Key of Knowledge - SG - Chaps 12&13 - 18/7/10 - Page 11

Heyyyy aastu
have read 15 parts till now
it is amazing ff
I always lived these kind of adventure mystery type stories
n reading that with my fav couple in it is such a pleasure
do pm me when u update...

Chapter Eleven

Sam slept with his arm flung over Gunji's waist, his leg hooked- over hers, as if he would hold her in place. Though she hadn't been the one to leave, this time around he was far from sure she would let him stay. In her bed, or in her life. But he held on to her as he wandered in dreams. Through the moonstruck night in the high summer heat where everything smelled ripe and green and secret. The woods were locked in shadows, with the flicker of lightning bugs quick brinks of gold against the black. In dreams he knew, somehow knew, he was a man instead of the boy he'd been when he'd walked through the wild grass at the verge of those woods. His heart pounding with… fear? Anticipation? Knowledge? As he'd stared up at the great black house that rose regally toward the swimming moon. His friends weren't close by, as they had been on that hot summer night of his memory. Mayank and Armi weren't there, with their contraband beer and cigarettes, the camping gear, or the youthful courage and carelessness three teenage boys made together. He was alone, the warriors of the Peak guarding the gate behind him and the house empty of life and silent as a tomb. No, not empty, he thought. It was a mistake to think of houses, old houses, as being empty. They were filled with memories, with the faded echoes of voices. Drops of tears, drops of blood, the ring of laughter, the edge of tempers that had ebbed and flowed between the walls, into the walls, over the years. Wasn't it, after all, a kind of life?

And there were houses, he knew it, that breathed. They carried in their wood and stone, their brick and mortar a kind of ego that was nearly, very nearly, human. But there was something, something he needed to remember about this house, about this place. This night. Something he knew but couldn't quite bring clear in his mind. It drifted in and out, like a half-remembered song, teasing and nagging at him. It was important, even vital, that he turned whatever was in his mind, like a camera lens, until the image came into sharp focus. In the dream he closed his eyes, breathed slow and deep as he tried to empty his mind so what needed to come would come.

When he opened them, he saw her. She walked along the parapet under the white ball of moon. Alone as he was alone. Dreaming, perhaps, as he was dreaming. Her cloak billowed up, though there was no wind to lift it. It seemed to him the air held its breath, and all the sounds of the night-the rustles and peeps and hoots-fell like a crash into terrible silence. In his chest his heart began to pound. On the parapet, the woman began to turn. In a moment, he thought, in just a moment; they would see each other. Finally… The sun was a violent flash that shocked his brain, blinded him. He staggered a bit from the displacement of being shot from inky night to brilliant day. Birds sang with a kind of desperate joy in music that sounded of flutes and harps and pipes. And he heard the rushing sound that water makes when it falls from a great height, then thunders into itself. He struggled to orient himself. There were woods here, but not any he recognized. Leaves were verdant, shimmering green or soft and glowing blue, and limbs were heavy with fruit the color of rubies and topaz. The air had a ripe, plummy scent, as if it too could be plucked and tasted. He walked through the trees, on ground springy and richly brown, past a waterfall of wild blue where golden fish danced in the rippling pool at its base. Curious, he dipped his hand into it. He felt the wet, the fresh coolness. And as he let it pour from his cupped hand, he saw that the water falling from his palm wasn't clear, but that same deep blue. It was, he thought, almost more than the senses could bear. The sheer beauty was too intense, too vivid for the mind to translate. And once seen, once experienced, how did anyone survive without it, in the pale, dim reality? Fascination had him reaching toward the water again when he caught sight of the deer drinking on the opposite side of the pool. The buck was enormous, its coat sleek and golden, its rack a shining silver. When it lifted its great head, it stared at Sam with eyes as green and deep as the forest around them. Around its neck it wore a jeweled collar with the stones catching the streams of sunlight and tossing them back in colored prisms. He thought it spoke, though there was no movement, and no sound other than the words that formed in his head. Will you stand for them? "Who?" Go, and see. The deer turned, and walked, silver hooves silent on the ground, into the woods. This is no dream, Sam thought. He straightened, started to circle the pond and follow the deer. But no, it hadn't said come and see, but go. Trusting instinct, Sam took the opposite path. He stepped out of the trees to a sea of flowers so saturated with color they shocked the senses. Scarlet, sapphire, amethyst, amber glinted in that streaming sun as if every petal were an individual facet cut perfectly from each gem. And in the center of that sea, like the most precious of blooms, were the Daughters of Glass, trapped in their crystal coffins. "No, I'm not dreaming." He spoke aloud, to prove that he could, to hear the sound of his voice. To center himself before he walked across the sea of flowers to stare down at the faces he already knew.

They seemed to be sleeping. Their beauty was undiminished, but it was cold. He saw that, the cold beauty, that could never change but was forever trapped in one instant of time. He felt pity and outrage, and as he stared into the face so like Gunji's, a tearing grief he hadn't experienced since his mother's death. "This is hell," he said aloud. "To be trapped between life and death, to be unable to take either."

"Yes. You have it precisely." Kane stood on the other side of the glass coffin. Elegant in black robes with a jeweled crown atop his dark mane of hair, he smiled at Sam. "You have a keenness of mind sadly lacking in much of your kind. Hell, as you call it, is merely the absence of all without an end."

S-"Hell should be earned."

K-"Ah. Philosophy." His voice held a touch of amusement, and a canny calculation. "Occasionally, you will agree, hell is merely inherited. Their sire and his mortal bitch damned them." He swept a hand toward the coffins. "I was merely an instrument, so to speak, who …" He lifted the hand, twisted his wrist. "Turned the key."

S-"For glory?"

K-"For that. For power. For all of this." He spread his arms wide, as if to encompass his world: "All of this, which can never, will never, be theirs. Soft hearts and mortal frailties have no place in the realm of gods."

S-"Yet gods love, hate, covet, scheme, war, laugh, weep. Mortal frailties?"

Kane cocked his head. "You interest me. You would debate, knowing who and what I am? Knowing I brought you here, behind the Curtain of Power, where you are no more than an ant to be flicked off a crumb? I could kill you with a thought."

S-"Could you?" Deliberately, Sam walked around the crystal coffin. He wouldn't have even the reflection of Gunji between them. "Why haven't you? Maybe it's because you prefer bullying and abusing women. It's a different matter, isn't it, when you face a man?"

The blow knocked him back ten feet. He tasted blood in his mouth, and spat it out onto the crushed flowers before he got to his feet. There was more than power on Kane's face, he noted. There was fury. And where there was anger, there was weakness.

S-"Smoke and mirrors. But you haven't got the guts to fight like a man. With fists. One round, you son of a bitch. One round, my way."

K-"Your way? You have no terms here. And you will know pain."

It gripped his chest, icy claws with razor tips. The unspeakable agony dropped him to his knees and ripped a cry from his throat that he couldn't suppress.

K-"Beg." Pleasure purred into Kane's voice. "Beg for mercy. Crawl for it."

With what strength he had left, Sam lifted his head, stared straight into Kane's eyes.

S-"Kiss my-"

His vision dimmed. He heard shouting over the roaring in his ears, felt a flood of warmth over the hideous cold. And the fury of Kane's voice seemed to scream through his mind: "I am not finished!" Sam fell into unconsciousness.

G-"Samrat! Oh, God, oh, God, Samrat, come back."

He thought perhaps he was on a boat, one that rocked fitfully in the sea. He might have drowned, he supposed. His chest was on fire, his head dull and throbbing. But someone was bringing him back, pressing warm lips to his. Dragging him back to life whether he liked it or not. But why the hell was a dog barking like a maniac out in the open sea? He blinked his eyes open and stared up at Gunji. Though pale as glass, she was a welcome sight. She was running a trembling hand over his face, pushing it through his hair as she clamped her arms around him and rocked. Outside the closed bedroom door, Moe barked and threw himself against the wood.

S-"What the hell?" he managed and stared dully when she began to laugh.

G-"You're back. Okay, you're back." Hysteria was trying to bubble and brew in her chest. "Your mouth's bleeding. Your mouth's bleeding, and your chest, and you're-you're so cold."

