by SGD Singh
“We'll just try it out and see how it goes, okay?” Tanvir said impatiently. “Oh! I forgot to mention. The first five people to get ‘killed’ will be on kitchen duty next week. And the losing team will take the winning team's laundry duty.”
Asha glanced at Nidhan. With motivation like that, he wasn't likely to lose easily. His hand shot up. “What determines the winning team?”
“When only one person is left alive, that's the winner. Or if only members of one team are left standing. But if Civilians are caught helping instead of screaming and running and getting killed, there will be penalties. I'm thinking they'll have to attend meetings with the cops in Afzal's Chandigarh office.” He looked pointedly at Ursala and Kelakha. “For two weeks. Also, the winner will get a prize, and I'm still deciding what that is. It'll depend who the winner is,” he said, winking.
“Okay! I'm writing names and putting them in this bowl.” He started calling out names and writing them on smooth stones.
The Trainees immediately started arguing about the rules.
Nidhan hissed under his breath, “Yaar, I refuse to do extra laundry duty. I'm telling you right now, I won't do it.”
Asha rolled her eyes at him, then jumped as a hand touch her shoulder.
Aquila stood behind her. The firelight danced across his smiling face and Asha noticed he had a large bruise on his left cheek and a bloody cut across his chin. The shoulder of his shirt was torn, and there was something dark smeared across one sleeve. They did nothing to diminish the fact that he looked absolutely gorgeous.
“All right,” he said, laughing. “Heroes and Villains! Maybe now Tanvir will finally shut up about it.” The night breeze ruffled his hair, and Asha's heart began pounding. She looked at the fire.
Lexi glared at Aquila's bruises. “Why do you get to have all the fun?”
He gave her an innocent look, and she snapped, “Oh, c'mon, you're obviously already on active duty. I hope you don't actually think you're fooling anyone.” She lowered her voice. “What I want to know is how—”
“Kelakha's calling me, gotta go…” Aquila jogged over to Kelakha and Ursala.
Lexi made an irritated noise.
Asha watched Aquila as he joined his friends, shouting something in Punjabi, and exchanging strange handshakes with them. Touching his face, he said something that made the other two smile. They started helping Tanvir sort the boxes of gear. Aquila leaned over and said something to Tanvir, and they all burst into loud laughter.
“You can close your mouth now, Asha. You're starting to drool,” hissed Lexi.
“Hey, it's not my fault you can't leave Headquarters at night to kill monsters,” said Asha, but she was glad for the darkness hiding her blush.
“Shh! He's announcing the teams,” Nidhan said, slapping Asha's arm.
“Listen up,” Tanvir shouted. “The first name I pick will be the Commander of the Heroes. And it's… Tzirga Dutt.”
Tzirga walked in her graceful stride toward Tanvir, hitting Lexi's outstretched hand on the way.
“This is your tunic. Put it on over your authentic weapons, tying the sides. Now, for the game weapons belt… and the head guard. Wear it down on the forehead. Good. Arm and leg braces. Gloves. And in case you're wondering, yes, you do look awesome.”
Everybody laughed. Tzirga looked absolutely ridiculous.
“The next names I call will be the Heroes under her command.”
The nine names he called included a very relieved Nidhan and Lexi. Karan, Wei Feng, Li Tsia, Ariella, and Jiao Wan. Then Aquila and Kelakha. Soon they all had the blue and silver gear on. Aquila grinned at Asha from under his headgear, and she tried not to giggle.
Ursala jogged to her side and grinned. “The Villains have the advantage.” He clapped. “It's gonna to be so much fun watching Kelakha do Civilian!”
Chucho joined them, his tattoos lit up in the firelight, and spoke to Mia and Freya in rapid Spanish, complaining about having to play Villain.
“All right!” shouted Tanvir. “Heroes, go to the kitchen and drink something whilst I have a top secret chat with these Villains. Be back here in ten.”
