(Book 6) Hayden Mackay and The Third-Eye of the Pancharatna

21.1. Creature Smackdown

She could feel his muscles tense.
It must be difficult to be a normal human, Leena thought. She had forgotten the feel of it, and she hoped to never know what it felt like to be a Samagraha without a stone. Pruthvi's despondence and restlessness scared her to the core. She could do nothing but show empathy and trust his guts to finish what they came for.

"There's more blood. Right there," Leena said pointing at his jaw.

Pruthvi grimaced as if having a tooth infection. He wiped the blood out of his mouth but only smeared further across his chin. Kumbh crouched down and offered his canteen, which Pruthvi took gratefully. He quickly rinsed the blood off and splashed a little over his face.

"Let's get started," he said and lurched to his feet. He squinted around quickly to choose the one among the moaning, grunting, bleeding men. The person at the far right corner had long gashes on his chest, a soft flesh pierced in his jowl area. He seemed to be the only one demonstrating measurably less pain.

Pruthvi stepped towards him. Leena gazed down at the string of questions repeatedly framing her mind. Where was her son? Where was Shashi's tomb? Where were Pruthvi's stone and the Maiden's cup? She noticed the man's eyes widening as Pruthvi approached closer. Then, he pulled out a knife from his robes, and fiercely, without a warning he slashed his own throat.

Dark blood flooded down his chest before he slumped completely on the floor. Eyes stilled and then went empty.

Leena's mouth hung open and she gawked at the other men who were convulsing with pain but did not seem surprised about their companion committing suicide. "What just happened?" she murmured.

"Impelled?" Pruthvi suggested, adjusting his cracked glasses.

Leena looked about him. "Either kill or die, but don't give yourself up to the Samagraha. Is that what's going on?"

"Reminds me of Celina's uncle," he said and took another step forward. The rest of the men reacted similarly. They moved in a frenzy in search of weapons, forgetting all sorts of confrontations.

Leena held him by his arm. "It's useless," she said. "It's clear that they are abiding by Shashi's instructions. They are not going to answer our questions. And we don't want anyone committing suicide on our conscience, do we? Let's come back for them later and hand them over to Hayden."

Pruthvi nodded.

Before they moved on, Leena emptied the muskets. She withdrew and soaked the gunpowder in the water. Pruthvi then took her hand, and Kumbh followed them as they walked inside the cave leaving these defenseless men behind.

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Tyrell had educated them well enough about the geographical aspects. The range of Selvyn Hill included several discontinued and dissimilar masses of hills. It was situated miles away from human habitation. The currently hidden cave that Pruthvi and Leena were exploring, was somewhere inside the edge of the Selvyn Hill that marked the end of Dakshinpur, and the beginning of Paschimgarh. The very mammoth enchanting ice cave seemed to be the last unexplored area of the country, Leena believed. It was the place where Shashi threw parties with his mindless goons.

They took their time to look around every inch of the secret icy cavern, engulfed with towering stones, ice formations, and curved domes. The ghost-grey fog began to creep in inexorably. The unnatural light sprawling over the walls made the fog glitter as though candles. It got sporadically dimmer and brighter with the path turning narrower, walls closing upon them giving Leena a feeling of claustrophobia.

Terrifying sounds of dripping water began to drone around them. Pruthvi clutched her hand tighter. The sounds were like people slapping each other. Sometimes it came from a shouting distance and other times there were instant dribs from the invisible background. With walls closing in further, Pruthvi and Leena squeezed themselves through it, placing careful unrushed steps.

"Master, there!" Kumbh pointed at the big gnawing hole in the distance. Leena let out a sigh of relief- their venture through the tight path was about to end. Yet they walked slowly, like wading through treacle, putting one slow foot after the other. What a struggle to finish the mundane task! Intermittent fluttering and flapping sounds came by. Pruthvi turned back, his brows creased. A moment later, the noise rose to a crescendo - frrrrrrrr! Leena's nerves broke. Pruthvi jerked. And they quickly bolted towards the hole, the ground shaking with their momentum. Leena thought the wall was moving and about to crush them with brute force. But she put it down to her paranoia and focused. The three of them jumped out of the hole in a frenzy.

Pruthvi's breath snorted fast from his throat. He panted holding onto a stalagmite for support. He swayed slightly, he hardly had the strength to stand any longer. Leena ran her hand on his back, stayed quiet, and gave him all the time he needed to muster strength back up.

She looked around. And her marrow froze.

This part of Selvyn Hill must be hollow. She presumed that they were in a deep world of mountain cavers. It was a great sprawling surreal-looking ice cave that had no bounds. The ground was glacial ice fields, with rough-looking sharp stalagmites shooting up to the roof. The roof... what a stunning bright kaleidoscope of color adorned the walls. This looked like something straight from the painting. The light in here was too bright, as though afternoon sunlight penetrating through the walls and reflecting an incredible array of colors. It was way too unnatural and unnerving for Leena's mind. Without a doubt it was...

"Magic," Kumbh said. "There's a strong sense of human magic in here."

"Sure there is," Pruthvi mumbled, his nostrils flaring.

In addition to that, there were tons of entrances to the sub-tunnels- its openings gaped like monstrous mouths veering off into the unknown. On listening carefully Leena picked up the bloop-blooping sound from inside the tunnels. It seemed the cave was located along the flowing streams and waterfalls.

"It will take hours or days to check through these tunnels," Leena said.

"Mind separating?" Pruthvi suggested.

"Absolutely not," Leena said, finding her voice filled with desperation. She looked at him thoroughly. His eyelids were only half opened. "You look spent," she said. "You may pass out anytime. Take Kumbh with you?"

"Alright," he said, without arguing, and reached out to give a quick peck on her cheek.

The decision to go in separate ways agitated her a bit, but there was a pressing need to prioritize finding their kid above everything else. She quickly gave her orders to Kumbh, and keeping her heart in her mouth, she bustled past Pruthvi.