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“What’s going on here?” asked Aarav in a strict voice as he reached the cave. Both he and Arjun stood near the villagers who stared back at them, scanning their uniforms.
“Who are you?” a young villager asked, wanting to know whether they were trustworthy.
“Commander-in-chief, Aarav Singh.” He fished out his army ID from his jacket pocket and held it up for the villagers to see. “Who are you? What are you all doing here?”
“We’re the people of Kendraa Village.”
“I have never heard of this village.”
“It’s a secluded spot out here in the desert. It’s only fifteen minutes away from this cave.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“This is the cave of Dali, who has risen with her evil force to rule earth.”
Arjun and Aarav glanced at each other, the same thought occurring to them: the young boy and the girl might have arrived here to ensure the immortals’ deaths.
“Do you know Rahul, and...” Aarav paused, having forgotten the girl’s name. “What’s her name?”
“Elisa!” added the villager.
“You know them?”
“Yes. They’re here—”
Aarav rushed inside the cave, followed by Arjun, eager to know whether the couple had found a solution to stop the immortals. As they proceeded toward the chamber, the news of their identity spread from ear to ear, and so none of the villagers dared to stop them or get involved in any trouble.
By the time the news of their arrival reached Banjeet’s ear, they were approaching where he stood, and Banjeet, turning to the villagers around them, said reassuringly, “I know them.”
“It’s nice to see you here,” said Aarav.
“It’s nice to meet you again.”
Aarav nodded, buzzing in anticipation. “Where are Rahul and the girl?”
Banjeet hesitated and looked down as if he wasn’t sure what to tell him. He doubted that they would believe him, but he had to speak the truth, because only his truth could help Rahul and Elisa survive in the Underworld.
“Is everything alright?” asked Aarav after glancing at Arjun, wondering what he made of Banjeet’s curious behavior.
“They’re in the Underworld. They are going to kill Dali.”
“Underworld!” they both said in unison, their eyes widening in shock.
“Dansh took them there after Rahul found a way to kill him.”
“There must be a way that we can enter the Underworld to help them. Isn’t there?” asked Aarav. His heart was thumping fast, eager to reach the Underworld as soon as he could to help bring Rahul and Elisa back safe.
“Dansh chanted a spell, and a portal appeared here,” said Banjeet, pointing at the wall where the portal had appeared a while ago.
After a moment of staring in disbelief, Aarav shifted his sights to Banjeet and asked, “Did you hear what Dansh said?”
“No. He whispered it.”
Aarav sighed, and Arjun looked down. There was no way to the Underworld without knowing magic.
Then, by chance, Arjun’s eyes happened upon a thick book on the floor, flung in a dark spot in a corner where someone would rarely notice. The title of the book was Spells for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He walked over to it, crouched, and picked it up. Then he returned to Aarav.
“What is this?”
He lifted it up and showed him the cover. “Perhaps we could find a spell in here, or at least some more helpful information on any other way to enter the Underworld.”
“I found this earlier with some other books about black magic,” said Banjeet, cutting in. “I thought it could be helpful, so I put it in that corner as I believed no one would notice it there; I fear it is dangerous, so when you are done with it, I’ll hide it somewhere safe where only I can find it.”
“And it’s our fortune that the book didn’t grab Dansh’s attention when he was here in the cave,” Arjun added.
“I agree,” said Aarav. “But I would suggest the next time you find something this precious and helpful, keep it safe with you so that a wicked one can’t find it, not even accidentally—like my teammate.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir!” said Banjeet, looking down as if in shame. “I’ll remember my error and will not repeat it again.”
Aarav nodded. Then to Arjun, he said, “We should open it now and stop wasting any more time.”
Arjun nodded and opened the book, flipped through a page or two, and halted at the content’s page. He scanned the list and stopped when one phrase jumped out at him: ‘Underworld Spells’.
He flipped to the page the section was designated, and there in the center, over a black and white picture of the portal, he saw the spell to enter the Underworld. Underneath, there was more information about how to open the portal, such as how and when to close one’s eyes and open them again, how and where to put one’s hand on the portal, and so on.
He looked up at Aarav in excitement, checking whether he was ready, and he stood up as Aarav said, “let’s do it.”
