Don't become the monster that you hate.

****

This time, the victim wasn't alone. She was accompanied by the whole village, and together they headed towards the temple. Sticks, torches, butcher's knives– the common folk brought whatever they could collect. And two prominent men– Sundar and Aadi Babu– carried their pride– a rifle and a revolver respectively. All in all it looked quite promising, but they knew they were going to face the paranormal.

They were to meet Lucifer.

Was it then, all enough?

"It is unbelievable that he was living amongst us all this time and we never knew," Sundar said. He had taken the solemn duty, along with Aadi Babu and Nathu, to surround Maya and be close to her all the time. "I wish this murderer death."

Aadi Babu and Nathu had their lips sealed. The old man spoke up after heaving a sigh. "We need to be strong. We all know the culprit. It might come as a shock."

"I understand, Aadi Babu. I wonder, though, where is Hrishav? He should have come home by now. Maya, did you send him for some secret mission?"

Maya stumbled on a pebble and slipped. Nathu held her on time, but she had stubbed her toe.

"You will meet him on time," Maya said. "And don't let that rifle in your hand shake in fear."

"I fear no man or god."

Maya's mirthless smile made Sundar feel chills. He kept quiet, waiting for her to reveal everything on time.

Manas, who was there in the crowd, placed a hand on Sundar's shoulders. "Babu, life is a maze. We never know what is to come next."

"Why are you speaking like this?"

"Maya forbids me from speaking any revelations. All we can do is wait."

At last, they all reached the temple gates. Chaos erupted and people began throwing pebbles at it. In the claws of wrath they forgot that it was still the home of their beloved Kalika. Aadi Babu calmed the crowd with a sight of his revolver. When the restlessness submerged, Maya and Nathu took the very first steps.

"Ah!"

Just before touching the temple gates, Nathu felt a surge of shock course through his veins and ignited an unimaginable pain in his body. He quivered like a man prone to fits and fell on the ground.

"Nathu!" Anandi shouted and ran to him. A group of people knelt at his side and rubbed his palms and feet. Anandi fanned him with her aanchal. Slowly he opened his eyes.

"That-that gate is possessed. It hurt so bad..."

"It didn't hurt me..."

Maya gulped. So that was what Sahiba meant?

Aadi Babu took cautious steps ahead and attempted to touch that invisible barrier with his forefinger. He too screamed and retraced his steps.

"Lucifer allows only the sacrifice to come ahead. No one else."

The voice didn't come from the crowd. Everyone looked ahead at the temple. There, on the stairs was standing a smirking Shekhar. He had braided his hair and embellished it with jewels of rare kind. With an air of superiority and chin up, he declared, "Lucifer allows only the victim to take a step. The rest, if they try, shall go closer to death every attempt. Unless you want to succumb to an untimely end, stay away, and let only Maya come forward."

"Swine," Manas cursed. He pushed the crowd and stood beside Maya. "You are a spineless man!" he shouted and spat on the ground. "You gave in to greed. You don't know punishment is near."

"You better keep quiet. Lucifer will ascend to the status of a demigod after the success of this ritual. He will then crush you like ants in his grip."

"Manas, step back, there's no point arguing," Maya said.

"But Maya–"

"I will go in."

"You cannot go in alone!" Aadi Babu protested with a red face. "There must be some way out."

"There isn't. Trust me, I will be fine. And even if I..." Maya felt a clot in her heart, "don't end up well, this magical wall will vanish after the deed is done. Then you all will attack. I don't think he will manage to dodge all the bullets."

"This is-isn't fair." Aadi Babu struggled to speak. Tears choked him. He clutched the revolver in his hand tighter.

Maya wiped his tears. "This is my fate. You must accept."

"You will not accept defeat."

"I promise, and I won't break this."

Aadi Babu held her hand, touching it to his forehead. He was reluctant to let her go, but he had to, and thus he freed her. "Go. And be quick, before I can change my mind."

Maya scanned the crowd. All the known faces– Manas, Sundar, Nathu and Anandi, even Rahul were there.

