turned to Monty. “Has anyone else made an offer for this?”
Monty’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”
Ash’s voice dropped with cold anger. “Did Savage want it?”
“Easy, Ash, I’ll deal with this,” said Parvati.
“Oh my God.” Monty backed away. “You’re Ash Mistry, aren’t you? The Kali-aastra?” There was true, deep fear in Monty’s voice. He cringed in the corner, eyes wide and breath coming in desperate pants.
Rakshasas died, like everyone else. But unlike humans, the demons were reincarnated with their memories and powers intact. It might take a few years for them to remember everything, but they didn’t fear death the way mortals did.
Yet they feared Kali, the goddess of death and destruction. She was true annihilation. The end of existence. If a demon was killed by Kali or her weapon, there was no coming back. Ever.
And Ash was exactly that, the weapon of Kali.
Monty seemed to shrink. “Yes. He did. Savage wanted it.”
“We’ve got company,” interrupted Khan. He was peering through the curtains at the main street. Ash joined him.
A large white Humvee had rolled up on to the kerb, and Ash watched as a tawny-haired woman in white stepped out. Jackie, Savage’s right-hand woman. She was a jackal rakshasa and one of the two directly responsible for killing his uncle and aunt. Three men also got out of the big car, rakshasas for sure, but no one he recognised. With his enhanced senses, he knew Savage wasn’t in the car.
Ash gripped the curtain. He wanted to tear it off and leap down and fight them. Kill them. The power inside of him stirred and swelled, urging him on.
“Not now, Ash,” warned Parvati. “We don’t want to give Savage any warning.”
Ash spun round and grabbed Monty. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know, honestly!”
Three points of light along Monty’s neck, two on the left, one at the base of his throat. A couple on either side of his head. Activating his knowledge of the kill points, of Marma Adi, was getting easier and easier. Ash tightened his right fist. Glowering at the petrified rat, he whispered. “I am going to count to three. Then, if the answer isn’t the one I want, I will put my knuckles through what little brain you have. One…”
“Kolkata! He’s in Kolkata!” Monty’s gaze widened and his tail twitched in panic. “I only spoke to him today – check the area code on the mobile phone if you don’t believe me. He told me he was sending his servants over with the cash. It’s true!”
“Where in Kolkata?” asked Parvati.
“Two…”
“Somewhere out of the Savage Foundation. That’s all I know, I swear!”
The doorbell below rang.
“Well?” asked Khan. “Let’s kill him and be gone.”
“No, you promised,” muttered Monty. “Please, I won’t tell them anything.”
Parvati sighed. “Sorry, but we know that’s not true, don’t we?” She looked at Ash. “Do you want to do it or shall I?”
Kali destroyed rakshasas. It was her holy duty. It was Ash’s duty to serve her. Killing this rat demon was holy work. Ash would be cleansing the world. The desire to kill was like a fever, filling his head and heart. The black, swirling darkness urged him to do it: it struggled to take control of his body, to take over and then destroy.
But what would he become if he let that happen?
“No,” Ash said. He wasn’t going to kill anyone, even a demon, just because it was convenient. “Leave him.” It was hard to make his fingers release their grip, but he did it. Suddenly he felt exhausted, soul-weary. It had taken all his willpower to hold the darkness back, and the effort had drained him down to almost nothing. His senses dulled and he could feel the superhuman strength fading. The Kali-aastra was withdrawing its power. He turned and tapped Monty’s nose to get the rat’s attention. “But see those other rakshasas outside, the ones Savage sent? Well, I’ve met Jackie before, and she’ll be disappointed you don’t have the Koh-i-noor waiting for her. If I were you, I’d find a hole and bury myself deep down inside it for a year or two.”
The doorbell rang again, and this time it was followed by banging. Monty chewed his lip, glancing at the door and then at them. Then he threw off his hat and wriggled. Limbs shrank and hair burst out over his skin in random patches. His nose stretched and whiskers sprouted on either side of the pink flesh. A moment later a rat stood on the dirty carpet. It stuck out its tongue and blew a faint, squeaking raspberry, then darted through a gap in the baseboard.
Khan leaped out of the bathroom window and hit the ground easily and silently. Jackie and Savage’s other demons had disappeared into the building. Parvati somersaulted through the air, bouncing on the opposite wall before landing without stirring even the discarded paper. Ash slid down the drainpipe and joined them, and a few minutes later they were out on Charing Cross Road.
Parvati took Khan’s arm. “We’ll double back now. See if we can follow Jackie and her cronies back to wherever they’re based.”
“I’ll come,” said Ash. Seeing the jackal rakshasa in the flesh had brought it all back, all the rage and pain of what had happened in India and how she’d killed his uncle and aunt and threatened Lucky. He wanted to deal with her.
Parvati shook her head. “No. She doesn’t know you’re here, Ash; let’s keep it that way. She could lead us to Savage, and starting a fight will accomplish nothing. This isn’t just about you.”
Ash understood. There was Lucks, his parents. He didn’t want them getting involved. Keeping them safe was what mattered.
Khan backed away, leaving them alone. Parvati patted the lump of diamond in her pocket. “We did good, Ash.”
“You’re going already?”
“The sooner I get the Koh-i-noor away, the better.” She kissed him on the cheek lightly. It was barely a touch and over almost immediately.
It didn’t feel like enough.
“Parvati…”
She smiled. “It was good seeing you again, Ash. You look after yourself.”
She crossed the road to where Khan waited, and then the two of them disappeared into the London fog.
“
“You’re lucky I’m here at all.” Ash waved over his shoulder. “Errands to run.” He’d planned to catch the bus back, but some accident due to the fog had the traffic at a standstill. He’d ended up walking all the way.
“Well, it’s been an epic waste of time so far,” muttered Akbar through the scarf that covered half his face. He stood, cold, shivering and miserable in his duffel coat. “We’re only here because of you, you know that?”
An impenetrable fog now covered London, hiding everything beyond three metres away. It was like being lost in a world of ghosts.
Despite the weather, the fireworks display was going ahead. There was a whoosh in the darkness and some muffled burst from somewhere, but all you could see was dense mist, no colours and certainly no firework explosions.
“Is anyone else here?” Ash asked.
Josh shrugged. “This is the most