Riddhima stood still at the gate, staring at the imposing façade of Vansh’s home. The building was a pale grey, the late evening sun casting a halo at the top. It looked so much like the first time; the gate broken off the hinge, wildflowers sprouting everywhere… A gust of wind teased her hair, making her smile at the memory. Had it just been a week since her life had changed?
She jumped over the gate, throwing out her arms for balance. Her legs felt stiff and achy, trembling from her ordeal with an angry spirit. Either that or she was growing old, she mused internally.
The air felt heavy as she ventured closer. The cheerful sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects stopped abruptly as if hushed into an ominous silence. Stray leaves began falling from the trees, adding to messy heaps of debris on the grass. She hadn’t noticed them before. The flowers that had looked vibrant from afar were now decaying slowly, giving her pause. She swallowed, looking around nervously. It looked like a veil had been lifted, exposing the cold fingers of dark magic in her surroundings. Why were things suddenly so different?
“Hello, little fella,” Riddhima crooned, touching a wildflower. She wondered if it was the same flower, the one she had spoken to on her first visit to the creepy mansion. “I see you are doing pretty well in this old place. You are so brave…Braver than me, I guess.”
There was a slight tremor in her voice that turned into a sharp gasp. The flower began breaking away in her hands; its delicate pink petals wilting at her touch. She staggered back in horror, watching the tiny pieces flutter to the ground and fall near her feet. Casting a tense glance around, she prayed silently for strength. The place seemed to be warning her away. She could feel the presence of magic in the air, of reality shifting in and out of focus. Something sinister was afoot. After her close encounters with ghosts, she would never underestimate the vibe of a place again.
Gathering her courage, she walked towards the entrance. A biting chill nipped at her heels, making her shudder in fear and revulsion. “You can’t scare me away,” she told the slithering malevolent energy. “I will find my friend and take him away. Just watch me.” The words felt like acid on her tongue, the challenge to an unnamed entity leaching into her very bones. She had never been more aware of her humanness than now.
Riddhima pushed open the heavy door, her senses on alert. She paused for a moment, waiting for something creepy to come at her from the dark corners like a horror film. The home was darker than she remembered, the large windows unable to capture the fleeting light of dusk. The ground floor looked much like before, empty except for the paintings and sketches on the walls. Was it the dim light or had their colours faded even more?
“Vansh?” she called out, her voice sounding fearful even to her own ears. She coughed, the dust motes in the air coating her throat. Something shifted in the shadows, giving her a start. She stepped in tentatively, her skin prickling with awareness. He would never hurt her, she knew that. But the prospect of being taken by surprise didn’t appeal to her frayed nerves. “Vansh? Is that you? Are you here?”
No answer. She waited another moment, wishing fervently for more light. Was he avoiding her? “Vansh, I know you are here,” her voice became stronger. She stepped inside fully, letting the door slam shut behind her. Immediately, the place became darker, more unwelcoming. Biting cold air touched her ear. Riddhima shivered. “I will not leave without talking to you, you know. And…and I can be very stubborn. You know this, Vansh.”
She stopped by an old dusty dresser, pulling hard at the drawers in hope. They seemed stuck, the hinges creaking in protest as she pulled. She braced just in case there was a disgusting dead animal or insect decaying within. It fell open abruptly to reveal a random assortment of tools, some rusted nails and paraphernalia. She closed it, muttering in frustration as it got stuck on the way in this time. Was there no lantern, candle or even a tiny matchbox in this godforsaken place? She cursed herself internally for forgetting the phone. She wasn’t even sure where her phone was. Soon it would be nightfall, and the thought of navigating this place in pitch darkness…She shuddered at the very thought.
“Vansh!” she shouted, growing irritated. “I know you are here! Where else could you be? Don’t even think about avoiding me! I have so much to tell you. You won’t believe the things I know. Don’t you want to know your story? Don’t you want to defeat Kabir? You know, the evil guy who butchered your family and buried you alive? Huh?” She had hoped to goad him into a response, but nothing moved anymore, nothing changed.
