Kaushiki

Prologue:

The sweet hums of the Rudra Veena filled the silent forest with music. Goddess Kaushiki played the Veena like there was no yesterday, there is no tomorrow. Only today. The tunes of Jaunpuri were playing with her head. Her fingers moved so gracefully, flying, pulling at the strings. Little did she know, she was being spied upon. Two spies of the mighty ashuras, Shumba and Nishumbha happened to be across that path. They were mesmerized by this young beautiful Goddess's beauty and talent. So they waited until she was finished and left without a second thought when she rose from her seat beneath the banyan tree.

In the court of Shumbha and Nishumbha, a very important meeting was taking place. How to defeat the gods and capture heaven. At that moment, those two spies arrived at the court panting. "My Lord, you will not believe it, we just happened to pass by the most beautiful lady walking on this Earth. Oh! what a beauty. And you wouldn't believe how beautifully she plays the Rudra Veena until and unless you see her yourself and hear her playing with your own years!" they cried.                                                                               

Shumbha who was a bit short-tempered barked out "Why do you think we will be interested in a lady? Can't you see we are having a very important discussion here? I never knew you both were such ninnies." "Ruining my meeting here for some girl. Ha!" He snorted. The spies were very scared. They looked up at their king fearfully. Shumbha noticing this got all the more irritated and screamed "Get out! Don't look at me like that. Go! get some important information before I change my mind and take your head. Go!" Nishumbha, who was quiet all this time, spoke up, "Calm down, little brother. Think carefully. If the lady they happened to pass by was indeed so pretty, she couldn't have been a mortal, so she must be a Goddess. What if, one of us marry her? We will have all the more power over the Gods and will be able to capture heaven easily. What do you think?" Shumbha thought for a while, "Well, you are right. I guess one of us can marry her." Then he barked at those two spies, "Go! Go and find that Devi. Find her and bring her here. And if she doesn't come here willingly, chain her up and bring her here if you have to. Go!" 

The two spies quickly scurried away. They arrived at that forest and fortunately for them, the Devi was still there. "Oh beautiful lady, our kings has ordered us to take you to our kingdom, for one of them will marry you." They barked. "Oh? and who are your kings?" The Goddess asked. "The mighty kings Shumbha and Nishumbha are our lords. They will make you the happiest woman in this entire Tribhuvan." They cried. "I will go with you, but on one condition. Your masters will have to defeat me in a duel." The Devi said. "Ha! Defeat a woman like you in a duel? You must be joking." the two spies cried. "Want to see what I can do?" And with that, Rudra Veena transformed into a trident. Stealth as a tiger, the Goddess pounced on one of the spies and killed him with a blink. The other one, getting thoroughly scared, fled the forest. 

He arrived at Hell where Shumbha and Nishumbha were holding court. "Your Majesties, the Devi that we told you about is actually the devil. She has already killed my partner and she told me to tell you that she will marry you only if you can defend her in a duel." "I need to defend a woman in a duel? Ha! What a foolish girl! I will tear her apart. Brother arrange the forces and let's go and see who this Powerful Devi is." Shumbha thundered. 

And so the two Ashura kings along with their armed forces ventured out on a journey to find and defeat the "powerful" Devi.

"Show us your face! You troublesome lady. How dare you kill one of my men?" Shumbha roared. "Are you talking to me?" asked a musical feminine voice and from behind the trees came out the most beautiful woman they have ever seen. She was dressed in white with a tiara in the shape of the crescent moon. "Did your spies tell you about what I said? About my condition?" "That we have to defeat you in a duel? Well, I believe my men are enough for that. What do you say, boys?" Shumbha jeered. "Fine, then be ready to die on my hands, The Goddess Kaushiki" The Devi thundered. 

And with that, the entire sky turned red like it was on fire, and indeed, it was. The forest which was there moments ago was burned in a blink in a fire so powerful that everybody had to flee. And from that fire emerged the Rudra roop of Devi Kaushiki.

