The Apsara Chronicles Boxed Set Read online

  It was almost funny how easy it was to track the killer now. Nivaan scented the air every few minutes while Vee followed, double-checking using her aural vision.

  They headed down a line of half a dozen giant aluminum milk tankers, then took a turn at the end of the wall. Within the center of the room, a steel floor had been erected. Almost a quarter the size of the ground floor, it accessed the equipment from halfway up the height of the tankers.

  On the platform sat something that looked a lot like a shrine to Lord Narasimha. Vee held her breath and glanced at a shocked Nivaan. “Now that I had not expected,” he murmured.

  Beside the shrine stood a throne—a giant chair covered in gold fabric. And seated on the throne was a lion-shifter whose aura screamed at Vee, pushing back at her with such power that she was forced to blink and pull herself free from her aura sight.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Nivaan whispered. Vee knew the question didn’t need an answer. Nivaan was clearly more shocked than she was.

  She pointed up to the metal balconies, walkways suspended overhead to allow access to the tops of the tankers. Vee and Nivaan hurried back around the line of tankers and found a set of stairs that led up three levels.

  They tiptoed up, thankful the stairs were hidden by a concrete wall, keeping them from being spotted within seconds. They exited the stairs at the top level and sank down to inspect the first floor.

  Vee suppressed a gasp as she watched a tall, hooded man lift a knife and slash the throat of a younger man, who stood there, throat exposed, ready for the blade. Blood spurted from the wound, dripping down the victim’s neck. As he fell, two more hooded figures caught him and laid him carefully on the ground.

  One held a brass vessel beneath the victim’s throat and collected the blood while another ripped open his shirt and bared his chest to the lion-shifter on the throne.

  Vee watched in horror as the mahabidala rose and moved toward the victim, his movements fluid and languid. Vee tilted forward filled with a need to free the poor man.

  Nivaan grabbed hold of her arm. “He’s dead already. There isn’t anything you can do for him.”

  When Vee looked back at the scene, the shifter was slashing at the man’s chest and lifting his still-beating heart free. The shifter faced the gathered worshippers, his lion form shimmering as he shifted and became human again. Vee had to admit she was not surprised.

  Professor Menon stood there, fingers red with blood as he faced the members of his cult.

  “That’s how he knew. Not because we had a mole. He’s the killer.” Nivaan spoke the words that Vee already knew, but his tone was filled with disgust and anger. He’d known Menon, had taken her to him in the hopes that the professor would help shed some light on the case, but in the end he’d turned out to be the very man they were looking for.

  Vee swallowed as she watched the ceremony, knowing she couldn’t do anything until the team arrived to back her up. Nivaan and herself were two against Menon and a dozen of his hooded followers.

  Menon began to speak, the Sanskrit flowing from his lips, and beside her, Nivaan swore softly and said, “Blasphemy.”

  “What?” Vee whispered.

  “He’s invoking Lord Narasimha . . . he’s saying the mahabidala are dying out and that only the blood of man will help them to regenerate . . . the man’s life is precious and taken knowing he gave it willingly . . . the mahabidala will be forever grateful and forever in his debt.”

  Nivaan continued to translate and Vee didn’t have the heart to tell him she understood every word the creep was saying.

  “He won’t be happy with this,” Nivaan muttered.

  “Who?” Vee asked.

  “Lord Narasimha.”

  Vee was about to agree when a movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention. One half-painted pane let in a ray of light and in that tiny space she caught a glimpse of a white owl.

  Good.

  Vee was about to tell Nivaan that they should get down there and stop them now, when two figures were thrust before Menon.

  The smile on the professor’s face was wide and thrilled as he thrust back the hoods that hid the two captives’ faces.

  Syama and Krish.

  Chapter 44

  “Shit.”

  Vee studied Syama’s face, meeting her eyes for the briefest second. Syama was far from afraid. In fact, she looked expectant, as if waiting for something.

  “We have to hope that Menon has no idea Syama is a hellhound. Would he know Krish is mahabidala?”

