THE LAV MUSE

“Son, this type of thinking is why you need me. Ponder over what I said. We need to make war with Zeus. But we don’t need to win. And we’ll still get what we set out for. Understand?”

Maya suddenly clapped her hands but looked somber.

“I do.”

The Yaksha smiled at her.

“So at least we have one true genius here. It take a true genius to recognise me (ahem…. another genius). This is not something I can explain more. Let’s start. Maya, why don’t you hold the Symantak in your right hand and hold me on your left? I’ll bring Hari along. Remember, you only need to hold the gem, this time, I will direct where we want to go. Understood?”

Maya quickly walked to the apartment door from where Hari had beckoned. Hari pulled her inside and shut the door. Maya discovered herself in a small apartment with a single bedroom. Books were scattered all over the place right from sofas to the dining table to even the top of the water dispenser. When a reedy voice welcomed her, she gasped in  slight surprise. She had entirely missed the small, dapper man sitting in one of the chairs.

Maya wondered at what felt like an evasive answer for the first time from Hari. Yet, he was right. How should they go about retrieving the bolt? It seems like ages ago that Thor’s book had advised them to go on this quest for Minerva’s olives and how that was supposed to help them acquire the wisdom necessary for Zeus’ bolt. Yet, she seemed no more closer to getting the bolt than she had been when she had last waved a good bye to Thor.

Maya was a little scared when the creature moved suddenly. When she realised what was happening, her feelings took a swift turn to gratitude. She climbed on the its back and as the unicorn stood up, Maya eyes were already searching the area for Hari. With a thunderous boom, the unicorn took off. In spite of all her worries, in spite of the missing Hari, Maya couldn’t help being exhilarated by the swift ride.

“Tut, tut. What do children learn these days? I, dear girl, is what you would call a Vetaalam, a spirit. I cannot come in  bright sunlight. Just come on in here. I can help you.”

“I am tired of beings pretending to help me and stabbing me in the back. What do you want?”

“Ah not so innocent anymore, are you? Fine, it has been long since I had a nice conversation with anyone. I will answer any question you ask if you answer one of mine before that.”

Maya looked at the three perfectly shaped olives in her hands as the Sphinx departed. She thought despairingly of the long trudge back to Hari when she was suddenly struck with an idea. The Symantak could bend time and space to her will. Why should she endure the return journey?

She held the gem in her hands and closed her eyes to concentrate. Within seconds, she was back to the Naiad’s grotto. The Naiad seemed none too pleased to see her.

“Help cannot be obtained. Only just rewards may be obtained if you answer my question. Surely you must have known this when you summoned me. I will pose a question. Answer me correctly and I will get you the olives you seek. Answer me wrongly and I will devour you. Refuse to answer and you may walk away unharmed but that would mean you can never get the olives and the wisdom you seek forever. “

But her faith in her guru’s teachings remained. Time had come for phase 2 of her plan. Trying not to recoil in disgust, Maya moved towards the end, the inner cheek of the rakshasi. Gritting herself, she used her satchel to scrape the inner cheek. When it didn’t produce the desired effect, she continued her puke-inducing labour until suddenly she was spat out by the rakshasi in a sneeze.

Her faltering hands grabbed at the sanctified water in her satchel. Racing against her impending doom, she opened the cap with shaking hands and raised it to her lips. The initial dribble followed by the gush of the sanctified water felt like life itself was pouring back into her. She gasped and sputtered but was careful even then not to spill a drop of the precious liquid.

Maya felt an excruciating pain that first started in her neck and spread throughout her body as the creature started to feed. Maya felt a numbness spreading in her body as minutes passed. She hardly felt when her skin and organs started to shrivel. She came to, as her hair having turned a pure silver started falling off her head in clumps. A wail of agony left her lips and came out as a toothless groan.