by T. G. Ayer
Maya threaded her fingers, twisting the digits around and around each other. She held Claudia's gaze and said, "It's my fault this happened to you." She waved a hand at Claudia's limbs which lay unmoving beneath the silky coverlet.
Claudia gave a slight shake of her head, her forehead creasing in a triplicate of deep lines. She smiled. "Kid, I think you're a little confused."
Maya shook her head, her eyes growing moist. "No. It happened twice. The first time you were okay, but I went back to change things and you got hurt. There is always a price, but I didn't know it would be you." The words tumbled from Maya's mouth, a flood of terrible truths.
"Maya, this sounds nuts. What are you talking about?" Claude's voice held a note of impatience now, and Maya knew she'd better talk faster.
She cleared her throat. "Kali was teaching me how to go back in time and how to manipulate events. She helped me save a baby, and Ms Harris from a demon." Maya came to a sudden stop. The room was silent and even Claudia looked at her strangely, as if she was unsure whether Maya was lying, but also still intrigued by the possibility that it could be true.
"Who is Ms Harris?"
Maya suppressed a sigh. She should have known they would all have forgotten anything related to Ms Harris's demonic possession because Maya had changed the past which meant she'd also changed the present.
"My English teacher. She was possessed by a Rakshasi. She'd been watching me for a few weeks. Kali showed me a newspaper article where a baby had been killed. And when I traveled in time, I saw that the baby was Ms Harris's neighbor. The demon had fed on the baby and killed him. So I had to do something to save him. I went back and made Ms Harris kill the demon and the baby survived and now nobody remembers that she was even a demon. Not even Joss."
"So it worked. You saved the child. And Ms Harris?" asked Claudia, watching Maya's face closely, her expression inscrutable.
Not a good sign.
Maya nodded. "So I thought I would be able to fix what happened in Budapest the first time."
"What happened the first time?" asked Claudia softly. Her smile was strained.
"Stefan died."
"And I wasn't hurt?" And odd note reverberated in her tone.
Maya shook her head.
The silence burgeoned.
"So you thought you could go back and save him," Claudia said. It wasn't a question, but Maya nodded anyway. "And did you save him?"
That question must have been rhetorical because Maya knew that Claude was well aware that Stefan was perfectly fine. Except for the bump on the back of his head he'd received when Maya had shoved him out of the hut.
"I saved him. But Priya got you instead."
Another moment of silence passed, and Maya wondered what had happened to Claudia's dislike of them.
"And you think me being this way is your fault?" There was that note again.
"Of course, it is. You were fine. If I hadn't gone back you would still be fine."
"Maya? What are you planning?" The suspicion in her tone was enough to make Maya avert her gaze. Maybe if she didn't let Claudia see her eyes her aunt wouldn't be able to see the truth of it.
"I want to fix it." So, she knew she couldn't lie to Claudia.
"Fix it?" Claudia frowned, the vein in her throat beating rapidly. "How the hell do you plan on fixing it?"
"Kali said we could."
"And what happens if you fix it?" That note again. Maya couldn't bring herself to say the words, but Claudia didn't seem to have a problem. "Stefan will die, isn't it?"
Maya nodded.
"Then there isn't even a question." Claudia spoke flatly. And her voice was calm. Not a hint of doubt. Maya's gaze snapped back to Claudia's face. "I will not exchange a boy's life for the use of my legs. And, even if you'd come to me and proposed going back to save him, I would have agreed, so don't go thinking this is entirely on you."
Maya frowned and shook her head. "But I went alone. I didn't ask you for your opinion. You didn't agree that I should go."
"Listen, kid. At least give me some credit. If you had told me about it, asked me what to do, I would have said that you should go. If it meant saving Stefan, I would have jumped at the chance. So even if we rewound everything, I'll still be right here." She waved her hands at her ruined legs.
"You're just trying to make me feel better."
