Hardik followed us. Without my instructions, without even reading my nerves, it kept trudging along the path Celina and I took.
The sky above was steered clear of the creatures. Silence, unearthly. The palace up ahead suddenly seemed wiser, predominant, and inviting. Perhaps it was the impact of my reversed impression of my grandfather. That alone bolstered my spirits somewhat.
I stood there for a moment, blankly staring at the entrance door of the palace and reminiscing the day Pruthvi and I first visited the place. Especially the...
"Hocus Pocus!"
"Boy, it's all bogus."
"What, you're ruining my focus!"
The nervous fluttering in his stomach continued and seemed to increase the closer I got to my destination.
Hardik took a sudden dive in front of me and went back up. Its crazy antics bewildered me a bit.
Celina gasped softly. Her trembling hand was the first sign of showcasing her flabbergast overcoming her. That's right, this must be the first time she was being headed into the great King Harsh's residence. The irony was that she was headed to...kill. "I hate you for this," she hissed, her voice subtly laced with grudge and displeasure.
The hatred wasn't unexpected though. "So many people will," I said. "But it is what it is. Just do as we planned. And from tomorrow, this country will breathe back to life again."
She shot me a death glare. "You planned. It's all you. And not to mention Hayden, you'll be known as a very stringent king for the future generations."
The similar judgment, only now coming from her, struck me as hard as a slap. I smiled woefully anyway, beginning to realize the scathing condemnation King Harsh had been subjected to all his life. Obviously, it was my turn to endure and swallow down all the criticisms and negative remarks for every step I'd be making as a king. "Let's go," I said, unable to afford to see her teary eyes.
Fear anchored in my feet as we trudged along the pathway, in silence and keeping an eye out for any unforeseen and unpleasant surprises. Shadows cast on the ground were hypnotic. An uneasy breeze blew past us. Celina walked with her usual vigor of confidence, but then and now she grasped the cuffs of her jacket showing the anxiety that her words could not express.
I felt a prickling sensation on the back of my neck as we stepped inside the main entrance gate apprehensively. The wind ruffled the dried-up trees slightly, but other than the droning buzz of insects and a few owl calls, nothing disturbed the peace of the surroundings. Nevertheless, I concentrated on my stone as we moved closer.
We turned around the bend in the walkway and stopped suddenly dead in my track.
Nature had reclaimed most of the land and it was overgrown with weeds and vines. Amid it all, the moments of long windy wings of the creature grabbed my attention. A low screech gave me the oddest sense of familiarity, even though Dhanunjay had mentioned it. The persistent lump in my throat grew in size when I realized what I was about to discover in the next few minutes.
Hardik swooped past me. It glid and flew on top of the creature laying on the floor without rousing it from resting mode.
"Kill it now?" Celina whispered, placing a hand over her pocket where she had hidden the Pride.
"We can come back for it," I said. "Need to save our energy for better use."
The entrance door was just a couple of feet away. Every step we took was meant to bring upon the new dawn for the country but didn't I know, that it was going to settle a deep dark dusk within the hearts of six of us? I sucked in a deep breath pushing the door away. The second I stepped inside the great hall of Rawat's palace, the most terrifying claustrophobia hit me like missiles. King Harsh's voice echoed in my head as I stepped over the threshold and fretted upon a sudden thought- how once had been his home was now turned into a battleground.
Something was burning at the corner, flames crackling as though a heavily lit fireplace. It was the Thribhuvan portrait, brutally smashed and torn and burning on the ground. Sparks sizzled. And there he was- Pruthvi-sitting on the throne, staring at the burning portrait and face lit with sort of a triumphant smile that wasn't even Pruthvi's. Without the glasses, his blue eyes seemed to glow brilliantly in the light from the fire.
And Shaatrumani was dangling down his neck, not to mention he was proudly displaying it.
Celina made several soft, barely audible sniffling sounds and I suspected that she was crying. Having our hands clenched, and fingers interlaced, Celina and I walked further inside.
Shashi's eyes averted. "About time," he said, sitting straight and cautious. Then my eyes suddenly trailed to a patch of smeared blood upon the mouth, chin, and cheeks.
Breathe caught in my throat and I stood rooted to the ground, squinting. From the position where I stood, I saw her prone body laying behind the throne, facing the opposite side. She hadn't moved in many minutes. Pretending to be unconscious, perhaps. I wanted to believe in anything otherwise though, no matter how rare it was for a person to survive swimming in a lake of their own blood. And I thought I'd spotted some pieces of her torn saree and spilled guts, but my vision blurred with mist, and thoughts began to clash. I shuddered, my entire body retching in the pain of my head and my skull.
