Kaliya Sahni: Volume One (Kaliya Sahni Volumes Book 1)

by K. N. Banet

  “Were you always this big?”

  “No. I went through a growth spurt while I was…there.”

  “Have you completely adjusted to it? Growing up makes us clumsy.”

  “Yeah, I have. It’s been six or seven years since I stopped getting taller.”

  “Good,” I said, stepping away. “Now, just follow my movements. If you’re motivated, do these in your free time until you’ve memorized them. This should be muscle memory by the time you get into a real fight. We don’t have time for that, but maybe one day, you’ll be able to hold your own against someone with a blade.”

  We worked for an hour, and I corrected him as we went, remembering how my father taught me. Hopefully, it would be enough.

  You’re not allowed to die on me, asshole. Do you understand? More than just you and me are counting on you sticking around for a long time.

  Even as I thought those words, I hated myself for them.

  “We’ll continue practicing this while we wait for my people to get back to me,” I said, grabbing two fresh towels and tossing him one. “You have no talent for it, but oh well. As long as you have some idea what to do, with your strength, you should manage.”

  “Thanks,” he snorted. “I really appreciate that vote of confidence.”

  “Dawn is coming soon,” I said, looking out the small window in the door. “Try to get some sleep. Now’s the safest time.”

  “What are we going to do tonight?”

  “This. And I want to see more of what you can do. It might help me and my friends figure out what you are,” I said, wiping off my face. “Good night.” Leaving him standing in the gym, I headed for the house. I checked the security cameras with my phone, waiting for him to get inside, then locked the building down. Once he was in the guest room, I turned off the app and laid in bed, finally forcing myself to sleep.

  13

  Chapter Thirteen

  When I woke up, I was disappointed to see no one had contacted me, not even Cassius, who was normally on my ass when we were working together on something. When my stomach growled, I knew it was time for me to eat a full meal and sighed.

  Maybe I can ask Raphael to cook something…

  I shook my head vigorously, trying to banish the idea. He wasn’t a roommate. He was here because I needed to keep him alive and out of the hands of less than desirable people. If he wanted to cook, he could, but I damn sure wasn’t going to ask him—absolutely not. Plus, I hadn’t even known the guy for twenty-four hours. That seemed a little too much for such a short acquaintance.

  For a second, I missed my family. My mother had a system. Every three days, she and my father made a feast. We all ate our fill, then we were responsible for any smaller meals we might need if we got a little peckish. It had been nice, the consistency, the rhythm. I could never get into the same flow, but then, I hated to cook. She had been great at it. I had wanted to run around with my brothers, even though they were both adults.

  Grinding my teeth, I reminded myself why I got into the mess that surrounded Raphael. He could know something that could help me. Tonight, if things stayed calm, I was going to grill his ass like a steak.

  I showered, brushed my teeth, and finally did something with my hair, braiding a few sections back to keep it out of my face. It was a slow rise for me, but the sun was still up, and the world was still relatively safe, so I could take my time. I didn’t hear Raphael moving around, so it seemed like I was on my own for a moment.

  Once I was dressed—standard black pants and black top, simple but effective—I went to the kitchen and started pulling out chicken and pasta, my go-to meal to cook.

  I heard him rustling as I thawed the chicken, annoyed I hadn’t thought to put any out in the morning before going to sleep when I knew I was going to need to eat tonight. Looking over my shoulder, I narrowed my eyes on him as he went into the bathroom without a damn shirt again.

  He’s in someone else’s house. Can’t he put some clothing on?

  When he came out, he saw me.

  “How long have you been there?” he asked, his eyes going wide. “You always walk around so quietly?”

  “Yeah. It's a habit. You always go around half naked?”

  He looked down and shrugged. “Sorry. I get really warm sometimes, and it gets uncomfortable.”

  “Sometimes? You’re like eight degrees hotter than most humans,” I said, frowning. “Did you know that?”

  “I don’t go to doctors, and I don’t get sick, so no, I didn’t know. How…how do you?”

  “I have a bit of…thermal imaging.” I didn’t really know how to explain it. “Like some snakes can use thermal information to hunt for prey. Pit vipers are the most common example.”

  “You are so weird,” he mumbled. “Should I go get a thermometer and make sure I’m not running a fever?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not weird, I’m just not-human. Don’t start off the day being an ass, please?”

  “You know what? Why don’t I cook and shut my mouth?” he said, reaching for the knife I was holding, without any fear. I handed it to him and lifted my now empty hands up harmlessly.

  “We might survive this,” I muttered as I walked away, only stopping as I remembered what I had been thinking about before he showed up. “Tonight, we’re going to sit down and talk about everything, about your time at Mygi, okay? I need to know every little detail.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. You need to build some sort of case to get them shut down, I’m guessing. Would you be okay talking about it after I’m done cooking?”

  “Yeah,” I answered, nodding as I walked out of the kitchen. “We can talk over food.”

  I went into my open office so he could get me when he was done. I sent Cassius a message, hoping he would get back to me quickly, though he may still be asleep. For the first time in a very long time, he didn’t immediately call me, and something about that worried me.

