by T. G. Ayer
Vee shook her head, but her mother cut her off. “How can you blame yourself? We’re all complicit here. Even Ma,” she said laughing from behind her tears. “We all acted out of familial love, something Kasipu lost because of his own actions. He just found a way to shift that responsibility to someone else. And we were convenient. Raj. You and Hiranyaksha. You were almost friends, weren’t you?” Raj nodded. “And Kasipu hated that. He was possessive beyond imagination, and he used his brother’s affection for you against you both. Yaksha died in an awful accident, one we cannot blame on anyone—even you Vee.” Devi glanced over at Vee whose mouth hung open in shock. “You may have opened the vortex, but you only sped up the inevitable, which was likely for the best.”
“But we lost Dad because of it.”
“Because of his actions, because of mine and Yaksha’s and because of Kasipu’s madness. Not because of you at all.”
Vee fell silent, staring at the tableau of grief that was her family. Then she let out a laugh. “Right, now that we got that out of the way, can we get onto figuring out a way to save me before I become pey demon lunch?”
Chapter 84
He turned to face the two gods who sat on the armchairs around the fire. Karan smiled. It seemed fitting that Agni would be the one closer to the flames. He took a breath and walked toward the two gods who had both just arrived within seconds of each other.
The god of fire still possessed some of his power, and as he sat back in the armchair, his hands open on the armrests, he spun a ball of whirling fire a handbreadth above his palm. “Showing off, or bored, brother?” Karan asked as he took the third armchair that had been arranged around the gigantic marble fireplace.
“A little bit of both,” Agni said, smiling. Despite the attempt at cheer, it was clear to Karan that the god’s eyes did not reflect that emotion. Agni was not in the least cheered or happy. Neither were any of the other gods. Some more than others, Karan knew. When Agni continued to speak, Karan forced himself to focus. “I am showing off, but more for my own self. Of late, I have felt the desire to remind myself of who I am. As though a part of me is afraid I may be dangerously close to losing myself. And then, of course, I am no longer put to good use as I used to be such a long time ago.”
Hanuman was strangely silent during Agni’s confession. Perhaps the god agreed, but he’d never been a person who would share his emotions readily. Karan was glad though that the two of them had chosen to come to him.
He leaned closer. “What can I do for you? I know this is far from a social visit.”
Hanuman gave a short nod. “It is Parvathi. I fear we may have lost control over her.”
Karan shook his head. “You forget, brother. We never did have control over her. She has always been on the volatile side.”
“It is not her fault,” Agni said, glowering at Karan. “I am here, yes, but I want to make sure that we bear in mind that she is hurting. I do not want her to be hurt in the process.”
“I understand.” Karan nodded, knowing how Agni felt. The god had held a soft spot in his heart for Parvathi for eons now, a fatherly caring that had always been to the goddess’s benefit. “Until recently Parvathi has complied. She understood—perhaps she has been angered at His departure, perhaps because He did not take her with Him. I can understand that. We all felt the pain of his leaving, and I can only imagine the depth of her suffering. But her grief has turned insidious, and that makes her dangerous.”
“What are you trying to say? You want her neutralized?” Hanuman stared at Karan, eyes wide with shock at the suggestion.
Karan shook his head. “In a sense, yes. I want no harm to come to her, but we need to take steps to prevent everything from coming crashing down on us. I cannot allow anyone to stand in the path of the future He wants for us. We need to make such preparations that would allow us to observe her activities. We need to ensure she has not crossed the line.”
“Crossed the line?” asked Hanuman, his brow furrowing even as his glamor mimicked the movement.
“Think like a general in an army, brother.”
Hanuman sat back and stared into the fire. “I see. If I were Parvathi I would take steps to find out more about what He is up to.”
Karan shook his head. “Think like a General passionate about his mission, perhaps subverted slightly by anger, fear, desperation.”
Hanuman let out a long breath. “I know these emotions. I long for Him to return too. And yes, I see what you mean. Parvathi will not be thinking straight. Yes, she will have a plan, a strategy but not one that will be logically sound.”
