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

by K. N. Banet

  “He smells wrong,” the wolf growled. I looked up at him boldly.

  “Then plug your fucking nose,” I snapped. “Now, I’m fucking starving, and you don’t own this kitchen, and I’ve about fucking had it with werewolf attitudes. I’ve dealt with a lot of them over the last twenty-four hours.”

  “Really?”

  “Three Alphas, Wesley, and two other motherfuckers who escaped the prison, so yeah,” I hissed.

  “Three Alphas? There’s only two in this area. The next closest one is in Flagstaff, and that pack is small.” His hand lifted, but I could guess it was from shock or confusion.

  “Tarak’s dead. Korey took over as Alpha and the werewolf Warden of the prison,” I explained, wrenching the fridge door open before he had the chance to stop me again. “You can send them a letter or something about the death, but yeah, I’m done.”

  “And Wesley got out? Did you kill him?”

  “No. Wagner helped contain him. Can I get something to eat?”

  “Let me make you something. What would you like? Cassius had me learn a lot of recipes you might—”

  “A burger. Make it a double, half-pound patties,” I said quickly, letting go of the fridge.

  Of course, Cassius had him learn a lot of Indian food. Of course. Why wouldn’t he? He’s thoughtful like that.

  The werewolf nodded and pointed to a spot to sit down in the kitchen.

  “Will your guy want food, too?” he asked, watching me as he pulled out several pounds of ground beef.

  “Probably. He’s been eating me out of house and home.”

  “Okay.”

  I watched him work until Leith walked in, followed shortly by the man in question. When Raphael came to sit beside me, I turned back to Terry and saw the werewolf’s nostrils flare as he took in the scents of the room. Most wolves scented the room subconsciously, but this was purposeful as though he was looking for information. When the werewolf looked up from his task at me, his eyes had changed. They were now a lighter brown, his wolf eyes.

  He’s probably reacting to Raphael’s scent. I wish I knew what they caught.

  “It’s good to see you awake and moving,” my roommate said, leaning over. It diverted my attention from the chef. Looking at Raphael, I licked my lips and caught his scent, too, but it was completely human. We were close together, so I caught more of his feelings in the scent. Normally, I tried not to be that close to people, but I hadn’t chosen the seating arrangement.

  “Did you just get up?”

  “No, Leith got me up an hour ago, and I went down to get some of Cassius’ guns from the basement. Just in case we needed them any time soon. I didn’t like sitting around and doing nothing.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “About seven hours. I have your phone. I grabbed it from the car and unloaded the rest before getting to bed. So, everything should be ready for you to use.”

  “Ah, Lady Kaliya, Wagner also dropped by to give you back some of your things.” Leith sat on my other side, looking surprisingly casual, though he called me Lady again. “You left them at the scene, apparently, and he wanted to see them returned. He also wanted me to pass along a message that he spoke to the Tribunal, but you should call them as soon as possible.”

  “Yeah, I figured he would,” I muttered, sighing. “I’m going to eat, then deal with the bosses. They can give me that.”

  “They fucking better,” Raphael growled softly. Leith left to do something. Terry straightened up and stared at him, but nothing else happened.

  Food was prepared, and I ate fast, not surprising anyone around me. Once I was done, I left them there without a word, finding my phone on the dining room table, charged and ready. I found Hasan in my missed calls three times over the afternoon and evening and called him, knowing I might get talked to about missing his calls.

  “Kaliya. It’s good to hear from you. We were worried.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “That’s nice to hear. I saw you called, and I’m sorry I missed them. I needed to sleep. I was completely drained.”

  “Yes, I bet you were. Wagner had been kind enough to give us a description of your injuries as he saw them when you crossed paths. I’m not angry you took a chance to care for yourself. We can’t have you dying on us in the middle of this.”

  “I’m glad you understand,” I said, sitting down at the table. “I’m not one hundred percent, of course, but I’m ready to get back out there. Do you want my report of Levi’s death, Wesley’s capture, and who else I found there?”

