He shall follow her like a loyal shadow.

****

Manihar's eyes were something Maya couldn't pull herself away from. The eyeballs bulged out, like someone had scooped out half of it. From bursted red veins came out blood, the little that was left in his body. His bluish lips were sucked in. The pasty complexion of the vampire now looked even paler, like the embodiment of fear itself. Marks of Raktim's fang covered his body.

Maya closed her eyes and shivered. "You are a monster."

Raktim sat on a big rock, his hands soaked in blood. He wiped it from his lips using his cloak. The fangs were visible now, glinting in the light of the sputtering fire. "You can think me anything you want. I am a monster, yes. I was born a monster. An ugly, unwanted child who killed his mother upon birth." Warm tears washed away his sins. He looked at Maya with earnest eyes. "Tell me, isn't there beauty in death? I kill for love. I kill to protect Khatra. I find it beautiful. Alas, I am running from the daylight. I have to hide who I am."

His face glowed like the full moon, akin to the remnants of some dark fae lord carved from the imagination of women lost in fantasies.

It slowly was sinking in Maya's mind, the very magnetic depth of it. This was a case very simple. A man, for a cause holy, takes up the duty of a villain. But she had questions. "Did you kill them only because you want to avenge the death of the girls? I believe you enjoy it." Her hands quivered as she hurled at him, horror conquering her body. "You have every reason to despise them beyond the logic of what is just and what is cruel."

"Don't you pity me at all, Maya?"

"I don't think you deserve pity."

"Oh, definitely not!" He hysterically laughed and ruffled his hair, blood sticking to his midnight locks. "You would assume I find pleasure in killing my own. I do find pleasure, I accept."

"Would you have killed them even if they didn't harm the girls?"

"I could have resisted the urge. But their sins gave me the strength to be a better sinner. Don't misunderstand me though, my intentions have purity. I will go far for Khatra."

He stood up and walked closer to Maya, who suddenly traced back her steps. He stopped abruptly, hearing in silence the shattering of his scarlet heart. "You hate me now, don't you?"

Maya heaved a sigh. The eyes of the doctor sparkled in tears. Indeed, he was both Chandrasekhara and a Pisach. He was a being worthy of being worshipped as a god and a demon. "I don't hate you. No, I don't."

"I have told you enough times, I won't harm you ever. You are here for the same reason as me. Just that you are noble and fair, and I am not what I seem."

"You need to understand that for a woman like me, however brave or astute I may be, this moment is very frightening. I won't be able to forget how Manihar looks." She spared a watery glance at the vampire's body. "His death-struck face makes me feel a hollow inside. I know he was bad, but an abyss awakes in my soul when I realise he was killed with such brutality."

Raktim chuckled coldly. "Maya, it is our destiny." He brought out a silver blade from his pocket. "See this thing here. I created this to kill vampires. But it wasn't enough. You have to burn their heart and drink its ashes along with the blood. Only then it's ensured that the soul of the vampire gets liberation and doesn't return to haunt." He closed the distance between him and Maya, towering above her and peering into her enticing pair of eyes. "If you are truly kind, pray he may never have to become a vampire again. Immortality as this is painful, Maya. I have to live with the truth that I must see my loved ones die, my dear ones fade away from history, only to rot in solitude. I will have no one to accompany me."

Maya's chest twinged. She pressed her hand to her heart, taking deep breaths. The noxious smell of blood and grass mixed to give birth to something ornately ancient and wicked. Yet, wicked in its own charming way that couldn't be ignored.

"They were your brothers, Raktim. I know you are a son of Kalikacharan Babu."

Raktim didn't speak, only his eyes widened. He gulped, bracing himself against the bark of a tree. Maya heard his quiet sobs as he turned his back towards her. She wanted to go and pat his back, but was too repulsed by the gore all around her.

She stood behind him. I can at least do this, can I not?

"Raktim, go back home. We need to return to our places before anything goes wrong."

"My whole life is wrong!" he shouted. "I am a bastard, Maya. I wasn't supposed to be born. Why didn't Shiva kill me? I can't even die peacefully. Look, look at Manihar," he pointed at the corpse, "I must die like this, if I ever wish to. It chases me, that the pain I inflict on my brothers will one day return to me. Bu-but, I-I didn't do it for myself–"

"Go back home, Raktim. We will meet tomorrow, early in the morning. We can talk then."

Raktim sniffed back his tears. "Don't judge me, Maya. I don't want that. You don't need to love me, but don't hate me either."

He pursed his lips, regretting if he spoke too much. Maya clenched her fist as she felt a knot form in her stomach. "Go back home. We will meet tomorrow."

"Let us go together. I don't want you to walk alone through this forest. There's danger."

Maya raised a brow. "I came here alone, all by myself, Raktim. And by danger, do you mean yourself?"

Raktim flinched. "Maya–"

"I know, Chandrasekhara won't harm me. His blessing is above my head. Thank you, Chandrasekhara. Yes, I will return home with you, but don't be near the mansion of the Das."

Maya smiled. It brought a shine to his lips too. "Follow me," he said. He extended his bloodied hand to Maya. She hesitated. He understood the sensitivity of the situation, and retracted his hand as if he had been burnt.

Maya saw the misery in his eyes, so she held onto his cloak, as if holding on to ease his torment. "Let's go."

While a murder of crows watched over them like loyal guardians of the otherworld, a creature of the night helped a human return to safety.

****

Maya crept out of the mansion after having her breakfast alone with Kalikacharan Babu. The patriarch was upset that Mrinjay slept late after drinking, which he was doing a lot lately. On cleverly inquiring where Manihar was, Maya had received a vague answer.

