They took the bus from the heart of Bengaluru to the free clinic that Ramya worked at in the village he called T. Begur. Justin and Satvi stood in the crowded aisle of the bus. At one point, once they had left the city, Justin watched in awe as a younger man climbed on top of the bus to catch a ride. He tried to ask Satvi about the dangers of riding on top of the bus, but she simply turned her back to him.

Many people stared at Justin. He stood out with his pale skin and his silk robe did not help. One little girl, who sat on her mother's lap, openly pointed at him, even after her mother berated her.

The bus drove past more and more stops. The buildings lessened and the plant life blossomed. Justin had never seen so much green in his entire life. Small buildings painted vibrant colors of blue, orange, red, and even pink, dotted the road.

At each stop, Justin could feel his heart skip a beat. He was one more stop farther away from Nitara's apartment, to the door that could take him back home. But thinking of the apartment made him think of Nitara herself and the invisible string would tug at his heart, forcing him to stay on the bus.

The bus came to a halt in front of a long line of people wrapping all the way around the block. Many of the people sat on blankets eating food, sleeping, or, as was the case with the children, playing.

In unison, most of the passengers filed off the bus. Ramya, who sat in a seat a few rows in front of Justin and Satvi, stood.

"This is our stop!" he shouted back at the two of them as he made his way to the front.

Stepping off the bus, Justin inhaled an earthy scent, one similar to Cambria, right after it rained. This made him smile.

The line of people began in front of a table where two people wearing scrubs stood with clipboards in their hands. An open black gate behind the table revealed several rows of white buildings.

"Welcome to the free clinic," said Ramya. "Follow me."

He led Justin and Satvi towards the table.

"Ramya, are all these people here for the clinic?" Justin asked.

"Yes, the clinic, as the name implies, is free, though we do ask for people to donate what they can. It attracts many people."

Ramya smiled at the woman behind the desk nearest them. "Namaskāra."

"Ramya," the woman replied, surprise etched on her face.

She asked him something in Kannada and Ramya responded with a shake of his head. She smiled and laughed, and so did he.

Satvi rolled her eyes and Ramya gestured to Satvi and Justin saying something else in Kannada.

The woman's mouth fell open as she looked at Justin, but then she smiled.

"Welcome to India," she said.

"Thank you," said Justin, smiling.

"Come," said Ramya, and he gestured toward the gate.

As they walked through, Satvi said, "He is American, not Australian."

Ramya sighed. "I know, but she didn't need to know why we are really here."

"What did you tell her?" asked Justin.

"That you are the son of a friend I made while working at Luna Park, a theme park in Sydney. And I was showing you where I worked."

Justin nodded. "Luna Park sounds cool."

Smiling, Ramya said, "It is. It's right across the harbor from the Opera House. You can ride the Ferris wheel and get an amazing view of the city."

"Cool." Justin looked back at the long line. "This clinic will really see all those people today?"

"No," Ramya replied, frowning. "Unfortunately, not all will get in. The rest will camp in line and wait till morning."

Justin's eyes widened. Never again, he thought, will I complain about sitting in a doctor's office for a mere few hours.

They walked down a dirt walkway between two rows of portable white buildings that reminded Justin of the ones his school used for classrooms. Nurses escorted patients between buildings. Some patients sat on the grass in front of the buildings, seeming to enjoy the sun.

Suddenly, a nurse jumped onto the path, blocking their way. He smiled at Ramya and said something in Kannada. In return, Ramya asked a question. The man pointed farther down the walkway and Ramya took off in that direction. The man watched curiously as Justin and Satvi passed him, following Ramya.

"We are in luck," informed Ramya. "The man who can help you, Satvi, is on his break."

"Great," mumbled Satvi.

Ramya led them to the end of the path, behind one of the portable buildings. Underneath a tree that looked just like the one Justin hid in from the beast, hung a blue cloth tent. It hung on one of the twisting roots of the tree and anchored to the ground with stakes at all four corners. Peering through the tent flap, Justin could see an old, gray-haired man sitting on a large orange cushion with his eyes closed.

"Ranesh?" asked Ramya.

The old man's eyelids fluttered open, revealing piercing blue eyes that twinkled in the sunlight. The man smiled a nearly toothless grin.

"Ramya?" asked the old man. "Nim'ma rajeya dinadandu nivu illi enu maduttiddiri?"

