She stared at him. "Did you dislike him,Abhay?" His face grew cold and stony. "Brilliant work," he said sarcastically. "Of course I disliked him-he was responsible for creating us,after all." "Creating?" repeated Piya. "Of course," said Abhay. "Kabir Hasding made the first gene mutation between humans and vampires. He was the one who invented the Diablo-he was the one who-" "You're looking at from a biased point of view,"said Piya coldly. "And what's a Diablo?" Abhay smiled. "You mean you don't know? It's the machine they use to control us."
Piya stared at him. An image of Kabir's gentle, smiling face flashed past and she felt a surge of dislike for Abhay. "Just because you heard it from someone else doesn't mean it's true," she snapped. "Kabir would never invent something like that. He was good -natured, kind, warm, understanding and open-" She turned away. "Princess," he said quietly,"did you really love him? As-as you would love the one you wanted to be bound to for the rest of eternity?" She whirled around to glare at him. "The kind of love you speak of, mutant, is one that is reserved for soulmates," she snapped. "Kabir was not my soulmate-that does not mean I didn't love him." But he heard the misgivings in her voice. Something sparked within Abhay; he wondered if the Princess had ever really been in love with Kabir. The thought gave him hope. "Shouldn't we start moving?" she asked, her tone hostile. "I apologize," he said, trying to placate her.
"It was wrong of me-" "Damn right it was!" she snapped. "-but I won't change my views," he finished, causing her to glare at him, but he simply rolled his eyes. "And yes..we should start moving. Please wear my cloak."
Silently, she put back the jar of pain reliever and wore his cloak, but when she began to hoist her bag onto her shoulder, Abhay held out a hand. "Let me," he said, taking the strap of the bag from her. "I-" he started hesitantly, knowing that this would be awkward for her. "You'll need to hold onto my neck or something. You won't be able to get to the top on your own- it's too high." He heard her give a small groan, then her slim hands reached out to touch his chest, moving upwards and finally settling around his neck. He concentrated with all his might on the job at hand, painfully aware that she was now holding tightly to him, her entire body pressed against his.
Finally, he reached the opening and saw the dim, slanted rays of the sun : dusk was falling.
He pulled himself out,both of them tumbling to onto the ground. She fell on top of him, her breathing harsh and laboured. Piya stared at him, fighting not to lose herself in his eyes. She wanted to hate him for making her question herself on her feelings for Kabir, but when he looked at her like that...she felt strange feelings and funny impulses that were hardly becoming for a lady, let alone a Princess.
She gasped at the shock of his touch as she felt his hands suddenly grip her waist. She almost shivered as one of his hands moved up her back, the other rising up her side till it was within an inch of her ribcage. Heart hammered, but then she felt a cloth fall over her head, and she realised he had simply raised the hood of the dress to cover her hair. She didn't know why the knowledge left her almost...disappointed.
Mortified, she raised herself and moved away from him, kneeling on the forest floor. She saw a strange, triumphant look flash in his eyes before it was gone again, so fast that that she might have imagined it. He leapt to his own feet, glancing down at her. "We'd better be quick," he said, holding out a hand to help her up, ignoring the warmth from her palm as she took his hand. They began to walk through the forest, but Abhay did not let go of her hand. Piya noticed how alert he was as he glanced from side to side occasionally, and though her fingers were becoming numb, she wanted him to never let go...
"How far-" she began to ask, but he suddenly stiffened. "Shhh!" he hissed, fiercely. He then rounded on her, and tugged her hood into place again. "Stay behind me," he muttered. "I'll handle these-" "No!" she whispered furiously. "What if they use that-that thing on you again?" "These aren't Strategists," he said softly. "They're Poluxes."
Piya felt cold dread seep through her veins. Poluxes were furry winged predators, with the ability to render a vampire paralyzed with one bite. They always aimed for the heart, so that they could kill in one stroke. "No," she hissed. "Abhay, we have to run, come on-" she tugged at his arm. "Stay still and don't move," was his reply.
