The Hand of Kali Box Set Vol 2

by T. G. Ayer

  Ria raised her hand and a second later, she and the goddess were gone, the ebony of Chayya’s leather pants and sari merging with the shadows, leaving Joss, Maya and Dev staring at each other, while Sabala watched them watch each other.

  Joss’s skin was paler, a little greyer than it had been before the attack. She needed a sit-down and a full update on her situation DNA wise, and Maya suspected that when that did happen, her friend was not going to take it lying down.

  Before any of them could speak, Nik arrived and held out an arm to Maya’s dad. The two men left and Chayya returned a second later.

  “Joss? May I take you now?”

  Maya grunted. “We have to go at the same time. She needs my energy.”

  “Maya. I’m sure I can manage for a few seconds. Besides, you’ve been expending a lot of your energy on the protective field and I’m managing just fine.”

  Chayya was frowning so Maya said, “I’m supporting a protective field inside Joss’s mind. If I’m not there to boost it, she’s likely going to go back into a coma.”

  Joss cut in. “And if she does, she’ll be perfectly fine until you get to her. Which will be in a matter of seconds.”

  In the face of Joss’s logic, Maya had no choice but to simply nod. “Wait for Nik to return and we all go together. Besides, I’d rather not be left here all by myself. Call me chicken. I don’t care.”

  Joss narrowed her eyes as she studied Maya’s face. Maya knew what her friend was thinking. That she was pretending to want company to force Joss to stay. Which was only partly true.

  The multitude of situations they were facing, from the KALIMA betrayal to the demon in Joss’s mind to the attack on their home, were all weighing heavily on Maya. She wanted to cry and to scream and to stamp her foot at the unfairness of it all.

  So, she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t want to be alone. If they did leave her by herself, she’d likely curl up in a ball and cry her eyes out.

  And Joss must have seen something in her eyes because she sighed and came to stand closer to Maya. “Okay, girl. I’m staying.”

  Nik materialized, ending the conversation as he said, “Who’s next?” Then he saw Chayya and gave the goddess a respectful smile. “All together on three?” he asked, including Sabala in the question.

  Sabala snuffed and Maya nodded. Then the goddess of shadows held onto her waist, while Nik gripped Joss’s shoulders gently.

  The five of them faded away from the room and as they left, Maya could feel the protective barrier disintegrate. She imagined she could sense the dining room and study collapse into the space they’d just evacuated, and the thought of her home utterly destroyed brought tears to her eyes.

  When they materialized inside an unfamiliar room, Maya’s view was blurred by the tears which had filled her eyes and burned her throat. She blinked them away, uncaring that they were falling onto her cheeks and trailing down to her chin.

  She’d never been an attractive crier. In the movies, women still looked elegant and sexy as tears trail down their cheek’s barely affecting their perfect makeup.

  But Maya didn’t care now. Her world had just fallen apart. If she looked like crap while crying for her broken world, she didn’t give a damn.

  As her feet settled onto the floor, she glanced around to find her family, Nik, Chayya, and Sabala, all gathered in somber silence.

  She cleared her throat. “Where are we?”

  Dev replied, looking out the giant picture window at the darkness where moonlight silvered the tops of hundreds of trees below the house. He said, “I’ve had this place for years. Just in case we needed to hide you away. At least it has finally come in handy.”

  “Are you sure they won’t track us down?”

  “What about the chips?” asked Maya.

  “They won’t be able to track us while you have the barrier up.”

  Maya blinked and looked around her, realizing she’d barely registered the fact that she’d kept the protective field up even while they’d been transported to the forest safehouse. Her dad hadn’t exactly said where they were, but it was still night so they could be in any of the states right now.

  “Okay. Can we get the chips out before I drop this field? And maybe we can do it quick because I’m about to pass out.”

  Dev nodded and dug inside his satchel before withdrawing a small case. Leela hurried to Ria first and touched her shoulder. Ria met Maya’s mom’s eyes, her expression displaying her fear and her disappointment. Something Maya understood all too well. Her parents had known they were all tagged, and they’d never said a word about it.

