The Mists of Brahma

by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE

  Unknown to the defenders, three other bands of vikritis had circled around and were now positioning themselves to attack the groups led by Kanakpratap and Parth.

  In the Skies above the Bhimbetka Caves

  Maya watched with horror as three groups of vikritis—nine in all—sprinted around the frontline of defence mounted by Jignesh and Usha, and took up positions to attack the other two groups of defenders.

  She realised the peril the six defenders were in. They had only two Rishis, and the enemy attack would be mounted from three directions. They would be defenceless on one flank. While the Kshatriyas were useful in despatching the pisachas, the vikritis had to be neutralised by the Rishis before the Kshatriyas could be effective against them. That was the reason the Sangha and Gana fought in complementary pairs.

  As she watched the vikritis hurl fireballs at the defenders led by Jignesh and Usha, she realised the enormity of the danger they were in. She had seen the explosive power of these fireballs earlier tonight. Jignesh and Usha were using their brahmadandas to good effect, but they were fully occupied with the two groups of vikritis they were battling along with the pisachas and pretas that were still swarming around them. They were in no position to aid the others.

  What Kanakpratap and Parth needed was a third Rishi with a brahmadanda, who could effectively help neutralise the vikritis that were now preparing to attack them.

  Maya felt helpless. Even if she were to return to the Gurukul and reappear with her brahmadanda, it would be of no use, since she had no idea how to use it. Without the necessary mantras and siddhis to operate it, it would be no more than an ordinary piece of wood.

  She made up her mind.

  There was only one course of action available to her.

  She knew it would mean discovery of her presence here and a severe reprimand, perhaps even punishment for disobeying her guru’s instructions, but it didn’t matter. Nothing was more important than the lives of her friends and teachers.

  She knew exactly what she was going to do. There was no way of helping Kanakpratap and Parth, but she could help the other two groups battle the pisachas. If she could help free one of the Rishis, who could then rush to the aid of the other defenders, that would be good enough.

  She had to try.

  Without another thought, she dived towards the scene of the battle far below her.

  Chapter Sixty-five

  Identification

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Kanakpratap and Parth fought side by side, along with Arjun and Adira, both groups having come together when they saw the vikritis re-enter the fray. Agastya and Sonali hurled mantras, destroying the pretas and weakening the pisachas.

  Still, the pisachas maintained their onslaught, never slackening, reinforcements appearing from the forest around them with each passing moment.

  They’re coming. Kanakpratap’s warning flashed through the heads of the other five. They also realised what he had left unsaid, as they saw the nine vikritis, in three groups, taking up positions encircling the six defenders.

  Sonali and Agastya took up defensive positions, brandishing their brahmadandas even as they kept reciting the mantras to destroy the pretas and keep the pisachas at bay.

  Arjun’s heart sank as he saw the third group of vikritis position themselves, with no defensive shield of Rishis facing them. He knew that Agastya and Sonali would fend off the attack from the other two vikriti groups; this was what his and Agastya’s practice over the last forty days had been about, under the tutelage of Usha and Kanakpratap. Today’s battle was what they had been preparing for, even though they had not known that it would upon them so soon.

  But now, they were outflanked and outnumbered.

  Was his birthday going to be his last day alive?

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Shukra watched enthralled as the atma dived towards the scene of the battle. He could see what the spirit was trying to do. It was headed for the group of defenders who were in front. It was aiming to thwart the vikritis or battle the pretas and pisachas. Or both.

  He was impressed. It would take great power to accomplish any of those objectives.

  Who was this?

  Shukra closed his eyes and focused on the vibrations emanating from the spirit.

  Suddenly, his eyes flew open.

  He knew.

  The living room in Maharishi Dhruv’s house.

  The girl in the study.

  Maharishi Dhruv’s daughter.

  It couldn’t be!

  And yet, he knew he couldn’t be wrong. It had to be her.

  But she was a child. A sadh! He had sensed her total lack of powers when he had encountered her on that fateful day. There was no way she was capable of atma travel, leave alone what she was trying to accomplish now!

  How could he have been so wrong?

  In the microseconds that it taken him to identify her, the girl’s atma had dived from hundreds of kilometres above them and was on the verge of clashing with the two opposing groups that were locked in battle.

  Then it happened.

  Chapter Sixty-six

  What Happened?

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Kanakpratap exhorted the young Kshatriyas. Giving up now would be suicide. They had to resist, even though the odds looked impossible.

  Arjun tried desperately to push away the feeling of hopelessness and thoughts of imminent death from his mind. He tried to focus instead on attacking the pisachas even more viciously than before.

  We can do it, Arjun. He heard Adira’s voice urge him on and took strength from her conviction.

  He could not know that she too was afraid; terrified to the core of her being. But she was determined not to show it. She was a Kshatriya. And Kshatriyas did not show fear. Only courage.

  The three groups of vikritis had encircled the defenders by now.

