Fear gripped her. If her sisters were injured, how would they feed? They’d wither to nothing. Aasha’s fear turned thin and cold, slipping in the space between her thoughts and numbing her nerves. She changed direction and ran to the girl.
“Stop! Don’t hurt my sisters, please,” said Aasha. “I’ll do anything!”
Something in the girl’s gaze relented. Mercy flickered across her features for only an instant. The next moment, her eyes hardened.
“Anything?”
Aasha nodded tightly.
The girl turned her gaze to the rest of the room. “Leave.”
All of her sisters but one disappeared into the shadows.
“You’re a good opponent,” said her sister, eyeing the girl with admiration. “You’d make an even bettervishakanyashould you seek a new outlet for your talents.”
The girl let go of the rope, dropping to the floor with her fingers splayed against the ground. She stood up, and bowed.
“My duties have already been claimed for this lifetime,” said the girl respectfully.
“Then perhaps in the next.”
Pity and gratitude flashed in her sister’s eyes. Aasha trembled. What had she gotten herself into? She only wanted to ask the humans of their lives. Now she was beholden to them. The idea of the mortal lands enchanted her, but humans were cunning and spiteful. The girl bent to check the boy’s pulse. Satisfied, she stood up and tore the ruby straight out of the tent. She tucked it and her knife somewhere in the depths of her skirt.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Aasha blinked. She hadn’t imagined the girl would speak to her this way. Even theyakshasandyakshinisonly opened their mouths to make demands.Give me something miraculous. Give me what I want.This girl was asking. Her voice wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t cruel either. She stumbled to find her breath.
“Aasha.”
“I’m Gauri,” said the girl. She prodded at the man on the ground with her toe. “How much longer will he be unconscious? Will there be any lasting damage?”
“He will be awake at dawn. His mind should be fully intact.”
The girl let out a sigh and dragged her arm across her brow. “You offered to help us, and what we need most is information. Do you know of a way out of Alaka?”
Aasha had forgotten how the rules were different for humans. For the Otherworldly beings, they could leave whenever they pleased. But if they left the game early, they forfeited a wish.
“If you have not been granted permission from Lord Kubera, then you must seek permission from his consort, the Lady Kauveri.”
The girl smirked. “She said nothing when she heard that only one of us could leave, so I imagine her permission has not been granted.”
“Then you must give her something she wants.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What would a goddess want? More resplendence? The simple pleasures of a mortal existence, like wrinkles? Age spots?”
Aasha hesitated. Whenever theyakshasandyakshinisvisited the tent, they brought bits of gossip with them. Some of which, she knew, should be ignored. But not helping the human girl could harm her sisters. She refused to let that happen. Besides… there was something she had heard. A rumor that kept the same shape no matter who told it. That in itself was a feat. So often, the beings of the Otherworld hated telling the truth, not because they preferred deceit, but because they preferred the taste of a decadent rumor on their tongue to the dull and brittle flavor of a truth.
“Not an object,” said Aasha carefully. “It is said there is something she wants from someone. And he is in Alaka.”
“Who?”
“The Serpent King.”
21
THE GLASS GARDEN
GAURI
