"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed".

_Ernest Hemingway

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"Take me to your guruji", my voice echoed like a thunderbolt stuck in the middle of a serene night. Heads turned and many pair of eyes scanned my disheaveled state incredulously. Clothes wet and hairs unruly sticking over my face all over. Most probably I looked nothing less than a homeless wretch soaked to bones in the rain outside.

"I'm sorry miss, but I have to request you to kindly leave as this is not either the right place nor the right time to meet with guruji", the reverend replied trying to calm me down. " Visitors are not allowed after sunset", he continued.

"Well, I don't care if it's the perfect time or not. I have to meet with your guruji", my voice boomed in the silent halls of ashram. "Now".

"Try to understand miss.....", he stopped sensing the other reverend coming towards us. Whose face i recognised instantly. He was one of the two followers who accompanied guruji to our home.

"What's going on here?", the person asked with poised tone his gaze flickering over my face with recognition. And without further questioning he lead me inside the hall where guruji was deeply involved in meditation, with counting a string of beads in his hands. An idol of goddess Bhairavi was placed in the hall and room radiated divine energy and sereneness.

The reverend who brought me here, whispered something in Guruji's ear and after bowing infront of him took his leave , closing the double doors behind leaving me alone.

"Are you going to ignore me the whole night?", i asked indignation etched in my tone as he didn't acknowledge me
even though an eternity passed. "Just to let you know, I'm not leaving from here, till i know the entire truth", i continued staring at his form which was rooted to the place like a rock.

A soft chuckle was his only reply. And before I can open my mouth again he slowly opened his eyes bowed before goddess idol, applied tilak on his forehead and very slowly moved towards the giant windows with a full view of the night sky.

"It's just six nights left for full moon", he whispered with a mystic edge to his tone, while staring at the waxing gibbous of moon which appeared more than half illuminated. "Six nights to stop the rise and roar of evil on this mother earth. Six nights till Stuthi's marriage. Six nights for the final procession of my mother Bhairavi. Six unsure nights which will result in bloods spilling. Six unsure nights at the end of which the venomous snakes hiding behind their fake innocent faces will be unveiled. Six nights till you have to protect your dear ones with your own life, a slight mishap and you will lose them to the evil", he turned staring right through my eyes. His voice touching the inner depths of my soul.

"You have digged out and understood atleast eighty percent of truths and dark secrets surrounding the temple now", he said his gaze roaming around my face as if he was trying to decipher the future from my face. I stood tongue tied , unable to ask him anything. My mind was reeling with so many thoughts. I wanted to question him, I wanted to demand answers, I wanted to scream at his face and ask him, if he knows everything why the hell can't he say the things directly? Why can't he spare me the time by letting me dug through those things? Risking lives?.

My mind reeled through today's events. Adi.... My Adi was hurt and he could have lost his life because we were behind something dangerous and something unknown. And the only person who have answers to all our questions , who can make our paths easy is still unwilling to open his mouth. He is unwilling to trust me with the truth which he knows.

A mocking laugh escapes my throat unwillingly. I snort at his words. "When are you going to stop speaking in riddles?", i eye him disapprovingly. "I know we have to stop evil from ruling this earth. I know there are six nights left for my sister's marriage. I know six nights are left for final procession of devi. I know there are cruel, evil people surrounding me , surrounding us", my voice raises in octaves with each sentence. "Damn all this, i also know at the end of all this blood will be spilled, Lives will be lost, it might be my mom, my sister or even myself. I know at the end of all this the ones who will be affected are my dear ones, my friends or my family! That's my question? Why it has to be me?", i scream with agony tears blurring my vision.

"Why it has to be my family? Why it has to be my dad?", i crouch down onto floors my legs giving up with exhaustion. "Today a life could have been lost because of my obsession to find out this mystery surrounding the temple. I could have ruined a family who entirely depended on him. I could have lost him ", i whimper my voice losing its strength. I cry my heart out, I lost my father to this evil schemes and today Adi escaped from the cusp of death.

Guruji just stares at me while I pour my heart out weeping on the floor. " How did my dad found out about the place ? He knew everything and much more than I know today. And what did he get at last for being a protector of that damned place? A death?" , I unleash my inner turmoil sounding insolent, impolite but it doesn't matter now. I'm losing the will to fight this battle.

"Take your words back before you regret it, Ira. I know this task is life threatning and surving is not easy. But if you didn't have that qualities within you then you wouldn't have been the chosen one for this divine work. It's your good karma from so many past lives that has made the divine endow you with such a blessings. While so many of us Yogis and
sadhus who are on this path from many decades we yearn to catch a glimpse of the divine form of the naagdevatha. ( shape shifting serpent)", he continues gazing me through the corner of his eyes his stare still fixed outside the window.

