Valley of Death Read online

  Much later Rudolf would wonder how he was able to retain his mental equilibrium and not die of the shock of that awesome sight. He had always thought of himself as a tough person, who had seen it and done it all and could not be surprised or shocked by anything. But he had to admit that he had unwittingly invoked a power greater than anything he had come across in his sordid life. Even to call Warlock a pygmy before a giant would have been over-exaggeration; compared to the Goddess’ omnipotence, Rudolf and his evil deeds were as insignificant as a moth is before the mighty sun, or rather a nano-particle is before a double helix galaxy!

  His stubbornness, not design; inhumanity not goodness, greed not devotion, paralysis and not courage made him stand before the great goddess Bhadrakali, shivering and shaking like a leaf caught in a whirlwind. As the goddess stooped to chop off his head, he picked up a garland of marigold flowers and put it around her neck with shaking hands and lay down on the floor in front of her with folded hands.

  “Please accept my apologies and my offering oh Great Goddess; bless thy worshipper Mother Bhadrakali!” He pleaded, placing forth wine, lamb, sweetmeat, and perfume.

  “You lowly mortal!” The entire sky reverberated with the goddess’ thundering voice, which struck terror in everyone’s heart that could hear it. “How dare you call me here in this (saavri) manner? And if you call me a mother again with your dirty tongue, I’ll take off your head from your shoulders.”

  “I am your slave great goddess! I am at your mercy.”

  “I know all about base tantriks like you. For your sins, you’ll burn in hell for eternity, you dirty worm. Because I am obliged to grant you at least one boon, tell me what you want? I don’t want to stay in this place of evil and sin or bless you with my presence a moment longer. I don’t want followers or worshippers like you and once gone I shall never return. Not only that, if you dare to call me again, I shall immediately annihilate you!” She thundered.

  “Accept my offerings oh great power, and revive all my occult powers.”

  “So that you can resume killing of innocents? I shall do no such thing,” she refused outright. “Ask anything else or I am leaving.”

  “Please! Return my two djinns to me,” he pleaded.

  “I am under compulsion to fulfil at least one wish of yours, so be it,” she ordained.

  The head of the lamb tied to the iron frame was severed from its neck, from which blood oozed out; accepting the offerings made to her, the mighty power disappeared. The breach in the sky appeared for an instant and as he blinked his eyes; Rudolf found that he was sitting in his familiar glass-pyramid.

  He chanted a mantra five times to recall the djinns that he controlled; and they appeared as semi-transparent 3-D life-size holographic apparitions around him, glowing in the blue light.

  “Welcome back my fellas; you all both now free,” Rudolf declared.

  “Not so soon,” said one the djinns. “We have been revived; but why should we obey your orders?”

  “Don’t be stupid kids; come back to my fold, there is no other place for you to go,” he tried to reason with them. But his words cut no ice with the duo that was on the verged of mutiny, his anger rose and he shouted, “I’ll not tolerate this kind of insubordination; surrender this instant or I’ll burn you all to ashes!”

  “Please master!” pleaded Harry. “Don’t lose your temper; let me talk to them. Perhaps they want to renegotiate the terms of their contract with you.”

  “I am Warlock, who has mastered great tantrik powers like Bhadrakali; and these pygmies…how dare they blackmail me, and they have the audacity to dictate terms to me! If it were not for me, they would still be living an impotent and paralyzed existence.”

  “If you got us revived, it was for your own benefit,” quipped the self-styled spokesperson of the gang.

  Rudolf was fuming with anger and was hard pressed to control himself. He swallowed his pride momentarily and said in an unagitated but shrill voice, “I am offering you the prasadam (food and drink offerings) of Bhadrakali; this lamb and wine that she had accepted.”

  “And?”

  “And damn you bastard!” Rudolf flew off the handle and lost his temper all over again. “No Harry! You keep out of this,” he raised his hand and restrained his chief of staff, which was trying to mediate. “I’ll not negotiate with these ungrateful dogs, which had lived on my left-over and are now barking at me. Either they accept the contract on my terms or else be prepared to be destroyed by me,” he gave forth an ultimatum.

