The Mists of Brahma Read online

  He paused.

  The three Nagas waited for Shukra to continue.

  ‘Here’s what I want you to do,’ Shukra began. The Nagas listened attentively.

  ‘You can’t be serious, Wise One!’ Takshaka exploded as Shukra finished.

  ‘You must listen and obey,’ the Son of Bhrigu commanded, his voice stern. ‘What I have asked you to do is the only way forward for me.’

  Takshaka and his companions stood uncertainly for a few moments. Then, with one accord, they bowed and left the Son of Bhrigu alone with his thoughts.

  Chapter One

  Terror in Corbett National Park

  The Gurukul at Ramganga

  Corbett National Park

  Uttarakhand

  16:00 Hours

  The classes had just begun to disperse and the clamour of loud conversations filled the air. Students threaded their way out of the classrooms and towards the Gurukul’s archives or to their dormitories.

  Not far away, the lazy rays of the sun glinted off the slow flowing Ramganga river that skirted the Gurukul as the day marched towards twilight and the embrace of darkness.

  A few Mahamatis stood in groups of twos and threes, talking animatedly.

  A normal day at the Gurukul located within Corbett National Park. Or any Gurukul for that matter.

  Until now.

  Abruptly, the sky darkened, the sun blotted out by extraordinarily dark clouds.

  Everyone looked up, surprised. There had been no forecast of rain or a thunderstorm; or any climatic disturbance of any kind.

  Curiosity turned to shock.

  Then fear.

  For, hovering above them was no ordinary cloud. It was a seething mass of black shapes writhing within tight coils, flying in from the west and hovering above the Gurukul.

  A shout went up. ‘The Nagas are attacking!’

  The cheerful hubbub was instantly replaced by a tumult born of fear and horror. Everyone had heard about what had happened at the Gurukul in Panna just over a week ago.

  Mahamatra Vishesh, the Maharishi who led the Sangha as the head of its council, stood calm and composed in the midst of the pandemonium. He knew what he had to do. But he was not sure if time was on their side.

  Already, the black cloud had begun to disintegrate into individual reptiles who descended to the ground, surrounding the Gurukul from all sides with guttural roars and grunts.

  They sounded angry.

  They were angry.

  And they wanted revenge.

  Vishesh realised this. But the Gurukul would not go down without a fight. He gestured to Pradeep, who was a member of the Sangha Council—the five leaders who governed the Sangha.

  ‘Call for help,’ he urged Pradeep. ‘We don’t have much time.’

  Pradeep nodded, fully aware of their predicament, and hurried away.

  All around, orders were being shouted. The students were being rallied and instructions given to defend the Gurukul.

  The chant of mantras grew louder as reinforcements were put in place to strengthen the defence of the Gurukul. The Sangha had never seen an adversary as powerful as this before.

  Vishesh could only hope that help would arrive in time. Otherwise, they were all doomed.

  Chapter Two

  Where’s Maya?

  The Gurukul

  Panna National Park

  Life was back to normal at the Gurukul in Panna, after its near destruction nine days ago. Ever since the rout of the Nagas, the place had been a hive of activity. Help had descended upon the little hamlet in the form of Rishis and Kshatriyas and Maharishis from across the country; some were Mahamatis from other Gurukuls and others were members of the Sangha, who were teaching at educational institutions in different parts of India.

  Everyone had come to help rebuild the partially destroyed Gurukul. As a result, within just a few days, the boys’ dorms and the guesthouse, along with some of the other installations, which had been attacked and destroyed by the Nagas, had been swiftly rebuilt and were now as good, if not better, than before. The girls’ dorms had been untouched; Garuda had arrived before the Nagas had had a chance to have a go at them.

  The common room was a cacophony of loud chatter, even louder laughter, and shouts, as some of the residents indulged in rough games.

  Arjun sat at a table, laughing at one of Varun’s jokes.

  A sudden, fierce knocking at the door of the cottage made everyone jump.

  One of the boys ran to open the door.

  Kanakpratap, Arjun’s uncle, his face dark as thunder, stood on the doorstep.

