piece to me.”
It was the lie that changed everything. All my life, I’d been deathly afraid of my
father and his power. Every waking moment, I’d lived in mortal fear of him. When he
announced to the princes that he’d invoked such terror in his daughter’s life as to
cause her to scream, I realized that it was that very thing that he wanted, and I’d
never given it to him. I’d remained as stoic and unaffected on the outside as if my
father were not a monster at all, but a man.
Though he had indeed traumatized me to the point of breaking me, he hadn’t. He had
never, not once in my sixteen years, caused me to scream. The idea gave me a sense
of power like I’d never felt before.
Lokesh—I mentally vowed never to call him father again—had taken his knife to Dhiren
and was weaving a spell. I saw light erupting around both of their frames. Before
I could make a move, Kishan sprung. He crashed into my father, who used his power
to thrust the prince away. As he tortured Kishan while a bound Dhiren attempted vainly
to get to his feet, I noticed that Kishan had successfully wrenched the knife from
Lokesh’s grasp.
The screams of the two princes stirred something fierce inside me. Something needed
to be done. Someone needed to act. I vowed then to be that someone. Against every
instinct I’d built over my sixteen years, I gripped the armrests of the golden chair
where I sat and stood up.
Feeling freed from the shackles of Lokesh’s oppression, I lifted my arms, murmuring
a plea to the gods that I might finally and truly be able to use my ability to heal
and protect another. Like the koi fish, I thrust the power I carried inside toward
the two princes.
My secret wish was answered. I could actually feel the wounds my father had inflicted
on them close. Lokesh bellowed in frustration as I shifted silently, becoming invisible,
and grabbed the knife Kishan had dropped on the floor.
I didn’t have experience with fighting like Deschen. I didn’t have a plan. But I had
a weapon. Lokesh bent over Dhiren, twirling his talisman, and I struck. With all the
force I could muster, I sank the knife deep into my father’s back. He shrieked in
rage, and the sound gave me a moment’s satisfaction, but the moment didn’t last. I’d
hoped that my attack would distract him long enough to allow the brothers to get away,
but he wrenched the knife from his back and shrugged off the pain as if it had been
the sting of a bee.
He headed toward Kishan, and becoming visible, I positioned myself front of him and
thrust my hand against his chest, shouting, “You will not touch him!”
“Yesubai, no!” Kishan said weakly as he attempted to move me aside, but Lokesh was
a tornado of fury. He used the power of the wind. It burst outward from his body in
all directions, and as my father lifted me, tossing me aside so he could get to Kishan,
the wind carried my body.
When I fell, my neck hit the dais and I heard a crack. I registered pain but only
for an instant before a blessed numbness stifled it. Immediately the breath seized
in my body. Everything stopped around me, and my surroundings took on a dream-like
quality as an eerie silence descended.
I could see Kishan had gotten to his feet, but he seemed frozen, and I wondered if
it was due to something Lokesh had done. Then I heard the tinkling of bells and a
beautiful woman appeared before me. She took in the bloody scene of betrayal I had
initiated and knelt down beside me. Her eyes were kind as she took my hand.
“Hello, Yesubai,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”
She was dressed in a sparkling gown and her eyes were as green as a deep forest. She
wore a golden circlet on her arm in the shape of a snake. After passing her hand slowly
over my neck, she said, “You may speak if you wish.”
“Who…who are you? What’s happening?”
“I am the goddess Durga.”
“A goddess?”
It was the lie that changed everything. All my life, I’d been deathly afraid of my
father and his power. Every waking moment, I’d lived in mortal fear of him. When he
announced to the princes that he’d invoked such terror in his daughter’s life as to
cause her to scream, I realized that it was that very thing that he wanted, and I’d
never given it to him. I’d remained as stoic and unaffected on the outside as if my
father were not a monster at all, but a man.
Though he had indeed traumatized me to the point of breaking me, he hadn’t. He had
never, not once in my sixteen years, caused me to scream. The idea gave me a sense
of power like I’d never felt before.
Lokesh—I mentally vowed never to call him father again—had taken his knife to Dhiren
and was weaving a spell. I saw light erupting around both of their frames. Before
I could make a move, Kishan sprung. He crashed into my father, who used his power
to thrust the prince away. As he tortured Kishan while a bound Dhiren attempted vainly
to get to his feet, I noticed that Kishan had successfully wrenched the knife from
Lokesh’s grasp.
The screams of the two princes stirred something fierce inside me. Something needed
to be done. Someone needed to act. I vowed then to be that someone. Against every
instinct I’d built over my sixteen years, I gripped the armrests of the golden chair
where I sat and stood up.
Feeling freed from the shackles of Lokesh’s oppression, I lifted my arms, murmuring
a plea to the gods that I might finally and truly be able to use my ability to heal
and protect another. Like the koi fish, I thrust the power I carried inside toward
the two princes.
My secret wish was answered. I could actually feel the wounds my father had inflicted
on them close. Lokesh bellowed in frustration as I shifted silently, becoming invisible,
and grabbed the knife Kishan had dropped on the floor.
I didn’t have experience with fighting like Deschen. I didn’t have a plan. But I had
a weapon. Lokesh bent over Dhiren, twirling his talisman, and I struck. With all the
force I could muster, I sank the knife deep into my father’s back. He shrieked in
rage, and the sound gave me a moment’s satisfaction, but the moment didn’t last. I’d
hoped that my attack would distract him long enough to allow the brothers to get away,
but he wrenched the knife from his back and shrugged off the pain as if it had been
the sting of a bee.
He headed toward Kishan, and becoming visible, I positioned myself front of him and
thrust my hand against his chest, shouting, “You will not touch him!”
“Yesubai, no!” Kishan said weakly as he attempted to move me aside, but Lokesh was
a tornado of fury. He used the power of the wind. It burst outward from his body in
all directions, and as my father lifted me, tossing me aside so he could get to Kishan,
the wind carried my body.
When I fell, my neck hit the dais and I heard a crack. I registered pain but only
for an instant before a blessed numbness stifled it. Immediately the breath seized
in my body. Everything stopped around me, and my surroundings took on a dream-like
quality as an eerie silence descended.
I could see Kishan had gotten to his feet, but he seemed frozen, and I wondered if
it was due to something Lokesh had done. Then I heard the tinkling of bells and a
beautiful woman appeared before me. She took in the bloody scene of betrayal I had
initiated and knelt down beside me. Her eyes were kind as she took my hand.
“Hello, Yesubai,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”
She was dressed in a sparkling gown and her eyes were as green as a deep forest. She
wore a golden circlet on her arm in the shape of a snake. After passing her hand slowly
over my neck, she said, “You may speak if you wish.”
“Who…who are you? What’s happening?”
“I am the goddess Durga.”
“A goddess?”
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