  There was an eerie silence that was broken by a new voice, “Don’t be afraid of Warlock; he’s a weakling who cannot harm you.” The pronouncement was followed by the holographic images of Bharoo and his ghost Shemshar, which appeared in the already crowded glass-pyramid.

  “This is the blind Bengali Tantrik, which Colonel Narang has engaged,” whispered Harry in Rudolf’s mind.

  “So you are the fly that has been bothering me for the past few weeks? How dare you come here in my den? Do you not wish to live any longer, Bharoo?”

  “Dump Warlock and join me,” said Bharoo to the two djinns, ignoring his adversary. “He’s finished and you have no future with him.”

  “You keep out of this, you road-side dog,” Rudolf shouted. “I have mastered Bhadrakali power; I can burn you all to ash!”

  “No, you cannot,” Bharoo said in a calm voice. “I dare you to invoke Bhadrakali or to destroy any of us!” Rudolf was taken aback by that frontal challenge and forced to look sideways while his enemy emerged strongly. “Both of you will be committing a monumental blunder,” Bharoo again addressed the ghosts, “if you rejoin this tantrik or accept his slavery on his terms. On the contrary, if you come to me I shall gift each one of you with a live lamb and double whatever he gave you. You all must have also realized by now that he is doomed and heading to aeons of torture in hell because of his unforgivable sins. This is a golden opportunity for you to escape from his clutches once in for all, before his inevitable fall into the abyss. He is standing on the brink and is a sinking ship in high seas about to be capsized, which will take down everything and everyone with it. My offer is open to all of you, including Harinath.”

  “You have earned your death Bharoo!” Rudolf shouted in an agitated voice, seething with rage.

  “Save yourself; you little tantrik, before you threaten me.”

  Many things happened simultaneously; while Harry pounced on Shemshar and Rudolf chanted a mantra to invoke a power of his, Bharoo blew a powder that had materialized in his palm. A cat appeared on the floor of the pyramid, emerging out of the powder. And in a blink of the eye, it multiplied into two, doubling at a fantastic speed. With five seconds the cats numbered more than two-dozen and had pounced on Rudolf, tearing off his robe and injuring him with their claws on his arms and legs, as he tried unsuccessfully to ward them off. He ran out of the glass pyramid, trying to shrug off cats, which had their jaws stabbed in his flesh. The cats of different colours kept multiplying continuously and they followed him down the stairs and outside the bungalow, as Rudolf ran helter-skelter to save himself. It was an amazing sight to comprehend, a single man running on the vast open ground chased by hundreds of bloodthirsty and howling cats!

  Their numbers had swelled to such an extent that a sea of cats surrounded the tree near the lake on which frightened Rudolf had climbed. Seeing the cats climbing the tree, he was forced to jump in the water, his robe had long fallen away and he stood naked chest-deep in the lake. He saw cats, which must have numbered in thousands by that time, the way they covered the entire ground between the bungalow and the lake, surrounding the entire circumference of the lake. He knew for sure, that they would tear him to shreds, the moment he dared to step out of the water. He tried to summon Harry; but failed, since the latter was locked in a ferocious duel with tantrik Bharoo’s ghost.

  Bharoo’s holographic, 3-D image came out of the glass pyramid and flew in the air, followed by the two djinns; who were glowing in the light emanating from
within. The sight infuriated Rudolf so much that his body shook and burned with indescribable rage. Standing in the water, he raised his right hand and closing his eyes hurriedly chanted some mantra. A shinning, silver coloured weapon shaped like a rising flame and pointed at its end, materialized in his hand.

  He threw it at Bharoo, who was flying away from him, the self-propelled weapon flew like a heat-seeking missile fired from a fighter plane and went away like a flash and struck Bharoo, who was sitting miles away in a room in the ruins of a tomb off Okhla, within a few seconds. The protective circle of his powers could not ward off that attack but nonetheless succeeded in deflecting the trajectory of the weapon at the last moment. As a result, it could not strike the blind sorcerer in a fatal manner and could only cut a deep wound in his left shoulder. Astream of blood came out of it, as his face disfigured with pain.

