by Jasmine Walt
There are gopurams at each of the cardinal points of the complex. The main gopura hides and echoes the main holy sanctum.
Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura, which are often referred to as “elephant gates,” as they are large enough to admit such enormous animals. A nearly hundred-foot causeway connects the western gopura to the main temple with statues of nagas, the half human, half snake-like beings loyal to Shaitan.
The main temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the rest of the complex. It is made of three rectangular galleries, which rise to a central tower, each level higher than the last. The galleries are dedicated to the trimurti—the three main celestial beings in the universe, Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer of evil. Each of these three inner galleries has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming five coplanar points. Four of them form a square with a fifth at its center. It corresponds to the five-spot on a six-sided domino.
The three companions are completely entranced as they pass through the inner square-shaped courtyard with galleries connecting each gopura at the extreme outer point with the central shrine in the middle. Yudi cranes his head to look up at the towering central gopuram, which is raised above the four around it. He squints, trying to make out the carvings decorating them. They seem to be a mix of dragons, snakes, and long limbed stately humans. He wonders what they symbolise, but has no time to dwell on it, for soon they are in the inner walls of the courtyard of the main gopuram. Here there are well-maintained gardens with blooming roses and tulips of almost every colour; fountains spray the plants with droplets. The flowers fill the air with their heady perfume.
“Well, Shaitan may not be our best friend, but I sure like his taste in flowers,” says Yudi, eliciting a nervous laugh from Tiina.
They walk cautiously, for they are almost upon the main inner chamber of the temple. After passing through massive doors, which open out from the inner courtyard, they enter a large central hall with a domed ceiling holding up the main gopuram. On either side of the rectangular room are eight ornately carved pillars. Yudi stops in front of one of them, trying to make out the carvings, and guesses it to be a statue with the body of a human ending in the head of lion.
Lion Man? He wonders, and that reminds him about Simh, who disappeared in the forest earlier when they spotted the two giants fighting. The lion cub has not yet returned, and he wonders when he will see his friend once more.
As they cross the length of the room, Yudi’s steps slow, for at the end of the room is a pristine white structure in the form of an upturned jellyfish curving up on either side to form a container. The structure is made of transparent crystal, and is illuminated by a beam of light falling on it through an opening high up in the central tower. As he walks closer with Tiina on his left and Rai on his right, he notes that the structure floats a little above the ground. In the curved centre is a shining turquoise jewel in a bracelet-shaped crystal setting.
“The Isthmus!” Tiina gasps as the three of them stop in their tracks.
Only Artemis continues to sail ahead, stopping directly above the ornament so that the beam of light from above lights the ship up before hitting the bracelet below.
The Isthmus floats gracefully from where it was placed and hovers in front of Artemis; the spaceship and the bracelet engage in a strange cosmic dance, moving around in circles. Then the Isthmus moves away from Artemis, gliding to the left toward a door in the wall, which opens on cue.
In steps a woman, about the same height as Tiina. She is slender, yet nicely curved, and her long blonde hair falls to below her shoulders, curling at the ends. A corset-like top hugs her breasts and waist, and is paired with figure-hugging black leather trousers, which flare around her ankles. She has teamed them with black leather boots with golden tips. A silver threaded whip is coiled on her right side and she holds out her left palm, on which the Isthmus lands. She looks at Yudi with piercing green eyes, and smiles. Instead of walking, she glides toward them and comes to a stop less than five feet before Yudi. She holds up the Isthmus with her right hand, dangling it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Don’t you want this?” she asks in a melodious voice.
Yudi feels as if she has seen right through to his soul and he swallows nervously. “Yes, I do.”
“Well, then, come and get it, won’t you?” She chuckles mockingly, continuing to hold it with the thumb and forefinger, and waits as Yudi takes one step forward, then another, and another.
Tiina slides between them. “I know you.”
The woman lifts her eyes from Yudi’s, and in doing so, breaks the connection with him. “You took your time, dear sister.”
