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

by K. N. Banet

  “That’s good. He deserved rest,” she whispered.

  “What was the thing with her?” I asked, turning the topic because there wasn’t really another chance I could get for this. I needed to ask while I had their attention. I pointed to the body Raphael left dead. “I got Raphael’s implication, but I don’t know more.”

  “Oh, her,” Sammy said, growling as she looked at the body. “She liked fucking cambions. She wanted to research us in different ways, but others kept stopping her. It got to the point where her research was monitored, but she was a seductive bitch who could get private time with us. A lot of…a lot of them did that,” Sammy said, looking down at her feet. “Raphael figured her out and used it. He was able to convince her to get him out, so he could bring back help. Didn’t know it would take five years, but…he was right. He did it.”

  “He didn’t remember,” I said gently. “He didn’t fail for five years. He truly didn’t remember most of his time here.”

  “He mentioned that when he got to us in there.” She jerked her head at the lab, smoke now billowing out of its windows. “But it’s done now. There’s no reason to get up in arms about any of this shit anymore, right?” Her smile was bitter.

  “You’re going to be angry for a long time. Don’t worry, you’ll be in good company. Most supernaturals are pissed off all the time.”

  I finally got her to crack a real fucking smile. It was like a gods damned miracle.

  30

  Chapter Thirty

  The hours went by too slowly, trying not to disturb any of my injuries by sitting still. Cassius eventually rejoined Sorcha and me, sighing heavily and refusing to talk. Raphael stayed near his cambions, a solid figure they could all lean on. He was so different with them, mature and responsible, listening to their stories of the five years after he had escaped.

  I heard them talk about Maude. She had been thirteen, born in the lab, and never saw the outside world. The first time her feet had touched the earth had been the moment she was shot down. I didn’t fight the tear that rolled down my cheek as I listened. Raphael turned to me when someone whispered and pointed.

  “You did everything you could,” he said softly.

  “Not enough,” I countered, wiping my face. “I couldn’t turn into a giant demon and get revenge for her.”

  “I was always really protective of the kids…I knew when I left, she would be vulnerable, but I couldn’t find a way to take her with me. It was too risky to even try to look back. She would have gotten killed during the escape, thanks to them.” He pointed his chin toward the thick trees. I knew what he meant. We had seen the werewolves run by a couple of times already, curious why we weren’t going out there to be eaten by them. “Seeing her die…I lost it. That’s nothing to be proud of. Thank you for helping me back.”

  Sure.

  He refocused on the cambions, and my heart felt as if it was being ripped out.

  This is better. He’s focused on them because he needs to be. Once the Tribunal shows up and we’ve talked this out, I can go home, and for a while, he won’t notice I’m avoiding him. That’s good.

  “How are you feeling?” Cassius asked, leaning closer on my right. He seemed concerned but not worried. There was a difference.

  “Sore, but you know…it’s mostly over. This is always the worst of the case, isn’t it? Investigator waiting to present. Executioner needing to write a report. Further arrests and judgments to hand out.”

  “You don’t think we’ll have a hard time with the Tribunal?” Sorcha was on the other side of Cassius.

  “I…don’t think so, no,” I admitted. After hours of sitting and considering it, I had relaxed. “It would be too easy for them to make a decision that could remove them from power. If they decide they can just wipe out an entire species, one that’s already agreed to follow them…no one will be happy. I would definitely pull the nagas out of the Tribunal. We’re even fewer than the cambions.”

  “They could find their positions challenged as well,” Cassius added ominously.

  “Would you? Challenge him for the throne?” His words made me too curious not to ask.

  “If he voted in favor of sending the cambions into extinction? He wouldn’t be able to finish the sentence. I would challenge him on the spot. We, the fae, are actually dozens and dozens of species. Sorcha and I are Sidhe, and we rule, but we have a responsibility to all the others—brownies, trolls, gnomes, and the wild things of our realm. If he’s willing to commit genocide of the cambions…”

  “What’s to stop him from killing off vital members of the fae community,” I finished, seeing Cassius’ position. “Well, if you go for him, I’ll stand by you,” I promised.