She was the complete opposite of Devi Kaushiki. She was dark and looked like she raised hell herself. She had a sword in one hand and a human skull in another. Her garland was comprised of human skulls. Her long black hair was flowing open like a river on fire with smoke rising upwards.

"Heye Devi, I give you the responsibility of killing all these demons. You are the sun Goddess, the Goddess of fire and I am the Moon, the serenity and calmness. Together we will destroy these beasts." "Kaushiki cried. Then turning towards the Ashuras, she said, "Now watch what I can do." "Go, slaughter that ugly woman over there. What are you staring at? Go! "Nishumbha cried. All the Ashura's charged forward trying to attack the Rudra rupeno Devi. But, they weren't a match for her. She easily separated their heads from their bodies in just one flick of a sword. 

But there was something Devi Kaushiki hadn't anticipated. Whenever a drop of one of the Ashura's blood fell on the ground, ten more demons sprouted up. They were Roktobeej, The Demons who were reborn when a drop of blood fell on the ground. 

"Heye Devi, they are the Roktobeej, we must unite and kill them together. I will slice their throats and you will drink their blood." Kaushiki commanded. The Fire Goddess nodded and instead of the sword in her hand there was a bowl in her hand. Devi Kaushiki also changed her weapons. This time the trident became the sword. 

And together they started to slaughter the Ashuras. Devi Kaushiki sliced the demons' necks and her Rudra Roop, the Sun Goddess collected their blood and drank it. When every one of the Ashuras was killed, the Fire Goddess disappeared inside the Devi Kaushiki. 

Kaushiki turned around to face the Kings of Hell, Shumbha and Nishumbha. "Never underestimate the power of women, they can kill thousands like you with the right motivation." With that, the sword transformed into the trident and she lunged forward, first spearing Shumbha's body and then Nishumbha's body with the trident.

Meeting the Cecils:

1836.

Anandapore

The British Raj is at its peak.

The zamindar Parmeshwar of Anandapore couldn't have been happier. His daughter-in-law was pregnant with her first child which everyone predicted to be a boy. His son was returning home after a long time. His daughter, his gold, has finally mastered his favourite raga - Raga Jounpuri. His wife has given him the best family someone can ask for and he couldn't have been happier. He wished his wife was here with him today. Sadly she passed away when Kaushiki was born. But then he thought his own daughter Kaushiki was the incarnation of his wife. She was a quiet, calm, peaceful lover and she could play the Rudra Veena exceptionally well.

Parmeshwar's trance was broken by one of the servants who came to remind him about a very important meeting, The Meeting with the Cecils. William Cecil was the Lord of one of the duchies in England. Parmeshwar knew him for 25 years. He thought about the first meeting that he had with William Cecil. The Governor had called both the Duke and the Zamindar for expanding their business by cultivating Indigo. Parmeshwar had been reluctant about it because he knew that cultivating Indigo in land means that the land would lose all its fertility. Nothing would grow on that field again. When the Zamindar had expressed this concern, the Duke had chosen to negotiate. "Fine". He had said. "All your fields will not be used for Indigo cultivation. We will occupy half of your land and the rest you can grow anything you want. I won't interfere." Parmeshwar was eternally grateful to him. He didn't think any of the other Dukes would have considered so much or even negotiated at all. 