  The face of the holographic image flying over Rudolf’s farmhouse matched the features of its master, as it faltered, weakened and fluctuated wildly. “He can’t protect himself, how will he save you from my wrath?” shouted Rudolf to the two djinns that were struck mid-air in their flight, again in the doldrums.

  “Don’t be foolish,” said Bharoo through his apparition, “Warlock will enslave you forever if you go to him. Run away, while you are still free and find new horizons for yourself,” he prompted them.

  Much to his satisfaction and Rudolf’s chagrin, the two djinns heeded the advice and flew away in the night. Shemshar too abandoned his duel with Harry and returned to the side of its injured master. Bharoo was helped by his assistant Twinkle, who tied a cloth on his arm, to cut the blood supply and then applied some ointment on the wound as a temporary measure, until he could visit a Doctor in the morning.

  Rudolf, on the other hand, spent the remainder of the night standing in the lake, as Harry was unable to shoo away the cats. His body ached and had stiffened by the time dawn broke and the cats started to return to the bungalow and the pyramid before they made their exit. The ignominious defeat compounded by the humiliation made Rudolf swear merciless revenge on Bharoo, his most formidable and dangerous enemy.

  CHAPTER 5: THE BLESSING & HAUNTING

  Abhay reached the New Holy Child Nursing home near his house in Rajouri Garden. It was five in the evening and he had come an hour earlier than his usual time. Payal had been admitted there a day earlier and had given birth to their baby girl in the preceding night. He had been there all along and had been overjoyed at becoming a father. He had to go to the office, albeit reluctantly, for an important meeting with a visiting foreign delegation and was grateful when his boss had allowed him to leave early.

  As he looked up at the window of Payal’s room from the parking, he thought he saw a person hurriedly move away from it. He did not think much of it and climbed the stairs to the first floor; he nearly bumped into a man in his haste at the corner of the corridor, which led to the private rooms.

  He apologized and stepped aside to let the man pass; who was a well-built man with long shoulder length thick black curly hair and trimmed beard and moustache. The two top buttons of his kurta that he was wearing were open, revealing his hairy chest and a thick gold chain around his neck. His complexion was dusky, face large and expressive eyes brown and almond shaped, long nose, big lips. His hands were also large and he held a packet of cigarette, lighter, mobile and car keys in them. He appeared to be at least 35 years old and he examined Abhay with unusual interest as he walked past him.

  His mobile rung and as he walked down the stairs, Abhay distinctly heard him say, “Yes, Dutta here!”

  Abhay encountered the same cologne, as was worn by the mysterious man, mixed with the stench of medicines, as he entered the room. He saw Payal was lying on the bed in an agitated and excited state as if she had a heated argument with someone. She was so much lost in her thoughts, with her face towards the ceiling that she didn’t know of Abhay’s arrival until he came next to her and deliberately cleared his throat. It appeared to him that she forcibly changed her facial expressions and gave him an embarrassed smile.

  “Where had you gone?” She asked a useless question.

  “Didn’t it tell you that I had to go to the office for that important meeting in the morning? Where is your mother?”

  “She has gone home, to take a bath and change and also to bring some things I have asked her. She was saying that she’ll go after you had come, but I said to Ma that I was fine and the staff here looked after the patients well and so she needn’t worry.”

  “Who was that man who had just left? Someone you know from Kolkata or Shimla?” Abhay asked acting casual.

  “Which man? No one came here,” she answered and then closed her eyes as if tired.

  Abhay had an uncanny feeling that she was lying, but why? Her face had lost its colour, as if she had been caught red-handed at what she wanted to remain hidden. Abhay wondered as to what was so extraordinary about that mysterious man that she was unwilling to acknowledge that she knew him? And why had he visited Payal immediately after she gave birth to their child?

