James yelped and jumped back, into the cover of the alcove. Just in time—a shot rang out, and the stone next to James’s head exploded.
Banks crawled into the alcove next to James, holding his shoulder. He breathed heavily, his face pale. He shrugged out of his coat, revealing a bloom of blood spreading through his shirt.
“Are you okay?” James crouched next to the man, heart hammering, unsure of what to do.
“Yeah,” Banks grunted through gritted teeth. He reached to his leg and pulled the gun from its hidden holster.
“How’d they find us?”
“One of my connections must have snitched. Just go in. I can hold them off.”
“What? No!” James said. “I—”
“Go!” Banks shouted as another gunshot rang out, the bullet clipping the stone above them. “This is too important. You’ve got to get the stone. I can hold them off.”
As if to prove it, he leaned out of the alcove, aimed his pistol, and fired. A moment later, James heard a shout of pain from the plaza.
“I’m a better shot than they think,” Banks said, leaning back behind cover. “Now go!”
James hastened forward, grabbing the resting Buddha, hoping his intuition was right. It was—he heaved the statue up, and it swung from the back like a trapdoor. It revealed a small hole in the middle of the slab, barely large enough to fit through, with ladder rungs carved into the stone.
James swung his legs over, finding footing in the stone. He looked at Banks.
“I...” he said, struggling to find words. But the man wasn’t paying attention. He leaned out of the alcove, fired a few shots, and leaned back just in time as the stone around him exploded.
“Good luck,” James said quietly, and he climbed down.
Into the belly of the Shanti Stupa.
Chapter 34
Katie’s world was pain.
She floated in a state of semiconsciousness, unaware of her surroundings. Unaware of anything. Her body didn’t exist; her mind didn’t exist. All that existed was the constant, ceaseless pain. She rode waves of it, hoping each crest would be the last but knowing there was always more to come.
She had held firm at first, bearing down against the pain, even meeting the eyes of her torturer, trying to show him he couldn’t hurt her. But of course, he could. Without even laying a finger on her.
She bit down on her first scream for a long time, countless minutes. But when it finally broke through, it opened the floodgates, and her mind twisted in agony, distorting her reality. How long it went on, she couldn’t say. Worse, she couldn’t say why it stopped. Had he simply grown bored and would return another time? Or had she given him what he wanted? Had that one word slipped from her lips, the word that would damn them all?
She floated in this semiconsciousness for some time, almost reveling in it. The pain was immense, but it was better than opening her eyes to reality, a reality where the two options were that Calico was on his way to Lumbini to catch James and it was her fault or that Calico would return shortly to inflict even more pain.
A light touch to her cheek brought her screaming back to consciousness.
She struggled away from the touch, her body swinging from the rope around her wrists. Distantly, she heard a scream and realized it was coming from her own lungs. A hand clamped over her mouth, and the scream was muffled.
“Shh,” a woman’s voice said, pleading. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
Katie’s eyes focused, and she saw Auri standing on a chair to reach her. She struggled harder against the hand, her body flailing. Auri had come in place of Calico, perhaps to inflict more pain.
“Shh,” Auri said again, her eyes shining in the dim light. The Super closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating, and opened them again.
Suddenly, the pain faded. Katie’s head pounded slightly less, and her lip stopped throbbing where she had nearly bitten through it. The agonizing feeling in her bones, as if they had been stretched to their limits, began to disappear. In the absence of pain, Katie fell limp and silent.
“There now, it’s okay,” Auri said softly, like a mother comforting her child. “Please trust me.” She reached up to where the rope was holding Katie and made a slashing gesture with her hand. At once, the ropes fell away.
She thought she’d hit the ground and crumble, but somehow, she kept her feet, albeit with a slight wobble. The pain was gone, but she still felt incredibly weak. Her wrists were rubbed raw, the cuts so deep she was surprised she didn’t see bone. Auri reached forward as if to heal them, but Katie pulled away.
“Don’t bother,” she said, holding her wrists protectively away from the Super. She spotted Rocky in the corner, still unconscious and strapped down. She was relieved to see his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. “Can you help him?”
Auri hesitated, then nodded. “I think so.”
Katie watched the Super with suspicion as she crossed the room. What was she playing at? Did Calico send her down here, or was she truly here to help? Katie decided to watch and see and be ready for Auri to turn on her at any moment.
Auri leaned over Rocky and placed a hand on his chest. She closed her eyes, her brow furrowed with effort. After several long heartbeats, long enough for Katie to worry, Rocky’s eyes fluttered open.
He gasped as if he had been doused with water and tried to sit up against the restraints. Auri quickly cut them, and he sat up, his eyes wide and wild as he whipped his head around. He clutched the spot where Tonitrus had stuck the IV in
