New ArShi FF: Wicked Wings| THREAD TWO LINK UPDATED- PAGE 01 | OCT 13 - Page 46

Chapter 15 (A)

As the Earth takes another rotation, ultimately the darkness has to fade away when Dawn arrives.

*

When the thoughts in her mind had already struck the crescendo, his timid approach continued to act as the final blow to the fall from the cliff of insanity for her.

Zillions of emotions ran through her mind as the words escaped her mouth, the

truth being exposed into the light.

.

.

"Arnav Sciarrone Ray, slash... the Warlock or the Occultist?"

The words once again rang in her ears as she awaited his response only to watch him stand still, looking at her as if nothing had changed, but in her heart, the apocalypse had already commenced.

.

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She wished wholeheartedly that her belief didn't falter, that she didn't regret the fact of exonerating him, that she didn't repent not reprimanding him, though everything that happened earlier had only compelled her brain for retribution, coaxed her being for chastisement.

Time and again she was just getting trapped into an irrevocable paradox, which only led to her devastation, but this time, she was going to fight till she got her way, come what may.

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".. Warlock is a controversial term."

The words thrown by that husky voice, came as a shock to her, which only led to bringing her out of the brain freeze that the situation had put her into, minutes ago.

The drizzles continued to play their charismatic role in this surreal play, which was turning way too theatrical with every passing second.

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"I'm not a Satan."

The phrase gave her jitters as she still found it difficult to come to terms with the fact whether she wanted to run away from him or she just wanted to..

Know him.

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In any case, she chose the latter.

But one thing that put her into a pool of confusion was how did he know that she had considered him the devil, also known as the Satan, all along?

Did he read her mind?

Could he?

Taking a deep breath, she took a step towards him while he continued to look at her with those mesmerizing, mystic eyes, creating havoc of emotions within the depth of her soul, making her crave all the more for the answers, which after ages felt slightly easier to achieve.

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She didn't know really why she was doing what she was doing but some part of her just didn't let her stop this dy. Lifting her right hand, she stroked his cheek with her fingers and he closed his eyes in return as if equally affected by her touch, just the way it had always been for her.

Same temperature, flesh, the bidding emotions, everything about them was so similar, yet they were so different.

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Realizing the proximity between us and stunned at herself for what she unknowingly did, she quickly removed her hand from his face and looked away from him, watching the silent rains as the water droplets continued mingling with the perpetual ocean on the other side.

"..We are no different Khushi, you already know that."

His husky voice coaxed her once again to look at him only to be captivated by that irresistible gaze once again.

Seconds passed by when she understood the real meaning behind those words of his and with downcast eyes, she softly spoke,

"..I know."

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Suddenly she felt the building tension in the atmosphere fade away slowly as he took her hand in his and led her through a narrow path in the woods, whilst she prayed fervently to the Lord in her mind, that no tragedy greeted them, not this time.

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As they reached a secluded spot in the already isolated area, he slowly let go of her hand while she continued to stare at him in anticipation.

She already knew that he could easily comprehend the flaming questions in her mind as he looked into her eyes, perhaps waiting for her to utter the words herself.

She was already aware of the truth by now. She was not a stranger to her strength anymore, but despite everything, a part of her still longed for the reality, the confrontation, in its literal sense.

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"..Tell me."

She spoke the two words softly as she paved the way for the real truth while she watched him resting his back against the bark of a tall tree.

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"Meredith.."

The mention of that name instantly perked her senses as Khushi recalled the ugly truth of her life, which was anyway the breaking reality.

Unfortunately, her reality..

"..You..You look exactly like her and.. I thought.."

His words transcended her from the boundaries of tolerance of a normal being as her mind made her time travel, back to the hard truth and she pictured the words of her Grandma from that letter in her vision.

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"Now that you realized the power of the bracelet and you are ultimately able to read everything, henceforth, my child, my dearest Khushi.. There are many things that now you need to know, which are going to change everything forever..."

"It all started from 1862. When the Cult of the Avizhas was formed."

"Perhaps the world has changed now, but certain things can never become evanescent as their colors continue to remain in some form despite everything else around, transitioning and changing."

"The impact of your great grandmother's faults has to be carried as a yoke for generations to come but I inculcate all my faith in you my dear, to eradicate the sins and pave way for the righteous."

