by T. G. Ayer
Nik scowled and stared at her face. "What's wrong?" He peered into her eyes as if her pupils would give him the answer.
She hesitated only a moment before deciding what the hell. "I'm not sure. It's the strangest thing. I feel like I want to dance again . . . but I can't dance. Not really.”
Nik took her free hand, folding his own fingers over hers. "I want you to promise me you will not get up until I return.”
Maya gave him a thin smile and a nod, her spine stiffening subtly. She was fine. Her feet would be fine in a few hours, all back to normal. Why was it nobody understood that with Kali’s healing fire she was as good as new?
Now, she forced herself to keep her annoyance off her face, because despite her irritation she was well aware that everyone around her had her best interests at heart. How could she fight with them when they cared?
Nik’s eyes narrowed as he said, “I’ll go and look into this and I'll return straightaway. Your life could be in danger. Whatever happened to the girl, you channeled it today. Whatever is causing this, whether it be deific, demonic, or human, it’s dark. And dangerous. The very fact that you were there, however intangible the experience, may well provide that darkness with a passage, a way to come to you. Whatever compulsion you feel to dance again, don't give in."
He was no longer kidding.
It all sounded so ominous, but Maya nodded solemnly and promised to obey.
“I’ll be back soon.”
He didn’t stick around for small talk. But he did pause and give her a warning glare. As if he thought the moment he left she’d jump off the bed and dance until sunrise.
Nik disappeared.
As a demigod, Nik had lived a long time. Would live a long time more. Probably forever if he was never mortally injured.
That bothered Maya a great deal but she tried not to think about it too much. For now, she took every day as it came, and enjoyed her relationship with Nik for what it was.
A mutual attraction, a shared devotion to each other. And a whole lot of respect. Something she'd always thought necessary in any relationship.
As exhaustion pulled at her, Maya fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Chapter 9
MAYA WOKE a little later, her arm being jerked left and right. At the end of her arm was Joss, looming over her, her eyes concerned.
The scent of mac-and-cheese drifted towards Maya’s nostrils and she grinned.
“Lunchtime. I’m just dropping in to make sure you eat this." Joss's tone was firm.
“Lunchtime?” Maya asked, groggy as she shifted her gaze to her open window. Sunlight filled the room but no shadows were cast on the brightly patterned carpet.
At least midday from the looks of it.
Sabala was sitting in the corner beside the window, watching Joss and Maya, his expression almost amused. The hellhound and Joss had reached an uneasy truce, which Maya prayed would last.
Right now, Joss was ignoring him. And he her.
Joss snorted. “Next time you dance the night away, please take me along. I’m not sure you know what you’re doing.” She waved at the food. “Boss says you need to eat.”
Maya scooted up in the bed and leaned against the headboard with the pillows behind her. "You won't have me complaining. Especially since you come bearing that divine dish."
Joss laughed. "Who doesn't love mac and cheese?" Maya's nightstand contained two bowls and two glasses of OJ on a wooden tray. Sabala’s short sniff drew Maya’s attention and she met his gaze. The fact that the hellhound never ate had always struck Maya as strange, but then he was a demonic creature. So what was with his look? Did he suddenly have a hankering for mac and cheese?
Joss handed her a bowl, took the other for herself and the two girls ate in silence. Even Joss, who was usually the one who talked with her mouth full, and waved her fork around like crazy as she spoke. Not that she lacked manners. Just that remaining silent for too long was not Joss's strong-suit.
Maya knew Joss just as well as she knew Ria Gupta, the third - and very absent - member of their little group. Right now, neither of the girls knew where Ria was, and both couldn’t wait until it was safe to see her again. Weeks had passed since Ria had gone into hiding, assisted by Maya’s parents and the agency in escaping her abusive fiancé.
Neither Joss nor Maya spoke much about Ria, yet both missed her like crazy. And worried about her more. Ria would be worse than Joss had she been here right this minute.
