Hatred and fear gripped at Sugriva's heart. Take the book. Make Taro talk. You could save all of Jaya and redeem yourself. You would walk your path again. Maybe they would even reward you with Prisha.
Sugriva grit his teeth and fought back the voice. He could feel the corruption snake out into his limbs and mind, and he growled.
"Bad monkey." Fire engulfed him, and he called upon the spirits. However, that would not save him from the burning of the corruption, and soon he collapsed.
WHEN HE CAME TO, ISHVA stood over him, stern. She asked, "What fear do you act on? How do we dispel it?"
He thought of his son and the witch Pankatav. "I have a son. Would you check that he's okay?"
"Taro," Ishva called. "Find out about Sugriva's son."
Sugriva gave information on the village, and then Taro left, descending into the earth.
Ishva turned to Sugriva. "You will rest and train. You will no longer go from the temple. Wuzi or myself will keep an eye on you. This is not your fault." She took his hands in hers. "This is the corruption. But we have to keep us safe as well as you."
TARO RETURNED WEEKS later. She passed by Sugriva without a word and went straight to her sisters. They met in the temple, leaving the monkey out in the courtyard. When he approached the temple, Ishva said, "My sisters and I need to discuss your water mistress. Then we will let you know what we can do."
Sugriva obeyed and practiced staff katas.
Hours later, Ishva came out. She sat down lotus style in front of Sugriva, while Wuzi and Taro walked behind him. They were uncertain how he would take whatever news they had to deliver, and that made his muscles tense. It caused his vision to blur with anxiety. It allowed the voice to whisper, though the whisper was slight. He simply assumed those pleas consisted of killing the three spirits and eating them.
Ishva said, "Taro found the village, though it took her a long time. The savanna is not well known to us, so she had to seek out numerous other villages before they led her to the fake Ashtadash. When she arrived, the tribe was burned to the ground. Blood and bones covered the ground."
Sugriva tensed and saw red. He trembled, then fell to his knees and wept. Taro put a hand on his shoulder, but not to restrain him. She comforted him. With her lips near his ear, she whispered, "Do not despair, monkey. Hear Ishva out."
The fire elemental nodded, then proceeded. "Pankatav took your son. It looked like the people went to kill her, but she slaughtered them and threw them in her lake. The lake is crimson now. It killed all the fish and several other animals, which put the predators into a frenzy. They died soon, too, as there was nothing to eat.
"Pankatav went to the village and killed the remaining villagers to avenge her pets. Merchants who still visit her say she's alone and training a little monkey to be a water elementalist. He is still young. You can intervene, and we think it will be good for your soul to do so."
SUGRIVA HELD ISHVA, as she took the form of a torch. A water skin contained Wuzi, which provided Sugriva with drinks whenever he thirsted. Taro Taro turned into a chariot of dirt and stone which rode along the ground at incredible speeds. Sugriva just had to hold on with all his might as the four sped away to the savanna.
Once they reached the village, they disembarked. Ishva leaped from Sugriva’s hand. Wuzi left the water skin, though she filled it with water for Sugriva. The chariot formed into a beautiful woman, and Taro Taro winked at Sugriva. "I see you finally got to ride me."
Sugriva blushed, though he would not make that mistake again. Even if he trusted the three women, he would never give his body over to another spirit.
Ishva said, "We will stay here tonight."
"She doesn't visit the village. We'll be safe," Taro added. "I was here a few days to watch her habits. She considers this place cursed, or close enough."
They rested, each one taking turns guarding. When the sun rose, they went off. Sugriva brandished his staff. Taro had a hammer of clay. Wuzi turned one of her hands into numerous whips which didn't stop flowing. Ishva had a bow of fire, with a quiver on her back filled with bolts of flames.
When they neared the lake, Ishva said, "You understand, Sugriva, that this is your battle. You will fight her alone for your son, and only if you fail will we step in. I promise, though, upon the myth that has become the Ashtadash, that if you fail, we will dry her out and train your son ourselves, so he can become the warrior you are."
Sugriva wept. "I'll do my best. Thank you for watching my son."
The three women hugged Sugriva, and then he went out to face Pankatav.
Her hut was still there. The lake was still crimson from those she killed, and the animals which died as a result. The sand around it became ruddy as if clay. The shack was the same as he remembered, and a bolt of guilt struck his chest, as he saw where they laid together. He scratched at his crotch.
"Spirits of water, protect me." He could feel the spirits answer, as his lungs adapted.
"I hear a boy outside. Who could it be? Another victim?" Pankatav mocked from inside the shack. As a water spirit, she would feel the prayer, too. "Why come back? Revenge? The boy?"
She left the shack with his son in her arms. She cradled the monkey, feeding him from her breast. "He wants for nothing, Sugriva. Now go before I kill the boy just to spite you."
"He means too much to you. Now come on. Kill me."
Without taking the child from her teet, she called on
