Nikura purred, his eyes closing to slits as he enjoyed the ear rub. After a few moments, Karma stepped away and lowered herself to the deck, then leaned against the side of the boat. “I’m going to rest now in case I need to put that thing to sleep again. If I fall asleep Nikura, please don’t let me sleep more than two hours, all right?”
“Certainly,” Nikura agreed.
Karma sat back and closed her eyes, falling asleep before she knew it
Chapter 23
Bredon stood in the bow of the first boat in the group carrying their caravan. Waiting safely in the shallows, beyond the reach of Sobek, was a position he could not have borne had Zakiel not placed Princess Kapia in his personal care. Only for her did he agree to hang back and watch his friend, cousin and Prince go forward into danger without him.
He listened to the explosions, knowing they were meant to attract the beast, his fists gripping the railing harder and harder with each one that reached his ears. Even though he’d been watching for it, waiting for it, expecting it, the sight of the monstrous crocodile bursting from the water was so startling that it froze the breath in his lungs. His heart pounded in fear for Zakiel and Lady Techu as he saw how tiny their boat was next to the monster that continued to climb skyward, its full body not yet revealed.
He fully expected the creature to destroy them. Either by crushing them in its enormous jaws, or by falling on their boat when it crashed back down into the water. He did not expect the thing to simply fall straight back down the way it had risen and not show itself again. But, much to his mingled shock and relief, that is exactly what it did.
He bowed his head and closed his eyes, giving silent, heartfelt thanks. He could think of no one who deserved happiness more than Zakiel, and the thought that he would lose his life so soon after finding his lady had frightened him greatly. He’d known for a while that Zakiel loved Lady Techu, but he’d still been stunned to see his Prince’s egora the previous morning. The only time he’d been more surprised was when Kapia had approached him on the second day of their journey and begun talking to him. If she hadn’t, he would never have had the nerve to declare his feelings for her. As happy as he was, as happy as Zakiel was, he knew that there was one person who would be the furthest thing from happy. But no, he would not think of her.
He opened his eyes, fighting a sudden bout of nausea that had nothing whatsoever to do with being on a boat. Then he turned to the captain and returned to his duties.
Later, when all of the boats were well underway, and Zakiel and Karma had transferred onto the last boat to keep an eye out for Sobek’s return, Bredon went in search of Kapia. He didn’t have to look far. She was sitting on the deck, out of the way, but with a clear view of him. He sat opposite her, noticing that she wore a heavy wool skirt and jacket in place of her usual light clothing.
“Kapia,” he said, frowning at the thick wool, “perhaps you should not wear such heavy clothing.”
“Why not?” she asked in surprise. “Rosia loaned these to us because she knew it would be cold out here on the water, and she was right. Even with them I am still cold.”
Bredon tore his worried gaze from the thick wool of the skirt she wore and noticed, for the first time, that she was shivering and her lips had a faint blue tint to them. He shook his head at himself for not seeing how cold she was sooner. At the same time, the thick wool worried him.
“Kapia, if anything should happen and you should go into the water...,” Bredon hesitated, unable to make himself say the words.
“I can swim, Bredon,” Kapia said softly. “You know that.”
“I do know that, Kapia,” Bredon said. “But if you are wearing those heavy clothes in the water, you will not be able to swim. They will pull you into the depths, and you will have no chance at all.”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said slowly. “I suppose I should remove them.”
“No, then you will freeze,” Bredon said. “I do not want you ill.”
Making an abrupt decision, he reached for the dagger he always carried on his belt. “Kapia, my love, I wish to give this to you,” he said, setting the sheathed blade on the deck between them. “Put it on the belt of your jacket. If you should go into the water, use it to cut the cords on the skirt, and your belt so that you can get out of that jacket.”
“Bredon, I thank you for the offer, but I cannot accept that knife from you,” Kapia said, shocked.
“Now is not the time to worry about proprieties,” Bredon said. “This is about saving your life.”