She walked uneasily towards the staircase; the steps creaking in protest as she climbed. Would Vansh really avoid her this way? He had broken their blood bond to save her life. Had he…could he have given up on his revenge too? No, he won’t. She refused to believe that. His revenge was his sole purpose for being here in the human plane. He won’t give up without defeating Kabir. And yet, she couldn’t forget the haunting look in his eyes when he came to know about Ahilya’s death. The desperation in his voice when he begged her to wake up from her ghost-induced slumber.
She stepped on the landing, her gaze flitting automatically to his painting. It was exactly where she had left it, tucked in a corner in the hall. She walked over the broken glass, the pieces crunching under her shoes. Apparently, ghosts didn’t clean their houses. She bent down, staring at the man in the frame. The one with dark brooding eyes.
The artist had captured Vansh’s imposing presence perfectly, right from his hair to the royal blue suit to the way he sat, back ramrod straight. But she had seen other shades of him as a man, shades that were missing in this painting. She had seen the brown tints in his dark eyes up close, their depths swimming with passion, with amusement, with anger and then pain…In life, he had been punished for crimes he never committed, borne the brunt of others’ decisions. He had every right to be hateful, but he wasn’t.
Vansh still carried a softness within. He had looked into a girl’s mind and understood the pain she hid every day from the world. He had read her most secret thoughts, seen into her very soul, melted away the perfect lies she told herself…and he had touched her. She couldn’t forget the way he had touched her that night after the shamans’ night in the forest…with sweetness, with promise, with hunger…and need. He had put her life over his vendetta. How could she let him go? He had to know his story. She had to help him find peace. There was no other choice. None that she could live with at any rate, she decided grimly.
Riddhima gingerly picked up a shard of glass. How did one do this with minimal pain? She pondered Sutapa’s words from earlier.
A blood bond is formed when the spirit partakes some bit of the victim’s blood directly. Your blood falling in Kabir’s haunting ground created a weak link.
She had to create the link again, however weak. Her hand shook as she carefully positioned the sharp edge against her finger. She wasn’t afraid of needles in her arm, but she hated, absolutely hated anything pricking her finger. Rapid blood tests were clearly her enemy. She pursed her lips, pressing the glass lightly into her skin. No blood appeared. She swore under her breath. What was this? The-house-of-no-results? First the lack of any source of light and now this.
“Okay, Riddhima. You can do this,” she schooled herself, mustering courage. Placing the glass on the floor at an angle, she swat it quickly like a cat. “Ouch ouch ouch ouch! Fuck!” And there it was. Blood. Rivulets of it. She probably shouldn’t have tried that technique. Riddhima clutched her arm in pain, watching blood drip down to the floor from multiple tiny scratches on her palm.
“You foolish woman!” roared a voice behind her. She closed her eyes in relief, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “What the hell do you think you are doing?” He sounded furious. She got to her feet, turning slowly on the spot.
Vansh stood near the stairs, his eyes blazing hell fire. She stared at his beautiful face, her heart squeezing in her chest. He looked like a vengeful God, come down to earth to strike down his foes. He stepped towards her, emanating a menacing aura. The shadows seemed to move with him, snuffing out the remaining light around her. She stepped back instinctively, sliding into the adjacent room. It was more illuminated than the corridors, in large part due to the tall windows in the space.
“Answer me, little girl,” he growled, stopping at the doorway. “Why are you here again?” He looked terrifying, a twisted smile on his sensuous lips. She gasped as he walked forward into the fading sunlight.
“Vansh, you-” Her words died in her throat, her mind unable to comprehend what she was seeing. His body was nearly translucent, dark wisps of smoke rising from his skin and disappearing into space. Heavy shadows lined his eyes, making him look demonic. He looked like the Vansh from the painting, he looked like the Vansh she had known earlier. But everything had changed.