  In one swift motion, Arjun rose and scurried to the door.

  Kanakpratap pulled him outside and slammed the door shut, leaving Arjun’s friends and the other boys surprised.

  ‘Where’s Maya?’ Kanakpratap’s tone was urgent.

  Arjun almost asked, ‘Why?’ but restrained himself just in time. His uncle’s tone indicated that he would not take kindly to a question at this moment.

  ‘Probably with Maharishi Satyavachana,’ Arjun replied, again repressing the urge to ask why Kanakpratap was looking for Maya. His uncle rarely had any work with Maya, so something must be up for him to be searching for her with such a grim visage.

  ‘Can’t find him anywhere either,’ Kanakpratap responded in a tone of steel that indicated he was restraining his fury with great difficulty. ‘Can’t imagine where they could have disappeared to.’

  Arjun didn’t have an answer. But he didn’t want to say so either.

  ‘Have you checked with Adira and Amyra?’ It seemed logical to Arjun that the two girls who were Maya’s closest friends in the Gurukul might know where she was.

  Kanak shook his head. ‘I did. They don’t know either.’ He gritted his teeth in exasperation.

  Arjun was now sure that something was seriously wrong. It was not like Kanakpratap to get worked up over small things.

  ‘What’s the matter, Uncle?’ He couldn’t help himself finally. ‘Can I help in any way?’

  Kanakpratap put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it firmly. A bit too firmly for Arjun’s liking.

  He looked Arjun in the eye. ‘The Nagas have attacked the Gurukul on the banks of the Ramganga river in Corbett. We just received an SOS from them. They can’t hold off much longer.’

  Finally, Arjun understood his uncle’s urgency. Maya was the only one in the entire world who knew where to find the nemesis of the Nagas. The saviour who had rescued their own Gurukul, just a week ago.

  ‘Let me look for her,’ he offered, but Kanakpratap stopped him.

  ‘You stay here, Arjun. Just in case she turns up. There are enough people scouring the Gurukul as it is.’

  Arjun stood there and watched his uncle walk away, a deep foreboding in his heart. The memory of the assault of the Nagas was all too fresh. The Gurukul’s deliverance had hung upon a slender thread.

  And Maya.

  Who was nowhere to be found.

  Where could she be?

  And what would happen to the Gurukul on the Ramganga?

  Chapter Three

  Kapoor’s New Case

  Police Commissioner’s Office

  New Delhi

  Raman Kapoor fidgeted as he waited outside Commissioner of Police Ramesh Vidyarthi’s office.

  He wondered what bug had bitten the Commissioner. It had been only three weeks since he had been assigned the Trivedi murder case. And he had still not solved it. So why this sudden urgency? He couldn’t understand it. Even if his boss wanted an update, surely he should have given him a week or two more to investigate? Especially since Kapoor had been all set to travel to Allahabad to try and unearth clues there.

  The Commissioner’s aide came up to Kapoor. ‘Sir will see you now.’

  Kapoor followed the man into the office and stood before the Commissioner’s desk. Vidyarthi smiled at him from under bushy eyebrows and a mop of white hair.

  ‘Ah, Kapoor, my man! Come on in, sit down.’

  Kapoor t
ook a chair. The door shut behind him, as the aide left the two men alone.

  ‘What’s the update?’ Vidyarthi asked him, getting to the point immediately. ‘I haven’t had a proper report from you yet.’

  Kapoor bit back a retort about not having had enough time to investigate, leave alone write a report.

  ‘No conclusion yet, sir,’ he replied instead. ‘I’m still working on some leads.’

  ‘Ah.’

  Kapoor didn’t like the sound of that ‘ah’. He waited. He knew there was more.

  ‘What does it look like, Kapoor?’ Vidyarthi sat back in his chair and observed him keenly. ‘Going anywhere? Or will it be a dead end? That would be a first for you!’

  ‘I don’t know yet, sir. I wanted to follow up a few leads to see if I could find something concrete.’