"Is that your aunt?" Celina gasped.
No word came out of my mouth. I couldn't speak. My mind wandered over a horrific image of my friend Pruthvi sucking the blood off my aunt and ripping her guts apart.
"This wasn't what we talked about," Shashi said, as he took a few steps closer. His eyes pointedly looking at Celina.
"You talked," I said, violently shaking myself out of a stupor. "I just listened. That doesn't mean I obeyed."
Shashi cocked his head. "You've decided to kill me then. You're killing your friend."
I blinked, feeling dazed and desperately trying to drag my eyes away from my aunt's still form and the sinister-looking blood pool. Shashi's blue eyes shone with remarkable vehemence and ruthlessness, which raked my nerves and made me internally delirious. I wanted to gauge those eyes out and feed them to my Constellia raw. "No," I said, staying externally calm. "Not unless you and I come to a compromise. We can swear allegiance to each other and make some arrangements that shall benefit both of us."
He laughed. A laughter full of mirth reminded me of the time when Pruthvi held his son in his hand. "Look at you, your aunt is lying dead there and here you are politicking your brains out."
"I'm a King, Shashi. Politicking is a part of my job. Besides, I should not carry my emotion up my sleeves, right?"
He scoffed and glanced back at my aunt. "I'm turning down your plea bargain, Hayden. But I want to see what sort of compromise you've come up with. What are you even left with to bargain?"
"Myself," I replied unhesitatingly, brazenly, and a bit tiredly as if wanting to get it over with.
Shashi paused. The air of seriousness around him intensified. Celina hung her head down and let go of my hand as a gesture that spoke of the tremendous pain my decision had been giving her.
"You've been a foolish man, Shashi," I continued, taking a step forward. "Thirty years ago, you had a glorious chance to take my grandfather's body and rule the dynasty, but you went for his knight instead. You were given a second chance to shift and you must have chosen me, but you chose my friend. Of course, you thought you'll hurt me and Nazira the same, but perhaps you must work on your priorities. But never mind, it's never too late for nothing. I'm standing here in front of you to give myself to you. Take me, and leave my friend alone. I'm ready for the truce. Just say the word and we rule the dynasty together."
A trail of dry blood cracked beneath his lips as the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. He stood in a straight-backed posture with his hands behind his back. "Hayden, Hayden, you are good at your Formation and I can give you credit for gaining knowledge of Paramarashtrian politics. But you're a little lagging on the basics of the magic." He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "I like this body. I refuse to shift again."
How will I ever know whether you've mastered Regeneration already?
"I'm not giving you a choice," I said, my voice hardening. "You must have already realized that I've canceled all your ludicrous demands and instead I've placed mine on the plate. Either take my body now and we rule together, or we fight until death."
He cocked his head. "Get real. None of those will make you win this war against me."
I sighed. "You don't understand, do you? I won already. I won the day I accepted the throne. You see, holding onto my kingship or giving it up is not what I'm worried about. All this time, since you've taken Pruthvi's body, I was thinking whether to kill you, like I always wanted to, or to let you live at my mercy as my grandfather did. Either way, I'll still be the king and you'll be rotting in someone else's body and sniffing for power for the rest of your life."
"This someone else you're referring to is your friend, Hayden. And I assume that you don't care about him much."
"Pruthvi's my family, Shashi. And I don't need to explain to you how much I care about him. But it was I who once told him that killing a corrupt person to save the country is worth every fortune. Do whatever you can to hurt me, kill everyone I care about but I'm so not backing down. I won't let you win."
"A very bold decision I must say, Hayden Mackay. To kill a friend, one must either be stupendously brave or...horrifyingly wicked. What's the difference between you and me?"
"I cannot abandon my dynasty. I cannot let this country down. And I don't want to lose a friend. That's why I'm giving you an offer. Take my body. Together we rule. Otherwise, I'll have to take an extreme step if it means ensuring the safety of the people. Tonight, this shall be the last bargain to be ever made with dark magic users like yourself."
Shashi's eyes widened, stood frozen with a thoughtful frown forming on his face. Then, his eyes averted to Celina. "There must be a reason why you brought Celina Hanslay with you."
My patience began to wear out. "She's here only as my second. I don't want to be the hero narcissist and sacrifice myself. I don't do suicides. I want to rule the dynasty, as much as you do. Just take my body and end this nightmare." And let my friend live his life.
