by T. G. Ayer
Chapter 49
Adrenaline made Maya feel a little light headed as she sat up with a start, patting her hands and legs, staring around the room.
Everyone was well except for Joss.
Maya spun about looking for her injured friend. Joss lay beside her, the front of her clothing soaked through bright red and still moist. Even the dagger remained in Joss's abdomen. A stark reminder to Maya that Joss had been injured just as she’d feared.
"Someone do something." Maya sobbed, and felt Nik beside her. Tears blurred her vision as she looked at him, her eyes begging him. "Please do something. Save her. You have to save her. This isn't her fight but she came anyway. She came for me. Please, Nik."
"We will do what we can," said Nik. "And you can help."
"Me?"
"Yes, you have Kali's fire in your hand. It's time you learned how to heal as well." Nik grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her forward to sit beside him, next to her unconscious friend.
"Now, place your hands around the wound and center yourself. Then pulse your fire into the cut while I remove the knife. Your fire should prevent excessive blood loss. I'll help you as soon as I have the blade out. Maya," Nik called her name loudly, bringing her back to the present. She still felt lightheaded and her body ached. Maya gave herself a little shake as Nik said, "Ready?"
She nodded and did as he'd instructed. Her hands quivered where she held them against Joss's blood covered shirt. Terror stiffened Maya's fingers and weakened the fire. She swallowed hard, tried to regulate her breathing, tried to brush off her fear and strengthen the flow of heat into Joss's body. No easy task as images of Joss flitted through her mind.
Joss in kindergarten, helping Maya to pack away her crayons. Joss in first grade sharing Maya’s lunch. Joss’s tenth birthday sleepover and getting sick on too many s'mores made in the living room fireplace.
Maya was terrified of hurting Joss, but she had no choice. She had to use the fire. But a voice inside her cried out. What if she did something wrong and Joss died? What then? How did she go back home without Joss?
A tinny, clanking sound broke through Maya's concentration as Nik threw the dagger onto the marble floor. She watched it as it spun around, staring at it almost in a trance. Joss’s blood gleamed bright red against the silver blade. Maya felt Nik’s warm hands settle beside hers on Joss's stomach and watched as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate with her.
A dense and nervous hush filled the room. Chayya watched in somber silence. Maya settled her attention on her supine friend. Warmth simmered where Maya’s skin met Joss’s body. Her fingers lay against half-dried and sticky, half-coagulated blood and yet she felt no disgust. This was Joss. Her friend for most of her life. Maya would do anything for her.
The heat in Joss's abdomen began to increase slowly, spreading through her flesh and back into Maya’s fingers. A shudder of fear ran through Maya. Was it too much? Nik’s head dropped forward, and he’d uttered not a word in all this time. She swallowed and refocused her concentration, tamping down a sob and blinking back her tears. Every one of her muscles remained tensed and tight, and pain flowed within her. She drew in a ragged breath and stared at Joss, still unresponsive. At least it looked like the wound was no longer bleeding.
At last, Nik sat back and Maya glared at him. "What are you doing? Why are you stopping?" She sobbed as she stared helplessly at Joss’s unmoving form.
"There isn’t anything more we can do, Maya." His voice came out harsh and ragged as his shoulders slouched and he dragged his fingers over his face and scraped them harshly through his hair.
"No, you can’t mean that." Maya cried, her voice breaking on the last word.
"I’m sorry, Maya," Nik reached out a hand to comfort her but she shrugged it off. And backed away violently. She could see the hurt in Nik's eyes but she didn’t care. Why was he giving up? Maya sobbed, sucking air into her lungs. Her chest felt constricted, tight, as if all the air was being drawn out of her at once. Her abdomen hurt too, as if someone had kicked her in the gut.
She got to her knees, scraped at her tears with the heels of her hands. "That’s not good enough. You brought her here so fix it," Maya spat the words out at Nik, as her head spun and she lurched to her left, a little off balance.
