"The thoughts in your head are the whispers of the Lord," the Hora said. "I have already given you your long-awaited prophecy. If you wish to prove the Fate wrong, you are welcome to try."
CHAPTER 8
I was back in the Moon House again. Kesar watched me as I was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. The yellow light shimmered dimly from the lanterns. They cast dancing shadows on the walls.
"Are you not well, my lady?" Kesar said and placed her hand on my forehead to feel my temperature.
"No, I’m not," I mumbled in a dry voice.
Then I tried to sit up again. Kesar helped put soft pillows behind my back. My throat felt raw. My body was burning up from all the shock I had gone through in the last two days.
"I think you might be sick," she said then turned to the other maidens. "Go bring the juice for the lady quickly."
I rubbed my throbbing temples. The images of the creepy Hora and his prediction of my future doom still orbited around my head. Also, there was this stupid competition they had agreed upon just to put me on a chopping board. The whole being-in-the-illusion thing started to get too real for my comfort. No matter how creative my imagination was, I couldn't have invented all this to make my life miserable.
A moment later, the other maidens walked in, holding a golden goblet on a golden tray. Kesar took the cup from the tray very cautiously. She handed it to me. The drink looked like clear apple juice and smelled of delicious herbs to my nose. I almost dropped it because my hand was so weak. Kesar took the goblet from me again.
"Careful, my lady," she said. "You're still in shock."
"I'm just living in a nightmare, that's all," I said. Kesar held the cup to my lips as I gingerly sipped the sweet delicious juice. A heavenly taste flowed into my mouth, and I started gulping the drink more earnestly. The sweetness enveloped my tongue and soothed the burning sore in my throat.
"Slow down...you're going to choke," Kesar warned and I did choke, but just a little.
I gasped, wiping my mouth with my hand. "What is this?"
"The Soma Juice," Kesar answered, wiping my lips with a handkerchief. "It's a holy drink. The beverage can cure you of diseases and restore your strength."
"What? Like the nectar of the Hindu gods?" I said, not caring anymore whether it was true or some myth.
Kesar nodded.
"The Soma Juice is consumed only by the gods and their Brahmin priests," she explained. "Its partial ingredients include hallucinogenic mushrooms, honey, cannabis, blue lotus, milk, and pomegranate."
"For real?"
"Finish the drink, my lady, so you shall feel better in no time."
I did and felt like I could run around the whole house ten times without losing my breath.
"Tell me, Kesar, whether the stuff about avatars and gods is real here," I said. "Am I not going crazy?"
She smiled an apologetic smile and shook her head.
"It is all true, my lady," Kesar said. "Here is the central power of the Meru gods. The gods have inspired a number of births in our Holy Land. Their children you have just met are our protectors. The King and Queens have placed their hope on all of them, but the Prophecy says that the last one shall be sent by the Great Lord himself. He or she will be our savior."
"And you think it's me?"
"You have heard the Hora's prediction," she said. "We need your help."
"And what does it have to do with me of all people?" I said. "I mean, look at me. I'm not even from your world and the others don't want me to be any part of it either. So why me?"
"Not all of them," she said.
"But I just want to go home!" I said a bit louder than I had meant to. Suddenly, a spark of thought ignited in my brain. The Moonstone teleported me hundreds of light years from the present, or was it from the future now? The stone spiral and its weird function must have been the reason why I was here. I had to find it. It might work the other way around if I get back to reactivate the spiral again. I turned to Kesar and grabbed both of her arms, causing her to look at me in surprise.
"Do you know if there is a stone spiral around here?" I asked. I was sure the spiral was the gateway through time and space. It was an ancient wormhole or some sort of holy portal. If I found it again, I could somehow bring myself back to the present — to the world where I belonged.
"What stone spiral, my lady?" she said with a questioning frown.
"You know, a spiral that shaped like a giant disc," I said. "It has carved patterns and a seven-headed Naga on top. It must be somewhere around here."