Stepping closer, Ramya gestured to Justin.

"My young friend here is American. Do you mind speaking English?"

The old man looked at Justin and bowed his head toward him, smiling.

"Of course not," said the old man. "My name is Ranesh. Welcome to our free clinic."

"I'm Justin," said Justin.

Ranesh smiled at Satvi, revealing his gums. "And who is this young lady?"

Satvi scowled. "Satvi, but I am no lady."

"Very well," said Ranesh, and he turned to Ramya. "Well, what brings you all here interrupting my afternoon meditation?"

"I'm so sorry," said Ramya, bringing his hands together as if in prayer. "I wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't important. I know how precious..."

Ranesh raised a wrinkled hand up, silencing Ramya. "My time is also precious, to the point, please."

Clearing his throat, Ramya said, "Right. Sorry. A beast took Niraj and Nitara has gone after him. The beast was let into their home through a magical door Justin opened."

Justin open his mouth to speak, but Ramya raised his voice as he continued, "He didn't mean to let the beast in, of course."

Ranesh smiled at Justin. "Of course."

"We are tracking the beast with the help of this wizard here, Satvi, but she was bit by a magical serpent beast and now her left hand has become... umm... ghostlike."

Satvi held out her left hand and attempted to punch it with her right fist but her fist went straight through, coming into contact only with air.

"Oh dear," said Ranesh, "that is a problem."

He held out his hand toward Ramya and Ramya rushed to his side. Taking the old man's hand in his, he carefully pulled Ranesh to his feet.

Justin's eyes were drawn to the pointed slippers Ranesh wore. Bright orange as the cushion, the shoes were made of velvet fabric with beautiful purple and blue peacock feathers sewn onto their tops. Justin was in love.

"Your slippers are beautiful," he said in a soft voice.

Ranesh lifted his white cotton pant leg and looked down at the slippers. "Thank you," he said. "My wife made them for me. I love peacocks."

Ramya grabbed a red wooden cane resting next to the cushion. The cane spiraled up into a beautiful knob, perfect for a hand to hold. He gave the cane to Ranesh, who clasped it in his left hand and limped up to Satvi. "Let me see, my dear."

Satvi held out her left hand, but Ranesh shook his head. "No. Let me see you."

He pulled from a pocket in his pants something that Justin thought was a stethoscope. It had two thin ends that Ranesh placed in his ears like a stethoscope, but then the other end, Justin realized, looked more like a kaleidoscope. It even had a crystal sticking out of the end.

Satvi took a step back, eyeing the device in Ranesh's hand.

"What does that do?" she asked.

"It lets me get a good look at your magical health. It's the only way to even begin to treat magical injury or illness," replied Ranesh. He took the kaleidoscope-like piece and raised it to his right eye. Leaning in close to Satvi, he brought the crystal first near her right eye and then to her left.

He lowered the crystal from his eye, frowning. "Right," he whispered. Then, louder said, "Justin, come here, please."

Hesitantly, Justin stepped up to the old man, wondering why he would want to examine him. Again, Ranesh brought the kaleidoscope peace to his right eye and then brought the crystal first to Justin's left eye and then to his right.

"Ramya," said Ranesh, lowering the device and placing the ear pieces around his neck, "you know I don't support child labor, right?"

"Umm," said Ramya, clearing his throat. "I would hope not."

"Very funny," said Ranesh. "I do not support child labor and therefore I cannot help poor Satvi here until the blood bonds tied to both Justin and her are removed."

Satvi gasped and looked at Justin. "Your blood bonded to Yuktvaa too?"

Justin lowered his eyes to the ground and nodded.

"And what magical gift do you have?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. She looked Justin up and down as if sizing him up.

Shrugging, Justin replied, "I can open locked doors, I guess."

"Oh," said Satvi and she lowered her hands, "I guess that could be useful."

"Ranesh," said Ramya, stepping closer to the old man, "please, I beg you, you must help her. She has to help me find Nitara and Niraj. They are Zian's great niece and nephew."

Ranesh waved his hands toward Ramya as if swatting a fly. "Bah!" he said. "Help you? She isn't helping you. She is doing as she is told by her bonder. Once you get this blood bond removed and she has her hand healed, then see if she wants to help you."

Ramya sighed as if in defeat.

