by SGD Singh
Zaiden stood, reaching into his pocket. Satish, Dinesh, and Sashi had similar devices and he knew they would know it the moment he was gone.
“Give Asha and Aquila my congratulations.”
Lexi's shoulders shook with sobs, but she didn't reply.
“Goodbye, Lexi.”
Chapter 10
Asha was determined not to heal her feet. The sensation that they were falling off was a sweet reminder of the hours she'd spent celebrating with those she loved most in the world.
She took Aquila's hand, and they ran between the two lines of friends and family, stumbling with laughter as Ursala and Lexi shouted lewd comments at them. Well, that meant BapuJi had left the party, at least.
Too soon they climbed the stairs to the private jet that would take them on their honeymoon. They waved down at the crowd like celebrities as their friends whistled and cheered, still throwing petals. Ursala threw a pineapple, and Aquila caught it and threw it back at him as the crowd erupted into laughter.
Then the stairs were folding toward them, and the jet's door closed, sealing behind them.
“Holy shit.” Asha looked around the cabin. “What is this, the Honeymoon Suite Airplane?”
A pile of gifts dominated one corner, held in place with silk netting. In the dining nook, food to last two days waited in glass domes. A giant bed took up the rest of the space, with an open door revealing a spacious bathroom. The lighting looked like candles, and the only indication that this was an aircraft was the windows, which were hidden by silk curtains. The cockpit was sealed off behind a wall behind a large flat-screen television mounted between paintings.
“It's a bit much,” Aquila said, but before Asha could respond he lunged forward and swept her into his arms as if she were weightless. He carried her to the bed that was practically drowned in garlands of flowers. “Not that I'm complaining.”
Aquila brought his lips to hers then, and their sweetness was just as magical as the first time she'd tasted him, so many nights ago, in a moonlit orchard in Punjab. Asha melted into his arms as Aquila lowered her to the bed, his eyes dark with desire as his weight pressed her into the mattress. She felt his thoughts, which were not thoughts at all, but rather a raging storm of longing.
She forgot her sore feet as Aquila's hands found their way beneath her dress to travel from her ankles to her hips, leaving delicious trails of icy fire to ignite her every cell with joyous anticipation. Asha could hardly breathe as Aquila unzipped her dress and tossed the layers of silk and embroidery aside in a swift movement. His own clothes were over his head and forgotten, and his hands back against her skin in an instant.
Asha arched her back to bring her own skin against his smooth chest. Aquila's strength and beauty took her breath away, and she pulled him closer even as the devouring hunger for him threatened to consume her. This need for him should have felt familiar by now, but it never failed to astonish her with its intensity, leaving her in weak-kneed awe.
Aquila's mouth left hers, and Asha opened her eyes to meet his again. She lay, breathless in his arms, and watched his eyes fill with tears as joy filled both their hearts to overflowing. Asha felt her soul soar as Aquila's lips returned to their rightful place against her own, then soft as petals against her neck, light as a feather's touch along her collarbone, until his lips found the Eternity Mark over her heart.
Her head fell back, a moan escaping her that clearly delighted Aquila, and Asha was barely aware of the plane taking off as she let herself fall into endless pleasure.
† † †
Asha awoke hours later, her body still wrapped in the silky warmth of Aquila's skin. She gently brushed his hair away from his cheek, and kissed him once before reaching for a silk robe that hung near the bed. Pushing a curtain aside, she looked out at the clouds. They wouldn't arrive in Bhutan for a few more hours, at least.
Asha glanced back at Aquila and hesitated, fighting the temptation to rejoin him. Her eyes traveled along his muscled back, one sculpted arm slung across the pillows and his hip just visible. The thought of the rest of him, hidden beneath the sheet, sent her pulse racing.
Asha turned away, reminding herself to focus, and began to search through the gifts. She wanted to find the one that had upset Zaiden and Lexi, the one from the furry dragon in Tapas. When she'd described the creature to Sashi later, the Healer said it was likely a Prazasti, a reclusive creature with the ability to foresee danger and on rare occasions, give gifts of warnings.
