"So sending me to New London to do a deal with them was just an elaborate ruse?" Jai asks, his mind working quickly to piece everything together. To see the full picture.
To understand that he’s been taken in by this man, a person he trusted. And yet not. No, he’d never trusted Vishal. Not as a child and not now. And it’s a relief to have it all out in the open. To have Vishal finally reveal what’s on his mind.
"We wanted you to keep the rebels in New London occupied, make them think we needed them. But you did one better," Vishal laughs.
"I brought them with me. Aria and Mikhail." His voice lowers to a thread, thinking of the rebel leader.
Mikhail had not been a friend, but Jai had sensed the core of the other man. He had seen the traits in him similar to his own. Courage, loyalty, fearlessness. He had even taken care of Aria, that’s all that mattered. He’d seen how Mikhail had looked at Aria, that he’d been in love with Aria. And that had bothered him and brought out his fierce possessiveness. But beneath it all, he’d known that Mikhail had taken care of Aria and he’d been grateful for that.
It strikes him that the most dangerous of enemies are often from within your own family. Just as your closest friends too are of your own blood.
Then all of that goes out of his mind for Maya breaks away from the crowd. She strides to the temple, followed by Luke. Walking up the short flight of steps, she pauses on the raised platform, looking down at the rest of them. With the sword raised and the silver of the temple to her back, her golden eyes glowing, she looks magnificent.
Like a young goddess.
"Don’t forget your promise of a new city, a Bombay 2, for the shifters," she calls out to Vishal.
Before he can reply, she raises the sword to the gathered wolves. "They won’t let you forget it either." She grins.
At this the assembled wolves let up a howl. One which echoes into the night. It makes Jai’s hair stand on end, sending a chill of goosebumps flaring on his skin. And before the echoes subside, he’s moving. Running up the steps.
Behind him Luke takes aim with his gun. But Gilbert flings himself at the shifter, taking him down. He has a sword to his throat before Luke can react. At the same time Aria kicks Vishal in the side before leaping on to him, bringing him to the floor.
But Jai doesn’t see it, for he’s already in the inner chamber of the temple with his sister. At the same spot where his mother had stood less than thirty years ago.
And it’s quiet inside, hushed. As if none of the noise is allowed in. He stops, next to Maya, his eyes taking in what she’s already seen.
The small altar in the center. And rising from it green and violet sparks. As he watches they bubble up, as if from an invisible cauldron.
Then Aria steps forward and silver gold streaks of light jump up, growing in intensity, moving, shifting, forming patterns he cannot comprehend, before rising up towards the ceiling.
And all the while a sense of anticipation builds inside the space, weighing down on him. Memories from years ago. Emotions from another time, all being pushed out of a vortex he can't see. Loosened by the presence of this sword and this girl. They rain down on her as she walks to them; flowing through her, towards him, sinking into his skin. Charging up his blood so electricity flows through his veins, towards his heart, making it pump faster, shooting up his spine, up his neck, to burst over his crown. Violets and reds and flames of golden yellow that have him reeling with the sheer intensity of emotions.
Of unfulfilled passions from generations ago.
Of unrequited love, of the power of motherhood cruelly taken from her, cursed and unable to have children. She’d poured all of it into this sword, for the child she had lost. Catherine of Braganza, she’s right there in the room with him. So is Ruby. And they are pushing him on. Telling him he must do it now. Now. NOW.
Through the window he sees the wall of green rise in the distance. The waters from the sea boil up, white and blue.
Rising, rising to meet the horizon, flowing over that too.
The killer wave. Maya is calling to it. And when she touches her sword to touch the altar, he watches in fascination as it turns away from them, moving towards a distant spot. One he can’t see. But he knows where it’s headed – towards the other cities. The distant West. A frontier he cannot see, but which he knows is out there.
And now the ancestors don’t wait.
They call to him, tug at him, push him. A physical blow that has him stumbling forward. And when her eyes dart to him, he is the last thing she sees before he bends down, pulls the knife strapped to his ankle and throws it at her.
51
I run in to see the knife arcing through the air, headed for Maya. In time to see it find its mark. My heart rams against my rib cage, the blood pulsing in my ear. I am not aware I have screamed aloud.
Embedded in her chest, the handle glints gold and silver, like her eyes. And as I watch, the light goes out of them. Her hand loosens on the sword, but Jai is already there to catch it. And then he catches Maya too as she sinks to the floor.
She’s splayed across his lap and he touches her face, wiping away the beads of sweat on her forehead. On his face anguish, remorse, but below it all a touch of fatality.
For he’d known there was no other way out.
He’d seen the resolve on her face. He had known she was going to do it, exactly what her mother had done many years ago – touch the sword to the altar and trigger a tsunami. Except Ruby had done it without realizing the consequences of her action, whereas Maya had known exactly what she was about to do.
And she was going to use the power of the sword, the intent of his ancestors running through his veins, through her blood, the same intent that had run through their mother’s blood. She was going to use it all to quench the thirst of a power-hungry man. Help Vishal realize his ambitions.
And perhaps beneath it all she’d wanted to get back at Jai, at his parents.