  An hour later, I was approached by Gabrielle, who went to her knees next to me. Raphael was behind her, his hands in his pocket, watching us and waiting for something to happen. He was finally back in his human form, a face I knew, with scars I recognized.

  He still wasn’t the Raphael I knew, though. This man bled confidence when I had never felt that from Raphael before, not this level. My Raphael had been trying to find his way. This man knew his way, and nothing would knock him off course.

  “I know how to heal,” she said softly. “I was really nervous and scared earlier, so I didn’t want to play with my powers, but I’m feeling much better now. Can I heal you?”

  “Are you going to stay with the cambions?” I asked, leaning on my tree as she reached out for me.

  “I am,” she said in her demure way. “They’re rougher, stronger than me, but they are the closest thing to family I have. If we’re all the cambions and nephilim in the world…then I have no other. But that’s okay because I have them.”

  “We’ll keep her safe, Kaliya. Let her heal you,” he said, smirking down at me. “Don’t be a stubborn ass about this.”

  “Heal away,” I said, lifting my good arm in mock defeat. She put both of her hands on my left thigh as Cassius and Sorcha watched with interest.

  A warmth filled me. I could only describe it in poetry—golden warmth like small drops of the sun on a spring day. Soreness was chased away, and my shoulder loosened and relaxed. There was no pain, only the noticeable absence of it.

  Then it was gone.

  “That’s everything,” she said, smiling. “I think I did rather well. They never let me practice that a lot. There weren’t any volunteers.”

  “Thanks.” I laughed as I lifted my hand and rotated my shoulder, no longer stiff or in pain. Cassius reached out and pulled on the bandage, causing it to fall. There was a hole in my shirt, but no gaping wound, only my tawny skin. “Wow.” I touched it, realizing it wasn’t even tender. “You are a miracle worker. Most healing doesn’t…doesn’t work that well.”

  She beamed at me, then swayed, and I saw the issue. I stopped her from falling into my lap as Raphael reached down to steady her.

  “It makes me tired. I think it’s a stamina thing. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to heal everyone.”

  “That would be really great,” I agreed. Or, you carry power that should never have been in a mortal shell. Be careful, Gabrielle. I looked up at Raphael, hoping he understood the look on my face.

  He nodded slowly, agreeing as he helped Gabrielle to her feet. She was still grinning.

  “Gabi, can you make the wings disappear? They’re making this hard,” Raphael said like a tired older brother.

  “Oh!” She closed her eyes and concentrated on something. The large white wings dissipated into light little orbs, dancing away and fading. It was a spectacular light show. He led her back to the cambions, where they clapped for her, obviously indulgent of their strange little sister, unique in the world.

  “She’s…” Cassius sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like her.”

  “She’s something else,” I agreed. “I’m glad she’s close to them. They can all find their place in the world together.”

  “It’s a nice ending to the story, isn’t it?”

  I chuckled at Sorc
ha’s words.

  “This isn’t over yet.” The sun was coming up, and a new day was beginning.

  I was convinced there was a cosmic clock that always made sure statements like that came true. Ten minutes later, I heard a roar and stood. Everyone went on high alert. Howls pierced the silence, and the clear sounds of fighting had me pulling out my swords.

  But it settled down as we waited. I walked toward the front of the group, getting right to the invisible line of protection we had. Cassius stopped at my side while Sorcha hung behind him. Raphael stood at the front of the cambions. We were watchful, waiting, none of us willing to go out and investigate the problem.

  Then I saw him—a massive big cat walking through the woods, blood on his jaw. He had to be over a thousand pounds by my guess, with seven-inch saber fangs pointing down. He had a sandy coat and, on all fours, was five feet tall at the shoulder.