"Wish me luck."

And she sprinted for the gates.

****

Just like the day after the murder, the idol of Kalika was covered in a red cloth. Maya's hands were tied at the back. Initially, she fought against Shekhar, but then thought it best to yield. Angering them could have invited danger closer.

"Where is he?"

Shekhar smiled in petty amusement. "You are eager to meet him?"

Maya scoffed. "I better get to know why he is doing all these."

"Don't be so impatient, memsaheb."

And from behind the idol came the handsome Lucifer, the exotic and ethereal Hrishav.

He was dressed in a red dhoti. His long hair was combed to a silky trail. Golden chains dangled around his neck. And the familiar perfume of vanilla wafted to Maya's nose.

"Do I look delectable?" Hrishav asked, spreading his arms in a welcoming hug. Maya shifted aside, refusing to accept the embrace.

Hrishav was displeased by her avoidance. He wrapped his sturdy arms around her in a suffocating grip that caused her to flinch.

"Beautiful," he whispered, sniffing the fragrance of her hair. "You sure came ready." He grabbed her hair and pulled back her head with a cruel force, choking her throat with the other free hand. Maya coughed and sweated, but he wouldn't leave. He saw her battling to free herself. When she had turned as pale as a white paper, he threw her to the floor. A small cut bled on her forehead.

"You want to know how I became Lucifer?"

Maya sat up, eyeing him with ire. "Yes."

Hrishav sat across from her. "So, now I begin. I was the favourite child when my grandfather was alive. He loved me, he adored me. He was a staunch man of principles and very orthodox, and he saw his reflection in me. Alas, after his death, negligence soon became my friend.

"Father was not very fond of me worshipping gods or of my so-called superstitious nature. I don't blame him for his ordinary intelligence, he never tried to know beyond the perceptible reality. Mother, though she tried to protect me from him, failed every time."

Hrishav entwined his fingers. His eyes dilated, a sheen of water shining over his rogue gaze. "I was beaten and made to fast. But I didn't yield. I wouldn't change my ways. I had my belief in Kalika. She was my real Mother. Alas, it was.

"You are a different individual, Maya. And I am different. She isn't meant to be my protector. It's not her task. And my biological mother was weak. She was timid and poor in constitution. She became increasingly weaker after the birth of Sundar and was unable to take care of me."

"Shashi must have loved you."

Hrishav's eyes enlarged. He ignored her and continued, "Sundar soon became the apple of everyone's eye. I was a tad jealous at first. But soon, I realised he saw me as an idol. He would copy whatever I did, cry when Father would chide me. He told me I was a bad influence on my own brother, but who cares! Yet, it hurt me a lot to see how Sundar got all the love and attention while I rotted in the background. And then one fine day, Mother was to deliver her third child. As expected, she died."

"As expected?"

"I knew she would die. She wasn't meant to live long. She was all bones when Devika was in her womb. I don't blame the child though; Father never really understood that pregnant women had to follow certain religious rules. She didn't do it and got the result."

Maya wanted to slap him on the face. She cringed at the thought of once considering this same man an angel.

"Time went by and torture increased. I used to live with bruises. I began despising my father the way vampires hate the sun. I wanted him to die. I prayed everyday to Kalika to save me from the trouble and grant me a happier life. But that rascal had a long life. Really long life. And then came one fine night that changed everything."

Hrishav scooted closer to Maya, pushing her against the wall. His voice was now a mere cool hush of the breeze. "He was drunk, my father, and he repeatedly hit me with his cane so hard that my right leg broke."

Maya's feet curved inwards. "Why?"

"I had touched a certain book by chance. Too curious about it, I began flipping the pages. He caught me, and he beat me." Maya's chest heaved up and down. Her eyes roved around the temple. Hrishav cupped her face. "Do you pity me, Maya?"

Looking into his eyes, Maya felt what true fear was. He was close to her, he held her, touched her, and she could do nothing.

"I don't pity you. I hate you," she said, feeling a flood of sobs gurgle in her heart.

