by T. G. Ayer
Maya nodded, feeling the point of the knife cut into her skin again. She aimed a short nod in the direction of her captor. "Is this really necessary? I'm not going to use my fire." Not just yet.
He flashed a set of very white teeth at Maya, and she suppressed a shudder. "I don't believe I can trust you, Maya Rao. Your elusiveness has cost us a lot of time. But now that you are here, things will be much easier."
"What are you talking about?" Maya asked, trying hard to keep her voice even and unaffected. She suspected he already knew she was very much invested in the health of Nikhil and his father, but she certainly didn't want to appear the frightened female. "What exactly do you want?"
He shifted forward on his chair and glanced at Kas who sat completely still beside him. Kas glanced at him, his expression serene, as if he wasn't really being held hostage. Nik, on the other side of the demon, did appear affected. His eyes were wide, as he directed his gaze quickly at Kas and the demon then looked back at Maya.
She knew he was trying to tell her something, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. It must have been important for Nik to take such a risk but thankfully nobody noticed. The demon's attention lay with Maya and Kas.
Then he sat back and sighed. "This has been an eventful exercise."
"Who are you anyway?" asked Maya, failing to hide the bite in her voice. "What exactly are you hoping to achieve?"
"I'm Gopal. And, hoping is not the word I would use." He laughed. "We have achieved our goal. Yama has been removed from his role as god of the underworld. He no longer rules."
"So, what? Do you intend to take his place?"
"If not me, then someone else will." He said.
A soft grunt emanated from beside Nik and Maya glanced over to see an infuriated Yama, struggling so hard against the magic that held him that he looked about to burst a blood vessel.
Gopal sighed. "My Lord, there is no point in struggling. You will only be frustrated. The magic is stronger than you."
Maya snorted. "Magic stronger than a god. I doubt that very much."
"Of course you would, human. Magic can be stronger than a god, especially when it uses that gods own power against him," he snapped. Then he paled. Too late; he'd given away the workings of the magic binding his hostages.
He cleared his throat and got to his feet, flicking his fingers at the demon holding Maya. "Take her to the dungeons. Them too." He pointed at Nik and Kas, and a group of demons moved closer, appearing almost like magic from behind Maya. Gopal's wave of a hand must have done something to the magic because Kas and Nik were able to stand and walk, or stumble, as the demons shoved them toward the door.
Maya glanced at Nik, and didn't miss the furious look on his face. Again, he stared deliberately at Kas and Maya wondered what was wrong with him. Did Kas need her help? Was he hurt where she couldn't see the injury? What was Nik trying to tell her?
As the demon guards closed in to remove the two younger men, Yama began to struggle again. And Gopal nodded his head.
One of the demons took that as a go-ahead to hit Yama on the back of the head using a short, heavy club. It looked like a police baton, only shaped like an aubergine. Despite its odd look, it managed to render the god unconscious.
Maya didn't have much of a chance to study Yama's condition. She was hauled away after Nik and Kas, stumbling along as the demons shoved her forward. Despite her curiosity, she was beginning to tire. Where was Chayya and why hadn't she returned?
Maya paid close attention as the demons led her through the corridors and down two levels into the palace's jail. It was unusually small and unusually clean. Constructed of stone blocks, the cells populated less than one-tenth of the floor area of the palace, comprising of only a dozen small cells. Either people behaved themselves very well in Patala, or Yama dealt with his criminals in a much more permanent fashion; one that didn't require imprisonment.
Nik, Kas and Maya were shoved inside the first cell, and hearing the door slam shut behind her made Maya feel a little hopeless. The guys sank onto the wooden seats beside the door, Kas looking exhausted, Nik's expression still furious and still glaring at the demon king.
"Nik?" asked Maya as she put a hand to her neck to assess the damage. "Are you okay?"
He finally pulled his eyes back to Maya's face but it seemed Gopal hadn't fully removed the spell and Nik was still struggling to talk.
Maya looked at Kas. "What did that oaf do to you?"