  I started looking through the database the Tribunal kept on different supernatural species. It was a digitized version of the official Tribunal Archives, a pocket dimension. I thought I had it memorized, but I wasn’t stupid enough to actually believe I did. There were plenty of supernatural species who didn’t want much to do with the Tribunal. There was a search function, so I started by looking for red eyes. They were common in vampires, but he was definitely not one of those. I went through the list, but nothing matched his physical features or reported scents.

  Nothing smells human. Everything has a scent. Vampires are the only exception, but…he’s not one of those. He can’t be.

  I was beginning to think Mygi had decided to make something new. Maybe they had done something to him that changed him into something new.

  Cassius didn’t call back by the time Raphael was done making the food. He brought in a plate for me, placing it on the corner of my desk, then left again. When he returned a moment later, he had a plate for himself with three times the food.

  “There’s more, too. I didn’t know how much you wanted,” he said, sitting down on the other side of her desk. “Nice office. What’s in there?” He nodded toward the habitat behind me.

  “Oh, I’m helping someone with one of their snakes. Naksha is an Indian cobra. Be careful, and don’t stick your hand in there. She’s pretty aggressive and very territorial,” I explained, looking over my shoulder. My app for her systems hadn’t alerted me, so I hadn’t been thinking about her. I looked back and saw her curled up under a rock, avoiding the heat lamp above. Before I started eating, I checked the temperature of her enclosure and was satisfied she was fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

  “I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you like snakes.” He shoved a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

  “How insightful,” I replied, spinning my fork in the pasta on my own plate. “So, let’s talk. Then we’re going to see what you can do.”

  “Mmm.” He held up a hand and finished what was in his mouth, covering his face. I was gratefu
l because it looked like he ate like a pig. “Sorry, I’m always starving,” he said, almost sheepishly. “So yeah…It’s like I’m something else. When I get angry or need to fight, it turns on, and I see things differently. I know I look crazy when it happens.”

  “Yeah, and you can flip SUVs.”

  “Yeah, I’m really strong when it happens. Fast too, but not like you. Things hurt less as if I become kind of invulnerable. I can still bleed. If that SUV hit me wrong, it could have crumpled and cut me, but my bones don’t break easily.”

  “Lucky you. Now, about Mygi.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know if you’re looking for something specific. I only know what they did to me. They didn’t really talk about anything but me whenever I saw them. Sometimes they gossiped about who was stealing lunches from the fridge and shit. It was so normal, it stood out.”

  “Funny.” Not really. It was actually disturbing, and it was unusual for me to be genuinely disturbed about something. Office gossip while essentially torturing a man. Did they have any self respect? Torture was serious business.

  “They talked about my healing factor a lot. I told you they cut off my hand once.” He lifted his left arm again to show me the scar. “It was a lot of stuff like that.”

  “Damn. So, you wouldn’t know if they’re practicing illegal experiments on any other supernaturals?”

  “Nope. I didn’t even know they weren’t human. That all started becoming apparent after I escaped.” He looked down at his food, his eyes flashing red. I figured he was angry at what had been done to him, and that I understood. “I don’t think I can do this yet,” he admitted.

  “That’s fine. There’s going to be plenty of opportunities going forward for you to talk it all out. We don’t need to do it right now,” I promised, letting him drop it.

  I resigned myself that Raphael wouldn’t be able to tell me anything. I would remove him from The Board later—it was pointless to keep him on there.

  We ate in silence after that. He must have realized I was disappointed by what he had to say. It was nothing new, and I didn’t blame him for not wanting to dive into the disgusting details yet. He would have to repeat them later for Cassius, who would need him to relive all the horrors to really build the case.

  He finished before me; how, I didn’t know. I kept looking for Cassius to get back to me, but he never did. I was hoping it was because he was dealing with our bosses to open a case against Mygi and nothing more serious, like the possibility I wasn’t going to get help at all. The moment I was finished and tried to put my plate down on my desk, Raphael snatched it and carried the dishes out. I sighed again, staring out the open door. It was time to get some real idea of what he could do, but part of me just wanted to drop the whole thing.

  He has no connection to The Board, and he doesn’t know anything beyond what they did to him. He needs witness protection or something, not me.

  My fangs ached, pulsing as I thought about sending him to someone else. It was like they vehemently protested the idea of sending him away.

  Never mind. I’ll keep him around until I’m willing to deal with that. Fuck, that could be decades. He’s an asshole, and I’m a bitch. That’s a can of worms I really don’t want to open.

  As if the gods were laughing at me, my phone started to ring before I could leave it on the desk and get away. I checked the caller ID and hissed in annoyance before answering.

  “Yes, Adhar?” I asked. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I’ve been alive for three thousand years. In that time, I have never met someone as good at avoiding things as you are.” His thick Indian accent reminded me too much of home. I preferred the other nagas never called. I liked to keep as much distance as possible.

  “I should have never texted you,” I mumbled. “What do you want?”

  “Should I begin preparing a ritual?”

  “Absolutely not,” I snapped. “Are you fucking mad? Do you think I’m excited?”

  “He’s compatible,” Adhar reminded me.

