‘So it’s come for you. Maybe it decides to be random.’
‘Nothing is random. You know that.’
‘What are your leads?’
‘Something the Horseman said. Somethings, actually.’
‘Elucidate.’
Adri took a moment to recollect. ‘Death said it had been searching for me. And that’s not all. It used the words “as per the rules” while telling me that I had twenty-four hours to settle my affairs.’
‘So there are rules,’ Aurcoe pondered.
‘Exactly,’ Adri remarked. ‘There are rules, and he was hunting for me. This is planned, and this has been done before.’
‘Someone is setting you up.’
‘I think so, yes.’
‘So who did you piss off last?’
‘I can’t say I remember. I have many enemies.’ Adri regretted saying the words the moment they left his mouth.
Aurcoe did not let it pass. ‘I have many enemies,’ he mimicked in mock seriousness. ‘Look at me, I’m so dramatic and serious and mysterious and dark and cool.’
‘I generally piss off people and all other kinds of entities, all right?’ Adri sighed, raising his hands in the air.
‘Not much to go on though,’ Aurcoe remarked, mostly to himself.
Adri looked at him. If he knew the creature well, Aurcoe would soon make his demand, and if he did, Adri could rest assured that the pest was capable of finding out what he needed to know. The Fallen were very confident, but fickle. However, Adri could still not be sure if Aurcoe was really interested, or if everything said so far had been worth Aurcoe’s time.
‘Very well, Sen,’ Aurcoe declared after a pause. ‘I can get you the information you want and I can point you out in the right direction as well. But—’
‘What do you want?’ Adri was desperate to hear this bit. He did not want Aurcoe to recite the favourite fantasy of the Fallen. There was, however, no escape.
‘What else, Sen? What else can a Fallen possibly want?’ Aurcoe smiled broadly.
‘C’mon Aurcoe. Not that. Why that?’ Adri voiced a feeble protest.
The Fallen were a cursed race. Having fallen from the grace of all things holy and pure, and finding no refuge among the ranks of the unholy breeds either, they were a condemned species that lurked midway between the two, fuelling conflict and solving problems for a price, trying to either win their way back into the higher order, or commit deeds low enough for them to be accepted into the nether orders. They had once been Angels, proud and powerful, but their wings had been ripped off, their skin not retaining the sheen, their blood losing its magical value and rendering them powerless as warriors. The Fallen were damned, but their salvation was always at hand—an essence that they could not procure themselves, yet was the simple path to the restoration of their power and honour. A simple solution for instant redemption.
‘The blood of an Angel,’ Aurcoe whispered, and Adri thought he saw the want in his eyes, the desperation, the thirst.
‘Why now? You haven’t asked for it before,’ Adri said.
‘You haven’t asked for this before,’ Aurcoe snapped. ‘What I’m getting into isn’t normal, Sen. Even with your limited human senses you should be able to see that. This is big, possibly bigger than you. And if little old me is endangering his existence with this whole poking around business, I might as well get the ultimate reward.’
‘Why not ask someone else? This is not the only deal you’re making, I’m sure.’
‘I’m cancelling my other appointments the moment I get into this, Sen. Make no mistake, this will eat up all my time. And I’m asking you to get it because I know you’ll manage it. Not praise, mind you. You’re pathetic, but you’ll manage nicely, I think.’
‘The fact that you’re still a Fallen proves that people don’t succeed often, Aurcoe.’
‘What, you want praise now? Look, Sen. People have failed, yes. It’s not an easy thing to get. But I know what kind of birds you Necromancers are, the whole lot of you. And I’ve seen you go to any lengths to protect your measly little lives.’
Adri drew back grimly. The blood of Angels. It was twisted—a dirty job, not to mention tough as hell. A lot of lying was involved. Lies and life risks. But that’s what came out of associating with the Fallen. Adri took another sip of his coffee, now cold. ‘I take it that you have an Angel in mind?’ he asked.
‘Yes. But you know how tricky they are,’ Aurcoe said.
‘After dealing with your kind? Hardly.’