"Meredith's sins made everybody pay a huge loss my child, and today at this hour I can't predict what it holds for the future, for you all."

"But the bracelet, it's a heirloom Khushi and YOU are its sole owner."

"I don't want to believe what I now foresee my dear, but one's face holds nothing of what one's heart holds truly, and I'm certain that come what may, you will never turn out to be like Meredith, no matter how closely similar you end up looking like her, but you won't be her, who will only be someone who would oppose the sinners."

"..But don't get swayed away with the powers that you possess now my child. Always remember, Witchcraft is not a boon, but it only depends on one how to utilize it that it never turns into a curse either."

"You, Khushi, are the descendant to this hard truth, and hence it's on you to carry forward this legacy, regardless of your will, my dear."

"..The bracelet will provide you with enormous power but don't forget, witchcraft is in your blood, the spells are imbibed in your mind, buried in your heart, and no fate, no god, no life can make you defy the inevitable."

.

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The burning emotions in her continued to escalate as the flashes from the past night resurfaced once again, making her come face to face with her helplessness once more.

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"..The Cult.. They..Killed..my family."

The devil's words gave her a jolt of shock as she looked at him with wide open eyes, the tears already streaming up in them.

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"..The.. Avizhas?"

She inquired softly almost choking on her voice as she saw him nodding his head in affirmation.

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As much as she hated the truth, she felt more than terrible to have reality finally meet daybreak as a tinge of rage for her own self sparked up in her eyes.

"That's why you hate me so much.."

She spoke, her voice barely audible to herself but she already saw him understanding what she had said.

She didn't have an intention to reminisce about the past happenings again as she looked into his eyes, which made her rethink her last statement to him once more, questioning whether the tense she spoke it in was right or wrong.

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She saw him flexing his muscles while he now stood straight, a serious expression taking over his face.

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"Meredith was a part of it, Khushi. She made the worst happen. She shed the blood of the innocent ones, the naive ones, and her painful death doesn't undo it all."

Each and every word of his, made her collide with a new milestone of surprise as she learnt a new truth, a new fact every minute.

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She could sense his breakdown as certain flashes tormented him and made him witness the worst once again in his mind.

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"The cult was created way back in 1862, and your ancestor had joined it a lot later. Masquerading as a naive, righteous, innocent witch, she had cast that one spell which trapped the others into the world of wrong doing and compelled them to break into violence, burning those innocent people in this town and elsewhere in the name of witch burning, though the actual truth was something else. They set the bodies of the innocents on fire whereas their true identities always remained concealed from the world. Much similar to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, this town too had witnessed a massive massacre, Khushi. The only difference was that during that time, the evil retained, while their folly made the pure ones perish."

He spoke without any pause as if those words, those incidents were stamped in his mind and nothing in this entire world could erase them. Not even a powerful spell.

"Why would she do that?"

She asked with horror filled eyes, unable to believe anyone could have the audacity to take away lives as if it were some sort of toy to play with.

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"Sometimes, power ruins purity, Khushi."

He answered, the helplessness and trauma of the miserable past evident in his voice.

She gulped the tension within her mind and hesitatingly began,

"..Was..Was Meredith the ..Killer of your..?"

"No."

His sudden answer didn't give her the scope of completing her sentence as his eyes rolled away from her face and stared at the emptiness that surrounded the woods.

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"..It was.. Aloysius"

His immediate confession aggravated in her the restlessness to the power of infinity.

Who was Aloysius?

And if Aloysius was the one responsible for the misery of Arnav, then what was Meredith's fault in this context?

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"You should probably learn the spell to shield your thoughts Khushi."

He smirked at her, finally easing the rising seriousness and tension between them.

But that wasn't enough for her at the hour. She wanted all the turmoil to unravel, and there was no question for a second go this time.

Not for any of them.

"Aloysius is the most powerful warlock in the history of spellcraft. The only immortal that I know of, so far."

His words immersed her in a pool of another unfolded mystery as she stared at him with a blank expression, and finally asked him,

"Immortal? You kidding me?"

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A faint smile curved his lips as he slightly nodded his head and took a step towards her.

