Cupping it in my hands, I instructed the amulet to take me back to her. Nothing happened. I rubbed my thumb over it and stared at the inscription. The words around the outside jumped out at me. The amulet of Damon—The father of India—The son of Rajaram.
I hadn’t really given the inscription much thought since Ren and Kelsey left. In fact, I preferred not to think about it. Ana called me Damon when I was in my tiger form but I’d never really embraced the title. It didn’t belong to me. Yes, I was a son of Rajaram, but so was Ren. Yes, Damon was the tiger of Durga and it was the role I fulfilled, but still, I’d never really thought of the amulet as mine. Most of the time, it hung around Ana’s neck, and though I appreciated the power and used it when necessary, I would have preferred never to set eyes on the thing.
“Come on,” I said to the amulet. “We need to get her back.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated. Again, nothing happened. Growling, I flung the offending amulet into trees, but I didn’t hear the thump it should have made when it hit the ground. Worried, I got up and stumbled forward only to freeze when I heard the snap of brush.
A familiar baritone voice said, “I thought I taught you to respect your weapons, son.”
“Kadam,” I said as he emerged from the trees. He approached and handed back the amulet I’d thrown. As he leaned over, the broken portion of the amulet from the past that allowed him to travel in time swung from the chain around his neck.
“You did,” I said, fingering the whole amulet and wondering how it was the two objects could exist in the same space. Quickly, I shoved the thought from my mind. I didn’t like thinking about such things. “But this is a far cry from a knife or a sword.”
“It is not made of the finest steel, that I’ll grant you, but the Damon Amulet is the most powerful weapon you have.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “Powerful and not working at the moment,” I said.
“No,” he said. “I imagine it wouldn’t be right now.”
My back stiffened. “You know what’s happened then?”
He sighed. “Yes. I know.”
“If you knew this was going to happen, you should have warned us.”
“Just because I know something doesn’t mean I can or will prevent it from happening.”
“Yeah. Which reminds me.” I took a threatening step toward him, not entirely sure what I was going to do. It wasn’t as if I’d never fought him before. We’d sparred plenty in the long years we’d known each other. My fists tightened and the blood pounded in my veins.
“You can strike me if you like, son,” he said softly. “I wouldn’t blame you.”
He looked so tired in that moment. The utter exhaustion was like a cloak he wore over his still-strong frame. I recalled the sadness I’d felt when we lost him. I’d choked it down where it now rested deep in my belly, but it still tore up my insides like a burr whenever I thought about it, leaving me raw and bleeding. The fact was, I still mourned him. The taste of it was ashy in my mouth.
I turned away from him. “So what’s wrong with it?” I asked, raising the amulet between my fingers.
“What’s wrong is that when Anamika crossed paths with her former self, she essentially erased her future self from the fabric of the universe. The goddess Durga no longer exists, and because of that, the bond between you has fragmented and the amulet has no power. Without a goddess, Damon and his amulet have no purpose.”
He took a seat on a fallen log and continued, “Everything the two of you were supposed to do, were supposed to become, is now existing in limbo.”
The blood in my veins froze. “Do you mean Ren and Kelsey…”
“They never met. In this plane, both you and Ren died a long time ago. This version of you cannot shift into a tiger. If fact, you have no power at all other than what you would have had as a young warrior.”
“The weapons?” I asked.
“The weapons and gifts of Durga are fading away. Even if you were able to recover them from the fiends who made off with them, and managed somehow to wield them, they would not serve you. Do you remember how I struggled to use the bow?”
“I remember.”
“You would be as unable to draw it as I was. Regardless, the weapons will soon vanish.”
“And what about the demon?”
“Lokesh?”
I nodded.
“He never gained immortality because the Damon Amulet doesn’t exist in this plane.”
“I see.” I sunk down to the grass, folding my legs beneath me and rubbing my thumb mindlessly over the amulet. I’d lost her. I’d lost myself. I’d lost everything. Just as despair threatened to sink me, I thought of something. “Wait. If the amulet never existed, then how are you here?”
Kadam gave me a reedy smile. “You always were a quick strategist. The answer is, you were able to fix it in my plane of existence. Do you recall when I said that I’d traveled down many possible paths?”
“Yes,” I answered somberly.
“This was one of the potential paths. In fact, this is the one that ultimately leads to the best outcome.”
“And that is?”
“I believe you can prevail and save her.”
“But how? Do you take me back to her?”
He shook his head. “I cannot, of myself, transition you to the time and place you need to go from here, but I can advise you.”
“Advise me,” I mumbled dryly. “What a surprise. Tell me, Kadam, what good will advice do when I’m in a different time than she is?”
“You can get back to her time, Kishan. But when you arrive, you will be completely on your own, relying on the strength of your arm and the cunning of your mind. You’ll have to draw her out of her younger self, and I’ll tell you right now, it will be no easy task. Even if you had the power of the amulet, it would be difficult at best. You did something similar when you rescued Ren from death.”
“But as you said, I had the amulet then.”
“You did. Even so, you sacrificed your immortality to save him. And in rescuing Ana, you will be asked to forfeit something again. But take heart, son. I’ve seen you do it. The power to liberate her is indeed in your hands.” He tilted his head, his eyes hot and deep. “How much has Ana shared with you about her past?”
I shrugged. “Not much. There’s a part of her that she carefully guards. I know something in her past frightens her.”
“I see.” He let out a breath, his expression undecided. “I do not think it is my place to tell you of her past but you will soon find out regardless. The young Anamika you saw was a very happy child, but a life-changing event is about to occur.” He leaned forward, his expression grave. “You must allow it to happen.”
“What is it?” I asked, fearing where my thoughts took me.
He wrinkled his nose. “I believe if you knew, you would do everything in your power to prevent it from happening. I am sorry, Kishan, but I think it is best to allow you to discover this for yourself. However, I will say that you must be the one to save her.”
My stomach tightened. “Save her? You’re talking about more than simply pulling the goddess from her younger form, aren’t you? Do you mean someone will try to kill her?”
Kadam shook his head. “I’ve already said more than I should.”
My anger returned. “Fine,” I spat. “Keep your secrets then. Just tell me how to get there.”
My friend and surrogate father seemed hurt by my anger and lack of faith. I’d always treated him with deference and respect before. I didn’t like the wide chasm of distrust that had grown between us, but I was fed up with mysteries wrapped in riddles and the expectations of the universe in general. Since he now represented everything that had served up unhappiness to me, it was easy to take it out on him.
He glanced away from me as if he could no longer bear to face my vitriol. “Are you willing to take him, my dear one?” Kadam asked, looking down at my feet.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, looking around.