Page 145 of The Burning Mountain
She whirled around and found Veer standing at the foot of the stairs, arms folded across his chest. He hadn’t bothered to don his clothes, electing to wrap a blanket around his hips. The knot he tied looked precarious.
He loomed out of the shadows and with his disheveled hair, traces of sleep lingering on his face, and many scars on his battle-hardened physique, he appeared intimidating. A matching expression of displeasure added to the effect.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” he said, his voice gravelly and harsh.
“Where’s here, exactly?” she asked.
Veer came toward her and took the torch from her hand, lighting the others. The light dispelled the darkness to the corners of the room. She noted the liberal number of cobwebs stretched across the ceiling, draping over the shelves and any corners they could find. The dust was thicker than she had first noted. It appeared like no one had stepped foot into this room for years.
“This used to be the room where I…where Virat and I practiced our magic,” he said reluctantly. “It hasn’t been in use for a long time. I shall instruct the maids to clear it out immediately.”
Chandra glanced at his stony face and gathered her words carefully. “You should definitely do that because it’s filthy.” She moved toward the desk where a pair of gold bracelets sat. She examined them closer and saw they were shaped like a lion’s head at one end and set with a turquoise stone in its open mouth. “But why get rid of everything that’s in here?”
Veer remained silent but approached her.
“This room must be where Virat spent most of his time, right?” She ran a finger on the surface of a turquoise stone. “Is that what’s bothering you?”
Veer didn’t answer her question, but he picked up the other bracelet from the table. “These are entangled bracelets. Virat and I each wore one and it would alert the other if one was using magic,” he said, his mouth curving as if he remembered something.
But the smile slipped into a grimace. “They probably had stopped working long before I noticed. And I thought he had finally learned how to be judicious in his use of magic. These bracelets were the reason I didn’t believe you immediately when you told me the truth, and I can’t tell you how much I regret itnow. Instead of being suspicious, I let it ride.” The self-loathing in his voice told her more than his actual words.
His gaze swept around the room. “The last time I stepped in here was just before I left to find Ilavasura. I never thought I would be trying to end Virat’s existence, when all I was focused on at that time, was how to revive him.”
He shook himself out of his memory and glanced at her. “Why aren’t you asking me about what happened to Virat? I thought you would’ve asked me long before now.”
“Isn’t he…gone?”
“I don’t know.” Veer gave a deep sigh, rubbing his face and making the hair stick up on his head. “After I left you in Amaravathi to recuperate, I visited Meru once again to get some answers, but all I found were questions. I really don’t know what has become of him. But I must revise my impression of him being apreta atma.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think he’s worse. Abethal.”
The fire in the torches burned with a hiss as she sucked in a quick gasp. Chandra wasn’t well versed in magical knowledge but even she had heard of this term. It appeared in horror stories and if legends were true, no one lived to tell the tale after an encounter with such a creature.
“Sometimes I wonder if I’m actually no different from him,” said Veer heavily.
Chandra gave him a sharp glance.
“I mean, what he had said about my control with the animals,” continued Veer. “It’s true I don’t ask permission when I take over their minds. I try to make it painless, but that is secondary to what I aim for, which is making the entry easy for myself. Just because they’re animals, I’m looked on with less horror, but essentially, I’m usurping their free will. Just like Virat.
“And then there is Ilavu. Was Virat’s existence beyond death any different from Ilavu’s or my continued existence? We both have cheated death to survive.”
Chandra slipped her hand into his, warming his cold fingers. Her heart twisted hearing the haunting doubt in his words. “There is a significant difference between you and him, Veer. You just said it yourself. You both know the pitfalls and ambiguity of your powers. It bothers you, but Virat doesn’t concern himself about the consequences of his actions. And because it matters to you so much, you will never be hasty or use your magic without considering all options. You see it as a responsibility, while it has all been about power and control for him.
“Someone once told me that magic in itself isn’t good or bad, but it is the people who wield it who decide what it is used for. I truly believe that now, after seeing you both.”
Veer stared at her, his black eyes shining with regard as he took both her hands, lacing their fingers together.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked, ducking her head to lay it on his chest. His arms came up to wrap around her.
“Hunt him down like the rabid dog he has become. I sent scouts to search for him, of course, but I doubt they’ll be able to find him. If he is still up to his old tricks, it can be hard to track him down. That is,ifhe managed to survive the magic rebounding back on him.”
“How can you kill someone who refuses to die?” Chandra wondered aloud, tilting up her face to him. “When he has managed to evade death before.”
Veer frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe if I block him from entering the spirit realm, it will make a difference? But all that’s pure speculation. I need more information. And I need to find where he is, physically speaking.”
“Perhaps the answer can be found here? Among these dusty tomes?”