  “I do. I heard some things, but since Wagner wasn’t there for the entire event, he couldn’t give me the details I wanted. He said something that concerned me, though, and I wanted to verify it.”

  “Yeah, those twin wolves you had in prison were players,” I confirmed, having a strong feeling I knew what Hasan wanted to know. “Can you answer a few questions about them for me?”

  “I can.” There was a frankness about Hasan I really liked. He was more insightful and intelligent than most of his peers, but he was also frank, at least with me. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe he didn’t know how to play politics with the best of them however, since he was one of the founding members of the Tribunal.

  “How did they do it?” I had a weird feeling about their ability to heal. It was unusual and reminded me of Raphael in a way. Raphael could heal through things as he kept moving, kept fighting, just like them. Things that should have been fatal were a breeze for those werewolves. They just got back up.

  “You are probably talking about why they were very difficult to kill.” I was glad for the werecat’s insightfulness. He understood what I wanted without me needing to clarify. “They made a pact with a demon centuries ago that gave them immortality to the weaknesses inherent to werewolves and werecats.”

  “Oh shit. Like silver.” I had expected something weird or unusual, but a demon pact had not been it. It certainly came out of left field and had implications that made me uncomfortable. That was dangerous shit. “Why did you keep them alive?”

  “Because they’re sons of the first werewolf, and I try to keep other originals alive,” he answered, sounding distant about it. “With them dead, there’s only two werecats and one werewolf left of the originals. How did you kill them?”

  “Wow, okay.” I didn’t even begin to know how to touch that topic, and it wasn’t my business. The origin of the werecats and werewolves wasn’t known to anyone or at least no one I had ever spoken to, not that I asked around. In over a hundred years, it probably came up twice. I had my own shit to deal with. “Umm, cut their heads off and burned them. Well, made Wagner finish with the burning part.”

  “Anything else?” he asked. “Or can we talk about something Wagner brought up on his call?”

  “Nothing else from me.”

  “Good, then tell me about what you plan to do about Nakul,” Hasan said simply without judgment or anger. Just a simple question, which if I answered wrong would blow up in my face.

  “I plan on taking him back to the prison,” I told him honestly. It wasn’t the entire truth, but enough of it to hopefully get him to not ask any more questions.

  “Not kill him on sight?”

  Ah, fuck.

  “Don’t fire me for this,” I started, considering just what I could trust Hasan with. “He hasn’t tried to kill me, and he hasn’t tried to leave the state. He’s been…following me around since the breakout. He saved my ass earlier today with Levi and those werewolves. When Wesley showed up, I thought I was fucking done for. Raphael and I were completely outnumbered. He disappeared before the pack got there. We saw him again at the car, and I brought him to Cassius’ home. He’s secure right now.”

  “So, you’re just going to take him back to the prison tonight.”

  “Eh. Maybe tomorrow—”

  “Tomorrow? Kaliya, showing your family—”

  “He knows something about what’s going on. He tried to warn me right before the breakout. His memory ha
d been manipulated. Once I’m positive the threats have been eliminated, and no other northern cell block inmates are in the city causing problems, I need to know what he knows.” I had to see this thing to its end, or I would be stuck wondering just like I was with Raphael. I couldn’t let answers slip through my fingers.

  “Then we can have him examined at the pri—”

  “This was done to him at the prison, Hasan. I’m positive it has something to do with the visitors they’ve been letting in. I don’t think this just was Wesley. Aren’t you getting it? Whoever Tarak and Eliphas let in decided to have a good time spelling people to try to kill me, and I can’t let that slide. I can’t let that go unanswered. I need to get to the bottom of this because it’s not just them being spelled. There are a few others trying to kill me because the price is good enough for them. Someone wants me dead.” I was ranting into the phone, running a hand through my hair as frustration and anger swirled in my chest. “And I can’t stop until I find out why they thought this was a reasonable way to try. They broke out the entire fucking prison, Hasan. I bet I was never supposed to get out of that prison alive.”