Kapia shook her head and reached out to touch his hand lightly, even though it was not appropriate to do so. “Bredon, I am not concerned with the propriety of accepting a gift from you,” she said. “My birthday is today. Such decisions are mine to make.”
“Then why do you refuse?” Bredon asked, confused.
“Because this knife is special to you,” Kapia replied. “I don’t know why, but I know that it is. Surely there must be an ordinary knife on this boat that I can use.”
“Please, take this one,” Bredon said. “I want you to have it.”
Kapia bit her lip uncertainly. “Tell me the importance of the knife first.”
Bredon nodded, hoping that once she heard the story, she would agree to take the knife. “This is Mintaka-Til,” he said, touching the carved ivory handle of the knife lightly with his fingertips.
Kapia frowned in concentration as she struggled to translate the ancient words. After a moment her eyes widened in shock. “This is the Blade of the Builder?” she asked, reaching toward it, but not quite daring to touch it.
“Yes, it is,” Bredon said with pride. “This is the only artifact my family owns from King Arth-Mar, the Builder of Ka-Teru.”
Kapia knew that Bredon was a distant cousin, which meant that he had the blood of the House of Feenis somewhere in his ancestry. But she hadn’t realized he was a direct descendant of Arth-Mar.
“This must have been given to Ariath, King Arth-Mar’s daughter,” she guessed.
“Yes, and from her to her daughter and so on down through the ages,” Bredon replied. “It has always been passed to the females in our family. I’m certain that’s the only reason it still exists today. Were it in the hands of men, it would have been lost or broken in battle long since.”
“But you have no sisters,” Kapia said.
“No, I don’t,” Bredon agreed. “It was given to me, but only with the understanding that it would return to the care of females the moment there was one. You, Kapia, are one day to be my wife. I have no hesitation in passing Mintaka-Til to you now, when you need it most.”
“I recognize and appreciate the honor you do me, Bredon,” Kapia said, smiling warmly up at him. “But this is a very old blade. Are you certain it’s sharp enough to cut my belt?”
Bredon picked the knife up and removed it from its sheath, revealing the shiny metal blade. He ran his thumb over the edge, then jerked his hand back in surprise. “I’ve never done that before,” he said, looking at the wound on his thumb that welled with blood.
“Let me see,” Kapia said, taking his hand in hers and bending to look closely at the cut. “It’s not so bad,” she said after a moment. “I think it proves that the blade is sharp enough, though.”
Bredon laughed as he wiped a few drops of blood from the blade, and returned it to its sheath. “I am glad I need not wound myself further to convince you, beloved.”
“Thank you, Bredon,” Kapia said as she accepted the knife. “I promise you, I will take the greatest of care with this. I know what it means to you, and to your family.”
“To us, and our family,” Bredon corrected softly, suddenly wanting to kiss her more than ever. One glance told him that there were too many Hunters watching to risk it. He cared little what they might think of him, but he would not expose Kapia to scorn. Which was why he suggested that she go below deck with her personal attendant to remove her belt and put the knife on it, rather than helping her with it himself.<
br />
As he watched her walk away, he felt his love for her fill his heart. She had been made for him, and he for her. He was sure of that now, though he wondered, as he often did, how he could have doubted it for so long.
He’d adored her as a child, but as she’d grown into a young woman, his feelings had also grown. He’d believed it to be hopeless though. Not only was he eight years older than her, but she was a Princess, and he only a Knight. So he’d tamped down his feelings, ruthlessly strangling them before they became too deep.
On the horrible, never to be forgotten day that she had been abducted, he had realized how useless his attempts to forget her had been, and how deep his feelings for her really were. So deep that he knew he would never love another as he did her, in spite of her young age.
Hard on the heels of that knowledge had come the despair of knowing that she would never, could never, feel the same for him. And that, he knew, to his everlasting shame, was only the first of the mistakes he had made.
