The Hand of Kali Box Set (Books 1-3) Page 53

  She watched her friend's skeptical expression, worried that she would refuse her help but despite the ripple of fear in her eyes Ria took Maya's other hand and held on tight. Maya sighed softly. She knew she had some explaining to do but for now it was okay. For now Ria was okay.

  Maya breathed deeply then called her fire gain, channeling it to her fingers and her skin exactly the way she had before. Only this time she allowed the heat to seep through the pores in her skin, to connect with each hand that she held. Their hands felt heavy in hers, their skin clammy and icy cold, but as her fire penetrated their skin she could sense the change in temperature, the growing warmth in their hands and the change in the expressions on their faces.

  Ria gasped. "I'm warm," she said in amazement, staring at her hand in Maya's, and then at her own body, her abdomen. "How did you do that?" she asked softly but it didn't seem she really wanted an answer as she was too busy grinning at Joss and enjoying the welcoming feeling of warmth.

  "Right, now that you're warm again we can keep moving." The girls nodded as Maya moved to the front where Nik waited. Filled with new energy she was able to move fast enough to keep up with Nik's long strides.

  She'd gotten a steady pace when she was suddenly ankle deep in icy water.

  Maya gasped and so did the girls behind her, including Archana. So the heavenly creature wasn't immune either, Maya thought.

  "Where is all this water coming from?" asked Maya no-one in particular. She was not expecting an answer.

  "Probably an underground lake? Or from the water table," said Nik as he moved forward peering into the dark tunnel. His feet sloshed in the deep water but he didn't seem in any way disturbed that a third of his body was immersed in pitch black liquid. They couldn't even tell if anything dangerous lurked in the murky depths. Maya shuddered and tried to keep those thoughts out of her head.

  Maya moved deeper into the water, her ball of fire floating just above the water's gleaming surface. "Guess we have no choice but to keep going. This water must come out somewhere."

  Behind her Archana grabbed her arm. "I don't think this is such a good idea. What if there isn't a way out?"

  "Then we turn around and come right back," said Maya, tugging her arm out of Archana's grip. "We have to keep going. You feel free to turn back if you want to. We aren't stopping you." It was a challenge and the Apsara knew it. She gave her a vicious glare but said nothing.

  They kept moving, and the level of the water kept getting deeper and deeper. Soon the darkness was broken only by the shimmer of the ball of fire on the ever-rising surface of the water. Gandiv glowed behind Maya and she felt somewhat comforted by the light. For the first time in a long time she prayed she would be able to get the bow back to Lord Shiva, prayed that she would not fail him.

  When the water reached her neck and she doubted where her feet would fall next Maya instinctively kicked off and treaded water to stay afloat. "This is not good." She turned slowly in the water to check on Ria and Joss. Both were treading water and subdued.

  Nik coughed as a wavelet of water entered his mouth. "Wait here. I'll go further into the tunnel to see if gets worse or better."

  "No, Nik. You could drown," said Maya. Archana snorted behind her and though Maya wanted to turn around and slap the girl she managed to restrain herself. From the expression on Joss's face it was probably a good thing she was too far away from the Apsara, because Joss looked like she wanted to slap her too.

  Maya hid a grin and turned to Nik. His face told her he was confident he would be fine. She gave him a small nod and he sank into the water in one smooth move. She watched him generate a ball of fire below the surface of the water, watched the white light swirl about and then move down the tunnel lighting the hollows of his face as he moved further and further away. Soon the glow below them faded and they were left in semi-darkness, treading dark water and thinking dark, dark thoughts.

  He was gone too long.

  Maya sucked in a breath as panic took over. But the bow vibrated on her shoulder, short steady pulses almost like a soft heartbeat, sending her comfort and confidence. She choked back a sob and breathed deeper and the panic fled.

  Suddenly, the water in front of her shuddred violently, dozens of little waves broke the surface and Nik popped out of the darkness, taking a deep breath. "The tunnel goes for about fifty yards more before the water fills it to the roof. Then it's underwater for twenty yards and then out the other end. There's some broken walls and what looks like it used to be a temple or something. We can make it there easily. Girls, you can swim so it should be a piece of cake." His ball of white light remained submerged, dancing eerily within the inky water.