The present wasn't hard to find. The organic wrapping, while beautiful, stood out from the pearly, lacy paper covered with gold and silver ribbons topped with silk flowers. Asha carefully untied the elaborate knot, set the wrapping on the dining table, and sat down.
She looked at the moss-covered box some more.
She could no longer ignore her feeling of dread. Looking at the box, Asha knew with certainty that whatever it contained was not good news. That it was, in fact, terrible news.
Aquila continued to sleep peacefully, and Asha was even more tempted to join him, to snuggle up with her face against his chest and let his arms wrap around her while she forgot everything.
She set the box on the table and studied the ceiling with a sigh. Knowing she was procrastinating, putting off the inevitable, she rose to choose a different gift.
One of the smallest but most elaborately-wrapped presents caught her eye, and Asha reached for the card:
To Asha & Aquila on this most auspicious occasion
Wishing you an eternity of all the peaceful boredom you deserve.
With love from Lexi & Hua Tseng
Asha smiled, remembering the look of horror on Lexi's face when Asha had answered the question of how she wished to die by admitting she hoped she died at the same instant as Aquila, after growing old surrounded by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, who had all lived in a world peacefully free of monsters.
Careful not to tear the gorgeous paper, Asha opened the present to reveal a simple square of some kind of silver metal. The moment her skin touched it, it began to unfold like a metal flower. Bright and colorful lights shot out and danced around the cabin, projecting floating flowers across the ceiling and walls.
And the room filled with an impossibly loud chorus of Lionel Richie's “Truly”.
Asha fumbled in her rush to shut it off, and it fell to the floor. The lights spun faster and the music played louder.
“Son of a bitch,” she hissed as the music built toward the awful climax. “I swear to God, you guys will pay for this shit…”
Aquila stirred but didn't wake up as he rolled onto his stomach, which caused the sheet to fall further down his hips.
After ten more agonizing seconds, Asha finally figured out how to turn the damn thing off, and the cabin fell into blessed silence and soft candlelight once again.
“Well, that's one present we won't be keeping,” Asha said, already planning to give it to the first kid she happened to meet in Bhutan. “Okay, no more procrastinating.”
Asha looked at the present again for a long minute, then snatched it and lifted the lid in one quick movement, closing her eyes.
She waited. Nothing happened, but her dread did not go away.
Finally, she opened one eye and squinted into the box.
Her knees hit the floor as her legs gave out beneath her. Horror filled every one of her cells with ice.
“Asha!” Aquila was at her side in an instant. “What's wrong? What—”
“Nidhan,” Asha whispered, unable to believe it even as she spoke the words. “That creature gave us a warning of Nidhan's… death. He…”
Aquila took the box from her, and she heard his intake of breath as he looked at the figure within it. A figure that was an unmistakable replica of Nidhan. A figure so brutally killed, if it had been possible for it to have once been alive, it was now painfully and obviously dead.
“No,” he said, letting the box fall, and Aquila's arms were around her, crushing her
against him. “Listen to me. We will not let this happen, okay? Why would that thing give us a warning if there was nothing we could do to stop it, am I right?”
Asha couldn't take her eyes off the grisly contents of the box, which lay scattered across the thick Persian rug.
“Look at me, Asha,” Aquila said, lifting her chin. “We will find a way. There is a way. And we will find it, okay?”
Okay. Asha felt her eyes glow with anger, her temper begging to be let loose. Honeymoon canceled until we find a way to save him.
There's the warrior I married. Aquila wrapped her in his arms again, his lips pressed to her forehead. I pity the creature stupid enough to harm a hair on your brother's head.
Chapter 11
Aquila stood, adjusting his weapons belt, as Asha emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair. “We're in luck,” he told her. “Barindra says there's a Vasana in Bhutan. He says the monks who run the resort will know where to find it.”
