by T. G. Ayer
At last the knife slipped out, and Dev moved to stand. "Not long now, Maya. We just need to clean the wound and stitch it up."
Maya coughed and cleared her throat. "Don't worry about it dad. I've got it covered." She grabbed for his wrist, ignored his surprised frown and held on as she drew her energy and focused on the wound.
Now that the knife was no longer there, Maya could heal the wound, close the blood vessels, seal the raw edges.
Almost done.
Perspiration dripped along the side of her face. And then, her mom's gasp of surprise made her smile.
At last, she let go of her dad's hand and took a deep breath. Thank goodness it no longer hurt so badly.
Maya cleared her throat again and moved to sit up.
"Maya, it's too soon for you to be moving around like this," said her dad, sounding annoyed.
Leela laughed. "From the looks of this it's definitely not too soon." Seems she was in a little bit of a shock.
Dev raised his eyebrows and moved around the bed to get a look at Maya's back. The silence told her everything.
"Okay, then," he said, surprised and impressed at the same time.
"Right. Stop moving around while I clean you up." Her mom's instruction stilled her movements and she only got to her feet when she received a soft pat to her shoulder.
"I should get changed," Maya said, her voice a little scratchy.
Leela shifted, standing in front of Maya with magical swiftness. "Don't you think you need to get some rest before you go charging off into the sunset?"
Maya opened her mouth to respond, but Chayya cut her off. "I can assure you that Maya does not need as much rest as most humans."
"Even when she's been injured and lost a lot of blood," asked Leela, as she faced the goddess. Maya's eyebrows shot up as she watched mom argue with a goddess. The woman had brass ones.
Maya cleared her throat. "Mom, seriously. I'm fine. I've been learning to heal myself and I'm pretty good at it right now. Don't worry about me."
As soon as Maya spoke the words she knew they were the wrong ones. Her mom stiffened and drew herself straighter. "Fine. As long as you know what you're doing."
She rubbed her bloodied fingers down the front of her jumper and spun on her heel, leaving the room before Maya could say another word.
Maya let out a long sigh.
"I'll talk to her honey." Her dad's voice came from behind her. She turned to see him busy cleaning up the remnants of the first-aid kit. "Don't worry about her. She has to learn to deal with things."
"I know. But it must be hard for her. I'm her kid."
"Yes. You're her kid," said her dad. Then he leaned closer. "And you're also not her kid."
Chapter 38
I'm not her kid, thought Maya as she struggled to get out of her blood-drenched clothing.
There was no time for a shower, not in her mind anyway. Her mom would probably disagree, though. Maya threw her ruined jacket and shirt on the tiles and changed into fresh, virtually identical, clothing.
At least she didn't take long to decide what to wear.
She made a face as she tied her hair back with an elastic band, the strands were smeared with blood, sticky and matted in places. But she just dragged her fingers through her hair and considered the job well done.
A minute later, she was standing in her empty bedroom, wondering what it was she was supposed to be doing. All thoughts had fled from her mind, as if she couldn't even handle one thought.
And she knew why.
She was so off balance that she could hardly find it amusing.
"Geez," said Joss from the open doorway. "Did your folks just tell you you're adopted or something?" She had that look in her eye, the one she got when she was trying to be funny, but knew she was failing.
"Huh?" asked Maya, turning to her friend as she walked into the room. She could barely string two thoughts together and now Joss was trying to force her to actually use her brain?
"That look on your face. What's wrong?"
Maya pursed her lips, reluctant to say. She felt foolish enough. "Nothing, really." She shrugged. "Well, nothing that matters a whole hell of a lot right now."
"It matters if it's bugging you." Joss sank onto the bed, giving the bloodstains smeared across the coverlet a raised eyebrow. Then she focused her attention back onto Maya. Which usually didn't bode well.
"Even if it's bugging me, I can deal until this mayhem is over."
"Yeah, I heard." Her tone was dry and bore an undertone that rang with steel. "But, none of us know what's about to happen, right? The poop's hitting the fan big-time all around us." She waved her hands in the air around her head. "Nothing is predictable right now, so you probably should get things off your chest if you need to."
"Gosh, spread the doom and gloom, why don't you," Maya mumbled and sank onto the mattress beside Joss, neatly avoiding the dried remains of blood. She gave a heavy sigh and studied her hands. "It just hit me."
"What hit you?"
"I'm not their child."
"What the frick are you on about?" Joss scowled.
She shifted her gaze from her threaded fingers to Joss's big blue eyes. "I'm not really their child. They raised me yes, birthed me, yes. But, they knew from the start that I was someone else." Maya sighed and her shoulders drooped. "That still sounds so weird to me."
"I know what you mean." Joss nudged her. "But you can't think that way. Even though this is a second life for you, it's more your life to you than the last one will ever be. Unless you end up going back to experience it again first hand. Or is that second hand?"
Joss frowned as she looked up at the ceiling, thought about it for a second, then gave up.
With a wave of her hand, she continued, "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, your mom gave birth to you, loved you, raised you, worried about you. I believe, for your parents, you are first their child, and second Mother Radha."
