Taken (Many Lives Book 2) Read online

  Taken

  A Many Lives Story

  Laxmi Hariharan

  Lotus and Sun Media

  Contents

  TAKEN

  The Many Lives Universe

  Synopsis

  Background

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Epilogue

  The Many Lives Universe

  From the Author

  About the Author

  TAKEN

  Many Lives, book 2

  By Laxmi Hariharan

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Created with Vellum

  For the long term volunteers in the Jungle

  The Many Lives Universe

  From New York Times bestseller Laxmi Hariharan, comes the Many Lives Series.

  In a world full of shifters, vampires and immortals, the Many Lives Series begins in present-day Bombay right before a catastrophic natural disaster destroys much of the city.

  Embark upon a perilous and epic journey as Ruby Iyer and Vikram Roy uncover the secrets of the city—and the demons of their past.

  The Many Lives Series is an epic paranormal romance series that traces the origin and love stories of one woman's illegitimate descendants; all united by the power of her infamous sword.

  Order of reading

  Main series

  Feral (Maya and Luke's story)

  Taken (Jai and Ariana's story)

  Book 3 (Leana and Matteo’s story)

  Redemption (Mikhail and Leana's story)

  Prequel series

  Awakened (Ruby and Vik's story)

  Chosen (Vik's origin story)

  Origins (Vik's origin story)

  Join Laxmi's newsletter, and get her starter library free, click here: http://smarturl.it/Laxmi‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

  For more on the Many Lives series and for giveaways, join Laxmi's reader group here: http://smarturl.it/TeamLaxmi

  Synopsis

  ARIA

  If I can get out of here alive, I'll never let myself fall victim to them again.

  JAI

  I am sworn to protect this city, but I'll do anything to save her

  When a promise to save the city means risking your heart…

  Everything in solider-poet Jai Iyeroy's life has led up to his moment. Everyone is counting on him. And he plans to deliver. But when Aria West comes back into his life, he vows to protect her—even if it means breaking his vow to the city. Can Jai find a way to keep his promise while saving the only woman he's ever loved?

  .

  Background

  In what was once India, Bombay is the capital of the newly formed Indostan. It is also one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

  Meanwhile, successive economic downturns have stripped most Western cities, including London, of its wealth.

  A plutocratic government in Britain has pushed many to seek a new life in the East.

  Refugees from London pour into Bombay, into the camp nicknamed the Jungle.

  And no one is safe from the growing menace of shifters.

  1

  Bombay, October 2039

  If I get out of here alive, I’m never to going to let myself feel so helpless again. I shuffle through the mud, head bowed against the hot sea wind. Something half-buried in the mud glitters, and when I stop, a shove sends me sprawling on the ground. Flinging out an arm to shield myself against the inevitable next blow I spring back up, my hand now clutching a baby’s shoe.

  A blood-stained shoe.

  A shiver runs down my spine. No one is safe here. No one.

  The tiny shoe falls from my nerveless fingers.

  "Go on," the soldier prods me with his gun. "Won’t do to keep the General waiting."

  Reaching the open Jeep, he thrusts me inside, onto the floor.

  I curse aloud and straighten. Just in time to see him snap a salute at another vehicle. A Humvee passes us, heading for the Jungle – the refugee camp that’s been my home for the past few months.

  No doubt the driver is some high-ranking official among the Guardians, part of the Council that runs Bombay City. He’s on his way to hurt someone. Even kill. Or perhaps wreck the temporary huts we call home. Anything to rid us of hope, to make us leave.

  But where do we go? Back to our country, where we’d as likely be hunted down and killed? Back to the homes which were burnt down by the soldiers who had taken over New London?

  Trapped. You are trapped here.

  Anger twists my gut. I can’t let myself be taken. Not like this.

  Not. Without. A. fight.

  Without giving myself time to think, I leap at the guy still standing to attention outside the Jeep, taking him down. Pulling the gun from his side I am back on my feet and pointing the weapon at him before he has time to breathe. His eyes widen as I take aim.

  I’m about to squeeze the trigger when something slams into me from behind.

  Red-violet sparks explode behind my eyes and I crash to the ground. Pain slashes up my arms as my wrists are pulled behind me and shackled. My legs tied together before I’m thrown back into the Jeep. My head slams against the hard floor, sending another wave of red and white light crashing through my head. Trying to recover, I shift. And strain at my bonds, trying to slide onto my back when a coin rolls out of my pocket.

