And the arrow was not for him. It was directed towards the Naga that was holding Kalki by the chains. It hit the skull of the Naga, as he fell back, dying on the spot. The chariot manoeuvred in the air as another arrow was shot from it to another Naga. The chains that bound Kalki were loosened and he felt stronger, so he pulled the third Naga and punched him hard. With no one to hold him anymore, he began to break the chains, but was unsuccessful.

His eyes went across to the suspended chariot that had been propelled by Soma, the tell-tale blue fumes coming out from the back, crackling with energy. A ladder was thrown down, which Kalki grabbed onto. And that was the time Kalki realized that Martanja was running towards him at full speed.

“KILL HIM!” Kali stood up from his seat. “And bring that beauty to me.”

Arrows were shot at the chariot. But it was not affected. One was able to break its front, but it didn’t crash. Though now, as Kalki was holding the edge of the ladder, he realized Martanja was close.

“Come up fast! The Soma won’t let it last in the air forever,” yelled Arjan from the inside of the chariot.

“How did you even do it?” Kalki shouted back. “And also, for the love of Gods, move forward!”

“Kripa calls it a Vimana, fuelled by Soma. We just had to burn the stones inside the chariot, leaving a small opening for them to release their power. We just had to find a chariot that had no horse. And also, yes, we intend to move,” Arjan grinned. “But we aren’t able to.”

Kalki couldn’t help but grin. The chains were pulling the chariot down perhaps. He realized he had to get rid of the heavy metal that was still attached to his body.

“I have to go back down. The chariot won’t move otherwise. Wait here for a moment.” Kalki fell back on the ground and began to look for a weapon on the Naga. And as he came forward towards the dead Naga, grabbing its axe, Martanja appeared.

“VILLAGE BOY!” scowled the Rakshas chief. “What kind of magic is this?”

Kalki didn’t know how to explain it to him. But then there was no room for explanation as Martanja came forward with a twisted blade that had many conical edges to it. He began to thump it across Kalki’s axe repeatedly.

Kalki somersaulted at the back. The chains were killing him and his energy. The large blade came forward against Kalki’s face as he turned around. With a swift movement, he hit the axe against Martanja’s knees. Martanja fell on his feet, but he stood up again, wiping the blood of it. It was so quick that Kalki couldn’t wrap his head around it.

I need to use my weakness as my strength.

With the use of the chains, he began to move it so rapidly that the chain gathered a tremendous amount of momentum. And then he directed those chains across Martanja’s face. With a quick sweep, they smacked him in his face. He fell back and collapsed on the floor.

Kalki then used the axe and began to smash it against the iron chains.

And he heard Kali’s scream. “Don’t let him leave!” Kalki turned to see that all the council judges, and the jury had stood up; even the citizens were hooting, surprised and elated by such commotion and entertainment. Kalki broke the first part of his chain and then another, before stepping out of his ankle manacles. But he could see Martanja was struggling to get up now.

“Take me.” Kalki’s gaze swept down and he realized it was Durukti who had reached out to him. “Please, take me.”

Kalki, for a moment, thought about the tyranny of Kali, and how he would be protecting her from his wrath by taking her away. But then, she was the reason Lakshmi had died, along with all the village folks from Shambala. She was the reason he was here.

But he had to stop blaming her.

Kalki shook his head. “If there’s one person who can help Kali right now, it is you. Save him. And change him if you can.”

“You can’t leave me here. Please,” she begged, her hands folded together. “He’ll kill me or do something worse. I don’t know. I don’t know what he will do.”

Kalki grabbed her face and looked directly at her. “I will be back. Thank you for everything.” He kissed her on the cheek and then sprinted towards the ladder, grabbing for it. He didn’t have the time to see Durukti’s face. And when he turned around, he saw Martanja was reaching out for the ladder.

The chariot manoeuvred forward, leaving the area over the podium. With a quick, fleeting jump, Martanja lurched from the podium towards the ladder. His jump was so high that he was able to grab the edge of the ladder. This led the chariot to tilt violently, but it still moved. And it escaped the zone where the trial had been taking place, making for the north.

Kalki was climbing on top, but Martanja was faster. With one hand over the rope, he grabbed Kalki’s feet and tried to dislodge him. Kalki decided to kick him, but it didn’t work. He clutched his feet and sunk his serrated nails into Kalki’s already bruised ankle. Kalki moaned in pain and with his remaining strength, he pushed him down. Luckily, the flying chariot had been going over a tall building and Martanja fell on that, rolling over.

