Bangladesh, October 1974
The monster came for him in the night. Narayan felt a thousand tongues of fire lash open the flesh on his arms and legs. His face was kissed by the red demon, again and again, each touch raising a welt that throbbed and grew until his head was a blazing mass of pain. Screaming and thrashing, he called for the Cooling One, praying through cracked lips for her to hurry. His swollen eardrums itched with the echoes of monstrous, profane laughter and he was nearly enveloped in despair when, at last, he saw her. She was riding the white donkey, carrying the broom, with the blessed pitcher of vanquishing water cradled against one hip. The demon paused in his obscene whirling, snarling deep in his throat as the woman approached. He spun toward Narayan, enveloping h
