Realm of the Goddess (9 page)

There was a plethora of deadly looking weapons hanging on individual hooks on the wall, but once again my eye went straight to the whip-like sword that I had admired in Shiv’s house. Vikram followed my gaze to where the sword was hanging with its companions. He walked over, took it off its hook and turned to me with a knowing smile.

“So it appears that you have a connection. The
urumi
was Kali’s weapon of choice as well.”

He held out the sword. I hesitated for a split second before grasping the handle. Nothing happened. I don’t know what I had expected, but maybe a part of me had hoped that holding a weapon that had been a favorite of Kali’s would impart some magical powers to me. But that didn’t happen, so I was left standing cluelessly with the
urumi
in my hand and no idea what to do. Vikram looked as though he too had been expecting something along the lines of Xena, Warrior Princess. But he recovered quickly, arranging his features into an encouraging smile.

“Maybe we can start with the training right now,” he said, calling over one of the trainers with an imperious wave. A young woman just over five feet tall walked over. She wore a white tunic over a pair of loose-fitting white pants. Her hair was in a long braid that swung down to her hips. As she came over, she bowed slightly to Vikram. He returned the gesture with a quick nod and then turned to me.

“Callie, this is Tara, one of our most talented trainers.” Tara’s face exhibited the barest hint of pleasure at Vikram’s praise, but then she turned to me with a broad smile.

“Callie, it is so great to meet you. We have been waiting.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said, feeling a little awkward at the thought that most people here knew about me, but I knew nothing about them.

“Would you like to try your hand at a little swordplay?” Tara asked, pointing to the training area. I looked over at the students working there. They all seemed very skilled, thrusting and parrying quite effortlessly.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I said hesitantly. “I’m not really known for my hand-eye coordination.”

“Well, you have to start sometime, so why not now?” Tara said matter-of-factly.

I couldn’t think of a good reason, so I just nodded.

“Okay, Tara, I will leave Callie in your capable hands, and when you are done, please bring her to the main house.” Vikram turned around and left.

Tara gave me a cursory glance, no doubt regretting her earlier offer. Unfortunately for me, it looked like I was not getting off that easy, because she guided me to the other end of the gym and into the locker room. Except it wasn’t your typical high school locker room — far from it. It looked more like a spa than any changing room I’d ever seen. There were large mirrors along the walls. One section of the room had large lockers, beyond which I could see the entrance to the showers.

“I thought you might be more comfortable in something less restricting,” she said. I was wearing skinny jeans and a T-shirt, probably not the most suitable for sword fighting.

“Yes, I think you’re right,” I said, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Tara just smiled and walked over to a shelf that held stacks of white clothing. She dug around for a bit before pulling out a tunic and pair of pants just like the ones she was wearing.

“These should fit, I think,” she said, pointing toward a changing area. I took the clothes, thanked her and went to change. I emerged a few minutes later, suitably attired for battle. The linen tunic was soft against my skin. The pants were of the same material and were probably the most comfortable I had ever worn. We walked back out into gym. Tara brought me a sword, not the
urumi
that I had held earlier, but a regular sword.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to start out with the
urumi
. It’s a tricky weapon to handle, even for skilled warriors,” she said, handing me the sword. I put my fingers around the hilt. It felt odd at first, cold to the touch, but then my fingers warmed the metal. I brought the hilt closer to look at the intricate design. It looked like it was made of bronze, with a leafy motif in silver. All around the top were engravings of Hanuman and Ganesha, as well as peacocks, all intertwined in floral scrollwork.

“This is absolutely beautiful,” I told Tara, who was brandishing her own sword.

“Well, are you going to just stand there and admire it all day or are we going to see any action?” she said with an impish grin as she waved her sword around. I decided that I liked her, but not enough to let her cut off any of my body parts. I backed up a little, my competitive nature taking over, and arranged myself in what I hoped was a combative stance. Far from impressing Tara, it seemed that I was amusing her, because I could see a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. I couldn’t believe it, but I actually stomped my foot a little and let the blade of my sword drop to the floor.

“So are you just going to laugh at me or are you actually going to teach me something? I thought Vikram said that you were one of his best trainers,” I said, making no attempt to keep the sarcasm from my voice.

It had the intended effect, because Tara immediately bristled.

“First of all, I am not Vikram’s trainer. I am Rakshakari, not his employee. And secondly, yes, of course I will teach you, but I was having too much of a good time watching you pose.” The last bit was accompanied by a grin, and in spite of myself I smiled back. It was hard not to like her. I made a mental note to ask Shiv about Vikram and Tara, because I detected a definite note of resentment in her tone.

