Severance (The infernal Guard Book 3)

by SGD Singh

  He raised his eyes to her dark mask. Her voice was coming from herself.

  “Remember me… like this. If you can.”

  Aquila couldn't speak. He nodded again, not knowing if she could see him, and focused his attention on moving the stones, dipping his fingers into the bloody concoction, rearranging the diamonds, and ignoring the burning along his skin, which soon became numb with pain.

  The Asura collapsed into a broken heap, and Ranya's voice returned to herself. She began to whisper some kind of incantation that caused the light in the center of the circle to flare green, then dim. With that, Asha and Silas seemed to get some relief. They stood straighter against the binding light, though it still seemed to hold them upright.

  Finally, there was only one diamond to attach, and the circle would be complete. Aquila dipped his fingers into the foul liquid and hesitated, looking up at Ranya. He saw the blood run down her face beneath her mask on the side of her one good eye, and her arms were trembling.

  “I'm sorry, Ranya… Varina,” he said. “You will… you will always be remembered. You will be honored as a true hero of The Guard.”

  Her incantation never paused, but Aquila saw her shudder with a sob. He took a deep breath and placed the diamond into the line, leaping to his feet as the light flared with blinding intensity. Asha and Silas collapsed to the floor, released from the light around their hands.

  The light spread along the entire circle then, running between lines that Aquila hadn't seen until now, and Ranya stood entangled in writhing light, lifted onto her toes, her hands blinding as she threw them wide, the force of the power throwing her head back.

  One Asura floundered against the floor like a dying, charred fish, and Ranya's voice erupted from its mouth, making Aquila jump.

  “Go!” She screamed. “Now!”

  Aquila didn't wait to be told twice. Firing the green bullets at Asha and Silas, he secured the unconscious peregrine falcon and sand cat beneath his jacket. Resisting the urge to hug his sister goodbye, Aquila sprinted back toward the stairs.

  The ground began to tremble as he reached the second landing.

  Chapter 24

  Jax watched Sashi administer some kind of purple medicine to Kai. He coughed weakly, but waved his brothers and Satish back when the three of them lunged forward.

  “That will help with the pain,” Sashi said, but Jax saw sadness in her eyes, and she knew with cold certainty that it was too late.

  Kai would die.

  Kai reached for Satish's hand, and the colorful-feathered Upperworlder interlocked their fingers together, smoothing back Kai's raven hair as he murmured something to him in a soothing tone. The pain written all over his golden features broke Jax's heart.

  She fled the room before the realization of Kai's impending death reflected on Kenda and Koko's faces, past Zaiden and Dinesh whispering in the hallway, and nearly ran into Asha in the dim corridor.

  The Seer swerved around Jax without acknowledging her and continued down the wide tunnel of cement and naked bulbs. The place reminded Jax of some cheap alien horror movie, with its rounded ceilings and exposed piping.

  “Asha?” Jax jogged to catch up.

  Both Asha and Silas had been unconscious when Zaiden had zapped them to the safe house twenty-four hours ago, along with everyone else who'd survived what Jax dubbed in her mind as The Central HQ Catastrophic Fuckup. She didn't want to think about how many more lives would have been lost if it hadn't been for the Upperworlders. Or Ranya.

  Without her Tapas healing instrument, even Sashi couldn't be sure why the two Seers were unconscious, and none of the usual treatments were working.

  The silence was unnerving and only reminded Jax of her own failure. It felt like waiting for a bomb to explode. So Jax avoided everyone, except to check on Kai.

  “Good to see you up,” she told Asha. Apparently, the Healer-Seer-Jodha could even heal herself, given enough time in a coma. “Awake, I mean. How are you feeling?”

  Asha suddenly stopped and turned in a slow circle. She started, as if noticing Jax for the first time, and Jax wondered how healed Asha actually was.

  “Oh,” she said. “How are you, Jax? Could you please show me the way outside? I find that I need… air.”

  Asha's eyes were completely bloodshot, the blue-green color standing out against the red in a way that made Jax want to look anywhere else but at them.

  Jax pointed ahead, and Asha began walking.

  “But… should you be out of bed?” Jax glanced around. “Where's Senya? Does anyone know you're awake?”