"No. I wouldn't do that to you." Maya's eyebrows rose, a quizzical expression on her face. "I would never lie to you just to make you feel better. No matter what, the truth is always the better option."
At last, Maya sank onto the mattress beside Claudia's legs. The intense weight that had been pressing down on her had lifted, at least enough so she could breathe and relax a little.
"So what will you do now?" she asked, trying very hard not to look at Claudia's legs.
Was that what it's going to be like, always being careful where she looked and for how long?
Claudia snorted. "Just because I'll end up in a wheelchair doesn't mean I have to stop my work. A girl can be badass even if she's on wheels, you know."
Maya studied Claudia's face, a little suspicious, a little concerned. Was she just putting on a brave front, or did she really mean it? Claudia's grin was enough to convince her, at least eighty percent of the way.
But she still let out a sigh. "I'm still sorry, you know."
"I'm not, so get over yourself."
Maya snorted softly. She didn't miss the light sniff emitted by the cheeky pooch either.
She was a little light-headed with relief. She'd said what she'd come to say, a little off-kilter considering the consequences hadn't been as bad as she'd expected, like she'd put her back into lifting a heavy bag that ended up turning out to be empty. Off balance.
Claudia was going to be okay.
And that grounded Maya in her next decision.
She had to get to Patala. And given Nik's lack of response, there was one other person who could help her.
Chayya.
Chapter 32
The ride home was filled with one of those endless silences, the ones that are usually filled with accusations, self-recrimination and, in Maya's case, a healthy dose of self-pity. Not unexpectedly, Maya preferred to leave the dead air unrevived until they were stepping inside the equally silent house.
"Dinner?" asked her mom with a soft smile.
They paused in front of the darkened kitchen and Leela flicked the switch. Familiarity filled Maya, along with a hint of comfort, at the sight of their little kitchen, the table a reminder of good times and confidences given and taken. A reminder too, that her parents and Claudia, even if they were disappointed in her right now, would not give up on her.
Maya gave her mom a ghost of a smile and shook her head. "Not hungry," she murmured, taking a step to head upstairs. Then, the decision taking her entirely by surprise, she stopped and faced her mom. "I need to tell you guys where I'm going. Just in case."
"Where are you going, and in case of what?" asked Leela, her voice holding an interrogative air. She turned her gaze a faction, centering on Maya and that slight movement held a sense of a threat to it, the universal kind mothers used on their children when they want information and use body language to state that there is no alternative.
Speak or deal with the consequences, her eyes said.
Maya didn't need the threat.
Her windpipe whistled as she inhaled, and she gave a small cough, hoping she wasn't coming down with something. Time-travel may have all sorts of effects on a person, and seeing as she had nobody else to compare notes with, she figured it was best to be careful. Not to mention the last thing she wanted was to be plied the stock-standard turmeric-and-ginger infused boiled milk that was her mom's cough and cold treatment of choice.
Just gross.
"I'm going to Patala." She ignored the surprised glance and continued "The Rakshasi, Priya, said something that makes me worry that Nik is in danger. And he hasn't responded to my call either. After my experience in Kas's hea
d, I'm more sure that I need to check up on them."
"Kas's head?" asked her dad as he passed them and dropped his keys on the kitchen table. He turned and faced her, folding his arms and sitting on the edge of the table. It was his talk-because-I'm-not-going-anywhere pose.
Sheesh.
Maya gave her parents a Cliff's Notes version of her surreal adventure when Kali sent her on her first foray into the timeline. Eyebrows were raised, faces paled and Maya counted at least half a dozen frowns when arrows, tigers, and mirrors were mentioned.
They were still a little raw after her revelation about having changed the past where Claudia was concerned, so she could hardly blame them. She did give them props for absorbing this latest pile of information with some semblance of calm.
"So. If you can travel through time, why can't you do that and find out where Nik is that way?" Dev's forehead scrunched as if he was trying to solve the puzzle of the question himself. "Okay. I'm going to guess that's not the easy way. You won't know where Nik will be unless you go back and join his time-line when he dropped you off in Prague."