  Nivaan nodded. “We can smell another of our species. There’s a different scent.”

  Vee nodded then looked back at Syama. “She got herself caught.”

  “Or she’s making the best of a bad situation.”

  Both Syama and Krish were bound at the wrists with thick white rope and Vee decided their best course of action was to rush the gathering and grab the kids.

  But just before Vee spun around to head back to the stairs, one of the robed men lifted his eyes to the upper floor and looked straight at her. He shouted a warning, and pointed in her direction. Seconds later the clattering of boots against metal confirmed they were coming for her and Nivaan.

  Vee sprang to her feet, finding herself knocked over. White feathers fluttered in her face as she hit the ground and rolled onto her feet. Akil flew off but the trail of blood on the floor told her he’d been hit.

  Again!

  A ripple of fear and nausea filled her gut but she swallowed it down, grabbing Nivaan’s arm as they raced for the exit, bullets flying every which way as Vee and Nivaan ducked and dodged them. They were halfway to the entrance when Nivaan let out an “oof” and Vee knew he’d been shot.

  He hit the ground and rolled into a ball, but it did little to help the already-bleeding wound on his shoulder.

  Vee rushed for him, but a hail of bullets kept her at bay, as if toying with her. She watched as two hooded men grabbed Nivaan and hauled him off to Menon. Her heart thundered in her ears, and Vee swallowed back the fear. They’d sacrifice him the first chance they got. She had to save him.

  They were well-aware she was here and yet they weren’t making any effort to find her. They knew she wouldn’t leave her team.

  Her friends.

  She considered her options as she watched the two men tie Nivaan’s hands and toss him on the floor beside Syama and his brother.

  Vee drew the lipstick tube from her back pocket and scanned for the supporting struts that held up the metal floor. She ran to each one, scraping the red gluey substance onto each metal beam before racing to the next one.

  The explosive was set to detonate within thirty seconds but the plant was too big and Vee had only managed to mark the third strut when the first bomb went off. Vee ran toward the final strut, marked it and raced for the fire-escape, hiding behind the safety of the concrete wall.

  A second explosion went off and she peeked around the corner. The floor tilted, people yelled as they began to slide off it.

  The drop to the ground floor was a full two stories but Vee knew that before any one of them neared the edge, the final strut would blow and the whole floor would fall. The shock the fall would cause should give Vee time to run in and save her friends.

  As the last strut blew, Syama transformed into a hellhound and rolled away, pulling free from the ropes which served little purpose tied around her bony canine ankles.

  Vee rushed the destroyed platform, shoving aside the assistant priest who’d slit the poor man’s throat earlier. She reached Nivaan. At her side the chakra began to vibrate.

  Nivaan was still a few yards off when someone grabbed her around her arms, the death-grip not allowing her any space to wriggle out. Bending her arm a little, she reached her belt, released the cord and pulled it free. Although she didn’t have much room to move, she managed to loop the cord around her attacker’s fists in front of her.

  Within seconds both of them were hit with a thunderous bolt of electricity, but
because Vee was prepared for it, and had previously been through regular training in preparation for just such a charge, she was a little more resilient to the electricity surging through her body.

  Her attacker, unfortunately, bore the brunt of the power and was thrown off her back, flying a few feet before landing on another member of his cult.

  As Vee turned over she found herself surround by half a dozen men, hoods thrown back, snarls on their lips as they growled at her. For a moment she wondered if they were about to transform, but they showed no sign of it.

  Syama flew at one of the men, toppling him over, but that still left four ganging up on Vee. She dug two stun-bombs from her messenger bag and threw one in each direction. The balls rolled and opened, then erected their needles, each bomb finding only two men.

  Now free, Vee sprang for Nivaan, only to stop cold.

  Menon was standing at his alpha’s side, a jagged-toothed knife presses so hard against Nivaan’s throat that he’d begun to bleed.

  “Stop.” Vee’s voice shook even though she was furious.

  “You think you can tell me what to do?” Menon lifted a single haughty eyebrow.

