Why practice with all eight arms and then not use all the weapons in battle? Why create a goddess and not show her off in the fight? Where are Durga’s other weapons?
General Amphimachus’s troops had lost very few men. They gained some significant ground and were pressing forward in rectangular phalanxes. From where I sat, the formation looked like a giant red porcupine lumbering to its mountain nest. But even they were not victorious. A demon bird screeched overhead, and the cat-like demons jumped on top of the shields and tore at spears with sharp teeth. Soon tens of thousands of soldiers lay on the ground like a spent deck of cards.
As the day passed, more and more of our men were lost. An army of more than a half a million was mercilessly cut down to just more than half that number. One of my bodyguards pointed out a waving banner that signaled retreat, and soon our warriors escaped the battlefield, making their way back to their camps as best they could. Riders ran through the fallen soldiers seeking to help the wounded before the vermin demons could finish them off.
A horn was sounded, and Lokesh’s army retreated into the shadows of the mountains. My horse, which I tied to a nearby tree, began stamping and neighing loudly. She bucked at her restraints, and the other horses did the same thing. On the field, men lost control of the elephants. They trumpeted loudly and made a beeline for safe cover. Birds of all kinds rose into the air, including the falcons used for communication by the Chinese army. Animals of all types left the surrounding forest and headed toward the scene of battle, overcome by a powerful instinct.
I called upon the power in my amulet and wrapped a bubble of calming heat around me, my horse, and the remaining animals near us. But it was too late to save them all. A king cobra rose up next to me, hissed, and then quickly made its way down the hill. I shivered.
I saw Anamika’s horse and many of the horses still connected to chariots running toward Mount Kailash. When they reached the hill of dead bodies, they stopped and reared up on their hind legs. A powerful wind rose and lifted the bodies of the dead and then the animals were also pulled up into the sky. They hung there limply, dormant, tossed about in the wind as if they were merely autumn leaves caught in a swirling eddy.
Dead men wearing the red cloaks, the short tunics, and the knee-high armored boots of Alexander the Great’s army swirled amid the dark green-garbed Chinese warriors. As their heads lolled back, the heavy helmets fell to the ground below, rolling to a stop amid the shields and weapons that littered the ground.
The animals and humans formed pairs that spun together in a vortex of black magic. Tremors shook the ground as if Mother Nature herself was watching in horror and trembling at the darkness that had stolen over the entire valley.
Circling each other faster and faster until the images blurred in the dark mist of twilight, the animal and the human merged into one being, a thing of darkness, an unholy coupling of man and beast.
Demon birds flapped new wings, rising higher in the air. Beasts— half bear or half wolf—blinked yellow eyes and, when released from the vortex, lumbered off toward the mountain. Creatures rained from the sky, profane imitations of what they once were. Zombie men that were now part wolverine, part snake, or part snow leopard also turned and made their way to their new master. They rose by the hundreds; then by the thousands.
I closed my eyes, sickened by the lack of respect for the dead. The dead soldiers would not be honored for their sacrifice in the manner of their country, but instead they would be conscripted against their will and enslaved to fight for a monster intent on destroying us all.
Who would stop him? Who could stop him?
Then the earth shook, and I saw the camp of the Macedonian army disappear, swallowed up in a fissure that inhaled tents, supplies, and war-weary men. A tornado whipped across the clearing, devastating the camp of the Chinese. Tents, men, weapons, and supplies were sucked into the storm and then, after dancing in the turbulent sky, streamed down on top of the broken camp. Something small pelted my cheek and I cupped my hand to catch what I thought was hail. It was raining rice.
A huge wave lifted from Lake Rakshastal and demolished the Indian camp completely. Most of the tents were swept away in a great flood, and the camp was devastated by the impact. Then the mountain settled and became quiet. Our armies had been decimated after a single day of fighting. Our deceased were now swelling the ranks of the demon army, and our camps were destroyed.
I told the men with me that they needed to return to camp to help. They refused to leave me—probably because Ren and/or Kishan had severely threatened them—but I used the power of my amulet to nudge them back down the hill, slightly toasting their backsides when they resisted. I tried my best to convey to them that I would be fine and that I would return soon as troubled questions filled my mind.
Would Lokesh be satisfied if I give myself up? Would he make a trade? The fire amulet and me for the zombie-making token he had? Which is worse? Giving him ultimate power through uniting the Damon Amulet or letting him keep on making zombies?
It seemed like he would win either way. Lokesh was a dangerous puzzle.
“He’s like Ugra Narasimha,” I mumbled. “Nearly invincible. There’s got to be a way to destroy him. I just need to figure out how.”
“You could start by using the gifts of Durga the way they were intended, Kahl-see,” a familiar singsong voice behind me admonished.
I spun around. “Phet?”
two sides of the same coin
The wiry man found an overturned log and sat. He smiled at me and said, “I told you I would see you again in a happier time.”
“Does this look like a happier time to you? And why are you talking like that?”
“Talking like what?” He picked at a speck of dirt from his robes and flicked it away.
“Your English has improved.” I put my hand on my hip. “Significantly.”
