Sheetal looked at the large glyph Ash had drawn in the sand under her feet. Sheetal helped by solidifying the ground while he sketched out the design with his tonfas. The glyph was strange. It was not like any word or even a hieroglyph she had ever seen. There were no interconnecting lines. It was broken up in between spheres and lines that never intersected. And when she looked at it her mind just breezed past its existence.
Honestly, she did not know how Ash could actually read it much less recreate it. Thankfully he could and was willing to give her plan a go. To her surprise he had quietly listened and then agreed that her plan had merits. He wanted some adjustments which she incorporated. And he was ready to go.
Sheetal had expected more resistance, and hat had made her give him a pensive look.
“What? I don’t know how your superpowers work. I just run and move. You do that science mumbo jumbo thing. Just let me bludgeon people and we are good.”
But as the fight came closer, Sheetal had begun to doubt herself. She watched Ash walk to the last part of the glyph. She related the pressure on that part and Ash quickly straightened a line. He took in a breath and with a finger imbued it with potentiality. He quickly jumped back and looked at his work.
His actions were warranted. The last time he had created a glyph, he had gotten stuck in it. Getting out in the end was simple. Ash had to suck in the potentiality he had spent which made him grimace and confess that it was like breathing in a smoke. It also made the whole glyph fizz out. In the end through trial and error they had figured out that to create a glyph and not get attached to it Ash had to quickly imbue a part and move away from it.
Ash looked at his handy work and nodded. The glyph was almost perfect.
Analysing.
Glyph Created - Hold.
Accuracy - 97%.
Ash looked at the notification in annoyance. This damn spam thing was getting on his nerves. He hit the rainbow ball and shut off his hud. Then he turned to look at She who was biting her lips nervously.
“You can let go now, She. The glyph will keep its shape on its own.” Ash instructed.
Sheetal nodded and released the pressure on the area and flopped to the ground.
Ash looked at her pale expression and asked “Are you running low on potentiality?”
Sheetal looked at him for a second and shook her head “No. It’s not that.”
“Ah. You are nervous.”
“How can I not be? There are four of them.”
“Yup, and these ones are tougher. Two of them have more than two shards and you will have to fight them.”
Sheetal gulped “You know, I had never killed anything before today. Much less a human.”
Ash gave Sheetal a look “Not even a mosquito?”
Sheetal shot an annoyed look at Ash “You know what I mean.”
Ash smiled and chuckled “If it helps, you should stop of them as humans. They are demons, not humans.”
She’s breath quickened “Demons?”
“Yes. It’s in their name. Nishachar. Mythological demons of the night. Didn’t you read Hindu mythology in school?”
“No. They don’t teach demons in school.”
“Well, thank the stars I never went to school.”
“Ash. How was that supposed to help” She, who was beginning to panic, suddenly stopped and then asked “You didn’t go to school?”
“No. Why would I go to school? They teach dumb things in school.”
She looked at Ash and groaned.
“Oh, we are so fuded.”
Ash watched Sheetal grimaced and asked “Fuded?”
Sheetal hung her head “Gods dang this censoring algorithm.”
Ash laughed “I thought it was pretty funny.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?”
Ash sighed “You know She. Your plan is a good one.”
Sheetal looked back up at Ash and Ash continued.
“It has surprise, battlefield advantage and plays on their hubris. Everything you need to to gain an advantage in a fight.”
Sheetal squinted at Ash “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Act like you are dumber than you are and then use words like hubris?”
Ash frowned and Sheetal continued “I mean if you are smart why don’t you act like it?”
Ash sighed “Because your enemies don’t underestimate you when you are smart. They do when you are a simpleton.”
Sheetal frowned “Then why did you act like that with me?”
Ash shrugged “I was exiled and imprisoned into a hospital with secrets that I wasn’t party to. Everyone over there was my enemy. Then I came to know you. And then just acting like a moron around you and irritating you was the only fun I had.”
Sheetal shook her head “You are a…”
Sheetal stopped talking and her eyes widened “They are here.” Sheetal pointed to the top of the dune.
Ash casually turned to look at the enemy “Don’t point She. It’s impolite to point.”
The four people on top of the sand dune looked down and saw Ash looking at them with his glinting grey eyes. One by one they jogged down the dune. They slowed into a walk as they came closer. The front two parted as the four sharder walked to the front.
Nishachar Constable.
Shards Incorporated - 4
Mental
Channel
Unknown
Unknown
Ash blinked. He somehow could identify these new shards. Was it because of his new sense shard? As his mind went to that outcome, he knew that he had reached the right conclusion. He turned to look at the other three people.
