What?
Kali snickers. ‘He found Enzo looking at us.’
I open my eyes and see Enzo with an adorable blush on his cheeks. But wait!
‘You can see when my eyes are closed?’ I ask Kali.
‘Of course. I have my own eyes you see. I will see if my eyes are open. Why do you ask silly questions?’
“Ada?”
I look up to find Dad looking at me with questions in his eyes.
I shake my head and tell him, “talking to Kali. Need to ask her a few questions. I will wait till later.”
“For a moment I forgot about her,” Dad says. I know Kali didn’t like hearing that.
I clear my throat and say, “we need to make an effort to remember that now we have Kali with us too.”
“Yes of course. Sorry Kali. Oversight on my part. Won't happen again,” Dad says with all the feeling he could muster in his voice.
‘It’s okay Cael,’ Kali says.
I smile. “She says it’s okay, Cael.”
He squeezes my shoulder and I feel that Kali knows that it is for her. Lexie comes with books in her hands.
“Okay let’s start,” Dad starts.
Chapter 38
Ada
Almost two hours into the study, none of us have moved from our spots. Dad, Lexie, Enzo and I, trying to do the jobs Baba entrusted us with.
I have had theories swirling in my mind, the revelations, and the thought that the possibilities are endless. I mean, forget everything you ever learned. This is the Gods we are talking about. If something can be thought of and done that has never been done before, it will be in regards to them. And just that knowledge, opens a plethora of options.
Urrghgh.
I don’t like not knowing.
Suddenly my eyes catch on to something. It reads
…...a place like no other. Mountains, oceans, forest, everything together, emboldened and sculpted by the years of their trials and errors. After all, all elements were present once they were done with grasping their powers. Today, these natural bodies also provide a barrier against the rest of the world.
Okay, I feel it, I have got something. I continue scanning, searching for something. I am acutely aware of Kali being super focussed on it as well. She is reading every word with complete attention.
…..For millennia after that, the elemental gods kept coming back to harness more of their powers. They used to call it their retreat. Their one place they felt connected and grounded. For they knew that nobody could get to them as long as they were there. The land had a unique way of protecting the ones who sought refuge here. It could have been anybody, and not just the Elemental Gods, even though the land seems to hold them close to its heart. After all, they were the ones who made that land what it is now. But the Land is said to open its doors for anyone who came looking for answers and much much more.
But like Baba had said, the lands and water bodies have been shifting for ages. We are talking about even before the world came into existence, right? Did Kailamat stay the same? Or has it shifted and altered? And will it even hold the same importance if it has drifted?
“Ada, look!!!” Kali’s shocked voice is more than enough to bring me out of my questions.
I look down at the Book and see the words changing.
I blink my eyes, thinking both Kali and I are hallucinating. I get a sense that Kali is trying to blink too. We sit in rapt attention and focus on the words being written on the page.
‘All around, the Earth was changing. Masses of lands were drifting, mountains were being submerged in water, water was being changed into deserts. But Kailamat never changed. Nobody questioned it. Nobody even paid attention. But one day, someone will ask the very question. And these words will appear.’
Kali and I hold our breaths and wait if there is anything more. And we are rewarded with yet another paragraph.
‘Look closely, you will find the clues you need to look for this land. And why has this never changed? You asked correctly. It has never changed its location or elements because it is the direct connection between Arhanyth and Gyaraath. You will figure it out, as you always do, and always will. But know this, that the names hold a lot of power. And in time, you will learn of that power too.’
I blink again. Read it again, and again. And again.
What is Gyaraath? Can we tell the others about it? What does it mean that the names hold a lot of power?
‘Kali, what are your thoughts? I cannot hide this from the others….’
‘Me too. I think we can tell them.’
Just as Kali and I are discussing this, we see more words appear.
...trust in your gut, trust in yourself. Trust those your gut trusts. And if Paramaiah hasn’t already made his presence known, He will soon….
Kali and I cannot stop but blink. Hard. Again. And again.