  Agastya and Sonali stood prepared, still muttering the mantras against the pretas and pisachas.

  Arjun heard Vishwaraj’s voice rise above the din of the battle.

  ‘Now!’ he yelled.

  Fireballs raced towards the besieged defenders from three sides.

  But there were only two Rishis to stop them.

  The third flank was unguarded and defenceless.

  Arjun felt tears rolling down his face as the flaming spheres arced towards him and Adira.

  There was no hope left.

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Shukra stood transfixed.

  He couldn’t fathom what was happening.

  He had been watching Vishwaraj adeptly organise the vikritis into a fighting formation. Shukra’s young acolyte had made his moves well and he could see that he was now in a winning position. For now, one of Shukra’s questions had been answered, a doubt removed.

  The young man had demonstrated, quite ably, his competence to lead on the battlefield. Leading off it was another matter, of course, but it wasn’t something that some training couldn’t fix.

  But another question had entered Shukra’s mind. One that he needed to explore.

  Not a new question.

  An old one, a niggling doubt that he had pushed away, ignoring it. It had resurfaced tonight.

  But it could wait for now.

  It was what was happening on the battlefield before him that puzzled him.

  The atma of the girl had dived at high speed, clearly meaning to enter the fray.

  Abruptly, just as she reached the scene of the action, she had stopped.

  And disappeared.

  Chapter Sixty-seven

  Oh No!

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Sonali and Agastya whirled their brahmadandas, intercepting every missile from the vikritis, their weapons absorbing the energy of the fireballs.

  On the third flank, Arjun braced himself for the inevitable.

  Would it be an explosion, blowing
him and the others to pieces?

  Or would they all go up in flames?

  In the Skies above the Bhimbetka Caves

  Maya’s atma raced towards the groups led by Jignesh and Usha, covering hundreds of kilometres in a matter of moments.

  She hadn’t really thought through her plan.

  Actually, she didn’t have a plan.

  She was going to wing it. Quite literally.

  Suddenly, she felt it.

  A sudden surge of energy.

  Where was it coming from?

  She could feel it as strongly as if she was in her physical body and it had brushed past her.

  Maya was confused. It felt vaguely familiar. She had felt this sensation before, when she was in her physical body.

  But where?

  When?

  Then it came back to her.

  In her father’s study in Delhi.

  When she had been trying to escape with the diary.

  Shukra.

  He was here!

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  To Arjun’s surprise, the fireballs arced towards him and Adira and then mysteriously died out just a foot or two away from them.

  What was happening?

  The vikritis continued hurling fireballs at them, but the flaming spheres never reached the two Kshatriyas. They seemed to hit an invisible wall that snuffed them out.

  At least, that was the way it seemed to Arjun.

  He redoubled his efforts against the pisachas. Adira, watching him, followed suit. Together, they dispatched several dozen pisachas more to the realms of the spirit world where their souls could move ahead in their cycle of rebirths.

  The Gurukul

  Panna

  Maya sat on her bed, back in her body, hugging herself, trembling all over. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wept uncontrollably.

  She was still deeply affected by the trauma of the battle, the shock of seeing her friends in danger and the uncertainty of knowing what had happened.

  When she had sensed Shukra’s presence at Bhimbetka, she had hovered uncertainly for a few seconds, confused. Then a voice had intruded into her consciousness.

  It was Satyavachana.

  ‘What are you doing here, child?’ the Maharishi had demanded. ‘Leave immediately! You are in danger every moment that you tarry here! Begone!’

  The urgency in those words had struck her deeply. She had returned at once to the Gurukul and to her slumbering body.

  But it troubled her that she was safe while her friends were still in danger.

  How would they extricate themselves?

  Chapter Sixty-eight

  Shukra’s Move

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Vishwaraj couldn’t believe his eyes.

  His plan had been perfect. The execution had been impeccable. The vikritis had encircled the defenders and attacked them from three directions.

  It was the perfect set up. And he should have won.

  But something had happened that he had not anticipated.

  The undefended flank of defenders had been an illusion. None of the missiles had been able to get through.

  Something was absorbing their energies before they reached their targets.

  But what was it?

  The mystery was solved before long.

  But Vishwaraj could not understand why he had not been able to detect the new arrival on the scene.

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Arjun stared as Satyavachana as he suddenly appeared on the unguarded flank and launched a counter attack against the vikritis.

  ‘Agnichakra pariveshtyati,’ Satyavachana intoned and a circle of fire engulfed three of the vikritis, immediately putting an end to their assault.

  ‘Vidyutate.’ A sphere of light appeared above the Maharishi and he winked at Arjun and Adira before swiftly crossing over to the other side.

  ‘Agnichakra pariveshtyati.’ Another circle of fire appeared around the second group of vikritis, pinning them where they stood.

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  Vishwaraj prepared to launch a counter attack. Whoever this newcomer was, he was not going to let him snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Until now, he had been content to let the vikritis do all the fighting.