“So what do you think she will do?” asked Agni, tossing the ball of flame from his hand into the fire. The flames spat and sizzled as it absorbed the god’s fire into its midst.
“She will find a way to eliminate the one thing that stands in her path.”
Karan stiffened. Even though he had already arrived at that same conclusion, he still found the idea repugnant. “She may well have put things in place to facilitate the demise of the apsara.”
“I still do not understand why Parvathi has such a deep-seated hatred for this apsara who, to my knowledge, is meant to be the one who helps us find Him, who will be the key to bringing Him home.”
Hanuman turned to Agni. “You are well aware, just as I am, that the mother goddess had not taken kindly to being dismissed as the protector of our Lord. She felt He’d cast her aside when He appointed Tilottama as the head of his personal guard.”
“But I am confused. Parvathi was still General of the Army of Mt Kailas. Why would she feel threatened by an apsara as a general? And one that it was widely known was ridiculously in love with her sage.” Agni almost rolled his eyes. “Are you implying the mother was jealous? If so, I do not believe that. The Mother is love personified.”
“Like life and death, love and hate are the other halves of a perfect whole,” Karan said softly. “But I do not believe she acted out of jealousy. There is another element working among us who is intent on subverting His rules, who want to gain control of the heavens, if not install themselves on His throne. A faction like this would easily use underhanded means. No person, human or god, is immune to being emotionally manipulated. I do not believe the Mother ever bore such a thought on her own. What I do know is that she was guided into being suspicious. Which led us here, centuries later, where we are at this junction where the future of humanity, of the universe, hangs in the balance because a faction managed to use love as a means to gain control over Him.”
Hanuman sighed and sat back while Agni’s eyes darkened. “I see things are more dire than I had expected it to be. Do we have intelligence on her movements? Enough to give us an idea of what she is doing on the earthy plane?”
Karan nodded. “I have someone watching her. I had received a report that she had possibly hired a hit man, but I cannot be sure who or what?”
Hanuman got to his feet and began to pace. “This is not the kind of thing I would have expected of her.”
Karan wanted to talk the god out of his disbelief, but he had to hope that everything he’d said so far would be sufficient. He’d laid the groundwork, explained where they stood with the Mother Goddess.
Then Hanuman stopped to face Karan. “I will help, but I will not, no more ever, comply if you expect me to hurt her. We bring her back, we rehabilitate her, we help her deal with her emotional battles so that when He returns she can meet him again, whole and filled with her prior power. We all know what it would do to Him should he know his love has taken his departure so negatively.”
Karan smiled grimly. “Then you and I are of the same mind,” he said as he got to his feet.
Beside him, Agni too rose, turning his back on the fire. The light threw a soft glow around him, making him look very much like the god he was. “I am of the same mind as you. I will help in whatever way you see fit.” Karan nodded. Though relieved, there was nothing in this that he enjoyed. He hoped that one day Parvathi would forgive them.
&nbs
p; The two gods began to shimmer, preparing to depart. Karan said, “I will send the details, and we can put together a handful of different teams. I have something planned, but please feel free to fine-tune.”
Both gods began to shimmer and fade away.
But just before they fully disappeared he saw both bow before him, low and respectful.
“Thank you, my Lord,” said Hanuman. “I will do my best to serve you.” Beside him, Agni was nodding and bowing.
In response, Lord Vishnu smiled and raised his palm in blessing.
Chapter 85
Vee paced back and forth, casting a nervous eye on the door to the boardroom. Both her parents sat at the end of the table, leaving the seat at the head open for her. She’d declined, they’d insisted and Radhima had said, “Shut up and take it,” but in a much nicer way.
“How long before they get here?” Vee asked again, probably for the tenth time.
Devi lifted her gaze, from the notepad before her. When the door opened, she smiled at Kesha who strolled inside, bearing a stack of leather folders. After setting it down beside Devi, Kesha shared a glance with her boss before receiving a short nod. Then the girl rounded Devi and came to stand in front of Vee.