S-"Give me a minute." He didn't try to move, not yet, as he'd already discovered that just turning his head brought on a hideous wave of pain and nausea. But what he could see was a blessed relief. He was in Gunji's bedroom, sprawled on the bed, mostly over her lap, while she clutched him to her chest like she might hold a baby. If he didn't feel as though he'd been run over by a truck, it wouldn't have been half bad.

S-"I was dreaming."

G-"No." She pressed her cheek to his. "No, you weren't."

S-"At first… or maybe not. Sweets, you got any whiskey around here? I need a shot."

G-"I've got a bottle of Paddy's."

S-"I'll give you a thousand dollars for three fingers of Paddy's."

G-"Sold." Her laugh was too close to a sob for comfort. "Here, just lie down. I'll get it. You need to cover up, you're shaking." She hauled the covers over him, tucked him up like a bug in a cocoon. "Oh, God." She shook herself as she dropped her forehead to his.

S-"Two thousand if you get it here within the next forty-five seconds."

She fled the room, and an instant later Moe leaped on the bed and tripled every ache in his body. He started to curse, then settled for a sigh as the dog growled low, sniffed all around the bedcovers, then slurped Sam's face.

S-"Yeah, that'll teach us to boot you out of the bedroom just because we want to have sex in private." Moe whined, bumped his shoulder with his nose, then turned three ungainly circles and settled down at his side. Gunji sprinted back, a bottle in one hand, a glass in the other. After pouring considerably more than three fingers of whiskey, she hooked an arm behind his head and lifted the glass to his lips.

S-"Thanks. I can handle it from here."

G-"Okay." Still, she eased him gently back against the pillows before lifting the bottle again and taking a long pull straight from it herself. She imagined the heat of it hit Sam's belly just as shockingly as it did hers. Steadier, she went to the closet and pulled out a robe."We shouldn't have locked the dog out of the room."

S-"Yeah, Moe and I were just discussing that." He laid his hand on Moe's wide back. "Is he what woke you?"

G-"Him, and your screaming." She shuddered once, then sat on the side of the bed. "Sam, your chest."

S-"What?" He looked down at himself as she eased the covers aside. There were five distinct grooves, like a talon pattern, over his heart. They were shallow, he noted, and thanked God for it. But they bled sluggishly and were viciously painful. "I'm messing up your sheets."

G-"They'll wash." She had to swallow, hard. "I'd" better take care of those cuts. While I'm at it, you can tell me what the hell he did to you."

She went into the bathroom for antiseptic and bandages, then just braced her hands on the sink and ordered herself to breathe until she could manage it without feeling like she was sucking razor blades into her throat. She knew what fear was now. She'd felt it when the storm had ripped over the island and the black sea had rushed to take her. But even that, she realized, even that bone-deep terror, had been a shadow of what she'd gone through when the shocked agony of Sam's scream had torn her out of sleep. She fought back her tears. They were a useless indulgence when action was needed. Instead, she gathered what she needed and went back in to tend his wounds.

G-"I brought you some aspirin. I don't have anything stronger."

S-"That'll work. Thanks." He downed three with the water she offered. "Look, I can handle this. I remember you don't do well with blood."

G-"I won't be a baby if you won't." Ignoring the queasiness, she sat down to mop him up. "Talk to me, and I'm less likely to pitch over in a faint. What happened, Sam? Where did he take you?"

S-"I started out somewhere else. I can't quite pull it back, so maybe I was dreaming. I was walking. It was dark, but with a full moon. I think it might've been up at the Peak. I can't remember for sure. It's hazy."

G-"Keep going." She concentrated on his voice, on the words. On anything but the way the cloth she was using reddened as she pressed it against the cuts. •

S-"Next thing I knew, it was broad daylight. It was … sort of the way I always imagined the transporter in Star Trek works. Instant and disorienting."

G-"It wouldn't be my favorite mode of transportation."

S-"Are you kidding? It's got to beat the hell out of… Christ on a crutch!"

G-"I know. I'm sorry." But she gritted her teeth and continued to swab the disinfectant over the cuts. "Keep talking. We'll get through this." Alarmed, Moe deserted the field by slinking off the bed and crawling under it. Sam did his best to breathe through the pain.

S-"The Curtain of Power. I was behind it," he said and told her.

G-"You provoked him? Deliberately?" She sat back, all the interest and concern on her face shifting into irritated impatience. "Do you have to be such a guy?"

S-"Yes. Yes, I do. Added to that, he was going to do whatever he was going to do. Why shouldn't I get a couple of swings in first, even if they were only verbal?"

G-"Oh, I don't know. Let me think." Sarcasm dripping from each word, she tapped a finger to the side of her head. "Maybe because … he's a god."

S-"And you'd've stood there, of course, hands folded, having a polite conversation?"

G-"I don't know." She blew out a breath and finished the bandaging. "Probably not." Deciding that she'd done her best, she bent over and dropped her head between her knees. "I don't ever want to have to do that again."

S-"That makes two of us." Stiff, still achy, he turned so he could run his hand up and down her back. "I appreciate it." She managed what passed for a nod.

G-"Tell me the rest."

S-"You just cleaned and bandaged the rest. Whatever he did felt just the way this looks. Actually, it felt considerably worse."

G-"You screamed."

S-"Do you have to keep saying that? It's embarrassing."

G-"If it makes you feel any better, I screamed, too. I woke up and you were-it looked like you were having a convulsion. You were dead white, bleeding, shaking. I didn't know what the hell to do. I guess I panicked. I grabbed you, started shouting. You went limp. Almost as soon as I touched you, you went limp. I thought-for a minute I thought you were dead."

S-"I heard you." She stayed where she was another moment, fighting back tears again.

G- "When?"

S-"After I hit the dirt the second time. I heard you calling for me, and it was like getting sucked back into the old transporter. I heard him, too, right as I was fading out. I heard him, but more inside my head: Tm not finished,' he said. 'I am not finished.' And he was royally pissed. He couldn't keep me there. He wasn't done with me, but he couldn't keep me there."

G-"Why?"

S-"You woke up." Reaching out, Sam ran his fingers over her cheek. "You called me. You touched me, and that brought me out."

G-"Human contact?"

S-"Maybe as simple as that," he agreed. "Maybe just that simple-when the humans are connected."

G-"But why you?" She picked up the cloth and dabbed at the cut on his lip. "Why did he take you behind the Curtain?"

S-"That's something we have to figure out. When we do-ouch, Gunji."

G-"Sorry."

S-"When we do," he repeated as he nudged her hand away, "we'll have more of the pieces for this particular puzzle."

SIMPLE or complex, Gunji needed answers. With Moe hanging his head blissfully out the passenger window, she drove to Warrior's Peak to get them. Research and speculation were one thing, but her lover's blood had been shed. Now she wanted cold, hard facts. The trees were still bright, and their color splashed across a dull gray sky layered with sulky clouds. But more leaves littered the road and the floor of the forest. Already past their peak, she thought. Time was moving forward, and her four weeks were down to two. What did she think? What did she know? She ran through everything that came to mind as she drove the last miles and then through the gates. Rowena was in the front garden, gathering some of the last of the fall blooms. She wore a thick sweater of deep blue speckled with dull gold, and to Gunjan's surprise, well-worn jeans and scuffed boots. Her hair was tied back and rained in a sleek tail between her shoulder blades. The country goddess in her garden, Gunji thought, and imagined Nupur would see it as a painting.

Rowena lifted a hand in a wave, then a smile lit up her face as she spotted Moe.

Ro-"Welcome." She ran to the car as Gunji parked, opened the door for the exuberant Moe. "There's my handsome boy!" Her laugh rang out as Moe leaped up to kiss her face. "I was hoping you'd pay me a visit."

G-"Me or Moe?"

Ro-"Both are a delightful surprise. Why, what's this?" She put her hand behind her back, then brought it out again. She held out a huge Milk Bone that caused Moe to moan with pleasure.

"Yes, it certainly is for you. Now if you'll sit and shake hands like a gentleman …"

The words were barely out of her mouth when Moe plopped his butt on the ground, lifted his paw. They exchanged a shake, a long look of mutual admiration. He nipped the treat delicately out of her fingers, then sprawled at her feet to chomp it to bits.

