part0074

With her daggers crossing each other, Vikoko tried to hit her repeatedly until Padma felt and grabbed her own dagger. With a sharp roll, Padma reached for her legs, and tried to trip her. It didn’t work, and with a swift shove, Padma was tossed against the wall.

Vikoko came lurching at her, the dagger reaching for Padma’s skull, when she deflected again. She was quick. They both had their weapons drawn against each other, their heads coming close, their eyes meeting. And then Padma, using the force of her bent knees, leapt up, leaving Vikoko dumbstruck. She came over Vikoko’s back and with the hilt of her dagger, hit her on the head. With that, Vikoko fell down, but it wasn’t the end of it. As Padma tried to stab her, Vikoko just pushed her away. Padma lost her balance and fell back, but she knew fighting with this large lady would be impossible after a certain amount of time.

Staggering, she made her way out, while Vikoko was struggling to come up. Padma realized that outside, Naga bodies were lined up against the chamber. Dead corpses just stacked one over the other. Padma raced forward, while Vikoko continued to chase her through the crowded theatre. Her bun knocked against the wall, and her silver hair was unfurled. She realized she had to do something soon. Her feet were quick and she came out of the recessed steps, dodging the guards while Vikoko calmly watched her leave.

Padma tried to find a transport for her while she saw Vikoko grab for her horse. Padma hated herself for not bringing a horse for herself. Padma sprinted forward, even as her chest ached with the exertion. She reached a circle a little way off, glad that Vikoko was not chasing her with an entire retinue of soldiers.

Leaving the circle and making way for the narrow lanes, Padma tried to find a place where she could catch her breath. But the sound of hooves would not let her rest in peace. Padma had never felt so frightened. She knew she would die one day, but only after killing Vedanta. Now, without completing the objective, she would have to die. And this death honestly scared her, even though she was otherwise sangfroid about the idea of death.

The horse appeared right behind her, almost reaching her; and Vikoko’s sword was now trained mere inches from Padma’s fleeing figure. With a sudden swipe, she slashed the air, cutting pieces of her hair. There was a tug at the back of her head as Padma sprinted forward. She knew if she didn’t do something, she would be murdered in this empty street.

And then she hit on a plan.

Padma sprinted as fast as she could, leading Vikoko to ride her horse faster. And then Padma stopped. The horse continued to gallop further, until Vikoko realized what Padma had done. Padma struggled to take a breath, her chest heaving, looking up at Vikoko who was grappling with the horse and turning towards Padma. Getting her breath right again, Padma pulled out the daggers.

It was a face-off now.

The horse rode towards her, and Padma began sprinting towards it. Padma used the force of her feet to make a huge leap, somersaulting in the air, as she kicked Vikoko off the horse. But Vikoko did manage to slice Padma’s skin with her sword. Vikoko collapsed on the ground, while the horse continued to run. Padma was standing over the horse, a smile on her face, as she proceeded for Ratri’s house, while she saw Vikoko standing calmly, her horse being taken from her. She didn’t chase it. Her sword was still in her hand and there was a look of naked aggression on her face.

Padma realized the gash over her torso was deep, as by the time she reached Ratri’s house, she had lost enough blood. She didn’t stop her horse, afraid Vikoko would follow her even though she knew she was out of harm’s way. In front of Ratri’s house, Padma tried to get off of the horse, which only hurt her, since it wasn’t an ordinary sized horse. Padma took few steps further tentatively, her legs weakening, as she collapsed on the ground. She blinked for a moment and in the last moments before shutting her eyes, she saw a bird in front of her, perhaps a parrot, which began to squawk loudly. Dreamily, she tried to shoo the bird off, but it wouldn’t budge.

And then everything turned dark.

Padma woke up to find she was bandaged and her buttoned tunic was off. Standing in front of her was the big man known as Bala, with a bowl of soup in his hand. Standing close to the library was the boy named Arjan, who reminded her of her youngest brother; and then there was the old man who gave her the nightmares.

“You took my clothes off?”

