The Hand of Kali Box Set Vol 2

by T. G. Ayer

  Maya wondered what danger lay outside, and hoped that Nik wouldn't leave them alone too long.

  Nik held his phone between the three of them and Maya studied the screen which held a small map of the town.

  He stabbed the screen, aiming at a hut on the outer edge of the town. "This is where we are now. And this," he pointed further south, "is the discovery site.”

  Both girls nodded, and Maya wondered whether her friend’s heart was beating as hard as hers. She was about to encounter another dead girl and there wasn’t a single cell in her body that welcomed the thought.

  Maya automatically looked for a pair of glassy obsidian eyes, which would appear seemingly unimpressed with the drama of the day. But Sabala wasn’t there and she felt her stomach twist with disappointment. She’d gotten way too used to having the hellhound around.

  He seemed to know everything, seemed to understand her emotions too. She'd grown so close to him, that now, just the thought of losing him made her heart hurt.

  “We’ll find the girl and see what else our contact can tell us. Let’s hope this isn’t connected."

  Nik nodded. “Just be careful. I have to go. Wait here for fifteen minutes, and a man will come to find you. His name is Pedro Alvarez, and he's a village elder. He'll translate if you find the girl’s family.”

  Maya nodded and hugged Nik, holding him tightly for a few short moments.

  Then Nik straightened and said, "I'll be back as soon as possible. You don't have to worry. If you need me, just text me."

  Maya nodded.

  She had to now get used to seeing less of Nik, and as much as she’d been so calm about it with Joss, she knew it would be hard. But she was strong enough. If she wanted to be with him she’d have to be strong enough.

  Nik disappeared into nothing. As soon as he left, Maya turned to Joss. They both sank into a crouch, huddling together in the darkness as they waited. Half a dozen windows cut into the adobe walls, covered by scraps of fabric that did a terrible job of hiding the night sky.

  Somewhere in the distance a coyote cried, the call sending a ripple of unease down Maya's spine.

  Thankfully, before Maya got any more anxious, they heard the shuffle-scrape of shoes outside the door. It was a poor excuse for protection. A few pieces of wood nailed to a few pieces of metal, providing a very fragile seal to the hut.

  Maya had to wonder who lived here, how anyone could live in an almost-bare space? A low cot covered in filthy blankets, a gas heater and a small gas stove occupied a rickety table. A battered metal pot and small stack of plastic plates, cups and utensils sat beside the stove.

  Maya understood what poverty might feel like. She also understood that the life that she lived was one of indescribable privilege compared to this.

  She blinked as the metal of the door groaned and squeaked. The girls hurried across the small hut and backed up against the wall behind the door, both wary just in case their visitor was a danger to them. Maya's hands were at the ready, the fire pulsing beneath her palm.

  The door swung open slowly, the moonlight casting a long shadow of the man into the room. Maya couldn't make much out of him, or his distorted shadow.

  He hunched over and peered inside the dark interior. “Are you here?" His voice was scratchy and hoarse.

  He took another step inside, and as soon as he was out of reach of the door, Maya pushed it shut. The man whirled, his shocked - and slightly disappointed - expression stark against his gaunt features as he stared at the two girls.

  With a hand over his heart, he took a few sharp breaths. Maya felt extremely guilty for giving him such a fright.

  "Who are you?" she asked, deciding to be safe instead of sorry.

  The man squinted, studying her from head to toe. "They send you?"

  He was not impressed.

  Maya frowned. "Who are you?" she asked again, wondering whether he understood English.

  "Pedro Alvarez. My contact . . . he was sending someone to help us with our . . . problem."

  "Who is your contact?" Maya asked, just being careful in case this was a trap.

  "Dev Rao."

  Maya sighed, and released a breath. She gave the old man a smile. "I'm Maya. I'm Dev's daughter."

  The old man reached out to shake her hand. His skin was papery, his hands fleshless and thin.

  Maya was acutely aware that Pedro came from this land filled with poverty.

