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"I'll ask when I'm ready," I say.
"Very well, don't ask." He stands to leave.
"Tell me about the Rakshana!" I blurt out.
Kartik sighs and looks up to the ceiling. "The Brotherhood of the Rakshana has existed for as long as the Order. They rose in the East but were joined by others along the way. Charlemagne was Rakshana, as were many of the Knights Templar. They were the guardians of the realms and its borders, sworn to protect the Order. Their emblem is the sword and the skull." He says this in a rush, like a history lesson recited for the benefit of a teacher.
"That was serviceable," I say, irritated.
He holds up a finger."But informative."
I ignore his jibe.
"How did you come to be part of the Rakshana?" He shrugs."I have always been with them."
"Not always, surely. You must have had a mother and a father."
"Yes. But I never really knew them. I left them when I was six."
"Oh," I say, shocked. I'd never thought of Kartik as a little boy leaving his mother's arms."I am sorry."
He won't meet my eyes. "There is nothing to be sorry for. It was understood that I would be trained for the Rakshana, like my brother, Amar, before me. It was a great honor for my family. I was taken into the fold and schooled in mathematics, languages, weapons, fighting. And cricket." He smiles. "I'm quite good at cricket."
"What else?"
"I was taught how to survive in the woods. How to track things. Thievery."
I raise my eyebrows at this.
;Did you enter the realms?'' he asks.
I nod. "Yes. But nothing seemed amiss. It was as beautiful as before." I stop, thinking of Pippa. Beautiful Pippa, whom Kartik once gazed upon with such awe. I think of her warning about the Rakshana.
"What is it?" "Nothing. We have asked someone there to help us. A guide, of sorts."
Kartik shakes his head. "That is not wise! I told you, nothing and no one that comes from within the realms can be trusted just now." "This is someone we can trust."
"How do you know?"
"It's Pippa," I say quietly. Kartik's eyes widen."Miss Cross? But I thought . . ."
"Yes, so did I. But I saw her last night. She doesn't know about the Temple, but she's going to help us find it."
Kartik stares at me. "But if she doesn't cross over, she'll become corrupted."
"She says that isn't the case."
"You cannot trust her. She could already be corrupted."
"There's nothing strange about her at all," I protest. "She's just as . . ." She's just as beautiful as before, I was about to say.
"She's just as what?"
"She is the same Pippa," I answer quietly. "And she knows more about the realms than we do at this point. She can help us. It's more than you've given me to go on."
If I've injured Kartik's pride, he doesn't let on. He paces, passing so near that I can smell him, a mixture of smoke, cinnamon, the wind, the forbidden. I clutch my robe tightly about me.
"All right," he says, rubbing his chin."Proceed carefully. But I don't like this. The Rakshana expressly warned--"
