Putting the Pieces Together 2 страница

Lokesh jumped from his seat. “This is another one of your powers?”

“Yes,” I replied, looking up to meet his gaze. “I can create any food or drink you wish.”

It happened so fast; I was completely unprepared for it. Lokesh slapped me hard across the face and jerked my chin toward him, wrenching my neck painfully in the process.

“You should have told me of this before. Never lie to me again,” he threatened.

A tear dropped onto my cheek. I grit my teeth and shook with rage. I thought of all the things I could do to him, but none of them would be lethal. They would only anger him further.

My cheek burned and itched where he’d slapped it, but I refused to rub it or acknowledge the pain. I tried to change the subject, to distract him from his anger. Thinking that a man such as Lokesh would love nothing more than to talk about himself, I relaxed back in my chair, sipped my water, and said, “Tell me about your past. If we are to have a son, I’d like him to know his heritage. I already know he’d be half American.”

“A fact I’d prefer to eradicate from my mind.”

“Then tell me more aboutyour background. Aren’t you proud enough of your own history to pass it on?”

His face became mottled red again and he spoke between clenched teeth. “No one will judge me or my progeny and find them lacking.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Alright. Then tell me.”

Lokesh considered me for a moment and then sat back in his chair and began. “I was born the eldest illegitimate son of the Shu emperor during the time of the Three Kingdoms. My mother was an Indian slave girl who was captured in a caravan in the year 250 CE. She was beautiful so the emperor took her for himself. She died by her own hand a year after my birth.”

“An emperor?”

“Yes.” Lokesh smiled naughtily. “Our son will have royal blood.”

“What was it like? Growing up the son of an emperor, I mean?”

He snorted, “My father, in an uncharacteristic act of human kindness, took me under his wing and taught me what it meant to have power. He said that a truly powerful man listens only to himself because he can trust no other, takes what he wants because no one will hand it to him freely, and uses weapons others fear to wield. I watched his example carefully over the years and learned his lessons very well. He carried a piece of the amulet and taught me of the power it had.”

I blinked and lowered my fork, the delicious crepes forgotten, as Lokesh continued.

“He told me I would only be able to wield its power if he died without a proper heir. From the moment I learned of the amulet’s existence, I lusted after it and thought of nothing else.

“When I was just a boy, war came to our empire and for the first time we were on the losing end. Desperate, my father tried some last minute bargaining and offered to take a barbarian leader’s teenage daughter as his bride. He hoped that this would save his empire. I was disgusted by this. He’d become weak, fearful. He was not the man who inspired fear in others any longer.

“His barbarian bride bore him a son and as the boy grew, I was dismissed from my father’s side. No longer did he confide in me. No longer did I have a claim to the empire. I vowed then that I would take the lives of my half brother and father. I was ten.

“When my brother was seven and I seventeen, I took him out hunting. Dismissing the guards, we rode out following the tracks of a stag. It was an easy thing to push him from his horse. I rode back and forth over his body using his own horse until he was quite dead. Then I killed his horse, and took his broken body back to my father.

“I told the emperor that the horse had thrown my younger brother and then went wild, trampling him until he was dead. Reassuring him, I said that the beast was now dead by my own hand. The fact that he believed my lies was a testament to how weak he’d become.

“A few months later, I slipped a knife between my father’s ribs while he was sleeping and took the amulet. He didn’t even wake. When I ascended the throne, I immediately had my father’s barbarian wife killed and took the rings of the empire. My father had worn one and the barbarian princess wore the other one, the one he’d given to my half brother upon his birth. It was a symbol that he was to be the next emperor.”

Lokesh twisted a ring on his right index finger. “This is the emblem of the Shu Empire and this,” he wiggled his pinky finger, “is the ring of the crown prince. The ring my half brother wore.”

I swallowed my revulsion and asked, “How long were you the emperor?”

