Fantasy

The Paths to Be Traveled Are Varied. Always Turning and Changing

Damayanti’s Chapters

Ash colored the water and suds spiraling down the drain. Steam surrounded Damayanti as she scrubbed herself down. She let out a heavy sigh as she steadied herself in the stream of scalding water. The tiles of the hotel shower were icy to her touch in comparison. She roughly cleared her throat, grimacing at the taste that lingered. Her toes wiggled in the shallow pooling water as she backed up from the drain. She spat into the bottom of the tub.

“Honey are you okay?” was her husband’s inquiry from the other room.

“I’m fine!” she answered.

Steam floated out of the bathroom when she stepped out, a towel artfully bound her wet hair and another wrapped around her body. Arlo let out an appreciative whistle as he spied her. A smile spread across her face. She raised an eyebrow as she watched her husband unpack some takeout. Arlo grinned, his eyes trailing up and down his wife’s scantily clad form.

“Mmm. My Star.” he murmured and then gestured to the food on the table. There was light fare, salads, some naan, an array of fruits and cheese. A large pitcher of limeade sat off to one side on the table. “I tried to take into consideration that you may not want any thing too heavy after today.”

“That looks great.” she replied as she walked over to give Arlo a kiss. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a mild recoil at the memory of the lab they had left that afternoon. Yet her stomach betrayed her hunger and disagreed with her thoughts; it grumbled as she sat down at the table. Arlo served her up a plate as he stifled a chuckle. She looked curiously down at her stomach for a moment. “Thank you, my Love.” she said with a smile and then giggled. They ate and enjoyed each other’s company for a while.

Arlo lifted the tickets as he popped a strawberry in his mouth. He chewed with relish, the stress falling from his features.

“I made sure to book the tickets back home.”

Damayanti let out a sigh of relief.

“Home.” she said simply, “Everything is so harmonious at home. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

By four am the next morning, they were on their way to the airport. Arlo unloaded the bags when they returned the rental car.

“My Love, you’ve been somewhat quiet since the altercation at the lab.”

“Yes, I was not expecting to come face to face with Ixion.” Damayanti stated and then let out a sigh. “I was being stupid.” Arlo raised an eyebrow and then held his comment as some other travelers passed. The shadow of Despair graced his wife’s face for a flickering moment and was replaced by one of veiled joy. “I love the travel, but the best path is the one that leads home.” she smiled up at her husband. He returned the smile, basking in his wife’s adoration. His questions about Ixion and his lab bounced around in the back of his mind. Maybe they would be able to discuss this subject once they got home. Besides, this would be another new chapter to add to the epic he was writing.

They boarded the plane and Arlo saw the daughter of Tlaloc as they settled in business class. She wore a deep hooded jacket and her face was mostly in shadow. He nodded as she made eye contact. He felt the shudder in the back of his mind. He nodded and then let his wife know with a murmur. Damayanti glanced over and nodded, as she smiled in greeting. One of the flight attendants asked Oriana if she would like some refreshments. Oriana gave the attendant her order and Arlo noticed as the attendant walked away, his was face paler than it had been before. Arlo chuckled silently to himself as he loaded their carry-on luggage into the overhead compartments. Damayanti cuddled up to him once he took his seat.

“I am so happy to head back home.” she said, a beautiful smile spreading across her features.

“Me too.” he replied as he clasped her hand in his.

“It’s so nice to see the beauty of the forest again.” Damayanti said as they turned off of the highway at the Fairfax Village exit. Arlo raised an eyebrow,

“Really?”

“Yes,” she said with certainty, “The desert was interesting, but there is something about the green.”

“Oh.” Arlo said with a grin, “I guess some of the Home country rubbed off on you.” His wife blushed,

“I guess so, I wanted some place more temperate than Chicago and now that we have seen California, I just appreciate where we have settled.”

“Now you just need to have the epiphany that our mountain is a mighty mountain.” he said with a smirk. He then laughed out loud as his wife shot him a sharp look before laughing herself.

Grandma Moira and the pets greeted them at the door. The brownie bowed low and then took their bags,

“Welcome home, my Lord and Lady.” she said with a smile. “Let me take care of these for you.”

“Thank you, Moira.” Arlo greeted and returned the smile, “Has everything been okay while we have been gone?” Moira grinned as the pets ran to greet their owners.

“Aye, my Lord. The wee beasties have been sweet, even though they have been anxiously waiting your return.” the couple knelt to give their pets some much needed love and attention. Damayanti shrugged out of her coat and took Arlo’s.

“What would you like for dinner tonight, my Love?” she asked as she hung their coats. Arlo thought about it for a moment,

“I really enjoy making dinner with you.” he said sweetly as he pulled her to him. “I had Moira pick up some salmon. Let’s go find some recipes and we will make something wonderful.” His wife laughed and then replied,

“That sounds terrific.”

The filet of salmon was braised in butter, dill and lemon. Potatoes spiced with curry, onion and black sesame. Steamed fresh greens from the garden with olive oil and feta. Fresh naan with garlic butter. Damayanti smiled as she set a portion of the food for the Gods. The offerings were accepted with a flash.

“This is looks and smells heavenly. If we keep going at this rate, we may end up catering for the Gods full time.” She swished her hips as she walked past him to gather drinks from the kitchen. Arlo set the main dishes on the table. A slight blush colored his features.

“Thank you, but I am sure that there are others better than me,” he replied, “I mostly do this out of joy and appreciation for you; so we can make something beautiful together.” She grinned,

“You make wonderful dishes my Love,” she murmured as she leaned up and gave him a kiss. “Besides, you have found recipes that I cannot translate.” Then they both took their seats and dug into the meal that they had made.

The questions that had been rattling around in the back of Arlo’s brain rose to the surface after they had finished their meal. Damayanti had curled up on the overstuffed couch with a cup of chai and a book on the Gods of the Greek pantheon. He handed Moira a cup of cream and one of the pastries that his wife had made, then he poured a cup of coffee for himself. He raised an eyebrow as he looked over at his wife.

“Studying something new?”

“I have been dealing with the Dodecatheon more often that not as of late. If I study some more it will help me to learn a little bit more about them.” she replied as she turned a page.

“We have been doing favors for Athena, working with Genaro, met Damian, Hades’ son, all trying to thwart Ixion.” he said as he took a seat next to his wife. “You don’t necessarily like working with the Yavanna, my Sweet.”

“I know,” she sighed, “I just seemed to have fallen into this. So I am studying to get a better handle on their ways.” She glanced up at him and shifted closer. “I have to thank you for helping me out with this so far, but I may need more of your help. You have always had a better hand on the cultural subjects.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, my Love. You have social skills that are exemplary. If you feel that you need some more insight, I can help you with that.” Damayanti smiled and leaned up against him. He smiled as he took a sip of his coffee, musing over the fact that their home life was so idyllic and yet their paths outside the home so different. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

“There are some things that I have been wanting to ask you.” She closed the book and looked up at him, a flicker deep in her eyes betrayed a sense of relief.

“Really? Oh wait, we have had an exciting adventure lately.” she smirked up at him, “You should probably grab your notebook and pencil.” He returned her smirk and tapped his notebook on the side table.

“I’m already prepared.” She peeked around him, her eyes owlish.

“Oh!” and then narrowed her eyes at her husband, “I see that my fae Lord is back to his wily ways.” A grin spread across her face, “Would my Lord like a story or will this be another interrogation?” A spark of passion lit deep within her eyes. Arlo’s smile turned sly,

“If this is going to turn into a negotiation, I get to dictate terms.” his wife backed up just a bit, the passion in her eyes turning playful and he held back his rising emotions when he spied her false pout. He reached over, setting his cup down. His features took on a stoic cast as he focused. He glanced over at his wife, whose movements on the couch took on a seductive air. “Just the facts in prose for right now,” he stated smartly, then he leered at her, “If I get what I need, I will tease all of that playful rebelliousness out of you for this evening.”

“Really?” she batted her eyelashes.

“Minx of a Deva maiden,” he muttered, and then leveled his pencil at her. “No story, no answers to my questions; then no play. Agreed?” She tapped her fingertip against her bottom lip, her eyes cast to the ceiling,

“So bedtime story and then play to tire ourselves out?” she mused coquettishly and winked at him. “I don’t know if this is good enough…”

“Pravasi…”

“Oh, okay, so it is an interrogated story,” she stated and then leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. He frowned and arched an eyebrow. She dipped her head in acknowledgment and deference. “I would be happy to regale my Lord with a story. I hope that you will enjoy it.” she placed a hand against his chest and pressed him back in to the cushions. “But first, we need another round of refreshments.” Damayanti artfully rose from the couch, and with a few deft dance steps, collected up their cups and lightly stepped into the kitchen. Arlo’s gaze followed as his wife moved into the kitchen. He banked the fire that she had lit in him and let out a silent breath.

Once she came back with a fresh cup of coffee for him and a salted limeade for her, he was waiting expectantly. She sat down on the floor at his feet and spread out the lower hem of her sari over her feet. She reached over and lit her lantern.

“Sitara,” he stated, “You don’t need to sit at my feet.” Her eyes glowed with the light of her lantern and she wove her hands in esoteric patterns around her. A mysterious smile crossed her features,

“Ask your questions, my Lord of the Epic; Lord of the River of Words and the Maelstrom of Pages. What chapter of the story shall we weave tonight?” Arlo felt the atmosphere change in the air around him. Something stirred within him, his eyes grew sharp as they gazed upon his wife. Her demeanor did not change, she waited expectantly. All of the questions rose to the forefront of his mind. He opened his notebook and set his pencil to page. The questions spilled from his lips and his wife started to tell her story. The events from her perspective painted pictures of clinical advancement.

“What projects did you see?”

“They were working on genetic modification of agricultural organisms to increase food yield and researching new possibilities for bio-fuels. They were amazing, yet I couldn’t shake a feeling of wrongness.” Damayanti stated, her eyes flashing blue. As the story progressed, his hand flew across the pages; he coaxed more detail out of her, and the picture in his mind grew with fearful intensity.

“How did you come across Ixion?” Arlo asked a smile in his eyes. Damayanti’s gaze darkened,

“I was taking in all of the details. The director was so accommodating… the elevator, I had to try to see.”

“See what?”

“I had to see who the head researcher was. I had to confirm if it was Ixion or one of his minions. The Gods would like to see Ixion brought back to face their justice.” She shook her head in frustration, “I had no idea that I would get what I asked for.” Arlo frowned, his eyes taking on a flinty look,

“Darling, your curiosity…”

“I had to get all of the information that I could.” she lifted her hands, they wove in a pattern of pleading. He got the sense of a bird trapped beneath a predator’s claws. Her eyes flashed green for a split second, “Would I be as effective any other way?” Arlo studied her in silence, his pencil scratching. “The director called the lead scientist, I could not resist. I had to see, so much of this technology was interesting. I did not expect that this vaulted and highly valued scientist to have the time to step away from his work.”

“But he did have time.”

“When the elevator doors opened, I realized how much trouble I was in.” she paused and took a drink from her glass. Her agitation at the memory drove her to her feet. She started to dance as she spoke, her hands expressing her emotion at the scene. “My inner sense was screaming at me, that what met me was more than the standard genius scientist. This was a corrupted son of one of the Yavanna pantheon.” she looked over to see how her husband would take this.

“Go on, My Beloved.” Arlo whispered, “Express this, get it out.”

“We recognized each other on an instinctual level. He extended his hand, showing that he was ‘polite’ in front of the director. He invited me down to share what he was working on. I wanted to run away with every fiber of my being.” she danced back, holding her arms out in front of her as if to push him away. “I greeted him in my traditional manner. He gave me a puzzled look and returned the gesture. He was very insistent on showing me his lab. I resisted and instead suggested that we go to lunch and discuss his projects.” Her feet wove in intricate steps along the carpet, she was evading an enemy who wanted to grapple her. “He then tried to enact some form of fascination on me and I managed to reflect it back upon him. I insisted that as it was close to lunch time, now would be an opportune time to go out for lunch, my treat.” she stopped in her tracks, her posturing taking a beckoning pose. “I got him to follow me out.” she let out a sigh, “Thank the Gods that were watching over me that I was quick on my feet.” Arlo smiled,

“Anything else?” She placed her knuckles up against her temples in anxiety.

“He whispered ‘I will take a rain check on that lunch date my dear’ in my ear before he took off.” she breathed, her eyes flashed purple. “I have a feeling that there is a chance that he may show up again.” Damayanti stopped and rubbed her hands along her upper arms. “I felt the pull of wanting to know the details of the science he was using, but I also knew better. He frightens me, My Love.”

Arlo closed his notebook and set it back on the side table, with the pencil on top. He rose from the couch and gathered his wife up in his arms.

“Do not drown in fear, my Pravasi. I will be there to protect you.” he murmured. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. He carried her to bed and proceeded to do his best to make her forget about what they had been discussing that evening.

Arlo awoke, there was sunlight streaming in through the windows. He reached over to pull Damayanti closer. She wasn’t there. He opened his eyes fully and heard some activity coming from outside the room. He sat up and looked around. In the bright sunlight, everything stood out in sharp clarity. He rose and headed out of the bedroom. Damayanti was working in the kitchen, making breakfast. She was talking to someone.

“Amma will be making your breakfast here in a minute, my little loves. Abba should be getting up soon. I have to finish the eggs.”

He padded into the kitchen and curled his arms around his wife’s waist. She smiled, he stole a kiss.

“Good morning, my Love.” he murmured and she pulled away slightly to plate up his breakfast. He went over and placed kisses on the tops of Mahavir and Kalyani’s heads. The twins babbled and reached for him. Damayanti smiled at her family and then she retrieved a blender from the cupboards.

“Good morning, Heart of my heart. Go take your seat, we have a big day out with the kids today.” She ushered him to the table and set down a full spread breakfast, with all of the trimmings. As he dug in, he spied his wife dish up some scrambled eggs for the twins. She then pulled a container out of the fridge. “Oh, I forgot your coffee my Love,” she said as she snagged the pot. Arlo spied the container as she filled his cup and added the cream and sugar to his liking. The container looked like it had raisins in it, but as he focused, he thought he saw some of the raisins move. He pointed with a fork,

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Oh this?” she said and shook the container, “A fruit mix one of my cousins sent from the Mother country. They said that it would build up the twins strength.” He quirked an eyebrow,

“Really? Tell me about it.”

“It’s raisins, some jack-fruit, assorted berries.” she explained, “I am going to blend it for the twins, of course.” Arlo saw a couple of pieces move. “Eat up, Honey. I have to get the twins their breakfast and off to a bath before we can go.” She sashayed back into the kitchen and Arlo bent back to his breakfast. He heard her talk to the twins again and then shook some of the berry mix into the blender. A tingle ran up his spine as he saw a brown-red worm fall into the blender. It laid on top of the mix and wriggled. She then spooned in some of the twins’ protein power and water. The dark mass at the bottom started to writhe. He put his fork down and stood up.

“My Love,” he said as he made his way back into the kitchen. She pressed the puree button. He closed his eyes as the sound of the blender was suddenly loud.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene had changed. The lighting was not natural, it was clinical. The air had no scent, all of the surfaces were stainless steel and white ceramic. He glanced around. He was dressed in his normal clothing a casual dress shirt and slacks. Yet, over his clothing he wore a lab coat. He blinked at the strange sight and looked around. In one corner, there was a large computer interface. There were vats around the perimeters of the lab.

The lights seemed to have a power surge for a moment, it was exceedingly bright. He blinked again, his nerves jangling. There suddenly was the fine hum of the climate control overhead, he heard the burbling of the vats. He saw two other people across the lab, their backs were to him, one looked familiar. Dark hair high in a french twist, the blue lotus at it’s peak. He started to make his way across the lab, his footsteps echoing in a distorted manner. He heard a snatch of conversation and recognized his wife’s voice.

“Of course, Doctor,” she said, “I will verify the data that I have collected over the last week. So far, all data from this project has been well within safety parameters.”

“Very good, Doctor Fitzgerald.” the other said. Arlo realized that the voice of the other “Doctor” was male. He continued,

“Well, Sitara, I will leave the lab in your capable hands for the next couple of hours. I have a meeting to get to. Please let me know if anything happens.” he handed Damayanti a clipboard,

“Yes, thank you Doctor. I will text you immediately if anything happens,” Damayanti replied, she then tucked the clipboard under one arm and placed her palms together. She bowed to the other man. Arlo noticed that both wore PPE masks and were completely gloved. The other doctor’s eyes were brown and he what skin Arlo spied was swarthy, almost like the man was of Mediterranean descent. Damayanti winked at the doctor,

“Good hunting, Doctor. I will see you when you return.” she said with a certain relish. He bowed and then passed Arlo without noticing him and walked out the door behind him. Damayanti turned to the clipboard, flipped through a couple of pages and walked over to a nearby table. She set it down and checked a computer screen. She then started to move throughout the lab, checking on various vats. Arlo walked up behind his wife.

“Sitara, my Love,” he started. She turned and greeted him with a warm smile.

“Rian! Heart of my heart! You got my text. I am so happy,” she looked around him, “I’m surprised that Doctor Androdemis did not talk with you before he left.”

“He seemed busy.” Arlo answered and then looked around the room. “I was wondering what you have been working on these last few months,” he frowned in sadness, “I have missed you so much, work has been taking up so much of your time. You’ve barely been home.”

