(Book 6) Hayden Mackay and The Third-Eye of the Pancharatna

23.2. Caged, Cursed, and Consumed

Bullying only happens in school, or so Pruthvi thought. The way the Constellia stood in front of him, in a half circle... he was being threatened by his own allies, and that demanded his mind and body force back to alertness. It was exhausting and Pruthvi began to feel his breath hotter. The situation felt more unsafe than his confrontation with Shourya's men.

"Don't be silly," he said, his voice rough and low. "Go find your stones. And your masters. Now."

They were not his pals. He never had a proper conversation or an encounter with them, not even as much as Hayden had in Parallel Universe. In the given uncertain situation he could not speak better than that. But the feeble attempt was only to cause some disturbance in the eerie stillness and to break the stares of the Constellia that was making Pruthvi rather uncomfortable. He was scared of heights and the Constellias' prolonged stare was making him feel as though looking down from the tallest building.

And then came a shift. "We're sorry, Pruthvi Krishna," said one of the Constellia. Vrischika darted forward with his pincers outstretched, slithering and twisting swiftly toward Pruthvi. He hurled his poisonous tail at him. A jolt of fear pierced through Pruthvi's gut. An unexpected turnaround of events was to be expected, but this was further from his mind. He focused on his stone, but it was too late to command. They were attacking him. All of them together. He jerked back, trying to escape the incoming poison, but the tip of the tail got to him. It slashed through his arm, tearing his shirt, skin, and flesh. Blood spilled out from the cut.

He commanded his stone then, through the pain. A wall from the ground shot up in the air blocking Constellia's approaching attack.

The wall however blasted the next second. Dhanu rammed himself through the wall, the sound of his stomping hooves giving Pruthvi a chill down his spine. The pain brought tears to his eyes, and he couldn't care less about the lethal dose of poison searing up his arm. Gritting his teeth he commanded his stone. Huge rocks from the corners banged up at once and tossed Dhanu aside.

Pruthvi pressed his arm tight, took a deep breath, and schooled himself to patience. "What's the matter?" he asked, as Dhanu rolled back to his hooves. "Why the outburst? Just talk to me."

Another swift motion and Tula was rushing over in speedy circles, her old-fashioned weighing scale spinning around her and with an intention to hurt Pruthvi. "Shaytan Rup," she said. "Alive, alive."

Pruthvi ducked before the scale hit his bruised arm. Another command and ground shot up once again, this time ascending Pruthvi with it. He didn't want to fight these Constellia, they were supposed to be on his side. And what Tula had said boggled his mind. Shaytan Rup was alive? It couldn't be! Or did she mean that they were suffering from the same magic that had made them fight Hayden in Parallel Universe? And will the Gates of Chandrika open if he defeated them?

Seven against one. It was not realistic in a practical way. Then again, they were the Constellia of the Breaking Samagraha. How well were they at fighting with a Formation Samagraha?

Before the facts could make any sense, the part of the ground beneath his feet rocked violently. "Aah!" Pruthvi gasped. He wilted and sat down on his single knee without letting his arm go. The twins, the little Meena began tackling one after the other, kicking and smashing the wall with all their might. Little as they might be, their power against the wall had a harsh effect. He generated more walls, that lead towards the way out of the tunnel. He jumped and hopped from wall to wall, pushing himself away from these unstable Constellia. Whatever was making them fight him, Pruthvi needed to find the solution. Tyrell? He mind-connected. His friend did not respond.

The pain was taking over a good portion of his mind, not allowing him to muster new thoughts. It would be foolhardy to do anything without a proper scheme anyway. He shook his head and tried to stand up.