Nine: Vengeance of the Warrior (6 page)

Jake continued to drive the car, eyes peeled on the road, as expressionless as his boss. ‘We are in the business of the unusual, sir.’

Back in the office, Raakin considered the possibilities. He had cause for concern. The symbols of black energy had been lined up as a warning. He shook his head. One could always expect the unexpected in the realm of the Kalingan. He hoped the post-mortem report would give him clarity. But for some reason he believed the witch doctor’s words: those bodies would indeed disappear into thin air.

For now, the Chintamani fragments were safe, carefully sealed in a coded copper box inside one of the stupas at Borobudur Temple near Yogyakarta. The Borobudur energies were so powerful, no Kala Yogi could even reach the perimeter of the temple without feeling tremendous pain and suffering. Shaped like a huge pyramid, the temple consisted of hundreds of miniature stupas. No chance of the Kalingan getting to them.

The Senior Six, apart from Zubin, Akash and Tara, were quietly working in their respective fields. They were in their late fifties, still strong enough to function. When the time came to hand over the legacy to the next generation, the list of names would come from the wise Council. The chosen ones, their names in a file, were totally unaware of their impending life-changing destiny. But they would be informed of the change only when the time was right. Training new entrants into the legacy of Ashoka took time and effort. They needed to understand the dynamics of communication with Raakin and the protectors. They had to absorb the methodology of sharing ancient information without revealing their origins and, most of all, of maintaining the anonymity that was so vital to the survival of the Nine. All this had to be taught. With the advent of the Kalingan spirit, Tara, Akash and Zubin were not prepared, but destiny had chosen them to become members of the Nine. And they had survived it. He hoped they would survive it again.

‘You have been carelessly busy, I see?’ Raakin sent a coded message to Akash. The news of a heroic man saving someone from committing suicide had reached international news wires.

‘I was careful.’

‘Not careful enough …’

No reply. Raakin sighed. In comparison to Tara and Zubin, Akash was the most spontaneously generous and helpful and, at the same time, the most careless, when it came to maintaining the secrecy of the Council. Akash was a reckless man, probably a great bartender, but a lousy team player.

He checked the latest on the other two. Zubin was deeply involved in his work as a medical examiner and researcher. Tara, who was already a certified nurse when she became one of the Nine, had completed her degree course in psychiatry and received a licence to practise. She had a flourishing private practice, fearlessly facing demons of a different kind. They had learned to live with their powers. In this technology- and media-savvy age, it was not exactly an advantage to have super abilities, especially with twenty-four-hour news cycles. It put the Nine in a more vulnerable position. Computer technology, smart gadgets and hi-tech surveillance systems could disrupt the very fabric of the Nine with just one capture on video. And if proof of the super powers went viral on the Internet, that would be the end of ‘the unknown’.

Raakin left his office and glanced at Jake. He shook his head—no news. Raakin needed to talk to one of the protectors. If there was a storm brewing on the horizon, he needed to build a plan. He stopped by a banyan tree.

From the corner of his eye, Raakin noticed a group of red-robed monks approaching. They used this route routinely. They walked briskly, the pedestrians and passers-by hardly noticed them. Religious groups were part of daily life in a big city. One of the monks joined Raakin.

‘I understand that we are expecting some disturbance?’ Raakin said, walking slowly. ‘Why can’t the Council destroy the spirit?’

The monk smiled. ‘The spirit cannot be destroyed. You know that.’ He smiled beatifically as if the world were such a perfect place.

‘There has to be a way to put an end to this recurrence.’

‘You are worried. After all these years with the Nine, you still feel you have control over their destinies?’

‘I can hope, can I not?’

‘Remember the last time the spirit rose? The councillors found the Three who would succeed the previous ones. They were successful. The destruction of the Kalingan enabled the Three to earn the respect of the Council and the councillors.’

‘Yes, but the time may come again. This time we can access the powers of the Nine to destroy the spirit.’

The monk and Raakin strolled side by side, as if they were guru and follower, having a chat. ‘In essence, after their experience with the warrior spirit, Tara, Akash and Zubin acquired the courage and discipline to realize the truth. They are the perfect specimens of this era—capable of facing up to the evils of this generation. Even though the Kalingan power had dissipated and the physical body had been destroyed, the spirit still lurks in the Angkor temples; a centuries-old warrior’s rage is not easy to obliterate, it can erupt again. We should have placed a stronger protective layer in that temple.’

‘You can still do that. The premonition means that we can still salvage the situation. We can still stop the Kalingan spirit from rising again.’

The monk agreed. ‘However, the creativity of the human spirit knows no bounds. It feeds on its whirlpool of emotions and manifests into reality. This spirit had no intention of giving up. Unfulfilled desires in limbo. The power of the mind is immense—if only people would realize their own capacity.’

‘So all we do is wait and watch, and let the spirit take over? I would like to be prepared this time around.’

The monk nodded. ‘We cannot stop what is meant to be. We will be in touch. The Three will have to face the Kalingan again. Remember, the spirit recognizes them.’ He walked away.

Raakin watched the gliding birds. He was no enlightened teacher. But he knew what the monk meant. There was so much turbulence in the world today that the power of unfulfilled desire fuelled by anger and revenge was strong enough for the Kalingan to rise again.

The Senior Six

The holographic images of six of the Nine merged together. ‘From now until we inform you, you are bonded as one. You will be superior in consciousness and intellect. You will be stronger together rather than apart. You will assist the Three when the time comes,’ the councillor said. ‘I have received reports of an impending time of strife, where the power of the Nine will be tested again. The Three will face the entity. You will be their backbone, their guide. You will assist them in times of need. Do not forget your duties in the real world. You work as ordinary men, amongst other common men, but your consciousness will remain in the domain of the spirit, constantly alert, constantly monitoring the earth and mankind.’