The Book is reading our thoughts?
The fuck?
We wait, wait for the words to disappear. Or for...something. I mean, if the names hold a lot of power then surely the words will disappear for the fear of others reading it, right?
But the words remain there, steadfast. Maybe The Book is waiting for something too?
‘I think we need to name The Book, instead of calling it the Book,’ Kali pipes in, and I swear I could feel her rolling her eyes.
‘Yeah, I agree. Let’s call The Book, Sara?’
‘I like it. Is there a way to check if The Book likes that name?’
‘I have no clue. We can ask?’
‘The Book,’ Kali begins, ‘do you like the name Sara? Ada and I would like to call you by that name. But we don’t want to sound presumptuous. Because we are not. But you clearly are an ancient being. And we wouldn't want to offend you by giving you a name, when you'd rather be just called the book.’
Kali stops. I give her my best version of a mental squeeze. This badass is nervous.
A gust of wind appears, and the pages start flipping. In an order.
Three pages. Then one. Then three and again three.
Then two seconds break, and one page.
Then two seconds break, then one page, one page and one page. Back to the page with new words.
-.-- . …
‘Is that...’ Kali trails off.
I gulp. Holy fuck.
‘Morse code. Of course…..’ I nervously wipe my sweaty palms on my thighs. ‘Well, Sara, good to meet you. Thank you for letting us know.’
‘Yeah. Same, what she said.’
And with that Kali retreats. I think a book that can communicate with us has shaken her. I take a deep breath and lift my head to let others know what Kali and I have been upto.
A small shriek comes out of my mouth as I find every other eye on me. And not just Dad, Lexie and Enzo, but everyone else too who seemed to have come to the room sometime when Kali and I were freaking out and blinking. They have a mix of concern and curiosity in their expressions.
‘Kali! Come back up. I need support.’
‘I am here, I am here. What is going on? Why the heck is everyone looking at us? And when the fuck did the others come in?’
‘I don’t know. That's what I am also surprised to find…And you say fuck a lot.’
‘Details. Well, let’s get started then, as Dad would say. Let’s divide the observation. I take the boys and you take the others. Equal opportunities.’
A smile breaks free on my face, and that exact moment everybody’s worry crumbles and they return my smile.
“Has anyone ever heard of Gyaraath?” I ask. I don’t know why I start with that.
As Kali had said, she is observing the guys, and I observe Baba, Dad and Lexie. Nothing, but not before a brief glint in Baba’s eyes. It went so fast … maybe I imagined it.
“Maybe…..,” Baba says. But not offering anything further.
“What is Gyaraath? Is it the name for Earth?” I ask him.
He looks at me. Then he seems to make up his mind about something and says, “I need to know
why you are asking about it. Because if you know the name then you sure know that it is not okay to take those names out loud, right?” he pins me with a glare and I realise my mistake. I shouldn't have. I should've paid attention to Sara’s words.
I nod. Shame filling me. “I don’t know which names are sacred and what cannot be mentioned. I am sorry. Once I understand things I will be way more careful. Okay, come here and look at this,” I say opening the Book, Sara, to the page where we found the new words.
As everyone huddles close to me, I end up being between Ryan and Vince, and Kali struts around. I roll my eyes at her antics.
I hear everyone take a deep breath in, trying to process it. Once everyone has read the words, what Kali and I had been waiting for, happens. The words dissolve. Rearranging the previous words back on the page, like the new words were never there.
“Please tell me you all saw that,” my voice is a whisper. I am afraid I will spook Sara or anybody else.
“Yes…. we saw…,” Dad says.
I look up and find Dad and Baba looking at each other.
“So...what does this mean? That Ada unlocked a part of the book?” Lexie asks.
“Sara,” Kali and I say at the same time.
At everyone’s questioning looks, I continue, “Sara is her name. The Book. We will call her Sara from now. And yes, I think Sara thought that Kali and I should know what you all just read. And Sara seems to trust you too. So that's good. Right?”