“A Vasana? You mean that Tapas immortal knowledge- creature? There's one here? Now?”
“They aren't immortal.” Aquila sat at the table and began eating. “They just live for a really, really long time, somehow tapped into their resident realm's Akashic Record, like an intravenous drip of past thoughts, events, and emotions. Supposedly, this one has been in our realm for five hundred years, so it should know enough about the past to help us with the future, if we can catch it.”
Asha stopped drying her hair and stood still, trying to remember everything she'd learned about the Vasana.
“So, we have to catch the thing, or give it a gift?”
Aquila frowned. “Both, I think. The textbooks are vague, since the creature's so rare. Supposedly once you catch it, it has to answer your question.”
“Oh, we'll catch it.” Asha clapped, crossing the room to the pile of presents in the corner. “And as for the gift,” she spun to face him, rattling a small box, and grinned, “it just so happens we have the perfect thing, thanks to Lexi and Hua Tseng.”
“I'm scared to ask what that is.”
Asha put the box in her pocket, then began checking her weapons as if she were going into combat. “It's a cat-like creature, right? Trust me, it will definitely appreciate this.”
Aquila raised an eyebrow and nodded at her pocket. “You're not gonna show me? A wedding present is for both of us, unless I'm mistaken.”
Asha threw the box to him, and Aquila caught it before it landed in his food.
“Before you open it, though,” Asha said. “I should warn you it involves Lionel Richie.”
Aquila threw the box back at her with a grimace. “No, thanks.”
† † †
The plane landed on a narrow runway near the mountain temple that served as a resort of sorts for the Infernal Guard. Almost as soon as the wheels stopped turning, Asha's falcon was through the door, flying hard, and Aquila rushed to keep up with her.
Do you even know where you're going?
To the head priest. He'll know where to find the Vasana.
Aquila swooped past her, the cool air ruffling his feathers. And you know where he is at the moment?
Sometimes my Seer abilities are stronger than other times. Apparently knowing my brother is in mortal danger is a motivating factor.
Fair enough.
They dove down the side of the cliff toward a temple that clung to the side of the sheer stone as if by magic. Its tiered structure nestled within a bed of greenery, bright white walls glaring against the dark stone at its back. Red roofs the color of blood hung off each structure, shading its many balconies and windows, framed in borders of intricate gold that finished in spikes, as if waiting to impale falling gods. Aquila marveled at the beauty of tree-covered cliffs towering over cultivated fields and orchards in the distance. Colorful prayer flags hung like ragged garlands across the roofs, and Aquila heard bells as Asha shifted and landed on the carved-wood balcony of the highest section of the temple.
He had barely shifted and landed himself before she pushed the closest door open, and Aquila followed her into a room where a group of Buddhist monks were apparently having a meeting. They all seemed startled to find a couple of fully-armed Jodha suddenly in their midst, one of them with glowing eyes and a fierce expression.
Before Asha could start making demands, Aquila folded his hands and bowed low. “Please forgive the intrusion,” he said in Lhotshamkha, hoping they understood. “We are looking for the Vasana. It is very important.”
The head priest rose and approached Asha, studying her intently, and Asha met his gaze for a long moment before she folded her hands and bowed low.
“You are the couple on your honeymoon?” asked the priest in heavily accented English.
“Yes sir, your holiness, sir,” Asha said.
Very smooth.
Thanks.
“And before your honeymoon begins, you must speak to Igga?” He smiled around at the other priests, and a few of them chuckled. “This does not seem like the most auspicious way to start a marriage.”
“No, sir,” said Asha. “But still, if you could please help us find this Igga.”
Aquila bowed low again. “We understand the Vasana is a very hard creature to find—impossible to find, even, if it does not want to be disturbed.”
The priests all laughed at this.
“Igga never wants to be disturbed,” the head priest explained. “And she hasn't been caught in eight hundred years.” But his eyes filled with sympathy. “I see how important it is to you brave young people to try. So someone will show you the way to her.” He swept his arm toward the door and bowed. “Your rooms, of course, will be waiting for you on your return.”