Following the information in the book, Arjun did exactly the same thing Dansh had done to open the portal. He stood, closing his eyes and putting his hand on the wall as Aarav directed him to, and then as he sensed the vibration, he removed his hand. The portal appeared, at which both stared for a few seconds, and then, with no hesitation, for they knew that time was running out, they jumped into it, ready to battle whoever—or whatever—they encountered.
* * *
It was obvious that any ordinary people would tremble on finding themselves on the narrow path between the deathly river and the chasm that led to Sekiada’s palace. However, Aarav and Arjun were soldiers who had mastered their army training. They had walked over a rope tied hundreds of feet above a river, between mountains. Many trainees had fallen off it during training, only surviving because of the safety rope attached to them, but Arjun and Aarav never fell.
Now, while they were walking the deathly path to the Underworld, they moved cautiously, stopping unmoved for a while to stare at the river of fire and the chasm of skeletons and insects. Soon enough, they reached the other end, much faster than Rahul, Elisa, and Dansh had.
Now they stood at the gate to Sekiada’s palace, scrutinizing the entrance. This time no flesh-eaters were waiting for visitors.
Arjun drew his gun out of his holster, prompting Aarav to take out his AR-M1. Ready with their weapons, they walked forward.
As they proceeded toward the palace, Aarav noticed a small alley on the right. He craned out his neck to check for danger and then swiftly jerked back to stay hidden behind the wall.
“Pishachas,” he whispered to his friend.
Arjun shifted his eyes to the right and walked ahead of Aarav to peer down the alley. “Yes. I see them. They are so many.” He looked again. “It seems like they’re guarding a chamber or something.”
“Rahul and his girlfriend must be in there,” said Aarav. Even though Elisa was a short and memorable name, he was having the hardest time remembering it. “Perhaps that is the reason the pishachas are on standby outside. Or is it something else? Something more sinister? How many are they?”
“It looks to be about fifty of them,” said Arjun, scanning the pishachas. They were blocking the door completely. “No,” he amended, as Aarav looked ready to attack “They might be a hundred or so.”
A pregnant silence passed between them as Arjun watched the pishachas, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Aarav’s mind was lost in a den of thoughts, also trying to think how they might enter the chamber without fighting all of these flesh-eaters.
“Do you see any other entrance or any other way of entering that building?”
“There’s only one door I can see,” said Arjun, scanning the towering wall. “The chamber is spread over an open land between the wall of this alley and the palace’s wall at the other side. The walls are unclimbable.” He shifted his look to the ground. “Not even any trees or bushes, which might lead us to the chamber’s wall and help to hide us from all those fucking pishachas.” He turned to Aarav. “There’s no other way to reach there.”
“Great! So, we must battle them to enter. Ha!” Then Aarav stood quietly, as if thinking.
Arjun also stood quiet, waiting for his friend’s response.
Aarav shot another question at him, “How many bullets do you have?”
“Not sure, but perhaps only about six magazines are left.”
“So mostly everything is on me,” said Aarav. “No worries. You move ahead. I’ll give you cover.”
As they exited the alley and proceeded toward the chamber, the pishachas spotted them immediately. They growled in rage and hurtled toward them. It was at this point that Aarav remembered the two grenades he was carrying. He stopped and put his gun back in the holster so he could fish out the grenades from his jacket. As the pishachas came closer, he threw one at them, quickly followed by the next. In seconds, as they dropped and blasted, the sand whirled over the place, all of the pishachas fell to the ground, dead or severely wounded. Blood running out of the dead like water flowing out of the bathtub. And the pishachas, mutilated, remained lying while growling in agony.
Surprised by this sudden boom, Arjun turned around and looked at Aarav. “That was impressive, don’t get me wrong, but what if I had marched forward a little more?”
“I should have warned you; I know. I’m sorry. There was no time.”
Arjun grinned. “No need to be sorry. I enjoy being with you. I always have. But do warn me the next time.”
“I will.” Aarav said, smiling back at him.
They both walked to the chamber making their way through the disabled pishachas, keeping their guns ready, and pushed the door, hard. It screeched open, grabbing Dali, Rahul, and Elisa’s attention.
Aarav and Arjun’s eyes met Dali’s, and then suddenly spotted the two humans behind her, hanging in mid-air. Upon their arrival, their faces held fresh looks of hope.
