Realm of the Goddess (19 page)

I picked up the ring and went back instantly. But I was too late. She lay on the ground, naked and bleeding, her clothes in shreds around her. She wasn’t crying, she was probably beyond tears, but mine ran down my cheeks. I went to her and tried to touch her, to comfort her, but she could neither hear me nor feel my presence. Then as I stood helplessly, she got up, gathered the torn sari and blouse and dragged herself back through the opening in the wall. I followed her inside and watched as she covered it up carefully with the cloth and went into a small area in the room that I hadn’t seen before. It was a washroom, with a pitcher of water and a bowl. She cleaned herself up as well as she could and put on a fresh sari and blouse. Then she walked out to the main hall and joined the others.

I walked right behind her, wondering if she would tell them. She must have, because a few moments later they all huddled around her in tears. They embraced her and checked her over. When they saw the bruises and scratches they cried some more, but I could also see anger rising in them. They must have realized that her lover was just another demon, using her to get to the sword. But this time one of their own, their sister, had been hurt. I wondered what they were going to do next. I didn’t have to wait long.

They had talked for some time and then one of the others left the hall. She returned after a while with an assortment of bowls and incense sticks. It looked like they were going to perform a ritual. I thought that they were doing some sort of healing thing, but then to my surprise, one of the other girls went to the statue of Kali and removed the sword. My eyes widened as I saw the girl’s arms bend under the weight of it and I realized that this was not the wooden sword that the Kali statue held now. This one was the real one. I watched as they chanted an incantation and in front of my eyes the sword disappeared. Then they gathered their things and left. At the same time my surroundings changed yet again and I was back in the main hall with Shiv staring at me in concern.

“Callie...what happened? I heard you cry out, but you couldn’t hear me. Are you hurt?”

I shook my head. I was still in shock at what I’d seen. But it all made sense now. After Kali had given the priestesses the task of keeping the sword safe from Mahisha and his demons, they had devoted themselves to this duty for generation after generation. Even though they did not marry, there were always plenty of young women ready to take their place when they died. They must have fended off many ploys and had kept the sword safe for centuries. But this attack must have hit too close to home. So they decided to put it somewhere where no one could find it. Unfortunately for me, knowing the story behind it still didn’t tell me where it was hidden. But deep down inside I knew that it was somewhere here in the temple.

“I’m going back to the room,” I said. I had a strong feeling that I would find something there.

“I’ll come with you,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything here.”

Shiv looked around the parts I’d already covered. I went to the corner where she had cleaned herself up. There was a tiny hallway that led out of this chamber, which I hadn’t noticed at the time. I went through and ended up in a small alcove. It was empty. I looked around just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I was about to turn around and leave when I noticed that my skull pendant was getting warm. It was glowing, but the light was blue, so no danger. It could only mean one thing. The sword was hidden somewhere in here. But where? There was no place to put a sword. Still, I walked around once more, not know what I was looking for. I was about to give up yet again when I noticed that the pendant’s light was getting brighter, casting a bluish glow throughout the room. I stopped and looked at the wall. Could it be hidden inside? It made sense. The priestesses wouldn’t have wanted to take a chance after what had happened with the demon. What better place to hide it than buried deep inside the structure of the temple itself?

“Shiv,” I called, hoping he could hear me. He was there in a flash.

“Did you find something?” he said.

“I think it’s in here,” I said, pointing to the wall. I looked at my pendant, which was now straining away from me. It was getting warmer, uncomfortably so, and the string was beginning to cut into my skin. I thought I felt a vibration and looked at Shiv in a panic.

“Did you feel that too?” I asked.

He nodded. “I think we should get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this.”

I did too, but I wasn’t about to leave without the sword. The vibrations were getting stronger and the pendant burned my fingers when I tried to pull it back. It wouldn’t budge. I had to get the sword out. This was my only chance. Unfortunately, the ground began to shake and I knew we were running out of time.