Bredon shook his head. He would not think of that. It didn’t matter. By some miracle, Kapia did love him. That was all that mattered. His mistakes were in the past, and even though he’d promised himself that he would spend eternity making up for them, he would never tell her about them. To do so would only hurt her. Perhaps enough to destroy her love for him. And he couldn’t risk that. He would not risk the one thing that meant more to him than anything else. Kapia’s love.
***
“Karma,” Zakiel said, touching her shoulder lightly. “Please awaken.”
Karma opened her eyes and frowned up at him as she struggled to remember where she was. She blinked rapidly, then sat up and looked around.
“Nikura?” she asked.
“Quiet so far,” he replied.
“How long did I sleep?” she asked Zakiel.
“Four hours,” Zakiel replied. “Nikura indicated you wished to be awakened earlier, but I refused to allow it.”
“I’m worried that Sobek will make another appearance before we are safe.”
Zakiel held out a hand to help her up, and she took it, feeling stiff and sore from her nap on the hard deck. “How far are we from the shallows?”
“Not far,” Zakiel replied. “The winds picked up shortly after you went to sleep, so we’ve made good time.”
Karma nodded as she looked toward the bow and the boats beyond. She could see land ahead, a narrow strip in the distance, which was a relief. She turned and looked back behind them, and felt her heart flutter nervously. She had a bad feeling about that beast.
“How much longer, at the current speed?”
“Half an hour perhaps, no more,” Zakiel replied, watching her. “You’re nervous.”
“Yes, I have a bad feeling that we are not done with Sobek,” she said.
“It’s coming,” Nikura said, his tail suddenly swishing across the deck.
“How long?”
“Not long,” Nikura replied. “Two or three minutes, maybe less.”
Karma told Zakiel what Nikura had said, then took a deep, calming breath. She focused on gathering her energy, sending a trickle of it into the Ti-Ank as she had earlier, opening the pathway so she’d be ready when the beast arrived.
“You cannot send it to sleep again, valia,” Zakiel said, placing one hand on her shoulder and gazing deep into her eyes.
“Why not?”
“You used too much energy to put it to sleep the first time,” he replied. “You will need at least another day, or two, to replenish yourself. I don’t know how I know this, I just do.”
“I have to try, Zakiel,” Karma insisted. “I cannot just stand here and let it destroy us.
“I think there might be another way,” he said. “The Vatra can handle Sobek, but I am not yet able to shift. If you will feed energy to me through the Ti-Ank, I think it will allow me to shift.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Karma asked, terrified of turning the power of the Ti-Ank on him. “What if it hurts you? Or kills you?”
“We will all die if we don’t try this,” Zakiel replied. He bent his head and kissed her, a hot, deep kiss of passion and love.
“Now, valia,” he said, staring into her eyes. “Do it now.”
Karma swallowed her fear and gathered her energy. Then she turned the power of the Ti-Ank on Zakiel, ignoring the tears that began to stream down her cheeks as she did. Zakiel smiled at her, his eyes warm and trusting, and she had to bite her lip to keep from sobbing.
“More, valia,” Zakiel said. “Do not worry, I have only just found you. I will not leave you so soon.”
Karma nodded, took hold of herself and focused more deeply, drawing power from deep within herself and pouring it through the Ti-Ank and into Zakiel. The glow around Zakiel grew brighter and brighter until she had to squint her eyes, but she refused to close them. She had to see what happened in case she needed to stop the flow of power.
Zakiel’s form began to grow, becoming taller and taller, then wider, until there was no more room for him on the deck. He then began to rise into the air as he continued to change in both shape and size, until he no longer looked like a man at all. In Zakiel’s place, within the bright glow of light, there was now a gigantic red and blue bird. The Fire Bird.
“It comes now,” Nikura warned, his voice filled with tension. “Step back!”
