Shieldbearer

CHAPTER ONE

The sun blazed above the Sri Kailasa temple.

I just wasn’t exactly sure it was my sun. Peaches rumbled by my side as I took in the impressive stone facade. I looked up at the intricate carvings and marveled at the level of skill required to create the imagery in the stone.

From what I had learned, this entire place was supposed to have been carved from a cliff face. Either I was in the wrong Kailasa temple, or Kali had moved it and I was standing somewhere else.

I had a feeling Jersey was far from where I was standing.

<Stay close, boy. I don’t know exactly where we are, but I don’t think this is our plane.>

<Where you go, I go. The strong, blue lady smells good.>

The fact that he could smell her from where we stood only reinforced that he was no regular canine. I glanced over to where she stood. She gave me a look and refocused on the large creature that towered over her.

She looked up into its face without a shadow of fear and said some words I couldn’t quite catch, before glancing in my direction again.

<She may smell good—that doesn’t mean she’s friendly. Stay close. I’ll keep you safe.>

<Do you think she will make more meat? I’m starving.>

<You just ate. Don’t push it. Unless…you want me to make you some meat?>

<No, your meat breaks my stomach. Ask the blue lady.>

<Later. First, let’s find out why she brought us here.>

<To make you stronger.>

<Why isn’t it to make you stronger?>

<I am very strong. You need to get stronger. She is here to make you stronger. I am mighty, remember.>

<Of course I remember, you never let me forget.>

<One day you will be mighty too. Don’t worry.>

<Not on the top of my agenda. I’m not exactly feeling comfortable about this little visit to her temple.>

<If she attacks, I will stop her.>

I shook my head and smiled at him as I rubbed his head.

<You get full marks for bravery, but we can’t take her. She’s too strong. Even in our most powerful battleform, she would take us out with barely a thought.>

<This is why you have to get stronger.>

<Of course, I’m the weak link.>

<Frank says admitting the problem is the first step in finding the solution. You can only be dangerous if you are strong. When you are strong, the harmless parts of you are crushed to nothing.>

<That was a very thorough mangling of a familiar quote—you can only be truly dangerous when you are strong, otherwise you are harmless.>

<Why are you repeating what I just said?>

I just shook my head again and scanned the area.

Kali had facilitated our trip to her temple after having a conversation with both Dex and the Morrigan. I noticed I wasn’t consulted prior to this trip. Monty stayed at the Montague School of Battlemagic—we really needed to find a shorter name for the place—to practice some new casts Dex was going to teach him.

Secretly, I think he was glad he could pass on this trip; Kali made most people nervous. Being around her was like standing around several thousand pounds of volatile explosive.

One wrong step and it was over.

Having to constantly be in that heightened state of awareness was draining. Granted, I was her Marked One, but I had no illusions as to my safety. If anything, I was in greater danger than the average person.

Her Marked One was held to a higher standard, which was code for one major slip up and I was dust. If she was feeling merciful, she might even bring me back to explain how badly I messed up.

No, I wasn’t looking forward to this trip.

Currently, we stood in a U-shaped courtyard of a stone temple complex that was supposed to have been carved out of the side of a mountain. Instead, we stood in the center of three massive slabs of thick, ancient stone, carved with intricate designs and images.

In the center of the three stone walls sat the central temple. Like the mandir I remembered in Jersey, every inch of this stone temple was covered in intricate designs.

Stone obelisks and columns were cut into the surrounding walls; each of them held images of elephants, lions, and turtles. Spread out all over the exterior temple faces, I saw depictions of dancing goddesses.

The dark stone was weathered with age, but held a deep violet glow within the stone itself. There was no way we were in the temple in India. All of these designs were clear and easily seen. None of them were missing parts, which I knew was the case with the temple I remembered.

It may have looked old, but nothing was chipped or broken. I could sense the energy emanating from the stone all around me. The most impressive part was the size and scope of this work. This temple was easily three times the size of the mandir in Jersey, and every bit as ornate and intricate.

“I thought we were supposed to be in India?” I asked, walking along the edge of the courtyard as Peaches padded next to me. “This doesn’t look like India.”

Kali turned her head and glanced at me while she created a large sausage for Peaches. He immediately plopped down and began devouring the meat she offered him. Once he reached the end, it rematerialized, forming an entire new sausage.

