It took a long time, but the wizard finally lifted the spinal column from the mutilated remains, still whole and intact. He plunged the column onto the soldier’s spear and tied it more securely with the dead man’s own blood-soaked hair.
He then inserted it into the center of the pyre, taking care to see that the flames didn’t scorch the spine. It hung there, over the sacrificial fire like a grotesque warning.
The wizard stepped out from the safe gap in theyantra. People gave him a wide berth as he walked away from the pattern and on to safe ground.
Once he was out, he said the final words of the mantra.
“Anvesham cha nibandhanam.”
His voice rang across the cavernous, high-ceilinged hall.
The gap in the pattern sealed itself and the spine at the center of the fire bucked into life. The bones made a weird clattering noise as they writhed and strained against the binds.
A thin, hair-raising screech came from all sides. Shadows sprang into life from the dark corners, rising and climbing to the higher levels. More screams came from the prisoners on the upper floors as the spell consumed their lives.
The pattern glowed bright white again, briefly becoming three-dimensional, flickering, as if struggling to contain the spell.
Several moments passed. The screams died. Deathly silence fell except for the crackle of fire and the occasional hiss as the blood from the spine dripped into the flames.
“It is done.” Maayavi spoke to Ketuvahana, the only member of the royal family who was brave enough, or perhaps vicious enough, to withstand the terrible sights of the day.
“On behalf of my brother, thank you.” Ketuvahana’s voice held a new respect for the powerful wizard that was lacking earlier.
“For your own protection, do not disturb theyantra,” said Maayavi. The earlier animation in his face was gone completely like it had never existed. “It’s a power source that sustains the spell. The spell itself is corrosive enough to eat anything, but theyantrakeeps it in check.”
“Understood.”
“Now for the matter of my payment…”
“We already gave you a coterie of soldiers for your use,” said Ketuvahana. “They didn’t even make it alive after your ill-fated attempt to steal the idol from the temple city.”
“The incident at the temple city was…unfortunate. It’ll not happen again.”
“Be that as it may, we would like to see some results before we give you anything else.”
The wizard gave Ketuvahana an uncomfortably long look. “All right,” he said. “You’ll see the results for this ritual on the seventh day. And I’ll stay until Prince Aditya is captured by my spell.”
Ketuvahana didn’t like that they needed to play host to the wizard but couldn’t come up with an alternative. He watched as the wizard left the place, promising to come back the next evening.
“Are you just going to let him go?” Nandiketu said as he returned. He still appeared sickly from witnessing such brutality. It didn’t escape Ketuvahana’s notice that he came back only when he was sure the wizard was taking his leave.
“You are welcome to go stop him, brother,” answered Ketuvahana, with a sneer. Silence greeted his offer.
The rain that had been threatening finally broke. The sky wept in torrents; only the expected relief that usually followed an outburst was nowhere to be found.
Chapter 38: The Ruined City of Danavas
In the end, Chandra had to accept the yaksha’s offer of shelter. It was the only thing she could’ve done. Even though she disagreed with his staunch refusal of helping Veer and his reasons behind it, she retained hope that perhaps she could learn something useful to break the curse.
She was glad to have accepted his offer, though. He took her to the part of the forest that seemed inaccessible by conventional means. And even provided her with sustenance. She thought briefly about what Veer was eating and then shuddered, thinking she was probably better off not knowing.
When the morning arrived, it was her first thought. The second thought—what was this place?
Then she got up to explore.
It still felt like she was walking in the forest, except there was some evidence of flat ground, or what was left of it. Patches of flat stone had wisps of grass peeking at the corners. Wherever she saw, there was evidence of vegetation overtaking the boulders, which on closer inspection, revealed themselves as fallen columns and dilapidated stone structures.
Soothing music played from an unseen lute and seemed to be coming from all directions.
