PART 2
Side note : Lord Kartik is the Hindu god of war, also commander in chief of the Deva army. He is also the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati. He is also known as the lord of male fertility and good harvest in some accounts. He is considered one of the most handsome gods.
2099
The first thing that Abhay noticed when he returned to Yamalok was that its size had increased quite drastically. As he made his way towards Yama's palace, he noticed several Yamaduts walk past, who were unfamiliar to him.
Yama was looking over a scroll when Abhay was admitted entry into his chamber. He bent to touch Yama's feet, but Yama grasped his arms and pulled him upright instead. "It gives me great pleasure to see you returned, Abhayendra," he said. "Great pleasure. Would you care for refreshment?"
Abhay shook his head.
"Ah, very well. Your gear and weapons are in your old quarters. They have awaited your return for long. Kartik offered to tune them into better versions, right before you returned."The young god had been one of the very, very few people Abhay had regarded as a friend, before...
He bowed. "My lord."
"Abhayendra." Yama's tone was serious. "You are not yet accustomed to the ways of the new world. Humans have changed the face of the mortal world...in some ways not for the better. You would do well to be careful."
"But, my lord," Abhay began, "Piyashree...?"
Yama waved a dismissive hand. "We will discuss her later. For now, you must go, test your new weapons. Speak to Chitragupt as you go."
Yama returned to his scrolls, and Abhay knew he was dismissed.
He went back to his old quarters, as pristine as if he had never left. The first thing he did was put on the watch - it bleeped twice, alerting everyone in the Yamalok that another Yamadut was available and on duty.
His name would automatically come up on the roster again, he knew.
Pulling on his familiar cloak, he slung the quiver across his back and strapped the bow. His sword slung at his side.
It had been a long, long time since he'd used them...or had need of them. But he'd always carried them around with him whenever he was on his job. Some souls tended to become violent on knowing their time was up.
Besides, it was all part of the image.
Chitragupt's hall was larger than he remembered it, but what surprised Abhay was that there were five queues, and five Chitragupts at the head of each.
Another Chitragupt stood by the side, his diary in his hand, no doubt assigning off Yamaduts for mortals dying off at that very moment.
He looked up as Abhay approached. His lips did not smile, but Abhay sensed that his eyes did. "What is this..?" He gestured to their surroundings.
Chitragupt lifted a shoulder. "Mortals! They die more and more these days. So I decided to lighten my workload. Yama was impressed."
Abhay let himself smile. "So...all of these other ones..they are not really you?"
"Of course not. But I have imbued them with every bit of knowledge in my head. They act in my stead." Chitragupt looked satisfied. "Yama had to induct several Yamaduts, you know. All this dying...we have to adjust."
Abhay smiled. "I'm sure there's place for one more. Where should I leave for?"
"Let me see, let me see...ah!" Chitragupt gave a satisfied exclamation. "We have one here, in the next hour. I am sending you the precise location. You must be on your way."
In his palace, Yama chuckled to himself. Poor Chitragupt. He was about to get shocked.
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Yama had been right, thought Abhay as he looked around the mortal world. Buildings were taller and grander than he had seen them, the way people dressed had changed...especially the women, who had begun to show off more of their skin. Quite a lot more.
Many women dressed like the men. It was interesting.
The four-wheeled vehicles were all different. Quite grand to look at.
Humans, it seemed, had become even more obsessed with outward beauty than before.
He was almost late to his destination - a car crash accident of a young man, but as he reached the site, he stopped.
Another Yamadut was already there as the man took his last breaths.
That in itself was unsual - only a single Yamadut was ever dispatched for a single mortal, and Chitragupt had never done a mix-up, but...
Abhay stared at the Yamadut.
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She tied up the young man's soul dispassionately. A century of doing this and still she didn't care for the job.
And then she sensed another Yamadut, and Piya was surprised. Why had Chitragupt sent another one?
She looked up to greet him, her throat going dry.
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The faintest hope that she might not be Piyashree died away when she looked up at him. "You..." He managed to croak out.
She was dressed like one of the mortal women, a tight black shirt with no sleeves and her neck and shoulders entirely bare...no, it could not be called a shirt. A corset, perhaps ? Abhay didn't know.
