He hides his sins under the carpet of the night.

****

Just when Maya thought things were going to be easy, they went downhill. It had been two days, and she took up almost a sort of meditative silence, avoiding communication as much as possible. She would spend most of her time outside the mansion in search of a cosy spot to relax and to just let things flow on their own. She felt she knew everything, perhaps she did know most of it, but she didn't know how to approach the subject.

The number of culprits were more than one, and she was afraid of creating a mess while addressing the mystery. She still didn't know the extent of the vampire's powers, and she didn't want to underestimate them.

Maya had found a pond in the village. It was a quiet spot with ducks and moss around. No one seemed to come here, so she spent her time pondering near the waters. In her grip was now the paper she had found in the room of Benoy Das.

"That dead man almost killed me."

She could hear her own heartbeat, loud and desperate to escape. But her mind was in a relentless pursuit of mystery, and she didn't want to run. Not when she knew who were killing the girls.

Looking at the paper, she wondered what script it was written in. Some of the letters stood out as familiar, but overall it was unreadable. She didn't know this language.

"Perhaps this is used solely by vampires. That's why it was in the room of Benoy Das."

And that shining silver dagger?

She was perplexed by the matter. Why would vampires keep a silver dagger in their room when it's fatal for them? That object could either lead her astray from solving the issue or give her new sight. Perhaps the motive of keeping such a weapon in the house was written in that paper.

Benoy Das always repeated the same thing– that their race killed their own. But why? What she had deduced completely contrasted what Benoy Das was saying.

Unless she reconsidered the identity of a particular man, whom she now knew as something more than just a human. And that the picture of Radha Devi was tarnished and torn apart deliberately. These two things, however unrelated they might have been, were indirectly connected in Maya's perspective.

A waddling of ducks came and swum in the pond, going quack-quack and lightening the atmosphere. The ambience was of quietude and inner retrospection, which was opposed by the charming and lively spirit of the birds. They had grown familiar to the guest who came to visit them everyday. Thus, they often came to Maya, pecking her toes for little treats. Maya carried some crumbled biscuits which she had taken from Ram, and fed those to the merry ducks. A smile of solace danced on her lips, her unmatched irises glowing in the meagre sunlight that passed through the mesh of leaves and twigs.

Maya breathed in the fresh air, smelling the wet grass and the wildflowers that grew near the pebbles. For a moment she forgot everything, and just let herself drown in the pleasure of nature.

When interrupting the harmony, the sound of crunching dried leaves and the thudding of sandals came to her ears. She looked back and found the doctor standing behind her. "I saw you coming in this direction since the last few days. I hope I am not intruding," he said and sat beside her.

Maya went over all the conclusions she had met. Surely, Chandrasekhara was named such because of a reason, right? He wouldn't be harming her...

"I don't think my stay in Khatra is going to last longer," she declared.

Raktim's face turned wan. "Why? Ar-are you leaving?"

"Yes, but not before solving this mystery."

"So you have reached the end?"

"I have. I am just finding it difficult to trust certain people. I don't know how they will react if I catch them."

"If you are talking about the Das family, they are definitely going to try killing you. Please keep your silver amulet near, always. It's going to protect you."

"Why are you so worried about me, Raktim?"

And oh boy, wasn't the doctor taken aback? His whole face turned red as the baby sun, so flustered and sweaty. He swore he would have ran away from the spot then and there, but her gaze kept him in place. He was stuck with her company, whether he liked the tension or not. His arms covered with hair travelled on their own accord, exploring the ragged surface of the rock where the two were sitting on, and as fate would have wanted, his fingers grazed her palm. The touch left him electrified, although Maya wasn't visibly affected.

"What do you occlude from me, Raktim?"

His pensive stare caused ripples in time. "I think you are a genuinely good person, and you work for the betterment of women. You are a woman yourself, so you will understand the fair sex better than me. I wish for the girls of Khatra to be safe, and seeing that you intend to guard them, I want no harm to befall on you."

"And what all things are you hiding from me?"

Raktim wheezed. "No! Not really. I-I am..." He let the sentence die out. "Nevermind."