The rest of the afternoon was spent quite productively. I learned the basics of sword fighting, which, contrary to my understanding, had nothing to do with combat itself but more to do with the different parts of the sword and handling techniques. I got the strong feeling that Tara wanted to make sure I didn’t cut of my own or anybody else’s parts while flailing around. I didn’t blame her but I would have liked to have learned some actual fighting.

Later that day Shiv came to get me and Tara and we met up with his parents at the main house, where dinner was waiting. Vikram asked me if I would like to shower and change before dinner and I gladly accepted. Tara took me upstairs and showed me to a bedroom. It was luxuriously decorated in deep purple and gold, a bit too rich for my taste, but beautiful nonetheless. There was an adjoining bathroom and I marveled at the huge shower as I stood under a jet stream of hot water. A bit later I rejoined the others downstairs, wearing my own clothes and feeling refreshed and ravenous. Dinner was a feast, with spicy, fragrant biryani, fried fish, assorted vegetable and a sumptuous dessert of
rasmalai
. I would have happily skipped the main course for the deliciously soft, sweet balls of milky dough swimming in clotted cream.

During dinner Vikram casually asked me questions about my childhood, the nightmares and everything that had happened afterwards. I couldn’t help but feel he was not entirely sure I was the real deal. I didn’t blame him. I was still struggling with this new reality. I felt as if my old life had been replaced with this new one where everything was unfamiliar and everyone was a stranger. I missed Ben and all the fun we had together. I missed my parents. But most of all I missed feeling that I had control over my life. I hadn’t felt this out of control since I’d first started having the nightmares. But I had built a new life after that, found my tribe and was comfortable again. And then all this happened. And I had no choice but to deal with it. I forced myself to come back to the moment. Vikram was asking me something about my father.

“I’m sorry...I’m exhausted.” I really did not want to answer any more questions, but I also didn’t want to be rude, especially since Vikram was being such a gracious host. Luckily, Dev saved me from having to answer.

“Vikram, I think Callie has had a very long day. Maybe Shiv should take her home so she can get some rest.”

I could tell that Vikram wanted to continue, but he couldn’t really say anything without appearing insensitive.

“Of course, you must be well rested for tomorrow, Callie. You have much work ahead of you. Dev and Nina, I will have a car take you home later.” I thanked Vikram, said my goodbyes and then waited at the front of the house while Shiv pulled the car around.

Chapter Seven

The next afternoon
I was looking at the sword in my hand as I stood in the huge training grounds of the Academy. It backed onto a green belt, so there was no chance of anybody seeing us. We’d been training for only a couple of hours and already I was exhausted. Tara watched me expectantly. Did she really think that I would just magically know how to swing the sword around? The thing was heavy.

“Callie, you have to focus. Watch me, remember the stances we went over, and follow my steps.” I watched as she jumped around the field, expertly wielding her sword as if it were a feather. I stepped forward, imitating the stance Tara had started with. I held the sword straight in front of me as she had shown me umpteen times then sliced a clockwise arc through the air. That didn’t seem too bad. I tried again. This time I stepped into it at the same time. Unfortunately, my hand forgot that it had to hold onto the sword while I was doing the fancy footwork and it slid out and into the air, straight toward Tara, who’d been watching me with a bored look. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid having her nose cut off.

“Callie, you have to hold on tighter. And you have to concentrate.” She was exasperated, as was I. We’d been working on this particular set for hours and I wanted nothing more than to rest my aching feet and eat a cheeseburger.

“Do you think I don’t know that? I’m trying, Tara.” I took a deep breath and started again.
Step forward, swing clockwise, bring it down, step again, swing counter-clockwise, don’t drop the sword.
I repeated this a few times, feeling quite pleased with myself. I deserved credit for not maiming anyone, didn’t I? I did a few more turns then came to a stop in front of Tara.

“That’s much better, Callie. Now we’re going to go over sparring techniques.” She spent the next two hours teaching me complicated maneuvers to use while sparring. I tried to focus and absorb as much as I could. I’d always been a quick learner, but this was a little bit different than balancing chemical reactions or solving algebraic equations. As the afternoon turned into evening, I reflected on how unprepared I was to deal with all the challenges coming my way. I was so deep in thought that I didn’t realize when the air started shimmering and Tara and the clearing we were standing in disappeared.

