"Stay still," Vidyut called out with a hint of a warning. Everyone's gaze was fixed at the emptiness below them, a baffled look on their faces, all except Vidyut. "This looks like an illusion spell."
The youths instinctively stepped back, moving closer to each other, their wide eyes snapping in every direction in anticipation of the unknown. Little Tilak clung to Surya's leg. There was a sudden swirl in the breeze, and an unexpected mass of thick clouds filled the sky, hiding the bright sun. What was bright and warm moments ago suddenly became dark and cold. The men's eyes and mouths filled with dust when vortices of wind came charging at them from all directions.
"We cannot continue to stand here. We must keep climbing." Surya said as he tried to rub the dirt off his eyes. The high wind flew the golden stole off his chest into the bottomless pit below.
Vidyut agreed to Surya's suggestion. "Boys, keep moving. You, too, my prince. I will be right behind you."
Surya swiftly lifted little Tilak, still holding on to his leg, and hauled him across his back. The group dashed up the hill, taking the steps two and three at a time, following the ridges of the stairs protruding out from the ground. Once they reached the two hundredth step, the wind started to die down, and the clouds began to scatter, with the bright wintry sun once again coming out. Surya settled Little Tilak down on the ground and swept a glance around to see if all were out of harm's way. His heart fell to his stomach.
"Where is your Brother Vidyut?" Surya breathed the words with terror.
The other four tantrics, alarmed by those words, began to look around here and there, with no trace of their mentor.
"You, all, must focus more on your martial powers." A rich voice floated in, full of amusement. All of them turned in concert, and Raag gave a happy gasp. Surya let out a breath that he was holding for long.
"Brother Vidyut!" Raag jumped and ran up to the tantric, who was standing several steps above them. "We thought you were behind us." He reached up and started to dust off the dirt from the back of Vidyut's robe.
"No need." Vidyut refused the helping hand. "If I can outrun you, so can any spirit. You must think to use your Tantra in these situations." He chided his trainees mildly and then patted Raag's shoulder. "Keep an eye on each other for the rest of the way."
Surya's eyes caught Vidyut's for a fleeting moment, and they exchanged a look of relief. When Surya looked out into the empty valley, he discovered that the first two hundred steps of the stairs were gone and all that remained was a sharp precipice.
"I apologize I got you into this trouble." This time Vidyut's voice was right next to Surya's ears. His eyes were remorseful. "I should not have made the suggestion of this trip."
"Then, I apologize too. I should not have accepted your suggestion." Surya smiled as bright as he could and reached out a hand to rub away a smudge of dirt from Vidyut's face. He wiped off the mark but not the dark clouds of regret on Vidyut's face.
Vidyut peered into the abyss. "It is not usual for a demonic spirit to occupy a temple."
"Must be a formidable spirit, then."
"Or a divine spirit."
Surya agreed with Vidyut's suspicion. Shiva temples had powerful cleansing energy, extremely effective against demonic forces, a chief reason why the Rakhtaprasthan royal family had prayed to Lord Shiva for generations. If the spirit could haunt the steps of this temple, it is either a unique demonic being or a spirit from heaven. Surya did not know which one he preferred.
"What kind of demonic beings haunt these lands?" Surya's knowledge on these matters were limited. Before coming to the North, he had never encountered any spiritual being, other than the occasional court visits by Sage Mahathi, the messenger of heaven.
"Dakinis are common here." Vidyut continued to climb up the stairs. His eyes were keenly watching the crisscross, densely leafed branches of the trees growing alongside the rising steps, cautious of any inhuman spirits hidden behind them. "They do not harm travelers unless they sense evil in their hearts. They also tell you your future if they wish to be generous."
Surya exclaimed at the prospect. "Have you been told of your future by one?"
"I can make my own future." Vidyut's soft face hardened.
"Then, her words do not matter," Surya quickly added. "What other beings do you know of?"
Vidyut breathed heavily, his face sparkling from the fine mist of perspiration under the morning light. He furrowed his brow as he recalled the other inhuman spirits that wandered the cold wastes of the North. There were the Yakshas, the Pishachas, and the Rakshasas. Unlike the other two, the Yakshas were considered divine beings and usually benevolent, although they could be mischievous, causing trouble to those who encountered them.
Both Pishacha and Rakshasas preyed on human flesh and could shape shift . But whereas Pishacha usually haunted the cremation grounds searching for preys with dark, sinister eyes, the Rakshasas in the north roamed freely both during days and nights, preying on whatever or whoever they find.
"Have you ever encountered any of them?" Surya was all curiosity.
"No, my prince. Maybe we can go exploring the forests in the region sometime and hunt them down." Vidyut's cool nonchalance made Surya giggle.
"And if we do meet them, how do you propose we hunt them down?"
Vidyut furrowed his brows further. "Since a Pishacha can be controlled with Mantra, you can use Mantra chants to restrain them, and I can use my Tantric power to overpower the Rakshasa, like I did with the Himasura."
Somehow Vidyut's boastful words did not bite. Instead, they made him sound like a child whose imagination was running wild. Surya's heart was full all of a sudden.
"I give you my word, then. A kshatriya man's word. If you ever need help hunting down a demonic spirit, send me a word, and I will be by your side."
The ascent for the next two hundred steps was uninterrupted, but left the group of youths wanting for air. The higher they climbed, the taller the steps became. Once again, Surya carried Little Tilak on his back despite the wary looks from Vidyut.
"Regards, my prince," Alok approached Surya as they walked over another step. "I have not offered anything yet, in return for your kindness."
It took moments for Surya to grasp the subject of Alok's gratitude. "You already offered your life; I could not ask anything more of you." Surya wondered if it was him in Alok's place, if he could have faced those bandits without fearing for his life and sacrificed his right hand to protect the royal family.
"If you have any necessity during your stay here, my prince, you need only ask me. I am always at your disposal."
Young Alok's brave words warmed Surya's heart. He sounded as if he had gained years of insight and wisdom in those few months. Surya gave him a reassuring pat on his back. After another flight of stairs, the youths were ravenous and decided to open the basket of sweets they had packed for the trip. They sat shoulder to shoulder along a step and divided among themselves the sweet, fatty laddoos, that Surya had especially carried from RakhtaPrastha, two for each.
When Raag reached out a hand to grab another one, Vidyut immediately swatted his hand away. "The rest are offerings to Lord Shiva." He asserted, to which Raag remained silent, other than a displeased look. Surya took some pity and offered one from his share.
With their appetites somewhat sated, they gathered their effects and prepared to continue their ascent, when loud retching sounds came from one end of the ridge. It was Raag with a strange violet fruit in his hand that he must have plucked from the branch of a tree beside the steps.
The rest hurried towards Raag, who sat on the step and continued to gag and vomit over the edge.
"Do you know what fruit that is?!" Vidyut barked, taking the uneaten part of the fruit and throwing it into the void.
Raag shook his head and continued to heave and retch.
"Then, why did you bite it?"
"Because…because…" Raag gagged and threw up once more.
Surya came forward with a water vessel and offered it Raag. He gently caressed his back as Raag gulped swallows of water, only to throw them up right after.
"Can you walk the rest of the way with us, Tantric Raag?" Surya asked with concern.
Raag nodded readily but immediately began to retch once more.
"My prince, Tantric Vidyut, please continue your journey with the rest." Rig, Raag's brother, spoke up. "I will remain here and watch over him."
As they had nowhere else to go but up, the rest of the group conceded that it was wise to continue with the journey while the siblings waited on the step.