Vee frowned and then smiled, the expression probably looking constipated, but she soon forgot all about how she looked when Kesha sank to her knees and touched the front of Vee’s black leather boots.
“Ergh,” was all Vee managed to utter before she took a step backward.
Kesha sighed and got to her feet.
Devi sighed and said, “I told you so.”
Raj sighed and said, “Are you in the least surprised?”
Radhima sighed and said, “I wanted to laugh but a sigh seemed more appropriate.”
Vee stared around the room. “What is going on? Have you all gone mad?”
Raj snickered, and Kesha smiled, apparently unaffected by Vee’s weird reaction. The PA stepped forward and bowed, this time using only her head to perform the obeisance. “I am honored to meet you Great mother of the Apsaras. I am you servant. Now and forever.”
As the girl bowed again, her spine shimmered, and she glowed. For all of two seconds, but it was enough.
“You’re an Apsara?”
Kesha nodded. “Devi took me in when I was a very much troubled teenager. I think there may have been no hope for me, but the guild found me, and Devi welcomed me into the fold.”
Vee raised her eyebrows. “You’re good at keeping secrets. Great poker face.”
Kesha’s smile disappeared. “I’m sorry I had to lie to you. I had no choice. It was for your own safety.”
Vee nodded and forced a smile onto her face. She didn’t feel like smiling. She didn’t feel like being nice. In fact, she felt like throwing up.
“You’re not pregnant, are you?” asked Radhima appearing at Vee’s side.
“Aargh,” Vee exclaimed. “No. I’m not pregnant. I thought you said you weren’t senile?”
Radhima let out a loud bark of laughter, Raj joined in, and Devi admonished Vee with a, “Have some respect young lady.”
Vee wanted to remind her mother that she was twenty-six, and she was pretty sure that she was no longer classified as being a young lady.
“Don’t kid yourself. You’ll be sixty-seven and still be a young lady to them.”
“Thanks. Way to make me feel better,” Vee said stalking toward the table. She took a seat and opened the leather folder that had been placed at her seat. She reread the presentation that her mom and Kesha had slaved over, confirming all points, other than her feathered stalker had been covered.
The door opened as she completed her first pass, and three women and a man entered the room.
Devi and Raj rose and went to them to shake their hands. As Vee made to rise as well, a voice beside her said, “You stay put. They must come to you.” Vee was surprised to find Syama now stood at her side, with Akil guarding the door.
At her right hand, her grandmother agreed with Syama. “When they come to you, then you stand to receive their greeting. Do not bow or touch them.”
This was one of the strangest experiences that Vee had ever had. She obeyed and watched as the tallest of the three women completed her greeting of Vee’s mother. The Guild member was tall, her form curvaceous and her eyes sparkling. She exuded an aura of power, but Vee also read humility and serenity in her too.
She wore a pale blue silk skirt and over it a matching pale blue coat which appeared to be handmade and shot with gold. The collar and lapels were bordered with a wide band of gold-threaded patterns that glinted with jewels.
She wore a nose-ring, and giant hooped earrings that touched her shoulders. “Ceremonial dress,” supplied Radhima.
Behind her, a second woman followed, her own clothing a similar pale color, this time ice white with the barest hint of green. Vee studied the woman’s aura, which appeared as edges in a dark shadow. Her bearing was equally regal, but her expression was cooler, her gaze darting around the room and falling on Vee. Her eyes narrowed just the tiniest bit before she caught herself and pulled calm over her that appeared as a physical veil.
Vee knew before her grandmother spoke in her ear that this guild-member would have to be watched. “Ruvani Ghai. When she gets to you, tell her to drop her glamor. And be pleasant, remain calm as you speak,” Radhima whispered in her ear.
The first guild member drew alongside Vee and smiled, the dimple in her cheek deepening as she fell to her knees. Vee got to her feet and waited as the woman completed her obeisance.
