my Guard uniform. The blossoms tickled in my throat as I swallowed a mouthful. I didn’t know if the protection would work, or for how long. But it was Sanjeet’s only chance … and so I lunged off the path, and into the illusion.
When at last I spotted him, Sanjeet was standing at the mouth of a murky brown pool. He had taken off his sword halter. The spirit-Sendhil was treading water, whooping and laughing. Even from a distance, I could hear the spirit’s taunts.
“What’s taking so long, big brother? Did you forget how to swim in that fancy Children’s Palace?”
“I can’t see the bottom,” said Sanjeet. His words sounded slurred, suspended between wake and sleep. I reached the pool just as his foot hovered at the water’s edge.
“No!” I grabbed his arm and yanked, toppling him backward. He landed with a confused grunt. I threw myself on top of him, snarling territorially at the Bush-spirit. “You can’t have him.”
“Tar?” Sanjeet blinked up at me, dazed. The kiriwi had enabled him to see me. “Where …?”
“Careful, brother,” the spirit-Sendhil cried. “It appeared out of nowhere; it must be a ghost. Don’t let it touch you.” Obediently Sanjeet pushed me off him and stood, backing away.
I leapt to my feet, brandishing fistfuls of kiriwi. “I’m not a ghost, Jeet. And if you go into that pool, you’ll never come out.”
The spirit laughed. “Too good for watering holes, brother?” It paused, carefully arranging its face to look sad. “Of course. Anointed Ones have fancy bathhouses. Must be nice. It’s no wonder you didn’t come find me after Father sent me away.”
“I didn’t want to stay away,” Sanjeet protested. Unconsciously, he moved toward the pool again. “Don’t ever think that, Sendhil. I’ll never stop being your brother.”
It was then I noticed an item on the ground, nestled with Sanjeet’s abandoned clothing: the pouch containing my imperial seal.
I stared for a moment, transfixed. The voices from the shadows returned, honeyed and pleading. Take it. Take it and return to the keep.
The spirit held Sanjeet’s gaze. “I called for you, and you didn’t come. But don’t feel bad, brother. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Sendhil.” Sanjeet’s voice was broken. He took another step.
You can’t save Sanjeet, the voices told me. Besides, he’ll never forgive what you did to Dayo. Take the pouch. Go back to your friends; this quest is too dangerous for a girl. You’ll find Melu another way, a safer way …
“There’s nothing to forgive, brother,” said the spirit as Sanjeet grew closer. “I know you didn’t really abandon me. You’re nothing like Father; you would never leave me to fend for my—” Then the spirit ducked beneath the water, and the pool was unnervingly still.
“Sendhil?” Sanjeet cried out, teetering over the water.
My trance broke. “Stop,” I barked, and seized his arm.
The spirit resurfaced, coughing and sputtering. “Something—it’s below—help me, brother—”
“It’s a trick,” I gasped, tightening my grip as Sanjeet grew frantic. “Jeet, why would Dhyrmish mercenaries be camping in the Oluwan Bush? Why would Sendhil just happen to find you?”
Sanjeet’s gaze snapped from me to the spirit, who screamed and flailed again. He freed himself easily from my grasp, preparing to jump.
“You once told me that Sendhil never lies,” I said in a rush. I didn’t want to continue; I hated to be cruel. But I had no choice. “Your brother wouldn’t deny that you abandoned him, Jeet. Because you did. You agreed with your father. Mercenaries took Sendhil because you didn’t protect him.”
Sanjeet froze. Firmly, I cupped his face and searched his mind for memories of the real Sendhil, drawing them painfully to the surface. Sanjeet gazed down at me, eyes clear and wet with shock.
“Lies will never set us free, Jeet.” Then I tossed a handful of kiriwi into the pool.
The spirit shrieked, and the pool turned chalky white. The water rippled, and in its place yawned a fathomless pit. Immediately I felt that pull, that malevolent hunger for souls and living blood.
“Run,” I said.
Hand in hand, Sanjeet and I barely managed to retrieve the pouch and weapon halter before sprinting across the Bush. Maybe the kiriwi gave us strength—or perhaps together, we were harder to overcome. Either way we somehow reached the path, collapsing in a pile among the leaves and purple blossoms.
As we caught our breath, I checked his skin for scrapes and bruises. He had sparred with spirit-Sendhil and could have sustained wounds that the Bush concealed.