Nine: Vengeance of the Warrior (31 page)

49

Tejaswi

Sanchi
Four days later

The Kala Yogis blended in with the crowd of tourists. They deposited the small jute bags of C4 explosives in dark corners and under manicured bushes, innocent and unassuming. The Ashoka pillar, famous for its trademark four lions crowning the column, is as distinctive in structure and architecture in Sanchi as it is in Sarnath. ‘Make sure that the pillar is reduced to dust,’ Tejaswi instructed her men.

The blast occurred at dawn and completely destroyed the edicts. From a distance, Tejaswi watched the yellow vapour rise into the air. People rushed to the scene; within minutes the surrounding area was teeming with onlookers. A security guard came running, the scene shook him to the roots of his being. This was no ordinary carnage. What he saw was worse than a nightmare, it caused his stomach to churn in terror, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the horror. He covered his mouth and nose with a kerchief. The yellow haze was poison, its immediate effect was on the skin. People were crying out for help, their faces and bodies a mass of pulsing pustules, oozing pus. Their eyes wept blood and their breathing was turning into rasping coughs as the gas filled their lungs and narrowed their bronchial tubes. The urgent sirens of ambulances and fire trucks went up in the air, but he knew there was little that could be done. These people were spitting up blood. The guard could not bear the horror any more and ran out of there screaming.

Tejaswi sent a message to Raakin. ‘Get me the Chintamani or I’ll blow up the rest of the Ashoka edicts one by one. And not just that, people will remember the day of the Kalingan deaths. Go watch the news. You have ten hours before the next explosion, this time in a big city … and this time the vapour will kill millions.’

50

Akash

Akash could not believe that they were sitting twiddling their thumbs because Raakin was calling the shots. ‘We are bloody useless!’ he yelled. ‘I’m going to go get that woman and twist her neck with my bare hands.’

‘We are not going to act stupid,’ Raakin responded. ‘I know how you feel and I will make sure we destroy the Kalingan, but we need help.’

‘Help?’

‘I will inform the military.’

Akash looked at him strangely. ‘We are supposed to remain anonymous and invisible and now you want to call in the military. Are you sure you’re all right?’

Raakin had a pained expression. ‘The military will be our backbone. After what the Kalingan has done, using bombs and bioweapons to kill innocents, we cannot handle this by ourselves. We have to inform the relevant people. Besides, every agency in the world knows about the Nine.’

51

Anita

‘Axel, Tejaswi is behind this whole crazy plot,’ Anita said. She was on the phone with him, pacing up and down her room. ‘She sent me a text message of her threat. And she wants the Chintamani fragments or the country is going to be one big graveyard.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s a crystal believed to be of celestial origin. The holder of the Chintamani will receive immense powers to manifest anything they wish. There are three fragments, two have been kept safely and the location of the third can only be discovered by joining the two fragments together.’

‘Don’t get involved,’ he cautioned her. ‘Come here. Come to Stockholm. We can start afresh here. You can continue your research from this side of the world, away from the terrible things happening there.’

‘I have to stay here, Axel,’ Anita said. ‘This is where I belong, in the middle of all of it—good and bad.’ They talked some more before hanging up.

‘Take care, dear Anita.’

She hung up. Grandma was watching her wide-eyed.

Anita’s phone buzzed. She answered, responded in a few syllables and hung up. ‘I have to get to the newsroom, there are reports of bomb scares all over the country.’

She grabbed her canvas bag and hurried to the door. But not before she watched the devastation on the news.

A powerful bomb that exploded outside the town of Sanchi on Wednesday has had a devastating effect on the population. The bomb released an unknown chemical vapour similar to mustard gas that rapidly penetrates cells and generates a highly toxic reaction, causing blisters and burns. The death toll is two hundred and rising. Hundreds more are being treated in hospitals. Doctors are frantically researching a remedy for the dying patients. The state government has set up mobile clinics in the gas-affected area. Four international medical experts have arrived to assist the doctors attending to the patients. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The news spread like wildfire across the country. The army had been called in to maintain peace and order. Anita’s grandmother was staring at the images on the TV screen. ‘It’s her, isn’t it?’

Anita paused. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt a strong sense of anger and frustration build up within her. ‘Yes, Grandma. It’s her, but she is possessed by a Kalingan spirit and he is making her do this to destroy the Nine.’

Grandma didn’t move from her seat. ‘Then you must go and help the Nine, Anita. You must.’

