I woke up from my sleep in the afternoon. All my tiredness was gone but I was feeling too hungry. I came out of my room and headed to the kitchen. There were few servants preparing for the evening meal. I asked them if there was anything to eat and they pointed to a corner shelf which was still full from lunch leftovers. I sat at the same place and satiate my stomach. I was getting ready for what was to come at night. I drank some juice and was looking around for some other good stuff. Kitchen staff knew about my status in the palace so they never bothered me much. I got a little surprised when the head chef came to me and said, “We have a special meal to prepare for tonight. I would like you to leave the kitchen now so that we can do our work.”

I looked at him puzzlingly but said nothing. I walked out of the kitchen door and headed to the back garden. The sun was still up. I had not yet been summoned. I went to the garden just to spend some time. It was there that I spotted Nazir Bux again. He saw me and then quickly went behind a big tree. I walked up to that place and as expected found nothing. While I was roaming around, I saw three dwarfs going towards the same tree. I followed them but they also disappeared. I searched for a secret door or some hidden entrance but could not find any. In the meantime, I saw Akbar coming towards me. As he reached near, he said angrily, “You know I hate you Yousaf Shah.”

“And why is that…?” I asked in a naughty tone. I knew he did not mean what he said. His tone was changed now.

“My only errand left in the palace now is to keep searching for you.”

I asked surprisingly as I knew Nawab Sadiq is fond of afternoon nap.

“Who has asked for me at this time of the day?”

He came close to me and said in an inaudible voice, “Begum Khair-un-Nisa is looking for you.”

Begum Nisa was the youngest wife of Nawab and I was strictly instructed by His Highness to remain away from her. She was about 25 years of age and was known for getting what she wanted. I had just one encounter with her which came into the notice of His Highness. It was the only time Nawab Sadiq talked to me in a harsh tone. He told me straight forwardly to stay away from her or else I will lose my head. I had heeded those words very seriously. I was called couple of times before also by Begum Nisa but both the times I made some excuse and avoided meeting her. This time, however, I saw her coming down the stairs of the palace and walking into the garden. I told Akbar to go away and I ran for my life towards the same tree where I had seen Nazir Bux and the dwarfs disappearing. As I reached back there, I saw a small door in the tree which I could swear was not there before. Not thinking of anything else, I pushed it and it got opened making way for me to step inside. I did not bother about the consequences as nothing could be worse than getting my head chopped off.

I closed the door behind me and to my surprise, it disappeared. I took a sigh of relief because there was no chance of Begum Nisa following me through this door but I got a little worried too. I had entered into a small chamber which contained four doors. There was sufficient light there to look around although I could not see any light source. It was beginning of a strange life into which I had entered already. Nothing was in my control and that was what I had started desiring; to manipulate and govern this world. My interest in mystique was increasing with each passing moment. My thoughts had run back to the real world where I was in search of this enigmatic knowledge. I suddenly got jolted as I felt the ground under me shaking. There were four doors in front of me and I had to make a decision. I casually walked to the first door on my right, opened it and stepped inside. I was back into the same chamber or some chamber similar to the old one. It also had four doors. I tried every door one by one but every time I returned back to the same place. Now I was in a fix. I realized that a lot of time has passed and now His Highness would be looking for me. He had told me in the morning that he had some important task for me which I had to do tonight. Earlier, I was relaxed that I got rid of the trouble but it looked like that I have landed in some bigger problem. I started getting panicky. I had to do something. I started analyzing the scenario. I had opened all doors in the chambers and was always returned back to the same place. Suddenly, something flashed in my mind and a smile appeared on my face. The only thing which I had not done was to step back into the door from which I had come before it gets closed. I took few steps forward, opened the door right in front of me, pushed the door and kept it open with one hand and stepped onto the other side. At the time when I could see the room in front that I turned back and stepped into the open door behind me. Now I found myself standing in a room with a big fire burning in its center. Across the fire place, I saw Nawab Sadiq standing with Nazir Bux and three dwarfs. All five persons were looking at me in amusement.

Nawab Sadiq smiled and then started clapping. He then said in a joyful tone, “Well done Yousaf. You have made me proud.”