"Warlocks and witches can attain Immortality. But it's not that easy. Meredith wanted to attain it too and maybe she would have but her own evilness backfired on her when Aloysius stole this bracelet from her and cast a spell of death, putting an end to her life forever."

Another shock.

Could life be any easier?

What made it more worse was his emphasis on 'this,' making Khushi feel frightened even at the thought of what history her bracelet held and what events it had actually witnessed and had been a part of.

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Taking her own time, she calculated the events in her mind, trying hard to link everything and put all the pieces together and complete the uncanny jigsaw puzzle.

But alas! She was too far from her destination.

And certain pieces were still missing.

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Clearing her throat, she finally gathered her strength and asked,

"..Who are Aaron and Ralph Sciarrone then?"

"Part of the plan."

His reply was so unexpected that she almost fumbled when she tried speaking anything further.

His demeanor suddenly turned more serious as he put all his attention towards her, looking at her with an unblinking gaze as he spoke,

"Khushi, this bracelet holds the power of the world of witchcraft all together. After Meredith died, it was possessed by Aloysius who attained immortality with its help, but later Amelia, your grandmother regained it back with her unusual powers, but her victory was followed by your father's death which.."

She was terror stricken at his last words, as reality seemed impossible to sink in, putting an end to her delusional world where she believed her father had died in a tragic car accident.

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"It wasn't just an accident Khushi. He was hexed by the demonic powers of the Avizhas, and went so insane that he deliberately geared his car to fall from the cliff. It was Aloysius who.."

"Compelled him to do so."

She completed his sentence in a ghostly voice, giving it the defined and obvious meaningful ending as she stared into his eyes, demanding strength to deal with all the new feelings which she somehow wished she had never come across.

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"Meredith was the one who ignited this long ago, Aloysius was the one who helped the flames to rise. He killed my family years ago and then I was helped by my foster dad. That is Ralph Sciarrone."

He spoke softly, the obvious sorrow evident in his tone.

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"But.. Why?"

"Why did he kill them?"

Khuhi inquired, confused by all the new revelations.

"Because my father found the spell to destroy Aloysius, his entire cult."

"One spell, and The Avizhas would have been burnt down to ashes."

"..But before he could put his findings into execution, Aloysius had already played his cards and put an end to their lives as well. "

"..I was a kid back then, not aware of my strength at all but somehow Ralph found me and made me realize my hidden skills, also making me come face to face with the truth of the Avizhas."

He spoke at one go, his voice holding the agony of being parted from his family, at the same time holding the satisfaction of being found by someone who actually cared.

"..So are they too?"

"Yes."

Her question met with his direct answer as she nodded at his confession once again.

She was only too lost trying to assimilate every new thought that her new found life brought to her, when out of the blue, Arnav averred something, that shocked her out of her wits.

"I hated you.. Resented you.. When I saw you that day..At your former office."

His honest but intense statement made her look at him with a crestfallen face as she sensed the rage in his words still as fresh as day one.

"You looked just like Meredith.."

"I felt like killing you that instant second, and maybe I would have done that if, if Aaron hadn't intervened that time.."

He stopped midway, unable to meet her eyes as he spoke, as if he felt guilty from deep within for whatever he did that day.

Her heart thudded hearing the truth, fear tugging in it but the desire for the truth dominating everything else.

"You might think that how can I hate Meredith to this point, when I hadn't even seen her myself and the havoc she wrecked on the people?"

Yes, she did think so. And by now, she was 100 percent ascertained of the fact that he could read her thoughts. Yes, he had told her previously to shield her thoughts, but she didn't know this aspect of her new found life too well to actually believe his saying at face value. But now she would. So with a waiting face, she looked at him to continue.

"So to answer your question, although we are mortal entities in the world of witchcraft, but we have strong visions. Be it premonitions, sometimes nightmares, or simply visions, that help us look into the future or the past. Although looking into the future is possible only for some gifted ones among us, past is something we are all capable of looking into. And hence, none of us are alienated to the destruction caused by Meredith centuries ago."

Khushi was speechless at that statement, for two reasons. She couldn't come to believe what strikingly dangerous powers she possessed now, and was equally scared to even put those to use to witness her own ancestor, with the very same face as hers be the epitome of negativity, when she was completely opposite to that. And the second reason, which was nudging her heart peculiarly was his mention of nightmares.

