Wings of a Lark

by Jen Pretty

  The sound of children crying and men laughing filled the air. There were way too many people living close together.

  There was a man in a fluorescent vest standing in front of a rope that blocked off a path up to a temple. The air left my lungs. It was a replica of Shiva’s temple. Durga rose to look out through my eyes. The man standing by the rope unhooked it and let us pass with a bow of his head.

  I climbed the golden stone steps. Peace floated out the open doors. My muscles relaxed as I entered the simple stone building with lattice windows and the breath I had been holding, whooshed out along with the pain I had carried across the desert. Tears pricked my eyes as I fell to my knees. Durga receded and left me alone.

  I closed my eyes and shed the weight of my sorrow and doubt. My body moved of its own free will, crossing my legs and setting my hands on my knees, palms open to the painted arched ceiling of the temple.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “My dear child, why do you weep?” Shiva asked. His face was a mask of peace. His snake coiled around his neck, its eyes closed in sleep.

  “She has lost her way,” Durga said, appearing like magic beside him. Her posture matched his, calm and peaceful; her extra arms swayed like she was underwater.

  Tears ran in streams down my cheeks.

  “Her spiritual journey across the desert did not clear her mind of the baggage she carries?”

  I wanted to tell them I was sitting right here, but I couldn’t find my voice.

  “She learned nothing but how to hide herself away,” Durga said with a sigh. “I wish that witch had kept her visions to herself. Lark mourns a child she does not have.”

  Shiva turned back, his eyes raking over my features. His serene face slowly morphed into a pitying expression.

  “Can we go kill vampires please?” I didn’t sound enthusiastic, but my voice was steady at least.

  “Do you believe another journey would help her?” Shiva turned back to Durga, ignoring my plea.

  “No.” Durga sighed. “She must face her demons now. Have you summoned the king?”

  “Wait, what?”

  “I have, he is travelling the country in search of you. You must stop Mahishasura though. He will destroy everything we have built.”

  “Yes, I know,” Durga countered abruptly. “Just make sure the king arrives. I can hardly stand to go on like this.”

  “I warned you not to trifle with the emotions of a mortal,” Shiva said his eyes narrowing.

  “Since when do you know anything about mortals? She is dull and depressing, that is only a little my fault, mostly her nature,” Durga countered, giving Shiva a venomous look.

  “Then just kill me,” I shouted, anger covering my sadness easily.

  Durga tipped her head and then vanished.

  “I’m sorry, child, but you must complete the work you have set out to do. Know I will think of you as you travel. Goodbye.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Just like that, I was back in the empty temple. My tears were dry, but I didn’t feel better. When I rose and turned around, Singh stood at the door, his face was unreadable, but his eyes shone yellow in the low light. He studied me like I was prey and he was a hunter. I let him. Maybe he would rip off my head and end it all.

  He turned and walked back through the open doorway, and I followed along behind.

  Out on the street I looked around, unsure where I should go until Durga pushed me into a jog and then a run, flashing my knife into my hand. My feet slapped the stone roads and alleyways, dodging pedestrians and motorbikes. I hadn’t found a vampire in so long, the blade felt awkward.

  I slipped through the back streets and around sharp corners into a narrow dead-end alley where I finally found a target for my anger. I slowed to a walk as the vampire’s eyes grew wide with fear. He was a mouse trapped in a corner, being stalked by a red-eyed Goddess. I was more fearsome than a cat.

  I stopped and looked at the vampire. He was tall and ugly, his skin, grey. He had a dead boy at his feet who could not have been older than my boy, Elliot, had been when I saw him in the tunnel in Moscow. I narrowed my eyes. Raising my hand, I slammed my blade down into the sand by my feet. I would kill this vampire with my bare hands.

