Rain fell in thick droplets on the darkened street. It gushed from the black heavens in such quantities that it turned the roads into many rivers.

Huddled beneath a small awning stood Justin and Satvi. Their clothes clung to their bodies, completely soaked through, and even though the air was still warm, Justin shivered.

Above the awning, a sign read, cyber café.

"Of all the places," whispered Satvi.

"I know," said Justin.

"I thought you were going to think, take me to the beast and, whoosh, we would have found the beast!"

"I don't think it works that way." He paused. "I don't know how it works."

They stood there in silence, staring at the rain falling down when a thought came to him. "What about your magic?"

"I'm doing it. You can't see the smoke at night, even in the light. I don't know why."

A light turned on in the café behind them, illuminating the sidewalk. Both Justin and Satvi spun, coming face-to-face with Shankar staring out the window at them.

The man frowned out at them for an entire minute, but then he gestured for them to come inside.

"What do we do?" asked Satvi.

Justin headed for the blue door and shrugged. "What choice do we have?"

Inside the café, Shankar stood behind the bar, making something with the espresso machine. He pointed to two towels placed on the counter, and Justin and Satvi raced towards them. Justin sighed as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders.

"Thank you," said Justin.

"I couldn't leave two children out in the rain," said Shankar, not turning from the espresso machine.

"Unless they are about to attack you," mumbled Satvi.

Shankar turned from the bar, holding two steaming mugs.

"You are right," said Shankar, as he placed the mugs in front of Satvi and Justin. "Hot chai? I was a coward. I could see the rage in Ramya's face and I knew what I would do if I had found the man who sold my niece, so I acted cowardly."

Justin lunged for the mug happily, the warmth from it immediately seeping into his hands.

"I didn't know that the girl was Ramya's niece."

Satvi looked up from her own mug and glared at him.

Shankar held out his hands. "You're right," he agreed. "It doesn't matter who she is. I shouldn't have sold her. It's no excuse, but I was desperate." He rubbed his bald head with one hand. "I had just lost my home. I didn't know what to do."

"Who did you sell her to?" asked Justin.

Shankar shook his head. "I don't know his name, but I know he owns a umm... I don't know the English word... umm... kind of like a circus, but it doesn't travel. He didn't tell me where just that he has a show filled with strange beasts and he was hunting for more beasts."

Feeling defeated, Justin hung his head. How were they supposed to find Nitara now?

"The man wants your beast," said Shankar. "Find the beast and you will find the girl."

"We can't at night and in this weather," said Satvi.

Leaning on the bar so that his face was now level with Justin and Satvi, Shankar said, "You can stay here tonight and tomorrow I will ask the sub-inspector to let Ramya go. That it was all a big misunderstanding."

Justin looked at Satvi, who shrugged as if saying what choice do we have, so Justin turned to Shankar and said, "Thank you."

Shankar gave them two of his robes to change into. The robe ended at Justin's knees, but his body swam in the extra folds of cloth. It felt more like a big blanket than a robe. Satvi's robe fell to the floor. She seemed to drown in hers. Shankar gave Satvi the cot and Justin a blanket on top of the small rug. After they settled, Shankar went back downstairs. He said he had to finish cleaning the café.

"Satvi?" Justin asked into the darkness from the rug.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"Do you trust Shankar?"

"You see, in this world, there are two kinds of people, my friend," she drawled in a cowboy accent. "Those with loaded guns and those who dig."

"I don't think he's going to help Ramya," said Justin, and in saying the words out loud, he knew it was true.

"At first light, we need to leave and find the beast's trail. Ramya will find us when they finally let him go. We will leave a trail for him to follow."

Justin nodded, but then realized she couldn't see that.

"Okay," he said.

The patter of rain on the roof distracted Justin. It was hypnotic. Exhaustion crept into his bones. It had been the wildest day of his life, and to his surprise, he thought, and probably the best day. Justin closed his eyes. He could face another wild day.

The soft orange light seeped through the curtains of the single window in the room. It woke Justin from a restless dream that, now awake, he couldn't remember. He opened his eyes and looked up at an empty cot.

"The boy is awake," came an unfamiliar feminine voice in an American accent.

A masculine voice chuckled. "He is odd. I checked his clothes. He doesn't have any magical items, unlike her." The voice had a southern American accent.

Slowly, Justin rolled on the carpet to find a woman with pale white skin and long, curly red hair sitting on top of Shankar's desk, staring at Justin. Behind the desk, in the chair, sat Satvi, and behind her stood a tall, handsome black man in a gorgeous, sleek blue business suit.

"Good morning," greeted the woman cheerfully.