Once teemed with activity, the village where the Clan of Vaquero resided, was now more silent than a graveyard.

Celina abruptly stopped closing her eyes and inhaled the dewy air. Her arm and skin at the back stung in the cold weather. Images of those unfortunate days flashed through her mind and she hated herself for not being able to leave her past behind.

Despite the pain, she trudged along the cobbled street, creating an aura of her own Formation around her that helped her stay put in the freezing temperature. It was the night she'd meet the man, the one among the many sources she had made since her return from Uttarameer. The anticipation of resuming her actions was unlike anything she had felt before. It has been a while since the circumstances had felt affordable. Having been silent for all these days, she had been hoping for her friends to have forgotten about the girl with the purple hair running around loose and in a killing spree. And now she craved for some development in the direction she had decided to head for.

In the whitish brilliance of the moonlight, a shadow emerged from behind the hut. The corner of the street was full of wild bushes and shrubs. Nobody roamed in the streets at this time of the hour, thanks to the beasts, and nobody knew about the meetings held at the location every other week. A prompt smile tugged on her face. He was already waiting for her. Good.

"Talk to me," she said, standing in front of him, having her hand ducked in the pocket of her jacket.

He rubbed his hands and blew in it trying to adjust with the cold. "It's difficult to figure out. I don't think I have anything new for you tonight."

"Don't disappoint me already."

"Celina Hanslay," he said, getting scared when the bushes beside them rustled in the slight wind, "I've come here to tell you once and for all that extracting details about Shashi's tomb is next to impossible. Nobody, besides him, knows where he's hiding it. He never shared it with anyone and did not let a word to pass around."

"Not even Shourya has figured out?"

"No! I told you Shourya's been busted. And it scares me to see his condition. You've made me just like him."

"We need more folks like him. Pretty convenient it gets to the people like us. Clan of Pradhan has tortured me for months only if I knew that they can be a friendly clan..."

"You've tortured me as well. And we are not friends."

"Business it is, I'm aware. So let's get back to it. Why is Shashi so calm these days? It's bloody intimidating, you know?"

"If it's calm, then consider a storm coming up."

"Is Pruthvi still a target?"

"Yes. He always will be until Shashi gets rid of him."

"What about Tyrell? Anything about him?"

"He is locked in the basement."

She gritted her teeth. "That doesn't help me."

"All I heard from Shourya is that he's somewhere in the Sherwood Forest."

"Excuse me?"

He sighed in frustration. "Sherwood Forest. It comes under Dakshinpur, but also a part of it extends to Paschimgarh. Everyone knows that the forest is Shashi's home. Many have spotted him roaming there in and around. Most of the abducted women had been found dead there. The forest is known for its hundreds of caves and rock shelters, and there is a possibility that Tyrell is locked in one of those caves."

"Doesn't sound like the information is apt."

"It is from Shourya that I've heard. And you know how he is. I'm just telling you what he has come up with. Now you decide whether or not to trust this information." Crack! He jerked at the sound of a twig snapping and sniffed. "Seems like someone's watching us. I need to go. See you next week."

"There's nobody here."

"I can't risk it."

"Fine," she replied, keeping a straight face watching the man ran away. Always in a hurry, that one.

Atleast there was some news about Tyrell, and Celina was relieved to a certain extent. Hundreds of caves, he had mentioned, and that was going to be a problem. It would take a while to figure out the exact location and she wanted to find him before Hayden returned. Celina turned around to walk back to her house. But the moment she took a step...

"Gotcha!"

The man's suspicion was right, there was indeed someone watching them. The person jumped aside from the bushes in front of her and smiled fondly. But instead of returning the gesture, she stood unmoved, overwhelmed with the sense of fear and threat.

"Come on, it not like you never expected me to find you. Have you?"

His boyish smile got wider, although it did not reach up to his amber eyes. She hadn't seen them glowing tremendously in the moonlight before, speaking of both love and hate. It was obvious. Pruthvi Krishna was mad.

----------------

"Take them out. Now!"

Doctor shouted, his voice boomed out into the evening's half-light. Celina ran across the entrance of lighthouse, where a few young adults, heavily trussed and unconscious, were lying rigidly flat on the ground. She dragged one after the other, taking them closer to Doctor's vicinity who, at the moment, was driving the beasts out of her way and attempting to create the seal at the entrance of the lighthouse.