  He took a step back and studied the two girls. "He send me his daughter?" the old man said narrowing his eyes. "And who are you?" he asked Joss.

  Joss smiled. "I think you could say I'm his adopted daughter."

  The man looked at Maya and she agreed with a vigorous nod. At this moment, all Maya wanted was to get the job done and head back home.

  “Señor, can you show us what you need help with?”

  Pedro gave a short nod, as if he understood now that they were down to business. "Come with me.“

  Joss and Maya exchanged glances, they really didn't have much of a choice. This man had been vetted by her father, surely she could trust him. He led them out the hut keeping low, remaining in the shadows. They carried along the wall for half a dozen huts, and Maya worried the bright light of the moon would bring their movements to attention if anyone was watching from the hillside.

  But the old man didn't seem bothered by this. At last his progress slowed and he pushed aside a ragged curtain shielding the doorway of a large hut. He slipped inside and Maya and Joss followed, their eyes adjusting to the darkness within. Near the left wall lay the body of a young girl. A small kerosene lamp burned in the far corner, providing a soft glow that made the corpses skin strangely animated. It also illuminated the floor of the hut, bringing the streaks of blood patterning the hard packed floor into start contrast.

  The girl’s black, low-heeled shoes glistened with blood and Maya wondered what kind of damage she’d see if she removed them. The injuries were bad enough with bare feet. Was it any better in closed shoes?

  Maya moved forward but the old man hissed, snapping a hand out to block her from getting closer.

  She took his hand in hers and patted the back of his wrist. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

  The man looked over at Joss, as if needing reassurance. He must have received it because he let go and took a step back.

  Maya sank to her knees beside the girl trying not to look at her ruined feet. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she had to take a moment to calm herself down. After a few seconds, she pulled the energy from her fire and reached out with her mind for a heartbeat.

  She didn't find one.

  Again she tried to locate some form of corresponding energy within the body. This time she did feel a hint of pulsing. A residual pulse of life. Maya had learned a while ago that touching a body gave her a sense of the life within. And that the soul did remain within the body for a short time. Could Maya access the girl’s memories?

  But gradually, the pulsing drew Maya’s attention away from her thoughts, calling her like a siren.

  The beat of drums. The haunting call of a violin. The chink of cymbals.

  Chapter 24

  Maya took a deep breath and focused, pulling her mind from the entrancing music.

  Maya glanced again at Pedro. "Do you know who this girl is?"

  Maya got to her feet and walked to the old man. She took his hand in hers and said softly, "I understand how you feel. This place is dangerous. I don’t want to put you in any trouble. We just want to know what happened to her.”

  The old man paled, despite the brown of his weathered leathery skin. "But you come to find the killer?”

  “My first job is to find out how this poor girl died.” Maya could tell he was relieved when she didn’t stress a desire to find out who killed the girl.

  Maya glanced over her shoulder at the body. She looked young, possibly in her mid-teens. Her red ruffled dress and black square heeled shoes confirmed she was a flamenco dancer which seemed unusual in such a desolate town.
But one never knew where the desire to dance will spark. Poverty didn’t preclude talent.

  “Somewhere in this village is a mother who is looking for her daughter. Or siblings who are looking for their sister. How can we not let them know what happened to her?”

  Pedro took a small, hesitant step towards the body. “You will not look for killer? You promise?"

  Maya blinked. “If that is what her family wants then we won’t tell the authorities. I promise.”

  Maya glanced up at Joss and recognised the conflicting emotions in her friend’s eyes. They reflected her own.

  "Yes," said Joss moving to sit beside the man. “She’s telling you the truth. She won’t call the police. You all will be safe.”

  Maya glanced at Joss gratefully. She'd been uncertain, worried Joss may not support her. "Do you recognize her?”

  The old man nodded at last, although he still looked terrified.

  Maya moved to stand beside him. "Could you find her family for us?"

  "Si. But they may not come. They are scared."