For the first time, Yudi notes the resemblance between the two of them. They have the same slender build and graceful gait, and hold themselves with the same fluidity of limb. It is the eyes, he realises, where they differ. Where Tiina’s are warm and expressive, a mirror to her emotions, the eyes of the figure in front are vacant. He feels the slight chill of an empty grave.
Tiina stares as if hypnotised. “Maya?”
Maya beckons to her sister with her other hand. “Come and get it!”
Tiina approaches her twin, a gamut of contradictory emotions welling up in her. Dizzy with expectation, she hopes that this is her long lost sibling, yet worried at how much the years might have changed her.
What she hadn’t prepared for is this avatar of Maya who looks back at her with hate-filled eyes. Tiina shrinks back at the loathing. Pure hate rolls off Maya in waves and flows over Tiina, physically pushing her so she is forced to take a step away.
“I tried to find you. I looked everywhere”
“A…likely…story,” she says haltingly. “You wanted to…to have all of Ka Surya for yourself, so that you could be the…future queen…” Maya bursts out laughing, the noise shrill and harsh.
“No, no. Maya, that is not true. I searched for you, but—”
“But you were more worried about yourself. Too busy making your own life.”
“Yes. I had to survive.” Determined to keep her pride, Tiina holds her head up and sets her jaw.
“That’s you, ever the practical one.”
“I missed you.” Unwanted tears prick at her eyelids.
“I did not miss you,” Maya hisses, venom dripping from her gaze. “I hate you. At least Shaitan had the decency to tell me the truth about you and Ka Surya. I was better off without you.”
Despite the untruth of the words, she is wracked with guilt that perhaps she should have tried harder to rescue her sister. Maya glowers at her with revulsion, pity, and if possible, something almost akin to adoration. Tears threaten to run down Tiina’s cheeks and she closes her eyes, trying to blink them away, struggling to regain her composure.
“And you believed him?” she asks, her tone husky.
“Why not? He gave me everything, brought me up as his own daughter. Made me who I am.”
“But you were never his flesh and blood.”
“And that’s why he loves me so much.”
Shaitan is like a father to her. Is this why he captured her? So that he could enjoy seeing sister taking on sister? To battle Maya was like confronting herself.
“I am not going to fight you, Maya,” she says, determined not to fall into Shaitan’s trap. Let him do his dirty work himself.
With a scream, Maya drops the Isthmus, which is caught by the agile Artemis before it hits the ground. After pulling out her whip, Maya rushes toward Tiina, who stands motionless, watching the oncoming sisterly tornado, then, just as Maya is upon her, close enough for Tiina to feel her hot, angry rage and make out the separate pores on the skin of her familiar yet different features, a shape detaches from the pillar to her right. It hits Maya with such force that it carries her away and they slam into the pillar on the opposite side, breaking the stone column in two. The figures roll to
the ground, Maya’s maniacal laughter echoing off the walls, intertwined with growls of anger from the other.
Both beings move so fast that all Tiina can see are two streaks of white light zigzagging and crossing each other above, all through the hollowed beehive like inner arc of the temple tower, like twin tails of a comet in the sky. As she tries to make where Maya is, the tableau speeds up even more, until all she can see is one continuous band of white light. The laughter from Maya builds up to a crescendo, only to turn into a scream as she crashes to the floor.
The figure which rolls away and stands up is not of a young woman but of… Lion Man, Tiina exclaims silently, no longer surprised to see him. She has come to think of him as her good luck charm, and somehow it seems fitting that when she is paralysed by the twin emotions of shock and sorrow, he has materialised.
Maya is sprawled on the ground, her hands flung out on either side of her body, her whip a few centimetres away. As she pushes against the floor, struggling to sit up, the angry gash on her forehead bleeds as if her soul is seeping away.
The sound of thunder in the distance filters through Tiina’s engulfed consciousness, but her eyes are riveted by the scene in front of her.
