Emergence (The Infernal Guard Book 1)

by SGD Singh

  Someone knocked on Asha's door.

  Nidhan stood outside the door, his arm raised to knock again when Asha opened it.

  “It's lunch time, so I thought…” he said, glancing from Lexi to his shoes.

  Asha and Lexi looked at each other for a long moment.

  “What?” Nidhan said finally.

  The girls burst into laughter. “See?” said Lexi. “He wasn't even out there!”

  “I wasn't out where? Nobody said we were supposed to be anywhere.”

  “Never mind,” said Asha. “Later, I have a recording you might be interested in, though.” She winked at Lexi.

  Chapter 26

  Aquila wasn't at lunch, Javin's Spiritual Martial Arts class, or dinner.

  As they finished their grilled eggplant and tomatoes with cilantro-ginger sauce, and laughed at Himat's story involving stunt waterskiing triplets, marshmallows, and a stuffed hippo, Uma strode into the mess hall.

  “All right, people, let's go!” She gave them just enough time to jump up before turning.

  They followed Uma's long strides through the garden, with its tiny lights flickering among the plants like fairies. Past the staircase leading to the suites, she followed the veranda to what looked like a blank stone wall. Stopping, Uma placed what Asha now recognized as her Jodha ring, a feminine version of Aquila's tourmaline garnet and diamond ring set in black onyx onto a tiny crack in the stone and stood back.

  The wall began opening, stone blocks collapsing into each other like pieces of a puzzle, reminding Asha of the AllSpark in Transformers. Within seconds, a doorway had appeared in the wall, and Uma entered the darkness beyond it without hesitation. Ursala and Kelakha were the first to follow, and suddenly Aquila was at Asha's elbow, breathless and grinning with excitement. “Sorry I'm late,” he whispered.

  They followed the crowd down a steep, dark staircase and into a very large, very round room. It's like a… sphere! Asha gazed up in wonder. The entire ceiling was made of tiny, shining copper tiles, inlayed into a spiraling design, jewels winking in the dim light like stars in a golden sky.

  Luxurious stadium seating rose up on opposite sides of the circular room. And across from the entrance, on a curved wall between the two groups of seats, an even better stocked weapons wall than anything Asha had yet seen.

  The center of the room was made of shimmering black granite with slivers of copper in a mind-boggling fractal design, and as Asha looked, she realized it was covered in water, reflecting the ceiling in gently waving ripples. Asha felt like she was inside a giant Faberge egg.

  “What is this place?” she whispered to Aquila.

  “It's a whole new kind of training room,” he grinned. “You'll see…”

  Uma waited while all twenty Trainees entered the room and gazed around for a minute before she said, “Everyone except Castillo and Tseng will drink the entire contents of their cup, then find a seat on the left side of the room.” She pointed to a table holding mugs the size of soup bowls.

  The drink tasted like strong hot chocolate with a hint of coffee, but had an odd plum-passion-fruit after taste. It didn't seem very healthy, and they looked at each other in surprise as they drank it.

  Yael and Tanvir emerged from the stairwell, deep in conversation. Yael gave two glasses filled with something green to Freya and Hua Tseng, who drank them with a grimace.

  After finishing her drink, Asha settled into a seat in the back row, between Aquila and Lexi, with Nidhan on Lexi's other side. Looking down at it from above, the circular floor looked breathtaking.

  Everyone sat in silence, waiting.

  After a long five minutes, Afzal entered the room, followed by Barindra, Chakori, Fanishwar, and Garud. Uma said something to Javin that made her laugh as they made their way to the seats on the other side of the Sphere, directly across from the Trainees.

  Only Afzal remained standing, his white hair shining in the warm light. Moving to the center of the room, he stopped just before the water-covered floor. Turning his back on the senior members of The Guard, he faced the Trainees.

  “Good evening everyone, and welcome. Relax. Make yourselves comfortable.” He looked at his watch. “I think we have ten minutes more before your drinks take effect.”

  Walking behind the small table that now held empty mugs, he picked up a copper stool and brought it back to the edge of the water, looking ancient as he sat down.

