Kali stands on the landing in her usual long white dress, illuminated from above by the skylight in the cupola so that she glows like an angel.
“I’d like a word,” she says calmly. “In your room.”
“Sure!” I respond, my voice too high.
I’m panicking inside as she follows me down the hall. I’m no longer fooled by Kali. But if I want to get out of here alive, I can’t let her know that.
“Everything okay?” I ask once we’re in my room.
“Ruby told me you weren’t feeling well,” she says. She’s backlit by the window, the swirling scarlet rug casting a red glow on her white dress and reflecting in her eyes so that they sparkle like rubies. The effect is unnerving. “I expected to find you in bed.”
“I’ve been resting in the lounge downstairs,” I quickly lie. “Hoping to feel better so I can rejoin the search party.”
“Your aura is muddy.” She leans against the windowsill, studying me. “You really should drink the tea,” she suggests. “There are all kinds of bacteria and insects down here that your body is unfamiliar with, that can cause inflammation and indigestion. The tea is designed to combat that.”
And make us easier to control, I think. But I simply nod. “Okay, thanks.”
“I notice you haven’t been drinking it,” she presses.
“I’m just not much of a tea person, to be honest,” I say, sitting on my bed. “But I’ll give it a try if it’ll help my stomach.”
Her gaze is steady. “You told Lucas about how Shiva died?”
You killed him, you psycho bitch. “The cartel, yeah.”
“And what did he say?”
“I mean, he thought it was pretty crazy,” I answer, picking at what remains of my chipped gold nail polish from New Year’s Eve, two weeks and a lifetime ago. “He’s anxious to get back to San Francisco. Have you heard anything about our helicopter?”
“They’ve located the part in Mexico City,” she says without missing a beat. “They’re shipping it to Palenque, then will install it. A few days, no more.”
“That’s good to hear,” I say. “Any news about Sunshine?”
Her face darkens. “That’s what I came to talk to you about. I had a phone call just now, from a man who identified himself as part of the cartel. He said they picked up Sunshine last night on their property and are demanding a ransom for her release.”
I stare at her, processing. The truth? Or another lie? The web she’s spun is so thick, I have no idea what I should believe. “I thought you had an understanding with them,” I venture.
“An understanding that includes staying off their property,” she returns.
“How much do they want?” I ask, dubious.
“One million US dollars, transferred to a numbered account.”
“Did they give you proof of life?” I ask.
She nods. “I spoke to her. She didn’t sound like she was in good shape, but she was alive. We’re lucky they didn’t kill her. Yet.”
This all seems incredibly far-fetched, but I’m in no position to confront her. “Do you have access to that kind of money?” I ask. “With Shiva deceased?”
“In the business account,” she says. “Hikari assures me that during probate I’m authorized to make any transactions to keep the business running, regardless of which will prevails in the event of a challenge. But I wanted you to be aware of it, before Lucas objects, and understand that this is a necessary transaction to preserve her life.”
Even if she’s lying, I don’t see that there’s much I can do about it. “Of course.”
Her gray eyes are steely. “So you’ll ensure he doesn’t interfere.”
“I don’t know where he is right now,” I say, trying to keep my voice as calm as hers, though my heart is beating so loudly, I’m surprised she can’t hear it.
“He’ll be on his way back to the house with Blaze.”
Sure enough, outside I register the voices of everyone returning from the jungle. “They all know?” I ask.
She nods.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she replies with a phlegmatic smile. “Ask me anything.”
“Why stay here?” I ask. “You have to allow the cartel that killed your husband to use your land, you’re so cut off from society that if there’s something wrong with the helicopter, you could be stuck for weeks . . . I don’t get it.”
She sweeps the curtains aside and peers out at the treetops. “This place is special. It’s one of the most sacred places on earth.” When she turns back to me, her eyes are feverish. “The world as we know it is ending—climate change, pandemics, famine, weapons of mass destruction—and this place—right here—is where the human race will be reborn.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“The Divine guided Shiva to this place, and now that same Divinity speaks to me,” she says, her face enraptured. “The work we’re doing here is so important to the future of mankind. We are evolving to the next plane, eliminating the flaws in our human form to merge with Spirit and become enlightened beings who can lead the evolution of the world to a place of peace and love, completing the circle of life.”
I swallow, hoping my wide-eyed nods sufficiently cover my incredulity. But Kali’s blind to my skepticism, her vision obscured by the blaze of belief.
“The energy field here creates a vortex that vibrates at a level so close to the Divine, it’s possible to close the gap,” she continues. “The temple you saw is a portal. The Mayans before us knew it, and I know it now.” I can nearly feel the heat from the blaze that burns inside her, rising in waves off her flawless bronze skin. “Shiva wasn’t ready. He was overwhelmed by it, and his human doubts festered and turned into illness. Divine Will brought us together, so that I could learn from him and take over the leadership of his flock. He is my guru, and I will be forever in debt to him, but it’s up to me to lead these souls through the portal. I resisted the call at first, but I know now that I am the chosen one. I am the Kavi.”
The Kavi. Why does that sound so familiar? I can’t quite place it. But I’m certain I’ve heard it before, though not from her. Maybe it was from someone here, speaking of her?
What’s startlingly clear is that, as Lucas suspected and Paul confirmed in his letter, Kali is not the consort, she’s the queen.
I think of a documentary series I binge-watched a couple of years ago, about a cult from the seventies and eighties where the deified leader was always sequestered, leaving the woman who was his second-in-command to call the shots, which she attributed to him. It was ingenious, really, shifting authority and blame onto a rarely seen entity, made only more venerated by his absence. It allowed the “second-in-command” to remain beloved by the people, untouched by the disciplinary measures ostensibly doled out by the leader. After all, everyone knows not to shoot the messenger. It seems as though Kali has taken a page from her book.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.” Aguilar bows slightly from the doorway, his eyes trained on Kali. “You’re needed upstairs.”
She turns her magnetic gaze back on me, her geniality restored. “Thank you for being so understanding,” she says, squeezing my hand affectionately. “We’ll chat after the ransom has been paid and Sunshine has been safely returned. Stick around the house this afternoon.”
As pleasantly as she says it, I recognize an order when I hear one.
After she departs, I rise and go to the window, pushing aside the curtains to watch the olive-clad group trickle in from the dense forest, talking among themselves as they trek across the pool deck through dappled light. The trees at the edge of the wilderness cast shadows that merge with the shade of the villa, creating the illusion that the jungle is closing in, the branches reaching, grasping, constantly encroaching like strangler figs. I get the feeling if I stand still for too long, vines will wrap around my legs and keep me here forever.