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Chapter 10

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

T his time yesterday, I’d been trying on the lingerie I’d bought to surprise Matt with, and the only thing I’d had to look forward to was more shifts at the restaurant and a future as Mrs. Whittell. Now I was standing in a city in the fucking sky which I’d ridden a vortex to get to. This was insane.

“What’s an Asura?” someone asked.

“Why do we have to stay?” someone else said.

“I want to go home. Please let me go home.”

“This is bullshit. You can’t keep us here.”

“When do I get powers?”

The questions were flung Umbra’s way in quick succession.

“Enough!” a voice boomed, rising above the cacophony.

The group fell into silence as we searched for the speaker. He materialized a moment later, a winged male, rising from the edge of the bridge, arms crossed over his chest and a face like thunder. Gentle gusts of air washed over us in time with the beat of his wings.

His long, dark hair rippled in a breeze that seemed only to favor him as he surveyed us with storm-gray eyes. He had the sharp knife-edge features of someone whose bite would sting as much as his bark, and right now, he was pissed.

“You have no idea how privileged you are, and that is the only reason I will forgive your insolence,” he said. “But after orientation begins tomorrow, any insubordination or speaking out of turn will be severely punished. Am I clear?”

Who the fuck was this guy in his body-hugging black armor, and were those sword hilts poking up over his shoulders?

Silence continued. No one in my party even breathed too loudly because this guy had presence, the kind that demanded respect. His gaze skimmed over us, and one by one each person dropped their gaze. When it got to me, I understood why. There was power in his regard, a domination that demanded that I submit, but I fought the silent command, locking the muscles in my neck and fighting the urge to blink until my eyes threatened to water. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he released me from his regard, moving on to the next person in the line-up.

My shoulders sagged, and the conviction that I’d passed some hidden test bloomed within me, which was stupid because all the winged guy had done was look at me and all I’d done was stare back. But still…

Someone started crying, and a quick look confirmed it was the same woman from earlier. Her terror was blatant, open, and unfettered, something I was sure we were all feeling, although most of us hid it well, and the root of it all was uncertainty and half answers.

Maybe I could help assuage that if the winged dude obliged.

I took a breath and slowly raised my hand.

The winged guy’s gaze snapped back to me. He arched a perfect dark brow. “Yes?”

I cleared my throat, nerves threatening to steal my voice. “I have a question, if you please.”

“Go on.”

Now that I had the floor, I wasn’t sure where to start. Survival? That was as good a place as any. “Araz said we were demigods brought here to be cannon fodder for a war. Is that true?”

His body dipped in the air a little, and his wings beat deeply, once, to lift him back up before continuing their regular paced rhythm.

His lips tightened. “You are demigods, but I can assure you that you are not cannon fodder no matter what the drohi says.”

Drohi? Was that what kind of creature Araz was? It was one of a long list of questions I could wait to have answered, but there was one that couldn’t wait, one I needed the answer to now. “If we’re demigods, will we be given powers?”

He canted his head in a jerky manner, reminding me of a bird of prey. “Do you want power? Do you thirst for it?”

It felt like a trick question, but all I could do was answer honestly. “If I thirst for anything, then it’s revenge, and if power can help me achieve it, then the answer is yes.”

“Revenge?” His dark brows dropped low over his eyes. “On us, for taking you from your home?”

“No.” I swallowed the lump of emotion in my throat. “On the shadow monster that killed my grandmother.”

Someone gasped, and then everyone began talking at once, concern for their loved ones rippling over the crowd.

“Silence!” The winged guy’s command echoed around us, and the cacophony stopped. “Describe this shadow monster,” he asked me.

“Huge, shadowy, red eyes and…teeth. Lots of teeth. It attacked us in our home and…” My throat tightened, forcing me to take a beat before continuing. “It ate my grandmother.”

Several gasps chased my words, but I kept my attention on the winged man, on assessing his reaction. His gaze flicked to Umbra, whose eyes had gone wide.

He knew what it was. They both did.

“What was it? Tell me. ”

“Did you send shadow monsters after our families too?” one of Lomis’s demigods demanded.

“No one sent any creature after your families,” Umbra replied, her attention on me. “What you describe sounds like a pishacha. A creature that feeds on flesh and uses the souls of its victims like a battery. The pishacha work for the same force as the revenants you encountered on your journey here.” She shifted her attention to the winged guy. “It would explain our small haul. It seems that the devouring force has a new plan in place to whittle our numbers before we can claim them.”

My stomach dropped as I put the pieces together. If the pishacha were coming after demigods, then there was only one way to find them: by using the mark. And if it was attracted to the mark like the reapers, then anyone with the mark would be in danger.

Priti let out a whimper, her hand going to her mouth as she came to the same conclusion.

Dharma put an arm around her sister. “Are you saying that anyone with a mark is in danger from these creatures?” Dharma looked from the winged guy to Umbra, inviting either of them to respond.

Umbra lifted her pale face to the winged guy. “Guru Mihir?”

“This is new information,” he said. “We cannot know for certain, but I can assure you that the potency of the mark weakens with age. The reapers never collect anyone older than twenty-five mortal years. ”

Which meant that it wouldn’t be attracted to older demigods. At least that’s what he was intimating.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Guru Mihir said to me. “And I am sorry for your loss.”