Aquila and Asha bowed low at the same time, and together said, “Thank you, your holiness.”
They followed a younger monk through winding, tapestry-covered corridors, and down several flights of stairs, until they were outside on a patch of grass with prayer flags waving gently above their heads.
They waited while the monk gave instructions to a young boy in a language Aquila didn't recognize, bowed to them, and disappeared back inside.
The boy motioned for the two of them to follow him, then without a word set off at a jog down the steep stone steps that wound along the side of the mountain.
Asha and Aquila followed, and they all jogged without pause through the small village at the bottom of the cliff, then on through an even smaller village, and then along the spaces between wheat fields. The boy finally slowed his pace and stopped, breathless, pointing at the line of trees beyond the field. He nodded once to them, then ran back the way they he'd come.
“So,” Aquila said. “The Vasana is somewhere in the forest. That's specific.”
Asha cursed in Spanish.
Aquila turned in a circle. “Well, we better get searching while there's still daylight.”
Asha closed her eyes, then shook her head. “Nope. I got nothing.”
“Okay, the kid pointed that way, so let's start there. Maybe there's something obvious, like a—”
“Habitat? Cat bed?”
Aquila took her hand. “Yes. Exactly like a cat bed habitat.”
They entered the forest, and Aquila didn't speak, knowing that Asha was waiting for her Seer powers to spark with knowledge of the Vasana's location.
When the open fields were far behind them, Aquila noticed a lone boulder that seemed out of place within the crowd of trees. He pointed to it with his middle finger. “What do you think? That seems a little cat-cavey to me.”
Asha nodded, dropping his hand and jogged to the ancient-looking stone.
“Look,” she whispered. “There's an opening on this side.”
“Why are we whispering?”
Asha shrugged. “She could be asleep.”
Then Asha froze, her eyes shifting to those of her peregrine falcon's. Aquila followed suit just in time to catch, barely, a ripple along the moss covering the rock. Human eyes would never have noticed the creature
that stayed just out of sight, like imagined movement in your peripheral vision.
Should I grab it?
No. She's faster than either of us.
But Asha—
Don't grab her. I got this…
Asha's eyes returned to their usual blue-green and she gazed around casually as she reached into her pocket and brought out the present from Lexi and Hua Tseng. She opened the box and lifted out a silvery round thing that reminded Aquila of a fancy coaster. The next thing he knew the forest had been transformed into a disco as lights and holographs of flowers began to float among the trees and cover the mossy boulder with blooms. Lionel Richie started yelling about how he was truly in love.
Oh, Christ.
I know. But look! It's working!
That's… damn, it's even cuter than a sand cat. Well, at least as cute.
In its fascination with the gift, the Vasana had let down its guard and become visible. It wasn't exactly a cat, and it wasn't exactly a ferret. Aquila thought it looked like a cat with ferret markings, extra-large ears, and a tail like a fox. It acted like a kitten, pouncing on the dancing lights and flipping through the air as if it had forgotten the presence of two humans.
Asha touched something on the device, and the lights slowed down, contracting closer toward her, and Igga followed. Aquila noted that the creature didn't seem to have any claws.
Get around behind her.
Aquila moved slowly, getting behind the creature as it hopped and jumped closer to Asha and the device in her hand.
Okay, Aquila. On three… One. The Vasana's nose touched the silver. Two. Its tail twitched with curiosity. Three!
Aquila lunged forward and grabbed the Vasana around its furry middle. He hugged it firmly to his chest as the cat squirmed and hissed, scratching him on the cheek. So much for no claws.
“Unhand me this instant, you filthy human!” The Vasana's voice was stern, like an old English duchess, and Aquila almost dropped it from shock. “Whatever idiotic and futile question you've come to pester me with, surely you can do so without rubbing your repugnant skin all over my beautiful fur.”
