THE CASTLE

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE COFFIN

RAGHAVENDRA

I dusted the dust sleeping over the hundreds of year old paperbacks. My entire face got covered in dust as I opened another paperlet. "Not this one." This one showed the second floor map of South Wing but what I need his floor map of ground floor of North Wing or West Wing. That the place where entrance to dungeons should be atleast if we read the past records.

I heard a knock on the door and Dev and his friend came in asking more about the death of Susan Roberts. I quietly sorted down the paperbacks and leaflets. My mind browsing through the many hundred of such cases like this castle I had solved of I had ever read. Generally easy yet tricky, "Sir." I heard Tarun call me. I came to his desk to see a half faded prints which remotely looked like something of underground place. "I think this must be the dungeons and this must be it's entrance through the boiler room."

He point outed the region he suspect. It was half faded and a suspicious hallway is shown travelling somewhere else. "Let's try this place out." I said as we exited towards the boiler room. "Sir. It is one of the place that we hadn't renovated after reopening." Tarun told as he pushed open a large room with huge fireplaces and steel drums. "We thought to use this place as a heating system."

I stepped in the dusty room. It was wide but short in height. Just few inches above our heads. I traced my hand over the map trying to find out the true entrance to the underground space. The floor was stripped naked of the wooden floorings while the walls and ceilings are bare of any decorative wallpapers.

I circled the room trying to find out a hidden passage. But the walls are without any creeks or gaps. They are plane. I stopped in front of the place where the gateway to dungeons is supposed to be located. "Get a hatchet." I ordered as soon as my hand touched the place and felt faint undercurrents of spiritual energies.

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"Thuk. Thuk. Thuk."

The voice rang in the now empty room as two labours hit the centuries old wall with the hatchets. The old brickd were pílled in a corner of a room. Till not there is no end to the thickness of wall but it is certainly newer than rest of the castle walls or else it will be stone wall not brick. "Sir. Mr. Guang are trying to contact you from morning." Andy said handing me my phone. Guang's chart was opened. The last message was just few minutes back.

"Where are you ?"

"India. On a personal matter. What happened ?"

"Come back fast. Found a young physic in foster system. Her grandmother told to find us. Age sixteen. Skilled in cartomancy, palmistry and demoncology. Highly introvert and never talks."

"Dev is a physic as well.... "

I typed and clicked sent but the message didn't went due to internet distruption. Suddenly a  'Tunk' sounded and I looked up. A old cold iron door of five feet height was discovered. Surroundings it were the walls of same stones as rest of the castle. Who would have thought that instead of removing the door and building the wall they rebuild the entire room and ceilings.

I steeled my nerves and stepped forward carcassing the cold iron door. Impelled on it was a gaint Christian cross of silver and inlaid blue stones. Must have cost a fortune but the most important thing was the dark energies resting eternally behind it. For now and ever.

But to solve this mess one must solve it from roots. "Stay away from this place till I call you." I ordered as the Rudraksha beads unfurled from my wrist and my lips began to chant the holy verse. It is almost an instinct now on the face of danger. I had repeated the same action hundreds of time by now.

The air inside was stale and carried a rotting smell. Definitely either from the old coffin or the rodents scurrying in the background. I flashed my light on the floor as one of them bared their teeths at me as if threatening me not to intrude on their property.

A pair of feets step into the light perimeter. I focus the light unward only to find the feets vanished. The awakward laughter echoed soon after. I took a deep breath hoping that this will be easy extraction mission. But look like it is not so.

The prickly tingles spread over my skin as I stepped in further. I quitely followed the slight noise of foot steps. The soul energy here is not strong at all yet. Yet the things happened here are too strange. The soul of Ophola must not be this strong to kill this many people.

Soon the rustling of things stopped and cells upon cells made up of iron and wood came into view. In one of this must be the dead body of Ophola. But before I can go forward something attacked me from behind. I bent down as the extinguished torch banged into the wall. No dead will take it kindly if living disturbed it's place. But I am an expert in dealing with them.

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"Sir are you okay." Tarun asked as I stepped out of the dusty tunnel. I gave a faint nod as he told few people to drag the coffin inside to outside. "We must bury it within few hours." Because I doubt my protections can bind Ophola's soul more than six hours. "I had already informed the church." Tarun told as he followed the people to drag the coffin out.

"Sir are you okay." Andy asked. She knows me very well that I am totally spent. "The soul was too stubborn. It was as if she is protecting something. I am telling she is the second most stubborn entity I had encountered."

I sat down with the support of the wall and watched as the labourers dragged out a massive and heavy coffin out. It is large even in terms of coffins used in Britain in Victorian era. One can say it was a work of art when it was not old but currently it is emitting a strong smell of rotting wood and maybe bones because the flesh and organs must have disintegrated long back.

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I looked down at the burial site dug out by the grave keeper. Snow had began to fall sometime ago. The casket was kept seven feet underground. There are pitifully few people present for funeral and none of them have anything to do with the person lying in the ground.

I pity her. Her own brother killed her for property. She counted her final breaths in a coffin alone in a damp cell. The snowfall increased as the priest said the final words and the grave keepers began to cover the coffin back with soil.

Her body was laid in a comfortable corner in the far most corner from her killers under the cherry tree. As I heard the father say it is the most beautiful corner in the church. Tarun had agreed to take over the funeral cost. After four hours of removed from her place the coffin of Ophola was laid in rest in the church where it must belong from start. Little did I know that my thinking that this is over will be such a huge mistake.