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

36.3. The Fire of Great Vengeance

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Singh raising to his paws, his mane waving and glistening in the brightness of natural fire, grim lingering next to him. He

It's over. The fact slowly sunk in. Shashi was gone, well almost. I had vengeance, at last, but the world did not suddenly seem to be a better place yet. Still alive. Burn the body. Stab him with the Pride- my conscience reminded me.

I winced at the pain in my battered gut and groaned a little with each ragged breath as I looked back at Pruthvi. Uncontrollably, I pulled him by his collar and hugged him, a little too tight for two men to come to an embrace, but I did not care. I put my head on his shoulder and despite the resolve, I let go of my unshed tears, until the last wave of fury swept off me, and turned me back from being an aggressive Cornelian User to today's Hayden Mackay.

"Come on," he said, as I pulled myself back. "I brought the casket as you asked me to. It wasn't easy to bring the body here, so I need incentive pay, Your Majesty." I sniggered at his jibe. "Let's get rid of Shashi from the face of the earth. Shall we then?"

I nodded numbly. "Where's Celina?"

"She ran into Shourya and..."

"Kid, watch out!" Singh yelled, and strength melted off my body listening to his great, high shriek.

Pruthvi had stopped speaking, head jerking slightly. His intense gaze struck me to the cord. Eyes began to moisten. I frowned as his lips parted and a trickle of blood spilled out from the corner of his mouth. Then he dropped his gaze down and looked at the thing that had rendered him motionless.

An axe was driven deep into his stomach. A typical axe it was- used for felling, chopping, splitting wood- and it crept onwards, slowly, carefully, till its very point bit the entirety of Pruthvi's flesh. The other end was lost in Shashi's tight grip. He was on his knees in a paroxysm of ecstasy and burning revolt, having his head angled downwards and his wide eyes staring up ahead at my friend.

Pruthvi's blood dripped, tap, tap, tap from Shashi's fumbling fingers.

The lips on Shashi's burnt scorched face tore into a smile first, then he wore a grin that could make a stone cry. Moving on to the laughter, so loud that it echoed and re-echoed around the room, rolled all over the palace, and exploded off into the entire dynasty.

A violent temper resurfaced in my brain, a wave of scalding heat running through my nerves. I sucked in the air and my rage burned hot as ever, a feeling of terrible dismay boiling up in my stomach. Shashi slid backward as I glared at him. My temper was a sword I'd made in my mind because I was so sick of myself and my loved ones getting stabbed one after the other.

With a huge, powerful, unrelenting fury, I held Pruthvi by his shoulder with an arm, and with the other I harshly pulled the axe, not caring about his squeal turning to a blood-curdling cry when he finally submitted to the pain. I held the axe with both of my hands, my stone burned by itself, fire leaking off my palms and encircling my entire body. Shashi fell down and crawled back on all fours, crying and laughing at the same. He was delirious in his actions as if being tickled to death. As Nazira watched me, I yelled at the top of my lungs lifting the axe up, and soared it downward with a swift rush, driving the mundane weapon straight into Shashi's heart. I didn't stop at just one time. I drove and drove and drove, yelled and drove until I couldn't anymore.

Breathing heavily, I finally stopped and cried. "Singh, he's all yours. Eat him all out!"

The lion complied and engulfing fire around his paws he padded up to the Shashi's bludgeoned body, grunted and chomped. My Constellia wreaked havoc like I had never seen before, Shashi's guts and gore spilled out, bones crunched, limbs renting apart but two hearts yet intact with the body. A river of dark liquid raced along the stone floor. My breath caught in my throat as I tried not to retch at the sight, but the sin happening in front of me had potentially no offensive quality to it. If Yodhin were indeed alive, he would surely be dead now. Sorry, Yuvan.