Chapter 17
NOW THAT’S A FACE I WAS DYING TO SEE
The journey to the vortex point in the royal domain took less than an hour.
The bridge where the vortex would form was guarded, but we were expected and allowed to pass through the arch onto the platform, below which the vortex churned.
Two tantric mages stood either side of the arch, their staffs raised, the air crackling with power.
They must be the ones who commanded the vortex.
“It’s been a long time,” Dharma said, her eyes alight with excitement.
I hated these things, but Araz had always made me feel safe. Even when he’d hated me. Gods, I missed him so fucking much. I exhaled and blinked away the threat of tears.
“Leela…” Keyton lightly touched my arm. “May I carry you?”
I saw my emotions echoed on his face. Was he thinking of Priti, of how he’d carried her through the vortex? How he’d protected her?
He needed this as much as I did. To feel useful. To be a protector. And I…I needed to be held. To feel safe.
I nodded and stepped closer. “Thank you.” I looped my arms around his neck, and he anchored me, his arms around my waist.
Bina climbed onto Thalin’s back. Chaya scooped up Dharma, and Mahira wrapped an arm around Joe’s waist, hauling him close.
Kalani, Yudh, and Dhoona stepped up to the vortex.
“I will go first,” Yudh said. “Kalani will ride in the middle with you, and Dhoona will make up the rear. Are you ready?” he asked, looking right at me.
“Yeah, we’re ready.”
The wind picked up, whipping at my face as the vortex rose.
“See you on the ground,” Yudh said, then he jumped.
Keyton gripped me tighter. “Hold on.” He leaped, taking me into the vortex. I clung to him, my face pressed to his chest.
Araz’s voice filled my mind. “Look around…there is nothing to be afraid of in a Pavan vortex.”
I lifted my head, vision blurring with tears as I took in the miasma of color around me, then closed my eyes, allowing myself a moment of weakness to imagine that I was in Araz’s arms. He gripped me tighter, lips brushing my forehead.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall,” Keyton said, shattering the illusion.
I blinked back tears and lifted my chin, looking into warm brown eyes filled with longing and sorrow.
His chest rose and fell in a heavy sigh, and he smiled wistfully. “It’ll be all right.”
I forced a smile of my own. “Yeah, we’re going to be okay.”
He glanced down, then hauled me up. “Land incoming. Wrap your legs around me and grip with your thighs.”
I obliged, a pang slicing through my chest as he echoed Araz’s instructions from what felt like an age ago.
The colors around us melted, blurring into a white haze, air sucking at my skin.
We landed, the impact reverberating through me.
Keyton stepped out of the vortex and set me on my feet, and the sound of voices replaced the whoosh of wind that had been the background noise for the last several minutes.
The ground beneath my boots had a red tinge. And a mountain range was visible in the distance behind Keyton. The vortex stood to our left, spitting out my demigod friends and their drohi. Kalani emerged with them, and once Dhoona stepped out, the vortex rose into the air and vanished.
Where was Yudh?
Two worn and dusty carriages were stationed by the side of an overgrown road, several large males clustered around them. Our Asura guard, no doubt.
Yudh stood to one side, chatting to a large male who had his back to us. There was something familiar about his stature. The closely cropped hair…
My pulse kicked up as I walked slowly toward them. Could it be?
Yudh glanced my way, and then the man turned to face me, emerald gaze locking on to mine.
My heart leapt into my throat as his face broke into a grin.
“Ravi…”
He strode toward me, and I rushed forward to meet him in a hug that squeezed the breath from my lungs and made my eyes water with a cocktail of emotions I couldn’t name.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’ve got you now. I’m so sorry…so fucking sorry.”
A sob clawed up my throat, but I swallowed it, breathing through the wave of grief and hugging him tighter. He was here. And the journey to greet a monstrous flying serpent suddenly didn’t feel as grim.
Ravi’s troop was made up of a demigod, two Asura, a rakshasa, and a tantrik mage called Shalani. Her name stuck because she had such an infectious smile. She was young too, just turned twenty, with a bubbly attitude that hadn’t been tainted by horror yet.
It was an hour-and-a-half trek to the Puranee Ghaatee, and I chose to make it seated in the driver’s cab of one of the carriages with Ravi, while my friends rode inside.
Yudh and Dhoona walked up ahead with Shalani.
The Asura guards drove the carriage behind us, and the demigod and Raksha flanked our party.
