Chapter 22 Shadows and Truth
Karishma stood before Aarav and Kiyan.
But it was not the Karishma they knew.
Her eyes which had always been so full of mischief now glowed like two lifeless golden coins. Her smile was plastered across her face like a horrible mask. Too wide. Too still. Completely unnatural. Her fingers once so graceful when she danced were now curled slightly her nails turning black and sharp.
Karishma. Aarav's voice barely made it past a whisper.
Kiyan placed a hand on Aarav's shoulder. His grip was tight. His own golden eyes had turned sharp and calculating. Aarav. What has happened to Karishma.
Aarav looked at Kiyan. There was denial written all over his face. How. How did this happen. Karishma is a Chhayagrasini (a witch like entity who drains age and life force).
Instead of answering their questions Karishma's head jerked to the side like a machine rebooting. Then without any warning she spun around and bolted into the depths of the forest. Her speed was not human. She seemed to float above the ground her feet barely touching the earth.
Aarav and Kiyan jumped off the bike and chased after her. Tree branches lashed at their faces. Roots tangled around their feet. Then up ahead on the path they saw a man lying on the ground.
He was an old man. Or he had become one. His hair had turned completely white. His skin was a mess of deep wrinkles. His eyes were empty. Dead. He had lost his life energy doing umr choosna (age draining).
What happened to him Aarav whispered his voice trembling as he knelt beside the lifeless body.
Kiyan understood without even touching him. His voice was flat and certain. His age has been drained.
No. Aarav stumbled backward. That is not possible.
Kiyan moved closer to him. There was a pained understanding in his eyes. Aarav pull yourself together. Karishma is a Chhayagrasini. Maybe just like me she was hiding her truth while she lived in your world.
Aarav started shaking his head. This cannot be. Karishma cannot be a Chhayagrasini. She is my friend. Our friend. I cannot accept this. She is our friend Kiyan. Remember. We danced together. You saved her from Girgit Raj (Chameleon King). Every time there was danger she acted like a normal human being. If she was a Chhayagrasini we would have known by now.
Maybe Kiyan said trying to calm him. Maybe it is Girgit Raj himself who has taken on Karishma's form.
No Aarav. Kiyan's gaze was fixed on the bracelet glinting on Karishma's wrist. The very same bracelet Nayan had given her. That was Karishma.
The moment he accepted this truth Aarav's knees gave out. He sank to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Karishma is a Chhayagrasini. My friend is a Chhayagrasini.
Kiyan sat down beside him. Calm down Aarav. We have to follow her. Let us go. He pulled Aarav up and they both ran deeper into the forest.
Kiyan began drawing on his Chhayagrasini powers. His golden eyes blazed brighter reading the spiritual traces hidden in the forest air. Karishma had picked up even more speed now. She was slipping between the trees like a blur of golden light.
Aarav cut through a shorter path and suddenly appeared right in front of her arms spread wide. Karishma. Stop. Karishma.
Karishma stopped. Her empty eyes locked onto Aarav.
Are you my friend Karishma Aarav asked. His voice was shaking.
His eyes dropped to the bracelet on her hand. It was glinting now like some horrible irony.
You are a Chhayagrasini Aarav said. The grief in his voice had now turned into anger. You could have at least told us. If not us then at least you should not have put on that fake love act with poor Nayan. You have betrayed us. You pretended to be our friend and showed us nothing but lies.
A spark flickered in Karishma's eyes. She whipped her braid around like a deadly lash and struck at Aarav. But Kiyan lunged forward in an instant shoving Aarav aside and taking the hit himself. The braid whistled sharply through the air.
Kiyan counterattacked. His nails lengthened into sharp gleaming blades. Karishma ducked low. Her neck bent at an impossible angle. She struck back with her own nails but they glanced off Kiyan's body as if hitting some invisible shield.
Karishma used her braid again trying to coil it around Kiyan. But Kiyan caught the braid in midair and with a brutal jerk sent Karishma flying. She crashed into a tree and fell.
The battle between the two Chhayagrasinis raged on. Flashes of golden eyes. Strikes from black claws. Deadly lashes of braids. Aarav kept trying to intervene but he was trapped in a war he could neither understand nor stop.
Then Karishma made her move. She scooped up a cloud of dirt from the ground and hurled it straight into Kiyan's eyes.
Arrghh. Kiyan screamed clawing at his face. In that single moment of blindness Karishma shot away at lightning speed and vanished behind the trees.
Kiyan cleared his eyes. Aarav. Are you okay. Sit down. I will catch her and bring her back.
But Aarav grabbed Kiyan's hand. Kiyan. Stop. Let her go. She is not our friend anymore. She is our enemy. She betrayed us.
Kiyan and Aarav walked out of the forest with heavy hearts. Kiyan said Take care of yourself Aarav. Aarav nodded and left.
Kiyan went back into the forest and searched for Karishma using his powers but she was nowhere to be found. Exhausted and defeated he finally returned to his Andhkaar Guha (dark cave).
In the bushes behind the cave he saw his mother Nishi the Chhayagrasini speaking to someone. Her voice was very low. Almost a whisper.
Kiyan called out Ma.
Nishi spun around. A flash of panic crossed her face before she controlled it. Kiyan.
Who were you talking to.
Who would I be talking to. I was casting a protective barrier around the cave using Chhayagrasini mantras my child.
Kiyan nodded. Alright. Fine Ma.
Nishi stroked Kiyan's cheek. What is wrong Kiyan. You look troubled.
Kiyan said Ma. I saw another Chhayagrasini today.
Nishi froze. Her eyes went wide for a moment. An unreadable expression flickered through them. Fear. Or perhaps curiosity. Then she went still. What. Where did you see her. Who was she.
It was six in the evening. Nayan sat alone in his room staring at Karishma's photograph. Then his eyes drifted to the window.
Outside in the dim evening light a familiar silhouette stood waiting. Long hair. That same figure.
Nayan's eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face. He stood and walked to the window.
Karishma.
Outside Karishma nodded slowly. A mysterious smile rested on her face. But her eyes even in the darkness were glowing with a faint golden light.
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