I looked confusingly at him.

“Nazir Bux does not like you much. Your encounter with him last night did not leave your good impression on him. He thinks that you do not possess an intellect to be my advisor and confidant. I told him otherwise. So, we planned this test for you. Whatever you saw or happened after you entered in the garden was as per our script.

This little test proved that you are worthy of the actual mission on which we intend to send you.”

I was standing quietly and listening to each and every word Nawab Sadiq was saying. I was fully understanding it. After Nawab Sadiq paused, I said in a calm voice, “I am glad sir that I did not disappoint you. I am, however, wondering that what if I had not thought of the solution to the door puzzle?”

“Then you would have stayed there forever,” Nawab Sadiq smilingly said.

I was busy talking with High Highness when Nazir Bux and his three dwarfs had started preparing a soup. It was very disrespectful to look away from Nawab sahib while he was talking but I could see from corner of my left eye as to what was happening at the fire place. After he finished talking, Nawab sahib also walked up to the fire place and so did I. After about ten minutes of spooning and tasting, Nazir Bux turned to Nawab Sadiq and said, “It is ready.” He then looked towards me and said,“You must be careful. A single drop of this potion can turn a human into ashes.”

I was now sure that Nazir Bux was not some human as he tested this potion in front of my eyes and nothing had happened to him. He got a small glass bottle from inner pocket of his shabby long coat and started filling it with the potion. In the meantime, Nawab Sadiq put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Yousaf, my empire is facing a grave danger. We are expecting an attack from a terrifying creature who intends to kill me and destroy this palace. The ensuing conflict between us will result in death of hundreds of my soldiers and I will also get killed too. Luckily, I know who my enemy is and where he lives. All you have to do is to mix few drops of this potion in human blood and feed it to him.”

Some wrinkles appeared on my forehead as it was a little confusing. If someone poses His Highness a life threat, which might have been revealed to him by some spy or fortune teller, then why not get him arrested or get him killed through anybody else. Why use some sorcerer to make a dreadful potion and then send me to do this job? I was thinking of all this and it looked like Nawab Sadiq read my mind as he said in a very worrisome voice, “He is not just a common man. He is a direct descendant of a special line of blood. He has been transformed into blood thirsty beast like his father.”

Nawab Sadiq stopped to take a breath and I popped up a question.

“Your Highness, why this creature wants to destroy you?”

Nawab Sadiq looked at me and said, “Because, I killed his father some thirty years ago.”

Looking in air, Nawab Sadiq continued, “His father lived in my state in a far flung village. I got reports that he drinks human blood and can’t live without it. People were too afraid of him. So, I sent my soldiers to arrest him and produce him before me. He confessed to his heinous crime and I ordered his execution. Later, I learnt that he had a pregnant wife who disappeared after his arrest. My spies kept searching for her and just a few weeks back, they learnt that after the execution of her husband, she went to Ajmer Sharif which is about 500 miles from here. She feared for her son’s life too. She remained hidden there till she gave birth to a baby boy with some mental disorder. She named him Ghulam Mustafa and gave him to durbar attendants. Just a few months after the birth of her baby, she passed away. The person who had taken her to Ajmer Sharif was her own father. He returned back to village after her death but never talked about it till his last minutes to death. He also died few months back at the age of 85. In his last moments, he revealed the untold story of her daughter to some villagers. This was how my spies found out about his daughter and her son.”

Nawab sahib took a long pause after narrating the whole story. I could not stop myself from popping up another question.

“Your Highness, why do you need a special potion to kill him? Any of your brave soldiers can do this simple job with the sword.”

“I sent five soldiers for this simple task. Only one of them returned two days ago and told me that Ghulam Hussain has turned into some kind of monster. The soldiers found him in an isolated hut near the shrine and attacked him at night. No sword could penetrate his body. He killed four soldiers with his bare hands and drank their blood. He sent back the fifth soldier with a message for me,” Nawab Sadiq worryingly said in a cold voice.

“What was the message, your Highness?” I asked eagerly.

“The message was for me that he would be coming for me. He also said that he had some unfinished business otherwise he would have drunk my blood a long time ago.”