The road we traveled was worn and overgrown, wild fields on either side and mountains in the distance to our left and right.
The route had been mapped, checked, and cleared on Chandra’s orders soon after I’d agreed to take this test. There was still a possibility of attack, but according to Ravi, it was low.
The only reason the vortex hadn’t taken us right up to the mountain was the possibility of attracting aerial attention from the devouring force as the region on the other side of the mountain was a hot zone for revenants and other devouring force beasts.
The clip-clop of horses’ hooves and the roll and rattle of carriage wheels were soothing background noise as I filled Ravi in on the weeks since I’d last seen him.
When I got to the events of the labyrinth and Araz’s death, my throat closed up, and I had to take a beat before continuing.
I doubted it would ever be easy to recount that moment.
Araz’s last words to me were etched into my soul.
“I would have loved you for eternity as Araz. As me. Remember that. Remember me.”
I didn’t share those words with Ravi, though. They belonged only to me.
When I was finished, he was silent for several seconds. “I wish I could have been there for you,” he said finally.
“You’re here now, and I’m so glad for it.”
He nodded slowly. “Me too. But…I want to be assigned to your guard. Can you arrange that?”
I looked across at him in surprise. “Yes. I can do it. I’ll make it happen.”
“Good. I want to keep you safe, Leela. And…it’s what Araz wanted.”
What Araz wanted? The way he said it…as if he’d had some kind of understanding with Araz. “How do you know what Araz wanted?”
He exhaled through his nose. “The night I was due to leave for my ground assignment, Araz came to see me. He asked me to look out for you should anything happen to prevent him from doing so. He asked me to promise to protect you from all threat.”
Araz had spoken to him? The night Ravi was due to leave had been the night I’d sent Araz looking for Vick. After that I’d gone to bed and Araz had stayed downstairs. He must have gone looking for Ravi then.
Ravi took a breath and continued. “When I found out what had happened to Araz, I petitioned to be transferred to the royal domain, but my request was denied.” He smiled wryly. “Rakshasa aren’t exactly welcome in the Shahee Kshetra.”
Heat flared in my chest. “Yeah? Well, things are going to change.”
“Oh, I believe it. I believe in you, Leela. I always have.”
The heat in my chest settled into something warm and safe. “I know.” I dropped my gaze for a beat to compose myself. “So…what do you know about this Vasuki serpent? Anything?”
“I know the stories. How Vasuki was once a king. One of many in Patala. How he helped the gods obtain amrit. He was a beloved of one of the deva…I don’t know which one, but I do know Vasuki has siblings who also rule in Patala.”
“But he decided not to go to Patala when the Nagalok closed the gates?”
“Yes. He chose to stay here. No one has heard or seen him for centuries. He’s believed to be dormant. Asleep.”
“So I won’t have an issue grabbing a gem from his hoard? I mean, the Authority said he wouldn’t harm me because I’m a royal blood, but I honestly don’t believe them.”
“I don’t know, Leela. But I do know that there are many threats in the mountain aside from Vasuki, who as far as we know, may not even be there. The stories could just be stories. Maybe he did go into Patala after all.”
I had considered this. That this whole quest was a farce. A way to eliminate me. “I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.”
His lips curved in a thin smile. “We will find out. I’m coming with you.”
My gaze whipped up to his face. “You can’t. Vasuki will kill you.”
“No. He won’t. If he is indeed in that mountain, then he can’t touch me.” Ravi smiled. “Vasuki’s bloodline and my royal rakshasa line have a long-standing alliance. It is a matter of honor. And if he isn’t there, I’ll protect you and make sure you get out safely.”
I’d been prepared to go in alone. I’d steeled myself for it, but there was no denying the relief of not having to do it solo. The knots in my stomach unraveled.
His eyes narrowed. “The Authority won’t get what they want.”
I shot him a sidelong glance. “The Authority?”
His jaw ticked. “When we heard what they’d asked you to do, some of us couldn’t help but think that they want you dead.”
Was he referring to a faction? One on the side of the monarchy maybe? I didn’t want to assume because having an opinion didn’t mean that you were allied to an actual faction. I needed to tread carefully here. To probe and see what happened.
“Some of you?”
He shot me a sidelong glance. “It’s complicated. There are factions and agendas, and that is why I believe Araz asked me to watch over you in the event that he couldn’t. I plan to keep my word. You won’t enter that mountain alone,” he said firmly.