“Not long. My father’s weakness had become an excuse for other warlords to constantly try us in battle. I had no interest in ruling from my father’s seat of power, and when my armies fled in cowardice, I escaped. By then I was only interested in obtaining the other pieces of the amulet.”

“So the amulet has kept you alive all this time?”

“That coupled with some black magic I’ve learned over the years.”

“I see. But how do you—”

Lokesh interrupted, “Enough questions. It’s my turn. I wish to see you demonstrate the use of your weapon.”

“My weapon?” I queried hesitantly.

“Your golden bow and arrows.”

Slowly, I scrunched my napkin between my suddenly sweaty palms.Durga’s bow and arrows were here somewhere too!

“Alright,” I agreed.

He rubbed his jaw and summoned a guard. I counted how long it took the guard to bring in the bow.Sixty seconds.

When the weapon was back in my hands, I nocked an arrow—just as Lokesh warned, “Don’t even attempt to use them against me. I deflected your arrows before and I can easily do so again.”

Figuring that he was probably right, I turned my aim to a statue on the other side of the room and watched the arrow sink into the marble.

“These were a gift from the goddess Durga,” I explained. “The arrows magically refill and also disappear from the target so they can’t be tracked.”

“Interesting.” Lokesh indicated the target and asked for a repeat performance.

This time, I tried to imbue the second arrow with lightning power to make the effect more impressive. My hand began to glow but sparked out quickly.Still no fire power.

Lokesh stared at my glowing hand, fascinated.

I made up a lie as quickly as possible. “When I shoot an arrow, my hand glows. I believe it is to help me aim better.”

“Most interesting. So tell me how you found this,” he said as he placed the Golden Fruit down on the table.

I set the bow and arrows aside and told him about the lost city of Kishkindha. I explained that Durga asked us to locate four items, each with magical properties, and, in exchange, the tigers would be men again. I didn’t tell the whole truth or go into too much detail, figuring it was better that Lokesh not know everything.

“Why do you care if the men are tigers or not?”

“When I discovered the gifts Durga shared with me, I wanted more,” I lied smoothly, playing to Lokesh’s thirst for power.

He nodded thoughtfully and rolled the Golden Fruit between his palms. “Perhaps we will finish your quest together and offer Durga her prizes. In exchange we will both gain the power you seek.”

I smiled.This crazy plan just might be working.... “I would be... privileged to share her powers with you.”

Lokesh summoned a servant to remove the Fruit and the bow and arrows. Impulsively, I instructed the Scarf to attach an invisible thread to the bow and told it to follow the bow to its hiding place. I had it attach the other end to the statue and asked the thread to bury itself in the carpet and blend in.

Taking a risk, I heightened the challenge. “Now that I have shared some of my powers with you, perhaps you will return the fav—”

Before I could finish the sentence, an icy chill swept over me, and I was frozen in place, not able to move, talk, or fight back.

Lokesh touched my cheek, smiled evilly, and came closer.

“You so generously shared some of your talents with me. I thought I should reciprocate.”

He ripped the shoulder of my gown and then groaned and trailed bruising kisses from my bare shoulder to my frozen lips. He ran his hands roughly up and down my back and pulled at my hair. I wanted to vomit but couldn’t. His warm, spicy breath became all I breathed in.

Panting, he straightened. His eyes gleamed with feral pleasure. Lokesh trailed his fingers lightly over my collarbone and played with the torn fabric by my shoulder. He murmured, “You please me greatly, Kelsey.” He pressed a final kiss on my bare shoulder and then backed away, smiling.

“If I wanted to, I could kill you by freezing you in an instant,” Lokesh gloated. “The only reason you can breathe is because I haven’t frozen your lungs or cardiovascular system.” He cupped my chin almost lovingly. “There now, wasn’t that an effective demonstration?”

Lokesh released me, and I blinked and realized I could move again. My shoulder hurt. I clasped the torn piece of my dress to my shoulder and nodded, swallowing thickly. “Very effective.”