“Callie,” Shiv said in a warning tone. “We have to go now. I think this place is going to blow.”

“What do you want me to do?” I yelled over the loud rumbling that accompanied the vibrations. “I’m not leaving without the sword.”

Shiv looked at me for a moment then wordlessly pulled out his dagger and began to hack at the spot on the wall that my pendant was pointing to. I picked up the
gada
and joined in, hoping the blows would loosen the spot enough to expose the sword. But then a loud crash told us that we had just run out of time. We ran for cover and didn’t even have enough time to make it out of the hallway. Shiv threw himself on me and all I heard was an explosion, followed by a huge cloud of dust and debris that filled the hallway, almost choking us. When the vibrations subsided and the dust settled, Shiv picked himself off me and helped me up. We still couldn’t breathe without coughing, but it appeared that the hallway had protected us, since it was still intact. The same couldn’t be said for the alcove. The ceiling had caved in, as had one of the walls. But the one that held the sword still stood erect. Once we could see again, we looked up and gasped. There, wedged into the rock where the priestesses must have hidden it thousands of years ago, was the sword. Kali’s sword, the Sword of Knowledge.
Finally.

I stood frozen, my mind unable to register what was right in front of me. Then Shiv cleared his throat rather loudly and shook me out of my moment. I reached over to pry the sword out of the wall. But as soon as my fingers closed around the hilt, everything went crazy. A million images flashed in front of my eyes. I closed them as intense pain seared my brain, but the images kept coming. It was an assault on all my senses as I saw what I realized must be Kali’s memories. I tried to remove my hand from the sword, but my fingers were welded to it. I saw Kali on the battlefield, riding on her lion, wielding her sword as she destroyed an army of demons. I saw her with Lord Shiva in an intimate embrace and then both of them fighting more demons. From a distance I heard someone calling my name. I tried to focus on that sound and gradually the images slowed down, until my vision cleared and everything was back to normal again. When I opened my eyes Shiv was standing right in front of me.

“What happened?”

I shook my head. My hand wasn’t touching the sword anymore, and it still sat in its spot in the wall.

“I don’t know...as soon as I touched it...it must be connected to Kali’s memories somehow.”

“So...what did you see?” Shiv asked.

“It was too much, so many things all at once. I’ve seen some of it before in my nightmares...”

I stopped as I felt a slight tremor, followed by a louder rumbling.

“Callie, grab the sword,” Shiv shouted. “We won’t make it out of here if the whole place comes down.”

I nodded and ran toward the wall. This time, as I closed my fingers around the hilt, I felt a current of electricity. It zapped me, leaving a strange tingling in its wake. At first I couldn’t get it to budge, but then as I pulled more firmly it came loose and I lifted it out. I only had a second to relish the feel of it in my hand because Shiv was yelling at me to get out. I ran behind him, through the hallway into the small room, then back out into the main hall. We had just made it to the enormous doors when we were forced to come to a stop. The entrance was closed. I’d forgotten about it, but now I looked at Shiv in panic. We were trapped.

Shiv grabbed the large metal handles and tried to pull the doors open. They didn’t budge. The rumbling was deafening now and the ground shook with strong vibrations. As a last desperate resort, I lifted the sword and touched its blade to the line where the two doors met. A blue light sparked briefly. I was too afraid to check if it worked, but Shiv was not. He grabbed the handles again, and this time when he pulled they opened. We ran out, getting as far away as we could from the structure. Once we were under cover of the trees, we stopped and turned back just in time to see the temple crumble until there was nothing left but clouds of dust and a mountain of rubble.

We collapsed onto the jungle floor, exhausted and relieved at the same time. I couldn’t believe that this temple had withstood the effects of time for thousands of years and now it was nothing but a heap of debris. No one would ever know the sacrifices of the priestesses and the pain they had endured. Although it had been horrible to watch, I was glad I had witnessed some of it. I still felt awful that I had not been able to save the young priestess, but at least I would never forget what she had gone through to protect the sword.