  The vampire took his shot. He ran at me, aiming to blast me out of his way. Durga backed me up though, and the vampire came to a stop as if he had run into a solid wall when he hit me. He fell backwards, and I pounced on him. His nails raked down the skin of my arms, renting through flesh and muscle to run rivers of my blood. His teeth gnashed, but my hands circled his neck and squeezed. He gaped like a fish out of water, as my fingers dug into his skin, ripping and tearing. His cool blood mixed with my hot blood to make a slippery mess.

  He kicked and tried to free himself, but my anger was stronger than his will to live. As my fingers reached his sharp vertebrae, they grasped the delicate bones and pulled. The body went limp and ashy coloured. Dead vampires were more disgusting than live ones.

  I pushed myself up to sitting, and a slow clap rang through the silent place from behind me.

  I spun, jumping to my feet at the same moment.

  “You want to go next?” I asked the well-dressed vampire who stood there.

  “Please, Durga. I come in peace,” the man said bowing. A turban hid his dark hair but his chocolate eyes twinkled, and his sharp teeth were on full display as he smiled at me.

  Singh stood behind the man in the passageway, leaning against the wall like he didn’t have a care in the world. Fucking useless lion.

  “You are not dealing with Durga. My name is Lark, and if you don’t tell me what you want, I will assume your words are a lie,” I scowled. Come in peace my ass. Vampires were nothing but trouble. I tried to call my blade for dramatic effect, but Durga stopped me.

  The vampire bowed his head again. “You may call me Nara, though the vampires call me Lord Narayan. I thank you for dealing with this little problem.” He glanced down at my feet and then studied the blood still dripping from my fingertips. “I welcome you to stay in my home. You and your companion.” He glanced back at Singh who was picking his sharp teeth with an extra-long fingernail. Singh was super creepy in this half man, half lion form.

  “Fine, whatever, lead the way.” I hoped he had alcohol. There was some prohibition bull shit happening in this area, and I wanted no part of that.

  I followed him back around the corner where a whole army of vampires waited in formation.

  One of them stepped forward with a bucket of water. He set it at my feet, and I squatted down to rinse my hands and arms, so I didn’t scare any little children.

  When I finished, Nara held out a hand to encourage me to walk down an alley beside him. Once we passed the guards, they marched along behind us. It reminded me of the parade in Moscow. Lost in the memories, I missed the words he spoke but caught in at the end.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” I asked.

  “I was asking if you had news of the king.”

  I scoffed. “The king doesn’t matter.”

  The lord stared at me a moment and then continued walking. Singh cleared his throat, and when I looked at him, he raised his eyebrows. Judgy bastard. I didn’t want to talk about Vincent.

  We passed under a huge wall of stone, through a single vehicle wide gate. Motorbikes and three-wheeled vehicles zipped through, honking as they passed. They polluted the air with exhaust fumes making me miss the desert.

  “Have any of your men seen Mahishasura?” I asked as we climbed the steep road with constant traffic, moving over for vehicles. Tourists were taking pictures of us as if they thought we were important people. I better not end up on some travel blog. I supposed, with a few dozen guys in uniform walking behind us, we did appear important. I pulled off my headscarf, letting my dark hair free. It blew around my face, but it had been so long since I had been able to wash it properly, it was a bit clumpy. I probably smelled bad too.

  “I have someone travelling from the south, Vadodara, who sent a message s
aying he had news about the demon before he left the city. He should arrive in a day or two.”

  “Do you have showers here?” I asked.

  “Of course, I will ensure you have everything you need to be comfortable while you are visiting,” he replied.

  We came to a small courtyard, flooded with vehicles. Nara wove between them and led us up a set of steps into a stone building. It was dim inside, with large lattice covered windows along the steps leading to a door. He pushed the door open, and suddenly we were in a beautiful home. It was like the world outside didn’t exist anymore, apart from the muffled sound of horns honking.

  “Just this way,” he said, taking us through a beautiful sitting room, decorated in earth tones that matched the exposed sandstone walls — some covered in bright tapestries. They left the doors and windows open, allowing air to sweep through.

