Goddess of Gotham

by Amanda Lees

  ‘We can still be friends, right?’

  ‘Uh, s-sure,’ stammered Hannah. Charley said nothing. Kumari watched them walk away and felt a pain shoot through her heart. The pain stayed in her chest, aching as she wandered home. Dismally, she realised she had broken her rule. She was all alone. Luckily, no kidnappers appeared. Instead, she saw someone else. Someone who also thought she was weird. Chico. And he, too, was on his own.

  ‘Hey . . . ’ Kumari half-smiled.

  Chico kind of mumbled something about just seeing Hannah and Charley. Then he was gone, passing her by. Just like all her other friends. Fat tears rolled up from under her eyelids and spilled down her ashen face. All her life she had wanted friends and now they were lost. She was friendless once more. She simply could not bear it. A muffled squawk sounded from the bag.

  ‘At least I’ve got you,’ whispered Kumari.

  But, as much as she loved Badmash, it was no longer enough. She needed her friends back. Apart from Ma and the girls, they were all she had. And then it came to her in a flash, a bolt of lightning to the brain. She knew what she had to do. Had known for a long time, in fact.

  What was the use in being a goddess if she was never going to get back home? Face it, Kumari. There is no way back to the Kingdom. The World Beyond is your world now. You have to make your life here. At least if she chose to become 100% mortal she could live out a normal span. And be normal. Truly fit in, just like she’d always wanted. She was sick of being different from her friends. Today’s slip-up made her feel more alone than ever. If she became mortal, she could finally be one of them. She could stop pretending, because she really would be just like them, and just like the people who had become her family. CeeCee and LeeLee were like the sisters she had never had and Ma did her best to be her mother.

  Renouncing her Powers would be one huge step. Vast. Immense. Scary. But things could not go on as they were. She needed her friends.

  Before she could change her mind, Kumari turned and ran back to the subway. She still had time before Ma got home. She could just about get there and back. All the way back Downtown, she talked to herself non-stop to keep the doubts at bay. Not out loud, of course. Couldn’t risk anyone else thinking she was nuts. Fa la la la la. Fiddly dee. At last, here was her stop.

  34th Street for the Empire State Building. She gazed up and up.

  The tallest building in Manhattan, it was perfect for her purposes. She rode the elevator to the Observatory. The ticket cost nearly all the money she had left. This was so important, though. She hoped Ma would forgive her. She would just have to sweep some more floors, buy Ma a late birthday present. Stepping out on to the promenade, the view swam, dizzying, towards her.

  New York City, laid out beneath her feet. It felt like she was on top of the world. No time to waste, though. She would have to find a quiet corner. Groups of people came and went. Finding a moment alone seemed impossible. A party of tourists snapped away, taking endless pictures. At last, they wandered off to the next photo-op. All of a sudden, she was on her own.

  Seizing her chance, Kumari threw open both arms and howled to the heavens. The Renunciation Rite had been drummed into her since she was a child, in case of emergencies. Not even she could mess it up. Or at least she hoped not.

  ‘TYAGA, TYAGA

  SARVA TYAGA KARI

  NIJA DHARMA YAYA

  TYAGA KARI !’

  Stamping her feet and shaking her tail, Kumari gave it all she’d got, crying out to the elements, demanding they do her bidding. She could feel a blast of sunlight upon her face. Oh good, she’d got that one right. Then the wind started to whip up, first a breeze then a blast. Dimly she heard a man’s voice.

  ‘They said it was changeable, but this is ridiculous!’

  The sound of footsteps running for shelter as the wind tried to lift her off her feet. She clung on to the balustrade, determined to see this through at all costs, sinking deeper and deeper into herself, at one with her chant. A crack of thunder snapped her out of her trance. There was rain falling on her face. What had been clear skies were angry and grey. A flash of lightning ripped through the clouds. Then another and another. All at once, a fork shot forth, a rod of fire aimed at her heart.

  It was as if it was meant for her her, an arrow from the heavens. She knew then she had made a terrible mistake. The gods were infuriated. One of their own had rejected them. It was an unforgivable act. Horrified, Kumari realised what she had done. But it was too late to reverse it. At the last moment, the lightning struck her amulet and bounced harmlessly off. She felt its energy sizzle and dissipate. As quickly as it came, the storm died away. All that was left was the rain, mingling with the tears on her face. Brushing them aside, she patted Badmash.