G-"Is it a Dr. Doolittle thing?" wondered, and got a puzzled glance from Rowena.

R-"I'm sorry?"

G-"You know. Talking to the animals."

R-"Ah. Let's say … in a manner of speaking. And what can I offer you?"

G-"Answers."

R-"So sober, so serious. And so attractive this morning. What a wonderful outfit. You have such a smart collection of jackets," Rowena commented as she ran a finger down the sleeve of the dull-gold tapestry fabric. "I covet them."

G-"I imagine you can whip one up just as easy as you did that dog biscuit."

R-"Ah, but that would take the fun, and the adventure, out of shopping, wouldn't it? Would you like to come in? We'll have some tea by the fire."

G-"No, thanks. I don't have a lot of time. We're settling on our property early this afternoon, so I'm going to have to start back pretty directly. Rowena, there are some things I need to know."

R-"I'll tell you what I can. Why don't we walk? Rain's coming," she added, casting a look at the sky. "But not for a bit. I like the heavy, anticipatory feel to the air before a rain."

Since Moe had made short work of the Milk Bone, Rowena opened her hand and revealed a bright red rubber ball. She threw it over the lawn toward the woods.

G-"I should warn you, Moe will expect you to keep throwing that for him for the next three or four years."

R-"There's nothing quite so perfect as a dog." Rowena tucked her arm companionably in Gunji's and began to walk. "A comfort, a friend, a warrior, an amusement. They only ask that we love them."

G-"Why don't you have one?"

R-"Ah, well." With a sad smile, Rowena patted her hand, then bent down to pick up the ball Moe dropped at her feet. She ruffled his fur, then flung the ball for him to chase.

G-"You can't." The realization struck, had gunji tapping her fingers to her temple. "Duh. I don't mean you couldn't, but realistically … A dog's life span is woefully shorter than that of your average mortal." She remembered what Sam had said about them being alone, about their immortality on this plane being curse rather than gift. "When you factor in the spectacular longevity of someone like you, and the finite life span of your average mutt, that's a problem."

R-"Yes. I had dogs. At home, they were one of my great pleasures."

She picked up the ball, already covered with teeth marks and dog spit, in her elegant hand and threw it for the tireless Moe. "When we were turned out, I needed to believe that we would do what needed to be done and return. Soon. I pined for many things of home, and comforted myself with a dog. A wolfhound was my first. Oh, he was so handsome and brave and loyal. Ten years." She sighed, and skirted along the edge of the woods. "He was mine for ten years. The snap of a finger. There are things we can't change, that are denied to us while we live here. I can't extend a creature's life beyond its thread. Not even that of a beloved dog." She scooped the ball up for Moe, threw it in another direction.

G-"I had a dog when I was a kid." Like Rowena, she watched Moe streak after the ball as if it were the first time. "Well, it was my dad's dog, really. He got her the year before I was born, so I grew up with her. She died when I was eleven. I cried for three days."

R-"So you know what it is." Rowena smiled a little as Moe pranced back, doing a full-body wag with the rubber ball wedged in his mourn like an apple. "I grieved, and I swore I wouldn't indulge myself again. But I did. Many times. Until I had to accept that my heart would simply break if I had to go through the death of another I loved so much, after so short a time. So, I'm so pleased …" She bent down to catch Moe's face in her hands. "And so grateful that you brought the handsome Moe to visit me."

G-"It's not all it's cracked up to be, is it? Power, immortality?"

R-"Nothing is without pain or loss or price. Is this what you wanted to know?"

G-"Part of it. There are limitations, at least when you're here. And Kane has limitations when he's here. Limitations when he deals with something from our world. Is that right?"

R-"That's a fine deduction. You are creatures of free will. That's as it must be. He can lure, he can lie, he can deceive. But he cannot force."

G-"Can he kill?" Rowena threw the ball again, farther this time to give Moe a longer chase.

R-"You're not speaking of war or of" defense, of protection of innocents or loved ones. The penalty for taking the life of a mortal is so fierce I can't believe that even he would risk it."

G-"The end of existence, I've done my research. Not death, not the passing through to the next life, but an end."

R-"Even gods have fears. That is one. More is the stripping of power, the prison between worlds that allows entry to none. This he would risk."

G-"He tried to kill Sam." Rowena whirled, gripped her arm.

R- "Tell me. Exactly." She related everything that had happened in the middle of the night.

R-"He took him behind the Curtain?" Rowena asked. "And there shed his blood?"

G-"I'll say." She began to pace, her movements so fretful that Moe sat quietly holding the tooth-pocked ball in his mouth.

R-"Even now we're not permitted to see, to know. They were alone, you say? There was no one else about?"

G-"Sam said something about a deer."

R-"A deer." Rowena went very still. "What sort of deer? What did it look like?"

G-"It looked like a deer. Except I guess it was the sort you'd expect to find in places where the flowers look like rubies and so on. He said it was gold and had a silver rack."

R-"It was a buck, then."

G-"Yes. And, oh, yeah, it had a collar, a jeweled collar."

R-"It's possible," she whispered. "But what does it mean?"

G-"You tell me."

R-"If it was him, why did he allow it?" Agitated, she began to stride up and down the verge, between wood and lawn. "Why did he permit it?"

G-"Who and what?" demanded and dragged Rowena's attention back to her by shaking her arm.

R-"If it was the king," she said. "If it was our king taking the shape of the buck. If this is true, why did he allow Kane to bring a mortal behind the Curtain without consent? And to harm, to spill his blood there? What war is being waged hi my world?"

G-"I'm sorry, I don't know. But the only one wounded, as far as I can tell, was Sam."

R-"I will talk to Pitte," she declared. "I will think. He saw no one else-only these two?"

G-"Just the buck and Kane."

R-"I don't have the answers you want. Kane has interfered before, but it's never gone this far. The spell was of his making, and the boundaries of it, his own. But he breaks them and is not stopped. I can do more, will do more. But I'm no longer certain of the scope of his power or protection. I can no longer be certain that the king rules."

G-"If he doesn't?"

R-"Then there is war," Rowena said flatly. "And still we are not brought home. This tells me, whatever is or has happened in my world, it remains my fate to finish what I was sent here to do. I have to believe it's your fate to help me." She took a deep breath, calming herself. "I'll give you a balm for your man's wounds."

G-"We're sleeping together. I don't know if that makes him my man." With, an absentminded gesture, Rowena brushed this aside.

R-"I must speak with Pitte. Strategy is more his area than mine. Come, I'll get you the potion."

G-"Just a minute. One thing. Sam. He's essential to my key?"

R-"Why do you ask what you already know?"

G-"I want confirmation." In answer Rowena laid her fingertips on gunji's heart.

R-"You already have that as well."

G-"Is he part of this because I love him?"

R-"He's part of you because you love him. And you are the key." She took Gunji's hand. "Come. I'll give you the balm for your warrior, then send you on your way." She cast another look at the darkening sky. "The rain's coming."

Lovely loved it completely continue soon

awesome...........
this is getting more interesting!

i have finally finished reading the whole of mayur part

Chapter Twelve

Armi dumped ice in a galvanized bucket, creating a cold if humble nest for a bottle of Cristal. He covered the exposed neck with a clean paint rag. Behind him, Mayank and Sam set up a card table.

A-"The cloth for that's in me bag over there." Mayank glanced over.

M-"Cloth?"

A-"Tablecloth."

M-"Why do they need a tablecloth? Table's clean."

A-"Just put it on the damn table." Sam walked over to the bag and ripped it open.

S- "And look, he got one with pretty pink rosebuds on it."

M-"Matching napkins," added, pulling them out of the bag. "What a sweetie. I didn't know you had a feminine side."

A-"When we're done here, I'm going to kick your asses just to reestablish my manhood-and because I'll enjoy it." Armi took out the champagne flutes he'd brought along, held them up to check for smudges. "Then maybe I'll tell the women this was my idea and negate your points."

M-"Hey, I sprang for the flowers," Mayank reminded him.

S-"I bought the cookies." shook the bakery box.

A-"Ideas get more points than cookies and flowers, my friends." twitched the tablecloth to straighten it. "It's all about ideas and presentation. Which proves being in touch with your feminine side bags more women."

S-"Then how come Mayank and I are the only ones here getting laid?"

