Monty limped over to TK and began gesturing.
Together, the two of them managed to get a faintly glowing, green circle to materialize under them. I grabbed Peaches and ran over to where they stood. By the time we made it across the floor, they were gone.
I looked down at Peaches.
<I hope you know how to get home, boy.>
<I wasn’t lost. You were. I know where I am all the time.>
<Is that a yes?>
<Only if we can go to the place on the way home. I’m starving.>
I lacked the energy or will to argue with my bottomless hellhound. Distant rumbling followed by tremors reached the temple. I looked out of the blast hole and saw the orb still growing. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.
<I’ll make sure we stop by Ezra’s. Take us home.>
<This place is far. You will have to hold on.>
I crouched down and grabbed my hellhound by the neck.
He took a deep breath, the runes along his flanks bursting with red light and he barked, nearly bursting my eardrums with the sound.
Everything blurred, and we left the Sanctuary behind.
THIRTY-FIVE
“A runic nova,” the familiar female voice said as I rubbed my eyes. “Impressive. That is a cast beyond your level of power.”
“I had…help,” I said with a groan as my head pounded. “Dex is going to be pissed.”
“A fair assessment,” she said. “The Sanctuary has been destroyed…by your hand, literally.”
“Where…where are we?” I asked as I slowly recovered, lifting my head from the cool, smooth marble floor. “This is…”
“A mandir dedicated to me,” Kali said from behind me. “Your companion is very resourceful, and hungry. Does he always eat like this?”
I turned to see Kali sitting on a stone bench while Peaches was busy burying his face in an immense bowl of sausage at her feet. He was oblivious to everything except the meat.
“Only when he’s awake,” I said with another groan, as I tried to sit up. “Right now, he’s just shamelessly taking advantage of you.”
<I like the blue lady. She makes good meat.>
<Make sure you say thank you.>
<I will. When I finish the delicious meat.>
This time, Kali was dressed in a loose-fitting, burnt-sienna robe, finished with white brocade. Like before, indecipherable, orange runes flowed around its surface. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight braid, flowing down her back, and coming to rest in a small coil on the bench beside her. Her blue skin glistened with a deep undercurrent of power.
“He is an excellent bondmate,” she said, waving a hand and creating more sausage, “and still so young.”
“He is,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I’d be lost without him.”
“Indeed,” she said with a nod. “I will speak to Hades about procuring some hellhounds for my domain. They seem much friendlier than my Rakshasas.”
The idea of Kali getting a pack of hellhounds to patrol her domain was a scary thought.
“We’re in Jersey?” I asked, looking around and slowly sitting up. “Jersey, really…?”
“We are in my mandir, which at the moment happens to be in New Jersey, yes,” Kali said. “I see you have aligned.” She pointed to my ring-less finger. “Was it unpleasant?”
“Let’s just say, once is enough to last an entire lifetime…maybe two,” I said, looking at the scars on my arms. “These are new.”
“The blade used against you was a kamikira,” she said. “A god-killer. If she had delivered a fatal blow—”
“She would have killed me. Permanently.”
She nodded.
“And the scars?”
“Will remind you that even immortals can die,” she answered after a pause.
“Immortal doesn’t mean death is off the table?”
“Everything dies eventually.”
“I’m getting that.”
“This alignment will bring you awareness…and attention. Not all of it desired.”
“I heard,” I answered. “My upgrade from chosen”—she narrowed her eyes—“I mean cursed, to marked, means stronger enemies, too.”
“Yes,” she said. “My mark will keep them away, initially.”
“Initially. And then?”
“Then they will want to prove themselves.”
“Why does this sound painful?” I asked. “How do they prove themselves?”
She smiled. It was horrifically enticing. I forced myself to look away.
“By killing you, of course.”
“Of course,” I said. “Why would I think it would be otherwise?”
“The old ones will look for you now. You will need to prepare.”
“Why now? Why not before?”
“Before you were a nuisance, easily removed. Now…now, you pose a significant threat.”
“Is there any way I can downgrade to nuisance level again?”
“No,” she said. “This power, once obtained, remains. You are now the Aspis—my Aspis—and you will be tested.”
“How many of these aphids are out there?”
“Aspis, and you are the current holder of this position.”
“Aspis, right,” I said. “What happened to the previous holder?”
“There can only be one living Aspis at any one time,” Kali said. “Even though you step slightly outside the norm due to my curse, you are technically…living. The previous Aspis departed your plane long ago.”
“Oh, I was hoping there was some kind of Aspis Club.”
“For camaraderie?”
“I just don’t like being the only Aspis target.”
She smiled again. This time I was ready and looked away early.
“You are not alone,” she said. “You have your bondmate, your vampire, and your mage friend, whom you managed to assist through his ordeal.”
“Does that mean he’s over this darkness thing?”
“Do you know who I am?”
This had to be a trick question. I opted to answer on the side of survivability.
“Kali, the goddess of destruction?” I answered tentatively. “Is there another Kali I don’t know about?”
“Yes, everyone focuses on that part of my aspect, and I must confess I have allowed them to. Being known as the goddess of destruction makes life easier overall.”
“Must make it tough in the ‘friends coming over to hang out’ department.”
She gave me a look and smiled.
“You are a peculiar person, Simon Strong, but you are right,” she said. “I do not have friends. I have peers and enemies.”
“I’m guessing they’re usually the same person most of the time.”
She nodded.
“Aside from being the goddess of destruction, I am also a goddess of creation,” she answered slowly. “Life and death, destruction and creation, are two sides, inextricably linked.”
Elton John’s “Circle of Life” blasted
