«Yes, but that's all I got.»
«I believe this is a rakshasa.» She nudged the four-armed corpse with her toes. «And if I'm right,
the two of you are in deep shit.»
«AT FIRST THERE WAS VISHNU, EXCEPT AT THAT point he was Narayana, the
embodiment of Supreme Divinity.»
Dali sat on the floor next to the corpse.
«Narayana floated in endless waters, wrapped in a great albino serpent and having a marvelous
time, until a lotus grew from his navel. Within the lotus, god Brahma, the creator of worlds, was
reborn. Brahma looked around, saw Narayana being content to float, and for no apparent reason
became obsessed that his water would get stolen. So he made four guardians, two couples. The first
couple promised to worship the water, and they were yakshasas. The second couple promised to
protect the water, and they were rakshasas.»
«Talk strengths and weaknesses,» Jim said.
«Rakshasas are born warriors. They were created for this purpose. According to legend, they are
conceived and carried to term in a single day, and upon birth, they instantly grow to the age of their
mother. They are carnivores and have no qualms about consuming human meat. They come in a
vast variety of shapes and sizes. They're excellent illusionists and magicians.»
I sighed. This just got better and better. «For some reason I thought rakshasas were humanoid
tigers, like a shapeshifter in a warrior form but with a tiger's head.»
Dali nodded. «They are most often depicted as monsters resembling tigers, because a tiger is the
scariest thing an Indian sculptor or artist could reasonably picture. Elephants are larger, but they are
vegetarians and mostly keep to themselves, while tigers are silent, deadly, and actively hunt
people.»
A humanoid tiger, equipped with extra arms and human intelligence, would be the stuff of
anyone's nightmares.
«Rakshasas realize that tigers are frightening and often adopt this form; however, legends say
that they can be ugly or beautiful. Out of three rakshasa brothers, one could be lovely beyond
description, one could be a giant, and one could sprout ten heads. It really varies. Some sources
insist that one can never know the true form of a rakshasa; only the form they favor most at the
moment.»
«Anything else?» Jim asked softly.
«They can fly.»
Delightful. «Ours didn't fly. They mostly jumped unnaturally high.»
«That could be due to low magic, incorrect information, or an insufficient number of people
believing in the myth. Or all three. Take your pick.»
«Can these rakshasas do something that would stop you from shifting?» I asked.
Dali thought about it. «They're shapeshifters but not in the same way we are. They deal in
illusion. You said they pulled their human skins off. Where are the skins? You brought his ripped
clothes. I find it very hard to believe that between the two of you, you forgot to pick up torn human
hide.»
I concentrated, recalling the scene as we left the house. «The skins disappeared.»
Dali nodded. «That's because technically there were no skins. Magic or no magic, you couldn't
physically pack that»-she kicked the four-armed corpse again-«into a human hide. Rakshasas
don't actually flay a human and pull on his skin. They consume a human in some way, physically,
mentally, or spiritually, or all of the above, and then they assume the shape.»
Light dawned in my head. «The skin ripping was an illusion. An intimidation tactic.»
«Exactly. They pretended to cast off human skins because they wanted to disturb you. Rakshasas
are exceedingly arrogant and cunning but not too bright. Their mythical king, Ravana, is a prime
example: ten heads but very little brain. The flying palace you saw, assuming both of you haven't
gone insane, is most likely Pushpaka Vimana, an ancient flying machine. Ravana appropriated it
from its original owner and was flying around on it to and fro when he came upon Shiva the
Destroyer during his rest.» Dali paused for dramatic effect.
Hindu mythology wasn't my strongest suit, but even I knew about Shiva. Any god titled
Destroyer of Worlds wasn't to be taken lightly. When not enjoying his home life with his loving
wife and two sons, he ran around the woods wrapped in cobras and wearing a torn tiger skin still
dripping blood. He stripped pelts from fearsome beasts with a touch of his pinkie. His wrath was
likened to Rudra, a roaring storm. In his malignant aspect, he was absolutely terrifying. In his
benign aspect, he was easily amused. His forehead hid a third eye, which, when directed outward,
burned everything in his path and periodically destroyed the universe. Anything associated with