She was instantly taken back to the chain of endless nightmares that she saw almost every night, the ones which stole her sleep from every night.

The violet roses.

The flames.

Him.

And her.

What did those nightmares mean? Were they also a part of some past, or.. the future?

She felt her throat go dry at the second possibility, but for some reason, didn't think deep about it. Luckily for her, Arnav's voice broke her reverie.

"..But then, I came to know, you weren't her."

"..Not even a pinch of her inner self belongs to you."

He lifted his face up to meet her sight as his voice suddenly became calm and he looked at her, trying to decipher all the events that had happened between them, as if equally baffled by the destiny like she was.

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"..How?"

She whispered softly as she asked him the most obvious question at the need of the situation.

His eyes remained locked on her as she waited impatiently for an answer but no words came her way.

Restless, she was going to re-utter her words when she heard him finally speak.

"I had my reasons. Primary of which was the fact that I could read your mind, which any witch would never let happen. They are all bound to shield their thoughts using the shielding spell, but you hadn't. That made me curious as to how could you, Meredith's descendent, the carrier of her lineage, be so foolish to be this vulnerable. But I was blinded by my hate for your ancestor, so much that I thought you had ulterior motives there too. But then.."

He paused as she saw him taking something out from his jeans' pocket that left her spellbound.

.

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"My necklace."

"..It..It was lo..lost.."

She mumbled to herself as she still couldn't believe the sight of her silver chain with that very same red pendant hanging in the air, floating in a to and fro motion, as he held it carefully in a loose fist.

He walked towards her, bridging the distance between them and a faint smile automatically lit up Khushi's face as he took her hand and placed her belonging safely on her palm.

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.

"So.. it means ..that you.. you were.."

"..I was in that cemetery that day.."

He answered before she could complete her question once again.

'Darn, I have to learn the spell to shield my mind and protect my thoughts!'

She enunciated in her mind to which Arnav couldn't stop the chuckle escaping his lips.

Khushi looked at him, her innocent hazel eyes dazzled seeing the sight of his smiling countenance, the sound of his laugh making her stunned, happily so, for the very first time.

"We.. we can read everyone's mind?"

She asked innocently, to which Arnav shook his head with a smile and stated,

"Only the people who belong to our world. We can read their thoughts as long as they have not protected them with shielding spell. The only loophole is that the thoughts need to be loud. If they are mere thoughts, they can never be read."

Khushi looked at him with a wondrous face. So this was the reason he couldn't read her thoughts about her nightmares. She breathed a sigh of relief at that realization, not really aware why.

.

"..This necklace holds purity Khushi, and no one like Meredith could have let it touch their skin as it would have burnt them that very second."

He said, coming back to the primitive topic, while she cherished the sight of having her necklace back and wore it happily once again.

.

"..That very second I knew that you weren't one of them. You weren't against the righteous, you weren't against the innocents, you were not like Meredith."

A sense of regret clearly adorning his voice, he spoke softly as her sight remained locked on his face, not missing out even a tiny second of that moment.

.

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"..Then why the hatred even after that, Arnav?"

She asked him with a stern voice giving him no chance to evade her question this time, as she was headstrong to have him answer her query.

The lightening once again took over the limitless horizon as the cold winds continued to collide with their bodies, but the new reality, the new emotions, the impeccable powers were enough to keep them grounded.

.

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"I hated you for affecting me, Khushi."

His sentence made the scared, little girl alive in her once again as the storm started taking a new shape and she felt it next to impossible to fathom the hidden meaning his words implied.

"..That day, after the fresher's night, do you even realize you could have gotten yourself killed?"

His sudden query constricted her baffling thoughts as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

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"They believed you to be Meredith's descendant, not just by face but soul too. They would have taken you to be her re-incarnated being, a reckless sinner and killed you that very moment. I had to step in the picture and stop you."

Khushi could see the pain in his eyes, the guilt in his voice, as if he was really sorry for the way he had behaved with her that day.

His words urgently took her back to that moment where he had stopped her from running away, his manhandling her and the moment when she had finally collapsed into his arms.

.

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"But you didn't let me run away."

She said as she recollected the incidents of that night, not breaking their eye lock even for a fraction of second.

