by SGD Singh
Jax couldn’t stop staring. “Why does he get to wear his weapons open-carry like that?”
Asha laughed. “That’s traditional Sikh clothing. Nidhan could walk around a crowded Punjabi market dressed like that in the middle of the afternoon, and no one would give him a second glance.”
“Not because of his weapons, anyway,” Lexi said, beaming.
Jax turned to Asha. “So he’s your brother, but you have to wear that, while he gets to wear… that.”
“Technically Nidhan is my cousin,” Asha said. “But I suspect Lexi was thinking it was some kind of homage to my grandmother.”
“Correct,” Lexi said. “It’s for BapuJi. There’s something called respect, Asha.”
“Yes, thank you. I seem to recall hearing something about that somewhere.”
The group crowded into the elevator, and a moment later entered The Infernal Guard’s Central Headquarters’ main hall.
The mosaic tiled floor of the ballroom spread out under massive glass chandeliers the shapes of birds-of-prey in flight, sending sparkling light over round tables covered in white linen, shining china, and bursting with flowers. A stage with more flower-covered tables, microphones, and potted trees filled with twinkling lights rose on the far end of the room. Jax noticed another giant mural depicting warriors holding a boggling variety of weapons raised in triumph.
Kelakha looked slightly ill as he mumbled, “I’ll see you guys…”
Aquila laughed. “You probably won’t have to make a speech, ’Lakha.”
Kelakha stared. “Speech? No one said anything about a fucking speech.”
Ursala and Ariella swept into the room, their arms entwined. They wore matching Indian clothes of black and gold even more elaborate than Asha’s, which until that moment Jax hadn’t thought was possible.
“Holy rhinestones,” she whispered to Asha. “Are they getting married or something?”
Ursala approached them and bowed, smiling at her mischievously, and Jax remembered too late that Jodha have supernatural hearing. “Or something,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows under his fluffy blond-streaked hair. He slapped Kelakha on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, ’Lakha. After the way you scored, you could burp your speech and you’d still receive a standing ovation.”
Aquila, Kelakha, and Ursala, as the top students of the graduating class, joined Commanders from around the world on the stage. Kelakha looked as if he were about to face a horde of demons from the lowest Underworld, and Jax tried not to laugh as she followed Asha to a table at the back of the room.
They ate food that was slightly less medicinal than usual while various Commanders spoke, congratulating everyone and wishing them luck going forward in their first posts.
Then a stern-looking man Jax had never seen before stood to announce an award for most outstanding performance in individual combat and Kelakha shuffled forward and started mumbling what Jax assumed was a speech, while Ariella and Lexi rolled their eyes.
At the next table, one of the girls from England leaned to the other, her breasts spilling out of a green brocade gown, and said loudly enough for the five closest tables to hear her, “That Kelakha is blistering hot! Too bad he’s hung up on that puny civilian.” She turned slowly toward Jax, who was pretending to be deaf, and gave her a disgusted sneer—and convulsed into a coughing fit.
“Asha!” Lexi hissed. “Holy fuck.”
“Tatiana!” Asha called, voice dripping with concern. “Are you all right?”
The coughing stopped as fast as it started and Tatiana drank something yellow, looking at Asha in confusion.
Asha took Jax’s hand and whispered, “The day we start to believe we’re better than anyone else, we might as well quit.”
“And she was wrong anyway,” said Nidhan. “You’re not puny.”
Jax felt herself blush as she hissed, “He is not hung up either…”
Lexi opened her mouth, and Asha said, “Do not say it.” She was obviously trying very hard not to laugh.
“What?” Lexi giggled, “I wasn’t—”
“Don’t even. Ignore her, Jax. She has a filthy sense of humor.”
“Excuse me? I do n—”
“Ursala’s starting his speech,” said Nidhan, rolling his eyes. “If the two of you can tear your filthy minds off Kelakha’s member.”
Jax spit water all over her plate, and Lexi kicked Nidhan under the table while he protested in Punjabi.
Could it be that for the first time in your miserable life, you are actually making friends? God forbid.