Nishachar
Shards Incorporated - 3
Gravity
Matter
Unknown
Nishachar
Shard Incorporated - 1
Speed
Nishachar
Shard Incorporated - 1
Speed
Ash casually tapped his chin. The last two were as expected. The three sharder seemed more dangerous than the one taking the lead so why was he the one in a position of power? Was it because he was a constable? But then why wasn’t the three sharder a constable? Ash realised he was stuck in a circular logic and dismissed the thoughts from his mind. Also, behind him he heard Sheetal had begun to hyperventilate. He needed to pot her at ease first.
“Hey, She?” Ash paused for a response.
“Ye…Ye…Yeah?”
“You remember the water bottle I lost? Do you think one of these guys has one that will replace ours?”
Sheetal took in a shuddering breath and turned her eyes from the menacing figure of the large Nishachar looming right in front of her to look at others. As she did her the panic that had gripped her slowly subsided.
“I…Uh…I don’t think so.” Sheetal finally replied.
The nishachar in the lead stopped and looked at the two recently ascended in front of them. He dramatically dusted off the desert sand from his coat and asked the three sharder a question.
“What do we have here?”
The three sharder gave Ash and She an assessing look and replied “A cripple and a mental cripple lord constable.”
Ash cocked his head to the side and nodded “Look She, it is a peacock and his bird buddies.” Ash said in a loud whisper.
The four sharder heading the group stiffened momentarily and then shrugged off the insult.
“Ascenders, you have trespassed. This region belongs to the Rakshasa Empire. You will comply.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Um… No?” Ash waved dismissively “You see, I would have earlier. In good faith. Then your people attacked and tried to eat my junk. That’s when it got personal. I don’t like things when they get personal. So once again, no.”
The peacock did something which made his eyes glow red and snorted menacingly “You are in the lands of Nishachar. If one of ours wants to take a bite out of you, they can.”
Ash heard Sheetal’s breath hitch behind him and slowly came to the realisation that the four sharder was doing something using his mental shard. He scratched his head and chuckled.
“Hey, stop that. You are tickling my brain. I knew it. You guys aren’t scary. You are just ticklers.” Ash watched the Nishachar’s eyes dim. And he smiled in satisfaction when the Nishachar began to frown in consternation.
The constable turned the full force of his gaze at Ash and this time he felt it. Goosebumps ran up and down his skin and the red eyes of the Nishachar burrowed into his psyche. Ash felt his fight or flight responses urging him to do something. He pushed them down. Slowly methodically purging his emotions until all that was left was pure adrenaline.
Ash enjoyed the high from the adrenaline for a second and then smiled “See… You aren’t tough” Ash took a moment to calm his excited voice “Complying with you will just hurt my ego. You are just like the two scrubs that got their butts kicked by a cripple and a boy. At least until when my partner here got keyed off and burnt that guy’s face off.”
The nishachar in the lead took half a step back and looked at Ash in confusion “You don’t fear me?”
Ash grinned ear to ear “Nope. You are a talker just like the guy who got his face melted off. But you will fear me before I put you down like a rabid dog.”
The speedsters flanking the party hissed together.
“You will die, you, insolent freak.”
“We will rip you to shreds.”
The three sharder took a step and stood next to his leader “Lord constable, may I?”
The peacock snarled and then nodded.
“Ascenders, you stole a shard from us?”
“No, I killed your brainless mob, killed your people, and took their shards. That’s a plural by the way. That is two shards from two of your dumb flunkies. And it wasn’t even that tough.”
Ash lifted two of his fingers and grinned.
“Give it back. Recompensating us adviced. It means you might live.” The three sharder ordered.
Ash rolled his grey eyes “Really man? What about I am going to kill you and take your shards don’t you get?”
The peacock lost it. He pointed at his two flunkies and snarled “Kill this bug and bring that cripple to me. She at least has enough sense to make a decent meal.”
Before Ash could respond the two one sharders blurred into motion. They launched themselves at Ash. One came low and the other one high. Just like the beasts they sent after them. Ash tsked in disappointment. and didn’t even engage his speed shard.
He just took a casual step back and spun. One of his hands unhooked a tonfa from his back and the other one scooped some sand.
Ash watched as their blurry faces gained a look of consternation when he didn’t use his speed shard. Then hungry grins replaced the confused look.
Ash languidly finished his spin and flung the sand in the lower one’s face.
She shrieked “Aa…”
Thump.
With closed eyes the woman ran face first into his bent knee.
A moment later the other one, who had his eyes locked on the woman ran into him his tonfa.
Squelch.
Ash heard a sickening crunch and looked at the man pityingly. The man tethered. He brought his hand up to his throat and fell to his knees.