A-"Give me time."

M-"I really should clock you for saying that as regards my girlfriend and my sister." Mayank studied Sam's grin. "But it's not only an accurate statement, it rubs it in Armi's face, so I'm letting it pass. This Time. How much time we got?"

S-"A while yet, Settlement should be pretty straightforward, but you've got lawyers, bankers, and papers, so it'll take twice as long as you think it will."

He stepped back, looked at the table set up in the foyer. He had to admit it was a nice touch there among the drop cloths and paint supplies. A splash of color and celebration against the primer-coated walls. The women, he knew, would melt like ice cream in July.

S-"Okay, damn good idea, Armi."

A-"I've got a million of them."

M-"I don't see why we have to clear out before they get here," complained. "I'd like champagne and cookies, not to mention the big sloppy kisses this is going to generate."

A-"Because it's their moment, that's why." Satisfied, Armi leaned against the stepladder. "Recognizing that will only generate more big sloppy kisses in the long run."

M-"I like instant gratification." But paused, looked around. "It's going to be a hell of a place, really. Innovative idea, good location, attractive setting. It's good for the Valley. Good for them. You should see some of the stuff Nups's setting up for stock. Over the weekend we went to see a couple of the artists she's going to feature. Cool stuff."

S-"He went with her to see art," Sam pointed out, and with a grin tucked a finger in his mouth, then pulled up the side to mime a hook. "Can opera be far behind?"

M-"We'll see who's smirking when you're sitting in Gunji's bookstore drinking herbal tea."

S-"That's not so bad. Armi's here's probably going to have to get a facial to win Ridz over."

A-"There are lines that can't be crossed, no matter what the prize." But looked up the stairs. "They're going to need to decide on lighting. And some of the trim needs to be replaced. Could use a new sink in the John up there."

M-"You're planning on seducing Ridz with bathroom fixtures? You devious bas***d. I'm proud to call you friend."

A-"Seducing her could be a very satisfying side benefit- after all, the stepladder got me a chicken dinner."

M-"Chicken dinner? You can get a chicken dinner at the Main Street Diner, Tuesday-night special." Sorrowfully, shook his head. "My pride in you is waning."

A-"I'm just getting started. But the fact is, they could use a little help here. There's some tile work, some carpentry, a little plumbing and electrical. They've got to upgrade some of the windows. We could pitch in with more than champagne and cookies."

S-"I'm in for that,"

M-"Sure. Already figured on it. Hell, it looks like my house is going to be Remodel Central for a while anyway. Might as well spread the wealth. And driving a few nails should help keep us all from going crazy over the keys."

S-"Now that you mention it." glanced toward the windows as rain began to splat. "I'd better fill you in on what happened last night."

M-"Something happened to Gunjan?" he pushed away from the wall. "Is she okay?"

S-"Nothing happened to her. She's fine. Hell, I need a smoke. Let's go out on the porch."

They stood outside, the rain drumming on the overhang. He took them through it-the colors, the sounds, the movements, building the story much as he'd done for them in tents pitched in a backyard, or around a campfire in the woods. But this tune it hadn't come out of his imagination. However active and agile that imagination was, it couldn't rake slashes down his chest. They burned still. It was some consolation to hear Mayank's sharply drawn breath and see Armi's wince of sympathy when he tugged up his shut to show them.

M-"God, those look nasty." studied the raw, red grooves. "Shouldn't they be bandaged or something?"

S-"Gunji put something on them last night, but she's not exactly Nurse Betty. I smeared some more crap on them this morning. Point is, our guy was seriously pissed- enough to take a genuine shot at me. Where does that leave the girls?" Heat flashed into Mayank's eyes.

M-"He didn't touch Nupur. Never physically touched her. It was bad enough, scary enough, the way he messed with her mind. But this … We've got to take him down."

S-"I'm open to ideas." spread his hands. "Problem is, as far as magic goes, I can't even pull a rabbit out of my hat."

A-"Some of it's just misdirection, tricking the eye,"

S-"Let me tell you, son, when that guy's got his claws in you, it's no trick of the eye."

A-"No, I mean from our stand, We direct him toward us, it gives the women more space. He had a reason for going after you. If we can figure that out, exploit it, it might take his attention away from Gunjan for the next couple of weeks. And from Ridz when her time comes around."

S-"I haven't got anything concrete. It just feels like I know something, but I can't reel it in." Frustrated, Sam jammed his hands into his pockets. "Something I know, or did, or have, that's the answer. Or one of them. Something from before, that plays into the now."

A-"Something between you and Gunji,"

S-"Has to be connected, doesn't it? Otherwise it wouldn't follow the pattern. And if it isn't something important, why did he f**k with me?"

A-"Maybe it's time for a meeting,"

M-"For you suits, it's always time for a meeting," shot back.

A-"I'm forced to point out that I'm not wearing a suit."

M-"Inside you are. It's probably pin-striped. And I bet you're wearing a tie too. But I digress. Maybe the suit's right, The six of us should put our heads together. Your place." He patted Armi on the shoulder. "You've got more furniture and better food."

A-"That works for me. The sooner, the better." glanced at his watch. "Ha-ha, I have a meeting. Set it up with the girls, let me know." He stepped back inside to snag his jacket, then jogged out into the rain toward his car. Sam stood watching as Armi drove away.

S-"We get through this one and get to the last round, his head's going to be on the block."

M-"You think he doesn't know that?"

S-"No, I figure he does. I was wondering if Ridz does."

THE only thing Ridz knew at that moment was that this was one of the biggest days of her life. She clutched the keys, her keys, in her fist. They were brand spanking new, to go with the brand spanking new lock sets she'd bought to replace the old ones. She was going to put the lock on the main door herself-she knew how-first thing. A kind of rite, she decided. A kind of claiming. She parked, ran through the rain to the front porch, then waited as her friends pulled in behind. Nupur had the original keys. Besides, it was right that the three of them went in together. And wasn't it right, somehow symbolic, that Nups had the original key? That she and Gunji would wait while Nups unlocked the door. The first door. Nupur had completed her part of the quest, and had held her key. Now it was Gunji's turn. Then, God willing, it would be hers.

N-"Rain's going to strip a lot of the leaves off the trees," commented as she rushed under the overhang. "There won't be much color left after this."

R-"It was nice while it lasted."

N-"Yes, it was." started to unlock the door, then stopped. "It just hit me. It's ours now. Really ours. Maybe we should say something profound, do something symbolic."

G-"I'm not carrying either of you across the threshold." scooped back her damp hair.

R-"Booty shake," decided and made Gunjan laugh.

G-"Booty shake," she agreed. "On three."

The few people driving by might have been slightly surprised to see three women standing on a pretty blue porch wiggling their butts in front of a closed door. Giggling, Nupur turned the key. N-"That felt right. And here we go." She opened the door with what she considered a very nice flourish, then her mouth dropped open. "Oh, my God, look!"

R-"What?" Instinctively, Ridz grabbed her arm to yank her back. "Is it Kane?"

N-"No, no! Look. Oh, this is so sweet! Look what they did." She rushed inside and all but buried her face in the roses set on the card table. "Flowers. Our first flowers. Mayank's going to get such a big reward for this."

R-"It was really thoughtful of him." sniffed at the flowers, then opened the bakery box. "Cookies. The fancy kind. What a sweetheart you've got, Nupur."

G-"He didn't do it alone." pulled the champagne out of the bucket, arched her eyebrows at the label. "This has Armi's fingerprints all over it. Not just champagne but stupendous champagne."

Ridz frowned over the label.

R-"That's expensive, isn't it?"

G-"Not only, but very classy. Only time I ever had it was when Armi gave me a bottle for my twenty-first birthday. He always had style."

N-"The three of them did this together, for us." With a long sigh, Nupur danced her fingers over petals. "I'd say all three of them have style."

G-"Let's not disappoint them." popped the cork, poured champagne into the three flutes set on the table.

R-"We need to have a toast." picked up the flutes, passed them out.

N-"Let's not do one that makes us cry." took a steadying breath. "The flowers have me half started already."

G-"I've got it. To Indulgence."

They clinked glasses, sipped. And cried a little anyway.