“My poor, dear husband,” she said contritely, and then took his hands in hers, “Come! I will show you our progress. You know how important this has been for us.” He allowed her to lead him through the lab. As they passed various vats, Arlo took a closer look. Through the murky contents he spied living beings within the vats. They were human, or close to it. Humans merged with animal; humans with machine parts grafted on. He shuddered, something was not right here. The hum of computers, the hiss of the climate control, the gurgle of fluids all started to sound like the breathing of some behemoth.

He noticed that his wife’s grip on his hand was strong; unease trailed its cold fingers along his spine. They passed a small enclosed vat with many tubes feeding off into other parts of the lab. Inside, multitudes of worm or leeches of a reddish-brown variety seethed within.

“My Beloved…” he murmured, fear creeping into his voice.

“It’s just around the corner. I am so excited! This is a goal that we have been working towards.” she chirped and looked over her shoulder at him, “You know that before this we didn’t have much hope.” They walked up to a pair of tanks, a matched set, connected by a large tube in the middle. The translucent fluid within swirled, a shadowy silhouette floated in each. Sitara’s grin was wide and a tear formed in the corner of one eye. “Oh, Heart of my heart, with this, we will finally be able to save them. Through that information and data, we can save so many others!” She placed his hand along her cheek. “Come closer, I know that you have been wanting to see them so badly. I know how you have missed them so.”

That icy trail expanded within him as she drew him closer. The atmosphere in the lab grew heavy, the very air had the thickness of treacle. There was a large apparatus at the base of the twin vats. Sitara tapped a few buttons. A keyboard that was much larger than standard rose from the horizontal surface, there were multiple symbols, many that he could not recognize.

“My Dearest Heart…” he whispered, fear causing his voice to be almost half an octave higher.

“You will see, give me just a moment.” she said as she turned to the keyboard. She interlaced her fingers for a moment, extending them in a long stretch in front of her and then flexed them. A few more buttons were pushed and both the vats and the keyboard was illuminated in a faint green light. Arlo drew in a deep breath as he spied small silver plates bolted to the metal base of the fluid containers. Damayanti hummed a happy tune and her eyes lit up,

“Hello, my Darlings! How are you doing this evening?” she greeted. Arlo’s vision swam for a moment, then the plates came into full focus.

“Mahavir” and “Kalyani”

He took a step back and focused on what was in the fluid filled chambers. Damayanti made happy conversation, it faded as Arlo’s pounding heart filled his hearing.

Within the chambers, attached with tubes and wires, were his own children, his own toddlers.

“Sitara!” he gasped, “What have you done?!”

“They are growing so fast!” she said cheerfully, “Doctor Androdemis has helped me so much with my studies, with saving our children!”

“Doctor…” Arlo stammered, He looked around the entirety of the lab. Some things suddenly seemed frighteningly familiar. “Ixion…”

“I need to check their vitals.” she reached forward to the keyboard and to her husband’s stupefied horror, her fingers suddenly divided mechanically. Each digit broke into two; two then became four. They pattered against the keys. Read-outs spat out of the printer and text flowed across a screen. With a hiss and a gurgle, some reddish fluid flowed along the tubes and into the twins in their connected dual vat. “You will be well soon, my little loves. So much better than you have been.” Damayanti cooed. Her husband stumbled back a few more feet.

“Pravasi!” Arlo hissed, his heart pounding fiercely; the dread clenched around it in a crushing fist. He could not take breath, ice filled his veins. His wife turned and looked at him, her eyes serene. A red glow suddenly appeared within the pupils.

“What’s wrong, Heart of my heart?” she purred, “Lord Ixion is right. We’ve all had improvements made. The paths have been made straight. Better living through the proper application of science.”

Arlo shot up from the pillow with a gasp and stifled cry. He sat up, chest heaving with deep breaths. Sweat soaked his hair and body; he quickly glanced around to get his bearings. He was in the bedroom, everything seemed to be in place. He reached over and turned on the light at his nightstand. The shadows in the room fled. He glanced over to his wife’s side of the bed. She was asleep, arms cradled around her pillow, her braided hair tousled and draped along the edge of the bed. Arlo ran his hand over his face as he roughly wiped some of the sweat away. Cautiously he grasped both of Damayanti’s hands. She stirred as he studied them, his touch was not light. He felt for every bone, tested all of the flesh.

“Huh?” she whispered, then her eyes fluttered open, “ouch! Arlo, what are you doing?” He let out a sigh and dropped her hands. Still not quite sure, with a trembling touch he cupped her face between his hands and stared deeply into her sleepy, confused eyes. “Honey, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” she asked. He dropped his hands after a short time.

“Just…a nightmare.” he whispered, barely audible. He then swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. Damayanti sat up, her face showing her confusion.

“Husband, what is wrong? You have a look on your face like you just saw a ghost.”

“I just need a shower,” he muttered, “then maybe a cup of whiskey with a splash of coffee.

Damayanti’s spirit lifted as soon as she turned down the driveway. It had been a really boring day at work. She could have completed her tasks blindfolded today.

“Hi Honey! I’m home!” she called as she put down her purse and hung her keys on the hook. A smile crossed her face as she caught the scent of crisping sausages. She kicked off her pumps and padded into the kitchen. Arlo was frying up some bratwurst. A smooth gravy, heavy with onions simmered in a shallow pan. She ran her hand along his hip, “Mmm. My Fae Lord has been busy I see.” she placed a kiss on the edge of his jaw, “Will you enchant me with magical cuisine?” A deep rumbling chuckle erupted from him,

“You know how food from the Otherworld works. I may enchant you so effectively that you may never find a way to leave, my Love.” he purred. He placed a kiss on her cheek, then reached over and lifted the lid on the pot of simmering potatoes. “Almost done.”

“Nothing like a hot savory meal on such a grey rainy day.” she said as she stepped to the side. “Let me get all of this corporate get-up off.”

“It will be ready in about twenty minutes, my Star.”

Damayanti changed into something more comfortable and took her hair down.

“My Love,” Arlo called, “Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure!” she said as she walked back out to the kitchen. He flipped the bratwurst, which sizzled and popped in the cast iron skillet. “What would you like, my Lord of my Heart?” she said.

“A salad with this would be great. Could you go out and get some fresh greens?”

“Of course!” she replied and then grabbed her rain coat and a basket. Twilight colored the sky a shade of amethyst. Damayanti looked up and smiled. The rain had stopped and the overcast sky was clearing. The breeze had picked up a bit and blew drops of moisture from the leaves of the trees.

She whistled as she collected spinach and butter lettuce. The cabbage would not be ready for another couple of weeks. The spring onions were growing like weeds. She gathered some of those. She spied that the nasturtiums were in bloom. Their golden, ocher, and pumpkin hued blossoms would add some contrast and bite to the salad.

Damayanti trotted back into the house, stamping her boots when she entered the mudroom. She shucked them off and hung her coat on the hook. Arlo looked into her basket as she walked into the kitchen.

“Oh that’s great! Nasturtiums, those will add an interesting touch.”

Damayanti washed the greens,

“I harvested what was in season so far. I thought they would add some flair.” She chopped the onions and tossed the rest in the bowl. Arlo strained and then mashed the potatoes. Damayanti mixed a vinaigrette. She looked over at her husband, “I’ll set the table.”

“Please.” he said over the mixer, “Thank you.”

They made conversation about their day and their achievements. Arlo glanced at his wife,

“How was the office today?” Damayanti blew an errant lock of hair out of her eyes.

“Sort of hum-drum. I can work the numbers all day. Now that we have thwarted Ixion’s plans, the job is super easy. The hard thing is maintaining normalcy. How was your day?”

“I have been productive today. Working on research mostly.” Damayanti took a fork full of potatoes with its onion gravy and then closed her eyes in pleasure,

“By the Gods,” she murmured, “Honey, your cooking is getting really good.” Arlo beamed,

“Thank you my Love. I felt that a solid meal of comfort food would be the best.”

“Have you found anything more on your research on otters?”

“Yes, there are some areas of the world that I can take a closer look at. The northwest and up towards is Alaska is one area, then there is Japan. I was going to wait on that lead until we are both ready to go. Just to be safe, I want to be as prepared as possible before I go anywhere. I will be seeing if I can make some contact with the native tribes in the Northwest.”

“It can’t hurt to have all the preparations that you need.” then her eyes brightened, “Investigating the native tribes, that sounds really interesting! That would be a great trip!”

“I was thinking of maybe going in a couple of weeks.” as his eyes softened, “I was tentatively thinking of going while you were helping Resima. I have a couple of irons in the fire for something to do while you are on your trip.” Damayanti’s face fell,

“Oh.” Arlo reached forward and took her hand in his, as he gave her a consoling smile.

“My Star, I trust you. There are some activities we have to do on our own. The trip to the Northwest will be a camping trip; it’s in a temperate rain forest. There will be lots of rain. I will be roughing it.”

“You’re right.” she replied, pasting on a smile. “We have a couple weeks before then.” He gave her hand another reassuring squeeze.

“I cherish the time we have together, every minute.” Damayanti’s met his, light disappointment and sorrow met sympathetic care.

Her lips pressed into a tight line. She dropped her eyes to her plate; frustration piercing and cutting deep into her heart. They lived together so well, yet when it came down to working together she had to realize that they could be walking two different paths. Could they ever find a way to be together outside these walls? They ate in silence for a while. Damayanti took her pain and frustration and shoved it away. She would not dishonor her husband’s fine meal by letting her sudden mood spoil her appetite.

“Wow!” Arlo exclaimed as he took a bite of the salad. “I wasn’t expecting that!” Damayanti’s eyebrows rose,

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I really like it. I just didn’t expect the flowers to be peppery. It adds a really good contrast with the butter lettuce and your vinaigrette ties it all together really well.”

“Have you eaten nasturtium blossoms before?”

“No, I figured that they were edible, but I thought that you just added them for color. I expected them to be sweet, you know, like a flower.” he caught a flicker of an emotion that he could not recognize cross her face. His lips spread in a broad grin, “I really like it.”

“Thank you. I’m glad that you like it.”

“Darling, I love your cooking, I always have. I love everything about you.”

“I love you too, Lord of my heart.”

Later, the remnants of dinner were cleared and the kitchen cleaned. Arlo padded into the living room with a tumbler of whiskey and grabbed the remote. He turned on the TV and flipped through the options for their streaming services.

“Honey,” he called, “There’s a new detective series on Netflix.” he then sat on the couch and took a sip of his drink. Damayanti finished popping the popcorn. She smirked at the fact that there was about ten percent missing. She poured the remainder into their popcorn bowl, which filled it perfectly. She stifled a chuckle as she pictured her Father having a little popcorn snack in the Overworld. She glanced towards the living room,

“We could start that tonight.” she replied as she grabbed a limeade and joined him on the couch. She pulled a small throw blanket over her feet. Sean and Hope yipped happily and jumped up, settling themselves on the trailing edge of the blanket. Siorcha padded her way along the top of the couch finally sitting in a loaf. She narrowed her eyes at the hounds, her tail lightly swishing back and forth. Damayanti snuggled next to her husband and offered him the bowl. He smiled and took a few kernels.

“Ready?” he asked as he picked the remote back up.

“Yeah, let’s see what this is.” she said, “I hope that it’s better than that fantasy series we finally finished last week.” Arlo pumped his eyebrows and stole a quick kiss from her.

“Oh come on,” he teased, “The buff chick that kept fighting monsters with her chakram and arguing with Ares was funny.” Damayanti rolled her eyes, her lips twisting into a sarcastic smirk.

“The blonde sidekick was better written character, but not by much. Ares doesn’t look that handsome in real life, Stupid sexy Ares.” she complained. Arlo let out a hearty laugh and pulled her in for a kiss.

Only unpopped kernels and a sheen of salted butter lay in the bowl a couple of hours later. Damayanti folded the blanket as the hounds jumped down. Arlo stretched as he rose, the hounds milled about his feet.

“I’m going to take the pups out for a quick walk.”

“Okay,” Damayanti placed the folded blanket at the end of the couch. Siorcha jumped down and started to make biscuits. Her ice blue eyes gazed lovingly up at her she reached down and gave the cat a long stroke. “I’ll get the bed set up. Would you like a nightcap?” Arlo leaned over and kissed her,

“How about a coffee with some Bailey’s?”

“It will be ready and so will I when you get back.”

“Mmm.”

It had ended up a relaxed comfortable evening. Arlo sighed happily as he cuddled Damayanti close. She stroked his fiery hair away from his temple.

“I love you, my Star.” he murmured.

“I will love you always and forever, Heart of my heart.” She relaxed into the pillows as his breathing evened in to the steady cadence of sleep. Her eyelids drifted closed.

Her heels clicked along the sidewalk as she approached the restaurant. She stopped and adjusted the blue lotus hairpin in her hair. She glanced at her reflection in the window. The sunlight sparkled brightly off of that most cherished piece of jewelry. With a quick tug, she straightened her jacket.

“Perfect, I look primly professional.” Her eyes widened as she spied a man waiting at a table within. His beard was trimmed neatly, his suit impeccable. Sounds of the city around her grew muted, the restaurant window seemed to ripple for a split second. She narrowed her eyes and then turned and looked up to the sky. It must have been a trick of the light, a cloud had passed over the sun for a moment. Damayanti checked her watch, she was still fifteen minutes early, but Ixion had seemed to have arrived even earlier. She re-shouldered her purse and walked over to the door.

The hostess led her to the table. Damayanti kept her perceptions on point; the clientele was moderate upper crust. She could not ascertain if he had any allies here, but she would stay alert. Ixion’s brown eyes lit up as she was led to the table, he rose and pulled out the chair for her.

“Thank you.” she said, “I am sorry, if I was a bit late.”

“Not at all, I was a bit early. I am pleased to finally meet you formally Miss Fitzgerald.”

Immediately, her danger sense went off. She silently drew in a deep breath and ignored it; she was here to gain more information. Her husband, Felix and Zhon were nearby at the ready. The server walked over and passed out menus then went over the specials and drink list. They placed their orders, Ixion raised an eyebrow,

“Your treat, if I remember correctly.” a smirk graced his face. Damayanti shivered inwardly, but kept a pleasant mien outwardly,

“Yes, that is what I promised, my treat.”

His eyes twinkled with merriment.

“Thank you for remembering your promise.”

Their drinks came along with an appetizer that Ixion had ordered. He thanked the server as they placed two small plates. Ixion pointed to it,

“Have you had calamari before, Miss Fitzgerald?”

“No, what is it?” she asked, glancing down at the small fried rings. Her nostrils flared and she caught the scent of some sort of seafood. The little pot of sauce contained a lot of garlic. Ixion’s lip curled slightly at the corner. He spread his hand out in offering,

“It’s a cephalopod, a species of squid. Battered and lightly fried. It is traditionally served with a garlic sauce.” He placed a ring on her plate, “Please try it, it’s quite good.” She raised an eyebrow. He smiled amicably and took a few for himself. As she took a bite, he continued, “you seem to be quite the curious, intelligent woman.” She chewed, noting the delicate flavor; there was no tampering, no strange taste, just a hint of natural sweetness and an echo of the ocean. He ate one dipped in the sauce; he chewed with relish. She forked over one more and then spooned a small amount of the garlic sauce onto her plate. Ixion took a sip of his wine and she felt his gaze upon her, he was studying her.

“Some may say so.”

“Oh come now, my young woman, no need to be humble with me. I know that you have true potential for great feats of intelligence.” he said with conviction, “I can see a certain drive within you.”

“I have seen what was in your lab,” she said as she reached over for her glass. She took a sip, the white wine was crisp and palette cleansing. “The things that were being made, both above ground and below.” she glanced around, as she reassured herself that no one was eavesdropping. He smirked.

“Yet I have a feeling that you thoroughly investigated what I was working on before you set it to the torch.” She paused and studied him for a moment. He sat in his seat with the easy confidence of a lord or an expert. Cold fingers of paranoia started to trace her spine.

“I had to see what you had done to those poor creatures and people before we put them out of their misery.” His eyebrow arched,

“We?”

“You found that there were more than just me there.” she smiled, snakelike. “Why would a young woman be traveling alone?” His eyes narrowed.

“I was not born last month, young lady.” his tone cooling, “there is no reason to insult my intelligence.”

Their meals arrived; Damayanti had ordered a chicken breast with lemon and saffron along with a Caesar salad, Ixion had ordered lobster and oysters Rockefeller. Damayanti noted that he may prefer a large amount of animal protein in his diet.

“I was curious why were you were performing such experiments.” she said. He swallowed his bite and waved his hand in an easy dismissive gesture.

“You simply saw what I was working on for the US Government’s experimental weapons program,” his eyes met hers with an earnest scientific zeal. She felt a pull, it inflamed her curiosity. “I usually am working on projects that will improve mankind. You haven’t seen my other lab. I am doing wondrous things to improve the food supply for ranches and farms around the world.” She stabbed a forkful of her salad.

“I didn’t know that you had another lab.”

“Oh but I do, Sitara, may I call you Sitara?” She smiled,

“Now we are getting somewhere…” she thought and then said to him, “Yes, of course.”

“Well Sitara, I do have an expansive lab. I would love to show you exactly what I am working on, but I know a woman like you has a busy schedule.”

“I have some time,” she replied, then thought “Gotcha, asshole. That’s it, lead us back to your main lab.” A tickle of her trepidation danced along the skin around her knot work tattoo. She mentally brushed away the sensation.

The rest of their conversation went by in a blur. She saw the shimmer of heat waves or maybe a current of water in the background. There was a moment of disorientation. His scientific ideas and the flow of the conversation drew her in deeper. Before she knew it, their plates were empty and so were their glasses; she dimly remembered that they had been filled several times.