Kesar still looked at me with a clueless expression. I then snatched my satchel up and pulled out my drawing pad, which by some weird miracle, was still there. Kesar observed my frantic attempt to find the spiral picture.
"Here it is!" I said and flipped the page to show her. "It also has a white crystal ball inside it. The thing emits brilliant light into the sky. There was a lunar eclipse as far as I remember. Do you know where this structure is? It must be somewhere in the south of your capital."
"I'm afraid I don't know about the spiral you're speaking of," Kesar said blankly. "We're not familiar with such a fascinating object."
"Your people built a freaking time machine, and you don't know it?!" I yelled in frustration. Kesar was almost on the verge of panicking tears. She lowered her head in shame.
"I'm so sorry, my lady, it was not my intention to anger you," Kesar said with a bow. It made me feel bad for taking it out on her. I released Kesar from my tight grip and sat back in disappointment.
"No, I'm sorry Kesar," I said. "It's not your fault. I'm just very stressed from all the changes here."
She kept looking at me with those sympathetic eyes.
"I know," she said, patting the back of my hand to soothe me. "You have a great burden placed upon you. Anyone would behave this way."
I managed a half-hearted smile.
"My lady, I must go now," she said to me. "You should get some sleep. Tomorrow the others will bring you to the Capital City."
With that, she bowed and left the room. Everyone else followed her. I collapsed back on the bed with a heavy sigh. How strange that she didn't know about the spiral. Or she didn't want to tell me? Maybe I had to find it myself. But now, I needed to think of an escape plan and make it quick.
~*~
I clutched my bag closer to my side and tiptoed towards the chamber doors. My hands fumbled over the wooden latch and then pulled it aside. I held my breath as the doors gave a faint groan. I slowly poked my head through the threshold. No one was around. Then I slipped myself out of the room.
I was careful not to make any noise, but my heart thumped loudly against my rib cage. I had never run away before. This was more thrilling than I had expected.
"Where are you going?" a familiar soft voice spoke from behind me.
"Oh, holy Jesus tap dancing Christ!" I jumped and turned around to see Kesar standing there. She smiled at me.
"Who's Jesus?"
"Oh, Kesar! You scared me half to death!" I said, putting my hand over my pounding heart.
"Forgive me, my lady," she said with a bow. "I'm just surprised you're already up at this dawn hour."
"Er... I'm...an early bird...an early bird rises early," I lied.
"Good that you're well prepared." Kesar smiled, seeing that I was already dressed and packed. "The rest of us are also ready to leave."
"Oh right," I breathed and gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I can't wait!"
We heard voices of people approaching. I looked past Kesar to find two girls with the golden-armored boy from last night walking towards us. A horde of guards followed behind. I didn't think I could ever get used to seeing them. Their dazzling appearances were...godly.
Kesar turned and bowed at them.
The same girl in sparkly green tunic walked up to me and smiled.
The other girl, who was a bit taller than me, studied my face as if it held a secret script she couldn't decipher. The boy behind her almost glowed litera
lly as the sun began to peek over the horizon. I frowned back, not knowing what they were going to do.
"Don't be afraid," the girl in a green dress said. "We're not here to cause you any harm."
"Uh-huh," I said, glancing at the guards behind them. "That sounds very convincing."
"Heed my words, strange girl," the taller girl said. "You are the one who brought all this nonsense. Now we are in the same boat."
"Please, Tusita," the boy said. "Don't scare her even more. She's the Prophesied One. Look, she even has a Kennari as her handmaiden! She's special."
I blushed though I had no idea what it meant.
Then the green-robed girl took my hand and gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, we shall protect you. My name is Tepi and here are Tusita and Atith."
"I already know you," I said. "You stood against that Issarak brat for me."
"Good that you remember," Tusita said. "I won't let that Murugan's son rule everyone. He will pull all his dirty tricks against you, so you must stick with us."
"But why?" I said. "Why do you want to help me?"