Maya stared at her friend. She laughed softly and gave a short shake of her head. "I cannot believe you just hit the nail right on the head the first time."
Joss had managed to put into words the very thing that had been bothering Maya. She had to admit that she'd been bugged about it for a while now.
"I'm smart that way." Joss snickered.
Maya smiled. "Thanks."
"Happy to help." Joss grinned then patted Maya on the shoulder. "Now, please get your butt downstairs. There have been developments."
"Developments? What developments?"
But, Joss refused to answer, just shooing her downstairs until they entered the living room where the flatscreen was on, the sound low.
Her parents and Chayya sat, eyes trained on the screen, expressions all sombre.
"What's wrong?" asked Maya, her gaze flitting from face to face, feeling her stomach drop.
Joss took her gently by the shoulders, turned her to face the television, and pressed down until Maya was forced to drop into the seat beneath her.
And then she understood why Joss had made her sit.
Poop. And fans.
A major news network covered what they claimed to be the story of the millennium. According to statistics, there are at least one hundred deaths per minute, worldwide. As of five hours ago, not a single death had been recorded worldwide. Scientists, reporters, medical personnel and government officials were in a frenzy.
Maya blinked.
"Never before seen phenomenon."
"Unprecedented drop in mortality rates."
"Hospitals record lowest patient numbers in history."
"Is this Armageddon?"
The silence in the room was deafening.
Maya inhaled slowly, trying to tame the wild beat of her heart before she expressed her shock, but her dad didn't give her the chance to speak.
"It's much worse than just this." He pointed at the screen.
"How can it even be any worse?" Maya whispered, sure she didn't want to know the answer.
"We've been getting reports
from KALIMA. Worldwide. Mortally injured people are not dying."
Maya's eyes widened. But she didn't speak. How could she? He was talking about the undead. Zombies. She listened to his voice through the buzz in her ears.
"Gunshot wounds, car crashes, you name it. Surgical deaths where the patients didn't flatline."
"Dad?" asked Maya, her voice flat.
"Yes, Maya," he responded a little distracted by the beeping of his phone.
"Permission to use foul language."
"Not in front of the goddess," he said before taking the call, his expression barely changing.
Joss snorted and Maya glanced at said goddess whose eyes were focused on the screen. That was a sight Maya had to get her head around as well. So called mythical god face to face with modern technology. In the goddesses favor, she didn't seem in the least awed.
Chayya looked up at the same time, as if she sensed Maya's need to get things moving.
She shifted in her seat and said, "What is it, Maya?"
"Did you see anyone when you came for me?" Maya asked, replaying the events leading up to the knife plunging into her body. "I didn't see who stabbed me, and I was hoping you got a glimpse of him." Maya mentally crossed her fingers.
Chayya shook her head. "I got in and out very fast. I saw Nik and Kas. And another demon who appeared to be a guard. But, no, I did not see who stabbed you." Chayya's expression was sad, as if she'd failed somehow.
And Maya had to admit she was disappointed. She mentally uncrossed her fingers wondering why she bothered.
"It was either the demon or it was Kas." Maya didn't like her options.
"And let me guess. You're going to go with the demon. Aren't you?" asked Joss, folding her arms, not bothering to hide her annoyance. She'd never been a fan of Kas.
"At least give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Like hell, I will. He freaking stabbed you for God's sake, Maya." Joss's eyes widened and she glanced at the goddess sitting beside her. "I'm sorry."
Across from them, Maya's mom hid a grin.
"No need to apologize, child."
Joss blushed and gave Chayya a grateful smile. But nothing was able to bring a smile to Maya's face. Right now, the world was going to hell, and it's very possible that Kas had plunged that knife into her back. Something she did not want to consider because she'd trusted him.
And because she'd seen him in his previous life, seen the boy he'd been, seen the tortured young man, emotionally manipulated by the demon Bana.
But, there was one thing Maya did recall, a memory that made her blood go cold.
I will show them what it means to cross me.
Chapter 39
An hour later, Maya still sat in the living room. The TV was turned down but Maya kept an eye on the scrolling banner at the bottom of the screen.
New reports were coming on every few minutes and Maya wondered when the reporters would reach their saturation point.
Very soon, people will get over the mystical aspect of no death. And when they do they will start to panic.
Chayya had left a while ago to speak to the other gods, to get a better idea of what they knew. The goddess had insisted that the more information they had the better.
She'd been right, of course.
Maya's parents had been busy, on the phone with the other agents at KALIMA. Even Joss had been roped in to handle calls coming through the US call-centre. Dev's study was a hive of activity, and Maya was currently hiding out in the lounge, trying hard not to get up and pace.
Footsteps tapped along the hall outside the living room, drawing Maya's attention to the doorway, and when she turned around and her mom walked in with a glass of milk and a plate of baked goodies, Maya smiled.
Leela sat slowly beside Maya and handed her the glass, placing a plate of ginger cookies on Maya's lap.
"You should probably eat something before you go."
"I'm sorry about before." The words popped out of her mouth before she'd even decided to say it.
"It's okay honey. I'm just . . . I don't know. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but clearly I'm not."
