“We stayed in a hotel for the next three days. We found out that Enzo had seen the beginning of the incident. Guy, his dad and my brother, had come to him and asked him to follow the protocol. Turns out Guy and Ivory were teaching their kids about protocols and were drilling them about safety and panic rooms. Enzo had collected enough food that can be stuffed in the five backpacks, and had taken the kids to the locker panic room stealthily. They had been told by their parents during the training that should something ever happen then one of the others would come for them, if they themselves couldn't. They had shown our photos to Enzo to remember our faces. Told him that he is to not leave until after a month has passed. But little Enzo could not have fathomed how much food five growing kids would require.”
I look at Enzo and find his eyes rooted on me. I cannot even imagine what he must have gone through. That does explain his reaction to having an unknown person in their midst and him freaking out. After all, it was an unknown person that caused the biggest tragedy in their lives. On an impulse I get up and run to him and wrap him in my arms.
He stiffens. Probably waiting for a signal from Dad. But after a few seconds, he relaxes and brings his arms around me and almost crushes me to his chest.
“I am sorry I was an asshole to you….” he whispers in my hair.
“I am sorry you had to go through that Enzo. I am so sorry,” I speak into his chest.
“Okay enough. Hands off my daughter,” Dad grumbles and the others laugh.
Surprisingly though, Enzo and I giggle too.
I move back and look at Dad. He might have grumbled but he is smiling now.
“I am proud of you son. Always will be,” he tells Enzo, who gives him a soft smile back. “So we stayed in a hotel for the next week. And during that time, I don't know if you all remember, you didn't leave her side at all. At first we thought that it was because you all were the same age. But then Sensei said something that didn’t make sense then, but it does now.”
“What did he say?” Ryan asks.
“He said that you would always be connected. And that somehow, Ada will be the glue. It didn't make sense then. But now it does, thinking back at how she was able to find you. We may have found you on our own, or maybe not. But the fact that Ada did has to mean something, right?” He pauses to look at us, thinking back. “Also, none of you even asked each other’s names. Probably that is the reason why you were unaware that you were living with my daughter all this time.”
I look around the room and find every eye pinned on me. It gives a squirmy feeling. And I never squirm.
“Okay… then?” I ask trying to shift the focus from me.
I think Dad seems more grateful at the change than me.
“We figured that Borysko was behind the murders of our family. Had we not been delayed by the Tsunami, we may have been killed too. Or maybe we all could have been saved. We will never know. But the fact that he had seen all the kids’ faces made us believe that their lives might be in danger too.
“So we came up with a plan. Shakti would start training Ada, and I would start training the kids. We all decided that Scotland would be a good place to start over. Sensei suggested that we split the kids. But I didn't have the heart to do so.
“Shakti, however, was more frantic and worried about Ada’s safety. She said that Ada has to be in a different place than the others. Borys had seen the other kids. Nobody had ever seen Ada. Keeping her hidden from that world till the time came, seemed like the best idea.
“Shakti and I took Ada to Kerala in India and started raising her there. We put you all in a boarding school in Scotland, and Sensei decided that he would stay on as your legal guardian. I visited as much as I could to talk to you guys and train you guys. While Shakti took full reins of Ada’s training here.
“Almost four years had passed, when in 2009, everything slipped from my grip. Once when I was in Scotland meeting you guys, Borys found Shakti in the bazaar, the local market of Trivandrum where we lived. Shakti couldn't lead him back to Ada, so she did what anyone else would have done. She led him away from our baby girl. She managed to get a message to me, but by the time I reached back, along with Sensei, it was too late. He wanted her to come with him, to wherever he wanted, he wanted her to tell him where the kids were, and he wanted Ada.”
I am suddenly wrapped in huge muscled arms. Turning to look up I find it is Ryan.
“Why the fuck would he want her?” he asks, with gritted teeth.
“Maybe he thought that if he took Ada then Shakti will automatically follow. Maybe he thought that either Shakti or Ada were Kazi. Whatever his reason, my girl fought with him, like a bloody warrior. She died clutching her pendant, it held Ada’s and my photos.”
Oh God. I wish I could go to Dad right now.
Someone wipes my cheeks, and I see that Vince has come up to me. He’s in front of me, wiping the tears off my face.
I sniffle and offer him a small smile.
“She was killed by Borys? Your brother? This is what you meant when you said you would tell me everything when the time comes?” I ask Dad.
“Yes. Even though you refused to believe that your ma is gone.” More tears fall from my eyes. Yes, it took me a long time to come to the fact that Ma is gone. “But there is one thing that none of you know. Borys grew powerful, he was the most trained warrior after all. And we came to find that he is Creation Blessed. He is, who we now know as the Liberator.”
The fuck!!
The others didn't know this if their gasps are anything to go by.
He raises his hand just as all of us open our mouths to ask questions.
“Let me finish. Ada needs to know more before we continue forward. And you all need to know more about her.” He tells everyone and just like that, everyone settles down. The effect Dad has on them is breathtaking.