N-"I've got something I want to show you." set down her glass, picked up her briefcase. "Just something I was playing with. I don't want you to feel obligated. You won't hurt my feelings if you don't like the concept. It's just… just an idea."

G-"Stop killing us with suspense. Give."

N-"Okay. I was thinking about a logo, you know something that incorporates all three businesses. Of course, we might all want separate ones anyway, but we could use one logo for letterhead, business cards, the Web page."

G-"Web page. You're way ahead of me."

N-"Pays to plan. You remember Benji."

G-"Sure. Really cute guy you worked with at The Gallery,"

N-"Right. He's a good friend, too, and he's great at computer design. We could ask him to fiddle with looks and features for a Web page. Actually, I'm hoping to be able to offer him a job here. Down the road a little, but being optimistic, I'm going to need help. We all will."

G-"I haven't thought that far ahead, But yeah, I'll need at least one part-time bookseller who can handle brewing tea, serving wine. I guess I might need two people, realistically."

R-"I've got feelers out for a stylist, a nail consultant. Some others." pressed a hand to her jumpy stomach. "Jeez. We're going to have employees."

G-"I like that part. It's good to be boss."

N-"We're also going to need a tax consultant, office equipment, signage, an advertising budget, phone systems … I have lists,"

G- "I bet you do. Now what else is in the briefcase?"

N-"Okay. For the logo. This is just something I did from an idea I had."

She pulled out a folder, opened it, then set the drawing on the table. The figure of a woman sat hi a salon chair, tipped back in a pose of easy relaxation. A book was open in her hands, a glass of wine and a single rose in a bud vase on the table beside her. All this was inside an ornate border that framed it like a stylized portrait. Above the border was the single word: INDULGENCE.

Below the name, it read FOR THE BODY, THE MIND, AND THE SPIRIT.

R-"Wow." Managing only the single word, Ridz put a hand on Nups's shoulder.

N-"It's just a thought, Something to unify what we're all doing. Since we're using the one name for everything. Then we could have this sort of thing on our individual cards, letterheads, invoices, whatever, with something like-I don't know-'Indulgence. For Beauty. Indulgence. For Books. Indulgence. For Art.' And that would differentiate each aspect while keeping it under one umbrella."

R-"It's wonderful, It's just wonderful. Gunjan?"

G-"It's' perfect. Absolutely perfect, Nups."

N-"Really? You like it? I don't want to box you in just because-"

G-"Let's make a pact, Any time any of us feels boxed in, she just says so. We're girls, but we're not weenies. Okay?"

N-"That's a deal. I can give this to Benji. He could make up a sample letterhead. He'd do it as a favor. He's better at the desktop-publishing stuff than I am."

R-"I can't wait!" let out a hoot and did a little dance around the room. "First thing in the morning, we're going to start some serious work around here."

G-"Hold on." spread her arms to indicate the walls. "What do you call all this painting we've been doing?"

R-"The tip of the iceberg." Still dancing, she grabbed her champagne.

Gunjan had never considered herself a slacker. She was willing to work hard, insisted on pulling her weight, and she got the job done. Anything less was unacceptable. She'd always viewed herself as a woman with high personal standards-both personally and professionally, and she tended to sneer at those who skimmed over work, who complained that the job they'd agreed to take on turned out to be too hard, too involved, too much trouble. But compared to Ridz, Gunji decided as she dashed into the market to pick up a few supplies, she was a malingerer. She was a wimpy-assed crybaby. The woman had worn her out in the first twenty-four hours. Paint, wallpaper, trim samples, light fixtures, hardware, windows, floor coverings-and the budget for all that and more. And it wasn't just the thinking and deciding, Gunji realized as she pondered a bunch of bananas, that was enough to make your head explode. It was the labor as well. Scraping, hauling, stacking, unstacking, drilling, screwing, hammering. Well, there was no doubt about it, she mused as she picked through the oranges. When it came to the organization, delegation, and implementation of labor, Riddhima Gupta was in charge. Between the work, the decisions, the worrying search for the key, and her struggle to keep her head above her heart regarding Sam, she was completely worn out. But could she just go home, fall on the bed, and sleep for ten hours? Oh, no, she thought with a hiss as she moved on to the dairy aisle. No, indeed. She had to attend a big meeting at Armi's place on the river. She really needed about two solid hours of absolute solitude and quiet, but she'd had to trade a portion of that for groceries if she didn't want to starve to death in the coming week. On top of that, she no longer had any confidence that she would find the answer to the key in the stacks of books she'd accumulated. She'd read and read, followed every lead, but she didn't seem to be any closer to a concrete theory, much less a solution. And if she failed, what then? Not only would she let down her friends, her brother, her Boy friend. Not only would she disappoint Rowena and Pitte, but her inadequacy would doom the Daughters of Glass until the next triad was chosen. How could she live with that? Depressed now, she tossed a quart of milk in her basket. She'd seen the Box of Souls with her own eyes, ached to watch those blue lights battering frantically at their prison walls. If she couldn't find the key, slide it into the lock as Nupur had done with the first, everything they'd done would be for nothing. And Kane would win. "Over my dead body," she declared, then jolted when someone touched her arm.

W-"Sorry." The woman laughed. "Sorry. It looked like you were arguing with yourself. I usually don't get to that point until I hit the frozen dessert section."

G-"Well, you know. Whole milk, low fat, two percent? It's a jungle in here." Then the woman angled her cart so another shopper could get through. Pretty, brunette, late thirties, Gunjan observed, trying to place her.

G-"Sorry. I know you, don't I? I just can't place it."

W-"You helped me and my son a couple of weeks ago in the library." She reached for a gallon of milk. "He had a report due the next day for American history class."

G-"Oh right, right." made the effort to tuck her dark thoughts away and answer the smile. "U.S. history report, seventh grade."

W-"That's the one. I stopped back in the library last week to thank you again, but I was told you weren't there anymore."

G-"Yeah." That brought some of the dark thoughts back into play. "You could say I retired abruptly from library service."

W-"I'm sorry to hear that. You were terrific with my son. And you made a big difference. He got an A. Well, an A-minus, but anything with his name on it that includes an A is cause for wild celebration in our house."

G-"That's great. He must have done a good job. " And particularly good lo hear al the end of a long day

W-"He did, which he wouldn't have done if you hadn't pointed him in the right direction. More, if you hadn't found the right key to turn in his head. I'm glad I got the chance to tell you."

G-"So am I. You picked up my day considerably."

W-"I'm sorry about whatever happened with the job. It's none of my business, but if you ever need a personal reference, you can sure have mine."

G-"Thanks. I mean that. Actually, some friends and I are starting our own business. I'm going to be opening a bookstore in a month or so. Probably a little more 'or so,' but we're putting it all together."

W-"A bookstore?" her hazel eyes sharpened with interest. "In town?"

G-"Yeah. A combination thing. A bookstore, an arts and crafts gallery, and a beauty salon. We're fixing up a house over on Oak Leaf."

W-"That sounds fabulous. What an idea. All that in one place,and in town. I only live about a mile and a half from there. I can promise to be one of your regular customers."

G- "If we keep up the pace, we'll have it up and running for the holiday season."

W-"Terrific. You wouldn't be hiring, would you?"

G-"Hiring?" eased back, considered. "Are you looking for a job?"

W-"I'm thinking about slipping back into the workforce, but I want something close to home, something fun, and something with fairly flexible hours. What you'd call a fantasy job. Especially when you consider I haven't worked outside the home in over a decade, have only recently become computer literate-actually, it may be a stretch to say that-and my main job experience was as a legal secretary for a mid-level law firm in Philadelphia-where I did not shine-right out of high school." She laughed at herself. "I'm not giving myself a very glowing recommendation."

G-"You like to read?"

W-"Give me a book and a couple hours of quiet, and all's right with the world. I'm also good with people, and I'm not looking for a big salary. My husband has a good job, and we're secure, but I'd like to pull in a little of my own. And I'd like to do something to earn it that doesn't have anything to do with laundry, cooking, or browbeating an eleven-year-old into picking up his room."

G-"I find those excellent qualifications in a potential employee. Why don't you come by the building sometime. It's the house with the blue porch. You can take a look at the place, and we'll talk some more."