The Zamindar slowly hobbled towards his study and sat down on the plush chair usually reserved for him. God, he was growing old. He just couldn't wait for his son to come back home. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in" Parmeshwar called. One of his trusted advisors opened the door and announced "Chatterjee Babu, your guests have arrived. " "Send them in," Parameshwar called out. The door opened fully now and in came the old Duke. But the zamindar was surprised. Standing behind the Duke was probably one of the most handsome men he had ever seen. Dirty blonde hair, eyes a dreamy violet colour and a smirk playing on his full lips. "Please meet my son, Alexander." The old Duke said. "Oh, I didn't know Master Cecil would be here to enlighten us. Please take a seat." Parmeshwar replied albeit a little surprised. "So what brings you here, Young Master Cecil?" "As you know Parmeshwar, I am growing old and hence I need someone to continue our family Dukedom. I have brought my son here with me so that he can learn how to manage the business and the estates." "Oh, that's great. My son Kamlesh is coming back from England in a few days and I am perfectly sure, Master Cecil and Kamlesh will get along perfectly just like their fathers." At that everybody laughed and Parmeshwar confirmed his thoughts again. He was really really happy.

Secrets:

Alexander Cecil was a man with two faces. He was half heaven and half hell. During the daytime, with light spilling from every corner, he was a true gentleman. Kind, generous, well-behaved, he was turned out just as good as his father, if not even better. But, at night, Alexander Cecil was an incarnation of Satan. Secretly shrouding in the forests where no one can see him, he would summon the poor peasants and torture them brutally until and unless they agree to cultivate Indigo in their fields. Well, he wasn't the only one. There was one other man who always accompanied Alexander in all these "disciplinary" methods which his father wasn't even aware of. It was Kamlesh, the zamindar's heir and oldest son. He was the traitor not only to his entire village but also to his own family. Kamlesh used to be the one who sent men to the house of these farmers. The one who used to lure the farmers into the devil's trap. 

The villagers had had enough. Every day someone used to be tortured in the most horrible way. They used to be whipped, their fingers burned from the torches of fire. They wanted to do something about it but couldn't. The zamindar might have been a generous man but he would never take a villager's word over his own son's. 

A month later, Kaushiki, the zamindar's daughter was venturing into the forest for a quiet place to read. She had her "favourite" place to sit and read or play the Rudra Veena. It was beneath a shady banian tree. Her "safe haven". When she reached the tree, she was horrified. It wasn't safe anymore. There were bloodstains on the ground. It looked like someone was tortured there. She reached down to see if the stain was recent or not. It was. Even though it was dry it must have happened during the previous night as the last time she was sitting under the shade was the previous afternoon. The stain was not there when she came there the previous day. It must have been during nighttime. She was sure of it.

Kaushiki fled from the forest. She had no wish of staying in a place where there was bloodshed. She was a peaceful person. All this bloodshed and cruelty did not exist in her world. Still shaken from the view of the bloodshed, Kaushiki came to a stop when she realized she had already reached the village of Anandapore. Quickly she tried to walk past the mud huts and the green fields towards the huge castle that loomed over the entire village. But one thing stopped her. From the inside of the village huts, there were sounds of men screaming. In pain. She could also hear women crying. Kaushiki was alarmed. What could possibly be the reason for the villagers to be screaming and crying in pain? Her villagers. She decided to check out. Knocking softly on the wooden door, Kaushiki waited. In anticipation. And curiousness. When the door opened she was greeted by a sobbing woman who took one glance at her and started to wipe her tears and pretends nothing has happened. Kaushiki stopped her. "What is the matter?" She asked the woman. "It's nothing Your Highness" the woman sniffled still trying to compose herself.

 Kaushiki knew she had to influence her authority over this poor village woman now. "I Kaushiki Chatterjee, daughter of zamindar Parmeshwar Chatterjee am ordering you to tell me what happened," Kaushiki said in a commanding tone that had the woman cowering. "F-Fine but please come inside, Your Highness." the woman said in a fearful voice. She led Kaushiki inside a room that smelled of hay and only one cot was visible. And the figure lying on the cot had Kaushiki reeling back in shock. "What happened to him?" She asked the lady breathlessly. The man laying on the cot had whip marks on his back that looked fresh and it just won't bleed. "My name is Kamala and this is my husband Hari. He- he" The woman broke down. 

