He leans back concerned and asks, “how are you feeling? Pain? Nausea? Memory?”
I frown at Dad. “No Dad..nothing. What is going on?”
Now Dad frowns, still checking me from top to bottom.
“Let me see her,” Baba’s voice comes from behind Dad.
Dad smiles and hugs me again telling me, “I will make breakfast for you.” Kissing my forehead he moves away, to let Baba come forward.
Baba stands in front of me and looks at me, checking me over as I roll my eyes.
“I saw that,” Baba chastises. “Good. Then you are okay. Any different? Feeling anything?”
“I feel good different. But I don’t know what and how. I remember last night’s ceremony. And I saw this,” I hold up my arms and show him the Lotus. His eyes light up as he sees that. “What is my magical ability?”
“We don’t know Gudiya, but we will figure it out. Okay?” He steps forward and hugs me tight. “Come, let’s have breakfast.”
As I reach the table, Lexie jumps up and hugs me. One by one, the guys hug me too. And as Enzo, the last one to hug me, releases me, a giggle escapes me.
“What? You all saw me last night. Did you think I wouldn’t wake up” I tease them, but Dad’s spatula splatters on the floor with a clank. I look at him, worried, but see absolute anger on his face.
Involuntarily I take a step back. His pupils are now molten golden with a fiery red outline. What the fuck…
“Don’t ever say shit like that again!” He roars at me, and I take one more step back. “Three days! Three days you were out! You didn't wake up. Those were the most difficult days of my life. So even in a joke, do not say that!”
Three days?
What?
It didn't happen last night?
“I was out for three days?” I whisper.
Dad’s face softens, his eyes come back to normal.
“Yes, baby girl. You were out for three days. We knew you were safe. Sensei told us. But that didn't stop me from worrying. All of us. Lexie hasn’t slept at all, choosing to keep watch over you during the night and one of us kept watch on you during the day. Vince was just about to head upstairs to sit next to your bed after he finished his breakfast.”
Everything is a shock. I turn to look at Lexie and she is looking down, at her feet.
Why is this girl not confident enough? She has the world going for her!
I step towards her and pull her in my arms. I have a feeling that she needs this right now, as much as I need it. She has always taken care of me. Even when I didn't notice. But knowing now that she doesn't deal with people well, I understand how much her doing all those things meant - for her and for me.
She returns my hug too. I whisper, “thank you….”
Letting go of her, I realize everything is hazy,
Oh these are tears.
My bad!
“Thank you….,” I say to all of them. Turning to Dad I say, “I am sorry Dad. I didn't know I hadn't woken up the next day.” I go to him and let him engulf me in his arms.
“Never joke about such things, baby girl. Never ever,” he says with so much force that I am scared of anything like this ever slipping from my mouth again.
“Breakfast! She must be weak. Cael, cook for her,” Baba commands. That command is enough to get everyone on the chairs and look at Dad as he prepares my breakfast for me.
He is cooking Indian breakfast for me. Aloo ka paratha, tamatar ki sabzi, safed makhan - Indian bread stuffed with potatoes, tomato fry-sauteed gravy, and white home-made butter. My mouth waters just smelling it all.
Lexie giggles and when I look at her, she mimes drool. I roll my eyes before laughing myself.
What? I love food….
“So…. Tell me one thing.. Why was only Lexie keeping a watch on me at night? Why didn’t one of you give her a break?” I ask everyone, still looking at Dad cooking.
Lexie’s giggles are uncontrollable now. “No...no...I wanted to keep a watch. Pa and Sensei used to sit with me most of the night, before heading for their training… but yeah, I wanted to,” she says, looking around, still giggling.
Something isn't right.
“What is it? What are you not telling me?”
Every eye turns to Dad, who is busy cooking.
I look at Baba and he rolls his eyes, then shakes his head and puts his palm over his eyes. Like he cannot do anything about it.
I narrow my eyes.
“Dad?”
He takes some potato mixture and puts it on the flattened dough, then rolls it around the potato mixture forming a ball.