On the stage, Ursala had stepped forward and taken the microphone from a grateful Kelakha. “Before we dance, I have been ordered by my mother and other equally terrifying elders to request that Asha play something for us while Lexi sings. Their alternative, I’m assured, is to experience enormous amounts of pain.” He reached below the table and produced a musical instrument which looked to Jax like a cross between a lap-harp and a mandolin. Even from all the way across the room, Jax could see it had intricate detailed work along its face and sides.
Ursala held the instrument high. “Ladies? Before the party starts, would you be so kind?”
Lexi and Asha looked at each other and stood as applause broke out.
Lexi said, “How did he get that in here?”
“Aquila must have taken it from my room,” Asha whispered as they stood. And then, when she saw Lexi’s expression, “What? Did you think he would rather sleep with ’Lakha?”
“Oh, sleep!”
“Yes, sleep,” said Asha through clenched teeth as she smiled at the cheering crowd. “Why am I talking about this with you? Do you even know what you’re singing?”
“Let’s do the Sikh song about the sword,” said Lexi, and Asha nodded. “It’s fitting, right?” Jax heard her say as they moved away.
On the stage, Asha cradled the strange instrument on her lap and adjusted the microphone in front of it. Lexi stared at the ceiling. Then both girls brought their gazes to a man Ariella whispered was Asha’s grandfather, who sat in the front row next to the other instructors and Healers and bowed their heads low.
And then Asha’s hands began to move across the strings, and the room was filled with music so hauntingly beautiful that Jax felt as if her heart would break into a million pieces.
And then Lexi began to sing, and Jax couldn’t breathe for the ache in her chest.
The room grew still as every person was captivated by the stunning purity of her voice, completely carried away by the song. Jax felt as if she were experiencing true happiness for the first time in her life, as if she hadn’t even known the meaning of the word, as if her soul had been sleeping until this very moment and was only now beginning to stir, to… awaken.
Kelakha was at her side, one hand on her shoulder. “Jax. Are you all right?”
“What?”
“You’re crying,” he whispered.
“Am I?” Jax wiped a hand along her cheek and blinked in surprise. “Oh…”
She listened for a few more seconds. “Kelakha? What does this song mean? Can you understand it?”
He leaned toward Jax and spoke the words softly as Lexi’s exquisite voice rang out, filling the large room with beauty. Heat danced along her cheek where his lips almost touched her skin, and Jax shivered. “Destroyer of the armies of the wicked, adornment of the righteous in the battlefield. Unstoppable. Your radiance and splendor dazzle even the sun. Bestower of peace, you terrify evil. You are our refuge and protection. Hail to the Creator of the Universe, liberator of all creation. Hail the protector. Hail, hail the victorious sword…”
Jax sat perfectly still, aware that if she turned her head, her lips would touch the Jodha’s. She struggled to concentrate on his words.
“Who cuts down demons, slays the enemy. Savior of the fallen, overthrower of hell. Indestructible, fast as light. Fearless Sword of God. You are of incomparable beauty. Great protector of the earth. Slayer of evil, invincibly strong and fearless… That which cut down th
e demon Mund, destroyed the demon Dhoomr, and killed of demon Mehek. Slayer of Daanav. O savior of the helpless. Hail, hail the protector. Hail to the sword, supreme from the very beginning. Hail, hail to the sword.”
Jax whispered, “It’s… did Lexi write this?”
Kelakha laughed softly, his breath tickling her skin once more before he leaned back. “No, it’s Sikh scripture from hundreds of years ago.”
Jax felt him looking at her. “Jax… you’re still crying. Do you want to leave now?”
She shook her head and turned to him, laughing through her tears. “I want to stay, ’Lakha. Miss Creepy-eyes was right. I’m staying here… or wherever. As long as you all will let me.”
Kelakha beamed at her, and Jax realized this was the first time she had seen him smile, really smile, and she felt herself blush again, and quickly wiped her tears.
“Yeah, when Lexi sings and Asha plays, they could make the devil himself follow orders.”
Jax laughed. “Is there a devil himself?”
“I don’t think so. Maybe a king of the lowest Underworld dude.”
“That would qualify.”