  Maya nodded along with the others. She felt confident that they could make the distance. "I'm ready. Let's go."

  Nik looked past Maya at the Apsara. "Can you handle it?"

  "Of course, I can." Her voice held a sharp defensive note and Maya grew concerned. Was Archana being overly confident? Maya looked over her shoulder and hoped the girl wasn't going to do anything stupid. Not that Maya cared should she overextend herself and drown her vain ass in the process.

  "Right, let's go," said Nik. He treaded water and moved forward slowly. His submerged fireball following like a loyal pet. Very soon, the distance between the tops of their heads and the roof of the tunnel went from two feet to an inch, snuffing out Maya's flame and plunging the tunnel above the water into shadowed darkness.

  Lit from the white fireball below, their faces were strange and ghostly. And the tunnels had the smooth, slick look of a whales belly. They were barely able to keep their mouths out of the water. And they had no choice but to submerge.

  A nod from Nik, and Maya took a deep breath and sank into the water. She went below the surface comforted by Nik's floating ball of fire. Maya didn't bother to light another one. Nik's underwater torch provided sufficient light to allow then to move through the tunnel well enough. Maya swam through the dark water, putting all her strength behind each thrust of her legs. She moved fast through the water despite the bow on her shoulder and when she popped through the choppy surface she was half surprised it had ended so quickly.

  She blinked against the sudden intrusion of light against her eyes. She'd been so used to moving around in darkness that the light hurt and she wanted to shy away from it. Thankfully the transition took only a few moments and she was soon comfortably treading water beside Nik, studying the shambles of this part of the warren of tunnels.

  Water stirred behind them and Joss, Ria and Archana surfaced, gasping for air. They remained silent as they followed in Maya's waker and swam to the edge of the water. They dragged themselves onto a shelf of stone, exhausted.

  Maya lay on the floor, one hand holding onto the bow, breathing deeply and enjoying the feel of solid ground beneath her. Nik was propped up beside Maya, staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. She flushed when she registered the state of her sodden clothing, the material clinging to her body in all the right curves and hollows. She got to her feet, unsettled, nervous and blushing while Nik rose beside her grinning at her discomfort.

  Maya glared at him, then turned her back on him to study the large cave like opening. It looked like someone had built an open auditorium that had slowly filled with water. The group stood at the top where the steps ended And behind them lay the remains of a temple. Statues that had once adorned the carved pyramid roof of the temple had fallen on every available surface.

  Maya stepped closer to the ruined building then stopped in her tracks.

  "What is it?" Nik asked.

  Maya frowned as she stared at the closely packer mounds of brown soil inside the remains of the temple. It rose in a almost a bee-hive shape, with a round opening at the top. A few dozen other smaller opening dotted its surface. "It looks like a snake burrow."

  "A temple to Nagini? But that doesn't explain what happened to it. Why would the temple have been destroyed?"

  Maya barely heard Nik's words. "Something terrible
happened here," she whispered. "I can almost feel it."

  "What do you sense, Maya?" asked Nik softly, as Ria and Joss drew closer, their faces filled with worry and concern.

  "I feel grief and tears, and then fury. Lots of suffering and pain." Maya's eyes filled with tears as she stared around the cavern wondering what horrible event had taken place here to leave such a powerful imprint of emotion on the place that even she could feel.

  A slithering sound drifted to Maya's ears.

  Slow and scaly and sort of familiar. Maya stiffened and beside her she saw Nik stop moving as well. She hoped Archana had the sense to be careful too as she had a pretty good feeling what was behind her.

  When she turned she took in a breath. Not one of surprise, but more of recognition and appreciation. A gigantic snake slithered toward them curving one the ground moving in the sensuous s-shape of all the snakes in the world.

  Chapter 43

  The cobra stopped in front of Maya and raised itself up, its head held over Maya like a giant umbrella. The serpent's head expanded outward like any cobra about to strike and Maya winced, waiting for the impact, knowing she would not be able to dodge the bite when it came.