  As though listening in on Maya’s thoughts, Leela spoke while she cleaned a spot on Ria’s neck with a cotton ball and a disinfectant solution. “I know you guys are upset that you weren’t told about the chips, but I promise we had only the best of intentions. We had no idea something like this would ever happen.”

  “If you want to look at the access records, I have the download reports on file,” Dev offered, looking around at all the girls. “You’ll be able to see that neither Leela nor I have ever accessed the chip, not even when Maya left for Patala, or when Ria was in the compound without us to watch over her.”

  Maya nodded, though her eyes remained on the small scalpel in his hand as he approached Ria. “I’m assuming those reports should also show us if any of the board members have accessed the chips?”

  Dev nodded in reply then placed the blade against Ria’s skin. “This will hurt but the numbing solution should take the edge off.” Ria nodded and swallowed then took a slow breath as the blade sliced the skin behind her ear.

  Maya watched in silence as the cut in Ria’s skin revealed a tiny device no bigger than a drop of blood. Her dad eased it out of Ria’s skin with a pair of tweezers and dropped it into a small metal case. He screwed the lid tight and held it up to the group. “This case acts like a barrier to prevent anyone from accessing the chip. They won’t be able to find any of us once the chips are removed.”

  “Wait,” Maya held up a hand. “Are you and Mom chipped as well?” She’d heard it mentioned but she hadn’t believed it until now.

  Her parents both nodded, though their expressions were equally grim. Leela sighed. “Yes, we chipped everyone as a precaution. It was only meant to be used to save any agent who is out in the field and in danger. Our jobs are dangerous enough without knowing that if things go wrong, we’re going to be abandoned. But it seems the whole plan backfired on us after all.”

  Maya’s gut twisted with sadness for her parents. Her anger at them for not revealing she’d been chipped like a pet, faded a little considering they were in the same boat as she was.

  Her parents proceeded to remove Joss’s chip, under Sabala’s keen supervision of course. He seemed divided in his loyalties at the moment, though Maya thought it was touching how much he cared for her BFF.

  Then her mom and dad worked on each other’s chips, while Chayya and Nik watched in silence. Maya wasn’t sure how to interpret their expressions. They looked as though the idea of being chipped wasn’t at all unusual.

  “You don’t look upset at the idea of being tracked,” Maya asked Nik softly.

  He glanced at her and smiled. “In many ways, it’s exactly like the way gods are able to track each other. Of course, it’s an ability we are all aware of and we are all able to hide ourselves should we wish to have our locations remain private.”

  Maya shrugged. “Well, at least you guys have a privacy setting. And you know about it.” Maya saw her mom flinch slightly at her words and she felt bad. “Sorry, Mom. I understand why you did what you did. I’ll get over it. Just please don’t tell me you guys have the ability to hack our computers and phones to spy on us.”

  Dev straightened as Leela placed a butterfly Band-Aid on the cut behind his ear. “Unfortunately Maya, any good hacker has that ability. Which means I’m going to need everyone’s devices. We’re either going to have to take measures to secure our electronics or just stay of
f them altogether.”

  Joss nodded, a finger to her Band-Aid. “Maybe we should just stay offline for the foreseeable future. We’re all together and safe for now, right?” she said looking over at Dev.

  “For now. Once we’re done removing Maya’s tracker, we can grab the electronics and then let her drop the field. Then everyone gets some sleep.”

  Maya said nothing as her parents approached with cotton balls and liquids and scalpels and metal cases. The hellhound left Joss sitting on the sofa and approached Maya who remained steady while her mom swabbed her skin and applied the numbing creme. The removal of the chip felt strange, like a pimple being popped but only much weirder.

  When her dad dropped the chip into the metal case and screwed on the lid, she let out a soft huff. “Good. Now they can’t follow us.”

  Leela reached out to place a Band-Aid on her skin, but Maya shook her head. “I don’t need it. I’ll heal the cut.”