Kelakha smiled, his reply lost in the applause as the song came to an end. On the stage, Lexi and Asha bowed low, then laughed at something Ursala said as he pulled them into a hug and Jax laughed too, thinking, bear hug.
Chapter 10
The lights dimmed, replaced by colors moving across the mosaic stone, and graduates flooded the dance floor as music pulsed from the speakers. Asha rose to return her harp to her room, but Uma stopped her at the top of the stairs, keeping her on the stage.
“Asha,” she said, apparently trying not to smile. “Chakori and I have a graduation present for you.”
At Uma’s side, Chakori nodded, her orange eyes twinkling. “Come and sit down.”
They led Asha to a table in the corner and she sat, her harp on her lap, and looked up at them. “You really didn’t have to get me anything…”
“Oh, nonsense,” snapped Uma, waving a hand. “You only saved all our lives about fifty times.”
“Fifty-seven times,” said Chakori. “If you count the thing with the possessed hair stylist.”
“Which I don’t,” said Uma, winking at Asha. “Fifty-six times.”
“Give her the present already,” said Chakori with a roll of her eyes. “This music is making me want to stab someone in the face.”
Uma lifted a wooden box and slid a silver tube from it. She held it out to Asha in both her hands, as if it were a delicate treasure. “Congratulations.”
Asha looked back and forth between the two women and slowly reached for the gift, a thin, cloth-like metal scroll. She unrolled it gently, revealing gold Chinese characters in broad, flourishing strokes over an intricate sunrise of copper and rose-gold against silver mountains.
“Aquila can translate it for you,” said Uma.
“It’s the original Prophecy the Seer made about you,” Chakori said. “They recorded it and we thought… Do you like it?”
“It’s… wow. Yes. Of course I like it. Thank you. I—”
“You’re welcome.” said Uma, standing.
And then her instructors did something that surprised Asha more than anything since she’d joined The Guard. Chakori pulled Asha to her feet, and both women wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her cheeks.
Tears shone in Chakori’s orange eyes. “We’ll miss you,” she said softly. “Take care of Kelakha for us.”
“Ursala, too,” said Uma. “You’re the only person he listens to, you know.”
Asha nodded, unable to speak as her own eyes filled with tears.
“Enjoy the party, Asha. Postings will begin shortly.”
And then they were moving through the crowd and out the door, Uma’s long white braid swinging behind her.
Asha took a deep breath and set out for her room again. She was halfway to the door when her grandfather stopped her, Lexi right behind him. There was no trace of the happy tears she had noticed in his eyes while she played, only his familiar stern expression.
“Sit down, both of you,” he said, and without hesitation they sat at the nearest table. BapuJi sat, taking their hands and squeezing them in his iron grip. “You will be leaving at sunset tomorrow. And I will be traveling back to Miami Headquarters before that.”
Asha and Lexi glanced at each other. Asha hadn’t known Miami Headquarters was active again after last year’s Underworlder attack.
They waited for the rest of his speech, but BapuJi reached into his pockets and placed two small boxes on the table, one in front of each girl. He nodded to Lexi, and she reached for the box in front of her, unwrapping it to reveal a large ring of onyx, iolite, and jade. Next to the ring lay a small hatchet the length of Lexi’s hand.
Her eyes widened. “Is this…?”
“Your mother’s personal weapon,” said BapuJi. “We think. We will only know for certain when you try to use it.”
Lexi snatched the ring up and put it on her right thumb. She took the tiny hatchet in her hand and swiped the ring across it.
The weapon shimmered and grew, settling to the size of Lexi’s leg. Its handle of shining onyx, iolite, and jade supported the base of the vicious-looking blade.
BapuJi nodded, laughing. “It’s some kind of ancient Viking design. It suits you very well.”
Lexi stared at the weapon with loving awe for a long moment, and then ran the ring along its edge again, causing it to return to its small, easily-concealed size. She added the miniature hatchet to her belt and threw her arms around BapuJi’s neck. “Thank you BapuJi.”
“Your father had everything to do with this,” BapuJi said. “He wanted to be here, Lexi. He asks that you call him as soon as you know where you’re posted.”
Lexi nodded.
