Chapter 26 The Boiling Pond and the Hanging Head
Two days later In a chamber of the Nabhgadh palace the first ray of the morning sun entered through the window and fell as a golden line upon Agni closed eyelids His lashes fluttered A deep pained breath escaped his lips as if someone was surfacing from underwater He opened his eyes suddenly and sat up in bed and his voice broke into a whisper Neer
He got up quickly and placed his feet on the ground His head was spinning but he found his balance He walked out of the room Outside on the balcony Akshansh stood and with him were Aksh and Kalpit All three were watching the sunrise with serious expressions Hearing the sound of Agni footsteps they turned
Agni looked at them and their silence and the tension on their faces sent an icy fear into his heart Akshansh asked What happened Is there any news
Aksh and Kalpit looked at each other Kalpit said keeping his voice low For the past two days we have searched everywhere But there is no trace of Margdarshak Neer anywhere
Hearing this Agni stumbled back a step His back hit the wall and a soft thud sounded Hearing the sound of Agni hitting the wall Aksh Kalpit and Akshansh all three looked at Agni Everyone ran to Agni Margdarshak You are awake
Agni grabbed Akshansh shoulders and shook him and said Where is Neer Tell me where is Neer You said you would find Neer so tell me where is Neer
Akshansh lowered his gaze and his throat felt dry Agni released Akshansh and said Fine I will find Neer myself I do not need anyone help And barefoot he ran out of the palace
Akshansh screamed Margdarshak Margdarshak stop Akshansh ran to Agni and said Margdarshak we will also come with you Please wear your sandals on your feet
Aksh came running with Agni sandals and began putting them on Agni feet Akshansh said to Agni Margdarshak we will come with you Soldiers Prepare the horses A soldier ran towards the stables
Akshansh extended his hand before Agni and said Here Margdarshak Your sword and this is Margdarshak Neer sword
Agni took Neer sword Varshini The hilt of the sword was cold in his palm and the blue gems on it glowed dimly He looked at it for a while as if searching for some answer within it Then he kept both swords with himself and began moving forward
Agni Akshansh Aksh and Kalpit mounted the horses and rode far from the palace The darkness of night prevailed but the moonlight showed some path In the silence there was only the sound of the horses neighing and galloping Agni rode his horse fast towards Suryagadh Right behind him Akshansh Kalpit and Aksh also rode their horses towards Suryagadh
In a short time everyone reached Suryagadh As soon as they reached the border of Suryagadh everyone was startled
The corpses of soldiers lay at the border of Suryagadh But these were no ordinary deaths The neck of one was severed but the blood was congealed and black like old ink The body of another was bloated and its skin had become white and transparent revealing a web of black veins beneath Someone eyes were hanging out with a white icy layer frozen over them Someone body had melted like a candle and the bones and clothes were mixed into a sticky thick fluid
Agni was startled to see this Akshansh said Such a painful death Who could do this
Agni picked up a handful of the soil lying there The soil was wet and cold but it had a strange stickiness and a faint smell of salt came from it Neer He muttered and began moving forward
As they went further they found many corpses When they went some distance they saw a huge pond whose water was boiling without any fire
There was fierce turmoil on the surface of the water Large bubbles were bursting and they emitted not steam but a white dense smoke that froze as soon as it touched the air and fell down like a light spray of snow The color of the water was not blue but a deep impure green black
Everyone was astonished to see this Aksh said The water of the pond is boiling without fire How is this possible
Agni said nothing The four of them moved forward and saw that the corpses of some soldiers were floating in the pond As soon as the corpses came into contact with the water they bloated further and their skin burst and a black sticky substance oozed out of them and mixed into the water
Kalpit said and his voice held a strange fear How is this possible How can the water of a huge pond boil And so much that steam is rising from it How is this possible
Akshansh was also astonished to see all this Everyone moved further and in front at the main gate of the palace the commander neck was wrapped with a rope and his corpse was hanging in the air
Akshansh stepped back seeing this Aksh and Kalpit looked at each other and said The commander corpse
Agni looked up The commander eyes had popped out and a thin layer of ice was frozen over them His head was bloated as if someone had filled his body with air His tongue was hanging out dry and blackened
Seeing this Agni closed his eyes and began moving forward Akshansh also followed behind him Everyone entered the palace and saw that on a wall of the palace there was a painting on which a garland hung
Akshansh said Whose picture is this
Agni said Queen Kiran
Akshansh said So is Queen Kiran no longer alive
Agni nodded yes
Everyone moved forward and just then someone screaming sound came A long pained inhuman scream that was distorting as it bounced off the walls
Agni looked at Akshansh and everyone ran towards another part of the palace When they reached there they screamed upon seeing it
This part of the palace had turned into a cave of ice The walls the ceiling the floor Everything was covered with thick blue ice within which the corpses of frozen people were trapped Some in the posture of running Some hiding their faces Some screaming with their mouths open The ice frozen on their faces had cracks from which a black oily substance was oozing
In the center of the room was a huge irregular pillar of ice Within it blurry a figure was frozen A man with his hands raised upwards as if trying to stop someone The scream escaping his mouth was clearly frozen in the ice
And beneath that pillar of ice on the floor was a thin layer of water that was slowly boiling and that same white smoke was rising from it which was freezing on the ceiling and forming a new layer of ice
The temperature in the air was at two different extremes at the same time On one side a freezing cold and on the other the heat of boiling water Breathing caused a strange sensation of burning and coldness in the lungs simultaneously
Just then from behind that pillar of ice a voice came Not a scream and not a cry but a whisper like the sound of ocean waves coming from afar
Everything has been ended
The voice echoed directly inside the mind and not through the ears Akshansh covered his ears Kalpit and Aksh drew their swords but their hands were trembling
Agni looked towards that pillar of ice His eyes held no tears only a deep painful recognition He said slowly and his voice was clearly heard in this terrifying silence
You did all this Is this you
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