She was wearing a skirt below it - which only hit mid-thigh - and boots that ended inches from the skirt.
A husky, feminine laugh brought him back to his senses. "My, my. Usually, people introduce themselves before they start checking me out. But I don't mind - someone as attractive as you, I won't even ask for names. Let's hook up once we get back."
Piya cringed the minute the words left her mouth. What was wrong with her? It hadn't been that long for her that she'd start throwing herself at the first person who she found herself attracted to.The other Yamadut looked even more horrified than she did. "Piyashree?" He whispered. "What...happened to you? And what are you wearing?"
Piyashree. Anger darkened her face. "The name's Piya," she snapped at him. "Who told you that?"
He took a step backwards, staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and anger, and inspite of herself Piya found herself inordinately curious.Men did not back away from her. She'd never propositioned one before, but anyone would have leapt at the other. He, however, didn't look interested.
How strange.
He didn't even follow her as she took the soul away.
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"You made her one of us?" Abhay's voice echoed off the walls. "You said you'd give her another chance! You said she wouldn't be harmed!"
"Do watch your tone," said Yama mildly. "I kept my word. She has got a very good life here."
Abhay pressed his lips together. He couldn't say anything, he knew.And besides, what really bothered him was how Piyashree had changed. What had happened to the sweet girl he had known?
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Piya found the Yamadut speaking to Chitragupt, looking annoyed. She moved closer, catching the end of his sentence. "-don't understand."
Chitagupt frowned. "This is impossible."
"I'm telling you it is," said the Yamadut, looking angry. "You could ask Piyashree. She'll tell you -"
"Piya,not Piyashree," she cut in, annoyed. "Who told you that was my name?"
Again, he backed away from her, yet his stare remained confrontational. What a confusing dichotomy. "I have my sources."
"What's yours, then?"
His expression turned veiled, as he looked away. "Abhay."
"Bhay? Suits you. You sure seem afraid of me."
He glared at her. "I have no cause to be afraid of you. And you are wilfully mishearing my name."
"Just as you, no doubt, misheard me the first time," she snapped. "Don't call me Piyashree."
"I hate to disrupt this discussion," said Chitragupt mildly, "But could you show me the location and time I gave you, Piya? It appears I had somehow omitted your name."
She shrugged off her watch and gave it to Chitragupt, not taking her eyes off Abhay. He gritted his jaw and glared right back, his eyes sweeping her from ankle to shoulder, resting on her face. Piya's eyes narrowed. Oh, so he did want her, like other males. He was just throwing attitude on it.
"Oh, dear. There was indeed a mistake. My apologies, Abhay."
Abhay was forced to break the stare off between them to acknowledge Chitragupt with a nod.
With an insolent smirk at him, Piyashree - no, Piya - took back her watch from Chitragupt and stalked away, her hips sashaying. Abhay closed his eyes. What was wrong with Piyashree? How did someone change so drastically?
And why was he drawn so much to...Piya? She was no longer the sweet, kind girl who'd enchanted him.
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It was three days before he saw her again, having consciously avoided her whenever he was in Yamlok.
He should have looked where he was going, then he wouldn't have bumped into her."My apologies," he said automatically before he realised it was Piya. He let go of her waist immediately.
She smirked. "Oh, there's no need to apologise. I didn't mind it."
He didn't like this...Piya. He didn't like her. Even a little bit. "Excuse me," he said coldly, sidestepping her."Running away again, fearless?" she taunted. She knew it would make him stop, and it did. He stared at her icily. "Unlike you, some of us have places to be."
She glanced at his watch. "You don't have a pickup for three hours. Enough time for a..." she cleared her throat, "...nap."
He backed away immediately.
This was fun. The slightest hint of sex, and Abhay would immediately back off. It annoyed her as well as made her want to poke him further. She laughed, carelessly. "You're so scared, aren't you? Of this thing between us?"
He shrugged off her hand from his arm. "There is nothing between us. Stop provoking me. It won't work."
He pushed past her angrily. She stared after him, confounded. Yamaduts weren't prudes. Why was he acting like one? He was obviously interested, so why was he -?