Aarav scowled, and he pointed his gun at Dali, pressing the trigger with an intention to kill her instantly. But the bullets he fired did not reach their intended target; they all simply went through Dali, who had become transparent. Arjun could have fired as well, but he knew it would be his stupidity when he only had a few magazines left.
“Stop wasting the bullets,” he said in a loud voice, but Aarav didn’t hear him as his gun was roaring, and he continued firing, his full attention on Dali, perhaps hoping to see at least one bullet make its way into her heart.
Dali remained standing in her place, not even flinching as the bullets sprinted at her. It seemed as if she was enjoying the moment, or she was waiting for him to stop and finally feel his failure, before she showed him her unholy powers.
“Leave them,” yelled Aarav, “or I’ll kill you.”
Dali now focused her stare on the bullets that were still on their way to her, and suddenly she jerked her head. All the bullets dropped to the ground, and Aarav’s gun stopped firing.
Dali’s red eyes fixed on Aarav as he stumbled to balance himself, his finger managing to still move on the trigger, but the gun was now firing bullets in a random direction, and he had no control over it. Aarav attempted to shift the muzzle to Dali, but it was as if there was an unseen force pushing it in a different direction. Arjun stood there staring at him, waiting for a chance to help, but there was nothing he could do.
“She can’t die that way. You can’t wound her with bullets,” shouted Rahul. “You need to burn her. Or, if you just want to weaken her for a while, to give us a chance to leave this place, you should chant a devotional hymn, like Hanuman Chalisa.”
“She must die today,” raged Aarav, his eyes fixed on Dali.
She just gazed back at him as if he was stupid.
“NO,” raged Arjun. “Listen to Rahul. Do as he says. I’ve heard it from Dad: Hanuman Chalisa keeps the evils away from you. We could have chanted it already if we knew the full hymn. Sing it to weaken her, and then we will burn her.”
“Yes, you must do that,” shouted Elisa.
Aarav’s eyes narrowed as he realized his stupidity at wasting this many bullets.
“If you even think about killing me, I’ll kill that woman in the corner,” said Dali, pointing at Sekiada’s wife.
Arjun and Aarav peered at the woman. They glanced at each other with no idea what to do.
Dali stared at them, grinning.
After a pregnant stare, Arjun and Aarav looked at each other, eyes full of determination.
“The hymn!?” said Arjun.
“I think that’s the only way!” said Aarav, raising his gun.
“The guns are worthless against her,” said Arjun.
“If she’s weakened, we might be able to injure her and prevent her from attacking us,” said Aarav. “I think that might be possible.”
Dali stood there, looking at them with a grin on her face. She didn’t care what Arjun and Aarav were whispering; she knew she could defeat them easily.
They marched toward Dali, and the grin vanished from her face. She turned her gaze to the woman and her scowl freed her from the chains, shifting Aarav and Arjun’s attention.
As the chain shattered, Dali began to levitate the weak woman in the air.
The woman was behind Rahul and Elisa, so they couldn’t see what was happening. Instead, they watched Aarav and Arjun, waiting for them to take action before Dali could harm the lady.
Keeping her glare on the woman, Dali said through gritted teeth, “Don’t you dare follow this boy’s advice. If you sing one note, she will die instantly.”
“Do no’ care about me,” the woman tried to say. “Le’ me die. Lot of pain. Giv’ me happy deth, bfor she give me the penful one.”
Her words left everyone with sadness in their eyes, except, of course, for Dali. She held out her hand, and her arm suddenly grew, extending across the chamber by 1-foot ... 2-foot ... 5-foot ... 20-foot ... until her hand reached the woman.
And then she strangled her.
The woman fumbled with her hands and legs, flapping like a fish lost in a panic at finding itself outside of water.
Knowing the woman would die soon—before Aarav and Arjun could manage to weaken Dali and finish her off—Elisa shouted, “Kill her! She’s already gone through unimaginable pain. Help her get salvation. Give her a happy death.” Saying this, her emotions overflowed, and she broke into tears, but still unable to move, she couldn’t wipe them away, and so they kept pouring out of her eyes, down her neck, landing on the ground.
Aarav, who never believed any criminal and never followed any civilian’s advice, turned his gun toward the woman, trusting Elisa, only because, at the moment, she and Rahul were the only ones with all the information about the evils.