“I knew you were intelligent, Sitara, but you are wasting your time in that office,” Ixion said, spreading his arms wide. “There may be some opportunities that you are not seeing. Opportunities for some real advancement; to make a real difference.” The server brought the check.

“I do try to look for avenues that will lead further down the path.” she said as she paid the tab.

“Exactly!” Ixion exclaimed as he rose from his seat. She stood and placed her purse on her shoulder. “Thank you for an excellent meal.” He walked around the table and gestured to the door.

“You’re welcome.” she replied as she pulled out her phone. “When should we schedule that visit?” she asked. Ixion was suddenly behind her, she felt his touch on her shoulder near her neck. Her eyes widened as she glanced out of the front of the restaurant, Arlo was running towards the front doors from where he had been waiting. She felt Ixion’s hand clamp down on her neck, right where it met the shoulder.

Stars exploded in her vision and darkness began to creep around the edges. Ixion’s grip was like a sharpened vise. As the pressure increased, her vision went cloudy, then dark. She felt her knees go weak.

“Why wait?” he purred in her ear as his other arm wrapped around her waist. A breath escaped her, a futile, silent attempt to scream. She drooped into his embrace. “Oh Sitara, I have so many wondrous things to show you.”

Her eyes opened and she thrashed. The atmosphere around her seemed heavy, liquid; she was floating suspended. There wasn’t much light to see by. Her legs felt weird, almost like they were bound together. Her hair drifted in front of her face as she looked down. She brushed it aside. Her gasp came out as a thin strand of bubbles. From mid thigh down, her legs tapered into a fish-like tail. The scales shimmered in the little amount of light, they were speckled with throbbing pinpoints of color. Fear and panic filled her and she threw her arms out. As she watched the spots of color flared and took on a hue that was black in the half light. She held out her arm, it was covered in the same scales and spots of color, just finer. Thin webbing spread between her fingers, to the second knuckle. Rage filled her mind, and as she watched, the spots flared again. Damayanti felt along her body, she was covered in scales, her eyes widened at the gills she felt flaring in rhythm at her neck, just behind her ears. She drew in a deep breath and screamed.

There was a spill of light as a sliding door opened across the room from where she was. Overhead lights sprang to life along with smaller lights beneath her. A man crossed the room and set a tablet down on a table. Anger flared within her and now that there was light, she could see that her skin had blossomed into shades of red. Her nails grew into claws.

“Ixion!” she screamed. Another strand of silvery bubbles spilled from the corner of her mouth. She realized in shock that she was in a tank of some sort of liquid akin to seawater. Her color paled to a ghostly white. She slammed her fists against the sides of the tank, her tail flexing below her. A dull tone reverberated in the water.

Ixion looked over and a diabolical smile crossed his face. He walked over with a leisurely air. Upon reaching her tank, he pressed a button along the side of her tank.

“Ah, you’re awake.” his voice had a tinny ring to it. She glanced up and saw the underwater speaker. He flicked another switch. She writhed in sharp pain as she felt something being ripped from her spine. Then she felt sharp spines erect themselves from her back. Ixion walked around the tank, his eyes studying her as a craftsman would. “Oh my sweet girl. If you could see how beautiful you’ve become.”

“What have you done to me?!” she cried. Her skin blossomed into streaks of ebony, violet and green. A smirk quirked his lips.

“Why I have improved you. I had no idea that a Scion of the Deva could be so versatile,” he peered closer, “Why, to add the chromatophores from the cuttlefish were a beautiful inspiration! They change with your mood! Camouflage and beauty! I have tried them with other experiments, but they were never successfully grafted on any previous subjects. I got the idea when I saw your eyes change color as I worked. I would love to keep you, but you will gain me some favors with the Water Titans.”

“Let me out!” she screamed. The tank vibrated. Ixion shook a finger at her naughtiness.

“Ah, ah.” he chided. “We can’t have that. I have improved your voice as well.” he then chuckled. “A truly unique creature. A Deva based siren.” he walked around so he could see her back. “Splicing the lion fish DNA was a good choice too. I am such a genius! We have put a good use to your naturally developed venomous ability. I have optimized many of your abilities, you will be able to lure many to their deaths. Hmm. Maybe Lady Tethys would appreciate your skills.” He walked back over to the table and picked up the tablet. He studied her again as he entered data into it.

“Let me out! Kill me!” she cried as she started to slam her body against the sides of the tank. Ixion’s eyebrows lowered over his eyes in anger. He tapped his tablet. Damayanti’s back arched and she writhed again as a surge of electricity ran through the water.

“Calm yourself!” he bellowed.

The current was cut off as suddenly as it reached an excruciating level. He walked back up to the tank as he watched her float stunned in the tank. He tapped the side of the tank with a finger. She limply looked over.

“Why?” she whispered

“Better living through the proper application of science,” he said brightly. “Humans need more wonder and fear in their lives. Proof that they are not the top of the food chain. Dark myths made real, stories that teach them their proper place.”

“Why didn’t you just kill me or lobotomize me?” she sighed.

“Oh, my sweet child. I wouldn’t need to do that, you need to be a predator.” he purred as he held the tablet up to show her. Her eyes widened as she spied a diagram of her body that had been scanned in. Frilled spines rose from her spinal vertebrae, lower legs fused into a tail. He grinned with pride. “I don’t need to ruin your mind, I just have to wait for your virtues to fade and to be replaced with your true instincts! I have already given you that elixir. Don’t worry, give it time, soon you will feel right as rain, completely natural.” he giggled, “Plus I have kept your breeding ability, changed of course. You will be the mother of a race, if everything goes right.” He walked away from her tank and proceeded to check the status of his other experiments.

A shriek erupted from her and she put her head in her hands. She looked to where the guardian brand from her husband was. It was faded, but the outline was still there. She closed her eyes, visualizing the fullness of the brand in her mind. The chromatophores in the area darkened to replicate the mark. She focused her mind on her love, everything about him and the love that they shared. Ixion glanced over, he smiled

“Good, keep calm. The change will proceed more painlessly.”

She had fallen asleep, dreaming of Arlo. She opened her eyes, hoping that everything was back to normal. Sadness and an instinctual anger fell through her mind in waves. She floated, her arms curled around her knee? Knees? She wasn’t sure anymore. Ixion still worked, he was bent over a table, working on another poor soul. There was parts of the being’s viscera on a tray. A hunger rose in her, and she fought it down. Her stomach growled in protest. Instinct surged, her breath escaped in a vicious hiss. Ixion glanced up. He picked up the tray and walked over to the tank. She spun, excited at the approach of food. The scientist pressed the button,

“Hungry my dear?” he cooed, “You should be, it’s been over two weeks since you’ve last eaten anything.” He punched a few codes into the tablet sitting on the base. A slot opened at the base and he slid the tray in. The door closed. He looked expectantly at her, “Sitara, press the button on your side.” She swam to the bottom and found a red button. She pushed it and there was a short flurry of bubbles. Before she could stop herself, she had snatched the viscera and organs. Her rational mind rebelled as she greedily consumed the raw flesh. A look of cruel amusement filled Ixion’s eyes. “So beautiful, so dangerous.”

Her stomach heaved, but nothing came back up. A strange sense of satiation fell over her and then she shook her head. Damayanti shook as the horror over came her. She had eaten the flesh of a human. She had committed blasphemy worse than eating beef. She let out a sharp cry then glared at Ixion. The man was stripping off his gloves, a wild grin on his face.

“I hate you.” she growled.

“Good. You will need to learn to hate. Hate with a raw passion. You will need all of your blossoming instincts to survive.” He laughed and went back to work.

Time became meaningless, Ixion did not show her anything to give her any bearings, except for off-hand comments. She tried to track time by his comings and goings, but those weren’t exactly consistent enough to provide a reliable passing of time. She tried to find a way out of her tank, but that was proving troublesome. Ixion caught her once; he shocked her to unconsciousness. Cameras and sensors were installed, the moment she rose or reached towards the ceiling of her tank, the electric shock was turned on. Her instincts started to tell her to stay away.

She mostly spent her time meditating or trying to; praying to any of the Gods that she knew that might hear and sleeping, dreaming of her husband and happier days. Ixion had started to feed her with some regularity; the fare was raw meat carved from his subjects. Damayanti tried to resist the offerings of food, but as the unknown time went by, her sense of disgust about it was fading. Raging against the change she was undergoing, she swam in short laps within the tank. She started to sing a song of heartbreak and longing for the past. Ixion listened to it once while he was working. He tapped this information into his tablet.

“Keep practicing, my dear child, you will have an audience soon.” She let out a keening wail.

“Set me free!” she swam and swayed with the music in her head, “I will make it worth your while.” she crooned. His eyes narrowed, yet a pleased smile crossed his face,

“You never understood the game, my beautiful creation.” he sneered, “No matter what, this is a win-win situation for me. You’ll die before you find freedom. I hold the keys, I decide.” She bared her fangs and hissed. He chuckled,

“How is it a win-win situation?” she asked sweetly

“You are already tainted. You cannot go back. Your only way to freedom is to serve one of the water Titans. Either way I win. I removed one of the Gods’ pieces and now am offering it to their enemies.” Damayanti swam in a tight circle, her eyes blazing hate. Her scales flared to a bright scarlet and the spines along her back extended to their fullest length. “My child, your only freedom now is to serve; be it Titan or Dark God.” he tapped his finger against his chin. “The Devas seem to have a water problem lately. Maybe one of my watery patrons could help them with that. After all, the children of Danu have done little.” He pressed a button on the tablet. Damayanti tasted something strange in the water. Her vision started to swim, her limbs grew sluggish. She weakly slammed against the glass.

“What?” she cried. Ixion’s smile was proud and triumphant. He ran his hand down the glass.

“Sleep now, Sitara. Soon you will have all the oceans to play in. For now, sleep and grow into what you will be.” Damayanti’s eyes closed and she drifted towards the bottom of the tank.

Damayanti heard a dull booming above. She quirked an eyebrow, she both heard it and felt it. It was a low sound. She uncurled herself and glanced over at where Ixion was working. He hadn’t seemed to have heard it. Suddenly she heard a dull klaxon go off somewhere. The doors to the elevator slid open and three figures stepped out. One rushed towards Ixion, who had backed off from his work and made a break for a door behind one of the computer banks. She recognized the person as Felix, and a wordless cry rang from her lips. He glanced over his dark eyes reflecting no emotion, but his lips drew into a thin line. He did not stop, but followed where Ixion had gone.

The two others were looking around cautiously. She placed her hands up against the glass of her tank. Fear, longing and anger rose within her. Her skin shifted to a mix of red, violet and a dull gold. Her tail thrashed beneath her, and she felt the spines on her back rise. As they approached, she recognized them as well and a keening song erupted from her lips. It was her little brother and Gods above! Her husband had come! Zhon stepped towards her tank, his eyes growing wide with shock and he shoved Arlo, pointing to Damayanti’s tank. Arlo’s eyes widened with sadness and he rushed to the side of the tank. Damayanti smiled and placed her hands to the side of the tank, he placed his to match hers. Tears welled up in his eyes and she heard his scream of anguish. Her heart was torn. Zhon’s mouth gaped open. Her skin had shifted to shimmering gold with flecks of rosy red and vibrant amethyst.

“Let me out! Save me! Little Brother! Heart of my Heart!” she sang. She spun in the tank and pounded her fist against the glass. Zhon pointed to the button on the side of the tank. Tears still streaming, and with shaking hands, Arlo pressed the button.

“My Guiding Star!” he cried

“I am here!” she called, “Save me!” A fierce longing rose in her, the violet disappeared. A rhythm developed in her movements. Zhon gaped, his eyes going glassy. She swayed,

“Save me my Beloved! Let me hold you!” she sang.

“We have to get her out.” Zhon said and then his voice took on a dreamy tone, “Sis, how did you become so beautiful?” Arlo glanced over to his friend. His jaw hardened and he pushed Zhon back and handed him a set of earplugs. Zhon blinked and quickly stuck the earplugs in. His vision cleared and his lips drew into a tight line.

“You like the water, my Lord and Husband. Come in and get me out.” she keened, then a wave of anguish flooded through her veins. Her skin darkened to sickly purple and black. She pounded on the tank. Arlo’s eyes shifted to her. His eyes held a fathomless sadness. “Arlo, my Love. I will love you beyond time.” she said, her voice full of grief, “you know what to do.”

“My Star, I want to hold you. Let me set you free.” Zhon stepped back about ten feet. Arlo gazed deeply into Damayanti’s eyes. “I need you to swim to the back of the tank.” She nodded in the affirmative. With a powerful push of her tail, she backed up against the wall of her tank. Arlo drew his fist back, tears leaked from his eyes as his mouth spread in a grimace.

The tank shattered at the front. Damayanti was pulled with the out rush of water. She lay among the shattered glass and puddles of water. She gasped and struggled, her tail flapping against the tiles. Her vision grew hazy and clouded.

“I am having trouble breathing.” she gasped and then retched up water. She felt Arlo’s arms wrap around her, the stubble of his beard against her cheek.

“My Lovely Star,” he sobbed. She reached and plucked one of the earplugs from his ears.

“Arlo!” Zhon started

“It’s okay.” he growled, “Let us have one last moment.” He looked deeply into Damayanti’s eyes. “I thought I lost you.”

“You found me.” she whispered, her voice melodious. Her skin and scales became a brilliant gold. A smile crossed her face and she placed her hand along his cheek. “I will never be lost again. For I am forever with you.” She grew still in his grip, “You know what you must do.” Her smile brightened, “I will take the memory of your gorgeous emerald eyes with me.” she sang softly.

A trembling cry erupted from his lips. Hot tears hit her cheek and with a webbed finger, she wiped one away from his eye. Zhon turned away, unable to watch.

Arlo lowered his lips to Damayanti’s and her arms wound their way around his back as they shared one last kiss. His hands were trembling as he cupped her face in his hands. She sighed her resignation to her fate into him. His answer was a stifled sob deep in his throat and a shuddering inhale. Slowly, the kiss lingered, then Arlo pulled away. She steeled herself, it was better this way. She gazed deeply into his eyes and then slowly closed them. Arlo’s grip tightened.

“I love you, Heart of my heart,” she thought. Deep inside, she grasped the emotion of Love for him, holding it to her soul like a flame of warmth and light. Time stopped and seemed to hang in the air. She felt the bite of his fingers against her jaw. There was a quick twist followed by a crack like lightning, then everything went black and silence reigned.

Damayanti shot awake with a gasp, her heart racing. She flailed about for a moment in panic. She felt the covers of the bed fall away from her. Her hand searched for Arlo and he was not there. The bed felt a little funny. She felt her way in the dark. The mattress was on the floor, there was a low table next to the mattress. She found a lamp and clicked it on. The features of a familiar room sprang into focus.

“What?” she whispered, puzzled. It was the room she occupied at Mr. Yoshida’s house. The images of the nightmare came back and she whipped the tangled bedclothes off of her. A giggle escaped her lips as she wiggled her toes. She reached up and felt the skin of her neck and let out a relieved sigh. “No gills, thank the Gods.” She checked every inch of skin she could see, not a scale, not a spot of brilliant color.

Her brow creased as she stood up. With routine, she folded the sheets and comforter and then rolled the mattress. Once tucked away, she tapped her bare foot on the tatami.

“What am I doing at Mr. Yoshida’s house?” she then looked to the window. It was nighttime outside. The house was silent. She walked to the closet and found one of her house kimonos there.

Once Damayanti was dressed, she gingerly made her way around the house. She checked each room, there was evidence that he had been there, but Mr. Yoshida evidently was not in. “Is it the dark of the Moon?” she whispered in the empty house. She walked into the kitchen, hoping to find the ancient teapot, maybe he would know for sure.

After several minutes of searching, she gave up. If Mr. Yoshida left, he evidently either put the teapot in a safe place or took him with him. She blew out an exasperated sigh. She walked back to her room and found her phone. She dialed her husband. The call rang and went to voice mail. She left her message and put the phone back.

One more round around the house gave her no further clues. She then walked through the kitchen and out into the garden. Her eyes scanned the sky for the moon, but it either had not risen yet or was too overcast. She narrowed her eyes, it must be overcast, she could not see any stars. She walked back into the house and retrieved a lantern. A warm glow spilled from behind the crimson paper. She headed back outside to see if Son of River Stone was in the zen garden. She walked all along the flagstone path around the zen garden, he was not there.

She stood there in continued puzzlement. A gentle breeze blew past her ruffling the hem of her kimono. There was the distant sound of voices. She cut around the herb garden, making sure to keep the house within her sight. Lanterns set along the path illuminated her way, albeit their dim flames burned orange and low. The breeze increased just a bit and the flame she carried flickered in the dim atmosphere; it seemed to reach to her for comfort. The voices continued and as she rounded a curve in the path she started to pick up snatches of conversation. The lanterns lead to a clearing, Damayanti heard a crackling campfire.

“but Rian.” a woman’s voice pleaded, “you know where she is.”

“Yes,” Arlo heaved out in a sorrowful sigh, “I know she’s with Tatewaki Hiroaki.”

“Yes, a lieutenant in the Japanese navy,” was the woman’s snapped reply. “He comes into the picture an awarded member of the Navy with real political potential and she is assigned to him as an aide between him and the US Government. Now she hasn’t had time for you. You know who He is.” The breeze whistled past Damayanti. She thought that she heard a whisper within the breeze

‘Niraasha…’ she whipped around and listened. Arlo’s conversation claimed her attention and she forged ahead through the hedges.

