  He took a moment to settle the orb on Tiari’s abdomen again, and pulled her closer against his chest. Then he took a deep breath and set off on the solid rock path. There were a couple of loops here and there, but it was nothing like the maze Tiari had faced. As much as he wanted to run, he resisted the urge. The path was too narrow to risk stumbling, and there was always the chance that it had broken in a few places, like the pathway in the Sun Orb room. So he ignored the sheer drop on both sides, and the stomach-turning pit of molten rock below, and made himself place each foot carefully and slowly.

  ***

  Zakiel was deep into battle rage, his Tigren snarling with ferocious joy as it clawed and snapped at the harpies that crowded around him as though their main objective was to take him down. He had no idea how many of the green skinned creatures he’d killed, nor did he care. His entire focus was on destroying them as quickly as they flew at him. Until he heard a familiar, deep, bone shaking roar filled with both anger and fear.

  The sound wiped the red haze from his mind in an instant. He spun around, his eyes searching for Karma, but she was no longer where she’d been moments earlier. Instead, he found Nikura standing in her place, ears flat, fur bushed out, teeth bared, eyes fixed on the sky. Zakiel followed Nikura’s gaze, already knowing what he would see before he spotted the harpy flying away with Karma hanging limply from its filthy claws.

  Zakiel’s world stopped. His heart did not beat. His lungs no longer pumped air. His blood stilled in his veins. He heard no sound. Felt nothing. Wanted nothing. Needed nothing. Everyone and everything around him ceased to exist. The very planet beneath his feet no longer turned on its axis.

  The moment hung suspended in time, stretching on and on until, with an ear piercing squeal, reality rushed back to him in an instant. Feeling. Sound. Sight. Thought. And deep, mindless, endless, unthinking fury.

  “Vatra, come forth!” Nikura commanded. “Hurry, Vatra! Now!”

  Zakiel’s mind and body exploded in a burst of such power that for one micro-second he wondered if he would survive the inferno. Then he blinked once, and found himself shooting skyward, wings tucked tightly against his sides, mind casting outward in search of his love with a cold, implacable rage that knew nothing of mercy.

  Kapia heard Nikura’s roar and finished off the harpy she was fighting with a sharp, killing jab to the throat. Without waiting to watch it fall to the ground she turned and ran toward the Sphin, her eyes scanning for Karma. When she saw Zakiel she skidded to a stop, the expression on his face telling her all that she needed to know. Then Zakiel was gone, and Vatra, a gigantic fiery red bird with flames in its eyes shot into the sky.

  Kapia realized that Karma had been taken, and that Vatra would either save her, or avenge her. She had no time to worry or fear for her loved ones as two more har
pies attacked her at once. As she struck the first with her staff and spun around to face the second, she heard several familiar voices rise in the ancient battle cry of Isiben. Triumph rose in her at the sight of Sir Garundel, Sir Stiven, Sir Jenz, and the rest of the Hunters as they pounded into the fray, swords drawn and arrows flying.

  Dispatching the second harpy quickly, she ran toward Garundel. “The tall, white furred beings are on our side,” she shouted, then turned to point at a group of them. As she watched, four Argiari stood side by side and spit columns of flame into the sky, instantly destroying a four segment kadjet. The sight reminded her of the Ti-Ank. Did Karma still hold it, or had it dropped to the ground? Had the harpies managed to get it? She ran back to where she’d last seen Karma, fear filling her for the first time since the battle had begun.

  ****

  Tomas stepped off the narrow pathway and onto the ledge with deep relief, but he did not pause to rest. His arms and legs trembled from the long, agonizingly slow trek across the open pit while carrying Tiari. He couldn’t stop yet, though. Tiari felt too hot in his arms, and he suspected she was running a fever. Her face was too pale, and she’d started whimpering softly, a sound of pain that tore at his heart. He wanted her out of this dark, hot hell, and into fresh air and sunlight so that he could see the full extent of her injuries and get them treated.

  The crossing he’d used was much further along the ledge than the glowing path Tiari had taken, so he still had a ways to go before reaching the tunnel. He was all but running by the time he reached it, heedless of the drop off on one side, such was his growing worry for Tiari. Then he had to slow down and move more carefully as the tunnel was very narrow and he didn’t want to hit Tiari’s head against the walls. Another endless twenty minutes passed until, finally, he saw the bright light of day as it shone through the ice that surrounded the entrance. He tucked Tiari’s head closer to his shoulder and began running toward it with staggering steps. He burst from the tunnel and into the blessedly cold, clean snow with a hoarse shout, falling to his knees with Tiari held tightly against him.