"Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart."

"Its her", I paced towards the gleaming figure without explaining much to Adi,as I heard his perturbed voice not far behind me.

Her features were not clearly demarcated this time. She appeared as a obscure frame shining brightly.

But I could recognize her even in my dreams and nightmares, as I have seen
and felt her divine form before.

There was this heavenly aura that surrounded her this time unlike her ferocious form I witnessed the last time on the new moon day, while rescuing Stuti.

The bright light started to drift towards the southern side of the temple where all the ruined and crumbled pieces of temples old depositories were lying on the ground.

The way was complex with the creepers
and the boulders of rocks laying on the way which made it almost impossible for me to follow her.

"Stop there.Where you are going? it looks like a little woodland. There might be poisonous creatures amidst that wilderness", Adi shouted from behind warning me not to step into the wild path.

But I couldn't stop my own legs from moving towards her. The path infront of me was not lesser than the wild jungle track, which may have harboured venomous insects or deadliest animals.

I started to make my way through the
wild creepers, lifting them with my bare hands and segregating them out of my way as I made my way through the
eerie path.

She skimmed past the way efficiently, with nothing stopping her path unlike me. As I made my way through the crumbled path I felt my left leg shackled by the woody vine.

"Damn......", I muttered trying to free my foot from the constraints of the trailing plant.

"Just wait a second, I will help you out of this", I felt Adi leaning down trying to untwine the stubborn creeper.

"Make it fast", I uttered earnestly looking in the direction of the trailing light.

"Ouch....." , i muttered as I felt my feet slipping by the force he used to uncoil.

I felt Adi's huge arms supporting my shoulders still on his knees.

"Be careful, we are surrounded by prickly thorns and bushes", he warned helping me stand.

"Goodness, perfect time for this to happen", I mumbled annoyed by seeing my torn boots.

I hustled hurriedly behind her removing my now useless shoes. I felt the sharp edges of gravels and pebbles
jabbing my feet.

I clenched my jaws controlling the unbearable pain that shot through my sensitive feets as I felt the thorns piercing me in the dark way.

I discerned her halting at the end of the way nearby some huge rock or something that appeared fuzzy to me from here.

I gasped as I felt a huge arm wrapping around mine.

"Are you in your right senses? Your feets are bleeding heavily", Adi held me back.

"It doesn't matter now Adi. Leave my hands before she disappears from our sight", I said wiggling my hands out of his solid grip.

"It's too late now", he said glancing at the direction she stopped.

I turned back only to see she was nowhere around.

"Damn you, Adi", I hissed raking my fingers through my hairs, as I glared at his unapologetic face.

His face turned fiery as he eyed me,
"Well I'm not sorry for stopping you from bleeding to death", he gritted out.

"Oh god! Thank you for saving me from near death", I told him with fake enthusiasm in my tone.

"And also thanks to you, we lost her", I matched his own cold tone clenching my jaw.

If his face held fury before, now he was outraged at my words. He took a step towards me, so that now our faces were separated by an inch.

I tried to take a step back in reflex, but he slid his arm around my waist and held me in place. He leaned forward as his breath tickled my face.

"Don't", he hissed clenching his jaw so painfully that I saw a vein popping in his forehead. "Don't you ever dare to question me, when it concerns your well-being. It drives me insane, seeing you in pain".

I swallowed an imaginary lump that started forming in my throat as I saw the passion that burned through his eyes. I

He was silent for a moment still staring at me intensely before he shook his head and kneeled down in front of me to clean my bloody wounds in his hand kerchief.

"Ouch", I hissed holding his shoulders as he tied the cloth around my foot.

He huffed heavily before removing his sandals and handing them over to me to wear.

"No, I'm alrigh.....", my wordsdied down in my throat as I saw his glare directed at me.

"Just wear it already", he said turning his torch towards the direction the lady vanished.

"Come on now, let's go", he took my hand in his as we made our way through the gritty path.

We came to standstill near a huge wall that seemed to continue very far ahead.

"This is also a temple wall, maybe it's the southern boundary", Adi said as we moved ahead examining the wide carvings on the rock walls, which were almost destroyed.

They had various figures of gods and goddess along with some sculptures of celestial nymphs dancing.

There were huge pillars with carvings in the same manner we had in the pillars of main entrance of the temple, but majority of the sculptures here were disfigured, some parts were lying on the ground in the dark.

We couldn't clearly see the structures due to the darkness of the night surrounding us.

The distant squeaking of beetles and other insects with high frequencies were also unnerving my senses. I held Adi's arm tightly.

I jumped as I felt something gliding on my shoes.

"Are you alright?", came Adi's concerned voice as he directed his torch towards me.

"I think it's some insect or lizards", I waved off.

"What is that sound?", I asked him halting in my steps as I heard the slow ticking voice.