Karma tore her eyes from Zakiel as Sobek leapt from the water not ten yards away from her and roared its fury, sending a wall of water crashing over the boat. Karma grabbed onto the railing with one hand as the boat rolled sickeningly onto its side, refusing to release the Ti-Ank with her other hand. She was forced to close her eyes and hold her breath as the water slammed over her. Just as she thought her lungs would burst, the water fell away and the boat began to roll back to its upright position. Karma sucked in a breath of air and blinked the water out of her eyes. For a moment, she thought they’d be safe. Then she looked up and saw the enormously huge jaws of Sobek stretched wide above the boat, and knew they were lost. She closed her eyes, not wishing to see her end within the monster’s mouth, and took a moment to be thankful for the brief time she’d shared with Zakiel.
The full stench of Sobek’s gigantic maw assaulted her senses, causing her to choke and gag. A fraction of a second later Sobek roared so loudly the vibration of it caused her to nearly lose her grip on the ship’s railing. As she struggled to hold on, she realized that Sobek should have bitten down on them already. Her eyes opened and she saw only water, sky, and the boat as it continued to right itself. She looked around frantically, but there was no sign of Sobek. Then the boat was upright, though still rocking back and forth in the turbulent water, so she relaxed her grip on the railing but did not release it. Another roar sounded, this time from a distance. She looked up and gasped to see a huge, bright red and blue bird flying away from them, the monstrous body of Sobek in its claws.
As large as the Vatra was, it was not nearly the size of Sobek, so the sight of it carrying the beast was strange indeed. But it, Zakiel, was carrying it, and because of that, she was alive.
“Nikura!” she yelled, looking around frantically for the giant cat. Seeing no trace of him on the deck, she turned and leaned over the railing, searching the water for him. “Nikura!”
“I’m here,” he replied, swimming toward her.
Karma breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to scan the deck, searching for some way to assist Nikura onto the boat. Seeing nothing, she started to turn back when Nikura leapt lightly over the railing and onto the deck. He shook himself, spraying seawater everywhere, but since she was already drenched, Karma didn’t care. She knelt down on the deck beside the Sphin and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She fully expected Nikura to say something sarcastic, and was both surprised and pleased when, instead, he began to purr.
Chapter 24
Zakiel didn’t think that his heart would ever beat normally again after seeing how close Karma had come to death. He had not thought, only acted, divin
g at the huge creature, his claws extended, digging them into the thick, armored hide behind the monster’s head, and lifting it up and away from his precious Karma.
If he’d paused to think about it, he knew that he would not have done it. It seemed ridiculous to think he could carry something so many times larger than himself. But he had allowed the Vatra’s instincts to guide him, which, he realized as he carried the monster away from the boats, was the only reason it had worked at all. It was the Vatra that had saved Karma’s life by using its magic to make Sobek light enough for him to carry.
It had taken well over half the day for the boats to cross the Wide, but it took only a fraction of that time for him to fly back to the center of it carrying Sobek. He considered going further, but the Vatra knew it was enough. He released his hold on Sobek and watched as he fell into the sea with a mighty splash of water that shot so high into the sky it nearly reached him. From his position he could see Sobek beneath the water as he seemed to shake himself, then begin to swim directly away from the boats before diving deep. Apparently he’d had his fill of boats for the day.
Zakiel turned and headed back the way he’d come with all the speed he could muster, which turned out to be a lot more speed than he had expected. By the time he was able to see the boats again, only the two in front had reached shore. He knew that the first boat carried Kapia, so that was one worry off his mind. The last one, the one carrying Karma, was limping along slowly, having only just reached the shallows. The boat no longer had sails, and the main mast was a splintered stump rising from the deck. He spotted Karma and Nikura near the bow which was a relief, but it looked as though there were far fewer people and diplos on the boat than there had been before Sobek’s attack.
Zakiel considered how he could best help the boat along while still in the form of the Vatra, but suddenly he began to feel very weak, and knew his strength was at an end. He flew toward the boat, worried for a moment about how he was going to land on a boat that was not big enough for the Vatra. He need not have worried though as, once again, the Vatra knew what to do. He hovered above the boat and began transforming back into his human form as he slowly sank downward, his feet lightly touching the deck when the transformation was complete.
Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira Page 33