“What is wrong with you…your face…your-your body?” She backed away as he came closer, instinct making her wary of the feral edge to his expression. His long strides ate the distance between them, the predatory look in his coal black eyes scaring her more than his silence. “Vansh,” she called to him desperately. “Do you not recognize me? What are you doing?! I’m Riddhima. Do you not remember me?”
Her back touched the wall, making her heart drop a beat. “Well, isn’t this charming,” he murmured, stopping in front of her. “Exactly like the very first day we met. Do you remember, Riddhima?”
She took in a shaky breath, wondering why he felt more like a stranger than the enigmatic man she had known. His penetrative gaze pinned her to the spot. “I remember everything. What has happened to you?” Her voice was a soft whisper.
He watched her silently, his obsidian eyes trailing down her face. They lingered for a moment on her lips, sweeping downwards; suddenly fixating on her neck. “You are still wearing this.” His hand touched the star sapphire thoughtfully, brow creased in reflection. She drew in a jagged breath as his fingers brushed against her skin. His eyes shot to hers, capturing her, tethering her, setting her aflame. Heat crawled up her cheeks. “I can still read your thoughts, you know,” Vansh spoke, his voice a wicked rumble. It played on her senses, slinking down her spine like a sexy little tickle.
“What do they say?” she dared to ask, mesmerized by the dark shadows swirling in his irises. If she looked closer, she could almost see the devastating collision of galaxies, stars burning and dying, blackholes devouring the light…It was so strange.
“You like it when I touch you.”
“Yes. The same way you do.” She didn’t feel like acting coy. Riddhima didn’t just like his touch. She found herself craving it with increasing intensity every day. “Do you remember your first request to me in this very place, Vansh? You begged me to touch you. ‘Touch me, Riddhima,’ you had said. Has that changed too?”
He backed her up against the wall, his arms caging her on either side. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart,” he warned darkly. “I am too close to the edge to be a gentleman anymore.”
“What are you saying?”
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead lightly against hers. A faint smell of sandalwood and smoke wafted towards her. “I am dying, Riddhima.” She drew back in shock. He chuckled softly. “Well, dying more than I already did a long time ago. The Void is calling me…I can feel it.”
“No.” She shook her head, her mind a jumble of fear and dread. This couldn’t be happening. “No no, it can’t be! We are so close, Vansh. You don’t know how close we are…” She clutched his suit in despair, ignoring the sharp pain from the cuts in her palm. “I will not let this happen to you.”
He placed a hand over hers, a derisive smile on his lips. “But it is happening, darling. I am losing myself every moment. Sometimes I barely remember being human at all…” Prying her fingers lose, he looked at the torn skin of her palm. “Leave this place. Never look back. And…” She trembled as he blew air over the wounds. “…never fucking do this again.” The cuts closed with his magic, bringing her much needed relief from the sting. He dropped her hand, stepping away.
“Don’t you dare,” she burst out suddenly. He quirked a questioning brow at her. “Don’t you dare disappear on me again, Vansh Raisinghania! You pulled me back from death.” She bridged the distance between them, placing a gentle hand over his clenched jaw. “You put me before your revenge. You have been a true friend, Vansh. I will not give up on you.”
“I am not your goddamn friend, Riddhima!” he bit out, wheeling away from her. “I am a demon who used you for his revenge. I put you in harm’s way again and again, till you almost lost your life!” His voice became a low whisper. “You were right. It was a hundred fucking years old vendetta. Kabir is ashes, Ahilya is ashes…and I am… dust. I lie beneath the ground, one with the soil.” He looked back at her, his gaze tortured. “But you…you were life. Flesh, bone and blood. I had no right to put you at risk. No right to touch you. No right to want-” He stopped, the words weighing heavy in the chasm between them. “But you are free now. Free from me and these shackles I placed on you. At least you will be when I break this bond again.”
