Blue? Gods, how could I have forgotten he was here? A wave of guilt washed over me, but the moment I spotted him running toward me, there was no room for any other emotion but joy.
I caught him as he leapt into my arms, vision blurring as his furry face kissed my cheek.
“Leela, my Leela.”
“Blue…You made it. You came for me.”
He pulled back to look up at me with dark eyes. “Course I did, and I brought backup.” I looked across the ship, catchinga glimpse of Pakshiraj as he swooped past, circling us with the other thunderbirds.
“You flew here…For me.”
He shrugged. “Meh, no big deal. I needed to get out of me cage anyway.”
“Cage?”
“Long story, I’ll tell ya later. First, we got ta stop Delulu Dude from getting into his realm.”
“Blue is right,” Araz said. “If Mizikiel enters his realm, then crossing the threshold to find him will be impossible.”
“Notimpossible,” Blue said. “Deva can cross, and Vritra did once, and Leela has Deva blood, so…”
Yes, the Deva had created Vritra, not to cross over to the realm but to overpower Mizikiel. They’d created him to bring the ancient to heel. But regular Deva had managed to cross the threshold at one time, which meant I could do so too. But there was something more. A kernel of power simmering inside me now. A gift from Chandra, transferred in his first and last kiss. One he’d known I’d need. Not a key to the threshold but his power. I could use it to overpower Mizikiel.
“We stop himbeforehe escapes,” Araz said. “He ran because he’s weakened by the transition. He could have used transference, but he flew. The body that now houses him is not as strong as mine.”
But that wasn’t strictly true. “Chandra was Vritra.”
“Motherfucker,” Blue said. “Vritra was the one that brought Mizikiel down the first time around.”
I blinked at him in surprise. “How do you know that?”
“Long story, but I know stuff now, and yeah, Vritra’s body is perfect for Crazy Boy. Better than yours, Wonder Pecs. But I don’t think he realized it till he took it…” Blue tapped his chin. “So whydidhe run?” He looked across at me, his eyes narrow slits, and then they popped wide. “No way…”
“What?” Araz and I said in unison.
Blue’s gaze skipped over my face. “It has to be…”
“Blue, spit it out.”
“Chandra is in a vessel born to hold Vritra. A vessel connected to Vritra’s essence. And Mizikiel has taken it over. But there’ll still be a part of ’im trappedinsidefor a little while. Mizikiel won’t be able to burn away his essence that quickly. Right now, he’s bonded to it. The essences entwined with Mizikiel in control. So if we destroy the vessel, then we end Mizikiel.”
“Only the Vajra can do that, and we have no idea where it is.”
“It’s here,” Blue said. “The Deva hid it somewhere no one would look. They hid it in a bloodline, and now I’m lookin’ at her.”
Araz’s hot gaze bore into me, and heat flared over my skin, tightening and pulsing behind my breastbone. His eyes narrowed, and he cupped my face, his fingers hot against my cheeks. “I have felt something in you for the longest time. I believed it to be related to the bond forged between us. But now…Now I wonder…” His expression closed. “We can’t know for sure. It’s too risky.”
Chandra’s words came back to me. I see it…inside you.
I gently pulled free. “I think Blue is right. Chandra said he saw it inside me. The moment before Mizikiel took him over.”
Araz frowned and shook his head. “Even if you are the Vajra, we can’t be sure you’ll be able to destroy the vessel. The Deva used the Vajra once and failed to end him. Why would now be any different?”
“Cos he’s weaker now,” Blue said.
Blue was right. “He…he gave me his power before he invited Mizikiel in. I believe he wanted me to know the Vajra was still out there, for that reason. To end his vessel. To stop Mizikiel.Hewantedme to find it.” And in the moment that he was taken over, he’d seen it. In me.
Araz’s jaw clenched. “We stop him before he goes through.”