“Do you have any other questions?” he asked.

“I’ll let you know,” I muttered, as I desperately tried to control my shaking limbs. I was hoping to get him to show his hand and figure out an Achilles’ heel, but I wasn’t prepared forthat.

While I pulled myself together, Lokesh strode toward the mantle and stoked the fire. The flames crackled and danced. I was grateful that he was at a further distance.

I told him about Durga’s other quests without divulging the actual prizes to give myself time to recover from his disturbing assault. He was most interested in the golden dragon’s hoard. I told him Mr. Kadam’s theory was that these prizes had been stolen from Durga and that she wanted them back.

“How old is your Mr. Kadam? I know he wears the other piece of the amulet,” Lokesh said.

“A few years older than Ren and Kishan.” Hoping to learn more about the amulet, I pushed on. “How is it that you can look like a young man? Is it the amulet?”

“Partially. Shortly after I’d found the second piece, I realized that my life was prolonged. Though my natural state is to look fifty, I can alter my form to appear to be a young man at will. Often I choose the age that will help me to accomplish my aim.”

“I know the amulet has kept Mr. Kadam from aging, but he doesn’t have the ability to make himself look younger like you do,” I commented, circling back to the amulet.

“He only has one piece of the amulet and his ancestors never wore it.”

“What difference does that make?”

“The power is compounded the more pieces you have,” Lokesh explained. “The descendants of those who wore amulets live very long lives, even if they’d never worn it.”

I need to know more. It’s the only way to figure this whole puzzle out.

“Yes, Mr. Kadam mentioned that his children and his children’s children lived longer-than-average lives. Do you think that is why Ren and Kishan have lived so long even without wearing the amulet?”

“The amulet cursed them. In defying me, they suffer an eternity of life as beasts.”

The curse.I bit my lip and thought back on everything we had learned from our previous quests.Isn’t the amulet protecting Ren and Kishan? I need to know more.

“Does that expression mean that you still care for the beasts, my dear?”

“It’s not that. I just worry that they may return and try to take your amulet pieces,” I lied with a look of concern plastered on my face.

“Do not fret. Should they return, we can easily weave a trap for them from your magic threads, and obviously I know more of the power of the amulets than they.”

I smiled shyly, laying it on thickly through lying lips. “May I ask how you found the amulet pieces, my... liege? I’m sorry if it’s forward of me to designate you as such, but you were an emperor, and a man of your stature should be addressed properly.”

Smiling, he studied me shrewdly and then said, “I wandered for many years asking scholars, monks, and kings for information about a great battle that united the kingdoms of Asia. During that time, I began studying the black arts and witchcraft. I sought those rumored to be dark wizards and learned whatever they would willingly teach me and extracted whatever they held back. I followed many clues that led only to dead ends. But, one by one, I discovered all five parts of the amulet. Ren and Kishan were the last pieces of the puzzle. Even now it irritates me that they have eluded me this long.”

“Why didn’t you just kill Ren and Kishan from the start?” I asked.

Lokesh sat back and replied, “The short answer to that very shrewd question is that I wanted to savor the moment. When I first found the royal family, Dhiren was five and Kishan four. Their parents, Rajaram and his wife, Deschen, never wore their amulet pieces in public. They also surrounded themselves and their young princelings with honorable, trustworthy guards who made their palace impossible to infiltrate. I watched the royal family for several months.

“That was when I first became fascinated with Deschen. She participated in every aspect of running the kingdom. She was clever, beautiful, and had an alluring combination of strength and softness. Any fool could see her sons would grow to be the greatest leaders of their time. I found to my surprise that I wanted to reunite the amulet, but I also hungered for Deschen and for strong sons of my own.

“Pretending to be a wealthy merchant in the neighboring kingdom of Bhreenam, I stirred up enough talk to gain a position on the king’s council and through thievery, betrayal, and cunning I was appointed commander of his military. I siphoned money from the government, took goods from the common people, and worked to undermine the kingdom. I also sent spies to Rajaram’s land.