“Do you really think that you will get her back?” the unknown woman asked, “She’s been gone for two years now. Two years, Rian! No phone calls, nothing. Silence.” Damayanti spied her husband and a woman with dark hair and startling blue eyes just beyond the next set of hedges. The campfire threw strange shadows, they danced and cavorted beyond the figures of her husband and this woman. A pair of sleeping bags and two backpacks lay just beyond the fire. A blanket lay spread underneath a spreading beech tree.

The woman’s hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, ending just past her waist. Her skin was white as milk. Her husband looked upset, his shoulders were slumped. Damayanti ducked behind the edge of the nearest hedge, making sure that she was hidden and could still see them. She set the lantern down behind her.

“Clarissa,” Arlo said, “She will be back. Sitara always comes back.” Clarissa let out an exasperated sigh,

“I have been your confidant and comfort when you were at your lowest.”

“Clarissa, I have been honest with you.” Arlo stated as he stepped forward and took her hand. “I let you know about my wife.”

“I don’t know if I can continue this,” she sighed, “I knew it was strange to hear that you had one wife and maybe another. Rian, I don’t understand the way that the Deva work. I don’t understand why you are following their ways. I will have to talk to my father.”

“I am sure that Hermes will understand. I love you.”

“Rian, do you remember the night we met?” she asked. A tentative smile crossed Arlo’s face as he pulled her close

“How could I forget? That smoky little tavern in Sitka.”

“We danced until the wee hours of dawn. Then the walk along the seaside boardwalk and watched the sun rise over those gorgeous Alaskan mountains.”

“It was beautiful,” he said and cupped her chin, “You are beautiful. I want you in my life.” he tipped his head down and gave her a passionate kiss. When Clarissa came up for air, she slung her arms around Arlo’s neck.

“I am just worried about you, my Love. A man like you needs someone who will stand beside him through thick and thin. You need someone to give you the freedom and example to be the best Demigod that you could possibly be. I don’t believe that your wives are able to help you with that. You need to be with someone that will take the restraints off. Sitara has put obstacles in your path. I think that she has forgotten about you.”

“She does not have me in chains, Clarissa. She has not forgotten me.”

“Well if she hasn’t forgotten about you, Rian my Love, she is being neglectful at best and abusive at worst. You deserve better, someone who can meet all of the challenges that you have to face. Face them by your side.” Arlo gripped Clarissa by the hips and pulled her up against him.

“We have time to think, my beautiful ray of sunlight.” he murmured, “Let us set this aside for now. It’s a beautiful night, let’s stay and keep the camp here; we will keep each other warm and we can watch the sunrise again. Let it steam the dew from the grass.”

Arlo drew her to the spread blanket. Soon they were making love.

Damayanti clamped her hand over her mouth to stop her gasp. She turned from the couple. She choked back jealous, angry, tears. She gritted her teeth, it was a sheer force of will to keep from confronting them. The breeze picked up again, causing the lantern to flicker. She glanced down at it.

“Lord Agni, my fiery love.” she whispered, “I am sad. Am I hurting him? Am I hurting you? Am I hurting everyone?” The flame flickered low, the wind picked up. She heard Arlo and Clarissa’s sighs of pleasure punctuated by cries of ecstasy. She clapped her hands over her ears. The wind changed direction, muting the noise. Slowly she got up to make her way back to the house. Glancing around, she notice that the path with the lanterns was gone. In its place, a hard beaten path of soil spread before her. The hedges had closed in. She reached forward, bringing a branch into her feeble light. Her brow creased. They were a different species of bush. She bit her lip. A whisper traveled to her ears.

“Everything that is finite must end…” it said. Damayanti’s eyes were on the path before her. She walked slowly, sorrow coloring her heart, her eyes peering out, seeking a way back to the path she had come from. The hedges twisted and turned. “Love is the most fragile of all…” She looked up from of the path at her feet.

“Lord Agni?” she whispered. All was silent except for the slight breeze. The lantern still glowed, but it was not as bright as before. The darkness deepened. Damayanti looked over the hedges. She couldn’t find Mr. Yoshida’s house. Confusion and pain filled her heart.

“Maybe your family was right…” She turned around, the lantern swinging.

“Who’s there?” she called. A shadow skittered across her path. She jumped and let out a small cry. As she peered closer in the darkness, she heard the squeak of a mouse. She chided herself. Again came a whisper, it was stronger, closer now.

“…that there is no way to have eternal love. Only for a lifetime. To force it only leads to more suffering. One must not change someone’s Dharma.” whispered the breeze.

“Agni my Love? Are you following me?” she inquired, “If you are, this game isn’t fun anymore. Please come out.”

The path twisted and turned further. Still no stars above, no moon. Clouds lumbered by like ebony cattle. She cradled the paper lantern gently.

“Maybe you are right, Hot Stuff. Mother was right.” she said sadly, “Maybe I am hurting him. But aren’t we hurting each other?”

“…so much suffering…”

“Father said we are built to endure,” she said as she looked down at the small flame. “I have faith in him, in Arlo, in my Sensei and I have faith in you.” she paused, the tears came unbidden, “I can be better, I can improve. I will do what I must to seek harmony among all of us.” A single tear dropped from her cheek as she gazed down at the small flame. It hit the wick. With a small hiss, the flame of the lantern was extinguished. Damayanti let out a small cry of despair as a wisp of smoke curled up through the top opening of the lantern.

“No!” she said through clenched teeth, “My Love! I am sorry, so sorry!” She tried to relight the lantern, but since the wick was wet and cold, it wouldn’t light. She put the paper lantern down and searched for her relic one. Her heart fell further as she realized that it was probably back at the house with the rest of her things. She put a hand to her forehead, “I am so stupid!” She reached to her hair. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips as she felt the blue lotus tucked into the top of her braid.

There was the snap of a dry twig behind her. She whipped around, eyes seeking any movements in the shadows. The only movement she saw was the wind against the bushes. Eyes narrowed she peered deeper.

“Niraasha…” the wind whispered. Shadows rapidly boiled out of the twisting path behind her.

Damayanti spun on her heel and dashed down the path. She pulled her pin, with a crackle it formed into a trishula. With a touch, she summoned her armor. A fork came up in the path. She feinted to the right, then dashed left. Eyes glowed in the darkness before her, green as a cat’s eye shine. She slowed and as she came closer, she saw that it was a jaguar. It sat in the middle of the path and let out a coughing huff. She skidded to a stop. It leaned the top of its head into her palm. She stroked the big cat between the ears and then turned to look behind her the shadows had slowed, but they had just started to slither around the corner. The jaguar’s ears perked forward and he slid out from under her hand. He moved to stand on the path between her and the teeming horde. The green eyes blinked slowly in the dark.

“Remember.” rumbled the cat, “Now run, run for your life. Don’t stop. They have caught your scent.”

Damayanti dipped her head quick thanks and ran down the path. Taking a few more twists and turns, the path suddenly turned to flagstone, then to cement beneath her running feet. She focused ahead. A metal door blocked her path. She crossed her trishula in front of her, her fingers tightly gripping the handle. Setting her shoulder, she sped up. There was the slam of her body against the door, which gave way and opened. Then a disorienting sensation gripped her.

She burst through a set of glass doors. They swung wide, their weight keeping them from shattering or hitting the walls to each side. The trishula was gone, so was her armor. She panicked for a split second and looked behind her. Traffic sped by, the street was illuminated by neon and flashing lights. A busy city skyline spread to the horizon. She felt for her lotus pin, it was tucked once again in her hair. She spied her reflection in the glass of the doors. Her hair was done in a twisted bun with tendrils of her dark hair to either side of her face. A slinky black dress, with slits up both sides along with a plunging neckline. Gold and jade bangles shone on her wrists, a fine gold chain with a heart shaped locket that took a key sat in the hollow of her throat. The light sparkled off of emerald studs in her ears. Stylish pumps on her feet. Her make up was enticing yet tastefully done.

Damayanti turned from her reflection and stepped in to what seemed to be a casino. There were people meandering about between the tables and the other games to the far side. she made her way through the main room.

The casino’s decor was done in a tasteful Chinese motif. Golden dragons rampant in all of their glory on the ceiling. Lanterns in gold and scarlet. This motif was extended to every table, slot machine and bank of digital games. The servers were dressed in black vests with red trim and the dealers were in deep red silken vests with gold embroidery. The carpet was a deep crimson with a sooty black. Customers and patrons milled about, moving from table to table.

Damayanti took in everything as she moved through and around the knots of people. She felt like she was being watched. She soon spied the surveillance, cameras were set up at strategic points. She also spotted the security, dressed in solid black sport coats with mandarin collars. Her eyes roved for a while then spotted a series of more secluded tables up a set of stairs at the loft on the second floor. It took her a minute, but she made her way to the set of stairs that would take her there.

A red velvet rope was strung across the entrance to the stairs. An usher stood at the rope; as she approached he dipped his head and unhooked the rope.

“You are expected miss.”

“Thank you.”

As she ascended the stairs, Damayanti could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. In fact the sense of surveillance had only increased. There was a certain pressure in the atmosphere. Maybe it was all of the excitement of the people on the main floor. She did not pause on the stair, however, she did relax her posture and placed her hand on the rail. A serene smile graced her face and she looked forward to see what was at the top of the landing.

Once she set her foot on the top step, a man stepped out of the shadows. He looked Chinese, and she quirked an eyebrow. It was her Little Brother, Zhon. He was dressed as security, but there was something different. A Bluetooth earpiece was in his left ear and there were gold dragons embroidered at the leading edges of the mandarin collar of his uniform.

“Miss,” he said as he stepped forward to block her path, “Can I help you?” His demeanor was stoic, closed and businesslike. In his tone she sensed a thread of implied potential for violence. His eyes were dark, with no warmth. Damayanti was about to answer when another voice spoke,

“It’s alright Mr. He, she’s my invited guest.” Juan Carlos stepped up to Damayanti’s side. He was dressed in an impeccable expensive suit, a pristine black. Green and gold cuff links; a subtle jade watermark design in his tie. Damayanti stifled a sigh, her knees going a little weak for a moment.

Zhon gave a stiff bow.

“Of course, Don Carlos. My apologies” he stated and then stepped back to his post at the top of the stairs. Damayanti looked up at the avatar of Tezcatlapoca. He smiled his dark, seductive smile at her,

“Welcome my Beauty.” he purred in her ear as he trailed his fingertips down the small of her back. His smile turned up into a lustful smirk as his eyes took in all of her. “You always manage to blend in and stand out at the same time. I hope that you continue to be a surprise.” At the corner of her peripheral vision, she saw Zhon’s gaze alight on her again, his lips were moving, like he was responding to a question through the Bluetooth. Inside, her fear kicked up a notch.

“Thank you, My Lord.” She replied as she steadied herself. Tezcatlapoca touched the locket at her throat. He let out a low chuckle that echoed the huff of the jaguar,

“Your heart is locked away,” a beautiful, terrible smile spread across his features. His eyes flashed lambent emerald for a moment, “Good. I would suggest you keep it that way.” he spread one arm out, his other settling possessively around her waist. “Come, join me at the table.”

“Of course, My Lord.” she replied as they strolled. Her eyes roamed around the area as they walked. Another member of security stood off to one side. This one was in shadow, however, she thought that the man’s figure was familiar. Well built, yet not overly so. He was tall and broad of shoulder. As they got closer to the table, she noticed that he had a strong jaw and large dexterous hands. A flicker of light flashed off of something gold at his right wrist. She peered into the shadow, adjusting her sight. Tezcatlapoca murmured with a tone of warning,

“Don’t dawdle, my Pet. It does not become you to gawk at the help.”

Three other figures were seated at the table. Tezcatlapoca greeted them and his arm slid away from her waist. All of a sudden, a ripple went through her awareness. A foggy sensation overcame her for a split second. She blinked. The security was still in shadow. Tezcatlapoca sat at the table, an empty stool next to him. He smiled back at her as he patted the seat,

“Come! Take a seat,” he called, then his voice pitched low, “Now.” With grace, she strode forward. She felt rather than saw that one security guard’s gaze upon her. Tezcatlapoca smiled, yet his eyes flicked to the man. Damayanti slid on to the seat with a cat-like grace. The other figures around the table were silhouetted in some slight shadow. One had spiky swept back hair, she heard him giggle. The one that sat to the left of Mr. Giggles was taller, less wiry. He seemed to have the roughened countenance of one who had spent a lot of time walking the wastes. The man to her left had a broad brimmed hat, she caught the scent of fine tobacco. He nodded his head to her, his pipe moved slightly in the left corner of his mouth before it flared dimly as he drew in his next puff.

Tezcatlapoca ran his hand along her back again. It traveled down and gripped a handful of ass. She jumped slightly, which caused chuckles of amusement around the table. Damayanti bit her lip.

“There’s my good Girl. Your place is beside me.” he purred, “I invited you to watch a couple of rounds.” She tried to focus on the game that was being played, but she couldn’t quite figure it out. There were pieces that resembled a combination of mahjong, dominoes and chessmen. Rows of chips sat in front of each player and she tried to follow the game play, but that seemed to be too complicated. Chips were exchanged, the players including Tezcatlapoca were silent or subtly jubilant depending upon the play. Her head spun and she blinked heavily. Tezcatlapoca snapped his fingers and a server walked over. To Damayanti, she looked familiar; she was reminded of Scarlett.

“Please get my fine Girl here a sample of what I am having.” he held up his empty glass, “a refill on mine.” The server nodded and went to fulfill the avatar’s order. When the server had gone, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror laid his hand on Damayanti’s inner thigh. His fingers were gentle at first and she leaned into his touch. His eyes narrowed and he tightened his grip. A quiet gasp escaped her lips as a warmth filled her. Somewhere behind her, she heard a low curse.

“Remember.” he whispered as he nuzzled her ear, then nipped her earlobe, “You need to remember what I taught you.” He then turned his attention back to the game. He moved a piece, which his opponents, or were they compatriots muttered about. The server returned and set a tumbler half full of an amber liquid in front of her. The avatar looked over as the server replaced his glass. His smile was sly and seductive. “Drink up, my sweet and spicy demigoddess. It will fortify you. I can’t have you dropping out of the game, yet. I can’t let the Man win.” He made several more moves as Damayanti lifted the glass. She took a cautious sniff and caught a sweet, flowery scent, heady and potent. She took a sip, it was honey and fire. Her eyes lit up. The other players at the table chuckled again and she got the feeling that they were earnestly watching. Tezcatlapoca gathered in more chips. There was a groan from the player with the weathered, long face. Smoking Mirror grinned at the other with a Cheshire smile.

Damayanti drained the glass and set it down on the edge of the table with a satisfied sigh and grin. The avatar smirked as he shoveled the chips into his tray.

“Take all that you can,” he whispered, “Fight for what you want. You know that the House always wins. The game is rigged. Cheat, steal, fight. Use every trick that you learn. Keep what you claim, always.” There was a soft footfall behind them. Tezcatlapoca’s upper lip curled

“Why do I suddenly smell wet dog?” A large shadow fell over them and Damayanti froze at the voice,

“Don Carlos, management has just informed me that they would like to speak with you about a comp.” Arlo said politely. “Would you please come with me.” Damayanti was caught in a moment, frozen, with a mixture of conflicting emotions. She slowly turned and looked up at Arlo. His eyes were a deep shade of emerald while his facial features were placid. He was dressed in the same uniform as Zhon was and also had a Bluetooth in his left ear. She searched his eyes for any recognition, but found none. Arlo looked down at her curiously, his eyes briefly stopping on her pendant.

Tezcatlapoca’s gaze went flat for a split second. Then he looked up at Arlo, putting on his most charming smile while sliding his hand over her entire booty. He then gripped the far side and pulled her up against him. Damayanti blushed and shuddered, her eyes dilating. Arlo stood there waiting with decorum, but she noticed that his eyes had grown a shade darker.

“Why we would be happy to see management.” Smoking Mirror answered smoothly as both he and Damayanti rose from their seats. “This may let us have a very exciting close to this evening, my Pet,” he said to her with a leading smile and wink. She curled her body up against him,

“Anything for you, my Lord.” she said seductively.

“Right this way, please.” Arlo entreated as he stepped aside and followed a few steps behind the couple. Tezcatlapoca held her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as they walked. They descended the stairs and made their way towards the cage. Damayanti felt the tension rising with each step that she took. Other security guards watched. She spied Zhon coming to the railing. He spoke again, but Damayanti couldn’t understand what he was saying over the activity. His face twisted in anger as he pointed to them. Arlo stopped and turned, his hand going to cup his ear. His eyes narrowed,

“Please repeat, what is the problem?”

Tezcatlapoca walked assuredly, but then he squeezed her hand.

“They have gained your scent.” his lips met hers for a quick kiss. He slipped three chips into her hand that he had palmed. His eyes met hers, “Do me proud. Run!” He dropped her hand and with a gentle push, she was set on a run.

She spied two of the security trying to flank her. As she passed them, she noticed that they were humanoid in shape, but as she focused, she had a sudden realization.

“Oh shit! They’re Tengu yokai!” she hissed. Behind her, she heard Arlo.

“I have eyes on her!”

“Time to pull out all of the stops.” she muttered to herself. She made a beeline for the front doors. She dodged and weaved between people, bumping into some. A man at one of the tables, his eyes shaded with sunglasses and a beautiful Middle Eastern woman on his arm called out in alarm as Damayanti rushed past them and shoved a server into the table that they were at. The man cursed, wiping off the mess.

