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To read the previous chapter, click here
I rose up but paused to look at my body. My eyes were open and looked back at me with sentience. Our eyes met and the lips turned up into a smile. I felt a connection with myself and it did something to me. Something akin to falling in love, of being loved and needed.
How simple that had been! Even as I turned my attention back to the cell around me, I felt connected to my body still. As I rose up and above the dungeons, I felt my body settling back, alert and aware. That was reassuring. Nobody will drag me away without my knowing about it and definitely not without a fight.
As I emerged out of the cave, I instantly felt assaulted by the heat and the glare. But I was able to withstand that thanks to the cold and the light energies that went about setting the temperature and luminosity just right.
I rose a little higher to get a bird's view of the surroundings and saw a figure prone on the ground. He was surrounded by daits emitting a malevolent red aura. Expecting the figure to be Amrit and fearing the worst, I gently drifted closer but was shocked to see Prince Ajat lying there. Before I could think of how to help him escape, I sensed a movement and withdrew.
I gasped seeing the prince walk up to the daits. His red and gold aura was strong and the red glowed to reflect the anger visible on his face. I glanced at the unconscious body of the prince and saw not even a hint of an aura. I felt pity for him wondering what had happened to Ajat's own aura. I glanced back at the imposter's red and gold, feeling its magnetic attraction and hating myself for it.
The imposter glared at the daits. "Where is Amrit?" he demanded.
I looked around worried. A soldier stepped forward and said, "He is too earth-bound for us to be able to bring him beyond the earth's atmosphere."
"You couldn't even capture him!" the prince shouted. "And so you bring me this ragdoll!"
The soldier hung his head. I expected him to be punished but the imposter merely flicked his hand. "It's ok. I am not surprised. We have failed many times in our effort to corrupt him or bring him here."
This honest admission of failure surprised me. "Looks like we must take the shell to where he is. But I don't know whether I should go as me or this Prabhas here to chant the mantras and destroy earth..."
"Ajata," the soldier addressed the imposter by the prince's name. "We have tried that in the past too unsuccessfully. Amrita is protected. It is impossible to persuade him, trick him or possess him. Forcing him will have no effect. That has also been tried."
I wondered what protects Amrit, what makes him special. I held my breath for a moment -- was I jealous? Yes, yes. I was in Mars and I had been dragged here easily. I am Shakthi and I am clueless. I can see the prince and the imposter and all I am doing is eavesdropping. The Sacred Shell is somewhere here and I don't even know what it looks like and where to look.
I went back to my body in the cell and remained crouching, dejected and disappointed. No inspiration struck me and I just sat there wondering what to do. I could escape back to earth, and be dragged back to Mars... By the apparent lack of guards despite my escape the last time, I was either unimportant or guarded in ways that I couldn't sense at this point.
As my frustration mounted, I got out of my body and decided to go looking for the Sacred Shell. I rose higher and higher to get a better view and in the hope of detecting something that could lead me to it. Right enough, there was a light that shone differently from the intense gold of Mars. I drifted towards it when I sensed someone approaching my cell. I didn't know how my body would behave and turned my attention to it. It was rising and faced the door. I glanced at the light below and plunged quickly.
A light flashed and stopped me. It was a shield to keep intruders out. I quickly scanned the surroundings but could see no difference. Belatedly, I wondered where my little star was and why it had abandoned me. The imposter was at the gates and I would gain nothing by being away. I quickly joined my body and awaited the entry of the red-gold aura into my cell.
This time, he didn't look anything like the prince. But undoubtedly, he was a prince. It was the way he carried himself, and it was the way he had carried Ajat when he possessed the poor prince's body. I wondered if Ajat had ever known his real self.
"Welcome Shakti," he addressed me in a deep voice. "Hope Mars is treating you well."
"Does that disappoint you?" I asked him meeting his eye.
He laughed. "Come, why would I want you harmed, or if I did, leave you unharmed and free to roam?" he asked and winked at me. "Did you see the prince? Poor fellow, not a bad guy, but of no use to anyone anymore."
"Have you killed him?" I asked.
"Am I a fool to do so? Why kill him when he is no threat? Besides, the besotted king will do anything I ask for just to get his son back... Another reason to leave him as he is," he said smugly.
"You will never get away with this!" I said though what I was going to do, bound and chained as I was, was beyond me.
He smiled, a mixture of amusement and kindness. "You are going to stop me?" he asked in a mock gentle tone.
I thought of the star. Surely, it can save me now too. "Yes," I said and tried to focus on the star to summon it. I was in distress, shouldn't it be helping me?
"You are perhaps looking for this," he said and showed a silver gilded cage with the star inside it.
My jaw dropped. "How!?"
"You think I can't wrest out secrets? In your case, I didn't have to try hard. I noticed it in your hand when we met once and then I noticed it in your room too..."
I was dismayed but not about to show it. "You will never get what you want."
"Watch me," he said and laughed. "And guess who is going to help me?"
The way he looked at me, there was no room for doubt. "Me?"