“Dad?” I ask again, and Lexie’s giggle is joined by Baba’s. Baba giggled? No, I am sure that is chuckling. It sounds manlier than giggling. Right?
Dad starts flattening the stuffed dough pocket with the rolling pin, gently, calmly. But I know he hears me.
“DAD!?”
He puts the rolled paratha on the hot pan, then looks up at the ceiling and turns to look at me.
“Yes?” he asks, nonchalant.
“What happened? Why are Tigress and Oogway giggling away to glory?” Lexie spits her coffee out and Baba laughs, tilting his head back. Yeah. That’s more like it.
Dad glares at them, and Lexie tries to get herself under control. If that is even possible at this point. Baba isn’t worried about Dad though. He continues to laugh.
Finally Dad exhales and looks at me.
“After the ceremony, we sat in the study for some time, then Lexie said that she is going to go and check on you. None of them were out for that long after their magic was unblocked, so she wanted to be there when you woke up. It was pretty late at night, or early morning, as you know. We all dispersed too after I told Lexie we would be up to check on you in some time.”
He looks, glares, at the guys who give him a smile.
“When I get to your room, I find Lexie sitting on your bed, and each of these guys sitting around your bed in their sweatpants. Only sweatpants.”
Ummmm….. Ooooo-kay?
My confusion seems to be the fuel Baba needs. He stands, still laughing, and claps Dad on his shoulder and says, “I want to see you explain this….”
Then he goes and starts cooking my breakfast for me, leaving Dad to answer the questions.
Dad shakes his head then continues, “well, that's it.”
What?
“What do you mean that’s it? You saw them sitting around me and that is the reason Lexie was left alone to-” I stop as realization hits me. And I burst out laughing.
I laugh so hard that I almost fall to the ground. Lexie holds me back while laughing as hard as I am. After about five seconds, I see Baba’s shoulders shaking, he is laughing too. Dad looks red, as he rubs his neck, trying to hide his smile.
“Smile Dad, smile… it’s…..it’s...it’s good…..,” I say in between laughing spurts.
The loyalty the guys have to Dad is surprising though. None of them lifts up their head to join in. Lexie and I seem to have the same thought, we point at them and laugh some more.
Baba, still chuckling, brings over my breakfast to me. The fragrance of the ghee wafting off the paratha causes me to moan and salivate, quite literally. My eyes mist, knowing Dad prepared all of this for me.
I look at him, he is still looking at the ground, as if he has been given some punishment. I look to Baba and tell him, “Thank you Baba.”
He smiles, a knowing smile, kisses the top of my head, and then goes over to sit back down. I get up and go to Dad, and wrap my arms around him.
He seems surprised, but then holds me in his arms.
“Thank you for looking out for me Dad. Thank you for cooking for me,” I tell him, willing my tears to go back.
“Anytime baby girl. Any time,” he squeezes me back and lets me go.
As I turn around, I look at the guys and find all of them looking at me. I give them a smile, but as I make my way over to my spot, I wink at Lexie and then sigh heavily.
“But Dad.
A. Why were they all in sweatpants? Were they wearing only sweatpants? And B. What did you think they would do to me, while I was unconscious?”
Enzo starts coughing, Ash and Vince straight up smile, and Ryan looks horrified.
“Well… ?”
I look at Dad to find him looking at me with a smirk.
“Haha. Very funny. Finish your food. We have a lot of work to do. But know this, no boys are allowed in your room! Especially at night!” With that he turns around and starts cleaning up the counter.
Vince and Ryan look heartbroken. As if they are my boyfriends and are used to sneaking up to my room at night. Oh the fantasies….
I bring out my poker face - no, my innocent face - and ask, “Why especially at night, Dad? You know that the stars so vibrant in the night sky are still present during the day, just not as visible?”
Dad stills, muscles bunched up under his shirt. Then turns to look at us slowly.
Not at me. Not at Lexie. Not at Baba.
At the guys.
They all still, and Dad growls, “don’t any of you fucking dare….”