“Move, Move!” Arlo called as he chased this woman. The crowd started to part. Damayanti looked back at Arlo and shot him a quick grin. She took the path that had opened. Glancing towards the front doors she saw Zhon and several of the Tengu security blocking them. She cut a quick corner around one of the tables, snatching a tray of chips and scattering it behind her. Arlo cursed as the people around surged, blocking his path. Several of the security under his direction jumped into the crowd of customers trying to restore order and reclaim the spilled chips. He switched tactics, moving past several other tables. His eyes focused on her. He moved to the outer circuit of the room. Mr. He’s voice came through his earpiece.

“O’Halloran! What is her location?” before Arlo could answer, their Chief’s voice came through.

“Bring her to room forty-two. We will hold her for the authorities.”

“Yes Chief!” Arlo and Zhon responded

A security guard rushed her, Damayanti saw the creature’s half corvid form behind the mask of humanity. A raucous call of the raven echoed. He dove forward, trying to grapple her. She leapt up and vaulted herself off of him, landing on a table behind him. Players backed off and the dealer yelled at her while he reached for her ankle. She spied Arlo off trying to make an extended flanking maneuver. One of the security members came up and tried to snatch her from the table. She kicked him in the face, knocking backwards into his compatriots. She feinted around another and jumped to the next table. She dashed and swerved, using her feet as she ran to scatter more chips off of the table.

Damayanti spied a wide opening to a staircase that led up. Arlo directed some of the security in that direction. She glanced above her, hoping to find something that she could swing up to. Nothing was within reach. The main floor of the casino behind her had devolved into anarchy and chaos. Zhon had leapt up to the table behind her.

“Halt!” he barked and lunged for her. She flipped off of the table and landed at the foot of the stairs. In her crouched position, she punched the nearest security in the jewels. He fell back, choking. She then spun a kick to the one to her right and charged up the stairs. Pulling her lotus pin, she shifted it to the trishula form. She knocked two more over the railing. Zhon and Arlo were closing behind. A fierce grin crossed her face as she came upon two more enemies. “Stop her!” Zhon called. Damayanti shifted her weapon again, this time to a curved talwar. She slashed the enemies down.

“What the hell?” Arlo whispered as he dashed up the stairs. Zhon growled next to him.

“The Chief will have our heads if she causes anymore trouble.” he snarled. There was static on the transmission for a moment.

“Capture her alive.” was the Chief’s snapped order. By the time that they reached the second level, she was heading up the flight to the third.

“She’s headed into the hotel.” Arlo said.

“It will be a maze to her, we know the paths,” Zhon said as he glanced at Arlo with savage glee. He tapped the earpiece, “We will have her in moments, Chief.” Arlo and Zhon split up and headed for the back hallways.

Damayanti burst through a set of doors and was in a hotel hallway. It stretched before her then had a curve to the right. The pattern in the carpet was to keep one from running. She ignored this and started to run, all of her senses tuned to the environment around her as she shifted her weapon back into its hairpin form. She heard a door burst open behind her and she glanced over her shoulder. Arlo strode into the hallway a couple of paces behind her from a side access. He scanned from side to side. He spotted her and his eyes narrowed. She slowed her run. She spotted the item on his right wrist. A small gold key sparkled there, embedded in a tight leather bracelet. She smiled, it looked like it would be the perfect fit for her locket. He stalked forward,

“Miss, stop!” he stated.

“You sir, like a chase, why should I deprive you of that joy?” she taunted and then picked up her pace.

“I have spotted her,” he murmured, “Hall three-A. Between rooms 315 to 330.” She passed an elevator and saw that the car was ascending from the first floor. She took the door just to the right and gained access to one of the stairways. She started to ascend and heard running a couple of flights below. Arlo burst through the door that she just exited. She noticed that he was gaining.

“I know that you would love to capture me.”

“Miss, if you stand down, I can guarantee you won’t be harmed. You will just need to answer a few questions.”

“That would not be a fun way to end the game.” she chortled as she hit the sixth floor landing. She removed her pumps and tossed them down. They clattered as they fell down the main well of the stairs.

“Who are you?”

“Ah! You admit to your curiosity,” she said as she hopped up on the railing and started to run up it, “You will have to catch me to find out.”

Damayanti grabbed a railing across and swung up. She was at the eight floor. Arlo glanced up and over the side and cursed. She heard his steps on the stairs increase in tempo.

She silently padded her way down to the sixth floor. She pulled the door open and stepped through the door.

Damayanti found a housekeeping cart near the door. She grabbed it and shoved it up against the door, jamming it under the doorknob. One down, many more to outrun. She peeked around the corner, there were two security going from door to door. They were pretty far down the hall and she waited for them to step to the doorway and engage with the guest. She padded down in the opposite direction. Eyes and ears perked for danger, she made her way down the hall.

Passing by a room, she heard a small set of cries from within. She tried the door and found it ajar. She silently stuck her head inside and her eyes narrowed. On the bed sat two children, a boy and a girl. Blond hair almost glowed in the light from the window, blue eyes wide with fright. Both were tightly clinging to each other. She scanned the rest of the room as she stepped inside. A older woman sat in a chair in the corner. She silently walked up to the figure. The woman seemed to be asleep, but as Damayanti put her fingers to the woman’s neck, there was no pulse. She looked back to the children, who watched her with staring eyes. There was a thin ligature mark around the woman’s neck. It looked to been caused by a garrote. Damayanti eyes flicked around to the shadows in the room. Then she looked to the children,

“Where are your parents?” she whispered. The girl shook her head in the negative.

“Out.” she whispered, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, “He got Nana.”

“Who got Nana?” Damayanti asked. The boy, shakily pointed to the closet that was ajar.

“The Boogeyman.” the boy whispered. His sister whimpered with wide eyes. Damayanti focused on the darkness in closet. Something moved in there. She glanced back to the children, and held out her hand to them, palm out.

“Stay there.” she ordered. The children huddled closer, the brother pulled the blanket around them. As she approached the door, there was a tremendous noise from outside and down the hall. Damayanti looked in the direction of the noise. It sounded as if someone had thrown something metal into the wall at a high rate of speed. The children squeaked and dove further under the covers. She turned and started for them. A broad hand swung the room door wide and his boot brought the doorstop down. A wide silhouette stood in the doorway. Damayanti froze.

“The chase ends now,” Arlo growled. The children screamed as the darkness boiled out of the closet. A strong arm wrapped itself around her neck and pulled her away from the end of the bed. She heard the clink of chains and a soft footfall right behind her. She kicked and half choked. There was the prick of a blade at her side.

“Shit!” she hissed. She summoned her armor and then threw her head back. The shinobi’s blade ground against her breastplate as her helmeted head connected with her assailant’s face. The arm around her throat loosened. She reached up and tore it away. She spun and faced the shadow assassin.

“What in all of the Hells?” Arlo started and stepped forward. Damayanti’s eyes grew fierce and suddenly burned with a white fire. She pulled the blue lotus and it shimmered into her trishula.

“I see you,” she whispered as the shinobi tried to back into the shadows. She stabbed the tines of her trishula into the closet door frame, blocking it. “I did not say that you could leave.” The shinobi melted into the shadows of the floor and started to slither out the door. She cursed and pulled her weapon out. The shadow moved beyond Arlo and out into the hallway. He stepped into her way as she tried to move around him. She glared up at him, eyes blazing. “What are you doing? It’s going to get away!” Arlo gave her an implacable glance,

“The only one I see trying to get away is you.” Her face curled into a snarl and she dispelled her armor and weapon as she turned to the now crying children. She gently brushed their hair away from their faces.

“Are you okay?” she softly asked, they responded with sniffles, their cries dying down somewhat.

“You’re in here scaring children and causing problems with the guests now?” he asked testily. She glared at him.

“I cannot help you if you are blind.” she stated emphatically, “You can help these to young bairns. You’re security; help find their parents.” Arlo started and then spied the dead woman seated in the chair in the corner. He checked and found no vital signs. His eyes hardened to flint as he made the call over the comm. He turned to her, his eyes narrowing in anger.

“Murdering old women, as well?” Damayanti did not answer him, she continued to soothe the children.

“This man is with security, he will help get you back to your parents.” she said in a soft tone. “I have to go, that boogeyman won’t come around anymore.” The boy knuckled away a tear and sniffed,

“He won’t be back?” Damayanti leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the twins.

“No, he won’t.” she stated with certainty. The girl threw her arms around her and gave her a tight hug in return. She ruffled the boy’s hair, gently extricating herself from them and turned to go. She dashed out the door as Arlo called out,

“No! You are not leaving!” She flashed him a winning smile and took off.

Damayanti’s feet flew along the carpet of the hallway as she searched for the shinobi.

“Damn that man,” she cursed, “I lost it!” She turned down another hallway and stepped through another door into a service hallway. Overhead the florescent bulbs flickered and ticked. Further down, there were deeper shadows. She set her jaw and strode forward, all of her senses acute for any sound. There was a clink of metal and she spun around. The shinobi stepped out of the shadows.

“No escape.” was the whisper in the air.

Damayanti’s face broke into a feral grin.

“We will see.” She pulled her weapon and with a touch, was sheathed in her armor. The shinobi leaped into a nearby shadow. She set to parry, eyes darting to the shadows that were scattered up and down the hallway. It popped out of the shadow to her five, slamming the butt of its weapon into her hip. She hissed in pain and shifted to the right. She closed her eyes and centered herself. There was a whispering sound to her right. The trishula sang as she whipped it around, her eyes snapping open as she brought it down on the chain. Sparks flew as the tines pierced the chain. The shinobi yanked. Damayanti twisted the trishula, winding the chain around the tines. She pulled, and the chain went tight between them.

She started to close, continuing to wind the chain when suddenly, the shinobi ran up the wall beside her for a pace and leaped over her. With a flick of its wrist, it disentangled the chain. At the decent of its arc, it stepped into another nearby shadow. Her upper lip curled in a silent snarl. Her eyes blazed the blue-white of a star. Her sight shifted and she saw the path that the shadow being was taking, it was heading further down the shadowed hall. She turned on the ball of her foot and followed. She flipped and dodged shuriken that streaked out of the shadows at her as her feet pounded against the sealed cement floor.

Ahead, the bulbs flickered in a slow strobing effect for a moment. Many paces down the hallway, a black figure flashed into view. It took the form of a man in a suit, with the gravitas of someone at the peak of authority. His stance was relaxed, his hands were in his pockets. Damayanti narrowed her eyes, as she tried to ascertain distinguishing marks. There were no features, the man was ebony on black. He blinked in an out of sight with the flickering of the lights above. As she watched, the man raised his right hand to his ear. She got the feeling he was giving orders, yet she heard nothing. A trail of fear ran coldly up her spine. Despair suddenly let a long keening wail of terror within her. A shuriken struck her near the shoulder in a joint of her armor, dangerously close to her neck. She cried out in pain and felt the blood run as she yanked it free. It fell from her nerveless fingers and clattered to the floor. The blood in her veins ran cold, Despair’s keening now ringing like a bell in her ears. The man seemed to smile. The lights in the hallway flashed to full brightness and he vanished.

“Run! I’ve got to run!” she hissed as she goaded herself to her feet. She had to get out. Hyper-awareness gripped her. She shed her armor and with another shimmer, the trishula shifted to a short kukri blade. She dashed back the way she had came. Her mind full of panic and desperate prayers to which ever God would listen.

Damayanti burst through the doors and back into one of the hotel’s hallways. Her hair was starting to come undone and streamed behind her. The wound in her neck still bled freely, wetting the fabric of her dress on her left side. She looked around for her bearings as she ran. Somehow she was on the fifth floor. She didn’t remember ascending any stairs, she should still be on the third. She skidded to a stop when she found a large maintenance room. Dodging inside she found a first aid kit and tried to steady herself as she quickly patched herself up. She snagged a bottle of water and chugged it down.

“I have to find a way to the outside, to the street.” she said as she pitched the bottle in the recycling bin.

Tentatively, she opened the door and glanced both ways down the hallway. All was quiet and well lit. She stepped out and silently made her way along the wall. The elevators should be towards the center of the building, the main stairwells as well. She kept her weapon at the ready. The hallway came to an intersection. There was the ding of an elevator and she heard the door slide open to the right. She flattened herself against the wall. She held her breath as three security guards passed through the intersection, heading straight forward. When they had gone far enough, she turned the corner and made a beeline for the elevator. She stepped inside just long enough to punch all of the buttons and then she stepped out.

She smiled as the elevator doors slid shut. It wouldn’t hold them or stop them for long, but it would be one of the distractions. Then she opened the door to one of the main stairways. A large hand locked around her wrist and yanked her in. She bit down a yelp of pain as the puncture wound was stretched.

“Got you!” Arlo stated triumphantly. He pushed her up against the wall and braced his forearm across her and gripped her injured shoulder. The door slammed shut. She cried out in pain, her head twisting away from him. “Who are you?” he demanded. Her eye cracked open and she expelled a pained exhale. The key in his bracelet glinted gold.

“I am the star that guides the weary traveler,” she rasped. He glanced down at her weapon,

“Drop it!” he hissed. She smiled through the pain and the kukri pinged to the floor, shifting immediately to her hair pin. He raised an eyebrow curiously at the sight and then his eyes met hers, expectant, she continued, her voice tight.

“I am the path that is illuminated in the darkest wood. I am the dancing fire of five colors, all meeting a single hot white flame. I am the whisper that guides one to peace and light. I am the warrior who cuts down her foes. I am a hidden precious treasure waiting for the one who holds the key.” Arlo’s eyes flicked to his bracelet and then back to her pendant. She spied something shift in his eyes, his lips turned up in a smirk. He tightened his grip, as he brought his face close to hers. His eyes, sharply cut emeralds.

“Name!”

Damayanti twisted slightly in his grip. She grimaced and panted. Blood trickled through the bandage and from under Arlo’s hand. His eyes softened a bit and he loosened his grip.

“I..I…” she panted, “am Sitara Fitzgerald, the Wayfarer. That is who I am.” she cocked an eye at him, “Who Are You?” Arlo drew back slightly.

“What?” he stammered, “Why?”

“You are not being who you are. I am sure that you don’t know what you want.” she whispered. Arlo pulled his hand away from her injured shoulder. He kept a tight grip on her wrist. He then looked at her blood on his hand and then to the poorly wrapped bandage on her shoulder.

“Who did that?” he asked

“It doesn’t matter.” she sighed, with a finger, she tapped the gold key. “What does that mean?” Arlo’s gaze went wistful for a moment,

“Keys are ways to opportunity.”

“But what does yours mean?”

“I was told it would unlock the greatest treasure.” He looked to her pendant, “What does that mean?”

“I have to keep my heart locked away from all except for the one who has the right key.” Arlo’s eyes widened as he met her gaze. She smirked, “but you have a job to do, right? I’m evidently a criminal, correct?”

“I have my orders.” Arlo stated and then he looked at her closely. “I do know you, don’t I?” She shrugged her shoulders and winced at the pain. He stepped closer, “You have to get that looked at.”

“I will. When I have time. Which I don’t probably have at this point.” she said softly. He reached down and picked up the blue lotus hair pin. She raised an eyebrow as he tucked it into her hair, behind her ear.

“So beautiful.” he murmured.

“Hey,” she said, “I’m the one that is supposed to be practically delirious here, not you.” Before she could say more, his hand slid from behind her ear, to cupping the base of her skull. She inhaled, preparing for the worst. Images warred in her mind; of her face smashed into the cement floor, of them tangled with each other on the floor. She gasped as Arlo’s lips met hers. He scooped her into his arms. Her head swam when he tucked her in against him.

“I found you,” he whispered

“You found me.” She whispered. The world around her grew hazy and her consciousness grew disjointed. She last thing she felt for certain was the gentle press of his lips against her temple.

The door slammed shut. Damayanti’s eyes snapped open. She was seated in a chair. The room around her was unadorned, except for a small desk, a twin bed and a bathroom through a doorway behind her and to the left. On the desk sat a pitcher of water and a glass. She shifted in her seat, realizing that she was not restrained. Her bandages had been changed, and her shoulder was wrapped in a proper manner. She tested her shoulder, it still hurt, but she no longer felt out of it. There was no one in the room with her, but she heard voices pitched low just outside her door.

“Well, now that it’s all settled.” Arlo said, “the Chief wanted her alive.”

“How did you catch her?” Zhon asked.

“She was already half-delirious; she just sort of passed out in my arms.” Zhon snorted,

“Aren’t you the white knight.”

“Not likely.”

“You bandaged her wounds. Did you at least restrain her to the chair?”

“No, not necessary; the room is locked and we are here at the door. As for redressing her wound, she is a human being.” Arlo countered, annoyance in his tone, “Plus, the police would have questions, if we didn’t render first aid. You know Zhon, sometimes you can be a real dick.”

“To have a kind heart means that you are soft and ineffective. Not the best idea for success in this job or life, Arlo.”

Damayanti got up and went around the room. There were no windows, the only other door lead to the bathroom. She checked to see if there was any way to get out through the ceiling. No medicine cabinet and the fan vent in the ceiling was too small for her to fit through. She checked her bandage in the mirror and was pretty impressed, Arlo did a really good job. She did her business and then walked back out to the main room.

“I guess I will have to find another way out.” she said to herself. She got a glass of water and sipped on it while she thought. “I could always play the damsel in distress.” she patted down her hair. Arlo had left her lotus pin. “Is he helping me or setting me up for something worse?” She knocked the heel of her hand against her temple, “Why am I worrying about this? I need to plan what to do the next time that door opens.”

