"Ishva can tell you. I'm sure she misses parts of her personality sometimes."
She gave out a chilling laugh. "Sugriva, you attempt to learn all the elements, so you will master none. I suggest you pick fire and stick with it. Stop poking around. Dedicate yourself." She smiled again and went back to the toddler, poking his nose. "You picked one, and I bet when you come of age you'll be better at it than your dad."
Wuzi wasn't wrong. Sugriva could sense through all three elements, but so far he could only manipulate fire and water.
That night, at dinner, Ishva was contemplative. Her food was burned and she kept smoldering it, paying more attention to the flame. The pained look twisted Sugriva inside. Finally he broke Ishva's thoughts. "What are you worried about?"
"Nothing," she muttered, until she shook herself out of the trance. "My apologies. I was lost in the flame. It happens."
"It happens when you have a lot on your mind. I know your moods and when your heart aches."
She shimmied. "This is true. I have something I need to tell you tonight. It is a choice you need to make, though I would love to make the choice for you."
"Why wait?" Personally, he never understood waiting. If it had to be said, say it. If it didn't, forget it.
She nodded, and she excused herself from the table, taking Sugriva with her into the jungle. Wuzi and Taro both looked concerned, though the rest of the spirits continued in ignorance, enjoying the meal and entertainment.
The jungle felt menacing that night, as if the trees had eyes, and they were staring at the couple as they walked. Sugriva wanted to hold her hand, to call upon the spirits to keep him from harm so he could feel the entirety of her heat as fingers laced together.
Ishva broke Sugriva out of his thoughts. "The demons have mounted in force behind Ravasha. He marches on Jaya and will crush it."
The news lanced Sugriva's chest. "We need to go and help them." He paused a moment, thinking of all the spirits they had, then he said, "Or better, we could assassinate Ravasha before he reaches them. It'll scatter—"
"Sankive is meant to fall. You know the stories of Bahimatt. That is where we are to go. Stay here, train with us, and send out for the villages. Bring the villagers here and we will strike out for Bahimatt." She took his hands, and he reflexively asked for the protection of fire spirits.
"You didn't say I can't kill him."
Ishva huffed. "You can kill him. Jaya will still fall."
"Prisha is there. I can save her. And Divyan and Amu who were kind to me."
"Maybe." She let go of his hand, and the evening coolness replaced her heat. A shiver rippled through him. Ishva said, "But I thought you loved me, Sugriva. The way you look at me. How you favor me with raising your child. Our walks." She let the thought trail off. Another lance through Sugriva's heart. The voice whispered in the back of his head, a sensation he hadn't felt in years. It wanted him to go to Jaya, another sign Jaya was the wrong decision.
"We would all go to Bahimat?"
She nodded eagerly, and Sugriva wondered when she fell in love with him. He never noticed until her earnestness in getting him to remain in Ramaswam. It hurt to know he would lose what he had for someone he could never have.
"Will you watch Chelan?" he asked, and her smile flickered, then faded.
"If you leave you will not be welcomed back. We will keep Chelan and train him, and you will not see him again. If you would trade that for a woman and kingdom which turned on you, then go. Do not wait, leave tonight. You only have a month, and it takes two weeks to reach Jaya."
Sugriva went in to kiss Ishva, but a wall of fire spouted up between them, and when it faded, she was gone. Tears streaked down his cheek, as he used his staff to fling himself toward Jaya.
SUGRIVA SAT ON A STOOL in a small village, sipping rice beer. He wore robes and a hat, remaining in his man form. "What's the news?" he asked the cook.
The man shrugged, pouring some rice onto his plate, then adding a few vegetables and a ladle of curry. "Almost a dozen demons killed around here. I guess that's news."
Sugriva nearly spat. "In the past few years?"
"No," the cook shook his head and served another customer. "In the past month."
"Who killed them?" Jaya didn't have warriors ready for so many demons, and if there were that many this far out of Jaya, he couldn't imagine what they were facing near the walls of the city.
"Demon hunters. Jaya said they trained numerous the past several generations, preparing for this." Lies, but the villages didn't care. Demon hunters showed up and killed the monstrosities, so they were willing to believe in the overreaching power of the Jayan Empire. "Some of them learned from demons and use the shadows."
This news caused a shiver to creep down Sugriva's spine, and his right arm suffered a tremor, then a twitch. "I see." He could feel the itch in the back of his head. If Jaya was okay with using Chaos, then why wouldn't Sugriva embrace its power?
The cook leaned on the counter. "Yeah, I just feel bad for them. We had one here that lost his mind. His band had to put him down right in the street."
A side effect Sugriva was all too aware of. After the war, he could gather the corrupted together so they could find peace through the Ashtadash—whether that would be purification or death.
It was another week before he reached Jaya dressed as a hermit in rags and a rice hat. He covered his face in mud and grass, then added some ash for effect.