‘I will pretend I didn’t hear that. But you do know the magical formula that guards their presence, don’t you?’
Adri knew. It was complicated magic, meant to prevent anyone from discovering the Angel’s true form, even with Second Sight. There were two exceptions to this though—one, if the Angel chose to reveal himself, then he would be seen as he was. The second, they could be traced through their siblings from the human families they led their disguised, earthly lives with. Adri would, in other words, need a sibling of the Angel in question.
‘You will need a sibling,’ Aurcoe said. ‘I will give you a heads up. The gracious donor is a powerful warrior Angel called Kaavsh. He will be found near the outer borders of the Lake of Fire. Old Kolkata.’
Adri groaned. ‘Can’t you find someone lesser? Someone easier to get to? The Lake of Fire is where the war is right now, isn’t it?’
Aurcoe stared. ‘The point,’ he said, ‘is to get blood with good, strong magical power. And the territory wars are happening in a lot of places, one of them being the Lake of Fire. You should be able to survive in Old Kolkata.’
Adri looked at the Fallen, restraining himself from strangling the creature.
‘On the other hand,’ Aurcoe continued, ‘Kaavsh’s sibling is quite close. A girl in Jadavpur University.’
The creature was crossing a line now, Adri realised in horror. It was taking a personal delight in arranging certain things for him. ‘I am not dragging a girl across Old Kolkata,’ Adri said stubbornly. ‘Not happening. And there is no way this girl will even agree.’
‘Hypnotise her for all I care,’ Aurcoe retorted, equally stubborn. ‘She’s your only ticket, Sen. I don’t care how you do it. Her name is Maya Ghosh.’
‘Maya . . .’ Adri repeated. He didn’t know hypnosis. ‘Is that all? How do I even contact you?’
‘When you do have the blood,’ the Fallen said, ‘I will find you.’
‘I cannot reach the Lake of Fire in a day, Aurcoe. Even if I start now, it’s impossible.’
‘Concentrate your energies on the girl for now. I will take care of your deadline. Meet me in Old Kolkata tonight. The station. Try and make it before dawn.’
‘You really need to take care of the deadline. If something happens to me, you stay Fallen,’ Adri said, a final reminder.
This seemed like the only way out. Aurcoe was not to be trusted, but he’d take care of it. Unless Adri’s enemies had already hired him earlier . . . Adri shook his head, trying to push back all the horrible thoughts. They were not helping. The task at hand was a curious one—he was not good at convincing people, especially girls.
Aurcoe teleported out of the joint, a convenient exit. Adri had to face the crowd again, jostling and apologising.
The plan was simple: Get into the university, get Maya Ghosh, and get out. A problem though—Adri did not know what she looked like. Then there were the Guardians, watching over the gates. Adri had been lurking around Jadavpur University for a while now, mixing with the crowds to avoid the Guardians’ eyes, even though he knew they wouldn’t make a move unless he crossed the university gate. Of course, there was also the fact that the university was very well protected. MYTH, Adri mused, appeared to value the youth and their education, and Jadavpur University was supposed to be quite good. It offered a huge variety of courses, everything non-magic, of course. MYTH did not encourage the common people to be anywhere near magic, or to have anything to do with it. Adri had never been able to decide whet
her this was a pity or a good thing, for magic had done a lot of harm as well. And magic was the reason he could not enter through those gates right now.
Guardians were magic hunters, instinctively attracted to magical residue or vibes of any kind, be it emanating from a weapon, an artefact or simply a person who had magic in his blood; they would catch on to it, and in most cases, catch the person as well. Magic had been outlawed, and the Guardians were to make sure it stayed that way. They had a natural shield against magic, making it near impossible to use raw magic to take them down—and as far as physical attacks were concerned, Guardians were trained for years in physical combat and swordplay before they were allowed to serve MYTH. Skilled with their main weapons—the broadsword and shield—they wore a traditional flawless white armour that covered every inch of their bodies, leaving only their faces visible.
