by SGD Singh
Asha saw Kelakha flinch at the word.
Eighty-two seconds gone.
The Witch was almost to Jax’s cage.
Asha smiled as the Witch’s eyes filled with pity. “They… hurt you?”
Jax closed her eyes, nodding slowly. “The guys took turns… hurting me, and those bitches, they watched. And they laughed.” Jax trembled against the bars, pale and sick. She looked so traumatized, Asha could almost believe it herself.
A look of pure rage bloomed across the Witch’s face, and she finally closed the gap between herself and Jax.
Even Aquila was finally paying attention.
The Witch leaned to inspect the lock. “We’ll have to wait for the Urna—”
As fast as a striking viper, Jax punched the Witch in the throat, catching her by the hair and cutting something along her cheek before she fell. The Witch gagged, blinking in disbelief for one long second, before she collapsed, unconscious.
“Now, ’Lakha,” Jax hissed, and Asha watched the grotesque monkey-bat turn to a rat in the blink of an eye, slipping through the bars, and then Kelakha stood before Jax’s cage, tall and handsome, the warrior she was proud to call brother.
See? What did I tell you, right?
I already knew ’Lakha could get out. Let’s see your civilian do the same.
Oh, she’ll get us out. Five minutes, tops.
Jax had already instructed Kelakha, and he was rolling his empty cage close enough to her that she could work on the lock. She mumbled and shook her head as she inspected its circuitry without touching it.
There were six minutes until the Urnayu would come back.
Kelakha said something, and Jax shushed him with an irritated wave of her hand.
She finally said, “Okay, I think I’ve got it.”
“You think?” Kelakha glanced nervously back at Asha and Aquila.
“Yeah,” said Jax. “I think, all right? If I’m wrong, it’ll probably explode. Or, at the very least, send out an alarm. It’s your call.”
Kelakha turned, and Asha nodded in what she knew was an odd-looking gesture for a falcon.
Ursala’s growl filled the room. “If we don’t open these things, we’re dead anyway.” He peered up at the rows of cages above them. “Or worse.”
At the sound of his voice, Kelakha whirled to him. “You’re alive, yaar.”
“Yeah,” Ursala winced as he tried to move. “And once Asha heals my legs, we’ll be discussing the fact that you saved a civilian you just met before you saved me. Open the fucking cages, Jax.”
Jax rolled her eyes, but motioned Kelakha to her. “Watch what I do on this one, and do the exact same thing on mine, okay?”
Kelakha nodded, frowning in concentration.
Asha heard Jax’s incoherent instructions, then the sound of metal slidding across metal, a series of clicks, one soft beep, and Jax’s cage and Kelakha’s empty cage opened like two metallic flowers blooming.
Kelakha grinned at her, offering his hand. “Do you still wonder why you’re here?”
Jax blushed, rushing to Asha’s cage. After seconds that felt like ages, her own cage blossomed, and she resumed her human form, ignoring the wave of nausea that flared in her gut.
“Ursala next,” Asha told Jax. One of his legs was badly broken, and when they lifted him gently from his opened cage, she found his other knee was shattered, along with two severely fractured wrists and a sprained elbow.
Aquila was standing next to her within forty-five seconds and Asha kissed him quickly and fiercely, then turned to the others. “That was a clever trap. Who’s having fun?”
“Asha,” Ursala moaned. He pointed his chin at the unconscious Witch. “Less smooching and more healing, if you don’t mind.”
“You can wait five more seconds for the Urnayu,” Asha told him. “I’m not in the mood to kill a ten year old girl, even if she is a Witch.”
Punctual to the second, the Urnayu rounded the corner, their gears shifting as they registered one Witch on the ground and five humans standing in front of them. Asha barely saw the reflection of her glowing eyes in their shining orbs before they crumpled to the stone, shrunken and lifeless.
“Just in time, fellas,” she said, nodding at Jax.
The civilian gave her an uncertain smile, her gaze going to the pile of dead Urnayu.