  She heard Ria's gasp and Joss calling out for her to run, but the strike didn't come. Instead, Maya felt the cool touch of scales around her legs. She let the bow drop slowly to the ground fearing it would be crushed against her body if the snake decided she needed crushing. She remained still, barely taking a breath, reluctant to anger the animal in any way.

  The cobra continued to wind itself around and around Maya until she stood covered from feet to neck in a tight spiral of a serpent's body. Only when the cobra tightened its grip did Maya begin to worry. What was its intention? So far it hadn't seemed to want to harm her, but the tightness around her body worried her. Soon she had to hold her breath and then she was more than cocerned as the snake squeezed again.

  Maya sent a questioning glance at Nik who gave her a slight nod. She took it as tacit agreement that she needed to take measures that were a little more than drastic.

  As the gigantic snake went in for the third constriction Maya pulled her fire from her core and expelled it to the surface of her skin, slowly building the heat more and more until she could almost hear the sizzle of it searing into the snakes scales.

  In one sinuous undulation of its body, the snake hissed, rearing its head, its coils falling hard and fast, thudding to the ground at Maya's feet. Maya, short of breath, bent over to inhale deeply.

  "Are you hurt?" Nik called from beyond the pile of the snake's injured body.

  "I'm fine. Just stay where you are. I don't think it wanted to harm me."

  "Are you kidding? It was squeezing you to death, Maya," said Joss, her protest ending in a high-pitched squeak.

  "Your friend is right, little girl. I had no intention at all of hurting her." Maya looked beyond Nik and her jaw dropped open.

  The snake was gone and its place stood a beautiful woman. Her complexion dark, her cheekbones high, her eyes the deepest black. Her black hair hung at her back parted in the center and pulled away from her face. Her beauty was simple but stunning. But what shocked Maya were her injuries. The dusky skin on her face, neck and arms were burned so badly that the skin pucked and the white flesh beneath was clearly visible.

  Maya knew instinctively she'd cause the burns. Without thinking she ran to the woman. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea." She stood in front of the snake-woman and stared at her injuries, horrified that she'd caused someone such harm.

  "Do not worry, my child. I will heal. And I can see your heart. It is pure and true. And now I know why my sister chose you to bear her gift." The woman smiled and as she did she seemed to glow.

  Maya gasped as she watched the woman's burns heal right in front of her eyes, the white flesh disappeared and the skin smoothe and within seconds not a sign of her injured remained.

  Maya was still staring dumbfounded when the woman spoke again. "I am Nagini, ruler of the serpent realm."

  "My name is Maya Rao," Maya said, feeling a little ridiculous introducing herself to a goddess.

  "Hand of Kali, it is my pleasure to meet you," Nagini tilted her head at Maya then glanced over at Nik. "Hello, Nikhil. It has been a long time since we last met." When he frowned she laughed. "You won't remember me, child. You were a little baby when I last saw you. That should explain why you didn't sense who I was."

  Nik look relieved and Maya understood his confusion. He should have sensed who they were dealing with immediately.

  "These are you're friends, I presume?" the goddess asked as she glided closer to Ria and Joss. To their credit they neither flinched nor stepped back as Nagini stopped inches from them.

  "Ria and Joss. Yes. They are my friends." Maya was sure to make the point clear. Archana was not a friend.

  "Good. It is a blessing in itself to sacrifice ones own freedom for a worthy cause. Even when that cause is not ones own. Be brave, girls. You will need it if you wish to support the Hand of Kali."

  The goddess moved away without another word and when she frowned Maya's stomach clenched. When Nagini hissed and spun to face Archana, Maya flinched both at the sudden action and the fury in the goddesses eyes. She glowed from within and the faint images of her four other hands could be seen shimmering at her back.

  "Archana, daughter of Tilotamma. What are you doing in my realm?" Nagini voice was gravelly and it echoed around the stone cavern.