  It rattles across the floor, dancing around once, twice, thrice in a circle before coming to rest between the muddy shoes of my captor.

  The soldier picks it up, rubs his finger over its shiny surface and it’s as if he’s touched that part of me which I’ve hidden for so long.

  Hidden from my shipmates on the month-long
voyage to this country.

  Hidden from those who had killed my father and raped my mother after she had offered herself up in my place. Right in front of me and Lily. And all through it I hung onto this coin, stolen from my father’s wallet. I’d gripped it and prayed to whoever was out there to save us. But of course no one had come. Only the coin had stayed with me. Solid. A reminder of all that was normal and sane in a world gone mad. A world crumbling around me.

  "It’s mine," I growl, clamping down on the surge of frustration that twists my gut. Knowing even as I say it that I should have simply saved my breath. Not baited him further.

  But I have. To. Say. Something.

  The coin is the only sign left of my parents. Of where I come from. Of London; once a city once filled with flowers, and trees so high they soared up towards the faint sunshine that filtered down through the clouds.

  Ancient trees. As old as the city I’m in now. And yet Bombay is also new, reinventing itself, marching into a new world. And I am trying to find my place in it.

  The soldier doesn’t even hear me. Simply pockets my coin.

  Anger pulses through me, licking my nerve endings. I swear aloud and want to scream at him, ask him to give it back. Tell him that he cannot just take what is not his. That it’s impolite to do so. And that brings me up short. I should’ve left civilities behind a long time ago. Desperation can turn humans into animals; bring out the beast in them.

  When you lose the roof over your head, you take what you find to shield yourself. That much I have learned in my race to find refuge in this new world. And yet a part of me still hopes, yearns, for things to go back to what they were. Simple. Civilized. Safe.

  But they won’t.

  For now, I have more pressing things to worry about. Like figuring out where they are taking me. When the vehicle leaps forward, my stomach twists with fear and bile rushes to my throat.

  Heart thudding against my ribs I burst out, "Where are you taking me?"

  Neither answers.

  Then, one of them replies, "To introduce you to your future, of course."

  At which I just react. Blood pumping in my ears, I strain against my bonds. Managing to get to my knees I launch myself at the soldiers.

  Head-butting one, I bite the other on his arm. The sourness of his skin, mixed with the coppery taste of blood, fills my mouth.

  He screams. A shrill, high-pitched cry, before his partner drags me off him, and slams me against the wall. I hit my head and everything goes dark.

  2

  Bombay, a month later

  Everything in his past has led up to this moment, for he’s sworn to protect this city.

  Jai jumps out of the Humvee at the notorious refugee camp nicknamed the Jungle. He can smell the migrants, smell their desperation – a mix of human waste and unwashed skin. Their unspoken prayers fill the air, coating the mid-morning fog.

  Hidden away behind the tin and paper walls of the shantytown, they scuttle around, and he can feel the rise and fall of a hundred chests. Hands steady, he pulls out his gun.

  Slowing his breathing, he calms his mind just as he’s been trained and looks for whatever’s out there.

  A tarpaulin comes loose from one of the ramshackle shanties. Breaking free it flies up the dirt road, up and up and past a shadow walking towards him.

  Stealthy, deliberate, taking its time, it comes to a stop not twenty feet from him. Even as its muscles tense, Jai springs to his feet, rushing towards it and is treated to his first close-up of a shifter.

  At least eight feet long from jaw to tail, it's clear it's hybrid. It combines the cunning of man with the strength of a wolf. A walking death wish. An unlikely fallout of the nuclear disaster that had followed the tsunamis of 2014, which had swept many cities around the world.

  With powerful legs and hair bristling like spears, the shifter springs towards him with a howl.

  Jai fires without hesitation. Once. Twice. Thrice. But the shifter moves fast. A speed that is at complete odds with its bulk. So fast its body is almost a blur. None of the bullets hit.

  Four. Five.

  It doesn’t even slow down.

  Six.

  He’s out of bullets.

  It. Just. Keeps. Coming. Eyes burning yellow in its face. Before Jai can pull out his sword the shifter slams into him. Jai’s head hits the ground, and the beast tears through his army fatigues. He screams as its nails bury in his flesh.

  The animal’s breath surrounds him, flows over his skin, almost burning on contact. Its jaws snap open and it goes straight for his throat.

  The blood thunders in his ears. His pulse is racing and sweat streams down his forehead. Pinned so close to the earth, nose buried in the dirt, Jai can’t breathe. Just as the world goes dark around the edges, he hears a scream.