  “And you know Nakul is part of this how?” the werecat growled on the other end.

  “Because they asked him to kill me. He can’t remember who asked him. He has bits and pieces as though they couldn’t completely hide the memory. He turned them down, but he knows some of these motherfuckers can get a huge reward for killing me, like new identity, no record kind of good. We’re not talking about a mortal identity, either. Supernatural.”

  “Ah…” I heard a seat creak. “Okay. As long as you have valid reasons, I can spin this for the other Tribunal members, but I probably won’t need to. Nakul has come up a lot since the breakout. My fellows have tried to tell me there’s no love between the two of you but—”

  “He killed children,” I said with a hatred I still felt for my uncle. Nothing was going to ever erase that hate, but I was resourceful enough to put it aside when I needed something. I wasn’t going to let it consume me when I could use Nakul’s loyalty to our species for my own survival. “He butchered families. If Cassius had let me kill him years ago instead of making him stand trial, he wouldn’t fucking be among the living. I didn’t hesitate in the task. I was stopped. There’s a difference.”

  “Good. Now, I expect you’ll interview him tonight, find someone to look into his memories, then take him back to the prison to complete the investigation. Am I correct?”

  “You are. Unless someone comes out of the woodwork and tries for the kill, I should be able to wrap this up in a day or two. The investigation could take longer because I haven’t found everyone yet, like Kartane, but I can get to work on it for your Investigator.”

  “Thank you. We’re still wary of sending anyone else into Phoenix.”

  “Yeah, I would give it a couple of weeks,” I said quietly, rubbing my face. Until some of the escapees started showing up around the world, I had to assume they were in my region.

  “Well, let me get a few things clear before I leave you. Good work on this so far. Your response has been quick and effective in managing this crisis, and we of the Tribunal are lucky to have someone with such dedication. Second, good luck with the rest of this. Don’t make one of us have to call Adhar and tell him we got the last female naga killed. Last, get back to work.”

  “Yes, sir, and thank you, sir,” I said. I heard a satisfied huff, then the call ended.

  I looked at the phone in my hand and sighed.

  Get back to work, Kaliya. This isn’t done yet.

  23

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  I leaned on the table and considered my next move.

  I had to talk to Nakul.

  Part of me wanted to go out and kill another inmate. I would rather spend the next week fighting more like Levi than have a full, open conversation with my uncle.

  To avoid it, I pulled my phone closer again and looked through my contacts. First, I went to the local coven leader. With the fae mostly MIA, the witches were who I had to go to about Nakul’s memory problem. I sent a quick text, explaining I had someone with possible information important to me and the Tribunal, but his memories had been tampered with. Whatever they could do to help would be appreciated. A reply came quickly.

  Monica: Bring the subject to my home in three hours. We’re willing to help the Tribunal and you further, of course, but we need time to prepare.

  Kaliya: Thank you.

  I continued scrolling, now with three hours to kill. I slowed every time I passed a naga name until I finally found the one I wanted. It wasn’t Adhar. Talking to the male leader of the nagas wasn’t on my agenda and hadn’t been since he was an absolute asshole four months ago. He sent emails and texts, all news about the nagas, like the announcement that one of the babies was going to be a girl, but I never replied.

  There was another name, a naga I hadn’t spoken to since I was a child. I kept up with all of them, getting news from Adhar, but I hadn’t spoken to any of the other surviving nagas in over a century. Adhar gave me their numbers and mine to them, but nothing came of it.

  One of them was Nakul’s brother.

  I hit his name and let it ring. He was twelve hours and thirty minutes ahead of me because of course India Standard Time had to be one of those times that fell on the half an hour. It was nearly nine for me, which meant it was definitely time for him to be awake.

  “Kaliya?” The deep confusion and disbelief on the other end of the line didn’t surprise me.

  “That’s me,” I said. “Hello, Mahavir.”