"Mom?"
Leela dragged her eyes away from the tv to meet Maya's eyes
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away."
Tears filmed Leela's eyes and she sniffed. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean that. It's just harder for me when I see you hurt or in pain."
Maya sighed. "You know, I used to wonder if you preferred Mother Radha to Maya."
Leela gasped softly at Maya's sudden admission. Her mouth formed a small 'o'
"I know I was wrong to believe that, but I did."
"Why would you even think that?"
"Because of the way you used to talk about her before I found out what I am."
Leela smiled. "We do tend to ramble when it comes to the Mother."
Maya laughed. "I guess I was a little jealous and more than a little confused."
"Of course, Maya. It's not going to be easy reconciling your old life with your new, especially when you cannot recall any of it. It will take time."
Maya tilted her chin at the tv. "Not if those creeps can help it. The world will be overrun with undead and overpopulated soon enough. Who knows what will happen if we can't fix this."
Her mom sighed, staring at the screen. A pensive air settled around her and Maya frowned
Then Leela cleared her throat. "It certainly has the potential to get worse. Unrest, rioting, unemployment, theft. If we're lucky, the authorities will be able to retain control long enough for us to find a way around this mess."
"If we are lucky," said Chayya from the doorway.
They both turned to face the goddess and as she entered, Maya set her milk and cookies on the table. Somehow food wasn't the least bit appealing.
"I'm afraid I do not come bearing any new information. What the gods have discovered is what we know already. They do have a few suspects in terms of who wants Yama's throne."
Maya and her mother shared a smile at Chayya's mention of the word 'suspects'
"It could be Ravana," offered Maya.
"Yes. He is on Lord Shiva's list. Bana is another option." Chayya paused, giving Maya an odd look.
"They suspect Kas as well?" she asked.
"Lord Shiva prefers to be thorough."
Maya nodded, her neck wooden. "And Kas as done little to redeem himself."
Chayya remained silent. "So only three names? Can we do anything to help track them all down? We know Kas is in Patala. Maybe if we find Ravana and Bana then we could rule them out?"
Chayya nodded. "Lord Shiva has sent out emissaries to all parts of the world. We will soon ascertain where the demon kings are."
"In the meantime, I'd rather not be sitting and waiting. What can we do in case its any one of them?"
Chayya inclined her head. "We expected you to ask just that question."
Maya wondered if she was that predictable but she kept her mouth shut. "Where do we start?"
"Lord Shiva believes that the most likely candidate is Narakasura. Are you familiar with the tale?"
"Only briefly," admitted Maya, ignoring her mom's admonishing glare. She should have known it well enough by now having heard it enough times.
Chayya smiled. "The short version is that Narakasura can only be killed by his mother Bhumi, the goddess of the earth."
"Can we find her?" asked Maya, then she stiffened at the strange expression on her mom's face. She looked uncomfortable and worried, but Maya decided it was best to give her space. She'd talk about whatever bugged her soon enough. "And why are we thinking of killing him?"
The goddess shook her head sadly. "I am afraid we have previous experience with Narakasura. He is relentless, and filled with a deep hatred. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And to answer your other question, Bhumi is in another reincarnation. We will need to find her and attempt to persuade her to help us end his life. It must be at her hand that he dies or he will come back."
Maya shivered. "Even if she believes us when we find her, what mother would agree to kill her own child?"
Maya glanced at her mom, taking in her pale skin. She looked positively sick.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
Leela nodded, her expression clearing as she pasted a smile on her face.
Looks like her mom wasn't ready to talk, so Maya asked, "How long will they take? I feel like all this waiting is only wasting our time. Nik and Lord Yama are still being held hostage. Kas could be our bad guy, and we are killing time waiting."
"What if you go back to Nik's past? Maybe when he arrived in Patala after leaving you and Claudia in Prague?" offered her mom.
Maya blinked. That was a good idea and a very weird one at that. "Um . . . I could do that but I'm not sure I really want to."
"Why not?" Leela frowned, then paused for a second as she thought about it. Then her eyes widened. "Oh. I see your point."
Maya nodded. Not even her mom would want to spend time in her dad's mind.
"Even if you wanted, to you would be unable to," said Chayya softly.
"Why?" asked Maya.
"Nikhil is the son of Lord Yama. He is a god, even if he is only genetically half. No god can be invaded by another being."
"Oh." Maya had never been more relieved in her life.
"What about if you try to go back in Narakasura's past?" Mom again, her voice holding an edge of worry. "That way you could find out once and for all if he is behind the whole thing." Her mom nodded, as if she thought her own idea was an excellent one.
And Maya couldn't agree more.
Chapter 40
Maya readied herself, taking a seat on the wide armed single sofa that didn't have a view of the TV. The last report had flashed a picture of a woman, burned in a car crash, being taken to hospital very much alive and in horrific pain. The newscaster claimed that scenes where people are in such agony were the hardest to bear, and that sometimes living wasn't the best option.
Maya couldn't believe she actually got away with saying that on live TV but it was soon becoming clear that the problem was affecting the way people thought about death. Right now, it was the last thing Maya wanted to see.