Phet still looked the same. Voluminous robes wrapped around his thin frame, but they still couldn’t hide his knobby brown knees and elbows. His funny gap-toothed smile lit up his wrinkled face, and small tufts of gray hair stuck out from the back of his bald head.
He wrapped his hands around a knee. “My English was always good, Kahl-see. It’s not my fault you saw something different.”
“I saw something different because you showed me something different.”
He pointed a finger in the air and smiled. “Precisely. I told the princes that you were a smart girl.” Phet patted the log next to him, offering me a place to sit down.
“I showed you the man you needed to see,” he explained. “The man you would trust to guide you to ancient prophecies. Let me ask you, would you have believed me if I had spoken to you like I am now?”
“Maybe,” I responded, still confused.
“I think you wouldn’t have. In fact, I think you would have returned to Mr. Kadam and taken the first plane out of India.”
“There’s no way to know how I would have reacted.”
“Oh, there are ways to know, young lady. There are ways.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here now.”
“I am here to ensure your victory.”
“Well, because you mysteriously came all this way and obviously are not the man I thought you were, why the heck not. So, Phet, if that’s even your real name, tell me, how do I defeat Lokes?”
“It’s simple. Do to him what I did to you.”
“What? Talk to him in broken English?”
“No. You must trick him into believing that you are something that you’re not.”
“And what would that be?” I queried hesitantly.
“A goddess,” Phet said in all seriousness.
I sputtered, “Perhaps you are unaware, but we already have one of those in stock.”
“Phet is aware of everything, young one, and things are not always as they seem.”
“Obviously.” I gave him a pointed look.
He bowed slightly as if acknowledging his own magical presence,
took my hand between his, and patted it. “You have become a beautiful blossom, Kahl-see.”
He tilted his head considering me. “A stubborn one, perhaps, but on your different journeys, you needed that resolute strength. Your iron will and determination has kept you alive. That and the sacrifices of your tigers. Still, your experiences did not harden your heart. Your vulnerability, your softness, remain for all to see. I am very proud of you, my dear.”
“Phet, if you knew all along that we’d end up here, then why didn’t you send us here in the first place?”
He sighed deeply. “No victory is ever achieved without first making the decision to leave home. Each step that you’ve taken, each foe that you’ve overcome, each hardship that you’ve endured, has led you here, now, to this moment. It is the eve of your destiny, Kahl-see. It is meant to be, because it has always been so. Even I don’t have the power to protect you from providence—no matter how dear you are to me.”
A tear fell on his wrinkled cheek, and I squeezed his thin hand. Somehow Phet was suddenly here, advising me, and speaking of my destiny, and it didn’t stun me speechless. He’d set my feet on this journey years ago, or would, sometime in the distant future, and in a way it felt right to end this quest with him.
“You are dear to me too,” I said softly.
“Do you remember when I told you that you must choose between Ren and Kishan?”
I nodded and looked down at the two rings on my finger. “My love life has become a little . . . complicated. I’m afraid the choice has already been made for me.”
Phet studied me quietly. Rising, he said, “I see. Then shall we find the others and figure out how to help destiny along?”
Rising too, I put my hand on his shoulder and agreed, “Yes. And Phet, thank you for coming. You don’t know how much I need your guidance.”
He smiled toothily. “Guidance is my specialty. Guidance and herbs. I wanted to see you again too, Kahl-see.”
Phet used the log as a stepping stone to mount my horse, and together we set off through the moonlit landscape in search of the others.
When we reached the valley floor, we wove among injured stragglers making their way to a newly constructed camp farther back from the mountain. The air was heavy and thick with the tang of spilt blood and shattered hope. There didn’t seem to be many men left alive and those who were stumbled along in the dark by twos and threes, disfigured in spirit as much as they were in body.
When I tried to stop to offer aid, Phet put his hand over mine and said that the others needed me more than these poor souls did. The night was quiet, almost peaceful in the aftermath of battle. The stars shone crisply, vividly, as if the pale light could reach into our lost and despairing troops and heal their pain.
It wasn’t long before I heard a clump, clump, clump that grew louder. I reined in my horse and whipped my head back and forth in the dark, wishing that I had Fanindra’s eyes. Is it one of the equine demons? Is Lokesh after me? My heart leapt into my throat, and I lifted my hand to use the only weapon I had left—flame.
Phet held onto my waist and sat calmly, completely unafraid of whatever or whoever approached. His steady presence gave me some measure of courage. Out of the darkness a great beast materialized. Breath steamed from its nostrils as it pounded toward me. The thundering figure was a white stallion, and my heart told me who rode it before I could even make out his features. Ren.
He barreled toward me, and before I knew what was happening, Ren had pulled me off my horse and into his arms. Phet was soon left far behind.
Ren was holding the reins in one hand and was pinning my body so tightly against him, I could barely breathe. I could feel his racing pulse where my wrist touched his neck. Almost instinctively, I stroked his back, hoping to knead away some of his tension.
I said softly, “It’s okay, Ren. I’m alright,” repeating it over and over.