He killed the woman with one headshot, putting her out of her prolonged misery.
Enraged, Dali ceased her grip on her and let her body fall to the ground.
She turned to Aarav and Arjun and screamed.
She levitated herself and glided toward them; Rahul and Elisa kept watching her in distress.
Arjun marched forward and began to sing Hanuman Chalisa in a booming voice.
“Shree guru charan saroj raj, nij mann mukur sudhari. Baranavu raghubar bimal jasu, jo daayaku fal chaari—”
Dali let a scream of wrath surge out of her mouth to block out the sound of the hymn. It echoed around the chamber. However, it had already begun to impact her powers. Not wanting the devotional hymn to disable her completely, she continued screaming.
But Arjun only increased his volume and began to shout the hymn.
“JAI HANUMAN GYAAN GUN SAAGAR, JAI KAPISH TIHU LOK UJAAGAR, RAMDUT ATULIT BALDHAMA, ANJANI-PUTRA PAVAN SUT NAAMA,” Arjun stared directly at Dali as he bellowed. “MAHABIR BIKRAM BAJRANGI, KUMTI NIVAR SUMATI KE SANGI, KANCHAN BARAN BIRAAJ SUBESA, KAANAN KUNDAL KUNCHIT KAISHA—”
Dali stumbled, her head circling around in dizziness. The hymn was weakening her, reducing her ability to scream. Taking advantage of the situation, before Dali could control her mind again, Aarav pressed the trigger, and the gun roared once more, but this time directing its bullets into Dali’s body.
Arjun didn’t stop chanting, knowing that if he stopped even for a second, Dali’s senses could bring her back to full attentiveness. Rahul didn’t know the hymn completely, even though he had heard it many times at home from his parents as they were worshipping Lord Hanuman, but he knew some parts. He joined in a low voice. Elisa stayed quiet as she didn’t know any of the words at all, but she watched eagerly.
Giving up on attacking them, Dali tried to use her powers to disappear, and she somewhat succeeded. Looking at her transparent legs, Rahul screamed at Aarav, “Burn her before she completely disappears.”
Rahul’s words panicked Arjun. How will I burn her? He slowed down his chant but didn’t stop.
But they were too late. Dali had disappeared completely.
Still hanging in mid-air, Rahul and Elisa looked as far as their eyes could see for a sign of where Dali had gone, while Aarav and Arjun also searched the chamber but found her nowhere.
“Where did she go?” shouted Aarav, his voice full of rage.
Arjun stopped chanting. “She must be here somewhere,” he said.
After disappearing, Dali had instantly appeared on the ceiling. Now glued to the top of the chamber, she stared at Arjun, who was now again chanting the hymn in a low voice. All of his senses were focused on finding Dali, listening to the sounds of danger, rather his chanting.
She enjoyed the moment as they impatiently tried to find her, failing each time. As Arjun was singing the hymn in a low voice, Dali was not in pain of being weakened by the hymn anymore as his voice was not audible to her. Now, she enjoyed the feeling of horror they emanated, fearful that she might ambush them.
“Wait!” said Arjun, taking a break from chanting the hymn. “Even if we find her, how will we burn her? We don’t have anything that can produce fire.”
Rahul sighed in disbelief.
“I had a fire gun with me on the battlefield,” said Aarav. “I wish I had brought it here.”
“We cannot even go back to bring it,” said Arjun. “We’re in the middle of the battle.”
“I KNOW. FUCK,” yelled Aarav, thumping his foot on the ground, feeling angry at his error.
Elisa looked at Rahul, her eyes filled with hope, while Rahul’s eyes fixed on the ground, as he tried hard to dig through his brain to find any helpful idea to end Dali’s reign of terror.
They continued to search the chamber expectantly, and as he moved, Arjun resumed chanting in a slow voice, changing the hymn every so often as if that might help. At one such time, between hymns, Dali took her chance. Before the name of God could enter her ears once again, she jumped on him.
He immediately raised his voice, “TINO LOK HAANK TE KAANPE—” but his words became muffled as Dali covered his mouth with one hand and almost strangled him with the other. Rahul, Elisa, and Aarav shifted their attention toward Arjun, and all were gaping at him as he now struggled to loosen Dali’s grip around his neck.
