Chapter 10

I was back in the Moon House again. Kesar watched me as I was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. The yellow light shimmered dimly from the lanterns. They cast dancing shadows on the walls.

"Are you not well, my lady?" Kesar said and placed her hand on my forehead to feel my temperature.

"No, I'm not," I mumbled in a dry voice.

Then I tried to sit up again. Kesar helped put soft pillows behind my back. My throat felt raw. My body was burning up from all the shock I had gone through in the last two days.

"I think you might be sick," she said then turned to the other maidens. "Go bring the juice for the lady quickly."

I rubbed my throbbing temples. The images of the creepy Hora and his prediction of my future doom still orbited around my head. Also, there was this stupid competition they had agreed upon just to put me on a chopping board. The whole being-in-the-illusion thing started to get too real for my comfort. No matter how creative my imagination was, I couldn't have invented all this to make my life miserable.

A moment later, the other maidens walked in, holding a golden goblet on a golden tray. Kesar took the cup from the tray very cautiously. She handed it to me. The drink looked like clear apple juice and smelled of delicious herbs to my nose. I almost dropped it because my hand was so weak. Kesar took the goblet from me again.

"Careful, my lady," she said. "You're still in shock."

"I'm just living in a nightmare, that's all," I said. Kesar held the cup to my lips as I gingerly sipped the sweet delicious juice. A heavenly taste flowed into my mouth, and I started gulping the drink more earnestly. The sweetness enveloped my tongue and soothed the burning sore in my throat.

"Slow down...you're going to choke," Kesar warned and I did choke, but just a little.

I gasped, wiping my mouth with my hand. "What is this?"

"The Soma Juice," Kesar answered, wiping my lips with a handkerchief. "It's a holy drink. The beverage can cure you of diseases and restore your strength."

"What? Like the nectar of the Hindu gods?" I said, not caring anymore whether it was true or some myth.

Kesar nodded.

"The Soma Juice is consumed only by the gods and their Brahmin priests," she explained. "Its partial ingredients include hallucinogenic mushrooms, honey, cannabis, blue lotus, milk, and pomegranate."

"For real?"

"Finish the drink, my lady, so you shall feel better in no time."

I did and felt like I could run around the whole house ten times without losing my breath.

"Tell me, Kesar, whether the stuff about avatars and gods is real here," I said. "Am I not going crazy?"

She smiled an apologetic smile and shook her head.

"It is all true, my lady," Kesar said. "Here is the central power of the Meru gods. The gods have inspired a number of births in our Holy Land. Their children you have just met are our protectors. The King and Queens have placed their hope on all of them, but the Prophecy says that the last one shall be sent by the Great Lord himself. He or she will be our savior."

"And you think it's me?"

"You have heard the Hora's prediction," she said. "We need your help."

"And what does it have to do with me of all people?" I said. "I mean, look at me. I'm not even from your world and the others don't want me to be any part of it either. So why me?"

"Not all of them," she said.

"But I just want to go home!" I said a bit louder than I had meant to. Suddenly, a spark of thought ignited in my brain. The Moonstone teleported me hundreds of light-years from the present, or was it from the future now? The stone spiral and its weird function must have been the reason why I was here. I had to find it. It might work the other way around if I get back to reactivate the spiral again. I turned to Kesar and grabbed both of her arms, causing her to look at me in surprise.

"Do you know if there is a stone spiral around here?" I asked. I was sure the spiral was the gateway through time and space. It was an ancient wormhole or some sort of holy portal. If I found it again, I could somehow bring myself back to the present — to the world where I belonged.

"What stone spiral, my lady?" she said with a questioning frown.

"You know, a spiral that shaped like a giant disc," I said. "It has carved patterns and a seven-headed Naga on top. It must be somewhere around here."

Kesar still looked at me with a clueless expression. I then snatched my satchel up and pulled out my drawing pad, which by some weird miracle, was still there. Kesar observed my frantic attempt to find the spiral picture.

"Here it is!" I said and flipped the page to show her. "It also has a white crystal ball inside it. The thing emits brilliant light into the sky. There was a lunar eclipse as far as I remember. Do you know where this structure is? It must be somewhere in the south of your capital."

"I'm afraid I don't know about the spiral you're speaking of," Kesar said blankly. "We're not familiar with such a fascinating object."

"Your people built a freaking time machine, and you don't know it?!" I yelled in frustration. Kesar was almost on the verge of panicking tears. She lowered her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry, my lady, it was not my intention to anger you," Kesar said with a bow. It made me feel bad for taking it out on her. I released Kesar from my tight grip and sat back in disappointment.

"No, I'm sorry Kesar," I said. "It's not your fault. I'm just very stressed from all the changes here."

She kept looking at me with those sympathetic eyes.

"I know," she said, patting the back of my hand to soothe me. "You have a great burden placed upon you. Anyone would behave this way."

I managed a half-hearted smile.

"My lady, I must go now," she said to me. "You should get some sleep. Tomorrow the others will bring you to the Capital City."

With that, she bowed and left the room. Everyone else followed her. I collapsed back on the bed with a heavy sigh. How strange that she didn't know about the spiral. Or she didn't want to tell me? Maybe I had to find it myself. But now, I needed to think of an escape plan and make it quick.