He furrowed his brows, trying to listen to the sound. His eyes widened as he sensed something.

He hastily searched through his pockets, and took out the three lockets as we directed our attention towards them.

"The noise is coming from one of these" , he said while examining each one of those.

"Adi, it's yours that is ticking", I said as I took old of it while opening.

"I guess we are nearby", he said glancing around.

"But there is no gate or entrance here", I said.

"See here carefully, the main hand of the compass is pointing at a particular direction", he said showing me the locket.

"Yes", we moved in the direction it was pointing out but there was nothing unusual found other than the pillar.

"It's pointing at this pillar, but it's not an entrance or anything", Adi said bothered examining the huge pillar with intricate carving.

"There might be something here, as the compass is pointing out in this direction. Let's watch it carefully", I said moving around the pillar.

"Ow, what's this statue", I jumped back in fear as I saw a terrifying statue of an old woman with four arms.

"It's horrendous sculpture", Adi huffed still amazed by the structure.

I turned my torch towards her face. It was truly a bone-chilling vision. Her eyes were popping out of her sockets, her nose was crushed and her wrinkly face held a smile.

Not the usual warm smile, it was a devious smile which can send you to the hell and the netherworld at the same time.

Her body was severely emaciated like she was starving without food for years.

Her lower left hand held a cut- head of a man by his long hairs while her right hand held a bowl like thing.

Her upper left hand had a long bone like thing with a skull stuck to it.
While her right held a very large bow in it.

The horrific fact was; the place where usually a stomach is situated for a person was empty for her... it was dug out leaving behind a hole at the site.

As I lowered the torch towards her legs I saw a small thing crawling on her lower leg... it seemed as a venomous scorpion crawling.

"This is not the normal bow, Ira", Adi said observing the lengthy bow that she held in her arm.

"It is a long serpent she is using as a bow", he said bewildered by the fact as he saw the terminals of the bow which had the snake's mouth opened widely, spitting a venom.

One thing was clear now, she is not at all a divine soul, she is an evil form. A pure seducer who will attract the people towards her with her weird form and thereby destroys them.

She is an evil. A destroyer.

Adi extended his hand fervently to touch the snake in the form of a bow.

My eyes widened alarmingly seeing his hands at a mere distance from the evil bow. My breath hitched a beat before I called out.

"No", but it was already too late as his whole body flew at the lightning speed hitting the opposite wall.

"Adi.....", I screamed before moving towards his grunting form.

"Are you alright", I asked as my voice shook in terror.

"Yeah......fuck.....", he cursed as held his arm which hit the wall directly.

"I'm sorry", I muttered guiltily as tears threatened in my eyes while I helped him to stand.

"Shh...I'm fine sweetheart", he said as held my face between his warm hands.

"No it's my fault.......",

I halted my words as I saw something peculiar at the bottom of the sculpture of the venomous lady.

It was almost invisible to see as it was carved below the main structure(evil

"Adi, you stay here please. Don't come near me", I warned him before moving towards the sculpture.

I kneeled infront of it before bending completely before the pillar. There was carving of two bulls sitting calmly held by a single rope. I took a deep breath before I decided to touch it.

"No Ira. Don't touch it"

I had a deep hunch that this was the thing the compass was truly pointing at.

The evil form of the old woman was protecting this divine energy which was present below. Almost like shielding the divine energy from discovered by those people who were not meant to.

I closed my eyes tightly remembering the divine energy before touching the rope that held the two bulls together.

The surrounding was completely at rest for a moment, almost like nobody existed in the region. The chirping and bustling of insects was also stopped, creating a death like environment.

My breathing quickened as I felt yhe calmness of the surroundings. It appeared as that sereneness that appeared before a storm, like a candle that burns brightly before extinguishing.

I felt ground beneath me shaking, my foot failing to support my own weight.

"Ira, be careful", I heard Adi's panicked voice as he engulfed me in his arms moving away from the pillar.

It indeed was a storm. As we felt the ground shaking now beneath our feets.

Adi moved back dragging me with him, to lean on the tremors walls as we heard a loud noise.

We turned towards it to witness an astonishing site.

The pillar has moved up slightly, creating a small gap beneath it. Even the creaking sound and the tremors in the ground were also stopped.

"Well, this is unbelievable now", I said moving towards the opened site as Adi followed behind.

I eyed the now lifted pillar in awe.

"It's truly a wonder", I said kneeling
before the open site of the pillar.

I took a deep breath before bending on the dusted ground as I extended my now shivering hand in the hole.

It was only an inch or a two deep beneath. As I hastily tapped my hand inside it, curious to find what's beneath
it, my hand came in contact with some rough material.

I got up grabbing the material as the pillar again started to close on its own.

"That looks like palm wood- feathers", Adi wondered staring at the wooden manuscript in my hands.

Damn, this is one hell of long chapter with around 2100 words.....