Bombay Shaman: Nightmares at Dadar

PART VIII - Bait for the predator

Kumaran had sent the tired brother to sleep sharp at ten thirty, ninety minutes before the demon usually came out for hunt so far, and he waited in the hall with Edha and the father, the lights off.

Only a dull shaft of light made its way from the roadside and casted a broad strand on the darkened wall.

The father was sitting silently, a small photo of Lord Ganesha in his emotionally trembling hands, praying all he could.

Edha was in the dimmed light of her phone, surfing the net; it was to distract her from the fear, she said.

Kumaran's eyes were on a roller-coaster ride, being the most alive part of him in that wait. They were sharply mindful and alert of the surrounding. Be it the mild, colourful dots of passing by vehicle headlights moving across the room, the faintest of noises made by the faintest of movements, the ticking of the clock, or even the scary and weird shapes his imagination gave to the shadows; he was vigilant of it all. His body, in contrast, moved very little, conserving energy and focus.

When it was five minutes before midnight, he sat up straight, mentally and spiritually ready for whatever the next few moments held. Even Edha put her phone back in her and looked at clock, counting the seconds. The father, though, he remained in his prayer.

As the hands of the clock inched closer to aligning at twelve, the tension built up in the air; the discomfort, the edginess, it started to creep in. There was a sinisterness in that silence, a qualm in the quiet.

"It's 'bout to begin." Kumaran whispered.

The hands aligned, and thus, the nightmares commenced.

The maleficent aura burgeoned at once. Once again, it was everywhere, tormenting every sleeping soul, peeling off their strength and defense with terrifying thoughts. The spirit pressure was easy for Kumaran to sense; what was hard was to remain calm and not take any action yet.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Edha looked at him.

"Not yet," his vehement glare was fixed at the brother's door, "let it walk into our trap."

He was able to feel the brother's spirit energy falling. The darkness started to mount around that room, it started to get thicker. With the thick darkness came the demonic presence, getting heavier like the night before. It was descending into the plane of humans.

Kumaran slowly rose from his seat, his muscles tense and ready for action.

Edha's nervous glance switched between him and the room.

A divine energy burst inside the door; its force radiated all the way out to the living room. The traps had activated.

Like a bullet, Kumaran shot for the door and swung it open.

There it was, leant over the sleeping boy in a very horrifying manner, it's movement bound by the divinity of the amulets.

Footsteps smashed the floor behind Kumaran.

"OH MY GODDDDDD!!!!!" Edha shrieked. "WHAT IS THISSSS?!?!"

The demon violently looked back. Its face, it was crude and dried up, all black like the rest of its body. Its eye sockets were like an empty well leading into the dark underworld. Its withered mouth was open wide, a big eye protruding out of it, and out of the big pupils of that demonic eye, came out a dark, bony hand, a hand which had slithered half way down the sleeping boy's throat.

Other than the arms and legs on whose support it so scarily leant, it also had two long and bony arms and legs coming out of its backside, broken and distorted too.

"Got ya now, demon!" Kumaran exclaimed and stepped forward, slipping an amulet out of his shirt pocket, inscribed with the prayer to conjure a mild, divine Chakra capable of destroying low-level demons.

It bellowed at them, eerier than ever, creating a vigorous wind current that kept them where they were.

"Damn! It's stronger than before." Kumaran held up his hands. "At this rate-"

It broke free from the binding magic of the amulets.

"Uh oh-"

It upreared, tall and thin, on its disfigured feet, spreading its four arms and the legs on the back. It pulled the hand of its mouth out of the boy's throat.

"LEAVEEEEE MEEEE ALONEEEEE!!!!!" It thundered at him.

The wind current stopped. It started to dissolve and fade.

"Oh no ya don't!" Kumaran pressed the centre of his own forehead with his thumb.

His physical body fell forward as his spirit body flashed forth, reaching out for the demon.

Before the demon faded, he managed to clutch its wrist. The whole space warped, and he got sucked into it.

AUTHOR NOTES

Yes! The demon took the bait! But damn! He went back into the spirit dimension! But Kumaran didn't let it go. He grabbed its wrist and got warped along with it! What will happen next?! Read the next part and find out dear readers!

I hope you're enjoying the story, if you are, please do vote and comment. Open to genuine feedback; that would help me rectify my errors.