  We walked down a hall, and Nara swung open a door, stepping inside. The room had a large, high bed with sheer material hanging from the ceiling. Nara flung open a balcony door, and I followed him out. Before me, laid out like a rich quilt, was the entire city. I was looking down on it from above, watching the flow of people and traffic as they hurried along between buildings.

  “Jaisalmer is the only living fort in the world,” Nara said, looking out across it. Music rose from down below, bells and a man’s voice ringing through the streets. The people in this city wore more western type clothes. Some wore the same clothes as those in the desert, but here many men wore jeans and button up shirts.

  “How long have you lived here?” I asked. He had a European accent.

  “Only three hundred years. Is it that obvious?” he asked, leaning against the railing.

  “You don’t sound native to India,” I said. His dark hair and olive skin could easily make him native until he opened his mouth.

  He smiled at me. “One of my coven members sent word you were travelling this way, but he failed to mention how beautiful you are.”

  I scoffed and pushed my hair back from my face.

  “I will have food and drink brought up; there is a shower with hot water through the other door here.” He walked back into the bedroom and slid open a door, displaying a modern looking washroom. “I don’t believe you were this thin before you wandered into the desert. I am sure it isn’t healthy.”

  I looked down at myself. The sari covered me from head to toe, but I knew underneath it I was rail thin, my stomach was concave and my chest had shrivelled. My arms and legs were still strong thanks to Durga, but they were barely more than skin covering bone.

  The vampire lord bowed and exited the room, closing the doors behind him. I glanced at the bed and found a lion flaked out on top, softly snoring away.

  Typical.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The shower was gloriously hot, and someone stocked the cabinet with beautiful smelling shampoos and soaps. I couldn’t read the labels, but the first bottle was probably conditioner since it didn’t lather at all. I used each bottle scrubbing and then rinsing my hair under the hot spray. Eventually, I stepped out. The girl in the mirror was terrifyingly thin. I quickly wrapped myself in a big fluffy robe I found hanging on the back of the door. There was a brush in a drawer, so I set to work de-tangling my poor neglected hair.

  A few curses and twenty minutes later, I had my hair beat into submission. It shone in the bathroom lights, longer than the last time I had stood clean in front of a mirror. I stepped back into the bedroom and found a tray of food on a small couch that looked an awful lot like the one Vincent had in his office back home. I tried not to think about that as I sat down and uncovered a plate of food. There were fruits and cheeses along with some bread and a bowl of grains.

  I tore the bread and scooped the grains into my mouth from the bowl. I had eaten the day before, but Nara was right, I was painfully thin. I finished all the food and downed a few glasses of water before climbing through the gauzy sheer material and onto the bed. Singh was lying on his side. His soft breaths lulled me as I luxuriated on the thick mattress and cozy blankets. When I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine I was home. So, I kept my eyes closed until I drifted off to dream about my little boy.

  A mighty roar woke me. I jumped up from the bed, immediately getting caught up in the gossamer hanging from the ceiling and falling on the floor.

  “Shit. What the hell?” I pushed my hair out of my face and realized that Singh had someone pinned in the corner of the room. A man, his hand covering his head. He cowered like he could avoid being eaten by the white lion if he made himself small enough.

  “Who are you?” I asked, angry at being woken from my dream. The man peered at me out of human eyes. He was not a vampire, at least.

  “Please, I only wanted a lock of your hair. I promise I meant you no harm.” The man was begging and crying. I hoped he didn’t wet himself. That would be gross.

  “Why would you want a lock of my hair?” I asked. When he didn’t answer right away, Singh nudged him with his nose.

  “For good luck,” He cried

  “Oh, sweety. I am not a good luck charm. Everyone I meet dies, grows to hate me or runs as fast as they can,” I laughed and climbed back into the bed. “Don’t eat him, Singh. It would make a mess in Nara’s house.” I rolled over, turning my back to the whole situation and curled in on myself, trying to force myself back to the dream of Elliot. I heard Singh huff and then the door open and close quickly before the bed sunk, and Singh’s warm fur caressed my cheek a moment before his hot prickly tongue laved my forehead in a skin-searing lick.