I so want to giggle…. But Dad cuts me a look, and all thoughts of further jokes die an untimely death, right there on my lips.
This is not the Cael to mess with.
I look at Baba asking for help, and the bugger that he is, he raises his hands in mock surrender and mimes zipping his lips.
I roll my eyes, again, as is my habit. Then looking at the morsel of the paratha in my hand, I mutter, “I am going to die a virgin..”
“You are a virgin?”
Five voices ask, at the same time. But with different emotions.
My hand stops midway from the plate to my mouth, as I look at them.
Dad’s question was asked with pride and joy.
Enzo’s with horror.
Ryan’s with hope.
Vince’s with curiosity.
Ash’s with disbelief.
Baba and Lexie fall into another stitch of laughter, and before I could say anything, Dad has taken a menacing step towards the guys. “Why are all of you so interested in her virginity?”
And a discussion breaks out between them.
That's it! There are no boundaries now. Nobody cares that my virginity is not to be discussed like this!
But as Lexie and Baba laugh harder, I face-table. Meaning face-palm, but with the table.
In my mind, I see myself cooking alone, talking to rats to beat the loneliness, in a hillside hut far far away. I am even sharing my stick jaw candies with the rats.
Yup! It is decided. I am going to die alone!
====
“I cannot moves….. I is a python,” I tell Dad, going back to my childhood speech where I mess up the verbs, adverbs, everything. Dad smiles lovingly, and gets up to refill his tea cup.
I groan as I move my head to look at Lexie, who had eaten two parathas with me, looking as immobile and sated as me. I snort, but even that sends tremors of unease in my body.
This python does not wants to be moved…. Or move. Or think.
“So, what do you think we should do first Gudiya?” Baba asks me.
I move my eyes to look at him, and when I don't respond for some time, everyone starts looking at me with concern.
“I cannot moves,” I say again, lamely.
Snickers can be heard from around me, but I cannot moves to see who it is.
“I am not asking you to move. I am asking you what shall we do first? There is Vyhdir, then Mathew’s note, and then your-”
He stops when I groan. He narrows his eyes at me and I smile.
“Baba, I cannot moves.”
“I am not-”
“But you asks me to moves my brains….it cannots….”
Lexie giggles which turns into a groan. That makes the guys snicker harder, and Dad and Baba stand there, looking alike in their postures, shaking their head, but eyes full of mischief as well.
“Okay then… dont move your brains, can you keep your ears open and listen to us as we brainstorm?”
I move my eyes from left to right to left to right. My version of Python-No.
Dad and Baba groan some, then chuckle.
“Okay, okay. Take a break for an hour.” I am about to say something, when Baba says, “just one hour. Nothing more. Till then, we will talk to your house guests…”
Oohh the captives!
“But I wanna comes too…..”
“But you cannots moves gudiya,” Baba winks at me and leaves the kitchen.
I groan at his smart-ass-ness, and look around to see everyone looking at his retreating back in shock. Except Dad.
“Yeah, he does that with her,” Dad tells them. Then he leaves the kitchen muttering, “ it is like I have to deal with two kids sometimes.”
I snort, causing Lexie to giggle.
Vince comes over and says, “we will be around. If you need anything, just shout. One of us will come. Okay?”
I nod. Eyes drooping with post-food anesthesia.
“Come on, we will drop you guys to your room. Take a nap,” Enzo says, and before he has even finished the sentence I raise my arms in a gesture for him to pick me up.
He rolls his eyes, then bends to lift me up. Ash picks up Lexie, and we start our ascent to our room.
“Ry and I will go to Pa. If he comes and sees you carrying her, he is gonna have your nuts,” Vince says, drawing a scoff from Lexie, Enzo and I.
I don’t know if I have reached the bed or not. But right now, I am blassed. Blissed. Blisted. What is the worm? Worm? No word.. I needs to looks at the wordonary. Dictationary?
Okay, I cannot able to English anymore.