"You know who can help remove the bond, right? Is this what all the fuss is about? You don't want to face Rupali?"

Shoulders sagging, Ramya shook his head. "That wife of yours is not a doctor and shouldn't pretend that she is."

Ranesh smiled. "I don't think you have many choices."

With that, the old man limped towards the nearest building. Looking back over his shoulder, he said, "Ramya, you know your uncle would have given you the same response. Now please excuse me, I have patients I must attend to."

"Is he talking about Nitara and Niraj's grandfather, Jahan?" asked Satvi.

"No," said Ramya firmly. "He is talking about my other uncle, Zian, who founded the free clinic with Ranesh."

"Oh, good."

"Come on, let's go see Rupali," Ramya said, and he placed a hand on Justin's shoulder, steering him back down the row of buildings.

Close to the gates, Ramya turned right, where a smaller dirt path wound through the grass to a thicket of palm trees. In the middle of the palms stood a small greenhouse. From inside the greenhouse, Justin could hear someone humming.

Ramya knocked on the front metal door.

The humming stopped, and a woman shouted something Justin did not understand.

Opening the door, Ramya let Justin and Satvi enter before him. As Justin stepped into the greenhouse, it was a sensory overload. Mist swirled around him, coating his face with beads of moisture. The aroma, like someone cut every type of fresh herb and put them in a bouquet, swirled around Justin. Plants covered every inch of space. A large woody plant dangled ripe pink fruit from its branches. A row of small plants sprouted large colorful flowers that moved and huddled together as if discussing a secret. Vines crawled along the ceiling with spiraling thorns. A bushy plant shaped like a hummingbird swayed back and forth even though there wasn't a breeze in the greenhouse.

"Wow," said Justin.

Satvi sneezed. "I hate plants."

"Hate plants? Why hate?" asked a large yellow bush next to Justin.

"Ah!" Justin screamed, nearly falling into Satvi's arms, who pushed him immediately away.

He looked at the bush again and realized that a woman stood behind the bush, smiling. She had black hair streaked with gray and wore red and gold matching pants and a sari.

"Rupali," said Ramya, and then he spoke in what Justin thought was Kannada.

"What is he saying?" he asked Satvi.

Satvi shrugged. "Something in Telugu which I don't really know. I think he's asking about the blood bond."

The woman stepped out from behind the bush, speaking to Ramya animatedly. She waved her hands about and pointed to different herbs.

Satvi sneezed again.

"I am going to wait outside," Satvi told Justin. "Let me know when I am needed." Twirling around, she left the greenhouse.

The woman walked to a small wood table. Grabbing scissors, she wandered the greenhouse with Ramya and Justin following on her heels.

"Can she help?" asked Justin, as the woman picked some petals of a black rose.

Ramya shook his head. "She says she needs the blood of a Royal to break the bond. How are we supposed to get that?"

"What is she doing now?"

Rupali stepped in front of the swaying bush and hummed to it. The bush hummed and swayed along with her.

"I have no idea," whispered Ramya.

Suddenly, one branch of the bush stretched out towards Rupali and shook. One leaf dropped off the branch and landed in Rupali's outstretched hand.

After the woman had gathered a small bundle of leaves, petals and roots, she took out a string and tied the bundle together. She handed this to Justin.

Justin took the bundle, inspecting it. "Umm, thank you."

Rupali mimed holding a cup and brought it to her mouth, sipping.

"Tea?" Justin asked.

She nodded. "For slowing ghost when you find her."

"Find who?"

Rupali pointed to the front door. "Girl."

"Hattru!" Ramya exclaimed, racing for the front door. Sticking the plant bundle in his left robe pocket, Justin ran after Ramya. They exited the greenhouse to find Satvi nowhere to be found.

"Where did she say she was going?" Ramya asked, turning frantically in a circle.

"She just said she was going to wait outside to get away from..." Justin trailed off and then sighed.

Get away from plants, he thought, finishing the sentence in his head. How could she get away from plants by going outside? This place is covered in plants.

"This is not good," said Ramya, pushing his hair off his forehead with both hands. He ran towards the front gate.

Justin followed close behind. Ramya stopped at the table at the front of the line. "Did you see a girl run by wearing a black shirt and a blue and purple sari?" Ramya asked the woman he had spoken to before.

The woman nodded, pointing down the road to her right. "She ran that way."