  Nodding, Maya said, "I understand. But please let them know we promised to keep them safe. All we want to know is what happened and the information will not go to the police.”

  Pedro nodded, satisfied. "Si. I go."

  Maya's heart beat faster. She prayed the old man would return soon with the girl’s family.

  Chapter 25

  A SMALL COMMOTION at the door announced the arrival of the girl’s family. The pure grief on the woman's face broke Maya's heart.

  Maya moved towards the girl’s head, making space for the mother and a younger girl to sit beside her. The woman didn't look much older than Maya's mother, and yet her skin was weathered and brown, her body emaciated.

  The girl standing next to her was around ten years old, just as thin as her mother.

  Neither paid Maya or Joss any attention. They had eyes only for the dead girl.

  And Maya understood completely.

  She and Joss weren't here for gratitude. They'd come to do the right thing for the girl.

  The mother spoke softly to her daughter, and though Maya didn’t understand her words, she still felt her eyes burn with tears.

  Maya glanced up at Pedro and gave a slight shake of her head. With relief she saw him whisper to the old woman and child. Whatever he said made the mother cry harder, but he patted her back softly, spoke again in her ear. Then she nodded, holding a hand to her eyes as she cried for her daughter.

  She got to her feet slowly, dragging the girl with her to stand near the open doorway.

  Maya looked over at Pedro. “Can you ask the mother what the girl’s name is?”

  He nodded and spoke to the woman in Spanish.

  “¿Cuál es su nombre?”

  The woman answered, her words halting and filled with grief.

  “Rosario Chavez.”

  Pedro didn’t need to translate that. Maya asked, “What was she doing here?”

  The old man spoke.

  “¿Qué estaba haciendo aquí?”

  And the woman responded. “Ella estaba practicando para el proceso del día de los metros en Mérida.”

  “She was practicing for the Dia de los Metros process in Merida.” Pedro spoke wiht sad old eyes.

  Maya nodded. “That’s the nearest town.” Pedro nodded. “Could you ask her if she knows anyone who would hurt her daughter . . . Rosario?”

  Pedro shifted his old eyes to the mother.

  “¿Sabe de alguien que quiera lastimar a su hija?”

  The woman responded in a rush of tearful words, and Pedro shifted his gaze to Maya. “She says no. Rosa . . . she was hardworking. A good girl. All she wanted was to dance.”

  The woman began to cry and Maya nodded at Pedro to let them go. As they left, she turned her attention back to Rosario. Since the family couldn’t answer Maya’s questions maybe the girl still could. Maya had felt the pulse of life within her. It meant Maya could attempt to access the girl’s memories if not her actual past.

  Although Maya had performed time jumps like this before, she’d never done it on the recently departed.

  She motioned to Joss to come closer. “I’m going to try a time jump,” Maya whispered. “If anything goes wrong, text Nik to come help.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “It’s our only hope of knowing what happened to her. I only have a small window of opportunity because the longer she is dead the less likely it will be for me to access her memories.”

  Maya’s tone caused Joss to clamp her jaw shut, and she knew her friend wasn’t happy. But Joss also understood what they needed. And Maya was grateful she didn’t protest.

  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on Rosario. Maya relaxed and focused her thoughts on the girl the same way she’d done with Kas when she’d accessed his memories in order to save Lord Yama and Nik.

  This time though, the person whose thoughts she accessed was dead and she had so little time left. As she breathed she concentrated on Rosa, slowly able to sense the energy she gave off. Maya followed the energy, timing her heart beat with the pulsing emanating from the girl.

  Riding the energy Maya focused on Rosa’s face and followed it into the girl’s mind. Almost immediately Maya saw the hut again, but this time from a different perspective. She, Rosa, was moving and the room spun around her. Maya could feel the movement she made, twirling, stamping her feet, sweeping her skirt this way and that.

  But the movements were frenzied, not passionate. Rosa’s emotions were tumultuous, not serene. Fear filled her veins and made her want to stop but she had no control.