She’d blamed them for never having found her after she had been taken by the shifters. But she was one of them now and she couldn’t turn her back on her own people. No more than he could turn his back on his city.
The shifters needed her; they had seen Maya as their savior – a human who’d help them find a home, a place where they could settle, a place for their forthcoming generations.
And as I see Jai hold his sister while her life ebbs away, as she clenches his hand and pulls him close to whisper in his ear, as he nods and kisses her forehead, I know he’s going to do all he can to make that future come true.
Vik runs into the little temple, jolting to a stop next to me. And I don’t need to see his face to sense his agony, to feel the silent cry wrung out of him.
I don’t hear him either, but it’s like he’s screamed out loud. His pain colors the air red with grief.
Vik sways and I grip him around his waist. He doesn’t notice, his eyes unable to grasp what he’s seeing.
I look at them, seeing things as they are. Through a father’s eyes.
His son is on the floor with the sword clutched in his hand. His wife’s sword. Ruby’s sword. And his daughter is held in her brother’s embrace.
And Jai still sits there. Frozen. Motionless. His features carved out of stone, except for the tears running down his cheeks, except for his fingers running through her hair. He’s still holding Maya’s hand, as if willing her to stay just a few seconds more. A lifetime longer.
Then Vik is sinking to the floor, his arms around his two children.
One he’d lost and found and lost again.
One who he had found all over again.
I turn and leave silently.
As I step over the threshold of the temple, a howl of anguish cuts through the air.
Even without seeing who it’s coming from I know it’s Luke. He loved Maya, he would have given his life for her. He’s on his haunches, hugging himself, curling himself up to contain his grief. He doesn’t need to have even gone into the temple to have seen her k
illed. He knows that she’s dead.
And his loss, his pain, reaches out to me. Without even realizing it, I walk up to him. A part of me knows it could easily have been Jai in there. It could have been Jai dead and then…then I might have killed myself.
I push that thought away and come to an abrupt stop. For Luke’s heaving, vibrating, tiny sparks of silver and gold and red and violet shooting out from him, streaking through the darkness.
He’s shifting.
Once more I see through to his essence, sense the spirit of the beast twined with the gentler human part of him, both trying to get out.
To run free.
And then the air shimmers with a light so intense I have to shut my eyes to protect them.
When I open it’s to his wolf, large, sleek, his brown and silver pelt shimmering in the dawn light. He raises his head and his large golden eyes meet mine. Sorrow spools out from him, making my throat close. Tears come to my eyes and I drop to my knees. He stays there still, then raises his eyes to the temple before looking to the skies. Opening his jaws, he lets out a sharp cry.
Pain.
Loss.
Grief.
It cuts through me till I can’t bear it anymore.
The other wolves take up the howl, their cries rising, rising, rising into the air. One continuous wail of despair that runs over my skin, making my hair stand on end. His grief twists my heart and just as I think I can’t bear it anymore, the cries die away.
Silence.
When I look up it is to see Luke leap towards Vishal. They go down in a tumble of arms and legs and a scream from Vishal that is cut off. Then there's only the sick crunch of bone as the wolf bites through Vishal’s neck, crushing his spine. The body under the wolf shudders, twitching with a last effort at living. The last move he’ll ever make.
And I’m glad, relieved.
I know I shouldn’t feel happy at anybody’s death. And yet I can’t help it.
Luke turns away from the still warm corpse for one last look at the temple. Blood drips from his lips and as I watch he licks it away. Then he bounds over the body and is gone.
Retracing our steps the way we had come – down the slope towards the little rocky beach. The other wolves follow and the way they fall in line, silent and orderly, so unusual for animals, it’s clear that they are not beasts.
No, they are intelligent, sentient beings. And they care for each other, look out for each other, far more than what we humans would do.
The only sound now is of their paws hitting the dirt down the path leading to the sea.
I run to the edge of the plateau in time to see Luke’s body arch against the blue of the sea before he dives into the waves. He surfaces a few feet away before diving below and then he’s gone.
The others follow, leaping across the perimeter of the beach. And for a few seconds all I can hear is continuous splashing as their bodies hit the waves. The brown is swallowed by the blue-and-white foam of the waves.
Till the last one jumps in.
And swims away.
And then there’s silence.
In the distance the wall of water that had risen recedes, unseen.
The green and black of the swirling seas give way to the pink of a new dawn. Soon the sun will be out, and it will glint over the white caps of the waves. And its amber rays will draw new life from this Earth.
Epilogue
Jai walks up the stairs of the Council headquarters. If he’s nervous it doesn’t show in his stride. He’s wearing formal black trousers and a black shirt, the blue armband in its usual place over his left bicep. He walks into the room and sees the two figures silhouetted by the window, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. He pauses, then shakes it off.
The taller man turns, his shoulder cutting out the light briefly. A broad smile breaks over his face. He comes towards Jai, his amber eyes gleaming, his eyes crinkling at the side. Vik’s hair has a lot more gray, as if he’s aged in the last few weeks.