She palmed her lotus pin. Arlo and Zhon talked for a while and then she heard,

“Zhon, I just got a call that the Chief and the authorities will be on their way soon. They are closing in on Don Carlos. I’m going to grab something to drink. Did you want me to grab you something?” Arlo asked.

“Yeah, snag me a green tea.”

“You sure you got this?”

“Yeah! That sneaky bitch won’t get past me.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

It grew quiet outside and Damayanti took this chance to manifest her pin back into a kukri. She moved towards the door. She put her ear up to it and heard some faint thumping, maybe coming from further down the hall. She backed off from the door.

Suddenly, Zhon called out in alarm; this soon devolved into a quick fight breaking out. She moved over towards the bed. Just as she did, Zhon came through the door, but not of his volition. The door slammed against the wall and Zhon landed in a heap just inside the room.

Lugh stepped over Zhon’s crumpled form. He nodded his head in recognition. He was dressed in a cream colored dress shirt and navy slacks. His blond hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail. He wore a tie that matched his slacks, with a stylized spear tie pin. His blue eyes crinkled in merriment. He chuckled as he looked down at Zhon’s unconscious body, a bruise rapidly forming on the Asian man’s cheekbone.

“Good evening, Mrs. Fitzgerald.” he greeted, then he extended his hand, “If you would please come with me.”

“My liege, it is good to see you!” she replied as she took his hand. He led her out of the room. “What are you doing here?”

“I would love to sit down and have a conversation with you my dear, but frankly, now is not the time.” he said briskly. “I am here to lead you to an appropriate exit.”

“Really? Thank you my liege.”

“You are very welcome.” She looked over her shoulder,

“Where’s Arlo?”

“He’s having a bit of a nap. Unfortunately he cannot be a help in the current situation.”

Lugh led Damayanti to stairway at the far side of the hotel building. He opened the door and pointed the way,

“Don’t tarry, my dear. Down three flights and take two lefts and you will be out to the streets.” She dug the chips that Don Carlos had handed her. She gave them to Lugh with a smile.

“Here, my Lord. I have not had a chance to use these, please, use them as you see fit.” He looked curiously at the chips for a moment and then chuckled again.

“Thank you. Now go! The security forces won’t be waylaid for long.” He spread his hand and pointed. “You have a job to do!” Damayanti dipped in a quick curtsy and dashed down the stairs. She heard footsteps coming down the stairway from up above. She picked up her pace,

“The last thing I need is to let the Ard Ri down now.” When she hit the bottom of the stairs and took the proscribed turns, she noticed that the only door to the outside that was available was the alarmed fire door. She grinned and blew through the door. Out into the alleyway with the alarms starting to blare.

She ran down the alleyway. The darkness was claustrophobic and she had to dodge around overflowing dumpsters and piles of trash. Part of her mind was still fixated on how her husband was acting, it was all so strange. There was a large squeak as a city rat ran between her feet. The alarms that had been blaring so loudly behind her cut off abruptly. She slowed as she came out of the alleyway and out onto the street.

Damayanti blinked as she looked around. She was dressed in her armor. As she glanced around, the skyline looked different. The streets were wet from a recent rain, neon glared in riotous color for a moment. Her ears picked up snippets of Japanese.

There was a taxi stopped in the middle of the street. She walked up to it, passing through onlookers that seemed to not notice her. All four doors of the taxi were open. There was a flash of activity, a blur of scenes. She was standing over a rapidly dissipating figure of a man made of shadow. Cold rage filled her heart. The enemy’s weapon laid on the ground. A claw-like blade attached to a chain, weighted at the opposite end. As she watched, it faded from existence, the only telltale evidence was the cracks it had left in the pavement; along with the other body that lay out unmoving on the ground.

*I can’t look at that yet,*

Her armor creaked as she pivoted slowly. All that filled her mind was if there was more of those shadow beings ready to boil out of the shadows of Tokyo around her. She heard the ebb and flow of this part of the city around her, the pained moans of the taxi driver, the strained gasps of Mercedes in the back, the distant call of sirens of the emergency services. A strangled, guttural cry of rage escaped her lips. She stabbed the tines of her trishula into the pavement. The damp night breeze took the last remnants of the shinobi and whisked them away, revealing a lone shuriken.

“They all need to die.” she hissed as she picked up the flat metal weapon. “I will never submit to this Lord of Void.” she looked up to the overcast night sky, “I will never bend knee to or serve him!” she called to the heavens above. A voice slithered out from behind and below of the activity of the city around her.

“…Very good, Niraasha, ride the rage…let the grief consume you.”

Her heart was pierced with pain and her lips drew into a thin line as she approached the body laying so still in the street. Time slowed with each step, her cold rage grew into despair and tearing grief.

Tears spilled as she knelt at Rupak’s side. A pool of his blood spread out from his body, rapidly cooling and congealing. A gaping hole in his chest where the blade of the shinobi cleaved his heart. Sightless staring eyes were pointed at the black sky. A small smile graced his lips. Slowly, she closed his eyes. He was so devoted, so loyal. She ached to have him back at her side, yet he would not be at her side again. Rupak’s part in the story had ended.

“Oh my friend.” she sighed sadly. There was the echo of hoof beats. She looked up and caught a shadowy figure appearing in the shadows of a nearby alley. She gripped her weapon and rose from the ground. A rider sat upon a dark horse. A black banner emblazoned with a red aum symbol fluttered behind the rider. There was a shimmer, a ghostly figure stood over Rupak. His shade smiled at her for a moment and as the rider approached he mounted up behind the rider on the horse’s back with a ripple they disappeared.

Damayanti shed her armor and tucked the lotus pin back in her hair as she turned towards the taxi, concern and worry seizing her. She checked in on the driver, he was somewhat stable. She moved to the back, Mercedes had fallen to the floorboards of the taxi. Her sub was not moving, seemed to not be breathing. Blood streamed from her face, a shuriken embedded there. Damayanti placed her fingers to her neck there was barely a pulse. Hope ringing a bell in her heart, she started CPR on her companion.

There was a change in the scene, a shifting of the atmosphere. All around her went silent. She closed her eyes, still working on keeping Mercedes’ heart pumping. A hand landed on her shoulder, firmly gripping it.

“Miss, come away. Let us work.” a male voice said. She turned towards the touch and there was no one there.

A broad field spread out behind her. She turned back to where Mercedes was and saw the same field spread out before her. Damayanti rose to her feet; the field extended from horizon to horizon. Grass waved gently in the breeze. There was an eerie half-light, shadows were faint. She looked up into the sky. It was both rose and deep blue, not a twilight, either hearkening a dawn or announcing the deepening of night. There were no stars, clouds, no sun or moon.

A cloak covered her, deep blue of a night sky, silver threads glittered, mimicking the stars that now existed only in her mind. The raven broach that the Morrigan had gifted her kept it closed at her shoulder.

She scuffed her foot in the earth beneath her feet. The dust puffed, somewhat dry. The texture and color of it was wrong; not quite a brown, not a grey. She touched a small amount that had settled on her boots, it was finer than talcum powder. Yet the grass waved in a breeze, a whisper of wind that was silent. It played with the ends of her hair, but she did not scent anything on it, nor did she feel it against her skin.

There was a wide path through the grass, it was rutted, as if a cart had passed back and forth. She decided to follow it to see if it led anywhere. Damayanti walked for what it seemed to be a mile or so down the road. After a bend, the road forked and led to a farm. There was no fence surrounding the farm, the entire property seemed to materialize out of the environment itself. There were the stereotypical outbuildings. Pens and coops without any livestock, storehouses without harvested crops.

She spied in the near distance, a farmhouse reminiscent of a Norman Rockefeller painting. Whitewashed exterior, cheery illumination from within. Where she had wandered into the farm the path did not allow her a direct path to the farmhouse. It ran between the outbuildings, through patches of field that should have held crops or gardens. Instead of these things it was just that same amorphous, generic grass. There were no birds, she could not get any evidence of insect or animal life. From the condition of the soil, she surmised that there wasn’t any microbial or fungal life either.

Damayanti shivered, an emotion that she could not quite define filled her, a sort of mental reverb. A soundless echo of something that she could not put her finger on. She wandered along the paths her sense of time dwindling. She simply existed.

The buildings as she explored them were empty for the most part. There were some tools, some farm machinery resting in them. Some were worn and covered in that peculiar dust, some covered in draperies of some sort. Some were shiny and new.

As she exited one building, a large barn came into view. This barn was different than the others. It was built on a similar plan to the farmhouse. Instead of being whitewashed, the outer walls were covered in a flaking red paint. Gaps in the paint showed weathered wooden planks of siding, slate grey in tone. Damayanti felt a tremor of interest pull her towards the barn. It thrummed within her, a chord of a string plucked. It felt natural and she made her way around the barn, seeking an entrance.

The large main doors were locked with a heavy chain. She soon found a smaller side door. The door creaked and resisted as she opened it, the hinges choked with that ever present dust that passed as soil here. It was much dimmer inside. Damayanti waited just inside the threshold to allow her eyes to adjust. She then pulled the door closed behind her. Dust danced in the feeble light that came in through side windows that were at least a story up. There were bales of what looked to be hay stacked in an ordered fashion on the floor of the barn. She spied lofts that were empty arranged at the front and the back of the barn, accessible by crude stairs and ladders. There were hooks, chains and pulleys dangling from somewhere in the upper darkness of the vaulted ceiling.

Damayanti felt the vibration of that plucked chord within her continue, drawing her deeper into the barn. The bales were a confounding maze. She felt that she should be on alert here, but there was a stillness and silence that blunted her sense of self preservation. Her moods were still as a calm pond within her. All was quiet and equilibrium, a breath held between inhale and before exhale.

As she turned a corner around an off center stack of bales and came to a small area that was secluded from the rest of the barn. There was a small loft overhead, stacked with what seemed to be boxes and chests. A lantern coated in patina hung unlit on a hook next to the ladder. She felt a pique of curiosity mixed with longing and almost climbed up the ladder to investigate. Movement in the darkest area underneath the loft stopped her.

Her eyes narrowed, she could not quite see what was there. She reached over and lifted the lantern from its hook. She held her hand over the wick of the candle. With a whispered word the wick lit with a small flame. A woman close to her own age lay on one of the bales of grass. At the increase in light, she drew herself further into the retreating shadows. Light glistened off of something wet on the bound block of grass.

Damayanti heard a small whimper of fear. She set the lantern down on the floor and put herself between it and the woman. She held out one hand while she placed the other at the foot of the bale and leaned in slightly. Her hand felt something cold and sticky.

“Please don’t be afraid.” There was the slithering shift of chains. The woman wept quietly. Damayanti’s eyes widened in shock.

The woman was naked, her long raven black hair stringy and tangled. It must have gone to her ankles if she was allowed to stand. In vain she pulled it over herself, trying to cover some of her nakedness. There were iron manacles attached to each wrist, the flesh beneath them torn and swollen. Damayanti saw similar shackles on the woman’s ankles. The woman’s eyes shined with iridescent blues and violets, darker depths swirling within. There were bruises covering the woman’s body, her lip was split and crusted with blood. One of the woman’s eyes showed evidence of past trauma, the flesh under it puffy and dark with a crescent of abuse.

What Damayanti at first had mistaken for dew or dampness on the bale of grass was the abominable mixture of blood and other bodily fluids. She looked down at her hand for a moment and her mind recoiled in momentary disgust. Passion and Despair raged forward, hand in hand. She took a deep inhale and steadied herself, acknowledging the warring moods, but keeping them under tight rein. Her gaze alighted on the abuse that had been perpetrated on this woman below her waist. More torn flesh, caked with evidence of the violation and perhaps birth or an abortion. She now saw the details that there were scars underneath the fresh wounds. She gritted her teeth, exerting more control.

The woman shied away for a moment as Damayanti got closer, more from the fact that she was no longer blocking the light from the lantern. Damayanti glanced to the lantern and put it just around the corner of a nearby bale. She then unfastened her cloak and laid it down at the end of the bale that the woman was curled on. Her eyes flashed a vivid violet as Despair rose to the surface, she could feel the flickering tongues of violet flames at the corners of her eyes. Her nails extended to claws.

As she sat there composing herself, the woman tentatively moved forward, the chains clinking and trailing behind her. She scrutinized Damayanti, the shades and hues in her eyes shifting as she focused.

“You are one of my Son’s descendants.” she said cryptically.

“I’m sorry?” Damayanti stammered.

“Yet, there is a part of me in you, underneath all of that They have gifted you with.” Damayanti looked at her, puzzlement as this battered woman studied her. “You are one of the Mutable ones, unlike the other groups. Born from some of my Eldest children.” Damayanti gaped, unsure on how to answer. The woman’s face shifted and metamorphosed, taking on a more ancient Asiatic countenance. The bruises and wounds did not change. The woman placed a hand along Damayanti’s cheek, “Scarred like I am and will be. Young one, what has brought you to me?” Suddenly Damayanti felt very young and small. The shadows behind the woman grew huge. They warped and writhed, forming creatures and shapes. They existed for mere moments before shifting into new forms or disappearing into the main mass. A deep irrational fear filled Damayanti, all of her moods except for Despair shrank back and grew quiet. Vertigo overcame her and she drew in a deep breath. The woman seemed to grow exponentially and the shadows behind her matched the pace. The woman filled the sky, the shadows behind her became the background of the cosmos. Damayanti felt like a dust mote.

“You’re hurt,” she said, her voice coming out in a squeak. She blinked and the woman was back a more normal size. The woman shuddered in pain and bit her lip, which caused it to bleed. “I want to know why you are injured and left like this,” then her voice showed more maturity, anger honing it to a fine edge, “Who are you? Who did this to you?”

The chains chimed as the woman moved. Damayanti peered into the deepest shadows, the chains were just long enough for about a three foot clearance.

“I am All That Is.” the woman whispered. Damayanti blinked, her skin staying dark, but the scars faded. The woman glanced at her taking note of her confusion. “Some have labeled me Chaos.”

“Chaos? The Chaos?” Damayanti whispered. “Who has done this to you?” Chaos curled into a ball.

“They did this to me.”

“They?”

“The Architects. They keep me here. They use me whenever they want to.” Chaos’ face twisted in rage. The shadows lashed out in a swarm of tentacles. “They take the children that they engender in me.” Damayanti jumped up in terror. Chaos continued, twisting upon the makeshift bed. The chains were pulled taught, “Those monsters! They tear into me! They pollute me with their essence! I was perfect! I birthed my Children from my Own dreams!” Damayanti backed up, until she felt her back touch a wall. The Primordial raged and cried. “Light! Pattern! Order!” she screamed, “I am a prisoner!” Damayanti sank to her knees, fear causing tears to stream down her face. She shook uncontrollably. She suddenly felt Chaos’ full attention upon her. “You!” she hissed, “You my child, have no idea of what you are!” Damayanti quailed, she placed her hands in front of her in the dust. Her forehead touched the ground.

“Ancestor! I bow before you!” she cried, “How can I resolve this? I do not understand!” A dark laugh escaped from Chaos’ lips, bordering on madness,

“You cannot,” she stated simply, then her tone softened, “My child, you are small, young. A corrupted, twisted thing yourself. Lift your head.” Damayanti complied with the request of the Primordial. “Come closer,” Chaos beckoned. Damayanti crawled forward through the dust to the side of Chaos’ corrupted bed. Her eyes were drawn into the ones of the Primordial’s. She lost her sense of balance. Images of all of her forebears flashed past her. Above the anarchy of warring images Chaos’ voice was alluring, almost sweet. She dimly felt Chaos’ fingers touching just underneath her chin. “You must do a small part of retribution in my name, my child. Your grandfather is one of my Sons. A prodigal one, but one nonetheless.” she felt the weight of her own starry cloak settle on her shoulders, the broach being refastened by strong fingers. Chaos’ tone took on the depths of the void, “You will find my rapists out in the fields, rescue my Daughter and cut them down.”

“But I am so small, I may not be able to succeed. I do have some order about me, Matron.” Damayanti protested. “I am part of them too. I do not think that it is my place, with all due respect, Divine Ancestor.” This initiated another laugh from Chaos.

“You lost order long ago, did you not think that has been part of My plan?”

“What about all of those who are lost or about to be, Matron? I am confused.”

“All who are lost, ultimately will return unto Me. Gather your weapon my child and go!” The light of the lantern was blown out with the exertion of the Primordial’s will. Chaos’ touch vanished and Damayanti came back to herself. She rose from the dust. Chaos’ eyes shone in the dark, the shadows still twisting behind her.

Damayanti fled the barn, Chaos’ voice echoed behind her.

“My gift to this Creation is part of Myself. As I have suffered, all beings shall share in suffering. As all things are Made, all that is Made shall decay and fail. Constant change will be the rule, all to find its ultimate end in me. They will be tortured as I have been tortured. May all realize this and weep.”

Rage ignited by the Primordial’s will drove Damayanti on. Her lips parted in a smile, which shifted to a rictus of insane anger as she dove down paths through the farm. She ran past the farmhouse, and out into the North forty of the property.

In the distance, she spied three masculine figures. The grass had been cut and as she got closer, Damayanti noticed that there was a ritualized pattern to the cut grass. The three men glowed with an ethereal golden light. It seemed to emanate from their very being. They crowded around another being laying on her back upon the ground. She looked to be no more than twelve years old. This girl was green in tone. Her skin was green, the healthy viridian of spring leaves. Her dreadlocks were green as the rainforest and to Damayanti’s sight twined their way into the ground around her. There was a smile on her face, but fear in her eyes. Damayanti sprinted towards the group, her anger rising with the wind that suddenly rose around her. Blue-white light was reflected around her. She pulled her pin and it flashed into her trishula wrapped in white flame.