"Why? Because you don't know what you got your butt into, and we will teach you how to save it, understand?" she said.
"Tusita, enough of that!" Tepi said. "It's not her fault. We are in this together now."
Then we heard the sound of horns in the distance.
"It's time," Tepi said and then pulled me by the wrist. "We must not linger."
As Kesar said, everyone was ready to leave. The horse-drawn carts were waiting for us. A troop of men stood at the head of the procession. Three enormous elephants waited at the back. The soldiers held banners on both sides. Some of the maidens and dancers also came along. I saw the white-robed Brahmins at the far end. Among them was a black-cloaked figure. The Hora mounted on his ornately outfitted elephant afterward.
A moment later, we saw Issarak appeared on horseback. He was holding his golden spear and looked as if he was ready to stab someone with it. Then he smirked at me when he caught me staring. Another animal's wail sounded. An enormous armor-skinned mammal trotted through the crowd. My jaw hung open at the sight of it. The four-legged beast came closer towards us. It was the biggest rhinoceros I'd ever seen. Its thick armor-like skin formed large folds over its back and hind legs. A glossy single horn pointed forward from its bulky head. The beast looked like it was left over from the prehistoric age.
Everyone quickly parted way to the giant creature. On the animal's back was the red-clad girl. Some of the guards were also running alongside her mount.
Once the girl reached us, she gave me a dirty look and rode her beast past me. I was too stunned to react.
"Show off," Tusita muttered under her breath.
"Oh my goodness," I gasped. "Did she just ride that thing past us, or am I imagining it?"
"The mount is a gift from her father when she came out of age. Almost every avatar has one. I prefer horses though," Atith told me with a casual shrug as if people ride rhinos every day.
"And who is she again?" I asked.
"That's Morokot," Tepi said. "She is the daughter of the Fire God, Agni."
She pronounced the name, ‘Ahk-nee’.
I looked back at Morokot. Her long sun-bleached hair swayed like flames to the beast's slow movement. Her red embroidered silk tunic left her tone arms bare. She was quite tough-looking, too. Morokot steered her gigantic rhino towards Issarak's horse. The others joined them in a gossip, laughing, occasionally glancing in my direction. I didn't have to hear to know that they were obviously joking about me.
"Ignore them," Tepi told me. "They're just some foolish brats."
The priests came forward and bowed at us, saying it was time to leave. I looked around and realized someone was missing.
"Where is Kesar?"
"Your Kennari?" Tusita said. "Worry not, she's coming along with us."
The twin brothers waved to us. Atith turned on his heel and walked towards them. They mounted on white handsome horses. The elephants trumpeted. Their gold encased tusks gleamed in the sunlight. The Brahmins climbed atop them and settled on the wooden seats fastened on their backs.
The palace maids disappeared into their own carriages. The girls motioned to me to board a huge golden carriage that could hold up to six people. There was no seat inside except a wide rug on the wooden floor.
Tepi and Tusita sat opposite me. I parted the curtains of the window and looked outside. I still hadn't seen Kesar.
"She will get there even before us," Tepi said to me as if she could read my mind. Tepi had a sweet earthy scent about her that calmed me down a little.
I nodded back at them.
A sharp heavy hum of a bronze gong sounded. Our carriage started moving at last. We sat in silence as we made our pilgrimage forward. The only things I heard were the crackling and squeaking noises from the numerous wooden carts.
Once in a while, the elephants wailed. The horses snorted as they galloped alongside us. I could even hear heavy thuds of the rhino's giant feet up ahead. This felt like being in a circus caravan.
They told me it would take at least a whole day to get from the City of Koh Ker to the Capital.
"So, your name is Nikita? What kind of a name is that?" Tusita suddenly said.
"And what kind of a name is Tusita?" I asked her back. Tusita laughed and nudged Tepi with her elbow.
"She's not so bad after all," she said then turned to me. "Well, Tusita means 'Heaven'. That's where my Holy Father lives and where I came from."