  “No, you won’t young lady. You’re expending too much energy as it is. You get a Band-Aid and you get to rest after you drop the field. Then you can bother with healing yourself.” As her mom ended her stern instructions she looked down at Maya’s wound and the blood coating her pants. The fabric had grown stiff as it dried, confirming the bleeding had slowed. “Maybe I need to attend to this before you bleed out?”

  “It’s not bleeding so much anymore. And I’d rather not have to divide my attention while you fix it. The bullet is still in there so I’m probably going to pass out or need painkillers which means I won’t be able to keep the field going while you work.”

  Sabala looked up at Maya, but she said, Don’t say anything. I need to make sure they are all safe.

  Very well. I will abide by your request, but should your life be in danger, I will choose to save you before anyone else.

  Maya wasn’t sure how to respond to the hellhounds curt reply so she said nothing. Her mom straightened and gave her sober nod. Her eyes were sad though, and she wrapped her arms around Maya, uncaring at the PDA. Maya heard her mom whisper in her ears, “I’ve never been more proud of you, honey.”

  And somehow those words were enough to make Maya feel a little better.

  Chapter 36

  Maya was sitting on the sofa and trying to focus on keeping the barrier strong while her parents gathered everyone’s electronics together. Sabala sat at her feet now while everyone else had chosen a spot on the sofas or floor cushions.

  She watched in silence as her dad placed a pile of computers, iPads and cellphones inside the metal box which looked like an extra-large toolbox. He’d wheeled it in after asking everyone to empty their bags and now he was stacking all the devices inside.

  “I’ll go through them all and will give back whatever I can disconnect from Wi-Fi or hacker access.”

  Nobody replied, probably because nobody really cared about social networking and phones and tablets right now. When a person’s life was on the line, priorities tended to change.

  Dev snapped the locks on the case shut and got to his feet. He shoved the box against the far wall. “I’ll take that downstairs later and have a look through.”

  “I’m assuming you have some sort of protected area downstairs?” asked Maya, trying to focus on something else other than her fading strength.

  Dev chuckled and smiled at his wife. “We made one smart kid. Our job is done.”

  “You’re so funny, Dad. Can I drop this field now?”

  He paused to glance around at the gathered group. “Everyone good? Haven’t forgotten anything?” When they all shook their heads, he looked over at Maya. “You’re good to go.”

  With a sigh of relief that she felt inside her bones, Maya relaxed the field and allowed the power to return to her core chakra. And registered how low on energy she’d become.

  Almost at the same time, Nik asked, “How much power are you functioning on, Maya?”

  She smiled at him. “Not much. I’m not sure if I need sleep first or fixing up first.”

  “Perhaps you need food and water first. And, a moment to take a breath. Everything else can wait.” Chayya was the voice of reason, and even Leela stilled and then relaxed. Had the goddess not spoken, Maya’s mom would have been fussing over her, giving her no time to collect herself.

  Now, Leela and Nik left the room to prepare the food while Dev settled on the sofa to palpate his wound. Ria was on a seat near the window, eyes closed, though her foot bobbed every now and then to confirm she was still awake. Only Joss remained at Maya’s side, her eyes filled with worry.

  “Joss, you should rest.”

  “I will if you will,” Joss replied, her tone stubborn. Maya would have rolled her eyes if she had the energy. Instead, she simply sighed as her muscles relaxed.

  Then she stiffened, though she didn’t open her eyes. “Shit, I’m probably bleeding all over the sofa.”

  Dev chuckled. “So am I and so is Ria. We shall all bear the responsibility of destroying the furniture.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Maya mumbled. Darkness had begun to close in on her and she had almost given in when something prodded her arm.

  “Don’t you sleep yet. Food’s here,” said Joss, her tone worried and when Maya opened her eyes, she found her friend staring at her, fear and vampire DNA marring her beautiful face.

  Maya blinked hard and pushed herself to sit back up. On the coffee table was a platter bearing collection of sandwiches ranging from tuna, egg-mayo to cheese and tomato. None were particularly enticing but all food equated to energy and Maya reached for a triangle of egg-mayo.

