YOU WOULD THINK that a goddess could just point, click, and send the car off to another realm, or at least New Jersey.
As it was, the black car came zooming at me so fast, I barely had time to fling myself to the side.
The hot air from the exhaust washed over me as the tires screeched to a halt. The door opened, and a male voice hissed, “The personification of evil on Earth must die.”
Was he talking about moi?
Before I could get a good look at the driver, the lights from an oncoming car blinded me with their brightness.
Once again I was in the path of an oncoming car.
I shuffled on my belly and managed to move a few inches.
The car missed me…barely.
The driver of the first car sped off.
There I was in the gutter. My clothes torn, Prada shoes scratched beyond repair, my kidneys bruised and damaged. Okay, the last bit was a guess, but if anything had happened to my kidneys, it wasn’t like Nadia was going to give me one of hers.
Shakily I stood.
The second car parked, and an Indian family spilled out, heading for Aunt Gayatri’s, blissfully unaware they’d nearly done in one of the guests of honor.
I found my purse on the street. A few of the younger guests were outside now; they looked at me curiously, but continued with their conversation. No one ventured to ask if I needed assistance.
We really were the apathetic generation.
Hobbling on my broken heel to the car, I unlocked the door and managed to heave myself into the seat.
I called Ram.
“Hello?” he shouted.
I winced and closed my eyes. “I was attacked, outside my aunt’s house. Someone wants me dead.” I choked up on the last few words. “He said I was evil and tried to run me over, then I was nearly run over by another car, but that was unintentional.”
After a long pause, Ram said quietly, “I was afraid this would happen.”
“What?” The lump dissolved in an instant.
“Kali is an oft-misunderstood deity. There are those who believe her to be evil. Naturally they will want to obliterate her human incarnate on Earth.”
“Naturally.” I leaned my head against the seat. “So this guy sees me as the Antichrist’s Indian cousin?”
“Indeed. Although frankly, I did not expect them to find you so quickly, though it stands to reason—if I were able to discover your whereabouts—”
The words exploded from my mouth. “Why? Did you leave a trail of bread crumbs or something?”
“The how is irrelevant at this point. Maya, you must not be so careless with your life. You must be on guard at all times against your enemies. Then and only then will you be able to restore the balance of the Earth.”
Great. Not only did I have Nadia to contend with, but a fanatical Kali-hater. I couldn’t decide who was worse.
Okay, the Kali-hater was worse.
But Nadia was still a bitch.