The Hand of Kali Box Set Vol 2
Page 47
“But what about me, Mom? What about what your son wants? He wants his mother to be around for as long as it is possible. And it’s possible with this boon. So I don’t understand why you won’t take advantage of it.”
She sighed deeply then stepped away, a shadow falling across her face. She shifted to look out the window, taking in the view of the blue ocean beyond the balcony of the suite.
“You have a destiny Nikhil. And I’m not meant to be a part of that future. You have to focus, to be the god you were meant to be. Having me live a long life isn’t going to help you either way. I’d rather hold onto that boon for someone else, someone who deserves it much more than I do.”
Nik shook his head. What in the world was his mother going on about? “Who would you be keeping that boon for?” he asked, his voice hard as his suspicions rose. “Don’t tell me I have a secret sibling hidden away somewhere?”
Archana burst out laughing. “Oh, Nik. You have no idea how hard it is, as the wife of a god, to do anything without some other god or demigod finding out. We’ve never lived a life of privacy, that’s something you should know all too well.”
Nik made a face. He’d been angry with her for years after she’d left him in Kailas, in his mind abandoned him with a father who had no idea how to be a dad. Still, he couldn’t fault her decision now. She’d done what she had to do, and he suspected she’d do it again. She’d made the biggest sacrifice of her life, she’d given away her only child in order for him to become who he was meant to be.
Exactly who that was, Nik was still learning. He’d find out soon enough what his true destiny was meant to be. The only thing he hoped was that he wasn’t going to have to replace Yama as God of Death.
He’d rather die first.
“Okay,” came his mom’s voice. Nik spun around to see her smiling hesitantly.
“What did you say?” he asked, almost afraid that he’d imagined her agreement.
“I said okay. I’ll take the Amrita this time. But I cannot promise to keep doing it. There will come a time when I will say no, Nikhil. And when that time does arrive, you must accept my choice.”
Nik smiled and went to her, grabbing her in his arms to give her a grateful hug. He knew this was just a short reprieve, but he didn’t care. He’d try to convince her again next time around.
And she’ll have to say yes. She just had to.
Chapter 12
Though relieved that his mom had finally agreed to take the Amrita, Nikhil was still concerned as to her reasons for initially refusing. And for her refusal of accepting the boon of immortal life.
She’d been so adamant that he’d begun to wonder if she knew something that he didn’t.
The not knowing left him feeling somewhat helpless and Nikhil wasn’t paying as much attention as he ought to and almost walked right into a woman walking toward him along the beach.
Her feet were bare, the bottom hem of her deep blue saree dragging along behind her in the waves as they crashed into her legs. She waded shin-high in the water, uncaring that her clothes were drenched, her attention focused solely on Nikhil.
Nik bowed his head when she reached him. “Greetings, Mother.”
“Greetings, Nikhil. Are you well?”
“I am, Mother. And I hope you are too?”
The exchange was awkward enough without Kali pretending to seriously consider Nik’s question before she laughed softly and said, “I am as I am, dear boy. But let us dispense with the formalities and address the issue at hand.”
At first, Nik was certain the goddess was there about Baba Yaga. Perhaps she was unhappy with how he’d handled the mission. Especially since his father hadn’t looked particularly thrilled. Had Yama called Kali in to have a little chat with her protégé?
Nik pushed the thoughts away and focused on what the goddess was saying. “Nikhil, there is a task that I wish you to perform on our behalf. One, if I were to be completely honest, is intricately entwined with the writing of your own fate.”
Nik blinked at the weight of the goddess’s words, but he simply tipped his head in respect, well aware that it was his responsibility to do everything possible to assist the goddess, even when her words tended to scare him from time to time.
“I will do everything in my power to help you, Mother.”
Kali smiled, her skin glowing, today holding not even a hint of the usual blue tinge while she took a stroll along a searingly hot Miami beach. “Thank you, Nikhil. I always know I can count on you.”
Nik simply smiled, hoping she’d explain so he wouldn’t continue to have curiosity eat at him as he patiently waited.
Kali waved a hand, and within a blink, the beach disappeared, and Nik and the goddess were now standing inside a stone temple, the cool dampness an all-too sudden transition from the heat of Miami.
Kali held out both her hands to indicate the temple around them. “This temple is important in our history, both in the past and the future. Do you know why?”
Nik nodded slowly. “This is the temple in the compound that belonged to Mother Radha who headed up the teams of the Kalima Agency. She passed away a few years ago though there was talk that she’d been given the boon of a second life to continue her good work.”
Kali nodded. “Talk, you say? Can I assume that my friend Chandragupta is responsible for such talk?”
Nik smiled at the goddess’s question. Chandragupta was Lord Yama’s scribe, responsible for recording the life, good deeds and sins of every person who passes through the gates of Patala on their way to their respective afterlives.
There was a running joke that nobody, not even the gods could bypass Chandragupta, and the scribe would often jokingly claim to be the real God of Justice and that Yama was simply a good-looking figurehead who would be lost without him.
