Emergence (The Infernal Guard Book 1)

by SGD Singh

  “I was not shacking up!” Asha realized she was blushing again. “And his name is Aquila, for your kind information.”

  “Oh! Pardon me! And…?” Lexi raised an eyebrow. “He just wanted to check out the view from your room?”

  Asha sat down hard on her bed, suddenly exhausted. “I saw a monster tonight, Lexi. And Aquila acted like that's… normal.” Asha looked at her best friend through sudden tears. “Lexi… we could all be looking forward to gruesome, horrific deaths. And if anything happens to either you or Nidhan, it will be my fault.”

  Chapter 11

  After spending the entire week on kitchen duty, missing all manner of amazing sparring activities and learning more than they ever wanted to know about the miraculous healing qualities of food, Asha, Nidhan, and Lexi went back across the turquoise lake and out through the garbage dump on Saturday for their weekend at home. Asha was sure her hands were permanently infused with garlic.

  Lexi, refusing to drive her motorcycle through what felt like an endless monsoon, arranged for her father's people to bring a car to the house. It turned out to be a fully loaded Mahindra Scorpio.

  Lexi tried to drive them to get some real food, as Nidhan put it, but soon declared that driving an SUV through chaotic traffic and relentless rain, while keeping them less filthy and damp, was harder than driving a tractor pulling an enraged elephant through thick mud, and only half as dangerous.

  Nidhan leaned to Asha and whispered, “She hasn't really done that, has she?”

  Asha shrugged. “Not that I know of. It would not surprise me though.”

  Lexi threw the keys to Nidhan. “Happy birthday. You're driving home.”

  Nidhan threw the keys back to her. “While I'm glad you've decided not to drive, for the safety of the entire city of Patiala as well as your own, I can't accept a car from you.”

  “Oh, please!” Lexi said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “Not another one.”

  “Lexi, you can't just go around giving people cars.”

  “Why not? Sanjay and Chotu seemed happy enough when I gave them my bike.”

  Asha told Nidhan, “She does this. Last year, for my birthday, she got me sheet music handwritten by Mozart himself! Cost more than that car. You might as well just accept the damn thing and get it over with.”

  Nidhan shook his head. “I'll accept to drive. That's all,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He caught the keys as Lexi threw them back at him.

  “Fine,” she said, but Asha saw she was trying not to smile.

  They spent the entire weekend stuffing themselves with fried, cheesy food and sweets, often with Nidhan's friends from his Gatka Akhara, and sleeping more than six hours at a time.

  Not one person asked where they had been all week.

  † † †

  The night before they went back to training, Asha's hawk returned to the rooftop railing while she played her harp. She played Colombian love songs that night for no particular reason—none she wanted to admit, anyway.

  After the third song, Lexi burst out of their room, waving her arms at the hawk and cursing after it as it flew away. She turned to Asha, crossing her arms and opening her mouth, then closing it again. She shook her head. “It's a bird.”

  “You see?” Asha said. “This is why I never told you about him.”

  “Seek help, Asha. I'm your best friend and I'm telling you. I'm not sure what this is?” Lexi waved a hand at the sky, “but it can't be healthy. No one should look at a bird like that.”

  “Healthy? And I suppose you've told Nidhan how you feel about him?” Asha said.

  “How I… ? I don't know what you're talking about,” Lexi said, not meeting her eyes.

  “Yeah, real healthy.”

  “And don't change the subject. I saw your face when that… thing flew away. Like the sun had just gone out. At least Nidhan is human—not that I'm admitting anything, you understand.”

  “Uh-huh. Not that I've seen the way you look—”

  “Oh, never mind! Just… it's a fucking bird, Asha. Seriously!” Lexi stalked back into their room, slamming the door.

  After that, Lexi didn't mention the hawk again, but Asha was careful not to play any more sappy love songs, just in case.

  On Sunday night, the hawk sat on the arm of Asha's chair, watching her hands intently as if it wanted to play. Knowing she wouldn't see it for five days, Asha tried again to touch the feathers that shone like soft silk in the moonlight. She reached out, slowly, whispering Spanish endearments. But again, just as her fingertips almost touched the golden brown feathers, the hawk abruptly flew away.