"Maya!" cried Chayya, staring at Maya's own abdomen. "You’re hurt."
"What? No . . . I . . ." Maya looked down, noticing the large patch of bloody burned fabric where bits of charred skin and flesh peeked through revealing a rough circle of terrible burns. "When did that happen?" Maya breathed the question almost to herself as the world around her darkened slowly. She struggled against the encroaching blackness but it seemed to have a strength she couldn't counter. And she slipped into unconsciousness, finally allowing the darkness to carry her away.
The call of a peacock brought Maya back to consciousness. She wondered if it was the same proud fellow she and Nik had seen in the garden.
Such a mundane thought when her body and her heart ached for the loss of Joss. Maya swallowed hard. She didn’t want to cry. She’d cried enough as she’d slept fitfully for the last few hours.
She shoved back the covers and made her way to the window seat. Her legs threatened to give out from beneath her and she sat down hard on the cushions and leaned her head against the frame, taking in the spectacular view of the gardens. But the beauty of the plants and trees blurred behind a veil of tears. Maya held on to herself tightly, needing to stop feeling the ache inside of her. Feeling as if she were about to burst into a million pieces.
How did she get past the emptiness eating away at her heart? It burrowed into her belly and her heart and her soul like a living parasite, its teeth eager to gouge its way deeper to maximize the pain.
It was all for nothing. Accepting Yama’s mission had been the worst thing Maya could have done. Her decision had killed Joss. No matter how much she tried to palm the blame onto Nik for bringing Joss with him to Patala, in the end her friend had come because Maya had decided to help Yama.
And in the end, Joss was dead. What a waste. She hadn’t even been able to get Varuni back. Maya gritted her teeth. Did she really give a damn about Yama and Varuni and the slow death of the gods without their special elixir of immortality? The Amrita didn’t mean anything to Maya. At this point, all it represented was the loss of her best friend.
But Maya had to admit Joss wouldn’t feel sorry for herself. What would Joss want her to do? How could she make it up to her friend?
And Maya heard Joss’s voice inside her head, almost as if she stood right next to her. “Finish it.”
Finish it.
Maya thought. It was what Joss would have wanted. Otherwise, everything really would have been for nothing.
Maya nodded to no one in particular.
Finish it.
Chapter 50
The next morning Maya awakened when Nik entered the room. It was too late to jump back into the bed and he found her as she’d fallen asleep in the wee hours; lying against a pile of cushions in the window seat, with her forehead plastered to the cool windowpane.
At least she hadn't been drooling. Thank the gods for small mercies.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” He handed her a glass and she drank without question. Orange juice. Cold, rich, pulpy and completely tasteless.
Maya upended the glass, drank the last drops and set it on the table beside her. “When do we leave?”
Nik stared at her, looked like he was about to say something and then changed his mind. “I’ve had some feedback from our deep cover agents-”
“Deep cover agents?” Maya laughed, the sound harsh even to her ears. “Are you kidding me?”
“No, Maya, we have to call them something. And these are soldiers-”
“Demons you mean?” She arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to deny it.
“Yes, demon soldiers.” He sighed and pulled a chair close to the window seat. "Look, we have to be sure this time everything goes as planned. We are only using the d
eep covers for minimal info. Not even Priya knew about these two agents. And we don’t want their covers blown.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Maya returned her gaze to the garden, not wanting to admit she regretted her rudeness. Nik didn’t deserve it but she was in no mood for a retraction. She wasn’t in the mood for much besides kicking some major demon butt right now.
After a moment of silence he continued, “From their information we know Varuni was taken from her quarters to a cell beneath the palace.”
“Kas has a dungeon?” Maya said. This was getting better and better.
“Kas?”
“Narakasura.”
“Oh, yes. He has also spent a considerable amount of his life in your world. I see he has taken a liking to a shortened version of his name.”
“Much like you,” Maya said blandly still avoiding his eyes.
“True,” he said, then went silent. And it was the silence that did it.
