Realm of the Goddess (15 page)

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning
I woke with a sense of anticipation I hadn’t felt for quite some time. We were all packed and ready to go to the airport after lunch. We would fly to the Andaman Islands, only two hours away. We would spend the night there before traveling by boat to the shores of North Sentinel Island. My excitement grew as the morning wore on. Finally, I was doing something that would bring me closer to my goal. A month ago I would never have believed this about myself, but I was ready for battle. It was strange, but all the training, practicing and everything I’d seen in the last few weeks had changed me in a way I had not imagined possible. Shiv looked the way I felt. His eyes were bright, his movements precise and I remembered the day he had saved me from the demon in my parents’ bedroom. I was so relieved that he was coming with me because even though I felt ready to go on this quest, I did not want to face any demons by myself. The last two times had not gone well for me, and this time I didn’t want any surprises.

When we arrived at the airport Aruna enveloped me in a tight hug. “Take care,” she whispered. “Don’t be afraid. The Goddess is with you.”

If she was, I wasn’t aware of it. I still thought of myself as just me. Regular old Callie, nothing more. But I was different. I had been chosen, for some reason that was beyond my understanding. I still didn’t feel any special powers, nothing that made me goddess-like. But I knew that I believed in it more now than I did before. I felt stronger and surer of myself than I ever had before in my life. The memories of the nightmares I’d had for so long were undeniable proof that I was meant for something bigger than the life I’d been leading up to now. And I was fine with that. I would do what I had to.

After Shiv and I said our goodbyes, we went to get something to eat while we waited to board. We were sipping our coffee when I noticed Shiv watching me closely.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, my hand flying to my hair, wondering if I’d forgotten to brush it this morning in my rush to get going. It would be just like him to neglect telling me that it was sticking out in all directions.

He smiled disarmingly. “No, don’t worry, your hair is fine.”

“Then why are you staring at me?”

“I was just remembering...when we first met...”

“You mean like a month ago?” I said sarcastically.

“I know...it’s only been a month. But I’m just saying...look at you now, all ready for war.”

He was making fun of me. Of course.

“Well...I know I’m ready to hurt you if you don’t shut up,” I said, only half joking.

He put up his hands in mock defense. “Seriously though, Callie...look, I know I’m not good at talking about stuff like this...”

“Stuff like what?” I asked impatiently.

“Just that...I’m really impressed. I mean, not many people could handle something like this. And you’re doing a pretty awesome job of it.” He played with the wrapper from his breakfast sandwich, not really looking at me. I was glad for that, because I could feel a blush slowly creeping into my cheeks, and the last thing I wanted was for him to know how much his praise affected me.

“Hey...I know I’m awesome. I’m just glad you figured it out too,” I said flippantly. One of the skills I’d always been proud of was the ability to hide behind humor and sarcasm whenever I was nervous or shy. It had always worked before and I knew it did this time too, because Shiv grinned. He was saved from having to say more on the subject because boarding was announced.

The next couple of hours passed uneventfully as our little plane made its way to the Andaman Islands airport. The islands had once been used by the government of nineteenth-century British India as a prison for political dissidents. Now it was a must-see tourist destination for honeymooners and just about anyone who wanted a few days in paradise. I gazed out the window as we descended and couldn’t believe that such a place existed. A lot of it was covered by dense forest surrounded by blue water. As we landed I got a view of the airport. We had landed in Port Blair, which had only one runway, a little tidbit the pilot shared as he informed us that there would be a wait until we could disembark.

When it was finally time to get off, I could smell the ocean, even as the humidity in the air transformed me into a troll doll. I could feel my hair getting frizzy as we walked to the terminal, and Shiv’s look of amusement did nothing to improve my mood. I decided that after all this was over I would shave my head and start a new trend. I would be a bald goddess. It would save a lot of time in my daily grooming ritual.

We went through customs, where, thanks to special permits obtained by Shiv’s uncle, I was not arrested for carrying a dagger. I had carefully wrapped it in a sheet of cotton and tucked it into my backpack. We didn’t have any suitcases with us, for obvious reasons, so everything we might need was stuffed into our backpacks. Apparently the permit had mentioned something about research being conducted by two university students from the U.S., and Uncle Suresh knew an important government official who had facilitated all this. I was sure that by “facilitated,” he had really meant bribed. It was a fact of life in this part of the world.

Once out of the airport we were met by a driver who took us to the hotel where we would be spending the night before embarking on the rest of our journey. I was glad because I needed time to strengthen my resolve and also because Shiv and I had to pore over Aruna’s map to make sure we hadn’t missed anything vital. Once we reached the island we would hit the ground running, since everything we had learned indicated the islanders would not be thrilled to see us. We were going to be sitting ducks, but there was no other choice. At least we wanted to be prepared. My bravado from earlier that day had abated, leaving me with a sense of impending doom. I couldn’t shake the feeling, even after Shiv ordered us some dinner. No amount of seafood was going to make me feel more prepared for what was to come. However, the plate of spicy crab legs that showed up deserved to be appreciated, so I decided to drown my sorrows in it.