  ‘I’m free,’ she whispered.

  Somehow the words rang hollow.

  Strange that it should be her amulet that saved her. Almost like it was a message from Mamma.

  She could not remember anything of her journey home nor of her subsequent trudge from the subway. It was only when she saw the person waiting on her doorstep that the brain fug cleared.

  ‘Chico! What are you doing here?’

  She was too tired to care what he thought of her.

  ‘I came to see you,’ said Chico. ‘Thought you might like to have that soda with me.’

  ‘With you? Um, OK.’

  Had it had been worth it?

  From now on, she would be one of them. Mortal. No longer a goddess. Normal.

  Trying to smile, she said, ‘I’d love a soda.’

  Things would never be the same.

  KUMARI’S JOURNAL

  (TOP SECRET. FOR MY EYES ONLY.

  EVERYONE ELSE KEEP OUT!

  THIS MEANS YOU!)

  The World Beyond

  June 3rd – 180 days to go

  Funny, but I still keep counting down the days, even though it doesn’t matter any more. I mean, I’m mortal now. I have no idea how long I have left. That is so weird – not knowing how long you have to live. It’s like what Ma says – ‘death don’t make no appointments.’ Anyway, I feel different. At least, I think I do. It’s kind of strange and at times I feel sad but it’s also like a weight’s been lifted from me. Like I don’t have to try so hard but just be as in, be normal. As in, be me, Kumari. Now I do normal things the same as everyone else.

  Like we went to Orchard Beach this weekend and it was INCREDIBLE. I loved the sand, I loved the sea, I loved everything about it. We took the train all the way out there, to this place called Pelham Bay Park, me, CeeCee and LeeLee. Ma had to work, of course, Saturday being her busiest day. So CeeCee and LeeLee were in charge, which meant they basically let me do what I liked. They sat and read while I fooled around in the sea, ate ice creams and had the best time. The sea was weird but great – salty so it helps you float!

  I’m going to ask Ms Martin about that tomorrow. How come salt helps you float? I mean, it’s not like if you eat lots of it you float better in the bath. At least, I don’t think so. Anyway, the sea certainly beats swimming in a freezing lake, although it is a lot busier. There were so many people there -lots of them just lying on the sand. When I asked CeeCee and Leelee what they were doing they said, ‘Sunbathing.’ Sunbathing?! You don’t bathe in the sun. I mean, ridiculous!

  But everyone was doing it, taking off as many clothes as they could. I wondered if it was some kind of ritual they practised here on the first really hot day, like a sun salutation, but I didn’t want to ask in case I looked stupid. Not that LeeLee and CeeCee would have called me stupid – they kind of treat me as their personal pet. Like I’m a little odd, but they indulge me all the same and throw me lots of treats.

  I don’t think I’d even try to tell them about the goddess thing. Not that it would bother them. Nothing really bothers LeeLee and CeeCee. They’d probably just say, ‘Whatever.’ Anyway, the goddess thing is over. Finito. For good. And it’s already working. Hannah, Charley and I are once again hanging out. It was really simple in the en
d – I mean I’m normal now so it’s easier to act it. It was Hannah who came up and said ‘You coming to Jimmy Jazz?’ and we all went just like that. Maybe they can see that I’m different and just like them now. Whatever, it’s worked. I have my friends back.

  I wish Hannah and Charley had been at the beach with me. It would have been a real blast having them around. We could have giggled at the guys flexing their pecs and the girls trying to act like they didn’t care. There was one guy who looked a bit like Chico, kind of moody in a good way. He kept his shades on all the time and was just staring into space. His friends were laughing and kidding around, but this guy was really cool. It made him seem ten times older than the others – like he was more sophisticated. I wonder what he was thinking about. Probably nothing! He could have been cool and then again he could have been really dumb. It’s sometimes hard to tell.