“No!” she cried as she saw one of the “Architects” lower himself to the girl, the other two holding her down. The man’s body flared with light as he thrust against the girl. “No! Stop this! This cannot be the way!” Damayanti screamed. One of the men looked up and in her direction, a curious, leering look on his face. The girl cried out in pain, her eyes going glassy as vegetation started to spread from her body. There was a shock-wave that shuddered throughout everything. The first man moved and traded places with the next. With each act, more vegetation sprang to life. Flowers bloomed, forests sprang up in the distance along with mountains. Overhead, stars sprang in to being. The half-twilight sky soon gave way to dawn. The one man’s eyes bored into Damayanti’s; he beckoned with a finger. A wordless scream of anger rang out of Damayanti’s throat.

The ground suddenly dropped out from beneath her and she found herself falling, her cry echoing around her. White flames whipped around her body, clothing and cloaking her. Beyond that there was nothing but silence and featureless void.

“Niraasha…” was the whisper that came from all around her. She gritted her teeth, her rage united her moods. Long leaping tongues of white flame cascaded up and down her arm and along her weapon.

“What do you want?!” she called. A low chuckle answered her,

“Aren’t you tired…?”

“Face me!” she growled.

“…Not yet…”

Damayanti landed in a crouch, the butt of her trishula embedded in the ground. Her senses were immediately assaulted on all sides. She pulled her weapon free from the dirt and rose to her feet.

Blackened and broken crags defined the skyline. Low smoky clouds obscured any of the beauty of the sky. As she looked up, she could not tell if it was day or night. A vast plain spread out before her. Screams and cries of battle in the distance. She coughed, her eyes tearing up due to the acridness of the atmosphere. She blinked, clearing her vision. A body lay across the path before her. Her boots kicked up dust and ash. Kneeling beside the body, she gently rolled it over. It was the body of a man, his body covered in boils. Rigor had set in and had set his face into a mask of agony and pain. With an exhale of sympathy, she let the body lay. Her gaze narrowed as she looked further down the plain.

Any vegetation that she saw were charred stumps or faint piles of ash. A rumble of thunder echoed through the clouds. There were flickers of lightning far off. With whispered words, she let the wind take her. She flew about fifty feet above the ground. Even at this low elevation, the surrounding carnage shook her to the center of her soul.

Bodies lay as far as the eye could see. Areas of active fighting dotted the battlefield. Massive expenditures of power rumbled along the ground and reverberated in the sky. There was a portion of sky that was clear in the distance; it was low on the far horizon, the dull red of an active wildfire miles off. No evidence of sun. She flew over what was a dry river bed. It was choked to the lips of its banks with the skeletal remains of people and animal life.

There was movement down below. A figure in tattered battle dress of some sort clambered over a pile of bodies. She saw a twisted, mutated human take aim at the figure. She streaked down, her trishula at the ready. Just before she was able to skewer the enemy, it loosed an arrow at the scrabbling warrior. With a cry of anger, she put all of her weight behind her strike pinning the monster to the ground. There was a gout of blood. She quickly pulled her weapon free and turned and ran towards the person that she tried to save. Slipping and sliding on bodies and piles of viscera, she finally made her way to the warrior.

The arrow had found its mark. The warrior had fallen down another hill of bodies. She slid down to him. It was Philip Waters, the son of Poseidon. The arrow had snapped in his fall. He opened one eye, as a rattling gasp escaped his lips, as a trickle of blood ran out of the corner of his mouth.

“It’s you,”

“Yes.”

“They all said that you were lost.”

“let me get you to where you can be healed.” A willowy laugh whistled from his lips,

“It’s mortal.” Damayanti gripped his hand,

“Then let me stay with you. So you are not alone.” He nodded a small smile gracing his lips. She had so many questions crowding her mind, but she gripped his hand tightly. Within a few heartbeats of time, he let out one long exhale and went still, his hand growing lax. A saddened frown spread across her face as she reached forward and closed his eyes. The sounds of battle were closer. With one last look, she rose into the air again and summoned her armor. She shifted her trishula into a bow, a quiver full of arrows manifesting over her shoulder.

She picked off enemies as she made her way, but as she traveled, she realized that the Divine Forces were fighting a losing battle. They were taking their cut, but the corrupting forces of the Titans on the remnants of humanity had swelled the Fiends ranks. She recognized tattered banners a little ways off.

Blood and mud splashed as she made her landing. Hacked bodies of humans and demons surrounded her. She danced around the still bodies, the hem of her cloak was soaked in blood. Tattered rectangular banners whipped in the breeze. She spied Japanese style armor on some of the fallen. Her boots squelched in something. She looked down the horror causing her gorge to rise. Lord Hachiman or the two halves of him lay to either side. She scampered out of the mass of his guts, Divine Ichor now staining her boots. Damayanti stumbled forward and fell to her knees. She retched and heaved as the wind threw ash along with the heavy scent of rotten meat to her nostrils. She dragged the back of her hand across her mouth and tasted bitterness.

Her heart started to beat fast. Around her were the decimated armies of the Amatsukami. She jumped up, eyes now seeking a dear face. There had to be a chance, there just had to be. She dodged more bodies of ally and foe. She crested a small rise and anguish choked a cry to silence. Tears streamed through the filth that stained her cheeks. Her feet rose from the ground as her instincts took her to the dreaded destination. At the top of a hill, ranks of the armies had fallen where they held off the final surge of this conflict. She slowly drifted to the ground. Shock and grief silenced all of her thoughts but one. She was too late.

Lord Tsukiyomi knelt on the ground, his hair moving in the breeze. The tip of his katana was planted in the body of the foe next to him. The heavy blade of a lance stuck a foot out of his back, coated in ichor; the butt of its post planted in the ground in front of him. She ran to him,

“No, no, no!” she cried, “My Sensei and my Love!” She cupped his face in her hands. His flesh was still and cold. His face held a certain serenity. “No! I am too late! You have left before me!” Tears streaming down she placed a kiss upon his cold lips. She spent a few moments in her grief. Then the flame of duty and rage rose within her heart. She ripped a strip of his stained cloak from his body and tied it at the belt of her armor. “I will honor your memory or die trying.” she said and stood to formally bowed to the remains of her teacher and lover. Behind him and a line of fallen imperial guard lay the body of Amaterasu, her veiled head separated from her shoulders. She removed Tsukiyomi’s short sword from his belt and slid it sheathed in its scabbard onto her belt. “I will avenge you all!” she swore.

She lifted off of the ground once again. Her mind was focused, her anger and hate burning within her. A white nimbus of light surrounded her. Shadows rose from the ground and gave chase. One by one, she shot each one out of the sky. Fire burns hot, but hate burns cold.

The battlefield seemed to extend in all directions. She saw a long sinuous form along the ground. She alighted again, landing on this large form. Her eyes narrowed, this was the body of one of the world serpents. Upon study, she realized that it was probably the Norse world serpent. She ran along it, this area of the battlefield was coated in silence. She reached the head and part of her laughed maniacally, its skull had been crushed by Thor, Lord of Thunder. That was a confirmation of that particular hypothesis She leaped down. Moving among all of the bodies, she saw a little ways off the bodies of the Berlin Connection, they had fought bravely and too the last. She folded her hands in anjali. She prayed for peace that she knew would fall on deaf ears at this point. Moving on, she shied away from the body of a gigantic wolf. Stupid insane giggles spilled from her lips. The wolf was heavily injured, but what had killed the beast was Odin All-father, his body lodged in the wolf’s throat.

“…are you tired yet? It won’t matter if you rest now.” whispered the wind. Her eyes narrowed and she looked around. The aum necklace around her throat grew warm. She stood for a moment and centered herself.

“I have to keep myself together.” she murmured. “I cannot lose focus now.”

A fireball bloomed in the distance. She flew off in that direction. As she flew above the battlefield, she spied the wreckage of all that the Gods had built and tried to preserve. Armies had been fed into the meat grinder. Nature had suffered under the relentless onslaught. Landing near what had been a small forest, she heard someone call out to her by name. She searched and found Saoirse, the daughter of the Morrigan. She smiled and waved.

“So, the missing ‘Star’ has finally returned at the final minutes of the final hour.” she called as she jumped down from a pile of her enemies’ bodies. Saoirse leveled her blade at Damayanti’s chest.

“I did not know that I was missing.” Damayanti said as she planted her trishula and held up her hands, stepping to one side. Saoirse spat at her. It hit Damayanti’s breastplate and slowly dripped down. The warrior daughter of the Raven Queen narrowed her eyes,

“Sounds like cowardliness to me. You did not heed the Ard Ri’s call to war. Your husband had the honor to step forward when the call to war was made.” she smirked and kept the tip of her blade hovering at the level of Damayanti’s heart. “You must have been off on one of your ‘adventures’ or maybe sleeping with the enemy? You have never had your husband’s back.” she sneered as she flipped her hair. Damayanti’s rage rose, she bit it back, keeping it in check for the moment. “But what do I care at this point? This is my time to shine. You Deva are so devious. Saying one thing and meaning another.” she spat on the ground, “No honor in your ways; always twisting, plotting and planning.”

“Cut the talk!” Damayanti exclaimed emphatically, the flickering of white flame could not be contained, “Now is not the time for this. I have enemies to hunt, friends to save.” Saoirse tapped Damayanti’s armor with her weapon,

“I agree,” she grinned. Damayanti’s eyes narrowed, but inside her heart fell.

“If this will satisfy you.” Damayanti’s voice was cold. She gripped her trishula and it shifted into a curved sword. She snatched a buckler from a fallen soldier, sliding it onto her arm.

They fought for the better part of fifteen minutes. There was no room for honor in this combat no matter how much that Damayanti wanted there to be. It would have been better if they could have turned and fought the real enemy, but war, blood lust and misunderstanding had led to this. Rage and passion over the slighting of her honor and the love for her husband could only go so far. She drew on all of the combat skills her teachers had taught her. If this was the end, honor was no longer an issue; it was simple survival. She feinted a blow from Saoirse and brought her sword down. Blood sprayed across the trunk of a blasted oak and the daughter of the Morrigan was no more.

“Sometimes, I wish that some of you among the Tuatha would listen to reason before jumping to conclusions.” she said sadly, “This was unnecessary. We could have fought the minions of the Titans together, save who we could. What a waste.” She wiped her blade on the back of Saoirse’s tunic. She said a quick prayer for Saoirse’s soul and hung her head. She then turned and walked on.

Damayanti soon came upon a hill of severed heads and bloody skulls. A wide rivulet of blood, almost a stream flowed from beneath the hill. Her lips turned down in a frown. As she gazed up, towards the peak of the grotesque hill. At the top, she could not tell who was Divine and who was Demon. All at the peak were busy slaughtering each other lopping off heads and chopping out hearts. Nothing intelligible came from anyone, all the voices blended together, a song of vicious depravity.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys. The Aztilanti don’t need my help.” she whispered as she stepped away and over the ever increasing river of blood. She stumbled her way over the rolling piles of skulls. Cresting another hill of bones, there was a shock wave that rattled her footing out from underneath her. She fell down the incline, bones clattering around her. Using her cat like grace, she caught herself and danced among the bones. Lightning flashed down and the shock wave from the thunderclap blew her hair away from her face. Laughter boomed and bellowed paeans of the joy of war thumped against her in an almost physical way.

Ares strode among the armies. Damayanti’s eyes widened, he had grown to a gargantuan size. He trod through the armies, cutting down the enemies, but as Damayanti watched, she noticed that he cut down as many allies as foes. In the skies above, among the rolling ash choked clouds Zeus battled with Huracan. Ash whipped into her face as the fight in the Heavens made the winds chaotic and churned the clouds. Rain fell, made black with the all of the ash. She dodged the attention of both of the Yavanna deities and searched out a path away from getting entangled with them.

A heavy weight settled on her soul as she trudged along. This was the end battle. A situation that had no solution, no way to win. Hope fluttered weakly in her chest. Who was she going to find next? It seemed that for all of her attempts at fostering rapport between the Pantheons led to nothing. Yes, the Gods were fighting the Titans, but there was no cohesion, it seemed like everyone was out for themselves. Was Grandfather and Grandmother correct all of this time? That it was really the end of Kali Yuga? Was this the Nadir? Where was the hope? Was there any redeeming qualities in any of this at this point?

After winding her way along the treacherous paths, she caught the waving of a ribbon, bright scarlet against the background of ash and charcoal. As she moved closer, she noticed that it was Zhon’s guan do. She looked around to see if he was here, but she did not see him. She gripped its shaft, and it came away from the ground, a broken weapon. She knelt in the dust, tears welling up again.

“Why?” she whispered, “Why has it come to this? This is what we were trying to prevent.” She gazed out at the horizon again. In the distance to the West, a tall figure moved. Dreadlocks weaving and moving like snakes streamed from the giant’s skull. There were multiple arms, several holding weapons; one was twisting a double ended drum. Distantly her ears caught the rhythm of the drum. As she watched, the giant form of her Grandfather knelt down and scooped up a handful of soldiers and demons. His jaws opened wide and he swallowed them. “Grandfather, why?” she whispered, “Didn’t we have more time?” The giant turned towards her in the distance. She spied the three open eyes. She felt a wave of savage love and the inevitability of the turning of the cycle. The giant then turned and continued on. Every so often a massive gout of black flame shot out of his third eye. The flame annihilated anything it touched. A mirthless laugh escaped her, “I guess that this is the party at the end of the Universe.” she replaced the fragmented shaft of the guan do where she had found it. “I guess I have to do my part.”

Damayanti started to sing. The song wove into a ballad of last stands and the sorrow of the lost. As she sang, she floated up from the ground. Her moods harmonized within her, a sense of stern harmony filled her. Tears spilled from her eyes and a nimbus of white flame surrounded her. She lifted her blade to the sky. She let the song carry her in her flight. Monsters boiled out of the clouds. She let the rhythm of the song guide her, she cut them down as she flew on. All of the love and memories of friendship bloomed in her heart.

Dark clouds boiled around her, the fiery light on the horizon was streaked with ash and screams. She could feel the energy of all of the suffering and strife around her. She sang of hope; she sang of finding home and rest. This sunset and black night would just lead to a fresh new dawn. This was the storm and the rain, it would wash everything clean. This too shall pass.

She saw the heart of the battle down below her. A knot of fighting called to her. She gripped her blade and caressed it into a bow. Taking aim from up above she let loose a volley. Several desiccated snake-headed demons fell. She spiraled up, gathering height for the momentum. The bow shifted again, back to her treasured trishula.

“As you will it, Grandfather!” she sang to the sky, raising her weapon to the Heavens. Her eyes sharp, she turned and started her descent. She saw her husband among the fighting, alongside the Ard Ri and the Dagda. They were facing off with a large maggot spawn, but she saw a fire giant coming up over the nearest rise. Arlo’s fists were connecting with the lesser enemies around him. They fell like dominoes. Dagda annihilated nine enemies with one stroke of his club. Lugh cut down minor demons as a farmer would cut down wheat. The tide of battle were drawing them apart, but from her vantage point she saw that there were others from various pantheons fighting nearby. There was laughter, as Lugh, Dagda and Arlo faced the forces of the Cram Cruach. Together, the three Tuatha cut down their Titan’s spawn, it melted into masses of maggots and rotten ooze at their feet.

Hope burned bright in her soul. Here were agents that would help lead to the coming dawn. She sang a verse of ecstasy and joy. As if his righteous rage echoed her joy, Arlo let out his battle cry and let his war warp take over. Lugh engaged combat with the Crone. He led her away from Arlo and the Dagda, his fleetness of foot took him off of the hill and down into the valley to the east. Damayanti saw that winds and frost surrounded him for a moment. A light blazed from him and the frost was blasted to steam. With a rumble that shook the hill, the fire giant came over the crest. Arlo and the Dagda started to rip boulders out of the earth around them. The fire giant reeled under the onslaught and was knocked back several paces. The giant bellowed, belching a huge gout of fire. Arlo placed himself between the giant and Dagda. The flames curled around Arlo and he shoved the Good God back down the slope. Arlo turned, his eyes narrowed as he faced the fire giant. He drew in a deep breath and let out a sustained battle cry. The aura around the giant became scintillating waves of heat and glowing amber tongues of flame. A wide grin crackled along the giant’s face.

Clouds spun down in Damayanti’s wake, a smoky tail of her bright, comet self. The winds sang around her and the friction within the clouds released flickers of lightning. The fire giant stepped forward, Arlo had ripped yet another boulder from the ground. He hurled it at the monster, it smashed into the side of the giant’s head. There was a low growl as the giant’s head whipped to one side. With a spread of its hand, a spear of searing fire appeared. Arlo pulled a blade glowing with power from over his shoulder. Its tip sang as it sliced the air around it. It was Caladbolg, ‘the crushing lightning’. Arlo stood his ground and beckoned to the monster.

Damayanti’s grip on her trishula tightened as she streaked down as a falling star. She aimed for the giant’s back. She sang out a battle mantra, calling upon the powers of her Father and Grandfather. Her eyes grew fierce and her smile serene.

Arlo blinked as he caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. Caladbolg sang and bit into his fiery foe. The giant roared and slashed out with claws. Rivulets of blood streaked her husband’s side, but this only added to his fury. On the upswing, the fire giant backhanded him, sending him flying into a large overhang of rock. Damayanti cursed as she had to adjust her careening fall. She sang out to her husband, but in the thick of the battle, he could not hear her.

