Page 73 of Lost and Stolen Gods
“You will each be gifted an anchor,” she said. “A manifestation of a sliver of your soul. It will remain here, at Aakaash. Always. If you fall in battle, the tantrik may be able to bring you back if they act quickly. Not all will be saved, but enough to make a difference.
“At this moment, our native demigods are being tested by the Shakti. I will be back to take you to them when it is time. It will be tonight, so remain close to the communal area. Not all will be gifted an anchor, but those that are will be blessed indeed.”
“Wait a second,” Eve said. “You’re going to what? Shave a sliver off our soul?”
Umbra lifted her chin. “It is for your own benefit.”
“You’ve taken us from our home, from our world, and now you want to take a piece of our souls? Surely, we should get a say in this. What if I don’t want to do this process?”
Everyone was suddenly talking at once. My gaze flew to Pashim to find him staring at Umbra, his mouth a thin line of disapproval.
Umbra took a breath, and a moment later her voice boomed around the room. “Enough!”
Silence fell like a thick shroud, and all eyes turned to her.
“This process is mandatory. Refusal to co-operate will simply make the procedure painful. Rest assured that this is for your own good. I will come for you when it is time.”
“Why does it have to be now?” Dharma asked. “We have time, surely, before we’re on the front lines?”
“The process requires cosmic energy that relates to the stars and the moon, and luckily for you, those forces are in perfect alignment right now. I will be back for you later tonight.”
As soon as she left, the room broke into a cacophony of sound once more—everyone speaking at once because what did this mean? What did it truly mean? Not even the drohi had answers.
I guess we’d find out soon enough.
I expectedUmbra to take us back to the platform place where the Shakti had paired us with our drohi, but instead, she took us into the main complex, deep into a part of the building we’d never seen.
We crossed a bridge between towers and then climbed a spiral staircase with way too many stairs until we got to a landing platform with a single large wooden door.
There was no handle on the door, just a serene female face with its eyes closed, etched into the wood.
“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Joe muttered.
“You’ll go in individually,” Umbra said. “The Shakti will guide you. Follow their instructions, and you’ll be gifted with your perfect anchor.”
“Does it matter which order we go in?” Dharma asked.
“Yes, indeed it does,” a voice echoed from the face on the door.
“Fuck, it’s speaking,” Remi squeaked.
The face smiled, showcasing neat wooden teeth. “Remi, you will enter first.”
Remi swallowed and approached the door. “Um…there’s no door handle. How do I?—”
The face opened its mouth wide until the door was a dark gaping chasm. “Step inside.”
Remi took a deep breath. “Here goes…” She climbed into the mouth, and it snapped shut, swallowing her. The door was now smooth and unmarred. No face. No handle.
“Now what?” Dharma asked.
“Now we wait,” Umbra said.
Minutes crawled by, and finally the face reappeared, opened its mouth, and spat out Remi. But she wasn’t alone. There was a huge black bird perched on her shoulder. A crow?
“Meet Percy.” Remi indicated the bird on her shoulder. It eyed us up then cawed loudly.
“What happened in there?” Dharma asked.