And she had a feeling he wasn't the shy type.
He'd consumed her thoughts. He'd known her name, and she felt as if she knew him from somewhere, but where? She'd never seen him before that day.So why did she feel as if she had?
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A week passed by, but to Abhay it felt like much more. Somehow, everyday, Piya managed to find him.
Her taunts and soft insults were beginning to grate on his nerves. The way she talked, the way she acted...
Piyashree had been soft, generous. Kind. She'd made him feel comfortable. Piya, on the other hand? She made him uncomfortable.
She was hard all over. Sarcastic. And a shameless flirt. Who proposed something like that to someone they'd just met?
The last bit bothered him. Not because he was attracted to her, like Piya wanted to think. Of course not!
No, he was only bothered because he was the only one who had known Piyashree, and had cared for her so deeply...and now- She was a different person entirely.
"You look worried, hotshot. Missed me?" She was leaning against one of the pillars, wearing one of her short black outfits that showed more than it concealed - and a victorious smirk.
"What do you want?" he said defensively. He didn't know why she set him so on edge, as if something inside him was crawling to get out.
"Oh, nothing," she said carelessly, taking a lock of hair in her hand and twisting it, in a seductive gesture he knew was calculated to test his patience. And damn if it wasn't working. "You already know what I want, don't you?"
He glared at her. "Don't you ever think of anything else?"
"Around you?" She pretended to think. "Nope. Nada. All gone. You should be flattered, Abhay." She placed a hand to her heart. "You could make women swoon."
She was exaggerating, of course, but it was worth it to see him look uncomfortable. She shouldn't tease him so much, but she just...couldn't help it.
"I have no interest in sleeping with you," he said coldly. "Leave me alone and go bother someone else."
He turned away, intending to stride in the opposite direction, but she came after him, for some reason wanting to find out what bothered him. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong. I could help."
He threw her a contemptuous look. "Yeah, sure."
It didn't seem to faze her - but then, Abhay was beginning to think nothing would. "Cut the act. I know you're not interested."
She stopped in front of him, and he saw an expression he hadn't seen so far - concern. Worry.
"Are you sure?" she asked, in a manner so reminiscent of Piyashree that Abhay simply brushed past her without a word.
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"You've gone soft, Abhay," Kartik teased. "You're leaning too much to the right, shuffling...hell didn't give you much free time, did it?"
Abhay called him a foul word as the god went under his guard again. He narrowly missed going down.
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It had been a month since Piya had seen Abhay. She hadn't been able to resist digging up everything that she could about him : apparently, no one knew anything about him, except the rumour that for some reason, he'd been sent to hell.
The reasons behind it varied : the few Yamaduts who had a favourable view of Abhay said that it might have been a favour for Yama himself, while the rest of her friends - most of whom said Abhay considered himself too good for the rest of them - were sure he'd committed some heinous sin. Why else would such a punishment be given?
The man himself was so...frustrating. Just when she thought she had him figured out, he'd do something that made her wonder.
And then there was the inexplicable familiarity that tugged at her whenever she saw him. It made her concerned about him. Wondering what bothered him, wanting to take it away. It wasn't something she was familiar with.
She found him at the otherwise deserted training center with Lord Kartik himself. She told herself it was curiosity that made her go to watch - gods did not generally visit Yamalok. Unless it was to visit Yama.
She stood and watched as they sparred, back and forth. Lord Kartik was the fitter of the two, and he was clearly winning every time - and yet, her heart sank every time when Abhay fell. Every time he rose up again, apparently unaffected...her opinion of him underwent an upgrade. It was a very brave warrior who could withstand the amount of pain the god was clearly inflicting on him.
And as friendly as Lord Kartik was reputed to be, the god did not usually lower himself to socialise with a socially lesser being, which implied that Abhay was probably on very good terms with him.
Well, she could hardly blame him for thinking himself to be better than the rest of them if he was mates with half the gods, she thought resentfully. That might explain his snooty attitude.
Still, she stayed, and watched as the sparring drew to a close. Lord Kartik reached to Abhay and helped him up. She frowned as she saw him unsteadily get to his feet.
