Magic and Mayhem: A Collection of 21 Fantasy Novels
Page 496
“Here, let me,” Tiina offers.
“What? You would take the driving seat while I am still here?”
“I do believe Artemis responds better to a female touch.” She smirks.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me.”
Yudi finally gives in and vacates the main pilot’s seat and slides into the co-pilot’s seat to the right.
Barely has Tiina touched Artemis’ controls when the panel glows, the powerful light beams at the front of the ship switch on, and with a low, smooth, almost feline purr, she slides out of the landing bay.
Tiina grins, happy to be at the controls of a spaceship.
If only it were always that simple to keep her happy, so we keep going from adventure to adventure, without ever reaching the end. He looks into the darkness spread out before them. “Well, I’ll be! I swear this thing is alive.”
“Sure she is.” Tiina pats the pulsing panel, and in reaction, the internal lights around the driving pod glow pink, bathing her in a soft blushing radiance.
Rai chuckles. “Better watch out, Yudi. I think you have a competitor for Tiina’s affections.”
“Don’t be silly.”
She blushes while Yudi realises that it is not a great feeling to be left out of the secret dialogue between Tiina and Artemis. Jealous! I am jealous of a spaceship. Good grief.
They continue in silence until Tiina says, “On my previous journeys through space, I have always seen the stars from a distance, and on one memorable occasion, the spaceship even had television.”
“I am sure we can do something about it,” says Yudi, desperate to please her. “Since you like music from the nineteen-seventies…” He leans forward and flips a switch above him, so that Led Zeppelin's “Stairway to Heaven” fills the air and a three-dimensional image of the music video appears in the viewing gallery. So incongruous and yet so apt it is, the three burst out laughing, breaking the earlier tension.
“I officially title this trip ‘Starway to Heaven’!” Tiina grins.
Both Rai and Yudi nod, though the knot in Yudi’s gut has not lessened, even with her so happy and relaxed.
At least I got this one thing right. That’s the key then, one step at a time. Even if it takes him his entire life, he is going to slowly crawl his way back into her heart. Not that I want to crawl. Now if only it were as easy to resolve the question of where I come from. Am I really connected to Shaitan; is that what the strange birthmark on my left side is about? And what if I really meet Shaitan once we reach Saturn? What would I say? Hello…Father?
He must have said something aloud, because Tiina waves a hand in front of him.
“Hello…come back to us, Yudi.”
Shaken out of his inner dialogue, he asks, “What is it now? Can’t I even get some private thinking time?”
“I am in the driver’s seat now, don’t forget!”
“Tiina, really—”
“How long is the trip going to take, then, do you know?”
He peers over the console in front of her, trying to read the numbers. “Well, if these directions are right, then we have to first go through the heart of the galaxy, which leads to the Eye-Mountain, and then through that to Saturn.”
“What is that in terms of time?” she asks.
“Time is relative on this journey.” Yudi sees Rai grin in appreciation of his attempt toward humour and frowns, trying to ignore it. “But it should not take us more than a day and a half Earth time, in terms of travelling. Everything else…”
Rai comments, “Isn’t it strange how soon one gets used to the entire concept of stars and passing galaxies?”
Seeing that Tiina is focussed on driving the spaceship, Yudi corrects himself as he peers out into the darkness. And then a face at the window gazes right into his eyes. It fills the window through which he is looking out. Thick, dark, wavy hair frames an oblong face with sharp cheek bones and a strong jaw with a prominent cleft in the chin. Reddish brown skin, almost terracota, looks familiar and seems too smooth for his strong features. Broad bushy eyebrows curve over widely spaced almond-shaped light brown eyes, which burn with an intensity that can see right through to his soul. He knows me.
Hysteria bubbles up and control slowly slips away and, as he feels himself approaching the void, the person in the glass whispers, “Yudi…Yudi?”
As the face grows clearer, it looks familiar, though he cannot yet place where he has seen it before.
“I saw you go there,” the reflection says, the words falling over his skin, making him shiver. “And I had to pull you back.”
Once he has pulled himself together, Yudi asks, “Who are you?”
“I am the person you have always wanted to meet. The fountainhead of imagination. Dip into me every time you want to feel new beginnings. I live in you. Don’t you know me, Yudi? I am your father.”
Shaitan. The word rushes through his head. Adrenaline pumps through him, intertwined with disbelief, and strangely enough, a rush of joy sweeps through him. The climax of all those years growing up when he wondered what it would be like to come face-to-face with his birth father slams into him. He hyperventilates and reaches out a trembling hand to touch the face, mesmerised, and as the image retreats, an incredible urge to follow it overcomes him. Stretching his arm, he tries to throw himself against the large transparent windows. The seatbelt restricts him and he falls back with a groan of pain.
Tiina gawks at the strange, desperate expression on his face. “Yudi!”
Alerted by the tone of her voice, Rai unsnaps his seatbelt and steps around to his companion, who has gone pale and looks shaken.
“What happened, Yudi?”
He bends down and puts his left hand on Yudi’s right shoulder.
Yudi rubs his chest where the seatbelt bit into his flesh. As if he really did look into my heart. “It’s crazy, but I actually wanted to follow the vision I just saw. There was this incredible urge I had to try to touch it.”