He snorts as if he cannot believe the ridiculousness of the situation, " And see the irony child, you were blessed with the sight of her without even asking for it. Do you think it happens to normal people out there? No. I doesn't. It needs a pure soul without any form of expectations or greediness and you have it my child. You are the chosen one, the guardian of the divine, the overseer of the treasure that belongs to the supreme goddess", he turns completely his gaze holding marvel as if he had witnessed something holy, something scared through me.

My head becomes filled with so many thoughts by his words. My mind racing to various incidents as I open my mouth to seek clarity, "You say god is everywhere right ? Then why cant he protect himself? If god is the supreme being protecting this whole earth then why can't he protect himself from mere humans? Who are these evil people? They are just mere dust particles in his vast creation! Why does he even create evil and then why does he appoints guardians or chosen ones? "

He just smiles warmly radiating genuine admiration at my questions. "Well I'm not that great person to explain about god's intentions or plans on the universe but I can share you this piece of information", he says.

"God, as we call him, the creator of the universe, is also just a cosmic energy. He's nothing but a cosmic power. He can be in the form of fire, water, wind, dawn, darkness, earth and so on. He's just an embodiment of supreme energy"

"And the energy in the universe is of two kinds, as you know already. Good and bad, evil and holy, positive and negative. God, as we call him represents positive energy on this planet. He can't be seen through naked eyes to everyone except those countable persons whose radiations, whose positive vibration matches with him. But for rest it can be felt, that's why we visit a temple or holy place . To increase our positive vibrations. As the divine is made up of positive vibrations, that's the reason we perform poojas, chant mantras, do yagnas, homas in temples at our homes. It is to increase the divine positive vibrations. But there are another group of people who are exactly opposite. They follow the exact opposite path, they worship goddess but in the different form, they also worship the same idol you worship but they chant different mantras , do different techniques and stop the positivity of that God, then they invoke negative energies and vibrations from the same goddess.", he continues.

"Guruji, I don't understand what's the use of telling all these things now", i question perplexed by the direction he's moving onto. Scared for the things he's going to gradually reveal.

"There's a reason I'm entering into this dark side of our culture ", he heaves a breath. "The things I'm going to reveal next will surely shock you and you might think there is no way this kind of practices exist in this era, but just listen to me calmly for next few minutes", he
says sternly.

"At this point of time, there's nothing that can surprise me. I have witnessed enough strange things to believe your words guruji", I whisper under my breath, tuning my mind to take in whatever he's going to reveal next

"Have you heard of the four vedas, Ira?", he questions and continues without giving me chance to answer.

"There are four vedas under our hindu culture and they are the root and foundation for our religion. They offer insights into our culture, rituals and practices. There's a fourth veda called
Atharva veda, about which I'm going to speak now. Which has all the answers you are quering for".

"Atharva veda contains knowledge related to healing, health and protection against negative spells. It was primarily written for well being of humans but when it landed in the hands of wrong people they started using it for their greed", he continues and i stare at him still not able to relate anything.

"It is with the help of hymns and chants from those texts, our ancestors used to cast spell and protect the positive energy of the place. It was mainly written to relish and replinish the divinity associated with the holy places and further more some kings used those hymns to protect their wealth in temples", he continues.

"And they used such a unique technique to seal the doors of those hidden treasures that , only they knew how to break the spell and take out the wealth kept their", he continues.

"So you mean not everyone can open the gates and to do so they need those hymns and chants which are particularly used to break that particular spell", I pointed out realisation hitting me. "And those techniques to reach the hidden spot in west region of temple is present in the book we found infront of devi idol in garbagriha ", I state comprehending the importance of the book.

He nods, his eyes glinting in appreciation and continues, "I can sense you have already got that book. But be careful it should not reach anyone else's hand", he warned me.

A wave of worry crossed me hearing his words, "only Adi and my sister knows about it. We gave it to my sister to analyse the writings in it as it was in different scripture", my voice trailed.

"But I can assure you guruji that Stuti means no harm to that book", i said but doubt wagered my brain remembering the unusual behaviour of Stuti some times.

Can I really trust her with this invaluable book?

But I shook my head at my thoughts. What am I even thinking? She's my blood , my sister. She can never do such a thing. But I remembered my dad's words from his manual.

Trust no one except yourself.

"Guruji do you mean Stuti might mean any harm....?", my voice trailed unease wrenching my gut.

"No child. Never think of her in such a way. She's just.....", he stopped silence engulfing the halls as he carefully tried to choose his next words. "She's just a victim of evil just like your father was", he said lost in thoughts.

"What do you mean guruji?",I ask puzzled. "How can she become victim of evil? She doesn't even know, what is going around us!", i exclaim unable to believe his words.

"It's true Ira. Believe me. She was once a victim of tantrik practices. There is a practice under tantra, and these people use unethical ways to control people's brain and their thoughts. That's what happened to Stuti that night when you found her at the middle of night.", he explains making me gasp with shock.

" What do you mean guruji? Are you saying Stuthi was under the control of some tantra? Some kind of magic? ", my voice trembles with pure shock.