“Don’t, please. You have to understand,” she beseeched, moving in front of him. “Your soul has a higher purpose. The shamans-“
“Enough.” He caught her hand, encircling her wrist firmly. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You will leave. Now. I, Vansh Raisinghania, release you-“
Riddhima threw her arms around him, burrowing her face in his neck. He tried to break away, growling low in his throat. But she held on tighter, pressing her body flush against his. She kissed the cold skin of his neck; wanting to distract but getting lost herself in his embrace. He felt…different. His skin was like the wings of a butterfly, his form not as solid as before. She didn’t want to believe he was dying. But for the first time since meeting him, she could tell that she was touching a spirit.
He had waited years for his retribution. Suffered at the hands of selfish people for no fault of his. And when he was close to getting what he desired, he was withering away alone in a lonely mansion. Heartbroken, she ran a hand over his hair, tugging on it to bring him closer. Hugging him gave her a semblance of peace, even as it agitated him. He was holding himself back; she could tell by the tightening of his hands on her wrists, by the rigid lines of his body.
She nipped his collarbone, cajoling a response. Her tongue traced the outline provocatively, a gentle sigh escaping her as his hand shifted to her waist.
Suddenly, the ground fell away like a mirage. Like a nightmare. She had felt this before. Darkness swallowed her screams as they fell, her arms holding Vansh tighter as reality distorted around her. For a moment everything was pitch black, and then they materialized on solid ground. She broke away from him, staring wildly at the door, the garden, the darkened sky as only a flicker of the sun remained…They were outside, she registered, her legs wobbly from fright.
She stumbled away from him, grabbing at a pillar for support. Her eyes searched Vansh’s wrathful face. “You,” he was breathing harshly, his mysterious eyes consuming her with their intensity. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
It took a split second. He vanished and materialized right in front of her. Before she could protest, his lips were on hers. He pushed her against the pillar, anchoring her with his own body. Her world exploded in sparks of desire. His hand found her nape, holding her still for the onslaught of his mouth. He was demanding, possessing her with deep persistent kisses. The dark smoke around his body swirled higher, covering them in the corner like a cocoon.
His other hand caressed her jaw, tilting her chin for a deeper kiss. She could barely taste him, a fleeting intoxicating essence that was just out of reach. Riddhima opened her mouth as his tongue pushed inside her, urging him to explore her in sensuous strokes. He was like an exotic drug that she had yearned for, holding herself back each time…and now she didn’t have to.
His hand entangled in her hair, pulling her head back as he traced the path from her mouth to the intricate hollow of her ear. She gasped as he nibbled at the sensitive lobe, writhing as it sent glorious lust rushing down to her sex. Straining to be closer, she reached blindly for his mouth, deepening the kiss with her own tongue. He responded with barely leashed passion, tasting and licking in a fierce mating dance.
He held her up with only his body, her limbs going weak. I wish…I wish I could smell you, touch you…like before, she thought dizzily, lost in the feel of him.
After what felt like mere moments, Vansh lifted away from her. He caught her as she slipped down the pillar, his breathing heavy like hers. His eyes were pitch black, a storm brewing in their depths. “This is goodbye, Riddhima. We will never see each other again.”
She swayed as he backed away, her hand trying to catch his. “Listen to me! Please…just listen to me. You must know. You were tricked by the shamans! There is no mantr-“
“It doesn’t matter!” he roared, shrugging off her hand. She flinched from his fury. “Don’t you see? Kabir has won! He won the day he possessed you. He almost took you away from me, Riddhima! And it was all because of me.” He sighed, his expression resolute and weary. “You will leave and never come back. Go back to your life. You have much to live for.”
“Vansh, you can’t just-” She broke off as he disappeared. “Vansh!” she shouted, anger flaring within. “You stupid… stubborn pigheaded man! The least you could do was listen to me!” Her words were only met with silence. She stared desolately around her. Darkness had fallen.
***