Hayden
"I do not understand Shashi," Pruthvi said, covering his nose with a cloth to keep the smell of the blood out. His cracked glasses caught the brightness from somewhere and showed his tearful eyes. A slight shudder in his body movements told the rising anxiety for his son. "Was not killing us a part of his plan? He had our stones, and he still has mine."
Yuvan set the bloody cloth wrapped around his forehead straight and moved along to help dress my wounds on the palms with a piece of his torn bedsheet.
The guest bedroom in Sharad's palace served as our temporary sanctuary. There was a desperate need for healing our wounds and for it, we'd blatantly torn down bedsheets and curtains and used them as our only emergency equipment to take quick first-aid measures.
Leena, who was injured more than any of us, was resting in the bed, while we sat on the couch and the armchairs nursing each other. She had refused to speak with us and quietly lay on her side, having her head turned away from us. However, I could hear a few muffled sniffling sounds. Pruthvi and Tyrell jerked their heads once or twice to check on her, but none of us brought up the topic that perhaps she was shedding tears.
"He is dead set on gaining Samagraha power," Tyrell said, his brows knitted in seriousness since all his efforts turned futile to reduce the blood leak from his right arm sliced to the bone. "Defunct stones will be of no use to him in whatever magic he's willing to perform. Keeping us alive is a compulsion, but he doesn't really want to let us live. The man is power-crazy."
"My alternative kinetic power will help me keep going only for a while," Pruthvi said. "I also have to figure out where my stone and Constellia are stuck...besides Viraj I mean."
"Shashi's intrusion may have delayed our plans, but we're still on," I said and caught Yuvan's eye who kept stealing glances at me. "We're leaving now to ambush the basement."
"Wait, clarify my other issues first," Tyrell said, urgently wiping the leaking blood from the cuts on his neck. "There were Sharad's knights everywhere, and possibly Sergeants. Panchayat may have been informed about Shashi destroying our apartment and temporarily holding us captive. My king must be waiting for me to give today's report. Shouldn't you..."
"No more Panchayat," I interjected, feeling the improved level of the healing process within me.
Tyrell frowned. "What?"
"Look, I know y'all are worried about Panchayat demeaning me or bruising my reputation or whatever, but the fact is I don't give a darn about them. And why should I, when I know that High King well understands my frustration with these kings? We need to find Viraj, Maiden's Cup, Shaatrumani, Nazira, Pruthvi's stone, and the tomb. Need to know where Breaking Samagrahas' Constellia and Makara have disappeared to. Find a way to annihilate the entire Shashi's clan. As Samagraha, we are already prepared to bite off more than they can chew in the given period of three months. And apart from this, we have to ensure that we don't shatter Panchayat's ego?"
"What's your intention? Are you implying that we keep them in the dark until Shashi's dead?"
Yuvan let out a muffled gasp, gave me a quick glance, and bend over to clean the blood off his hands in the bowl of hot water. Something's bothering the boy.
"Shashi abducted us once," I said. "What's the guarantee that he won't carry out a similar plan to keep us out of his way? Or let's just say...he already has. Understand?"
Tyrell flushed with apprehensiveness while Pruthvi sniggered mirthlessly. "Smart way to use Shashi's sense of criminality to your own advantage," he said. "You were right, you're one of these people."
Was that a compliment or condescension? "Yuvan!"
He winced, looking up. The credulous look in his eyes was wholly detectable. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Go to Ashwant and tell him about Ira Zutshi. Convey my condolences and help him gather whatever's left of her, alright?" I asked, having my heart constricted. Pruthvi removed his glasses and wiped the moisture.
Yuvan nodded. "I will."
"Not only that. I got another job for you. It's a bit dodgy one, but you have to step up and do it anyway."
Yuvan nodded again.
"How good are you at spreading rumors?"
He looked around at the others, and jittered a little, finding them watching him closely. "Well, er, I used to gossip about you with my friends but..."
"Good. That is what exactly I want you to do. Tell me, did you break the news about Shashi abducting us to anyone? Other than to King Aghasthya and his knights, I mean." Yuvan hurriedly shook his head. "Now you will. Gather some friends and go around the country, however far you can, dressed in disguise and upon your horses. All you need to do is talk about us. You'll speak with person after person, dynasty after dynasty, and make sure everyone knows that Formation Samagraha has been abducted again, and Shashi Thribhuvan has got us. You will not rest until word of mouth reaches Panchayat. Knights are maintaining constant vigilance so make sure you don't get caught in a lie. Got it?"