He was in front of her, but Piya felt no comfort. Abhay was going to get himself killed with his attitude, and if they reached his heart, it was all over... Her train of thoughts broke abruptly as they saw them. Horrible, indigo coloured, batlike monsters. They made straight for them, but Abhay struck out with something glinting in his head : with a horrible screeching sound, the first Polux fell dead. But there were others, other Poluxes who approached, their characteristic clicking sounds growing louder. Piya did not know impulse possessed her, but her arm went around him from behind, covering his heart with her hand, feeling it beat erratically beneath her palm. Abhay went very still, but he made no other reaction. He continued taking down more Poluxes. All through the battle, he did not move away from in front of her; but it did not seem to have caused him much of a problem; he was effortless as he fought, draining some who ventured too close.
She watched in fascination as he killed without preamble, his entire being ruthless. She wondered if this was what everyone saw in a Mutant. A cold, heartless fighter. But no, she knew otherwise, from the way his heart beat under her palm. It was over in a few minutes, which shouldn't have come as a surprise. She pulled her hand away hastily, and he turned to face her. "You're braver than most vampires." His tone held a hint of surprised admiration. But Piya gasped. "Abhay, you're bleeding! They- but-" He glanced at the wound on his side. "Polux venom doesn't affect us," he said, his lips twitching slightly. "It was rather flattering to see you worried for me, though." She glared at him. Was he kidding? He was talking casually about his wound as though it was a freckle. "What about you?" he asked. "You're fine, right?" "Yes," she said, suppressing her desire to snap at him. "Give me my bag- I'll have to put something on that-" she pointed to the bloody mess on his left side, near his stomach.
She pulled out a brass jar and pointed to his shirt. "Take it off." His eyebrows rose. "Why? You planning to molest me?" Hot blood pooled in her cheeks as she glared at him. "Because I'll need to put this to heal you," she said through gritted teeth-who knew he could be so infuriating?
"What are you doing, Princess?" he asked a few minutes later, ignoring the stabbing pain as the medicine took effect. Piya's eyes were watching the wound heal; he could see the brown orbs in the moonlight. "Why do you try to protect me?" he asked her. "You would never need to do that. We have heightened defenses, and the majority of our wounds heal quickly. Why do you exert yourself?" She raised her eyes to his, and he saw blind panic in her face. "I cannot let you die," she said, sounding almost ashamed. "I cannot. And you...you could die any moment. I won't... I won't let that happen. I won't." The emotion in her voice shocked him : till now, he had never realized that she placed importance in keeping him alive. For selfish reasons, perhaps, but she would keep him alive. Without thinking, he raised his hand to touch her face, but reason caught up with him and he dropped his hand.
Aiza closed her eyes, trying to absorb the news. No. Abhay could not be dead. He was the consummate survivor, he was the one who was used to winning against any odds. "Aiza," said Mark softly, "Aiza, I know what you're thinking. They're pretty sure he's gone. The Diablo's not working." Aiza did not cry : she was conditioned not to show emotion under any circumstances.She reached for Mark's hand and they sat together in the darkness, mourning the loss of a person they had been counting on to survive.
But Aiza couldn't believe it. She reached out with her mind, searching for his presence. For several seconds,there was nothing...then she felt him. He was alive and conscious, and within a second, he had lifted the barriers around his mind. She withdrew at once, knowing that anything she found out now could be extremely harmful. But elation filled her at the thought that he had done the impossible- again.
As dawn approached, Abhay seemed to magically find a cave for them to pass the time till sunset. Piya had made no complaints, but he had noticed the fatigue in her gait. "How did you find out where this was?" she asked, eyeing him curiously. "I didn't find out," he replied simply. "I knew it was here all along. We've gone through this forest often." She nodded, and entered the cave-which mercifully, had a horizontal opening this time. Abhay followed,blocking the entrance with a rock. "Please can I take off this cloak?" asked Piya. "It's...scratchy." "Princess, I don't think that's advisable," he replied. "You should rest, though."
Piya sighed, then reached inside her bag and drank some blood from a bottle. She was beginning to worry a bit : there weren't many bottles left. She'd finished two already."Abhay?" she said suddenly. "Will you tell me about your human life? And how...how you live...?" She saw his face turn to hers in surprise, then he shrugged. "There is nothing much to tell, really." "I still want to know," she insisted. He sighed. "As you wish, Princess."
