Chapter Excerpt

I reached the graveyard on the outskirts of the village, it was huge. I parked my bike and got off. The

wind was howling and the trees were roaring and swaying in the wind. It was totally dark. Theres a big

difference between dark in the city and dark in the villages. The city always has light source from

somewhere. The villages have more of a complete dark where nothing is visible. Pitch black. Nothing

and no one around for miles. Well, that is if the corpses dont count. Dark shapes of the trees look

sinister and you can feel the mist roll off your skin like a soft touch. It was really cold even in my jacket.

My watch was beeping that it was midnight. As if on cue, a dog howled, another one picked it up. Soon

they had an orchestra going. I stood outside the graveyard with a torch in my hand. One of those huge

metal ones, that can also be used as a weapon. I hesitated, can you blame me? Outside here, I was

marginally safe. Inside there would be no gurantees, I might not walk out of this graveyard. And if I was

right, the graveyard would be the least of my problems. I took a deep breath and pushed the small

metal gate, its touch was cold as ice and it made one of those loud creaking sounds. If this was a movie

then the guy watching it would have been saying No, dont go in, you idiot. Thats where the bad guy is

But thats what I do. I turned on the torch and could see thick mist over the headstones.

I took a deep breath and stepped in. It got colder in here and it had nothing to do with temperature. I

shone the powerful beam of light around and took a few steps in. My heart felt like Zakir Hussain was

banging out a drum solo on it. Wizard, I may be. But there are few things that even we dont mess with.

This was way beyond my league. I smelt something. I groaned inwardly. I was right. I was dreading this

meeting more than anything else in my life and seriously considered running screaming back to my bike

and back to civilization. Here be monsters. Instead I forced myself to take a step forward.

Greetings said a gravelly voice from the darkness.

I turned the torch towards that voice. It illuminated a face that didnt blink in the intense lightbeam. His

face was covered in ash. He had dreadlocks tied in a knot above his head. His eyes were red like they

were on fire. My blood ran cold. A chill travelled up my spine and hit my brain. My head felt light as if I

was falling. It was an Aghori.

Time and reality lay suspended for now. There was no sound. The wind, the dogs all dwindled into an

ominous silence. I was on the other side of sanity. His eyes were like burning torches and it felt like they

were drilling holes in mine and examining my soul. They can do that you know, just look at the person

and size up if they are good or evil. And if they decide you arent worthy, well then, your life insurance

payments were justified. My hands were frozen on the torch. I opened my mouth to say something, but

nothing came out.

Sit down he offered.

I wanted to say no, but strangely my body was doing his bidding. I found myself sitting cross legged on

the mud in the meditation position. He then raised his hand and bought it down like he was throwing

something on the ground; a small fire erupted illuminating him clearly.

It was a scene right out of a horror movie; he had ash all over his body. Sitting in the meditative position

above a dead body. He was naked. He had a beard that was also in dreadlocks that went all the way to

his waist. Oh man, he was sitting on top of a person, a dead one, but still. That ash on him was probably

human. There was a chillum burning in his left hand, and the cannabis smell was strong. It was the one I

smelt earlier confirming my suspicions. Beside him was a human skull with one of its front teeth missing

leering away at my unhappiness of being here. Then I looked at the fire and wished I hadnt.

Oh God, there was nothing underneath, the fire was burning nothing. Still, the flames danced merrily

casting shadows that looked to me as if they were mocking me.

There are laws, there are always laws. No matter what. Even Magic follows laws, once it manifested on

the physical plane, physics took over. Ergo if there was a fire, it needed a source to burn. Cause and

effect. There was no cause here. He saw me looking at the fire and said

First choice, and then comes cause Oh great. A mind-reader. If he was the one who attacked Prajwal,

then I was in big trouble. I thought back to the damage Prajwals body had gone through and shuddered.

I had the torch in my hand, it was nice heavy weapon. I wasnt totally helpless. I am a Wizard with a

capital W. I still had many nasty spells and tricks up my sleeve. If we were gonna throw down right here;

I wasnt gonna lie down and die. I may lose, but I would make him pay him dearly for it. People miles

around were gonna witness lightning and fire from a cloudless sky and find a crater right here. Possibly

with my mangled body in the center.

