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

38.1. The Final Bargain

I gritted my teeth but stayed put and listened.

"Second- write me off the dynasty to me. Write me off everything that Harsh has transferred to you through the Codicil. The throne, lands, money, everything. Do these and nobody will die, Hayden. I will spare what insignificant lives you and your friends are left with. But only after you fulfill my demands. Understand?"

Keep Breathing. Have patience.

"Two hours, Hayden. I'm giving you just two hours. Wherever you are, come and see me in the Rawat's palace. If you don't.... well, you should know this. I've got the Shaatrumani Stone in my possession."

My eyes wide opened, and Hardik made a sudden dip in his flight.

"The Constellia," Shashi continued and softly chuckled. "How innocent they are. Pruthvi commands him to fetch it for him and Makara indeed does. Lifting the curse off it won't be too difficult now. If you don't come within two hours, Pruthvi will die. Killing him will not kill me, mind you, I may leave this body and wander away. It will be impossible to kill me then, won't it? And you shouldn't be underestimating my magic, Hayden. It could after all be a myth that I'm locked in this body forever. I can still shift, you never know. Someone else's suffering will begin then and it will all be your fault. So, hurry up. Hurry up, Hayden. The clock is ticking."

The connection dropped. I took a moment to unclench my jaw and relax my face. The forced task grated on my nerves, and I was certain I'd worn a layer off my teeth from grinding them. I sighed. "Hardik, get down."

The carpet flew slowly down, my empty hungry stomach heaving as it descended. As soon as my feet landed on the floor, I commanded my stone. "Constellia Formation."

Singh approached within a split second. No wonder though, my mind had been a whirl of storm for the past few hours. The stoic seriousness of his gaze and hurried shuffle of paws showed the lack of grace. "Kid, whatever you're doing, it's not fair! Not fair to any of us."

"Life has never been fair, Singh," I said. "I have already taken my decision, and nothing you say or do will stop me now. I know I'm letting you and every other Constellia down but...situation demands it. I'm helpless."

"Kid, please..."

I raised my hand gesturing for him to stop talking. "Listen. After I'm gone, after I'm well gone, go to Ashwant. Ask him to look into the drawer of the table in his bedroom. There he will find a pile of papers. Ask him to hand them over to Nazira. She'll have to read them and she must immediately leave for Panchayat. Understand?" The wind rustled eerily. Singh's silent gaze was much eerier. "And tell Nazira that I'm sorry...for making promises that I couldn't keep. Do you understand me, Singh? This is important and I trust you'd do as I say."

"Can I at least ask, what is in those papers?"

"Everything that I cannot convey to her myself is written in it. She will read it and hopefully, she'll understand. Now go, and wait until you get a signal." I turned around and tried to mind-connect with Tyrell.

From the corner of my eye, I watched Singh releasing steaming breath and a wild grunt. "Is that all you got to say to me?" His voice held out on the final syllable, his distressed tone amplified abruptly into great deepness.

"What do you expect me to say?" I said, unable to look at him directly. "I'm sorry, Singh. Perhaps I'm not the master you've always wanted."

"Kid, I swear!" Fire shot off King's paws, and his voice thickened. The atmosphere turned unfriendly. "Don't you dare walk away from me this way? I forbid you to cause me more pain than the two ever had!"