The Witch of the Forest
The sun bled its last light through the dense canopy, stretching shadows into long, grasping fingers. Agnivrat and Neervrah moved with a hunter's care, supporting the frail form of Nakul between them. The boy's skin was pale as parchment, his breath a ragged whisper. The very air was cold and still, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Neer knelt, his voice softening to a tone few ever heard. "Nakul, look at me. What happened in these woods? Who did this to you?"
Agni's hand settled on Neer's shoulder, a brief, grounding pressure. "Easy. Let him find his breath. Water first. Then the story."
Nakul drank greedily from Neer's waterskin, his hands shaking. "My name… is Nakul," he began, his voice thin. "I was gathering wood… and then I heard it. A voice. A woman's voice… like a song from the heavens. I couldn't help it… I followed." His eyes grew distant, haunted. "My foot… it stepped into a circle drawn on the ground. Black. Like ash. After that… nothing. I woke up here, like this. I think… she did this."
Neer's eyes, usually bright with humor, darkened. "A woman's voice." He let out a soft, humorless laugh. "I'd give my best dagger to have Saaransh here right now. Why didn't Gurudev send him?"
Agni's expression was carved from stone, but the fire along his forearms flickered, betraying his focus. "We are here. That is what matters. This was a witch's working. She stole his vitality and stole the memory of the theft itself." He looked at Nakul, his gaze surprisingly gentle. "Go home. Rest. We will find the truth of this."
As the boy stumbled away, Neer shot Agni a look. "You let him go? He could have told us which way she went! What she looked like!"
"I know enough," Agni's voice was low, final. "His life force was drained, not his blood. This is the work of a Daayan, a life-eater. She feeds on youth, on time itself."
Neer tilted his head, a skeptical smirk playing on his lips. "A witch who steals years? Wouldn't blood be more practical? Maybe she just wants us to get old and wrinkly. Imagine me with a long white beard, scolding you: 'Agnivrat, sit up straight!'"
Agni's scowl was a familiar sight, fire licking at his knuckles. "Enough, Neer. Your jokes are a spark in a field of dry grass. Focus. We move."
---
They ventured deeper. The air grew thick and hard to breathe, smelling of rot and cold, forged metal. The normal sounds of the forest died away, leaving an eerie silence.
Then they saw it: a hut, slumped under the weight of moss and years, a thin thread of smoke rising from its roof. It looked forgotten, but the air around it hummed with a low, ancient power.
Neer's smirk returned. "Looks like we have a neighbor. Let's see what the local elder knows."
A woman, frail as dried kindling but with eyes like sharp flint, filled the doorway. "Stop! Who are you? Why do you trespass?"
Agni bowed his head slightly. "We are disciples of Gurudev Vishrayan. We seek the source of the curse that afflicts this land."
The woman's laugh was the sound of dead leaves crumbling. "You? Children? You think you can fight this darkness? Be careful… even young warriors can find their youth stolen in these woods."
Neer stepped forward, his grin disarming. He produced a small cloth bundle. "Don't be afraid, Grandmother. We come with offerings. You must be hungry."
Her eyes narrowed. "Do not call me that. I am no one's grandmother."
"But you are mine," Neer said, his voice softening into a perfect, heartfelt plea. "Will you not welcome your grandson?" He held out the sweets.
The woman's stern face fractured. A tear traced a path through the wrinkles on her cheek. "So long… It has been so long since anyone…" Her voice broke. She took the offering with trembling hands.
Once she had eaten, Neer leaned close, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. "Grandmother… who is it that steals the life from this forest? Who took your family from you?"
The change was instant. Terror wiped away her momentary warmth. "A… a Daayan!" she whispered, her voice trembling. "She… she consumed them. My sons, my daughters… their years, their vitality… she took it all. I was helpless… I could only watch."
Agni's hands clenched, flames glowing faintly. "A life-stealer. She preserves her own youth by consuming that of others."
Neer placed a comforting hand on her bony shoulder. "Do not fear. We will face her. Rest now."
Outside, Neer let out a long breath. "So. A witch. She lures them with a siren's song, leaves no tracks, and drinks their life to keep herself young."
Agni's gaze was fixed on the deepening shadows between the trees. "And under the cover of night, she performs her dark rituals. We are already behind. She will not stop."
Neer's eyes sparkled with a dangerous mix of excitement and dread. "So where do we start?"
Agni's mind was a strategist's map. "You will be the lure. Walk openly. Let her sense your vitality. She will be drawn to you. I will be the shadow. The moment she reveals herself, I strike."
Neer's grin was all teeth. "Oh? Using me as bait now? And what if your fiery rescue is a little too slow?"
"This is not a game, Neer," Agni's voice was sharp, his eyes burning with intensity. "A single misstep, and she will drain the life from you in a breath. Stay alert."
Neer's laughter was soft, but a thread of genuine tension ran beneath it. He looked directly into Agni's eyes. "And if I stumble, Agni… you'll catch me, won't you?"
Agni's lips twitched. The flames around his hands danced. "Yes. But do not make me have to." The unspoken words hung between them: It would destroy me.
Neer's smile softened. "I'll be careful. Mostly." He turned and stepped into the gloom.
As they moved deeper, the forest seemed to warp around them. Shadows twisted without a light source to cast them. And then, a sound a faint, melodic hum, beautiful and sorrowful, winding through the trees like a vine.
Neer's steps slowed. His head tilted, listening.
Do not listen. Agni's voice was a thought in his mind, a spark in the dark. She trades in desire and terror. Control yours.
Neer's smile was gone, replaced by a focused calm. The thrill of the hunt warred with a deep-seated unease. "I'm ready," he murmured, not to Agni, but to the forest. "Show yourself."
The humming stopped.
In the sudden, profound silence, a shadow detached itself from a great, gnarled tree. It was the shape of a woman, but it was made of shifting darkness and whispers.
Somewhere in the mist, a laugh echoed—a sound of silk tearing and bones grinding.
The witch had taken the bait.
The game, indeed, had begun.
---
Who is this witch, and what powers does she truly hold? Will Neer be able to resist her hypnotic voice, and can Agni strike in time? The forest holds many secrets, and the next move could cost them everything.