Lion Man stands over Maya. The epitome of splendour. The thought springs unbidden in Tiina’s mind. Unlike the last time when he was wearing shorts, he is now in full battle armour. His glorious mane of golden-brown hair covers his head, running down to meet a beard, which frames his face like a halo. A crown studded with a single red ruby in the centre glitters with every move and ends in three peacock feathers, and on his forehead he wears a traditional tilak, the auspicious vermillion mark of spirituality and strength. Around his neck is a golden chain with a large ruby, which echoes the brilliance of the precious jewel of his crown. Both his wrists, as well as his left muscled upper arm, display golden intricately carved amulets. His torso is clad only in muscles and his burly legs are draped in a bright red sarong, its edges embroidered in golden thread. The nails of his feet and on his hands are long and sharpened into claws.
Tiina shudders as he reaches down and, placing his long forefinger below Maya’s neck, raises her up, blood trickling from the wound.
As if sensing her gaze, Maya turns to look at her.
“You haven’t won yet, Tiina. Shaitan will hunt you down wherever you go.” In a sudden move, she breaks free of Lion Man’s grasp and, swooping for the whip, she snatches it and tosses it toward Tiina. Maya drops, prone on the ground, her head twisted at a strange angle, her face draining of the colour of life.
Tiina looks to Lion Man, who growls back at her. Then in an expression of anger or perhaps triumph, he slaps his left palm to his left thigh, thwack, then his right palm to his right thigh, thwack, both sounds echoing around the room. He raises his head to the domed ceiling above letting out a roar. Tiina covers her ears to block out the terrifying sound.
In response, a rumble grows closer, and the ceiling trembles, showering small pebbles upon them.
In death, the figure on the floor looks like a frail, fallen young girl, her features eerie in their likeness to Tiina.
Tiina’s eyes fill with tears of anger for the wasted life of her twin. Shaitan, the word echoes through her mind. Where are you?
Artemis is suspended in front of Yudi, who picks up the Isthmus, which the spaceship has worn around its circumference as if it is a crown, and he straps it onto his right wrist.
She waits with bated breath, wondering if anything would change, exhaling with relief when nothing happens. There is silence as Lion Man walks up to the three of them. They stand against the right wall of the large room, the cracked pillar in front of them. As the dirt and stones continue to rain down from the ceiling, increasing in velocity, Tiina lifts her gaze from her sister.
“Tiina,” Lion Man’s voice rumbles out over her skin as his cheeks stretch in a smile.
“Why?”
“That is not you.”
“She was my twin.”
“And it was either you or her—you do know that.”
The truth of his words run through her broken heart, but does nothing to assuage her conscience.
“I should have tried harder to find her. I should have gone after Shaitan.”
“And then you would not be here, with him.” He glances to Yudi. “With us.”
“He is right,” adds Yudi. “You can’t blame yourself for what she became.”
“No, but I can take revenge for what he made her.” When she meets Lion Man’s eyes, warmth and courage slowly eat away the fear, anger, hate, and desolation within her gut. “Why are you helping us?”
“Thanks to the Elixir, I am now bound to protect you and this mission.”
“Elixir?”
Lion Man smiles a tooth-filled grin at Rai, who flushes a little.
“Uh! He just looked really soft and cuddly, and when he looked at the Elixir so longingly, I just gave him a drop.”
“Cuddly?” she asks again, searching the faces of Rai and Lion Man, wondering if they are talking about the same person.
“I meant the lion cub.”
“Simh!” Yudi exclaims. “You were the lion cub who was my best friend when I was growing up on Ka Surya.”
“You are his guardian angel?” Could that really be true? Tiina wraps her arms across her stomach.
“You could call me that, I suppose.” This time he really does smile, the gesture softening the ferocity of his face and making him look more human than animal.
It must be so confusing to be stuck between two nuances. How does he decide what he wants to be? Before she can voice the question, she notices Artemis tilting up the fringe of her circumference, too.