After dinner, Shiv and I decided to take a walk. It was as if we both knew this might be the last time we could do something as normal as taking a stroll by the water. We walked along Marine Drive, the spectacular scenery doing away with the need for conversation. A thought struck me as we stopped for a moment to admire the twinkling lights of the city from our vantage point. The only other person I felt this comfortable with was Ben. With Shiv, I was content just being there without having to say anything.

We stood in silence for a while before Shiv turned to me. In the lamplight, his eyes shone with something I couldn’t define, and despite myself a delicious shiver ran up my arms. My mouth felt dry and my palms were getting clammy. I looked up at him and opened my mouth to speak just as he lowered his to mine. As our lips met in a warm, gentle kiss, I could feel my racing heart beat even faster. Of their own volition, my hands traveled up his arms and my fingers locked behind his neck as I stood up on my toes to get even closer to him. His hand pressed against the small of my back as our kiss deepened, sending little shock waves of pleasure all through my body. I quieted the small voice in my head that tried to remind me of where I was and what I should be doing. This felt right...Shiv and I...together like this. I knew I might regret this moment as soon as it was over, but I was powerless against the emotions that coursed through me. I had assumed from the very beginning that the attraction I felt toward Shiv was mostly physical. After all, I didn’t know him well enough to feel the kind of inexplicable, everlasting love that I read about in books. Also, to my mother’s great disappointment I’d never really bought into that whole love-at-first-sight romantic nonsense. So logically, it made no sense that I should feel anything deeper for Shiv than just physical attraction born from the fact that we were venturing into the great unknown tomorrow.

But my mind was feeling anything but logical at the moment as Shiv broke off the kiss and brushed hair away from my face. Then he just looked into my eyes and I felt myself melting, for lack of a less nauseating word. Warmth flowed through me, making my fingertips tingle. I had to do something.

“Shiv...” I began, with no clue what I was going to say. But luckily he beat me to it.

“Callie, I’m sorry...I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Clearly he had no clue what I was feeling. “Uncomfortable” was not the word I would choose.

“I...you don’t have to be sorry...” I really didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“I don’t mean I’m sorry that I kissed you,” he said hurriedly.

I swallowed the big lump that was suddenly in my throat.

“Me neither,” I said softly. He reached down for my hand and pulled me closer. Then he turned me so we were both facing the water and said nothing more. We just stood there, our bodies close, watching the boats go by. It felt right. After some time, we pulled away in a mutual unspoken agreement and headed back toward the hotel. The entire time Shiv never let go of my hand.

Chapter Fifteen

That night my
father came to me in my dream once again. What I saw shook me to my very core. His face was gaunt with scars in different stages of healing.

“Callie...” he whispered hoarsely. “You must hurry...he’s getting impatient.”

“Daddy,” I cried in my sleep. “Where are you? Where is he keeping you?”

“I don’t know...Callie...Mom is...” And with that he was gone, leaving me gasping for breath as I broke out of my dream and sat up in a panic. Something had happened to my mom...something bad. I was sure of that. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was 4:45, almost morning. There was no way I could go back to sleep. I fought the urge to go to Shiv’s room and wake him up, busying myself instead with repacking my backpack.

I went out to the adjoining balcony to get some fresh air.  The sun was just rising, casting an orange glow over everything. From here I could see the ocean and it brought back vivid memories of another time...a happier one when my parents and I had come to the Andaman Islands for a vacation. I must have been five or six, but I still remembered the thrill of standing under an icy waterfall as the water hit me and the drops fractured into a thousand little beams of light in the bright sun. Now I looked at the ocean and all I felt was dread. It filled the pit of my stomach, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

I went downstairs in search of some food. The lobby was already abuzz with employees and tourists as I walked toward the restaurant. I sat down, ordering some coffee and toast with jam. I had no appetite, but I also didn’t want to feel sick all day, especially since we were going to be on a boat for a few hours. My breakfast came fairly quickly, by which time it was getting brighter outside and the restaurant was beginning to fill up. I was sipping my coffee while debating whether I should check on Shiv. I got up, grabbing the cloth napkin that lay folded like a pretty fan beside my plate. As I brought it to my mouth, something white fluttered to the ground. I bent down to pick it up. It was a note. On it in small neat, handwriting were the words:
Do not trust them. They are not who they seem.

