The Hand of Kali Box Set (Books 1-3) Read online

  He nodded, "Sometimes I feel like I should just put all my duties on hold and stay with her for a while."

  "Maybe you should." When Nik frowned she said, "I've always thought it's a bit of waste of time to pitch up for a funeral when the person is gone. They're not even going to know you're there. Why not spend some time with her while she is able to enjoy you.?"

  Nik wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You have a good point, Maya Rao." Then he sighed. "Maybe once this task is completed I will go to Florida. And spend a few weeks with her. And maybe you can come to meet her. It would probably make her happy to know her son actually does have someone in his life besides demons and gods."

  Maya laughed into his shoulder. "How do you think she will feel knowing I'm mortal? It's not as if she's going to be happy knowing her son has a temporary girl?"

  Nik stiffened then grabbed Maya's shoulder and held her away, "Is that worrying you?"

  Maya tried to shrug although the movement was odd with him still gripping her upper arm. "I guess. I think about it sometimes." She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Her head fell forward and lock of hair came free from her ponytail, fall over her forehead and down her cheek. "Doesn't it bother you?"

  Nik lifted the lock of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "It does. I try not to think about it too much. I guess a part of me was hoping you'd have been granted some form of immortality with your powers."

  "Have I?" Maya asked, curious. She'd never thought about immortality before. Not until Nik came into her life.

  Nik shook his head. "Not that I know of."

  Maya shrugged. "It's not important. Why don't we worry about the now and think about the future when we get there."

  Nik snickered. "Not sure how that will help."

  "I know. But I don't want to think about growing old and dying while you stay as handsome and godly as you are." Maya's eyes grew hot and she was horrified she might cry. She blinked the tears back keeping her face against his chest. She had to admit it had been bothering her for a while but she hadn't accepted how much.

  Nik moved back and place a finger beneath her chin. He tilted her head up so she had no choice but to look at him. "I know how you feel. You must know that I have to go through this too. It's not only the people I love that have to suffer." His words were soft and Maya was unable to hold back her tears. Nik bent to place his lips on her forehead, the kiss leaving a mark of heat that Maya prayed would stay forever.

  Chapter 32

  Nik cleared his throat. "We should probably get back to work. We only have a few hours before we have to get back."

  Maya nodded and took Nik's hand. They disappeared and flickered back to solidity in the valley somewhere in the sand dunes.

  "So no more blood smelling?"

  "Not exactly," said Nik, slipping his hand into his pocket. He withdrew a long strip of black fabric.

  She kept an eye on him as he lifted his hands. "So what exactly are we doing? We don't really have time to get kinky," she said raising an eyebrow at the fabric."

  Nik laughed loudly and Maya grinned, happy to see him experience a little joy. She felt a little stupid considering all her petty and selfish thoughts about where he'd been and what he'd been doing when all this while he was dealing with the imminent death of his mother. Maya resolved to be more understanding and less demanding in the future.

  With everyone.

  Nik closed in on her, holding both ends of the fabric in his hands. "You're right about one thing. This is a blindfold. But it's purpose is much more serious in this case."

  "Okay." Maya laughed, the sound flat and odd as it rose and fell in the sand dune valley.

  He picked the sunglasses off her head and pocketed them. "Turn around."

  She did as she was told, and waited as he lowered the fabric in front of her eyes. A wave of panic broke over her as the world went dark and the golden shifting sands disappeared behind the black screen. She tried to control the fluttering of her heart, reminding herself that Nik would never do anything to hurt her.

  Nik tied a knot at the back of her head. Then placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around slowly. It was a strange sensation. The utter darkness seemed to swallow her up. It must have something to do with the sand that rose on either side of them. With her sight removed she could almost feel an odd pressure pushing against her from both sides.

  "Describe what you feel." Said Nik, sounding as if he stood a few feet in front of her.

  "It's dark, I can't see anything."

  "I asked what you feel, not what you see," he said dryly.

  "Okay, then." Maya said slightly miffed. She inhaled. "I feel like something is beside me, here and here." She waved a hand on either side of her."

