First, I frowned at his statement and then my answer was replied in a most dramatic way. The water from the pool splashed upfront, shooting more than five giant fishes up in the air. My mouth dropped watching the abnormally large fishes, their tails silky and with shimmery scales, their bodies...wait a sec...
I involuntarily took a step forward, my eyes enlarging like never before. My mind reeling, unable to comprehend the images my eyes were sending. I looked away and then looked back only to find out if I wasn't imagining. But it was so real.
As two of those fishes glided from the pool and settled on the rock of the mountain, I got the opportunity to watch them closely. Their tails were fish-like but their bodies were human, their hair was golden in color, unlike Ashwanth who had jet black normal hair.
I looked back at Ashwant who was staring at me with a lifeless grin.
"What is going on?" I asked, my voice came out as a trilled whisper, sending shivers all over my body.
"Hayden, I know it's going to be too much for you and clearly you know nothing about it. So just relax and listen. We are mer-people. We are the Clan of Matsyasvi."
I stood frozen at the spot. My mouth hanging wide open and I wasn't sure if I was even breathing. What different kinds of people this Paramarashtra is filled with!
"Surprised, are we?" Ashwant asked.
"Surprised?" I said, raising my single eyebrow, "Try shocked, more like electrocuted."
"You come from Paramarashtra Hayden, the place where...."
"The place where anything can happen," I finished his sentence, and forcefully accepting it, "I have been told that before."
He swallowed and scratched his forehead. He wanted to tell me more, but he seemed to be fighting for where to begin with.
"You are one of these?" I asked, trying to make things easier for him.
"Yes," he replied, "I am a merman."
"Does Doctor know about it?"
"Of course he does," he said, now starting to move towards me, "He is my father."
"Yes, he is your father. Oh my God, Is he one too?!"
If he says yes, I am going to kill myself.
He smiled reading my incredulous expression. "He adopted me, remember? So, no, he is not one of us."
Okay good, I live.
If he was to tell me that Doctor was a merman too, I was sure I wouldn't be able to trust him anymore. First he hid my family lineage, then I had to get scolding from a lion for not being aware of the story of Lady Chandrika. He lied to me about not knowing why I was called The Fire of Vengeance. And now, how in the world can he hide this big secret about his son?
I averted my eyes from him trying to digest the fact that I was standing before the person I always knew but not his originality.
"Hayden, are you okay?" Ashwant asked.
Guess I was quite for too long.
"You know what?" I said, "I have been dreaming about Zarina Khan a lot these days but I so wish this is a dream too."
"You are dreaming about Zarina Khan?"
"THAT IS NOT THE POINT!" I shouted, anger appearing to swell, "Why did Shourya attack you? What did that man mean he couldn't save it?"
Ashwant folded his hands before he said, "Now that you know about me, I don't think there is any harm to tell you."
"Seriously? Were you still thinking to hide from me?" I asked, trying not to be sarcastic.
He pressed his eyes shut, and then said, "We are the protectors of The Silver Rock. I hope Doctor mentioned about this."
"No," I said bluntly, rolling my tongue and doing my best to suppress my anger, "He didn't. He didn't tell me anything."
"I see," he said, pursing his lips, "The Silver Rock is an enormous and a sacred rock, from which Doctor extracts the powder to open the Gates."
I creased my forehead, on suddenly remembering the information Singh had given me an hour ago.
"Besides creating the conveyance for the twelve Constellias, the time when it fell in this universe, it created a passage that can let humans travel to the parallel universe."
"Do you mean to say," I asked coming out of my thoughts, "That the Silver Rock was created by the piece of star that fell in this forest?"
Ashwant raised his eyebrows, "You know about The Enemy Stone?"
"No," I said hurriedly, shaking my head furiously, "I am talking about the piece of the star..."
"Yes," he interrupted, "That piece of star, was called as The Enemy stone or The Green Stone. Later the second generation Samagraha changed it to The Shaatrumani Stone."
"Shaatru...what?" I said, getting inconvenient of these ethnic names, "I think calling it by The Green Stone feels better."
"No, it isn't," he said harshly, "Second generation Samagraha weren't fools to change the name. There had been terrible consequences of which it was strictly stopped being called as the Green stone."
"Like what?"
"Like the wars among the past generations. It was always compared to the emerald gemstone. And first and second emerald users never liked the way it was compared to it."
Emerald? The one Pruthvi uses?
"Why is it called the Enemy stone then?" I asked, questions pouring in my mind, which I had to let it out before my brain exploded.
"Because that is one stone in the whole universe a Samagraha should be scared of. It is the stone that ultimately lead to the extinction of the first two generation Samagraha."
"I don't understand..."
