Goddess of Gotham (24 page)

CHAPTER 23

‘M
s Martin?’

‘Yes, Kumari.’

‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘Read through the chapter and then answer the questions at the end.’

‘I don’t mean my homework assignment, I mean my life.’

Ms Martin looked up from the papers she was supposed to be marking although Kumari could see the crossword half-concealed in the pile in case Ms LaMotta appeared. Ms Martin hastily shuffled the
papers together and gestured to a chair.

‘Sit down, Kumari,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you tell me about it?’

Trouble was, she didn’t know where to begin. There was the kiss; that changed everything. Or maybe it didn’t. And then the fact she was friends again with Hannah and Charley. Plus
the essay contest, HUNK and the benefit concert coming up. That was going to be amazing -Deranged were playing. Not to mention the improvements at Rita Moreno. OK, so she wasn’t responsible
for that, although Ms Martin said she partly was. Something about being an inspiration. But all things considered and despite all of the above she couldn’t help but feel pretty miserable.

‘Kumari?’

Ms Martin was waiting. Still she could not find the words. How do you explain what you don’t understand? Especially when what you don’t understand is yourself and everything is so
mixed up.

‘It’s OK,’ said Kumari. ‘I’m sorry to bother you.’

‘Wait. Come on, Kumari, sit back down. I can see there’s something on your mind. Why don’t you tell me what it is? Maybe we can solve the problem together.’

‘I don’t think so, Ms Martin. You see, I have to go home. I still need to find out who murdered Mamma. There’s so much here for me now but it’s just not enough. And the
thing is, going home, it’s impossible. That’s my problem. I’m stuck here when I should be there and there’s nothing I can do.’

‘I see,’ said Ms Martin. ‘Is there anything else that’s bothering you?’

How did she know? Sometimes Ms Martin was really smart.

‘Um, yes, actually, there is. The Happiness thing, well, I’m not. Happy, I mean. And I feel such a fraud when I tell people about it. How can I preach Happiness when I’m
miserable in my heart? How can I tell people what to do when I’m unhappy myself?’

Ms Martin thought for a moment. Then her eyes lit up.

‘I’ve had an idea Kumari,’ she said. ‘Something that’s just connected in my mind. There might be another way to locate your kingdom. A kind of indirect route. My
father told me only last night of someone who is trialling a new technique, even more exciting than DNA-mapping. If it worked we could find out where in the world you come from. Or at least get
very close. That would make you happy, wouldn’t it? Then your problems might be solved.’

‘You mean it? When can we start?’

‘I’ll call him right away. And Kumari, don’t worry’

‘I won’t,’ Kumari lied.

The minute the man produced the needle it brought it all rushing back: Simon Razzle, endless injections. Terror and pain.

‘Kumari, that’s a pretty name,’ he said.

‘It means “goddess” in my country’ Kumari looked nervously at Ms Martin, who gave her a reassuring nod. Badmash puffed up his feathers and fixed the man with a beady
look.

‘My name’s Theodore. But you can call me Theo. There we go, all done.’

Kumari looked at her arm. There was the tiniest mark which he proceeded to cover with an elastoplast. She saw the syringe laid in a dish.

‘Is that my blood?’

‘Certainly is. Hopefully this will tell me all I need to know. Well done, Kumari. You were very brave.’

At this, Badmash settled his ruffled tail feathers. He had obviously decided Theo was OK.

‘You can relax now, buddy’ smiled Theo. ‘I like your bird,’ he said to Kumari. ‘What is he, a
Gyps
vulture?’

‘Um . . . I’m not sure,’ said Kumari. ‘He’s just Badmash to me.’

‘Well, he’s a pretty cool character, whatever he is. And he obviously loves you to death.’

He nodded to Ms Martin.

‘I’ll give you a call when I find something.’

At the door, Kumari turned.

‘Does this mean you’ll be able to locate my homeland?’

‘I hope to, Kumari. I’ll give it my best shot.’

His smile lit up his whole face. Kumari noticed the way Ms Martin glanced at him.

‘Thank you,’ said Kumari. ‘By the way, what does Theo mean?’

‘Theo means “God’s gift”.’

Kumari giggled. Ms Martin actually blushed.

‘They mean Kumari is someone very unusual. I’ve never seen anything like these.’