Yuvan gaped at me, lost and confused, and bit his lip. He wasn't comfortable with the task, and that discomforted me a bit. However, certain things and values needed to be compromised. "Just be strong and confident about what you say. Make it sound believable, that's what matters. And never worry about getting caught, I got your back." My stone burned. "And, also Singh."
"I'll do it," he said, "I'm good at it. But...there's something else I need to ask before you leave."
I'm aware of that. "What is it?"
"That was Yodhin Ojha, wasn't it?" he said. "I saw him when he was fighting with Singh. It was really him."
Pruthvi stared at me with a 'the guy deserves to know'' expression.
Yuvan continued, "And I know that he is not what he's supposed to be. He's Shashi. So, does this mean Yodhin is dead?"
I sighed softly. "I'm afraid so."
"Are you certain?"
"Shashi killed Yodhin before he took over his body. So, I guess..."
"You guess? We don't have proof that he is dead, do we?"
"Zarina Khan told me," Pruthvi said, seeking his attention. "She specifically mentioned that he is dead."
"Did she actually use the word 'dead'?"
Pruthvi paused, his brows creasing. "Yes, she did."
"And we're inclined to believe her?"
"After every nasty situation we'd been through, one thing is certain everything Zarina Khan had predicted or stated as a matter of fact has always been true. She had always been truthful for all the money she gobbled."
Yuvan looked uncertain.
"What's bothering you, Yuvan?" I asked.
"I was wondering if there's any chance, any at all for Yodhin to be still alive? Is it not possible to rip Shashi from Yodhin's body? We can save an innocent from death. Can you do that? He's after all my family. Can you at least try?"
Tyrell snapped me a look, eyes widened with rigidness and he shook his head.
"Do you want to explain to him?" I asked.
Tyrell held Yuvan's shoulder and forcibly made him look at him. "Listen carefully, little guy. We all understand how important it is to have a family, but sometimes it's better to give it up and make sacrifices if it's meant for the greater good. The dark magic that Shashi has been relying upon is dangerous and deadly, more than what I suffered from, more than what kept Almourah going. In my or Almourah's case, only our lives were at stake. It wasn't hinged with anyone else's. But when it comes to Shashi, the stakes are doubled. And with the stakes I mean..."
"Two lives."
"There you go. The Pride is the strongest weapon ever built in this country. Nothing can top the powers of the legendary dagger. But unfortunately, it is designed keeping only Almourah in mind. Almourah's soul, Almourah's magic, and Almourah's body. They are interlinked. The entire package has to go together in order to obtain the desired result. So, in today's situation..."
"Yodhin needs to escort Shashi's soul to hell."
"Correct," Tyrell smiled. "You are an intelligent guy."
"But not lucky I guess."
Tyrell chuckled sadly. "Name one person sitting in this room who's been lucky. Look, the point is, we're not dealing with some frivolous dark magic. It belongs to Almourah and it pains my heart to say that his magic comes with some standards. We cannot simply find a loophole and work it out in our way. A strict procedure must be followed."
Yuvan nodded grimly. "So, it's better not to have hopes, right?"
"I'm sorry. If you want to help Yodhin, if you don't want him to suffer anymore, then you should allow him to rest in peace. Trust me, death to him will be blessed sweet oblivion to him... better than sleep."
He nodded again, pasting a fake smile on his face. "Thanks," he said, voice quivering and that made me want to offer some kind of reassurance, but all I could do was sympathize with him. He hesitatingly looked back at me. "I'll get to work then."
"Not now," I said, standing up and wearing my jacket. "Tyrell and you need to come with me. Pruthvi, I'm leaving you alone with Leena. Both of you plan out for yourself when to leave, and how you'll manage without any help from your stone and Makara. Let's meet back here only after we make some progress."
"Where are you guys going?" he asked.
"To the underground cell," I said. "Celina called."
-----------------------------
Doctor was held captive here for many years, I thought as I walked down the pathway, along with Tyrell and Yuvan.
