“Namaste,” his baritone voice was like molasses, deep dark eyes seeming to probe into her soul. He released her hand, his tanned skin a reddish bronze color. Tory smiled, her cheeks blushing, and she sucked in a sharp breath of joy.
He turned to me, extending his hand. Seeing no ill-effect from Tory’s contact, I traded grips with him. His skin was rough, and warm, emanating a deep heat, as if he had been lounging close to a bonfire for a long while, or had just stepped out of a hot tub. That heat abruptly traveled up my arm and deep into my chest before spilling down towards my belly, invigorating me. The sensation simultaneously flowed down into my legs and up into my head, leaving me feeling oddly euphoric and well-rested, which was much appreciated after getting no sleep the night before. He let go, and I was sure it had only been a brief second, but the sensation remained. Tory was staring down at her own hand, smiling contentedly. “Let us go for a walk,” the man chuckled, his great big belly wiggling beneath his strained shirt before he turned to leave.
“Okay,” I answered, guiding Tory’s shoulders to follow Ganesh, wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into.
Chapter 20
We walked, and walked, until the elephant said, “I can hear thoughts, rumbling around in your head. Troubles you have, obstacles you face, just know that every leaf has its place,” he said softly, slowly turning to face us.
No one was around us any longer. In fact, I hadn’t seen anyone for quite some time. We were in a corridor of trees, like a hallway in a building, the trees looming over us to form a canopy of sorts. The majority of the branches still held a stubborn contingent of leaves, providing us with intermittent shade.
As Ganesh turned, his form rippled, and before us suddenly stood a nine-foot-tall giant of a man. His four thick arms and two legs resembled tree trunks, but pudgier. His skin was textured like an elephant, dry and leathery, and his belly hung out alarmingly far, but didn’t seem to get in his way. In fact, I was sure that he could outmaneuver me with the slightest of effort, despite his bulk. He wasn’t overweight. He was exactly the weight he wanted to be. Needed to be.
I briefly noticed a tattoo etched into his leathery skin above the black hole of his belly button, but was immediately distracted by a long, thick scar that stretched from end to end of his stomach, reminding me of my purpose here. As if sensing my attention, he was abruptly wearing elaborate crimson robes, gold embroidery decorating the edges, and a golden silk sash tied it closed, the knot resting above his belly. Oddly enough, I noticed that the knot on the sash was beautiful in and of itself, like a piece of art.
If I had tried to hug him, I would have gotten only a face full of belly. The front of his belly. Unable to wrap my arms around his girth.
He was a Hindu God.
As my eyes trailed up, I came face to face with his massive elephant head. A large, scarred trunk rested in a relaxed curl atop his belly, faintly resembling the all-important Om symbol – pronounced Ohm. In my research, I had read that Om meant ultimate reality, soul, entirety of the universe, truth, divinity, supreme spirit, cosmic principles, and knowledge. And his trunk typically rested in a shape that vaguely reminded his followers of this Sanskrit symbol, even though the symbol was way too complicated for a trunk to duplicate. Even a god’s trunk.
But I wasn’t stupid enough to voice that out loud.
His eyes were a deep, deep reddish brown, swirling like melted strawberry chocolate from those Lindt commercials. Scars marred his face in several places, even through his thick, leathery skin, and a ruby the size of my fist was embedded into his forehead, skin folded around it so that it looked to be a natural part of him. His curtain-sized ears were pierced in a dozen places each, and I caught a few nicks around the edges, wounds of some sort. One aged ivory tusk emerged from beneath his trunk, decorated with two golden bands an inch from the tip. The bands held Sanskrit symbols of some flavor, and although I couldn’t read them, I could sense the magic emanating from them. Like tiny waves of heat. The other tusk was broken off in a jagged fracture, now weathered and aged like the rest of his tusk.
And his skin was a deep, deep red, like the darkest of red wines catching light in the glass.
“You’re beautiful…” Tory whispered in awe.
His ears quivered in appreciation as he replied with what I took for a grin beneath his trunk.
“It’s an honor to finally meet you in traditional form.” I glanced behind me warily before turning back. “Aren’t you concerned someone will see you?”