Kaushiki tried to comfort her and asked softly "How did this happen?" "He was whipped, Your Highness and his fingers were burned," Kamala said sniffling. "But who did this to him? I mean who would be so cruel to do this to someone?" Kaushiki mused to herself. "It was Alexander Cecil, Your Highness. He did this" Kamala said. "Alexander? as in Master Cecil? The one with blonde hair and violet eyes?" Kaushiki was confused. "But why did you listen to him? I mean it is against our law that a citizen of Anandapore will go to meet a British at night." She said. "We didn't listen to the Shahib it was someone else who called my husband into the forest yesterday night," Kamala said. "Who was it?" Kaushiki inquired. "I can't tell you that, Your Majesty". Kamala hesitated. "You have to." Kaushiki was adamant. "It- it is Kamlesh Babu," Kamala whispered fearfully. "My brother?" Kaushiki was shocked. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you." Kamala began sobbing. "You didn't believe it." "I did." Kaushiki tried to convince her. "Did Hari tell you why my brother and Master Cecil lured him into the forest," Kaushiki questioned again? "He is incoherent since he came back, he is in so much pain that he cannot talk." Kamala sniffled. 

"Then I will just have to find out"... 

The Miracle:

That night everything started out all right. Kamlesh Chatterjee snuck out of the grand castle in the dead of the night. Alexander was waiting outside in an inconspicuous horse-drawn carriage. The moment he saw Kamlesh he got down to greet him. "Ready to have some fun?" He whispered to Kamlesh in the way of greeting. "Always, Master Cecil," Kamlesh whispered back grinning. 

It was the same spot where Kaushiki first saw the bloodstain. Upon reaching, Kamlesh and Alexander got down from the carriage and observed the group of peasants sitting on the ground with their heads bowed down. Alexander jogged towards them. Upon reaching the shade, he cupped his face with his hands and called out to Kamlesh "Come on, the fun awaits. Kamlesh grinned as he walked towards Alexander and then sat beside him under the shade. 

But something wasn't right. Kamlesh could feel it. He looked around trying to see whether something was wrong. Nothing. It was just like any other day. The only thing that he could hear was the hum of the crickets. But no, he could hear another sound too. It was coming from inside the forest. Someone was playing the Veena. It must have been the Rudra Veena. Kamlesh was sure about it because he had heard his own sister play it. But who would play the Rudra Veena in the middle of the night that too inside the forest? 

Kamlesh felt really foolish. He was being scared of something that wasn't there. He quickly shook his head to clear it and tried to focus on what Alexander was saying.

"All of you, peasants." Alexander spat the word "peasants" like it's venom. "Are going to cultivate Indigo in your farms for the next year. Kamlesh quickly translated what the Master had said thinking this time no one would disobey the English Lord after yesterday. But as always there was one black sheep in today's lot. Kamlesh thought he was a rebellious man. "No we won't listen to you, Chatterjee Babu is our Lord and you both are nothing to us." The farmer screamed. "Well, if your future Chatterjee Babu agrees with my policies, then why don't we do as "we," say?" Alexander replied back, grinning.

(The music was getting louder, yet Kamlesh ignored it. Thinking whoever it was wouldn't be able to harm them in front of everyone)

"No we won't do as you say, he is a traitor" the farmer screamed again, this time pointing at Kamlesh. Kamlesh sighed. "I think we have to make them agree in the hard way, Master Cecil." He looked at Alexander with a glint of malice in his eyes. "Well, it's hard for them but fun for us." And with that Alexander took the whip that he kept beside him in his hands and Kamlesh forced that rebellious to kneel in front of Alexander. Alexander slowly stroked the whip on his hand and raised it to hit the poor farmer. 

But before it could fall on the farmer's back, the whip stopped midway. Someone caught it... A woman caught it. It was definitely a woman's hand. The moment Alexander turned around to see who it was, he was mesmerized. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Clad in a white saree, she had a sword in one hand. A moon-shaped crown sat atop her head. But what caught his attention the most were her eyes. She had three of them unlike any living creature walking on this Earth. She was unearthly. Like an angel. 