Kalki and Martanja shared a glance of contempt, while he stayed there with his weapon.

“Come up,” Arjan called.

Kalki gritted his teeth. I have to end this. “Throw me a weapon.”

“Why?”

“Just throw it.”

Kalki looked up and saw Arjan was tossing a sword.

Kalki grabbed it. It was sheathed so the blade didn’t slice throw his hand.

“Hold it properly.”

“Let the chariot stay here; rein it somewhere.”

“Rein it?” Arjan’s voice squeaked. “In what world does this look like something that can be reined? Where do you plan to go?”

Kalki pursed his lips. “I plan to end this.”

Arjan shook his head in defiance, but Kalki jumped from the ladder, and he dived to the top surface of the mud building, where Martanja was standing. Kalki rolled over the ground and unsheathed his sword, his eyes down, hair dangling over his temples. He tossed the sheath away, as he came forward, with Martanja charging at him as well.

“What made you return, coward?” Martanja grinned. His teeth had grown dark, and his eyes had a certain dark energy, unlike the last time, when he would get nervous even at the sight of Durukti.

“You killed my people.”

“I did. That wench told me too.”

“She said to stop, but you didn’t.”

Martanja shrugged. “Eh, I was doing my duty, boy. Wouldn’t you have? My men have their own minds as well. You can’t blame them for it.” He instantly attacked Kalki. Kalki deflected it with his sword. Martanja stepped back, his feet moving adroitly. “And also, if I could go back now, I would rape and murder everyone in that bloody village to get what was in there.”

Soma!

“I can see it’s infecting your mind.” Kalki came forward and hit the blade against his blade, but it didn’t help. He was quick.

“It isn’t. It makes me stronger,” Martanja said, as he finally leaped forward, attacking Kalki.

But Kalki knew where to stop and he did. He deflected it again. The sound of clashing metal roared in the sweeping wind, as Martanja tried to overpower Kalki with his sword, until Kalki kneed him. Martanja fell back, toppling over at the back. Kalki came forward and again tried to plunge his sword inside Martanja, but it didn’t stop him, and he grabbed the sword by his hand.

“As you can see, I’m not ordinary anymore.”

“Clearly.” Kalki pulled back the sword while Martanja licked the blood on his hand. “My ancestors believed that blood held a vital component of nutrients that is supposed to egg on a warrior.”

“Is that why they look so grotesque themselves?” Kalki grinned.

“Trying to be funny won’t help you to escape this reality; you are stuck with me here.”

Kalki swung his sword, with his feet parted. “You are wrong. You are stuck with me.” And then Kalki came forward, advancing towards Martanja. He was able to stab him deep inside his skin and at that moment, Martanja grabbed him from the back, his nails digging into him, as they both fell from the edge of the building.

Kalki could feel the fast wind whipping against his hair as he finally realized he had fallen over a shack. He watched Martanja, who was already standing up by then and was moving away from Kalki, staggering over the ground, dragging his half-dead feet, scowling and mumbling to himself.

Kalki came onto his feet, each joint of his body hurting. He couldn’t believe how bad it hurt. Kalki rounded off and realized, his blurry vision returning back to focus, that Martanja had his sword embedded in his body.

He was unable to walk properly and was grabbing attention of the citizens, who were watching him with disgust and contempt. Martanja was perhaps making his way back to his fort, to be healed.

But not again.

Kalki looked at the weapon merchant, whose shop he had destroyed. “I apologize, friend,” he said to the man who frowned at him.

And then Kalki’s eyes fell on the bow and arrow, made of simple bamboo, but blood tainted. It was not similar to the one he had used in his dreams with Lord Raghav, but it was quite similar to the ones that were made during the Battle of Shambala.

“Can I use it?”

The merchant guffawed at that.

Kalki didn’t really care since he went for the bow and strung the arrow to it. He perched on the side of the road, his feet firmly planted. His arm was straight and his one eye was closed. He took a deep breath, calming his senses.

And with a slow chant to Lord Vishnu, Kalki let the arrow loose. It went straight, hitting Martanja on the skull, breaking through his scalp and finally making him collapse.

Kalki tried to walk as fast as his wounds would permit him, to see Martanja, who was lying near the gutter, his blood flowing over his mouth, eyes lifeless. The weak moonlight shone over the cesspool that had been created by the events of the night.

Taking a deep breath, Kalki realized he had won for the first time.