Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira Read Online Free

stone steps leading up to a long narrow plaza.  By the time they finally reached the entrance to the palace, Karma was ready to sit down and take a rest.
    King Rhobar led them through a wide, arched doorway and into the palace itself.  It took a few moments for Karma’s eyes to adjust after the bright sunlight but when she was able to see clearly, she gasped softly at her surroundings.  The hall King Rhobar was leading them down was very wide and very high, but it was the walls that caused her to gasp.  They were made of stone, and intricately carved with beautiful scenes from floor to ceiling.  There were people, animals, birds, trees, plants, and fish.  Too much to fully grasp as they hurried along.  She promised herself that, if she were given the opportunity, she would come back here and spend time studying it. 
    “The carvings in the Hall of People are not bad,” Nikura said.  “ Those in King Rhobar’s Audience Chamber are much nicer. ”
    Karma glanced down at the Sphin who was walking beside her.  “Let me guess, Nikura,” she said, “there are Sphin on the walls there, right?”
    “Of course ,” Nikura replied.
    Karma’s laugh died in her throat as King Rhobar stopped and spun around, an expression of shock on his face as he stared at Karma, then the Sphin, then back to Karma.  He opened his mouth to say something, looked at the crowd of people surrounding them and changed his mind.  Without a word he turned back and continued to lead them down the hall, picking up the pace a bit. 
    A few minutes later Karma, Captain Singer and Torl stood uncertainly in the middle of a large room with a throne at one end and not much else.  King Rhobar had closed the doors firmly on the guards, leaving everyone else in the hall, except Nikura who sat beside Karma.  Then he began to pace back and forth before the throne, his forehead wrinkled in thought.  Karma glanced down at the Sphin, its head nearly at her waist, wondering why it seemed to be sticking close to her.
    “ I’m sticking close to you because I find the fact that you can understand me interesting ,” Nikura said, answering her silent question.
    “How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” she asked.  “Can you read my mind?” 
    Nikura looked up at her, one ear cocked back in expression of disdain.  “ Of course I can’t read your mind,” he said.  “Even if I could, why would I?”
    “Then how did you know what I was thinking?”
    “I did not know what you were thinking,” Nikura replied.   “You asked me a question, I answered it.”    
    Karma thought about that as she watched the Sphin yawn widely, displaying an impressive number of sharp, white teeth.  When she looked up she realized that King Rhobar, Captain Singer, and Torl were all staring at her.  She was suddenly very glad that she wasn’t prone to blushing.
    “Excuse me,” she said.  “That was probably rude.”
    King Rhobar studied her for a long moment.  “May I ask your name, please?”
    “I am Karma Baraka.”
    “May I ask, is talking to animals a usual talent of yours?”
    “No, it’s not,” Karma replied.  “This is definitely a first for me.”
    The Sphin’s ears flattened against his head and he growled softly.  “ I am not an animal. ”
    Karma rolled her eyes at him.  “Shush,” she said.
    “What did he say?” King Rhobar asked.
    “Please remember, this comes from him, not me,” Karma cautioned.  King Rhobar nodded.
    “He insists, emphatically, that he is not an animal.”
    King Rhobar’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  “If he is not an animal, then what is he?”
    “I am a Sphin,” Nikura said.  “ Are all humans so dense?  I confess, I have known King Rhobar his entire life, and I have always thought him to be adequately intelligent for a human.”
    Karma cleared her throat in an effort to hide her desire to laugh.  “He says that he is a Sphin.”
    “Why is a Sphin not an animal?” King Rhobar