“I’m sorry.” Maya turned to face Nik. She brought her feet up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’m sorry, it’s not fair for me to take my anger out on you. I shouldn’t. But every time I open my mouth I want to say something that will hurt you. I never thought of myself as a mean-spirited person but maybe I am.”
“No, don’t think that. You are hurting and of course you instinctively want to hurt me. And I understand. You blame me for bringing Joss here-”
“But I don’t anymore. She wanted to come. She made that so clear, Nik. How could I not respect her wishes?”
“And yet you are still angry with me.” He smiled gently, and as he spoke he pulled Maya’s hand free and threaded his fingers with hers.
“No,” she whispered. “I’m not angry at you. I’m angry that she is gone. I’m angry she came, I’m angry I let her stay. I’m so . . . angry . . . I couldn’t save her. And it hurts so much. It hurts to breathe. I just don’t know how to stop it.” Tears flowed harder and hotter and all Nik did was open his arms and Maya went straight to him. She wound her arms around his waist and cried into his chest. Nik held her close and let her weep, giving her his presence and his warmth while she cried.
A little while later, much of her tears spent, all her sobs quieted, Maya lay still against Nik's broad chest with the beat of his heart as an assurance that everything horrible had really happened. It also reminded her that everything good had happened too.
“Thank you.” She sniffed, mortified that she needed to blow her nose and there wasn’t a Kleenex in sight. She almost choked with laugher when Nik placed a travel pack of tissues in her hand.
“My mom hates cotton handkerchiefs. She’s a firm believer in Kleenex and an even stronger advocate for travel packs.”
“Your mom sure knows what she is talking about.” Maya laughed before taking the tissues and wiping her nose. Suddenly she felt much better.
“I’ll tell her you both agree on Kleenex then.” Nik nodded sagely.
Maya laughed. “What else can you tell me about Kas and Varuni?”
“Apart from the fact you will have to set yourself up to get caught, not much else.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean. So I materialize in the palace and the guards take me to the cells where they are keeping her. How do we know they won’t take me somewhere far away from her?”
“We don’t. But we just have to hope they don’t. The palace was never intended to be a place to hold prisoners. Swargaloka itself it the embodiment of good and righteousness. My guess is Kas has taken some of the more ancient rooms and transformed them into jail cells specifically for Varuni and you. It would be easy to assume that Varuni was his first captive.”
“So once they take me to Varuni what then? You and Chayya appear and get us out?”
“No. Well not exactly.” Nik drew a sheet of folded paper from him pocket, spreading it out on the small table beside the window seat. “Here. Memorize this. At some point, you will end up in the dungeon. One level up is the ground floor. This is a plan for that floor. Follow the marked route to the garden with the fountain. It’s sort of a side courtyard that has a wall running along the one edge. We'll wait on the other side.”
“How will you know I’m there?”
“Use this.” Nik handed her a flat black stone. “Throw this over the wall. It’s a special stone. Once it lands on the ground it bursts into a black cloud of dust. We’ll know you are there.” Maya stared at the stone. Weird. Nik continued. “Chayya and I will find a way to get you out-even if it means blowing up the wall. Remember we can’t enter the palace at all.”
“Do we have a plan B?” Maya curved an eyebrow.
“Nope. For now it’s Plan A or die trying.”
“Fine with me.” Maya nodded.” Let’s finish this.”
Taking a bath seemed the most mundane of things to do especially when Maya couldn't wait to get back to Swargaloka. But she scrubbed off the blood and traced the tenderness of her wounds before rinsing off and getting dressed.
This time she didn’t care for white. She chose red and yellow. The colors seemed significant since fire was meant to be her power. Why not dress for success?
Maya wrinkled her nose at the length of plain fabric meant to go with her outfit thinking she should just leave it off. In the end, she decided to wear it anyway.
She proceeded to strap knives to her thighs and legs, hidden well beneath the long overdress, then spent a moment trying to find an appropriate place on her body to hide the poison tipped Madu. She scowled at the weapons and strapped one onto each thigh. Maya picked up the vial of Naga poison Nik had given her and stuffed it securely into her bra. There must be worse places to hide such a deadly venom.