The spaceship is becoming more and more like their human halves. Another of us stuck between two worlds.
The ceiling caves in on them, chunk by chunk, and Tiina yelps, jumping aside as a large hunk of marble crashes to the floor not three feet away.
“The Isthmus?” asks Simh.
Yudi raises his right hand, where he has strapped on the amulet.
“Let’s go,” he says.
There is a loud pop and the distinctive, jelly fish like crystal structure on which they had found the Isthmus bursts, spraying everything around it with sticky liquid. She tries to move her hand, which had been pressed against the wall of the chamber, but it remains stuck for a long, gut-wrenching second, before finally coming away with a pop. It is as if the walls of the beautiful structure are weeping.
“Maya was the guardian of the Isthmus,” Lion Man says. “With the Isthmus taken and her dead, this structure will not stay standing for long. We must leave before Shaitan and his army arrives.”
Needing no further urging, they follow Simh down the length of the hall. The ground under their feet shakes as they step over the threshold of the big hall into the inner courtyard. They are halfway through the beautiful gardens when up rises a creature that has lain concealed in the shadows of the flowers. It is directly in their path blocking their retreat, a hybrid of Heaven and Hell, the drawing of a favourite god gone wrong. Not for the first time since they embarked on this adventure, Tiina is dumbstruck, taken aback by the sheer audacity of the being as it reveals it’s misshape. It is like the half human, half snake figures they had seen earlier carved into the walls.
“The Naga!” she cries.
As if reciting verbatim from the pages of the mythological texts they studied at the Academy, Yudi adds, “Mythical snake-like beings with virulent poison, great powers, and excess of strength.”
“Uh! You forgot the part that they are ever bent on biting other creatures,” adds Rai in tandem.
“No, I didn’t; just hoped they had got that part wrong.”
“Obviously not!” Tiina ducks away as the snake mounts up on its tail, stretching a good seven feet tall, opening its wide mouth, its forked tongue darting out hungrily toward them.
It is almost as tall as Simh, who stands firm. He stamps his left foot in a gesture that Tii
na interprets as anger combined with excitement.
“Run!” he snarls to them. “Run, now!” He extends both his clawed hands and leaps at the snake, which coils around him.
Without waiting to see the result of the battle, the three take off toward the exit with Rai in the lead. They are running up the final stretch leading out onto the road and away from the temple when the heavy weight of Simh crashes down in their path.
He lies stunned, and they stop, not believing that someone as powerful as him could be struck down with such little effort. And then the Naga lands after him. Without a second thought, Rai, who is the closest to the creature, runs toward it and flings himself at it before holding onto its massive trunk. Yudi throws Rai his sword, and after catching it, Rai plunges it into its flesh, cutting off a part of its tail.
The Naga roars in profound pain and, maddened with agony, bends its enormous head, biting him. As if that was not enough, the serpent twists and turns, trying to shake off its annoying burden with movements so vigorous that finally both beast and man are thrown against the outer wall of the temple. Both collapse into a heap.
By then, Simh has recovered enough to get back on his feet. He shakes his head to clear it and runs toward the two figures and, gathering speed, he presses his weight against the ground, using it to springboard onto the creature. Then he wraps his legs around the serpent’s legless body at the junction of the torso and its head. He digs the claws of both his hands into its eyes, blinding it.
The Naga lets out a very human like screech of rage, which turns into a scream of fury, as it tries to dislodge Lion Man. They crash into the outer wall a few times; the immense combined weight and force of both the giants is enough to bring a huge section of the wall crashing down. Yudi and Tiina run to look into the hole and see a steep drop illuminated by a bluish-green light. Once recovered from shock, Yudi runs to the motionless Rai and puts his arm below his head and raises him up. Tiina comes up on his other side and binds the wound on his side.
Rai’s eyes flutter open, red-hot pain choking his throat. “That was…,” he coughs, spitting blood, “that was not nice. How bad does it look…?”