The first sight of Maithali broke through his animal state and give him enough strength to stand up like a man. She reminded him of Mrinalini. She had that same look of tender courage, that same ageless wisdom in her eyes. Any woman could be pretty, but Maithali was pretty because her soul showed on her face.
Seeing her made him ashamed. Seeing her defend him made him angry.
He resisted when she sneaked out and tried to send him back to the world. Didn't she understand? It was best for him to die. As long as he was loose, no child, no woman, no man was safe. Even as he stood there, he was trembling with need. The bloodlust was making him crazy, and it took everything he had from stopping himself to grab her and bite her throat.
When she offered him her blood, he almost cried. It wasn't a sacrifice to turn her down, it was the right thing to do. The only thing he could think of to do.
And then the hunters came.
He was still drowsy by the lack of blood, it was that simple. During the endless time when the people from her tribe burned and stabbed and beat him, he lost all contact with the person inside him. He became an animal, as mindless as the mob that was trying to kill him.
As an animal, he wanted two things : to survive and to strike out at the people who were hurting him. And there was a way to do both.
Throats. The image came to him slowly. Blood. He didn't have to lie here and take this. He could fight back, and his enemies would give him life.
The next time a spear jabbed at him, he grabbed it and pulled.
It belonged to the leader of the hunters. He grabbed the man as he stumbled forward, taking him down. And before anyone had the time to react, he darted for his throat.
It was all over in just a minute. He was drinking, getting stronger with every drop of blood. People were staring at him in paralyzed shock.
It felt good.
He tossed the dead man aside and reached for another.
When a group of hunters came for him together, he had grabbed them all and killed them. One, two, three. The blood made him supernaturally strong and fast, and the bloodlust gave him motivation. They kept coming at him, trying to stop him, but he kept killing.
He killed them all.
He was drunk with blood and he gloried in it, in the power it gave him. Killing was glory, killing to eat, killing for revenge. Destroying the people who hurt him. He didn't ever want to stop.
He was drinking the last drops from the veins of a young girl when he looked down and saw that it was Maithali.
Her eyes were wide open, but the light in them seemed to go dark.
He had killed her.
In a blinding instant, he wasn't an animal anymore, he was a person. And he was looking down at the one person who had tried to help him, who had offered him her blood to keep him alive.
He raised his eyes and saw the devastation. He had not only killed her..but most of her tribe.
That was when he knew the truth. He was damned. Worse than Maya. He had committed a crime so monstrous that he could never be forgiven, never be redeemed. He had joined evil in the end, just like Maya promised he would.
No punishment would be too great for him, but then no punishment would make the slightest difference anyway, to these people or the dying girl in his arms.
She stirred.
She was conscious, still barely. Her eyes were still open. She was looking up at him..
In that moment, Abhay felt a shock that was different from anything he'd ever felt.
In those pupils that were highly dilated as if to catch every last ray of light, he saw..himself.
Himself and the girl, walking together, hand in hand walking through the ages. Joined. Different times, different cities. But always the two of them, tied with an invisible bond.
He recognized her. It was as if those ages had already happened, but he knew it was in the future. He was looking down the corridor of time, seeing what should have been.
She was his soulmate.
She was the one who was supposed to walk with him through different times, being born and loving and dying and being born again. They had been meant for each other. They should have had lives together.
But how was it possible? He was immortal, he couldn't die and be born again. And she was dying because of him. He had killed her himself. He killed his destiny.
He sat silent and stunned. He wanted to say, 'Im sorry.' He wanted to say, 'what have I done?' but he couldn't. He had an endless feeling of falling.
I forgive you.
He heard her voice. It was in his mind. She said it as a whisper, but not with her mouth.
You can't forgive me. He could see that she understood his answer. He knew he didn't deserve forgiveness. But he wanted her to know that he had never meant this to happen. I wasn't always like this. I was a person-
We don't have time for that, she told him. He knew that she had seen the same thing, the endless corridor where only the two of them existed.
Her voice was gentle. I don't want you to die. I want you to promise one thing.
Anything.
I want you to promise you will never kill again.
It was easy to promise..he didn't plan to live. Not without her. He couldn't live after what he'd done.
I'll never kill again.
She gave him the faintest of smiles. And then, she died.
Her eyes went fixed and dark. Unseeing. Her skin was ghostly white and her body was absolutely still.
Abhay moaned like a wounded animal. He was shaking so hard he couldn't almost hold her. He reached out to push her hair behind her ear. His hand went to her neck, and left a trail of blood.
He stared at it in horror. The mark was like a blaze of red against her pale skin.
Even his love was deadly.
He picked up her still, cooing body and glanced at the girl staring at them. She had tears in her eyes. He looked around, she was one of the only few survivors. The girl stared at him in fear and disbelief, he walked up to her, and kept Pia's body on the ground. After that, he walked outside the cave, back to where it all started.
He headed back to his home.
Maya appeared out from behind the rock. ''I told you how you'd end up. Now forget that girl and enjoy life with me.''
Abhay didn't even look at her. He knew he could have killed her..if it wasn't for that promise.
''Don't walk away from me.'' She said furiously. ''I chose you, Abheyndra. You're mine. You can't walk away from me.''
Abhay kept going, but her voice kept following him mentally.
I will never let you get away. You will be mine, now and forever.
Abhay travelled fast, and in a few hours, he was home, looking for the person he came to see.
Mrinalini looked up and gasped.
''I am not going to hurt you.'' He said. ''I need your help.''
What he wanted from her was a spell to sleep. He wanted to sleep until Maithali was born again.
''It could be a long time.'' Mrinalini said. ''It sounds as if her soul has been damaged. It could be hundreds of years.''
Abhay didn't care.
''And you might die.'' She looked at him steadily. ''And with what you've become, I don't think you can be reborn. You would just..die.''
Abhay simply nodded. He was only afraid of two things, that Maya would find him or he wouldn't know when to wake up.
''I can arrange the second.'' Mrinalini smiled. ''Your souls are linked, anyway. When she's born again, the voices will whisper to you.''
Abhay knew how to solve the first problem. He dug himself a grave. It was the only place where he could count on being safe and undisturbed.
He went to sleep.
He slept a long time.
PRECAP:
''Oh my gosh, T.''
''T did it?'' Kabir snorted.
''No, I mean, yes, I mean, I don't know.'' Misha shook her head.
--
When he did find her, it was in Egypt. She was seventeen, her name was Mah-nakht. She looked the same, brown eyes, black hair, tall, beautiful.
Except for one thing.
Across her neck, where his fingers had smeared his own blood that night when she died in his arms, was a red mark like a bruise.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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