  “Why are you calling me?” His voice was thick with an accent I didn’t hear often. I avoided mortals who hailed from India, avoided celebrations and ceremonies—avoided most things that reminded me of home.

  “First, let me say congratulations on your son. I bet you and your wife are very happy. He’s fifteen now, isn’t he?” I didn’t want to jump into talking about Nakul without care. It would have been cruel. Mahavir was one of the few lucky nagas with a human mate, and they had a fifteen-year-old son I had never met. I didn’t even know if the boy knew my name.

  “He is.” Mahavir chuckled, sounding like every bit a proud father. “You sound very American, did you know that?”

  “I do. I live in Arizona. Sounding American helps me blend in.”

  “Why are you calling?”

  “Maybe I’m just—”

  “Don’t lie to me, Kaliya Sahni. Don’t disrespect your parents’ memories or me like that.”

  I sighed and leaned back in my seat. Looking at the door to the kitchen, Raphael was standing there, waiting quietly, watching me with his warm chocolate eyes I wanted to fall into.

  “Nakul,” I said simply. “I’m calling you about Nakul. I wanted to ease the blow before we got to that.”

  “What could you possibly want from me about my brother? Wasn’t the last century enough? He’s locked away—”

  “He’s escaped, and I wanted to ask you some questions—”

  “No, absolutely not. The last time you asked me some questions about my brother, you caught him and tried to have the Tribunal execute him. Adhar had to go and save him. From you. Now, I’m willing to forgive a lot of things when it comes to you. You had a rough childhood, Kaliya, but having one of your own kind killed is not something I’m going to help you with. You’re supposed to be our female species’ representative, a leader.”

  I put the phone down and let him rant. Raphael stepped closer, concern on his face, and leaned over to listen to Mahavir.

  As Mahavir continued to berate me, I watched my roommate’s eyes go wide.

  “His brother. This is Nakul’s brother,” I explained softly, hoping the phone didn’t pick it up. Raphael nodded sharply, then took a seat near me, supportive with his very presence. As Mahavir continued about how terrible I was, I reached out and hit the button to turn on speakerphone.

  “Stop,” I ordered. The rant ended in a split second. I wasn’t a
young teen at the beck and call of all the adults. I was an unknown to the other nagas as much as they were an unknown to me. The difference was they knew I could be threatening, and I knew they weren’t. “Please listen carefully, Mahavir. I’m not going to kill Nakul. There was a breakout at the prison, and he’s already in my custody, very much alive.”

  “Not that she couldn’t,” Raphael added, speaking loudly enough to be heard. “He did murder innocent women and children from what I’ve heard.”

  The silence from Mahavir said volumes.

  “I need to know if Nakul knows where you live. If he ever visited before he…before he was incarcerated.”

  I couldn’t say ‘before he started killing people’ because Cassius had often wondered if Mahavir had secretly kept his brother safe between kills, not knowing what Nakul had been doing. What Mahavir would never know was I stonewalled Cassius on that front. I played both sides to stop a killer and to protect my people. It wasn’t my fault Nakul had done everything in his power to get himself killed, but I hadn’t let him take down anyone else. Adhar had told me Nakul never showed himself to the other nagas or him, and I used that to protect them. I had believed Adhar, not the fae noble, who was being a pushy ass at the time. I still believed Adhar, but I made sure to ask Mahavir the right question to cover my bases.

  “And if he did, you need to move and get into a different secure location,” I finished.

  “We’ve all moved since you left—”

  “That doesn’t answer the question, Mahavir. Give me the respect of not treating me like an idiot. I work with and for some of the most intelligent people in the world, and I spend my days tracking and killing the most dangerous. I’m not a fool.” Now I knew either Mahavir had lied to Adhar…or worse, Adhar had lied to me.

  “He…he stopped by my home a couple of times.”

  Since that wasn’t surprising information anymore, I pushed for more, suppressing the hot anger that tried to come to the surface. I didn’t want to yell at him, even though the urge was strong.