by T. G. Ayer
"Do you know where he is?" A hint of urgency edged Amber’s voice. A lilt of desperation that implied Amber really needed to know where the demon had gone. Why the heck was she so desperate to know?
"I’m sorry. I have no idea where he is." Maya was careful to keep her tone as neutral as possible.
"Thanks for dropping by Amber." Joss sent the girl a tight smile that said plainly You’re done now so you can leave.
Amber stared at the trio of girls, then stalked off. Maya held herself stiff against the deepest need to sigh in relief. She sensed eyes on her. She couldn't afford to show any kind of weakness.
"What was that all about?" Joss stared at Amber’s back as she returned to her group of minions.
"No idea," Maya answered, but it was a lie. She knew what Amber wanted. She wanted exactly what she asked. Where was Byron?
The girls split up after school, each going their own way. Maya walked, deep in thought, passing big piles of rust-colored leaves as she went. Contemplating the new rules of her new life, the new purpose she now had, she almost missed the buzzing of her cellphone.
She fished the phone out of her jeans pocket, skimming the incoming text from Ria.
Had to go back to school. Come keep me company. I’ll be at my locker.
Strange text, but Maya spun on her heel and headed back to the now eerily silent building. At least the main doors were still unlocked. She pushed through and strode down the hallway, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum floor. It didn’t take long to get to the bank of lockers housing Ria’s locker, but the place sat silent and empty.
Maya scanned the hall. Nobody in sight, not a sound to indicate the place was occupied.
And yet.
She sniffed. The strange odor again. Rich blood and spicy incense. A heady, nauseating mixture burning at the back of Maya’s throat. She swallowed to keep from throwing up all over herself.
A wave of cold spiked down her spine. The hairs on her neck prickled. She wasn’t alone.
The strong smell of blood curled around her, assaulting her nostrils. Maya turned, almost expecting to see Byron, revived. The living dead come back to take his revenge. But it wasn’t Byron who’d brought her to the darkened school, all alone and defenseless.
Amber stood in the middle of the hallway, her head tilted slightly to the right, tight curls shadowing the side of her face, shading her eyes in sinister darkness. It used to be a signature cute tilt that said I’m popular and you really really want to be like me. Today the pose seemed weird. As if Amber no longer had control of her body.
Maya clicked her tongue under her breath. Amber had come up behind her so quickly she hadn't had time to remove the Madu from her bag. Now she slipped her hand beneath the flap of the satchel, hoping the dim light would hide the movement.
"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," said Amber, her voice sounding a little off-color.
About to respond with a rude remark, Maya met Amber's eyes. And clamped her jaws shut in shock. Amber’s eyes glowed the hot red of molten lava.
Chapter 16
Maya didn’t stop. The point of the horn brushed against her seeking fingertips and Maya groped for the weapon, dragging it forth and dropping the satchel off her shoulder. She needed to be unhindered and ignored the contents of the bag as they scattered across the floor.
Only two practice sessions didn’t give Maya the skill of a true warrior but she knew enough to defend herself and probably enough to damage her opponent with her vicious horns.
She hoped.
In the darkened silence of the school hall Maya faced the Rakshasa who possessed the body of Amber. It made sense; the two demons had worked together to drug Joss and force Maya into the house.
Maya faced a pissed-off demon looking for her partner.
As far as Maya could tell, Amber had brought no weapon with her, had held nothing within her hands, nor had she drawn anything from a pocket or sleeve. Yet now she held knives. Gleaming, deadly, sharp knives.
It took precious seconds for Maya to process the knives weren't separate weapons. They were merely extensions to Amber’s body. Every fingernail ended in a sharp, silver edged claw, and Maya now stared at ten deadly weapons capable of shredding her to pieces.
They circled each other, and Amber struck first. Maya swayed out of the way, arching as far back as possible, and prayed it was enough. She felt the air move against the skin of her abdomen, heard the fabric of her jacket rip as Amber’s nails tore into the garment.