I offer no harm, wizard he said still looking steadily at me. So he knew what I was as well.

Would you mind if I took a picture of you? Preferably holding up a V symbol on both hands and then

some group shots? Itd be a kickass wallpaper I said. Well, if you havent figured it out by now, I have a

big mouth. It has got me into trouble many times before. I have a gift for saying exactly the wrong thing

in the worst situations. Normal people when frightened or scared exhibit a wide range of behavior from

crying to wetting their pants. I crack jokes. Or try to.

The Ahgori was just looking at me with no reaction. It would be better for me if I didnt make him angry.

It was time to get serious. Im sorry, I mean, I am pleased to meet you I bowed my head but I didnt

take my eyes off him even for a second.

I am...

I know who you are. Named after My Lord. The Great Bhairava, Maheshwara, Bhudeva, Vishveshwara,

Akshayaguna, Avyayaprabhu, Bholenath, Mahashaktimaya, Sarvayoni, Vedakarta He said.

As he said word Bhairava, he stretched out his arms and looked up at the dark sky in a sudden motion

and stayed like that till he had completed. The fire also flared. I recoiled slightly. Then I realized that I

was frozen in place, edgy, and wound up tightly. I tried to relax. I took a deep breath. The bow I made

wasnt really necessary. Aghoris dont really believe in respect or any other cultural convention. To

them, people are just walking dead bodies or shava with emotion. They spend their lifetime in trying to

unlearn these conventions and go back to their roots as they were when they were when they were

born. Hence their bizarre lifestyle. Their goal was to attain Nirvana. On the other side, they attain

tremendous powers with their lifestyle and meditation. An Aghori is always in control of all his senses

and his body. Their blessings can be powerful and their curses are terrible. Their power is enormous. I

could feel this ones power coming off him in waves along with bad body odor.

You seem to be far away from your home I asked

Near, far does not matter. Only my Karma matters he replied.

Ok, lets get down to business, I just wanted to get out of there.

Did you happen to visit a home nearby some time back?

Yes, I did. There was man who had been hurt. His Karma must have been very bad indeed to suffer so.

Aha. So the marks on Prajwal were graveyard symbols. But was it the Aghori who chose to inflict his

karma on him?

The next question was going to be a bouncer. I readied my will, and my most powerful spell. It was right

at the tip of my fingers when I asked him quietly Did you do it?

He was looking at me, his face unreadable. You have iccha shakti, but not gnana shakti. That didnt

make sense, and I sure as hell didnt want to talk philosophy here, in this situation.

Ok, lets try that again did you do it? This time my voice held just a hint of menace.

No. I tried to heal his body. Aghoris are known for their miraculous healing powers.

He continued I sensed someone using Maya to cause harm. I went to the spot, there was no one there.

I tried to save as much of him as I could. Then I left.

I let out a long breath in relief. I believed him. The Aghori didnt do it. The concept of uttering a

falsehood is against an Aghoris way. It wouldnt even occur to an Aghori to lie even if it spared him

danger. Thats why they were going the way of the dodo. So no lightning and thunder today folks. I

didnt even ask him how he got past all the security and into Prajwals room. I reassessed the situation,

sure the aghori looks like a villian and it would be easy to pin this on him. People would believe me. But

sometimes all that is gold does not glitter.

Thank you, Bhairava. I shall take my leave now.

I got up and turned to leave. Wait

I stopped, what now? I slowly turned back. He had something in his hand. This is for you. It will put the

scent of the grave on you He said, holding a small object tied with a black string. I took it, because one

does not refuse gifts, especially if the one giving it can blow you to smithereens. It was a small fragment

of bone. I didnt even want to think about its history.

Thank you again Bhairava. But I am afraid I have nothing in return for your generosity.

Nothing was expected

I nodded my head and left. I walked as quickly as I could out of the graveyard without appearing as if I

was running. As soon as I stepped out, my senses were flooded with the sounds of the wind, the crickets

and dogs howling.