Hayden
"Here's the rough map," Tyrell said, rolling open a leathery parchment on the floor against the hearth of the fireplace.
The brightness from the flames blazed through the traces on the parchment, done with a crude piece of charcoal with smudges left everywhere. The basement built around and beneath the Sherwood Forest was a labyrinth, a crisscrossing spiderweb of a myriad of caves and caverns, extending all the way from the Selvyn to the Uilani Hill, with only a couple of safe entrances. The map was funkily hand-drawn and would have been vague and perplexing had I not visited the basements with Tyrell to keep a lookout for potential dangers and threats in our upcoming venture tonight. The other three raised a million questions, and Tyrell went on explaining making the details quite fathomable.
"In conclusion," he said. "Hayden and I decided that it would be best if we use three entrances we've already been to earlier. The one from the Temple of Chandrika, the other one from Selvyn Hill where Pruthvi and Leena once unknowingly visited, and the one Haimavati created to help me get out of the captivity."
"She's Nazira now," Celina said, twisting her jaw. Tyrell ignored her.
"We're dividing into three groups?" Leena asked the mellow tone of her voice showed.
Tyrell pointed his finger at me.
"Yes," I said. "It's an easy way to surround the basement from different directions and to carry out quick and detailed explorations around these caves."
"So, does that mean you're going alone?" she asked, sharing a glance with Pruthvi.
Tyrell and Celina gave a quick smile at each other looking pleased and looking forward to another successful round of partnership.
"Not really alone," I said. "But possibly so. The one leading to the Temple is left out, so I'll be entering from there."
"All these entrances are thoroughly guarded," Tyrell said. "I will go much into the details regarding the creatures, but the guards assigned at these entrances are well-trained warlocks with superlative skills. At least they seemed to be when I was held captive. Now that Shashi's whereabouts aren't a secret anymore, he definitely has tightened the security. So, have yourself prepared for continuous battles."
"As long as we have our Constellia, entering must be kid stuff," said Celina.
Pruthvi sighed. "I'm sending Makara to work on building more bunkers, just so y'all know."
From one of the bedrooms, the sound of the crying baby made us come to an awkward attention. A hushing voice of Ira Zutshi then silenced the baby.
"Let's name the priorities one by one only to make sure that we're all on the same page," Pruthvi said, leaning back. "What else we're looking for, besides this girl and Shashi's tomb?"
"Shaatrumani Stone," said Tyrell.
"And the Maiden's cup," said Leena
"Hayden, you do have the Pride safe with you, right?" Celina asked.
"Yes. Safe and hidden."
"Where is it exactly?"
"It's best for us if I'd be the only one to know its location," I said. "Listen, it's not enough for us to find these possessions. These guards working for Shashi need to be detained. Make sure you capture as many as you can."
"Only capture?" Celina asked, grimacing.
"Yes!" Tyrell strictly said, snapping a look at her. "Dare we go beyond that and cause another strike against us? We cannot let these Panchayat hawks gain more power over Hayden."
Pruthvi nodded in approval, rubbing his nose.
Worrying about Panchayat even after all this time? I thought feeling irked, but refrained from speaking about it. "Before we set out, let's take a pledge of not coming back home unless we make progress. Not saying to finish your jobs in a day, but we have to take a stab at discovering Shashi's methods and intentions. And these guards may know something, anything of value. Always remember that we're given only three months to cleanse this country on the whole. Alright?"
They nodded, having their faces grim but determined.
Pruthvi waved his hand in front of his face. "Smell's weird," he muttered. "Are we the only ones inside the apartment?"
"Ira Zutshi is babysitting the kid," replied Leena.
"I'm hungry," said Tyrell, leaning over to pull the food basket. "Gotta eat before we leave."
A creature screeched flying off from above the roof of the apartment. Windows rattled. The cool wind breezed in through the gaps. As Tyrell passed out the muffins and bagels, the sudden loud cry of the baby once again startled us. Pruthvi snapped a look at Leena, his face tightening with genuine worry. They both dropped their muffins on the floor and hurriedly trotted inside. We watched them go as they disappeared into the darkness of the walkway. The sour smell of blood began permeating the air of the living room. Frowning, I looked up and discovered Tyrell and Celina also making wry faces. Then, a piercing shriek echoed throughout the apartment. It was Leena. "Mrs. Zutshi! No, no, it can't be!"
Sparks flew out of Tyrell's hand before he rushed inside. Celina followed him, running like mad.
Momentarily, there came a few muffled footfalls from outside the door. I fired up my hands, a feeling of grit stinging my skin. Was it someone who I felt watching me over? I took a step towards the door and stopped dead when Leena again cried out loud. "Viraj! They've taken away Viraj!"
As quickly as it could, the door and the wall exploded, the sound devastating and the sudden fright made my heart stop for a second. The powerful stream of wind blasted in, throwing me backward. There wasn't only one, but it seemed like the end of the world with the number of explosions blowing up the apartment as no one could picture. The walls shattered, and the roof burst apart. Something slammed against me, a body of a woman that I quickly got a hold of in my hands before we crashed down into the floor.
I staggered onto my knees, shaking and sweating. My vision dimmed, ears buzzed. Amid all the dust, flames, and ashes I saw the shadows of a couple of men crossing the threshold. But I focused on the woman thrown at me as a sign of doom brought on by a shell shock. "Mrs. Zutshi!" I croaked, tapping on her cheeks, tears taking their position. It was then I realized that her head was lolled aside, everything below her chin was covered with dark blood, and she'd lost an entire arm, blood leaking out from her shoulder like water from the pipe. She'd succumbed to an impromptu grisly vortex. "Please, no!"
Before I contemplated, my head began to hurt, and in a flash, the pain escalated. I screamed holding my head, feeling as though it had been ripped apart into pieces. I tried to concentrate on my stone, but darkness began to linger at the edge of my vision, and shook my head getting frightened that if I fell unconscious, I may never wake up again. Spurts of cough escaped from a tingling knot against my throat. Something was pushing on the nerves in my neck. Breathing in enough air was getting harder and harder. I fell completely down on the floor. My heart pounding and feeling the rush of blood. My vision slowly faded away, the profiles of the men slowly diffusing in the accumulation of dust. My eyes moistened with tears and waited for them to shed before eventually every color in front of me leached out of my vision.
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