Using her knifelike Formations, she wanted to cut the chains flogged around humans. But she clicked her tongue resisting the urge to do so. The chains were made of wood of the Holy tree. Their skin was as cold as ice, smelling like manure, and they weren't respiring. She suspected if they were dead. Doctor had mentioned a few citizens were reported missing from across the country. Most of them being teenagers, and taking his years of experience into consideration, he had guessed that they might have gone to learn dark magic from Almourah, just like Shashi Thribhuvan had.

Doctor then suggested switching positions. Understanding his intention, she moved out of his way and stood like a guard, daring the beasts to come inside the lighthouse. Doctor checked the poor teenagers thoroughly- held his fingers on their wrists and either side of their neck wanting to hear a pulse. Disheartened, he bent his head down.

"Doctor," she said, feeling sorry, "Let's leave them here and wrap things up with Almourah. We have a little over twenty-four hours left."

"I know," he said calmly, wiping his forehead. "It should be done today. Anyhow. Are you ready?"

She swallowed. "Yes. Let's finish it off."

Making sure that the beasts weren't a hurdle, they made their way up the staircase.

The mutilated bodies of Matsyasvi were swinging slowly, driblets of blood dribbling down the gibbets. She walked behind Doctor through the bloody mess of the staircase. The stench wafted more as the wind blew harder. Doctor gagged, having his nose wrinkled at the reek. He stopped on the way and struggled to catch his breath.

Celina quickly caught him by his shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he said, breathing heavily and leaning against the slimy banister. "Don't worry about me. Keep moving."

He was ready to drop from tiredness but Celina could see that he was forcibly pushing himself further and up. The long walk down the bridge and the time he had spent to build the cave for their protection from the beasts had drained away most of his energy. Yet, he wasn't allowing his will to deteriorate. She didn't know what to call him- an old man in a hurry to finish the job, or the one with an indomitable spirit?

"Just remember what I told you," he huffed stepping up, "Almourah was a trained warlock before he invented dark magic. He'll still have some magic left in his hands. You're trained enough. Distract him as much as you can so that either of us can pilfer the Blade. Keep your mind sharp and in control. Understand?"

"Yes," she replied, curtly. That was the one instruction from Doctor that was becoming quite repetitive and annoying, and this had started especially since her unnatural reaction to the situation where she'd fixed a stare with Almourah a few hours ago.

The staircase led to the arched doorway. The flicker of the lantern somewhere from inside drew them closer. They walked towards the chamber which was the size of their academy's dining room. The air was cooler, yet filled with nauseating smell. Together they stepped inside, having their breath caught in their throat, eyes even at the back of their heads, and then the lighthouse suddenly echoed with a whimpering cry.

Celina gasped startled, whereas Doctor stood alert.

"Begin concentrating," he said, eyes enlarged and unblinking.

Celina scrutinized the dimly lit chamber. The dead bodies, the blood, the organs, the incredibly gory details of the place made her peaky. Thick lumber and unfinished caskets were placed one above the other. There was a movement, followed by deep slurping sounds coming from behind the pile of carcasses. A huge man was crouched down facing towards the wall, and his head making hurried movements as if eating greedily something off the floor.

Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

Celina listened to the noise feeling a slight tremor in her heart. His broad muscular shoulders were shaking, and the rest of the body hidden under his long matted hair. He seemed like a scared mouse perched at the corner, his body resembling those beasts only a ten times stronger.

"Oh, what have you done to yourself?" She held back that instant arousal of feelings, pressing her eyes shut.

"There it is," Doctor whispered, staring at the thing resting beside his creepy monstrous legs.

It was the Blade. A legendary piece of the dagger, was it not, the only means by which Tyrell would get back to his normal self. Her stomach knotted realizing how close she was to the victory. She pictured a country cherishing the freedom if she'd be successful today. She took a step closer and the slurping sound suddenly abated. Grunting, Almourah lifted his head and...

"Now!" Doctor whispered, and he flicked his hand. But to their surprise, the pieces of lumber rose up in the air and changed their form into humongous bats. They circled just below the ceiling and then rushed at a great speed as if animals being released from captivity.

"Haimavati's magic," Doctor mumbled. "Clever scoundrel."

Making screeching sounds, the bats headed down towards both the intruders with their razor-sharp tails pointed at them. Celina's mouth dropped noticing the speed. Having both of their minds functioning in a similar way, they created airy waves, with an intention to drive the bats away.

