“Run!” Vihaan shouted.

“Like I didn’t know that!” Amara panted as she was pulled along the stairs. The room was vast and open spaced, which meant that the creature had them fully in view. She didn’t have to look back to know that the thing was tumbling down the stairs on all four, the smell of smole and cinder filled the air.

What did surprise Amara though was the sound of gunshots. She had expected the mercernaries to run away since the creature ignored them. Looking back, she could se that that was truly the case. Only one stood there, Silas’s eyes turned fierce as he shot the creature with his gun. Each bullet hit the creature’s vital point showing his scaringly accurate aim. The creature let out horrid screeches, slowing down by the bullets.

Her arm twisted around, ripping out the bullets from her body with her claws. He eyes turned to Silas for a moment who was reloading without hesitation. “Your small weapon might hurt me, but your little iron pearls won’t put me down, child of-“

She didn’t finish her sentence, a gentle gong sounded as a mantra echoed in the room. The creature along with Amara’s eyes turned toward a brilliant light behind a closed door.  Amara recognized the sound of the beautiful boy and didn’t even hesitate to pull Vihaan in that direction. “Over there!”

“Where?!” Vihaan’s eyes peered aimlessly around and Amara realized that he couldn’t see it. Pulling him along, Amara rushed toward the door.

The creature finally wincing out of her haze, as she threw herself into the air, jumping across the room towards them with a horrifying screech. “Prahlada!”

Opening the door, Vihaan and Amara turned back to close it. Claws just inches from the door, as it was shut in the creatures face. The both of them had just a few seconds to breathe though as the door started to shake as the creature tried to slam in open.

“Hold it back!” Vihaan shouted, laying all his weight on the door. Amara did the same but soon shouted when the golden doors started to heat up to burn her. “The damn creature must be heating up the door.”

“The gold is melting!” Amara briskly backed away, turning around to run away only to face the beautiful boy who stood only inches away from her. Lifting his hand, the boy muttered another mantra, clear and beautiful. As a gong rang out, the boy hand slammed the door. A force sent both Vihaan and Amara flying and the last thing she heard before being send into a wall was the piercing scream of a woman.

*****

“Om Daamodaraye vidhmahe-“

A calming mantra, reach Amara’s subconscious, making her move her heavy eyelids. She blinked, trying to clear her muddle mind, looking around to see Vihaan still unconscious.

“Vihaan?” her voice was raspy, her throat dry and she let out a groan as her head started to throb when she moved. Vihaan didn’t move and Amara crawled over, touching him to ensure he was okay. His heartbeat was steady, and outside being dirty, he seemed fine.

“-Bansi Dharai Dhimahi-“

Lifting her head, Amara saw a little wisp of light soaring around the hall. Seemingly wanting her to follow. With a grimace, Amara stood up, deciding to follow after a few moments of hesitation, looking over at Vihaan, before deciding that it would be worth the risk.

“-tano Krishna prachodayat.”

Amara recognize the mantra, as Krishna Gayatri Mantra, asking for healing and protection. She could feel it warm her, the headache fading away for each step she took toward the music. A golden light hit her, as the narrow hallway open up to an open space. Moist air hit Amara’s face, shielding her eyes from the light she soon saw why as a room filled with pools, waterfalls filling them up while in the middle of the lake was a small island. The pools was filled with Lotus flowers, floating on the surfaces while a on the small island was a Banyan Tree, standing strong and old in the hall.

What caught Amara’s eyes though wasn’t the tree but what was under it, the beautiful boy sat in padmasana, or Lotus position, chanting the mantra over again with closed eyes. Peace seem to follow his words.

The little wisp guided Amara towards him, and Amara followed without fear as this creature has saved her and Vihaan several times now. He clearly meant no harm. As she crossed the bridge to the island, the wisp floated around the boy. Almost eager to gain his attention.