“What did you see, Yudi?” Tiina asks, craning her neck toward him. “Who was it?”
When Yudi hesitates, Rai urges him to speak.
“Go on, tell us.”
“Uh! My father.”
“Athira?” Tiina frowns.
“No…the real one. Shaitan.”
In the silence that follows his announcement, both Tiina and Rai gape at him.
“Really?” asks Tiina when the silence has stretched on long enough. “So now you want us to believe that you are the son of Shaitan? The one he has been looking for a very long time?”
Rai’s tone is gentler. “And for whom he has turned half the galaxy upside-down?”
With a miserable nod, Yudi hunches forward and squeezes his eyes shut. “What can I say?”
“Ah!” Rai steps back from him, letting his hand drop. “There’s not much you can say after that, now…”
Surprise is still fresh on her face. “So, this is why Mimir wanted you on this trip…you really are the Chosen One? The one meant to kill Shaitan?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel like his son. What am I supposed to feel, anyway?”
“Take it easy,” Rai says.
Grateful for his companion’s understanding, Yudi bows his head. “Thanks.” In need of reassurance, he holds out his right hand.
Rai clasps it and pats him on the shoulder. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”
Yudi nods and Rai moves back to his seat before strapping himself in.
Tiina stays silent, and when Yudi glances at her, she seems intent on playing with the various buttons on the control panel. Artemis suddenly picks up speed. “Oops. Sorry guys, still learning how to speak with Artemis.”
“Aha!” Yudi clears the catch in his throat and tries to assume a light tone in the hope of distracting himself. “No secret dialogues allowed, okay? In the spirit of this voyage, at least.”
Mischief lights Tiina’s brown eyes. “Careful, Yudi. You don’t want to upset Artemis.”
In response, Artemis moves up in speed a few notches, slamming them against their seats.
“I suggest you strap yourselves in.” Tiina grins as the ship revs up and Artemis breaks the light barrier, heading straight for the heart of the galaxy.
After going through a wormhole, it crash lands on the other side, jolting them unconscious.
A million thoughts run through Tiina’s mind, as if she is inside a whirlpool of information. The first tremor wells up and thralls her as the data of life downloads into her. First come the equations, then the colours and sounds and implausible sensations, and finally vibrations, which have travelled from across many dimensions to seed her with all she needs to see them through the journey to Shaitan.
An incredible amount of energy runs through her, and she senses that she is at the epicentre of a grid connecting her to the source and to the various focal points in the larger universe. The radiant power runs through her continuously, anchoring her, yet somehow setting her free, so that she is one with the energy, and she opens her eyes and sees the truth.
When Tiina comes to, she finds Rai and Yudi's anxious faces peering down at her. She gazes at them, unblinking. Then Yudi leans forward and kisses her and she slaps him.
“Ow!” Yudi gurgles in surprise. “You didn't have to do that, you know!”
Rai relaxes in relief. “We thought we’d lost you there! How do you feel?”
She struggles to come up with an emotion that describes how she feels. Is it possible to put the journeys of many lifetimes into words? How can one even begin to explain the images I have seen? Yet if she tells them the truth, they would probably laugh and disbelieve her anyway. She settles for a lame, “I feel fine!”
“I feel the opposite, as if I have many streams of information running through my head. I feel like I have been…well…” A quizzical expression crosses Rai’s face.
“Reprogrammed?” offers Tiina, hiding her surprise at his candid answer. Perhaps he is more open than Yudi to the changes taking place within them on this journey.
“Exactly.”
“Rai’s not the only sensitive one, you know,” whines Yudi.
In an attempt to ignore the grumpy Yudi, Rai says with finality, “I would love to know the result of our journey.”
“For me, I’d just like to resolve it one way or the other. Don’t you think?”
Tiina nods. “But I so, so want it to end my way.”
“That would be preferable.” Rai leans back on his elbows.
Half-jokingly, Yudi asks, “Any last words or thoughts that you guys want to share before we tread on this path to nothingness?”
“Ah! Yudi, always the positive one!”
“Sorry. Guess I can’t help but always think the worst of the situation. Perhaps when all this is over, we will have a real chance at being together, like a normal couple.”
“Keep dreaming!” The stolen kiss has set off a myriad of conflicting emotions in Tiina, not all of which make her happy. Below all that outward bluster, she has a sneaking suspicion that she is not as resistant to Yudi’s charms as she would like to be.
Determined not to spend a minute more than necessary with him, she looks around, wondering where they are. They are in a grass covered clearing, which rolls out in front of them. At the far end of it stands a small mountain. It will take at least an hour, perhaps more, to reach. At the foothills of the mountain is a forest. She feels drawn towards the trees. As she is trying to decide which direction to set off in, she suddenly remembers Artemis.
“Where is she…Artemis?” She clarifies before either Yudi or Rai can ask.
As if hearing her, the spaceship materializes. Tiina smiles in welcome, and the ship shrinks in size, further and further until she is small enough to fit in Tiina’s palm. The craft then rises up into the air and glides forward before stopping in front of Tiina, dipping a little as if in acknowledgement. Then turning around, she continues ahead. When they show no signs of moving from their positions, she stops and then bobs up and down, lights flashing.
