Maya was grateful for the friends she had made at the Gurukul. She lay in bed for a while, trying to relax and get rid of the sensation that had made her feel ill. But it just wouldn’t go away.
If anything, the call grew stronger, beckoning to her, urging her towards it.
Maya’s mind went back to the day, almost a month and a half back, when she had made up with Arjun after their disagreement over acting against the Sangha’s wishes. They had walked through the Rishi practice field, talking, when suddenly the strange tug had begun to grow stronger. Even though she had originally set out that day to find the source of the mysterious sensation, Maya had decided to turn back, not wanting to investigate further while Arjun was present.
She lay for a while, undecided. Then, her mind made up, she rose and made her way down the stairs.
Adira saw her pass the common room entrance and came rushing out.
‘You should be resting,’ she scolded Maya.
‘I’m going out for a walk,’ Maya told her. ‘The fresh air will do me good.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
‘No, no,’ Maya protested. ‘I’ll be fine. I think I just need some time to myself after all the practice that Maharishi Satyavachana has been putting me through.’
‘You sure?’
Maya nodded. ‘Absolutely. I’ll be fine.’
With misgivings, Adira backed off.
Maya made her way past the classroom block and walked down the length of the Rishi practice field. This was where the sensation had been the strongest during her walk with Arjun.
But where was this strange pull, this inexplicable tug emanating from?
What was it that was calling to her so insistently, every single day?
There was something happening that she could not understand. She had to know what it was.
Maya decided to experiment. She began moving in different directions, checking to see if the tug grew stronger or weaker.
Finally, she worked out the source of the mysterious sensation.
It was coming from the direction of the Dandaka forest.
Chapter Forty-seven
A Mystery
The Rishi Practice Field
Maya cut across the Rishi practice field and headed straight towards the forest.
The sun, a red ball of fire, hung low in the western sky and there was still enough light for her to see her way.
After a few minutes of brisk walking, the forest loomed ahead of her and she felt the familiar tug grow stronger the closer she got. It was almost as if the Dandaka was urging her to approach and enter.
A vague apprehension hovered at the back of her mind as she walked briskly towards the forest.
What was it about the Dandaka forest that was drawing her towards it?
Maya realised that no one ever talked about the forest. It was there. That was all. In plain sight, yet hidden away from everyone’s sight by the simple device of being ignored.
She too had taken its presence on the Gurukul campus for granted within the first few days of arriving here.
Now, she wondered why it was out of bounds for the students. Was it dangerous? But why would that be? Wasn’t this the very forest that Lord Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, had lived in during their exile from Ayodhya?
It couldn’t be because there were wild beasts in it. The Gurukul itself was right in the middle of a forest. Wild animals roamed the campus, though she had never seen a tiger or any other animal that might pose a threat to the residents.
She recalled the fact about Dandaka that had struck her when Jignesh had pointed it out during her first tour of the Gurukul—the forest had been created by Shukra himself, thousands of years ago. It had been an act of rage, a curse.
Yet, Arjun had told her after the rout of the Nagas that even they seemed to fear the forest. They had besieged the Gurukul from all sides, except from the direction of the forest. Arjun had also told her that he had heard that the Nagas would never attack the Gurukul by traversing the Dandaka. It was a natural, protective barrier, apparently even more reliable and powerful than the mantras that kept the Gurukul safe.
Maya reached the boundary of the Rishi practice field, marked by a hedge that was five feet tall, at a safe distance from the forest. She began searching for a gap in the hedge that would allow her to approach the Dandaka.
Unable to find one, she finally decided to squeeze through, getting scratches on her hands as she protected her face with her palms.
Between the field and the forest lay a wild, grassy stretch of land that she had never noticed before. Whether it was because the hedge had blocked the view or her own lack of attention, she had never realised the vastness of the strip of land that lay between the practice field and the Dandaka.
The ground under her feet was uneven and rough, and she wondered if there were snakes here.
But the magnetic attraction of the forest drew her feet onwards.
After a short while, the forest was close enough for her to distinguish the trees. The Dandaka was dense—trees crowded together with barely any space between their trunks, their branches and foliage intertwining to form a thickly woven canopy that rose a hundred feet or more above the forest floor.
As Maya drew nearer, she noticed that the canopy of leaves was so thick that hardly any sunlight filtered through. From afar, the Dandaka had always looked like it was shrouded in darkness, even in the daytime. From up close, Maya realised this was because it was enveloped in a darkness of its own making. She wondered how any animals managed to live in it. How could the undergrowth survive in the intense darkness?
She walked closer. A few feet from the outer line of trees, she stopped and studied the forest intently.
Chapter Forty-eight
Friends
The Gurukul
Adira knocked on the door of the cottage housing Amyra’s dorm.
The door was opened by a young novice who looked at her, awestruck. The novices and other students training for the Gana didn’t really mix—Amyra’s friendship with Maya had been an exception and only because Amyra had been persistent in seeking her friendship. The tales of Maya’s exploits during the siege of the Gurukul had made the rounds of the novices’ quarters, embellished as the story spread, with Amyra no doubt contributing much of the embellishment.