Kali’s sword.

My
sword.

There was no denying it anymore. I felt it in my bones now, the connection with the sword when I touched it, the firepower when we fought against the monkeys. It was undeniable proof, although by this point I no longer felt I needed proof. Something had changed deep inside of me. Now that I had the sword, I was ready to take charge. I would rescue my parents and destroy Mahisha once and for all.

Chapter Nineteen

It was with
this new resolve that I set off with Shiv on our trek back through the jungle. We had to make it back from North Sentinel Island to the Andamans and then back to Kolkata. We had no time to lose. I hoped that the Rakshakari had made some headway in locating my parents while we were gone. I was impatient to get back. We walked for hours before stopping for a break, with only our compass to guide us. We had run out of food and relied on bananas, mangoes and coconuts to sustain us. I had to admit that I would have killed for a pizza right now, but I tried not to think about it. Although we both felt much more hopeful now than we had on our way to the temple, we were still wary. After all, now that we had the sword, Mahisha and his minions would try to take it from us. But my newfound firepower and the sword gave me new confidence. We had been walking for most of the day and I was getting cranky. I was hungry and the mosquitoes were particularly vicious. After I had slapped myself for what seemed like the twentieth time trying to kill the little winged devils, I gave up. Suddenly Shiv stopped mid-stride.

“Callie do you hear that?” he asked, looking around.

“Hear what?” I strained but I couldn’t hear anything over the infernal buzzing of the mosquitoes.

Shiv took a few long steps ahead and I hopped after him while trying to squash a mini army of the bugs that was trying to set up base on my left calf. I still couldn’t hear anything.

“It sounds like crying.” He looked in the same direction as I did. “We should check it out.”

“What if it’s a trap?” I wasn’t too sure I wanted to deal with any more demons. And I still couldn’t hear anything.

“We’ll be careful. And you have your sword now.”

I had a bad feeling about this, but I decided to follow him against my better judgement. The sword was securely strapped to my back in a handy little sheath that Shiv had brought with him from Kolkata. The
gada
was tucked into the waistband of my jeans. My pendant hung from its black string around my neck, comforting me with its presence. We walked in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to go. Shiv stopped abruptly, making me walk right into him.

“What is it, Shiv? What do you see?” He didn’t reply but just stood looking at something.

That’s when I heard it. At first I wasn’t sure what the sound was, but then I realized it was sobbing. Who could be out here in the middle of the jungle? Could it be one of the local kids?

I caught a glimpse of something moving, just a flash of white between the trees. That was what Shiv was staring at.

“Who do you think it is?” I asked. He didn’t answer, just walked ahead. I followed him and a little farther up ahead was a small clearing. There, sitting under a tree, was a young girl. The twigs under our feet crunched as we walked, and she looked up when we came close. Her eyes were red from crying and she wiped at them with the hem of her white sari. I signaled to Shiv to stay while I went up to her.

“Are you lost?” I asked her softly in Bengali, not really expecting her to understand. I didn’t want to scare her, but I was really concerned that she was here all alone. She looked young, probably our age, but she was really thin, her watery eyes huge in her gaunt face. She looked up at Shiv, who had walked up behind me, and answered in Bengali.

Several thoughts occurred to me simultaneously. How did she understand Bengali? The native inhabitants didn’t speak it. And how had she managed to make it onto the island without being attacked or captured, as we were?

“I’ve been here for days,” she was saying, looking only at Shiv. “I ran away from my village, but now I’m all alone here and I’m so scared they’ll find me.” She started sobbing again. I tried to comfort her but she shrank away from me.

Shiv walked around me and came to stand by her side. “I think we should give her something to eat and then we can figure out what to do,” he said to me. To her he spoke in Bengali. “You must be hungry. Sit here for a bit and eat something. We have food and water for you.” He took her gently by the arm and sat down on the ground with her.