Ash looked at the woman drowsily stumbling upwards and decided to put her out of her misery. He stomped her head. Once. Twice. He lifted his leg to hit her a third time and saw that her head had caved in and decided to forego it.
He turned his head and looked at the man choking and writhing in the sand. Then back at the blue woman who was turning into ash. He swiped his hand and took her speed shard. And watched the other one as he kicked the sand and thrashed about.
He looked at the constable and the other one. They were both blinking in surprise at him. He couldn’t blame them. The fight had taken less than two seconds, and they didn’t have speed shards. For them it must have looked all choreographed. Heck even Ash felt a little let down by the speedster's performance.
Ash sighed dramatically and looked at the peacock “See? Now I have three shards. And you have just lost two more of your people. Honestly, complying with you would have done nothing but hurt my pride.”
The peacock looked at his friend. They both nodded and moved.
Ash wasn’t surprised. He wanted them to come at him. He bent his knees to jump backwards and engage his speed. Then the peacock burrowed into his brain again.
Moments later he was back there. He wasn’t Ash. He was Ashoka. A younger more childish version of himself. Hanging in a dark, dank, smelly hole in the ground. He was butt naked, spread eagle, and he did not know how long he had been hanging from a rope.
His torturer puffed on the last bit of his cigarette and stubbed it out on Ashoka’s inner thigh. He grunted tiredly. He didn’t have even enough strength to scream. All he needed was an hour or two of sleep, but he knew he wasn’t going to get it. Once again, he cursed his handler for getting caught because of stupidity.
The torturer saw his dejected look and laughed.
“Hey rich boy, you like seducing our men, right?”
Ashoka didn’t respond. He was taught not to respond. He knew that if he kept quiet. His mother would get him out any day now. All he needed to do was to just hang on. Only, he did not know how long that would take. He had been hanging here for at least three days and the man had stopped carving into his crotch.
Just yesterday they had sent in doctors to tape him up. That meant that things were pretty bad down there. So bad that he was even afraid to look.
The torturer slapped him and growled “Look at me boy.”
The torturer picked up a plier. He grabbed Ashoka’s nipple and squeezed. He screamed.
The torturer showed Ashoka his shark toothed blade and continued “Let’s see how you do that with only one of your nipples.”
And in front of Ash’s horror filled eyes the man brought the toothed knife down and began to slowly saw into his flesh.
Ash growled in anger and bucked. He was back. Ash felt something pulling him back. For a moment he scrambled and then recognised the scent of Sheetal’s power all around him. It was like soft spring air carrying him through the air towards her. He turned his gaze back at the blue skinned man with red eyes flying at him. The nishachar’s grin turned triumphant.
Ash’s eyes widened as the peacock’s cocked fist shot out.
The world slowed as Ash felt a sharp pain on his torso. He looked down and saw a fist crushing his chest inwards.
Then came a thud that ran through his body and then everything faded.
She watched Ash rocketed past her with blood spurting from his mouth.
“Ash!” Sheetal screamed.
Sheetal’s world slowed. She felt a sharp pain in her chest that almost doubled her over. Just a moment ago she was there. Tied up in Ash’s body watching as the sadistic torturer carved chunks out of him. Then her mind had recoiled when the knife was about to dig into him. That’s when she had acted. She had used her wind to lift him up and out of the charging demon’s reach. Only she hadn’t been fast enough.
Sheetal watched as Ash’s lifeless body rag dolled through the air and landed a few metres away from her. Her eyes focussed on his chest. It was caved in on the left.
Sheetal wanted to go to him, crawl to him even, but then her eyes shot to the sounds of two people landing in front of her. And she turned her gaze at them. The constable tried to move and then looked down when he could not. The other one fell to his knees and planted a hand to arrest his movement.
Sheetal looked from them to Ash’s broken body and then turned a murderous gaze at them.
The peacock looked at his friend “Get up. Use your shards and get us out this… Whatever this is.”
The other nishachar grunted “I can’t lord constable. As soon as I exert any power it stops. I can’t even move my hand.”
Sheetal closed her eyes. Why? How? How had her plan gone so wrong? She had wanted to use Ash’s annoying personality to compel them to jump into the hold glyph but then everything had gone wrong. And it was all because of her.
“You! Cripple. You don’t deserve a shard. Submit and I will make it quick.”
Sheetal turned her head and looked at the nishachar’s constable. He was stuck in the pattern with his hand stretched out in a punching position. He jerked his hand backwards and to her surprise the sand slightly moved under him.
“No, it wasn’t her fault. It was this fudging butt who had done this to her little brother. And she was going to make him pay.