A beat of silence passes then Vince chimes in, “I have known magic a long time. I have learned it and worked with it with Pa and Sensei for so many years. But the amount of miracles or the unthinkables happening now ever since you have come in our lives, is staggering. Sometimes it makes me think that maybe you are magic itself,” his voice holds such reverence that I feel a blush creeping in.
I look down and then Enzo’s booming voice says, “she is blushing! Pa, I never knew that your daughter could do anything like that, ever.”
An unladylike snort leaves me making everyone laugh. Dad laughs and then as if remembering something, he turns to face Enzo, “Why in the world are you looking so closely at her?”
Enzo sputters. Looking like a deer caught in headlights. Then Dad throws his head back and laughs out loud and pats Enzo’s shoulder.
Baba shakes his head and smiles softly at all of us.
“So...Baba, what does it mean that Paramaiah will show Himself soon? Do you think He is around?”
Baba stumbles and looks at me. Then nods. Then shrugs.
“Maybe. We only know that very few people, as in people of this world, have seen Him. Plus He is a master at disguise. So maybe He is around. We will have to wait and see, right?”
I am getting some nervous vibes from him and I frown at that.
What the heck is Baba nervous about.
Maybe because everyone should be nervous about meeting the God Supreme Himself, right?
‘I am sure that is all there is to it. But if it is something else, then I am sure we will figure it out babe.’
Kali reassures me.
“So, what have you guys found?” Dad’s voice brings me out of my reverie, again.
“Let’s call it a day. Let’s have some food. We have training tomorrow. We will resume this after training. Ada needs all the rest with her using so much of her magic. New magic awakened always needs more rest. Vee and I will show you the maps we worked on, the locations we have narrowed down on, and then you fill us in on what you all think. Especially after reading what th- Sara told,” Baba announces.
“Yeah sounds good.”
Chapter 39
Ryan
“It is way fucking early. This is practically midnight. I am gonna start crying,” Ada whines as she comes downstairs with Lexie.
Holy fuck, ice candy in a marshmallow.
She is wearing super short shorts, yoga shorts I think. And a black skin hugging spaghetti top. Oh boy. This is going to be one bad session. Do I even want to spar with her with Pa and Sensei here?
A sound comes from my right and I turn around to find Ash sprawled on his ass.
“Ash, what the heck, you okay?” Lexie demands, running to him.
“Is this midnight for you too?” Ada grumbles with a pout, crossing her arms across her ribs.
As Lexie helps Ash up, another sound comes from behind them. That is Vee rubbing his ankles, that he clearly hit somewhere while his eyes were focussed on Ada.
Pa, Sensei and Enzo enter the training room that takes the entire second floor of the mansion. Pa and Sensei walk straight in, while Enzo gapes at Ada, looking like a fish.
If my balls were not in any danger of bursting out right this second, I may have found it funny.
“Positions!” Pa shouts.
Both Pa and Sensei are ready to work out. And damn if they don’t have the bodies to flaunt it.
Ada comes to the mat, grumbling and rubbing sleep from her eyes. All of us circle around her.
“Fifty jumping jacks, fifty crawlies, and fifty burpies. GO!” Pa screams and kicks off the workout.
“Fuck,” Ada groans, but starts her jumping jacks.
It is difficult to not focus on her. But I try, and with all my will, I focus on Sensei in front of us, and start my warm up.
By the time we reach the burpies, Ada is wide awake, and looks as sharp and focussed as Vee looks while he solves a puzzle.
All of us are sweating but none is panting. Ada is breathing deep, taking controlled breaths.
“Sun salutations. Thirty. Go!” Sensei booms, and in tandem, Sensei, Pa and Ada start.
Good thing we have mirrors in our training room. Because as I go through the motions of the salutations, Ada’s movements catch my eyes. She is poetry in motion.
The lines her body makes, the curves, the dips, the measured breathing. Fuck.
My balls are not going to survive this.
