ASH MISTRY AND THE CITY OF DEATH (13 page)

“
t’s a Brahma-aastra,” said Ash. “It’s the Life Giver. It raises the dead. And you
knew
.”

He still couldn’t quite believe it – that Ujba had been right about Parvati, that she couldn’t be trusted. His guts churned in turmoil with anger, disappointment and betrayal.

“Maybe we should discuss this privately, Ash,” said Parvati.

The other rakshasas were just waking up in their soggy camp. Last night’s downpour was now a fine falling mist with water dripping off the huge, shiny green leaves into dirty brown puddles. A few small campfires flickered, fed with rubbish and semi-dry twigs. The ragtag demon followers of Parvati set about cooking breakfast as they shifted through the graveyard under wet blankets and tatty old coats. Mahout glanced at Ash, a hint of sadness in his little eyes, but Ash snarled back. Mahout had known also, and hadn’t told him. Had they all known about the Koh-i-noor?

“Why not here?” Ash’s knuckles and finger joints clicked as he locked them into fists. “Or are you worried everyone will find out what a liar and traitor you really are?”

Parvati’s fangs lengthened. Even in the gloom of dawn her eyes shone murderously bright. “Because you are my friend, Ash, I’ll forgive you this once. But never presume to speak to me like that again, ever.”

“You let Gemma die, and all the while we’ve had the power to bring her back.” Ash shook his head and could barely keep the tears back. “We could bring her back, Parvati. Somehow.”

“That’s not possible.”

“It is, I saw it happen. Ashoka took the Koh-i-noor and made a dead man live. I was there.”

“And so was I, Ash. It wasn’t like that.”

“I saw—”

“I don’t care what you think you saw.”

“What about Savage? He’s been after the diamond from the beginning. Maybe he knows how to use it.”

Parvati looked at him as if he’d gone absolutely monkey-loony insane. Then she laughed. Once, when she laughed, it had lifted Ash’s heart and there was no better sound. Now it was pitiless and mocking. “Savage? Well, why don’t you ask him when you find him? I’m sure he’ll be happy to help.”

“That’s not what I mean. There might be others who can do it. Other sorcerers – good guys like Rishi.”

“There’s no one like Rishi. If there was I would have found him by now.”

“You don’t understand,” said Ash.

“No,
you
don’t. Listen, Ash, I’ll explain this again, slowly, so it gets into your stubborn head. The Koh-i-noor cannot raise the dead. Savage is our enemy. That’s it. Just follow my orders and we’ll get through this. You start having your own ideas and it’ll go badly for all of us, especially you.”

How could she be so arrogant? Who did she think she was? “Is that a threat, Parvati? I’ve just as much right—”

“Will you just shut up for once?” Parvati folded her arms. “You have to let her go, Ash. Let Gemma rest in peace.”

“Why?” he asked. Simply that.

“Fate, Ash, fate.” Parvati sighed. “Gemma was fated to die. Because of you.”

“Lies,” Ash snarled. “You’re just full of them. I never knew how much of a snake you really were, even your mind’s all twisted.” He gazed around the gathered crowd. “All these people, they’re here because they want to believe in you. But they don’t know you like I do. Don’t know how you’ll use them, get close just so you can stab them in the back, like you did me. Like you did your own father. I thought it was because you believed in something better, but now I realise it’s just your nature. To lie to those close to you. To betray the ones loyal to you. Treachery – it’s all you know, isn’t it?”

“Shut up, Ash, if you know what’s good for you.”

But he couldn’t. The anger needed to get out and Ash wanted her to hurt as badly as he did. “You wonder why you have no friends. Why in over four thousand years no one’s cared for you and why you’ve been so alone. The answer’s right there. You just need to look in the mirror.”

Parvati hissed, her cheeks flushed, her eyes filled with anger and humiliation. Ash knew he’d just destroyed all the friendship they’d had.

The other rakshasas watched in utter silence. No one moved except Khan. Slowly he stood and slowly he stalked through the long grass, eyes never leaving Ash, until he was standing beside Parvati in a warrior stance.

Parvati glared at him, matching his rage with a dark fury of her own. “Go, before I kill you,” she whispered.

sh stalked away into the darkest reaches of the cemetery, chopping and swiping at the undergrowth. He kicked a tree trunk, watching the leaves quiver and shake. He kicked it again, desperate to destroy something.

It was all wrong! He didn’t understand what was happening. Gemma was dead, his friends back home were scared of him, he’d attacked his dad and now this – Parvati hated him.

He slumped down on a fallen gravestone. He didn’t know what to do.

Why had she lied? Did Parvati hate Gemma that much? It didn’t make sense. More likely she just didn’t care, or understand. How could she? She was a demon, daughter of Ravana. What did the life of one girl mean to her? Nothing.

Parvati wanted Savage dead and that was all the Koh-i-noor was to her – bait to attract the Englishman.