Anita raced out of her home and headed to her office. The energy in the newsroom was at its peak. Editors shouted, reporters ran back and forth with updates. Phones, computers and other gadgets beeped and buzzed.

Anita stormed into her editor’s cabin. ‘I’m going to the field, I am involved in this.’ The editor, who was on the phone, dropped the receiver and looked at her with narrowed eyes. ‘You have a scoop for me?’

‘Yes, the biggest one. I’m going out to get it,’ Anita said.

He nodded. ‘Don’t disappoint me.’ He pointed to the door and returned to his conversation.

Hurrying back to her desk, Anita contacted Akash. ‘It’s all her doing. She sent me a message to taunt me. She’s going to blow up the other edicts.’

‘Yes.’ Akash was frustrated. ‘She wants the Chintamani.’

‘Yes, she sent me the message about it.’ Anita packed her bag and was out the door. ‘And how are you going to get the fragments?’

‘Raakin is going to get them for her. Then we fight.’

‘I will find her and talk some sense into her.’

‘It won’t work, the Kalingan has taken over completely. She is not your friend. Don’t bother going there. You will only end up getting used as a bait.’

‘I want to help.’

‘Then come here and meet the others. The other two.’

Anita stopped dead in her tracks. ‘Three of the Nine?’ she whispered.

‘Yes.’

‘I’m on my way.’

Akash gave her Tara’s address.

52

Raakin

Raakin was interested in one thing and one thing only—killing Tejaswi. This would immobilize the Kalingan. He contacted Joint Secretary Singh at the regional headquarters.

The tall elderly man agreed to meet Raakin. The joint secretary had a doubtful expression. ‘You have my attention, but our intelligence wing has informed us that it is a random terrorist attack.’

Raakin’s steely gaze was hard. ‘We face a situation which, as you know, is classified. But the bombing is not a random act by a religious sect. The woman directly responsible for this carnage is Tejaswi Ray.’

‘You run the police department at our substation out in Bhuj. How do you know all this?’

‘Sir, it is difficult to explain. Let’s just say that we are dealing with the paranormal and there are aspects of this that are confidential.’

‘I need to know what is at stake here. I cannot convince my troops of anything unless I know we are facing a life-and-death situation.’

‘I cannot give you anything in writing. But this issue … these bombings are linked to the Nine.’

It was as if the joint secretary had received an electric shock. He suddenly stood up ramrod straight and looked at him with seriousness. ‘Tell me more.’

Raakin explained only as much as was relevant. ‘I have to get on a plane to Indonesia. There are ancient fragments—very precious crystals—that she wants. I give it to her, she stops this madness.’

‘And if you don’t?’

The answer was obvious: ‘Fifty million people will lose their lives.’

Jogjakarta

Raakin didn’t go alone. One of the senior councillors joined him and they were escorted by inter-agency operatives. The car ride from Jakarta airport to the Borobudur Temple was a journey completed in silence and contemplation. Raakin had just one thought—Tejaswi was winning. She had single-handedly dented the confidence of the nation and the Nine. The Kalingan was not going to let up. They had to plan not just where she would die, but also how they could make sure the spirit would remain confined. Forever. But first they had to ensure she didn’t kill again.

‘Your councillors have any idea of where we shall end this?’ Raakin asked sarcastically. ‘Do they have a permanent solution?’

‘The idea is to stay focused, unemotionally,’ Councillor Khensur replied.

‘I get it. But we don’t have time for your sermons. We need a solution. The Chintamani fragments were supposed to be safe here. We were never supposed to have reached this stage where they would be used as a bait.’

‘We do not treat lives as cheap commodities, Raakin.’ Councillor Khensur was big-built, his expressionless attitude irked Raakin. ‘We are not so disillusioned by the material world that we will sacrifice human life for the Chintamani. Mankind has fought many wars, good versus evil. The good will survive.’

‘We live in an irrational world. The good don’t always survive. We have to be properly prepared and violence will be the way to face the enemy.’

‘We shall see.’

A giant allegory of enlightenment, the ninth-century Buddhist monument consisted of six square platforms, above which three circular terraces rose like a stepped-pyramid. The nine levels of the temple were categorized to depict a journey to spiritual perfection. Borobudur’s immense size never fails to astonish. Raakin took a moment to gaze in awe at the biggest religious monument in the world. Then, they circumambulated the terraces before they made it to the top level. When they reached the stupa facing east, Raakin slipped his hand inside one of the holes on the perforated wall. He leaned towards the low stone ledge. There, as he had left it, was the copper box. Carefully, he eased it out of the hole.