Bombay Shaman: Nightmares at Dadar

PART VI - Underestimated enemy

On the roof of a ten storey residential building, Kumaran made the tracking circle using Kanku powder. Each curve of it, each line, and each holy symbol had to be done with great care and focus because even the slightest of errors or changes sometimes even meant the greatest of unintended disasters.

After he finished making it, he sat on the empty circle he had made inside the bigger one and joined his hands.

He chanted the spells. The lines of the circle gave off a reddish orange glow. Opening the small glass tube Edha had bought as requested, he spilled a few drops of Mrs. Shipra's son's blood on the circle.

"Now, we wait." He said.

"Just wait??" Edha shrugged.

"Yes, we are not gonna dance right now."

"That's not what I meant!" She frowned.

"I know haha. Basically, when the demon becomes active, the circle will conjure an arrow and point it towards the demon. The one inside this circle, me, will get a precise idea of where it is though."

"More like a paranormal GPS or maybe a triangulating system?"

"On a small scale, yeah. Good, you're gettin the hang of it; think ya would've made an excellent shaman yourself." He gave her a tilted smile.

"No thanks, I'm good. I get to do my job safely."

"Your wish haha." He looked out at the city.

"By the way, Kumaran, can I ask something?" She sat on the floor, a little away from the circle.

"Shoot it."

"Who are you?"

"What?" He chuckled, confused. "I'm Kumaran, your old friend from Chennai."

"No, I mean, what are – how," she waved at his entire body from top to bottom, "Exorcism, this bravery against demons, and especially the walking-up-walls part, that's not exactly normal."

"Ah, you're askin 'bout that. Well, it's a long story."

"I don't think the night's going to be short."

He chuckled. "Fine, I will tell ya the summary. I am a demon who has forgotten my memories. That's all my uncle, a Maharishi, told me and said I shall get to learn more when the time is right. I was raised by him. He taught me the ways of humans, and under his guidance I also learnt about the paranormal, be it shamanism, exorcism, and other stuff. I'm not even a professional at this, to be honest. Have a lot to learn."

"Demon... who has forgotten his memories...? I've been a demon's friend for so long without even knowing?"

"Yep."

"Okay..." She took a deep, ponderous breath. "But even if all that is true–"

He gave her a tired expression.

"Sorry, all of that is true. But, Kumaran... it all sounds so–"

"Vague?"

"Yea...like how come a demon look like a human?"

"I never said I'm not a human. And yeah, it is vague, 'cause I just don't feel like talkin 'bout it much, and I don't really know everythin either."

"Ohhh. I'm sorry if I–"

"Ya didn't. I'm fine." He smiled.

"Okay–" she chose to remain quiet.

She sat there, without any movement for a long time. He knew she was thinking, sneaking a glance at him every now and then, trying to understand him maybe. That was something he didn't mind because it was pretty much expected of any normal human.

Suddenly a sharp sensation stung in his mind. It was the circle doing its work. The demon had become active.

He shot up to his feet.

Edha too got up. "What happened?"

"It's here."

"Where?"

He was going to answer her, but his shock froze him. Glowing specks rose from the circle and scattered around it, finally forming into several arrows pointing in every direction.

His eyes became round.

"Is this supposed to happen–" Edha was unsettled by the look on his face.

"It is... everywhere..."

A thousand signals rushed to his brain, further overwhelming him, throwing him off balance. He could've felt such a great pressure even without the circle. He looked all around him, he could feel the darkness in each and every single house.

"It doesn't have one victim... everyone in this area is its victim!" He said, still wearing a flabbergasted expression. "The pensive sadness in their homes, the dropped energy levels of the victim's families... now it all makes sense!"

"Can't you stop it?" Edha's eyebrows sunk in her worry for the innocent people.

"I don't have the skills for that yet... it is literally everywhere, in all the homes. But I have to try!" He ran out of the circle and headed for the edge of the roof.

"What the hell?! This is a ten floors building!!" She shouted behind him.

He leaped off the edge, and his leap took him flying over and across the wide street. He landed on the wall of the neighbouring apartment, beside a window and peeked into it. There was a man sleeping on his bed, restlessness in his tensed expression; he was having a troubling nightmare.

Kumaran could feel the dark energy, but there was no demon. He walked up the wall to the next floor and looked through the window again. An old man lay in a similar condition, but the darkness here was more, just by a tad.

There was a pattern to it, he realized. He closed his eyes, silenced every noise, inside and outside, and intensely focused on the dark energy. It was all around, yes, but the concentration varied. At some places it was very less, and at some others, it was relatively great. But at one particular place, the darkness was accumulating drastically.

He locked onto that source of darkness and ran across the wall. He leaped again to another building and headed for the source.

His senses led him to a small apartment. As he neared it, he felt it, not only the darkness but also the demonic presence; it was getting heavier, more submerged in the plane of humans. There was another thing he could feel, the painful bedevilment of a soul. He hurried his pace.

When he finally made it to the window , he saw a child sprawled on the bed, a black mass over his soul, a dark orb on his mind. Behind him, he saw something darker than darkness, merging with the shadows. The demon was gone.

The torment in the other houses came to an abrupt halt. The hunt was over. He was too late. His failure lay on the other side of the window, an innocent face getting paler.

AUTHOR NOTES

Damn! Another poor soul has slipped into coma because of that sinister being! Kumaran didn't expect the demon to be so strong. He got to see its capabilities with his own eyes and feel its power. Will there be an end to this or will more people get engulfed by this wave of nightmares?! Read the next part to find out dear readers!

I hope you're enjoying the story, if you are, please do vote and comment. Open to genuine feedback; that would help me rectify my errors.