I finally understood. The gods used the holy city as bait so that I could be brought back in time to kill the fiercest demon of all.
"Tell me, my lord, if your knowledge exceeds all boundaries, what becomes of me in the end?" I asked in desperation.
"Why do you ask the playwright to give away the climax of the story before it is time?" said the blue-skinned man with a smile. "But for your selflessness and bravery, I shall grant you two things."
"I thank you for your kindness, but I have no need of them," I said bitterly. I was upset and furious, but I was also aware that I could be blasted to powdery dust if I angered the three-eyed god.
Shiva simply rose and walked towards me with panther grace, light and assured on the balls of his feet. I drew in a jagged breath, recoiling from the mystery of his intents.
"Child of Prophecy, Protector of the Creation, whether you wish for it or not, you must take this boon." He stretched out his arm to touch my forehead on the spot where the third eye was supposed to lie. I braced myself—for what? I didn't quite know.
Perhaps a burst of heavenly music, or a gust of wind and lightning flash. But his touch disappeared with no dramatic sensation than the brush of a bird's wing. I looked around myself. Everything was the same as before.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Keep in mind that the wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead," Shiva said.
I was about to ask more questions when the lord stood again and backed away.
"I shall leave you now."
Then his body shimmered and slowly disappeared in a burst of light.
"Lord Shiva, wait!" I cried, but the god was already gone. The fire died and darkness descended.
But the lion king was still sleeping beside me. Shiva said he would give me two things. I realized Gajasimha was one of them. The lion king's ears perked up and raised his head to attention. Then I heard my friends' voices from far away.
"Nikita!" Vorac and Tepi yelled through the dark forest. "Where are you?"
I guess I had to return to them soon, but this time with a new four-legged friend.
~*~
"Nikita!" Tepi's voice cried as she and Vorac ran across the wide flower-filled meadow. I was glad to see them again, but then I saw Vorac raised her golden bow. I realized she was going to shoot the lion king. I rushed forward to stop them.
"No, no, wait! Vorac, don't shoot!" I said, spreading my arms to block her. "He did not harm me!"
They halted at my words. Vorac lowered her bow again and a exchanged glance with Tepi.
"Nikita, I think it's wise to stay away from the beast," Tepi said cautiously. Her body was still poised in a defensive stand. "If we keep him around any longer, we shall all lose our lives at once."
"No, my friends, hear me first, he is a gift and not a threat to us," I told them. The two avatars looked even more perplexed.
“A gift from who?”
I decided it was time to tell them what happened.
It took a while to convince the girls. After seeing that Gajasimha hadn't bitten our heads off yet, they soon began to relax. I invited them to sit down with me.
Vorac rekindled the campfire, and we settled around the glare of the shimmering flames in silence. Above us, the stars shone with their pensive tender light as the moon cast its soft glow to inspire the mind.
My friends took turn asking me questions. How did it feel meeting the limitless, transcendent, unchanging Shiva, one of Three Elder Gods?
"I just stared at him," I told them honestly. "He was blue and calm and intimidating."
I also told them what Shiva had said to me about the rebirth of the Demon King.
"So Ravana is back?" Tepi said.
I nodded.
"And you're destined to slay him," added Vorac in awe. "I knew from the day I met you that Lord Father was the bridge that linked you to this world. We are more or less spiritual sisters! But isn't it time Father Chandra visit you, too?"
Gajasimha was now asleep again, snoring like rumbling thunders beside us.
"So you are the future daughter of our Queen," Tepi mused to herself, but I could see a glint of pity in her eyes. The wisest of the avatars knew the path to heroism was a self-sacrifice. "You're also the reincarnation of the warrior prince who was Amarisa's past lover."
Vorac surmised over the details. "Like Rama and Sita."
I smiled at her sadly.
"Nikita," Tepi said as if she suddenly remembered it. "Does the princess know about this?"
"No." I dropped my gaze to the fire again. "It's best not to tell her who I am."