A chill went through him. Did Savage know how to use the Brahma-aastra? Was that why he was after it? He had mastered the seven sorceries, maybe he had the secret to this as well?

If he did, and got hold of it, then he could bring Gemma back from the dead. The Life Giver – that was what Ashoka had called the Koh-i-noor. Yet who knew what other powers it might possess? Could he risk Savage getting even a sniff of the diamond?

But Parvati wanted to kill Savage the moment he came looking for it. The world would then be rid of an extremely bad, bad guy, but he wouldn’t be able to save Gemma. How could Ash allow that? Gemma hadn’t deserved to die, and if there was a single chance, no matter how small, how insane, chance to have her back, he had to take it. But for that, he needed Savage alive. The English sorcerer’s life and Gemma’s were fatally entwined. If Savage lived, then so might Gemma. If he died, then that was it for her too.

Ash grabbed hold of a thick branch, too frustrated to do anything but try to twist and rip it off. He bent the bough as far as he could and glared at the creaking limb, determined to break it.

“What are you doing?” said John. He sat on top of one of the hundreds of tombs with a banana leaf in his hand, eating some stewed vegetables with his fingers.

Ash released the branch. “Where have you been?”

“Staying out of trouble. Unlike you.” He scrunched up the leaf and tossed it. “You just seem to attract it.”

Ash picked up a stick and swung it limply at the unyielding tree. “Tell me about it. Everything’s gone epically wrong. Parvati’s been lying to me from the very beginning. She’s so caught up in avenging herself on Savage that she doesn’t care who else gets hurt.”

“What happened?”

Ash told him about the dream, the Koh-i-noor and how it could bring life back to the dead. That there was a way, a real way, to save Gemma. Repeating it out loud made Parvati’s betrayal all the more painful. But John didn’t seem surprised.

“She’s a demon – what did you expect?” he said. “You can’t trust anyone.”

“– What’s wrong?” Ash asked. John had sounded so bitter. It wasn’t like him.

John stared at him.

“Out with it, John.”

John hopped down. “Forget it. I’m all right.” He tapped the tree. “So what are you going to do now?”

“See Ujba, I suppose.”

“He’s in Kolkata?” John gaped. “What… what does he want?”

“He’s not after you, if that’s what you’re worried about. He wants to train me. I’m meant to be over there now. Apparently he agreed to continue my training if anything happened to Rishi.” He scratched his thumb. “There are more powers within the Kali-aastra. He wants me to learn them.”

“But you killed Ravana,” said John. “Isn’t that enough?”

Ash looked up at the tree. “Apparently not.”

John glanced around him, agitated. Talking about Ujba had obviously scared him badly. He jumped at the sound of a bird breaking cover. Ash laughed.

“It’s not funny, Ash,” John said. “Don’t trust Ujba. He’s evil.”

“Come on. I know he’s hard, but Rishi thought—”

“Don’t be an idiot!” John shouted. He held his fists up and gritted his teeth, almost boiling with rage. Ash had never seen him so angry. “Ujba will hurt you; it’s what he does. Do you think he’s forgiven you for running from him? A man like that holds grudges, believe me. I know.” He said the last two words with quiet despair, shuddering as he said them.

“What happened? After we left?”

“What do you think happened?”

“My dad gave you money. To help find your mum. Didn’t you—”

“Oh, a couple of hundred pounds. Thanks so much. We poor Indians are
soooo
grateful to the English sahib.” John put his palms together and gave a low, mocking bow. “You come and give us your spare change, then go. Bye-bye India.”

“It wasn’t like that, John. You know it wasn’t.”

“Ujba took the money off me. He… wasn’t happy about what had happened. I helped you escape, remember? He didn’t like that at all.” John shook his head. “He beat me. I could barely walk after he and Hakim had finished. Then he kicked me out on to the streets. No one would help me, not after Ujba spread the word. You know what it’s like to be starving when all around you are restaurants? When you can smell food sizzling in the pans? I tried to steal, but that just got me beaten up again. More.”

“Oh God, John, I’m so sorry. I never knew.”

“Of course you didn’t. All your problems were behind you.”

“But you found your mum, you told me.”

“I had a few friends. They helped me look. She’s being taken care of now.”

“Friends like Jimmy?”

John didn’t meet Ash’s gaze, but nodded. “He was one.”

Ash took his friend’s hand. “John, I can’t fix what’s happened. But I promise, I
promise
I’ll make it up to you.”

John drew his hand away. “I know you will, Ash.” But he didn’t sound at all happy about it.

“
ou are late,” said Ujba.

“How observant of you,” said Ash.

“Then we must work twice as hard.” Ujba pointed at the statue of Kali. “You know what to do. Honour the goddess.”

Ash didn’t move. He stared at Ujba, thinking about how he’d treated John, and he felt his fury build inside him. His hands shook until he pressed them against his legs; otherwise, he didn’t know what he’d do. Smash Ujba to pieces, most likely.

“Well?” said Ujba, utterly unaware of Ash’s desires.