“This is Ushara Naga. The High Mistress of the Guild. She’s the boss.”
Vee smiled as the woman got to her feet. For the shortest moment, Vee was at a loss as to what to say, but her grandmother’s voice guided her. “Namaste Mother Ushara. Peace be with you.”
Ushara smiled, her dimples deepening as she showed her happiness at the meeting. “Great Mother of Apsaras. It is my great honor to serve you. I am your humble hand, in this life and the next.”
Vee forced herself to remain in control of her eyebrows. Ushara stepped aside and drifted down the table to seat herself beside Devi. Vee was partially aware of the two women embracing each other with the emotional equivalent of two teenage girls.
The next guild member stopped before Vee, her spine stiff as she dropped to the floor. She performed the greeting and got to her feet, smiling at Vee. The woman’s face was round and bore a hint of a beauty that had been lost to age. She appeared to be in her late forties, dark brown eyes, fair-skinned, and straight hair parted in the center of her head. Her hands jangled with bangles and her garments seemed to hum with an aura that gave Vee the impression of beauty.
Vee smiled and said, “Namaste Mother Ruvani. Peace be with you.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as Vee spoke her name, but she smiled and said, “Great Mother of Apsaras. It is my great honor to serve you. I am your humble hand, in this life and the next.”
She stepped away, and Vee was aware of Ushara’s condemnation.
“She wasn’t dismissed by you. Remind her about the glamor now.”
“Oh, Mother Ruvani?”
Ruvani paused on her way to take a seat at Raj’s left. She looked over her shoulder at Vee and waited.
Smiling, Vee said, “We’re holding this meeting with the utmost openness and trust in each other. There will be no need for glamors here.”
Ruvani’s eyes narrowed and her cheeks grew redder. But she inclined her head. “As you wish, Mother of Apsaras. I apologize for forgetting.”
Vee was tempted to tell her that she’d seen the woman draw the glamor over herself after she’d entered the room, but she suspected that would not be very diplomatic.
“You learn well, young grasshopper.”
The third woman to greet Vee was a woman named Keiron Armitage. The woman’s blonde hair hung in ringlets around her shoulders, the color accepted by the pale pink of her ceremonial garb. She voiced her greetings and Vee returned her blessi
ngs. The woman exuded a bouncy energy and Vee felt herself tempted to smile.
The last to greet her was a man named, Rohit Soheil. “He’s Keiron’s husband. Ushara is widowed, and Ruvani is married but currently estranged from her husband.”
Vee got the feeling—from the tone in her grandmother’s voice—that she was not a fan of Ruvani. For whatever reason, Vee shared that emotion.
Vee took her seat and Devi cleared her throat. “Ushara would you like to call the meeting to order? Kesha will be recording the meeting.”
Ushara nodded and spoke a few lines in Sanskrit that Vee understood meant she was calling upon the gods to bless their meeting.
Then Ushara looked over at Vee and said, “This is quite a report. I’m shocked that the Demon Horde has made such inroads in so short a space of time.” She paused and studied the report again. “May I ask how you know of this?”
Vee smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t divulge my source. Even the FBI do not know him other than what I believe is a pseudonym.”
Ushara nodded but Ruvani scowled, leaning forward to study Vee’s face. “How are we to know that this information is to be trusted if we can’t confirm the source?”
Vee pursed her lips. “You’re going to have to trust me on that. I’m not in a position to lie and there’s too much at stake for political games.”
Keiron cleared her throat. “What do you need from us? Considering you’re going to be doing much of the heavy lifting, it’s all we can do to offer what help we can.”
Vee glanced at her mother, her eyes urging Devi to respond. Vee had little idea of what she could expect from the Guild, let alone what she was in a position to demand.
“We’ll need tactical support,” said Devi.
Now that was not what Vee had expected.
Ushara nodded. “I can arrange that. We have a special ops team we can put at your disposal.”
“We can offer you an arsenal of pey weaponry with a focus on ammunition,” Keiron added.