I blinked hard to force my tears back. There was one more thing that I needed to know, the answer to which would determine how I coped with all of this. “Can it die? Can this…pishacha be killed?”

“Yes, and if you succeed in realizing your potential, you’ll have the power to do so. There are only a handful of pishacha in existence. You can hunt them down if you wish. Kill them all and free the souls trapped within.”

Trapped? My grandmother was trapped? A vise squeezed my lungs because somehow that was worse. To have her trapped inside that thing, unable to move on. Her soul at its mercy. No. Fucking hell, no.

“I see fire in your eyes,” he said. “Good. It will serve you well. Nurture it. Hone it. Wield it.” He turned his attention to the rest of the group. “You all have the potential for great power, and your journey has already begun. Rest well, for your true existence begins tomorrow.” He turned mid-air and dove out of view, leaving us with nothing but more questions.

“Who was that?” Remi whispered.

“That was Guru Mihir,” Umbra said. “One of our trainers here. You’ll be seeing a lot of him. Now come along. Follow me. ”

“Are you all right?” Dharma asked me as we trailed after Umbra.

I forced my tumultuous emotions into the box that neatly housed them and gave her a tight smile. “No. But I will be.”

All my life, I’d drifted. One task, one job, one purpose to another, never sticking, never staying. Jack of all trades master of none , Matt had called me. He’d been right. But maybe…maybe the reason for that was because I hadn’t belonged. That my purpose hadn’t existed in that world. Maybe it was here, hidden in the potential that Guru Mihir spoke about.

And if reaching it meant I’d have the power to kill the pishacha and free Nani, then that’s what I’d do. That would be a great fucking purpose.

Umbra led us to another bridge, and my heart sank as I realized it was also on an incline.

If my ass didn’t look amazing after this workout, then there was something seriously wrong with the physics of this world.

Aakaash Sansaar was spread out before us, a feast for the eyes. I spotted large birds in the distance that looked like the thunderbirds from earlier. They flew in and out of a land mass obscured by clouds, and above that mass in the distance was what looked like a small city with spires that gleamed in the sun.

“I’d love to see a map of this place,” Priti said. “I wonder if they have one.”

“You’ll receive one at orientation,” Umbra said from up ahead. “Along with a list of rules and forbidden sectors.”

Did everyone here have superhuman hearing?

Our trek led us above frothy clouds toward a land mass surrounded by purple mist, where an epic arch welcomed us into a huge flagstone courtyard that looked like something out of a historical movie. A well dominated one side of the space, and a single-story gray stone building sat opposite it. The windows had shutters, and the door was old worn wood with coppery metal strips pressed into it.

Across from us sat an arch and a set of double doors, but Umbra led us to the squat building. There was writing in a language I couldn’t read running along the top of the door and down along the copper bars that were pressed against the wood.

“What’s the writing mean?” I lightly touched the wood, pulling my hand back when a tingle ran up my fingers.

“It’s a protection ward,” Umbra said. “Once I close these doors, no force that means you harm will be able to enter.”

“Wait, we’re in danger here?”

“There is always danger in Svargana. We are a world at war. But you are safest here in Aakaash Sansaar.”

She unlocked the padlock and shoved open the door.

Despite the dilapidated look, it smelled clean and fresh inside. Several neatly made beds lined the walls in a dormitory style setup.

“This will be where you sleep tonight,” Umbra said, leading us in. “Tomorrow, once you’re bonded, you’ll have new quarters.”

“What’s bonded?” Dharma asked, but Umbra ignored her, turning to the woman who’d just entered the room.

The woman’s eyes darted over us in quick hungry motions as she handed a small silver bowl to Umbra.

“Thank you, Kalla,” Umbra said.

The woman bobbed her head before dipping out of the building.

“Everyone step forward.” Umbra held up the bowl. “Take a seed and swallow it.”

“What is it?” Eve demanded.

“Nourishment,” Umbra said. “All that your mortal bodies need to function is in this seed.”

Saying seed over and over wasn’t making it sound appealing, and everyone else’s expressions echoed my feelings.

Umbra tutted, clearly impatient. “The food of Aakaash will be too rich for you at first. But as your essence grows, you will be able to consume it. A night, maybe two, and your bodies will have acclimatized. Take the seed or starve, it is your choice.”

“You mentioned essence before,” Dharma said. “What is that? Is it like our power?”

“No, it’s your nature. You have the blood of gods in your veins, but the mortal world you come from will have stifled it. Here in Aakaash, that essence will flourish. Eat the seed, get some rest, and you will feel the difference.”

We lined up and each accepted a seed. It tasted sweet like a berry. Soft, chewy, and not entirely awful, and I did feel full after consuming it. Full and sleepy.

I wandered over to the nearest bed and sat.

“That’s right. To bed. All of you. Tomorrow, you will be educated on the hierarchy of power here. Tomorrow, you will begin your journey to finding your place.”

Dharma climbed onto the bed next to mine, and I lay down, facing her, eyelids heavy, drifting closed. The seed…there must have been something inside it to make us drowsy, but I was too tired to vocalize my thoughts.

“Goodnight, potentials,” Umbra said. “May the dawn bring a new beginning.”

A new beginning and a path to vengeance.