We Shall Be Monsters, page 18
“Young sir, that is the asura and deva! If you put up their likeness above your bed or over your door frame, they will help guard against malevolent spirits, rakshasas, and the evil eye.”
Tav grabbed the top drawing and shook it in the man’s face. “This isn’t what the asura looks like! Why have you drawn him so hideously? What’s wrong with you?”
The vendor recoiled. Kajal grabbed Tav’s arm.
“It doesn’t matter,” she hissed in his ear. “I’m sure your brother is a lovely specimen, but they don’t know that.”
“Young sir, I-I’m not sure why you’re upset,” the vendor sniveled as he wrung his hands together. “The deva brings peace and wellness, while the asura brings chaos and war! It is only with the deva’s influence that the asura can use their wicked ways for good.”
Tav drew himself up, and Kajal sighed.
“The asura is not wicked,” Tav spat. “Or ugly. Remove these and redo them!”
Jassi quickly grabbed Tav’s other arm and steered him away. “He’s had too much to drink,” she told the vendor with an apologetic smile. Kajal and Dalbir hurried after.
Once they were out of earshot, Jassi dropped Tav’s arm. “I’m sorry, but we couldn’t risk a scene.” She hesitated, clearly wanting to ask what had gotten him so riled, then merely shook her head. “We’re close. Please be patient a little longer, Your Majesty.”
Tav glared at the drawing he’d accidentally stolen. He balled it up and shoved it into his pocket.
The rebels were staying in what had to be the most dilapidated building in Suraj, a cramped honeycomb of rooms situated near a dyeing and textile factory. Acrid smoke and vinegary odors wafted through the chimneys in a constant stream.
As Jassi led them through the front doors and up a flight of creaking stairs, Kajal took up the rear with Tav.
“Is it true?” she asked softly. “That the asura isn’t wicked.”
“Of course. I know my brother best, and he was always good. Always looking out for others. These myths and stories people pass around only tell half-truths at best. Our powers may be different, but they’re not opposite—they’re complementary. We strengthen each other.”
Kajal thought of Lasya’s application of Ayurveda in food and her own application of Ayurveda in the body.
Jassi reached a door on the topmost level and gave two soft knocks, then two more after a short pause. The door opened, and they shuffled inside, everyone silently electing to keep their shoes on due to the filthy state of the floor.
Kajal lingered in the doorway, Tav behind her. From here, she could plainly see the confusion on Vivaan and Sezal’s faces. They’d been in the middle of preparing dinner, judging from the flour on Sezal’s hands and the low fire in the earthen cooking stove in the corner.
“Jassi,” Vivaan greeted. “Has something happened?”
Kajal didn’t hear Jassi’s reply. She reached for Tav’s wrist and squeezed hard.
“If you can’t convince them, it’s over,” she whispered.
His expression hardened, turning his eyes a shade darker. Before he could speak, everyone angled toward the door—to Kajal and the person she was blocking.
Taking a deep breath, Kajal stepped fully into the room and allowed Tav to enter. He closed the door behind him and lowered his hood.
Kajal hadn’t known what to expect. Stunned silence, perhaps, or questions lobbed at her about what she’d been thinking. She didn’t anticipate the wrecked gasp from Vivaan, nor the way he immediately fell to both knees and lowered himself until his forehead touched the floor. Sezal followed at a slower pace, eyes widely fixated on Tav.
“My prince,” Vivaan whispered. Kajal had never heard him like this, reverent and awed.
Tav’s smooth mask was already cracking. She had known him only a day, and already Kajal could tell he wanted to squirm in discomfort like he had at Jassi’s deference.
“There’s no need for that,” Tav said. At least his voice was unaffected, smooth and assured, likely the tone he’d once employed for the soldiers under his command. “Rise.”
Sezal, realizing her hands were dirty, quietly cursed and searched for a cloth to wipe them. When Vivaan lifted his head, he looked as if nothing short of an earthquake could wrench his gaze from Tav.