Kas shook his head, a defeated expression on his face. "He just roughed us up a little. Nothing too serious."
"Why can't Nik talk?" Maya eyed him. It seemed odd that he was able to speak but not Nik, and from the bulging veins in Nik's temple, the demigod was too pleased about it either.
"The magic may take a while to fade." Kas leaned forward, paused a moment as if taking his time to regain his equilibrium. Then he pushed himself slowly to his feet. He studied Nik for a moment, then took the few steps to where Maya sat on a low cot.
Sinking onto the padded mattress beside her, Kas shifted close. Maya's eyes narrowed as she studied the demon king's face. He seemed relaxed, and was getting a little too close for comfort.
But she didn't react. Not until she knew what he was up to. His behavior seemed suspicious, a little skittish. Maybe he thought she was part of this whole endeavor to overthrow Yama.
"What's going on, Kas?" Maya asked softly. Across the room Nik was shaking his head slowly, glaring at Kas. Maya's heart gave a tiny jump. Nik was able to move his head now.
That must be a good sign.
Kas sighed beside her, bringing her attention back to him. "They've taken over Patala, Yama is out of commission, and we are imprisoned."
Maya snorted. "Tell me something I don't know." She shook her head. "Why? What could they possibly hope to achieve?"
"Controlling Patala is a huge thing, Maya. Dethroning Yama is even bigger." Kas paused, as if he needed the air in his lungs in order to speak. He shifted again, his right hand remaining at his side, hidden from view. His fist was clenched and Maya empathized as he tried to hide his frustrations from her.
That clenched fist said a lot about his mental state. Perhaps this whole event was as upsetting to him as it looked to be to Nik.
When Maya glanced up at Nik she stiffened. His expression was now calm and even, no bulging veins, no frustration, no glaring.
What the heck is going on here?
"Nik?" Maya asked, rising slowly to go to him. "Are you okay?"
Kas held on to her arm and pulled her back to the mattress. "You'd better stay put. The last thing we need is for the guards to come barging in here and put us back into that stupid trance." Kas jerked his chin in Nik's direction. "He's finally freed, so don't get him bound again."
Maya's gazed shifted to Nik. "Are you okay?"
Nik nodded, although his expression was dark. He wasn't usually this terse when he spoke to her and Maya assumed it had a lot to do with the upheaval in the palace. Not every day does one's father get ousted.
He cleared his throat. "I'm fine. Now."
Maya nodded, not entirely sure what she should say, and a little uncomfortable with Kas witnessing their reunion. "So where to from here?" she asked, eager to find a way out.
Kas shrugged. "We behave. We've been lucky so far, haven't we Nik?" he asked Nik a little too pointedly. Maya studied his face but his expression remained neutral and unaffected.
Nik merely nodded.
"You guys do realize this is bad, right?"
"Of course, we do." Kas was a little too calm for Maya's liking.
"But, Lord Yama isn't able to do his job. I don't see how you can be so calm." Maya pointed a finger at the ceiling. "We have to do something."
Kas just looked at her as if was getting a little ahead of herself. As if this was too big to tackle. But Maya wasn't afraid of too big. They had to do something soon.
Or it was going to get a little crowded upstairs.
Chapter 36
The sile
nce hung in the air, strained and bearing a hint of a threat. From Nik's tight expression, Maya sensed something else was going on, but she still wasn't keen on asking questions in front of Kas.
Kas was still sort of the bad guy. Technically.
She still had no idea what had happened to him when Nik brought him here from Ravana's dungeon.
Ravana?
Her hands were slowly going numb, the ropes bound so tight they were cutting off the circulation. Maya sent waves of fire to the surface of her skin, trying hard to burn the ropes off.
But nothing happened.
She kept at it until Kas said, "Don't waste your time. The ropes are warded. . . . Probably."
Maya glared at him, angry that he was probably right.
But sat forward and her sudden movement made Nik flinch. She frowned but continued. "Is this Ravana's doing?"
Nik laughed and Kas joined, the sounds clashing in both tone and level of amusement.
