Next to me, Mum gave a little groan. She was beside me on the floor, her face inches from mine. Everyone's attention was on the flame, so they didn't see what I did. Sweat stood out on her forehead. Her fingers were rammed into the floor, as if trying to gouge their way through it. Her eyelids were screwed shut.
"Mum?" She opened her eyes and looked straight at me, and the breath caught in my throat. Her irises were silver. We stared at each other, my mouth dry.
The flame died out.
Mum blinked, and her eyes were normal.
"Everyone okay?" asked Darius. I looked at Mum again. She shook her head imperceptibly.
"All fine here," she answered. The buzzing had quietened dramatically, and what was left of the swarm was circling above our heads, as if disorientated.
"What was that? The blue stuff?" asked Em, breathlessly.
"Narakagni. Otherwise known as hellfire. One of the many tools we have at our disposal. The only flame able to burn demons."
"But it didn't feel hot," Em said.
"It does, to demons. Trust me."
I looked back at Mum but she avoided my eyes. Instead she shouted over to the Professor.
"Henry, we need to shut the portal right now."
"Yes, do get a move on, Henry dear," said Mrs Peters crisply.
Professor Danby muttered a few more words, then clapped his hands.
"Done. When I say the word, cover your ears." He paused. "The ear part is really important."
"For heaven's sake, Henry, just do it!" said Mrs Peters. The buzzing of the swarm was getting louder again, and the franken-flies looked like they were regrouping.
"Three, two, one, now!"
We covered our ears. From behind us came a high-pitch whine, like a jet engine revving up. Then a flash of light, pulsing in a silvery-white wave which surged through the room and into every last inch of it. It hit the walls, and began to retract.
The black creatures had nowhere to hide. They were pulled backwards, kicking and screeching, through the hall and into the computer room. We got up and followed the edge of the wave. It stopped at the mirror, the centre of the light hanging over the undulating black circle, before funnelling down towards it like a mini-tornado.
The demon flies, or what was left of them, started to spiral downwards, as though they were being sucked into a very large plug hole. I realised they were being forced back into the mirror. The last of the creatures vanished into the glass, and the little compact snapped shut.
Silence dropped like a stone. Everyone wearily lay down their weapons, and took stock of their injuries.
Em and I looked at each other. We were covered in boils, and there was pus on my hands where one had burst.
"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," I told her. The next second, we were giggling like loons, while the others looked on disapprovingly.
"I think the pain has made them giddy," said Darius. "I'll get the ointment."
He fetched a jar of thick gloopy cream and held it out to me. Smearing it on my face and hands, it almost instantly soothed the bites and reduced the swelling. I sighed in relief.
“This stuff’s like magic.”
“Pretty much.” Darius gently took Em's face, and dabbed some onto her wounds.
"What were those things anyway?" I asked, pretending not to see.
"Imps," said Mum. "A type of minor demon. They can't possess a person, but they can inflict a nasty bite. Kill, if there’s enough of them."
"You're not kidding. They were eating us alive."
"I can't believe Miss Smith booby trapped your mirror," said Em. "She really doesn't like you."
"I always knew maths would kill me one day."
"At least we know one thing for sure," said the Professor gloomily. "The Named can definitely make their own portals."
Everyone fell silent, as we thought about what that meant.
Chapter 8
It was late, and we were all exhausted. I suddenly felt as if I could sleep right where I was standing. Mum decided we would stay the night in one of the Mansion's many rooms.
"We've got plenty of toothbrushes," said the Professor cheerfully. "And a whole selection of pyjamas!"
"Do I even want to know why?" I asked.
"We have guests all the time," said Mrs Peters. She didn't elaborate. The Professor, of course, had a room on the ground floor, but the rest of us went upstairs. I glanced at Mum as we climbed the staircase. She had looked to be in intense pain while Ed - Darius, it's Darius, I reminded myself - had deployed the hellfire. And now I came to think of it, she was the only one who hadn't used any of the ointment on her bites. She had definitely had some of those disgusting boils, I had seen them clearly. But now, they were gone. Her skin was unblemished. I opened my mouth to ask how she'd healed so fast, but the view at the top of the stairs took my breath away.