Was he hurt?
The two men touched each other's shoulders, and then Lord Kartik strode out of the center.
She went to Abhay, who was making his way to the Yamaduts' quarters.
"You're friends with Lord Kartik?"
Abhay braced himself. He didn't need Piya of all people to see him like this. He needed to rest. Recover. He wasn't a god.
"That's not your business," he said shortly.
She didn't appear to take offense. "I'll walk you to your room." She took his arm without invitation, and he yanked it back. This wasn't Piyashree - it was another of Piya's games. He didn't have time for them.
"Don't be a fool," she snapped, taking his arm again. There - Piyashree wouldn't have done that. "You're not invincible. Even the gods aren't."
"How long were you standing there?" he asked through a swollen lower lip.
"Long enough."
"What are you up to?" he said suspiciously. "I've told you - I'm not interested."
He glanced at her, and thought he might have seen a flicker of hurt in her brown eyes. Abhay shook his head. He must have imagined it.
She tossed her hair back and laughed. "Can't stop thinking about me, can you? Of course, that's all part of my charm." She winked at him.
She walked with him till his quarters, while he snapped and growled at everything she said. She didn't understand why his cold replies were beginning to bother her. Some people just didn't have a friendly side, but her gut told her Abhay wasn't one of those people.
She stopped when they reached their destination. "That's funny," she said. "My room is right across yours."
Abhay fumed at this new bit of knowledge. Was there no end to her torture?
"I've never seen you there," he said, his voice hard. "It's yours?"
Why did he choose to believe the worst of her? Piya smirked at him. "Oh, I spend most of my in other people's...if you get my meaning."
He looked disgusted. "Leave me alone. For god's sake, just...leave."
She didn't argue. She whirled on her heel and left, wondering why she'd felt compelled to walk him to his room in the first place, anyway. He was hardly unconscious or something!
She wouldn't do it again.
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The next time they met - a week or so later - all her resolve went to hell. She was lounging in the common hall, chatting with the other Yamaduts when she felt him come in.
He went straight for one of the dark corners, not even stopping to greet anyone. Abhay vanished from her line of sight in seconds, and no one besides her seemed to have noticed he was even in the room.
She had promised herself not to bother...
Instead, Piya found herself making an excuse, disengaging herself from the other Yamaduts, walking to him. "Why don't you talk to us? They think you're too good for them."
Abhay's heart clenched. It wasn't fair. She wasn't supposed to remind him of Piyashree. He wasn't supposed to - feel this way.
She elbowed him. "Hey. Is it true?"
He raised his head. "What are you doing here? Go back to your...friends." He said the last word on a sneer. No doubt she'd take someone to her bed tonight, he thought, fury curling in his gut.
"I will," she said. "When you come with me." He let himself look at her. She was twirling a lock of hair in her hands, looking utterly at ease in tight black pants, high heeled slippers and half of her upper body bare. A diamond winked up at him from her navel. He glanced back at her face, to see her smirk. "Finished?" she said, smugly.
He turned away from her.
"Hey. Come on. There's no need to hide yourself in here. Join us."
"Join your throng of admirers? No thanks."
Piya frowned in confusion. Unlike with everyone else, she couldn't read his face. All she knew was that he was permanently annoyed around her. "What do you mean, admirers?"
"Don't play the innocent now," he spat.
She laughed out loud. "Excuse me? Play the innocent? I'm not playing anything."
"Oh, yeah. Tell me, Piya - have you got bored of all of them?"
"They're my friends." Piya's voice held a touch of anger, he noted with satisfaction. "Don't insult them."
He laughed mockingly. "So protective of your lovers, Piya?"
For the first time, he saw real fury in her face. "They're not my lovers," she spat. "You think, just because -"
"You know what I think?" he snarled. "I think you're making a spectacle of yourself. Just because I'm the only one in this room you haven't slept with, you play these games with me, because you're just not used to the idea that you might not be a man's type -"
Crack.
She slapped him full across the face, the force of the blow making his face swing sideways and his cheek sting. It caught him by surprise, but more than the expression of her anger, it was sheen of tears in her eyes that shocked him.
