The corpses of hundreds of years of village ancestry lay strewn about the local cemetery in a small town in southern Punjab, India. The graves from whence they came had been recently dug up, and most of the gravestones were turned over or thrown completely across the grounds. The smell of rotting flesh had carried for miles; Frederik had caught the scent before he had seen the village. He stepped over a body as he walked through the cemetery gateway.

Other than the swarms of flies that had gathered to feast, the area was still. Ajaib had insisted that Frederik would have to summon the Vetala. Frederik had such a disdain for this scene that he was actually worried his summoning wouldn’t seem sincere. On top of that, his Punjabi was even worse than his Rajasthani. He waited a few minutes to see if it would appear, but the only thing moving in earshot were the flies. “Oh great Vetala, please grace me with your presence.”

“Oh… a European… my reputation precedes me.” Frederik turned around and found himself face to face with the corpse he had stepped over minutes before. Bits of flesh barely clung to the body of the old woman. Frederik could clearly see her teeth through her cheeks, even when her mouth was closed. Her arms were barely more than bone, but they remained crossed as the corpse leaned casually against the cemetery wall. “What is it that I can do for you?”

Frederik was taken aback. “You speak English?”

“I speak more languages than you could count. I could teach you some- for a price of course.”

“I’m not interested in learning new languages.”

“And what are you interested in?”

Killing you, Frederik thought to himself. Nevertheless, none of the Shamans he had talked to knew how to kill a Vetala. Well, I have to try something.

Frederik dashed forward, unsheathed his sword, and swung it at the corpse. Despite its aged appearance, the body dashed backwards far too fast for Frederik to hit. He raised his sword for a second swing, but the body fell lifelessly to the ground.

“I ought to just eat you,” a sinister voice whispered. Frederik fell to the ground- the voice had been inches from his ear. A new corpse was standing right behind Frederik, laughing ferociously at him. This body was that of a middle-aged man and hadn’t deteriorated nearly as much. “But you’re good with that sword. Come now, you’d do well serving me. Let’s make a deal. I can give you far more than I gave the villagers.”

Frederik scrambled onto his feet. The Vetala picked its teeth, revealing a small piece of fresh flesh and gobbling it down quickly.

“And what would be the price of you leaving this village and never returning?”

“Oh, I’d say about six children. Younger than twelve of course.” The corpse smiled from ear to ear.

How the hell do I kill it? I need to stall. “And if I accept, how will I find you when I return?”

“I’ll be here, just summon me.” A look of excitement sprang onto the corpse’s face. “Oh, or better yet, bring them alive, and have them call! They don’t even need to know what they’re saying. Just make them talk to one another and I’ll hear it.”

Frederik paused for a moment. “Why don’t you just go find some for yourself? You’re fast enough.”

For the first time, the smirk left the Vetala’s face. “Because it is beneath me to hunt. Weaker Vetalas hunt- I have my meals brought to me.”

It can’t leave the graveyard... Frederik paused to think, a million thoughts rushing through his head.

“Come now, what do you say? Partners?” The corpse offered him a rotting hand to seal the deal.

It was more than happy to see me once I summoned it but wouldn’t appear beforehand…

“I can grant other wishes you know. What do you really want?”

It said the children wouldn’t even need to summon it, so it’s not a particular summoning…

“I’m asking you a question. The least you can do is answer.”

Frederik’s eyes widened with realization. Surely, it’s not that simple…

“I may be unknowingly powerful, but I am rather impatient. What’s your answer?”

Frederik squinted his eyes at the corpse. Even with a lifeless body, he could see a hint of fear in the dead eyes.

The Vetala spoke more quietly. “I never did catch your name; it’s an important part of the wish granting. What is it?”

It needs me to speak. Frederik stepped back and drew his sword once more.

“What are you doing that for? Come now, tell me what you want, I can give it to you! Anything!” The corpse’s face contorted into a sickly fake smile, but the fear in its eyes was growing.

Frederik stood entirely still holding his sword between himself and the corpse, his lips pursed shut.

The Vetala’s face contorted once more, revealing only an unkempt murderous rage. “If you won’t speak, I’ll make you scream!” The corpse shot forward, bony hands reaching out, but Frederik was no longer chasing the creature. With a spin of his sword, the corpse’s hands fell limply to the ground, and the body went down with it. A searing pain caught Frederik’s shoulder as a new corpse’s teeth dug into flesh and muscle, but he kept his mouth tightly shut and spun his sword behind him, catching the corpse in the head. Frederik turned around and saw a new body crawling at him at blazing speed. It leapt at Frederik with full force, but halfway through the air, fell completely lifeless before him. Frederik spun around, but no other bodies stirred. He kept his head on a swivel for an hour, but no bodies stirred. Finally, he sheathed his sword and pulled out a small shovel, wishing he knew how deep a grave needed to be to remain out of earshot.

Author's Note: This story is based off of the Vetala, one of the oldest mythical creatures of Hindu mythology. The Vetala is a spirit that lives in graveyards and possesses the dead bodies that live within them. While being possessed, the bodies do not deteriorate, and the Vetala can switch between corpses freely: naturally, the spirit's life is in no way tied to the body it is possessing. Most sources describe the Vetala as having magic powers, but never are these powers described in detail. Surprisingly, Vetalas are not inherently evil; they can be anywhere on the spectrum between cruel and righteous. In fact, the most famous Vetala story, the Vetālapañcaviṃśati (also known as the Baital Pachisi), is actually about a Vetala who chooses not to disturb people and feels sympathy for mankind, even going so far as to ensure the main character of the story is safe from harm. That being said, even in that story, the Vetala is described as accepting human flesh from worshippers and sacrifices, and most sources agree that all Vetalas eat either human flesh or life force itself (even the nice ones). It is not inherently clear if Vetalas are unable to move if they are not spoken to. In the Baital Pachisi, King Vikram tries to capture a Vetala, but as he carries the lifeless body, the Vetala asks him riddles, and every time the king answers the riddles the corpse springs to life and uncannily slips out of his arms. Two sources I found did directly say that the main reason the Vetala asks Vikram riddles is so that when he answers, it can move, but other sources also suggest that the Vetala was merely stalling to evaluate Vikram’s character.

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