“So, once Shakti was killed by him, Sensei told me that the time has come to put Ada in the trials. I was furious. I had just lost my wife. I couldn't lose my daughter too. I refused. Besides, Ada needed more time to come to terms with Shakti being gone. I said, no chance. But he said, this is the only way. She needs to be prepared for whatever is to come. There were no other warriors left other than us, and Borys. It took six months for him to convince me, to let Ada and me grieve, before I made my mind.”
“But Pa, how come Sensei never asked any of us to be put in the trials. Then we all could have been together like you all were.” Lexie interrupts us.
“Remember once he took you all for a maze mystery, and gave you all riddles and stuff?”
He asks them, and they all nod.
“What had happened?” Dad asks.
Ash answers. “We couldn't finish it.”
“Do you remember that at one wrong stumble, the bridge collapsed? What did you do then?”
“We panicked. But walked across the rubble and reached the other side. But that was a difficult riddle to solve,” Ryan says. He still has his arms around me and I am surprised that Dad hasn't said anything to him. I am surprised that I have been feeling so comfortable sitting here. Maybe this is what big families do.
“Yes. And Sensei had to come get you. You all laughed. You all had ice cream on the way back. What you all don’t know is that you all solved that riddle wrong. You were not supposed to take the bridge. And that maze/quest thing was sort of a test to see if you could endure the trials. I had taken Ada to a similar maze back in India. That was the condition I put to Sensei. I had asked him that all the kids will enter the Trial qualifiers.
“And she solved it. She came out the other side, followed by eight wild stray dogs. That maze, just like the one where you had gone, was in a forest. What was even more surprising, none of you encountered a single animal. That is in no way a dig at you or your skills. Just that what is required in those trials and those warriors is a level of creative intelligence that she exhibited at that age. She found the animals, most probably went looking for them, made friends with them, and made the strays and
the wild ones friends with each other too.”
Dad looks at me with love and I smile at him, while the others are looking at me with something I don’t want to get into right now. I haven't done anything to deserve their respect like this.
“And as soon as she came out, all scratched up and bleeding from her knees, elbows, face, and hands, she told me Dad these kids need water and food. Can we get them some? Can we bring them home? I didn't have the heart to refuse. Especially since I knew that she would be going for the trials. This was more than a sign for me that she needed to be in the trials. So I took her and the pack of eight dogs back home. Sensei returned to India soon after. He told me what had happened in the maze here. He said those kids are powerful, and skillful. They have the right mindset. But at this point they aren't ready for that level of training. Ada is.
“So I sat with Ada and explained to her why she needs to go and stay in the gurukul ashram and train with Sensei. I told her that her mother was killed. And the best we could do then was train her so that she could help me find and take the man who killed Shakti. I told her that man was a skilled warrior, like me, but she needed to be one too to help me. And she agreed. She entered the trials, and won. Came out and started her training with Sensei.
“I came to Scotland then and started working with you all. There is no doubt that you all are powerful and physically able. As much as her. Maybe more than her in certain aspects when it comes to physical prowess. The only differences are in the way she thinks and the way she connects with nature and all beings of nature. Hence her connection to animals. And now here we are.”
Everyone is silent for a while, but then everyone erupts with questions.
Dad gives us a smile and then points to me, “questions babygirl?”
“Many. Starting from what is this society thing and how did you all become involved in it... I need all the history. And are there other sects or societies?”
“I will let the others explain those things to you. Vince?”
“So she trained with Sensei? Our Sensei?” he asks
What? Our sensei? They have a Sensei too?
“Yes she did. Ada, Sensei and I lead this society. They will explain everything to you soon. But maybe now you all need to sleep. It is already five am your time. I think there is no doubt that Ada will remember everything. But still. Sleep is important.”
“Wait, Pa.” Ash interrupts. “She trained with him for how many years? How much training did she complete? You had said that we are equal to a Level Eighteen in skills and powers, what about her?”
Dad looks at me. And everyone seems to be holding their breath.
“Shakti managed to bind her powers before she left her.”
“What? Ma did what?”
“Baby girl, all of us blessed, have powers, magic. We are called the Gifted. Borys and the others can monitor everyone else, anyone in the world with their magic signature. Their magic is known. Sensei and I believe the only reason Borys hasn't come looking for you till now is because he doesn't know how you look, and your powers have not been unlocked yet. So Ash, she is a Level Twenty Four. Having passed everything in a span of only nine years. But because her powers have been blocked, she couldn't reach Level Twenty Five.”
Holy fuck
Damn shit
Oh my God
I hear the others whisper.
“Wait. That is why you kept saying that one more stage and then I will be the only warrior in the world?” I ask Dad.
“Yes. The time has come now. Sensei will perform the unblocking ceremony soon. I will let you know. Come on now head to bed kids.”
“But Dad..”
“I know you have a lot of questions baby girl. But I cannot dump everything onto you right now. Everyone else needs sleep too. And you need to read up and study what these kids know. Now you are a part of the team. So you will follow their training and study schedules too. And I promise, in due time, all answers will come to you.”
“But Dad, what is your society called?”