He turned his attention to them. “Why the long faces, guys? Wait 'til you see… okay, we've got darkness grenades, which buy you five minutes. Four each, so don't waste them. My personal favorite is the grabby wire—you're welcome to give it a better name if you can think of one. Just point and shoot. It will wrap around and grab your victim, giving you the chance to deliver a fatal blow after incapacitation. And you don't even need weapons! Fun, right?” He beamed around at them.
“Oh, and check out these gloves. One scratch with these claws anywhere on a Hero's body, and they need to send up a flare for help, get back to the safe zone, and heal. Swipe the claws across the neck, heart, or head, and they're out. Okay, put your gear on. Let's go!”
Tanvir bounced around impatiently as everyone struggled into the green and black tunics, clawed gloves, and belts with darkness grenades and grabby wires.
“Beautiful,” he beamed. Lowering his voice, he told them, “All right. You guys can spread out all around the garden. They have to find you. Think ambush. You're Villains, so lie, cheat, whatever. Go have fun!”
Everyone glanced around at each other, frowning. Then Mia twirled, pushing a button on her glove. Her gear turned blue and silver, sparkling in the firelight as her wavy blonde hair swirled around her. Placing one clawed hand on her hip, she raised an arm, and announced, “Dios en el cielo! I make this look good!”
Everyone laughed and followed suit.
“That's the spirit,” Tanvir said. “Remember. Only true forms, and no entering the safe zone. We'll play until dawn or until there's one team or man standing, whichever comes first. Now go!”
Asha resisted the urge to team up with Mia as they dispersed, and instead made her way, alone, toward the darkness of the mango orchard. Climbing up a tree in a particularly dark corner of the orchard, Asha sat and waited, looking across the garden for unsuspecting Heroes.
Within minutes, their shouts and laughter reached her.
But it was a striped Bengal cat the size of a lynx, not a Hero, that entered the moonlit clearing beyond the mango orchard, its yellow-green eyes shining in the dark.
An Indian gazelle, straight horns like twisted spears casting long shadows in the moonlight, moved gracefully by the cat's side, blinking long lashes and tilting one velvety ear.
Shape-shifting allowed.
Asha jumped silently out of the tree and readied her grabby wire. But the cat and gazelle turned their heads toward her simultaneously and, without hesitation, ran in her direction. And in the blink of an eye, they were Ariella and Tzirga.
Asha hesitated, her arm outstretched.
Tzirga… gazelle! And Ariella… Lion of God. I should have at least guessed who Tzirga was after all the Sanskrit lessons…
“You should see your face!” Tzirga said, as she kicked the weapon from Asha's hand.
But Asha was already lashing out with her claws, scratching Ariella across the chest, lighting her gear up orange.
Spinning, Asha kicked Tzirga's legs out from under her. But before Asha's claws touched the other girl's neck, she felt the plastic sword slice across her own. Asha looked down to see her gear light up red. Out.
“And that makes you a Civilian, bitch!” said Ariella.
Asha groaned, and they all started laughing.
Walking back to the safe zone for Ariella to “heal,” Asha began to take off her gear and prepared to start running and screaming.
“I hope you guys appreciate just how cool it looks when you shape shift. Does it hurt?” Asha asked.
“No,” said Tzirga. “It's like… waking up, I guess. It can be a bit disorienting, but it feels—natural.”
“How do you guys have the perfect names for your Talent? You just turned seventeen.”
“Oh, our parents went to the Seer in Hong Kong before we were born,” laughed Ariella. “It's all the rage with pe
ople who are paranoid their kids will turn out ordinary civilians.”
Asha thought of Kairav, who seemed anything but ordinary.
They could hear more yelling as they neared the arena, and Asha felt better knowing she wasn't the only one out as they entered the safe zone. A crowd gathered around boxes of discarded gear, while some Heroes waited to be “healed.”
Tanvir beamed at the three of them and wrote something on a pad of paper.
Asha joined Hua Tseng. “Are we on kitchen duty?”
“Yep! You're the fifth person out,” she said. “I guess we start screaming, running, and dying now.” Her dark eyes flashed. “But if I see Wei Feng, penalties or not, he better watch his furry ass.” She tied her long hair into a knot and jogged back into the darkness.