(Continued here)
To read the previous chapter, click here
I rose up but paused to look at my body. My eyes were open and looked back at me with sentience. Our eyes met and the lips turned up into a smile. I felt a connection with myself and it did something to me. Something akin to falling in love, of being loved and needed.
How simple that had been! Even as I turned my attention back to the cell around me, I felt connected to my body still. As I rose up and above the dungeons, I felt my body settling back, alert and aware. That was reassuring. Nobody will drag me away without my knowing about it and definitely not without a fight.
As I emerged out of the cave, I instantly felt assaulted by the heat and the glare. But I was able to withstand that thanks to the cold and the light energies that went about setting the temperature and luminosity just right.
I rose a little higher to get a bird's view of the surroundings and saw a figure prone on the ground. He was surrounded by daits emitting a malevolent red aura. Expecting the figure to be Amrit and fearing the worst, I gently drifted closer but was shocked to see Prince Ajat lying there. Before I could think of how to help him escape, I sensed a movement and withdrew.
I gasped seeing the prince walk up to the daits. His red and gold aura was strong and the red glowed to reflect the anger visible on his face. I glanced at the unconscious body of the prince and saw not even a hint of an aura. I felt pity for him wondering what had happened to Ajat's own aura. I glanced back at the imposter's red and gold, feeling its magnetic attraction and hating myself for it.
The imposter glared at the daits. "Where is Amrit?" he demanded.
I looked around worried. A soldier stepped forward and said, "He is too earth-bound for us to be able to bring him beyond the earth's atmosphere."
"You couldn't even capture him!" the prince shouted. "And so you bring me this ragdoll!"
The soldier hung his head. I expected him to be punished but the imposter merely flicked his hand. "It's ok. I am not surprised. We have failed many times in our effort to corrupt him or bring him here."
This honest admission of failure surprised me. "Looks like we must take the shell to where he is. But I don't know whether I should go as me or this Prabhas here to chant the mantras and destroy earth..."
"Ajata," the soldier addressed the imposter by the prince's name. "We have tried that in the past too unsuccessfully. Amrita is protected. It is impossible to persuade him, trick him or possess him. Forcing him will have no effect. That has also been tried."
I wondered what protects Amrit, what makes him special. I held my breath for a moment -- was I jealous? Yes, yes. I was in Mars and I had been dragged here easily. I am Shakthi and I am clueless. I can see the prince and the imposter and all I am doing is eavesdropping. The Sacred Shell is somewhere here and I don't even know what it looks like and where to look.
I went back to my body in the cell and remained crouching, dejected and disappointed. No inspiration struck me and I just sat there wondering what to do. I could escape back to earth, and be dragged back to Mars... By the apparent lack of guards despite my escape the last time, I was either unimportant or guarded in ways that I couldn't sense at this point.
As my frustration mounted, I got out of my body and decided to go looking for the Sacred Shell. I rose higher and higher to get a better view and in the hope of detecting something that could lead me to it. Right enough, there was a light that shone differently from the intense gold of Mars. I drifted towards it when I sensed someone approaching my cell. I didn't know how my body would behave and turned my attention to it. It was rising and faced the door. I glanced at the light below and plunged quickly.
A light flashed and stopped me. It was a shield to keep intruders out. I quickly scanned the surroundings but could see no difference. Belatedly, I wondered where my little star was and why it had abandoned me. The imposter was at the gates and I would gain nothing by being away. I quickly joined my body and awaited the entry of the red-gold aura into my cell.
This time, he didn't look anything like the prince. But undoubtedly, he was a prince. It was the way he carried himself, and it was the way he had carried Ajat when he possessed the poor prince's body. I wondered if Ajat had ever known his real self.
"Welcome Shakti," he addressed me in a deep voice. "Hope Mars is treating you well."
"Does that disappoint you?" I asked him meeting his eye.
He laughed. "Come, why would I want you harmed, or if I did, leave you unharmed and free to roam?" he asked and winked at me. "Did you see the prince? Poor fellow, not a bad guy, but of no use to anyone anymore."
"Have you killed him?" I asked.
"Am I a fool to do so? Why kill him when he is no threat? Besides, the besotted king will do anything I ask for just to get his son back... Another reason to leave him as he is," he said smugly.
"You will never get away with this!" I said though what I was going to do, bound and chained as I was, was beyond me.
He smiled, a mixture of amusement and kindness. "You are going to stop me?" he asked in a mock gentle tone.
I thought of the star. Surely, it can save me now too. "Yes," I said and tried to focus on the star to summon it. I was in distress, shouldn't it be helping me?
"You are perhaps looking for this," he said and showed a silver gilded cage with the star inside it.
My jaw dropped. "How!?"
"You think I can't wrest out secrets? In your case, I didn't have to try hard. I noticed it in your hand when we met once and then I noticed it in your room too..."
I was dismayed but not about to show it. "You will never get what you want."
"Watch me," he said and laughed. "And guess who is going to help me?"
The way he looked at me, there was no room for doubt. "Me?"
(Continued here)
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