The train ride back to the Arora mansion was quiet—eerily so. Rashi sat by the window, clutching her dupatta tightly, the rhythm of the train failing to calm the storm within. She had done what she needed to do. Raghav's parents were safe—for now.
She arrived just before dinner, offering the excuse of overtime at her new job. No one questioned her. Rishi had already disappeared into his room, and Meher only gave her a faint nod from the dining table, her eyes unusually vacant. But Rashi noticed the shift. Her family felt more silent than usual. Heavier. The house felt colder, darker—as if something intangible was lurking in the corners, watching.
---
Days Later
The first nightmare came two nights later.
She was standing in a field of ash, the sky crimson and crackling with thunder. A dozen faceless shadows circled her, whispering in a language she didn’t understand. Their voices were thick, cold, like smoke sliding into her ears. One voice hissed louder than the rest:
“You are the fire that blocks the gate. Move—or burn with it.”
She woke up gasping, soaked in sweat, a scream caught in her throat. Her lamp flickered weakly even though the power hadn’t gone. The corners of her room seemed to pulse like something was breathing just beneath the walls.
The next night, she saw herself hanging upside down in a dark temple. Blood trickled from her forehead, forming strange symbols on the stone floor below. Again, the whispers returned, louder this time—angry, desperate.
“Stop interfering.”
She began waking up with bruises—on her arms, neck, even her ankle once—as if something had gripped her while she slept.
On the fourth day, she could no longer pretend it was coincidence.
---
The Church Again
That morning, she wore a scarf to hide the finger-like bruise on her neck and told her mother she had to meet her "manager" at the church. Rishi offered to drop her, but she declined, her voice firm. She needed solitude.
She arrived at the church and felt it immediately—a resistance in the air, thick like invisible chains trying to hold her back. With each step toward the door, her knees trembled. A sharp pain bloomed in her chest, as if something inside her was being torn apart. By the time she reached the threshold, it felt like a thousand invisible claws were pulling her backward.
“No…” she whispered, pressing a hand to her heart. “I have to go in…”
Her foot lifted—but her body didn’t move forward. It was as if some unnatural gravity held her in place.
Suddenly, a sharp splash hit her forehead. Cool relief. A hiss echoed in her ears like a wounded beast shrieking.
“Rashi!”
Father Elijah had rushed out, holding a silver vial of holy water, his face pale but focused. He sprinkled more onto her arms and chest, chanting softly. The invisible pull released, and Rashi stumbled forward into the church, breathless.
“Inside, now,” Father said firmly, ushering her into the prayer hall and closing the heavy door behind them.
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Burning the Candle
Her hands shook as she lit the candle.
The flame flickered violently at first, threatening to die, then steadied. Rashi closed her eyes and began whispering the secret mantra—the one she had learned years ago, not from her family, but from a wandering fakir who had once looked her in the eyes and said, “You will need this when your heart becomes your weapon.”
She finished the prayer, and the flame dimmed momentarily, then turned gold. Only then did she look up at Father Elijah with tearful eyes.
“They're coming after me,” she whispered. “In my dreams… in shadows… even in my room. They’re not letting me sleep. They’re hurting me. Why now? I’ve been doing everything carefully. Why now?”
Father sighed deeply and sat beside her on the wooden pew.
“This,” he said gently, “is the consequence I warned you about.”
She looked at him, eyes wide and lost.
“You’ve started a war, Rashi. Every time you protect someone from the dark world, you become a blockade for those spirits who were sent to harm them. You’re not just shielding Raghav or his parents anymore—you’re interfering with the larger currents of black magic. That makes you a threat.”
She clenched her fists. “But I’m still learning! How can I fight something like that when I’m this weak? They know where I sleep, Father. I’m terrified to close my eyes.”
He looked at her with somber kindness.
“Not with spells,” he said, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. “You’ll fight them with willpower. With faith, and your belief that what you’re doing is right. They want you to fear. They want you to give in. The day you stop lighting this candle is the day they win.”
Rashi breathed shakily and nodded, but the fear still clung to her like a second skin. She looked at the golden flame again. “I need help… more than you can give, I think.”
Father Elijah stood slowly, his expression thoughtful. “Yes. The time has come.”
She looked up. “Time for what?”
“There’s someone I know. Someone who doesn’t serve the church anymore but was once among the strongest spiritual guides in this part of the world. He left after a mission that almost killed him—he now lives in seclusion.”
Rashi blinked. “Who is he?”
Father Elijah gave a faint smile. “You’ll know him as Reverend Neil Devraj. He used to be called The Lightkeeper. He walked into cursed lands and pulled out entire families haunted for generations. He speaks to the dead—but only to silence them. And he knows more about black magic than even I do.”
“Then why did he leave?” Rashi asked softly.
“Because the last time he tried to save a girl possessed by a cursed lineage,” the priest said gravely, “he failed. She died in his arms.”
Rashi swallowed. “And you think… he’ll help me?”
Father looked her in the eye. “If he sees the fire in you. The kind of fire he failed to protect once—he won’t make that mistake again.”
---
Later That Night
Rashi sat alone in her room, staring at the tiny golden pendant around her neck—the one Raghav had given her. The whispers hadn’t come yet. Maybe the candle burning had worked. Maybe she had a few more nights of peace. But deep inside, she knew this wasn’t the end.
It was only the beginning.
And now, she wasn’t just a girl torn between love and duty.
She was the last light standing between the darkness and Raghav’s world.
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