Page 14 of Twisted Sins

He was dressed much differently than before. A black cloth was wrapped around his waist, and his entire upper body was left bare and covered in ash. Dark brown rudraksh beads circle his muscled upper arms and neck, along with thick, tarnished silver-colored arm and wrist bracelets. His shoulders looked massive, and under the ash, she could see a large tattoo of something covering the broad width of his shoulders. But what shook her the most was his headgear with long, extended horns that made him look like a demon.

She shuddered, but her legs continued to move as though drugged.

The women holding her arms took her to stand in front of the goddess statue while facing the savage leader. A shiver ran through her when he turned, and his grey eyes met hers.

The women left her while she continued to stand in front of the savage leader, unable to look away. He was tall, taller than even her brothers, who were over six feet in height. She had to raise her head much higher to look at the savage leader. Three distinct white horizontal lines covered his forehead with a red dot in the center. And unlike before, he was wearing a thick silver-colored nose ring that circled his nostrils, and several small rings circled one of his ear lobes. His hair fell to his shoulders, making him look like a barbarian.

She watched as he brought a large conch to his lips and blew into it, setting off loud, primitive cries from his people. He began moving, shaking the spear, which caused drumming beats from the small, double-sided drum attached to it.The primitive cries grew in cadence, matching the energy of their savage leader.

Loud shouts and cheers continued even as the demon lowered the conch and placed it in front of the goddess along with his spear before picking up something else.

Her heart raced when she saw that it was a large knife. The demon’s grey eyes once again fell on hers.

He’s going to kill me. He’s going to sacrifice me in front of the goddess statue.

“No,” she managed to whisper, but it was lost in the noise of the drums and the crowd.

A scream lodged inside her throat as he raised the large knife. She couldn’t move or step away as he came closer. She stood helplessly, waiting for the knife to slice through her. But shock and confusion gripped her when the knife sliced his palm.

Blood dripped down his large palm. Before she could process what was happening, long fingers gripped her wrist, and something cold sliced against her palm.

She only felt a slight pang of pain, but she watched, mesmerized, as he held their bloodied palms together and raised them high. Blood slid from their joined palms and fell on the sand as drops.

Holding their bloodied palms high in the air, the savage leader spoke to the crowd. His voice was deep and commanding.

The only words she could understand were God Shiva, Goddess Shakti, Singoor, Kabali, and Thakvar.

Deafening cheers and primitive cries erupted at his statement.

“Hola Kabali vel vajji Thakvar janavari!”

The crowd started to dance to the beats.

She was still staring in a daze at the tiny blood drops that kept hitting the sand, unable to process what was happening. The demon continued to hold her hand.

She tried to pull her hand away, but her strength was no match to his. His grip was unyielding.

A small group of men approached them. She blinked as the men didn’t look anything like the Kabali clan people. The men had long, matted hair and were nearly naked with just loincloths. The demon pulled her down until their bloodied joined hands touched the ground in front of those men.

The men chanted something and threw ash over the demon and her. She blinked in a daze, not understanding.

By the time she stood up and blinked in a daze, the small group of men was gone. Other men, who were also dressed like the demon leader with ash on their upper bodies and faces, circled them while making loud, primitive noises with spears and the three-pronged weapons in their hands.

In her state of daze, she stood still, unsure whether the celebration was to sacrifice her or something else.

She didn’t know how long she stood while watching the men perform what seemed like a traditional dance in front of the goddess statue. It was followed by more dances and performances while the crowd cheered on with primitive cries.

She realized her hand was lowered, but the demon continued to hold it in his. She tried to free her hand, but the grip was once again unyielding.

Will I make it alive tonight?

CHAPTER 6

The moon was high up in the sky when Nandini was once again held by a group of women and escorted away.

Feeling grateful that she was alive and no longer in the presence of the savage leader, she followed the group willingly. She was still in a daze as she passed by the crowd who continued to celebrate. But now, the celebration took a different turn. The cadence of the drums changed. The drums now beat in a slow, hauntingly seductive beat.

The crowd continued dancing while huge platters of food filled with meat and vegetables were passed around, along with large tumblers of drinks. The people no longer looked hostile. They laughed and cheered as she passed by.

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