The landing hallway stretched the whole length of the house, panelled in a deep rose coloured wood which seemed to glow gently. All along the walls were paintings of Hindu gods. Some, I recognised from the Indian books Mum had bought me when I was younger, some I didn't. There was Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer, with a snake around his neck. I saw Hanuman, the monkey god; Ganesh with the head of an elephant; and Durga, the Mother Goddess, standing on a lion. The paintings were huge, almost life-size, and so bold and vivid they seemed three dimensional. But it was the statue at the end of the hall that pulled the eye.
It was made from some kind of dark glossy stone, onyx perhaps, or black marble. It stood eight feet high at least, and it was as familiar to me as my own reflection in a mirror. Four arms outstretched, one holding a scimitar, one carrying a severed head. A necklace of skulls. A face both beautiful and cold.
Kali, goddess of time and creation, of death and destruction.
"It's a pretty awesome sight, isn't it?" Mum said softly. I nodded, speechless.
"Why is it here?" asked Em, gazing round wide-eyed. "What does it all mean?"
"It symbolises where it all started," said Darius. "India, where the first Guild came together. All the gods battled demons, but Kali was the first Warrior. She's recorded as having defeated the first ever known Named One fifteen centuries ago. It was called Bloodseed. The legend says that wherever its blood touched the ground, a duplicate demon would spring up. Kali swallowed the blood before any more could fall, killed the demons, and then destroyed Bloodseed itself."
"But none of that's true, is it?" I asked. "I mean, she's a goddess, that’s just mythology, religion..."
Mum shrugged. "Goddess is how she's remembered. It's not how she started. Come on." She led Em and I to a room with a huge double bed, thankfully bare of Hindu paintings. I wasn't sure I could have slept with all those eyes looking at me.
"I'm right down the hall," she said, as she walked out.
"Me too!" came Darius's voice. "I mean… not with your Mum... you know what I mean."
"Goodnight," Mum said firmly, closing the door.
Em and I looked at each other.
"So."
"So."
"Your Mum's a Warrior."
"And so's your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend."
"Seriously? That's what you want to start with? I mean, this is insane. It's crazy!"
"What we saw at the caravan park, and at the factory, your Mum with that sword..."
"I know! She can barely butter toast without cutting herself."
"And demons! Demons are real!"
"And just now with those imps..."
"And that thing the Prof did... was that a spell? Did he do magic?"
"And check out my old babysitter! I always thought knitting was lame!"
Finally we lapsed into silence. Em yawned widely, which made me do the same. Suddenly the big bed looked deeply inviting. We didn't bother brushing our teeth or doing any more than taking our shoes off. Inside of five minutes, we were both asleep.
◆◆◆
Kali stood at the b
ottom of the bed watching me. She still had the severed head in one of her hands, twirling it casually by the hair. I wanted to tell her that drops of blood were getting on the sheets but no sound came out of my mouth.
"You're here," she said, and her words fell like tombstones. "I've been waiting. It's almost time. The circle is nearly complete."
"What do you mean?" I said, or maybe I just thought it, I didn't know which.
"The prophecy will come to pass. But not without loss. The hybrid's time is almost done. I am sorry."
The goddess's eyes looked at me with compassion, and something else. Something like greed.
"You shall be more. And you shall end it."
I tried to ask her what she meant, but she was fading. "You have to wake up," she said. "Wake up."
"Wake up! Hey, sleepyhead! They've found something!" Em was hitting me with a pillow. "Come on, get up!"
I groaned, still groggy. I looked at my watch and discovered I'd been asleep for nearly eight hours. I fended off the pillow.
"Stop it! Who's found what?"
"The Professor's identified the man from that tooth your Mum took, the one possessed by Asghal. Come on. There's bacon downstairs."
