“Well, would you be able to tell when he is here?”
“Yes.”
“And we could get to him in time from Bharata?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Are you just saying yes?”
“… Yes.”
Kamala snorted and laughed.
“What’s the real answer? And tell me the truth this time, don’t forget our deal.” I placed my arm against her muzzle, sliding it across her nose like it was a piece of salted corn. Drool, at least I hope it was drool, fell with a thick splash on the ground. Kamala stared at my arm hungrily.
“Maybe. It all depends. That is how things are. Perhaps my first answer was the truth. Anytime between an eon and a blink.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then I suppose that will have to do. But the moment he’s here, you need to tell me and we’ll go.”
Kamala nodded begrudgingly. I kept my head low as we pushed through the crowd.
“Act like you’re chanting a prayer,” hissed Kamala in my ear.
“Like what?”
“Mutter something,” said Kamala. “Do you know how manysadhusI’ve listened to? Let alone eaten? If you don’t start muttering something, they will turn on you. And I don’t want to eat them. They look like they’d taste horrible.”
“I—”
“A list or something.”
“Uh,” I stammered, trying to draw out the sound into the beginning of a chant. The people of Bharata were beginning to frown at me. Some had even stopped hurling shouts at the gates to watch me fail.
“Skies… fingers… teeth…”
Kamala nodded approvingly.
“Can they hear you?” I hissed.
“No, not at all. Continue talking to me. That will definitely make you seem crazy. Very convincing for a holy person.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite,” said Kamala. “You are like me. Half a thing. Mildly insane. A little of the Otherworld.”
“How comforting,” I muttered, continuing with my ridiculous list as we shouldered through people. I held my hand open, smiling and grinning when fat coins were dropped into my palms. But it didn’t feel right to take them. Especially when the people who were giving the most seemed to have the least to give.
So I gave the coins back.
And that’s when things started getting strange.
“Thesadhvihas returned our offerings!”
“She is a saint!”
