The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

81. Goodbyes

Her shrill cry resonated in the darkness, echoing and blending in the vastness of the azure sky as her feet seared in the heat. Her worst nightmare had sprung alive. She was going to be burnt, her flesh scorched, her skin charred. Just like the tantric back in Kalavati's palace was rendered to ashes. The same gruesome end was written in her destiny. Her worst nightmare had just sprung alive...

The agony was going to be beyond her wildest imagination. Dread filled her up when she realized how her grasp was slipping from around the metal bar she had managed to grab in a desperate attempt to save herself. She was supremely scared of dropping feet first in the hot fire lapping against the dark walls, consuming the mossy floor, and threatening to engulf the roof. She struggled to keep the hold intact around the narrow bar, but the moisture in her palms was causing the slippage. Much to her horror, her shoes were already searing and singeing.

Until she experienced a strong tug on her arms, and she looked up to see the sweaty face of Rishabh, his nose scrunched up as he willed himself to haul the girl out with all his might. A sudden urge to live and defeat the torturous conflagration reared its head inside her heart, and she clung to his arm, putting in some effort to raise herself and assist those helping her.

He pulled her up with support from Rudra and Ranvir, and the moment the girl's singed trousers surpassed the threshold of the opening, Ayush and Aman started dragging the boulder that had blocked the path all these centuries. They needed to avert the inferno from cascading out along with the spillage of any potential spirits and ghosts. Especially the semi-defined mass of grey smoke still struggling to free itself from the nearly dead bindings of the moribund energy from the necklace. One moment of lapse, and she could come out too. The deformed features, the burning lehenga, the empty eye sockets, and the chipped nose were barely perceptible in the fire, the outlines slowly receding, and one could tell the utmost astonishment the spirit was in as it got consumed by the flames, writhing and twisting, roaring and shrieking.

It had nearly freed herself, for the locket had lost all its energy, and it was dashing for the exit head-on, the grey smoke of mass accumulating near the hole of the tunnel in a final attempt to rush past. But before it could step out, the blaze intensified, and the mass of smoke intertwined with the faint contour of the spirit began withering. Fear was imprinted on the empty eyes of the apparition, and it got pulled back in with a deafening crack. Aman and Ayush were successful in clogging the slot with one mighty push on the rock, thereby trapping the lady in red in the haunted fortress of Bhangarh.

Ishita collapsed in Rishabh's arms, and he managed to hold her in place, embracing her tight, kissing the top of her hair, and allowing her beating heart to calm down by repeating soothing words in her ears, reminding her that all was well, telling her that they were safe and sound. They had escaped. Alive.

It took her some time to settle down, gulping the water Surbhi offered to her, coughing out the fumes that had filled her lungs, and wiping the soot off her face. A few heaving breaths later, she was able to respire freely, but a mere reminiscence of the near-fatal experience from a few moments ago prompted her to shudder.

Rishabh's hold around her shoulders tightened. "It's okay. You are okay. You are safe," he murmured in her ears. "You are with me. You are safe."

She licked her parched lips and barely nodded, her head finding his shoulders. "I am okay. I am fine."

Everyone sighed in relief, panting hard, resting their spines against the nearby tree trunks, perspiring profusely, and catching their breaths. The azure sky lightened as the sun started coming up the horizon. The birds twittered, fanning their feathers and taking off for an early morning hunt. The leaves on the trees swayed with the gentle winds, and the hum of bees from a hive close by created a mellifluous cacophony, reminiscent of simpler times and homey sensations.