  "Good, those are the two sand dunes. Anything else?"

  "Well, I feel the sun and the heat from the sky. Oh, and also the heat from the sand."

  "Okay. Now tell me if you feel this."

  A blast of hot air sped by Maya's face, the heat of it more than just a kiss on her cheek. She sniffed and smelled burning hair. "Nik! What the hell are you doing?" Outrage trembled in her voice.

  "What do you think that was?" he asked, his voice neutral.

  "A bloody ball of fire that's what." Maya shrieked indignantly.

  "Good. Now tell me if you sense this." Maya waited but nothing happened. "Anything?" asked Nik.

  "No."

  "Concentrate. Take a deep breath and calm yourself. Listen and feel," he instructed. "Ready?" Maya nodded.

  This time she felt a sense of air moving past her at her left side. "On my left, but it felt a little further away than the first fireball you nearly killed me with." Her response was a little less indignant as before, as she began to understand what Nik was doing.

  Nik laughed. "That was nothing. I'm training you for worse. Now one more time." He sent another fireball past Maya and she could tell again which side and how far away it was. Three feet on the left side. "Now, the more you concentrate, the more you train you will learn how to feel the fire the moment it leaves the body of your attacker."

  "How will I do that." Nik was silent. "Nik?" Maya called but he didn't answer. Her skin rippled, a thousand desert scorpions scurrying across her skin, pincers tails raised, promising death.

  Maya stiffened wondering where the attack would come from. When it did it was the last think she expected. A ball of fire hit her square in the gut. She hadn't even felt it coming.

  She sat on the sand in disgust, gritting her jaw and dusting her hands together. "This is a waste of time. I'm no good at it."

  "Nobody is good at this when they first start off, now stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your head in the game." Nik said. His tone was firm, brooking no argument. Maya pouted but got back to her feet. Sometime she wondered at how much sense it made for the guy who trained her to be the one she was crazy about, because at that moment all she was crazy about doing was wringing his sorry neck. "Anger and annoyance will only hinder your training. Let go of your frustrations, free you mind. Only then can you call on your ability to see without seeing."

  "Okay, Confucius. Let's do this." Maya slapped the sand off her, the rolled back her shoulders.

  "I'll stay here," Nik said from a foot in front of her. He grasped her hand then held it close to his. "Feel this." He held her hand close to his, just to the side of his palm. Maya felt an odd pressure appear then flicker with warmth and power.

  "I feel that."

  "Now you need to learn to detect that power from a little further away. I won't speak this time. I'll just generate the flame and you need to tell me where it is."

  Maya nodded and then fell silent. The wind rose around them and she could hear the grains of sand fighting against each other in a wave of solid particles. She listened, opening her mind, waiting. And then she heard it, and felt it.

  A rush of air, a slight pressure.

  She pointed to her right. "There. But it's faint
."

  "Good. I'm about five feet away. You need to get better. Not all your attackers will make sure to get up close." Maya nodded. "Again."

  She stilled her thoughts and waited, and when she feel the feel of air displacing she pointed to her left behind her. They continued this process for a while. The furthest Nik went was ten feet. Maya was getting the hand of things when Nik blasted her with a stream of fire. She felt the head rush toward her and only managed to raise her palms and call her own fire a breath before his fire hit.

  "What the hell?" she shrieked.

  "Your attackers will not be nice enough to tell you when and where they will attack."

  "Fine," said Maya gritting her teeth. He had a point.

  She opened her mind again and waited, and soon Nik began to send barrages of fireballs at her from all directions. She could just imagine what he looked like, appearing, sending a ball of fire before disappearing again. For more than half an hour she worked, paying close attention. She managed to deflect more than half before Nik stopped.

  "You're making progress. So far you can sense when someone calls their fire. And now you're able to deflect fire coming at you. Let's step it up."

  Maya nodded and waited, then stumbled back as she sensed half a dozen fireballs coming in her direction. Instinctively she threw her arm up intending to send her fire up in an arc to deflect he oncoming balls of fire. Then everything stopped and Nik said, "Wow."