"Thank you," said Ramya, and he sprinted in the direction the woman pointed.

Justin smiled at the woman and then followed Ramya.

They raced several blocks down the empty sidewalk until Ramya stopped, wheezing. They both scanned the street for signs of Satvi.

"You're fast," said Ramya as he searched. "Ever thought of doing track?"

"No," said Justin. Track was definitely something he was not interested in.

"Okay," said Ramya, pausing before adding, "I should have realized that she wouldn't be interested in breaking the blood bond. Yuktvaa is probably her whole life."

"You think she ran away from us?" asked Justin.

"Yes, I do. But I don't know what she's going to do now. She hasn't finished the job. Yuktvaa will most likely punish her."

"Maybe," said Justin as he scanned the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, "she's going to try to find the beast without us."

Ramya's eyes went wide. "Yes, that's exactly what she is going to do."

Justin's eyes wandered to a man leading a white cow down the street. His eyes caught on the intricate gold designs painted up and down the cow's body. Around its neck hung wreaths of yellow, orange, and red flowers. The cow was simply beautiful, and the owner walked with his head held high as he paraded his masterpiece down the street.

The cow snorted and stopped walking. The rope the man led the cow by went taunt, and the man jerked forward before stopping himself. Whispering to the cow, the man patted it on the head.

That is when a shimmer in front of the man caught Justin's eye. At first, Justin thought it was just the sun reflecting off something, but then it seemed like there was almost a liquid shimmer in the air, not unlike what Justin imagined a mirage to look like. An oval section of the air in front of the man with the cow rippled. It looked a bit like a mirror, but more fluid and see-through.

The man tried to get the cow to walk forward again, but the cow snorted and shook his head. The man yanked on the rope hard and the cow jerked its head back, yanking the rope out of the man's hands. Then, the cow simply walked around the man and the shimmering oval, continuing on its way. Stunned, the man simply followed in the cow's path.

"Ramya, do you see that?" asked Justin, pointing toward the shimmering spot.

Ramya squinted in the direction Justin pointed.

"I don't see her," he said.

Justin shook his head. "Not Satvi, it's..." he fumbled for the right words, "it's a shimmer in the air, almost like a mirror."

Face lighting up, Ramya said, "take me to it, show me."

Justin led Ramya to the middle of the street, where the shimmer hovered just above the ground. He pointed at the spot. Ramya stepped closer and squinted.

"Ah! I see it now. Stuff like this can be almost difficult to spot if you're not a wizard."

"What is it?" asked Justin.

"A portal, similar to the door you went through to get to India."

"Where does it go?"

Ramya shrugged. "Who knows? These can be dangerous. It could be a trap. It could lead to right off a cliff. There could be a beast in their ready to eat us."

"Who would trap us?"

"We aren't the only ones who want to find this beast. The beast the size you described will not go unnoticed. It could be someone trying to keep us from finding the beast."

Justin shivered as his mind went wild with thoughts of what could be on the other side of the shimmer. He squinted at the spot and thought he could just make out a dense canopy of trees.

"Satvi went in there?"

"Most likely."

They both stood staring at the rippling in the air for several minutes. Finally, Ramya sighed and took a step closer.

"Bloody nieces and nephews," he whispered. "They will be the death of me."

And with that, he stepped through. The shimmer rippled like water as he passed and then he disappeared.

Panic swelled within Justin. There had to be a chance that Satvi hadn't gone through the portal. Perhaps he should just wait here. Let Ramya see what is on the other side. Surely, if Ramya found Satvi, he would come and get Justin. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he continued the worst-case scenarios. What if he stepped through and found himself in Antarctica or somewhere just as remote? What if he couldn't come back through? He would be that much farther away from his parents, from his home.

Justin slumped to the ground. He couldn't do it. He dug his hands into the dirt, leaned his head over, and cried.

I am going to be your weapon, a voice whispered inside Justin's head.

Maya. The Indian princess spoke to him.

But wait, I am Maya.

Let us save our royal sister and brother, the voice said more clearly. She nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, and stood. Maya squared her shoulders. She was a princess. She could do this. She took one regal step and then another. Reaching out one hand, she touched the portal. It felt cool to the touch, like something that had just been in cold water but was no longer wet. Smiling, Maya jumped the rest of the way through the portal into the unknown.