The Nomad - By Simon Hawke Page 0,74

and spank you!” said Ryana, angrily.

“Oooh, that sounds like fun!” Kivara countered, giving her a coy sidelong glance. “Why don’t you?”

Ryana glared at her. “Because I know you too well, that’s why. You would never feel it. The moment I began to warm your bottom, you would duck under and I’d find myself in the embarrassing situation of spanking Sorak.”

“Oh, you never know, he might enjoy it,” said Kivara. “And so might you, for that matter. Maybe it’s what you really want.”

“Ohhh, you’re insufferable!”

“And you just don’t know how to have any fun.”

“Fun?” Ryana said. “Do you even have any idea what we are doing? Where we are going?”

“What difference does it make?” Kivara asked, looking around at the spectacular view spreading out below them. “Look at this! Is it not incredible?”

“Kivara, we are on our way to Bodach, the city of the undead,” Ryana said firmly.

“Undead?” Kivara said, glancing at her uncertainly.

“Yes, undead. An entire city of them. There will be hundreds, perhaps thousands.”

“Well, what we going there for? That’s stupid!”

“We have to go there to find a talisman known as the Breastplate of Argentum and take it to the Sage.” Kivara made a face. “Him, again. All we ever do is go here, go there, running all over this dreary desert like a stupid erdlu, and for what? What has the Sage ever done for us?”

Ryana tried to fight down her mounting irritation. In the past, whenever Kivara had come out, the others would allow her some freedom, but her unpredictable and willful nature eventually made it necessary for the Guardian to exert control and force her to duck under once again. Lately, however, the last several times Kivara had come out, she had resisted the efforts of the Guardian to hold her in check. It was a worrisome development. And Ryana did not wish to antagonize Kivara at this point by calling for the Guardian. This was certainly not the place for Kivara to respond with one of her violent temper tantrums.

“The Sage works for us all,” Ryana explained patiently. “He is the only power that stands between us and the dragon kings, the only hope for the future of our world. And he is the only one who may be able to help Sorak learn the truth about himself.”

“Well, I don’t see why that matters,” said Kivara stubbornly.

“It matters to Sorak,” replied Ryana, struggling to control her temper. Kivara could be absolutely infuriating.

“It wouldn’t change anything, you know,” Kivara replied. And then she gave Ryana an uneasy sidelong glance. “Would it?”

“I do not know,” Ryana said. “That is a question the tribe shall have to answer for itself when we confront the Sage. Wouldn’t you want to learn where you came from?”

“Why? I am already here.”

That was, of course, vintage Kivara, thought Ryana. Living only in the present. “Perhaps it does not mean anything to you,” she said, “but it is important to Sorak to know and understand his origins. And perhaps to some of the others, as well.”

“Important enough to risk going to a place full of undead?” Kivara said. She shook her head. It looked odd to see him evidence her mannerisms. Even though Ryana had grown up with him, it was something she had never quite gotten used to completely. It always threw her off a bit.

“That is not the only reason, as I told you,” said Ryana. “We go to Bodach in the service of the Sage.”

“This is boring,” said Kivara, her limited attention span used up. “I don’t wish to talk about it anymore.”

“What would you rather talk about?”

“I don’t know. It’s not much fun talking to you. You never have anything interesting to say. You never like to have any fun.”

“I like to have fun as much as anyone,” Ryana said. “However, there is a time and place for such things.”

“Only you never seem to find the time or the place,” Kivara replied petulantly. “Look at what we’re doing, Ryana! We flying! We are as high as birds! Does it not make your spirit soar?”

“Yes,” said Ryana, “but if I only pay attention to the soaring of my spirit, then I may do something careless, and we will both fall to the ground and to our deaths. That is something that you need to learn, Kivara. There is nothing wrong in taking joy in your emotions and in the thrilling sensations you experience, but not at the expense of your better judgment. Because if you do, then you lose all