  Thousands of years ago, the werecats came into existence. They hadn’t become any cat the modern world would know. They were the dominant predator of their time. Like my own kind, the werecats weren’t a specific prehistoric cat, but their own version of it.

  And this one was the biggest I figured I would ever see.

  “Holy shit,” a cambion whispered. I looked over my shoulder at Raphael.

  “That’s a werecat,” I said.

  Raphael narrowed his eyes on the prehistoric-looking beast.

  “I could take him.”

  Oh, shit.

  “Please don’t,” Cassius said, his noble stiffness back. “That’s Hasan.”

  The werecat stopped when I was positive he could see us. Beyond him, more followed, not more werecats, but a group of another beast. Werewolves, led by two in the front, circled around behind them in a tight formation. Not all of them were bloody, but there had definitely been some fighting. Engines signaled the four-wheelers coming in last, and even a couple of large Jeeps meant for the rough terrain.

  Hasan’s body began to morph. Werecats and werewolves had the most pain in transitions between their forms. I could hear bones crack and reshape themselves. Eventually, a nude Hasan stood and someone ran forward to give him clothing. The same happened for the werewolves, though it took longer. Hasan’s shift between forms took less than a minute. We would be waiting over five for the werewolves.

  I looked back at the cambions, many of whom were blushing.

  “You get used to it,” I said to them softly. “Never disrespect another species for needing to go in the buff for a moment. They’ll fight you, and there’s a chance they can kill you.”

  Many in the group were quick to nod. I turned back to the newcomers. Hasan was adjusting his cuffs. For a man thousands of years old, he couldn’t have looked more than thirty-five. He was tall and attractive, and his face didn’t give away his origins, looking like it belonged to the world instead of one specific ethnic group. He had been a human in ancient Sumer. While he could probably still go to that area of the world and blend in, he wasn’t what people assumed was classically Arab or anything else. He was Hasan, and there were no others like him as far as I knew.

  I looked at the werewolves, but they were still in the midst of their own change. I saw Oisin get out of a Jeep and help the current fae Queen when she was ready. Alvina, the only fae ruler who liked me. She was definitely one of my favorites. After them, I saw the witches, looking around warily as they walked into the group and saw us when they stopped beside Hasan. The vampires weren’t in attendance, not with the sun up. Two votes could change everything, but I assumed they had discussed their absence before arriving. The Tribunal always talked about these things before they did anything.

  “Why does it feel like this is a battle?” Hasan asked, his eyes on me.

  “It’s not supposed to. We’re not going out there,” I called back. “I don’t want to deal with those werewolves.”

  “The werewolves are dealt with,” he said with a smile. There was still some blood on him, even though he had wiped much of it off. I saw it on his jaw. “But I’ll come closer.”

  He nonchalantly walked our way, leading the rest of the Tribunal, a group not accustomed to having to move for others. They expected people to come to them, not the other way around.

  Hasan stopped two feet in front of me and held out a hand.

  “It is good to see you again,” he greeted with a kind smile that I imagined he probably gave his children. I accepted the handshake he offered.

  “It’s…not good that we’re seeing each other in these circumstances,” I said carefully. “But thank you for coming this far out and providing much-needed backup.”

  “It’s very good we’re seeing each other under these circumstances,” Hasan countered. He looked over me, easy to do at his height, and saw Raphael. His blatant ignoring of Cassius was apparent, but I didn’t know why. “Ah, Mr. Alvarez. I see you have finally done it.”

  “Yes, sir,” Raphael replied. I heard grass crunch, and Raphael appeared at my side. “Allow me to introduce my people to the Tribunal.”

  Hasan nodded, then stepped back, falling into the line of Tribunal members in attendance.

  “We are cambions,” Raphael declared.

  “We know what a cambion is and that they are not real,” Oisin snapped. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

  I hissed, but Cassius grabbed my arm, holding me. Hasan’s gaze flicked to me with interest, seeing how Cassius was holding me. Cassius let go, but I didn’t step forward. Sorcha came closer, hovering right behind me. Hasan looked back toward Raphael, his warning about my behavior clear. Another and he would give me his undivided attention, something I didn’t want.

