(Book 2) Hayden Mackay and The Tears of the Maiden

11. Holognome

Tucking the picture into his pocket, Pruthvi then walked towards the middle of the room. Moonlight lit the room dimly to show a completely empty room, with a staircase around the corner. Pruthvi took his jacket off, feeling suddenly warmer in here.

"This place might easily be a trap," said Leena still looking around.

"Then we better be on our guard!" he mocked her.

"Stop it! This is serious and hardly the time for your sarcasm" she whispered furiously. She moved around trying to find anything. "Let's contact Hayden and others and exchange info so that we may be up to date with the happenings; connect with them okay?"

"Leena, it's only three in the morning."

"Do you think they will be having a good night sleep on a cozy bed somewhere in Dakshinpur?" she said, "Come on Pruthvi, connect to one of them and please tell me they are okay."

"Yes ma'am," he said quickly pictured Hayden in his mind, "Hayden can you hear me?"

"Pruthvi!" Hayden shouted quickly, "Pruthvi are you okay? How is Leena?"

"We are fine," he said, "We just reached Paschimgarh."

"Oh that's great..."

"Where are you guys? Leena is kind of worried for you."

Leena was now motioning him to follow her as she climbed up the stairs. Pruthvi walked behind her, as he spoke to Hayden.

"Tell her we are okay," he heard Hayden, "We met doctor. Now we are going to meet Shourya."

"Shourya" he said, "Are you crazy? After actually lecturing me not to trust him, you want to meet him?"

Leena whirled around when she heard Shourya's name, frantically signing him, asking if they were okay. Pruthvi nodded and he waved his hand asking her to relax.

"Shourya showed up, yesterday," Hayden continued.

Pruthvi stopped moving "And?" he asked.

Hayden sighed and said, "Look Pruthvi, just stay calm and listen. He said something I don't want to believe but...He said Leena is in danger."

Pruthvi frowned. "Yeah, from him."

He walked up the stairs quickly and went to stand next to an anxious Leena.

"It did not seem to me like that," Hayden said, "Shourya is not the one looking for her but Shashi is?"

"Hayden, Shourya works for Shashi." He rolled his eyes.

"No you don't get it. Shourya is trying to save her. He was trying to tell us how but he got interrupted. That's why we are going to search for him."

Pruthvi didn't like the idea of them going after Shourya but he had to trust him when he realized it was for Leena. Speaking about Shourya, he quickly remembered the men talking in Shashi's lair.

"He is in Rawat," he said quickly trying to help him.

Hayden paused for few seconds and then said, "King Harsha's dynasty? How did you know that?"

As he turned around, to his surprise he found huge golden trunks placed side by side on the dirtiest part of the room.

Air was different in here. It smelled like a bakery store where a hot fudge cake was freshly baked. Leena looked at him miming opening the trunk when he motioned her to go on.

"I can't tell you exactly," Pruthvi said looking at Leena opening the trunks, "it's a long story. But somehow we reached Shashi's lair. (Pruthvi could feel the tensed silence on the other side) He was not there, don't worry but we heard his men talking. They mentioned Shourya went to Rawat for some business."