He chuffed in approval.

<I like the strong blue lady even more now.>

<I had a feeling you would, especially with the infinite meat. Try not to overdo it.>

<How can I overdo it? The meat will never end. This is perfect meat. Can you learn how to make this meat?>

<Not a chance, and I’m not asking either. You would never leave home.>

Kali patted him on the head, which he approved of by nuzzling her hand with his nose, before diving back into the meat devouring.

“He is a good hound,” she said, crouching down to rub him between the ears. “He needs to eat more. Are you feeding him adequately?”

I nodded.

“How long will that meat last?” I asked, looking down at my ever-voracious hellhound. “At this rate, he may just explode.”

“Until he is sated,” she said. “He is a hellhound. I doubt he is in danger of exploding.”

“Is that safe?” I asked. “You do realize he can eat a substantial amount of meat.”

“He will be fine,” she said, waving my words away. “What makes you say we are not in India?”

“This entire place is supposed to be carved out from a cliff face,” I said, extending an arm toward the temple, “but this is a freestanding temple surrounded by walls. Impressive walls, but not a cliff. Also, I thought this was a temple dedicated to Shiva? Why are you here, then?”

“Clarify,” she said, as a small smile crossed her lips. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” I said, pointing to specific areas, “you have Shiva over there, then he’s over there dancing, and then he’s over there again, with some woman whispering something into his ear?”

“Parvati warning him about the demon Ravana,” she said. “Your point being?”

“And here we stand in front of the central shrine dedicated to Shiva again, and his fairly impressive bull.”

“Nandi,” she said, running a hand along the stone of the large image of the bull. “Yes, his faithful mount and guardian of this temple. You have yet to make your point, Simon.”

“Well, I’m looking around and all I see is a Shivafest everywhere,” I said, realizing I was speaking to a goddess of destruction. “Why?”

She glanced at me and shook her head.

“Ignoring the fact that I don’t need to explain myself, you mean?” she said. “Shiva and I are one. It pleases me to be here. This is Kailasa as it should be, not as it is on your plane, a poor imitation of this majestic and sacred place.”

I made a choice to keep my answer to myself.

I was learning.

The fact that she was even answering my questions was surprising to me. Usually, it was all veiled threats and glances of promised pain or death. This time she was actually speaking to me in a conversational tone—not that it fooled me.

This was still Kali the Destroyer.

You didn’t earn a title like ‘the Destroyer’ out of the kindness of your heart. I had no illusions about who I was standing next to. She’d cursed me to what she imagined was a fate worse than death.

The jury was still out on that one.

The last time we met, she was gracious enough to show me what would happen to Peaches and me at the end of his life. It wasn’t kind or welcome. The images she shared with me reinforced the one fact I could never lose sight of.

She was not my friend and never would be.

We may have been strolling through an incredible temple dedicated to her lover, but she was still the goddess of death and destruction, with a side of mind-numbing fear sprinkled in for seasoning.

I looked around us and took in the amazing stonework. I had visited the Kailasa in India and been completely blown away by the intricacy of the stonework. This made the temple in India look like a bad copy.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked. “Couldn’t we have had this conversation back at the school?”

“Yes, we could have,” she said, still looking away. “Then I would have had to explain myself. I don’t enjoy explaining myself.”

“Never would’ve guessed.”

She stared at me for a few seconds before a small smile played across her lips. She shook her head and kept walking through the courtyard.

Her blue skin glistened in the setting sun. Her jet black hair, which was adorned with gold and ivory accents, was accentuated with a golden disc that sat in the center of her forehead. Her hair danced in the non-existent wind as she moved around the central shrine.

She wore a white, loose-fitting linen top which was edged with softly glowing orange runes, and a pair of dark blue bellbottom jeans. The bells around her ankles moved with each step, producing a light jingling as her bare feet seemed to glide above the ground.

Even though she looked normal—I mean besides the blue skin, a clear indicator this wasn’t Durga, but Kali—I knew she wasn’t. I was glad she hadn’t opted for the traditional necklace of skulls, or the extra arms, holding an arsenal, complete with a severed head.

No matter how many times we had met, I was never completely at ease around her. Probably had something to do with her cursing me alive and her little moments of torture to teach me life lessons.

Oh, and the Rakshasas.

