The Hand of Kali Box Set (Books 1-3)

by T. G. Ayer

  "This is getting creepy," said Claudia as she too stared at the ruby liquid as if was about to come alive. She'd come to stand right beside Sabala, who now raised his eyes to give her an appraising look. Claudia remained oblivious that she was standing half an inch from him, and Maya was all the happier for it.

  "And it hasn't been creepy until now?" Maya snorted. "Woman, you are getting jaded in your old age."

  Claudia clicked her tongue softly. "You don't know the half of it, chica." She gave the scene a nod. "So, break it down slowly for this old woman, okay?"

  Shaking her head Maya said, "The blood is fresh, not yet congealed. Same blood as the alley in Prague. They were here not very long ago. Probably left minutes before the scene was discovered." Maya circled the soiled floor and went to stand against the balcony. "It's strange, though," she said, staring out at the horizon but seeing not a thing.

  "What's strange?" Claudia prompted her. Maya pulled her gaze from the view and met Claudia's concerned eyes. She'd stopped speaking, sidetracked by her discovery.

  She inhaled, the sound harsh even to her own ears. "Sorry. But it's totally weird. The blood was not dripped onto the floor from each of them individually, not like a wound of any sort. Even if they both opened a vein and bled onto the floor, the patterns would alternate as each drop fell into the pool. One drop, then the next, each one displacing the one that follows. I can only guess that it's been mixed together well before being dropped onto the floor."

  "Ritual?" asked Claudia, her voice and expression fatigued. Her injuries must be taking their toll on her and Maya reminded herself that she should keep an eye on Claudia.

  Now, she nodded. "Yeah. Definitely some kind of ritual. The blood looks like it was dropped from a container. See on the right, that configuration of drops." Maya pointed as the scattered collection of irregular sized blood droplets. "It looks like the contents was tipped onto the ground but at a slight angle so there is a small amount of splatter on the one edge. And there are traces of holy basil leaves and graveyard ash, and I also smell camphor."

  Claudia frowned. "Pray tell, how the hell you know all this without forensic training?"

  Giving a shrug, Maya said, "It's got nothing to do with training. It's more like I can see and sense how it happened. Almost like a vision of it pops into my head and I can see it happening, the bowl tipping, the blood falling, hitting the ground, splashing on the edges." Maya paused as she put into words what her process of tracking had evolved into over the last few weeks.

  "Don't forget the whole sniffer dog routine."

  "Hilarious," said Maya as she faced the view again, still distracted. "She's alive," she murmured half to herself.

  "What?"

  Maya glanced at Claudia over her shoulder. "Deb McGowan. She's still alive."

  "How do you know that?" Claudia's tone sharpened as she stepped closer to Maya. Sabala got to his feet, watching her intently before deciding she wasn't a danger.

  Maya shrugged, then gave a pointed glance at the mess on the floor. The blood was beginning to cool and congeal, looking a little gluggy around the edges. "There isn't enough blood there to indicate she'd been bled dry. And the demon must want her to perform this ritual again, because it sure looks to me like it failed big-time."

  Maya sucked in a breath sharply as her sight began to fade, darkening at the edges as if she was about to pass out.

  Not again.

  She grabbed tightly onto the balcony and blinked vigorously. But even as her sight slowly returned she knew she was seeing something other than the expansive view of the city.

  Her eyes focused and she found herself watching a girl sleep, watching the vein beat at her temple, her low hairline almost hiding the pumping vein with a shock of jet-black hair. The girl's eye's were shut, but somehow Maya knew they were a dark, brown like her own.

  Maya sucked in a shocked breath as her stomach pinched and she a deep hunger pierced her belly. She stifled a gasp at the pinch in her throat, the insatiable thirst which confirmed she was the one who craved the taste of blood, who wanted to consume every last drop the girl could offer.

  A part of her mind reminded her that this was a vision, not real, just images in her head, but the taste on her tongue making her mouth water, and the hunger in her gut pushing her deep need to insane levels, made her wonder.