  Images filled her mind. Faces of people surrounding the girl, some joyful, some hard and angry. People from her life maybe. Maya was concentrating hard on recognizing faces she almost didn’t see the one face that made her heart go cold.

  Claudia.

  Maya shook the thought from her head. No. Of course, the woman wasn’t Claudia. Maya had just thought it was her. Maybe her residual anger at her aunt had summoned an image of her.

  Maya let out a pained gasp. It was the dream all over again, only a different girl and a different dance form.

  When Maya opened her eyes Joss and Pedro were both staring at her, Joss curious, the old man confused.

  “What is it?” asked Joss.

  “It’s just like London.”

  Joss’s face said she’d suspected as much. Maya reached out to close the girl’s cloudy eyes. Pain lanced through her fingers and energy bit at her.

  "Get away," hissed Maya as her fire surged out of her in response. “Somethings wrong.”

  Joss stared at Maya’s hand, at the flame spurting from her fingertips. Then, as if taken possession by her own inner demon, she pushed to her feet and stumbled around the body, grabbing hold of Pedro and pulling him away. The old man protested, and Maya wondered what he was saying.

  "There's no time for water, Señor," Joss said as she bustled him out of the room.

  Joss would stand guard at the door and refuse to let anyone inside. That left Maya to concentrate on the job at hand. The fire thrust against her, driving deeper into her flesh. Maya was at a loss as to what to do. What the hell was going on here and what was this strange power that existed within Rosa’s body?

  For a moment, fear surged through her.

  Maya blinked.

  Swallowing hard, she gritted her teeth and pushed the pain deeper within herself.

  She brought the fire up through her muscles to the surface of her skin, and soon she was ablaze. Red hot heat floated from her body, and a distant part of her mind registered that she'd just burnt off all her clothes.

  But she didn't have time to pay any attention to her nudity.

  Rosa’s energy no longer held Maya captive. She had to put all her concentration into her fire, and burn the body to cinders.

  She bit down on her teeth, pulling more fire to the surface. Any onlooker would see a human on fire. Something maybe scarier than even a demon would be.
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  Thankfully, in this part of the world, the chance of a fire engine coming their way was pretty low.

  The body of Rosa Chavez was on fire, the flames burning brighter and hotter than most crematoriums.

  And Maya was burning too.

  She wasn't afraid. In fact, she welcomed the heat and the flame.

  She waited, sending more fire deep within Rosa’s body, afraid for the people in the village who may be hurt by whatever energy possessed the corpse.

  Outside, she could hear the low rumble of a crowd, concerned cries of the people from the village now gathering outside. She could even hear Joss's voice warning people to stay away.

  With one last sigh, Maya took a step back from the burning body. She moved away one step at a time as the fire began to die down.

  The spirit of the girl was gone, passed over to Patala or wherever her heart and faith led her. At least she was now in peace. Maya hoped.

  As she neared the doorway, she heard Joss's voice through the confusion in her mind.

  "Stay where you are." Joss’s tone was strange as she stood in the open doorway.

  "Why?" All Maya wanted was to get out of the hut and away from the remains.

  But Joss just shook her head.

  "Because you're buck-naked, that's why."

  Chapter 26

  DESPITE THE HEAT within the hut, Maya felt a shiver run down her spine. The first time she'd burst into flame, she'd been mortally embarrassed. Nik had pushed her far during that session of training, and she'd exploded into a ball of fire incinerating all her clothing.

  It wasn't exactly the way a girl wanted to get naked with her guy.

  Nik had been the perfect gentleman, handing her his jacket and turning away until she was clothed.

  Right now, she concentrated on grabbing the rucksack Joss threw at her. She sank to a crouch and rummaged inside pulling out a change of clothes. Of course, she'd come prepared.

  A girl never knew when she'd burn her clothing off with a sudden burst of spontaneous combustion.

  Good thing not too many people had to live with her problem.