  ‘Don’t bullshit me, Kapoor. I know you well. And I knew when I gave you the Trivedi murder case that it looked pretty hopeless. But if there was anyone on the force who could solve it, it was you. And yet, if you haven’t got anywhere in three weeks, I don’t know if you ever will.’

  Kapoor said nothing. He, too, knew his boss well. The two had worked together several times before.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Vidyarthi said, pushing some photographs towards Kapoor. ‘Those murdered school teachers aren’t going anywhere for a while. The case can wait. And I’ve figured out a way to keep the media out of it. So forget it for now. There’s something more urgent. Something that the media have got their hands on already.’

  Kapoor looked at the photographs curiously. They were all images of the same girl. A teenager, probably sixteen or seventeen years old. And she looked dead. But there was something strange about the photographs. Kapoor couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  ‘Dead,’ Vidyarthi clarified. ‘But no signs of sexual assault. The autopsy came out clear on that.’ He switched on the television in his room.

  Kapoor flinched. On the screen was a news anchor, talking at the top of her voice, as if she was trying to broadcast to the world without the aid of the television camera trained on her.

  Vidyarthi switched the television to mute. But Kapoor couldn’t escape the words flashing in bold red letters on the screen, in full caps: BREAKING NEWS: DELHI UNSAFE FOR KIDS. UNUSUAL MURDER OF YOUNG TEENAGE GIRL.

  ‘This kid?’

  Vidyarthi nodded. ‘This kid.’ He leaned forward. ‘And you know what? She was missing for almost two weeks. Yet her parents didn’t file a missing persons report. Now why would they do that?’

  Kapoor was mystified. That didn’t make sense. ‘How do the parents explain it?’

  Vidyarthi jabbed a finger in the air. ‘Good question. We don’t have the answer. The parents aren’t to be found anywhere. They’ve disappeared as well. Apparently they left town as soon as the body was handed over to them.’ He leaned back in his chair. ‘What kind of parents would not report their daughter missing for almost two weeks?’

  ‘Cause of death, sir?’

  ‘That’s the other reason I’m giving you this case. Seems to be right up your street after the last one with the school teachers.’ He smirked. ‘First the school teachers, then the school kids.’

  A horrible feeling caught hold of Kapoor. He fervently hoped he was wrong.

  ‘We haven’t told the media yet, otherwise there would be mass hysteria.’ Vidyarthi rolled his eyes. ‘You know.’

  Kapoor knew. But he didn’t say anything. His boss’s words implied there was a mystery. Now he knew why he had been summoned with such urgency. And why he had been chosen, despite being on a big case that was still unsolved.

  ‘The autopsy revealed a mystery that’s difficult to explain,’ Vidyarthi said, pursing his lips as he looked at Kapoor across the desk.

  Kapoor waited.

  ‘It seems that the girl actually died well before the time of death indicated by the decomposition of her body.’

  ‘I don’t get it.’ Kapoor shook his head in disbelief. ‘You mean to say that decomposition did not start immediately after her death?’

  ‘That is correct,’ Vidyarthi said. ‘Both decomposition and rigor mortis set in much later than they should have. And, according to the autopsy, there is no identifiable cause of death.’

  ‘How can that be, sir?’ Kapoor was mystified.

  ‘That’s for you to find out, Kapoor. So here’s the mystery. The girl is dead, that’s for sure. Her body was beginning to decompose when it was discovered. All the physical signs of death. But it seems that she died much earlier. Talk to forensics, they’ll give you the details. It appears she died a good two weeks before rigor mortis set in,’ he finished, leaning back in his chair.

  ‘It’s almost as if she died, then came back to life before dying again.’

  Chapter Four

  Oh, There She Is!

  The Forest

  Unknown Location

  Maya walked a few steps gingerly, uncertainly, then stopped and stood still, looking around in the darkness of the forest that surrounded her.

  The trees closed in, stifling her.

  There was no breeze in this forest.

  Where was she?

  Nothing was visible in the pitch black darkness that surrounded her.

  She heard a noise to her left and spun around.

  She heard it again.