Chapter 29
Enzo
I watch in amazement as she mumbles words like wordonary, blisted, blassed…. Then she falls asleep. In my arms. Head on my shoulders. She falls right to sleep.
The feeling of warmth is not enough for me. I need more of it, crave it. I cannot survive without seeing her this blissed out - wait, is that what she was trying to say?
I smile and lay her down on her bed, moving her hair from her face. The sight of her takes my breath away. Quite literally.
As I am covering her with the comforter, she rolls over and mumbles something like patha aven Dad cooks. Needs wordonary.
I chuckle at that, not understanding even one bit of what she’s talking about, but finding that weird peace within me when I look at her.
“Let’s go Bro… Pa will have a fit if he finds us in here,” Ash says from next to me. I realize he’d been looking at her too.
I roll my eyes, starting to move and say, “don’t you know? Only at night are we not allowed?”
He snickers as we bound down the steps. “Yeah sure. You be sure to tell Pa that… I will be sure to give you your proper last rites…”
We chuckle at that. Pa’s protectiveness - over protectiveness - is too darn cute. Scary, one hundred percent. But the cuteness overload makes up for it. I am seeing new sides to all of us ever since Ada came into picture.
Especially Pa’s and Sensei’s. I mean Sensei...don’t even get me started.
We reach the basement and see the captives in the center of the room. Ry and Vee are behind them, Pa and Sensei standing in front of them, looking every bit as lethal as the legends they are.
All the softness I see on their faces when Ada is around is nowhere to be found. I see the hardcore badasses who trained us, and who trained Ada. I don't even know the true extent of her prowess, considering she has been trained by both. I know it wouldn't have been easy. I know they wouldn't have gone easy on her. But I would have loved to witness that.
I switch on my cruel mode as well. Don't want anyone getting a whiff of the soft spot I have for my family and the angel lying in her bed upstairs.
I look at Vince and he shakes his head.
He couldn't find anything.
I look at Ryan, he gives a subtle nod.
Well, that is something.
They are cl
oaked. That is the only explanation. And mercenaries do not have access to cloaking magic. At least the last I learned about it, it was the case.
I take my position behind Pa and Sensei, next to Ash, and wait for the fun to begin.
Pa and Sensei take a deep breath, exaggerating, as if they are dealing with petulant children.
“I am going to ask you one time, and one time only,” he says, his voice echoing. Every strand of hair on my body stands erect at the menace in Sensei’s voice. Looking at the fright in the captives’ eyes, I can safely say that Sensei’s eyes have changed, and it’s probably not a color we’ve seen, but the one he keeps for his enemies.
“You do not want to know what happens if you fail to answer me correctly. Do we understand each other?”
The middle one, who we assumed was the leader, pulls his lips back in a false show of bravado. “We have heard of you. The old man who pretends to know it all. I am not afraid of you, who fakes his power by surrounding himself with powerful people. Take me on one-on-one, then we’ll see who the winner is. You are a fake leader!” he spits on the floor, hatred burning in his eyes. Somewhere during his monologue, his false bravado has disappeared and changed to hatred. The transformation is remarkable.
Sensei’s laughter echoes in the space. His laughter, this laughter, oozes menace and terror.
“You ….,” he stops laughing then shakes his head. “I don't care if you are afraid or not. Even though you should be. So I will ask once and you will tell me the truth.”
He raises his right palm and I see bright white rays rain down onto the two captives.
“Who are you?” Sensei asks.
He clasps his mouth shut, struggling to breathe, his eyes roll back in his head but no words come out of him. I marvel at his steadfastness.
The other two start coughing. One of them tries to say something but his entire face turns purple. As if he is being suffocated.
Sensei stops immediately. “Interesting.”
Indeed, interesting.
“E,” he calls my name and steps aside.
An evil smile lights up my face at the prospect of torturing these fuckers. They dared attack Ada and my family.
I look at them intently, and I am smugly satisfied to see a glimmer of fear on their faces. They know of me. Good. Makes it interesting.
Circle of Time: An urban fantasy (The Kazi Chronicles Book 1) Page 17
