They rose from the newly razed soil and spread forth leafy branches. She next created a river running alongside that would water the trees. For light, she used fire power and the scarf and made a sort of pseudo-sun that rose and set. It provided light and warmth for the cavern, enough to support the ecosystem she’d built.
She stepped along the path that led through the forest, whispering to the trees as she went. They bowed to their goddess and vowed to honor her and her weapons should they ever return. We came upon a natural rise in the land, and within the span of a few moments, she’d created the maze of tunnels. Using the time piece of the amulet combined with the scarf and the truth stone, something I never would have thought of as part of our newfound powers, she placed pieces of Kelsey’s and Ren’s past into each tunnel.
Small animals that lived underground were commissioned to tempt and sway passersby, and the scarf transformed their bodies into ones Kelsey and Ren would recognize. Ana then promised them that as soon and Ren and Kelsey left, they would be returned to their natural forms.
As we proceeded, I was amazed at not only the sheer depths of her creativity but the ease with which she wielded her power. When we got to the river and she asked about the creatures that lived within it who hunted Ren and Kelsey, I just stood there mutely, staring at her.
“Are you well?” she asked, putting her hand on my arm and shaking me.
“You…you’re amazing,” I said, my words tripping over my tongue. Any time I saw her in goddess mode, it humbled me in a way I just couldn’t describe. “Kadam taught you well. I…I’m fortunate to be your companion,” I finished lamely.
She looked at me for a long time with a doubt-filled expression. “Is that how you truly feel?” she asked.
I took her hand and pressed it against my chest. “Look into my heart, Ana. You know I honor you. Truly.”
Despite my request, her thoughts remained blocked. She offered a small smile. “You honor me with your words,” she said. “But I think your mind and heart lie elsewhere.”
She turned back to the river and crouched down, dipping her hand in the water. I took a knee next to her but she didn’t look up. Our reflections bent and swayed in the river. Sensing the import of my next words, I thought carefully of what I wanted to say and then began. “Anamika, with everything in me, I vow that I am yours. I’m not looking back. This I promise you. I will serve the goddess faithfully all the remaining years of my life.”
Her hand stilled in the water and I noticed a liquid drop land on its shining surface. Ripples spread out from the center where the drop fell. When she looked up at me, I saw it wasn’t rain that caused it but tears. “I know you will serve the goddess,” she murmured quietly. “But there’s a woman in here as well.”
“Ana…I don’t…I don’t understand. Of course you’re a woman too. I know that.”
She dashed her hands across her cheeks and then cupped her hands, allowing river water to pool in them, and then washed her face. Using the scarf to dry her cheeks, she took a step back. I was about to approach her again to demand answers when I noticed the water churning. Sucking in a breath, I peered down.
“What is it?” she asked as she came up beside me.
Though they were still tiny, I knew from seeing them as adults what they were. “Kappa demons,” I answered softly. “Creatures born from the tears of a goddess.”
As we watched, the spawn of her sorrow grew. They’d matured inside the tears, which housed them like a flexible bubble. Their long tails pierced the translucent eggs and wrapped around underwater grasses, securing them like an umbilical cord as they bobbed gently.
When they reached adult size, which happened within the span of a few moments, they bit through the membrane housing them, and the jelly-like substance sloughed away in the stream. I counted at least a dozen and knew that there would be many more by the time Ren and Kelsey arrived. Did that mean Ana was going to cry again or was it just that easy for them to create offspring? The idea made me shiver.
Three of the newly made beings detached from their underwater plant and slowly strode ashore. They were as ugly as I remembered. As one, they knelt at Ana’s feet. She took a step back. Even she was fearful of them. I thought that didn’t bode well.
The eerie voice of the unctuous one in the middle rose from his peeled-back lips. His tongue darted unnaturally between teeth as sharp as a shark’s. “Goddess,” it said, “we have risen from the darkness like straying stars plucked from the heavens. To your enemies, we are an invidious scourge. We will descend upon them like the raging sea, slashing with gaping jaws and bared teeth until they are twice dead, their mouths foaming and their salt-caked eyes filled with shame.”
“And how will you distinguish those I consider an enemy?” Ana asked.
The creature turned its head at an impossible angle to look at me. His smile was full of menace. “Those who cause your tears are your enemies,” he said snidely, his voice sticky and wheezing, like a bubbling tar pit.
“I see,” Ana said.
Taking a step toward her, I was about to reach for her arm when the three creatures quickly rose and stepped between us. All of them bared their teeth and hissed. Goose bumps shot down my spine as I remembered what they’d done to Kelsey.
“This one is not stout-hearted regarding you,” the monster said to Ana. “He is as a tree without fruit. We will hew him down.”
“No. You will leave him,” Ana said. “He is mine as you are mine.”
“But he has caused you tears,” one of them whined.
“Yes. And he will no doubt cause me many more in my lifetime, but regardless, he is mine. You will not harm him. Not this moment and not ever. Go now,” she ordered. “Attend to your duty. Keep watch and protect this land from those who would seek to harm it.”
“Yes, Goddess,” they hissed in unison, glaring at me as they made their way back into the river.
After they were gone, I folded my arms and peered down into the water, disgust curving the edges of my mouth downward. “Nasty,” I said. “I’ve seen them in action too. Did you know they nearly killed Kelsey? If Fanindra hadn’t been there…”
Anamika pushed me hard on the back, and since I was already off-balance, I stumbled into the water, barely escaping before the things below caught me. I scrambled out as quickly and turned to her. It wasn’t that she’d pushed me; we’d tussled enough that I knew her full strength. What she’d done was not to hurt me but to send a message, and I had one of my own.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” I demanded, squeezing out my shirt. In my anger, I ripped it, and a second later, I yanked the sopping thing from my chest and threw it as hard as I could. It landed on the other side of the river. After tearing the scarf from her hands, I used it to dry my chest. Her eyes kept sliding down from my face to my chest. The reddish tinge to her cheeks told me she might now regret what she’d done, but I knew her. She’d never admit she’d gone too far.
While I used the scarf to create new clothes for myself, her eyes widened and she turned away, stomping to the river. Several demons lifted their heads from the water and blinked sideways with their inky black eyes. One with a pied coloration ran a tongue over his jagged teeth, eying me as if he was anticipating dinner.
With a flourish of her hand, Ana sent them away, and slowly, they once again sunk beneath the water. I picked up a rock and tossed it with a vengeance into the river. I’d aimed for the Kappa demons but ended up narrowly missing her. I regretted it when I saw her flinch and remembered the abuse she’d suffered as a young girl.