Shashi slowly walked up to me, gazing into my eyes, as if wanting to read my mind and soul. I stayed unmoved, forcing myself to remain impassive and listening to Celina's quickened breaths. Shashi now stood face to face with me, eyes transfixed and unblinking, face hard as a rock. Time stood still. We stared at each other and kept staring. He searched for my soul, and I for Pruthvi's, if he was still there. And then, Shashi jerked lifting his hand, and mumbled a chant beneath his breath.
Celina grunted, pulled out the Pride with an insane speed, and wielded it toward Pruthvi. Going for his ribs. No! Too soon!
The dagger never touched Pruthvi, or me as I'd asked her to. Evidently, she had agreed to my plan, only because she had her own plans. And what was it, to stab Pruthvi once?
The palace shuddered when a scream tore through her mouth. The debris catapulted away and my aunt's body slid off to the corner from the gale that blew around the great hall. Celina and I were shot off from the ground. I landed on my knees in an instant and with the support of my fingers against the ground I slowed my momentum. However, Celina's small body rolled in the air twice before hitting the wall with a sharp thud. She collapsed down on the floor. The sickening snap of a bone in her wrist was clearly audible as she landed. She moaned and stayed on the floor, writhing with pain.
Before I could concentrate on my stone, my head burst with pain. I yelled and dropped down on the floor completely. A hand came rushing and pulled me up by my jacket's collar. Shashi stared down, eyes exhibiting anger, and Pruthvi's face contorted with rage. "You are a liar and a cheater, Hayden Mackay," he said. "Had I taken up your body, you would have sacrificed yourself. If not, you ordered Celina to stab me once. Either I die or at least I lose my magic. That was the plan, wasn't it? You're amusingly ingenious, Hayden. You so remind me of my brother."
The pain got through my skull, throbbing violently, twisting every nerve. My vision darkened. How much magic did Shashi lose if he could still hurt me that much?
"Listen to me now," he growled, pulling me further up by my collar. "I don't shift anymore. You were in such a hurry to burn my body and claim victory...oh, you've ruined many of my plans! You're a terrific game player, but you're also weak. I know you cannot kill your friend. The only way to end this nightmare is by ending you and of course Celina Hanslay."
The last time I'd fought with him, Shashi had been deliberately acting weak, retaliating rarely to my Formation. It was all a planned pretense to make me concentrate entirely on him until any of my friends showed up. Pruthvi had just happened to be the first to arrive. He had been a sitting duck. Always a sitting duck.
The air in the great hall was split with our screams of agony. The splitting pain in my head, it was as though someone had taken a knife to my skull, slicing through it slowly and gently, giving me a lifetime's worth of pain. Celina's situation was no better. Her volley of screams and guttural cries tortured me more.
Shashi then gave a low chuckle, and then with a surprising speed, he swung his keg and kicked me in my stomach. "You always talk about winning, but you fail to acknowledge that I was the one giving this country greater glory. If everyone worshiped and practiced magic, then nobody had to go through the troubles I faced all my childhood."
"Free...will," I groaned, having my hand clutching my stomach. The pain wouldn't stop even for a merciful fraction of a second.
He kicked me again. Blood rushed into my mouth. "Nonsense!" he said, his voice sharp as razor cut. "Paramarashtrians are all like children, Hayden. They don't know what they want and they shouldn't be allowed to have a choice. Because I am making it for them, Hayden. I'm working hard. I know better. Why can't you see that?"
Paramarashtrians are like children-Didn't my grandfather make the same comparison? I stayed silent pondering how different their definition of nurturing was. How different the two brothers were.
Shashi jerked and took him by surprise by sliding aside. A gust of wind had knocked him off his feet. Quickly regaining his balance, he snapped an angry stare and pointed his hand at Celina. She yelled out loud and then came a blood-splattering sound. Celina was retching out blood. I dared to look about her through my half-closed eyes. A gasp escaped my mouth. She was curled into a fetal position, her body jerking as fresh spasms of pain hit her, seemingly paralyzing, down in a pool of her own blood and vomit, with multiple grisly stab wounds everywhere on her face and body.
"I can assure you now know how much pain I could still give you," Pruthvi said, and the spasms in my gut slowly ebbed down. "Say. Dynasty's mine, yes?"
"No!" I gasped and spat out blood.
"Nazira Khan's mine. Yes?"
I shook my head, clearing the fog off my eyes.