Adri knew he gave off a lot of magic, and so did the shooter in his bag. If he crossed those gates, they would be on him like starving wolves. He stayed out of their direct line of sight therefore, watching them carefully. They stood above the university gates, atop the pillars on which the gates were hinged, unmoving, silent like statues, their broadswords pointing downwards, hilts on the underside of their palms. Their eyes, of course, were closed. Bloody magic hunters, sensing everything in the vicinity.
Adri’s mind raced. He had never needed to infiltrate an educational institution before; he would usually be seen in places darker and dirtier, greeted by beings far nastier than the noble Guardians of New Kolkata. Adri had taken on Guardians in the past though—the law did not allow him to live in New Kolkata, and occasional encounters with these law-keepers were inevitable. Almost every time he had ended up in jail—every time that he couldn’t run away, that is. Adri went to a roll shop and bought a chicken roll, mentally figuring out his options.
The university had several gates, but there were sure to be Guardians on all of them. Adri munched on the chicken, looking darkly at the gates. The old JU, the original university in Old Kolkata, had a secret entrance underground, one that he knew about. Adri looked around with great distaste, at the students with their blind trust in MYTH, their illusion of independence. But that was another business altogether. A girl, having ordered a roll and waiting for it, had been occasionally glancing at him. Best not let this pass. ‘Excuse me, er, Miss,’ Adri fumbled. ‘Would you happen to know a certain Maya Ghosh? I’m supposed to get in touch with her, it’s quite urgent, but I happen to have lost her contact information.’
The girl looked taken aback for a few seconds before she recovered and asked warily, ‘Which department is she in?’
Bloody Fallen hadn’t mentioned that. ‘I have absolutely no clue,’ Adri spoke, attempting a smile. He wasn’t very good at this.
‘It’s actually a very big university,’ the girl said. ‘I don’t know her, but if you go in and ask around near the central field, you might find someone who knows her.’ She got her roll just then and hurriedly walked away, betraying her eagerness to get away from the strange man with long hair.
Not much of a plan, Adri thought, glum. Think, man. You deal with Demons, this is just about finding a girl. Time was ticking, he had better come up with something fast. When the idea finally hit him a couple of moments later, Adri cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier. He looked around for a restaurant. There, above him, on the first floor of a building. Striding in, he made a beeline for the bathroom. He locked himself in an empty cubicle and sat down on the commode. The bathroom was spanking clean, Adri noted, yet another example of MYTH’s penchant for perfection. A hurried search of pockets. Chalk. Circle swiftly scratched on the floor. Furiously quick. Star, runes here and there. Pentacle.
‘Arrive,’ he spoke in the Old Tongue. A deafening siren sounded throughout the building almost immediately. A Familiar had materialised, hovering in front of Adri inside the cubicle, waiting for orders. The smoke from its body had set the damn fire alarms off. Adri heard rapid footsteps. ‘Meet me on the roof,’ he barked, and the Familiar nodded, making its way towards a ventilator. Stamping out everything he had drawn, Adri stepped out of the bathroom right into a sea of distressed people. It took ages to cross that sea, answering queries, denying accusations of smoking in the bathroom, and shirking responsibility for setting off the alarm.
The Familiar was waiting for him on the roof. A humanoid form of smoke and gas, it hovered on the roof silently, looking like the discharge from some ancient diesel machine. Adri approached the Familiar. ‘Distraction purposes mostly. You are to enter the gates of the university, and lead the Guardians on a chase so that I may gain entry. Understood?’
The Familiar nodded. Drifting closer to the edge of the terrace, it peered at the university gates across the street, and then, turning back to Adri, it spoke in a murky rumble, ‘There are two Guardians as I see, my Master. Only one of them will come after me.’
‘Split yourself.’
‘I understand, my Master. But when they catch up with me, I will be submitted to questioning. And as you must be aware of—’
‘You do not lie to any man, yes. You have permission to dissipate before they get too close. A few minutes are all I need.’
‘Very good, my Master.’
The Familiar melted to the floor, a thin carpet of smoke at foot level. It crept alongside Adri as he made his way down the stairs through the crowds, towards the university gate. Adri stopped at a safe distance from the gate as the Familiar continued. It split into two just before it reached the gates, and passed through, picking up speed.
