Chapter 19

                                    

                                          
Swati was confused. The Almighty Lord of Sustenance, Vishnu, the Calm One, and her father, had offered to help her and had impersonated Yama to save her from the greedy clutches of Yami.
                          
Whew, that seemed a lot.
                          
Swati had completely become blind to things in the cell. There was nobody in there, and she had confirmed that there was only Jyoti inside.
                          
Almost.
                          
A kind of silhouette of a human being shimmered in the air whenever Swati moved. She did not know what this was, and she paid no attention to it. She sighed heavily and sat down.
                          
'Aaaaaaaargh!'
                          
An ear-splitting scream filled the cell, and it almost shook.
                          
'Arvada Nashtandriye! What in the name of the Samaj are you doing? Get up!' a boy's voice roared from somewhere under Swati. 
                          
Swati was too confused to respond.
                          
'Oh gods, please, get up now, my Swamini!' the voice shouted.
                          
Swati tentatively spoke.
                          
'Hello, I'm Swati Daughter of-' she was interrupted.
                          
'-Vishnu, on an adventure to save the Samaj. I know, there's quite enough gossip on Kailash nowadays, and I do subscribe to it.'
                          
Swati was outraged, despite her confusion and nervousness. Gossip of Mount Kailash? What sins had they committed to be telecasted like they were sources of entertainment for the gods?
                          
She kept on thinking till the voice groaned heavily.
                          
'Arvada- Nashtandriye- get up! I-'pant '-Get up! Now!'
                          
Swati woke out of her stupor. Whomever the voice belonged to was in trouble. She got up and saw that the floor was shimmering below her.
                          
'Thanks,' mumbled the voice, breathing heavily.
                          
Swati was too dumbstruck to reply.  She kept on gazing at the floor like she was caught mid-motion. Apparently, the person whom the voice belonged to was in trying hard not to shout in anger.
                          
There was muffled silence for a while. The person whom the voice belonged to seemed to be in deep thought.
                          
'Summon water, Daughter of Vishnu,' it said after a while.
                          
Swati felt relieved as she had already done this on the ship. The only problem was, the water was nowhere in the building other than in the pipelines. What did the invisible boy want water for, anyway?
                          
'Splash a few drops, goodness,' repeated the voice.
                          
Swati concentrated with all might. She imagined all the pure water from the pipes rushing towards her, feeling the walls crumbling beneath. She almost strained herself, when a loud blast echoed down the empty corridor outside the cell and another scream shook the cell.
                          
The faint silhouette was not so anymore.  A boy was slowly emerging from the silhouette, as it got clearer and clearer. The boy was covered head to toe in water, unlike Swati, who was surprisingly dry. She seemed to have doused him with fresh pipe water.
                          
The boy gasped and spluttered, 'Tell- you- drops- you- drench- me- damage- brain!'Swati saw him coming around, probably adapting himself to the strange visible body of his.
                          
'You... okay?' Swati asked lightly, expecting the worst.
                          
The boy got up, staggered a bit, steadied himself, and spoke in almost a hiss and a voice which seemed inhumane.