Deva, Temple of Treachery

Chapter 22

Amos froze in place, his hand just a few centermetre from the khadga. His eyes turned to meet Amara's panting form and she wanted to cry when she saw the warm and gentle eyes of the man who had held her during the night when she had a nightmare. The man who snuck cakes into her room when she had been punished with no meals by her mom. The man who drove her to every sight she pointed at, holding her closely toward his chest as he showed her the world.

The man who betrayed her.

"Don't do this, Amos," Amara panted, pleading with her eyes.

"I have to," Amos answered, looking at the Khadga. There was no ambition, no greed in his eyes.

"Why?"

"Because that is what my family do. It is too powerful to be in the hands of mortals. We need to protect the world from its power."

"What gives you the right to take what belongs to others? That is a hindu artifacts, it belongs to this country. We should be the ones to protect it. What makes you think that you are the ones who have the right to protect the artifact?"

Amos closed his eyes, "This has nothing to do with the politics of the mundane world. The artifact belong to the supernatural world, not the mundane world. It belongs to the devas not mortals, but the devas has already proven that they cannot handle it so it needs to be taken care of."

"By you?"

"By my community. We searches for dangerous artifacts and lock them away from the hands of the foolish," glancing at the Khadga, Amos continues. "In this case, we hope to either destroy it or return it from whence it came."

"You cannot destroy a historical-"

"You are naïve and rash, just like your father," Amos snapped, Amara feeling her heart stop and face paling at the mention of her father.

"You didn't... Please, tell me you didn't!"

"I didn't. I didn't need to. I tried to warn your father. He had no knowledge of the supernatural world, but still rushed head first into a situation he couldn't handle. I tried to save him but..." Amos sighed, closing his eyes to hide the pain. "I'm not all powerful. These are ancient temples built by creatures far more powerful than I."

He opened his eyes, glancing at Andhaka and Silas fighting. "In front of those beings, we are mere mortals."

"Then why not leave it in their hands?"

"Because they are just as rash and temperamental as mortals. They received a weapon that could end a god. Do you have any idea what that would do to the natural world? Gods may be a nuisance but they all have a role to play and unlike humans, gods are irreplaceable. When one fall, it creates a vacuum that will send the world into chaos."

"But Shiva-"

"Didn't really die, though I wonder if his absent might have caused the increase in population in India. Since stone age this country has seen a rapid growth in population to an almost ridiculous amount. Shiva is the life bringer, but also the one who ends life. Without him to keep the balance... Maybe..." Amos sighed. "But what do I know. We mortals only know that everything in this world has a purpose. We are not meant to know everything of the divine design."

"Then why not just leave the Khadga here, if we hadn't opened the door then-"

"It would have been broken anyway. The seal holding this place locked could be opened by a deva and a asura working together. We have noticed that the descendant of Devas and Asuras has increased the last twohundred years. If any of those descendants decide to work together they could easily have broken the seal and with the temple being revealed it was just a matter of time."