by T. G. Ayer
Maya screamed and ran forward a few steps. "Stop you don't have to do this."
But the Churel just looked at Maya as if she was the one that was crazy. It turned its attention back to Dev and pressed its nail against his jugular. A thin red line appeared as the sharp edge cut into soft flesh. Blood rose to the surface of the incision and the Churel lowered her head to it. Her tongue extended, ready to lap up Dev's lifeblood.
The sight of the extended tongue of the ghostly woman awakened Maya's fury. She extended her hands and dug deep down for the fire. She pulled it from every cell of her body and from deep within her mind, channeling it to her fingers, directing it straight at the Churel.
This time Maya's fire streamed forth so strong and so hot that even Maya herself was surprised. Again, the fire was too close to her dad but she had to take the risk. Even if her fire singed him, he might still make it out alive.
The fire spewed from Maya's hands, straight into the Churel's chest. The demon screamed and for one short moment Maya was afraid. What if all the neighbors heard? What if they came running? Then Maya snickered. They will just have to be ready for the fright of their life.
Maya's fire continued to stream from her fingers, burning deep into the demon's torso. The stink of charred flesh filled the air and wafted around Maya. Her mother, hearing the scream, came running out of the house. And stopped in her tracks, her mouth hanging open in horror. She took a step forward and stared at her husband. But she hesitated. Dev was too close to the fire and he was too close to the demon.
Only Maya could save her father now.
Maya continued sending her fire into the demons chest. The fire power of Kali poured into the body of the dead woman and Maya began to see a certain glow around the ghostly woman's limbs and neck. The demon screamed again, a spine chilling sound that brought goosebumps to Maya's skin and scraped the inside of her ears raw. Maya winced but did not let up the fire.
The demon threw back her head and Maya could see a fiery glow in her throat. She turned and looked at Maya. The red glow in her eyes had faded. Now only Maya's fire glowed in her eye sockets, as the flame coursed through her body. The demon's fingers relaxed, releasing Maya's dad. The Churel let go and stared at her hands in horror. The skin on her arms and fingers began to peel off, flaking away and floating around her until it touched the ground and turned into dust. Her skin fell away in patches, revealing what lay beneath. Bones and dried tendons. Reminding Maya that the woman who stood before her was dead. A living corpse. A true zombie.
A zombie that was now burning up in front of Maya's eyes. The Churel's entire body glowed softly. The yellow gleam was strangely beautiful. Maya shook the thought from her head. Her father fell to the ground blood gushing from his neck. He pressed the heel of his hand against the wound. She channeled more fire straight into the demon. She had to get this done and fast. Leela ran to him, uncaring that the Churel was so near, uncaring that the ghostly woman was burning up not two feet away from her.
Maya took a step towards the Churel focusing her fire on the Churel's chest. The ghost stepped back, as if she wanted to leave, as if she wanted to escape but Maya was not about to let her. This was going to end and it was going to end now. No matter what had been done to the woman while she was alive she had no right to hurt innocent people. And now that she had chosen Maya's dad as a target she had just made her first mistake. And her last. Maya had no sympathy for her any longer.
Flame flickered through the Churel's hair, and the creature that now stood in front of Maya had lost most of its skin and most of its form. It was now one column of flame with the demon somewhere within it. The Churel screamed but the sound of the scream faded into the fire.
And then with a sudden crash of flame the demon fell into a pile golden glowing dust. Maya raised her eyebrows at the unfittingly beautiful end to the horrible creature. A breeze drove through the street, a stray gust of air sending the remains of the Churel into a whirlwind of embers and ash.
And the Churel was gone.
Maya rush to her father's side and he looked up at her with a wry smile. "That's one way to fix a Churel problem," he said.
Maya wanted to laugh. Trust her father to come up some smart-ass comment when all she wanted to do was hug him. She'd come closer to losing him than she'd ever done before. A shiver of fear ran through her as she raised her eyes to meet her mom's gaze. The worried look on her mom's face mirrored her own feelings.
They had almost lost him.
Chapter 4
After the excitement of the evening Maya was glad to just be alone in her room. She sat on the bed cuddled up with Expelling or Disposing of Household Possessions & Demons: A list of cases trying to concentrate on the words and failing miserably. Not that the book was boring. She'd had it waved in front of her at dinner, a gift from her father for killing the Churel. It's probably wise for Maya to read up anyway but as much as the content was fascinating, her mind still buzzed with thoughts of the Churel and more especially how close her father had come to death.
The Churel case had been a routine one ; something her parents had done dozens of times before. But what if Maya hadn't been with them this time? She hated to think of what would've happened. The only reason her father was alive today was because Maya had killed the Churel. Her parents were powerless against such creatures; and always will be. They relied on ritual to ward off the demons or ghosts, on incantations to kill them. In reality, there was nothing they could to physically defend themselves since weapons and ammunition didn't work so well on this branch of demonic creatures.
The more Maya thought about it the more she began to dislike the idea of her parents and their hunting. It didn't matter that they had experience. As far as she was concerned this one hunt proved that they were not powerful enough to hunt alone.