  “He’s your alpha.”

  “That does not matter to me. He’s useless. He never cared about the mahabidala. All he wants is peace with humans. Narasimha will be ashamed.”

  Vee shook her head. “Narasimha would not be proud. I know for a fact that he would be appalled at what you are doing.”

  “I’m trying to bring him back to us. He’d be grateful.”

  “He would not. You don’t have the power to bring him back. Nobody has. Not until his period of penance is complete.”

  “Penance?” Menon looked confused for a moment and then he dismissed Vee’s words. Maybe Vee had said a little too much, but Menon hadn’t cared enough to pay attention.

  Syama took that moment of distraction to grab onto Menon’s knife arm, sinking her teeth deep into his wrist. Instinctively, his fingers opened and he dropped the knife. Nivaan fell to the ground, rolling away smoothly.

  Vee grabbed the chakra and pulled back her hand. “Get away,” she yelled as she let go of the weapon, diving for cover. Both Nivaan and Syama did the same, while Vee rolled aside and watched as the chakra hit Menon. The professor’s body grew larger, inflating slowly until it exploded, sending bits and pieces flying all around the warehouse.

  The screams of the remaining followers filled Vee’s ears, but she ignored them and got to her feet. Syama was helping Krish get away, waving at Vee to move it.

  As Vee raced for Nivaan, she watched his eyes widen. A glance over her shoulder revealed two grenades lobbed by the retreating cult-embers, coming straight for Vee and Nivaan.

  She spun and threw herself over him, shut her eyes and willed herself to protect him, praying the forcefield would do its thing.

  The two grenades exploded seconds apart and both Vee and Nivaan were tossed aside, buffeted by the force of the explosion.

  Vee opened her eyes, tears filling them—shock or fear, she was wasn’t sure. Nivaan stared at her, his own eyes widening as he looked at the ball of clear energy surrounding them. Like a glass dome, speckled with every color of the rainbow, her forcefield encircled and protected the two of them.

  The power had worked.

  Vee glanced over her shoulder, scanning the warehouse for Syama and the two boys, still terrified that Akil’s wound had been serious and she’d be too late finding him to save him.

  She caught sight of Syama racing for the far right entrance in hellhound form, a few paces off from five cloaked figures.

  Almost at the last minute she transformed into a human—must have learned a thing or two from Akil—landed on her feet, ripped both her guns from the holsters at her hips and aimed them on the escaping cult-members as they made for the door.

  Very Lara Croft.

  Vee was beyond impressed. She was going to have to compliment Syama when she had a moment.

  No sign of the owl or the lion.

  The FBI backup team arrived two seconds later. Vee shook her head and released a tense breath. With the exhalation, the forcefield disappeared, and Vee turned to Nivaan.

  He laughed and got to his feet, cradling his arm. His shirt was soaked with blood but he looked like he’d live.

  “You okay?” She jerked a chin at the wound.

  “I’ll survive.” He smiled as Vee rolled her eyes. His dimple flickered. “For a first date, that is totally un-toppable.”

  Vee did a double-take then decided to ignore him as she headed for Syama and Krish who were lurking by the door.

  And Akil appeared at last, his other arm now bloodied. At least this time he was in full human form, although she suspected he’d disappeared for instant medical care.

  Vee retrieved her team before they got arrested. As she drove to HQ for debriefing, she smiled.

  First date, indeed.

  After Vee’s debrief she returned home and searched out Akil who was lurking downstairs in the artifact room.

  “Been looking for you,” she said, staring at his arm in the sling, and the dressing over the wound that was clearly visible beneath the white fabric of his dress shirt.

  He nodded. “I knew you would. There is something I have to give you.”

  Vee’s eyebrows lifted. She’d been looking for him to thank him for saving her life, but she didn’t get a chance.

  As she drew closer he held something out to her.

  It shone so brightly, glinting in the fluorescent light from the ceiling. Akil laid it on the table, the light from beneath it making it shine ever brighter.

