Episode 27: The Life & Exploits of Princess Amodini
“Dark magic?” Veerata voiced everyone’s shock. “Are you sure?”
“It’s an ancient spell,” Satya said, her gaze fixed on Anjalika. “I’ve read about victims dying of this spell in a book at the university library.”
“Are you saying someone cast an ancient spell on Anjalika?” Vidyuta asked. “It’s not poison?”
“It is poison,” Satya replied. “It’s a rare kind of poison that can be administered only through magic. That’s why you couldn’t find any traces of it in this room… and that’s why the treatment never worked.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Do you see this rash here?” She pointed to the dark eruption visible on the skin around Anjalika’s navel. “I saw it earlier today when I began my examination. I thought it was just a common skin rash. That’s what it looked like in the sunlight. I’ve seen some poisons having that kind of effect. But it wasn’t so red before. It almost looks like internal bruising. When I touch it, it feels much hotter too. This is the part where the spell begins and spreads to the rest of the body. I’m sure of it. I can clearly remember reading about it.”
Everyone examined the rash in silence for a while.
At length, Vidyuta asked, “Do you know how this spell was done?”
Satya shrugged. “I only know what I’ve read. They need the victim’s hair or nail… or even an eyelash! It’s mixed into a chunky dough made of flour and milk. Then, it’s shaped into a doll. Poisoned needles are inserted into the doll at strategic points from the waist to the head. All the time someone chants a forbidden mantra. The doll’s body traps a part of the victim’s soul inside it. The poison disappears from the doll and appears in the body of the victim at the same spot where the needle was inserted.”
Aunt Sulochana gasped. The maid burst into tears for Anjalika.
Veerata asked, “Can it be cured?”
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