Maya shifted in her seat, the book lying forgotten on her lap. What also worried her was it had taken far too long for her fire to build up in strength. And it wasn't as if she wasn't practicing. Even though Nik was not here she still did her training every day but she was beginning to wonder when he was going to return. They had to work on advancing her training. They had to. The Churel had been so strong that Maya had doubted her ability to kill it. And that was not good at all.
Her stomach twinged. What if Nik had decided he no longer wanted to train her? What if he decided to stay in Patala? What if Yama had found something else, something better for him to do with his time? Maya wasn't sure what she'd do should that be the case.
Then she shook her head and laughed at herself. She was beginning to get far too paranoid for her own good. He'd promise he'd return and he would. No matter what. Even if his assignment had changed he would come back first tell her. Nik would never just abandon her.
Maya's thoughts flickered on everything that Nik meant to her. He'd been with her since the first moment she'd used her fire and burned Byron, the demon, in seconds. He been the easiest thing to believe when she'd been surrounded by gods and hell-hounds.
Nik had always been her one constant.
When they'd returned from Patala a few weeks ago Nik had promised Maya would always have him in her life. She couldn't keep him all to herself though. Being the son of the God of the Underworld couldn't be easy. The last thing she wanted was put pressure on him and demand that he spend more time with her. He had other commitments. Ones probably more important than Maya.
But Nik was taking his responsibility for Maya and her training seriously. All she had to do now was to let him do his job. He'd be back soon. She knew he would. For now she would just practice and wait. Oh, and kill any demon that threatens anyone she cares about.
That was all.
Chapter 5
The next morning Maya's walk to school seemed surreal. Sparrows soared and dived in the clear blue sky, and the sun was beginning to warm up the day but she couldn't help wondering why she was going to school in the first place?
Wasn't there something better for her to do than to be sitt
ing in class all day learning stuff that will never help her in the future? It's not as if she was going to grow up to be a doctor or lawyer. She snorted at the thought. What a waste that would be of the powers she wielded.
Demon hunting was something that was in her blood. And it was the power of Kali that she was destined to wield. She'd finally come to terms with the reality of being the instrument of the goddess Kali. She'd ceased rebelling against it weeks ago.
But even as Maya silently cursed the necessity of attending school, she accepted that, on one level it could be a wise move. They'd all had to continue as if nothing had changed. Nik had said Yama and his informants were not sure how close the mastermind controlling the Rakshasa was to Maya. The last time she'd had to battle the demons they'd come way too close too quickly. She had to be on high alert at all times.
Maya was so deep in thought she almost walked right into Joss.
So much for being on high alert.
"Hey, watch where you're going," said Joss, her blond hair hung open, grazing her shoulders and framing her beautiful face. She raised an expertly tweezed eyebrow while giving Maya a happy grin. "What's the matter with you?"
"Just thinking," said Maya, reluctant to elaborate.
"You look like you were doing some pretty serious thinking." Joss fell into step beside Maya and nudged her with her elbow. "So what gives?"
Maya laughed and knew she'd have no choice but to give in soon. "It's not as serious as it looked. I was just wondering as to the advantages of wasting time attending school instead of being out there fighting demons."
Joss cast her eye around them, taking in the bustling pathway and the school across the street up ahead. "I don't see any demons standing around right this minute, so why not go to school in the meantime?"
Maya shook her head, her mind on her father. "There are plenty of demons out there to fight. You just gotta know where to find them." Then she shrugged, a little deflated. "Besides, you just never know when one will jump out and surprise you."
"So you're telling me you know where to find all these demons," asked Joss, her expression clearly indicating she thought Maya was joking.
But Maya met Joss's gaze head on. It was probably time her friend knew what had happened to Maya's father the night before. In a low voice, Maya related the story, as they weaved through the school crowd. Maya watched Joss's expression closely. Her friend looked horrified and Maya understood that very emotion all too well. She was still horrified herself that her father had come so close to death that she had almost not been able to save him. Her heart clenched every time she thought about it.
"Wow," said Joss the lines of her face dark with concern, she'd gone so pale Maya could see the blue smudges below her eyes through the makeup. Joss was having trouble sleeping again. She didn't want to bring it up but she suspected being revived from the dead would do odd things to a person. Maya paid attention to Joss again, glad she hadn't missed any of Joss's comments. "Sorry, that's all I have. Just wow."
There was a short silence in which both the girls crossed the street side-by-side and hurried up the steps into the school. Then Joss asked softly, , "Is he okay?" her face still worried. She'd grown close enough to Maya's parents that such a close call would worry her as much as it did Maya.
"He's okay now. The bleeding stopped. She just missed his jugular, thankfully. She did manage to give him a triple slides to the abs though. He's got three thin cuts across his tummy. Says it adds character." Maya snorted.
"Good grief, Maya. He could have died if those injuries had been an worse." Joss shook her head, her eyes flashing. "Wasn't he was just doing one of those run-of-the-mill checks? Something they've done all the time?"
Maya nodded vehemently. "Exactly." Then after a short pause she said, "I have an idea. " Joss looked at her, waiting. "I think we should join them, you and me go with them whenever they go out to any of the day hunts or whatever it is that they call it."