"You hadn't realized your powers then. They could have grabbed you and killed you easily. My presence with you was indispensable, Khushi. They know me and thus believe me. Something they would have never done had you even begged for them to trust you that you knew nothing about the world of spellcraft at that point of time."

She hadn't counted how many times he had taken her name today, but all she knew was every time he did so, it made her feel euphoric, especially because of the way he pronounced it.

With a sense of possession, sense of love.

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"Who were they..?"

She asked him, worried about the next thunderbolt coming her way.

"A cult."

His reply gave her a shiver as she wished what she was thinking wasn't true but she felt the terror decreasing when he placed his hands on her shoulders and whispered to her,

"..Ssshh, relax. They weren't the Avizhas, Khushi."

She could feel the muscles in her body relaxing at his reply but her heart waited to know the complete truth.

"This cult, they have the similar goal as us. To kill Aloysius."

He finally spoke after a period of brief silence.

"..And..and the bloody pentagon?"

She asked, afraid as she recalled that dreadful sight once again.

"..A ritual to locate Aloysius.."

He answered.

"Like me, they had also mistaken you to be a replica of Meredith and hence wished to kill you. But now, now they know the truth."

He added.

Gasping for air, she put forward another question in front of him,

"..So your new family is..?"

"Hmm..Part of the cult."

His reply confirmed her guess.

The winds were getting strong with every passing second, ruffling her hair and she made an effort to fix them when suddenly he removed his right hand from her shoulder and brought it to closer to her face, gently tucking the messy hair strands behind her ear.

His feathery touch created ripples of sensations in her body as she could feel her cheeks burning and undoubtedly turning into crimson red.

Running short of breath, with a great difficulty she finally managed to find her voice back and spoke softly,

"..Did you tell them I wasn't evil?"

"..No, I did!"

The new voice out of nowhere made them alarmed and Khushi darted her eyes in all the directions looking for the soul whose voice reached her ears a milli second ago.

SCROLL DOWN FOR PART (B)

She felt a protective stance take over Arnav as he held her close, leaving no stone unturned to keep them safe as she saw his vigilant approach, with which he was dealing with the current situation.

After a minute which apparently felt like hours, she saw a being come out midst the dense forest and approach them with a smile on his face.

His steps quickened as she took a glance at him, discovering that he was of average height, dark-skinned, having curly hair that almost reached his shoulders and he seemed to be somewhat in his mid twenties.

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Khushi could feel Arnav breathing a sigh of relief as he looked at this strange figure standing mere steps away from them.

The stranger shared a smile with them, as she watched the devil reciprocate the same while she looked at the duo with a confused expression.

"Hi! I'm Ezra."

The dark guy spoke with a smile, bringing his hand forward to her, calling for a hand shake while she faintly reciprocated his smile, understanding by now, that he was of no harm.

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"He is a part of the cult, Khushi. Part of our cult."

Arnav told her as she continued with her efforts of learning all the new chapters coming her way, which made her believe that achieving an A grade in this subject of Witchcraft was totally implausible for the time being. And why not? After all she was just a newbie!

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Letting out a deep sigh and getting her composure back, she finally asked the new guy,

"Even you are?"

"No..Umm, I'm not a warlock or anything witchy-woo!"

He replied with a grin.

"Oh!"

Khushi exclaimed, a bit taken aback but at the same time rejoicing the fact of having at least one normal soul around.

Though that was the most foolish feeling one could embark on, especially when she herself appeared to be the leader of anything not-normal right now.

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"But Ezra knows everything Khushi. His ancestors had had a great, unbreakable connection with the world of witchcraft, the people, the powers and he has to carry on with the legacy and hence he is associated with it too. His knowledge relating to this world is beyond ordinary."

Arnav said, his words gradually clearing the dust of confusion from Khushi's mind regarding Ezra..

"Yeah! I can understand.. Legacy, huh? Been there, done that."

She spoke sarcastically, cursing her own fate, the so called legacy which caged her in this bizarre world out here.

She heard Ezra chuckle and saw him taking a look at her bracelet, examining it with his eyes while Arnav looked at her and said,

"It was Ezra who made me aware of your necklace's significance, its purity. I had no knowledge about it until he told me and later he convinced everybody in the cult about it too."

