Tantrics Of Old by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya Page B

bother them. All they wanted was for their government to stay strong so that it could continue protecting them as it had, and if it won the war, it would only get stronger. And MYTH was an incredibly strong government already. Adri had been a part of it in the past and he knew the extent of MYTH’s power. He had seen the sheer number of forces MYTH had at its disposal; yet it was forever training new Commandos and making Guardians—Necromancers and Sorcerers were fewer in number, but that was so only in comparison with its standing forces. The fact that MYTH had continuously been waging a battle for a decade proved this point if nothing else.
    ‘I must admit that after studying Demons I have more respect for our government,’ Maya spoke thoughtfully.
    ‘‘Exactly! MYTH
is
powerful. And you
have
to be strong to fight Demons!’ Gray finished triumphantly.
    ‘You ever fought one, Adri?’ Maya asked.
    Adri simply smiled and continued walking. He felt more comfortable here in the streets of the Old City than he did anywhere else, especially New Kolkata. Sure, there was danger looming over his head. Sure, Death itself was after him. But he was on familiar ground now, a city which he mostly knew, and knew better than most. Danger lurked everywhere here, but it did not give off a false sense of security like New Kolkata; there was a charm to the lawlessness here, a certain beauty in the sense of chaos. It was something that could be admired only by those who had lived here and could defend themselves—the rest had moved or were dead. Adri’s mind naturally began connecting old memories to the familiar landscape that he saw, and the young Necromancer entered a pensive, lonely mood. He looked at tree stumps that had once been trees, at old hideouts and places where unexpected and amazing things had happened. He walked a little ahead of the other two, wanting to breathe in his city once more.
I have come back to you
.
    ‘He was born here, but was moved to New Kolkata as a child,’ Maya told Gray softly.
    ‘He stayed in that one-room flat?’ Gray asked incredulously.
    ‘No. He was coached in his arts at MYTH Castle. Then he went back to Old Kolkata for a while supposedly.’
    ‘When did he get banished?’
    ‘I have no clue. I more interested in knowing
why
, though.’
    ‘He seems okay to me,’ Gray shrugged. ‘I don’t see this guy murdering the both of us.’
    Maya nodded. ‘He’s more learned in his art than I thought. You know the popular saying about young Tantrics?’
    ‘What, the girls’ thing?’
    ‘No, the rumour that they make too many mistakes. And
what
“girls’ thing”?’
    ‘Nothing, nothing,’ Gray muttered in reply.
    ‘There’s something about him, Gray. Something I can’t get a hold on.’
    ‘Something like what?’
    ‘I can’t really describe it. It’s like a feeling in my gut. Adri is
more
than he seems to be.’
    ‘You’ve just met your first Necromancer, I bet you’re just tripping on the whole magic thing.’
    Maya threw him a dirty look. ‘I
know
what I’m talking about.’
    ‘No, maybe it’s in your subconscious or something, but you’ve just met a guy who can practically
summon
the very creatures you have spent four years studying about. I would say you’re just thrilled.’
    Maya thought over what Gray said instead of retaliating. He was correct. She
was
quite fascinated by Adri because of his craft, and now, even more so because of her growing realisations of Adri’s knowledge; but that had nothing to do with this feeling. It had clung to her after her first conversation with the Tantric. Something about Adri—the way he walked, the way he began a conversation or chose to reply. It had nothing to do with attraction—she could not quite put a finger on it and argued with her brother about it. Gray agreed to try and notice this thing if he could in the future, but he had to admit that Adri looked perfectly normal to him. As normal as a Tantric could be anyway. He