  "I didn't meant to come." The Apsara stiffened beneath the scrutiny of the goddess but found a moment to shoot Maya a dark glare.

  "You know Archana?" asked Maya wondering if the goddess would help them free the girl from her binding spell.

  "Yesss," Nagini spoke the word, her s's sibilant and musical yet filled with anger. She hovered close to the girl, her hands held forward as if she were about to pounce on her. "I know this Apsara very well. In fact, I have been waiting patiently for the day that she and I will cross paths. I believe I owe you my thanks, Maya Rao."

  "What did she do?" Maya asked softly, wondering if she should even be talking to the goddess who now vibrated with fury and who was hovering three feet off the ground right in front of the shaking Apsara.

  "She took my child from me. And I will make her pay for it." Nagini reached out and grabbed Archana's throat, her fingers closing tightly around the girl's pale neck. Archana grabbed at the goddess fingers wide eyed and struggling as Nagini lifted her off her feet.

  "What happened to Nagini's daughter?" Maya shouted at the Apsara. Archana's gaze darted at Maya and for an instant it seemed she would refuse to talk.

  But Nagini shook her, and like a rag doll her arms and hands trembled in midair. "Talk or you die a horrible death."

  "Okay. It wasn't my fault. He made me do it." Archana stammered the words out, fear twisting her features into something almost unrecognizable. Gone was the stunning beauty. What remained was just a terrified husk of an arrogant and self-centered girl.

  "Who made you? What did you do?" Nagini asked, her enraged voice echoing around the cavernous space.

  "Ravana." The named fell on Maya's ears like a blow, stunning her for an instant, and she stepped back. The Lord of the Rakshasa's, Ravana, the evil king who stole Sita from her husband. Archana's voice broke through Maya's shock. "He owns me. He made me betray her to bring her to Lanka."

  Nagini screamed, the grief in her voice almost palpable as she brought Archana's face close to hers. "Where is Malini." She asked the question so softly that Maya had to lean forward to catch her words.

  "She's still in Lanka, as far as I know." Archana grabbed at the goddesses fingers, panic filling her eyes and her movements. She kicked desperately as if she knew that her end was close and her usefulness no longer existed. "Help me," she pleaded with Maya, eyes bulging as she sucked in every bit of air that she could.

  Maya stepped toward the goddess but Nik held her arm. "Don't get between a mother and her vengeance."

  "The little g
od is right, young Maya. This creature has caused me centuries of pain, endless days and hours and minutes of agony and fear and grief. Of not knowing where my child was or even if she were alive or dead. This creature has no loyalty. She had the blood of Tilotamma in her veins and yet she has nothing of her mother in her heart."

  And than the goddess Nagini broke Archana's neck with one twist of her hand.

  Maya swallowed a gasp as the lifeless body of the the Apsara dropped to the ground in an inelegant heap. Behind her, Ria let out a strangled shriek and Joss gasped, neither expecting the girl to be killed so efficiently. Or so quickly.

  Maya stared at the body, unsure of the goddess now that she had just seen her kill so ruthlessly.

  Nagini turned to Maya and lowered herself slowly to the ground. "I pray you will never know a mother's grief Maya Rao. Now, I owe you a great deal for bringing my daughter's betrayer to me. I finally know where Malini is. Is there some way I can help you?"

  Maya nodded. "I need to get the bow to Lord Shiva."

  Chapter 44

  "That is easy enough to do, my child." Nagini disappeared, slowly fading into nothing.

  It seemed she'd been gone for far too long and Maya began to worry that the goddess won't be returning. And then she re-appeared in a shimmering haze. "The lord of lords will be here soon." Nagini smiled and Maya bent to lift the bow and hang it over her shoulder. For some reason she wanted to keep it close until Lord Shiva had it in his possession.

  When she lifted her head she caught a strange look on the goddesses face. Almost one of apology, but Maya thought she must be mistaken and ignored it.

  It didn't take long for the air to shimmer again. Even the surface of the water rippled with the impending arrival of the god of gods. Shiva materialized in front of them, a serene expression on his face. Today he wore a red and gold coat the reached to his knees.