Ursala, healed, sprinted across the room to their pile of weapons, and secured his tabar onto his back just as the Witch woke up, emitting an angry growl. Ursala took three lumbering steps toward her as she struggled to her feet, and her severed head hit the floor before she could utter a word.
“Now I’m having fun,” he said.
Chapter 36
Nidhan sat with Zaiden and Satish in the main hall of Central Headquarters and tried to translate the fight for them. The Upperworlders’ English was good, but once people started yelling and cursing all at once, it became hard for them to follow.
“The one with the white crew cut?” Nidhan pointed. “That’s Barindra. He’s used to being in charge. He’s… passionate about getting his people back, as you can see.”
Barindra took a swing at Yoki, and the Seer’s bodyguards jumped forward, but Dhevan and Arihan held the Commander back, shouting in Punjabi about the merits of calming down.
Nidhan told Zaiden, “The slightly less enormous one with the metal foot is Dhevan. He’s Uma’s husband.”
Zaiden’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but he didn’t say anything about Uma being married.
Barindra ignored the Tvastars holding his arms and kept shouting at Yoki. “It’s been twelve hours since they left Miami. If you tell me everything is fine one more time, I’ll make you eat those manicured nails.”
The older Seer, Inala, placed a hand on Barindra’s shoulder and smiled, his blue-green eyes twinkling. “We have already established that twelve hours here is only little more than one hour there, so give them time.”
Nidhan turned to the Upperworlders on either side of him and shook his head. “You know what he’s gonna do, right? He’s gonna demand you take him down there. He’s pissed he’s missing the party.”
There was a flutter of wings at his back, and Nidhan felt six hands slapping his shoulders. “As are we all, my giant brother,” said Kai, shoving his way onto the stone bench between Nidhan and Satish. “As are we all.”
“How are the mental synapses?” Koko asked, sitting on Satish’s other side, pinning the Upperworlder in. “You’re not feeling the urge to strip again, are you?”
Kenda sat down in front of Nidhan. “And if you need to puke again, dude, don’t puke on me.”
Nidhan made a choking noise, and laughed when Kenda jumped up.
“Is it true you met the Royal Prince’s sister?” Koko asked. “What was she like?”
Nidhan turned to Zaiden. “This is the part where you threaten Satya realm boys in very gruesome detail for even thinking about talking about your sister.”
Zaiden smiled at Koko. “My sister is very special. I hope you meet her someday.”
“In case you were wondering,” said Nidhan, “yes, that was a threat.”
“That bad, eh?” Kai said.
“Let’s just say she has devices that can send little bits and pieces of you scattering across all fourteen realms, and she’s not afraid to use them,” Nidhan told them. “Think of a stoic Uma.”
“Ouch,” said Kenda, shuddering.
“He made that up,” Zaiden said. “There’s no such device… but talk about my sister again, and you might find yourself dragon food.”
“That’s the spirit!” Nidhan slapped Zaiden on the shoulder. “Now you’re—oh, here we go. The drama really begins.”
Everyone in the room sat a little straighter as the tallest, darkest, most fearsome-looking man Nidhan had ever seen entered the room. He surveyed the crowd around him with a piercing gaze, his eyes lingering a few seconds longer on Zaiden and Satish than the others. He wore a simple black shirt that fell to his mid-thigh over s
traight pants, and his hair hung in dozens of tiny braids at his shoulders.
Satish whispered, “Who is that?”
“Engameli,” Kai answered. “One of The Guards’ Head Commanders. Oldest living Jodha there is.”
Koko added, “They say he fought in the Vampire War of—”
“Dude, shut up, he’s about to speak.”
The Commander raised his giant hands, and Nidhan noticed that his Jodha ring was of extraordinary beauty, second to only Asha’s of any he had seen.
“We will give those who traveled to Atala twelve more hours to come back before we follow them,” he called out, his voice like rolling thunder. Barindra shook his head at the floor, and Engameli slapped his back. “That gives them a total of three-and-a-half hours in the realm to complete their mission.”