  Once he unleashed his powers, he knew that even the Sangha could not stop him, leave alone these students. But even as he prepared to launch his counter offensive, he heard Shukra speak to him telepathically.

  ‘You have done a great job, my son. But I have got what I wanted and learned what I needed to learn. Now you must withdraw. I have a task to complete and the longer the battle continues, the more it will delay me.’

  ‘Yes, Poorvapitamah.’ Vishwaraj gnashed his teeth with frustration but the Son of Bhrigu had issued his command.

  And he had to be obeyed without question.

  ‘Samastrnute!’ he intoned. The circles of fire that had pinioned the two groups of vikritis following Satayavachana’s attack were snuffed out. Simultaneously, the attack of the pisachas and pretas suddenly intensified.

  This was his parting shot. He wanted his opponents to know that he was not retreating in fear. That he had the ability to parry every move they made. That they were helpless in the face of his powers.

  Near the Entrance to the Hall of Archives

  They’re getting away! Arjun complained to no one in particular.

  But there was no option.

  The numbers of pretas and pisachas had suddenly multiplied manifold and all thirteen defenders found themselves struggling to cope with the sudden surge, even as the vikritis regrouped. Only, this time, they were clearly not planning to attack.

  The battle continued for a while, mantras and swords striking at the pretas and pisachas. Then, suddenly, they were gone.

  As were the vikritis.

  Where the sounds of battle had raged just a few moments ago, the silence of a cold winter’s night descended.

  Chapter Sixty-nine

  Shukra Acts

  The Bhimbetka Caves

  Shukra stood before the rocky outcrop that he now knew was the entrance to the Hall of the Archives.

  His ploy had succeeded. True, an unexpected hiccup had occurred, but it had ended up being even more effective than his original plan.

  Vishwaraj had been sent here by him to try and smoke out the Akshpatalikas from their concealed hideout. He had counted on the fact that the vikritis, by destroying parts of the landscape, would either hit upon the entrance by chance or destroy the rocks concealing it, which would surely bring the Akshpatalikas out, thus revealing the entrance.

  That plan had gone awry because of the sudden and unexpected appearance of the Sangha members, but he didn’t regret that.

  In fact, it was a good thing that the battle had taken place. Shukra didn’t know how the Sangha had got wind of the movements of Vishwaraj and the vikritis, but that didn’t matter. Their appearance had given him a glimpse into their readiness to fulfil the prophecy.

  He now knew for certain that the One was still woefully weak and totally unprepared to face him. He could focus on what he needed to do, rather than waste his time and energy on trying to kill the boy. It just wasn’t worth it.

  It was also interesting to see that the Sangha did have some power that it could wield. It was not, after all, as helpless and frail as he had thought it to be. And they did have a powerful Maharishi on their side. Someone he had not been aware of earlier.

  Shukra had been impressed by Satyavachana’s prowess and mastery of the siddhis. And the ease with which he had countered the vikritis within a few moments of joining the fray.

  He belonged to an age where power was respected, even in adversaries. He had bowed his head silently in acknowledgment of Satyavachana’s abilities even as the battle raged, and issued instructions to Vishwaraj to conclude the battle from his side. There was nothing left to fight over any more. And there was no time to waste.<
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  As Shukra had anticipated, after the vikritis and their frontline of creatures had disappeared, the Akshpatalikas had emerged from the rocky outcrop that he now stood in front of, revealing the exact location of the entrance to the Hall of Archives. Thanks to his powers of illusion, none of them had the slightest inkling that he was around.

  A brief conversation had followed in which the defenders from the Gurukul had briefed the Akshpatalikas on what had happened.

  Then the defenders had vanished.

  Shukra’s admiration for Satyavachana had gone up several notches after that. He knew that instant travel was not something everyone was capable of. Even in his own time, thousands of years earlier, in the golden yugas, there were few who could master it. If the aged Maharishi was capable of transporting not just himself but also twelve others, he deserved respect.

  Shukra hoped that he would never have to battle the Maharishi directly. It would be a shame to have to destroy him.

  But now, he had a task to complete.

  He chanted the mantra that Vishwaraj had passed on to him. The mantra that would open the entrance to the Hall of Archives.

  The mantra completed, Shukra walked through the rock and into the Hall of Archives.

  Inside the hall, he stood quietly, watching and listening. There didn’t seem to be any movement. Everything was still. The Akshpatalikas were probably pottering around, busy with their work, now that the attack had been contained and the defenders gone.

  Even if someone was around, it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t see or hear a thing.

  A mantra silently unfolded in his mind and hundreds of clones emerged from his body and spread out silently into the archives. They would be invisible to any onlooker, just as he was. And each one of them was endued with his intelligence and capabilities.

  Swiftly, Shukra’s clone army browsed through the archives, searching and sifting through the documents and scrolls, taking care to ensure that no one could detect any unusual movement that would give their presence away.