“During that time, a wealthy merchant offered his daughter in exchange for favorable treatment. She was beautiful—tall, lithe, and young. And she had the most striking violet eyes.”

“Yesubai’s mother.”

He nodded. “Later, when she confessed she was pregnant, I was pleased. I envisioned a strong son like Dhiren but with violet eyes. I coddled her and spoiled her—”

I suppressed a shiver as I wondered what Lokesh’s definition of coddling and spoiling might be.

He went on. “—and it was early during her pregnancy when we were married. The night she gave birth to Yesubai, I picked up the child. The baby’s eyes were indeed violet, and it took several seconds before I realized it was a girl. I put the child back into its cradle. I was enraged. I had wanted a son and now I had a worthless girl. Without regret or pity, I strangled the life from Yesubai’s mother.”

I swallowed, thinking about the poor girl and knew that her fate would likely be mine. “What was your wife’s name?” I asked softly.

“Yuvakshi.” He clicked his tongue. “Now, now. I know what you’re thinking. It’s been several hundred years since that happened. I promise you that my attitude about women has progressed with the times—at least somewhat. Besides, you are much more valuable to me than my first wife was and I had no control over my temper at the time. If we find out the child you carry is a girl, we’ll simply remove it and try again.”

I sucked in a breath and tried to turn my grimace into a smile. “Of course, you are right. I’m not worried at all,” I choked out. When I noticed the gleam in his eye, I cleared my throat nervously. “So, when did you decide to use Yesubai to gain access to Rajaram’s kingdom?”

“How very clever of you, my dear,” Lokesh said, still looking at me in a very disturbing way. “Yesubai learned from a young age to obey me without question. She was beautiful, like her mother. By the time she was sixteen, I’d killed off the old king and taken the throne. I began expanding the military and attempted several infiltrations of Rajaram’s palace without success. He simply had the stronger military. I turned to diplomacy, which got the Rajaram family to open their arms to me, but every time I visited, one of the boys was missing.

“Yesubai reported that she’d seen the amulet worn by the younger one. In an attempt to bring both brothers to the palace at the same time, I negotiated a marriage between Yesubai and Dhiren, but planned for her to marry whichever brother was more easily influenced. Then I’d kill the other brother and Rajaram, take Deschen for my own, and claim their pieces of the amulet.

“It turned out there was no controlling Dhiren. His brother, Kishan, however, was more susceptible to a pretty face.”

I thought about what Kishan had told me of Yesubai. I couldn’t visualize her being so cold and deceitful. I decided to give Yesubai the benefit of the doubt. Whatever she had truly felt and done, she didn’t deserve the life she got.

“So you really didn’t want to kill Ren when he and Kishan changed into tigers?” I asked, trying to make sense of how and why the curse happened.

“No. I wanted to use him. Keep him under my thumb and cause him pain. Drag out his death slowly. I tried to control him through blood magic. I bought a medallion from a priest of the dark arts. Those I’d used it against had become mindless servants, willing to do anything I asked.

“But it didn’t seem to affect Dhiren or Kishan. The amulets they wore may have affected the spell and it changed them into tigers instead. It was not I who set the Tiger’s Curse into motion. In retrospect, I should have killed Dhiren when I had the chance, but I felt I had already won. Obviously, things didn’t go my way.”

With a flourish, Lokesh took my hand and put his mouth roughly against it—his version of a caress. His black eyes flashing menacingly, he held my gaze and said the words that made my blood run cold.

“Time’s up, my pet. Will you offer yourself to me freely in exchange for the tigers’ lives?”

shotgun

Iswallowed thickly. I’d been planning on “offering myself freely” to someone I truly loved and who loved me. It wasn’t too long ago that I had the luxury of choosing whether that someone would be Ren or Kishan. I had chosen Kishan, but none of that mattered now. I was all out of options. If I didn’t agree to go through with Lokesh’s plans, we would all surely die.