The underground abandoned cell had sprung to life with the shrill painful cries of Shashi's minions, none of which however matched the pain in my heart lamenting the loss of Ira Zutshi and fear for the life of Pruthvi and Leena's kid.
Sharad's knights were severely beating these men in the presence of Vrishabha and Kanya. They were ordered to do so until King Aghasthya arrived and sorted them out into their dynasties. I walked past them on the path amidst the cells leading to the darkest smaller cell towards the end. The cries were reduced to whimpers, but the humid air was always heavy with a strong saturation of blood.
I stooped to cram myself through the creaking gateway of the dusky cell. "Where's the other one?" I asked, my eyes automatically adjusting to the lack of light.
One of the twins, who had taken pleasure in torturing Leena, was lying on the floor, nearly unconscious. His upper body ramped against the color-deprived concrete wall, full broadside and limbs sprawled as if detached from the body. His head was hanging down, bloodied drool steadily dripping from his mouth. breath ragged and outfits wet and crimson. So were Celina's hard, clenched, remorseless knuckles.
"I managed to knock one of them down," she said, adjusting the cloth with a patch of blood tied around her arm. "Another already had escaped."
I sighed, noticing Yuvan standing at the corner of the cell, quiet and still. "What really happened with Leena?" I asked Celina.
"According to her they kept slicing her skin with a knife and flogged her. But I think they were far more inappropriate than that."
My jaw tightened. Anger rose but I reined it in. "Almourah?"
"Possibly so."
"This man cannot die just yet," Tyrell said, standing closer to a prisoner with his hands on his hips. "He may give us some answers."
I gave a single nod. "Please wake him up."
Tyrell crouched down and placed two fingers against the near-to-dead man's temple. Electricity pulsed out from the tip of his fingers and zapped into the man's brain. The whey-faced man woke up with a loud gasp, blanched, and trembled with fear. Legs shook, like a tail of a rattlesnake, before he pulled them closer. His bearing reminded me of Bhupathi Garg, the way he acted in the presence of Singh. Lucidly awake, he stared up first at Tyrell, then at Celina, and finally fixed his gaze on me. He held up his terror-stricken eyes for a second, and two. And then he broke into tears, chubby round face contorted like that of a kid's.
My eyes narrowed in bewilderment. "Why are you crying?"
Tyrell leaned closer to him. "Don't mess with him. Just don't," he whispered and stepped back to stand beside me, his fingers still sizzling and sparkling with electricity. Celina positioned herself on my left side, pulled her sleeves up, and was ready to give another closed-handed blow.
"I did not commit any crime...on purpose," whimpered the man, and his voice gradually raised with visible fear. "I only do whatever Shashi asks me to. I'm innocent."
That's the defensive statement I'm going to get hereafter. "What's your name?"
"Blake."
"Your brother's?"
"Bruno."
"Shashi's not here to save your life," I said. "And you're clearly from my dynasty, right now surrounded by Samagraha. Is that why you're crying?"
The man swallowed and bit his lip, tears spilling and blood seeping from the cut on his chin. "It was a mistake."
"What was?"
"Working for Shashi."
"Why would you do it?"
"For food. And money."
"Is working for Shashi the only mistake you've committed?"
"Shashi asked us to perform Almourah on Leena Savant. But I didn't. I swear. I couldn't," he squealed.
"You're inferring that you're a mage."
He hesitated. "No. I'm not. That's why..."
"I saw you dragging Leena Savant away. You were laughing and joking..."
"Only to beat her."
"Did you?"
"Y...yes."
"Beating a Samagraha, the princess of the Sharad Dynasty. Was it a mistake or a crime?"
His eyes widened. "But..."
"That's your second offense."
"Second?"
"Why is Shashi desperately looking for the Pride?"
"I don't know."
"Where is the kid?"
"I don't know. Please! I don't know!"
"Where's Nazira Khan?"
"I...who?"
"What is Shashi planning?"
"I don't know. He doesn't share everything with us."
"What did he share with you?"
"I...I don't remember."
"MAKE AN EFFORT!" I yelled, my loud angry voice startling even my friends.
"He's looking for the Third-Eyes," the man blurted out, shaking and shivering, spurting the blood out of his mouth. "He needs every Third Eye of the Pancharatna in order to finish the task he started decades ago."