W-"This is great I will. Wow." She let out a laugh. "I'm so happy I ran into you. It must've been fate."

Fate, Gunjan mused when they'd parted ways. She hadn't been giving enough credit to fate. Needing to restock her pantry had brought her here, to the dairy section of her local supermarket. A small thing, she thought as she continued through the aisles. An everyday sort of thing. But hadn't it put her here at just the right moment? Bumped her right into a woman who might become another spoke on the wheel of her life? And more than that. She'd bumped into thee woman who'd said exactly what she'd needed to hear. You found the right key to turn in his head. Was it just coincidence that she had used that phrase? Gunjan wasn't going to blow it off as coincidence. No, her key--the right key-was knowledge. She would find it, Gunjan promised herself. She would find it by keeping her mind open.

Chapter Thirteen

IN Gunjan's opinion, there were a lot of things you could say about Arman Mallik. He was fun, smart, and great to look at. He could, depending on his mood and the circumstances, present a polished, urbane image that made her think of James Bond ordering a vodka martini in Monte Carlo-and then turn on a dime and become a complete goofball ready to spray seltzer down your pants. He could discuss French art films with the passion of a man who didn't require the subtitles, and be just as fervent in a debate over whether Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam was a more worthy adversary for Bugs. Those were just some of the things she loved about him. Another was his house. Towners called it the Mallik House, or the River House, and indeed it had been both for more than four decades. Arman's father had built it, a testimony to the lumber that formed the foundation of the Mallik empire. Using that lumber, and with a skilled eye for the surroundings, B. C. Mallik III had created both the simple and the spectacular. The golden frame house spread along the riverbank, edging itself with spacious decks and charming terraces. There were a number of rooflines and angles, all of them balanced into a creative harmony that showcased the beauty of wood. It offered lovely views of the river or the trees or the clever hodgepodge of gardens. It wasn't the sort of place you looked at and thought, Money. Rather, you thought, Wow. She'd spent some time there, tagging along after Mayank when she was a kid and tagging along with Sam when she was older. It was a place where she'd always felt comfortable. It seemed to her it had been created with comfort as its first priority and style running a close second. Another thing you could say about Armi, she decided, was that he didn't skimp on the refreshments when he had a gathering. It wasn't anything fancy, at least it wasn't presented that way. Just some sort of incredible pasta salad that made her contemplate going back for more, a lot of interesting finger food, ham slices, and some dense, dark bread for sandwich making. There was a round of Brie skirted by fat red raspberries, and crackers nearly thin enough to see through that 'crunched with satisfying delicacy at every bite. There was beer, mere was wine, there were soft drinks and bottled water. She already knew she wasn't going to resist the mini cream puffs mounded in a tempting island on a platter the size of New Jersey. All this was spread out casually in the great room, where a fire snapped and sizzled and the furniture was the kind you could happily sink into for weeks at a time. Not fancy, not so you felt like you couldn't rest your feet on the coffee table. Just classy. That was Arman Mallik, right down to the ground. Conversation buzzed and hummed around her, and she was drifting into a happy coma brought on by good food, warmth, and contentment. Or would, she thought, if Ridz would stop squirming beside her.

G-"You're going to have to do something about those ants in your pants," told her.

R-"Sorry." shot another look toward the archway. "I'm just worried about Sahil."

G-"Why? He had a plate with enough food piled on it to feed a starving battalion, and he's hunkered down in the game room. A nine-year-old's wet dream."

R-"There's so much stuff in this house," she whispered. "Expensive stuff. Art and glassware and china and things. He's not used to being around all of this." Neither am I, she thought, and struggled not to squirm again. "What if he breaks something?"

G-"Well." Lazily, gunjan popped another raspberry into her mouth. "Then I guess Armi'll beat him to a bloody pulp."

R-"He hits children?" exclaimed.

G-"No. God, Ridz, get a grip. The place has survived nine-year-old boys before-at least three of them are alive and in this room. Relax. Have a glass of wine. And while you're at it, get me some more raspberries." Half a glass, Ridz thought and got to her feet. But even as she reached for the bottle, Armi lifted it.

A-"You look a little distracted." He poured the wine into a glass, handed it to her. "Is there a problem?"

R-"No." Damn it, she'd only wanted half a glass. Why didn't he stay out of her way? "I was just-thinking I should check on Sahil."

A-"He's fine. He knows where everything is in the game room. But I'll walk you back if you want to take a look," he added when she frowned.

R-"No. I'm sure he's fine. It's very nice of you to let him play." She knew her voice was stiff and tight, but she couldn't help it.

A-"That, rumor has it, is what a game room's for." Since Armi's voice echoed her tone, Ridz simply nodded.

R-"Um. Gunji, she wanted some more. Of these." Mortified for no reason she could name, she scooped some of the berries into a bowl, then carried them and her wine back to the couch. "Pompous ass," she said under her breath and had Gunji blinking at her.

G-"Armi?" snatched the bowl of raspberries. "Sorry, honey, you got the wrong number."

Sam wandered over, sat on the arm of the couch beside Gunjan and stole a couple of berries before she could stop him.

G-"Get your own."

S-"Yours are better." He reached out to play with her hair. "So, how'd you get this stuff in here?"

G-"I didn't. Ridz did." Nipping one more berry, he eased forward to look past Gunji, wink at Ridz.

S-"Nice job."

R-"Any time you need a haircut, it's on the house."

S-"I'll remember that." He sat back again. "So, I'm sure you're all wondering why we've brought you here tonight," he began and made Gunji laugh.

G-"Now there's a-pompous ass." But she laid a hand on his thigh. "I guess since we're here to talk about the key, and I'm the one who's supposed to find it, I'll start."

Handing Sam what was left of the berries, she pushed herself off the couch and snagged her wineglass from the coffee table. Even as she took the first step, Sam slid down into her seat. He gave her a quick grin and draped his arm behind Ridz over the back of the couch.

S-"Come here often?" he asked

R-"I would have, if I'd known you'd be here, handsome."

G-"You guys are just a riot," muttered, then eased past a frowning Armi to the wine bottle. What the hell, she wasn't driving. "Now, if everybody's all comfy and cozy?" She paused, sipped her wine. "My key deals-with knowledge, or truth. I'm not sure the words are interchangeable, but both, either, or a combination of them applies to my quest. There's also a connection to the past, the now, the future. I'm taking this, after some fiddling around and dead-ending, to be personal, as applies to me."

N-"I think you're right about that," Nupur put in. "Rowena stresses that we're the keys. The three of us. And mine was personal. If we're going to consider a pattern, that's part of it."

G-"Agreed. The male-type people in this room are part of my past, and of my now. Odds are, I'm probably going to be stuck with them one way or the other, so they're part of my future as well. We know, too, there are connections among all six of us. My connection to each of you, and yours to me, to each other. There are the paintings from Nups's part of it that added a link."

She, as did the others, glanced at the portrait Armi had hung over the mantel. Another of Rowena's works, it showed the Daughters of Glass, after the spell that had taken their souls. Each lay pale and still in their crystal coffin. "Armi bought that at auction, without knowing what was going to happen here, just as Sam bought one of Rowena's paintings, the young Arthur on the point of drawing the sword from the stone, at the gallery where Nups used to work. Also years before we knew what we know now. So… this, in turn, connects all of us with Rowena and Pitte and the goddesses."

R-"And Kane, I don't think it's smart to leave him out."

G-"You're right, And Kane. He's messed with most of us already, and it's pretty clear he'll mess with us again. We know he's bad. We know he's powerful. But those powers aren't without limits."

S-"Or someone or something limits him. He took a slice out of me, Then Rowena sends a little potion home with Gunji. You guys saw this yesterday." He opened his shirt. The cuts were now only fading welts. "They started healing minutes after we slapped the stuff on them. The point is, whatever he did couldn't hold up against Rowena. And whatever she did to counter it couldn't erase it completely."

G-"To which we conclude," she finished for him, "that they're pretty evenly matched."

S-"He has weaknesses." Absently Sam rebuttoned his shirt. "Ego, pride, temper."

G-"Who said those were weaknesses?" wandered over, sat on the arm of the chair Armi had taken. "Anyway, it's more. He doesn't really get us-the whole human or mortal thing. He doesn't get us as individuals. He skims the surface, picks up on our little fantasies or fears, but he doesn't really get to the core-or hasn't. That's how Nups beat him."