"I'm sorry?" I said, not knowing whether she was joking or not.
"Let spare us further distress," she said. "Do you know why you're sent here?"
"Tusita," Tepi said with a warning. "You must not talk lightly of the Prophecy."
"Well," she said. "She should at least know something about her fate, shouldn’t she?"
"How about you tell me?" I said. "I don't have the slightest clue. I woke up in a pit, and no one even cared to leave a note to tell me why."
They exchanged a look with each other.
"Well, I guess we are quite different in this respect then," Tepi said with an understanding nod. "The gods inspired our births with mortal parents. We were taken up by the Queens and raised as their own children."
"So no one dumped you into a pit like me?" I said. They burst out laughing.
"Nikita must be special," Tepi said to Tusita, who shrugged.
"So you're the incarnations of the gods, really?" I said.
"Sort of their mortal versions," Tusita said. "We’re also considered as their holy children."
"How do you know you’re born from the gods?" I said.
"They visited us in the dream, sometimes, in person," Tepi said with a smile.
"Oh dear," I breathed. I never knew divine visitations were real after all.
"The Oracle said there would be a powerful being coming to aid us," Tepi went on. "He or she would be sent by Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva. In the sutras, it is said whenever the Lord incarnates upon the earth, a selected number of Devas, the gods who reside on Mount Meru, also have to send their aspects to support his avatar. Now, they inspired our births to play the same role for the Prophesied One."
"I see," I noted. "But why do the gods have to send their avatars to Earth?"
"Five thousand years ago, the Asuras, who are the enemy of the gods incarnated as human warriors at the end of the third age," Tepi explained. "They caused troubles in the world, creating evil deeds and miseries and corruptions. The Devas could not kill them as it was against the law. So they incarnated as mortals to defeat them in battle."
"Like the tale of Krishna or Rama?" I said.
"Yes, they were the most powerful avatars that ever existed," Tusita said. "But this time, it is different. The Hora said our fate depends on an ordinary human, who will have to carry out an extraordinary quest."
"And you think it is really me?"
They both exchanged an uncertain glance. Tepi turned back to me.
&nb
sp; "If it is true as the Oracle has foretold, you must be the one,” she said.
“But now you must also prove it," Tusita added.
CHAPTER 9
Along the way, people would stop whatever they were doing to stare. Others stood along the roadsides, welcoming our parade. They wore white or red breechcloths with scarves wrapped around their heads. Most men were shirtless. The women were barely covered up either. Young maidens were rarely spotted in the public areas. Naked children ran about, riding their makeshift horses and pretending to be soldiers. The sight was too intriguing to my eyes. I kept observing all that until we heard the horns blew.
"Looks like we're almost there," Tepi said.
Once we reached the borders of the capital, I looked out of the carriage's window again. My eyes tried to take in the panorama of the whole city as we cruised through villages, public markets, gardens, temples, and shrines.
"What are those?" I asked, pointing at tall houses rising high above the ground.
"They're the guard posts," Tepi said. By now she had become my personal guide.
"What is that building?" I said, pointing to a big two-storey wooden building with stone foundation.
"It's the State Hospital," she said. "Sometimes, the twins, Romany and Romanir would go to treat sick people with severe cases there. It's open for people of all casts."
"Oh, you mean the two brothers?"
"Yes, the boys are great physicians," Tusita said. "The best healers in the kingdom, know how to treat anything from a toothache to poisoned sores, and even perform needed surgeries."
I was impressed.
"How could they become doctors at such a young age?" I said.
"No unduly surprise," Tusita said with a shrug. "The twins are the avatars of Aswins, the twin gods of medicines."
I still wasn't sure if I was comfortable with the idea of coexisting with divine beings, but everyone didn't seem to mind talking about gods like they were real. Or maybe they were real in this world.
"Anyway, what about that stone building?" I turned to a big T-shaped structure.
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