  Chico is not dumb – not at all. He’s really smart, but in a good way. Like he doesn’t show it off – he just knows things and talks about them. When we went for that soda and he talked about his grandpa some more, that was so interesting -all the stuff about what his grandpa teaches him and what he did when he was young. Turns out his grandpa was a boxer, but he doesn’t believe in violence. He says it’s not the way to work things out. That’s why Chico tries never to use his fists.

  It was so great sitting there talking to him but then we both had to go. Ma was due home and Chico had to go help his grandma cook. Now, how cool is that – a guy who likes cooking! He said he’d make me something some day. I don’t know if that was an invitation or not. And then I told him I can’t cook and he said he’d teach me. Double, double cool -Chico giving me cooking lessons!! But then we both had to rush, seeing as we spent so long saying goodbye and now I’m not sure if he meant any of it. I hope so, I really do.

  CHAPTER 15

  ‘Class, I have an announcement,’ said Ms Martin. ‘This year , for the first time, we are entering the Future Thinkers Essay Contest. This year’s title is: No Place Like Home. The best entry goes through to the state round. You have plenty of time to think about it as the closing date for entries is not until September which means, I’m sure, you will put in plenty of work over the summer break.’

  Ms Martin stared especially hard at Eddie as she said this, whose response was to sneer and ostentatiously pick his nose. Kumari’s ears pricked. She had never entered a competition. She immediately began to Think. She was still Thinking as they spilled out of school.

  ‘See you guys later,’ she said to Hannah and Charley.

  ‘You not coming to Jimmy Jazz?’ asked Hannah.

  ‘Not today. Got to Think.’

  ‘You’ve got to think?’ echoed Charley. ‘You can’t think and shop at same time?’

  Jimmy Jazz was just their favourite place to go and try on stuff after school. They hardly ever bought anything but the sales assistants didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘I’ve got a lot of Thinking to do,’ said Kumari with a grin. ‘You should try it some time.’

  ‘Funny. OK, see you later, you weirdo.’

  ‘Less of the weirdo stuff,’ retorted Kumari.

  ‘OK, see you later Ms Normal.’

  They tripped away down the road, waving and giggling. Normal. That was nice. She wished for a moment she had gone with them. No, this was important. For some reason, she really, really wanted to do well in the essay contest. She would have to come up with something extra special if she was to stand any chance. Today was a Thursday which meant CeeCee and LeeLee were at chess club. The perfect opportunity to Think, although it meant walking alone.

  Walking alone was not so good. It was too warm for beanies now so she was more conspicuous. A baseball cap didn’t work as well as she couldn’t tuck her hair into it. But it was such a glorious day, too nice to be cooped up in the apartment. Maybe she’d stop off on the way home. Do some Thinking in her park. The park was the perfect place for Thinking, seeing as it required lots of concentration. She had never really believed the RHM when he said that but it turned out it was true.

  No one else came to the park, probably because it was not really a park at all but more like a tiny patch of wasteland where some kind of building had once stood. Now, weeds poked up through bits of old wall and wound their way over burnt-out timbers. Kumari rather liked the weeds. At least they proved that something green could grow.

  OK, so it was not Central Park. Or even the Bronx Zoo. They both had lots of green, but Central Park meant a subway ride. There were other parks closer by but in them she always felt like the city was still on top of her. As for the Zoo, she couldn’t go back after the Badmash incident with the cute female cockatiel. Although that wasn’t exactly Badmash’s fault. How was he to know he wasn’t supposed to let her out? Vultures had feelings too. Boy, Thinking was hard. All these other thoughts kept rushing in. Come on, Kumari, concentrate.

  No Place Like Home.

  And there wasn’t really, was there? Every day she tried to kid herself. Trying to find things she liked about the World Beyond when in truth things here were getting worse. And all the while her heart was somewhere else, somewhere she would never see again.

  ‘Enough, Kumari,’ she whispered fiercely. No more tears. Remember what Mamma said.

  ‘I miss you,’ she cried aloud although there was no one around to hear. The constant hum of traffic blurred out most sounds. This was an oasis in a concrete jungle. A jungle that was nothing like the frangipani fields back home. Back in the hidden kingdom . . .