"She had a very weak kundali but an interesting one. They just took advantage of it. As she was born on auspicious time of special stars alignment, sacrificing her blood might increase the shakti, the power of the evil they worship. And yes, human sacrifices happen. It's the way they restore their energy and power", he continues undeterred unbeknowest to the flood that's taking place in my heart.

"And there's nothing to worry now. That divine energy, safeguarding you, lead you to her at perfect time", a look of wonder crosses his features, "the goddess herself is helping you in your journey so be strong willed and confident, until Stuthi has the holy amulet i tied to her, not any kind of negativity can touch her", he says confidently.

"And as per you, you know as long as the naagdevatha is guarding you there's not any kind of power that can harm you", he finishes.

"Is that glowing white serpent protecting the treasure the naagdevatha right?", I ask my mind racing with events I can't comprehend even now.

"Yes. It is her", he takes a sharp breath as if preparing himself...., "As I told earlier on full moon, the divine's energy will be highest with heightened spiritual
energy and as the energy is high in the nature it amplifies both good and bad on that night. But the upcoming pournima, the, full moon night, which occurs only for every 17 years, this is very dangerous because this is the only night where divine energy will be suppressed and the negative energies will be heightened. There will be imbalance of powers in the nature and there will be no other perfect time to intervene the goddess and fulfill their wicked plans. So on the night of full moon, from night nine to twelve goddess garbagriha will be closed and nobody visits the temple at that time , not even priest as it is said that goddess will need time to restart and recharge her energy, for another 17 years so nobody dares to intervene her time then. As soon as two hours are finished we enter garbagriha and clean whole temple , clean devi idol and at night after twelve , temple reopens and people end their 21 days long celebration after taking goddess darshan and blessings.", he releases a breath staring at me pointedly.

My mind paddles absorbing all the things he disclosed right now, "So, it means those two hours are important right now, in those two hours negative energies will reach its pinnacle and those evil people might enter the temple to loot the treasure then?", i conclude it more like a statement averting my gaze towards the moon that's now covered with thick clouds.

"Yes. Exactly. But it's not that easy even with the power of goddess Bhairavi decreased there is still enough ability within her to protect herself. To destroy the evil who comes to harm her. So, first with the help of tantrik ways they will bind the naagdevatha and then they will cast a negative spell on temple so that goddess cannot intervene in any kind of evil activity they might carry. It's basically a way of torturing goddess without letting her power outside of garbagriha. They cast thousands of spell, perform hundreds of rituals to stop the divine energy which is protecting the treasure", he stops taking a deep breath.

"So our only duty is to protect the book which we found in garbagriha from reaching wrong hands until the full moon night ", I ask him in concern

"It's not as much as effortless as you think it to be Ira. If my guess is right , they might have concoted various plans by this time. You got to know about all these things recently but these group of wicked people are already involved from more than 17 years. Don't forget they have already tried and couldn't succeed first time. They got enough time to correct their mistake and this time if they strike, it will be so precise so we have to be extra cautious. We shouldn't let what happened to your father repeat again", gurujis sounds determined.

"I have one more question, who are these people we found near the temple today, with cloaks covering their body? And there was this person who chased us on order from his master, but as soon as he saw my locket he left us unharmed. Who's he?", I ask clutching my locket tightly asvthe images of those wild eyes flashes through my mind. I shiver his name leaving my lips unconsciously.

"Rudra. They called him as Rudra", i mumble to myself.

"Rudra?", guruji gasps his face losing all colours as if he saw someone dead coming alive.

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Hope the chapter was to ur liking. Well I wrote it as a filler as I had seriously lost the plot of the story amidst reading all my ncert and what not. And yesterday whole day I took time to read the story and thank god i had written some kind of snippets for upcoming chapters when I stopped writing two years back.......As I was back after so many days I guess I have lost touch and i believe it will be corrected in upcoming chapters. I have still lot more of fascinating ideas for this book which will be completed in another 4 to 5 chapters.

To all those who believed me , that i will be back and complete this book. My heartfelt gratitude.

And well to all those who indulged in cursing and stooped so low that they even wished death upon me.....well thank you to you guys also.

You never know what will be going on in other's life. Yes. It was my fault that I left the book at the middle without proper intimation. But even i didn't know at that time that i would have stopped the book. And the past year wasn't easy for me preparing for one of the most competitive exam. With all those ups and downs on my roller coaster, finally I made it.

And i know I could have started writing from past two months but my brain was messed up, and most of us aspirants didn't know what could have happened this year as paper was unexpected. So I was waiting for the results to declare and so when the results were finally out and I secured a good rank to get into a gmc in my state, idk what happened but my emotions were all over the place. I needed time to believe that I made it so after taking some good time to bask in the post result phase. Here I am.

I'm not gonna promise anything regarding updates. As I have a bad record of breaking those. But I'm damn sure I will complete it soon.

That's all for now. Take care.

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