"I was a pretty normal human," he said. "I lived with my parents in a place called Dehradun, in a country called India . Humans have a way of diving their kingdoms into countries, which are then again divided into states and cities, so they can rule it properly," he added, sensing her confusion. It was difficult to explain in terms she would understand. "Oh, I see," said Piya eagerly. "I'd heard about cities, but I didn't quite understand what they were exactly. It makes sense."
"Yes," said Abhay. "Well, anyway, I attended school in the same city, and I was eighteen when I graduated and joined college in another city-" "Please, wait," said Piya. "Your-school- what is it you learn there?" She thought she detected amusement in his eyes. "All sorts of things," said Abhay. "We learn history, anatomy, machinations, geography, languages-" "Don't you learn how to fight?" she interrupted, sounding forlorn. "We do," said Abhay, "but after we grow up, and you have to join- er, special..institutions for that. Like the Army. After we grow up, that is...we become adults at eighteen," he added, "unlike vampires, who have an accelerated growing process, and reach adulthood by nine."
That doesn't seem right," said Piya. "We grow up earlier, but we don't die like them." "No, it isn't," agreed Abhay. "And vampires don't age either, unlike humans, who grow...well,less beautiful and weak with age." "They must be a fragile species," observed Piya. Then, remembering his earlier words, she asked, "What is college?" She could have sworn she saw him smile slightly- a true smile. Just for a second. "It's... advanced school," he said, sounding uncomfortable. "Humans go there for higher studies." "Humans are very scholarly," observed Piya. "Not really," said Abhay. "It's...sort of difficult to explain."
"That's all right," said Piya. "What happened then?" "What- well, not much," said Abhay. "I was brought here, turned into a mutant and trained. End of story!" His tone was light, but she could hear the underlying hardness in it and she wondered. What would it be like to be Abhay?
Piya went quiet. Something in her wanted to badger him till her told her every single detail, but something else wanted her to shut the hell up. She didn't need to know him. She already felt too much for him as it was. A pang shot through her. Why was she thinking of him? Why wasn't she thinking of Kabir? Horrible, boiling disgust rolled through her. Ever since she had sneaked out of the castle, caught up in getting her memories back, caught up in getting back a piece of herself she had only known through stories, it had been Vikrant and Abhay who jostled for top position in her thoughts. Why had Kabir been pushed behind? Was she really that shallow? To forget her only constant companion for twenty five years? Kabir...Kabir had never touched her back. She had never wanted him to..no! What was wrong with her? How could she be lusting for a stranger's touch, searing though it was?
It was wrong, wrong on so many levels, and she knew it. No, it was best she keep him well away from her. When she fell into a fitful sleep, her dreams were filled with flying poluxes, strange voices, and a blurry, blood streaked face with vacant blue eyes.
True to her resolution, she avoided much conversation with Abhay over the next few days as they travelled on and on, only stopping so that Piya could rest. He did not intiate any talk with her either, although there were times she could have sworn he was staring directly at her. It made her even more incensed- Kabir had never looked at her that way.
"Don't do that," she snapped, feeling like a child. "Do what?" he asked, and she focused her gaze somewhere around his ear."You know what I mean," she hissed and began walking ahead. The trees had thinned out now, and Piya screwed her eyes against the sunlight. She could see houses now. "Wait." Abhay tapped her on the shoulder."We have to go as vampires." "Or we'll stand out to any Mutant watching. So I think you should take off my cloak and wear yours." "But..." said Piya. "You don't smell like a vampire." "Can't help it," he said dismissively. "Unless I can convince a vampire to let me share his scent, and the stars will go green before that happens. What's important is that if you're a vampire, no one will dare attack you.Don't worry," he said, noticing the look on her face. "I'm good at hiding."