The grisly flying creatures seemed resilient. Despite both of their combined doubly strong kinetic power, only a few dropped down to the floor and  revert their forms to lumber, while the rest took the heavy flight only towards Doctor.

"Ah!" He shrieked covering himself up with his hands. He created the instant inferno, and the bats started to retreat. Having the sense that the wood belonged to the Holy Tree, he made sure that the bats wouldn't get caught in the fire. The intensity of the warmth was enough to make them collapse down on the floor and change the shape back.

In the meanwhile, Celina momentarily charged, taking the help of her newly invented Formation. She created the tornado merged with sharp spikes. The chamber quivered with the force. The broken pieces of lumber whirled in the air. The great whoosh. The scraping sound of the sliding caskets. She gritted her teeth wanting the tempest to knock the human-turned-beast out. It swirled and twisted dangerously as per her desire. It was on the verge of giving him a similar pain that he had given to every woman of the country. In spite of that, the moment the tornado cornered its destination, snap! it vanished and the chamber fell silent.

She stood as if paralyzed from the neck down, mulling over what had happened. None of it made sense though. How can her Formation fail? Almourah didn't even move from his place, nor did he seem to have performed any magic to nullify it. She looked sideways at Doctor, who was terribly hurt, his clothes torn and blood patches spilled everywhere. A disgruntled look was stamped on his face. His mind seemed to be reeling with uncertainty. Almourah's capabilities and magic were beyond his expectations as well. It was evident, none of their Formation was going to work against him. Months of training turned out to be a wasted effort.

The chamber felt settling in a few silent moments. And Doctor took the chance to pull out the attached other parts of the dagger from behind his trouser and mouthed at her. "Try snatching the Blade. I'll distract him."

Before she nodded, the lighthouse shook with loud thunder and a wail of anguish. They fell on the opposite sides. A loud thud and the sound of breaking wood made her skip a beat. Doctor grunted having a restraining hand on his shoulder. He suddenly began to convulse, edges of his mouth filling up with dark blood. Celina took a step towards him to provide aid. But Doctor instantly hurled the other parts of the dagger at her. "Go, get the Blade!" he yelled.

Her eyes streamed watching Doctor fighting against the pain. Gazing down at the conjoined Handle and Spine in her hands, she agreed to stick to their plan, no matter how difficult it was to leave Doctor to suffer. Almourah remained unaffected by the whole thing, sitting comfortably on the floor. He whimpered pitifully, like a child and that made her heart leap.

Staying unplugged from her emotions helped her stay focused. The Blade was lying beside his feet, and she held her eyes on it. She flicked her hand, hoping for the gust of wind propel the part of the dagger away. But the Blade didn't move an inch. It remained stuck to the stone floor. She tried again and again. Her Formation didn't work. There was something about this man, even without the dark magic in his hands, he was still extremely powerful. An explanation was somewhat ambiguous. However, he was a thousand-year-old experienced warlock, why would she even think any less of him?

She couldn't depend on her stone anymore. It had to be dealt with in some other way. What is it? What is it? She let her frustration out with a mere scoff. Keeping her fear aside, she kicked her heels and ran towards it. Almourah wasn't moving, maybe he couldn't move at all. She dropped on her knee and only touched the Blade when Doctor yelled at her. "Don't wait! Go for it! Right at his ribs."

Her heart thudded when she held the Blade up and quickly latched it onto the other parts. Having daringly sitting beside the pioneer of dark magic, she drove the Blade - swiftly and diagonally- aiming for his belly. The pointy edge of the Blade did not even reach the desired location when Almourah simply caught her arm and dug his talons deep into her skin.

Celina screamed on top of her lungs, feeling a shockwave coursing through her veins. The acidic burns gave her the pain of death.

"Mother!" A voice of a child said. Panting, she dared to look up at the bearded man through the mist of tears clouding her view. There was flesh and dark liquid trickling out of his mouth. And her fear and resolve felt crumbling watching into those soaked puppy dog eyes seemingly yearning for affection. "Kill me not, mother!"

For one eerily glorious moment, the voices of two women filled in her brain, their conversation based on an argument and persuasion. The surrounding slowed down with time, Doctor disappeared from her sight, and the world incredibly turned upside down before everything went blank.

It was only the voices of the two women...

"Shaytan Rup can die if you accept and give a nod. Just kill him, Haimavati!" Endira yelled, as loud as humanly possible.