Paige tried not to lose her patience. This was far more serious than any of them could possibly understand, save for Ethan. She needed to impress upon them the urgency of the situation without causing any sort of panic. “All religions have their origins. For these people, Kali is no less real than Jesus is to Christians. And if you believe in Christ, who are you to say that Kali isn’t real, too?”

“So, what does that mean for us?” Kyle chimed in, rocking side to side nervously, as if he needed to go to the bathroom or something.

Again, Paige reached deep inside for patience. Maybe it was best to start at the beginning. “The Hindu religion divides the world into four ages, and they believe the fourth age started a little over five thousand years ago. It’s the Kali Yuga, or the world age of Kali. It’s the most difficult, heinous age of the world to date, which explains the wars and deaths and all the other plagues of hardship going on.

“Here, at this temple, the monks have created a modicum of peace over the last several hundred years through prayer and offerings. The surrounding villages benefit from it. So, once every thirty-six years, they have a volunteer sacrifice himself, offering his blood to the demon Kali, to keep the area more peaceful and bountiful.”

Ethan stood close at her side, and she felt him tense. “What you’re saying is, the altar that got knocked over held that blood sacrifice, and now, the protective bubble is broken.”

“So, what, some angry mob is going to come sacrifice us now?” Kyle asked, his voice high and tense. He looked ready to bolt. “No way! I’m so close to my grant I can taste it. I’m not going to lose out because the two of them couldn’t keep it in their pants for a couple of hours.”

Paige shook her head adamantly. “No, they aren’t planning to sacrifice us. Will you all just calm down?” The words were impatient and certain, but her heart fluttered in her chest. She couldn’t be sure of what would happen in the next several hours, regardless of the monks’ determination to try to keep them safe. “But we need to stay here, where we’re encapsulated and protected. If anyone in the villages finds out what happened, we could have targets on our back. And aside from that, without the sacrifice to keep him at bay, the monks feel that this is the only safe place to stay with Kali on the loose.”

Billy snorted. “You’re so worried about this. All we need to do is get the hell out of here. If we leave in time, we can get out of the village and be on a private jet out of Nepal in a couple of hours, before they even find out what happened. I’ll get my dad to come get us.”

Finally losing her cool, Paige snapped, “Money doesn’t fix everything, Billy. This isn’t about you and your father’s fathomless pocketbook. It’s not about running away. It’s about letting these people practice their faith and respecting it.” She pressed her lips together and turned to Ethan, who would understand better because he had respect for all religious cultures. “The monks have to seek out a willing sacrifice to replace what was lost. It’s dangerous for them, and they’re going out in a large group. A few are staying behind to bless the temple and want us to stay so they don’t have to worry about our protection.”