Amara sat down in a similar position across from him, the mantra going silent as the boy finally open his eyes.  He smiled, his eyes gentle as he greeted her. “Welcome to my sanctuary, child.”

Letting out a snort at the word child, Amara cleared her throat,”Aren’t you a tad young to call me child?”

“Am I?” the boy’s face never changed, neither anger or amusement crossed it, making Amara feel uncomfortable.

“I… Guess not.”

“Eyes can deceive you, child. Do not trust them in this place.”

“What is this place? I can’t believe that we still in the city,” Amara said, watching the hallway, filled with reliefs of Vishnu and Krishna. Gold adorned the reliefs and plants grew over the walls.

“If you want an absolute truth, we aren’t,” boy said, not blinking as his eyes never left her face.

“We aren’t?”

“Holika hunted you, in order to protect you, I draw you into my sanctuary that lies in a plane within a plane.”

“A plane within a plane?”

“Yes, you had already travelled from the mortal realm into another realm. The realm of Asuras. I travelled to that plane to then draw you into my plane. The plane given to me by Vishnu to find peace and meditate.”

“Vishnu?” Amara snorted in disbelief but silented down when she realize that she was acting a bit rude. “Sorry, but I don’t believe in gods.”

“And they never needed your belief to exist,” the boy replied. Amara didn’t know what to answer that, so she changed the subject.

“Can you send us home?”

“What is your home?”

“The mortal plane.”

“Are you sure?”

Amara frowned at the strange boy. “Yes, aren’t you?”

The boy finally broke eye contact with her, the dark pools looked down into the water, like he wanted to find answers there. “You entered the temple for a reason.”

“By an accident.”

“There are no accidents. Not in this. The prison was breached and someone was summoned to protect what lies within.”

“What lies within?”

“Hidden truths, old vendettas and-“ The boy’s eyes turned to Amara’s again, locking onto her eyes like a snake catching its prey,”-powerful artifacts long forgotten by the mortals.”

“Artifacts?” Amara’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, that is what the child of the Asura is seeking.”

Frowning at the sentence uttered, Amara decided not to ask. “What kind of artifacts.”

“Dangerous ones.”

“Obviously, but what are they.”

“I cannot say, you will need to find out on your own.”

“Why?”

“Because I still have hope that you and your brethren will never find out. I hope that you can stop the child of the Asura before it is found.”

Eyes widening, Amara stared at him. “And how will I do so?”

The boy’s smile widened, “Fear not, child. For I will give you the weapon my lord Vishnu invented to fight. It will destroy all evil in your path but take heed, for it will destroy. Even what you might not want to destroy as long as it is touched by evil.”

“Do not use it easily.”

*****

“Wake up,” Amara gently patted Vihaan’s cheek. He groaned, moving about before opening his eyes.

“What happened?”

“We got saved?”

“Obviously, by what?”

“Didn’t you see the boy?”

Vihaan let out a groan as he rose, “You and that boy again.”

“You couldn’t see him?”

“No, I only saw a molten mess trying to kill us, and then something hit us.”

Frowning, Amara stared at Vihaan but decided not to continue the topic. This would be hard enough without adding on to the topic. “We need to get going.”

Amara opened the door, now cool to the touch though it took a few tries since the door had melted in some places.

“Should we really go that way?” Vihaan asked, as he helped her to break the door open.

“Yes, I have looked around and I know what the mercenaries are doing here.”

“Oh?”

“There are artifacts here, said to be directly taken from the Devas.”
“And invaluable,” Vihaan finished, the door slowly opening with a creak to an empty room.

“Yes, we will need to get them before the mercenaries.”

“Are that a good idea?”

“Maybe not, but from what I can tell. They are as lost as we are and considering that this place is a maze, we have as good chance as any of them to find them first.”

“And that creature?”

“Let’s just pray that it has decided to go back to whatever grave it crawled out off, otherwise we might have to fight and I am not eager to clash swords with that thing.”

“Neither am I.”