But angels never had a fire burning in their eyes. They were tender and fragile. But not her. She had blazing rage in her black eyes. And then she spoke.

"You have hurt my people. And therefore you should be punished." Was the last thing that Alexander heard before his head was cut off with her sword. 

A New Day:

Pain. It was the first thing that Kamlesh Chatterjee had felt. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. But, all he could feel was the ground beneath him. He slowly stood up to find himself, deep inside the forest. Slowly last night's events came into his mind. The music, the rebellious man, the almost whipping, the intervention of an angel-like creature who was actually the female version of Satan and Alexander's death. Alexander! Kamlesh quickly looked around and what he saw left him speechless. Alexander was lying dead on the forest floor with his throat cut open. It was a really horrible sight to see. 

Not wanting to be caught here alone with a corpse, Kamlesh started walking away from that place. He decided to take a shortcut through the wheat fields. There wasn't even a soul awake at this hour. Kamlesh quickened his pace, already feeling a little scared. After all, he had witnessed a murder and was lying with a dead corpse all this time. 

But Kamlesh still had another surprise to see. Which was even more shocking than the death of Alexander Cecil. 

He was almost halfway through the fields when he spotted something or someone lying among the wheat. He slowly inched towards it. It was a woman. He slowly knelt down to see if the woman was breathing and that was when he got the scare of his life. The girl was Kaushiki, his sister. Kamlesh was very scared now. First Alexander, now his sister? He thought that the evil spirit was punishing him by killing his sister. Worried, he tried to see if Kaushiki was breathing. She was. Relieved, Kamlesh quickly picked her up and took his sister back to the castle. After putting Kaushiki back in her bed, he quickly fetched the water glass and splashed some water on her face. Kaushiki woke with a start and looked at Kamlesh. "What are you doing here?" She asked Kamlesh. "I found you in the wheat fields," Kamlesh replied. "Wheatfields? What are you talking about?" Kaushiki was shocked. Kamlesh then told her everything excluding only last night's events. "But what were you even doing at this hour in the wheat fields?" Kaushiki asked. "Nothing that concerns you." Kamlesh smiled and replied. "You know what, forget about it and go to sleep." And with that Kamlesh left the room. 

An Ugly Truth or a Pretty Lie:

Edward Lennox rubbed the bridge of his nose from frustration. Every official who has been to Anandapore was murdered and neither the zamindar nor his entire family knew anything about it. He was about to leave his office when the door opened and none other than Kamlesh Chatterjee entered his office. He looked breathless as if he was running. "What are you doing here? What do you want?" Edward asked bewildered. "I think I found the murderer." Kamlesh huffed. "What!" Edward was shocked now. "You said you didn't know anything about the killings," Edward said to Kamlesh. "Well, it's a long story, Sir. I want you to listen to everything without judging and please be patient with me. I came all the way from Anandapore to tell you everything. "Fine," Edward replied. "Tell me."