  “Castillo. Tseng.” He motioned to them, and the two Illusionists jumped up. Asha saw them glance excitedly at each other before sitting on the floor on either side of Afzal, right at the edge of the water.

  He looked up at the group, spreading his arms. “What you are about to experience is simulated training. Think of it as a sort of shared dream. You will take turns within this controlled dream state, encountering, with the help of my lovely assistants—all manner of challenging monsters.”

  Aquila and Lexi both elbowed Asha, grinning at her, and she laughed. Their excitement was contagious.

  Afzal glanced at his watch again. “If you panic, it will cause your nervous system to overload, and you will ‘wake up’ just as with an actual nightmare.” He nodded to Uma and Javin. “So, who's ready to have some fun?”

  Aquila, Kelakha, and Ursala cheered.

  Uma and Javin left their seats and stood about five paces behind Afzal, Freya, and Hua Tseng. Uma said something quietly to Javin who shook her head, then Uma faced the class.

  “Once within the Sphere, you cannot hear or see anything outside it. Spectators may talk amongst yourselves; this area will be soundproofed during each simulation. Learn from each other's mistakes. When your name is called, you will circle to the weapons wall, choosing one weapon, then enter the Sphere following the marks on the floor.” She glanced at Javin, who nodded. “All right. We'll start with the more experienced of Trainees. Shukla, that means you.”

  Asha could see Uma trying hard not to smile as Kelakha made his way down the aisle, avoiding the water-covered floor. He approached the weapons with a solemn air. A movement across the room caught her eye and Asha saw Senya sit down next to Chakori, kissing her as she slapped him away, smiling.

  Kelakha chose a strange whip-like sword, and Asha whispered to Aquila, “What is that?”

  “An urumi. Flexible long sword. One of the most difficult and dangerous weapons to master. It's extremely easy to cut yourself.” Aquila lowered his voice even more. “That's already 'Lakha's personal weapon, but we were instructed not to use our own.”

  Asha glanced at Lexi. “Probably wise.”

  Silence fell as Kelakha turned, a look of fierce concentration on his face as he moved with deadly grace toward the center of the room. Asha was struck by the formidable presence of this normally shy, quiet boy, and she felt a sudden surge of sisterly pride at knowing him.

  As Kelakha's feet touched the water, sending ripples across the shining floor, the air shimmered like a desert mirage, engulfing him within the sphere. Asha glanced at Afzal and saw that the old man held his arms outstretched, Freya and Hua Tseng following suit, their eyes closing.

  A collective gasp filled their side of the room. It was like watching an extremely advanced 3D movie.

  Asha watched as Kelakha moved through a thick forest, scanning the trees around him. Three shadows moved in the darkness, their violet eyes glowing. With a blurring motion, Kelakha shot a flare into the starry sky, and Asha grinned at Aquila, squeezing his arm.

  Turning to the first shadow, Kelakha was suddenly standing between the edge of a cliff and a burning house. Flames roared and crackled, flaring from the house, and Asha could actually feel the heat of the fire. Someone screamed his name, and Asha saw that Chakori and Senya were trapped within the burning building. Without hesitation, Kelakha fired five sun bullets at perfect two-foot intervals. The instant the Asura showed its true form, his sword lashed out like a razor whip, flashing with elegant accuracy and severing the Asura's head just as Kelakha jumped back in a feline movement from its deadly claws.r />
  An instant later, Kelakha was trapped under fallen stones in what seemed to be a warehouse.

  Asha gasped at the sight of Aquila and Ursala lying unconscious, just out of his reach, and a man with a bloodied ax standing over them. She heard Aquila laugh next to her. Kelakha burst out of the rubble, turning seamlessly into a rhino. Charging the man, he was his human form within the blink of an eye, firing another sun bullet, his sword swinging with blinding speed and the second Asura met the same fate as the first.

  Turning, Kelakha this time found himself on a deserted beach, dark cliffs behind him and a tsunami about to crash over him. Faster than Asha thought possible, he was a bird, blurring out of sight above the Tsunami, and the class let out another gasp that changed to cheers as the giant wave crashed over them, leaving them dry.

  Standing on the edge of the cliff, Kelakha shot more sun bullets around himself at perfect intervals. After the third shot, the final Asura showed itself with a loud screech, and, as if Kelakha's previous speed was just a warm-up, the Asura was dead before Asha saw him lash out with the urumi.