Odd.
Kas cleared his throat. "No. It's not Ravana's doing."
"Then who?" Maya asked, turning on him. "You sound very sure that it isn't Ravana. What do you know that you aren't telling me?"
Kas stared at her for a few seconds, although the moment seemed to stretch for eons. Then he shifted his gaze to Nik. From their expression, Maya guessed they exchanged silent words, unsaid meanings, and then Nik cleared his throat.
"We've told you everything, Maya. All we know is what Gopal has already told us." There was something strange about Nik's voice, about the way he looked at Maya. Something Maya just couldn't put a finger on. She inhaled, intending to interrogate him further, but a noise at the door drew her attention.
A demon guard stood outside, visible through the bars on the small window set in the door. Metal grated as he turned a key into the lock and then metal squealed as he pushed it open. Another demon stood behind him, bearing a tray of food, and Maya's eyes narrowed. Fragrant steaming rice, curried meat and vegetables, fried spicy snacks. Such a spread for prisoners?
The first guard entered and pointed an arrow at Nik's neck. Nik slid off his chair and walked to the opposite wall, taking the hint well enough. The second demon set the tray of plates and drinks onto the table and was slowly backing out when Maya let out a cry.
She bent over, hissing as if in pain, and swallowed her surprise when Kas shifted away from her. She would have expected him to check on her first, given she'd thought they were somewhat friendly, if not friends. But he stood away from her.
She lifted her chin, stiffening as the demon hovered before her, holding his spear in Nik's direction, looking from Maya, to Nik, to Kas, unable to decide what to do.
"Check her, you imbecile. Something must be wrong." Nik was yelling but the demon didn't budge.
He seemed to be waiting for something.
"Why are you waiting?" Kas shouted. The guard jumped. "See if she needs help."
Only then did the demon come closer to check on Maya. And though she wondered why he'd obeyed Kas, Maya had other things on her mind.
The demon bent over her, his hand closing over her shoulder as if he meant to straighten her. She did straighten. But instead of revealing the reason for her pain, she send a blast of fire straight into his face.
Using her mouth.
He'd thought her bound hands would save him.
Too bad.
The demon grabbed his face, slapping at his skin as he tried to put the fire out. Maya didn't let him succeed. Instead she sent another blast of fire at him, this time catching him in the upper chest. His hands, bent in front of him as he slapped at the fire on his face, were now also alight and he began to scream.
Maya gave an annoyed sigh, sent another fireball at him, and put him out of his misery. Killing demons was one thing, but she wasn't cut out to torture people.
While the guard disintegrated, Maya rushed at Nik. "Let's get out of here." Nik didn't move. "Nik!" she yelled at him but he avoided her eyes.
She was about to scream at him when he said, "Just calm down Maya. Things are not what they seem. Things and people."
"What are you talking about?" she hissed. "We need to get out of here. Use your magic and take us home."
Maya found she was almost pleading with him. But a small part of her sensed that her efforts were futile.
"He can't. The cells are warded too." Kas's voice broke through Maya's concentration.
"How the hell do you know that?" She looked at him over her shoulder.
He shrugged. "It's logical."
Maya turned back to Nik. "I don't have enough power, Maya. Not to break these wards."
Her stomach clenched with fear and Maya looked back at Kas. "Can't you help? Put your power together with Nik's and help us get out of here." Her voice held an edge that she'd tried and failed to hide. She was slowly losing patience with the both of them.
"Don't waste your breath on him. He's the last person who would help us," said Nik, his tone a little too harsh.
Maya turned to face him, worried when darkness shadowed his eyes and the almost palpable hatred in his expression, as he stared at Kas over her shoulder.
"Why won't he help us?" she asked.
Even as the words left her mouth, pain stabbed into the muscles of her back. She gasped, shifting to look behind her, unable to touch the area with her bound hands.
She caught a flash of metal, a sword or knife. Then someone appeared in front of her.