Maya nodded. "It was easy when Kali just took me where I needed to go. And when I went back to my own past. But, if I join Nik in Prague, it may take hours to figure out what happened to him. And then I'd have to do the same with Kas if he's not with Nik in the underworld."
"Looks like it has the potential to become very confusing."
Maya nodded. "To be honest, I would have preferred jumping Nik in my bed-" Maya's eyes widened as her Mom's eyebrows rose a fraction and her dad's mouth began to twitch. "I so did not say that. What I meant was . . . never mind. Not important."
Maya turned, hiding her reddened cheeks and hurried out of the kitchen. "Make sure you take that invisible dog of yours with you."
The invisible dog snuffed as he clattered along the floor beside her and Maya gave her dad a thumbs up without turning around. She headed to her room and, leaving Sabala to watch from the doorway, began to dig around in her bedside drawer. She withdrew the small engraved brass container and gave it a satisfied smile.
She lifted the little hinged lid, and held her breath as a dark, smoky shadow wafted from the container. It curled in the air in front of Maya's face and then disintegrated into nothing.
Chayya's version of an emergency smoke signal.
With her call to Chayya completed, Maya hurried to change. She wanted to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
As she turned to the closet, the shadows in the corner of the room darkened, thickening to a gloopy mass. The room seemed to grow smaller as the cloud of darkness closed in on Maya. She had a smile on her face even before the goddess Chayya materialized in front of her.
"That was quick," said Maya, before greeting the goddess with a Namaste.
Chayya smiled and returned the greeting, but even as she straightened from the shallow bow, she asked, "You needed my help?"
Maya nodded and explained. As she spoke Sabala sauntered forward and curled himself around the goddess's legs.
Chayya nodded, as she ran her fingers along the top of the hell-hound's head, the expression on her face unreadable. And for the first time since Maya had met the benevolent goddess of shadows, she couldn't read her face. Chayya had always been easy-going, relaxed. But today her smile was thinner, the skin around her eyes tighter.
"Is everything okay?" asked Maya, worried now that she may have disturbed the goddess. "I hope I didn't call you when you were busy."
Chayya shook her head, the movement loosening a few threads of shadow from her dark hair. They floated around her, before disappearing into nothing. "No, Maya. You did not disturb me at all. Had I been occupied, I would have waited to complete my task before coming."
Maya smiled. The goddess was nothing if not truthful. She cleared her throat. "Will you be able to take me?"
Chayya inclined her head. "As soon as you are ready, we can leave."
Maya nodded, "I've just got to change. If you have something else to do I can wait." Maya offered, praying the goddess would say no.
But Chayya shook her head and Maya gave her a grateful smile, then hurried to grab a change of clothes, dashing into the bathroom to change. Chayya headed for the seat by the window.
She returned to see Chayya had sunk into the silky cushions with Sabala's head on her lap. Maya raced about, packing a small rucksack with a sweater and her Madus. Her fire was enough of a weapon, both portable and invisible, but Maya liked to believe she had some form of backup she could use without having to fry her opponent before talking to him.
In under five minutes, she was ready. Flinging open her closet door to grab her jacket, her hand paused. Plastic crinkled as the red-and-gold Valente she'd worn to visit Lord Shiva on Mount Kailas, moved back and forth on the railing. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Chayya was watching her, again with that odd expression.
"You have something to ask me, Maya?" asked the goddess. As usual she could read Maya all too well.
Maya cleared her throat. "You took me to get this dress so I could wear something nice to meet Lord Shiva." Maya gave the dress a last glance before facing Chayya. The goddess had been meant to return the garment after Maya had used it, but she must have forgotten because there it had remained. "Why did I have to get fancied up when Lord Shiva is a symbol of austerity, when he does not stand for extravagance or luxury?"
Chayya smiled, her dark eyes lighting up. "I have been waiting for you to ask."