Theo glanced at the clock. Almost midnight and they still had a way to go. He’d had to call her over when he found the markers, though. Or at least that was what he told himself.

‘Can I get you a coffee, Ms Martin? It could be a long night.’

‘I’m fine, thank you. And my name is Helen.’

Great smile,
thought Theo.

‘You know, Helen,’ he said. ‘The evidence does indicate something extraordinary is going on here. There are more things on heaven and earth, as Bill Shakespeare said, than you
or I could ever dream of.’

‘“There are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Hamlet:
Act One. Sorry, I’ve slipped into teacher mode.’

‘No need to be sorry. It suits you. I’m sure you’re a fine teacher. Now, shall we cross-match these results with the geographical index, see what we get?’

A few moments later, Theo sighed.

‘I’m getting nothing.’

He sat, tapping his teeth with his pen. There had to be some way of doing this. Her markers did not relate to anywhere. Officially, Kumari was off the map. All of a sudden, he sprang to his
feet.

‘The bird!’ he cried out. Rifling his bookcase, he pulled out a fat tome. Skimming through it, he landed on a page.

‘There it is.’ He held it up triumphantly. ‘The
Gyps
vulture, now only found in a handful of places. Sadly, these birds are nearly extinct, which is bad news for them,
but good news for us.’

He tapped away at his computer. ‘I can narrow this down further,’ he said. A few moments later he stabbed at the screen with his finger.

‘Bingo!’

‘We have it?’ asked Helen, eyes wide with excitement.

‘We have it,’ he whooped. ‘Given what Kumari says about her kingdom, it’s got to be one of these two spots.’

‘I’m speechless,’ said Helen.

‘Me too,’ said Theo, gazing into her eyes.

‘So,’ she said, after a moment. ‘When can we take her there? I can ask Daddy to organise a plane. He’s already offered to pay’

‘I guess so,’ said Theo. ‘It seems such a shame to lose her. These markers, they are unique. Not really human at all. Perhaps that’s what she means by
“goddess”. It could be some genetic aberration specific to her family. A condition they attribute to have divine significance.’

‘Even Kumari doesn’t think she’s a goddess. She told me she gave it up. She said she chose to become a mortal, otherwise she’d die after a year and a day’

‘You can’t give up your genetic make-up. It’s in your bones, your blood. It would be like changing every atom, rewriting your DNA. If Kumari was born a different being, then
that is what she remains.’

Helen gazed at him for a moment then curled her lip and shook her head.

‘You really think there is something in it, don’t you? I’m surprised at you, Theo.’

‘Shakespeare said it all. We know so little, you and I. All of us humans, we use a tiny bit of our brains. Who’s to say that the legends are not true? Maybe god-like beings did once walk the earth. It’s possible they still do. Come here, I want
to show you something. Look at this, through the microscope.’

He could smell her perfume as they both bent to the eyepiece. It was fresh and yet there was a
note,
a lingering undertone of musk and spice.

‘You see that crescent shape? No human marker looks like that.’

‘What crescent shape?’ said Helen.

‘It was there a moment ago. Now, wait a minute.’ He was fiddling with the microscope, moving the slide around. When he looked up, his face was pale.

‘It’s gone. So have most of the others.’

‘What do you mean, it’s gone?’

‘Maybe it’s just this one slide.’

He raced to the fridge for the other samples. Exactly the same result. Helen stared at him, bewildered.

‘Theo, what’s going on?’

‘My guess is that it’s what she told you. About having a year and a day to live. Kumari might think she gave up being a goddess but her samples tell a different story’

‘Are you telling me she’s dying?’

‘That’s what it looks like to me. It’s already started at a cellular level. Seems her time here is nearly up.’

Helen’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Then we can’t waste another second.’

She was out the door before Theo could grab his jacket, taking the stairs two at a time.

‘All right, all right!’ yelled Ma. ‘Hold your fire. I’m coming.’

Kumari opened her eyes. It was still dark outside, the street light filtering through the thin curtains. Someone was banging on the door, in the middle of the night. Throwing back her covers,
she peeked into the hallway. There was Ma in her marabou-trimmed dressing gown, opening the door to Ms Martin. With Ms Martin that guy, Theo. What was going on?

‘Kumari!’ Ms Martin was at her side in a trice. ‘Kumari, we need to take another blood sample right now. It’s very important.’

‘It’s the middle of the night,’ said Ma. ‘Can’t it wait until morning?’