“All due respect, Commander,” said Barindra, “but I really—”
“If they have not returned by the end of that time, every available Jodha, and only Jodha, along with Satish there,” Satish stood, and Nidhan noticed Zaiden studying his hands, looking miserable, “will be ready to go after them. I suggest you use the time to rest and prepare to move out.”
Barindra didn’t look happy with the decision to wait, but he bowed. “Yes, sir.”
Dhevan called, “And if the Seers are wrong, Commander?”
Engameli turned to Inala, and the old man smiled up at him, shaking his head in wonder at what he obviously thought to be unnecessary drama.
Engameli let his eyes wander over the crowd. “If they are wrong, and Asha can’t bring our Seer back safely… then God help us all.”
The room fell silent.
Engameli turned and strode back out of the room, and Barindra followed without a backward glance.
Koko whispered, “Am I the only one hoping Lexi doesn’t show up by the deadline so we get to go?”
Both of his brothers turned to bump their fists against his, but Nidhan punched him in the arm, assuring a horrified Zaiden, “That was a joke, Your Highness. A very bad one.”
Chapter 37
Jax stood with the four remaining members of the rescue party in the now empty hall of pocked stone. Green flames danced in sconces along the walls, illuminating the gloom. Asha placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her the last of the Urnayu’s energy and healing her fatigue.
“Okay, Jax?” Asha smiled and her eyes faded back to their normal blue-green.
Jax ran a shaking hand through her spiky hair. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. It’ll be nice to get out of here though, I won’t lie.”
“That was awesome!” Jax was suddenly swept into the air in Ursala’s bear-like embrace. “You nearly had me fooled, yaar. I thought Kelakha didn’t want to admit your grandma had kicked his ass.”
“Yeah,” Kelakha said. “She kicked my ass the day your mom took up golf.”
Ursala made a rude gesture and turned back to Jax. “And then you knocked her out with some secret ninja move. What the hell was that?” He slashed a hand through the air and made a Bruce Lee noise.
“It was mostly Xylazine.” Jax tried to shrug off the attention, but Ursala just looked at her blankly. “Horse tranquilizer.”
“So, basically, you could’ve killed her.”
“Unlikely,” Jax said, “but possible. Does that ease your conscience?”
Aquila said something in Punjabi, and the three brothers laughter was cut off when Asha raised a hand.
She pulled out the Seer’s rosary. “This way,” she said, sprinting along the corridor.
They found themselves in a maze of black stone hallways. It seemed endless, and Jax tried to ignore the feeling of claustrophobia pressing in on her as one empty hallway led to another. She tried not to look at the ceiling, which oozed something foul down the shining walls.
Asha stopped abruptly at an intersection of hallways and smiled.
Jax heard the sound of running feet, and then Sid’s unmistakable voice called out, “A little help, Dream Eyes?”
And there were Lexi and Ariella, followed by Uma and Chakori, who held a struggling Sid between them. Behind the Jodha were three strangers.
Ursala rushed forward to wrap Ariella in his bear-like embrace, and kissed her.
Then the air changed again, and time seemed to stop for a long minute. Asha and Lexi looked at each other in silence, the tension in the air palpable.
Finally, Asha took a step toward Lexi and hesitated. Then, with a choked sob, she flung her arms around Lexi’s waist, the taller girl stumbling back with the force of her weight. Tears shone in Lexi’s eyes, but Jax saw she kept her arms frozen at her sides.
Jax glanced at Kelakha, but he was looking uneasily at Aquila, who was looking uneasily at Lexi.
Then Lexi squeezed her eyes closed and finally wrapped her arms around Asha and everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief. “Good to see you’re still alive, Creepy Eyes,” Lexi said, her voice thick with emotion. She tugged Asha’s braid, adding, “Don’t think this doesn’t mean I’m not mad at you for…”
Asha looked up at Lexi, searching the taller girl’s gaze, and Jax watched her eerie eyes fill with a sorrow so heart-wrenching, Jax gasped. She saw Aquila close his own eyes as Asha said, “Oh… no. Lexi, I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
“We’ll discuss how I’m going to kill you once we get out of here.”