  † † †

  They returned to Headquarters Monday evening at dusk, and after changing in their rooms, they met up with everyone in the mess hall. Tanvir had spent the previous week drilling into them to eat some of everything offered; each item on the menu was there for a reason that coincided with their classes. Nidhan sighed heavily as he inspected the buffet of fresh fruit and ginger-honey milk, papaya juice, potatoes with coconut habañero sauce over lemon rice, and eggplant sautéed in grape seed oil with tomato-cucumber-pomegranate yogurt, but he didn't complain. Asha guessed he now at least appreciated how much work went into the meal.

  Karan joined them, handing them each a copy of the week's schedule.

  They had Healing for the next three hours, then something called Spiritual Martial Arts for three hours after lunch, one hour of personal time, and then, after dinner—

  “Asha, look!” Lexi grinned, hitting the table. “Weapons!”

  “For three hours?”

  “Do they have any classes that are less than three hours?” Nidhan asked.

  Karan shook his head, chewing.

  “Then, after a snack break, three more hours of training. Then sleep. Six hours again.”

  The lights dimmed. It was time for class.

  After descending the two sets of winding stairs, they entered the herbal pharmacy. It was empty. Voices reached them from another room, and the seven of them glanced at each other.

  Li Tsia shrugged. He moved around the giant stone counter and disappeared behind a curtain of drying leaves, and everyone followed.

  Asha found herself standing at the edge of an enormous, disorienting underground herb garden that was full of natural light. She looked for where the light came from and saw mirrors strategically placed to catch the sunlight from two stories above them. Reflecting off each other, they filled the garden with a warm, late afternoon glow. The ceiling was a painted mural of herbs in bright colors. Tiny lights winked down from within the painted ceiling onto what must have been acres of green, interspersed with bright splashes of color.

  They all stood, looking around in awe, until someone cleared his throat.

  “To start with, you can dig up all that turmeric,” a muffled voice said from behind a row of cayenne pepper plants.

  The man behind the voice stood up, and walked toward them, brushing his hands on his pants. He was handsome, in his early twenties, with caramel skin and dark hair curling onto his neck. “I'm Prabhnoor. Senya's busy arguing in the kitchen again with Tanvir.” He pointed up, then shook each of their hands in turn.

  “We'll begin by picking all of this turmeric while we wait for him. I think he wanted to start with Underworlder venom today.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Nasty stuff, Underworlder venom,” he said, then pulled up his left sleeve to reveal a purplish-green splatter scar covering the entire inside of his forearm. Everyone winced appreciatively. “Yeah, came across a Wraith my training year. Before I knew it, well… tricky suckers, Wraiths. Anyway, you can't behead a Wraith in their true form, obviously, but, I sort of forgot that. Anyway, this is what happens when their blood gets on you, if you don't have any papaya handy,” he rolled his eyes. “Does anyone ever have papaya handy? Besides Senya, I mean. We did the rest of the treatment, but it was too late for the glorious beauty that was once my arm. Hurt like a motherfu— sorry. It hur
t. A lot. I learned…” he leaned forward, looking grim and all seven of them leaned toward him. “Beware the Wraith.” He laughed. “And try to have papaya handy.”

  He straightened his sleeve just as Senya walked in a back door.

  Asha was beginning to realize that there were a lot of back doors everywhere.

  “Showing off your battle wound again, Prabhnoor?” Senya shook his head, but he was smiling. “By the way, since we're on the subject, you don't need to have papaya handy if you are properly armed and dispose of the Wraith in the correct manner. Chili powder on its true form will do it. And, of course, Holy Water. Regular rain water at least slows it down. And keeping the mind clear will prevent the Wraith getting the better of you in the first place.”

  “Senya, sir,” said Lexi, raising her hand. “Excuse me, but—what is a Wraith?”

  “Oh, forgive me, my dear Lexi. Not only were you raised Innocent, but you have been stuck in the kitchen with our most stubborn of friends.”