  She found herself turning her gaze slowly to face a man whose features were hidden by shadows. The room was familiar too. The smells, the walls and roof.

  She'd seen this place before.

  The shack from her vision

  Chapter 17

  And with a start Maya recognized the shack. The same shack from her first vision when she'd known that Nik would not come back for them. Was this how it connected? Would he have abandoned them in the demon's hovel if they hadn't taken other precautions?

  But Maya didn't have to ponder what would have been. She forced herself to concentrate on the subject of her scrutiny; the man who also seemed so familiar.

  He shifted, a step closer and the shadows changed, revealing his long, gaunt features, his unusual height. The man who'd shoved Claudia into the road. The demon, who answered to the killer Rakshasi.

  Now, Maya paid full attention.

  "Find me another one." The words left her own mouth, but she wasn't the one speaking. "This one is soon going to be of no use to me." The woman's voice was soft, and husky. And familiar.

  What the hell is going on?

  "Will you perform the ritual again?" The man's voice grated on Maya's bones and she found that she somehow knew that she despised him. That she wished he was dead, but accepted that he had his uses.

  "We will perform the magic again and this time it will be a success." A new voice made her turn to the speaker, a younger woman, the muscles of her face tight against her bones. She was dressed in a long simple garment, a large hood covering her dark hair, her face so familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it yet.

  Any second now.

  Behind her stood a group of girls, all with the same strained expression, all with cheekbones that seemed to stand out garishly from faces framed by dark waist-length hair. All bearing the same expressions of fealty, devotion.

  Maya's head nodded, and she sensed approval of this girl.

  And then she was pulled back to her own consciousness. But the last image in the vision made her blood run cold.

  Claudia was standing beside her, holding onto her waist tightly. "Maya, what the bloody hell just happened?" she whispered harshly into Maya's ear.

  Maya gasped, taking a sharp breath of the cold late-afternoon air. "I don't know. It happened again. When Nik offered to help us get to Prague I 'saw' us stranded in this old house. In that vision, he didn't come back for us and we were in danger." Maya looked at Claudia, feeling her stomach tighten into a knot. "The same thing just happened. I had this vision of the same house. It was so real, I could have sworn it actually happened."

  The seconds ticked by as both of them remained silent, absorbing Maya's words.

  Eventually, Claudia asked, "Tell me exactly what you saw."

  "Demon eyes. They had demon eyes," Maya whispered.

  "Maya, what are you talking about." Claudia gave her shoulders a shake and it seemed to do the trick, bringing Maya back to reality.

  She blinked and glanced up at Claudia as her aunt stepped away to give her some space. "She's not alone, the Rakshasi. She has a colony, for want of a better word."

  "Shit, Maya. You sure know how to push things up a notch."

  "What can I say, I do try," said Maya wryly, still feeling the craving for blood in her veins. She gritted her teeth and pulled her fire forth, sending it surging through her veins in the hope that it would obliterate that awful desire. Then she cleared her throat softly. "Oh, and the Rakshasi is a bit of a psycho female."

  "The vision told you that?"

  Maya nodded. "It's almost like I felt what she was feeling. She's filled with rage. And she's killing young girls be
cause she wants their blood."

  Claudia scowled. "The blood? For the ritual?"

  Another nod. "And for her nourishment. It feels like she needs the blood to survive." Maya paused. "There is something else, too. It's like she has this terrible hatred for the girls too. As if they'd done something to her and she needs to punish them for it."

  "That doesn't make sense. All the girls had nothing in common except for being alone at the time they disappeared, and that they seemed to be of similar coloring."

  "Dark haired?" asked Maya remembering the sleeping girl and all the other acolytes. She recalled the one demon girl who'd seemed so familiar. Why couldn't she remember?

  Claudia nodded. "It is a factor, but it isn't a deal-breaker."

  "What if they came across the demon on the street and they dissed her or something? That could explain her deep anger towards them."

  "Could be. Or maybe it's something more sinister. We can only go on what you saw." Claudia was looking at her, her frown skeptical.