"The Third-Eyes. I'm the sole owner. Yes?"
"Never gonna happen, Shashi," I croaked, trying to straighten myself up. "I can endure this pain forever if that's what you want. But I'll never willingly let go of everything I love."
"Then you leave me no choice," he said. "I'd begin Yajna tonight and..."
The great hall came to life with a sudden flash of brilliant light. The Gates opened in the middle of the hall, and with a sharp glare of lightning, Tyrell rushed out. He paused a second wondering and studying the situation. Then a purple lightning zapped out of his hand and hit Pruthvi's chest. Pruthvi doubled over and writhed down on the floor.
"Back down!" My mind whirred with a shrill authoritative voice of a woman. Shashi winced and dazedly stayed down on the floor as if possessed.
Time slowed, literally, then everything came to a sudden full stop.
Nazira had been accompanying Tyrell, looking like an epitome of power as she jumped down off the Gates. She waved her hand and the world stilled. Pruthvi, Tyrell, and Celina went into a trance-like state, momentarily lying still as statues. Pruthvi was on the ground on his knees, staring sharply at Nazira. Tyrell held an unconscious Celina by her shoulder and positioned her comfortably on his lap.
Nazira hurried towards me. She held me up by my jacket and yanked me up, half-dragging and forcing me to look at her. "I told you it was a mistake!" She yelled, her voice cutting through my brain. "You never listen to me! Never!"
Her eyes, aligned with thick dark kohl, were smoldering with anger and tears. The girl standing in front of me, making me whimper with terror, was a younger version of Haimavati. She had my jacket clutched with one hand and from the other she pulled out the paper from the pocket of her jeans. It was the letter that I had left behind for her. I gritted my teeth. Why Tyrell, why? "What is this?" she demanded. "This is not the way we planned it all out. You want me to rule the dynasty...without you?!" She tore the paper apart into multiple smaller pieces and threw them to the floor. "I thought I was your supportive anchor, not a replacement!"
"Nazira, that's not..."
"Is Shourya dead?" she then demanded, her eyes getting bigger and scarier. "Don't you dare lie to me Hayden, I'm warning you."
In the tense atmosphere, it felt terrible to find my calm collective voice, and to reply to her was painful worse than my injuries. "Yes."
Tears instantly cascaded down her cheeks, her chin shook as she pressed her lips together to gulp down the sob. Still clutching my jacket with her trembling hand, she looked back at the frozen Pruthvi and then slowly back up to me. "Do the right thing now," she said brusquely and in a frenzy of self-righteous hypocrisy. "Right thing only, otherwise I'll never forgive you."
I shook my head and gave her the fitting reply through my gritted teeth, sickeningly feeling the salty taste of my blood. "Right thing is to kill him."
"No, it's not!" She burst out crying and unknowingly made a miserable effort to hit me right across my face. "He is my brother, your best friend. How can you say that!" I quickly caught her and pulled her into a sympathetic embrace.
"Hayden! Watch out!" Tyrell shrieked and it jerked me out of my balance. Nazira's peculiar magic, the ability to stop time, was somehow broken. There was no time to mull over when and how. Pruthvi's savagery was right upon us. He came running from behind, shrieking and yelling, holding a piece of log with its pointy edge directed at Nazira.
My nerves felt bunching up in my stomach. Instinctively, I shoved Nazira aside and out of the way. Shrieking, she stumbled down on the ground, then she began to scream as Celina had. Gashes formed all over exposed skin out of thin air and blood spilled.
I took a step and in the heat of the moment, I treated Pruthvi with the contempt that Shashi deserved. Hands fired up, one wrapping firmly against his neck and another grasped his wrist.
Pruthvi hollered, his eyes turning vacant as if his mind swirled with confusion. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Nazira standing up, trembling and shaking, but easily navigating herself up while glaring at Pruthvi. "Do not fight," my mind picked up the voice of my Third-Eye, and Shashi stopped retaliating. Nazira's powers were channeling through me.
The pain in my brain abruptly stopped as if switching off a light. Pruthvi shrieked, his neck alight with fire and getting scorched. The log fell from his hand, and so did the Shaatrumani, which I held with my other arm and stuffed in my pocket. His neck gave a repulsive crack, and I winced. Realization hit me like a cord, that I was hurting my friend and not Shashi. Instantly, I let go of him. And lit off my fire.
Shashi coughed and took a few steps back, steadily saving himself from falling completely down on the floor.