Arms wrapped around her and the room went black
Chapter 37
Maya opened her eyes gradually. The room buzzed with voices and movement, but she paid little attention as the pain in her back held her in limbo. She could still feel the blade inside her flesh so her moments of unconsciousness had not been used to her advantage.
She groaned and tried to turn, the softness of the mattress beneath her only making her hurt more. "Don't move, honey." Her mom's voice was soft in her ear.
Fabric rustled and Chayya knelt before her. "Maya. We have attempted to remove the blade but it has an unusual tip which is making it a little difficult."
"Unusual?" asked Maya, taking a short painful breath. Despite the strong temptation, she refrained from sending any fire toward the wound for fear of sealing the flesh round the blade.
"We've done a makeshift x-ray." Her father's voice filtered over her shoulder. "The blade has a barbed tip. It's a stiletto type weapon, the tip turning in three places like a fishhook. The edges are sharp. So in essence three tiny knives sliced their way into your body, and now we won't be able to take them out unless you undergo surgery."
"Just fabulous," grumbled Maya.
Dev laughed, and so did Chayya, but Maya didn't see anything amusing about her situation. "There's too much at stake right now for me to be lounging around. Isn't there another way to get the knife out?"
"There is one thing you could try, but there is no guarantee it will succeed."
"At this point I'd do anything as long as it gets me on my feet asap," said Maya dryly.
Chayya sank to her knees again so Maya, with her head on her pillow, could look directly into her eyes. "Now, tell me. Are you able to focus your fire, in a fine-tuned manner?"
Maya frowned. "Like, aiming it at specific areas?"
Chayya nodded. "Very specific, very small areas?"
"I think so," said Maya, honing in on what Chayya was getting at. "You want me to use my fire to melt the knife?"
The goddess nodded. "Just enough to lump the metal together and make it easier to remove."
"Maya, it's a possibility," said her dad, coming round to kneel beside Chayya. "It may not work. So give it all you got, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work."
Maya sighed. "Yes, Dad." The worry in his voice made her need to reassure him that she was strong enough to deal with the task.
Then she turned her gaze to Chayya. "What do I do?" she asked the goddess. Usually it was Kali giving her advice on how to heal herself.
"First, feel your
way around the knife. Feel the weight and the density of it."
"Almost like doing an x-ray with my mind?"
Chayya nodded. "Yes. From what your father has explained in terms of the process, it is very much like that. Although you would get a mental feel for it rather than an image."
"Okay, let me try."
Maya let the room fade away and concentrated on her body, pulling power from her solar plexus. The energy tingled mildly, then fell flat. With a sigh Maya tried again.
This time she accessed all her chakras, forehead, neck, solar plexus, until she had them all open and emitting energy. She pulled at the vibrations, using them to power her journey further into her body until she reached her back.
"It's so strange," she whispered. "I can feel the knife, and almost see it at the same time."
"It is working." Chayya sounded satisfied.
Maya didn't respond. She continued to concentrate, to feel her way around the shape of the metal, defining where flesh ended and weapon began. At last she said, "Now what do I do?"
"Concentrate your fire on the metal and try to smooth out each of the three hooks. Try to straighten them so the knife will slide out easily." Chayya's voice was soothing, a much needed calm when Maya was almost shivering with nerves.
Maya swallowed and followed the instructions, focusing heat and warming the metal near the point. She could feel her flesh tingle and begin to heat up, sensing the hot knife against it. She had to work fast, or risk searing her flesh to the metal itself.
Maya aimed her heat and used the energy from her chakras to coax the curve of metal until it began to straighten. It took longer than she expected, more because she was afraid of hurting herself. It was the strangest feeling, being able to sense her own organs within her body.
But in the end, she'd managed to straighten all three prongs lying them flat in line with the blade of the knife. With a whisper of breath, she released the energy, and relaxed.
"You can take it out now," she said softly.
Behind her, Maya's mom took hold of the handle and began to pull gently. The blade shifted, sending sparks of agony through Maya's body, but she absorbed the pain, breathed through it as her mom shifted the knife and continued to pull on it.
