Page 65 of Lost and Stolen Gods
“What I would like to know is what the devouring force is. Guru Chandra said the gods unwittingly released it and that it was able to infect the gods. But what is it, exactly?”
“No one knows for certain,” Eve’s drohi said. “But it is now the name that we give to an army made up of all the stolen gods.”
Eve twisted in her seat to look at him. “You didn’t tell me that, Ima.”
He sighed. “Yes, yes, I did. All the stolen gods, now monstrous revenants, and the creations that these mutations have spawned form an army that answers to the devouring force. They are now, essentially, the devouring force answering to the primordial evil.”
But they were still controlled by someone. The creature or entity that had given them its name.
And Pashim and Araz were out there right now fighting this force. The tea curdled in my belly. “You said the stolen gods have become revenants, and drohi can obviously kill them, right? So how come they can’t kill a pishacha, a creaturespawnedby the revenants?”
“We cannotkilla revenant,” Chaya said with a frown.
“No, that can’t be right.” The other potentials allmurmured in agreement. “We saw Araz and his elite team kill revenants with our own eyes.”
“They were notkillingthem,” Ima said. “They were sending them back to the devouring force. The attack on your party was small. The revenants were scouting far from their main army, which is why they were not able to return in time to attack you again. But on the battlefield, a drohi is essential in culling the mass to allow their demigod or god the space tokillas many as possible.”
“How many are there?” Remi asked. “How large is the devouring force?”
“A horde,” Crag said solemnly. “And it continues to grow.”
Panic starburst in my chest. What if Araz was hurt? Would I know if he was dead? Would I feel something? “Where would they take a hurt drohi?”
“To the medical wing in the complex,” Chaya said with a frown. “But Leela, there is no cause to worry. Araz is one of the most powerful?—"
But I was already out of my chair and headed to the door, where I ran smack bang into an armored chest.
I rebounded and was saved from falling on my ass by a firm grip on my shoulders. My head whipped up, and relief rocked through me at the sight of Araz’s dirt-smudged face. That and the tendrils of hair that had come loose from his braid were the only evidence of his exertion.
The knot that had formed in my chest without my registering it unraveled. “You’re okay.”
Araz’s mouth tightened in annoyance. “Of course, I am.”
“The revenants, however, are not,” Jasha said, slipping into the room with a swagger that made me want to punch him in his smug mouth. “Something smells good.” He wandered over to Chaya and stood looming over her while she did her best to keep her focus on her plate of food. “You want to fix me up a plate?”
Chaya’s jaw hardened, and it was Dharma that answered. “Do you want my fist in your face?”
Jasha snorted softly, a mocking derisive sound that had my hackles up. “Why don’t you come over here and try?”
He made to round the table toward Dharma, but Chaya was on her feet in one fluid movement, placing herself between the two. “Donotspeak to her.”
Chaya was a tall woman, at least six foot five, but Jasha was a head taller than her, larger, intimidating. He crowded her with his frame, but she held her ground, looking him in the eye with a fire that spoke of an untold history.
No one moved to intervene, not even Dharma as the two drohi faced off.
Jasha’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Have you fucked your little demigod yet?”
Dharma’s face went red, but Chaya smiled thinly. “Yes, and she was ten times better then you’ll ever be.”
Jasha’s hand came up whether to strike her or what, I wasn’t sure, but the motion had the benches scraping back as every drohi rose to his or her feet.
“Jasha…” Araz didn’t raise his voice, but his tone held warning.
Jasha froze, lip curling as he slowly lowered his hand. “You’re not worth my time.”
Keyton said something harsh and rapid in a different language, and Jasha spat back some equally nasty-sounding words.
“Enough!” Araz barked. “Jasha, go back to your barracks. Now.”
