Nawab sahib continued after taking a deep breath, “It was then that I decided to send you to fetch Nazir Bux. He was the one who actually executed Ghulam Mustafa’s father because none of my soldiers dared to go close to him despite he was heavily chained. His body had also become resistant to any normal weapon. It was Nazir Bux who made this potion some thirty years ago as well and we fed it to the monster after mixing it in human blood.”

I listened quietly and did not interrupt Nawab sahib.

“Nazir Bux had predicted that Ghulam Mustafa will come to take revenge of his father. We did not know his name but we knew the monster had a wife who disappeared soon after his execution. Nazir Bux through his knowledge also found out that the monster’s wife had delivered a son who will come to haunt us. She was keeping her son at a place which could not be traced by any magic. Many fortune tellers also tried but could not find out his whereabouts. But we waited for him and prepared for him for a long time, and when he did not come then Nazir Bux went away to the desert and I stayed back. We assumed that the son might have also been executed by some other ruler. It was only recently we learnt that he is alive and that he is coming for us.”

Nawab sahib glanced at me like a scared baby. Our eyes met and I started looking down. He walked up to me and said in a shivering voice, “Yousaf Shah, only you can kill him. I have full faith in you. You have the requisite abilities, skills and intelligence to do this. I will owe you my life.”

I looked up at my master. We had served his family for four generations. It was my duty and obligation to fulfil all his commands. But this time he was not giving me orders. It sounded more like a request from a person who knew his death is near. I got myself mentally ready for it.

“Your Highness, I will go and I will kill that beast. Only one thing I ask in return is my freedom after I finish this job.”

Nawab sahib stepped forward and hugged me. He whispered in my ear, “You are free to go even now. You can take all what you need and leave in the morning. I will not hold your father responsible for your actions. I will not even ask you where you are heading?”

I had different plans. I did not want to betray him. I had too much at stake. In the morning, I first went to meet my father then I proceeded to my village where I spent a whole day with my mother. On the third day after leaving Noor Mahal, I caught a lorry from Bahawalpur to Fazilka, and set on an eight hour journey that jolted every part of my body. I was young but it was my first experience of travelling by bus. The diesel fumes, dust and a bumpy ride was enough to tire me beyond my expectations. I had a good night sleep in a local serai. Fazilka is presently in Indian Punjab. Before partition, there was no international border so I only had to change two buses to reach there. There was a vast majority of Muslim population in the town and I had no difficulty in mixing up with the people. Before my departure from Bahawalpur, Nawab Sadiq gave me sufficient money and also arranged my meeting with the surviving soldier who had brought back the message from Ghulam Mustafa. Nawab Sadiq was keeping him under guard at an isolated place in the palace. Nawab Sadiq feared that the soldier may tell the story to other people and it will then spread like a wild fire, and create panic and disorder in the state. The surviving soldier told me that the easy way to reach Ajmer Sharif was to get into a train from Fazilka. It will take me straight to Jaipur and then it was only a three-hour bus ride to Ajmer from there. He also told me the location of Ghulam Mustafa. He was living alone in a house behind the shrine. Everybody around there knew him and respected him for the powers he holds. Ghulam Mustafa was maintaining a good name at that place. Local people were unaware of his lust for blood. He had attained some supernatural powers and people believed him to be some kind of saint. He kept helping people and thus earned a good repute. He was, however, keeping two servants who stay with him during day time only. The same servants also went to far flung places and brought back mentally disturbed or lonely people for him. The surviving soldier wanted to tell me more but Nawab Sadiq called off the meeting. He brought me up from the dungeon and said, “Every time I meet him, he tells me a different story. He has lost his mind.”