  Asha ignored her, and Jax wondered if the Seer heard a word she said. She followed her through the maze of hallways and up the ramp to one of the massive doors that led into the endless desert.

  Her worries were answered soon enough when a hawk flew by and, in a flash of feathers, became Aquila. He lunged to support Asha, obviously scolding her telepathically as he took her arm.

  Jax started to turn back, but Asha reached for her as they arrived at the door.

  “Will you stay?” she said, keeping her eyes averted from Jax, as if she knew the sight was disturbing. “Please?”

  Jax nodded, glancing at Aquila to see whether or not he objected to her presence, but he ignored her. Jax placed her ring on the door panel, and metal two feet thick slid open without a sound. They were abruptly bathed in bright sun and covered in a light dusting of sand.

  Jax pulled the scarf she'd started wearing over her mouth and nose, and reached for her sunglasses. Aquila looked at her then and raised an eyebrow under his messy hair, obviously surprised by how fast she'd adapted to their new home.

  Asha walked as if she would walk forever, oblivious to the sand covering her face and clothes, turning her hair from a deep black to a sandy blonde, and Jax and Aquila hurried to follow her. Aquila glared at Jax as if it were her fault Asha was out of bed, wandering around an endless desert.

  After about fifteen minutes, a sand cat strolled across the top of the dune, shadowed by a low-flying vulture, then shifted into Kelakha and Silas when they reached the waiting trio.

  Jax had met Silas briefly at Asha's wedding, of course. She found that the innocence that emanated from him coupled with his cheerful, unwavering kindness, made her feel like crying, and that apparently hadn't changed. He was The Seer, The One and only Savior Seer, and being in his presence was unnerving.

  “Hello, Jax,” he said, lifting a hand to heal away her fatigue, and his own eyes lost their redness.

  Jax realized she was staring and stammered something in reply, and Silas' smile turned sad.

  “It was their time to go,” he told her, sensing her pain. “Uma and Dhevan went with hero's hearts and lives well spent.”

  Jax closed her eyes, but the same thing happened as every time she closed her eyes these days. She saw Dhevan leaping forward, trying to save his wife. She heard Uma's strangled cry for him to get back, even as she was torn apart. She felt the pain of Kai's scream as his brothers rushed to join him, their weapons a graceful blur.

  And Jax couldn't stop her tears.

  Silas took her hand and led her to sit with Asha.

  “Would you believe me if I told you that life and death are one and the same?”

  Aquila snorted. “Even as the river and the sea are one? Now you're quoting Gibran?”

  “Don't sneer at truth, Desai,” said Silas, but his voice was full of kindness. “Our sadness only hurts ourselves. The departed souls have moved on in perfect peace, at one with the natural cycle.”

  “No offense,” Jax said. “But that sounds pretty damn cold.”

  Asha laughed, startling them, and Jax glanced at Kelakha. He shook his head and shrugged as if to say, She's a healer. When she wants to heal herself, she will.

  “Ranya is dead,” Asha shouted, and Silas lowered his head, as if he were only now fully realizing this fact.

  “As in gone,” Asha continued. “As in, the person who saved our realm, after suffering through torture and
pain for her entire miserable life, has gone where we can never thank her.”

  Aquila wrapped his arms around Asha and she closed her eyes, leaning into him. Jax stared at the sand at her feet.

  “So if my sadness hurts only myself,” Asha said, her voice softer now, “then I say, fine. I deserve to hurt.”

  “She wouldn't let me kill,” Silas said, his voice full of wonder, and they all turned to him. “Not that I'm sure I could've killed anyone anyway, but she stopped me. She said—”

  “I won't see your innocence tarnished,” Asha finished for him, and Silas nodded at his hands. “You should have seen her,” Asha told the rest of them. “Once she decided to direct her power toward protecting our realm, Ranya was a force to be reckoned with. Underworlders fled at the sight of her. I've never seen anything like it.”

  “What convinced her?” Jax asked. “I mean, she was set to destroy everything, right? Then she just switches? Like, like…”

  “One word.” Asha laughed, and the sound was a little hysterical. “Silas.”

  “Tell them about that day in Rishikesh,” Silas said, grinning like an excited kid.