  Maya opened her mouth, about to assure her she wasn't playing games when Sabala growled loudly and someone crashed hard into her side.

  What the hell?

  She scanned the area and caught a glimpse of a man, running for the stairs. He glanced over his shoulder and Maya's eyes widened as she recognized him only too well. Instinctively, she shifted to give chase and it took a split second to realize that she couldn't because she was in the process of falling.

  Falling over the edge of the balcony.

  Maya flung her arms out, trying to regain her balance, knowing in the pit of her stomach that there was no way to save herself.

  She was going to die.

  Claudia grabbed a hold of the front of her clothes, jacket and all. Fingernails dug into the skin of her chest as they gripped and pulled hard. Maya's body swayed from falling over the edge, to being pulled back to safety in the fraction of a blink.

  She fell to the ground inches from the congealed blood, sucking in a deep grateful breath. Sabala sidled close to her, giving a soft whine as he nuzzled her ear.

  "What the hell just happened?" she asked, more indignant than inquiring. She gasped for air as she surged to her feet.

  "Someone pushed you."

  "I know." Maya spun on her heel and took off down the passage. "It's the same creep who shoved us last night," she yelled over her shoulder as Claudia caught up with her. There wasn't time to apprise Claudia of the man's demonic ancestry.

  Maya skidded down the stairs, racing for the entrance and the front steps. From her vantage point she could see the gangly demon racing across the open courtyard heading for the street. The sun was low on the horizon as dusk fell and Maya knew they didn't have much time if they expected to catch the creep.

  She ran, taking the steps two, three at a time, barely paying Sabala any attention as the hell-hound click-clacked beside her, keeping pace. In a flash of black, he dashed forward, giving a woof as he sped after the demon.

  Maya yelled, "Stop him Sabala," before realizing that he wasn't visible and she was going to look nuts yelling instructions to the air around her.

  As she passed their car, a stunned Stefan watched her speed by. He pushed off the car and Claudia yelled something at him. Behind her, Stefan slammed the car door and gunned the engine. She ran, keeping the demon in her sights and upwind. She hated to admit it but she could smell him very well, and had found the best way to track him now was to follow his stink.

  She sensed movement behind her and a car squealed to a stop so harshly that Maya smelled burned rubber. Claudia flung open the back door and scooted inside so Maya could jump in back with her. She'd barely gotten into the car before Stefan took off again, with Claudia yelling directions at him.

  Maya rolled down the window, barely registering the fact that the car actually had roll-down windows. She stuck her head out of the open window, accepting the irony that she was behaving exactly like the sniffer dog she didn't want to be as she took a breath and scented the air to ensure they were on the demon's tail.

  "Keep going, he's heading toward the river."

  Stefan glanced back at her, taking his eyes off the road for a little too long.

  Horns blared and Claudia screeched, "Look out," before he turned back just in time to wrench the wheel and miss a small truck by inches. "Keep your eyes on the bloody road, you fool. We can't afford an accident right now."

  Stefan glanced over his shoulder at Claudia and she smacked him on the shoulder. "Watched the freaking road, Stefan."

  That seemed to do the trick as he began to pay closer attention to speed and driving accuracy.

  Maya continued to test the air, pointing left and right as the demon sped through the city. Once or twice she caught sight of Sabala on the creature's tail and wondered what would happen if the hell-hound caught up with him before Maya got there.

  She crossed her fingers and prayed that wouldn't happen. She'd much prefer to get the demon alive so that she could be the one to make him breathe his last.

  They passed out of the city into an area that seemed poorer, darker and much more derelict. The demon led them beyond, to the outskirts of a countryside area, sparsely populated and almost deserted save for the odd house that looked abandoned. Her skin tingled, and a corresponding hum vibrated in her bones.

  "Here, take that road," said Maya, pointing at a dirt road heading off the blacktop, leading deeper into the valley.

  "There's no road there, Maya," said Stefan, peering in the direction she pointed.

  And her eyebrows rose a few inches. "You can't see it?" she asked, looking from Stefan to Claudia. Both shook their heads.