The twin Guardians opened their eyes together. ‘INTRUDER’ one thundered, as they leapt off their pillars, landing on the campus grounds, their swords and shields ready. Dust erupted as they recovered from their jumps, straightening up and looking ahead. The Familiars swooped away like shadows of a cloud. The Guardians gave hard chase, running surprisingly fast for their size. Someone screamed as the Guardians pushed past them, but most of the students simply fell back in silence, giving way—none of them had spotted the Familiars; they were far too stunned to see the forever-still Guardians move.
Adri was already inside. He walked past parked cars and bikes, heading deeper inside towards the academic buildings. Students stood in groups all over the central field, talking and gossiping. Approaching them, Adri began asking questions, for some inexplicable reason, introducing himself as a journalist. When he finally found Maya, she was busy in conversation, and Adri was curiously inspected by three of her brawny friends as he went and introduced himself.
‘Journalist?’ Maya asked suspiciously. Olive-complexioned, long black hair tied back in a neat ponytail, and sharp features, Maya had a certain calmness about her. It made one think of quiet places immediately. Coupled with the intelligence in her eyes, one would probably add knowledge to the equation, knowledge of some sort. A library in the lonely, pretty forests, Adri thought. That’s what she reminded him of.
And so he was meeting a girl, rather pretty, right before setting off on a long, dangerous journey into a treacherous land. Adri shook his head and ignored the cliché. He just wished her male friends would stop glaring at him. He hated fistfights. For a second he wondered darkly if the Fallen had intended one to happen.
‘Okay, no. Tantric,’ he replied.
The girl’s eyes widened. Her burly friends drew back. Whispers erupted as distrust turned to awe, and on to deeper distrust. Good. At least they know what a Tantric is capable of.
‘Am I in trouble?’ Maya asked. She had lost her calm. Far behind her, he saw a Guardian still on the chase.
‘No,’ he spoke. ‘I…um…I need your help. Something important.’
She did not look entirely convinced. ‘My help? Why me?’ A part of her wondered if this was a joke. Adri did not look familiar. ‘Are you with MYTH?’
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t say anything in front of all your friends.’
‘Then where?’
‘Anywhere. Your friends can stay around if t
hey don’t eavesdrop, that’s all.’
‘How ‘bout Banerjee’s classroom?’ someone prompted, evidently excited about the idea. Much more than Maya. ‘It’s empty.’
Maya looked unsure. ‘Fine, but my friends will come along and stand right outside the class,’ she spoke.
‘Please,’ Adri said. ‘Lead the way.’
The group moved together and Adri shuffled a short distance behind. He could hear them whisper. Adri was secretly quite satisfied with the developments so far—it seemed he was not altogether incapable of having conversations with young women after all. Still, too many of the common people nursed all kinds of grudges against Necromancers. They were going to a lonely spot—it was best to be careful, he thought. He kept looking around nervously for signs of Guardians, but thankfully there were none to be seen.
A confusing jaunt across college buildings, a flight of stairs, and a few corridors later, they reached a spacious classroom. The group turned to look silently at Adri, who entered without a word. Their eyes went to Maya. She looked nervous.
‘Just stick around, okay?’ she said.
‘We’ll be right here, if he tries anything,’ one of the guys growled.
‘I don’t think so,’ Maya replied. She entered the classroom.
Adri was sitting in the back row of the class. She sat down on another bench, keeping distance. He looked complicated, she thought. Adri was looking down at a desk—evidently thinking of how to begin. This had better be good. She doubted his claims of being a Necromancer. Anyone could pretend to be a Tantric. ‘Are you with MYTH?’ she asked again. A lot depended on his answer.
Adri, however, continued to look at the desk in front of him. A smile dawned on his face. ‘They don’t let you guys write on the desks anymore,’ he spoke suddenly. ‘Like everything else, even these are clean and white. Untouchable.’
Maya was taken aback, but she caught on. ‘You’ve seen the old desks? The desks in New Kolkata have always been like this.’
Adri looked at her. ‘I’ve seen them,’ he said simply.
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