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I move without thinking. I grab the Maulavi by the shoulder, locking my grip on him. He tries to straighten but my grip is too tight. I throw him across the room. He slams onto the edge of the stairs, falling backwards. Then his head hits and there is a loud cracking sound.
The Maulavi lies still.
“Gada,” I whisper.
18
NIYAH
He’s threatening to rape me. Oh my god he’s… I can’t?—
“No!” Bhoja roars.
He moves faster than I can follow. The next few seconds are a conglomerated blur in my head. Bhoja roars and moves then the Maulavi is no longer next to my ear. He had been so close that my back and side are cool for lack of his body heat.
I hear the crack but it doesn’t register at first. Bhoja is right in front of me and my first thought is one of relief. I’m so glad he is there. So glad he acted.
Immediately after that, though, comes the fear. Now that he has acted, which I am grateful for, we are in trouble. He is and that means I am too. The Maulavi is not going to react well to having been manhandled by Bhoja. There is no doubt in my mind that it being bad for Bhoja it will be every bit as bad for me.
“Gada,” Bhoja whispers.
I don’t know the word but I’ve heard it enough and the tone of his voice also makes it clear that it’s a curse. He doesn’t move, staring at the wall. Also the Maulavi doesn’t speak. Or return. Or anything. My stomach drops.
Oh no. Please no.
My neck refuses to turn. The muscles are locked. I keep staring at Bhoja who is staring off to the side and behind me. I know what I’m going to see from the look on his face. I should look. I need to look, but still my neck refuses, telling me no way.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I hold it, then let it slowly out. I do this two more times then force my head to turn, no matter the protest of my muscles. The moment the feet come into view there is no doubt what I am going to see. I don’t need to keep turning to know but I do. Out of some perverse need to make sure I’m not imagining it or some hope that I’m wrong I’m not sure which. Slowly he comes into view. I swallow hard, blink, then look again.
“Shit,” I mutter.
The Maulavi hit the side of the stairs and fell onto them. The angle of his head and the blank look on his face, the emptiness in his eyes leaves no doubts. He’s not getting back up. I look to Bhoja because there is no denying how bad this is.
Bad. Bad doesn’t begin to encompass this.
Bhoja hasn’t moved. I bite my lip and grind my teeth as I try to think. It’s bad, okay, but what do we do? I dart a glance at the body, for that’s what it is, but looking at it lying there lifeless and broken feels wrong.
It’s not like this is the first time I’ve seen a dead body, but that doesn’t mean I like it. Life on Tajss has been hard and all of us have seen and experienced things that no one should. That doesn’t mean I know what to do with one and especially what to do with one here. Now. In this place.
“Bhoja?” I ask. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. I’m not sure he’s breathing. “Bhoja?”
Still nothing. I take a step closer, touch his arm, but he doesn’t react. I step between him and the body. I’m not big enough to block his view but maybe it will shake him out of whatever shock or whatever he’s in.
He growls. It’s a low, rumbling sound that makes his lips vibrate as it builds in volume. He shakes his head side-to-side and still the sound gets louder.
“Gada!” he shouts, raising his fists in the air and shaking them. I flinch. “Gah!”
“Bhoja,” I say, keeping my voice calm and even. He drops his eyes until they meet mine. I see the fear mixing with anger in his, but right now we need to think. I need him calm and rational. “Is he alone?”
Bhoja blinks then sucks his lip in and blows out a heavy breath of air. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I watch him hold it then slowly let it out. I have to wonder if he’s counting to ten or something. Do Urr’ki do that? He opens his eyes and looks into mine.
“We have a problem,” he says.
“Yeah, we do,” I agree, letting him work it out for himself.
He looks up, past me to the body, then back. He shakes his head.
“Gada,” he says softly. He blinks, swallows, then nods. “He was alone. Yes. Good. Alone is good.”