Everyone stops mid step as they look at me.
Dad smiles and says, “AdiShakti of course.”
Chapter 15
Ada
We all are sitting at the kitchen table and my mind is whirling. After Dad hung up the phone, the guys suggested that we get some hot chocolate. But of course I am sitting with coffee and a mental checklist as long as the wall is setting itself up in my mind.
“What is on your mind?” Lexie asks me.
“It's just… It’s a lot to handle. I don’t even know where one thought ends and another starts.”
“Tell me the thing on your mind right now.. Maybe it will help streamline your thoughts a bit?” she asks, giving me a small smile.
I take my time to think it over. I am grateful that they are trying to make things easier for me. But there are so many things to know that I don’t know how I can space it out.
“Umm… how about you tell me how you all came to be involved in something like this? Maybe that will put some things in perspective for me.” I shrug. I am hoping their response helps me.
They share a look then Enzo nods.
“It started a few years ago. Pa and Sensei were always worried about someone finding us or them. We honestly never discussed you. But after listening to Pa say that you were hidden, it makes sense. So a few years ago, Sensei and Pa talked to us about what they do, about the history, and how they wanted us to start working with them if we wanted..”
====
3 years ago
Lexie
“What do you mean we should come together? What is going on?” I ask frantically.
Ash is holding me and I don’t even know why I am freaking out. I have been trained for so many years. Hell, ever since the time Enzo ushered us into that tiny locker panic room, and Pa took us out, I had sworn to myself that I won’t freak out ever. But the fact that Sensei is on a video call means this is serious shit.
“It means that we have decided to bring you all into the fold and see if you would like to work with us. No pressure though. If you cannot, then it is fine. If you don’t want to, it is also fine. But we feel it is high time when we at least let you all know what has been on our minds for a long time,” Sensei speaks.
We all look at the two of them - Pa and Sensei. When nobody offers anything, Enzo speaks up, “Well? What is it? ”
Sensei and Pa take a deep breath and then as one, turn their eyes to us.
“What we are about to tell you, must never ever leave this room, yeah? It is only the seven of us who are privy to this. Okay?” Pa says.
“Sure..” All of us respond.
One more deep breath and then Sensei takes over. We know it is fucking serious if Sensei is choosing to speak to us.
“Do you remember how all of us used to work on select cases or with clients on paranormal, occult or quest based things?” he asks us.
“Yeah” Ry answers for us.
“Well, that was only the fancy title we use for the fact that we are God Supreme and Preservation Gods blessed, and that we have been looking for Kazi and the Time God, Vyhdir. Sensei and I have been doing it on our own for the last ten years. And we think that we should now look to more people joining us. But we cannot trust anybody else and we want to keep it in the family. So… what do you think about joining us?” Pa asks.
Is he being serious right now? Oh. My. God. I would want nothing more than to work with them on this.
“Pa! I would love that!!” I scream.
“Wait a minute.. How come you are blessed? And what does it entail? What kind of work do you do? Is there any danger involved?” The forever protective Enzo asks Pa.
“We are warriors. Have you forgotten? And the warriors are blessed by the Preservation Gods. And Sensei is blessed by the God Supreme. There will always be danger. But the fact that you all are not warrior trained, we will have to figure out what parts you guys can be involved in. We also take up cases for quests and treasure hunts, and
that is where you will be working on almost all the cases with us.”
Sensei adds, “one thing to remember though, is that we will not be approaching these cases as ‘experts’. We are not saying that if the clients do what we tell them to then they will be successful. We will have to be very careful in our communication. We have to maintain that we will offer alternatives and different ways of doing things but there is no way that we can know for sure what will work and what won’t. We have to be very careful in not guaranteeing them anything. It will be hard for you all to do. But until you all agree to this, we cannot move forward on this. To help you understand, we are not Indiana Jones and Lara Crofts of the real world. We are consuting those who think they are. Understand?”
Yes. We all respond in varying degrees of enthusiasm.
“As for trying to find the Vyhdir, we need you to take a few weeks and wrap your minds around everything we discussed today. Then we will see where we stand. Yeah?” We all nod. “Another thing we wanted to talk about is….. Your skills and powers.”
“What powers?” Vince asks.
Pa and Sensei look at each other and then Pa responds.
“Remember when you were fifteen years old, we went camping? And there I told you something and then we all performed a ceremony?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I had told all of you that you have a magical power within you but to protect you it must be kept hidden for now. Each of you shas a skill. A magical skill. And before you all erupt, Sensei will unlock your powers and then we'll take it from there. Sounds good?”
We were all stunned into silence.
“Why don’t we remember you even speaking to us about the powers?" I ask him.
“Because I blocked that memory from you.”
But before we could speak or do anything, Sensei snaps his fingers.
“Come on then. Cael will lead your unblocking and then we can talk about it further…”
Chapter 16
Ada
“Whoa!!! You have powers too? They just told you that you have it and then BOOM you were given the powers?” I ask perplexed.
Circle of Time: An urban fantasy (The Kazi Chronicles Book 1) Page 7