  “I still think I should take you all to Patala. You will all be safe there,” Nik said, his brow furrowed.

  Maya and Joss exchanged a look. After a moment, Joss gave a quick nod—permission to tell Nik.

  “Kali came to see me but she couldn’t help. Although she has given me some guidance. The demon was given a boon of immortality from Kali.”

  “Which means Kali can’t do anything to end her life,” Nik finished.

  “Exactly.”

  “Who is the demon?” he asked.

  “Name’s Kripali. She’s hella strong too. I’m still amazed Joss was able to stop her from taking control.”

  Nik didn’t reply though he’d blinked the tiniest bit, enough to say that the mahavitala’s name had been familiar.

  Joss shrugged. “I just acted out of instinct. Still not sure what I did. But it didn’t stop her from messing with my body.”

  Chayya shifted from where she’d been standing behind the sofa opposite Maya. She came around to sit beside Joss and take hold of her hand. After a few moments, she laid Joss’s hand back onto her lap and smiled sadly before looking over at Leela and Dev.

  Maya found the action quite poignant, as though even Chayya acknowledged them as Joss’s parents. Chayya said, “I see you are aware.”

  Both parents nodded.

  Nik said, “Aware of what?”

  Dev spoke, relieving Maya of recounting Joss’s condition. He ran through the DNA changes and spoke slowly, given this was the first time Joss was hearing the technical details.

  “She’s messed with my DNA?” asked Joss softly. Then she touched her cheek. “Does that explain why I’m so pale?”

  Dev nodded. “Your DNA has been rewired. And I don’t think it’s reversable.”

  “I’m going to look like this forever?” she asked, her eyes wide with horror.

  Leela sighed and leaned forward. “It’s possibly going to get worse, Joss.”

  “Worse how? I already look like a zombie. Am I going to start shedding skin or something? Do I have to look forward to being a walking skeleton?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then what exactly?” Joss asked, her tone sharp. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just….”

  “Don’t worry, Joss,” Dev said. “We’re all on edge right now. And I understand how you feel. Although we would have chosen not to tell you right now, it seemed a little unfair what with the changes you ar
e likely to face.”

  Leela sighed and sent her husband a dark look. “Joss, you need to know exactly what is going to happen to you. Would you like me to speak to you in private?”

  Joss looked around her and then shook her head. “All the people who matter are here, so I think it’s only fair we are all updated.”

  Leela nodded, though her face remained the picture of grief. “While the demon was in possession of your mind, she was also slowly poisoning your body. You all know how the demons and spirits work to take over a mortal’s form, eventually killing the host in order to take full control. So, while you did manage to lock her out of your mind, it left your body vulnerable.”

  “How bad is it?” Joss spoke with zero emotion.

  “It’s bad. And likely not reversible unless there are genetic advances in the near future that could reverse the changes.”

  “So I’m going to turn into a vampire?”

  “Yes.”

  “You weren’t supposed to say yes,” Joss said, her voice almost a whine.

  Maya smiled as her mom chuckled and said, “Sorry, honey. Maybe it’s more sort of than yes. You won’t be the walking dead, by any means. But the texture of your skin will change. And the composition of your blood as well.”

  Joss groaned. “Please don’t tell me I’m going to need human blood to survive? If that happens, I don’t see any of you guys willing to line up and donate.”

  Maya snorted. “I will donate if it comes to that.”

  “Maya. I was joking,” Joss said, glaring at Maya. Then she threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, so I’m guessing I’ll be needing blood then?”

  Leela shook her head. “That part we don’t know. I can only say let’s wait and see.” She looked over at Nik and Chayya. “Nik? You have any ideas of what we should expect?”

  He shook his head. “I wish I could say yes but I’ve never seen a case where the human resisted and still retained control of her mind.” He looked over at Chayya.

  The goddess nodded. “Neither have I. Usually, by now the human host is dead and the demon is in full control. At which time the ingestion of human blood is required in order to keep the body alive. But I am aware of the interaction between the human body and the mind, so I’m certain this is a unique situation.”