beginning of their deep and lasting friendship that
seemingly changes Shiva for the better.
But like tracks baked into dirt, the debt of violence
owed to the streets doesn’t wash away easily.
Enter Shravan, a dark reminder of Shiva’s past.
Hate is a strong word but not strong enough for him.
It’s when life starts taking an ugly turn that Shiva
realizes that Shravan needs to be stopped. It’s something
Jacob would never approve of. But Shiva knows that
certain debts cannot be repaid with kindness.
They have to be paid in kind.
NINE: CURSE OF THE KALINGAN
Book One
Shobha Nihalani
The past has come to destroy the present and
change the future
261 BC
After his bloody battle with Kalinga, the Mauryan emperor
Ashoka, overcome with remorse, swore never to wage
another war. And to make sure no one else did. His
Navratnas—the NINE—zealously guarded their powers and
knowledge, handing them down through millennia and
generations to ensure lasting peace.
Except that it was not to be!
From the corpses of the Kalingan warriors rose an angry
spirit bent upon avenging the Kalinga empire, destroying
the NINE and using their hidden knowledge to rule the
world and change its destiny.
Present time
The bloodthirsty warrior has possessed the body of a young
man, making him hunt down and kill the NINE one by
one. It is now up to the chosen Trinity—nurse Tara,
DJ Akash and forensic expert Zubin—to stop him.
This first book in a trilogy of fantasy thrillers churns up an
astonishing tale from the depths of ancient times!
THE BEGINNING
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PENGUIN METRO READS
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First published in Penguin Metro Reads by Penguin Books India 2013
www.penguinbooksindia.com
Copyright © Durjoy Datta 2013
Cover illustration by Jasjyot Singh Hans
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-0-143-42090-3
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This digital edition published in 2013.
e-ISBN: 978-9-351-18201-6
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above-mentioned publisher of this book.
Durjoy Datta, Hold my Hand (Penguin Metro Reads)
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