  The crying of the bay rudely broke his reverie and he picked his daughter out of the cradle and held her close to his chest. He gently rocked her to and fro and made noises to distract her. She opened her eyes – such white eyeballs – to look at him and stopped crying. Abhay’s heart poured out to his daughter; who was the most beautiful girl in the world – the proud father felt, since the moment he had first seen her. All his doubts melted away in the gush of parental love that he again felt a bond of gratitude towards his wife, to have gifted him with such a wonderful present.

  “I felt so lucky when you had agreed to marry me, Payal,” he said sitting on the bed and holding her hand, and today I feel doubly so, for I have the two most wonderful girls in my life.”

  Payal’s features also softened looking at Abhay’s beaming face and she said, “I had never doubted that decision, Abhay; you are the most wonderful husband of this world.”

  “It is today that we have truly become a family; the three of us will always be together and happy like this,” he declared.

  “Amen!” She seconded.

  The trio stayed in that manner for nearly half an hour, until Shalini arrived with Naresh. Both of them were greatly affectionate towards Payal, who they had always treated as their younger sister. “My sweet darling!” Shalini said kissing Payal on her cheek. “Where is the little Angel?” She asked and took hold of the baby from Abhay.

  The child began to cry, making Payal comment, “She is angry that Maasi (maternal aunt) has come so late.”

  “You have Naresh to blame for that,” Shalini said, “he keeps dragging me from one place to other.”

  “There is so much to do,” Naresh said after embracing Abhay and affectionately caressing the head of Payal and sitting on a sofa chair. “This past week had been so hectic; I had to move from pillar to post to get visas for Shalini and my grandparents. It’s too bad that the two of you wouldn’t be able to attend our wedding in England next month.”

  “We can’t travel with such a small baby and so soon after Payal’s delivery,” said Abhay.

  “I understand, that is why we are not pressing the matter,” Naresh said adjusting his spectacles. “But we will miss the two of you most.”

  “All arrangements have been made for the wedding?” Abhay asked.

  “I have an extended family in England, lots of Uncles, aunts, and cousins and they along with my mom and dad will take care of everything. A noisy, ostentatious Punjabi wedding; solemnized in a Gurudwara followed by festivities in a community hall,” explained Naresh.

  “You must send me a C.D. of the ceremonies and bring the wedding album, whenever you come here,” Payal demanded from Shalini.

  “Sure; both of our families have planned to hold a reception either here in Delhi or Jalandhar, where many relatives of Naresh live and who will not be able to attend the wedding abroad.”

  “What about your own relatives?”

  �
��Mom and dad will fly to London directly from New Jersey, along with few of our relatives, who live in the States and Canada. My father is in touch with an official at the British High Commission here, through a common friend, to help expedite the acceptance of visa application of 10 close relatives to attend the marriage. Open-end air tickets have been bought for them to fly to London. Else they would come at the reception to be held here, in India,” Shalini informed her.

  “And what about your job with the call-centre in Gurgaon?”

  “I resigned last week since I would be moving to England permanently with Naresh. But you know the kind of person that I am; it is not possible for me to sit at home, while he would be away, because of the very nature of his job. I have already sent my resume on the internet to many placement agencies and have received positive feedback from a few companies based in and around London. After I have moved there and returned from my honeymoon, I’ll pursue it and hopefully would be employed somewhere.”

  “Where are you going for the honeymoon?”

  “Naresh wants to go to either East Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or the Caribbean; while I prefer Europe; France, Switzerland and the Alps. Let’s see if he can convince me or I talk him out of his preference for hot and sunny seacoasts. Oh! I completely forgot; I brought home cooked food for all of us.”

  “You didn’t have to do it, Shalini.”

  “Nonsense; you just tell me are you hungry or should we wait for a while longer?”

  “Ma has gone home to change; we’ll eat with her. I’ll ring her and tell her not to cook anything and come here straight away,” Payal said picking up her mobile.