The child of love redeemed for the deeds of his father, a cycle never-ending in history.

****

However brave Maya wanted herself to be, it made her teeth clatter when she stood outside the Das mansion. She didn't know if she should knock on the door and enter.

What if she didn't return alive?

"Don't overthink," she chided herself. "They can't risk harming me."

Ram opened the door, his face aghast and pale. "Memsaheb?"

"Is...is everything fine?"

For the first time she saw anger in Ram's eyes. He glared at her, the veins on his neck visible under the strain. "You are the detective. You should know what has happened."

Maya shot him a riled up glance. "It's up to me to decide how much I should reveal."

"Is it that whore you are talking to?"

The voice belonged to the oldest son of the Das, Mrinjay. His hair was dishevelled, like a storm had passed through his head. His otherwise dull cheeks were now red with the pumped blood. He hurried to the door, eyes burning with raw wrath. Before Mrinjay could land his ugly hands on Maya and mark her, Ram held the man back.

Maya was stunned. Her eyes fell on the little fangs that peeked out of his mouth.

Is he going to kill me? Oh Shiva...

I need to act strong. They feed on fear, and I won't let them have a feast.

She cleared her throat. "Ask Kalikacharan Babu to come out of the house. I want to talk to him somewhere more private and secluded."

"And kill my father like you killed my brother?" Mrinjay hissed. "You are siding with a killer, Maya. Doesn't your conscience prick you?"

Maya wanted to spit on his face and show him his place. Out of all the people in the world, Mrinjay was lecturing her on values and guilt? Not expected. "Your home is in a volatile state. I need to talk to Kalikacharan Babu. The case is solved and he must now know the truth."

The words sucked out the rage from Mrinjay's body. He calmed down and looked between the stairs and Maya. "Why do you want to talk to Kalikacharan Babu outside the house?"

"I am afraid it will create a ruckus otherwise. It will be better if you look after doing the last rituals of Manihar than focusing your energy on what I have to talk to Kalikacharan Babu."

"You know he died..." His sibilant whisper send shivers down her spine. "Baba will go with you, but know it's not of any use. He is a monster I was born of, so you know he can go far too." He grabbed Maya by the waist and breathed on her face. "No one will save you."

Maya pushed him away with disgust. "Call your father. Ask him to come out."

"As you wish."

Mrinjay called Kalikacharan Babu. He looked equally distraught and disturbed. His eyes were, quite shockingly, as dry as a desert. He wasn't crying. There was a hint of a flickering anger in his gaze, but he masterfully hid it. "You called me?"

"Please come with me."

"I am not going to see the body of my son. So don't take me to the forest."

"I am not going there–"

"You did go there," he croaked, unshed tears finally letting go of the reigns. "You did, didn't you?"

Maya pursed her lips. Did he see me leave the house last night? "This is more complicated than you think. I am an ordinary girl, and I will do all I can to give you salvation."

"I don't need salvation!" he screamed. "I need my child back. All my children."

"The dead don't return."

Kalikacharan Babu clutched his heart and swayed to the side. Mrinjay helped him steady himself. "I will come," the patriarch agreed. "Take me where you want to."

The old vampire followed Maya to the pond.

****

Kalikacharan Babu was surprised to have come here. Unbeknownst to all, this pond held memories of the past. As much as those haunted him, he didn't let them leave him. He enjoyed being traumatised by the sweet pain, as if that was all he had left of her. Binodini, the lovely human he ever loved, used to meet him here when they were having a dalliance. It was purely sexual attraction at first, the heat of bodily desires overcoming the good sense, but then it turned to habit, and then to a love which didn't want to die.

He still loved her. He still imagined a life with her, as a normal human and not a vampire.

Kalikacharan didn't choose to be a vampire. He was born into the family. Whether he liked or not, he had to get accustomed to the cruelty. Not being a beast would mean death, and he was afraid of death, a lot. Vampires couldn't just escape the body in deep slumber. They had to be tormented to death.

"This place is very special for me."

"How is it?" Maya asked. "I found this place by chance. It is nice, a lap of nature where one can contemplate."

Kalikacharan heaved a sigh, watching the birds cower at his presence and leave. Binodini was as fragile as those swans, but she never despised him for what he was. Sometimes she pitied him; it put salt on his wounds, yes, but at the end she was ready to accept him.

"I was a selfish man, Maya. For the sake of love I broke rules. I destroyed generations. It harmed not only me but–"

"Raktim. It ruined his life."

Kalikacharan Babu shivered. Silence distanced the two even further. "So you know."

"I suppose this place protects the memories of you and Binodini Devi?"

Kalikacharan winced. "Yes. Binodini, my Binodini."