  “Now?” Asha looked around at their faces, and when her bloodshot eyes landed on her, Jax nodded, unable to hide her curiosity.

  “Okay,” Asha said. “You all know Ranya was in no state to be left alone, right? So me and Silas, we were basically watching her twenty-four, seven.”

  Asha waited for someone to ask a question, and Jax made herself say nothing about shapeshifting birds peering into windows at bathing Witches.

  “One night, she just got up and walked out,” Asha continued. “So I'm like, what the hell do I do now? Luckily, Silas showed up and said we should follow her rather than stop her, which is good, cause if you've ever seen Ranya mad, you'd know trying to make her do something ends badly.”

  Silas smiled at the ground. “We didn't want her to feel imprisoned. We just wanted to help her heal.”

  “Exactly,” Asha said. “So we shift, and we're following Ranya, right? And the whole area beyond the immediate temple grounds, is like this wild, overgrown jungle on one side, and then steep drops and cliffs down to the Ganga on the other. So Silas is in the tall grass, and I'm in the trees, and I remember the moon was full that night. It turned the bright candy colors of the temple into a mix of silvery-blues and pale greens, and the river sparkled, throwing light onto the leaves. It was a beautiful night.”

  Asha was looking around at the expanse of sand that surrounded them, and Jax could almost see the lush jungles of Rishikesh reflected in her eyes.

  “Ranya kept walking away from the temple grounds, making her way farther and farther along the path at cliff's edge, until she came to a dirt clearing and stopped. She just stood there, tilting her head as if listening. After about a minute, she suddenly shouts, ‘What? You called me. Show your filthy Strigoi faces now, or I'm leaving.’

  “And as if they could materialize from the trees, five of the most stunningly gorgeous Vampires I have ever seen stepped into the clearing.”

  “More gorgeous than Sid?” Aquila said, grinning at Asha.

  “Definitely,” she said without hesitation. “They wore these elegant Korean silk Hanbock. You know, Chima jeogori in rich, deep jewel colors and highlighted with shining embroidery. Their clothes were just… they made you want to go to Seoul and shop. I swear I've never felt that way about an outfit, but these women were truly from another time, they were absolutely breathtaking.”

  “Guess what Asha asked them?” Silas said. He was smiling again. “When she came face to face with ancient Korean Vampires in the moonlight, and she says—”

  “I couldn't help it.” Asha smiled at her lap. “I said, Is that a real Gorō Masamune}?”

  Kelakha's head jerked up as if he'd been hit, and Jax was pretty sure he'd gasped. “And was it?” he demanded.

  Jax raised her hand. “You're losing me here, guys.”

  “Masamune,” Kelakha told her, “was the greatest swordsmith in Japanese history. Asha is suggesting the Vampires were in possession of one of his swords.”

  “Okay.” Jax looked from Asha to Silas. “So you risked Ranya's formidable wrath and put Silas' life in danger, because the Vampires had special swords?”

  Aquila and Kelakha turned to Jax with expressions that suggested she'd been transformed into a wart-covered toad, but Asha waved the point aside. “We were still hidden at this point. Silas, don't mess up the story.” She kicked dirt at him, and he raised a hand, weaving the grains into a flower of sand.

  “Anyway,” Asha said, tearing her gaze from the illusion, “my job was to protect Ranya, not let her be attacked by a bunch of dazzlingly gorgeous Korean Vampires. When we made our presence felt, I was just momentarily distracted, that's all. It could happen to anyone.”

  Silas said, “They knew we were there all along. They were ignoring us.”

  “Yeah.” Asha grimaced. “They were too busy offering monkey remains to Ranya, like she was some kind of goddess. I guess that's protocol? Summon a Witch using voodoo, then place offerings at her feet before issuing demands? It was gross, that's all I know.”

  “Did she eat it?” Jax asked, realizing too late that she didn't really want the answer to that question.

  “Only the brain,” Asha said, then shuddered. “But to be fair, we did have her on a diet of herbs and crap, after she'd been eating strictly Underworlder fare for more than a year.”

  Kelakha grimaced, and Aquila muttered something in Punjabi.