“How did this happen?” Sezal demanded.
It was Jassi who stepped forward and explained. Kajal, hands clasped behind her back, attempted to appear as nonchalant as possible.
She steeled herself when the rebels turned to her. “We warned you not to do this on your own,” Vivaan admonished darkly. “The number of things that could have gone wrong—”
“But it didn’t go wrong,” Kajal quickly said. “I’ve been evaluating him all day, and everything seems intact.”
“Evaluating?” Tav murmured.
“But why do it without telling anyone?” Sezal pressed.
Kajal didn’t answer. It was Jassi who said, “There was a bhuta attack.”
Dalbir, who’d been silently watching, started. “So it was a bhuta? Then do you know where it came from?”
Kajal’s mouth twisted before admitting, “It’s mine. Or, rather, my sister’s.”
Now even Tav was staring at her. Here at last was the stunned silence she’d expected, and it made her pulse jump with every second it crawled on.
“That’s why you learned this,” Tav whispered, almost to himself. “Resurrection.”
“Wait, so Riddhi was— That was you?” Dalbir demanded.
“Not me,” Kajal argued. “I didn’t want her to die!”
“Wait,” Sezal interrupted, “a student is dead?”
“That’s why I needed to resurrect the prince right away,” Kajal half lied. “The sooner I achieve my end of this, the sooner you can fulfill your part of the bargain and I can get rid of the bhuta.”
“If your sister’s body is in the east, we can all go to the Sodhi estate and bring the prince with us,” Sezal suggested. “It’s somewhat south of Siphar.”
Kajal ignored Tav’s nervous look. “No,” she insisted. “You have to bring Lasya here, to the university.”
Vivaan’s brow furrowed. “Why? It would be in your best interest to come with us.”
Not when you’d turn right around once you realized you have the wrong prince, she thought.
“It’s because of me.” Tav clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. “My memories. I…can’t seem to remember very much from around the time I was killed. Only pieces here and there.”
Vivaan swayed as if he were about to lose his balance. Dalbir’s mouth was getting thinner with each new complication.
“But you remember who you are?” Sezal urged him. “What you are?”
Tav frowned a little at the wording. “Yes. I am the crown prince of Dharati, Advaith Thakar.”
Vivaan and Sezal didn’t seem reassured. The two rebels shared another of those silent conversations Kajal couldn’t read. Vivaan’s earlier awe had turned to something darker, harder, as he turned his gaze on Kajal and then Tav.
With a jolt, Kajal realized it was suspicion.
“We can’t bring him to the Sodhis with his memories damaged,” Sezal concluded at last. “Kajal, do you think you and Jassi can work with him on this while we retrieve your sister’s body?”
It was a feat to keep her face impassive under the sheer force of her relief. “Yes,” she said while Jassi nodded.
“I won’t tell my parents,” Dalbir vowed when the rebels glanced at them. “Honest. I only want to finish my coursework.”
“Then I suppose it’s settled,” Sezal said. “Kajal, if you tell us exactly where Lasya is, we’ll set out at dawn. By the time we get back, hopefully His Highness will remember more.”
After all the panic and dread of the last couple days, Kajal’s hope was bright enough to rival Tav’s magic, preventing her from looking too closely at this fortunate turn.
Fortunate, that is, if she could last another few days with the bhuta haunting her every step, waiting for her to slip up again.
Chapter Seventeen
Kajal headed straight for Jassi’s bedroom to avoid speaking to Tav and woke groggy and disoriented the next morning. Jassi had already left to prepare for classes; she must have let Kutaa out, since Kajal didn’t see him. She rolled over and reached for her slippers, but they were gone too.
With a grumble, Kajal slid off the bed and peeked under.
Her slippers were there, sure enough, but guarded by tiny yakshas. They were no bigger than mice, puffy and white with shining black eyes that stared unblinkingly at her.
“Hi,” she said. “Can I have my slippers?”