"We understand you," Vorac said, looking at me as if she could relate to the feeling too.
"Well,” Tepi sighed. “I guess it’s time we let everyone know about Ravana.”
~*~
After the night ended, the sun began to rise again. Golden light shone over the green pasture, waking us from our slumber. Every part of my body was still sore and stiff, and my neck felt like a bowstring.
The sun glow bathed over the prairie. My mind reflected on the last night's event. It felt like a dream wrapped in realistic skin. The only reminder of last night was the lion king, who trotted over to me and began licking my face with his sloppy wet tongue. I yelped.
My friends laughed.
"What a majestic creature," Vorac said. "He seems so smitten by you, Nikita."
I struggled to rescue myself from the saliva bath the beast tried to give me. It seemed Gajasimha had accepted our bond more readily than I did.
"Time to get back to the city, ladies," Tepi said. "We can't linger here for long. We have to go back to our old tunnel, or we won't end up in the same place."
I looked at the rich green tint of the meadow as Vorac snuffed out the last smoke from the fire. After a while, we were set to go. Walking back through the mystical forest, the two girls never stopped glancing at my new mount.
"Issarak will die of envy seeing this!" Vorac said and snickered excitedly to herself.
But suddenly we heard the screams of wild things and familiar human voices from a distance.
"Would Heaven know what is over there?" Tepi whispered. With an exchanging look, we all started to run towards the source of that rumpus chaos.
As we got closer, we were shocked by the sight before us. Issarak and his teammates were battling against a pack of gigantic monsters. They were the same ones we had met when we first arrived.
There were about ten of them. All surrounded the avatars. The monsters had three heads which sprang from a single neck, hissing and snarling at Issarak’s team.
The daughter of Vayu, who was dainty and swift like a whirlwind, defended the lot with all her strength. But it seemed her power was waning, and the giant beasts were stronger.
Issarak, the head of their group, was limping and swinging his spear back and forth with one hand. He was bleeding from the shoulder whereas Vijay, son of Marutas, was laying listlessly on the ground—all twenty-six of him were in a state of unconsciousness.
"We must help them!" I said to my friends. Tepi and Vorac nodded at each other. I knew a crafted plan had passed between the two.
"Nikita, we both will attack from above," Tepi briefed me the plot. "See if you could bring your mount to our aid when the time is right."
Then they left. I quickly turned to Gajasimha.
"O Brave King of the Wild, do you mind if I—" before I could finish, the lion whisked me up with his elephant trunk and tossed me onto his scaled back. I landed facing his behind. "Oh...well...alright."
I swirled myself around, and he began to run towards the battle. My friends had already rounded the area from behind the trees.
"The animals are possessed!" Ravi cried out a warning when she saw us coming. That was when I noticed the wrathful creatures’ glowing red eyes. The daughter of Vayu seemed to have difficulty summoning the winds since the area was full of trees and plants.
Tepi was the first to jump into action. She raised a pillar of earth
from the ground and ran over it before flipping herself in the air.
At the same time, her hands spread out and vines flew from the nearby trees, hooking around her body like a puppet on strings.
She swung from tree to tree before she drew a pair of hunting knives from her sides. Her golden blades gleamed.
One of the beasts turned to her and opened its huge sharp-toothed jaw like a crocodile waiting to devour my friend. Tepi released herself from the vines and brought the knives on her way down. It sunk right into the animal's head. A loud wail echoed through the jungle as the monster crumbled to the ground. Its body seemed to petrify into black stone and then exploded into a swirl of black dust.
Vorac stood on a branch of a tree and swiftly loaded her bow with a golden arrow. She shot without missing the targets. One by one the giant beasts collapsed and shattered like ashes in the storm.
"Nikita, now!"