"Hayden," he said, a lot softly, "Why do you think none of the Samagraha was dead when Shashi tried to kill the suspected ones, like your mother? Haven't you ever wondered how it can be a sheer coincidence that none of you were present or hurt while he was killing your parents? Reasoning is so simple-a Samagraha cannot die until and unless the Shaatrumani Stone is used."
"I still don't understand..."
Ashwant was irritated now, "And I don't understand what Doctor teaches you."
"YOU REALLY NEED TO ASK YOUR DAD THAT QUESTION." I shouted and I didn't even know I had such a provoked voice. Why is it that everybody has to blame me for Doctor's mistakes? It wasn't like I asked him to keep these as secrets.
"May be I will," he said angrily and started walking away from me.
"Wait, you can't just drop a bomb and walk away," I said immediately, running towards him and blocking his way, "Look, I am sorry, I know that was rude. But I am really, really stressed right now. I don't know where Pruthvi is. I don't know how to find his sister. And Shourya...he is like everywhere. And you claim to belong to some clan...What do you mean a Samagraha cannot die?"
"Okay I get," he said thankfully stopping me from getting hyperventilated, "May be I should explain it from the beginning."
"Yes, please do," I said pressing on each word and catching my breath.
"Paramarashtra consists of five main villages," he began, "each divided into two dynasties. And depending on the occupation, people are again divided into clans. Getting it?"
"Yes. Continue."
"All the kings of Paramarashtra and their immediate families belong to a clan named Clan of Rajya. You belong to that clan."
I swallowed. "And Leena?"
"Yes, her too. All the Britishers and the French who migrated from their country to set up businesses in Paramarashtra eons ago come under Clan of Vaquiro."
"Celina."
"Yes. All the villagers, the farmers, the blacksmith and so on are divided into innumerous clans, out of which are Clan of Luthra, Clan of Gorakh such which. Probably Pruthvi comes from one of these."
"And Tyrell too?"
"Perhaps. And finally the witches and warlocks like Ira Zutshi, they are called Clan of Maya."
"Okay," I said, trying to dump everything in my mind, even though I wasn't sure if I was going to remember any of it, "Then what is the clan you were talking about?"
From the corner of my eye, I watched many people glancing me from top to bottom as if I was some kind of an alien. May be they were waiting for Ashwant to deal with the people who were hurt and I was here asking all these questions, making them wait.
"There are few unofficial clans too," said Ashwant, "born out of unknown magic, no one found out how. Like us, mer-people and we named ourselves Clan of Matsyasvi. Like Shourya, who comes from Clan of Pradhans. His is the clan that was recently formed, like only ten to fifteen years ago."
"Alright, fine, that's some information. Tell me about the Enemy stone. What has that stone got anything to do with you people and us Samagraha?"
"Using the stone in an appropriately is the only way in the whole universe to kill a Samagraha. The man I was talking to, that old man, he was the protector of the stone- The Shaatrumani Stone."
I gasped. "You have the stone?"
"We used to have. We were protecting it from ages. But now we lost it too."
"Lost it too?" I asked, aghast, "What else did you lose?"
"A piece of the Silver Rock."
"I am sorry?"
"We did not notice it before because it is always hidden underwater. But lately we found out that someone stole a piece of it. And probably using it as Doctor uses to open the Gates."
"Is that someone Shourya?"
"I don't know."
"Who else it could be?" I said and then it suddenly struck to me. "You mean to say, Shourya has the stone, the stone that can kill us, Samagraha. So that is what Shashi Thribhuvan's planning?
I practically felt a raise in my blood pressure, my adrenaline levels rising as the words flew out of my mouth. All those times I thought if Tyrell's sudden change in behavior had something to do with Shashi's next step to come after us. But no. He has been looking for the stone that could kill us. That made me remember his cruel words on Uilani hill,
"Killing is not a matter to me. But the problem is I cannot kill you today."
And then what Pruthvi had heard the two men talking in his lair.
"You are his main priority. It seems only King Harsh knows how to kill you."
King Harsh knew about the Stone? And he told Shashi about it...through Holognome?
"What?" asked Ashwant forcing me to come out of my thoughts.
"Shashi knows about the stone," I said, "He knows what can kill me and my friends."
"Hayden listen to me," said Ashwant, "Shashi cannot kill you only if he has the stone. He has to lift the curse out of it first."
"Curse, what curse?" I asked. For once I thought my brain wouldn't be able to carry out anymore information, but there was still lot more to it that I needed to know.
"Hayden! Hayden!"
I jerked hearing a voice. It sounded familiar, but I wasn't able to recognize it. I looked at all the people if there someone from them calling me. But when I heard the same voice again, I realized it was actually in my head.
"Can you hear me?" the voice said.
"Pruthvi!" I jumped out of excitation, forgetting all about Ashwant and moved aside, "Where the hell are you?"
"Save my sister, Hayden! Save my sister!"
-x-