"That's sad. Worse than a broken leg. You know, I felt so much pain. I felt I was going to die! They had to immediately take me to the hospital in the nearby town. I survived, quite miraculously. And that night in the hospital, I felt as free as an eagle soaring high in the sky. Because, I had given up on Kalika."

Hrishav ran his fingers through her hair. Maya flinched, shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth.

"I had loved her so much and suffered so much in her name. Yet, she didn't look at me ever. She snatched away all love from me and paid my devotion with gruesome days of dark. You know, maybe my father was right in that sense– I shouldn't have worshipped her." He left his grip on Maya and stared menacingly at the now veiled idol. "I should have kicked her. Maimed her. Killed her. But she is a goddess, immortal. I cannot. I felt so bad, so betrayed Maya, my days and nights became dull. But then, came a spark of hope.

"Father got a fracture in his leg. And just before that day I had been chanting the name of Raktabeej. He immediately gave me a gift. I was so very happy! Even though I was still afraid to touch that book, I kept it close to me, under my pillow."

"When did you begin reading it?"

Hrishav's eyes glinted. He appeared like a hungry wolf searching for blood. He put his thumb over her lower lip, tracing it at a treacherously slow pace. Maya tasted bile in her mouth. Unable to take it any more she bit his thumb. He yelped and retracted his hand. "Ouch, Maya! You should be softer. Biting like this isn't attractive."

"I didn't intend to be approachable."

"You don't have a choice, Maya. You are here to be with me. My slave. My woman. My object of–" He bit his tongue. "No, no. My object of desire is too special. Well, don't be hurt, you are gorgeous too."

Maya raised a brow.

"But Maya, I am going to enjoy and pump up a little before making love to you."

"So that's what you do– force them to copulate and then–"

"Hush, Maya. It's an act of divinity. I raise them to the status of Raktabeej's servants. It's a respectable position. They are his sacrifices. You will be one too. All the Vessels of Kalika at his feet."

"You will get the taste of your own medicine."

At once his face shrouded in onyx. Maya felt her feet go cold.

"What did you say?"

He hurled at her and banged her head against the wall. Her screams resounded in the garbha griha. She kicked him in the groin. Hrishav groaned. "How dare you!"

Maya's scarlet coloured forehead drizzled blood on her lap. "I will watch you die."

"Oh really?" Hrishav chuckled. "You shall see something else, Maya. I will make you see what I did to Catherine. That way you will know who is in power."

Hrishav gestured to Shekhar. At once the man produced a ball of cloth and gagged Maya. Next he brought a rope and tied her feet with the help of Hrishav. Now restricted and helpless, Maya wriggled like a worm.

"By the way, the idol of my master is kept in the back of Kalika's idol. I shall make you see it once."

"Master, should I bring her in?" Shekhar asked Hrishav.

"Oh! Yes, sure. And ask her to not be afraid. After all she isn't a victim or sacrifice. She is what I admire."

All of Maya's movements ceased. Her head drooped like a wilted sunflower. Thoughts spiralling in her mind, heart thudding like an untamed mare, she felt the bitter taste of blood on her lips and fear paralysing her senses.

"She is the most beautiful maiden I have ever seen. My master had asked me to not ever go close to her. But why shouldn't I, Maya? She can't be stronger than me or Raktabeej. She is a creature of such pure innocence that it makes me drunk. I wish to feel her, make her mine. Just the thought of it makes me burn and feel so helpless! As helpless as you are now, Maya..."

Hrishav bent forward, holding her chin and placing a kiss on her wounded forehead. "You are charming too, Maya. But she is an apsara. Got her mother's beauty. Beholding her makes my day."

He took a deep breath. "Mine, only mine..."

Maya shook her head like a maddened woman. Hrishav roared like a lunatic, clapping his hands to the joy of being a victor. The temple descended into an impenetrable darkness which even the holy rays of the stars could not pierce. Protected by malice and diabolical spirits, Hrishav danced in pleasure, the gossamer glow of his jewels painting him as a temptation unmatched in glory.

"Want to meet the girl of my heart, Maya?"