‘I’m afraid not,’ said Theo. ‘This is something we need to check out now.’

At his tone, Ma went quiet. Kumari saw the fear flicker in her eyes.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Kumari. ‘Why do you need more blood?’

Theo knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her arm. ‘I’m not going to lie to you, Kumari. Something appears to be deteriorating in your cells. I just need to check your blood
against the samples we took.’

‘What do you mean deteriorating? Something is wrong with my blood?’

‘I need to be certain. Hold still. That’s it.’

Kumari was too busy looking at Ms Martin’s face to notice the needle going in. She, too, looked worried and her smile was kind of tight.

‘What’s happening?’ It was CeeCee and LeeLee, shuffling out of their bedroom.

‘Nothing,’ said Ma. ‘Go on back to bed.’

It felt so surreal, standing around in the hallway at 2 a.m. Ma must have noticed too because she began ushering them into the living room.

‘Sit down, sit down. Can I get you anything?’ she was fussing round, fidgeting, which was unlike Ma.

And then Theo was murmuring something to Ma and Ms Martin, all three of them turning to stare at her. She could see the shock on their faces and, worse than that, the pity.

‘Kumari.’ Theo was kneeling once again, his kind face inches from hers. ‘Kumari, we have to get you home. This is not looking good. Your cells, they’re slowly dying off.
Your year and a day must be nearly up. We need to get you back to your kingdom as fast as we can. Hel . . . Ms Martin’s father is organising a plane.’

‘But that’s impossible,’ said Kumari. ‘I gave up being a goddess.’

‘Apparently not,’ said Theo. ‘Whatever you did can’t have worked.’

Then she remembered. That weird inkling with Chico. No, more than an inkling. It had been her Powers all the time. So much for Renunciation.

‘I knew it!’ said Kumari. ‘My rituals are as lousy as ever. I can’t even get that right. I can’t even
resign.’

‘There, there,’ said Ma. ‘You did your best, honey.’

‘My best isn’t good enough!’ wailed Kumari. ‘Besides, how can I get home? There’s no point organising a plane if you don’t know where it’s
going.’

‘But we do,’ chimed in Ms Martin. ‘Or at least, we can get very close. Theo has narrowed it down to one of two possible places barely a hundred miles apart.’

‘You’re kidding?’

‘I’m not. Kumari, you’re going home.’

‘I’m going home. Unbelievable! Back to the Kingdom.
Ohmigosh!’
The tears started to fall. ‘I can see Papa and try to rescue Mamma and . . . ’

Suddenly she stopped. A very big
but
filled her brain. There was something she had to do first. Really
had
to do, for all her friends here, for many more besides. She had promised
to help spread the possibility of Happiness and she had to keep her word. She could feel the fear bubbling in the pit of her stomach.
But what if I don’t get back home in time? Just
go!
And then another voice in her head:
You have to, Kumari. You promised.

Taking a deep breath, she blurted before she could change her mind. ‘There’s the concert. The benefit. It’s . . . tonight.’

In precisely eighteen and a half hours to be totally exact.

‘Forget the concert,’ said Ma. ‘We need to get you on that plane.’

‘But it’s for HUNK,’ said Kumari. ‘It’s going to be on TV!’

‘Ma’s right,’ said Ms Martin. ‘There will be other concerts.’

‘There won’t,’ said Kumari. ‘Not where I’m going. You see, it’s not just any old concert. I promised to talk about Happiness, to spread the HUNK message.
It’s so important I do that. It might be the only chance the World Beyond gets to hear about it. I gave Mr Raider my word. I
have
to be there.’

The adults all looked at one another. Written across their faces, ‘She’s insane.’

‘You said my cells had
started
dying off,’ said Kumari. ‘How long have I got?’

Theo looked uncomfortable. ‘It’s hard to say for sure. Look, Kumari, I really think you should listen to Helen and, ah, Ma. It’s still only a concert after all.’

‘It’s not only a concert. It’s also a fundraiser for HUNK. It will get the message across to millions. And my school gets twenty per cent if I turn up.’

‘Twenty per cent? Pretty good,’ said Ma.

‘Of gross. I negotiated with Mr Raider. So you see it’s important that I go. I mean, like, crucial.’

The grown-ups exchanged glances yet again.

‘You’d risk your life for this?’ said Ms Martin.