“Stay alive, Kyra!”
“We must take the katari out now, before it puts her beyond our reach. Mumuksu, you will staunch the flow of blood when I remove it.”
And on the borders of the group gathered around, the uneasy whispers, the fear-filled thoughts: What did she do to Tamsyn Turani?
Where has the Mahimata vanished?
What black magic is this?
Someone applied pressure to her side. Someone else grasped the hilt of the blade. Kyra’s eyes flew open and Navroz’s face crystallized before her.
“Yes, it will hurt,” said the elder. “But it must be done now if we are to save you.”
She pulled the blade out: carefully, slowly.
The pain rose to an unbearable crescendo, obliterating everything else. Kyra could hear an agonized screaming echoing in the hall, and feel the gushing wetness of blood pouring from her wound.
Darkness, and in the darkness a vision: a blue-skinned, four-armed figure with a vermilion-streaked forehead. In three of her hands she held a lotus, scissors, and a sword. The fourth was held out in benediction.
Kali. The Goddess . . .
And Kyra knew no more.
Acknowledgments
This book would not exist without the help of several wonderful people. First and foremost, my editor at Harper Voyager, Priyanka Krishnan, who made me reach deeper within myself for the truths of my characters and the world they live in. Thanks also to the team at Harper Voyager for all their hard work in making this book possible.
My deep gratitude to my agent, Mary C. Moore of Kimberley Cameron & Associates, for believing in my story, and to Pooja Menon for passing it on to her.
Thanks to my sister, Prinks, for being my first reader, to my mom for proofreading, to writer Karl Schroeder for his gentle encouragement, to Amy Goh for the lovely map, and to the friends who shared this journey with me: Charlotte, Ariella, Erika, Valerie, Debbie, Lesleyanne, Victoria, Kristin, Vanessa, and Marie-Lynn.
For all you math geeks, Kyra’s pyramid of palindromic primes is taken from “Palindromic Prime Pyramids,” by G. L. Honaker and C. Caldwell, in the Journal of Recreational Mathematics, 30:3 (1999–2000).
Lastly, thanks to you, dear reader, for picking up this book and taking a chance on it. Until we meet again, the Goddess be with you.