  He inspected some turmeric root. “A Wraith is one of the more common Underworlders here in India. They hail from the eighth world, or Atala. In its true form, a Wraith resembles a sort of grey jellyfish-like creature with no eyes, and it slithers around on hundreds of worm-like legs.” He wiggled his fingers around. “Extremely ugly, even for an Underworlder. It has sharp, baboon teeth. Obviously, nothing in our world looks anything like it, but we use terms like jellyfish, worm, and baboon teeth just to give you a mental picture. Now. What it does is… Prabhnoor, perhaps you would like to explain.” He was trying not to laugh again. “I'm sorry,” he said, then cleared his throat. “It really isn't funny.”

  Prabhnoor rubbed his arm and looked at the pepper plants. “What it does. The Wraith… so it sort of… okay. It takes the form, or morphs, into whatever, or rather whomever, its victim… desires most. I mean, really convincingly.” He studied his shoes. “Basically, the Wraith lures potential victims through lust. It reads the subconscious desires of weakened humans. Then it sort of… enters them through the bellybutton, and feeds off the person until they become dull and obese, wanting and caring about nothing. They sit and eat while they slowly die. At which time, the Wraith moves on to its next victim. Lovely, right?”

  No one spoke. Nidhan and Wei Feng both looked nauseated. Lexi was paler than usual, and Karan didn't seem to be breathing.

  “The good news is that there is a cure,” said Senya. “Nothing to eat except bitter melon and holy water for three days, and you have to practically live in a turmeric bath. Which, fortunately, is available in every room at Headquarters. What not to do, is take a sharp weapon to it while in its true form, as Prabhnoor here learned the hard way.”

  Prabhnoor shrugged sheepishly.

  Senya seemed to take pity on his assistant's embarrassment. “And speaking of turmeric, let's get started, shall we?”

  What followed was an hour-long lecture praising the many miraculous qualities of turmeric. Asha and the others listened while they dug up, washed, dried, and grated about a hundred pounds of the root. Asha couldn't stop wondering about Wraiths, and how exactly they came out of one once they entered one, and whether a person's bellybutton would be permanently damaged. Shuddering, she hoped she would never have to find out. She decided she would read up on them in Underworlders We Know of So Far, New Edition the next time she ever got a chance to read.

  When they were finished with the turmeric, Senya said, “Since you all still have a lot to learn about the Underworlders you will encounter at some point or another, we'll just get some things done around here, and focus on healing specific ailments tomorrow.” He brightened. “Maybe we'll even have some patients to practice on in the recovery rooms.”

  Looking around, Senya added, “All right. We have Echinacea to process, and then garlic, ginkgo leaf, and… let's see, I think we'll have time to get all the blueberries, and that'll be it for today.” He clapped his hands. “Let's get started.”

  Asha looked at Lexi and knew they were both thinking the same thing; More kitchen duty.

  They worked so fast that, Prabhnoor had them help with the cayenne peppers, and three hours went by relatively fast. After drinking a tall glass of whey with cayenne and mint, Asha followed the crowd to lunch.

  Half an hour later, Uma entered the mess hall. “Okay, listen up,” she shouted, and the room grew silent. “Joint class outside in ten minutes, so follow Ursala.”

  Ursala stood and bowed in slow motion, shaking his blonde-streaked hair. He twirled dramatically and walked out the side door into the garden outside. Asha was grateful it wasn't raining as she joined the crowd trailing through the orchard to the path against the wall, and then along it until they came to a stop.

  Ursala bowed, his arms outstretched, at the outdoor training arena. Kelakha smacked him on the back of the head as he passed, and Ursala cursed colorfully. Asha tried not to laugh as Aquila swept Ursala's feet out from under him with one swift kick. Kelakha slapped the hand he held out behind his back, and helped Ursala up. Everyone filled the benches that surrounded the grass lawn and waited. Asha was surprised to see Tzirga and Ariella, whom she had categorized as the kind of girls who only spoke to the quarterback type, settle themselves attentively on either side of Ursala, sympathetically checking his head for injuries.