I paused, gazing intently at the man and remembering the long talk I had with Singh a week ago. Narrowing and undermining the relevance of the thousand-year-old events with the events that had happened in the past few days was not so challenging. Not to mention the unexpected parley with Shashi pieced all the clues and subtle hints together.
Celina and Tyrell exchanged a baffled look.
"Pancharatna, in the sense?" I asked.
The man wiped all sorts of sap from under his chin. "The five prominent gemstones out of the twelve. The stones of the Formation Samagraha, together are called Pancharatna." He then looked up with a puppy-dog expression. "I do not know anything about it more than that. Please, believe me."
Celina gawked at me. "You know what a Third-Eye is?"
"Not per se," I said, "But heard the term from Singh. But to what they pertain is far from his knowledge."
"And you?" She bent a little to ask Tyrell.
He folded his hands. "Never heard of it before. But clearly, there are five Third-Eyes if they're somehow related to each stone. And now it's up to us to determine what they are."
"I may already have," I said. "The mammoth of the task is to figure out what Shashi's going to do with them. Whether he needs them for gaining Samagraha power, or if it is for something else."
Tyrell gazed down and scratched the back of his head, while Celina inhaled a discomforting long breath.
I stepped up front and the man slid further back to the wall. The floor where he sat was stamped with grease and the walls were smeared with blood. He must be feeling small and miserable sitting in his own fearful shadow. "Let me ask you again," I said. "Are you a mage?"
He stayed mum and shivered like having a seizure. Evidently, even after so many years, the mages from other clans were still embarrassed and afraid of being born as themselves.
"Do you have magic or not? Last chance."
Not a word. Not even a hint. He let out a muffled sob instead, his shoulders slumped.
So you insist on going your own way. Alright then. "Listen to me carefully," I said. "You violated my companion, who happens to be the granddaughter of a King as well as the Samagraha. You have been adherent to this country's enemy and assisted him in an abduction that occurred hours ago. You've also conspired to perform Almourah on Samagraha of the generation. Besides these, you're constantly lying to me on behalf of an outsider, which is nothing but betrayal. I have already decreed in the Panchayat that such actions will be severely punished. As a King of Rawat, I find you guilty of treason."
He snapped a scared look at me, inhaling long breaths. The silence stretched on for quite a few beats. We remained still, and the cries penetrating from other cells sounded a bit louder.
"Told you not to mess with him," said Tyrell, breaking the silence. "Told you twice."
"I have a pregnant wife," the man sobbed. "And two kids. Small. Seven and Nine. Please, give me a chance."
"Your family will be my responsibility," I said. "I'll make sure your wife has a job and your kids are well educated. But I don't want your life's decisions to have an impact on your family anymore."
"You're killing me?"
"That's correct."
"At...at the stake?"
"The severity depends on the answer you give me to this. Do confess to your crimes?"
Blake gritted his teeth and firmly shook his head, "I'm innocent. I do not believe working for money and to feed your family is a crime."
Tyrell coughed.
"Only thing that's feeding your family is your false belief and bravado," I said. "Anyway, get some rest. Sleep. Sleep every night and as peacefully as you can. You never know, you may not wake up the next day."
His face hardened, except for his chin which kept shivering. "You ought to be a very stringent king, Hayden Mackay. Worse than King Harsh."
I did not need to take that nonsense. "Yuvan!" I called out, veering back, and noticed him smiling grudgingly at the prisoner. The attitude wasn't quite right for a fifteen-year-old boy. He stepped forward on my sudden call and came to my full attention. "You heard me," I said. "See for a trained executioner and give him the orders. And you stay out of it. Understand?"
He nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Let's go," I said to my friends and I took a step towards the gateway without sparing a look at the crying, stressing, and worrying prisoner.
Sssss...
Yuvan gasped loudly at the high-pitched hissing sound and took frantic steps back.
"What the..." Tyrell grunted and Celina got closer to me with the sudden appearance of the bouncing hooded creature.
The familiar snake appeared grisly and colorless in the predawn darkness. It crawled smoothly against the bars of the cell, body entwined. It hung its hood down, eyes directed at us and forked tongue darting out.
I smiled. Perfect timing. "That's Naag's snake. Nothing to worry about. Tyrell, and Celina, please leave for the basements. Commence with the plan right away. I'll mind-connect you with all the important details. Disperse."
-x-