Joss cleared her throat. ”So how do you feel?" she asked, leaning forward as she chewed. "Do your feet feel any better?"
Maya nodded, the pasta having taken the edge off her hunger. Strangely enough, as soon as she'd smelled the food she'd been hit by a ravenous desire for sustenance. As if she hadn't eaten in weeks.
"Better. So hungry, which is weird. You have perfect timing."
Joss smiled. "It's just a short visit. There's some crazy shit happening right now. I'll head out soon to help your dad with a case."
Maya raised her eyebrows, curious. "What case?"
Such was their life these days. They spent most of their time in the field on cases. When not working they studied, both plodding along at their own pace to get through their final high school year. With neither of them having a set-in-stone deadline as to college entry, they just got what needed to be completed done, and then moved on to the next.
Some weeks were frenetic, filled with cases, others quiet and filled with schoolwork.
Joss shook her head, then pointed her fork at Maya. "You just mind your own business and concentrate on healing."
Wrinkling her eyebrows, Maya groaned, "Come on Joss, all I'm asking for is information. Besides, it’s not as if I’m still hurt. I did heal myself you know.” A ripple of guilt ran through Maya and she shifted her gaze to her food. Her limbs tensed, her heart thudding as if expecting the music to play.
She stiffened.
Was that music she just heard? A Staccato beat that implied an impending increase in tempo. Maya’s entire body strained to hear more but she shoved the urge down, buried it as deep as she could.
The need to dance had come back with full force and Maya blinked hard and forced herself to concentrate.
Joss sighed and shovelled the last bite of pasta into her mouth. After swallowing, she said, "Fine. Strictly to satisfy your curiosity." She glared at Maya, her warning clear. "There's been an issue with zombies in the downtown LA area."
"Zombies?" Maya frowned.
Only a few weeks ago, Narakasura, the Rakshasa king reborn - or Kas as Maya had known him - had imprisoned Lord Yama, and the world had been overrun with the living dead. The Walking Dead was nothing compared to downtown LA three weeks past.
In the end, Kas had been killed and the god of the dead had been released, restoring order to the world.
"I thought the undead problem had been solved after Yama was freed.” Maya reached for her OJ and sipped.
Joss nodded, getting to her feet, all businesslike. "That's what we’d all thought. But everyone admits it’s not a perfect system. Apparently a few managed to slip under the radar. KALIMA is still not sure how they managed it. Evading the big man downstairs is not an easy feat."
Maya smiled.
Only Joss would come up with descriptions like those and be totally unrepentant. Maya had a feeling Lord Yama would find it amusing - should he hear her friend speak.
"Your dad asked me to come with him. Something about gaining more field experience." She grabbed her juice and downed it in one long swallow, clearly in a hurry.
Maya nodded.
With all the mayhem of the last few months, Joss had convinced Dev to allow her to join KALIMA - the organization Maya’s parents had helped to set up. An organization dedicated to ridding the world and its occupants of a plethora of demons and evil. Gone were the days when people just prayed and hoped for the evil creatures to go away.
These days people called KALIMA. Through temples and priests, friends and neighbors, the Ka
li agents were a worldwide initiative the Winchesters would have been proud of.
Joss's parents had returned for a brief period, having been grounded post Rise of the Living Dead. They’d checked in on Joss, said all the right things, then departed in a flurry of cordial politeness leaving the Raos, and their newly appropriated daughter Joss, a little shell-shocked.
They’d been satisfied Maya's parents would look after their child, and had set up a bank account for her expenses. Before leaving Joss’s mother had taken Leela aside, their conversation longer than any they’d had since they’d met.
Leela had never divulged what they’d discussed. And Maya had been too afraid to probe.
Joss had accepted the impending absence of her parents with customary cheer, and had adjusted well to being an adopted Rao.
Maya was glad to be there for her friend. Though Joss was a bit of a rebel, Maya preferred not to think about what her friend would have done had she been alone, without support.