No one yet had come up with a solution on how to produce fire, and Aarav didn’t know the complete Hanuman Chalisa; he always had trouble remembering it, so he was at a loss. But panic-stricken and with nothing left to try, he began to chant whatever he could remember, singing aloud with the hope it would weaken Dali, even if for only for a few seconds so Arjun could get a chance to free himself.
“BHOOT PISHACH NIKAT NAHI AAVNE, MAHABIR JAB NAAM SUNAVE. NAASE ROG HARE SAB PIRA, JAPAT NIRANTAR HANUMAT BIRA, SANKAT SE HANUMAN CHUDDAVE, MAN KRAM BACHAN DHYAN JO LAAVNE—”
As the hymn once more entered Dali’s ears, her grip loosened, and Arjun managed to free himself, pulling her hands away from his neck. He stood up frantically and joined Aarav in singing the hymn.
“TUMHARE BHAJAN RAM KO PAAVE, JANAM JANAM KE DUKH BISRAAVE, ANTKAAL RAGHUBAR PUR JAAI, JAHAN JANM HARIBHAKT KAHAI—”
Dali, now completely weak and unable to take any action, remained on her knees, feeling dizzy as the hymn continued to harm her. Still, to Elisa, it seemed that she was still strong enough to stand up or even disappear again, and in that moment, she realized that she did know some of the words of the hymn. She had heard it a few times from Rahul’s parents when she spent a time with them at his home, so she also began booming, following Arjun.
“JAI JAI JAI HANUMAN GOSAI, KRUPA KARO GURU DEV KI NAAI, JO SAT BAAR PAATH KAR KOI, CHHUTEHI BANDHI MAHA SUKH HOI—”
Rather than joining in with the hymn, Rahul closed his eyes, his full attention on planning what to do next. He thought of the stories he had heard from his grandma in the hopes it would inspire his mind to find the answer. He was whispering to himself, “Churel! Fire! Grandma! Churel! Horror stories! Grandma! Churel! Daayan! Stories! Grandma!”
Then an idea struck him. He opened his eyes, smiling broadly.
It was true Dali had frozen him in the air, but not like Elisa, who wasn’t able to move her body parts at all. He still could move his arms—in a limited way, granted—but he was able to reach his pocket, and from there, he pulled out his grandma’s locket with the Om pendant, which she once used to end a daayan’s afterlife.
“How could I forget this?” he whispered.
Now Dali lay on the ground, having fallen on her back. She had fainted from hearing the hymn and lay there like a dead body.
Finding this the perfect moment, Rahul threw the locket, aiming at her heart. He succeeded. It only took a few seconds before the locket showed its power. Dali began burning in bright flames. Over several minutes, as the fire continued to blaze, she eventually turned to ash.
There was a complete silence upon Dali’s death, only broken by the sound of Rahul and Elisa as they fell to the ground, screaming as they did so. But then they beamed at each other, finding themselves free from Dali’s conjuring was a clear sign that she was no more, for her magic no longer worked.
However, all was not over yet. Some rakshasas who had been lurking around the palace had noticed the dead pishachas outside the chamber. They had already alerted other pishachas and rakshasas who still resided here in the Underworld.
“We must leave now,” said Arjun.
Aarav nodded.
“Sure. Perhaps the demons will be on their way already,” said Rahul. He wanted to ask how the officers had reached the Underworld without the help of Dansh, Sekiada, or Dali, but he knew it wasn’t a good time. He took a step to exit the chamber but stopped when curiosity overtook him. “How did you enter the Underworld?”
Sensing the impulsiveness in Rahul’s tone, Arjun answered in a rush, “The book of witchcraft and wizardry in the hut.”
Rahul didn’t know which specific book Aarav was talking about, but he remembered Banjeet telling him how he’d moved some he’d found while digging the tunnel.
Elisa hummed as she also understood.
When the thunderous sound of growling pishachas marching toward the chamber reached their ears, Arjun said again, “We need to move.”
Rahul and Elisa agreed and marched after Aarav and Arjun, picking up a dead pishachas’ swords each, just in case.
As they hurtled toward the palace’s exit, they encountered the pishachas and rakshasas a few feet away. They stared at them, waiting for the evils to attack.
As some of the demons ran to them, Aarav, still holding his gun, stepped forward and showered the bullets on them, screaming in rage. “Aaaa... come on, you bastards. Get the fuck out of here. Aargh!”