Nik knew the two gods were the greatest of friends though and many a conversation between the pair and Nik himself were held in which various topics were discussed, one of which had been the Mother Radha who’d received a boon allowing her soul to move straight to rebirth without entering Patala or being judged by Chandragupta.
Though spoken of in a joking manner, Nik was aware that Radha’s rebirth had been authorized by his father as well as Mother Kali after long weeks of discussion. The decision had not been made lightly, that much was certain.
Nik simply smiled, unwilling to share the contents of his discussions with the scribe, and Kali only smiled in gentle approval. “Do not worry, Nikhil. I will not force you to reveal your sources. Instead, I would like to request a favor. Your help will be sorely needed in the days to come, and I have to send you to a small town in the state of California. I believe in the modern slang your placement there would be referred to as going undercover.”
Nik’s eyes widened. Kali was certainly well-informed when it came to the modern language, nothing much got past the intensely intelligent goddess.
“That’s certainly intriguing.” Nik smiled. “When will I be debriefed? And when does the mission begin?”
The goddess gave Nik a patient smile. “You’re being debriefed as we speak. And your mission will begin as soon as possible. Now, if you have nothing else tying up your immediate attention, you will be dispatched immediately.”
Nik nodded slowly, then asked, “What am I required to do while undercover on this mission?”
Kali nodded, her expression serious. “We require you to watch over a very special mortal. In the days to come, her life will be in danger from various agents who wish to eliminate her before she comes into her powers.”
He nodded. “Bodyguard duty?” he asked with a smile.
Kali was shaking her head, though. “More than just bodyguard duty, Nikhil. We wish for you to enter the school as a student, to become as close to a friend as possible to this young woman.”
Nikhil stared at the goddess Kali, unsure how he was supposed to react to her request. She wanted him to be a glorified babysitter?
He cleared his throat and straightened his
spine. “Am I the only person suitable for this job? I apologize. I have to ask because it seems...it seems like a job—”
Kali held out her hand, and Nik swallowed the rest of his words. “Nikhil. The girl you will be looking after is Mother Radha in her new incarnation.”
Nik’s ears were roaring now, and he almost missed the goddess’s next words. He had to focus hard to hear her as she said, “I gifted her with a power that would enable her to fulfill her wish to help protect us, but her power was bound for her own safety, and it has been growing. We are concerned with the how and the where of her powers breaking free. We want to ensure she remains safe until she receives her abilities. It’s imperative that her identity be kept secret until she comes into her power because if she is discovered too soon, her life will be in certain danger. If anything should happen to her, the future of our existence hangs in the balance.”
“Our existence?” Nik asked slowly, feeling his heart begin to race.
“Yes, my child. The very existence of all deities, even demigods like you, hangs in the balance. This girl, Maya Rao, is the key to ensuring we survive the war we will soon face.”
“War?” Nik asked, feeling a little too ignorant. Why had he not heard of this war? Or was Kali just being dramatic?
The goddess nodded slowly. “The gates of the lower realms of the underworld have slowly been losing their strength. Rakshasas, demons and a host of evil creatures are becoming bolder, testing the boundaries and discovering they can now cross much more easily than before, their lives no longer always at risk. The existence of this girl, the existence of her power, and her ability to wield that power, are second to none.”
“And she is the key to our survival?” said Nik, frowning at the deadly serious expression on the goddess’s face.
Kali smiled eyes glittering with hope now. “Yes, Nikhil. She is our hope.”
“What makes her so special?” he asked.
The goddess’s reply was all the explanation Nik would ever need.
“She is the Hand of Kali.”
THE END
Find out what’s next for Maya and gang in Gods & Mortals - Hand of Kali #6
which releases Nov 2019
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A HAND OF KALI NOVEL BOOK 5.5
Copyright © 2019 by T.G. Ayer
All rights reserved.
Cover art by T.G. Ayer
Cover art © T.G. Ayer. All rights reserved.
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This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the Retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
The Hand of Kali Series
Maya and her family have trouble on their tail, and they’ll have to get creative in order to ensure they stay alive long enough to figure how to deal with the KALIMA board and who is behind poisoning the minds of Dev & Leela’s friends and employees.
Joss is left with having to deal with the changes her body is undergoing, and she may end up rethinking her statement that she’s going to make an awesome vampire demon hunter.
Ria can’t go back to the compound in India either, and she’ll need to figure out how to handle being on the run, and facing all the changes in Maya’s life the she’d not been privy to. At least she’s gotten over the worst part aka the talking four-eyed hellhound.
And Maya has her plate full. Even if she thought that one day she’d stop blaming herself for Joss’s condition, Maya realizes she was just kidding herself. Watching Joss change, physically and emotionally, is far too hard on her. And watching a friend suffer can lead a person to do desperate things. And when you’re the Hand of Kali and can wield fire, read minds, and find demons by smelling their blood, it probably means you’re kinda dangerous. And after the way Maya lopped off one demon’s head and slit another’s throat she’s not sure if she even recognizes herself anymore. How far will she go to fix things, and will she only end up making it all worse?
You can find out in Gods & Mortals - Hand of Kali #7
which releases Nov 2019
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The Hand of Kali Series
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