One of them made a high squeak, almost a question. Another nuzzled itself down into a slipper, as if attracted to the smell.
Kajal recalled Lasya dealing with these types of yakshas before. They had refused to give her boots back and hadn’t relented until Lasya had given them an offering of rock sugar.
A brief search of Jassi’s room revealed a tin of candied fennel seeds. She knelt again with a few on her palm. The yakshas inched forward with curious squeaks. Then tiny claws emerged from their fuzzy bodies to grab handfuls of colorful seeds before they retreated.
“Thanks,” she muttered as she grabbed her slippers.
Out in the main room, Tav sat at the table with an empty cup before him. Kutaa had put his head on the prince’s lap, and Tav idly stroked the dog’s head while he stared out the window.
For a moment, she was struck by the sight of them, two bodies housing hearts that had stopped until she’d made them pump again. Limbs that had been stiff and cold now warm and shifting. Minds that had become empty filled once more with thought.
Tav sensed her stare and gave her a bemused look. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just admiring my boys.”
He glowered. “I’m not your boy.”
“You’re my creation, aren’t you?”
“My mother created me.” The beginnings of Kajal’s smile fell away as he went on, “You didn’t tell me about your sister. Or the student.”
“I distinctly remember telling you I had a sister.”
“But not that she’s dead!”
“Only temporarily,” Kajal countered. “Besides, it doesn’t involve you.”
He stood, gaining the unfortunate advantage of height. “It does if I’m lying to these people for your sake.”
She flapped her arms in frustration. “All right, so maybe I omitted a detail. But I had to make sure they would get Lasya for me. And while they do that, I’ll make good on my promise to help you find Advaith.”
“That doesn’t mean you should have— Oh, yes, sorry.” Kutaa had nudged Tav’s hand. Tav obediently continued to scratch behind the dog’s ears. “You manipulated me.”
Kajal sneered at her traitorous dog. “You grew up in a palace sucking on a gilded spoon, so I’m going to state this as simply as I can: When you see an opportunity that means survival, you take it.”
He drew in a breath to speak, then let it out.
“You should have told me about your sister.” His voice was quiet. “I woke up from being dead only to learn that everyone I love is also dead.” He made to reach for his pendant before dropping his hand. “I would have understood.”
“I’m being haunted by my own sister,” she said flatly. “What do you understand of my situation?”
He looked away. Kutaa, sensing her distress, came and sat beside her instead.
She briefly revisited her fragmented memories of the days after she’d buried Lasya. The intervals of gnawing pain and numbness, the desire to simply build herself a pyre and be reborn as something better. Someone better.
She exhaled slowly. “Sorry.” Kajal wasn’t used to apologizing, and the words were stiff. “I shouldn’t be comparing our grief.”
He shook his head, whether to accept her apology or dismiss it, she wasn’t sure. “Bhutas form when a body hasn’t been burned,” he said. “Which means your sister must have been buried.”
“Yes. Same as you.”
“Did I…Was I also a…bhuta?” The mere thought turned his skin ashen.
“Of course. A particularly rude one, at that. I risked my life to drag you out of there, and now I have to do it again with your brother. But make no mistake: Once my sister and Advaith are alive, I’m gone.”
The rebels would bring the princes to the Sodhis and launch their coup, a campaign that would inspire civilians and soldiers alike to rise up against Bakshi. Kajal would be more than happy to leave them to it while she and Lasya picked up where they’d left off.
His gaze flickered to hers. “Then I owe you a debt. Not only for bringing me back, but also Advaith, when we find him. Based on what I’ve seen, I know your skill will be more than up for the task.” He inclined his head deeply. “Thank you.”
“You— That isn’t—” She cleared her throat. “You can’t talk like that. Warn me next time.”
“Why?”
She turned away before he could catch the flush scalding her cheeks. “I’m helping you because my life and my sister’s life are on the line.”
“Is that really the only reason?”