The hall fell silent, everyone turning around to look at the pair of Yamaduts fighting. Those who'd observed the two before weren't surprised, but it was extremely rare for a Yamadut to physically assault another - unless it was a friendly bout of sparring.
"I thought you were a decent person," Piya whispered, but it might as well have been a scream to him. "Grouchy, prudish, but a decent person. How dare you imply that of me. How dare you, Abhay."
She backed away from him and stalked away. Then she stopped, speaking in a voice that carried across the length of the room. "I can't believe I tried to be friends with someone like you."
Then she turned and walked away, keeping her strides measured when all she really wanted was to flee.
She'd set herself up for it. Had shown him that she was a brazen woman who had no limits.
She shouldn't cry that he'd told her exactly that. It shouldn't even hurt her. He was nothing to her, nothing!
And yet the tears continued to fall.
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Abhay didn't listen to the sudden chatter all around. His face stung, but that wasn't bothering him. What bothered him was the look on her face.
He'd hurt her.
He'd never wanted to hurt her. He only wanted to...one up her. She left him feeling like the loser every time and he'd wanted to change that.
He'd wanted her to leave him alone. So he'd stop thinking about her. Stop wanting her.
He'd wanted her to not try to be the girl he'd fallen for. And he'd hurt her so badly that cool, unflappable Piya had been in tears.
He deserved that slap.
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Abhay tracked her down to a deserted beach in the mortal world. She was standing alone in the sand, waves licking her feet, her face staring down at the foam. She didn't look like Piyashree, nor was she the Piya he'd come to know.
"You shouldn't have let me off with one hit." His voice, deep and sensual as ever, sounded too close to be a figment of her imagination. She turned, saw him standing barely five feet away from her.
She straightened her spine and made her face go quite blank. "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Neither do I want to. You can take your insults and spew them to someone else."
"I didn't mean it," he said, moving closer. "I am sincerely ashamed of myself. I never meant what I said."
She made a scornful noise. "You've been looking down your nose at me since the day we met. Don't you dare say you didn't mean it."
"I didn't want to want you." His words were quiet. "You...you make me feel like a fool. I haven't been able to stop thinking of you." Conflict was evident in his face. "It's not your...not your fault."
"I'm sorry I provoked you, then," she said. "But later, I only ever wanted to be your friend." He blanched at that, for some reason, and it seemed oddly familiar. As if she'd seen him do it before.
She took refuge in flippancy. "So you are attracted to me." Her lips tilted in a smug smile. "And it bothers you so much? My, my. It must be terrible." As she had known he would, he glared at her. "There you go again. What's wrong with you?"
Abhay couldn't stop himself from taking a few steps closer. She stood her ground, not backing away from him. "What do you mean, what's wrong with me?" Up close, he could see what he'd failed to notice all this time : Piya was a sham. Her smirk, her cocksure posture...everything was a lie.
"You know what I mean. Why are you doing this, Piya? Why can't you just -"
"Doing what?"
"Oh, cut it out!" he said impatiently. "You act like you don't care - but then you -"
She gave a brittle laugh. "I don't care. You're a fool if you think otherwise." She had expected him to give her one of his disgusted looks and turn away and leave her in peace. Not abruptly jerk her to him and kiss her.
His kiss was hard, almost punishing : she fought him at first, pushing at him, but then it changed. The kiss became coaxing, gentle. Persuading her to respond, and it didn't take much. His lips coaxed hers to part, filling her with warmth in the pit of her stomach. She forgot where she was or who she was, lost in the feel of him.
Till he let go of her.
She stumbled backwards, a stunned expression on her face.
Abhay rocked back on his heels, unconscious of the smile that was spreading on his face. "There. You care."
She took a few seconds to answer, her thoughts scrambled. She fought to keep a straight face. "I don't sleep with my friends."
"I have no interest in being your friend anyway," he replied, watching her.
She didn't know what had triggered this about turn, but she wasn't going to question it. Especially if he would keep smiling like that. He had a gorgeous smile - and she'd never seen it.
Or had she?
He stepped backwards. "I'll give you some time to regroup. Come back to your quarters when you can."