"Alexander Cecil was the first British officer to be murdered. I was there when it happened." Kamlesh began. "What were you doing when Alexander Cecil was killed?" Edward was curious now. "Well, Alexander and every other official who were in charge of the indigo cultivation in our village were murdered in the same way as you have noticed. This is because they all used to torture the farmers in the dead of the night. As much as I hate to admit, I was with the late Mr Cecil when he used to torture the peasants. "Kamlesh said. "But why on Earth did these officials torture the peasants?" It was becoming even more complicated for Edward. "Well, Alexander's father was a kind man who made a deal with my father. "What deal?" Edward Lennox had to know what was going on and interrupting a confessing man seemed to be the only way. "Well, a deal that granted the farmers of our land to practice both indigo and other crops' cultivation. Lord Cecil wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. He wanted Alexander to become like him, an official in charge of the indigo cultivation in one of the cities. And that's what happened. Alexander became an official in charge of indigo cultivation. But, alas, his points of view about granting the farmers to cultivate both indigo and other crops was different than that of his father. Alexander didn't want the farmers to crop other crops in the fields. But the farmers were rebellious. They wouldn't listen to Alexander's orders. So, Alexander came to me. For help. Together we hatched a plan. Every other day I would send my men to the house of the peasants with the note that I wanted them in a particular spot inside the forest. Alexander would wait for me outside my castle and in the dead of the night and together we would go to the forest and torture the peasants there. Kamlesh said. "Oh, the English past time." Edward chuckled. This went on for many days until that one faithful night. That night everything turned out fine in the beginning, but then Alexander was murdered. A beautiful woman, dressed in white, with a moon-shaped tiara on top of her head and a sword in one hand came out of the dark and said some gibberish about Alexander committing some sin before she murdered him. Mr Lennox, I would like to tell you something, when we started our, erm, torture session that night, I heard a faint sound of the Rudra Veena being played." "The what?" Edward was confused. "My Lord, it's an instrument that we play it. I mean I have heard my sister play it too." Kamlesh told Edward. "But do you have any idea about who is the murderer?" Edward asked. "Well, the woman who murdered Alexander had three eyes." Kamlesh said uncertainly. "WHAT? Three eyes? That's not possible." Edward was sure that Kamlesh had seen it all wrong. "I can tell you, sir, I saw it right. She looked just like the Goddess we worship in Autumn. After Alexander's death, all the officials who came to Anandapore were just like him. They believed in violence. Every time I tried to stop them from doing the same mistake as Alexander did, they would just laugh and brush me off. With each death, I grew more and more distraught. My wife couldn't take all this for so many days, so a few days ago I told her everything starting from the beginning. She told me to try and sketch the murderer. I did just that and showed the finished sketch to my wife. She saw it and instructed me to remove the third eye and the ornaments like the crown. The moment I erased them, I was dumbfounded." Kamlesh said. "Why?" Edward asked. "You should see it for yourself." Saying so, Kamlesh fished out a roll of paper from his coat. Giving the role to Edward he motioned for him to open it. When Edward saw the sketch he didn't believe it. It was the portrait of Kamlesh Chatterjee's sister, Kaushiki. "If this isn't proof enough, then I will tell you something, the day after Alexander's murder when I woke up and saw Alexander's corpse lying beside me, I tried to run. Making my way through the fields, I hurried through the fields. But then I saw my sister, lying among the wheat. Unconscious. When she woke up, I asked her what she was doing to which she replied that she didn't know." Kamlesh was talking quickly as if eager to finish what he was saying. "But even then, your sister seemed pretty innocent about the entire thing." Edward said. "I am not done yet, My Lord. Let me tell you a small piece of new information that I gained yesterday evening." And with that, Kamlesh started his story once more. " Even after seeing the sketch, I was still unsure. Yesterday night, I was awake just to see if my sister does anything or not. Even though there isn't an official in Anandapore now. I saw my sister left in the dead of the night. I followed her. Until she disappeared she into the forest. Even then, I didn't lose hope. I entered the forest behind her. That was when I was amazed. There were torches hanging from every tree and all the village women were dancing in a circle. Celebrating. The village priest was chanting something in the centre of the circle. To get a closer look I inched forward and what I saw left me dumbstruck. My sister was being worshipped by the village priest. She was sitting there smiling wearing three two four garlands. And she didn't have the third eye. I fled from there and today morning I told my wife about yesterday's celebrations in the forest. My wife was the one who told me to confess everything to you and let you make the decision. She said that either Kaushiki did all this herself or she was being possessed. Either way, we will have to murder her. Kamlesh said the word "murder" as if it was nothing. 