Maya didn’t wait. She jumped and swirled, a roundhouse kick ending in a swipe with the Madu at the demon. Amber sidestepped the attack, raising her eyebrow in an is-that-all-you-got? look. Maya gritted her teeth in frustration. Of course, it wouldn’t end so easily. What had she been thinking?
Amber came at her again and again, until pain raced through Maya's arm, followed closely by a warm moisture seeping into her sleeve. She’d been hit. No time to inspect injuries. Maya backpedaled, and tripped over the strap of her abandoned satchel. She slumped to the floor and watched Amber race at her, taking full advantage of Maya's clumsy misstep.
Amber fell onto Maya, the demon’s aim clearly to pin her to the ground. Maya had other ideas. She’d tucked her foot close to her body as she fell, angling toward the demon as she attacked. At just the right moment, Maya lifted the sole of her foot, planted it into Amber’s stomach and used the force of her landing to flip the other girl and throw her over.
The demon flew, the momentum of Maya’s fall and the impact of the two girls enough to propel the Amber-demon across the hall into another bank of lockers a few feet away.
Amber grunted, and rose, holding her stomach.
"What the hell do you want?" Maya shouted, getting back up so she could protect herself better.
Amber laughed and her voice echoed, a deep spine-chilling variation freezing Maya's blood. "We want you, Maya. We want you."
"Well you are going to have to try harder. I’m no easy catch," said Maya, wondering at the folly of challenging the Rakshasa. Too late now.
"Don’t you worry Maya Rao. We have your scent now. We have finally found you."
"What do you want from me?"
"What do we want? Surely you know." The demon laughed and for one awful moment Maya thought she saw the horrible deep red of the Rakshasa’s true face. "We want your soul."
Maya frowned. Her parents hadn't said anything about the Rakshasas wanting her soul. Perhaps there’s more to this attack than even Mom and Dad know.
The demon seemed to gain stamina merely from her statement. She attacked again. Renewed by determination and fear, Maya settled into a comfortable rhythm. She owned the Madus. They balanced within her palms, part of her body.
Only one problem - the Rakshasa possessed the same comfort with her own weapons. She swiped Maya with the back of her hand, the blow sending her crashing into a line of lockers. A few doors snapped opened, spilling their contents into the path of the demon.
Slightly stunned from the impact, Maya blinked a few times. Her heart pounded in desperation. She had no time to waste being knocked out. She jumped back to her feet keeping a bead on Amber who came barreling at her, swiping left and right with her clawed hands.
Maya used the Madus to defend the attack, stepped a little to her right and planted a kick straight into Amber's ribs. They both heard the crack, but Amber seemed unconcerned. Of course. This was only the body of the host. Most likely the demon would find another to possess.
Maya remembered Ria and the strange text luring her to the empty school.
"How did you get Ria’s phone?"
The demon laughed, an almost baritone chuckle, so out of place within the tiny frame of the beautiful Amber.
"Where is Ria? What have you done to her?"
The Rakshasa may have hurt Ria. Spurred by that rage, furious that the demons were targeting friends, Maya attacked.
She spun on the ball of her foot, keeping clear of the fingertips of blades. Maya surged forward, f
eigning a move to the right, which the demon blocked with ease. Maya dodged fast to the left, slicing the angry tip of her weapon across Amber’s bared jugular.
Blood spurted in a long red stream, the spray decorating the lockers and walls. The Amber-demon fell to the floor, clutching her neck. The Rakshasa brightness in her eyes faded. Maya couldn't take her eyes off the dying girl. She watched until her eyes returned to their warm hazel, and until the brief flickering of life faded.
Maya’s first instinct was to close the girl’s eyes, but a strange heated breeze brushed against her and she stiffened. She turned, and out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed the raw form of the demon. But when Maya faced it head-on it seemed shrouded in strange creeping shadows.
The Rakshasa growled, so loud and angry, the sound rattling the windows and sending the open doors of the lockers swaying back and forth. She hurled herself at Maya, the heat of its rage almost singeing Maya’s cheeks.