  "What?" she asked standing still, afraid to move.

  "Take you blindfold off with your left hand and be careful. Move slowly." Maya did as she was told and her jaw dropped when she saw what she'd done.

  She'd sent her fire out hoping to defend herself against Nik's flames. Instead she'd created an umbrella with her fire. She stared at the half globe of flame that shimmered before her. The film of fire hung in the air, giving off an intense heat and Maya was in awe. She'd just made herself an umbrella of fire. It had done its job, the balls of fire Nik had sent were nowhere to be seen.

  "How did you do that?" asked Nik coming closer to inspect the shape she'd created.

  "No idea. I just knew I needed a fire enough to protect me from all the balls coming at me."

  "So you could tell how many?"

  Maya nodded. "Six. And they were coming in an arc. I didn't think of making an umbrella. It was just instinctive. I called the fire and it did what was needed." She moved her hand and the arc of fire disintegrated into nothing, but the image of it was burned in Maya's mind. "And Wow pretty much hits it on the head."

  "Yes, that was quite incredible. But we have to get back." He said looking at his watch.

  "Oh," said Maya feeling a little deflated. "Just when the going gets good."

  "Don't worry we'll practice again, but at least we know that the fire adapts with your needs. You just have to be confident that you will defeat your attacker."

  "Easy for you to say." Maya snorted.

  Nik laughed. "You possess way more power than you realize Maya." He crooked his elbow. "Now lets get back. We're full of sand so I'll go straight into my bathroom just in case Joss is using yours."

  Maya giggled. "Not much chance of walking in on her naked. She's going to be a bawling mess watching that movie."

  And true to Maya's assumption, after dusting off and cleaning up in Nik's bathroom, they walked into the girl's room to find a red-eyed Joss sitting on the bed surrounded by a scattering of scrunched up tissues.

  Chapter 33

  "Did the invitations arrive?" Nik asked, not wasting a second.

  Joss nodded. "The concierge called and said she's holding them." She sounded blocked up from all the tears, making Maya grin.

  Nik headed for the door. "I'll go get the tickets. Then we'll know exactly how much time we have."

  The final credits rolled on the movie and Maya grinned at Joss. "Good movie?"

  Joss laughed. "Stop laughing at me. Man, I never knew these movies were such tear jerker's. I could barely keep up with the subtitles but that didn't stop the tears."

  Maya grinned then headed to the closet to scan her wardrobe for something to wear to the party. The skirt and beaded top from the previous night's dinner seemed appropriate. She didn't want to attract any undue attention anyway.

  Understated and elegant will have to do.

  The phone rang and Joss twisted around to pick up the receiver beside her. She dropped it moments later and turned to Maya, "Nik says it's at 8pm. So you need to get dressed and be ready by seven."

  Maya nodded and was about to head into the shower when she saw the morose look on her friend's face. "Nik's right about you not coming tonight ,you know."

  Joss nodded but her expression remained unchanged. "I know. It still sucks."

  "You'll get your opportunity to kick some ass soon enough. Don't worry."

  "Says you who kicks ass all the time." Joss slid onto her side and propped her head on her hand. "So what did you two get up to?"

  Maya quickly described the fire training to her now wide-eyed friend." See?" asked Joss. "I missed all the fun."

  "You did get to watch the movie," Maya pointed out.

  "Not the same thing and you know it." Joss pouted. "Things better get a little more exciting in the Joss fun department or I'll be wanting to go home."

  "Hey. Don't be like that." Maya frowned. "As soon as we know where the bow is we'll be back here and getting ready to go. With you." At Joss's raised eyebrow Maya said, "And if we find we don't need you for anything I'll tell Nik to take you straight home."

  "Maya." Joss couldn't hold back her hurt expression and Maya couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled from her lips. She turned and hurried into the bathroom, narrowly avoiding the pillow that Joss sent flying from the bed.

  As she showered she thought about Joss. Hopefully, her unfortunate friend will get her chance at the main action.