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The thunders continued to echo while their conversation seemed to have no boundaries and her heart craved to know more and more.

"How do you know all this?"

She asked Ezra, who was now smiling at her. Somehow, Khushi already felt a strong connected towards this guy, and was innately thankful that if not anyone else, he was the first one to know that she was nowhere near vicious like her ancestor Meredith.

"Old stuff, books, journals, research work, some practical instances, et cetera."

"Your family's history and everything else. It's a vital part after all."

He replied with a grin on his face.

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"Yeah right. That would be the last thing on one's mind. Can't I just throw this bloody bracelet away and get free from this f**king mess forever?"

Khushi retorted, suddenly being fed up of all the nuisance that life had put her in.

The smile didn't leave the new guy's face as he spoke to her in a determined voice,

"It's not only about the bracelet girl. You were destined for this. You were born to be a part of this. It's in your blood. The bracelet is just an addition to your power, a thing which was needed to trigger your new life."

.

We are all born with some skills, some power, some unknown talent, and the right opportunity always triggers that skill of ours, making us aware of our potential, helping us to explore ourselves, discover ourselves.

Khushi's mom's words that she spoke to her years ago in a different context though, rang in her ears, as Ezra's words gave a new dimension to her thoughts.

She didn't know what she wanted, what she wished right now.

But all she knew was, come what may, she would always want the good, always do the righteous.

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"You shall leave now, it's not safe here anymore."

She suddenly heard Ezra say to Arnav, a serious expression taking over his face.

"Yes, you are right. We will leave now."

Arnav quickly replied and grabbed Khushi's hand to walk away from there when she stopped him.

"..Wait a minute."

She spoke impatiently as she saw the two pairs of eyes looking at her.

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"Am I missing out on something?"

She asked, trying to sound convincing to earn an answer to her question.

Silence once again dominated the ambiance and she felt the agitation at the ignorance once again take shape in her heart when suddenly she heard Arnav's voice,

"..Aloysius.."

"..We believe he's in town. And this place we are in right now, it is a portal. The one that links the human world to a parallel world. Many demonic entities use this place for acts like shamanism, and for people like us, in our darkest thoughts, we are capable of astral projection. We can end up here leaving no trail, just like you did yesterday. But of course, something needs to trigger it. A dark thought, a spell, or simply a demonic entity."

The words left her dumbstruck as she tried analyzing what this meant.

Were they in danger?

Would he, Aloysius, kill them?

What was his motive?

So many questions, but nothing seemed appropriate to what her mind actually wanted to know.

"..But, what does he want?"

She asked incoherently.

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"The bracelet."

"..And maybe something else."

Ezra replied to her query as another round of silence tugged in the air after this

unexpected revelation.

.

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"The bracelet being with you is a threat to his immortality. Especially, when you are a replica of Meredith. Though she was evil, but that doesn't change the fact that both of you possess immeasurable power."

"Meredith faced the consequence of her ill-deeds but your purity and the strength of this ornament shall make you survive Khushi Vermount."

Ezra said, giving emphasis on each and every word as they escaped his mouth, leaving her startled and speechless.

.

So he was back to claim this ornament?

What did that mean?

A new battlefield?

New contenders?

She could feel her heart racing at an uneven speed while her mind tried to fight against the endless questions.

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"But if the bracelet is all he wants, he could have taken it right away, isn't it?"

She asked Ezra, trying to sound logical with my words.

"It's not so easy girl. Why do you think all these years he couldn't get it back? Amelia had cast such a spell on it which kept it hidden from everyone apart from any one of your blood relation. It was made to remain hidden unless you took its possession."

.

There you go!

So ultimately, it indeed was her fault.

Had I not worn it in the first place, all this could have been avoided.'

She thought. A little too loud.

"It's not your fault Khushi."

Arnav stated, making her look at him with perplexed eyes.

"Like Ezra said, you were destined for this. Even if you didn't take its possession willingly, it would have found its way to you, somehow."

Arnav's words brought back flashes of those deadly nights in her mind, that scary voice which coaxed her to find the key, not letting her sleep at all.

Those nightmares.

The sleepless nights.

She immediately understood what Arnav was saying was actually true.

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"We must keep going now Khushi."

He said with a serious voice this time, demanding her to understand the urgency of the situation and she agreed to his words with a nod.