Maya stepped back and fell, her heel catching on a fat marker from her bag. The demon kept coming, ten deadly blades on a collision course with Maya’s chest.
And then the demon was swallowed by streams of shadow, disintegrating into blackness and Maya hit the ground, still in one piece.
Chapter 17
Maya shivered on the cold floor as dark wispy shadows swirled and faded into nothingness. Still in shock, she pulled herself to sit upright, scanning the hallways in case the demon was hiding in a shadowy corner. She needed to get up, and get out of the school before anyone found her there.
She stared again at the shadows. Something still felt wrong. Amber lay dead, her cold corpse blood-drenched on the hall floor, her blood decorating the walls in ghastly patterns.
The blood was enough to make Maya want to vomit. She shivered at the heady, revolting scent and forced her limbs to act, to drag herself back to stand on her shaking legs.
Maya turned to gather the contents of her bag, and froze. The dusky shadows beside the lockers shifted. As she stared, the wisps of shadow darkened, coalesced into a small, seemingly fragile woman.
Maya jerked her weapons about, ready to attack, as depleting adrenaline spiked back into her veins.
"You need not fear me, child," she said, her voice soft, and honey-warm, her deep brown eyes delicately almond shaped. Even her smile radiated beauty. Nothing like the coldness of dark shadows from which she’d emerged.
Maya, hands shaking, refused to relax until she knew who her newest opponent was. She remained in attack mode and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Chayya. Goddess of the Shadows and of the Shade."
Maya’s mouth formed a small and silent ‘o’ and Chayya’s pale pink lips turned up in a kind smile. Maya frowned, trying to recall if she’d ever heard of Chayya, but she drew a blank. Maybe she was one of the more obscure gods. Come to think of it, Maya had never heard of a goddess of shadows.
Maya scanned Chayya’s face. She looked young for a goddess but then again what did Maya really know about gods and goddesses? Chayya stepped toward Maya, her long hair swaying behind her, hands tattooed in intricate henna patterns.
Maya stiffened but the goddess seemed unfazed. "Maya, I am here to help. There is not much time." Chayya glanced around at the bloodied walls and the corpse at Maya's feet. "We need to hurry and get you out of here."
In one smooth movement, Chayya grabbed the hanging end of her dark blue sari, swung it around her and tucked into the front of her skirt. It was the most mundane of actions but it brought Maya back to her senses.
Chayya chuckled before kneeling to help gather Maya's books and stationery from the floor. "This attire is not suitable for battle, but it will do for now. Come child. Get your things. We should leave now."
"I can’t. I have to find someone." Maya shuddered, fearing what the demon may have done to Ria.
"We do not have time."
"I don’t have a choice." Maya’s body iced over, and heated up again just as fast. She had been disrespectful to a Goddess. Never mind her previous inclination to scoff at the mythology, the real thing was standing right in front of her, challenging her to disbelieve. "I’m sorry. My friend’s life may be in danger."
"Very well. I shall call on the shadows to help. We do not have time to waste."
Maya frowned but continued searching the floor for her stuff. She grabbed her makeup bag, using it to deposit anything drenched in Amber’s blood. Done, she rose to watch Chayya who now stood, arms akimbo, eyes closed.
Chayya murmured words beneath her breath, the rhythm and tone reminding Maya of a priest’s incantations. Her heart thumped double time. Smoky shadows swam from corners and crevices in the hallway, speeding toward the goddess who called to them. They gathered around Chayya, spinning in a vortex of nothingness until they exploded in a hundred different directions as if orchestrated to instantaneously burst off down the hallways and into classrooms.
"Never mind them now, let them do their work," said Chayya, as if she’d just sent a group of kids off to play. Maya wouldn’t have been surprised had the goddess dusted her hands together, satisfied her work was done. She watched Chayya out of the corner of her eye, wondering if all the gods and goddesses looked as young as she did. Must be nice to appear twenty-five forever. Maya pulled herself from her thoughts as Chayya asked, "Do you have everything?"
Maya nodded. "Why did you come?"