One minute I was flailing about with the heavy sword and the next moment everything around me dissolved. I was standing by a lake, the surface rippling softly from a gentle breeze. I was surrounded by trees laden with luscious fruits I didn’t recognize. Flowers bloomed in abundance, their unfamiliar but intoxicating fragrance tickling my nose. I knew this was no dream, but it still felt unreal. I spotted two figures under a tree. They were locked in an embrace. I was drawn toward them, so I went, taking care to tread softly, afraid of interrupting a romantic moment. When I got close enough to see them properly, I stopped. The man was facing me and I tried to blend into the foliage as best as I could. His face was hidden in shadows so I couldn’t see it clearly, but he seemed young. Curly hair hung down almost to the top of his broad shoulders, and when he leaned back a little from the embrace, I could see the muscles ripple across his shirtless chest. The girl was gazing into his eyes, the fingers of her right hand entangled in his curls while her left hand cupped his cheek. He leaned in and their lips met in a passionate kiss. It felt oddly voyeuristic to watch them, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

They were lost in each other for some time. It was strange, but even though I was just watching, I could feel the chemistry. A tingle began somewhere deep inside me and worked its way to the rest of my body as I watched the two of them consumed by their passion. It was a tangible thing, this heat between them. Then they broke their embrace and began to walk toward the water. Just before they turned away, the girl turned and I got a glimpse at her face. I froze. At first my mind was too stunned to register it. I closed my eyes and held them tightly shut for a moment. When I opened them there was no mistaking. I was looking at myself. Not that I would ever wear what she had on. It was too much, like the kind of outfits my parents would make me wear to Indian weddings.

She wore a very elaborately embroidered
lehenga
, the skirt falling around her ankles in swirls. Her bodice was tight, with the décolletage so deep that I blushed when I saw her/my generous bosom peeking out from under it. She was heavily adorned with jewelry; something gold glittered on almost every visible part of her body. She paused to say something to her lover and then she laughed, the delicate tinkle wafting to me as I wondered how this could be happening. I realized I must be looking at Kali, but I was nothing like her. There was nothing delicate about the way I laughed. And I would never wear that much jewelry or show that much skin. I was still trying to figure out the meaning and purpose of this particular vision when the air shimmered again and I was back on the Academy’s grounds, holding the sword. Tara was watching me closely as I looked around, slightly disoriented.

“What happened, Callie? Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

“I had a vision...I think,” I replied, still trying to sort it all out.

“So what did you see exactly?” Tara asked, carefully taking the sword from my hands and placing it against the metal link fence.

“It was weird...I saw myself with this guy. And we were making out.” I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I remembered the tingling.

Tara was watching me with an amused expression. “Do you know who you were making out with?”

I could tell she trying hard to suppress a grin, and I childishly stuck out my tongue. “No, I don’t. His face was kind of hidden the whole time.”

“But you’re sure that the girl was you?”

“I don’t know exactly. I’m pretty sure it was Kali I saw, but she did look exactly like me.”

“Well,” Tara said, “it’s not really that strange. If you are the reincarnation of Kali, then it makes sense that you would look like her.”

“I guess, but it was weird watching myself with a guy I’ve never met.”

“Then you have something to look forward to, right?” Tara said with a huge grin. She picked up my sword and handed it to me. “Back to work.”

“Wow, bossy much?” I grumbled as I lifted the sword.

A little while later we stopped for dinner, and not a minute too soon. For the last hour I had been fantasizing about a nice juicy burger with fries. We joined Vikram in the dining room. After a filling meal, I excused myself and went upstairs to my room. I had moved in early that morning and hadn’t had a chance yet to unpack and settle in, courtesy of Tara, who had shown up outside my door minutes after I arrived, insisting that we get started right away. She was very persuasive. So here I was, hours later, feeling gross and utterly exhausted. My muscles were sore and my back hurt. Once I got to my room, I barely made it to the bathroom to undress and shower. I let the water run until it was steaming hot and leaned against the shower wall as the heat dissipated some of the pain. I shampooed my hair and emerged feeling clean and refreshed. I wrapped at towel around myself and another around my hair and then dug around in my bag for sweats and a T-shirt. By the time I was dressed again and had dried my hair, I had just enough strength left to plop myself on the bed before I fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to the smell of French toast wafting up from the dining hall. I sat up with a groan as my tired muscles reminded me of the torture they had endured the day before. I dragged myself to the bathroom, got ready and went down. Tara and Vikram were already there, as were Dev and Shiv.

“There you are, my dear,” said Vikram, smiling benevolently while Tara sat quietly next to him munching on her French toast. She looked up at me and her eyebrows shot up. I knew I looked like a zombie, and it was all her fault. I gave her my best death stare and mumbled a greeting to everyone else. I sat down and poured myself a cup of coffee from the pot in the middle of the table.