Asha wondered what furry animal Feng could shape shift into as she wandered back to the mango orchard. She figured she'd start screaming and running when she needed to.
The garden was beautiful in the moonlight and Asha appreciated the sights and smells, strolling and bending to touch the night blooming flowers, ever the oblivious Civilian.
Someone screamed on the other side of the garden, then swore colorfully in Spanish. Asha recognized Mia's voice and smiled.
Leaning on the trunk of the same mango tree, Asha watched Ursala enter the moonlit clearing, sweeping his gaze back and forth, holding his grabby wire weapon out.
She looked behind him and Asha's heart nearly leapt out of her chest. There in the shadows, was an enormous Siberian tiger.
Two hawks hovered and circled just above Ursala's head, hitting him playfully with their talons. One hawk was very familiar, and Asha grinned.
Forgetting she was actually supposed to scream, Asha watched in breathless fascination as Ursala spun, saw the tiger at the same time he went to swipe at the birds, and froze.
Kelakha and Aquila shifted on either side of him, dousing Ursala with “holy water” and bursting into laughter.
Asha stared in awe as the tiger lunged forward, becoming Wei Feng, and delivered a killing blow across Ursala's neck with a plastic dagger, turning his gear red.
Ursala cursed in Punjabi and tried to scratch at Aquila's throat.
“You're dead, man!” Aquila laughed, spreading his arms to show his still-dark uniform. “Your gear's deactivated.”
“We look forward to seeing you screaming and running shortly,” said Kelakha, giving Wei Feng a high five.
With one last very raunchy curse in their direction, Ursala stalked off to the safe zone, raising his hand in a rude farewell gesture.
Asha watched as the three boys spoke quietly to each other, and a moment later Wei Feng melted back into the beautiful tiger and moved smoothly into the darkness. She stifled a laugh at the thought of Hua Tseng confronting his furry ass.
Kelakha motioned at Aquila, then jogged across the clearing, shifting into a silver Asian monkey in mid-stride, and Asha caught her breath. More than one animal?
Aquila looked up at the sky, crouching slightly, ready to take off himself. Asha shifted her feet in the dirt and he turned, looking directly at her.
Asha straightened against the tree trunk, her heart thundering in her ears as Aquila found her eyes. He smiled, and it took her breath away. He removed his head gear, dropping it to the ground. Taking three long strides, he stood mere inches from her.
Asha stood breathless, meeting his gaze.
And finally Aquila's arms were around her, pulling her against him, and Asha was dizzy with the overwhelming delight that coursed through her every cell celebrating with the rightness of him, as if some part of her had been missing her entire life and was now—found.
Aquila's lips met hers, and the world vanished. Asha's arms wrapped around his neck, and she was weightless. Time and space seemed to vanish as every cell vibrated with a hunger she never knew until that moment. Aquila's hands were under her shirt, tracing shiver leaving bursts of fire in their wake. Her lips never leaving his, Asha reached to remove his gear, but Aquila suddenly stepped back, gasping for air.
They stared at each other, smiling in breathless wonder.
“Holy crap!” Asha gasped. “Was that… normal?”
Aquila smiled, shaking his head. “I don't know. I've never…”
“Never? But you're, I mean, you're—”
“Never, okay?” he said softly, narrowing his caramel eyes. Then the smile was back. “But I don't think we want to be found naked in the orchard during the inaugural game of Heroes and Villains.”
Asha scowled. “Naked? I was not about to get naked.”
He tossed his hair off his forehead and raised one eyebrow at her, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
“I'll check with Tanvir,” Asha said, taking a step back. “There's probably a penalty for Heroes taking advantage of innocent Civilians against tree trunks.”
Aquila untied his gear and let it fall to the dirt. “Then I might as well incur the entire penalty,” he said, and stepping forward, he again wrapped Asha in his delicious embrace. Desire exploded through her, making her lightheaded. She felt herself lifted off the ground and pulled Aquila to her.