  The scene melted away, and Kelakha stood at the center of the shining floor. He bowed to Afzal as the class erupted into loud applause. Kelakha returned the weapon to its place on the wall.

  The whole thing took less than three minutes.

  As Kelakha settled quietly back into his seat in the corner next to Bao Chen, Uma called, “Desai! You're next.”

  Aquila squeezed Asha's thigh before he jumped up and jogged down the aisle to the weapons wall, taking down a large gurkha blade, a simpler version of the one Asha knew he already wore. Standing just beyond the water, Aquila closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and Asha felt her heart begin to race. When his eyes opened, Asha was struck by the ferocity in them as he stepped into the water. In that moment, he looked more like a dangerous predator than a seventeen-year-old boy.

  The same shimmer went through the air and Aquila stood in a desolate wasteland of white sand. In one smooth movement, Aquila shot off a flare. Never enter combat situations alone. If you find yourself separated from your team, first fire a flare, Asha remembered Tanvir telling them.

  In spite of knowing what she saw was only an illusion, Asha's mind recoiled as the sand behind Aquila began to ripple. Turning in a slow circle, he stepped lightly back, holding his blade ready.

  Thick claws emerged from the sand, and wrinkled, sore-covered arms followed. Asha realized that they were actually fingers. The Trainees all leaned back in revulsion as the rest of the creature disentangled itself from the powdery ground. Shaped something like a six foot tall, hairless, grey-white chimpanzee, the creature jerked its eyeless head around, sniffing the air with its skeletal hole of a nose, baring hideously brown, jagged teeth.

  Aquila stood still, tilting his head as if in bored fascination at the creature.

  Snapping its eyeless face to Aquila, the creature whipped a snake-like tongue out of its mouth, and the whole class gasped. In one quick movement, Aquila bent backward as slime-dripping pinchers flew past his head, grabbing at air. Spinning, Aquila's long jacket fanning out behind him, he brought the gurkha blade down, severing the creature's tongue. He jumped back as puss-filled blood spewed from the creature's mouth.

  A screech that sounded like an earsplitting catfight filled the air, but was cut off abruptly as Aquila leapt over the figure, separated the creature's head from its body, and landed in a crouch, his blade raised behind him.

  The room returned to its original form, and Asha let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as Aquila bowed to Afzal, returning his weapon.

  The class erupted into applause again, and Aquila grinned up at Asha as he climbed the stairs, rejoining her.

  Your lascivious thoughts are not helping my gentlemanly resolve…

  What can I say? You are the personification of awe-inspiring perfection.

  Aquila laced his fingers through Asha's and brought her hand to his lips and she concentrated on not kissing him right there in front of his adoptive father.

  Lexi leaned over Asha. “What the hell was that thing?” she asked Aquila.

  “Sutala Underground Raurava Demon. The real trick is what to do when there's more than one.” He shrugged. “Oh, well. Maybe next time.”

  Asha looked at him in amazement, but Lexi laughed. “I like him,” she whispered. “He's nuts.”

  Uma raised her voice. “Mehta, what are you waiting for? Get in there.”

  Ursala took the stairs three at a time and chose a hatchet ax without hesitation. He kissed the weapon like an old friend, smiling and bowing to the class as he held the ax to his chest, his blonde-streaked hair falling over his eyes. Uma put her hands on her hips, shaking her head.

  “Tabar,” Aquila whispered to Asha, his lips brushing her cheek as she leaned toward him.

  “I knew that one,” she answered.

  Walking straight into the water as if on an evening stroll through the park, Ursala raised his arms as if to say bring it on.

  Everyone cheered, Tzirga and Ariella whistling.

  After the shimmer went through the air, Ursala was standing in a bedroom at Headquarters, and Aquila mumbled, “Oh no…”

  The room looked similar to her own room, or the rooms she'd seen, except it seemed more… lived in. Asha assumed it must be Ursala's own room. The walls, what little she could see of them, were a soft blue. Paintings and drawings of weapons and fighting scenes fought for space with taped-up sketches of Underworlders on most of the wall space.