I urged the lion king forward. He leaped over creatures and turned his body around. The demonic animals snarled with its three vicious heads. Gajasimha drew out his claws and stood on his hind legs. He slapped each head one after another, sending the animal reeling and collapsing to the ground. The powerful fight almost tossed me off his back, but I gripped onto the lion's ears. But it must’ve been a mistake since the wild king let out an earth-shaking roar in pain. The roar stopped all attacks as the remaining monsters scattered away in fright. They fled the area.
"Sorry," I said to the mount afterward. Gajasimha let out a low grunt.
Then I looked around us and found everyone unharmed. But they stood frozen, staring at me slack-jawed.
After a while, my friends came to me, and I let myself slid down the lion king's shoulder. From the corner of my eyes, Issarak just stood there.
Ravi came to us.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue," she said then she looked at me. I could see there was a hint of astonishment on her usual unimpressed face.
"What happened?" Tepi asked.
"Our Hamsas broke down," she told us. "We were on the hunt when Vijay, or rather one of him, found a strange fruit. One bite was enough to put the rest of the twenty-six to sleep. Then we were attacked by these demonic wildings as you have seen."
"The demons took control over these animals?" I asked and Ravi nodded.
"That means the Asuras must be around lurking in the dark," Tepi said. "We must leave."
"How did you find the beast king?" Issarak's voice growled bitterly behind us.
"You can find better words to thank us if you remember who have just saved your behind," Vorac snapped back at him.
"Are you deaf to my question?" the war god's son looked at me, insisting to know the answer.
"Shiva gave me the mount," I told him.
"What?! You're lying!"
"I saw the Lord the night before," I said. “Gajasimha is his gift.”
"You met my grandfather?" Issarak cried, staring at me in disbelief. "Why would he show himself to you and not to me?"
I began to get irritated by his arrogant nature and stomped over to him. A son of god or not, I had had enough of his loud mouth. My hand grabbed Issarak by his collar. His eyes went wide in surprise.
"Because I am the Destined One," I said. "And for better or worse, the gods have chosen me and not you. I am here to stay, so quit whining or I'll let the beast king ripe your head off! You hear me?!"
My claim surprised his mind. Then I pushed Issarak to the ground. His lips quivered and his face twisted in disbelief, but for the first time, the son of Murugan was at a loss for words. My friends looked at me, impressed. Vorac chuckled and even Tepi couldn't hide her smile.
"Alright, the forest is unsafe to linger," Tepi said. "We have to start our journey home before anything else tries to kill us."
CHAPTER 53
We emerged from the tunnel again before sunset. The other avatars along with the twins ran towards us.
"You are back! The gods bless you!" Atith cried.
"My bunny!" Tusita said as she and Vorac broke into a run towards each other.
While the girls rejoiced in each other's arms, Atith came to hug me and Tepi. Raksa was about to wrap his arms around us too, but Tepi tripped him with a block of earth. Raksa stumbled and fell. He got up and rubbed his forehead in pain.
"Aw, Tepi love! I thought we were soulmates!" Raksa pouted with a hurt look. “I crave no one but you by my side. Can I not have my arms around you for once?"
I almost forgot what love-sick looked like until I met the Son of Death. It made my heart sink remembering Amarisa.
"Silence!" Tepi hissed. "We have other important things to do."
Issarak and his friends appeared from the tunnel a while later. He was limping, and his injured arm hung from a sling Tepi made from vines.
"What in the Seventh Hell are you doing with these fellows?" Tusita cried with a furious scowl.
All of a sudden, we heard a low growl. Everyone's eyes widened. I looked back to the mouth of the tunnel. They watched the giant lion king looming out of the dark. His enormous body cast shadow over us.
"Well everyone," I said. "Meet Gajasimha, King of the Wild."
Atith screamed.
Morokot had flames flickering on her palms while Raksa pulled out his iron chains.
"Tell the others to get the soldiers to arms immediately!" Raksa cried.
"Whoa! No...Everyone, calm down!" I cried and stepped before them and the gigantic mammal. "He's not a threat! Well...at least, not to us."