I did not care much now as I was already embarked upon my journey. I had reached Fazilka and next morning I went to railway station and got a seat reserved for me in the first class compartment. The train had to leave next day at 9 a.m. I had another day to spend at an unknown place. Last night, I was tired and therefore slept like a baby. Feeling fresh this time, I decided to explore the town. I ordered a breakfast at a small hotel of the railway station. During chit chat with the waiter who belonged to a neighbouring village, I found out that there was a famous shrine near the old bridge of River Sutlaj. Pir Baba of the shrine was known for his mysterious powers. I decided to go there and it turned out to be totally against the estimated distance and time explained by the waiter. There was no local transport available so I took a tonga ride and then had to walk for about an hour. I reached there at about 2 p.m. The bank of Sutlaj had a magnificent view. I crossed the old bridge on foot and walked into a tree clump which was mostly covered with flags of different colors. There was an unusual strong smell, which I could recognize as that of cheap narcotics. As I entered the woods, I saw some two dozen people with long beards and dirty dresses busy in smoking hash and lying around looking into the air. I, however,

immediately spotted one person who was sitting outside a big mud room adjacent to a cluster of unmarked graves. I walked up to the graves and said some prayers.

The shrine guard sitting outside the mud room was having a constant watch on me. I could see his eyes following me everywhere. After spending sometime at graves, I pretended to be going out of the area. Suddenly, the shrine guard got up and told me that Pir Baba wanted to meet me. I had no plans of going away but I did not want to give an impression that I came here on purpose. I hesitantly walked back with the guard who opened the door and waited for me to enter the mud room. As I stepped into the room, I felt like having entered into another world. It was the same room but heavily decorated and made me very comfortable. Guard asked me to sit on a stool placed in a corner and left the room closing the door behind him. My eyes were not yet familiar with darkness but suddenly got brightened again with a flash. I saw someone entering the room from the side wall that did not have any door apparently. I was mesmerised with the appearance of the Pir Baba. He had probably spotted me much before entering the clump and was prepared to rob me. I may have seen some unexplainable things in the past few days but I was not any illiterate villager. The high class tutoring at Noor Mahal was good enough to make me understand the difference between fake and real. Pir Baba who I was encountering was nothing more than a sham. I, however, kept my cool as he spoke in a heavy voice, “You don’t belong to this place. Your fate has brought you here.”

I stopped my laughter and remained silent as he continued revealing obvious mysteries about me.

“You have a long journey ahead. You will come across many hurdles in your quest. I can see you getting into a sea of troubles. You are not prepared for what is to come. You need help.”

As I was about to get up and leave, he said something that froze me. “He will take his revenge. You can do nothing about it.”

I sat down on the same stool. He now had my full attention. I was waiting for him to say something more but he was quiet now. He was wearing a long green patchy shirt. He was sitting on a comfortable seat, holding a wooden cane and looking into air. The room was dimly lit and the smoke coming from outside had made the vision even more murky. After a short while, I got up from my seat again and spoke for the very first time, “Who are you talking about?”

Pir Baba now turned his head towards me. He spoke again with his eye balls rolled upwards, “You have a noble blood in your veins. He can’t touch you but it’s not your war.”

I could only see white portion of his eyes. I suddenly wanted to ask more questions but the smoke started filling in the room. It was getting difficult to breath. Visibility was near to zero. I started choking and the room door got slammed open. The guard outside had probably realized that something was wrong. He came in and dragged both of us out of the room. I was still in my senses but the Pir Baba seemed to have lost his consciousness. The guard was getting panicky. While shaking Pir Baba’s shoulders, he looked towards me with frightened eyes and said in a freaking voice, “Go away, you monster. What have you done to our Pir Baba? Go away, go away.”

He started signalling with his hand as he had also started choking. The drug addicts who were lying in the courtyard started gathering around Pir Baba. Realizing that I might get into some trouble, I left the place quietly. I did not know who that Pir Baba was and how did he know about my journey? I knew that the whatever he said to me was true to most people but the things he said later were astounding. I was flabbergasted. I could not do anything now. Going back there was dangerous. I had to catch a train in the morning and right now I had to reach back to my serai where I was spending my night.

I went across the river and while standing at the far bank, I looked back. The whole clump was now covered in smoke. There was no sign of fire yet the whole place was engulfed in thick white smoke. The villagers who were working in the fields, also gathered and started getting worried as to what could have been the reason of the smoke. They all started reciting holy verses and then within minutes they collected their tools and emptied the fields. There was no use of standing there and looking at the rising smoke. I should either go and help the people in the clump or return back to Fazilka. I thought for a while and then decided to continue my journey. This could be a planned distraction by Ghulam Mustafa who must have seen me coming.

He was a powerful beast now and I had to kill him.