Edward was shocked. "Murder?" He gasped. "What are you talking about? We can't just murder Kaushiki Chatterjee just like that." He huffed. " We can sir, she killed so many people and come to think of it she might have painted the third eye to give the Goddess like an aura. And even if I believe that she was possessed then also we will have to kill her. All we need My Lord is your support. You just have to threaten my father about taking away his license on the indigo cultivation so that he cooperates. Besides as Kaushiki is a girl, she will be of no use to my father. Please, Mr Lennox, help me. If you kill her, then all your British officials will be alive from now. Please, sir, help me." Kamlesh pleaded. 

"Fine," Edward replied. "I will kill her and you will be helping me, Mr Chatterjee.

The Curse:

It was all set. The zamindar had been persuaded or more like threatened to cooperate with Edward and Kamlesh. With Kamlesh's help, the date to kill Kaushiki was fixed. Kaushiki however was unaware of all this. 

Every full moon Kaushiki was worshipped by the villagers who believed she was their saviour and therefore worshipped her. Surprisingly, Kaushiki never discouraged these people from doing all these elaborate celebrations in the heart of the forest. Kamlesh had observed this pattern and the date of the execution of his sister was fixed. It was on the full moon of the next month. 

                            

It was the day of the full moon. Kaushiki had left the castle the same way she did on every full moon. In the middle night, she left the safety of the castle to attend the celebrations that the villagers had for her. Little did she know that she was being followed. Kamlesh and Edward followed Kaushiki as she made her way through the forest. Edward had about 50 men with him, men who would help him kill an innocent girl.

And then the men waited for the villagers and their Goddess to get completely lost in the hues of the celebration before they attacked...

Kaushiki was enjoying herself. Maybe a little too much. That was when everything in her life went wrong. Suddenly, there was gunfire. Right behind her. She turned around in fear but was too late. A coil of rope fell on her and as she started to struggle she could see a red-haired man with a pistol in his hand. She was bound to a tree. "Stop struggling." The man instructed. His voice was vaguely familiar. The villagers in panic started crying for forgiveness. The red-haired man spoke again., this time ordering the villagers. "Flee or else you will be arrested too." The villagers, much to Kaushiki's surprise did just that. That was when she saw Kamlesh. "Help!" She screamed. "Brother, help me." She screamed again.

Kamlesh stood in the shadows while Edward took charge. The villagers quickly disappeared under Edward's orders. And that was when Kamlesh showed his face to his sister. He could hear his sister's screams for help. Screaming for him to save her. Kamlesh pain no attention to her. He took a fire torch that was hanging from one of the trees and advanced towards Kaushiki who was still struggling within the ropes. He didn't look at her face as he slowly struck the fire torch to the tree where it lit up with fire. And with that, he slowly moved away from the tree. Kaushiki's screams turned into wails of agony even though she repeatedly screamed for her brother to help her. Her brother paid no heed to that. He stood beside Edward with a slight smile on his face. And that was when Kamlesh had the shock of his life. 

Kaushiki's scream stopped, yet she wasn't dead yet. her upper half was still unscathed. Kamlesh was a little surprised that his sister wasn't screaming, she wasn't even crying. Kaushiki slowly closed her eyes as if to let the pain in. Kamlesh somehow found it very disturbing. When Kaushiki opened her eyes, he almost had a heart attack. 

It wasn't Kaushiki's face anymore. It was the face of the angel-like creature who murdered Alexander Cecil and all the other British officials. She looked just as Kamlesh remembered her. Her three eyes looked like burning coal. Burning out of anger and revenge. "Oh good God." Kamlesh heard Edward mutter. He was scared too. 

And then the bound devil spoke. "You will regret this. All of you." 

That was the last of what Kamlesh saw and heard of his sister before the fire went out taking along the bound creature with it. When Edward jogged to the tree to investigate he saw there was nothing. Not even ashes. "Nothing here." He called out to Kamlesh. Kamlesh walked to the tree and when he figured out the absence of ashes, he reassured Edward that both his sister and the evil spirit were gone and all of them were safe and will be in harmony. "We won, both of them are gone, now we will be safe and be in harmony. We are successful, Edward." He had said.