Joss had the tendency to go a little wild, although she'd toned it down a good few notches after her last drinking binge had almost gotten Maya attacked, and ended up with Maya barbecuing a Rakshasa demon - who wasn’t supposed to exist - and meeting a real-life demigod - who was definitely not supposed to exist.
Joss's situation was strange and sad. Thanks to her father's lucrative stockbroking business, her parents travelled the world regularly. A lot. They were of the assumption that their daughter was extremely independent, and never once thought she'd like to join them.
In all the years Maya had known Joss, she could count on one hand the number of times she'd met Joss's mother in the flesh. On more than one occasion, Maya had been tempted to give the woman a piece of her mind.
But, out of respect for Joss, she’d held her tongue.
Right now, Dev was including Joss in the case, keeping her attention off the absence of her parents. With their studies keeping them on their toes, forcing them to juggle their time between school and supernatural investigations, things were certainly interesting.
"I'm coming," said Maya, putting her bowl on her nightstand and shimmying to the edge of the mattress.
"The hell you are," said Joss, her voice breaking on a squeak of anger. "Had I known you'd insist on coming, I never would've told you. You're meant to be resting. Do you really think you're able to go anywhere with those feet?"
Joss had a point but she'd forgotten Maya could heal herself.
Maya folded her arms and glared at her friend. "I'm perfectly capable of coming with you. I am already healing."
Joss shrugged. "That's beside the point. Even Nik said you are not to leave your bed until he drops by. You promised. The last thing I want is to be in trouble with a god."
Maya rolled her eyes. "As if you're afraid of Nik."
Joss was a total fan of Nik, both as a demigod and as Maya's boyfriend. And she was taking his side, glaring at Maya with disapproval.
"I don't need to be afraid of Nik to know what he's saying makes sense. Whatever you just experienced, it's definitely some weird shit. You have any idea how worried your parents are? You danced until your feet bled. Not something that happens every day."
Maya shook her head. "Don't you think I'm well aware of that?"
Joss raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem to be. Especially when you're busy demanding to go out on a case when you're still not well."
"But I'm fine." Maya spoke firmly. "And this is my job. My responsibility. I can't let-"
Joss lifted her fork and pointed it at Maya. "We all have a responsibility in this. Just because you have special godly-imbued powers doesn't mean you are more responsible for anything. Your parents have been doing this way longer then you. They've got this."
Maya snorted and leaned back.
Joss wasn’t the only person in Maya’s life who thought it was their duty to boss her around. Her mom’s bestie, Claudia Romero, would have also been in her face about taking care of herself. At least, she would have until Maya’s actions had rendered her unable to walk again.
Maya brushed away the stab of sadness and focused on Joss as she put her bowl beside Maya's. "Now, I suggest you rest up. Your mom said to tell you she'd be up in about an hour to check on you."
Maya nodded. She'd come to accept that arguing with Joss was a waste of time. So she let her friend believe she was going to behave herself and stay in bed. Sabala whuffed. Was he warning Joss? The traitor.
Joss glanced at the hellhound then gave Maya a suspicious glare, but she didn't question Maya any further. She rose and gathered the dishes before heading out of the room. At the doorway she turned back and gave Maya a warning glare. "I mean it. You stay right there and get better."
Then she was gone.
Chapter 10
MAYA THREW BACK the bedclothes and drew her feet towards her. Sabala tilted his head as he watched her, probably already suspecting what she intended to do.
The hellhound was smart that way.
But even he would understand Maya’s need to help. It wasn’t as if she was so damaged she couldn’t handle one case. If she was a narcoleptic then she may have been worried about sleep-dancing while on the job. Thankfully, she wasn’t.
She changed from her pajamas into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt before searching out the softest pair of socks she owned. Her feet were swollen and she knew before she even tried, that her favorite boots wouldn't fit.