When it became known that Adira was a friend of the One as well as of Maya, her standing among the novices had gone up even more.
‘I wanted to see Amyra,’ an amused Adira told the novice.
‘I’ll call her,’ the novice said, excited and shy at the same time, no doubt thrilled that one of the saviours of the Gurukul had asked her for help, however insignificant.
‘Thanks,’ Adira smiled at her and the novice’s face glowed as she disappeared to call Amyra.
Adira didn’t have to wait long before Amyra came hurrying to the door.
‘Adira!’ Amyra squealed. She was always delighted to see any of the Saptas. Then she noticed Adira’s serious expression and sobered up immediately.
‘What happened?’
‘I … I’m not sure.’ Adira was hesitant. She really didn’t know why she had come seeking Amyra. But now that she was here, it was time to put the novice to work. ‘I need your help. It’s about Maya.’
‘Of course!’ Amyra was always ready to help where Maya was concerned.
‘I think something is wrong,’ Adira told her. ‘I can’t be sure, which is why I want your help. Can you come to our dorm and run a check?’
‘On what?’
Adira explained what she had in mind and Amyra nodded. ‘I’m not sure if I can help,’ she said, ‘but I’ll try.’
The two girls made their way to Maya’s dorm and sprinted up the stairs. Amyra screwed up her face as soon as she was inside the room. She turned to face Adira.
‘This is not good,’ the novice said.
‘What is it? What can you sense?’
‘I don’t know for sure,’ Amyra’s brow creased as
she concentrated. ’It … it is very fuzzy. I see Maya appearing in the room. You’re there too. You make her lie down and then you leave the room. Then …’ the furrows on her forehead grew deeper, ‘she feels something. I don’t know what. I can sense the vibrations. There is something else in the dorm, but I can’t feel it; I can’t sense it. Maya gets up and leaves.’
Amyra looked at Adira. ‘Whatever it was, it can’t be good. Something compelled her to get off the bed and walk out that door.’ She pointed to the entrance to the dorm. ‘I don’t know what it was, but I could feel it through space and time.’ She clutched Adira’s hand. ‘What do we do?’
‘We find her.’ Adira’s face was set. She looked at Amyra. ‘Can you track her?’
‘I think I can,’ Amyra replied. ‘The trace is quite recent.’
‘Let’s go then.’
The two girls hurried down the Central Avenue, past the Assembly Hall and the classroom block, towards the Rishi practice field.
But Maya was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where could she have gone?’ Adira wondered.
Amyra shook her head. She was trying to walk as fast as possible, following Maya’s tracks with the use of her psychic powers. It wasn’t easy. One step in the wrong direction and the tracks would disappear. She had to course correct continuously according to the vibrations through space and time that told her that Maya had passed this way recently.
Neither girl had any idea where they were headed.
It was only when they reached the hedge bordering the Rishi practice field that they realised where Maya had bent her steps.
Adira gasped. ‘She couldn’t have gone in there!’
Amyra nodded, a doleful expression on her face. The vibrations all pointed in one direction.
The Dandaka.
‘She’s mad!’ Adira exclaimed. ‘No one goes there! Whatever came into her mind to make her do this?’
Suddenly, they heard a scream.
And another.
It was Maya.
Chapter Forty-nine
Fear
The Dandaka Forest
The Dandaka was dark, formidable, brooding.
Not a leaf stirred. There was no breeze blowing through this forest.
From where she stood, Maya could see no undergrowth, among the line of outer trees at least.
The Dandaka was quiet as death, unmoving, impenetrable. Maya could not see how anyone could possibly enter the forest; there was no path to be seen between the trees and no space for anyone to squeeze through, even if they wanted to. She thought of the Nagas and their bulk. There was no way they could have marched through the forest to the Gurukul, even if they had mustered the courage to enter.
What was inside the forest that terrified the Nagas so?
Suddenly, she felt it again; the same nagging sensation. She had forgotten it in the wonder of being here, so close to the forest.
But now, it hit her with an intensity she could not have imagined.
Maya could feel the forest calling to her, drawing her closer to it.
An unseen force beckoned to her, urging her to enter the forest.
She did not feel uneasy or dizzy this time, but the urge was so strong that she felt it take hold of her feet, as if to propel her forward.
Shocked and alarmed, she forced herself back, trying to shake off the compulsion to move forward, to enter the forest. But it persisted.
A sudden doubt arose in her mind, sowing the seeds of panic.
Had she been wrong to disregard Jignesh’s warning about the Dandaka? Had she committed a colossal blunder by coming here today?
For no reason, the thought flashed through her mind that the forest was alive, that it could consume her. Or drive her insane.
What was happening to her?
It was like being in a nightmare.
Panic finally took hold of her mind, bursting within as a deep darkness that washed away all her thoughts and filled her mind with terror.
Maya screamed.
