yogini. She drew out a length of white cotton embroidered with golden peacocks from her bag and draped it around Ishvari’s neck. Reclaiming her infant, she raised a hand to her heart and walked much more lightly down the hill.

Before she could disappear around the curve, the midwife dragged forward the pallet upon which her husband lay in a stupor then threw herself at Ishvari’s feet. In a flash, Ishvari saw that seven demons inhabited the body of the man, demons of intoxication and degradation. The reek of stale liquor emanated from the man’s pores. “In Rudra’s name,” she addressed the demon leader boldly, “I bid you leave this man free!” Odious whispering ensued, evoking memories of her own ghastly possession, but resolutely she clung to her center. “Leav...

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