I briefly told the other avatars how we got the lion king and how we met our opponents. After a while, my friends seemed to relax and then began skirting around the mighty beast. All of them couldn't take their eyes of the exotic animal, admiring the king from head to tail.
"What is that?" Tusita asked, pointing to Gajasimha’s back.
Curried upon the mount was the twenty-six sleeping avatars of the storm gods. The limbs entangled each other inside a vine-net that Tepi had woven to carry them like some caught fish.
"Oh, we forgot. One of Vijay's duplicates ate a poison fruit," Vorac said with an eye roll. "See if the twins can do anything to wake them."
Tepi waved her hand and the vines untied themselves. The sleeping bodies rolled into a pile on the ground. Some of them groaned while the other hardly made a stir.
The twin brothers looked at each other and shrugged at the same time. One of them, whom I assumed was Romanir, took a vile out of his cloth bag and came forward.
"Which one is the real Vijay?" he asked us. Vorac who had battled against the avatar before knew exactly which one. She pointed to the one faced down on the ground.
The twins went to him and rolled the avatar onto his back. Then they waved the remedy under his nose. A moment passed, Vijay's eyes peeled open and grunted.
"You all should leave that idiot to his death-like sleep!" Issarak growled. "It was me who needs medical care!"
"Sorry, Issarak, we don't have a cure for your arrogance," one of the twins replied.
The avatar of Marutas sat up. At the same time, all his other replicas turned into gold mist and flew back to him.
"What if in the war, one of him is wounded?" I asked.
"If one of him was struck by an enemy, he would still be fine," Ravi said. "But if it was his true form, then the rest of the others would also fall."
I nodded.
Before we got back to the encampment, Ravi came to me.
"Forgive me, Nikita," she said with an apologetic tone. "If I ever denied your importance in word or deed, I must confess I have been sidetracked by my own doubts."
I was quite surprised to hear that.
"That is alright," I told her.
"I know how greatly you might scorn me," she went on. "But now I wish to pledge my service to you, Child of Prophecy, therefore incline your head or else deny me."
At this, I was speechless and moved by her words. It needed not much considering and spoken words. I smiled at her and nodded.
Then Tepi told me to mount the lion king. Although I wasn't quite sure why she wanted me to do that, I did as was told.
Upon our arrivals, the horns were blown. By now the words had spread, and the people already gathered, surrounding the Main Square.
At a signal I could not see, the soldiers began to chant. Ten thousands of them, some on horseback and elephants and chariots speaking as one.
Ni-ki-ta!
Ni-ki-ta!
As they chanted my name, my heart pounded in my chest. All along the pavilions heads turned like leaves in the direction of the wind. The King and Queen, and the other royalties were watching us.
"The avatars and the Prophesied Child have returned!" The herald shouted.
The moon emerged from the clouds and the winds shifted. Bright light broke and poured over me, rolling on my skin and hair like a glowing frame. Gasps echoed from the men and new cheers burst in the air.
The corners of my lips tugged into a smile as I rode Gajasimha passed the awe-struck stares. I saw Kesar among the roaring crowd. She smiled at me and I waved at her.
But in that moment, I also longed to see Amarisa.
My avatar friends walked on both sides of the lion king. The beast roared to show his power but not so much as to frighten people.
A pathway had been left open for us, and it went straight through the crowd's heart.
"She must be the one!" they cried. "The gods have mercy upon us!"
"Indeed, there could be no one else," the others said in agreement.
The monarchs waited with the other nobles. At the King's right side were Queen Indradevi.
But their only daughter wasn't there. My heart sunk to my stomach, and I tried not to let my disappointment show. Amarisa no longer wished to be near me. Wasn't that what I wanted?
We strode over the causeway towards the Main Pavilion. The monarchs along with the Guru and the Hora, rose from their seats and went out to greet us. They all smiled, looking proud and relieved. Their hope in me was restored and expectation was exceeded.
"May the gods who dwell on Mount Meru bless you all," the King said to us.
Daughter of the Naga Page 45