  “The Vampires asked Ranya to go with them,” Asha continued. “They promised to hunt down and kill the Asura who'd tortured her in Kolkata, in exchange for her bringing more Vampires into our realm. Their manners were as beautiful as their clothes, their English was perfect, and when they promised Ranya revenge, you should have seen them. Their wrath was like a glorious, powerful force. It was awesome to behold.”

  Jax cleared her throat, questioning Asha's sanity, and Kelakha grinned at her.

  Asha looked dreamy as she continued. “I've often wondered why we can't arrange a Vampire Guard unit.” She leaned forward, her alarming eyes sparkling with excitement. “I mean, why not? They're done taking human hosts, with the portals destroyed.” Asha pointed at Aquila, but he only narrowed his eyes. “If you guys had seen these women, oh, man, you'd…” Asha straightened, realizing they were all staring at her. “Okay, forget it, never mind.”

  “What was Ranya's answer?” Aquila asked.

  “She flat-out refused.” Asha beamed with pride. “She finished eating and just looked at them, kind of bored, and said no. Just like that.” Asha paused. “That was the moment I knew Silas' magic had worked.”

  “Not magic,” Silas said. “Forgiveness. Acceptance. Kindness.”

  “Yeah, well.” Asha ruffled Silas' curls and pinched his cheek, and Jax felt a pang of sisterly jealously as she realized she wanted to do the same thing. “That's the difference between you and the rest of us, isn't it? Your kindness is magical.”

  Silas shoved Asha's hand away, but he was grinning as he looked around the group. “The Vampires weren't too happy about her refusal. You might say their elegant Hanboks got into a twist.”

  Aquila, Asha, and Kelakha reacted to the joke in unison, slapping Silas' shoulders, and Jax watched the four of them, once again surprised by the way these warriors recovered from their grief. It never ceased to amaze her how every Infernal Guard, when they gathered together, could remember only the best of times with their fallen comrades, until all that was left were laughter and smiles.

  And Jax realized something else.

  At the end, in spite of everything, Ranya had become part of the team, a true Guard member.

  “We shifted and joined Ranya as the Vampires closed in on her,” Asha said, returning to the story.

  “This was the point when Asha became distracted,” said Silas, and Asha pulled his curls again, grinning.

  “The Vampires started to go for us,” Asha contin
ued, “maybe thinking we were attacking Ranya. But she did this thing with her arms, and they stopped cold, following her order.” Asha's smile turned sad as she looked to Silas. “And then, do you remember what she said?”

  Silas looked at the sand in front of him. “She said, ‘If you walk away now, you will live. I give you my word that you will remain free within this realm, with no fear of banishment. But if you harm them, you will die’. Her mask really added something to the intensity.”

  “I was a touched,” Asha said. “But I was also offended she thought I couldn't handle them myself.”

  “Maybe she saw you didn't want to muss their outfits,” Aquila said, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

  “So then what happened?” Jax asked, wondering if there was any point to the story at all, or if they just needed to talk about Ranya.

  Asha turned to Jax, and her smile vanished. “When the Vampires realized Ranya was with us, they were furious. So, yeah, they attacked. They'd lived in their human shells for at least eight hundred years, if their weapons were anything to judge their age by, and they were fast. I'm telling you, those wide skirts didn't hinder their movements at all. Anyway!” Asha clapped once, straightening. “Long story short, one of them shoved me into Silas after dazing me with the blunt end of her priceless sword. And then Silas lunged for Ranya, pushing her to safety just as another Vampire sliced through the air where her head was, saving her life again. Then Silas raised his arms to drain the Vampires of their undead life, and that's when Ranya rushed in front of him. She took Silas' hands in hers and brought them to her lips—I honestly thought for a second she might bite his fingers off—but she stopped, and said, real serious, almost reverent, ‘You are pure. Never lose that.’ And then she killed the Vampires before I could blink.” Asha snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”

  Jax turned to Silas. “She—loved you? And you aren't sad she died?”

  Asha winced, and Kelakha moved toward Jax protectively, but Silas only smiled.

  “I showed Varina it was okay to love herself,” he said softly. “She realized that her past, and the cracks in her mind, had happened through no fault of her own. She saw that everything that had happened, no matter how terrible, had happened for a reason. It happened to make her stronger. That through the terrible pressure of pain and sorrow she endured, she'd become unbreakable. Like a diamond.”