  “Singh! Bad lion! I told you not to lick me. Its gross and it hurts.” I cupped my hands over my forehead, sure I would find the skin missing. Thankfully, I was still intact, but that didn’t change the fact I was well and truly awake.

  I heard a snicker and looked back to the door to find Nara standing there, biting his lip.

  “I’m sorry. I came to apologize for the staff.” The smile fell from his face. “I have fired that man. I did not expect anyone would be so bold. I promise you are safe here, Lark.”

  “Yeah. I have a lion, and an ancient Hindu Goddess, I’m safe everywhere. Even in the middle of the Thar Desert when it’s hot enough to boil blood.”

  “You say that like it's a bad thing,” he replied. I suppose vampires knew what I was talking about.

  “Have you ever wanted to die, Nara?” I asked.

  A look of shock made his features appear more exaggerated. His glowing eyes became round saucers. Singh rolled over on his back, nearly crushing me, so I had to scoot closer to the edge of the bed.

  “I suppose I have. When my first wife grew old and died, I would have gladly gone with her.”

  I poked at Durga; she didn't rouse herself though. She was still napping in anticipation of meeting up with her arch nemesis.

  “Would you like to have breakfast with me?” Nara asked. His white loose-fitting pants and a long white shirt made him look dapper, like an American man in an expensive suit. I was still in a bathrobe.

  “I need to find clothes.”

  “I will have some brought up for you in a selection of styles.” He turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him before I could say anything. Not that I would have turned him down. I was broke and would rather live the rest of my life in a bathrobe than put the smelly desert clothes back on. I should burn them after what I put them through.

  I slid back against Singh and dozed for a few minutes until there was a soft knock at the door and a small older woman walked in pulling a wheeled clothing rack behind her. Clothes of every colour packed the hanging rod.

  “Oh my god,” I said. I was expecting a bundle of clothes like the woman in the village had brought me.

  The woman had a huge smile on her face. She said something in a language I recognized as Marwari, but I didn't understand what she said. Durga took over and spoke back to the woman who then went about selecting clothes for me to try on. She pulled out loose cotton pants and tops that were all in sha
des of red. I guess Durga was choosing our wardrobe now.

  The woman bowed and backed out of the room with a bigger smile than when she walked in. Singh hopped off the bed and followed her out. Durga slipped back into that happy corner inside me she likes to hang out in, and I rummaged through the clothes.

  I found a pair of red loose-fitting pants and a long flowy shirt in stark white that looked amazing against my skin tone. I hadn’t worn much white before, but I decided I should start.

  I grabbed a scarf and pinned it in my hair to cover my head and wisp about as I walked. Then I headed out to find Nara.

  I followed the smell of fresh bread down stone hallways barefoot. I couldn’t stand to pull my old running shoes back on.

  I rounded a corner and found myself in a large dining room with a long solid wood table, surrounded by vampires and one lion. Nara put a hand to his heart and said a few words in Marwari. I assumed from his gesture and the chuckles of the other men that it was a compliment.

  “I said you were the most beautiful rose in the desert.”

  I bit my lip and slid into a seat beside my giant lion who was half on the table licking his plate clean.

  A woman hustled in and set a plate and mug down in front of me. The cup was steaming and smelled like coffee. Thank god.

  “Thank you,” I said, surveying the food. There were tiny little triangles that looked like egg rolls. I picked one up and bit into it. Inside was potato and lentils and some spices that made it savoury. I shoved the rest in my mouth as the sounds of people speaking in the local tongue filled the silence. My eyes rolled back in my head at the feeling of my stomach filling twice in two days. When my plate was clean, the woman brought more, and I ate those too but felt like I might explode by the time my second plate was empty.