A wet cough and short breaths made her head turn again.
“Ash?”
He didn’t reply. He was dying. Chocking on his own blood. He was so stupid. And so was she. Why had he agreed to stupidly confront these blue tinted people out in the open? Why had he agreed to her plan? Why had he held out hope that his mother, the heartless psycho, would send anyone to rescue him?
And now he was dying. And she was going to…
She was going to…
Her eyes went from her dying friend to the cannibals who had done this to him. Her hands trembled with all the anger and unreleased rage pent up in her.
No. She needed to calm down.
The two people in front of her were dangerous. She needed to kill herself. Maybe if they had the shard, they would help her dying friend.
She tried to control her shaking hand as her thoughts started spinning in circles.
“What the heck am I thinking?!” Sheetal screamed.
Ting!
Resisted Mental Attack
Obey.
As her mind cleared, Sheetal realised what had happened and her eyes locked onto the large nishachar. He recoiled and grimaced. Anger that had been bubbling up in her mind and erupted.
Sheetal growled “You bastard.”
“Listen…”
Sheetal was done listening. Her anger called for a release and her shards responded. The world around her went blurry.
The wind started churning around her and lifted her into the air. She rose, higher and higher until she was looking down at the two nishachars below her. Her polar shard glinted in her soul and called to her. Sheetal pushed her potentiality into it.
The two men grimaced and the constable stumbled but kept his footing. He turned his head up and glared at her.
“Is that the best you can do girl? If that is so, you should give up right now. Because when I get out this trap, I am going to rip your soul apart to fuel my weapons.”
Sheetal glared back at him “You want more? Fine, I will give you more.”
Sheetal reached out. The knowledge that the one creck had bought what felt like weeks ago made her hands move. Laws of attraction and repulsion were fixed in her world but here… Here they were hers.
This was it. This was what she needed. This is what she was always meant to be. Ash had been right. Instead of reasoning everything she needed to accept the way things were. Why hadn’t she accepted her shard? It was her. It was her soul. If she had done that Ash, her foolish brother, he wouldn’t have been dying.
More anger blossomed in her mind, and she pushed that into the shard. She did not need distractions. She needed power. Power was the answer to her problem. Power to use the weight of the world to leverage against the blue skinned freak.
What had that crazy woman said to Ash? I am the world’s force. Well now, so was she.
Sheetal snarled and pushed the shard to comply.
“Repulse.”
The area underneath her became vortex. She became the positive pole of the area and the area underneath her became the opposite. Laws of attraction and repulsion took hold and pushed down on the area right under her. And in the middle the two nishachars shook as the weight of all the air and the atmosphere doubled over the two men.
The men buckled and the three sharder fell to the ground.
Sheetal grinned fiercely.
The constable grunted and fell to his knees. With a grunt raised his head to look at her. There was fear in his eyes as he screamed “Stop.”
Sheetal glared back. How dare he tell her to do anything. He had taken her little brother from her. And now he was ordering her?
Sheetal raised a finger and ordered once again “Repulse!”
More air, wind and atmospheric pressure rushed to fill in the compressed area underneath her. And then that began to push into the blue skinned men too.
The man next to the constable screamed as his bones began to shatter.
Sheetal didn’t let up “REPULSE!”
The constable let out a pained yell as his knees shattered and ankles flattened “Aah!”
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 99%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
Sheetal’s eyes widened as a sharp pain made her body clench up. The power she was using fizzled out of her control and she dropped a foot and then caught herself in the air.
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 98%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
The blue man looked at her and shook his head clear “Cripple.” You have taken a force shard from the Nishachar nobility. Your punishment of death can be forgiven. We can settle this civility. You may pay us with thirty litres of blood and twelve kilos of your flesh. Just let us go and…”
Sheetal looked down at the man in disbelief and then rage. She raised a finger again.
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 97%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
A pain ran through her midsection and Sheetal’s concentration flattered once again.
Sheetal caught herself. She was now only six feet above the man. Pain was okay, it was a nagging friend that told her that she hadn’t conquered her goal yet. And crushing this freak was now her goal.
The nishachars looked at her teary eyes and laughed “It will have to be from tender areas though. We prefer thigh, buttocks and stomach.”
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 97%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
She growled “Shut up you, freak. I will… I will….”
The three sharder grunted and then began to chuckle “I won’t deny it. It is novel to see a two shard ascendent with so much grit. But I have four shards weakling. Sooner or later, you will break that shard and then I will start ripping into you. Just take the deal.”
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 96%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
He was right. Shards had given her and Ash powers. But he had more. And what if her shard failed before she could crush the man mountain. She should have run but Ash, her little brother was…
He was glowing in silver mercurial colours?