As more demons moved forward, Aarav charged without removing his finger from the trigger. He and Arjun continued shooting the demons, Arjun spitting bullets into their heads at point-blank range as he had only a handgun, not a rifle like Aarav. and Rahul and Elisa swung their swords, severing the demons’ heads and arms.
Continuously battling the wicked force, they exited the palace and reached the edge of the narrow path. The officers knew it would take longer for Rahul and Elisa to cross than them, so they let them go ahead, and they stood there, wielding their weapons to stop the demons from reaching them.
By the time Rahul and Elisa had crossed the path, Arjun had run out of the bullets. “Move!” Aarav ordered. “I’ll follow you.”
When Arjun was halfway, and Aarav had killed half of the demons by showering bullets on them, he turned around and continued on the deadly path himself.
Aarav continued to fire, feeling the sheer power of his tenacity. The commander-in-chief, who had won many battles against humans, had also won this battle against evils. But unfortunately, just as he was about to step off of the deadly path, a rakshasa reached him by leaping high from the other side. The rakshasa’s hand grabbed Aarav’s neck in his tight grip.
Rahul, Elisa, and Arjun gaped at him in dread, but by the time they had understood what was about to happen and tried to move forward to save him, and before Aarav could unclasp the rakshasa’s grip on his neck, the demon lost its balance, and its leg slipped off the path. It fell into the fire, taking Aarav down with it. In a fraction of a second, both melted, leaving no trace of their existence.
Rahul, Elisa, and Arjun were in shock, but there was no time for them to process Aarav’s death. The demons were on their way. There wasn’t time to feel guilt or mourn him yet.
They had to exit the Underworld swiftly, before the demons could exit too, which would only give a fraction of a moment to figure out how to close the portal on the other end once they had reached the cave.
Rahul rushed to Elisa and jerked her hard. She was sobbing, whispering, “He—”
Rahul interrupted her, turning her head toward the bloodthirsty evils on the way to them. “We must leave now.”
He grabbed her hand and ran after Arjun toward the wall which was only a few steps away.
A few demons had already crossed the path and were now hurtling forwards. As they marched toward them, Rahul and Elisa’s heartbeats rose in fear. Arjun was opening the door: chanting a spell, keeping his eyes closed and his hand on the wall.
Thank God Arjun had found the spell easy to remember. Wooka wooka, bring the blood, wooka wooka, hail the evils. It was quite a long spell; however, Arjun had somehow made it simple, teaching himself to remember it.
When the wicked force had almost reached them, the portal opened and Elisa jumped in, then Rahul, and after him, Arjun.
The demons reached the portal just as it closed. One rakshasa touched his hand to the wall and began chanting another spell, staring at it and waiting for the portal to appear.
But by the time he completed his spell, Rahul, Elisa, and Arjun had already exited the portal at the other end in the cave, where Banjeet and the villagers stood waiting for them.
The spell to close the portal was a different one, and so Arjun swiftly grabbed the book and began flicking the pages with the hope of finding a way to close the portal forever. As soon as he found the spell, he began to follow the instructions, snatching the sword from Rahul’s hand and making a small cut on his hand.
Amazed at his act, Banjeet watched in silence before turning to Rahul. “Where is the other officer?”
“He died,” said Rahul quietly.
Banjeet stood there feeling the sorrow of his death.
Arjun put his bloody hand on the wall and chanted the spell, closing his eyes. As he chanted, the blood that ran out of his hand spread into the wall. He felt something piercing his nerves as the portal began to soak his blood. It was working. As described in the book: ‘the wall would ask for your blood, and it would close the portal only after soaking enough to satisfy its thirst.’
When Arjun completed the spell, the floor beneath them shook slightly.
They had done it. The portal was closed forever, and that minor earth quiver was the proof.
Arjun fell to the ground as the wall pushed him away from it.
Back in the Underworld, their side of the portal had opened again, and the demons had entered it. But, when they were halfway to the cave, Arjun completed his spell. As the portal closed forever, it pushed all the demons back into the Underworld.
Enraged, the demons growled and thumped their feet on the ground. Some of them even threw other nearby demons into the river and the chasm in rage, as if their failure was their fault. They were trapped.