"You needed help, Maya. I have been charged with watching over you. And with supplying you with a little bit of education too. And so I came."
"How did you know I needed help? And why do you want to help me?"
"Because you are special. You are someone we have waited for. For a very long time the world has been in dire need of a person with strength, knowledge and power."
"And you think I am this person." Although Maya refrained from injecting her self-contempt into her question, some of her emotion leaked through.
"Knowledge is gained from experience Maya. You have only just come into this power. Thus you need patience and tenacity."
Maya nodded, her mind drifting to the possible danger that Ria could be in. All because of her. How much good was she when she risked her friends lives just by knowing them?
They were ready to leave and Maya flinched as pain filtered through her forearm where the demon had wounded her. She was about to ask how long the shadows would take to search the place when little patches of foggy darkness flitted back and encircled the goddess. They came from every direction, converging on her like a million black moths to a living flame.
"She is not anywhere within this building Maya." Chayya's voice reverberated around the hall, echoing into the darkness.
"How can you be sure?"
"The shadows know life from death. They would know if your friend were here."
Dread seeped through Maya’s veins like lethargic molasses. "And if she weren't alive?"
"Then they would sense her too. Every living thing has a life force and even when death comes, a certain living spirit remains until the body is disposed of," Chayya said, her voice gentle. "Do not worry Maya, your friend is not here and she is not dead. It means we need to search elsewhere. Come, let us leave this place."
Amber’s corpse lay shrouded in inky shadows, steeped in cool, curdling blood, the story of her violent death told on the red-streaked walls around her.
The goddess and the girl turned and disintegrated into nothingness and shadows.
Maya blinked as Chayya deposited her in front of Ria's house. She felt slightly queasy from the whole disappearing and reappearing experience. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to ever do that again. Teleportation certainly wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Chayya glanced up at the Gupta's house. "This is where your friend is."
"That's great, thank you." Maya grinned and made to move to the front steps when Chayya touched her arm.
"I do not think you want to go there."
"Why not?" Maya tugged her hand away, trying not to be obviously rude.
/> "I sense the Rakshasa inside. It would be unwise for you to engage the demon while your friend's parents are present."
"Okay, I won't go barging in then. I need to make sure Ria is okay."
Chayya didn't reply. She nodded, and disintegrated into shadows.
Maya took a deep breath and bounded up the stairs to the Gupta's front door. She jabbed the bell, her stomach doing cartwheels. The Gupta’s doorbell chimed, playing a popular Indian tune. Maya scowled. Ria’s father really needed to step into the modern age. She tapped her foot, hardly able to wait until someone opened up.
At last, she was greeted by Ria’s mother who bore the harried expression of a harried wife. Strands of hair escaped the bun tied low at the back of her head, a bright red dot broke the frown lines on her forehead and a smear of flour streaked across her cheek. Of course, no male member of their household would answer the door. Ria’s dad had strange rules.
Mrs. Gupta beckoned Maya inside, a tense smile broke the sober lines on her face. “Hello, Maya.”
“Hello Auntie Sunita. Is Ria home?”
Ria’s mom peeked over her shoulder into the sitting room where Maya was certain Mr. Gupta sat, paying close attention to their conversation. She looked back at Maya, a sadness darkening her pretty green eyes as she shook her head. “Ria is home but she has chores. Can I give her a message?”
Maya was relieved despite being given the old Gupta runaround. At least Ria was home and safe.
“That’s alright Auntie. I’ll speak to her tomorrow.”
Maya turned to leave and caught a glimpse of Ria in the front room. She stood beside the table lamp, the light casting shadows across her face. Maya’s stomach twisted with dread. Something was wrong.
She backed away, walking home as fast as she could, trying to convince herself she’d imagined Ria’s cold sneer and gleaming red eyes.
Chapter 18
The Rao household was silent. Shock settled like the first snow flurry, slowly cooling its occupants into a bland and emotionless silence, one step away from mourning. Maya saw the look on her mom's face; the pained expression of a woman who desperately needed to cry but who held herself in check so as not to upset her daughter.