Gold lights sprung up on Ujba’s skin. Not many, not many at all. Most were dim – disabling points rather than fatal.

“You are angry. Why?” said Ujba, his back turned to Ash as he leaned over something in the corner.

Where to begin? “For a lot of things, but right here, right now? For what you did to John.”

Now Ujba turned round. If Ash didn’t know better, he’d have said the guru looked surprised.

“John? The little thief? What exactly did I do to him?”

“Beat him, starved him. Cast him out and stole his money. The money I gave him.”

Ujba stroked his moustache. “The money, yes, I took it. Why not? But those other crimes? I will tell you this. I am hard, but I am not cruel. John left the same day you went with your father. Poorer for certain, but unharmed by me or any of my house.”

“But he told me—”

“The boy is a thief. He was perhaps working your Western sympathies for more rupees. He has a weak and gentle face. I’ve told him more than once it will make his fortune. He is easy to pity. Easy to believe.”

“Why would he lie to me?”

“Why indeed? This is a good question to ask yourself.”

“John is my friend,” said Ash. His only friend, it seemed. “He helped me escape your prison. That’s why you did those things to him.”

“Prison? You mean the Lalgur? You think you were in a prison? What happened when your so-called friend helped you escape my school? Were you not captured by Savage? Were you not forced to hand over the Kali-aastra to him? Was not your sister threatened with death, to be fed to Savage’s demons? Was this the help John provided?” Ujba laughed, and his amusement was brutal. “I think you could do with fewer of these types of friends.”

“What, and more friends like you?”

“I am your guru. That is far more important.” He brushed the dust off his palms. “Now, we have work to do.”

Ujba took a wooden box and brought it over. It was about the size of a shoe box, made of old, dark wood, smooth and shiny with age. Elaborate Sanskrit writing covered the lid, once inlaid with gold leaf, but the letters were too worn to be read and most of the gold was gone. The guru knelt down, silently motioning for Ash to do the same opposite him.

What was going on? John had told him that Ujba had been brutal, and Ash believed him. But as Ash searched the guru’s face, he couldn’t be sure. Rishi trusted Ujba; he’d made arrangements for Ash’s training with him. Ujba might be evil, but he was a priest of Kali. Ash was a servant of Kali. He didn’t know what to believe.

Lost in confusion, he sat down.

The smell of herbs, bitter and sweet, spilled out as Ujba gently raised the lid on the box. He took out a small silver bowl – little larger than an eggcup – a folded paper packet and a razor. He shook black powder into the bowl. “Hold out your hand.”

Ash did. The razor slipped over his palm.

“Ow!” Ash shouted. He stared at the thin red line. “What’d you do that for?”

Ujba grabbed Ash’s bleeding hand and let the blood drip into the bowl. He muttered prayers to himself as he swirled the mixture. Then he held it up. “Drink.”

Ash sniffed the oily black liquid within and almost gagged up breakfast. The smell was sickeningly sweet, but putrid, like meat left out too long in the hot sun. “What is it?”

“Soma,” said Ujba. “It’s to bring you closer to Kali.”

“Really? One whiff of that almost killed me.”

“It might. Most of the ingredients are poisonous.” Ujba smirked. “But you’ve been dead before and that didn’t stop you, did it?”

“What’ll happen to me if I drink it?”

“Your senses will ascend to a higher plane. You will see Kali. You will understand what she has planned for you. If you are worthy, she will unlock further powers from the Kali-aastra. If you are unworthy, you will die.”

“In which case you’d better pour it down the drain.”

Ujba pushed the bowl into Ash’s hand. “Drink it. It’s what Kali wants. You will become a true Kali-aastra, able to use all the power of Kali. You will be purged of any… weakness.”

“What sort of weakness?”

“Doubt. Fear. Compassion. You are destined to do great and terrible things, boy.”

“I’ll be a Thug – that’s it, isn’t it?”

“And so much more. Once you rid yourself of your humanity you will be unstoppable. The perfect weapon of Kali.”

Ujba wanted Ash to be some remorseless killing machine. A psychopath. He looked at the guru, wondering what sort of teacher Rishi had sent him. This was the price for more power? Hadn’t Parvati said something about this, ages ago, when he’d first assumed the powers of the Kali-aastra?
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely
. She had also said Gemma was dead because of him, and the more he embraced the powers of the Kali-aastra, the more death would surround him. Who would be next? John? Josh? His dad? Lucky? He didn’t want such power if that was the price. It had to stop.

“No,” he said.

Ujba’s voice hardened. “Don’t you want to be more powerful?”

“I… don’t want to become a monster,” he said. “I’ve had enough.”

Ujba pushed the bowl against Ash’s chest and Ash flicked it away. The contents splashed over the clean tiles, leaving a black, oily trail. The bowl rang as it bounced across the floor.

“This lesson is over,” said Ash as he stood. For the first time in ages he felt a sense of relief. This one decision he knew was right.

Ujba glowered. “You are a fool.”

Ash left.