His secrets were being opened, slowly and carefully, like peeling off the layers of a fruit, or skinning a snake and reaching its very true colours. He eyed Maya's neck, assessing the softness of her flesh. "You know everything it seems."

"I do. From how you are killing the virgin girls in order to keep alive the legacy of vampires and the consequences of it– brothers killing brothers."

"Mrinjay didn't kill–"

"You know I am not talking about Mrinjay." Maya teetered between fright and fury. "You have a son born out of love too."

"Love is cursed!" Kalikacharan Babu shook like a barren tree exposed to a wintry breeze. He was so very icy and irked, stuck in the calamity he didn't even begun. "Raktim's birth was the catalyst of my downfall. Of my family's downfall. Why would I risk the lives of my other children for a bastard?"

"I understand you are bound by rules of the vampiric world," Maya said. "But you must understand that Raktim has his own mind and virtues. He was neglected by his own since birth. He was shunned. He was made to feel unwanted. And yet, he didn't take a step. He only hunted when his Khatra was threatened."

"Are you defending him?"

"You have done it too, Kalikacharan Babu. You have always harboured affections for this so-called bastard. You knew all along that it was him, and yet you didn't confront."

Kalikacharan Babu gritted his teeth and ran his fingers through his unkempt hair. "I-I don't know!" he screeched, making a bunch of crows caw and fly away from amidst the mesh of leaves. "It all started because of me. No, my father! My father is to be blamed. His hunger for power reduced us to dust!"

"You can easily do something to stop being vampires."

"And unleash the anger of Raktabeej upon us? No Maya, I better be a villain than a victim. I won't let myself be completely eradicated."

The ground beneath Maya's feet quaked and cracked.

Raktabeej?

So that is the deity of all vampires... Goes well with their association with blood and immortality, invincibility.

But Kalika is no less. She will retaliate. And when she does, the world will watch stupefied.

Maya stood with her back towards Kalikacharan Babu. "Whatever you may think, you vampires started the murders. You will have to pay for it one day. You are worshipping the nemesis of Kalika and no way will you be forgiven–"

Maya was engulfed by two mighty hands and squeezed so hard that she felt her bones being crushed. It became harder for her to breathe and she saw darkness all around. Tilting her head, she saw the fangs of Kalikacharan Babu grow longer and his face morph into a monstrosity she had only heard in fairytales. Maya was too scared to even shout for help. Everything was happening too soon. She closed her eyes in reflex.

The fangs, however, couldn't touch her. Soon, she was freed from the embrace of doom and fell to the ground. She turned back and saw her saviour– Raktim.

He came.

She relaxed, feeling the tension seep out of her body. The doctor had thrown the old man on the earth and looked at him with much disappointment.

"You are already deep into sins, Baba," he rebuked. "Why are you elevating the agony by thinking of killing another woman? She didn't drag herself into this. You pulled her."

"Don't call me Baba."

"I am sorry for that," Raktim bluntly said. "But listen, Kalikacharan Babu, you cannot go on harming women. They are as precious as you all, maybe even more. They deserve to live and be happy. They have done nothing wrong against you and so you cannot kill them."

"Why did you kill your brothers?"

"First of all, you never gave me the place of your son, and your heirs have all seen me as a lowly urchin. Secondly, I killed the ones who were putting my Khatra in danger."

Kalikacharan Babu dusted his attire and stood up. He held Raktim by the collar and gazed up at the tall dhampir. "I have warned you. Do not do what I did. You will fall in trouble."

"I am not a follower of Raktabeej. I consider Kalika as my Devi."

"Do whatever you want, but you still remain a part of our race, albeit hanging in between, unaccepted by both groups."

"I am used to being the odd one, Kalikacharan Babu," he said, mirthless laughter echoing around. "It doesn't fear me at all. I can live all my life as a man who doesn't belong anywhere. I don't need your identity."

Kalikacharan Babu raised his hand to slap Raktim. Alas, Maya came and held his hand. "Don't," she cautioned. "You don't have the right."

It hit Kalikacharan Babu like a boulder. He was smashed, wrecked by the words of Maya. He gave both the look of dead and stormed away. Raktim gently touched the neck of Maya, running his fingers along her skin. "Thank Shiva I was hiding around."

"Yes."

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "So don't think you don't need help. Sometimes asking for help makes you a better person."

Maya blushed. "Yes, I understand. I need to go now."

"Where?"

"The last interrogation."

"Alright. Can we meet after that?"

"I will wait for you at the temple of Kalika."

Raktim nodded. "Go, and keep your eyes open."

Maya was going to leave, but she took his hand in hers and pressed firmly.  "Utterly grateful to you, Raktim." Her voice was laden with genuine warmth.

The doctor smiled and bowed, resisting the urge to kiss her palm. "At your service always, my lovely maiden."