Piya stared at him. He didn't seem to care that he could be walking to his death. Pushing away the concern, she started to take off his cloak, which was difficult since it was not only large, hence difficult to manoeuver, but it was also laced at both the front and the back. "Let me," said Abhay quietly, and then his fingers were on the strings at the back of her cloak.She swallowed, her body stiffening as he opened the ties, and then moved to the front of her cloak, his hands resting on her ribcage, sending her senses into a confused overdrive. The strings fell open, and Piya exhaled as he peeled it off and the sun had barely hit her now bare arms before he was helping her wear her cloak, a task for which she hardly needed assistance, but her traitorous body was winning. He began to tie her cloak, his fingers brushing against her stomach as he moved upwards, and then suddenly stopped. His fingers nimbly reached in to take the fabric of her shirt and hook back one of the clasps which had slipped open. Piya closed her eyes. "Are you feeling sleepy?" he asked. Piya's eyes flew open : He was standing a bit away from her, having finished quite a while ago.
"Come," he said simply, and she followed him as they entered a narrow alleyway. He guided her into a narrow alleyway, and into a small, empty house. "We'll stay here till dusk," he said, ushering her in. "The Omnius is hardly a few hours from here." She nodded, looking around. "Sit," he said,gesturing an armchair to her. It looked pretty ragged, part of the lining coming out. "What- what is this place?" she asked, sitting down.
"Something we used sometimes when on hunts," he replied. "No one comes here. But we also need to plan- it isn't easy to break into the Omnius. And which grid and wing, you haven't told me yet..."
"The Centre Grid," she said at once. "Ground floor." There was a long silence. "You must be insane," he said softly. "Good heavens- it's impossible to enter there." "Not for me," said Piya softly."I-I can enter, using my blood as password.." "But-" Abhay stared at her very hard. "That's only possible if you have your memories stored there..."
Piya bit her lip. "I transferred a significant part of my memories after Vikrant...died." Her voice broke. She got up from her seat, turning away from the scrutiny of his gaze. She felt him touch her shoulder as he came up behind her. "Who...who was Vikrant?"
Tears burned in her eyes. "I don't really know exactly." she said softly. "But I know...I know he died in battle. And I know how I felt when I saw him...I loved him. I loved him more than anyone I have ever loved- that must be why I forgot to put back that last memory of him. The only memory I have of him is his- is his death. And I cannot forget what it felt like...I should have put it back. I suppose it is my mistake."
"How can you know?" he asked quietly. "How can you love someone who you have no memories of?"
"You don't understand," she said, wiping a tear away. "I remember what I felt when he was dead. Helpless. Alone. There was nothing...nothing I could do..." She took a great, shuddering breath. "So why do you need those?" he asked, trying to change the topic.
"You do not know, because you are young...but I used to be able to fight. Once upon a time...I was a warrior. Mother says I used to be one of the best...one of the leaders. And that I turned to healing after he..Vikrant...died. So I want those memories...I want to be able to fight now...how to use a weapon...how to kill...I want to remember it all."
Abhay's eyes widened in shock. "You want your memories back...so that you will know how to fight?"
"That's the idea," she said quietly. "If you stop me, I will go anyway. I do not want to have to leave you alone." She straightened her shoulders and stared back at him, eyes gleaming with a steely determination.
Abhay shook his head. "Why should I stop you? I never said anything about stopping you." It was Piya's turn to be shocked as she stared at him. "You..don't want to stop me?" He shook his head again, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Piya had a funny impulse to trace the shape of them with a finger. She shook the thought away as quickly as it had come. "Thank you," she said sincerely.
"Not yet," he said. "Why? Why do you want to learn how to fight?"
"I want to kill them," said Piya. She looked dangerous as she stood up, her eyes narrowed. "I want to kill the monsters who killed Kabir and...him. I have to."
He said nothing. Abhay was thinking of the time Piya had fought the werewolves on her own. He had seen many a lesser vampire give up, but not her. Why hadn't he considered the possibility that she might have been a natural fighter?
Piya didn't know what to make of Abhay. For a long time, as far as she could remember anyway- she had been coddled and pampered by her parents, then Kabir, who had kept her completely out of things like this. why was Abhay so different?
"We have to go over the plan," said Abhay. "if you want to make an undetected entrance, that is. Although it won't remain undetected for long...but till then, we have to plan this."
And as Piya listened to the plan he had formed for getting into the Omnius,she realized he was giving her something she had secretly craved for : Freedom.
Happy Birthday Dishu. I love you.😳
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