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"Nice to meet you."

Ezra said as he and Khushi shook hands before he went running into another direction leaving them both all alone.

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The cold winds seemed to be in no mood to stop, as the light rain showers continued to pour.

The dark color of the ocean became prominent with every tick of the clock, while the thunders screamed along with the cracking lightning in the sky.

"Let's go."

She whispered to Arnav, lifting her chin to proceed further when suddenly he held her from her waist and she came crashing into his chest, their bodies hardly having any distance between them.

His unexpected gesture gave her butterflies in the stomach and she felt she would lose the control on herself any given minute, when he softly spoke in her ear,

"..Close your eyes."

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And once again, following every word of the Devil as an unchangeable order she didn't dare to defy him and closed her eyes, as she felt him hugging her close to his chest and within a fraction of second, she felt the cold, chilly winds, the sound of the thunders all gone and a new warmth enveloped them, in a cocoon that felt very, very safe and secure.

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.

.

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"What the hell!?"

She couldn't help the words escape her mouth, being utterly surprised at the new sight in front of her, and her lips formed a perfect O shape in shock.

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Sitting in the passenger seat of his Lamborghini, she found him sitting on the driver's seat, looking at her with a smirk on his face, leaving her flabbergasted.

She noticed that they were now outside their college, in the parking lot, the students busy chattering everywhere.

"..How..How did this happen?"

She stuttered as she still found it to be some sort of dream and needed someone to pinch her, to put an end to it.

.

"Welcome to the World of Witchcraft, Miss. Khushi Elise Vermount."

The devil winked at her as he said the words, and her lips curved into a smile as she slowly began to realize what powers she too actually had buried inside of her, the same way he did.

"I don't practice it much you know. Witchcraft, I mean."

He said, while putting on his aviators, his signature smirk still etched on his face.

"I can see that already, with this little teleporting show-off of yours."

Khushi replied instantaneously, and that made him look at her, although with the aviators still on, but she could still find the arrogant, sexily arrogant glint in his eyes, the smirk on his lips matching it up perfectly.

.

The clouds were slowly fading away and the sun was now visible.

Though it was on the verge of setting, but today's dusk was going to mark the new beginning for her, and somehow, for them too.

After everything, she still didn't come to a conclusion to what she wanted..

But maybe, maybe, she already knew.

.

As she looked at him while he tied his seat belt, only one last question knocked her mind, for which she desperately needed an answer.

.

.

.

"..Judith isn't my girlfriend. It was all pretence. She is a part of the cult."

The devil spoke to her without any pause, as his trademark smirk appeared on his face, leaving her all flustered once again.

"Mmhmm.."

She slightly nodded, embarrassed at the fact that he already knew everything she had in her mind and cursing herself for not knowing the shielding spell yet.

"..You wanna say something?"

He inquired with an arched eye brow, as she looked at him, confused.

"Your dance.. Umm.. The cozy dance, at the Fresher's."

He said, hesitating at the last words, yet putting a stress on them.

Khushi already knew now what he was referring to.

So was this supposed to mean, he was actually jealous?

Without giving him much access to her thoughts further, lest he embarrassed her more, she stopped the processing in her mind and spoke at one breath,

"..No..Well, uh, Mase, Mason I mean, is just a friend. Childhood friend."

She could feel his tensed muscles relax at her statement, as if he was free from some burden he had been carrying on for a long time.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he took one last glance at the setting sun, at the endless horizon before looking at the road ahead.

.

Today, she wasn't part and parcel with the new life.

The new strength.

But no matter what, sooner or later she was going to.

For now, Everything seemed fine.

The Devil turned out to be the Angel..

The Sinner turned out to be the Saviour..

Her world wasn't limited to human emotions and everything trivial anymore.

But despite everything, she was loving this phase, where a lot of learning and un-learning was involved.

Wearing her seat belt, she watched Arnav as he put the key into ignition and the engine roared into life and they silently drove away.

**

A/N:

So a lot of you were wondering and waiting to know the whereabouts of Khushi's necklace, I hope you guys are happy now 😉😆

And also, if you guys didn't know it already, here's a heads up-- The REAL story and adventure begins now 😉 Hihihi!

Best,

Simi