Lastly, Nik's odd stone found its way into a small pocket sewn into the drawstring pants and then Maya left the room and paused in the waiting area to stare at Joss’s door. For a second she was transported right back to the moment Joss drew her last breath. Maya struggled to take a breath and even though it hurt, she forced another rush of air through her lungs.
She had to get this done for Joss.
Maya charged into the hallway and almost walked straight into Nik. The silence stretched awkwardly between them.
Nik cleared his throat and the little sound broke the tension. “I was just coming to get you. Chayya is ready.”
Maya nodded. “I’m ready when you are.”
Chapter 51
Nik transported Maya to Swargaloka and the trio didn't waste any time once they arrived. With the sun high in the sky, Chayya led them around the palace to a walled off courtyard. She stopped in front of a tree whose enormous branches reached over the wall. The goddess faced Maya. "Ready?" Chayya's eyes grew darker with worry.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Maya answered giving Chayya an encouraging smile. "Let's do this."
Chayya raised her hand and whispered, “Be careful, Maya. And may Kali be with you.”
Maya scrambled up the tree, and eased herself out onto the thick branch. Closer to the trunk it supported her weight well. But as Maya reached the top of the wall, the branch sagged beneath her, pulling her down. She peeked onto the other side of the wall and found a bed of pungent marigolds. She crossed her fingers, hoped for lush, soft soil and jumped.
Maya landed on her back, completely flattening the bed of gorgeous orange flowers. She scrambled to her feet, dusted herself off and made her way toward the building. Slipping inside a large airy room, she tiptoed to an open door. For a moment she hoped she wouldn’t get caught, then realized being captured was her intention.
She strode through the doorway and emerged into a wide corridor. A shout went up as a guard ran toward her. Maya pretended to turn and run. The Rakshasa rushed forward, yelling loudly, calling for reinforcements no doubt. Maya’s immediate reaction was to punch him in the face or better yet, incinerate his ass. But she calmed herself and did nothing. Just waited for him to grab hold of her. It was, after all, part of the plan.
As soon as he touched her, she brushed his hand off, and
threw a half-hearted punch at his head. She decided it would certainly look strange and encourage suspicion if she didn't at least put up a small fight.
She ducked as the demon guard aimed a fist at her cheek, then landed a blow to his gut that sent him stumbling back a few paces. Half a dozen guards spewed into the hallway and Maya knew she couldn't possibly fend them all off without raising eyebrows so she struggled against their grip, only pretending to try and get herself free.
They barely paused to pat her down, swiftly relieving her of her knives and Madus. Maya's stomach twisted in disappointment. There had always been the possibility they wouldn't think to check her for weapons. With them gone, she was left with only her poison and her own firepower.
They grabbed hold of her before marching her out the room and down what seemed like a dozen flights of stairs. Of course, Nik had mention cells below the palace. Marble staircases and handmade wall hangings and life-size brass statues passed in a blur. She was on her way to the dungeons. Wonderful.
Beneath the palace, pale marble changed to off white stone; still beautiful but not as resplendent as the building above. The guards shoved Maya through a large arched doorway and stabbed a key into the lock of a gigantic wooden door.
Without a word they flung her into the room and left her to roll over until she came to a stop against the far wall. They slammed the great door shut so hard the stones above her sent a fine shower of dust floating to the ground. Maya sniffed, then shoved herself to her feet.
She was about to take a step toward the door to test its strength when a voice emanated from the darkness at her right. “What are you doing back here? I thought you were safe.”
Maya turned and faced Varuni with a grin as the beautiful goddess emerged from the shadows. “Safe is boring. I’m here to take you home.”
Varuni snorted. “You will more likely die for your efforts. In case you didn’t know, Kas has warded this cell. Nobody gets in or leaves who isn’t accompanied by his guards. That rules out any help from Chayya or Nik.”