“Oh!” Tiina exclaims. “She wants us to follow her.”
“I could have told you that,” says Yudi. “So there is no letting go of her, then."
“You weren’t thinking of leaving her behind now, were you?”
He shrugs. “It crossed my mind.”
“Well, I, for one, am glad she is with us.”
“Better Artemis than us alone to help negotiate our way through this place.” Rai looks out over the unfamiliar terrain.
With Artemis leading the way, they start toward the forest.
Yudi and Rai follow, each one immersed in their own thoughts. Perhaps half an hour of hiking passes and they are halfway to the mountain when the Goddess of Love appears, shimmering, in front of them.
Tiina comes to a halt so that Yudi, who is behind her, almost bumps into her, and puts his hand on her shoulder for support. The figure steps of her chariot not four feet in front of them.
18
A calming fragrance of roses reaches them. Yudi feels compelled to drop to his knees and he looks up at her through narrowed eyes.
So this is what a real goddess looks like.
She has a true hourglass figure—voluptuous breasts taper into a tiny waist, which in turn flares out to curvaceous hips. A pink saree is wrapped around her in a fashion designed to show off the best parts of her figure. She wears intricately designed jewellery—a beautiful golden necklace bearing a pendant in the shape of her peacock and a sheaf of belly chains, which radiate out of a central eye-piece placed just over her navel, and wrap lovingly around the curve of her body to the base of her back, where it ties just above her rump.
Her hair is light brown, almost blonde, and flows in soft curls to mid-waist. Glittery golden jewellery is threaded through her tresses.
As he gazes at her, he wonders why her beauty leaves him cold. Earlier, seeing her figure alone would have sparked off a kindle of desire. Have my tastes changed so much that even the sight of such beauty fails to move me?
“Stand up, stand up, boy,” she says, “and tell me, what will you give me in return for guiding you to the Eye-Mountain?”
“Uh, well, but you are a goddess already. What is it that you lack?” Tiina seems compelled to draw her attention away from Yudi.
Sure enough, the goddess's eyes lift to her and she fixes Tiina with her forceful gaze, silencing the half life.
“Let the one I have asked the question of speak. Even goddesses have needs that only humans can meet, after all.”
“What do you want?” asks Yudi.
“Love.”
“But are you not the Goddess of Love? How can you be looking for love when all humans and half lives normally pray to you for it?” He is a trifle amused at the strange apparition.
“All we need to give you is love?” asks Rai with delight.
The goddess barely seems to register this remark. “If I show you the next stage of your route, then will you become my companion?”
Yudi exclaims, “Me?”
“Yes. You, the Chosen One who holds the future of the mortals in his hand. You have superior genes, too. I couldn’t find a better partner with whom to have children.”
“Hey! Hold on. That’s my entire life you are talking about. It’s good to know that I have genes that are of interest to you. I am flattered that you would choose me as your mate, but sadly I have to turn you down.” As he speaks, he inches closer to his friends, as if trying to hide from the gaze of the goddess. “You see, I have a mission I need to fulfill first.”
Sensing his hesitation, the goddess says, “But if you refuse…,” and at the thought her eyes glow with an unearthly fury. “If you refuse, then I am going to make the rest of your journey impossible. If you thought what you faced earlier was difficult, then I promise that you haven’t seen anything yet.”
; The trio frown at one another, puzzled, and then Tiina says, “That is the most bizarre request ever, and not befitting of a goddess!”
She laughs. “You think greed is only the prerogative of you mortals?”
“Yes, absolutely. After all, you, the gods who have achieved Nirvana, are liberated from the circle of life and death, right?”
“Exactly, and still need a companion.”
“Why would you need a mortal, though? Considering there are so many thousands of you out there to keep each other company and all. Could you not choose from among one of your own kind?”
The goddess glares at her. “There aren’t that many of us to go around, actually, and most have paired off already.”
“It sounds exactly like—”
“The dating cycle in your world? You are right. It is not far off. All the good ones are taken. As for the ones who are not, well, you can imagine that there are good reasons why no one will have them.”
“Wow!” gasps Tiina. “Even goddesses would have the same fear as us girls?”
“Of ending on our own, scared and lonely…”
“I know!”
They are two sides of the same coin. One, a mortal who has stepped into her own power. The other, a goddess who has the power, but has not claimed it fully. Yet, he senses that Tiina feels a strange kinship with this extraordinarily beautiful, yet sad,creature.
The bonds of sisterhood exist even between immortals and mortals. United in their point of view of the world, he wonders. Do they share the same opinion of me?
Tiina says, “You haven’t told us your name, by the way.”
“It’s Uma, and I need a mortal companion! Someone who can keep me company through the days and nights of this never-ending life”
“Tell me about it,” agrees Tiina. “And it’s worse for you.”
“Because I will live forever.”
“In which case, what help can a mortal half life provide you with?”
“As the story goes, if an immortal consummates love with a mortal—”
“Then the immortal loses powers of never-ending life and becomes mortal, too, right?”