These weren’t the easy-to-gaze-at, animal-headed creatures from some of the stories. No, Kali, being Kali, had to go for the horror deluxe version. Standing around eight feet tall, these creatures were living nightmares, guaranteed to rob you of sleep for at least a week. They had two huge fangs that would make a saber-toothed tiger jealous, and claws that put Wolverine to shame.

Around their necks, they wore a polished silver chain. From the chain hung a glowing violet orb about the size of a grapefruit. Runes covered their bodies, and these too glowed with a faint, violet light.

They stood around the temple grounds at regular intervals, but ignored me and Peaches. I figured since I was here with Kali, I had some sort of immunity.

The last time I encountered them, they were actively trying to shred Monty and me. I shuddered at the thought and had no desire to encounter angry Rakshasa ever again.

“The burden is entirely yours,” she said. “Do you understand what it means to be an Aspis?”

“I have an idea.”

She raised an eyebrow at me before turning back to admire the central shrine.

“Educate me, if you would be so kind.”

It sounded like a request.

It wasn’t.

“The Aspis is the name of the shield.”

She nodded in response.

“Continue.”

“A shieldbearer’s role is to protect the vulnerable.”

She glanced at me for a few seconds before shaking her head.

“You are no longer a shieldbearer.”

“What? You called me an Aspis,” I said. “I know I heard you right.”

“I know what I said, do you?” she answered. “Why were you made an Aspis?”

“Because cursing me alive wasn’t enough torture?” I answered. “Now, I get to protect others while you place my life in constant danger. Like my fan group of successors. Dira is out there leveling up somewhere and getting ready to dust me the first chance she gets.”

She sighed and turned to me with a smile that froze me in place.

“Simon, I extend certain liberties to you, because you are my Marked One,” she said. “Do not allow my magnanimity to cause you to lose your life…permanently.”

She gave me a pointed look which I understood to mean the ice you are skating on is so thin, you’re basically swimming and there are sharks in the water.

Hungry sharks.

I nodded.

“Got it,” I said, becoming serious. “You made me an Aspis, a shield warrior to stand against those who would try to transform and twist the energy I understand as magic into something else, something to hurt others.”

“You remember.”

“I remember the pain when you did it, and pain is an excellent memory enhancer.”

“Indeed,” she said. “It is. When you underwent that transformation, I informed you of its purpose. Do you recall?”

I paused for a moment and remembered her words: You will be my Aspis—my shield warrior. It is not only Tristan that depends on you now.

“I’m an Aspis, but not just for Monty,” I said. “You do realize I can’t protect everyone?”

“I am aware. Right now, you can barely protect yourself,” she said. “You need help.”

“What I need, is to stop the Grand Council.”

“How do you propose to do that?”

“I was hoping you could give me a Marked of Kali upgrade,” I said. “Something along the lines of a mage eraser ability.”

She smiled again and my stomach twisted into knots.

“You cannot face the Grand Council, nor can your mage,” she said. “Neither of you are ready. If you do, both of you will die in the attempt.”

“That’s why I was mentioning the upgrade.”

“You don’t need an upgrade,” she said, glancing at me. “What you need, is to unlock the power I placed in you.”

“That sounds like pain…again.”

She nodded.

“Life is pain, Simon,” she said, looking away. “Anyone who tells you differently is selling something. Usually deception. Do you recall the rest of what I told you?”

“Do I have to?”

She gave me a healthy dose of side-eye.

“I could always coax it out of you,” she answered. “Is that your preference?”

“No need,” I said, quickly raising a hand. “You said I would be tested and that I was the current holder of this title. That there could only be one living Aspis at any one time.”

“What does that tell you?”

“That I’m walking around with an enormous target on my back,” I said, living dangerously. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Actually, it’s on your forehead, and it’s my mark,” she said. “What does being the only living Aspis tell you?”

“Not many people apply for the job because it’s high-risk, low reward?”

“Close,” she said. “Try again. Think as to why you are here…alone.”

“I’m not alone,” I said, looking around and not seeing my hellhound. “Peaches⁠—?”

He was gone, and my stomach clenched.

“He is safe, but he will not be able to assist you in this,” she said. “Aside from me, right now, you are alone. Why?”

“What about the Raksha⁠—?”

They were gone too.

Normally, this would have made me feel better.

This was not one of those times.