  She glanced back at the dirt track, again feeling that strange tension in the pit of her stomach. "They must have warded it with some kind of magic. Makes sense why this area looks abandoned," she said, looking back at Claudia who nodded, her face pale with tension.

  "You okay?" Maya asked softly.

  Claudia narrowed her eyes, giving Maya a dark look. "I'm fine. You just do your job," she snapped.

  So it's going to be like that.

  Chapter 18

  Maya had to hide a grin when Claudia rounded on Stefan and poked him in the shoulder. "Follow instructions. Use the radar."

  "Radar? What radar," asked Maya, her attention focused on the road ahead.

  "One of our hunters discovered that radar bypassed most wards. So even if you can't see it with your eyes, the radar still picks it up. We've been using it ever since."

  Although Maya was profoundly impressed, she had no time to respond as Stefan took the car off the road and they bumped up and down for a while.

  It didn't take long before she got fed up with the jumpy ride and yelled, "Stop." She was out the car before he even came to a halt.

  "Where are you going?" yelled Claudia as she too exited the vehicle. Her usually well-coiffed hair stood out in numerous directions giving her a decidedly harpy-like look.

  "I'm going on foot. I don't think it's too far away. It's getting darker but I can already sense more demons, and the scent of our creep is much stronger."

  Claudia nodded, for once unable to come up with an alternate plan on the fly. "Fine, let's go." She turned to Stefan. "You stay with the car. No heroics. We need to be able to get out of here fast once we rescue the girl."

  The boy nodded, though he didn't look too happy to be missing the fireworks. Maya understood, but as she watched him stare at them, her stomach did a sickening turn.

  Then she and Claude were hurrying through a field and down into a small valley. A tiny building sat at the bottom of the hill and Maya's heart tightened. They'd found the demon's lair.

  She slowed and drew Claudia behind an old tree stump. "This is the place, but maybe I should go in alone." She glanced at Claudia. "Either he was stupid to lead us here, or this is a trap."

  "No way." Maya opened her mouth to state her case when Claudia raised a firm hand. "Don't waste your breath. I'm coming."

  Maya st
epped away and took a deep breath. Then she jumped almost a foot off the ground when a wet nose nuzzled her palm.

  "Sheesh. Sabala. You really shouldn't be sneaking up on a girl like that." She turned to face the hell-hound. "You're here, so I'm assuming they are all inside the hut?"

  Sabala's expression seemed to indicate a 'yes' and Maya shifted to face the house again. A thin stretch of smoke curled from a hole in the metal roof and Maya could picture the inside of the building, knowing exactly what it looked like.

  The power of prophetic visions.

  "So what's the plan?" she asked Claudia, understanding that whatever her own, god-given talent, it was still Claudia's show.

  "We watch for a while."

  Maya couldn't help but roll her eyes, glad the growing darkness hid her expression. "While they drain her blood until she's almost dead?"

  "No, Maya. Just to see what's going on." Claudia turned to face her, her expression determined. "How confident are you that you can fight them?"

  Maya nodded. "I can do it, no problem." In fact, Maya had never been this ready for a fight. Something about a demon trying to kill both her and Claudia that got her hankering for his fiery death.

  "How many did you say there were?" Claudia asked, keeping her voice low.

  "Ten in all. Not counting the girl. Queen b-word, our demon attacker, and eight minions."

  "Really, Maya? You want to fight all ten of them?"

  Maya gave a curt nod. "You get the girl out, leave the demons to me and Sabala."

  Claudia fell silent for a moment. "I'll get the girl out, but I will come back to help you." At least Claudia had the sense to see Maya's point.

  Maya nodded. "Fine. We wait until it gets darker. Should help you ward the place without being made." She nodded at Claudia's bag. "You have stuff to create the ward?"

  Claudia nodded. "Whatever we know how to use. I'll get to work on it as long as you cover me."

  They both slid down out of sight, watching the building through a stand of shoulder-high grass beside the rotten stump, while Sabala chose a small outcropping to keep a closer eye on the place.