Knowing there was nothing else I could say, I affixed a forced smile to my face. “Yes, I’ve decided to accept your offer. There’s something to be said for a mature man of the world. And your power... excites me.” Panicked, but trying desperately not to show it, I demurred, “But... I have one small request.”

Lokesh’s eyes glittered impatiently. “And what is that?”

My mind sifted through possible ways to put off his advances when suddenly the answer came to me. I quickly explained, “My parents died when I was young, and I was left alone. I don’t want that to happen to our son.”

“That will not happen.” Lokesh raised my wrist to his mouth and nibbled on it brusquely. “I fully intend to instruct my son in all aspects of my power as you will instruct him in yours. I intend to be ahands-on father.”

“I’m sure you will be,” I reassured him. “But what I’m trying to say is... I want him to have your name. I don’t want to bring an illegitimate child into the world. You suffered much because of that status, and I will not have my son be usurped. I want you to... to...” I gulped, not believing I was actually saying the words, “marry me.”

Lokesh took a step back and stared. “You wish to be my wife?”

“Surely you didn’t expect me to be your concubine? You offered as much to Yesubai’s mother. I wish the same. I want our union to be not only one of strategy, but also one that’s binding by tradition, if not legally. You can use whatever name you wish but I want to be married before we... try to have a child.” I lowered my gaze and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

After a quiet moment he declared, “You are wise to bargain for this. It shows you are thinking of our son and his place in the world. I will do as you wish. Wewill marry and as a gift to you, I will allow you to remain chaste until you come to my marriage bed. Is this satisfactory?”

“Yes, thank you, my... husband.”

Lokesh smiled like a cat cornering a mouse. “Then I will leave you to create a bridal gown while I arrange the wedding and a feast. I will send a servant to retrieve you tomorrow for our wedding supper. I’d escort you myself but there is much to do and I still do not trust you enough to leave you to your own devices. You understand, of course?”

“Of course,” I answered, relieved that I’d bought myself another twenty-four hours to come up with an escape plan.

Kissing me before he left, Lokesh pulled and pushed and bit and shoved as if I was a piece of clay being molded into whatever shape he desired. When he finally drew away, I managed a shy smile, though it hurt.

Patting my shoulder roughly, he said, “By this time tomorrow, you will be my wife. Sleep well, my pet. You’ll need your rest.”

“Good night,” I replied woodenly and returned to the freedom of my empty prison.

I didn’t sleep much at all that night. Through closed eyes, I silently prayed that Ren or Kishan, Mr. Kadam, or even Durga would help me. I was running out of time.

During the brief moments I did sleep, I dreamt I was sitting up in bed holding a precious baby boy. It was Kishan’s vision in the Grove of Dreams. The baby slept, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his eyes were the color of a vibrant ocean or sparkled like a golden desert.

I smoothed his dark hair and kissed his baby-soft forehead. Little fingers wrapped around mine as the baby stirred. When he yawned and blinked, I recoiled in horror. My baby’s eyes were pitch black. Slowly his sweet baby expression melted and his lips twisted cruelly. Then I heard the words of a pitiless young boy whisper, “Hello,Mother.”

I woke up with a scream. Quickly, I composed myself and rolled over, stuffing a pillow under my cheek. Escape was too much to hope for, but death, either Lokesh’s or mine, would be my goal. I would not allow him to touch me, let alone consider bearing his child. He was a deadly predator and when a predator wants to devour you, you can run, you can hide, or you can kill him first. I had no choice but to fight for my life.

But how could I kill my captor? All I had for weapons were the Pearl Necklace and the Scarf, which meant I could try to hang him or drown him in his bathtub. That wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan. I knew I wouldn’t be able to access the bow and arrows, and I had no fire power.