He shook his head, his ears flapping at the motion, an amused expression on his elephant face. “None can see us until I allow it. Neither will they see you two. They would walk right past us without the faintest idea we are here,” he replied confidently. “We need to speak.”
What the hell? We were invisible? I hadn’t felt even a flicker of warning that he had actually used magic on us. Then the skeptical part of me began to remind me how dangerous it was that this god wanted to meet me, and had suddenly made it impossible for me to scream for help.
“Nothing is the matter, is it?” I asked.
He chuckled, the sound beginning deep down in his belly. “Far from it, Maker.” And he continued to watch me.
“You sure ate a whole lot of wieners back there. With practice, you might even take the world record,” I said, growing uncomfortable under his gaze. Then, before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Are you even allowed to eat hot dogs?”
The silence was like a thick blanket for a few moments. Then he chuckled. “Allowed…” he murmured, amused. “I changed my plate to tofu hot dogs before the competition began.” He eyed me thoughtfully. “But I do admire your attention to detail.”
What the hell? He had changed them to tofu? Just like that? But I didn’t have time to ask.
“And I don’t need practice. I ate an entire feast once. The other guests’ food. The furniture. Chandeliers. Utensils. Decorations. Everything. Then I threatened to eat the host. Despicable, greedy Kubera. Vain fool…” his eyes grew fiery for a moment before the look of calm returned. I had come across that name in my research. Kubera was the God of Wealth in Hindu religion. Ganesh cleared his throat. “I am an incredibly patient person, but I do believe you need to ask your question with some haste. That way we can haggle down to an agreeable price.” Two of his hands motioned scales tipping back and forth, but the other two rested comfortably on his belly.
“I… wait. You know why I’m here? But you told Achilles you wanted to speak with me.”
“I wanted to speak with you about what you wanted to speak with me about,” he answered calmly, eyes blinking slowly as his trunk curled and uncurled absently.
Tory laughed, so I shot her a quick glare to put her in her place before turning back to Ganesh. “That would mean you have some kind of foretelling ability…”
He shrugged. “I see obstacles. Both those that need to be overcome, and those that must be placed. Past, present, pah,” he tooted his trunk loudly, and I almost ruined my underwear. “What is time, anyway?” He noticed our startled and confused looks, so waved off our concern with one of his four hands. “Obstacles,” he reminded himself, getting back on track. “For example, the one that was placed on you was necessary. To keep those around you safe. You are not at peace. You are wild, unpracticed, and emotionally unbalanced at the moment. You should thank Rufus for aiding you with the gift of an obstacle.”
“But he’s always unbalanced,” Tory offered.
I shot her a scowl. “You’re not helping,” I warned, and she folded her arms with a smug smirk. I turned back to Ganesh. “Thank him? Are you serious? His action could be the downfall of me saving the girl.”
Ganesh shrugged. “Maximum effort. Overcome it.” I stared back in disbelief. There was no way he was aware of the Deadpool reference he had just made. That would be ludicrous. He winked at me, and I remembered him saying he could hear my thoughts rumbling around in my head. “Francis,” he murmured, and I burst out laughing. I coul
dn’t help it.
“Okay, Wade Wilson. Fine. Obstacles. I may be unbalanced, and maybe you think that’s a benefit for Team Temple, but I don’t see it that way right now. The way I see it, I was extorted to help someone, even though I was going to help him anyway.”
“Then perhaps you must prove yourself to this man, despite his poor assessment of the situation. Be the bigger man, so to speak. You have a lesson to learn. An obstacle to overcome.”
“Yeah, if that lesson doesn’t get us all killed first.” He continued watching me. As previously arranged, I silently encouraged the Dark Presence inside of me to begin reciting nursery rhymes. It did so without argument, for once, filling my head with a steady flow of words. Ganesh grunted, cocking his head slightly as he emitted a brief honk from his trunk again, agitated.
I had brought Tory with me for a reason, and had shared my plan with her in the car, but now I wasn’t so sure how successful it was going to be with him able to read my thoughts, despite my futile attempt at distracting him with the Dark Presence’s continued recital of nursery rhymes filling my brain. Hell, my plan might not even be necessary. I could tell that Tory was growing uncomfortable, because she was wringing her hands. I didn’t dare look at her. If Ganesh could read our thoughts, I needed to keep him distracted. Now. Act first. Think later. My motto.
