Poison Orchid

Chapter 16

“Was being a Necromancer not enough? Now Poison Maiden? What on Earth is that?”asked Isis in a stunned voice.

“ We did know that you will be a Necromancer until a few days ago, but Being a Null could be enough dangerous dear girlie. So it was my bright idea that to raise you up as a Poison maiden,” said Grandma Brassia.

“I have no doubts about that it would be surely your bright idea, but would you please care to explain what that means?” said an exasperated Isis.

“It means that you’re a girl whose blood doesn’t run red but rather it runs blue. You are a living human who is poisonous than the most poisonous snakes and scorpions in the world, anything that bites you or sucks your blood is bound to die. That is what being a Poison Maiden means,” said Aunt Rossetta.

“Okay, tell me one thing that did you bring me home in order to treat me as your personal guinea pig for the all the weird experiments you could ever conjure up?” asked Isis.

“Listen child, you are an absolute child that is the reason you are asking me such stupid things. This is the reason why I always considered that it is necessary for a woman to be well-read. And not in a narrow way but should be widely read so that she can gather knowledge from cultures all over the world. You Aunt, my darling Rosa was settled in India before she went to rescue you. In the Indian subcontinent their history and culture is so wide and varied that you cannot even imagine of….”Brassia was going on without any intention of stopping.

“So all these weird voodoo and black magic stuff which has been implemented and applied on me was learnt from the land of tribals?” asked Isis.

Grandma Brassia came forward and suddenly gave a tight slap on Isis’s cheek and with the force of the slap her ears started ringing. She couldn’t understand what was the reason for hitting her but she knew that the rage and darkness which had subsided a few minutes earlier rushed back in full force. Before she could think of doing anything came another slap and then another and the slaps went on giving her no time to even register what was happening to her. When the slaps had finally stopped she was lying on the floor on the verge of unconsciousness and the ceiling was moving like a merry-go-round.

“This was the last time you dared to say something this disgraceful and distasteful in my presence. When you don’t know you need to be absolutely silent because when you are silent you will be listening to what the other person will be saying to you and you will know something which you didn’t know earlier. I hope I have made myself loud and clear!!!” exclaimed Grandma Brassia in a huff.

Isis could only nod at that time which made Grandma Brassia continue what she was telling before she started hitting her.

“India is not a land of tribals, the people there and their culture is far more advanced than we can even conceive of. The emperor who consolidated the whole country under one kingdom and banner was Chandragupta Maurya whose rise was planned by someone other than him, that kingmaker was the most intelligent man and shrewd politician the history has ever seen, his name was Chanakya—the son of Chanak. Do you know another interesting fact girlie? He was born with a full set of teeth, the astrologer had predicted at his birth that he would be the most powerful man, even more powerful than king, he was the King-maker.

So this great man had consulted the ancient Ayurvedic science and developed a specific formula which might be slow but it was definitely effective. He had developed a batch of young girls who had already been doomed from birth that any man in their life would die--- it is called the Vaidhavya Yog which means they were eternally destined to be widows. He raised them up to be Poison maidens, the only man successful in history to do so, they were as deadly as an assassin because their body fluids were not normal. Rather far from it, every body fluid of theirs was poisonous which meant their saliva, sweat, blood, urine everything had heavy traces of poison which were lethal were any normal human being. Chanakya had used one of his best Poison Maidens rather Vishkanya to assassinate the famous king Paurus who was revered even by Alexander the Great. So after that we didn’t know whether it could be properly implemented or not but today whatever happened showed that the legends were absolutely true and they were not myths. You are the living proof of that,” Grandma Brassia finally finished.

“I think she has answered all types of questions that needed to be answered and even more what could arise in your mind,” said Aunt Rossetta

“ That she has, and I am sorry for I had said. I truly shouldn’t have said something so nonsensical. I know it is late to be greatful and obliged but I have my heart-felt obligations to the man named Chanakya. He is rightly my Godfather, I can say that right?”asked Isis meekly.

“Your change was pretty instantaneous, why so?”asked Grandma Brassia.

“I truly understand that something very unusual has been done me, which has made me far more deadly and dangerous than anyone can ever imagine and the soul idea comes from that particular man so I think it would be right to say that if he had not done something like this then probably I would not have come to such a poisonous existence,” said Isis trying to lighten the mood.

“Actually Isis, my basic intention was that whatever happens with you even when I am not there to be of protection and if you do not have the witching powers then at the least you will have some power or rather trick up your sleeve like a conjurer which you can present at inopportune moment in order to protect yourself,” muttered Aunt Rosa.