“Only the top, lass, in all fairness,” the old man said. “You seemed in a pretty bad shape, come to think of it.”

Padma recalled why. It was because of Vikoko. She admired the woman’s skill and determination of not leaving her alive. Padma knew she didn’t definitively win over Vikoko. It was her acrobatic skills that helped her.

“Thank you,” Padma quietly said. “I could have died. Does…” she looked up at Arjan now. “Does Ratri know?”

Arjan shook his head. “We thought she wouldn’t want to know you were sneaking off to meet a Tribal king.” He walked in front of her and handed her the note that was given to her by Vasuki and which had a snake symbol on the top of the page. “Now, we know you were in trouble tonight but we will respect your privacy.”

Bala silenced everyone before Padma could speak. “Have soup, little one. You will feel better after this.” Padma nodded, trying to find a good excuse about why she had a note from Vasuki. She had to find a reason somehow. She took the soup and sipped on it from the edge of the bowl. “I can explain.”

“Please, lass, you can give us all the excuses you want to, but they won’t work on us now,” Kripa said. “Because like you, we are liars as well. We aren’t here to stop the Tribals and whatever politics you are in the middle of.”

“Then why did you lie to Ratri?”

“To hide, of course,” Kripa responded. “Like you do, while you help a Tribal.

Padma shook her head. “You don’t understand. It’s more complex than that. I have a mission I have to complete.”

“So do we,” Arjan said.

Padma sipped on. “And let me guess, you want my help with that?”

“Not really help,” Arjan said, taking the note that he had tossed at her. “What is this place? I have compared it to the overall city map and I know I have seen this place somewhere. What is this place? It is written here as well, ‘Kali’s lair’.”

Padma sighed. She didn’t want to help them, but she did not serve any master anymore; at least until Manasa would get to know that her brother has been assassinated. “It’s where he keeps his herb that makes him all right.”

“Herbs you say, eh?” Kripa grinned delightfully as if Padma had just told him the secrets of this world. “Thank you. That will be all then, thank you so much.”

Padma knew something was up. “Why are you really here?”

“None of your business, lass. It’s like the time we didn’t care about your business.”

“You do realise,” Padma began, “I was about to leave Ratri; so you ratting me out wouldn’t bother me. But I will make sure to tell her everything about your antics before I leave.”

Arjan shot Kripa a look, as if he was being an idiot. Then he looked back at Padma, tenderly.

“We are here to free my brother.”

“Shut up, boy!” Kripa scolded.

“No, we can use her help,” Arjan snapped. “She knows everything about the city and its keeps. More than us. She can guide us.”

“Yes, she finishes her soup early as well, old man,” Bala said, taking the bowl away from her, “Impressive, little one.”

Kripa groaned in surrender. “Brother? Who?”

She hadn’t heard the name, Arjan figured.

“That’s why we are here and this place,” he signalled at the note, “can be our gateway to get him.”

“What is so special about this place?” Padma asked.

Kripa interfered. “It holds an ingredient which can be used to make a bomb to blow up a part of the prison where Kalki is locked—Happy?”

Padma didn’t even know explosives existed. Fire balls, sure. Explosives were tricky and needed a lot of knowledge and expertise, which Padma see in any of them. But then she got an idea. “Who will make the explosives?”

“Guilty,” Kripa raised his hands, as he briskly walked on the floor, impatient perhaps that so much had been revealed.

“Can he even make it?”

“He’s an Acharya,” Arjan said.

“But aren’t Acharyas supposed to be at a Gurukul?”

“I am not! Happy?” Kripa grunted.

Arjan came closer to Padma, looking straight in her eyes. “I’m not lying. He’s good. I trust him.”

“All right, I will help you enter the keep, get whatever you need and leave,” Padma said, since she knew she would hit the bulls’ eye by playing on both sides.

“But I want something in return.”

Kripa stopped pacing. “Let’s hear it, lass!”

“I want a pair of explosives for myself.”

“What would you use it for?” Kripa arched his brows. “You do realise, they aren’t child’s play, lass. They can destroy an entire place if you use it in the right quantity.”