Maya's eyes narrowed as she studied the goddesses pleased expression. "I'm beginning to wonder if that was a test," she said dryly.
"It was," said Chayya cheerfully.
"Why?"
"Because we had to find out what type of person you were before your powers grew stronger."
Maya inhaled. "What would have happened if I wasn't the right type of person?" She suspected she already knew.
"Your powers would have been bound until you entered your next life cycle."
"I guess I passed?" asked Maya. There seemed to be no end of manipulation when dealing with the gods.
"How do you humans say it? With flying colors?"
Maya shrugged, unsure how to be impressed with Chayya's revelation. "What was so good?"
"You showed that you lack materialism. Yes, you thought the garments were beautiful, but you didn't revel in the luxury of it. It was more an appreciation of beauty as opposed to a need to live in excess. You could easily live with nothing."
Maya wasn't so sure about how happy she'd be to have nothing, but Chayya had managed to figure her out. She'd never been the kind of person who hankered for luxury. She was just as content with homemade clothes as she was with store labels or big brand items.
But, she could certainly see herself living with the barest essentials and still being happy. Give her toothpaste, soap and toilet paper and she didn't much care about silk or diamonds or real oak.
Maya shut her closet door with her foot, and said, "Okay. I'm ready." Now that it was time to leave, she couldn't wait even one more second.
Chayya got to her feet before giving Sabala one last pat. "You stay here and watch over Maya's family."
Maya frowned at Chayya's instruction. "Why can't he come with us?"
Chayya turned her gaze to Maya and opened her mouth. She looked like she wanted to tell Maya something, but in the end she closed her mouth again. She shook her head and smiled, a reassurance that seemed a little faded around the edges. "It's best if he remains here. Your family could do with the protection. And you don't need him to watch over you in Patala."
Maya nodded. The odd edge to Chayya's voice, the strain in her composure said she had damn good reasons for her suggestion. She wasn't about to challenge a goddess and she did agree that Sabala would be more useful here than with her in Patala.
Chayya drew closer and held out her hand. Maya placed her fingers in the goddess's palm.
The goddess sighed. "Maya, I need to warn you. Just before you called to me, I was given
some concerning news." Chayya paused, and Maya wondered if this was the reason she'd been so stiff and strained. "We have discovered that Patala has been warded against all other gods. I was just asked to enter the palace to investigate, so your timing could not have been better."
That certainly explained it.
Maya nodded. "So we could be walking into danger?" She didn't need to add that Nik and Kas could also be in some sort of danger too.
Chayya smiled. "Yes. So let us be careful."
She tightened her hold on Maya's hand, and then the bedroom shimmered and faded away, to be replaced by the garden in front of Yama's palace.
Maya heaved a sigh of relief.
Then ducked as an arrow came flying at her head.
Chapter 33
Maya lay on the grass, her face low to the ground, thanking her luck that she'd covered the tips of her deadly sharp Madus with the fancy little cone-shaped caps her dad had given her.
If she hadn't, she'd now have a pair of holes in her side, a scar to match the one Priya's novice had given her.
Maya twisted around, wondering who the heck was crazy enough to be shooting arrows in the garden when people could be walking around, just like she and Chayya had just done.
And then Maya gasped. Chayya was sitting beside her, leaning against the base of a banyan tree, one hand to her stomach.
Her fingers clasped the feathered end, and she looked a little surprised. Maya spun scrambled along the ground, keeping as low as possible in case there were more idiotic archers in the vicinity.
Reaching the goddess she peered at the injury, surprised to see that the wound was not bleeding.
"Can you move?" she asked Chayya, glancing around them for a position that would provide more cover. "We need to get to safety."
Chayya smiled and nodded. She leaned forward slightly, then peered around at her back. The head of the arrow had passed right through Chayya's abdomen, and appeared to have no blood on the iron tip.
So gods don't bleed? wondered Maya.
