“I prefer the poisoned food.”
“You may be rewarded yet,” he said. He popped a handful of pomegranate seeds in his mouth.
He froze, some of the juice spilling from his lips.
“Oh no,” he breathed, clutching his chest.
“Vikram!” I screamed.
He held up his hand. “I meant to start with mangos.”
I stopped short of scrambling toward him, cold flushing my body as he laughed. Fiend. I left him to his cackling and poked thevetalain the side.
“How will we get to Alaka from here?”
Thevetalagrumbled and cracked open one eye. “Are you daft? Follow the directions, of course!”
Directions?
I pushed back the silk curtain and walked to the back of the tent where eight statues loomed far above us. Even from a distance, the statues were as tall as elephants. The cardinal directions were inscribed beneath the statues, which depicted the directions’ respective guardians. Kubera, the Lord of Alaka and guardian of the North, carried a mace in one hand, a necklace of gold on his stone chest. Northeast: Ishana, the Lord of Destruction, with his matted hair and fearsome trident. Northwest: Vayu, the Lord of the Winds, waving a flag in one hand. East: Indra, the Lord of the Heavens, gripping a thunderbolt in one hand. West: Varuna, the Lord of the Waters, holding a lasso. Southeast: Agni, the Lord of Fire, carrying his spear of fire. Southwest: Nritti, the Lady of Chaos, with a scimitar in a lovely hand. South: the Dharma Raja carrying his staff and noose.
Beyond the spinning dais of directions stood eight identical doors. Nothing distinguished them from each other. Neither the height nor width, the color nor cut. A yawning, impassable ditch separated us from the doors. The only thing that might fit in that space was the spinning dais of statues. But if the dais was supposed to be a bridge, we couldn’t use it until it fell to the ground and stopped moving. Statues and illusions enclosed us. We needed to start planning how to leave. I turned around to see Vikram drinking deeply from a goblet.
“What?” he asked. “Did you change your mind about my marriage proposal?”
“I didn’t hit my head that hard,” I said. “Did you realize we were closed inside these walls? Thevetalamust have tricked us into following a dead end.”
“Me?” screeched the creature. “All I wanted was a body. Now I am left to the mercy of your wits. I suspect I am doomed.”
“I did realize,” said Vikram. “You seem to forget that you were unconscious. I already checked the parameters of the place. We are certainly trapped for the night.”
“Only a night?”
Vikram reached behind him for a slip of parchment that was embossed with golden ink and handed it to me:
Weary traveler, take your heart’s delight
You have come to the final crossroads of fate
Thank the Ushas for the truth of first light
Until then, feast and drink for your heart to sate
But know these walls will forever bend
And when they are through, no bones can you mend
Take care of the direction you choose
Thousands will come here and thousands will lose
I read the words slowly. Trapped until first light. Only at first light could we choose which direction to travel in? But how would we know which was true? I glanced up at the palace of night so out of reach.Thank the Ushas for the truth of first light.The Ushas was the goddess of dawn.
“Is there a reason you didn’t share this with me until now?”
“And miss the opportunity to see you fly into a rage?” he asked. “There is plenty of time to contemplate our inevitable doom. We have much less time to sate our stomachs. Besides, I wanted to ensure I’d have a head start on eating the desserts.”
“Ever the optimist.”