I stared at the note for a second then quickly looked up and around to see if anyone was watching me. There were people just walking in and others in the middle of their breakfast. No one had come near my table except the waitress who had brought my food. I scanned the room trying to locate her, but she wasn’t there. I sat back down, thinking that she would probably reappear in a moment with somebody’s order. For a second I thought that this could be Shiv’s idea of a joke. I contemplated that possibility for a bit longer as I waited for the waitress to show up again. I decided to go find the restaurant manager. I asked a passing staff member and was told that he would be there shortly. A few minutes later he approached my table.

“How can I help you, madam?” he said.

“I’m looking for the waitress who served me about an hour ago,” I said.

“Is everything alright, madam? I hope the breakfast was to your satisfaction?” His brow was furrowed and I feared I might be getting the girl in trouble.

“Yes...everything was great,” I said quickly. “I just wanted to ask her something.”

“Let me go check. I’ll be right back.”

I thanked him and waited. True to his word he was back in a few minutes.

“I’m sorry, madam, but I was just told that she left due to an emergency. Is there something I can help you with?”

“No...thank you,” I said, an uneasy feeling blossoming. The manager left and I sat there trying to process what the note might mean. Who were
they
?

I decided it was time to go and find Shiv. I knocked on his door and when he opened it, it was clear that he had been fast asleep. His hair was disheveled and his eyes bleary as he stood lazily looking at me.

“What time is it? I thought we didn’t have to leave until after lunch,” he said.

“It’s just after six, don’t worry,” I assured him, wondering if I should mention the note to him. He peeled himself off the doorframe and waved me in. I followed, deciding that for now I was going to keep the note to myself until I’d had time to figure out what it meant. My thoughts threatened to go to a place of doubt and fear where I would begin to question the wisdom of embarking on a quest with someone who might pose a danger to me. But the side of me that did not want to deal with this right now won. I pushed aside any potential worries and focused on the present. He walked into the bathroom as I looked around his room, taking in the half-packed backpack and last night’s clothes strewn carelessly about.

“I saw my dad again,” I blurted out. He stopped midway through brushing his teeth, holding up his toothbrush and foaming at the mouth. I could see him from where I stood and had to suppress a laugh. Then I realized he was trying to ask me something.

“What did he say?” he was asking after he rinsed his mouth.

“I think they’re in danger,” I replied. “He also started to say something about my mom, but he couldn’t finish. It sounded bad, though.”

Shiv came out of the bathroom, still in his pyjamas and T-shirt. He walked up to me and took my hand. “Callie, we will find them and they will be fine.”

“What if we’re too late?” I asked. “I tried to ask my dad where they were but he couldn’t say anything. He looked so bad...he had scars on his face...I...” My voice trailed off as I pictured my father again as he had looked in my dream.

“Callie, we’re so close. You can’t give up now.” Shiv squeezed my hand gently and I drew comfort from him. He was right. This was not the time to lose hope.

I took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “You’re right...thanks, Shiv. It’s just...seeing my dad like that...I couldn’t think straight.” He pulled me in for a quick hug.

“I’m going to shower and get ready. Do you want breakfast?” he asked, releasing me and stepping back.

“I had some already. But you go ahead and I’ll get ready too.” I left him and went back to my room. I took a quick shower, changed, put my toiletries in my backpack and then I was ready to go. I didn’t really want to wait until after lunch to leave. I went back to Shiv’s room. He had ordered room service and was ready as well. We went down to the front desk, paid our bill and got a taxi to the pier, where we would have to locate our designated boat person and see if we could leave earlier. That turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. A couple of hundred rupees and we were on our way.

It was going to take over four hours to make our way to North Sentinel. Since it was illegal to travel to the island, there were no official modes of transportation that we could have taken. Uncle Suresh had used his Rakshakari contacts for special arrangements to get us there. The special arrangement turned out to be a medium-sized motorboat and a boatman who was happy to make some extra money as long as he didn’t have to go too close to the shore.

We had been warned before leaving Kolkata that there was a bit of swimming involved. I was glad my years of swimming lessons were going to pay off. When all this was over, I would be thanking my parents for the many things they had pushed me to do, including all those summers of swim camp. The water was not too choppy as we slowly moved away from the shores of Port Blair out into open sea. We had packed sandwiches from the hotel restaurant before leaving and shared these with the boatman a couple of hours into our trip. By now the sun was beating down mercilessly and I was glad for my floppy hat that protected my face from the blaze.

The boat ride was pretty uneventful, and a few hours later we were as close as the boatman was willing to take us. I could see the shore from our position and didn’t think that we would have to swim for too long. Our backpacks were going to be covered in a tarp-like material to keep the contents dry and we would just drag them along with us. It didn’t seem to be the best way, but I couldn’t think of anything better. At least we would have our supply of dried fruit and nuts, as well as water-purifying tablets.