“I'm not getting naked, just FYI,” Asha murmured as she kissed the warm, silky skin of his neck, his jaw, his lips. Oh my God, his lips!
Asha felt Aquila laugh as he pulled her tighter against him, and she stopped caring if they were found naked.
A loud horn blared across the garden, and they froze.
Aquila groaned, burying his face in Asha's hair. “I think that means the game's over.”
Asha blinked, dazed, realizing that dawn lit the garden.
They walked back to the training arena and Asha asked Aquila about Kelakha's multiple shape-shifting abilities.
“Yeah, he holds the record. The silver monkey is Lakha's animal of choice, but I think it's up to twenty now? Most Jodha can only shift to one, like the books say.” He laughed, whispering, “Look at Lexi,” as they entered the arena. “I pity anyone on the opposite team in tomorrow's rematch.”
Lexi did a quick double take when she saw Asha and Aquila holding hands.
“I always said you don't take training seriously enough,” she hissed under her breath.
Tanvir jumped up a few stairs and shouted, “We have a winner! Aquila Desai! Aquila? Please come up here. C'mon, hurry up.”
Aquila frowned, shrugged at Kelakha, and moved across the lawn to stand in front of Tanvir.
“It was a close fight, but the Heroes won out in the end. Aquila, take a bow.”
“Yes, take a bow, Aquila!” shouted Kelakha and Ursala. Their smiles faded instantly as he narrowed his eyes at them.
“The reward will be announced tomorrow night at the rematch. Now go get some sleep! And don't forget your drinks on the way in,” Tanvir said. “I want you to ponder constructive criticism on the game. We'll meet again at oh three hundred hours!”
Asha and Aquila looked at each other, each taking a step forward, but Lexi grabbed Asha's arm, pulling her to the door, saying, “So, me and Nidhan had Mia cornered. And then would you believe it? We ended up killing each other at the same time! It was the stupidest fucking thing I've ever seen, and if it weren't for Nidhan here deciding to—”
“Excuse me?” Nidhan said. “I wasn't the one who decided to do some show off kick resulting in getting my throat cut.”
“No, because you were too busy tripping over your own big ass giant feet, resulting in getting your throat cut!”
“Hey, at least I killed the Villain which is more than—”
“Okay, I get it!” said Asha, raising her hands and laughing.
They were almost inside when Ursala, grinning between Ariella and Tzirga, called to them, “Come with us to get ice cream, you guys!”
“Did someone say ice cream?” Mia called, pulling Himat and Karan along with her.
Still laughing and arguing, they made their way through the elephant doors and along the stone bridge, Mia insisting to loud protests that s
he would have killed both Lexi and Nidhan, except her gear malfunctioned.
At the lower gate their laughter and shouting abruptly stopped, and everyone froze.
A girl of about seven or eight stood smiling angelically at them from the edge of the forest.
Karan swore under his breath as Tzirga and Ariella reached for their flares.
Lexi pulled a diamond-tipped dagger out of her weapons belt, but Aquila appeared and grabbed her forearm, disarming her in one swift movement before she could throw the knife.
“That's Dimple,” Aquila said. “Shaan's eldest daughter. She delivers milk to us every morning, you idiots.” He waved an arm. “See any cows around here?”
Turning to Asha, Aquila took her hand. Spinning her around once, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and they stole like that up the path. He greeted a wide-eyed Dimple as they passed to their parked motorcycles.
“Well, shit!” Lexi exclaimed behind them.
Asha burst into laughter, stumbling against Aquila. “She does look pretty demonic creeping around all alone in the woods like that…”
Chapter 23
Three days later (passwords Johnny Ramone, Prince, and Angus Young), September gave way to October, and the weather finally began to cool.
Every time Asha was on her way to kitchen duty, Prabhnoor would call her to the hospital to help heal the various wounds the Jodha had received the previous night.
Underworlder activities in India were increasing, and as the days passed, Asha's insides roiled with anxiety every time she saw Prabhnoor.