She retrieved an old pair of hiking boots from the back of her closet. Her mom had insisted she buy one size larger, because apparently hiking up mountains swelled one's feet. Not that she'd ever used the boots for hiking.
She laced them and got to her feet before rummaging in her closet for her satchel. It still contained her Madus, the poison that went with it, and a couple of small daggers she'd been training with. Along with a first aid kit and a change of clothes, her satchel was an official go-bag.
Throwing her cellphone into the satchel, she slung it over her shoulder and headed out the door. The clicking on the wood floor confirmed Sabala followed closely. Maya didn't have much of a choice.
Not as if she could get rid of the hellhound.
Besides, taking him with would get her in a little less trouble with Nik. Being partially responsible and taking her guard dog with her may get Nik to cut her some slack. The operative word being may.
She headed down the stairs to her dad’s study where she slid in behind his desk and swiped a finger across the trackpad of his Mac. The screen glowed with a request for password and she quickly tapped it in.
Her dad had given her her own set of passwords to access the computer, making it clear they kept no secrets from her. Not to mention sometimes, when he wasn't at home, new cases would arise. Over the last few months she'd become increasingly active in attending to cases without him. It filled her with pride to know he trusted her that much.
But, right now, as she scrolled through his emails and read the very last one, she felt a stab of guilt. He wouldn't be happy with her. She was disobeying both his and Nik’s instructions but she was prepared to take the heat.
If I saved his life, he'd get over it.
Besides, Maya was really fine. Why did everyone want to coddle her as if she was made of fragile crystal or something?
Probably a good thing Claudia wasn’t here to nag her into submission too. She’d been acting strangely these past few weeks which had ratcheted up Maya’s guilt. There were times when she’d seen anger, and fear, in her aunt’s eyes and Maya had been tempted to visit with her to help ease her pain.
But Claudia had kept them all at a distance. Her aunt had been her confidante for most of her lifetime, and even in recent weeks when the rift between them had widened, Maya knew that given the chance, Claude would come down on her like a ton of bricks if she ended up injured.
But they had to understand. Maya had powers given to her for a reason. What was the point in being powerful, having the ability to heal herself, if she was treated like a fragile Fab
erge egg every time she was injured. They had to come to terms with the fact that she was more resilient than a normal human.
The last email from KALIMA headquarters detailed a downtown LA location that was well known for its homeless population. Known locally as the Lower Waterfront, the squatter community was located beneath the new Everson Overpass as it ran over Murphy's River near the harbor.
After Kas's efforts to cheat death, that part of LA had been overrun with the undead. It had taken a combination of Lord Yama's efforts, plus that of the local police, to clean up the area.
Maya nodded to herself, then headed for the door when the sound of music filled her ears. Maya stiffened, holding her breath and waiting. Was it happening again? Her fingers fisted around the shoulder strap of her satchel as her muscled tightened, as her body seemed to want to move against her will, pulled by some invisible force.
She wanted to dance.
But Nik had said to resist. She couldn’t give in. She just couldn’t allow herself to be drawn into a trance from which she was unable to awaken.
She inhaled sharply and straightened, focusing on the room, her breathing, and what she was supposed to do. If this continued to happen she was definitely going to have a talk with Kali.
She wasn't sure where her mom was, or if she was inside the house, and hoped she wouldn't hear Maya leave.
Maya would be hard pressed to find a way to convince her Mom to allow her to go. Leela could be pretty terrifying when she wanted.
But she managed to grab her car keys and lock the front door without alerting her.
Maya scrambled into her ancient Mini and rolled out of the drive without looking back, and made the journey to LA as fast as she could while still sticking to frustratingly slow speed limits. Now, more than ever, she wished she had either the goddess Chayya with her, or Nik, to transport her there with ease.
She glanced at Sabala, who sat beside her, his expression indignant. She supposed she could've asked him to take her since, with his teleportation powers, he was perfectly capable, but she wasn't confident enough.