“And this is really going to be your trick up your sleeve because the forces which are trying to scout you out for your dark Necromancing capabilities they have no idea about the poison that runs in your veins. So if utterly necessary your blood or your mere saliva is your greatest weapon,” informed Brassia.

Isis was thinking of the consequences if something like that happened, she would have the blood of someone on her hands. But the most important thing was that she didn’t want to hurt anyone but she already had killed a lizard and a sand viper without even thinking twice. Someway taking someone’s life came very naturally to her like a second nature, now she needed her conscience to accept the fact that it was who she was and her life had altered inexplicably. When Isis was trying to assimilate everything she had already heard, Grandma Brassia dropped another bomb.

“You need to train with those two animals of yours for the mission you have chosen for yourself tonight. I hope you remember what you had promised the ghost girls,” she asked Isis with question mark in her eyes.

“Of course I remember that. I cannot let them get tethered to the earth in their formless bodies without any reason Grandma, they were a bunch of innocent girls who were murdered brutally. They of all the people in this world do not deserve this punishment, and that too eternal,” Isis exclaimed indignantly. But her eyes filled up the moment she thought about Naomi and Barbara and how much pain they had endured.

“This is the reason why darkness cannot lure into its tendons completely because you have a heart that is filled with kindness, mercy and empathy. And you are empathetic towards spirits who have whatsoever no role left to play on earth until and unless they are born once more, that makes you so much more special girlie,” mused Brassia.

“But Grandma being special is very tough,” said Isis.

“Don’t you think we know that? We all the sorceresses in our Haronti family are very well aware of the problems that lies on being special but that has never stopped us from embracing our destiny. Now the decision lies in your hands that how you want to take the ride. We can only help you to get the way that you need to take in order to cross the road towards your destination but dear girl, the journey is completely yours, just like the decision you made to take up a mission. The choice is always yours,” Brassia tried to explain her the consequences of her life.

“What do I need to do in order to make all those girls free from the pain they are facing?” asked Isis.

“First of all you need to scout out the graves or the place where they have been buried,” said Aunt Rossetta.

“No Rosa, I don’t think that it would be so easy to scout out the graves, otherwise the police would have found them out till now. First she needs to train her animals how to identify the odour of a hidden corpse. I’m sure that there are some other forces are also at work here, which is the reason the girls’ spirits can only come Isis and talk to her. They are being by blocked by something,” reasoned Grandma Brassia.

“ That is true Grandma. I went and spoke with Naomi’s mother, she said that she felt the presence of Naomi every single night when she was asleep or when she went to her room, but couldn’t understand why this happening. I didn’t say anything more to her but I know one thing for sure that the families of the girls who have not yet found out the bodies they want to finish the last rights of their darling daughters,” explained Isis to both Brassia and Rossetta.

“ Are your animals here? In this place?” asked Brassia

“You of all the people would be able to see them Grandma, why asking me? Of course Gruffy and Fluffy are both here, what do you need me to do?” asked a smiling Isis.

“I don’t want you to do anything now, you are to go and read the book of all the spells and charms that I had given you last day from top to bottom in such a way that if asked to perform any and every of the spells from any place you should be able to do so. Good to go?” asked Brassia

“What you are asking me to do is it humanely possible Grandma?” asked Isis with an exasperated expression on her face.

“Oh girlie, there’s the mistake you are making. You are not human at all you can’t forget that anymore. Whatever you could do before your powers came to being inside you were far more lesser than what you can do now. So yes whatever I am asking of you is not humanely possible definitely but yes for you it is definitely possible. So please get your cute butt up from the floor and start studying. You just have the afternoon for your studying,” said a smirking Brassia.

“I have a question though,” said Isis.

“Questions are always welcome,” said Brassia.

This one won’t be, thought Isis.”Do you by any chance get pleasured by seeing others tortured and humiliated?”

Brassia cackled with laughter, the patent one of a mad woman which she laughed when something unusually horrible happened but now was the time for joke, Aunt Rossetta was blushing furiously because she never expected Isis asking such odd question regarding s****l pleasure to the spirit of her Great grandmother. But sometimes truly uncommon and unusual things happened and with this generation there was nothing to say.

“I really like this girl, Rosa darling. This girl has got spunk, not even the men who proposed me ever dared to ask me this question. Well girlie, let us make a deal. You successfully finish your mission of tonight then I can explain you what gives me pleasure and what not,” said Brassia amidst peals of laughter.

“Isis go upstairs and get studying, or you won’t be able to do what you need to do tonight,” ordered Rossetta in a stern tone.

Isis left the basement nodding her head thinking that she was really in a madhouse..