  Simon Razzle smiled in jubilation. Finally, he had spotted her. The girl was a mere fifty metres away in that patch of scrubby wasteland. Pulling in, he parked. Finding the kid had proved a challenge. He couldn’t risk hiring a private detective. With what he planned to do, the stakes were just too high. The simplest thing had seemed to be to go and look for her, drive round and round the neighbourhood. After all, he had a rough idea thanks to the newspaper clippings helpfully sent by the broker.

  Only now that same broker was proving troublesome, refusing to take no for an answer. Business was business. They still wanted their cut. There had been only one thing to do and that was to get his hands on the girl first. Otherwise, they could demand any price if Kumari fell into their clutches. So far they had failed but he had not been able not risk it any longer. And now he had found her, he had to act fast.

  ‘Aark! Aarrk!’

  ‘Badmash! You made me jump.’

  ‘Aaaaark, aaaaaaaaaaark!’

  ‘Badmash, what’s the matter?’

  From nowhere, they appeared. The kidnappers. Oh my god, they were out.

  ‘Hey, goddess,’ sneered the first. She recognised him, the one that she had kicked.

  ‘Time to go,’ said the second. It was his buddy from behind the car.

  ‘Stay away from me!’ yelled Kumari. ‘Touch me and I’ll turn you all to stone.’

  ‘Go ahead,’ said the first. ‘Show us what you can do, goddess.’

  Clearly he had never forgiven her for the kick. There was a nasty glint in his eyes now. Kumari’s fingers felt for her amulet. Mamma. If only you could hear me.

  ‘I’m waiting,’ he said. ‘Come on, baby. Petrify me.’

  His cronies sniggered and moved towards her, closing in. Kumari stared at them, helpless. Renouncing her Powers had been a big mistake. But there was no going back now. Maybe she could bluff it out. Convince them she was still dangerous.

  ‘This is your last warning,’ she said. ‘Come any closer and you’re concrete.’

  Above her head, Badmash kept up his din, frantically flapping and cawing.

  ‘Shut your bird up!’ snapped Kidnapper No 1.

  ‘Make me,’ said Kumari. Inside her guts felt like chewed gum, but there was no way she’d let them see that. Dropping into a Karali stance, she kicked out with her leg. Satisfyingly, it contacted, right on the bone again. The crack sounded like a whiplash. Pain contorted the man’s face.

  Infuriated, the kidnapper lunged for her.


  ‘Let’s go now, girlie.’

  ‘She’s not going anywhere,’ came a shout. Kumari whipped her head round. Chico! Behind him, the entire baseball team on their way back from practice.

  Wow, it was like her amulet had actually worked. If only.

  ‘These guys bothering you?’ demanded Chico.

  ‘Oh, yes!’ said Kumari.

  ‘Leave her alone,’ snarled Chico to the main man.

  ‘Get lost, kid,’ the kidnapper snapped back.

  With that, they piled in, bats flying everywhere. The fight was short but bloody. Finally, the kidnappers beat a retreat, heavily outnumbered.

  ‘We’re not through with you!’ yelled Kidnapper No 1. ‘We’re coming back for you, goddess.’

  His bedraggled band did not look so brave as they were chased away. Still, Kumari shivered as they disappeared from sight. Those men had brought her here, to the World Beyond. They had stolen her from her home, from Happiness. And for what? Why? She was still none the wiser. Even as Kumari wracked her brains, she was distracted by a shout.

  ‘Chico, man, are you OK?’

  Two of his team mates tried to grab him. Too late, he swayed and slumped to the ground.

  ‘Chico! Oh no . . . ’

  Kumari fell to her knees beside him.

  His face was pale, the bruises already beginning to form. Kumari bent forward. He was muttering something. And then his eyes flicked open and he stared into hers.

  ‘That guy, he called you goddess.’

  ‘Don’t try to talk,’ Kumari said. ‘Has somebody called an ambulance?’

  She felt doubly bad as she gazed at his damaged face. Chico hated to fight.

  In the distance, sirens could be heard, getting closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a squeal of brakes, then someone shouting, ‘Stay where you are.’

  A couple of the team members appeared, panting, from the street.

  ‘It’s the cops.’

  ‘They got those guys.’

  ‘Hang on, Chico man, here’s the ambulance.’

  None of them noticed the fancy car parked a short distance away or the man crouched low in the driver’s seat.