Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira by Laura Jo Phillips

I trust you more than anyone.  But I promised not to speak of it, and I cannot break a promise.  I will tell you this much though; I’m needed here.  Really and truly needed.”
     “If you are needed here, then of course you must stay,” Aisling said, giving in with a sigh. 
    Karma swallowed hard, knowing that Aisling was the only person in the universe who knew her well enough to know how important it was for her to be needed.  She was going to miss Aisling, and their friendship.  She wondered how she’d survived alone for so many years without at least one friend, and knew that she did not want to live that way again.  Aisling had taught her that much. 
     “Do you regret your decision to remain on Rathira?” Nikura asked.
    Karma watched a pair of large golden birds soar past the balcony in the deepening dusk, their voices raised in song, and smiled.
    “No, I do not regret staying here.  This is what I’m meant to do.”
    “What is it that worries you then?” Nikura asked.
    Karma looked at him, mildly surprised by the note of sincere concern she’d heard in his voice.  “I don’t understand why Riata came to me, or why she guided me here,” she said after a moment’s debate.  Perhaps the Sphin would have answers for her on this subject.  “She’s a Spirit Guide for the Jasani people.  I am not Jasani, nor am I meant to be mated with Jasani.  So why does she care about me, or Rathira, for that matter?”
    “Just because you don’t see the reason for something, does not mean that there isn’t one,” Nikura replied.
    “That’s true,” Karma replied grudgingly.  She’d been hoping for more than that.  She shook her head and sighed.  Time to change the subject.
    “Nikura, are you going to help me find these orbs?”
    Nikura’s large, round blue eyes fixed on hers for a long moment without blinking.  “I will help as I can,” he said finally.
    “Oh, that’s a big relief,” Karma said testily.  If the Sphin was going to be this enigmatic all the time, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t be better off without him around.
    “Tell me something,” Nikura said, “if you had to sacrifice your life for the lives of everyone and everything on your world, would you do it?”
    “Is that what you have to do?” Karma asked in surprise.  “Sacrifice yourself?”
    “If you answer my question, then I shall answer yours.”
    Karma’s first reaction was to say yes , but she hesitated and gave it serious thought.  “It would not be an easy thing to do,” she said finally.  “I think I would fight it.  I’d try very hard to find another way to do whatever had to be done.  But, in the end, yes, I would.  At least, I hope that I would.  Such a thing would take a kind of bravery that I can only hope to have.”
    “I thank you for your honesty,” Nikura said, his tone, for once, courteous rather than snooty.  “To answer your question, no, I do not have to sacrifice my life, and yes, I do have to sacrifice my life.  I know that is confusing, but it is the best answer I can give you.”
    Karma studied the Sphin’s eyes for a long moment, then nodded in acceptance.  “Will you tell me why you follow me all over the place?”
    “I suppose now is the time for honest answers,” Nikura said with a hint of his usual annoyance.
    “Yes, I believe it is,” Karma agreed.
    “I follow you around because you are Techu, and you have possession of the Ti-Ank,” he said.  “The combination of the two compels me to remain within close proximity to you.  I did not know of the Ti-Ank at first, and thought that I followed you by choice, but now I know differently.”
    “You’re compelled to follow me?” Karma asked with obvious distaste.  “What if you decide you don’t want to?”
    “I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Nikura replied.  “For either of us.”
    “Why not?  What happens if we get separated?”
    “It depends on how far apart we become,” he replied.