Little did he know that he was very, very wrong about his interpretation of the happily ever after...

Epilogue:

Edward Lennox rode through the charred remains of a dense forest quickly. He wanted to get out as soon as possible. All the memories from ten years back, came rushing back to him. The execution, the fire, the abrupt change of face and of course, the curse. He believed he was safe from that female monster since he had already confessed his sins to the Church. Though he didn't believe they were sins, he wanted to be safe from the she-demon. 

Edward had heard tales about how the village of Anandapore dissolving into ashes. The neighbouring villagers said that the daughter of the zamindar had cursed that village. No one knew why though. They only knew that Kaushiki Chatterjee died a very unfortunate death and this lead her to curse the village. Edward had also heard gruesome tales about how the zamindar family perished. One by one. The daughter-in-law died during childbirth, the zamindar due to some unknown disease that no doctor could find a cure for. But what made Edward uneasy was the fact that Kamlesh died a much more gruesome death than any of his family members. He was found dead in his bedroom. His throat was split open with blood oozing out. Someone must have killed him in the middle of the night. There was no other explanation for this. In fact, the entire village had perished. From a forest fire. No one had survived. The villagers from neighbouring villages spread rumours that it was all the doings of the dead daughter of the zamindar. 

Edward shook himself out of those horrible thoughts and urged his horse forward. And that was when he heard the sweet hums of the Rudra Veena...

He whipped around to see if anything was behind him. But no, there was nothing. All darkness and silence save for the sound of the Veena. What awaited him was right in front of him. 

Edward's horse neighed and stopped short. He looked in front of him and what he saw shocked him. There was a giant banyan tree in front of him. And standing right in front of the tree as a person whose face he would never forget. Kaushiki.

The three-eyed woman had a sinister smile on her face even though her eyes had a fire burning in them. While Edward looked at her in shock, she spoke. "You think that killing a poor innocent girl was justice? But now, that poor innocent girl took the form of a Goddess who will never forgive injustice against anyone. Neither a peasant nor an innocent girl. And today the Goddess rose from the dead after ten long years. And today she wants revenge. And today she will get what she wants...

Edward was shocked and scared. He knew it was his last day. And what he knew was true. For at that moment the sword that was hidden in Devi's hand swung forward and slit open Edward's throat. The last thought that he had before taking his last breath was that of regret. Regretting his decision of teaming up with Kamlesh Chatterjee and killing that poor innocent girl.

The villagers of Hirapur were really shocked. A Nil Shaheb's horse without a rider was rarely seen in their village, that too in mid-morning. Moreover, the horse looked a little bit crazy. Similar to a pagla ghora. Most of the villagers were scared to approach it until Ram one of the braver farmers approached it cautiously. He petted the horse twice and then called out to his fellow villagers. "He won't do anything to you. I think he is scared. Wait. I think it is trying to take us somewhere." Ram added when he saw the horse trying to nudge him somewhere. "I think we should see what the horse wants to show us," Ram said.

And so they did. They slowly followed the horse with Ram leading his fellow farmers. When the group saw where the horse was trying to lead them, most of the farmers froze. Ghanyashyam, one of the villages fearfully said, "Ram, the horse is trying to lead us into the haunted forest of Anandapore. I don't think it's a good idea to venture over there." "My friend, it's mid-morning and I don't think anyone can attack us in broad daylight. Besides so many of us are there and from what I have heard, the spirit doesn't attack in daylight." Ram said. 

All the members of the group entered the forest, some reluctant. The horse slowly leads them to its master's dead body. But there wasn't one. To the villagers' amazement and horror, there was no corpse. Only a puddle of blood, a bloody sword and a Rudra Veena sat on the forest floor in front of a majestic banyan tree which no one had a clue about how survived the fire...