She sprang off the bed like the morning person she was, and I followed her slowly downstairs. I glanced at the statue of Kali as I went past, trying to remember my dream. You shall be more. It was nonsense.
"Morning, ladies," said the Professor, as he wheeled himself out of the kitchen, a plate of bacon sandwiches on his lap. Em and I gratefully grabbed one as he passed. I was starving. "I've got some information for everyone. Computer room, if you please." Mum, Darius and Mrs Peters were already there, looking at a screen. A young man was smiling out at us, dark skin, white teeth, clear eyes.
"This is Joseph Gasana, the son of a Rwandan museum curator. Or at least, this is how he looked two years ago," said Mrs Peters. "His last known appearance was on a flight to London four months ago, with one of the museum's exhibits. He was apparently transporting it to the British Museum as a loan, but it never got there."
"What was the exhibit?" asked Darius.
"Apparently it was a crystal orb," said the Professor. "One of those curiosities made from a single piece of crystal, though no-one quite knows how."
"Like the crystal skulls," Em said confidently. We all turned to look at her. "They were thought to date from pre-Christopher Columbus times but in fact were probably made in the nineteenth century. However, their manufacture is a source of debate because no-one knows how they could have been made using the technology available at the time." She stopped. "What? I read! A lot!"
"You are an extraordinary young lady," said the Professor, peering at her. "And also correct. The orb carried by our Mr Gasana was a similar crystal artefact. However, neither it, nor he, ever arrived at the British Museum."
"But what would the demons want with a museum piece?" frowned Mum. "And what have the missing children got to do with it all?"
"We could ask the Library," said Darius. "I can take the girls..." Mum was shaking her head.
"That's a bad idea."
"Why? It's perfectly safe... oh." Darius was looking at me. "I see. Well, you know I won't say a word, Mari, but it's going to get out sometime."
"What? Why are you looking at me?" I was puzzled. The Professor put a hand on my arm.
"You mustn't blame your mother, Kaz, she did what she thought was best."
"What are you all talking about?" I looked at Em, but she was as confused as I was. Mum sighed and folded her arms, looking defensive.
"Henry and Violet are the only ones at the Guild that know about you, Kaz. And now, Darius. Against my better judgement, I might add. But no-one else knows I have a daughter."
"Okay," I said cautiously. "But why is that a problem? I didn't know about any of them."
"Yes, once again, I think you're missing the point of the phrase 'secret organisation'," said the Professor.
"Shut up Henry," said Mum. "The thing is... erm...” She ducked her head. “Warriors don't... we can't… that is, we're not..."
"Warriors can't have children. We're all sterilised." Darius said the words neutrally, but there was a flat expression in his eyes. "We're all orphans. We're taken off the streets or out of institutions when we're very young and offered a choice. Life as a Warrior, educated, trained, meaningful, or back to the scrapheap. Your Mum was living in a Mumbai slum, so you can't blame her for choosing the Guild."
"Darius, I don't need defending, thank you," said Mum sharply. She turned to me. " I was sterilised, but obviously it hadn't been done properly. I met your father while we were training, and here you are. I kept it quiet because I wasn't sure how the Guild would react, so traipsing round the Library isn't a good idea."
"You met my father while you were training?" I said slowly. "So he was a Warrior too? Not a soldier?" Mum flushed, and glanced at the others.
"That's a conversation for later," she said gently.
I was quiet, trying to absorb this new information. My mind was reeling. Everything I knew about my family was being turned on its head.
"I don't understand," said Em. "Isn't the library in the Mansion?"
"Not exactly, no," said Darius with a grin. "Come on, Mari. We'll be in and out, I promise. No-one will see us, and if they do I'll just say they're new recruits."
"I don't know..."
"Well, someone has to go," said Mrs Peters. "It may as well be them. And the girls should take a look at headquarters, even if it's just the Library."
"Headquarters?" I looked up. "But that's India! We're not going to India, are we?"