  Asha found herself acutely aware of Aquila's presence, and forced herself not to look in his direction. Lexi whispered sing-song, “Actual humanoid male staring at you at four o'clock.” Asha hoped a sharp elbow in the ribs would shut her up, but it only made her hiss under her breath, “At least he's not a bird…”

  A tiny woman with skin like espresso seemed to magically appear on the lawn. She stood with her hands on her hips and looked around at them. As she turned her head, Asha noticed the thick, pink scar that ran from her spiky hair line, skipping over one dark eye and continuing down her cheek like a tear, ending at her jaw. The scar somehow only enhanced her beauty. Even in this heat, she wore all black, and seemed to exude a calm, mess with me at your own risk vibe. Asha immediately liked her.

  “Good evening everyone,” she said in a deep, rich voice, “and welcome. My name is Javin.” She inclined her head. Asha couldn't place her accent. Standing very still, she glanced at each of them in turn as she spoke.

  “We are, all of us, mere mortals. We cannot pretend to understand the Universe. The forces that bind matter together. Fields of magnetism and electricity moving at the speed of light. Space expanding and contracting without limit. Who among us can truly fathom infinity? Not a single one.”

  She began pacing, her hands clasped behind her back. “But we all feel it. Every living creature in our world feels it. The Unknown. The Unseen. The darkness that balances the light.” Javin picked up a stick and began to twirl it effortlessly. “Yet our minds have an infinite capacity. The capability to reach what is known as ‘spiritual enlightenment.’ And what is spiritual enlightenment? Can anyone tell me?”

  She stopped and looked at the class. No one moved.

  “True fearlessness.” She met each of their stares. “Through martial arts, meditation, and yes, a healthy diet, you can train your body and your mind to reach that rare state of peace. Feel within your trillions of cells the complete balance that is the vastness of the timeless, infinite Universe. No right. No wrong. And so, therefore, absolutely no fear.”

  Everyone sat completely still. Asha felt mesmerized by Javin's words, the sound of her voice.

  “Which comes in handy in our line of work.” She smiled, a brilliant white smile, and Asha smiled right along with her.

  “But spiritual enlightenment, for us mere mortals, is extremely rare. Very few have ever achieved it. I can count on one hand the people alive today who fit the description.” She paced, then brought the stick to her leg with a loud slap and everyone jumped. Standing still, she let her gaze fall on each of them again.

  “But all of us can aspire. In this class, we will work hard to train our bodies. Our minds. And our spirits. And we will
aspire to achieve fearlessness. And the creatures who would feed off our fear will find that it is they who are afraid, and they will perish at our hands.”

  Everything was completely still. Asha realized she was leaning forward on the bench, impatient to follow Javin's orders.

  “And for those monsters of the Underworlds who would seek refuge here,” she continued, “to devour the innocent. To prey off the weak and the fearful. They will learn that our world is not without the protection of the righteous. And they will experience a new kind of hell. And they will wish in their dying moments that they had never come.”

  Javin stood silently for a long moment. Then, with a wave of her hand, she motioned them all forward onto the lawn, and everyone jumped to obey.

  Lining them up, she began guiding them through basic Tai Chi.

  They practiced for two hours. It started to rain.

  No one stopped.

  Asha's arms began to ache, her clothes were soaked through, but she felt at peace.

  The moon moved across the sky, and the class was over all too soon. As they drank their warm ginger milk with turmeric and honey, Javin informed them they would learn yoga the next day. Asha and the others made their way to their rooms in soaked-through shoes, ready for showers and dry clothes before dinner.

  Asha met Lexi in the corridor on her way upstairs. She was laughing with Ariella and Tzirga, making plans to train early the next afternoon with them.

  “Asha, you should come, too,” Tzirga said, to Asha's surprise.

  “That's okay,” Asha said. “I was planning on taking a run anyway.” She actually felt like the hours of training they were doing in classes was more than enough, but she wasn't about to say that in front of these three. Lexi gave her a look that told Asha she understood exactly what she was thinking anyway.

  Half an hour later, they joined Nidhan and Himat in the mess hall.

  “We get weapons, you guys!” Lexi said. She was so excited that she actually giggled like a little girl as she turned to Tzirga. “What do you have next?”