A shadow fell over us, and I looked up as a bird swooped low, gliding right past us.
“Fuck!” Ravi pulled on the reins, and the horses came to a stop. “Fucking Kabootar. They have no survival instinct. Scavenging bastards.”
“Sounds like the pigeons of our world.”
“Do pigeons steal your food?” he asked with half a smile.
“They rummage in bins and eat food that’s been thrown away.”
“Yes, similar to these creatures. They seem to be attracted to our camps, probably because of the food.”
Another shadow fell over us, and I looked up to find three birds circling us. They swooped low before veering off. My stomach dipped. “Weird that they’re following us now. No food here to be had.”
Ravi chuckled. “They’re scavengers, but they’re not stupid. They know that we have to stop to eat sometime. Now…let’s go over the kind of creatures we might encounter inside the mountain…”
Ravi knew of two kinds of dangerous creatures that resided in mountains and caves.
These beasts weren’t connected to the devouring force, but they were lethal nonetheless.
Ashwing bats and heatstalkers. The bats were usually found in caves, but the inside of the mountain was a network of tunnels and caverns, so we might encounter them there.
According to Ravi, as long as we were quiet and didn’t startle them, we’d be fine.
If disturbed, then their screech caused panic and their wings dripped burning cinders.
Not good.
The heatstalkers were slightly more insidious.
Small lizards with translucent skin, they lived in burrows in the rockface.
They were blind but hunted by picking up on heat and sound vibration.
Their venom caused hallucinations. A victim would be completely off their head while being devoured by a pack of them.
There could be other threats, and there most likely were, but these were the two that Ravi knew of.
Puranee Ghaatee was visible now, a mountain range at the end of the road, and nestled in the lineup was a crimson mountain. Vasuki’s home. Or so the Asura wanted us to believe.
“There’s an entrance on the east side of the mountain,” Ravi said. “The others will set up camp while we head inside. Are you claustrophobic?”
I didn’t like confined spaces, that was true, but I’d been inside a mountain before. “I’m fine.”
“Okay. Fear of heights?”
“No.”
“Can you swim?”
“Yes.” I bit back a smile as I studied his profile, so serious as he ticked off all the possible obstacles we might come up against.
“Ravi, I survived the trials and the labyrinth. I’m not going to freak out now.”
He cracked a smile. “Of course you won’t.” He looked down at me, his emerald eyes warm as they tracked over my face. “I’ve missed you, Leela.”
I nudged his shoulder with mine. “I’ve missed you too.”
The tension I’d been carrying since finding out I’d have to navigate the inside of Vasuki’s mountain was gone. Having Ravi go in with me made it into less of a mission and more of an adventure.
The shadow of the mountain soon fell over us, and we turned onto a valley to the east side of it.
Ravi brought our carriage to a halt and dismounted. “Set up camp,” he called out to the others. “Stay alert. We cannot afford to let down our guard, no matter the information we’ve received.”
He came around my side of the carriage and offered me his hand to help me down.
Dharma, Joe, and Bina joined us.
“You’re going to be okay,” Joe said. “Just follow the map. Don’t veer off track.”
I patted my pocket where the map was nestled. “I won’t. Thank you.”
“You have a map?” Ravi asked, brows flicking up.
“Yeah, Asura Arpita gave it to me.”
Joe had marked two routes on the map, both leading to the inner sanctum.
One was a straightforward route, the other more convoluted.
There was nothing on the map to indicate areas of danger, so we’d have to play that part by ear.
Chandra had provided me with a crystal that glowed in the dark to light my way through the tunnels and read the map by.
“I’ll come to the entrance with you,” Kalani said. “I’ll guard it while you’re inside.”
“I’ll help guard it too,” Bina said.
“Are you ready, Leela?” Ravi asked. “Shall we go meet the serpent king?”
“You’re going in with her?” Dharma said.
“Yes. I have immunity, and I plan to use it.”
“Thank goodness,” Dharma said. “Not that I didn’t think you could handle it,” she added quickly, shooting me a smile. “But it’s good to know you have someone to watch your back.”
I said my goodbyes and followed Ravi around the mountain to an entrance hidden between two large boulders and covered by an overgrowth of bracken and mountain weed.
Ravi pushed back the prickly foliage and slipped inside, and with a final look at Bina and Kalani, I followed him into the gloom.