Chasing Death

Chapter 46

"Keep a little chink in your armour of darkness to let that stray ray of light reach your soul."

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"How's your baby? Is he healed yet?" I asked Matarisvan, placing my tired head on her feathers, burying my face in the fluff. She was warm and smelled like incense sticks. She was purely divine, though staying in the pits of hell.

"He misses you," she laughed. "My little one got attached to you in those few moments."

I must have blushed.

"I'll miss you both." Tears welled up in my eyes.

"You won't see me again," she sighed. "That's how it is supposed to be."

The surrounding cloud turned greyer and darker, warning me of our destination once again.

"I know. And besides, I am going away," I said absentmindedly to her.

"Back to your world?" she asked.

"To eternal rest," I gulped.

"You can't do that. The human realm needs more people like you, trust me on that. I've seen the evil it holds."

"Well, for me it was either that or I had to sentence someone I love to an even worse fate..." I was thankful for the communication in my head. Mrithun didn't need to hear any of this.

"Love," Matarisvan breathed, "oh, sweet child. What doesn't one sacrifice for the sake of love? So much of compromise, just for the sake of one human emotion."

"What would you do to protect your baby?" I asked suddenly.

She paused, speaking in my head.

"Anything," she replied. I could feel the motherly instincts pouring out in her words.

"That's love. When you love someone, they become your world, your everything and you can do everything for them, anything at all." I gave a small smile. "Love is for a parent, your family, a lover, a pet, anything. And love isn't only for humans."

" I agree," she replied. "And here we are..."

And sure enough, the beautiful shimmering smog parted, revealing the brick-lined entrance of a tunnel and we were flying right towards it.

It was huge enough to swallow Matarisvan as she gracefully manoeuvred in. And the earlier feeling of lightness in my heart was changing to pure dread again. I was walking into the palace of the Lord himself I looked back at our little group. They too had climbed on the tail end of Matarisvan's back. Maya seemed totally comfortable. Both Lachesis and Mani were ill at ease, and Mrithun's face was a scary blank mask. My mind went back to our earlier conversation.

I just hope you'd forgive me for not being the lover you deserved.

An invisible heaviness settled on my chest. Mrithun was blaming himself for the choices I made. He was thinking that I wanted to die because of how he behaved. Oh God, what a fool I had been! I had to clear things up with him. He was the best lover I had ever seen. Any girl would be lucky to have him. Yes, he had his anger issues and control issues, but then he was trying to mend everything. My love for him welled like a tide again. With great efforts, I tore my eyes from him. I would sort this out later.

I nuzzled my face further into Matarisvan's fur for comfort. I needed to think clearly. This was a delicate topic to broach. I just wished he would understand and wave goodbye with a smile.

"He's not bad," Matarisvan consoled me.

"Who?" I asked. My mind was preoccupied with Mrithun.

"The Lord of the Underworld...Yama...Hades...Pluto or whatever you call him."

"But he is the supreme..."

"Nobody is a supreme here." Matarisvan's singsong voice was like a lullaby that was making my eyes droop. I forced them open. "We all form a consistent system. Every element in this universe, air, water, fire, ether, life, death, everything is tied to the rules of the universe and governed by primal forces which beyond the grasp of us. When anyone tries to upset the order of the universe, the person has to face the consequence for it, if not now, in the aeons to come. Nobody can escape from justice."

"But then, a few of you have greater powers," I objected.

"Powers which has been assigned to us by the creator. With greater powers comes greater responsibility. Why do you think I was hiding? I brought fire to mankind. I am elemental fire, just like the other elements. And I just want to hide from my powers, because everyone wants to trap me and harness my power for their benefit. So I help only the ones who really touch my heart."

"I did?" I blurted, unsure.

"Kindness and compassion are your humanly superpowers, Tora."

The coal-black tunnel was turning lighter and at the end, I spied a huge ebony door, beset with gold vines and tiny emerald leaves. The ornate gate was half ajar, showing a hint of golden light peeking out. I didn't know why I had expected dreary dungeons.

Matarisvan alighted, sure on her feet.

"Our time ends here." She breathed, craning her neck to look at me with her liquid gold irises. "Make the right choices , Tora. Listen to your brain some days than your heart."

"I..." Words were lost in my throat. At every passing moment, my determination was being broken bit by bit. Did I really want to be freed? What did death feel like? I wouldn't be as blissful as Mrithun's arms, would it? The night with him in bed and those electrifying kisses...goosebumps rose on my skin.

I rubbed her neck once and silently climbed down from her back. Her high-pitched screech echoed through the shadowy cave.

Then, after a quick glance at the others, Matarisvan spread her wings and sailed away into the dark, leaving behind a trail of little wisps of fire.

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