  A gurgling, rasping sound.

  It was unearthly.

  What was it?

  Maya could hear another sound now. The sound of something scraping against the ground. Something heavy being dragged …

  ‘Vidyutate!’

  But the ball of light refused to materialise even as the gurgling, dragging noises came closer.

  She screamed, nearly in tears now, terror gripping her very soul.

  ‘Tch, tch.’ A disapproving voice was heard as a glowing sphere of light appeared, revealing the form of Satyavachana. He stood barely two feet away from her, shaking his head.

  Maya jerked her head to the left, trying to identify the source of the noise she had heard in the darkness.

  But there was nothing there.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said in a small voice. ‘I was trying very hard to practise what you taught me.’

  ‘I know.’ Satyavachana’s voice was gentle and understanding. ‘I don’t believe for a moment that you didn’t try. I didn’t expect you to be able to cast off your sadh qualities in the course of a week. Especially when you have been disturbed all these days by the phenomenon you described to me. Most strange. I wish I could understand what was causing it.’

  In the midst of the general bedlam of rebuilding the Gurukul, Satyavachana had begun his lessons with Maya as promised. During the day, he would take her through the training she needed to develop into a Rishi. At night, while the Gurukul slept, Guru and student would take to the skies as atmas, and Satyavachana would instruct Maya in the science of atma travel.

  In the beginning, he would walk with her to the practice field allocated to the aspiring Rishis of the Gana, and teach her there. Unlike the Kshatriya practice field, which had been decimated by the Nagas, the other field had survived unscathed. Whether it was because of its proximity to the remains of the Dandaka forest or because the Nagas simply did not have enough time to reach it, Maya did not know. But it remained a puzzle to her that the Nagas had not even attempted to attack the Gurukul through the Dandaka. Especially since she knew that the forest had been created by Shukra thousands of years ago.

  And that was when it had started, on the very first day of her lessons.

  The same feeling that she had experienced on her first night at the Gurukul, after she had walked through the rock and been led to the guesthouse.

  That particular night, three weeks ago, as she struggled with her beliefs about the inefficacy of mantras and rituals, and the battle she had witnessed in the clearing outside the Gurukul entrance, she had felt almost as if something was calling to her. It had been an invisible attraction that pulled at her; a gnawing sensation she could not
understand or explain. It was almost as if there had suddenly developed within her an inexplicable longing for something unknown.

  Day after day, as Satyavachana instructed her, the feeling persisted. It made Maya uncomfortable and she found herself floundering at her lessons.

  ‘What’s the matter, child?’ Satyavachana had asked her this morning, having observed her discomfort for the past nine days. ‘You are clearly distracted. Come now, tell me what’s on your mind.’

  Maya had been unable to explain. How could she when she didn’t know what was troubling her?

  Satyavachana had frowned, his bushy white eyebrows meeting. ‘This won’t do,’ he had proclaimed. And he had immediately transported her to this forest, where he had proceeded to teach her for the entire day, the lessons broken only by a simple meal of fruits and nuts. This forest, the Maharishi had explained, would be their venue for the lessons from today onwards.

  ‘Now,’ the Maharishi said, ‘let’s go over it again. Explain the theory to me and then we’ll have another go at practising it.’

  Chapter Five

  A Strange Case

  Raman Kapoor’s Office

  New Delhi

  ‘Okay,’ Kapoor told the two policemen standing at his desk. ‘We have a new case. I want to get cracking on it immediately and get some leads ASAP. The Trivedi–Upadhyay murder case goes on the back burner until then. Commissioner’s orders.’

  Ajit and Harish nodded. Kapoor had selected these two men to aid his investigations simply because he considered them to be the brightest men in his team. They had served him well in earlier cases and had pulled through every time, in the toughest circumstances. It was only in the Trivedi case that the two men had floundered a bit—but so had Kapoor— and he knew that it was unique. He had never come across anything like it in his career. All the more reason to go back to it as soon as he solved this one.

  He motioned to them to sit down and spread out the photographs that Vidyarthi had handed over to him with the case files.