Nine: Vengeance of the Warrior (14 page)

‘She’s conscious!’ The nurses were frantically working on keeping her alive. Tejaswi felt her body go into spasm, turn rigid. She felt her muscles harden.

The machines beeped wildly. Doctors rushed in as the nurses checked her vitals and gave a rundown on her pulse and blood pressure—they were dropping fast. Tejaswi heard their words, ‘Vitals not looking good … we need to resuscitate …’

What a shitty way to die
, Tejaswi thought. The warrior was just a figment of her imagination. She would have to be buried here. Drifting in and out of consciousness, Tejaswi saw images from her childhood play out as though on a screen. Voices filtered in and out, the doctors and nurses were pulling at her tubes, repositioning her body, pumping meds intravenously. Her stomach felt like it was filled with bricks, spasms of pain hit her in waves. Tejaswi trembled, screamed inside her head; excruciating pain nearly numbed her senses while her mind fought on. She was ready to accept defeat and go with the strong pull towards the light. Her body was nothing but a rag doll, her mind a victim to her hallucinations. She tried to stop the rushing thoughts, the emotions of panic and the odd sensations of regret.

Then, suddenly, the sinister laughter of the Kalingan interrupted her flow of thought.
You must focus … It will bring you strength …

She tried to steady herself but felt like she would explode. Finally, Tejaswi disappeared into the darkness when she felt the cold stab of a needle in her chest.

13

Raakin

The meeting was to be virtual. Raakin was in a specially enclosed space in a restricted-access area of the intelligence division, the room was lined and padded to prevent any sound or signal from escaping. He was waiting patiently. The monk had given him a message during one of his sojourns in the park:
The Senior Six have a message. It is urgent.
Raakin wasn’t looking forward to it. Focusing his mind to calm down, he closed his eyes, sat in front of the screen and prepared for the worst. He had made sure that there was complete privacy. No access from outside and no leaks from inside. This technologically advanced surveillance equipment was capable of detecting the tiniest of communication devices, even smaller than a mosquito.

The screen came to life. The monk who appeared before Raakin was so thin that his Adam’s apple bulged prominently. His bald head shone in the orange glow of a lamplight by his side. He greeted Raakin with a bow and a radiant smile. ‘Tashi deley, Raakin. You look worried, my friend,’ he said in a chirpy voice.

‘Tashi deley, Gen,’ Raakin said, standing up and bowing respectfully. This was the messenger councillor—the matter must be serious. ‘The Senior Six have been overseeing the work of the Three, is there some cause for concern?’ Raakin asked without wasting time. His brow was knitted, eyes peeled on the screen.

The monk smiled. ‘You need to focus on the pyramid more often to find your balance, Raakin. I sense disharmony.’ He continued, ‘The time has come when we must face the demons of this world with courage. The manifestations of the superior intellect of the Six are observing the situation. Whenever the earth faces strife, there will be much negativity within human hearts.’

‘Why can’t the combined superior intellect of the Nine destroy this one troublesome Kalingan spirit forever? Why not end this strife?’

‘The arrival of the Kalingan is man’s doing, his death and disappearance will also be man’s doing. We believe the karma of the Three is linked to this spirit. They have the support and guidance of the Senior Six. The Three must fight the black energies.’

Raakin answered, ‘The Kalingan has been on the earthly plane for too long, his power seems to be expanding. There is a network of Kala Yogis at his beck and call. The Three have received warnings.’

The monk closed his eyes for a few minutes, then opened them, his expression serious. ‘The Kalingan no doubt has risen. This time the human host is a willing female,’ the monk revealed calmly, as if he were speaking of the weather.

Raakin maintained a stoic expression with some difficulty. ‘Gen, I don’t understand. You seem to take the news as if it is not serious. I thought that the Senior Six would have created a stronger protection around the temple grounds.’ His hands trembled and he placed them on his lap.

‘Yes, but the spirit was powerful enough to convey his desire to other restless souls. An Ojaa witch invoked black powers in a woman who came to her for solace and in the process was given this message to pass on to her. The young woman is a willing host conduit. She is looking to exact revenge. She was told that the Kalingan would activate her powers. So she agreed to travel to Angkor to find this spirit.’

‘She was aware of this Kalingan character?’

‘She was aware of a powerful spirit that would serve her purpose. She wants to avenge an injustice done to her. She is aware of the Kalingan’s motives and it is the same.’

‘Do you have her name, location and background? Any other details?’

‘We are still working on it with our contacts. Our network was able to isolate this unusual incident of the Ojaa witch. At the moment, we have managed to pinpoint this woman’s location in Mumbai.’

‘So what do we do?’

‘We have decided on a different approach, something that’s most rare …’

Raakin felt his chest tighten. ‘What do you have in mind?’

‘The Three who faced the Kalingan and destroyed him—Tara, Akash and Zubin—worked well together. The Kalingan will come looking for them first. As you said they have already received threats. They need to be prepared. We want them to be endowed with additional powers.’

Raakin couldn’t hide his shock. He froze, stared at the monk as if he was the enemy spirit.

‘What about the powers of the other Six?’

‘Their faces are still unknown to the Kalingan. The Three he is familiar with will be in danger first. So if they are additionally empowered, they will be able to face off with the spirit.’