  Ursala looked around and shrugged.

  Then the room erupted into loud laughter and whistles as a breeze blew away the mosquito netting around the bed. It fluttered as if in slow motion to the worn silk rug.

  On the bed, Tzirga and Ariella lay naked on silk quilts, their flawless skin glistening in the light of Moroccan lamps, their dark hair blowing gently in the breeze from the balcony. A variety of fancy desserts were piled high on silver platters between them. As everyone watched, Tzirga and Ariella cheering loudest of all, the Wraiths beckoned to Ursala, moving their hands along their bodies seductively, saying something that was lost in the noise.

  Ursala grinned at the ceiling, securing the tabar into a holster on his back and running a hand through his hair. Then, lowering his head to his chest, he crossed his arms, and slowly, casually reached into his weapons belt.

  “Watch this…” Aquila whispered.

  Faster than Asha's eyes could follow, Ursala brought his arms in front of him, a revolver in each hand, and pulled the triggers. Holes appeared in the girls' foreheads, and they blinked as their faces began to melt, revealing the Wraiths' true forms. Ursala crossed his arms, stepping forward with one stride, and shot them again with chili pepper rounds right in the center of their horrible faces. Twirling his revolvers, Ursala returned them to his belt, and blew a kiss to where the real Tzirga and Ariella sat. They pretended to catch it with a dramatic swoon, before giving each other a high five and laughing. The class erupted into the loudest applause yet, and the floor returned to its shimmering black.

  Lexi leaned over to Aquila and demanded, “Why didn't we get two revolvers?”

  Asha said, “Seriously, Lexi? That's all you got?”

  “Uh… no one has boobs like that?”

  Nidhan made an irritated noise and started fixing his dumala.

  “What?” Lexi said. “They don't! Well, besides Pamela Anderson, and she bought those.”

  Uma moved in front of the class and looked around. “We have time for one more person,” she said, scanning the class. “Pradhan, get in there.”

  Himat startled, then rose from his seat between Ibha and Karan. He approached the weapons wall and stared at it, looking from left to right. Finally, he selected a dagger, and Aquila whispered to Asha, “Bichawa. Butterfly knives, blades inspired by the sting of a scorpion. Interesting choice.”

  “You obviously haven't seen Himat playing with his butterfly knife…”

  Himat turned
to the water-covered floor and slowly entered the training Sphere, a look of forced calm on his handsome features.

  After the now familiar shimmer of air, Himat stood in the middle of what could only be described as a paradise. Misty green hills rolled in the distance, and Asha could see a wide river flowing past flowering trees. Himat stood at the edge of a field of red tulips, while a waterfall splashed into a pool of floating lotus flowers behind him.

  Hesitating a few seconds too long, Himat finally reached into his weapons belt and fired a flare into the misty sky. From behind a tree, movement caught Asha's eye, and she felt Aquila tense next to her, straightening.

  A person who resembled a very Photoshopped version of Asha herself moved across the garden, blue-green eyes sparkling.

  She was wearing only elaborate, extremely see-through black and silver lingerie.

  Himat stood frozen, paling.

  The Trainees all turned to Asha.

  She felt sympathy for Himat twisting her insides as she looked at their surprised faces. “What?” she said finally. “That's not me! I mean, just look at her… at her…”

  The Wraith was opening its mouth to speak, and Asha turned to Lexi for help.

  “At her boobs!” Lexi announced. Nidhan cursed in Punjabi, but Lexi kept going. “That's Irina Shayk, the supermodel. Hello? It's obvious!”

  Mia snorted. “And that's not Himat in there, right? It's a seventeen-year-old Enrique Iglesias.”

  Everyone started laughing, drowning out the sounds within the Sphere. Good.

  The Wraith smiled, and Tzirga laughed. “That's not Asha at all!”

  The laughter began to die down, but Asha was determined to save Himat and kept it going. “If it were Shakira in there, you'd all be looking at Mia, right?”

  “Of course!” Mia flipped her blonde hair. “And if it were Charlize Theron, we would look at Lexi!”

  Lexi straightened, glaring.

  “Or Candice Swanepoel,” Ursala shouted, and everyone clapped.