It takes ages, but seeing her doing these yoga asanas, makes it all worthwhile.
Once we are done, Pa and Ada drop down to the corpse pose. We all follow.
“Ada and I will take you through the half an hour high intensity workout we do. It is a mix of Capoeira, Yoga, and some things that we only do at the Ashram. But you all have to start doing it. Cael, take point and help them with positions, if they require,” Sensei announces.
We stand, as Ada goes up front and joins Sensei.
We are ready. I mean, how difficult could it be, right?
Ada and Sensei bow to each other. Then Ada hits the music. It is an upbeat latin number that definitely had to have been chosen by her.
I am pretty sure that we can do whatever they are about to do. We have trained all our lives. Pa literally killed us during our training, but that is the only reason we are the level we are at right now. Even if she is Level 24 - But. Wait. Now her magic is awakened, so she must be level 25, right?
Perhaps sensing that my thoughts are on her, Ada looks at me, and winks.
When the music reaches a beat that Sensei and Ada are waiting for, they start moving.
Oh. Bloody. Fucking. Seventh. Ring. Of. Hell.
====
Enzo
They are a blur and their bodies do not look like bodies. They look like they are made of air and light. Jumping, turning a circle mid air, kicking while maintaining warrior poses. Their control over their core, phenomenal. Every single move, measured. Every hand and leg movement, pumped with power that I feel hitting my body.
Kill Bill comes to mind. All we want is the Twisted Nerve theme playing.
Pa starts taking us through the exercises, and we try to catch up to them. We try our level best with movements. But we cannot match them in grace as they are pretty phenomenal.
Someone who could match Sensei step for step, is definitely worth worshipping.
Then they take it a notch further. They flow through the motions. They go warrior pose, toe touch, mountain pose, handstand, pushups on their handstand with vertical bodies defying gravity, f
rom there they flow to head stand, then handstand back, then head stand, then tucking their knees to their stomachs they roll back down to the ground, mountain pose, toe touch, warrior. And repeat.
My eyes are bulging, my thighs are screaming. Hell, my sweat is crying.
And the best part? The music playlist that Ada had turned on switches to Don’t Cha by Pussycat Dolls. On repeat. A smile curls my lips. Watching Sensei and this goddess of mine working out hardcore on Pussycat dolls.
Their coordination, their movements, the head stands and hand stands, every fucking move, is perfection, to the beat.
“Do one round with them. Come on!” Pa roars from next to us where we are lying in a puddle of our tears. With that, he goes up front and joins them.
Beat to beat, step to step, Pa does the routine, much to Ada’s delight if her squeals are anything to go by, despite being on the hand-to-head-stand-move.
We try to do one round with them, and damn if my core isn’t clawing out. With regular practice, I would be able to do this smoothly. But out of the blue, trying to match to the beats of Don’t Cha is Mission Impossible.
Wow. My thoughts are a testament to how much Ada has affected me. Her pop culture references have rubbed off on me too. One more thing to think about later.
Once we are done, Ada, Sensei and Pa, bow to each other. While the rest of us collapse on the floor.
“We will spar. Only hand to hand. No magic. Until Ada learns to wield hers, we will not be sparring with magic with her. You will do it later on, on your own,” Sensei’s announcement comes. He is not even breathing hard. Neither is Ada. But she is looking like a Goddess right now, covered in sweat, guzzling water from a bottle. Fuck. “We will give an intro to Ada, as she has not sparred with you guys. Enzo and Ash, Ry and Lex, Vee and Cael. First pair, go!”
I look at Vee and wince. Sparring with Pa, fuck. He gives me a smile, which turns to a full blown watt and a second later I see why. Ada comes over to him and nudges his shoulder. God, my brother, he is so smitten. How can she not see. How can she not see all of us around her?
“Enzo!” Ash calls me, at the same time as Ada looks at me. She gives me the same smile and gives me a thumbs up, before doing the same to Ash.
Circle of Time: An urban fantasy (The Kazi Chronicles Book 1) Page 25