N-"Yes, but when he has hold of you, it's hard to see clearly, hard to know." Nupur shook her head. "We can't underestimate him."

G-"I'm not. But up to now, I think, he has underestimated us." Thoughtfully, Gunji studied the portrait. "He wants them to suffer, simply because part of them is mortal. Rowena talked of opposing forces: beauty and ugliness, knowledge and ignorance, courage and cowardice. How without one the other loses its punch. So he's the dark, and you can't have light without dark. I figure he's essential to the whole deal, not just an annoyance." She hesitated, then took a drink. "It's no secret that Sam and I were intimate. I don't think it's any secret that we're … intimate now." Sam waited a beat.

S-"I've never known you to get flustered talking about sex, Sweets."

G-"I just want to make it clear to … people. To you, that I'm not sleeping with you as a way to find the key. Even if that has something to do with it," she continued quickly, "because as somebody told me recently, sex is powerful magic-"

S-"If you do it right," interrupted.

M-"So let's see what we know, and get off this incredibly uncomfortable topic." Mayank said, trying to get back on track and all the sex talk about his sister out of his head.

A- "Right. None of this would have happened-past- without Kane." Arman tapped his index fingers together, "His presence and manipulations influence the search for" the key. Present." He held up a second finger, "And there's no finish to the spell without him." And a third. "He's a necessary factor. There's no reward without work, no victory without effort, no battle won without risk."

S-"It's another traditional element of a quest, An evil to be overcome."

R-"I understand all this, And it's important. But how does it help Gunjan find the key?"

A-"Know your enemy,"

G-"That nutshelled it,"

M-"But there's more, Blood has been shed. Another traditional quest element. I can read, too," he said. "Why was it Sam's blood? There's a reason for it."

G-"Might be because Sam pissed him off, which he's really good at doing, But more likely it's because I need Sam to find the key."

S-"Sweets, you need me for so many things." Mayank sighed and gunjan said.

G-"Let's ignore the ego burst and stay focused." she gestured with her glass.

M- "Thank you!" He put his arm around Nupur when she laughed.

G-"The key's knowledge. Something I know, or have to learn. A truth that has to be sifted out from lies. Kane mixes his truth and lies. What is it he's said or done that's truth? That's one of the angles I'm playing. Then there's the last bit of the clue. Where one goddess walks another waits. That's a stumper so far. Nupus's goddess was singing, and she re-created that moment, and the key, by painting it. Following that, my goddess, Niniane, should be walking. But where, why, when? And which goddess waits? Would that be Ridz's?"

R-"Maybe you're supposed to write it, Like a story, I mean. The way Nupur painted hers."

G-"That's not bad. The thing is, I never wanted to write, not like Nups wanted to paint. But maybe it's something I'm supposed to read, and God knows I'm not hitting on anything in the six million books I've gone through so far. So maybe I have to write it myself, first."

M-"Maybe Sam does." Mayank played absently with Nupur's hair as he thought it through. "He's the writer- not to diminish my own considerable talent, but I report. He just makes shit up."

S-"Really good shit,"

M-"Goes without saying. I'm thinking here that if for nothing other than the cohesion and the exercise, Sam could write all this out. In story form. Maybe when Gunji reads it, the scales will fall from her eyes, she'll pull out the key, and we can all have a party, with cake."

G-"It's not an entirely stupid idea,"

R-"I think it's great." shifted in her seat to beam at Sam. "Will you do it? I just love reading your books, and this would be even more fun."

S-"For you, gorgeous?" He picked up her hand and kissed it. "Anything."

G-"I'm feeling a little queasy." patted her stomach. "How soon will you have something I can see?"

S-"Okay, now you sound like an editor. It could force me to have a creative tantrum and slow everything down."

R-"Do you? Have creative tantrums, I mean. I've always wondered how it works, with artists and all."

G-"Oh, God, now she's called him an artist." got to her feet. "I must go home and lie down." Ignoring her, Sam gave Ridz his attention.

S-"No, not" really. It's a job, just happens to be a really great job. My editor-my real editor," he added with a glance at Gunjan, "is a woman of discerning taste, skill, and diplomacy."

R-"Your editor's a woman? How does it work? Do you work with her all the way through a book, or does she tell you what she wants you to do, or…" She trailed off, shook her head. "Sorry. Way, way off topic."

S-"It's okay. Do you want to write?"

R-"Write? Me?" The idea had her exotic eyes going wide before she laughed. "No. I just tike knowing how things work."

N-"Speaking of work, we've got a full day of it tomorrow." Nupur gave Mayank's hand a pat.

M-"That's my cue." Gave Nupur a kiss on the head "I'll go round up Moe for you," and told Gunji..

G-"I'm running low on dog food. He eats like an elephant."

M-"I'll drop some off." He then caught her face in his hands. "Keep him close, okay?"

G-"He doesn't give me a lot of choice."

R-"Mayank, would you round up Sahil, too?" Automatically, Ridz began stacking dishes. "He's probably attached to Moe at the hip, so he shouldn't give you any trouble."

M-"Sure."

G-"We'd better cut out too. I'm going to see if I can get this One started on his homework." Gunjan jerked a thumb at Sam. "Any tips for that, Ridz?"

R-"Bribery. That's my method." Armi stepped over, laid a hand on Ridz's. And made her jump like a rabbit.

A-"You don't have to bother with those."

R-"Sorry." She instantly set the plates down. "Habit." It seemed to Armi that the woman deliberately misinterpreted every second word out of his mouth.

A-"I just meant you don't have to pick up. Anybody want coffee?"

S-"I do."

G-"No, you don't." she gave Sam a nudge toward the doorway. "It's work for you, pal. You can have coffee when you've gotten a couple of pages done."

R-"Bribery." nodded approval. "It never fails."

Moe bounded into the room, a wild blur of fur. In his delight to see everyone, he leaped, licked, swept glasses off the coffee table with an exuberant tail, and nosed his way into a plate of cocktail shrimp before he could be controlled.

M-"Sorry, sorry." With one hand hooked in Moe's collar, Mayank dragged the dog, or was dragged by him, toward the door. "Sweetie come fast. I'll put him in Sam's car. Bill me for damages. See you. Oh, Ridz, Sahil needs a few more minutes to finish a game. God!, Moe! Hold up!"

N-"This is my life now," Nupur said happily. "It's kind of great. Thanks, Armi, sorry about the dishes. See you tomorrow, girls. 'Night, Sam."

S-"I have to go save my upholstery." Sam grabbed Gunji's arm and pulled her toward the door. "Later."

G-"Stop yanking me. Smooches, Armi. See you in the morning, Ridz." The door slammed behind them, and there was absolute silence. It had all happened so fast, was all Ridz could think. She'd never intended to be the last one to leave. It was horrible. Horrifying. She considered running into the game room and grabbing Sahil, but she wasn't exactly sure where it was. And she could hardly stand where she was and shout for him. Still, she needed to do something. She bent down to pick up the glasses Moe had knocked to the floor. At exactly the same moment, so did armi. Their heads bumped. Each of them straightened quickly, then stood taut as bows.

A-"I'll get them." He crouched, gathered up the glasses, set them on the coffee table. He was close enough to catch her scent now. It was always different, sometimes earthy, sometimes light, always very female. It was one of the fascinating things about her, he mused. The variety of her.

"Coffee?"

R-"I really should just get Sahil. It's nearly his bedtime."

A-"Oh. Well. Okay." When he just stood, looking at her, Ridz felt embarrassed heat creeping up the back of her neck. Had she done something wrong? Left out something?

R-"Thanks for having us."

A-"Glad you could make it." During the next long pause, she had to make a conscious effort not to bite her lip.

R-"Sahil? I don't know exactly where he is."

A-"The game room. Oh." Amused at both of them, he laughed. "You don't know where the game room is. Come on, I'll take you back." The more she saw of the house, the more in love with it, and intimidated by it, she was. To begin with, there was so much of it, all of it charming or stunning or just lovely. She imagined the things she noticed on tables or shelves were several levels up from knickknacks. Armi veered off through an archway into what she assumed was some sort of library. The soaring ceiling was done in wood and made the room feel open while still managing to be cozy.