“So, Callie, I trust that you are settled in?” said Dev, taking the pot from me and pouring himself a cup.

“Yes, I am, thank you,” I replied.

He stirred his coffee as he looked at me thoughtfully. “You look quite exhausted. Did you have a bad night?”

I could hear Shiv choking a little and shot him a withering glance. Tara’s face looked as though it was going to explode. Clearly they thought my agony was hilarious. Vikram and Dev were oblivious to what was going on. I just smiled and mumbled something about getting used to everything. They nodded understandingly and went on sipping their coffee. Fortunately, they left soon after and I was free to glare at Tara and Shiv.

“I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself,” I said as soon as the two older men were out of earshot. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry,” Tara said, trying hard not to smile as she spoke. “It’s just that you look pretty...well...your hair.”

I reached up to pat down my hair, which I knew looked crazy.

“Oh, come on, Tara, she doesn’t look that bad,” Shiv said, smiling. I just ignored them and sipped my coffee.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” I asked after a few moments of silence.

“Well, Dev and Shiv are taking over the combat training today,” Tara said.

“Dad is teaching his class today, so you’ll just be joining in,” Shiv said. “It’ll be a great experience,” he added. “There are some really good students in his class.”

Great, now I would get to make a fool of myself in front of even more people. This day was just getting better and better.

“Okay, lead the way,” I said, trying, as usual, to mask my utter terror with nonchalance.

As Shiv and I walked over to the training building, I watched the students as they went to their classes and felt a sense of envy for the natural way in which they fit in. They knew where they belonged and where they were going. From what Vikram had told me, most of them had come from Rakshakari families, or if not, they had spent most of their lives here. Either way, none of them could possibly feel as lost and out of place as I did right now. As we entered the gym, I looked around. There were about ten other students there and three instructors, one of whom was Dev. I counted six girls and four boys, all barely in their teens as far as I could tell. As I watched, one of the girls did a complicated maneuver that included a lot of sword twirling and a few fancy back-kicks. She was a tiny little thing, probably no older than twelve. I shot a quick glance in Shiv’s direction, only to find him watching me with a stupid grin.

“I told you they were good,” he said with a shrug.

“Yes,” I hissed. “But you didn’t tell me they were little kids.” I was not amused, but I took a deep breath just as Dev noticed me and waved me over. With a parting glare at Shiv, I walked to the center of the training area.

Dev had all the students line up in front of him. “Girls and boys, I would like you to welcome Callie. She is here to train with us.”

A murmur passed through the group; they were no doubt wondering why I’d been held back in school. I smiled awkwardly at them and mumbled a greeting of sorts.

“I’m counting on all of you to help Callie as she begins her training,” Dev told the group. I could hear tittering and engaged in an immature staredown with a girl in the back. She had two blond braids and looked like a troublemaker. Dev was oblivious to this exchange and continued with his instructions.

For the rest of the morning I learned offensive moves designed to overpower someone much bigger than me. Unfortunately, all my sparring partners were a few inches shorter than me, so I failed to see the benefit of this exercise. On the other hand, I didn’t think I was ready to take on anyone my own size, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. After lunch, which all students ate in a cafeteria in the school building, I was summoned to the main house by Nina, who had been spending a lot of time communicating with the Elders.

Since Shiv had told me they lived in a cave on Mount Kailash, I wasn’t sure how she had accomplished that, but I figured I would find out soon enough. I walked over to the main house by myself after spending the entire lunch hour dodging questions from the students about why I was starting so late. Vikram had made it clear that no one was to know my real story, so it was left up to me to concoct enough details to satisfy the pre-pubescent horde. It wasn’t as easy as one might have thought given that these were no ordinary twelve-year-olds. I was glad to escape as soon as I could.

As I walked across the campus, I looked around me. It was so surreal to be here, to realize that this whole other world had always existed right along with the one I knew, and no one had any clue about it. It was well hidden, just another private school on secluded property. I wondered if the students here knew what life was like outside in the world where I had grown up. I reached the entrance to the main house and ran up the steps. Shiv and Tara were waiting in the foyer and took me to a part of the house that I hadn’t seen before. I followed them down a hallway, and after a while we turned right into a large conference room. Vikram, Nina and Dev were already there, and we joined them at the large table in the middle of the room. There was a large jug of ice water on a tray with glasses, and I poured myself some. The table was partially covered with printouts and maps. Nina’s eyes were glistening as she turned to me.

“Callie, we have great news. Our contacts in India have found the possible location of the sword.”