When the boat came to a stop, I hesitated before jumping in. Shiv thanked the boatman and took the leap into the ocean. I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed. As I hit the cold water I gasped at the initial shock but quickly realized it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. I began to follow Shiv with fluid strokes, the backpack slowing me down a little. I tried my best not to think of sharks or anything else that might be lurking in the water. The boatman had assured us that nothing dangerous came this close to the shore. The worst thing, he said, would be some curious fish nibbling at our toes.

I’d been swimming for a while and was beginning to tire, so I decided to tread water for a bit to get my bearings. The backpack certainly wasn’t making things any easier. I squinted against the glare of the sun on the water and saw that Shiv had almost reached the shore. As I watched he stood up, waist-deep, and began to walk onto the beach, his backpack dripping as he dragged it behind him. He flopped onto the sand, clearly winded. I took a deep breath and began to swim again. I was pretty close to the shore when I felt my backpack pulling away from me. Assuming it was just the current, I turned back to pull it closer when I noticed my pendant was floating in the water on the black string around my neck. It was glowing red. I was immediately overcome by a feeling of dread. Something was very wrong.

I looked around as I treaded water, but there was nothing that I could see. I began to swim again, this time faster, kicking harder. I was so close I could see Shiv rooting around in his backpack for something. I knew I could make it. Just then I felt something pull at my right leg and I was pulled under. I barely had time to suck in a huge breath before my head was under water and I was frantically kicking at whatever had grabbed my leg. I forced my eyelids open against the water. At first I couldn’t see much but then my vision cleared and a scream lodged in my throat. It was a crocodile, large and scaly, its jagged teeth glinting in the refracted rays from the sun. It had let go of my leg and was probably waiting to pounce once again.

I was frozen in sheer terror. I knew that I should try to kick my way up to the surface, but I could not move. Above me I could see movement. Shiv was swimming to me. I knew no more than a few seconds could have passed but it felt like a long time. And that’s when it happened. At first I thought it was just the water and the lack of oxygen that was playing tricks with my mind, but then it dawned on me that my worst fears were coming true. The crocodile was changing, right in front of my eyes. It appeared to grow but then its features changed as I looked on in horror, fear immobilizing me. It transformed into a creature that stood on two legs, its torso covered in scales. At first it just watched me with an ominous glint in its eyes. I could see Shiv getting closer. I turned toward him and my eyes widened in horror. There was another one. I could see that it was going to intercept Shiv. I was on my own.

I turned back to the one in front of me just as it lunged. I burst into action. Survival instinct kicked in and as I swung my left arm around to hit it with the backpack, I aimed my right hand at its eyes. I dug my fingers as deep as I could into them, touching something slimy that I did not want to identify. That bought a momentary reprieve as the creature backed off. It must have howled in pain because I saw bubbles erupting from its mouth. I remembered I had Aruna’s dagger and reached around to grab the backpack and as quickly as I could, removing the waterproof covering until the front pocket was exposed. I unzipped it and reached in for the dagger. My fingers had just closed around the hilt when I felt my head being yanked back painfully. Not letting go of the dagger, I kicked and flailed my legs as hard as I could until I was facing the creature. It held my hair firmly in its grip and my scalp began to lose sensation.

Somewhere in the periphery of my vision I thought I saw Shiv, his body strangely distorted by the water, as I tried to focus all my strength on maneuvering the dagger closer to the creature. At some point during our struggle we must have broken the surface, because I was able to suck in another long breath. As I was dragged down a second time, I felt renewed energy and swung my right arm as hard as I could, plunging the blade deep into the creature’s body with all the strength I could muster. Its eyes widened in surprise even as it loosened its grip on my hair, and then I was free. I frantically kicked my way up to the surface and gulped in lungsful of air as soon as I broke the surface. Then Shiv was there and he dragged me the rest of the way to the sand. I coughed and sputtered as he checked me over for injuries. But other than a massive headache from my hair being pulled, I felt fine. Shaken to the core, but fine nonetheless.

“Callie, are you alright?” Shiv fell back onto the sand once he was satisfied I was no longer in mortal danger.

I was still breathing heavily and my throat burned from swallowing the salty water. “I think so. What about you?” I hadn’t been able to see how he had killed his crocodile demon or if he was hurt in the process.

“I’m fine, but...” he said, looking down at the sand.

“But what…?”

A look of guilt settled on Shiv’s face. “I should never have gone ahead...I thought you were right behind me.”

“I was, but there were two of them. Were you planning to fight them both off?”

“I’m so sorry, Callie. I should have...” His voice trailed off.

“Shiv, look, you can’t be there every second to protect me. I have to defend myself too.” He was killing my buzz. “This was just the beginning. And I survived. So let them bring it on...I’m ready.”