‘Douse the light! Douse the light!’ The gang of khokosh screamed shrilly.
Lalkamal shouted back, ‘No! I will not.’
A huge khokosh chief who was leading them, growled, ‘Grrrrr…! You think you are very bold? Who wakes?’
The smaller khokosh echoed, ‘Who wakes? Who wakes?’
Lalkamal replied,
‘Neelkamal stands behind Lalkamal,
His sharp sword is always awake.
Bright lamplight wipes out the pall.
Death is waiting, make no mistake.’
Hearing Neelkamal’s name, the khokosh gang retreated a few steps. They knew Neelkamal was a prince was born of their rakhoshi queen. They knew demon blood throbbed in his veins and were afraid of its power.
‘Is Neelkamal really in the hut? How do we know?’ The khokosh whispered to each other.
The chief gave a grin showing a long row of pointed teeth. ‘We will soon know. Let me speak.’
The khokosh chief shouted, ‘Show us your nails.’
Lalkamal took off his crown with its spiked peak. Holding the crown in his hand, he pushed out its thin, sharp spike through the crack in the door. The chief put out a hand. The spike jabbed it sharply, and he jumped back. Each small khokosh came forward to feel Lalkamal’s nail. When the spike stabbed their fingers, they were startled.
‘What a long sharp nail! If his nails are like this, how strong this Neelkamal must be!’ They told each other, stepping back from the hut.
When the khokosh chief saw that his gang was nervous and may run away, he showed his confidence by shouting, ‘All right! All right! Show me your drool.’
The other khokosh ran back to stand behind their chief.
Lalkamal heated some lamp oil on the blade of his sword. Then he flung the hot oil through the crack. As drops of sizzling oil fell on the fur of the khokosh, they screeched with pain, ‘Eeeeeiiiii……Oouuuuuu….’ Groaning, they retreated further from the hut. A foul smell of burned fur filled the air. The chief had also retreated. Now his khokosh gang began to murmur against him. He was losing his followers. The khokosh chief had to think quickly.
He was afraid, but he began to advance towards the hut, one step at a time. The other demons slowly followed him. They were fearful but also curious.
All Rights Reserved. Copyright@Sutapa Basu, 2021
