My party made beds around the fire using sleeping packs provided by Priti. Dhoona took first watch, sitting close to the entrance of the cave, huddled deep into the winter coat he’d taken from the supplies at the devouring force camp.
Kalani and Yudh slept, now satisfied that Pashim was who he claimed to be, and Death watched over us all, in the form of my friend Priti.
That was going to take some getting used to.
I was too wired to sleep, sitting as close to Pashim as I could get without being in his lap. Maybe there was a part of me that was afraid he’d vanish if I closed my eyes.
Pashim poked at the fire, feeding it more kindling to keep it alive.
I looked across at Priti, silent and solemn, her face painted in flickering orange hues from the flames. “Will you stay with us?”
“I wish that I could,” she said. “But I’m called elsewhere. I couldn’t intervene here even if I wanted to. There are limits tothe help I can offer. Transporting you out of the frozen lands is something I can do once my energy has replenished. Other than that…” She left the thought unfinished, her gaze dropping back to the flames.
Pulling Pashim from the in-between place, back into the mortal world and giving him a flesh and blood body had drained her. My friend was a god but still bound by divine laws of nature, which meant she was stuck here with us for a little while at least.
“I’ll get you as close to the nearest land troop as I can,” she said.
A troop we hoped to recruit and a portway that we could maybe try to activate.
We’d lost the nagrata to the primordial evil, and they might even now be scouting the skies for us. So being teleported away from this region would give us a head start in eluding them. But there was still the concern of whether the troops we found would be compromised. And even if they weren’t, could they be taken over later?
“How can we trust any troops we find? We have no idea if the primordial evil has the power to claim them.”
“You’re right,” she said. “From what you told me about your escape from the royal domain, this evil has power over the Asura and beings with Asura blood. I believe the drohi are only in its grip due to their bonds to the Asura.”
“So the Danava will be free? The pari? The rakshasa in the Jangal domain?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe their allegiance to the Asura, their proximity to the evil will make them susceptible to its control.” She chewed on her cheeks. “Maybe he won’t be able to affect the troops on land. Maybe it will be too energy consuming. That is all I can tell you.”
“But you know more. You know what this thing is.”
“Yes. I know, but I cannot tell you. This is your journey, Leela. It is forbidden for me to intervene, and sharing this information with you would constitute intervention.”
“But you were able to bring me back,” Pashim said. “Not an intervention?”
“No. You were not meant to die as you did. Bringing you back was a correction. It happens sometimes.” She shrugged.
I allowed the information to settle, turning over her words. “We can’t trust any Asura or demigods, can we?” I glanced at Yudh’s sleeping form.
“No, you cannot fully trust. You can watch. You can be alert, but you cannot fully let your guard down.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Leela.”
“So C’ael and Pashim are the only ones I know I’m safe with?”
Something flickered across her face, but she masked it too quickly for me to read. “Yes,” she said. “You’re safe with them.”
“Even though the primordial evil had C’ael in his control before?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Did he have him in his control?”
Oh…Wait a second. No. C’ael had never been a crimson-eyed zombie. He’d believed the primordial evil to be Iblees. Trusted him. His true memories had been blocked. “No. He wasn’t ever in the primordial evil’s control.”
She smiled. “So you can trust him.”
“But if I can’t rely on the troops that I gather, then what army will I have?”
Priti’s gaze flicked to Pashim, then back to me. “I have faith in you both. Now you must have faith in yourselves and each other.”
She stood slowly. “Rest now. I’ll keep watch till dawn. Death does not sleep.” She smiled wryly and slipped away.