“He may be an extremely busy man, but I hope you appreciate how much your father loves you, Lexi.” BapuJi looked stern. “I hope you appreciate what he does to ensure you are where your biological parents would have wanted you to be.”
Lexi nodded again. “Yes sir, I do.”
BapuJi turned to Asha.
Her heart beating too fast, Asha looked at her grandfather, “Is it…?”
He nodded once, his eyes shining with tears. “Open it and find out.”
Asha tore the box open with trembling fingers, and there lay what must have been her father’s personal weapon and ring. She lifted a miniature, delicately curving talwar, its aquamarine hilt surrounded by diamonds. The sword had a curving design of onyx along the thick edge, or mune of the blade, and Asha hurried to put the matching ring on her left thumb, near her mother’s Seer ring she’d discovered the year before, leaving all but her pinkies encircled with rings. The sword shimmered to its full size, dazzling in its beauty.
Asha heard Nidhan make an appreciative noise behind her, and turned to see him watching, his eyes lit with admiration. He pointed to the Punjabi writing that shone along one side of the blade in inlaid gold, and Asha leaned forward to read the words.
“What does it say?”
BapuJi said, “It’s part of a Sikh hymn. It means, ‘When this gift of life comes to its end, grant me this blessing, that I may die in battle with limitless courage’.”
Asha hadn’t realized graduation would be such an emotional experience. Wiping tears from her eyes, she replaced the weapon in its box and hugged her grandfather, already missing his safe embrace even as his strong arms engulfed her. “Thank you, BapuJi. For… well, for everything.”
BapuJi pulled Lexi and Nidhan to him. “I am more proud of the three of you than words can express. And I know your parent’s would be too. Yes, even you, Nidhan, if they knew. Congratulations. And I expect to see you all in Miami within the year.”
Nidhan touched BapuJi’s feet and began speaking to him in rapid Punjabi, and Asha gathered up her harp and slipped away toward her room for the third time.
You’re going to dance with me, right?
Aquila was leaning on th
e wall behind her in the corridor. The warm light reflected in his honey-gold eyes beneath his disheveled hair, and Asha felt her heart kick into overdrive as he smiled.
When you look at me like that, things become difficult.
What kind of things? His smile widened.
Breathing…
Aquila stepped forward to wrap Asha in his arms, and she hoped the scroll wasn’t getting crushed between them as she took his face in her hands. His eyes were like pools of heaven. “How is this much happiness possible?”
His lips brushed hers. “Do you realize if the attack on Miami hadn’t happened last July, you would have trained there, and we would have been meeting for the first time during graduation?”
Asha kissed his eyes, one and then the other, then his lips. “I would’ve failed every single one of my tests.”
His arms pulled her tighter, his lips hot against hers, and Asha put a hand to his chest, creating some distance between them before she lost the ability to think.
Translate this scroll Uma and Chakori gave me.
Aquila released her with a groan and a salute. Ma’am, yes Ma’am.
He followed her down the hallway to the elevator, and Asha handed him the scroll as they descended.
He unrolled it. “Wow. This is… is this the Prophecy?”
“That’s what they said.”
He studied it in silence, following Asha through her door and sitting on the bed.
“All right… keep in mind my Chinese isn’t exactly perfect.” He cleared his throat. “It says: ‘Evil cannot exist without good. And there is no good without evil. The righteous and the wicked—the balance of the Universe… something… An epic battle between the honorably just and the… immorally cruel will be waged. Our entire future depends upon one… humble? Not sure what that word is… individual, who, recognizing their eternal destiny, will triumph over overwhelming forces of evil to save an entire realm.” Aquila pointed. “Then there’s like a list, see? One who possesses tremendous power with no love of power. Who can feel others’ pain and is moved to relieve it. A Seer with the heart to command. A Healer able to heal with a thought.” Aquila glanced up at Asha. “Who has the power to choose the right path, and who shall conquer through compassion… who is never vicious or cruel, even to the most vile… hated. Loathsome, but like violent criminals, I think. A warrior who shall triumph over fear. And even in sorrow, shall bring joy and love, taking the front line to lead others to victorious peace.” Aquila looked up at Asha, his features filled with awe, and she started to laugh.