  A conch.

  A large, brilliantly white conch.

  Akil took a step back and waved a hand at it. “It is for you. A gift.”

  Vee stared at the sirin first and then at the conch. Frowning, she tried to piece the logic together and came up with only one option. “Lord Narasimha?” she asked, her hand trembling as she reached out and took the shell into her palm

  It was large enough to fill both of her cupped palms put together. A beautiful vision of nature, and a tool of death. “It’s supposed to kill,” she said softly, staring at the shell.

  “The stories have it wrong.” Akil smiled and circled the table. “The conch, when blown, will freeze a person in place; the longer it is blown, the more chance there is of death. Use it wisely.”

  “I’m honored,” Vee said softly, “I—”

  The sirin touched her forearm. “He knows.”

  Vee nodded her gratitude, then cocked a chin at his wound. “Thank you. You got yourself shot to save me. Again.”

  Akil smiled serenely. “And I would have gladly gotten myself killed if it meant saving you.”

  Vee was appalled, and honored, and a little shocked. And she wasn’t sure what to say.

  In the end, she said nothing, just told Akil that dinner was arriving soon—pizza first, before she prepared to leave for Kasipu’s residence in the ‘burbs.

  Chapter 45

  Vee was readying herself, shoving daggers and pistols into place with Syama glaring at her from the doorway, when Devi appeared beside the hellhound, looking worried.

  “What happened?” Vee asked, hoping nothing else had gone wrong.

  Devi shook her head. “Nothing. The team is working on the blood samples but I thought I’d . . .” She paused, then focused somewhere over Vee’s shoulder. “I’m coming with you.”

  Vee shoved the pistol into her hip holster with a little too much force. “I don’t think it’s safe—”

  Devi sighed. “Vee, I know you want to protect me but I can make my own decisions. I’m going. This is also my responsibility.”

  Inhaling sharply, it was on the tip of Vee’s tongue to refuse point blank when she realized that her behavior was not because she didn’t want Devi to come. Rather it was because she was afraid of losing her mother.

  As much as she’d hated Devi for letting Vee’s father die, she couldn’t bear to lose another par
ent. Vee sighed and met her mother’s eyes.

  “Fine.” With that one word, the lines on her mother’s forehead eased. And though it wasn’t Vee’s place to grant or retain permission on this mission, it was clear that her mother had deferred to her decision in the matter.

  Vee glanced at Syama. “Can you make sure Mom is sufficiently armed and protected?” The hellhound nodded, this time her concern for Devi outweighing her own dissatisfaction with being left behind.

  There was a moment of silence during which Vee remembered something. She grabbed her bag from the table beside her and withdrew a small gold box.

  Devi took and opened the lid. “A lotus?”

  Vee nodded. “It’s from Narasimha. He said—”

  “It’s lotus tea. Harvested by hand and blessed by all the chakras.” Vee nodded as her mother continued, “To guard against possession by demons.”

  Devi pursed her lips, giving the tea a pointed look. Vee stowed her weapons and followed her mother upstairs to the kitchen where she watched her fuss around gathering cups and a teapot to steep the strangely-fresh lotus flower.

  Vee wasn’t sure how effective the tea would be against a demon, or any supernatural creature for that matter, but if it gave her mother confidence Vee wasn’t going to mess with it.

  After preparing the tea, Devi placed the pot and two cups onto the table between them. With slow elegant movements she poured a cup for each of them, then spoke a few words over the liquid. Not incantations, just meditative reverences to the air and the earth, the sun, and the stars.

  It probably wasn’t going to help considering the gift was from a god, meant for a specific purpose, but it wouldn’t hurt either.

  Vee sipped the hot tea, swallowing the bitter drink slowly while watching her mother over the top of her cup. She’d spent so many years being so very angry with her sole surviving parent that she’d barely had time to get to know her.

  Draining her cup, Vee set it slowly on the table and met her mother’s eyes. Devi gave her a quick nod, downed her tea and got to her feet. “I’ll go get ready.”