Dawn by Rakesh K Kaul

Author:Rakesh K Kaul
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789353056506
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2019-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

I had a head start into the darkness inside, but I could hear AIman’s loud command echoing through the cave: ‘Don’t let her escape.’ I bolted, accelerating my speed as I zipped through the air, my sobs and tears vanishing into the dark cave amidst the noise of the monsters giving chase. But their advanced hunter scanners guided them accurately on my trail. Their scanner lights lit up the cave walls in front of me. It reflected the magnificence of the jewels and gems. My blurry eyes could make out the brilliant colours highlighting the fragility of the jewel formations, just like my mother had told me. I howled in grief.

The cave had a very long passageway that stretched miles ahead beyond the lights. My mace was twisting and turning me as it sped with sonic velocity through the many turns and curves. ‘Do something!’ I commanded furiously to the Pandavas. ‘I’m trying to set up a barrier in their way. Hang on, Dawn . . . We’re very sorry,’ Hafiz spoke in a soft, reassuring voice.

The monsters were shouting hideous cries and were beginning to close in on me. Was this my end? Was my last view going to be the spar crystals and cave pearls?

The cave suddenly changed. Now, I was flying through the deeper part that was completely iced over. The ice was moist, but it was getting bluer as I went deeper inside. A sonorous vibration was coming from the mountain. A faint light began to penetrate from the approaching exit. I tried to adjust my eyes, rubbing my tears away, as we flew from pitch darkness. Then all of a sudden, I saw a figure standing in front of the exit. It was a woman’s figure set at the entrance and looking outside. She was wearing crimson garlands atop a single piece of red cloth. Her body was smeared with red paste and her skull was surmounted with a lit candle. She held a noose in one hand and a skull in the other. I thought I was going mad, but she was exactly the picture that ma had shown me during our sessions. ‘Kaalaratri? What . . .’

‘I see it too. Run into her.’

‘Are you insane?’

‘Trust me, Dawn. I’m here for you.’

Go to her? Had Hafiz gone mad? I desperately looked for other ways to get out, but there was only one—leading to her. I did not want to follow his instructions. Then it hit me: my mother was dead. Murdered. It was as if her voice came back to me, ‘Kaalaratri is your northern protector.’

I tightened my fist around the mace and braced myself for impact. Speeding up, I ran smack into the figure, but strangely, no collision happened. I was just moving away from what I realized was a hologram. I stopped to look back. The monsters, tiring of their chase, took aim and looked at the woman in front of them. They fired at the flying figure. Instinctively, I put my hands over my face.

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