R-"There's so much room." She stopped, appalled that she'd spoken out loud.

A-"The story is, once my father got started, he couldn't stop. He'd get another idea, add it into the design."

R-"It's a wonderful house," she said quickly. "So much detail without being fussy. You must've loved growing up here."

A-"I did." He stepped into another room. Ridz already heard the roar of engines, the vicious gunfire, the breathless chant- come on, come on, come on-of her son. The video game was some sort of urban car war that flashed over an enormous wall-size TV screen. Sahil sat cross-legged on the floor rather than in one of the cushy recliners in a room that fulfilled every boy's fantasy.

A pool table, three pinball machines, two video-arcade games. Slot machines, a soda machine, a jukebox. The ceiling here was coffered, framed in honey-toned wood that shielded strips of lights. There was another fireplace, with cheerful flames snapping, as well as a small, glossy bar and a second television with an entire cabinet devoted to various components.

R-"Gosh. This is Sahil Gupta's personal version of heaven."

A-"My dad loves toys. We spent a lot of time in here."

R-"I bet." She stepped up behind her son. "Sahil. We have to go."

S-"Not yet, not yet." His face was fierce with concentration. "This is Grand Theft Auto Three! I'm really close, really close to having them call out the National Guard. Tanks and everything! I'm kicking Swat Team butt. I could set a record. Ten more minutes."

R-"Sahil. Mr.Mallik needs his house back."

A-"Mr.Mallik is fine with this,"

S-"Please, Mom. Please. Thanks." She wavered. She saw more than the heat of competition on his face as he stared at the screen. She saw joy. Someone died on-screen with a great deal of splashing blood, and from the delighted cackle she figured it wasn't Sahil.

A-"It's a little violent," realized and winced. "If you don't want him playing this sort of thing-"

R-"He knows the difference between reality and video games."

A-"Right. Good. Why don't we go have that coffee? A few more minutes can't hurt."

R-"All right. Ten minutes, Sahil."

S-"Okay, Mom, thanks, Mom. I'm going to do it," he mumbled, already back in the groove. "I'm going to do it."

R-"It's nice of you to let him play with your things," began as they left him to the battle. "He talked about being out here before for days."

A-"He's a great kid. Fun to be around."

R-"I certainly think so." She found herself in the kitchen with him-another spacious, stunning room. This one done in bright, cheerful white and toasty yellows that would make it seem sunny even on a gloomy day. She coveted the acres of counter space, the forest of cupboards, some with gorgeous seeded glass. She admired the sleek appliances that had to make cooking a creative joy rather than a mundane chore. Then it occurred to her that she was, once again, alone with him.

"You know, I should just go back with Sahil, and let you … do whatever. We'll be out of your way quicker." He finished measuring out coffee before he turned to her.

A-"Why do you think I want you out of my way?"

R-"I'm sure you have things to do."

A-"Not so much."

R-"Well, I do. A million things. I should really be ready to pry Sahil away before he loses control and starts another game. I'll just go get him, and we'll let ourselves out."

A-"I don't get it." Forgetting the coffee, he stepped closer to her. "I really don't get it."

R-"What?"

A-"You're comfortable enough with Mayank and Sam to flirt with them, but two minutes with me and you're not only blowing cold, you're halfway out the door."

R-"It's not flirting." Her voice went sharp. "Not like that. We're friends. They're Nups's and Gunji's boyfriends, for Pete's sake. And if you think I'm the sort of person who'd-"

A-"Then there's that," continued with what he considered admirable calm. "The way you automatically jump to conclusions, usually the wrong ones, when it comes to me."

R-"I don't know what you're talking about. In the first place, I barely know you."

A-"That's not true. People get to know each other pretty quickly in intense situations. We're in one, and we've been in one for close to two months now. We've spent time together, we have good mutual friends, and you've cooked me dinner."

R-"I didn't cook you dinner." Her chin came up. "You happened to be at the house when I cooked dinner. You ate. That's different."

A-"Point for you," he acknowledged. "You know, for some reason your response to me causes me to start sounding like my father when he's annoyed. There's this tone he gets in his voice, this change of body language. Used to bug the hell out of me when I was a kid."

R-"I have no intention of bugging the hell out of you. We'll leave."

In Armi's mind there was a time for talk and there was a time for action. When you were fed up, it was time for action. -He closed a hand over her arm to keep her in place, watched temper and nerves rush across her truly spectacular face.

A-"There it is," he told her. "Your usual response to me. Annoyance and/or nervousness. I've been asking myself why that is. I spend a lot of time asking myself questions about you."

R-"Then you must have a lot of time to waste. Let go. I'm leaving."

A-"And one of my theories is," he continued easily, "this."

He cupped his other hand at the nape of her neck, pulled her forward, and kissed her. He'd wanted to kiss her for weeks. Maybe for years. He'd wanted the taste of her on his lips, on his tongue, in his blood. And the feel of her, he thought as he slipped an arm around her waist to bring her more firmly against him. Her mouth was so full, so ripe, and much more potent than he'd anticipated. Her body quivered once against his, hi shock, hi response. At the moment it didn't matter. Just as it didn't matter if this single act was taken as a declaration of war or an offer of peace. He only knew he'd slowly been going mad waiting to hold her. She'd hesitated instead of pushing him away. And that, she would think later, when thinking was an option again, was her mistake. She felt the need lift inside her, from the toes to the belly to the throat, followed by that long, lovely pull and flutter that took it all the way back down. For one mad moment, she drew him in. The male scent and flavor, the strength and the passion, and let it tumble through her hi a kind of joyful spree. It was like a carnival, like the giddiest of rides when you couldn't be sure-not absolutely--that you wouldn't be flung out of your seat and into the air. And wasn't that fabulous? Then she slammed on the brakes. What choice did she have? She knew what happened when you rode too fast, too hard, too high. And this wasn't her place, this wasn't her man. What was hers-her child-was playing in the next room. She pulled out of Armi's arms. He was shaken, right down to the soles of his feet, but he stared into her eyes and nodded coolly. "I think that made my point." She was a long way from being an easy mark. She didn't step back, that would have been retreat, but stood firm and kept her eyes level with his.

R-"Let's get a few things straight. I like men. I like their company, their conversation, then- humor. I happen to be raising one of my own, and I intend to do a good job of it." She looked, he thought, like an angry, and aroused, wood nymph.

A-"You are doing a good job of it."

R-"I like kissing men-the right man, the right circumstances." His eyes warmed to a deep, foggy gray that was unexpected and compelling. The charming creases in his cheeks-too manly, Ridz thought, to be called dimples- deepened. Her fingers itched to trace those creases, and the sensation warned her she was in trouble.

A-"That's a relief to me."

R-"You'd better understand that I make the conditions at this point in my life. The fact that I have a kid and I'm not married doesn't make me easy." Angry shock leaped into his face.

A-"For Christ's sake, Ridz. Where did we veer from me finding you interesting and attractive and wanting to kiss you to finding you easy?"

R-"I want to be clear, that's all. Just like I'm going to be clear that nobody uses my kid to get to me." The shock, the anger iced over. The chill hit him from a foot away.

A-"If you assume that's what I'm doing, you're insulting all three of us." She felt twin jolts of guilt and embarrassment. As she started to speak, Sahil flew into the room.

S-"I rule! Beat your high score, sucker!" He danced around Armi, shaking his index fingers in the air hi a victory dance. With effort, Armi folded his emotions further inside, then hooked an arm around Sahil's neck. "A momentary event, I promise you. Gloat while you have the chance, you midget."

S-"Next time I'm beating your butt in the NBA play-offs."

A-"Never happen. And when I humiliate you, you will crawl to me on your belly like the insignificant worm you are." As she watched the exchange, saw their obvious enjoyment of each other, her guilt only increased.

R-"Sahil, we have to go."

S-"Okay. Thanks for letting me mop the floor with ya."

A-"I'm just luring you in, so crushing you will be more gratifying." With his arm still around the boy, he looked at the mother. "I'll get your coats."

Really loved the parts continue soon

Hey Aastu :))

gr8 prts!
buddy m suggesting it a few of my buddies! 😃