“Callie, get out all the food and water,” he said impatiently. As I opened the bag and took out the fruit and our last bottle of water, I wondered again who she was and what we were going to do to help her.

“What’s your name?” I asked her, offering her a banana. She shook her head and looked at Shiv.

“My name is Rohini. My parents arranged my marriage to a man I don’t love. So I ran away.”

Shiv picked up one of the mangoes from the bag and started peeling it with his utility knife. He cut off small pieces and handed them to her. She ate them eagerly and watched hungrily as Shiv cut off more pieces.

“Where are you going to go?” Shiv asked.

“I will just stay here. No one will follow me and I can start a new life.

“So how were you able to hide from the locals?” I asked. It all seemed a little strange to me.

“Callie, maybe you should stop interrogating her and let her rest,” Shiv said, handing her a bottle of water.

“Shiv, I’m not interrogating her. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on here. And so should you,” I said pointedly.

“Yes, Callie, we’re all trying to figure out what’s going on. But right now this isn’t about you. It’s about helping Rohini get to a place where she can be safe.”

With that he took her by the arm, helped her up and started walking away. I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, looking at our bags and all the stuff in them just spilled on the ground. What had just happened? What was wrong with Shiv? He was acting very strange and I had no idea why. I did know, however, that it had something to do with this girl.

Angrily, I shoved all the remaining food into the bags and tried to catch up to them. I found them after a while, huddled by a tree. Shiv was holding Rohini, who looked as though she was going to collapse.

“What took you so long, Callie? Rohini needs water. Give me the bottle,” he ordered.

And that was it. That was just about as much as he was going to get away with.

“Shiv, come here,” I said, stepping just out of earshot from Rohini. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean?” he said. “I’m just trying to help her.”

“Don’t you think it’s just a little bit suspicious? She shows up here all by herself...how did she even get here?” I glanced back at her.

She was looking in our direction, intently watching my face. I knew she couldn’t understand what we were saying, but I was sure our tone spoke volumes.

“Look, I know it’s weird. But she needs our help. And I’m going to help her. If you don’t want to come with us, then that’s your choice.” And with that he turned around and walked away from me.

I stood there, completely stunned. What had just happened? He walked back to Rohini, helped her up and they both walked away. Then Rohini threw a brief glance my way before turning back around. It was enough for me to confirm what I suspected. There was no mistaking the glint in her eyes. It was one of triumph. I knew that Shiv was in danger.

I waited until they were just out of sight. Then I followed them as closely as I could without being seen. I didn’t know where they were headed, but from what I could see, it looked like Rohini was leading the way. I now knew with absolute certainty that she was a demon and had somehow brainwashed Shiv into believing he had to help her. If this was about the sword, which I was sure it was, then it made sense to separate us and leave us more vulnerable. I didn’t know what her game plan was, but I did know that Shiv was not going to be hurt under my watch. Suddenly, I was racked with guilt. If anything happened to Shiv, I would never forgive myself. How many more people were going to suffer because of me? Then I shook those thoughts off. They were not helping right now. I realized that I had come upon a clearing and Shiv and Rohini had disappeared. I looked around, trying to figure out in which direction they might have gone. I had almost given up hope when I saw something that looked out of place here in the jungle. There was something caught on one of the branches. I picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was a piece of cloth from the shirt Shiv was wearing.

I felt a trickle of hope. There was still a chance I could find them. Darkness was fast approaching, and I knew before long it would be impossible to see anything. I walked as fast as I could, but I still hadn’t found them by the time the sun had set and the jungle was blanketed in darkness. Soon only a few trickles of moonlight were all I had to guide me. I stumbled along, tripping several times and cursing when a sharp root scraped some skin off my right ankle. My pendant began to get warm, and a red light began to emanate from it. That meant they were close. It also meant I was in danger, and so was Shiv. I was able to move faster now that I could see where I was going, thanks to the pendant. I noticed that the ground was getting softer. There hadn’t been any rain, so I figured that I must be getting close to some other source of water. I was right. Soon the trees became less dense and I was out of the jungle. I could see much better now because the moonlight bathed everything in a soft glow. I was at the edge of the ocean. I could see footprints in the mud, and there were two sets of them.