‘And the powers of the Senior Six?’

‘We will draw the powers of three of the six members. Their intellects remain connected, so the knowledge remains unaffected. The Three will receive the continuous support of the Seniors. Akash, Tara and Zubin must travel to the Barabar Hills to be tuned.’

‘Then we must act fast. The Three are in different parts of the world,’ Raakin said impatiently. ‘You think they will be able to handle it? What if they are destroyed in the process?’

‘Calm down,’ the monk said. His expression was the opposite of Raakin’s. ‘Be aware of your breath, in and out, slowly.’ After a few minutes, the monk continued. ‘Give your brain some rest by switching off the movements of the mind.’

‘I am fine,’ Raakin said, trying his best to slow down his racing heart.

The monk smiled but did not answer his question. ‘I see your efforts and your concerns. We will act with discretion and careful thought. I will inform you.’

Raakin felt his anger rise. ‘So the Senior Six feel that the new ones are dispensable?’

The monk was quiet. His hands were clasped and he watched Raakin without uttering a word. His clear, still eyes penetrated even through the artificial link-up. ‘The Nine have survived for eons. There have been sacrifices made for each other. Different eras have brought about different kinds of evil. And we have modified the situation to deal with them. As you can see, they have survived. The Senior Six have amalgamated their higher consciousness to assist the Three. This has been done before and it will be done in future. And acceptance is one of the fundamental traits of the Nine. I suggest you keep this in mind.’

Raakin gazed at his hands, took a deep breath and faced the monk. ‘I apologize. My mind is disturbed and I have become attached, more like a parent, to these young members of the Nine. Tara, Akash and Zubin displayed tremendous courage to fight the Kalingan in his previous avatar and fulfilled their mission. They faced danger and fought their own fears. I feel personally responsible for their well-being. I do not wish to see them hurt.’

‘Neither do we. That’s why the Senior Six have decided that they need to have the benefit of additional powers.’

Raakin bowed and placed his hand over his heart. ‘I will contact the Three and inform them of the Seniors’ decision.’

The monk didn’t disconnect right away, sensing there was more.

‘There’s another issue,’ Raakin said.

‘What is it?’

‘There is a nosy journalist researching King Ashoka, in particular, his society of the Nine. She is harmless but still worth monitoring.’ Raakin wanted to hear his opinion.

‘I am aware. I have received the intel feeds.’

‘Can you please guide us on what to do with her?’

He closed his eyes for a few seconds. ‘She is very close to finding out the identity of Akash. I suggest you keep an eye on the situation. But she is not out to cause harm … she has an indirect link with the Nine.’

‘Thank you, Gen, for your guidance,’ Raakin said.

The monk raised his hand. ‘Tashi deley.’

‘Tashi deley,’ Raakin replied.
I honour the greatness in you.

The Senior Six

There was a time when we lived in mysterious ways. A time when people believed in miracles and the effects of faith. The world was much simpler than it is now. But times have changed. The intensity with which the human mind interacts with technology has rewired the neural networks. And with all these changes, the Nine have evolved too. Life has taught the gems to be more alert, less visible to the world. Educating the simpler minds has become more complicated. Helping those in need has become challenging. Technology gets in the way at times. It is this slavery to the robotic, logical and obsessive effects of technology that has resulted in random killings.

Tara, Akash and Zubin are well-versed with this era of gadgetry. They balance their powers with the constraints of this modern world.

They heed the warnings to be covert when it comes to assisting in making this world a better place. Sometimes, they must stand back in the shadows and watch disease and calamities kill many. It is a sacrifice that must be made to maintain a distance. The Nine are not superhuman, they are imperfect beings in an imperfect world.

14

Anita

It was 6 p.m. and the staff writers were ready to take off. It had been a long day. Anita had covered a story on pharmaceutical companies and their overpriced meds. It required research and interviewing pharma execs who were hard to pin down. Many were avoiding the issue or blaming the government.

At the back of her mind, Tejaswi’s communication blackout worried her. A month had flown by, there was no contact at all. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth. Anita couldn’t understand why Tejaswi’s phone was switched off. She had tried calling her a dozen times. Nothing. Anita had been to her place a few times, no one was home. The building security had informed her that she was out of the country. Anita was miffed that Tejaswi didn’t tell her she was travelling. A couple of times she even passed by her store in Colaba, but it was locked shut. The signboard had been tampered with. She was worried. Either the woman had committed suicide in some unreachable part of India, or been murdered, or she had moved to another country to start afresh.

To top it all, Anita had made some headway in her research on King Ashoka’s men. A small report in the London newspapers mentioned a young boy who claimed that a man who was able to remain suspended in mid-air rescued him from a fire.
If that didn’t mean superhuman then what did?
And another news item in a Los Angeles paper had revealed that there was a cluster of terminally ill patients who had been cured of their diseases. They called it psychosomatic miracle healing. Bull! That was really the handiwork of the Nine. These guys were working to make the world a better place, in the process running the risk of being identified. The Nine had survived over time because their first rule was to remain anonymous. But the media these days was too sharp. Besides, what with all those mobile phone cameras … it was difficult to hide anything.