Ren slowed his horse to a canter and then to a walk. He pressed his cheek against mine and murmured, “I thought you were in the camp when the flood came. I was so relieved when your guards returned and told me they left you on the cliff.”
“I made them go. I used the fire amulet and toasted them just a bit.”
I saw a hint of his brilliant white smile appear briefly. Then it was gone so fast I thought it must have been my imagination.
He sighed, “Kelsey, my love, I can always trust you to do exactly the opposite of what I would prefer.”
“If I would have stayed in camp like you preferred, you might not have had this wonderful opportunity to lecture me.”
He looked into my eyes, and my breath caught. I felt like I was leaning toward him, slowly, by incremental degrees. The chasm I’d built between us was narrowing. My heart beat faster. My internal compass pointed toward him. He was my north. He was beautiful, and he was amazing, and he was perfect, and he was . . . bleeding.
“Ren! You’re hurt! Why haven’t you healed yet?”
I yanked the sleeve of my shirt over my hand and dabbed at a bloody gash on his scalp that was hidden in his hair.
He shifted me slightly and squeezed my waist. “It would seem that Kishan and I no longer have the ability to spontaneously heal.”
“What? How is that possible? Can you still become tigers here?”
Ren nodded. “Perhaps the beasts have become mortal like the prophecy said.”
“No. No! We didn’t go through all of that so you could become vulnerable! You’re supposed to become human! When we get to camp, Phet will have some explaining to do.”
“Phet? What are you talking about?”
“Phet was riding with me.”
“You mean the man who kidnapped you was Phet?”
I snorted. “Kidnapped? Did I look like I was being held against my will?”
“I rescue first and ask questions later. Speaking of which, you don’t sound much like a grateful maiden who was just rescued.”
I bunched the fabric at my wrist and pressed it against his wound, which brought my face that much closer to his. He winced but wouldn’t look away from me.
“I didn’t need any rescuing,” I muttered.
He brought his hand up, eased the hood away from my face, and softly trailed his fingertips over my cheek and lips. “The truth is, I would rip you away from the arms of any man, villain or no.”
“You would?” I inquired softly and drew even nearer.
He angled closer too until our lips were almost touching. “Yes, hridaya patni, I would.”
Delicate tension wove between us but we were soon joined by other riders. Before I could blink, we were back at camp. The moment was gone.
Ren dismounted and swung me down from the horse. Broken and wounded men from all of the different armies were clustered into groups around small fires. Some were tending to their weapons and armor, some slept, and some sat quietly, staring straight ahead. We set off in search of Anamika, who was tending the wounded.
She glanced up when we approached and gave me a long look.
“So you are safe after all, little sister. General Xi-Wong is dead, and Amphimachus has lost a leg,” she said flatly. “The Tibetan leaders are here, but there are only a handful of men from Myanmar left alive. They believe their leaders have been taken by the demon.”
She stood, and I took note of how weary she seemed. Her clothes were caked with dried blood, and her hair hung messily around her face.
“Anamika, let me,” Ren offered and held out his hand for the kamandal.
She stared at him for a brief moment, as if asking a silent question, and then shook her head. “These men belong to me. I will care for them. Perhaps you could have helped earlier but instead you ran off to placate our little sister after another one of her temper tantrums.”
“Now wait just a minute,” I started.
Ren held up his hand. “You aren’t angry with her, Anamika. You’re mad at me.” He stepped closer to her and put his hand on her arm. “You believe that I abandoned you, but I was only gone for
a short time. The men were out of danger, and there are many able bodies to help. Besides, Kelsey is just the first of many who need rescue tonight. You would do the same for your brother, would you not?”
I’m just the first of many? Does he think of me as his sister now? What happened to ripping me away from the arms of any man?
Anamika sighed softly and nodded. “I would.”
At that moment I was scooped up into some very muscular arms and cuddled against a broad chest.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” Kishan asked.
“If she is hurt at all, it is likely due to the over attentiveness the both of you lavish upon her,” Anamika responded testily. “There is much work here to do.”
“I’m afraid that work will have to be delegated to others,” a voice from behind me said.
“Phet! You made it back.”
“Kishan found me and was kind enough to escort me to camp.”
Ren shook Phet’s hand and happily clapped his thin back. “We are happy to have you. Welcome.”
Ren locked eyes with mine briefly. Kishan stepped between the two of us and faced his brother with a tight expression. Phet detected the tension between them the same time I did.
Patting both of them noisily on their cheeks, he said, “Come, tigers. It is time for two worthy sons of India to fulfill their life’s calling.”
“Teacher?” I heard a soft feminine voice query.
We stood aside as Phet moved forward. “Anamika, it is good to see you.”
The future goddess cried out and ran to the little monk, wrapping him gently in her arms. “I never thought I’d see you again. You didn’t tell us you were leaving. How did you come here after all these years have passed?”
I held up a hand, “Wait just a second. Teacher? Years have passed? Phet, would you mind telling us what’s going on? I thought you were the humble servant of the goddess.”
“And so I am. Come. We have much to discuss. Bring all the weapons and gifts of Durga. We will need them tonight.”
The wiry shaman slowly shuffled off in the darkness.
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