Or, in the famous words of Deadpool, Maximum effort.
“Okay, I don’t suppose you can just give it to me?” I asked, implying his healing belt. He shook his head slowly, studying me thoughtfully as one of his hands moved to his broken tusk, stroking it absently like one would their chin when thinking intently about something. “It figures. Alright, I propose a race. If you win, you give me the belt. If I win, I get the belt,” I said quickly.
He chuckled, belly quivering beneath his robe. “Nice try. I win, I get the belt. You win, you get the belt.”
I smirked. “Worth a shot.”
He nodded. “A footrace. I haven’t raced in ages…” he began to stretch his legs, as if warming up for a jog.
I held up my hand. “Not footrace.” I pulled out my pet unicorn’s feather. Grimm’s previous owner… or partner, had been the Minotaur. Grimm was Pegasus’ brother. I don’t understand how the genes worked, but Pegasus got wings, Grimm got feathers and a gnarly horn.
And technically, I think Grimm belonged to Indie now, but I knew for a fact that the feather still worked. Unlike his famous brother, he wasn’t pretty, and he wasn’t cute.
He was a killing machine. And my feather could call him up like a cell phone.
Ganesh hissed, stepping back. I called his name in my head, and A bolt of black lightning hammered into the grass a dozen paces away, tearing through the canopy above us. Twigs and leaves rained down from above.
And suddenly, before us stood Grimm. The black feathered horse was huge – like one of those Budweiser Clydesdales, and around his neck was a mane of feathers not dissimilar from a peacock. Except they were also black, with brilliant red orbs on the tips, and they were currently flared out, almost seeming to rattle in warning like that venom-spitting dinosaur in Jurassic Park. Or a demonic peacock’s tail.
Grimm’s massive barbed horn pointed at us, and silver fire flickered on the grass beneath his hooves. I turned to Ganesh with a grin. “Where’s your Mickey Mouse?”
He was staring at Grimm with familiarity, but still seemed surprised that I had been able to call him. And that he had obeyed. Ganesh was eyeing the feather in my fist, his meaty hand caressing his trunk thoughtfully as the other one continued rubbing his broken tusk. Good. At least the Minotaur hadn’t told him about Grimm. I was pretty sure the two were old friends. “You do indeed have a mount… Horseman.”
I stared back, masking my surprise behind a calm face. How the hell had he heard about that? Were the Riders notorious gossips, or had he broken through the Dark Presence’s ramblings to read my thoughts again? I didn’t acknowledge his comment. Because I didn’t actually agree with it, but also because I didn’t know how to respond to it.
“You propose to race me. You atop him, and me atop my Krauncha,” he stated flatly. I nodded, more than anything, curious to see this legendary mouse of his to better understand the physics, or magic, behind it. “Very well…” and he began to chant, his voice physically vibrating in my chest. And the trees behind me began to rattle and quake much too loudly.
Shit.
Chapter 21
A rodent the size of a Mini Cooper tore through the trees in a blur of motion, somehow not disturbing the trees around him, despite the sound. He landed before Ganesh, nuzzling the god with blood-soaked fur near his mouth. “You’ve been eating, Krauncha.”
A voice exactly like Morgan Freeman replied to Ganesh. “Just some pests, nothing innocent.”
“That is well.”
Tory murmured under her breath, staring at the… mouse. I couldn’t help it either. The thing was huge. Still proportionally a mouse, but it wore leather bracers around its paws, and the claws were long, yellow, and razor sharp, judging by their crimson-stained tips. Fangs much too large protruded from his jaws, and his whiskers were like concertina wire. He wore a huge saddle strapped to his back, sporting a noose and an axe hanging in holsters for easy access. Its eyes glistened like a ruby on an obsidian sheet of velvet.
The beast faced Tory and dipped his head. “My lady.”
“You’re… perfect,” she said.
I turned to her, frowning. “Perfect?”
The mouse stilled in an instant, and then slowly cocked his head as if curious. “Thank you, my lady. You see me clearly…” he said, sounding impressed. Ganesh was watching Tory curiously as well. What the hell could she see, that I couldn’t?