  The pressure on his chest eases and the shifter is flung to the ground next to him. On its back. Jaws still open.

  There’s a girl astride the savage, gripping its chest with her thighs. She rams her sword through its throat, twisting it in. Blood gushes out, spraying her crimson, the red glistening in the moonlight.

  A shudder runs through the shifter and then it lies unmoving.

  It will forever be burned into his brain – the sight of her holding up the bleeding sword as she raises her head to the skies and cries out a guttural howl of triumph, of life. Something inside him pushes to get out, to break free. There’s a fierce need to hold on to her and soar with her. Ride the wave of her exultance, and soar up, up, up. Away from here, away from his past, the ties that hold him back.

  Then she’s on her feet.

  Bending towards him she reaches out a hand. Her dark brown hair swirls in anger. Dark blue, almost indigo-colored eyes burn into his, and when his fingers touch her palm, a jolt of awareness shocks him, taking him by surprise. The intensity is like nothing he’s ever experienced before. Goosebumps break out over his skin and a tremor runs down his back. Before his mind can even register what he’s doing, he grasps her palm. Closing his hand over hers, he grips it. A part of it registering how small and fragile she feels, and soft. Like silk. He can sense her strength, her fierce will, as she squeezes back, her nails digging into his skin.

  Perhaps she feels it too for her eyebrows shoot down in a frown, and she bites down on her lower lip. She leans closer as if to say something. Then, her features sharpen. Her delicate eyebrows shoot up. Swinging her sword as if it’s a part of her, the girl turns around to rush at his team who now point their guns at her.

  Jai shouts at his team to stop but already they are shooting. Weaving through the thick air, she slithers over the ground. Before straightening to kick out the legs from the man closest to her. Then she lays low the one next to him too. Her blade cuts through the man on the other side and, bracing against the fallen body, she leaps up, using the open door of the Humvee as leverage to roll across the roof of the vehicle and onto the other side. By the time Jai rushes around to the other side, she’s gone.

  Who is she?

  3

  A soldier trained to kill, and he’s just been saved by a slip of a girl. A touch on his shoulder has Jai looking down into the face of his childhood friend, and right-hand man, Gilbert.

  "More coming," Gilbert says.

  Jai turns to see a group of dark shadows moving towards them.

  The shifters are growing bolder. This is the third such attack on the camp in the last month. Rumor has it that they also take some of the younger female refugees captive. To use them for food, or perhaps as slaves, or worse, to mate with the prisoners forcibly and grow their own numbers? A sliver of anger runs through him and he pushes away that thought.

  Gilbert swears. "So how are we supposed to take on these monsters if they are faster than guns? So fast even you couldn’t even get them at close range."

  Jai hears the unspoken worry in those words. He’s one of the fastest shots in the country and definitely in this part of the world. If Jai couldn’t get the wolves, then no one could. At lea
st not with guns.

  But she had gotten them. With a sword. Moving so fast her sword had sparked an arc of silver through the air as she’d gone for its throat.

  "They may look like wolves but they are half human," Jai corrects him.

  Gilbert snorts, "Nothing human about them. Animals, that’s what they are."

  "They are shifters," Jai snaps. "Half breeds. And while that doesn’t mean we should spare them, it does mean that when we kill the wolves, we also kill their human side."

  "They are dangerous" Gilbert says, voice vibrating with anger. "Either we get them first or they kill us. Besides, we are out of bullets," he adds.

  Jai knows Gilbert is right. The seriousness of the situation sinks in. With their guns proving to be ineffective, it’s going to be a losing fight. He pushes that thought aside too.

  Right now, he must stop them.

  Jumping over the fallen shifter, he runs towards the oncoming animals. Then something prompts him to fling aside the empty gun. Following his instinct, he pulls out his sword. His mother’s sword.

  Twenty-five years ago, his mother had touched this very sword to the altar at a little temple off the coast of Bombay. Her action had set off tsunamis across the world. Killer waves that had swept away many cities including Bombay.

  He’d inherited the sword on his eighteenth birthday. And even four years later, it still feels unfamiliar, heavy. Yet, as he grips it this time, the handle curves into his palm, reassuring him.

  He points the blade at the silently approaching predators, then swears again.

  The animals form a wall of muscle and teeth and claws and iron will. Only one way out.

  Without waiting, he takes off down the road, followed by Gilbert and the two other team members.