Page 15 of Damned and Broken Gods
Guru Chandra had hinted at the same. “There’s nothing shocking about that.”
“Maybe not, but there are also rumors of an underground rebel faction. A movement that believes that neither the Authority nor the regency should have control. That the power should be handed back to the people. Your arrival means a focus for the various factions. You’re a pawn they can seduce and use to their own ends.”
Ice trickled through my veins. “I’m no pawn.”
“Not saying that you are, just that Asura might see you as one. To be used and then disposed of…” He eyed the plate of chicken again, and I nudged it toward him. He plucked a leg off the pile and bit into it with gusto. “Wow, this is good. You make it?” He pointed the leg at Araz.
Araz responded with a grunt.
“Been a while since I ate anything that I haven’t cooked myself, and I’m a terrible cook.”
“What about your drohi?” Chaya asked softly. “Where is she…or he?”
Vick swallowed his mouthful and shrugged. “She died,” he said, nonchalant, but the bobbing of his throat spoke volumes. “There was an incident a few months back.”
Mahira’s hand went to her mouth. “The sea incident.”
“What sea incident?” Joe asked.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Araz said, his demeanor softening. “I didn’t know Gia personally, but she was spoken of highly, as were the other drohi and demigods who passed away.”
“Others?” Joe looked to Mahira. “What happened to them?”
It was Vick who answered, chicken leg hanging limply from his fingers now. “It was during the sea test. There was an unexpected storm, and our ship capsized. There were three of us from the mortal world on one ship. I was the only survivor. Gia…” He swallowed hard. “She got me a part of the ship that was still intact and made me promise to hold tight. But she had nothing to cling to, and the current was too strong for her to fight. I watched her drown.” He exhaled shakily. “So here’s the deal. I don’t have a drohi. The powers that be haven’t been able to match me with anyone else. So I’m stuck here. I can take the tests, but without help, I’m sure to fail. So here is my proposition. Share your drohi with me, and I’ll get you information. I know things, and I can find out things. Whatever you need.”
“Why can’t the natives share their drohi?” Dharma asked.
Vick smiled wryly. “No one wants to share their drohi with a bad luck charm.”
“What?” I frowned. “Why would they think that? You survived when so many didn’t. Surely that makes you a lucky charm?”
“Superstition,” Mahira said. “He was the only survivor, and some may believe that dark forces allowed that to happen, or his presence somehow caused the storm that killed his crew.”
“Pretty much that,” Vick said. “But you guys are from the mortal world. You’re a little more enlightened than that, right?”
“No,” Araz said.
I shot him a glare. “Why not?”
“I’m not cooking for him or helping him train.”
Vick stuck out his bottom lip. “Oh, come on. You’re one of the best.”
Araz gave him a flat look, unfazed by the blatant flattery.
Vick sighed. “It was worth a try, I guess.” He made to get up, but I grabbed his arm.
“Wait…” If we didn’t help him, he could die in the tests or remain trapped here, training forever. Pashim would have helped him. He would have stepped up, just like he did for me. It was time to pay it forward. “I’ll help you.”
“Leela…” Araz glared at me, and I glared right back.
“It’s the right thing to do. It’s what Pashim would have done, and you know it.”
Araz’s shoulders slumped.
I looked across at Joe, who nodded. “Mahira and I will help too.”
“You can eat with Dharma and me,” Chaya said to Vick.