"Well..." said Mum hesitantly.
Darius looked at me and winked.
"Do you want to see something really cool?" he asked. We followed him down a set of backstairs to a dusty basement, where he flung open what looked like a cupboard door. "Welcome to the Jump Room."
The Jump Room didn't look particularly cool. It was a small room with no windows, and in the middle of it, a solitary brick wall. The wall didn't support anything, and it didn't even reach up to the ceiling. It just stood there on its own. Em and I walked round it.
"Weird," I muttered.
The only other thing in the room was a desk, with a big plastic dial on it next to a red button. It looked nothing more complicated than a kid's toy, except that around the edge of the dial were printed the names of cities. At the top was Agra, the location of the Taj Mahal.
"So why is it called the Jump Room?" Em wondered.
"You'll see." Darius turned the dial until the pointer was directed at Agra, and pressed the button. For a moment, nothing happened. Then with a low hum, the solitary wall changed. Small waves started to ripple outwards from the centre, the concentric circles becoming larger, until the whole surface looked like a vertical silvery lake suspended a foot above the floor.
We looked to Darius for an explanation.
"It's a jump hole. Sort of like a hellhole, except it doesn't lead to another dimension. Strictly planet Earth only. I've programmed this one to get us to headquarters."
"How does it work?" asked Em.
"Erm... something to do with interspatial distances between atoms? Quantum physics? Not really sure." He grinned at her. "But if anyone's brainy enough to figure it out, it's you." He held her gaze. "Probably best if we hold hands the first time." Em blushed.
"So you just jump through, then?" I said loudly.
"Yes, but be careful, you have to..." I missed the rest of what he was saying, because I'd already launched myself through the portal.
◆◆◆
It took me a good ten minutes to stop feeling like I was going to puke again.
"I tried to tell you," said Darius, exasperated. "You have to keep your eyes shut and hold your breath. This thing messes with your body." He and Em had followed me through seconds after my jump, but were looking a lot less green.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. I straightened up and took a dee
p breath. We were in a nondescript corridor that curved round to the right, brightly lit although there was no sign of any lights. At the far end stood a large stone statue, some kind of figure grasping the hilt of a downwards-pointed sword. And beyond, the distant sound of hustle and bustle, as though a great many people were going about their business.
Behind us stood an identical wall and dial to the one we'd left at the Mansion. I glanced down at the remains of my breakfast, shame-faced.
"Er, what about this mess?"
I cringed with embarrassment, but Darius didn’t make any smart comments. He simply put two fingers in his mouth and blew a long whistle. Within seconds, something that looked like a large toaster on wheels came trundling along the corridor. It paused in front of us, little red lights flashing on its metal body. Then it whirred over to the mess I’d made and hovered there. Five seconds later it scooted busily back the way it had come, leaving the floor pristine.
"Cool," I said. "I could use one of those for getting rid of maths homework."
"Ha ha...oh!" Em looked at us, her face white. "Maths! My exam's on Monday! I haven't done any revision this weekend..."
"Em, you really have to get your priorities straight," I said patiently. "You know your maths backwards. Besides," I turned to Darius, eyes shining, "we're in India, right? This is where the jump took us?"
Darius nodded.
"Welcome to headquarters. Come on, the Library's this way. Oh, and, erm, some Guild people are a bit eccentric. It's important you don't stare, or say things like 'OMG' or 'WTF' or whatever it is you kids say these days."
"Are you sure you're only eighteen?" I asked sarcastically. We walked to the end of the corridor. I glanced at the statue as we passed it; it was about the size of a large man, with a human body but the face and tail of a monkey. As we moved into the main building, Em and I stopped dead. Eccentric was an understatement.
We were clearly underground, because there were no windows. But the central area was high and vaulted, domed in shape, made from white marble. Corridors radiated off in all directions, with signs saying things like 'Administration', 'Accounts', and 'Training'. It would have been laughably mundane if it wasn't for the people.
Daughter of Kali- Awakening Page 7
