Chapter 14 A Father’s Burden

Rudranath lay on the soft bed of the guest room—16. He kept glancing at the wall clock. It read 2:45 p.m. His legs remained crossed against each other, his toes wiggling impatiently. Sayani had said she would come with his license after the receptionist handed him the key to his room. But it had already been half an hour past the expected time.

His thoughts spiralled. After Sekhar’s call, she met him in the lobby, arranging his place of stay.

“Why did Sekhar decide to send me on a mission directly?”

A soft knock on the closed door made him shoot up on the bed.

“Yes, Come in. It’s open.”

Sayani walked in with a smile.

“Good afternoon, Mr Bhattacharyay. How was your lunch?”

But she was not alone. Another man followed her closely behind. He was dressed just the same—White shirt tucked into black trousers, polished black shoes, and the black tie hanging around his collar. The guy was in his early thirties. Rudranath returned the smile.

“It was fantastic.”

She dragged two chairs from the study table placed before the southern window. The steady flow of the River Ganga glistened under the afternoon sun outside. Sitting in the chairs, she pointed at the man.

“This is Mr. Arav Pandey, a gold-rank defender. He will be your partner in your first mission.”

Rudranath glanced at the man. A neatly trimmed beard covered his chin. His long, black hair was tied neatly in a ponytail. His black Irises carried a calm yet sharp spark. He drew his brows closer.

“Gold rank?”

Sayani giggled.

“Yes. We defenders, are classified into three major classes—Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert.”

Arav continued from her cue.

“Beginner class consists of Rookie, Bronze, and Silver ranks in order of strength and experience.”

Sayani added, looking at Arav.

“Gold rank is the start of the intermediate class. So, you will be in safe hands in your first mission.”

Rudranath tilted his head as he looked at them. A smile tugged at his lips. Sayani kept stealing glances at Arav, though she tried to hide it. But a man in his late forties like Rudranath could easily spot the spark of attraction between them. His lips parted.

“I can see your confidence in him, Sayani. But the question is…”

The smile vanished from both of their faces as Sayani and Arav shared a quiet glance. Sayani’s cheek blushed a soft pink. Rudranath’s smile widened.

“…What class is an Ascendant?”

Arav took a deep breath, turning to Rudranath.

“Well, sir…Ascendant is the first rank of expert class.”

Rudranath exhaled. The vault flashed in his mind. Aarohi must still be going through all of that. He clenched his fist, standing up from the bed. He placed his hand on Arav’s shoulder.

“Then let’s go…”

He looked at Sayani.

“I believe you have already decided on our first mission.”

Sayani and Arav stood up from their chairs. She pulled out a card from her shirt’s pocket and extended it to Rudranath. At first glance, it looked like a normal credit card. Rudranath took it from her, glancing at the front of the card. His photo was placed on the right side of the license above Sekhar’s signature.

[                       Department of Supernatural Act Management

Special Arbitrary License

Name: Rudranath Bhattacharyay

License ID: 001047

Class: Beginner

Rank: Not Classified

Sanctioning Officer,

Sekhar Manjrekar ]

He slipped the license into his wallet, stepping toward the door. Sayani and Arav walked beside him. He submitted the room key to reception in the lobby and took the stairs, going up. Golden lines of Sanskrit inscribed on the moss-covered wall guided them through the damp tunnel. They stopped at the top of the stairs. The panel was closed. Sayani placed her palm on the left wall.

The golden inscriptions wavered once as her palm shimmered in gold. And the panel slid open. Natural light poured through the opening. They came out of the tunnel, stepping into the mourner’s restroom. It was as vacant as Rudranath last saw. The panel slid shut behind them.

A grey sedan was waiting outside the restroom. Two men were inscribing the car’s interior with Sanskrit letters. Rudranath whispered.

“What are they doing?”

Arav replied.

“That’s called a protective inscription. It is a technique that creates a barrier to prevent death essence from affecting the inscripted object.”

Sayani smiled.

“Sir, you two are awakened, but your driver is a normal human. So it’s mainly for his protection.”

Rudranath’s gaze snapped at Sayani. The escorts whom they had cremated earlier were also normal humans. Wasn’t that SUV inscribed? If it was, then how could Trishna’s death essence corrupt them? They were inside that SUV. He was the only one who had gotten out of the car last night. But before he could ask, Arav’s whisper made him turn toward the car.

“It seems they are done.”

The men had already moved away from the car. The driver waited, opening the back door for them. The instant Arav and Rudranath stepped inside the sedan, he closed the door and took the driver’s seat. Sayani waved her hand. The engine hummed to life. The sun tilted further toward the horizon as their sedan crossed the Strand Bank Road and moved straight to Nimtala Ghat Street.

Rudra leaned his back against the seat.

“Are all the cars inscribed like that?”

Arav nodded.

“Yes, sir. Why…?”

Rudranath went silent. His eyes remained narrowed. The sedan turned left onto Rabindra Sarani. His gaze drifted outside. Kolkata remained as busy as ever under the sunlight. But he could feel a rush in everyone’s step.

A digital signboard at the B.K. Paul Avenue crossing came into view. The red headline blinked on the screen continuously—

Critical Alert

Complete your outside work before sunset and return to your home.

Follow the Lockdown Protocol after sunset properly.

Do not go out of your residence for any reason after sunset.

“Lockdown?”

The whisper slipped free of Rudranath’s lips. Arav’s voice made him look away from the board. The traffic light flickered green. Their sedan took right onto B. K. Paul Avenue.

“After the veil shattered, the dead ones caused too many casualties beyond count…”

Arav’s jaw tightened.

“The government had to declare a nationwide lockdown after sunset for people’s safety.”

Had the situation become that desperate within four days? Rudranath’s eyes widened. Yet not a single word came out of his mouth. He lowered his head. His fingers trembled. Sekhar had mentioned they were trying to delay their entrance to the mortal world. But…how could his six-year-old daughter possibly be the reason for all this? Would staying inside a house really protect people from them?

He shook his head. His family had become the victims inside his own house. His jaw hardened as he snapped his head toward Arav.

“But the dead don’t care if it is an open street, right?”

Arav leaned back.

“Yeah! That’s why we are trying to inscribe every resident as soon as possible…”

He closed his eyes, exhaling a warm breath.

“…But we lack the manpower compared to the number of residences to be covered.”

A chill ran down Rudranath’s spine. So, the veil shattering allowed them to reach the entire nation within minutes. Fully inscribing every residence would take months, maybe even years. The number of casualties would keep growing. Families would perish. People would lose their loved ones. Worse, they might be killed by those same people under the influence of the dead.

B. K. Paul Avenue ended as they turned onto Grey Street. Rudranath finally understood the bigger picture. Saanvi’s pale face on that bed flooded his vision from his memory. His lips trembled in a whisper.

“What has our daughter done without realizing…?”