Markswoman Page 30
Chapter 33
Last Twist
Pain, red pain that held her in its bloody embrace. Why wasn’t she dead yet? Kyra closed her eyes, shivering. Cold. She was so cold. If life were to end now, she would welcome the release. The duel was over, although she could not remember now why it had been so important.
She heard the sound of running footsteps. People bent over her, talking.
“She’s lost a lot of blood.”
“She will live! She’s young and strong, and the blade missed her lung.”
“Out of my way, young man. I think I know a little bit more about healing than you do.”
“Stay alive, Kyra!”
“We must take the katari out now, before it puts her beyond our reach. Mumuksu, you will staunch the flow of blood when I remove it.”
And on the borders of the group gathered around, the uneasy whispers, the fear-filled thoughts:
What did she do to Tamsyn Turani?
Where has the Mahimata vanished?
What black magic is this?
Someone applied pressure to her side. Someone else grasped the hilt of the blade. Kyra’s eyes flew open and Navroz’s face crystallized before her.
“Yes, it will hurt,” said the elder. “But it must be done now if we are to save you.”
She pulled the blade out: carefully, slowly.
The pain rose to an unbearable crescendo, obliterating everything else. Kyra could hear an agonized screaming echoing in the hall, and feel the gushing wetness of blood pouring from her wound.
Darkness, and in the darkness a vision: a blue-skinned, four-armed figure with a vermilion-streaked forehead. In three of her hands she held a lotus, scissors, and a sword. The fourth was held out in benediction.
Kali. The Goddess . . .
And Kyra knew no more.
Acknowledgments
This book would not exist without the help of several wonderful people. First and foremost, my editor at Harper Voyager, Priyanka Krishnan, who made me reach deeper within myself for the truths of my characters and the world they live in. Thanks also to the team at Harper Voyager for all their hard work in making this book possible.
My deep gratitude to my agent, Mary C. Moore of Kimberley Cameron & Associates, for believing in my story, and to Pooja Menon for passing it on to her.
Thanks to my sister, Prinks, for being my first reader, to my mom for proofreading, to writer Karl Schroeder for his gentle encouragement, to Amy Goh for the lovely map, and to the friends who shared this journey with me: Charlotte, Ariella, Erika, Valerie, Debbie, Lesleyanne, Victoria, Kristin, Vanessa, and Marie-Lynn.
For all you math geeks, Kyra’s pyramid of palindromic primes is taken from “Palindromic Prime Pyramids,” by G. L. Honaker and C. Caldwell, in the Journal of Recreational Mathematics, 30:3 (1999–2000).
Lastly, thanks to you, dear reader, for picking up this book and taking a chance on it. Until we meet again, the Goddess be with you.
About the Author
Born and raised in India, RATI MEHROTRA makes her home in Toronto, Canada, where she writes novels and short fiction and blogs at ratiwrites.com. Her short stories have appeared in Apex Magazine; AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review; Abyss & Apex; Urban Fantasy Magazine; PodCastle; Cast of Wonders; and many other publications. Find her on Twitter @rati_mehrotra.
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
markswoman. Copyright © 2018 by Rati Mehrotra. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Harper Voyager and design are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
first edition
Cover design and illustration by Damonza
Map illustration by Amy Goh
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mehrotra, Rati, author.
Title: Markswoman / Rati Mehrotra.
Description: First edition. | New York : Harper Voyager, 2018. | Series:
Asiana ; Book 1
Identifiers: LCCN 2017036176 | ISBN 9780062564542 (softcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Secret societies—Fiction. | Assassins—Fiction. | BISAC:
FICTION / Fantasy / Epic. | FICTION / Action & Adventure. | GSAFD: Fantasy
fiction. | Science fiction. | Dystopias.
Classification: LCC PR9199.4.M45954 M37 2018 | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017036176
Digital Edition January 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-256456-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-256454-2
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