Ganesh turned to me. “Mount up, Temple. This will be fun.”
I turned to Grimm, who looked decidedly uncertain. “What is the meaning of this. Did you summon me to play games?” he demanded.
“No, I summoned you to help me win a game.” I climbed onto his back, no saddle for me, and ignored his continued grumblings. He stomped a hoof, sparks flying out beneath it like a blacksmith striking glowing steel. Ganesh was astride his mouse, grinning at me. As I approached Ganesh, and the imaginary line he had chosen as our starting point, I risked a quick glance at Tory, nodding imperceptibly.
She nodded back, but the look on her face didn’t inspire confidence.
Ganesh was speaking, pointing to the end of the tunnel of trees we stood in. “First one there wins.” I nodded, gripping Grimm’s mane in my fist since I didn’t have reins or a saddle. “Tory, if you would please count down from three. We begin on one.” She nodded, and I prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best. This was a calculated risk. I needed his belt to get Baba’s help. And I needed Baba’s help to try and save the next kid. The Beast Master had already kidnapped one Freak. Well, two if you counted the chimera.
I couldn’t risk him capturing any more people. One, because it only created more people to try and save when we went for the chimera – which would be hard enough as it was – and there was no way I would leave a victim from my city behind. Two, because more victims potentially meant more enemies if the Beast Master could truly control them in full. The more people he kidnapped, the more monsters I would have to fight on my way in and out to save the chimera. The more kids I would have to fight, and potentially kill. And I wouldn’t have enough magic to simply cut loose and let the cards fall as they may. Not until Rufus got his hands – literally – on his chimera.
Tory jolted me out of my thoughts. “Three… two… ONE!” Grimm took off like someone had hoofed him in the stones, and I was screaming for dear life to simply hold on. Ganesh and his mount tore up earth beside me as we raced neck-and-neck. Ganesh was grinning like a madman beside me, hooting and hollering, and even letting out another squeal from his trunk.
Then Krauncha’s legs locked up for a moment, causing him to skid into the earth, and I gained the lead. The mouse let out a hiss, shaking his head in confusion,
and then pressed on.
But then it happened again. I glanced behind me to see the mouse bolting forward, then abruptly skidding to a halt again, as if having a fit of some kind. Still, they were only a dozen paces behind me, and I had seen how fast the beast could move. Ganesh’s face was clouding over with frustration and confusion as he urged on his mount.
I crouched lower and continued on towards the finish line. I heard a loud shriek behind me as Krauncha broke free from his malady and raced after me, eyes furious.
“Uh, Grimm? Pour on the speed. He doesn’t look happy.”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t have let a fledgling Beast Master mess with an ancient beast’s mind,” he muttered dryly, but he did pour on the speed, flames licking the frosted grass beneath his hooves.
Even still, Krauncha and Ganesh were rapidly gaining on us. The mouse still flicked his head back and forth, as if shaking off a swarm of bees, but for the most part, continued to pelt on, despite the random moments when his legs locked up or spastically twitched. Ganesh’s face was tight as he also leaned forward, both struggling to remain in the saddle and to dig his heels in for more speed.
I leaned forward, almost at the finish line. “Come on, GRIMM!” I roared, kicking his sides instinctively. We raced across the finish line, neck-and-neck with the mouse, but Grimm’s pearlescent horn broke the line first.
Before I could celebrate my win, Grimm promptly ejected me from his back with a violent motion. I flew, flipped, and landed on my ass, bouncing several times as my teeth clacked together, biting my tongue with a sudden flash of pain that tasted of copper. I sat up, heart beating wildly at both my triumph and my new aches.
“Don’t ever heel my sides again…” Grimm warned murderously from right next to me, even though he had thrown me a good dozen feet. His horn hit my chest like a baseball bat, knocking me down onto my spine, which somehow managed to strike the only rock in the entire park. I hissed in pain, rolling over a few times until only frosted grass lay beneath me, but I was sure the rock had drawn blood. I stared up at the beautiful crimson and yellow canopy for a few seconds, panting from both pain and excitement. Then Ganesh was suddenly looming over me.
Beast Master: A Novel in The Nate Temple Supernatural Thriller Series (The Temple Chronicles Book 5) Page 12