  Joss was dying to proved herself as a Kali Hunter.

  At seven Nik knocked on the door and Maya grabbed her sequined bag and waved at Joss on her way out.

  "We'll take a cab. I'd rather we arrive in neutral transport in case things go bad," said Nik as they boarded the elevator.

  "Makes sense. A hotel car will bring them right to our door."

  Maya found a couch while Nik approached the concierge to order the taxi. Maya watched the girl's expression as Nik spoke. She seemed confused that a guest would request a method of transportation not provided by the hotel but she eventually accepted it, although her lips settled into a tight, disapproving line.

  Nik returned and sat beside Maya. "She didn't like it."

  "I could tell," Maya laughed. "Did she give you a hard time?"

  "Not too much. I had to drop a few hints about you hiding from your tyrannical father. Didn't seem to make a lick of difference to her though." Nik glanced at his watch. "In the end she called. Taxi should be here in ten minutes or so."

  They didn't have to wait too long. Less than ten minutes had passed when the bellhop entered the hotel and walked up to them. He smiled and the gleaming white of his teeth made a startling contrast to the night-dark of his skin. His bright red coat did nothing to ease the color disaster.

  He beckoned and bowed, and they followed him through the foyer and out into the darkening evening. Night made only a tiny percentage of difference to the thick layer of odor that blanketed the waterfront.

  The driver alighted and came around to open the door for them. Maya slid inside, followed closely by Nik. They sat quietly in the back, where every move they made crackled the cheap vinyl of the seats and the windows fogged up so much they couldn't see outside. Maya assumed the view wasn't going to be all that great anyway. A mosquito buzzed in her ear and she smacked at it. Raising her fingers to the weak light for the street lamp she was satisfied to see the little red smudge and the remnants of the dead blood-sucker.

  It wasn't long before she had to hold her breath, the reek of the driver wafting into the back seat. Maybe the end of the day wasn't a good time to take
a ride in a taxi without air conditioning.

  Maya sighed, slapping away at a little party of mosquitoes who'd followed in the tracks of their lone, recently deceased friend. There were a few times in the last few days when she had to remind herself that she was really in India. A place she'd had little interest in visiting until Lord Shiva gave her this task.

  The mosquitoes returned with a vengeance and Maya began to shift in her seat, uncomfortable by the barrage of bugs. Ten minutes of suffering later she turned around in her seat to scan the vehicle for the source of the ceaseless supply of blood suckers.

  When she gasped Nik turned beside her. "What's wrong."

  She stiffened her body, discomfort and bug-dislike petrifying her muscles. "Look at the rear dashboard. There's a frigging colony of mosquitoes living and breeding there." She spoke with her neck stiff and taut, as if the mere movement of her body would bring on the next deadly wave.

  Nik looked and grunted, annoyed. "Nothing we can do but keep still and hope we get there fast."

  Nik was right and twenty minutes of stiff awareness passed before they arrived and when Maya opened the door she sank into shocked silence. The taxi had driven them inside the gates of a mansion and pulled up beneath the overhanging roof of the entrance to the house. Lights shone from every window and there was no doubt a party was going on.

  A liveried guard helped Maya out of the car and waved them up the stairs. As they walked along the red-carpeted steps Maya glanced back to see the taxi driver's very shell-shocked face as he stared up at the house on his way out.

  At the top of the stairs another liveried guard gave them a tight smile, unable to disguise his distaste at the taxi driver's presence. "Good evening Sir, Madam. May I see your invitations please?" If the man thought that either Nik or Maya didn't belong, he didn't show it.

  Nik handed him a pair of white cards, printed in gold. He quickly ticked off their names from his list and waved them inside. Maya held onto Nik's arm as they walked through a large marbled entrance hall, flanked by brass vases and decanters taller than Nik. At the end of the hall they came to a balcony that overlooked the ballroom one floor down. A gigantic black stone Nataraja statue - Lord Shiva performing the cosmic dance- took pride of place, flanked by two sets of stairs that led down into the ballroom.