"So, what exactly is it that they do?" asked Joss.
"Well, people have these problems with ghosts and spirits and stuff. They get in touch with my parents who go to investigate to see how they can help. So when my parents get there they assess the situation and do what they need to do. Usually it's pretty cut and dried - they do the rituals, chant the chants and it's all done and over and everyone's happy."
Joss smiled. "Sort of Sam and Dean but without the blood and guts and possessions." Maya grinned and nodded. "But last night it wasn't cut and dried?" Joss asked.
"Nope. And put a question mark on the possession statement. I think some of the stuff they deal with can end up possessing the person trying to fix the problem."
"Okay, then. A touch more Sam and Dean than I initially assumed." Joss's face was serious as she nodded her head. "Sounds like they put themselves in danger each time they work a case."
"That's why I think we need to go with them. The way I see it the more eyes and hands the safer they will be. I just never realized until now that their work was this serious, or this dangerous."
Joss nodded as the two girls weaved their way through the crowded hall. The volume around them had slowly increased as the school began to fill up. "I totally agree. Plus it would be pretty cool to see all these ghosts and stuff in action."
"I don't think you'll think that it's pretty cool when you come that close to death," said Maya, her tone a little on edge
Joss flushed. "Sorry, I really didn't mean it like that."
Maya shrugged. "That's okay. I'm a little bit too sensitive today, I think," she said as she reached her locker. She dug around inside it for her books and waved at Joss as they both headed off to separate homerooms.
Chapter 6
The day crept along, pretty normal and as boring as it could possibly be. Maya had expected to see Ria at school, but even though she'd kept an eye out she never saw her quiet friend. Ria's fiance Viren had assured Maya nothing would change. Even Ria had said everything would be normal and that she would still come to school, that she would finish school before she got married. But Viren hadn't owed Maya a thing. Her stomach tightened.
She'd known.
At the time she hadn't believed them and it seemed her gut instinct had been right. Ria was nowhere to be found.
Maya settled into her seat in English, trying to put thoughts of Ria and Viren out of her head for a while. She glanced up, expecting to see Mrs. Bane, but it looked like they had a substitute, or a new teacher. Disappointment filled Maya; she'd liked Mrs. Bane. The woman, dressed in a slim fitted navy suit, her hair curled into a dark bun at the back of her neck, tilted her neck as she wrote her name on the board. The chalk scraped as she curved her letters and Maya cringed as the sound seemed to cut right into her brain.
Ms. Harris.
It shouldn't matter to Maya. English was easy enough no matter whom the teacher was. She bent her head over her book, waiting, like the rest of the class until Ms. Harris was ready to address them. As with any new teacher she introduced herself and confirmed they would no longer have our old teacher for the class. Apparently poor Mrs. Bane had a few health issues to resolve.
Then the teacher requested introductions from each student via roll call. More than a few rolled their eyes as each student raised their hand and answered banal questions like how long had they been at XX High and what they liked about English. When Maya's turn arrived she lifted her hand and waited.
Ms. Harris had been walking the aisles, reading the names of her sheet, and the closer she came to Maya the more Maya began to feel uncomfortable. The hairs at the back of her neck stood on end and her skin prickled with goosebumps.
"Maya Rao." She spoke the name loudly. "What is your chosen career path for tertiary studies?"
Maya was stumped. She struggled to find the words, then said, "Graphic design." She let out a soft sigh. It had been on the tip of her tongue to say demon-hunter. Then she stiffened as the teacher came to a stop beside her, so close Maya's shoulder almost brushed the curve of Ms. Ha
rris's hip.
How had Maya missed it?
The scent of meat and incense wafted to her and Maya held her breath. It was that or choke on the odor. It couldn't be. Not again. Not right here in school, out in the open for everyone to see. But the longer the teacher stood beside her the more certain Maya became.
Ms. Harris was a Rakshasa.
Maya kept her body stiff as the demon walked past her. She couldn't understand it. Her senses were meant to be on high alert after the attack of the Churel. She should have detected the smell of meat and spices the moment she'd entered the classroom. Now her stomach turned, the odor making her want to vomit. But she couldn't react. Instead she pretended to read as the demon made a circuit of the room,
When the Rakshasa reached Maya again, she slowed almost imperceptibly. And that was when Maya knew. They knew she was here and they had sent someone. They should actually know better, she thought. The last time they sent someone she'd killed them.
Maya still felt bad that both Byron and Amber's human forms were killed in the process and even though Nik had convinced her that the demons had taken over the bodies of the humans for so long that there was no human left, she still didn't feel comfortable with the idea of killing people, no matter what form that took.
For now she watched the demon's back as it strolled to the front of the class and turned to face the students. Maya tamped down the twinge of fear that began to rise within her. Showing fear was a bad, bad idea. They'd smell it like a shark smelled blood. There was only one thing that she had to do and try to do well. She had to pretend she had no idea that Ms. Harris was a demon. She had to let them think she hadn't recognized the Rakshasa for what she was. This could be some sort of reconnaissance, and it was probably best to let them think they had the upper hand.