I tossed and turned, considering strategy after strategy until I heard a noise at my window. In the predawn darkness, I looked out on the empty, snow-covered landscape. Then I felt the whisper of material on the ledge. The Scarf had embroidered a message:

Kelsey?

Are you there?

It’s Kishan.

Kishan is here! I might still have to kill Lokesh, but I won’t have to do it alone!I wondered if Mr. Kadam and Ren were also nearby.

If it weren’t for Lokesh’s prying eyes, I would have jumped for joy. Instead, I asked the Scarf to stitch a reply and pressed the cloth to the window.

Am okay.

Lokesh marrying me tomorrow night.

Cameras and guards everywhere.

I stifled a sob as the cloth twitched and the Scarf obeyed Kishan’s instructions. Flipping it over, I read:

Stall him as long as possible.

We have a plan.

We’re coming for you.

I pressed my hands against the glass and nodded. Staring through my window, I watched the woods for the longest time, searching for a flash of black or white.

The next morning, I anxiously rose from my bed and headed to the shower. I was exhausted in every way possible. I’d kept my emotions under such a tight rein; knowing that my imprisonment was almost over, one way or another, overwhelmed me to the point that I couldn’t hold them back anymore.

I worried about Ren and Kishan challenging Lokesh. I wondered if I would remain locked in my room while they fought and perhaps died. I thought about what would happen if they failed, and I ended up having to marry a monster.

Standing in a scalding shower, I cried quietly, hoping the steam that shrouded the mirror would also fog up any hidden cameras. Spent, I sank down until I sat back in the tub and let the hot water pummel my body until it turned cold.

Today could be the day I die.

With that morbid thought, I prepared for my wedding.

I took a long time drying and brushing my hair. Spending hours in the sun, hiking the jungles, and swimming in the ocean had bleached my brown hair, which now had champagne-blond highlights.Mom would have liked it. I wondered what she would have thought of my upcoming nuptials. It certainly wasn’t the wedding I’d envisioned for myself.

I had asked the Scarf to create a wedding dress befitting an ancient Chinese princess. I ignored it as long as I possibly could, but finally slid open the closet. I gasped at the silky red dress, which looked similar to the one the bride had worn at the wedding Li and I attended.

The gown was elaborate, and I was glad it would take me at least twenty minutes to put it on. It was trimmed in beads and elaborate gold stitching. There was a Mandarin style ruff attached to a golden tunic adorned with a large lotus blossom. Strings of beads crossed back and forth over the tunic, and its thick, embellished sleeves draped over my hands while the silky under sleeves extended at least a foot beyond my fingertips. On the thin apron of the tunic’s top layer, the Scarf had stitched a gorgeous fiery phoenix.

A long, golden scarf wrapped around my back and draped to the floor. I stepped into red silk slippers embroidered with golden flowers and fastened the piece de resistance—a magnificent hairpiece with golden feathers and flowers, intricate braids, beads, and ornaments woven throughout.

I turned to gaze at my reflection. I looked like an exotic bird, a phoenix, in fact. Like the great bird, I was beautiful and vibrant, but I was also deadly; and soon, I would be consumed by fire.

I tucked the Scarf into one of my long sleeves, concealing it for later use. After dabbing a flowery perfume on my wrists and behind my ears, I sat down to await my groom.

Too soon, one of Lokesh’s servants came to collect me. He ogled my costume with a shocked expression, then quickly ducked his head and stayed as far away from me as he could.

Is he afraid of me? I wish Lokesh felt the same way.

The servant guided me to what looked like a small library and handed me a note and a box on his way out. I heard the click of the lock behind him and then silence.

I let out a pent-up breath and hoped that whatever plan Ren and Kishan had dreamed up would be put into motion before the wedding ceremony. Closing my eyes, I made a wish that we would all make it out alive.

I sat stiffly before opening Lokesh’s note, which said that we were to dine before a magistrate performed the ceremony. Tugging the white ribbon off, I opened the gift from my husband-to-be.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04