She watched him vanish into thin air, her own heart soaring. She didn't know why it was so important to her that she be desirable to him, and she wasn't willing to explore why.
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He was called off to deliver a soul, so he was unable to meet her that day, but a few days later, he found her in her room, performing a handstand as a scroll floated in front of her face.
She righted herself the minute she saw him. "There you are."
She reached to kiss him, but he turned his head, so that her lips landed on her cheek. "I'm sorry I've been busy," he said, snagging one of her hands gently - and annoying her. Did he think she wanted an explanation? She didn't. She wasn't his consort.
He let her straddle his lap, but he wouldn't kiss her, wouldn't let her kiss him. Piya was beginning to get annoyed. Why had he come here, then, if he wasn't going to do anything?
"You," he said, his voice deeper than usual, "spend most of your free time in the mortal world."
Unease filtered in. "How did you know that?" she said sharply.
He looked surprised. "Because I've been track you these past days. You're hardly ever here. Don't you like Yamalok?"
"I...I don't know," she blurted out without thinking. "Sometimes I long to be human again, without knowing that for eternity I'll be -" She cut herself off. What was wrong with her? Why was she bringing emotions into all of this?
She pushed at Abhay's chest, and this time he relented, letting her kiss him with everything she had. His lips found the curve of her neck, learning quickly that she was sensitive there.
"Why do you long to be human?" He said quietly.
"I don't want to talk about it," she said. "Can we get to it now?"
He caught her wandering hand in his. "Not now. Not today."
She let out a frustrated sigh, when changed into a moan when his mouth found the valley of her breasts. She reached for his shirt, but he trapped her hands against his chest.
"What do you want?" she said, frustrated beyond measure. "I'm not in the chatty mood right now. Can't we do this after -?"
"No. There are things you need to know, Piya, about me - about us."
Irritated, she moved off him. "I must be losing my touch if you're more interested in talking."
"Don't you remember anything about me, Piya? Don't you remember me...at all?"
She blinked. "We...know each other?"
He grimaced, as if she'd slapped him again. "I..yes. Why did you commit suicide?"
She jerked to her feet and turned her back to him. "It's none of your business. How did you even know- "
"Tell me, please." His voice held a note of urgency in it, and she wondered again at his earlier statement that they'd known each other. He was telling the truth - he'd always seemed familiar to her. Certain things about him, like the way he tilted his head...the smile...
She shrugged a shoulder. "My husband passed away. My in laws had no further use for me."
He caught her wrist, turned her so she faced him. She gave him a brilliant smile. "Humans are capable of extreme cruelty, you know."
His silence was oddly more encouraging that words would have been.
"Widows..in my times...were frowned upon if they tried to make a life for themselves. After my husband passed away, my inlaws..." She didn't elaborate. "My father wouldn't accept me back in his home. It seemed easy then, to just...do it.I know now that I shouldn't have done it. I don't know why the Lord decided to keep as Yamadut instead of sending me to hell first."
"You shouldn't have done it. You should have -"
"I know. I regret it...but there's nothing to be done now." When he remained silent, she prodded him. "You said we knew each other."
Abhay braced himself. "I took your husband's soul."
Piya swallowed. "Perhaps it was better that it was you, and not someone else."
"I didn't want to do it. But I had to - a mortal's life cannot be extended -"
She shook her head, an odd, jerky motion. "No, of course not. But you said we -"
Abhay stared at her. "You don't remember me at all, do you? Nothing?"
"You mustn't write to me anymore, Piyashree." The phrase filtered through in her head, and Piya blinked at him. He'd said that in the same tone.
And suddenly the name of the soldier she'd befriended came to her head. His face. She staggered backwards, her hand going to her mouth.
"Do you remember?" he said, the words quiet and echoing.
He hadn't been a soldier at all. He hadn't been that lady's grandson. And he'd broken their friendship because he said he'd developed feelings for her.
The fury within her took her by surprise. She pointed at the door. "Get out."
"You remember." Hope flashed in his eyes. "You remember that we -"
"Get out!"
He stared at her for a long moment, then gave a slight nod, and backed out of her room while she sank to her knees, her arms around herself.
What had she done?
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