She thought of the blighted crop she’d held in her hand. The diseased deer, and the pujari. The corpse of a woman swinging from a noose.
When she said nothing, he gave a weary sigh. “All right. No matter your motivation, our current goals are aligned.”
There was movement in the corner of her eye. He’d extended a hand toward her. She took it and clasped hard, his tendons shifting within her grip.
Her finest creation. Her potential downfall.
“By the way,” she said when she dropped his hand, “you’re attracting yakshas. I had to haggle with some for my shoes.”
“The juti cora? They’re harmless.”
“If you attract more, it could jeopardize your identity.” Although what really worried her were the demon hunter and the Vadhia searching for the slightest trace of the supernatural on school grounds. “Also, now that the rebels are gone, we should prepare to leave too.” As reluctant as she was to return to the Harama Plain, any distance she could put between her and the university right now was welcome.
“How do you propose we do that?”
“I’ll talk to Jassi. I think I know how to convince her.” She turned to the door and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “In the meantime, get rid of those yakshas.”
The students she passed were subdued. She walked through the archway of the Serpent Court, then stopped in her tracks. By the main gates of the university was a small congregation of people—a mix of staff, the Vadhia, and students. On a cart before them lay a plain wooden coffin.
A sobbing woman and man stood over the coffin with Siddhi beside them, dry-eyed and blank-faced, as if her emotions were too large to fit within her body. No doubt the family would be traveling home to their local cremation grounds, where they would then set fire to the coffin and release Riddhi’s soul to travel to Patala, drink the tea of forgetting, and be reborn.
Vritika had an arm around Siddhi’s shoulders. As if sensing Kajal’s stare, she lifted her head. Next to her, Jagvir noticed the movement and caught sight of Kajal as well. His shoulders stiffened.
In her ear blew a breathy, rasping laugh.
Kajal forced herself to keep walking, eyes lowered. She didn’t dare look up until she approached the laboratory. As she ascended the stairs, she recalled the state she’d left the room in and quickened her pace.
To her surprise, the door was already fixed. When she opened it, the interior beyond was clean. Had Jassi done this?
Kajal took out the pouch she’d been carrying since she and the rebels had been on the road. There were roughly thirty bitter almonds inside, their skins dry and wrinkled.
Just in case.
She ground them down, adding a bit of water until she ended up with a lethal, cloudy liquid. She strained it and poured the final result into a small blue bottle she found on the worktable, which she stoppered tightly.
The look Vivaan had given her in the rebels’ hideout plagued her. And, as she’d told Tav: When you see an opportunity that means survival, you take it.
Familiar voices came from the hallway. Kajal slipped the bottle into her pocket before she crept to the door and pressed her ear against the wood.
“I’m so sorry.” That was Jassi. “I know this must be difficult for you. I could put in a request for you to take a few days off from classes.”
“That’s all right, Professor.” Vritika’s voice sounded hoarse, like she’d been crying. “I don’t want to fall behind.”
“You lost a friend. You need time to grieve.”
“With all due respect, Professor, I’d rather keep myself busy.”
A soft sigh. “You still believe this was the work of a bhuta?”
Kajal held her breath.
“I do. The Vadhia wouldn’t let me join their search, but I used turmeric incense to dowse for bodies. There were none.” She grew winded with excitement. “My family’s methods have been developed for this exact scenario. I want to find it and exorcise it.”
Kajal twitched with indignation. Like I’d let you.
“You know more than anyone how dangerous bhutas are,” Jassi said. “Your family—”
“Expects me to live up to my older siblings,” Vritika cut in, irritation winning out over respect. “If I exorcise a bhuta terrorizing the university, the Meghani name will be even more revered.” A pause. “Which means Bakshi won’t target us.”
Jassi’s tone sharpened. “Has he been making trouble for your family?”
“No, no…At least not yet. My parents like him, like that they were able to keep their trade because of him, but I…”
“I understand. I’d like nothing more than to see you reach your full potential and do your family proud.”