Chapter Fifty
A Promise is Made
The Rishi Practice Field
Adira and Amyra struggled to push through the hedge that bordered the practice field. Finally emerging on the other side, they sprinted towards the Dandaka, unmindful of the dangers and the warnings that had kept students and faculty alike away from it.
For them, only one thing mattered at this moment.
The solitary figure standing near the trees at the edge of the forest, screaming with terror.
What had happened?
The two girls came running up to Maya.
‘Maya!’ Amyra was the first to speak, gasping as she tried to catch her breath.
‘What is it, Maya?’ Adira asked. She couldn’t see any sign of danger.
‘Help me!’ Maya turned her face, contorted with fear, from Adira to Amyra and back. ‘Help me!’ Her mind was devoured by terror.
Amyra looked panic-stricken at Adira. What were they to do?
‘Pull her away,’ Adira ordered, thinking fast. ‘Get her away from this damn forest. Something in the trees has frightened her.’
Unable to fathom what was happening, Amyra caught Maya by one hand, while Adira grabbed the other, and both girls tugged at Maya, pulling her away.
But she could not turn away from the forest; she was transfixed by the sight of the trees, the darkness, the gloom.
Adira and Amyra heaved with all their strength, trying to overcome some unseen, unknown force that seemed to keep Maya rooted to the spot. It was like she had suddenly developed superhuman strength and it took everything the girls had to drag her away.
Maya didn’t stop screaming all the way across the stretch of land that lay between the forest and the practice field.
It was only when they were a safe distance from the trees that Maya felt the sensation ebb. She collapsed on the uneven ground, surrounded by the wild grass, sobbing.
Amyra was sobbing too, though without understanding why. She was terrified.
Adira stood, panting, and stared at Maya.
After a while, Maya recovered enough to get to her feet. Supported by her two friends, she was able to squeeze back through the hedge.
Slowly, the trio crossed the field and headed back towards the residential cottages.
The sun had gone down and darkness was beginning to spread across the Gurukul.
Adira glanced back briefly; the Dandaka had already disappeared with the onset of night, merging with the darkness, becoming one with it.
Glowing orbs lit up their path, hovering overhead.
‘Promise me one thing,’ Maya told her friends. ‘You will tell no one about what happened this evening.’
‘Fine,’ Adira replied, ‘but only if you promise you will never go back there again.’
‘I promise,’ Maya said, looking at both girls in turn. ‘I promise.’
But deep down in her heart, she wasn’t sure she would be able to keep her promise.
What if the strange sensation, the unknown tug, returned?
Would she be able to resist its lure?
The Assembly Hall
‘It has been over a month,’ Satyavachana said, addressing the same group that had gathered in this very hall more than one month ago, to hear the news about Shukra’s unexpected disappearance. ‘He has not returned.’
‘There’s no news from our team in Gandharva-lok,’ Kanakpratap added. ‘Though it is still early days. Less than a week would have passed in their world.’
‘Whatever Shukra is planning,’ Jignesh mused, ‘it will be big. And it will happen suddenly.’
‘Our defences are much stronger now,’ Parth said. ‘We are better placed than we were two months ago to resist any attacks. Even the new weapons are ready to be deployed. The Shastrakars have outdone themselves this time.’
‘Whatever Shukra plans to unleash upon the Sangha,’ Kanakpratap said, slowly, ‘will be more potent than anything we have seen so far. You can be sure of that.’
> ‘There is a silver lining, though,’ Usha spoke up.
The others looked at her, wondering what could possibly be positive about the news that Satyavachana had just given them.
‘If it is big, it will take time to plan and execute,’ Usha explained. ‘You don’t think that freeing the Nagas is something that Shukra did on the spur of the moment, do you? For all you know, he had been planning that during the fourteen years that he was missing.’
‘You may have something there,’ Parth agreed. ‘Although, if he is planning to open another gate of Pataala-lok, it may not take that much time. He may have already located all the gates in the last fourteen years. Perhaps that is what took him so long.’
‘No,’ Jignesh insisted, stubbornly. ‘I don’t think he’s going to open another gate. That would be too obvious, too predictable. He’s going to do something else.’
‘What could that be?’ Parth wondered.
‘I don’t know,’ Jignesh replied. ‘But it will be something that none of us can even imagine. Of that I am sure.’
Chapter Fifty-one
Progress
Police Guesthouse
Allahabad
It had been a mixed day, Kapoor mused, after the debriefing was over. He had flown to Allahabad that morning to discuss progress on the case with Mirza.
It had been over a week, almost ten days in fact, since he had approached his boss with a request to pull strings and get him the photographs, either from the passport office or the transport office. Or, better still, from both.
Bloody bureaucrats, he had chafed. But there was nothing he could do apart from wait.
The photographs and other documents had finally come through today and he had carried them with him to Allahabad.
He had placed the photocopies on the table once both men were safely ensconced in the guesthouse. ‘These are copies of passports and driving licenses that the two men were issued fourteen years ago, when they first came to Delhi. The DL application forms and supporting documents are also attached. The passport photographs are the best identification leads we have on them after their departure from Allahabad.’
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