After the images merged, the united entity began to speak.

‘We are the power of Six. Our fates veered from the Three when they faced the Kalingan warrior spirit. It was their true courage, their discipline and their ability to sync with the powers bestowed upon them that they were able to achieve their goal.

‘We had to amalgamate into a single consciousness to protect the legacy of Ashoka. The physical exists as it does for any human on the earthly plane, but in the higher spirit of our existence, we have formed a union to assist the Three.

‘With each new era we have evolved into superior beings. We have evolved in such a way as to adjust with the times. Like water, we can seep into the tiniest places, and like powerful gods, we can manifest ourselves with purpose. Our goal is to protect humanity from destroying itself.

‘There have been times when we worked individually as Nine separate entities. There were times when we worked united as Three, and now we act as Six to form the intelligence, the superior consciousness of the Nine. We can become one with the Nine in times of extreme strife. Let’s hope that time has not come yet.

‘The councillors have warned us of yet another attack. We will have to battle with the Kalingan again. We will be the strength of the Three, we will protect them when it is necessary. But for now, we must protect ourselves from the Kalingan.’

4

Tara

Mumbai, 4 p.m.

‘You think you are possessed by a spirit?’ Tara asked calmly.

‘Yes, and I’ve been to everyone to help me get rid of this ghost. I cannot sleep at night. My whole life is going down the toilet.’

‘Why are you convinced you are possessed?’

‘Because someone told me that if you light candles at midnight in front of a mirror, you will see the face of the ghost.’

‘And you did?’

Jerry nodded fearfully. ‘If you don’t help me, my life is over. The spirit doesn’t want to leave.’

He gave her his background details. While he communicated with her, Tara tuned in to his thought waves. Immediately, she could sense the presence of the spirit he spoke of.

Tara decided to talk to this entity. Hopefully, she could convince it to go away of its own accord. ‘I can help you through hypnotic therapy. Okay?’

He agreed.

‘Has your life changed since the incident?’ Tara asked.

‘Yes, a disturbed spirit came back with me from that ancient site,’ the young man murmured softly. He was lying down on a settee, eyes closed. Tara sat next to him, watching her patient’s expression shift from confusion to fear. Sweat glistened on his forehead. ‘He wants me to kill …’

Tara shifted uneasily. ‘And how did this happen?’ Tara asked, maintaining a gentle tone. Jerry was in a hypnotic state. He was not her first patient who claimed to have been possessed by evil spirits. In fact, worryingly, he was her sixth in the past week. Oddly enough, the patients were not connected in any way with respect to background, age, sex or occupation. She didn’t quite understand the reasoning, but it seemed like there was a wave of people who had suddenly become targets of ghosts and evil spirits. Jerry was an investment banker, a bachelor who worked long hours and lived on his own in the big city. He had a girlfriend, socialized with coworkers and had enough money to maintain a happening lifestyle. He was neither an atheist nor superstitious. He didn’t spend too much time thinking about God or his counterparts. Until this happened. And then his life fell apart, he claimed. He went to temples and the priests sprinkled holy water on him, pressed red vermilion powder on his forehead. Nothing worked. Then he visited black-magic practitioners and gurus who used peacock feathers to beat the ghost out of him. It still didn’t work.

‘I was in Rajasthan and some friends wanted to go sightseeing. We went to Bhangarh …’

Tara noticed the twitching of his chin. His lips curved in pain. ‘Stay calm, Jerry. You are safe here. Tell me what happened next.’

Although she didn’t want to, Tara tuned in to his sensations. The fear was palpable, she could sense the terror building up inside him, suffocating and turning his breathing heavy and hard.

She stayed with him. ‘Tell me, Jerry …’

‘There is a warning that Bhangarh is not to be visited after dark. It is cursed and dark spirits still haunt the place. But my friends didn’t care. I tried to convince them to return to the hotel, but they had had too much to drink and were in a mood to stay on and challenge … the ghost of that ancient town. An evil sorcerer’s home is in ruins on the top of a hill. And we went inside this place.’

Jerry trembled. He was agitated and frightened and started crying. ‘No … no … don’t!’

Tara knew immediately what had happened. She saw the vivid snapshots in Jerry’s head. He and his three friends had entered the ruins. It was as if someone had shut out the moonlight. That deep darkness was so creepy that the four stood in stunned silence. They had no flashlight. The place was heavy with the odour of shit. They stood there for a few seconds, then Jerry spoke up: ‘
I think we should leave
.’

His friends didn’t react immediately. They scuffled. Then there was a sudden panic attack and they all started screaming. Jerry’s friends pushed their way towards the exit. He was the last to leave and stood there for a second or two longer than the others. He had sensed a presence that had made him stop. He shouldn’t have turned but he had. A pair of eyes gleamed in the dark. Jerry trembled and hurried to the door, but not before he felt a hand graze the back of his head. Before he knew it, he tripped and landed on the ground, half his body still within the room. And suddenly, he felt someone pulling him inside. He called out to his friends to help him, but they were already racing down the hill. Using all his strength and willpower, Jerry managed to catch hold of the wall next to the door. Instinctively, he knew that he had to prevent himself from being pulled in. For a brief moment the force that was pulling him relented and he quickly hauled himself out of the structure. He rolled down the hill and landed at its foot. His friends were there to help him get back up on his feet and they headed back to their hotel, subdued and quiet. But Jerry wasn’t the same.

He had brought back a disturbed spirit with him.