It hadn’t been easy on him to see his daughter die in front of his eyes. He hadn’t taken it well. For the first time in as long as he’d known him, he’d taken a leave of absence from his duties as Mayor too.
So Jai had been pleasantly surprised when, almost a month to the day when they had averted the tsunami, Vik had called and asked to see him.
He can’t help but be shocked by the older man’s appearance.
He’s lost weight and the shadows below his eyes give him a look of yearning, as if something’s shifted inside. As if a fire has been lit that makes his amber eyes glow with unfulfilled desire. His hair is grayer, but in some ways, this is the most alive Jai has seen his father since…since his mother died.
Vik’s dressed in his usual black formal trousers and shirt, but something’s different. It takes a second for Jai to register that his purple armband is missing. Before he can ask Vik about it, his father envelops him in a bear hug, squeezing him tight, almost lifting him off the floor before letting him go.
"Jai, you look good," he greets the younger man.
Another change.
His father is not calling him by his full name. It’s just "Jai" now and Jai likes that. A lot. Clapping his hand on his father’s back, they both turn to the third person in the room.
Aria.
She walks towards him, a dazzling smile lighting up her features. Jai runs his eyes over the long formal gown she’s wearing. The material clings to her curves, hinting at cleavage before flaring down and over her hips. It’s cut to her mid-thighs at the sides. Flashes of honeyed skin show through the slits as she glides over to him.
The answering leap of desire in his belly takes him by surprise. He should be used to it by now, used to being aroused when he sees her, but he’s not.
A month of seeing her every day and he still can’t get enough of her, of the musky vanilla and coffee scent that clings to her skin. Not nearly enough of the tart-sweetness that lives at the base of her throat and which he has tasted. Often. And he hasn’t tired of sipping from that mouth. He’ll never get enough of her.
As if sensing his desire, she raises an eyebrow at him before her eyes dart to his father, and whatever she sees there causes her to blush and drop her eyes.
Another thing he’s still getting used to. The shy girl who still surfaces sometimes, hidden among the folds of the hellion that he knows is as much a part of her.
A hunter and a prey. Can one be both? She makes him feel like both. He wants to jump her. Wants to be consumed by her.
A touch on his shoulder breaks through his thoughts.
Seeing the knowing look in his father’s eyes, Jai almost flushes. But, no. His father knows him now. Knows he loves this woman. Loves her as much as he loves this city. No more. That much is clear to him. After losing her over and over again, after seeing her vulnerable and almost dead, no. He knows this is it. For him she is life itself. But the city is always there for him. A benevolent mother.
His father nods as if he’s read his thoughts.
And agrees.
Yes, he knows what it is to have loved fiercely too. Jai wishes Ruby were still alive just so his father would have the chance to feel her love one more time.
The door opens and a small voice pipes up, "I told you he’d be thinking of you too, didn’t I?"
"Lily!"
The little girl runs across the room, throwing her arms around Aria, who drops to her knees and hugs her back.
They stay that way for a few more seconds. That feeling of overpowering love that Lily always carries with her flows over Aria, pouring into her, calming the last feeling of uncertainty she hadn’t even known she carried inside. Then Lily steps back and grins. She goes over to stand next to Vik, who drops a hand to her hair, ruffling it.
The affection pools in Vik’s eyes as they move from Lily, to Aria, to Jai.
And in them Jai reads pride. He’s proud of Jai's achievements, of the family they now are.
"Ready, son?" Vik asks.
Jai
nods. Giving Aria his arm, he allows Vik and Lily to lead the way to where the rest of the council is waiting to swear him in as the Mayor of Bombay. He’s taking over from Vik, who’s decided to make this sabbatical a longer one. He’s going to spend time in London with the remaining members of the rebels, advising their new leader, using his lifetime of experience to help them organize themselves better.
Aria looks at Jai, her lips curving into a smile.
Jai can’t resist. Doesn’t want to resist. He bends down, brushing her lips with his. When he clasps her hand, she cries out in surprise on feeling the slide of metal in her palm. Pulling her hand free, she looks at the coin in it. She raises her eyes, which are shining with surprise, delight and something more. In them, Jai sees a sense of peace he swears he’ll do his best to keep that way, all his life.
For Maya’s story, read Feral, the prequel to Taken. Click here: http://smarturl.it/FeralLH
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Curious about Vik and Ruby? Check out Awakened, the story of how Vik and Ruby met and how Ruby triggered the tsunami which gave rise to the new world. Click here: http://smarturl.it/ManyLives
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The Many Lives Universe
From New York Times bestseller Laxmi Hariharan, comes the Many Lives Series.
In a world full of shifters, vampires and immortals, the Many Lives Series begins in present-day Bombay right before a catastrophic natural disaster destroys much of the city. Embark upon a perilous and epic journey as Ruby Iyer and Vikram Roy uncover the secrets of the city—and the demons of their past.
The Many Lives Series is a paranormal romance series that traces the origin and love stories of one woman's illegitimate descendants; all united by the power of her infamous sword.
Order of reading
Main series
Feral (Maya and Luke's story)
Taken (Many Lives Book 2) Page 22