  “The story of our existence is a long one, full of tales and legends never verified. Somehow, Mygi Pharmaceuticals discovered the truth about what we are. They went around the world, looking for humans who could be, for lack of a better word, turned into cambions.”

  “How?” Alvina asked, the first of the Tribunal to ask a question. There would be many interruptions before this was over.

  “Cambions are humans with no powers initially. We have…genetic markers, which means we have a demonic heritage. We have some of the researchers and scientists here, and among them are two represented species, witches and fae, but…most are witches. They can better explain the scientific issues.” Raphael gestured to the group who remained huddled in shame and fear for the night and early morning.

  “Interesting,” the female witch said, sighing. “Continue, Mr. Alvarez.”

  “Until our genetics are…activated, we live and die normal human lives. This has happened for centuries. The scientists here devised a way to activate those genes and unlock our abilities as cambions. This was done against our will, many of us from human families with lives we have now lost and can never return to. They experimented on us, and I’ve told you the stories of what happened to me. My fellow cambions have agreed to solo interviews with the Tribunal as well, but I ask you not to put them on public display. It wouldn’t be fair to them. They’ve been through a lot.”

  Listening to Raphael talk disturbed me. He was everything a ruler should be. He spoke with the right cadence, not too slow, clear and sharp, leaving no one questioning his place as the leader of his people. He looked at the Tribunal like they were equals.

  This is the man he’s meant to be. This is what was buried away in his memories. His transition into this.

  “If they have been through anything similar to yourself, I can only imagine,” Corissa, the female werewolf, said kindly, with a small amount of motherly pity. “Callahan?”

  “I don’t particularly care about the cambions,” he said. “I want to know about how they did that to my werewolves.” He pointed into the woods, obviously angry with what he had seen. “Am I supposed to care about the cambions?”

  “We’re here to see the aftermath of Mygi’s duplicitous acts,” Corissa snapped. “Yes, we need to care about the cambions.”

  “What can you do?” Callahan asked, looking at Rapha
el.

  Raphael shifted from his human form to his cambion form, rising up, his horns growing out of his forehead. His dark grey skin and its black veins were a stark contrast to the bright, sunny world we were now in. It had blended in the night, but now, he looked like darkness walking in the light.

  “We can have a further discussion about the full abilities of the cambions at a later date. What I want to know is if my people will be allowed to continue using the protections that were offered to me.” He didn’t care what Callahan wanted. Raphael was bargaining for the lives of his people.

  “We don’t know if you’re a threat to the supernatural community or not. And you’re a demon,” Oisin said, apparently offended by Raphael’s hardball tactics.

  “I have to agree with Oisin,” the male witch said softly. “There are too many unknowns to feel comfortable.”

  Hasan looked at me and tilted his head. “There is one in the group who isn’t a cambion,” he said. Why he was saying it to me, I had no idea.

  “I helped her escape, but I didn’t know she was here…” I turned to Raphael, wondering if this was safe, if we could really protect her. He nodded.

  “Gabrielle?” Raphael said softly, extending a hand. She didn’t take it, her eyes full of fear of the new supernaturals waiting for something from her. “Show them. The cambions will protect you.”

  “Can you?” Oisin asked, snide for the sake of it.

  In a blink, every cambion in the group shifted into their cambion forms, making three members of the Tribunal step back—Oisin and both witches.

  “I’m certain we can find out,” Raphael warned quietly. “Gabrielle, show them what you are, please.”

  She looked up at him, then at me. Her wings formed as though they were collecting light and making something solid. It was more beautiful than I could have ever described. Where the cambions were dark and fearsome, everything one could expect of a demon and respected, she was everything one thought of when it came to an angel. It was no wonder humans worshiped them as entities of good.