I followed them for a bit until I could see two figures farther up ahead. I slowed down to assess the situation. They didn’t appear to be moving. I could see the girl gesturing with her hands. It looked like she was pointing at the water. Shiv was standing still. Then he started moving toward the water. I looked at the waves softly crashing against the shore. A little farther out was a group of jagged rocks. The water hitting them sent up a fine mist and in the moonlight I could clearly see that if Shiv went in there, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if he was a strong enough swimmer to hold his own against the current, the rocks would kill him. I had to stop him. I started sprinting toward them. They couldn’t hear me coming over the sound of the water crashing against the rocks, so I had the advantage of surprise.

I called out when I was close enough. They had their backs to me, and I saw her face first when she turned toward me. In the moonlight I could see her as she really was. She barely resembled the young girl I had seen in the jungle. Her skin was leathery and sallow and her eyes drooped on either side of her face. When she saw me her eyes gleamed and she turned around. But just before that I saw the air shimmer and her face transformed once more into the young girl’s. Shiv was facing me now and I saw the look in his eyes. They were mesmerized. And now he was walking away from her again, into the water.

“Shiv, stop!” I screamed, running toward him. He turned to look at me but just continued walking. I don’t think he even recognized me. I had almost reached him when something slammed into me from the front and knocked the air out of me. I fell back onto the muddy ground. I got up and started running again, desperate to get to Shiv. I could see her out of the corner of my eye. She was pointing toward me and muttering something. Well, two could play at this game. I didn’t know what powers I had, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. I pointed my hand at her and channelled all the rage and frustration I felt. I didn’t know how I knew to do that, but I just did.

Nothing happened at first. Then I glanced at Shiv again. He was almost in the water. No time to think. I just wanted to destroy her. That’s all I could think. And feel. She would not take one more person from me. My hand was getting warm. Really fast. I concentrated all my anger into my hand. Suddenly, a blast of heat came out of my palm. It knocked me back, and when I regained my balance, she was gone. A small plume of smoke billowed where she’d been standing. I ran over, but there was nothing left but a small pile of ashes. My brain couldn’t really process what had just happened, which was good, because I was out of time. Shiv had disappeared.

I ran to where he’d been standing just a few seconds ago and into the cold water. In an instant it was up to my waist. I sucked in a deep breath and dove in. I opened my eyes, but at first I saw nothing. Then I detected movement a little to the right. It was Shiv. But he wasn’t alone. Something else was there with him, dragging him farther away from me. It was a strange diaphanous shape, vaguely resembling a human. It looked at me as I swam closer, and I froze. It had a face, but the mouth and nose were barely there. The eyes stared at me for a moment, bright and blazing red. Then it looked around and suddenly I was surrounded. There were dozens of them, the floating shapes. I could feel them as they tugged on my clothes, pulling me deeper. I knew I wouldn’t last long; I was running out of breath.

I kicked and struggled and managed to shake them off. I kicked harder and tried to swim back up. I was able to break the surface and get just one gulp of air before they pulled me under again. Then I saw Shiv. He was swimming toward me, kicking at the shapes pursuing him. The sight of him gave me energy and I too kicked as hard as I could. I could see him reach out to me and I stretched as hard as I could until I felt his fingers close over mine. Together we kicked our way up to the surface, fighting then as they repeatedly got a hold of us and tried to drag us back down. Finally we made it up the surface. Shiv was on his feet first and pulled me up. We staggered to the edge, desperate to get out of the water and onto dry land.

We fell on the ground but crawled as far as we could away from the water’s edge before collapsing in a heap. My lungs were on fire and after our coughing subsided we got up wordlessly and went back into the cover of the trees.