Asha squeezed Lexi’s hands then turned to the three strangers in the shadows. As they stepped forward, Jax saw a red-haired woman, a man who looked like a scary Asian pirate, and a tall boy with strange golden skin, black and white hair… and wings.
“Is that—” Ursala started to say.
Sid interrupted. “Asha, if you could tell these fine ladies to mellow out, that would be bitchin’.”
Asha made a hand motion at Uma, and Chakori shoved Sid toward her.
He rubbed his wrist and frowned. “Dude, I tried to tell them I was down here to help you, and they just went totally zappy on me. Isn’t there enough violence in the world? Can’t we all just get along?”
“How did you find us?” said Asha. “Wait. How did you even get here?”
Sid shrugged. “I smelled you.”
Kelakha slapped the Vampire on the back of the head, and Aquila said, “Not you. Them.”
Chakori smiled at her son. Jax had never imagined she could look so… maternal. “We heard you were short a Werewolf.”
Uma grinned. “So we brought you two.”
The red-haired woman and the pirate stepped forward, reaching their hands out to Asha in turn.
“I’m Ylva,” said the woman. “And this is Dolph. He doesn’t speak English, but he’s old enough to know some of the languages here.”
“And as for your how question,” said Lexi, sweeping her arm toward the winged boy with a scowl. “This is Dinesh.”
The boy with the golden skin and enormous wings stepped out of the shadows and shot Lexi a dark look that Jax couldn’t interpret. He had eyes like a lizard, their pupils dilated round and enormous against stone-like irises.
“He’s a Tapas-realm Jodha,” Lexi said. “He’s one of the Royal Prince’s…” Jax noticed Lexi glare at Asha as she nodded almost imperceptibly. “One of his… assigned brothers, I guess we’d call it. Apparently they have the technology to travel between realms without a portal. When they need to.” Here she definitely paused and glared at Dinesh. “Like when they allow easily weaponized tech to fall into the hands of Underworlders and have to retrieve said items.”
Dinesh turned to Asha, bowing at the waist. “It is an honor to meet you.”
Holy Christ. Jax had never considered what an angel’s voice sounded like, but surely this was it. She found she wanted to hear him say something else, just to hear the purity of its sound again. But something more important had caught her attention.
“Is that why none of you are out of breath?” she asked. “Does the Upperworld also have something that helps you acclimate to this realm?”
The Upperworlder looked at her with
surprise, and nodded. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a packet, which he handed Asha. She threw it to Ursala, who caught it without looking. “She’s observant, our Jax,” he said. He held what looked like a yellow cough drop in front of his eye. “These won’t turn us gold, will they?”
“Eventually,” said Dinesh. “Yes, they would.”
Nope, she hadn’t imagined it. My God, to hear him sing must really be something.
“Awesome,” Ursala declared, popping one of the pills into his mouth and throwing the pouch to Kelakha. “Mom,” he called to Uma. “Did you know ’Lakha can shift to a flying Yeti-thing? Extremely ugly and inconsiderate creature, the flying Yeti-thing.”
Uma and Chakori raised their eyebrows at Kelakha, then resumed their conversation with the Werewolf Ylva.
Dinesh was still looking at Jax. “Forgive me, but are you a civilian?”
Here we go again.
When Jax didn’t answer, he added. “You must be very brave.”
“Not only that,” Ursala said, one arm around Ariella. “She’s got skills. She just singlehandedly broke us out of Underworlder kitchen-pantry-jail.”
“Yep.” Asha grinned at Lexi. “She saved our asses.”
Lexi peered down at Jax in the green firelight. “Is that right?”
“No,” Jax said, uncomfortable with Lexi’s closeness, but somehow frozen in place. The towering blonde could burst into killing-mode faster than a thought. “Kelakha saved our lives first, and then he helped open the cages, and Asha killed the Urnayu, and—”
Lexi had Jax’s hand before she could flinch away, but she only shook it. “Well, I’ll be damned,” she beamed.
Jax exhaled, and tried not to wince at Lexi’s iron grip.
Then there was a blur of movement, and Jax found a gun in her hand. “Here,” Lexi said. “You’ve earned it.”