“I’m coming!!! Wait for me!!!” she called. She adjusted her weapon. The giant let out a roar as her trishula found its mark in the giant’s back. It arched its back, bellowing in pain. The force of her fall slammed them both into the ground. Damayanti coughed as dust billowed up around them. She readjusted her grip on her weapon, twisting the tines of the trishula in the wound. The giant roared and slapped her away. As she flew for a few tens of feet, she shifted her weapon to a kukri the size of a short sword. She also pulled Tsukiyomi’s wakasashi from her belt. She flipped and landed on her feet. Arlo had gotten up and was closing with the giant who was rising from a crouch. Oily black flaming ichor leaked from the giant’s wounds. Arlo roared and punched the giant in the face, knocking it onto its back and sending the monster sliding along the ground. His eyes met hers for a moment. He then dashed to his enemy. Damayanti rushed to assist him.

Arlo leaped as he approached. The giant raised his arm, a spear of iron and flame manifesting in its grip. Her husband could not stop his arc and while in mid air; the giant thrust the spear through his chest.

“No!!!” Damayanti screamed. Arlo was tossed to one side. Damayanti lifted into the air and blazing in hues of white and gold, she brought the kukri down on the giant’s neck and plunged the wakasashi into the giant’s chest. Her eyes blazed with black fire and there was a tremendous splatter of black ichor. It caught her and sizzled where it hit her. The giant dissolved into a mass of ash and cinders.

She ran to Arlo, who lay on his side. As she watched, he shifted from his war form to his human size. Caladbolg lay in the dust six feet away. Tears streaming down her face, she knelt at his side and put his head in her lap.

“Heart of my Heart!” she cried. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to take a shuddering breath. She looked to the spear still impaling him through the chest. As she reached for it, he stopped her, shaking his head. He placed her hand against his cheek. “My Love!” she cried, “Hold on! The Dagda will be here soon to heal you!” She then yelled for the Dagda.

A soft smile spread across his face and his emerald eyes gazed into hers. Weakly, he raised his hand to her cheek.

“I love you, my Star.” he whispered.

“Don’t speak, hold still. The Dagda is coming.”

“Listen,” he whispered, “I am not afraid. I am with you. I am in your Heart.” Damayanti’s tears fell on his face, drop by drop. He pulled her in, his lips meeting hers. She kissed him with gentleness. She pulled away and ran her thumb along his cheekbone.

“I love you, Lord of my Heart, Lord of my Soul.”

He coughed, blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. A shuddering ran through him. “Please don’t go.” she whispered, “Stay with me.” Arlo held her gaze.

“We will be together again. I will always follow and find my Star.” he whispered and then seized in pain. Damayanti let out a small cry. His eyes still held hers, but they started to grow distant.

“Don’t go, my Love.” she whispered. She gripped his hand. With a last pained breath, he held her cheek. Tears blurred her vision as she saw the light leave his eyes. He let out his last breath in a rattling sigh. As he relaxed into death, his eyes drifted closed. His blood trailed crimson from his lips, staining the fabric of her breaches. His hand grew limp and fell from her cheek, falling to the dust at his side.

Her emotions roiled within her. She clasped her husband to her chest. She did not hear the Ard Ri or the Dagda come up behind her. She did not hear the Ard Ri’s cry of alarm, nor did she hear the Dagda call her name. They took a step back as they watched her skin darken to the deepest ebony. Scars erupted upon her skin, which one by one then opened and bled. Her tears burned where they landed on both her and her husband’s clothing. Fangs curved over her lips as she felt the tearing of her soul. The abyss opened deep within her heart as she felt all of her moods drop into the deepest mourning.

A slight shock wave cast fine dust away from the area where she was sitting. All of the loss welled up within her and she threw her head back. Her clawed hands gripped Arlo’s body to her, pulling him up into her arms. The smoky clouds still rolled and stormed above. A scream of hopeless loss and unassailable despair erupted from her lips. The Ard Ri and the Dagda covered their ears. The anguish echoed through the Heavens. There was nothing more to have joy in; now everything had gone to ash and meant nothing. All went dark.

The wisteria trees trailed their branches over the water of the large pond. The water was still, nothing marred its surface. Damayanti knelt at the edge of the pool. Her eyes were unfocused as she gazed out across the water. The grass was well manicured to the edge. The garden all around was cultivated to perfection. The lights of the city of Tokyo were distant. The hotel behind her was quiet, as if everyone inside was asleep. No light spilled from the windows. No one strolled along the elegant paths. There was just the lightest of breezes. It was deathly silent. Not even any sound of traffic from the street just beyond the garden walls.

Tears leaked down her cheeks wetting the fabric of her sari. The deep midnight blue of her sari had a watermark in a tessellated pattern of octagonal shapes. The border was worked in silver thread with tiny octagonal mirrors. The mirrors flashed in the little bit of light. A silver bindi with a blue jewel was between her brows. A silver nose ring shone in the dim light. Glass bangles tinkled gently at her wrists. Her wedding ring glistened with the tiny diamonds.

She looked down at herself, her skin the black of ink and traced with fine ivory scars. Her nails were long and shined with the gloss of a scarab’s back. Her brow furrowed as she gazed at the jewelry at on her hands and wrists. A choked sob escaped her lips and she pulled the wedding ring from her finger, setting it on the manicured lawn beside her. She stripped the bangles from her wrists and glanced around for a stone to shatter them with. She crawled around at the edge of the pond and soon found a palm sized stone. She picked it up and spied the stone bench that she had sat in the other night, before Lord Tsukiyomi had found her. Damayanti placed the bangles up on the stone seat of the bench. She lifted the stone.

There was a footfall behind her. Her hand paused mid swing. She turned her head just slightly to the right, ascertaining if some had walked up the path. She was about to sweep her bracelets into her lap when heard a familiar voice.

“I found you. There’s no need to grieve, my Star. I’ve kept my promise.”

The potential for hope surged in her heart. The stone slipped from her grasp, falling and clattering onto the ground. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. She did not turn around, afraid that this was an apparition or a trick of her mind. She felt strong arms go around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, not willing at this moment to give in to the fleeting feeling of hope. He reached over and picked up her wedding ring. Gently, he slid it back on her finger, he whispered in her ear softly,

“You shouldn’t leave this laying around, my Beloved.” Damayanti opened her eyes and looked down at her husband’s hands. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She interlaced her fingers with his.

“I thought I lost you, Heart of my Heart.” she whispered.

“You will never lose me.” he replied and then chuckled, “You’re stuck with me.” She relaxed and leaned back into his embrace. A deep chuckle rumbled from him and he hugged her a bit tighter. “Are you going to leave the rest of your jewelry there on the bench?” She blushed and let out a light giggle. She scooped up her bangles and slid them back on. She then laid her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. Emerald green eyes smiled down at her. Her breath caught in her throat and she reached up and tucked a lock of his coppery hair behind his ear. She then laid her hand along his cheek and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

“Is it really you?”

“It’s really me.” he reassured. Damayanti reached over and pinched him.

“Ouch!” he quipped, “what was that for?”

“Had to make sure that my Fae Prince was real and not an illusion.” she replied with a smirk. He chuckled and rubbed his cheek.

“Come with me, I have a gift for you.” He stood up from the ground and held out his hand to help her up. She smiled and took his offered hand. His eyes roved over her body as he pulled her close. “My gorgeous wife,” he murmured appreciatively, “My shining Star, you look Divinely radiant tonight.” Damayanti cast her eyes demurely down for a moment, blushing.

“Thank you.” she said and then she gazed into his viridian eyes again, “How did you get back? How did you get here?”

“I was resurrected, my Love.” he said with a wistful smile, and then shrugged his shoulders, “As for being here in Tokyo, I caught a flight. I missed you so much.” She quirked an eyebrow,

“How did you know that I was here?” His fingers gently traced the whorls in her Celtic tattoo. “Oh,” she whispered. She clung to him. “I did not know how I was going to make it, I am so lost without you.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “There was no joy left, it seemed to all be ending. No hope except for maybe a new beginning with the turning of the Wheel. I did not want to be separated from you.” Her eyes darted around, taking in the garden and the Tokyo skyline in the distance. The sky was dark, no moon to be seen and she could not see any stars. He smiled and his hand cupped her chin, pulling her eyes back to his.

“My Darling Love,” he purred, “I am here now. I am not leaving.” Her eyes flashed green,

“You died,” she whispered, “In my arms. Who resurrected you? How do I really know that it’s you?” His smile grew sly, he tightened his grip on her chin. he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back.

Damayanti gasped as he kissed her. His tongue forced its way into her mouth. His grip tightened in her hair, on the edge of being painful. Her hands slid along her husband’s shoulders and she pressed herself up against him. The memory of freshly mown clover washed over her. She felt his desire for her, his yearning. Her body responded. As he pulled away, he nipped at her bottom lip. A sweet sigh of happiness escaped her. Her eyes grew languid. A reverie of him taking her in the garden filled her mind.

“Please…” she gasped. His right hand slid down to grip her backside. His left still tangled in her tresses. “Oh, my sweet Love.” He started to lift her hip and pressed her to him.

“Mmm.” the purr deepened to a growl. He nuzzled her neck, “I love all of you. I could carry you to the room…” Her pulse raced and she drew in a deep breath,

“Arlo,”

“Yes, my Love.”

“Who resurrected you?” His breath grew heavy, his hands settled on her hips, gripping them.

“I was taken back to Eire. The Ard Ri, Dian Cecht and Aengus performed the ritual with the Morrigan as witness.” His eyes twinkled and his smirk softened to a smile, “It was your undying demonstration of love that convinced them.” he said lovingly as he caressed her cheek.

“Wow.”

“Yes, now I believe I have an understanding of what you went through, my Beloved. I was alone, missing the other half of my soul.” Damayanti’s eyes welled up with tears and her arms circled his neck.

“Lord of my Heart!” she cried, he returned her hug.

“My Star, you have been suffering so much,” he looked down at her, his eyes full of gravitas and love, “Please my Love,” he clasped her hands in his, “lay all of your suffering at my feet. You don’t need to carry that kind of burden.” She rested her head against his chest. “That’s my Love, my Wife.”

“What did you get me for my gift?” His eyes sparkled,

“Come and see! I found it and thought it would be a perfect gift.” He led her to the edge of the pond. He gazed out at the purple wisteria trees. “It’s such a beautiful night. The trees are in blossom.” Damayanti followed his gaze and then looked over her shoulder at him.

“It is a beautiful night, Heart of my Heart, but where is this gift?” she asked. He fished a notebook and pencil out of the inner breast pocket of his jacket. He leaned against a nearby beech tree and set his pencil to paper.

“I put it closer to the water, more to your left.” he murmured as his pencil scratched across the page. “I will be over there in a moment to help you. I just want to make notes on how beautiful you look in this setting.” Damayanti searched in a portion of the thicker grass, it was almost velvety under her touch. As she searched her gaze drifted towards the water. In the inky blackness there was a ripple.

The scenes from the apocalyptic battles of the unmaking of the Worlds played out before her eyes. She started to see all of the cost. All of the loss of life. Her Grandfather pulling on the frayed fabric of Maya and starting to unravel it. She was drawn in, unable to tear her eyes away. Her Uncle as Kalki, decimating throngs of demonic hosts under his flaming sword, his mount trampling enemies under hoof. Clouds of smoke and ash filled the skies, drowning out the shining stars of Heaven. They careened, their orbits becoming erratic. Many fell to Earth, devastating whole swaths of the Middle World. Damayanti gripped the fabric of her sari at her chest. Her knuckles paled to white and her breathing heightened to a rapid pace.

“Arlo?”

In the shadows, leaning against the tree, he relaxed, watching. He put notebook and pencil down next to him. They vanished in to shadows and slithered away. His green eyes were sharp in the darkness. His soft smile grew hard and predatory. There was a subtle distortion that momentarily passed over his features. For just longer than a moment, the copper of his hair darkened to a light-consuming ebony. The shadows around him twitched and moved. He stood up from the tree, his eyes focused on his ‘wife’. His face, so handsome and expressive, smoothed out to the stillness of emotionless serenity. After gazing at her, studying her for a time, a thread of greed ran through him. He looked down to his hand, the hand of the warrior she loved. She was almost in his palm. He reached up and ran his hand through his hair, which warmed back to sun-kissed copper. His eyes sparkled with life and mirth.

She had ceased to search for his gift. He stepped forward, his shoes whispering against the grass. She was in a panic, fixated on the water. He knelt down behind her, just to her left side.

“Arlo?” she called, dizziness threatening to overtake her. She saw nothing but the madness of the end of the Universe in the water before her. His lips curved in a seductive smile.

“I am here, my Star.” Damayanti reached out for him, not being able tear her gaze away from the tableau playing on the surface of the water. He took her hand and laid a comforting arm around her shoulders. He looked over her shoulder and into the water. “I am here, there is no reason to be afraid. What do you see?”

“I…I…I see the End of the World.” she answered in a tight whisper. He pulled her closer and laid his chin on her shoulder. She slid herself back into his lap.

“Tell me, my Star, my Love. Illuminate the story that you see.”

Damayanti recounted the images that she saw. He made it seem that he took notes. With a wave of his hand out of her sight, he manifested a mask of exquisite, horrifying beauty. It formed out of shadow. The surface was glossy midnight purple. Violet outlined the holes for three eyes, giving them a cat-like look. Black streaks like tears were marked down along the hollowed cheeks. Horns curled from the top of the mask, to arc partially over the back of the head. The mouth of the mask was open, sharpened teeth and a long set of fangs curving from the upper jaw. A mane of midnight blue hair cascaded off the edges of the mask. A small eight-sided mirror was mounted high up on the forehead. Small jewels outlined the corners of the eyes. A nose ring glinted with gold. He hid it from her sight, tucking it down behind him.

A question rose in her mind as she watched all of the images flow past her. She felt her husband’s strength behind her, supporting her. He was taking down all of the notes, murmuring about how this could be used in one of his dark fantasies or maybe even a first in horror. Tears streamed down her cheeks. All of this suffering, all of this anguish. The Bhagavad Gita failed in describing it all. All faded to black and to her sight, the pool stilled, the initial ripples fading to nothingness. She shivered and leaned back against her husband. He put down his notebook and pencil. His eyebrows arched, his countenance full of concern.

“Are you alright my Beloved?” he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her with a hug. He wiped a tear away, “I’m sorry, I did not mean to put you in that position, but we may be able to glean some potential information about our enemies from this.” She relaxed in his lap,

“Do you think that it will end like that?” she whispered. She did not see his eyes darken, their green reflecting the inner predator.

“All stories have to come to an end, my Guiding Star.” he said sweetly.

“You’re right of course.”

“Yeah,” he said brightly, “How else are you going to have new stories?” he glanced down at her his eyes crinkling with happiness. He ran a finger along her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” she turned her face up for a kiss. He gently returned the kiss.

“Did you find my gift?” he asked, pumping his eyebrows. “or did I hide it too well?” Damayanti’s eyes grew wide,

“Oh no!” she gasped and then slapped her husband in the shoulder as he chuckled. “Where did you put it?”

“Go over by the edge of the pond again, my Beloved.” he said as he shifted her out from his lap. “Close your eyes while I get it, please.” She giggled and turned back to the edge of the pond.

“Why do I have to close my eyes?”

“Silly,” he chuckled as he came up behind her. “It’s because I want it to be a surprise of course.” Damayanti closed her eyes and put her hands over her face.

“Why by the pond?” she murmured from between her fingers

“For all of your beauty, my lovely wife, I failed to bring a mirror. A still body of water is Nature’s perfect mirror.”

Excitedly, Damayanti patiently waited. She felt her husband behind her, once again. His heartbeat was steady.

“I just can’t help but shake that frightening feeling about the end of the World. Heart of my Heart.” He wrapped his arms around her for another hug. He brought the mask before her, the concave side towards her.

“I understand, my Love. As I have said all stories have to have an ending. Everything smooths out to that perfect stillness and endless black silence.”

“What?” she asked.

“The rest that comes with everything ending of course. The end to all of this constant suffering.” he murmured a cold distance coloring his tone. Damayanti slowly lowered her hands from her eyes. “My Beautiful Shining Star, you can open your eyes now.”

In her husband’s strong hands, lay an ornate oni mask. His voice was serene. Her eyes widened and her lips parted. The pressure for a scream built in her throat, but would not come. Her mouth worked.

Disbelief threaded its way through her mind. She blocked it out, this could not be possible. She froze, suddenly this was starting to feel off. She felt the barest touch of wrongness in the situation.

“My husband, is this your gift?”

“Why yes, my Beloved.” he whispered, “Please let me put it on you. It will add to your radiance.” She writhed in his grip, ever so slightly.

“It is gorgeous, so detailed, Heart of my Heart.” she said as fear seeped into her voice. His hands brought it closer.

“I am so happy, that you like it.” he replied, a cool sweetness in his cadence.

“Can I put it on later?” it came out of her lips as a plea. “I don’t want to wear this mask right now.” She tried to turn, her husband’s arms tightened about her. He placed a gentle kiss on her temple. Damayanti placed her hands gently on his wrists. She applied pressure, trying to push his hands away.

“My Love…Husband…”

“Damayanti, please. I got this for you. Put it on, just for a moment. I want to see you in it.”

The mask was raised to her face. Just before the skin of her face touched the inside of the mask,

“After all, my Love,” he whispered lovingly and with a tone of longing, “All that I ever wanted from you other than your love; was for you to come home. Come home and be with me.”