Maya chuckled. "Is Chandrasekhara fond of me?"

Raktim's lips parted and his eyes enlarged. He looked at Maya, as if studying her for the first time, getting flooded by the onslaught of memories.  He really didn't have much to share with her, not yet, but he prayed he would have his whole to gift her somewhere in the future.

"You didn't answer me," Maya said with a smile.

"Shiva blesses you."

"I didn't ask about Shiva. I asked about Chandrashekhara, and you know it very well."

Raktim pursed his lips and turned his head away from her. "Then Chandrasekhara blesses you too."

"I hope his blessings come in handy. I am really scared of everyone in Khatra, to be honest."

Raktim could hear his heart cracking and breaking into shards. "Are you afraid of me too?"

"Maybe I am."

"You shouldn't be. I..."

"Yes?"

"I consider you a good human–"

"Oh stop it, Raktim! You men are ridiculous."

He frowned. "I am not someone with whom you play with words. I am not good at expressing feelings." All of a sudden, his eyes fell on the paper in her hand. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"Oh!" Maya opened the paper. "I found this in the room of Benoy Das."

"You...you got the guts to enter it?"

"I had to."

"Are you alright?"

"Stable, for now. I wasn't initially, but now I am fine."

Raktim took the paper from her and mumbled under his breath. Maya waited for him to speak aloud.

"If you want, I can try to decipher it," he said.

"Can you?"

"I think I can." He shook his head in approval.

Maya got up from the rock. "I will go now. Do meet me if you find out what is written here."

"Hmm. I will stay here for some time. It's quite a sublime spot."

Maya sauntered towards the main village, feeling a part of the burden having lifted off her shoulders. Even though Raktim was not very clear, he didn't make her feel dubious about their partnership. "He is there to help me. I am not alone–"

She immediately hid behind a bunch of trees and kept her focus undisturbed. There in the distance she saw Manihar stomping out of the house of the head priest. His lips were coated in the red of blood and his hands were drenched in crime. He was going back towards the mansion.

When the sight was clear, Maya ran to the house of the priest, hoping no Das would come here again. Stepping foot in the threshold of the house, she gasped like she had seen a wraith. On the floor lay the murdered body of Ramlal, his eyes still bulging open and face distorted in fear. His neck was snapped and the head hung helplessly. Blood painted the floor of the house. Near the body cried Mohini, her hair a mess of wrath and her saree turned to rags.

Mohini looked up at Maya. "You see what that rascal did? You see it, don't you?"

"I-I do," Maya muttered. "This isn't right. This shouldn't have happened."

Mohini wiped her face, the blood from the body of her father now smeared on her face. Salty crimson tears trickled down her cheeks.  "Manihar will die. And anyone, even if you come in between death and him, will die too. I will ensure that."

"I have no intention to take justice in my hands. I am here to just make things a little better."

"Then know that you have failed."

"Failed? Ah, yes." Maya gulped down her nausea after looking at the corpse. "But not entirely. You say Manihar is going to die?"

"He definitely will. Karma hits back."

"Then so be it. Mohini, keep some silver with you always."

Mohini cackled like a witch filling the house with raucous laughter.

After what Manihar must have done to her, and killing her father in front of her eyes... yes, she is showing symptoms of psychosis. "I will try to gather help–"

"No!" Mohini hissed, baring her teeth at the detective. "Don't dare do anything. Don't come in between." She roared and splashed her hands on the blood, splattering it all around. "He will come tonight. He will come to take me. Alas, Mohini doesn't belong to any man! She just belongs to lunacy..."

Maya leaned against the wall. Mohini kept changing the name of death and rocked back and forth. "Should I call for help?"

"Leave. Just leave. He will come to take me, and when he does, he will be caught."

"But–"

"Leave!" Mohini threw a pot at her direction. Maya dodged it on time. "Manihar didn't do it right," she whispered to herself and exited the house.

Manihar was going to die.

Well, next two chapters will reveal it all, but Ig everyone already knows, so just wait for the confirmation!