Maya knew she had to be out and discuss stuff with Raktim before Mrinjay would go scavenge for Manihar. She straightaway went to the doctor's house and knocked the door. "Raktim, this is Maya. I have arrived."

The man opened the door. His fair face was drenched in darkness and he looked sullen and grief-stricken. "Come in," he croaked.

Maya observed his red-rimmed eyes. "You cried, didn't you?"

He skipped answering the question and asked her to sit on the bed. He took a stool and sat across from her. "I have some things to tell you. But before I do, tell me how much you know."

"I just need confirmations," Maya said. "So, let me start."

Maya crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "Abhinoy Das was a favourite child of Kalikacharan Das, the zamindar of Khatra. The son was a very backdated and narrow-minded human, used to looking down upon women. Unbeknownst to all, the Das family were vampires. Due to a reason which we will know later, they sacrificed virgin girls.

"Now comes into the scene the twisted saviour, doctor Raktim Roy, son of a lady named Binodini." Maya's eyes sparkled. "He starts out as a very reserved and shy character, not prone to anger issues and very benevolent. He was loved by the villagers. Alas, he has a strained relationship with the Das. Despite the tension, Kalikacharan Das harboured some softness for the young man. That was what sparked my interest.

"I explored the other characters– the now late priest and his daughter, a pair very important in the story. The devadasis, an enigmatic mystery. Manihar Das proved to be too rash to organise a chain of crimes. Mrinjay Das, however hard he tried to save his impression, failed miserably. I peered through his games. He revealed to be a man of lust, having an affair with the servant's wife."

Raktim scoffed. "I won't be surprised to know that he has his eyes on you too."

"I will put a pin through his eyeballs if he intends to exploit me," Maya hissed. "Anyways, I realised that the Das were carrying out the crime. I met the ghost of Benoy Das–" Raktim's jaw dropped. Maya heaved a sigh. "Yes, I did. And his words further deepened my conclusions. What I wasn't able to find out was who was killing the Das."

Raktim cleared his throat. "You know it now."

"But I would like to say how I found it."

"Well, go on."

"I saw you eating like a beast the day I stayed back at your house due to the rain." Raktim turned red and wheezed. Maya simply chuckled. "It was such a crazy sight. I also saw a wound on your neck, which somehow reminded me of the time Mrinjay had hit the crow Chandrasekhara, who is none other than you. I also saw the name of Kalikacharan's ancestor–"

"Raktim Das. Yes, I was named after him." The doctor rubbed his knees and contemplated, before breaking the pause and elaborating the story behind his name. "My maternal relatives named me after him intentionally to remind Kalikacharan Babu everytime of my existence. My mother died just after giving birth to me. She was a human and could not survive the birth of a monster."

Maya pursed her lips. "Did Kalikacharan Babu really love your mother?"

"My relatives said so. It was his only true love. But because he fell for a human and created a Dhampir, he was cursed."

"This is where things are hazy and I would like to tell what I feel." Maya twirled a finger. "The Das were born humans, but after giving sacrifices and carrying out specific rituals, they were made vampires. The power dwindled when Kalikacharan Babu broke the rule and loved a human. You were born. It caused Kalikacharan Babu to lose his youth. I think they have to present regular sacrifices to their deity in order to maintain their lives as vampires."

"This is from where I would like to take the lead." Raktim stood up and paced up and down the room. "I have cracked the code that you gave me."

"You did?"

"Yes. Tell me, did you find any silver dagger in their house?"

"Yes, I did."

Raktim bent down and levelled his gaze with Maya. "Vampires kill their own. The dagger was used by Kalikacharan Babu to kill his father, Benoy Das, and since then it was decided that it will be used to kill the patriarch of family when time comes."

Maya's pupils enlarged. "Yes, Benoy Das repeated the same words, that they killed their own. Ironically, you are their own too."

Raktim bit the insides of his cheeks. "I am, even if they don't want."

"Can you tell me why Radha Devi's portrait was ruined?"

"She was the first sacrifice," Raktim stated bluntly. "Kalikacharan Babu never really had any care for her. He decapitated her without any remorse. On orders of the deity, her presence from history was smudged."

"But why was it done?"

"It was a punishment for Kalikacharan Babu because he loved my mother. How strange, isn't it? Sins of a man, suffers a woman."

Maya gritted her teeth. "They disgust me."

"The deity can ask for the next sacrifices anytime, and he asked for them now. The code has the details. You were not able to read it as it's a script exclusive to vampires. We are born with the ability to understand it and need not learn."

"So now, the mystery is solved."

"Yes."

"But one thing is left. There's one woman left to be interrogated." The one I must question to know why the head priest died.

Raktim raised a brow. "Who is she?"

"I will tell you later. But now I need to talk with Kalikacharan Babu. He employed me and he must know that I am aware of everything."

"It's your choice, Maya. Be careful."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I am not. I can protect myself, but you being a human, I am scared for you."

"You have always been wary of them. The very fact that you discouraged me from investigating the murder of Abhinoy was a great clue to give you away."

"I acted desperate."

"Good for me." Maya smirked. "I must leave."

"Again, be–"

"I will be careful, Raktim. Please don't worry needlessly."

"Do you think it's really needless?"

She flushed scarlet. "Ah, maybe not. You can be near."

Raktim smiled. Their palms brushed. "I promise I will always be near you."

word count: 2268 words

An update after a long time, yes! Now the mystery is officially solved but just one last touch is left (that last interrogation).