  “Like I don’t fucking know that.” Realizing I didn’t need Raphael hearing, I closed my office door, then locked it. “There’s a reason I didn’t get back to you. I’m in the middle of a shit show with Sinclair. I’ve got Cassius coming into town to hopefully start a full investigation into a company that could very well hire someone good enough to kill me and my charge. On top of it all, they’re trying to capture him. I don’t have time for rituals and biting and shit, Adhar; I don’t want to do it.”

  “You’re the last female of the nagas, Kaliya. We need—”

  “Don’t fucking say that to me like I don’t know it. I was there the night my mother died, along with the rest of my damn family. I remember running for a year before you found me and told me how your sister was murdered only a few weeks later. We lost all three breeding females within four months. I was a child with a whole lot of fucked-up burdens on my shoulders afterward. You never need to remind me what I am.”

  “I know you understand—”

  “Breeding compatibility doesn’t mean I’m required to breed with him,” I snarled into the phone. “My mother was compatible with two people and was able to choose which one she wanted to mate with for life. I think I can reserve the right to say this one might not be right for me. On top of that? I don’t want kids. Four nagas have human mates, and one of them is pregnant. They can save the fucking species by breeding. I’m going to do it by killing the bastards who are determined to see us wiped out. I’m not going to hide and fuck like the rest of you have been trying and failing to do. First, I need to survive my fucking job and don’t need you riding my ass.” I hung up and slammed my phone down. Stomping out of the office, I stormed past Raphael in the living room.

  “Let’s go,” I ordered. “We’re going to find out what you can do.”

  “Okay…” He followed behind me, trying to keep up.

  I walked off my back porch into the desert, not bothering with shoes. I heard the distinct rattle of a perturbed snake and hissed at it.

  “Watch out. We don’t know if venom, poisons, or toxins can kill you.”

  “They can’t,” he said. “They hurt and work, but my body heals faster than they can do damage.”

  That made me stumble and misstep on a rock, nearly meeting the dirty sand in a massively ungraceful moment. He reached out and grabbed my arm, and I used it to help regain my balance.

  “Really?” I asked softly.

  “Yeah, they tried a lot of stuff on me,” he answered, frowning. “I should have mentioned that earlier. None of it works. They would say something like ‘performing cyanide injection,’ and I would hate everything for about a day, then it would pass, and I would be okay.”

  I stared at him with wide eyes, wondering how the hell that was possible. It also made me insanely curious if that was why he was compatible with me. He was naturally immune to everything, which made him a possibility, but maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe I just knew he was immune, and my body was confused.

  I have to tell Adhar about him, eventually. Whether he likes it or not, I don’t know, but I’m going to have to tell him. Once we’re done with everything, I’ll call him back. Maybe.

  I don’t know. Maybe it’s best I don’t tell any of the other nagas about this.

  Fuck me sideways, why is this so complicated?

  “Okay. Well, since you’re immune, never mind the rattlesnake literally a foot away from us. Or really any of the deadly creatures out here. I mean, sure, they’ll hurt you, but you don’t die, so whatever.” I tried to shrug it off, but I knew I had shown my surprise for a little too long.

  “Are there no other supernatural species like me? Who can heal the way I do?” He almost seemed freaked out. He was an oddity in a world of weird, so I really couldn’t blame him.

  “I’m immune to snakes. All of them, but scorpions can give me a real nasty hit if I’m not careful. I’m not immune to poisons, but I have some tolerance for them. I might not die. To
give you an idea of the weirdness surrounding you, there are no supernatural species that consistently survives cyanide. You’ve survived fatal doses, and that’s weird. It’s one poison I know would kill me and everyone else I’ve ever met. Even humans can have a limb put back on if they get to it fast enough. I would assume most supernaturals could have it done, but the way you described yours? That’s something I’ve only seen…”

  Vampires do.

  He’s not a vampire, though.

  “Seen?” He tried to pry.

  “Vampires, since their bodies aren’t alive, need blood, and can heal through nearly anything except decapitation or burning in the sun.” I started walking again, trying to get us where I needed us to be. “Or being set on fire, but they can put themselves out or run to the shade before they die of those last two. Decapitation is the fastest, most effective way to kill them. If you rip an arm off, they can take it back, run home, hold it on and drink some blood. I don’t know the specifics, but I do know they can put limbs back on.”

  “But I don’t drink blood…”

  “And you can walk in the sunlight,” I said, nodding as I gestured up at the low evening sun. “So, there’s the problem. You have similarities but not enough to be the same species. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of supernaturals with abilities that cross over. Lots of us can turn into different animals, for example. I, obviously, can shift into a snake.”

  “See…that I wouldn’t mind,” he said with a bitter laugh. “Instead, I just turn into the fucking monster from under some kid’s bed.”

  “Yeah, and we’re going to test how much you can do, monster boy,” I said, trying for some semblance of lightness and humor to drag myself off the conflicting and intrusive thoughts bouncing around my brain. I stopped walking as we passed a small ridge, and I saw what I needed. There were tons of rocky outcroppings in the North American desert, of all sizes, which suited my purpose.