A silverish light seeped out of his bones and into his muscles and skin. A thin thread of smoke drifted out of his mouth, and he groaned.
“What!?” The nishachar asked in horror.
She turned her eyes off the blue creature and asked “Ash? You, are alive?”
In response Ash jumped up to his feet and looked from her to the blue skinned demon. There was no humour in his eyes. His characteristic smile was absent. His expression had gone blank.
He looked at Sheetal and in a flat tone asked “What did you do to my glyph?”
Sheetal blinked “I tried to crush him when he got trapped in it.”
“You are a warder?” The Nishachar asked and then looked up “He is a warder?”
“We both are.” She responded from above.
The Nishachar lifted his hands and laughed “Two. Two! We were done before we even started.”
Ash squinted his eyes and looked down upon the man wordlessly. He didn’t twitch, he didn’t move, he just waited for the man to say his piece. And the blue skin man complied.
“Listen warders. There has been a misunderstanding. The Rakshasa Empire does not want a quarrel with the Silver City. Free me and we can discuss terms. And then we can put this in the past.”
Ash nodded and then blurred.
He buzzed past Sheetal and scooped up the fallen speed shard from the ash of the dead one sharder. Sheetal’s eyes widened as she focussed on Ash. A shard light vanished as the shard flew into Ash's chest. For a split second, a portion of his body glowed as the shard settled inside him.
“Ash?” Sheetal felt something cold from her….
Sheetal mind blanked out. Behind that coldness was an unbridled rage. Rage that made her want to lash out. But then those eyes were upon her. Those deadly grey eyes and an uncharacteristic soft almost girly voice.
It said “It’s okay. Move back. It will be over soon.”
A sharp pain went through Sheetal and broke whatever trance she was under. She grunted and replied in pain filled scream “I can’t. My shard is failing.”
Warning!
Shard Integrity declining.
Shard integrity at 95%
Your shard will fail at 94%.
Shard failure in 50 seconds
Sheetal straightened and continued “Fifty second and then I am done.”
Ash’s eyes softened and looked at her in concern. Then his eyes locked onto the nishachar constable and turned icy.
He growled “I just need fifteen.”
The nishachar tried to lift himself up and grimaced as his crushed knees didn't respond “Warder, wait. We can talk this out.”
Ash lifted his tonfas to his side “You like to play with people's brains? Let me show you how it is really done.”
Whoosh!
Crack!
Crack!
Sheetal blinked. All she saw were after images. Ash running at the blue bastard. Him bringing his tonfas down. One after another at the same spot. And then standing above the kneeling man with cold eyes.
The nishachar brought his hands up but he was too slow.
The constable pleaded “Listen. Stop. I am sorry.”
Ash moved in a blur once again and buried his tonfa inside the man’s head. He looked down at the man and in almost a whisper muttered “No. Now you are.”
He drew out his tonfa and looked at it with a contemplative look.
“Ash. I can’t hold…” Sheetal began.
Ash was there a moment later underneath her “Let go, She.”
Sheetal did as he asked and fell into his arms.
Sheetal sighed in relief and with teary eyes looked at Ash’s blank face.
“Are you…” Sheetal asked and then stopped herself
Ash just looked ahead with a blank expression.
Sheetal reached out and gently turned his head towards her “Look at me.”
Ash didn’t resist.
“I was there. I saw what that man in Cambodia did to you.”
Ash’s eyes focussed on her. She couldn’t recognise the look in his eyes, but she continued “I want us to get powerful. More powerful than anything in this world so that we can go back and kill that bastard.”
Ash didn’t say anything. He just looked at her.
Sheetal wiped her tears and touched his face “We will do that. Do you understand me?”
Ash blinked “There is no need. I burned him alive. I burnt all of them alive. And watched as they screamed.”
Sheetal smiled “Good. Then we only have to deal with everyone that left you in that hole.”
A tear trickled down Ash’s eye and he turned his face away from Sheetal.
She turned his face back to her “Now. Say something silly. I want my little… I want the Ash I know back.”
Ash looked at her for a long moment and then broke a slight grin “I could see your panties when you were flying.”
Sheetal hands went to her skirt and then she gave him an accusing look “You looked?”
“It was hard not to, with your skirt flying around everywhere. Boyish trunks? Who buys those things for you?”
“I buy those. And they are not boyish trunks.”
Ash’s voice returned to normal “You buy them? From where?”
“Online.”
“Of course.”
“Hey! They are comfortable.”
“You need to respect yourself more.” Ash sighed.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sheetal screeched.