His neck was ash-black and grisly. The stench of burnt muscle filled in the air around me. However, Pruthvi wouldn't stop. He had his eyes narrowed, and looked pointedly at Nazira.
She didn't move an inch, her sight daring him to touch her. "Leave my brother!" she commanded.
Pruthvi twitched at the spot. His eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a snarl. The two mediums-Soul and sound- were fighting to gain dominance over one another, fighting to liberate Pruthvi and preserve one life.
"Leave him!"
His body convulsed into spasms and the twitching got worse. It was not working. Nazira's magic did not work to deflect Almourah's ingenuity. Shashi indeed could not shift anymore, and the fight between the two mediums was only causing pain to my friend. It was devastating to feel the intensity of his agony and to have it endure in these final hours of seeking a resolution of this dispute. My expectation was downgraded once again. Nazira shared a nervous glance at me and I pitifully shook my head. Her voice, her magic failed her. She burst into more tears.
Pruthvi charged toward her, appearing to suddenly grow stronger as if feeding off my fear and Nazira's desperation.
"No! She's your sister!" I yelled, wanting Pruthvi -the real one- to fight back and resist the one who was trying to hurt her. He wouldn't retreat. Shashi's insanity to hurt her was driving him onward, I launched myself forwards, pushing him back with my fist pinned against his chest. Pruthvi grunted staring daggers at me, and I at him. I began to feel bitter about it. My headache gradually intensified but it wasn't because of Shashi's magic. It was all mine, making me irrational, and unable to think straight. Fighting with Almourah had been easier. Hot tears filled in my eyes watching Pruthvi's rage. I was dangerously close to a core meltdown. Stop, Pruthvi! Just stop!
"Leave him!" Nazira's voice cracked in my mind.
Pruthvi grunted out loud, and shoved me backward, releasing himself from my grip. Nazira having stood in between us, looked at both of one after the other, indecisively and perplexed.
My chest heaved painfully, and I inhaled and exhaled in shallow rasps keeping a weather eye on Pruthvi. His eyes were flicking between me and Nazira. Perhaps he knew, that he wouldn't be able to hurt me with his magic as long as Nazira was by my side, now that her magic was in full force and we'd finally teamed up very first time since her return from Shashi's confinement.
"I must admit," said Shashi, his eyes intense like a snake. "It has been a long time since anyone was able to impress me as much as your teamwork. But let me remind you that Pruthvi's Formation is under my control."
I gave him a derisive smile. "Good luck using his Formation inside Rawat's palace."
The color on his face faded, but then he scoffed. "When will you stop underestimating me, Hayden? Haven't you realized already that I've come here with full preparation?"
Deciphering his statement at first was a painstaking process. My mind raced anyway as I pieced together the events since he'd mind-connected with me that afternoon. of course. Why hadn't I thought of it before? I felt sick realizing that Shashi had had something like this in his mind. And Hardik...whose nerves had it read before it joined me in this meet with Shashi?
Pruthvi took a file out of his pocket and hurled it down to the floor. The glass smashed, water spilled and as expected, he disappeared.
A cold wind blew past us. "Hayden!" It was Celina's shrill cry. Tyrell had his hands wrapped around her shoulders, giving her the support to sit straight. She seemed weak and completely stained with blood. I jerked when a swirling wind came twisting towards me. Amidst it, flying and spinning was the Pride. I took a step forward in its direction and the next moment the Pride was in my hands.
"Finish him off," Tyrell said and hung his head down. Celina closed her eyes and curled herself in a state of relaxation. They both have finally agreed to support me, now that it was evident that Shashi was deprived of the option of shifting. But not in the way anyone would want them to. Ashamed, dejected, and sullen expressions aside, there was the desperation of wanting this to end stamped in their faces. They seemed to have taken a decision that yet differed from mine. They wanted me to go for it...righteously.
But that did not mean that I was going to return to them safe and sound. The situation was yet where the likelihood of something happening was one in two.
I knew I should have taken a moment to tell them how much they mean to me, but Shashi was still full-spirited and highly motivated to win this war. I sincerely hoped that I was right in guessing what he was about to do. Sparing Nazira a quick glance and seeing her thoroughly within a split second, I dumped the dagger behind my back at the belt of my jeans and bolted outside the palace, disregarding the stabbing pain and numbness in the extremities with all the wounds I had gotten.
Pruthvi's maniac laughter echoed with shadows sifting in the night devoured in sorrow-gathered darkness.
"Hardik!" I yelled, dashing outside the door. "Let's go!" One last time, I promise.
-x-