19

‘You must be Meghabhuti’s son.’

Saahas started, looking at her in amazement. She was a picture of sweet unworldliness in a brown, loose-flowing garment falling to her feet, and bracelets of flowers wrapped around her wrists. But when he glanced into those grey-green eyes, a shock jolted through him.

‘Yes, I was there when you were barely a day old,’ Nirmohi ran a light hand through her silver hair. ‘Your mother’s eyes were identical to mine. I am your mausi . . . your mother’s sister.’

‘Mausi!’ His heart thudded, his mouth dry. ‘Why, why haven’t I heard of you before?’

‘Because that was my wish and it would have remained so if you hadn’t set out to find me,’ she said with an enigmatic smile. ‘I claim no earthly bonds, Saahas, for in relationships, as we know them, lie the seeds of bondage.’

A shadow crossed his face. ‘I understand,’ he said haltingly. ‘You don’t wish to be embroiled in my affairs. My father told me you could rule the earth if you so wished, and so I set out to find you, in the hope that you would help me.’

‘Help you with what?’

‘I need to prove my innocence,’ he burst out, angry tears flooding his eyes. ‘I’ve been accused of a terrible crime, mausi, and I must wash off the stain, or else I can never return home to my people.’

Nirmohi shot him a keen look. ‘Come with me,’ she said and turning away from the forest, led him into a meadow full of sheep, their coats tinted a bright blue. ‘Those are bharal,’ she told him, noticing his astonished expression, and pointed to a cliff. ‘What do you see?’ Mystified, Saahas looked. It was a white rock with a few circular tufts of blackened grass.

‘Look again,’ she ordered.

And it was then that he noticed the slightest of movement. The spotted rock rippled faintly, then stopped, resuming again to ripple after a while. Slowly, it slid off the cliff, like melting snow slopping off a ledge, and disappeared into the meadow.

‘Keep watching,’ Nirmohi whispered.

The bharal continued to graze and the birds continued to sing oblivious to the imperceptible movement in the short grass. The wave circled the flock in a wide arc, slowly becoming tighter, drawing closer to a bharal. As soon as the ripple touched the sheep, the snow leopard leapt out, sinking its jaws into the neck of its prey. The attack was silent, the flock remaining unaware of the fearsome predator in their midst.

Saahas turned to Nirmohi. ‘A silent killer! Are you suggesting that I prove my innocence by launching a quiet attack on the new rulers of Aum?’

‘Do you think the leopard needs to prove anything? It does what it has to do, quietly, efficiently. Your mind is so busy grappling with inessentials that you are losing sight of your goal. Remember, you are not a general anymore.’

‘You are right. I am a fugitive.’

Nirmohi’s smile was serene. ‘I was going to say, now you are a king.’

The brigade immediately brightened when Saahas divulged his plans. They wanted to accompany him, and it taxed his patience to convince them otherwise.

‘This trip is only for reconnaissance,’ he explained, struggling to contain the excitement in his voice, ‘to assess the situation in Aum and meet the regiments in secret. Like the snow leopard, I will do it alone. All of us together will attract attention, putting our lives at risk. You will all wait for me here.’

‘But you will be recognized instantly, my lord, and I can help disguise you,’ Lushai’s voice was full of hope.

‘Look at this,’ Saahas laughed, pointing to his overgrown locks and heavily bearded face. ‘Even my reflection wouldn’t know me!’

‘And to complete the camouflage, here are a couple more aids,’ Nirmohi appeared, leading a horse by the reins. ‘A wooden leg to give you a decided limp,’ she said handing over the contraption, ‘and this nag in place of your magnificent horse, or you will arouse suspicions.’

‘You’ve thought of everything, mausi,’ Saahas smiled, the smile reaching his eyes for the first time since his escape.

Nirmohi inclined her head, holding out a skin bag. ‘This contains a therapeutic oil known to cure even death. Now go, Saahas, your destiny awaits you.’

Joy surged in him when, after several weeks of hard riding, he reached the highway to Aum. The old, familiar terrain welcomed him in a half-hearted manner. Summer had set in, not gently but in waves of dry heat, sapping the freshness of tender shoots, browning the leaves. Sluggish and slow, the rivers seemed old, exhausted and birds and animals barely made a sound, staying out of the blazing sun.

‘Where are you off to, bhai?’ The owner of an eatery cocked an eyebrow, flipping hot breads out of an earthen oven.

‘To Aum,’ Saahas mumbled between bites.

‘Aum?’ The owner looked amazed.

‘Yes.’

‘. . . but . . . don’t you know there is no Aum now? It is called Aham.’

‘Aham?’ The morsel stuck in his throat and despite the heat, he shivered. Hastily paying for the meal, he urged his horse into a gallop and at close of day discerned the hazy outline of the north gates.

His heart began to beat fast and allowing the horse to slow down, he approached at an easy pace. A curtain of dust hung over the imposing gates and instead of the muted gold flag of Aum, a black one fluttered atop the battlement, a gold dot in its centre. Instinctively seeking reassurance, he looked at the bare hills flanking the gates, his father’s voice coming back to him, ‘These manmade hills will protect the north entrance,’ Meghabhuti had told him. ‘Cleverly designed interlocks connect the iron inside them with the stone walls of the gates. If the gates are ever attacked, the interlocks will tighten, making it harder to break them down. But, as with all perfect things, there is a key, the key to the destruction of the entire structure.’

‘Of course, Aum exists,’ Saahas patted his steaming horse. ‘People talk such nonsense!’

‘Hey you,’ a voice shouted from the watchtower, ‘what are you doing here?’

Putting on a guttural accent, Saahas answered, ‘I come from a distant land, sir. I’ve heard your great kingdom has enough work for poor migrants like me.’

‘Come back in the morning, when the gate opens.’

‘But, sir—’

‘I said begone!’

‘He has forgotten his manners, uncouth fellow,’ he swore under his breath, turning his horse off the road. Unable to sleep a wink, he spent the night watching the sky, waiting for dawn and when the first sunbeam pierced the darkness, he was back at the gates. They groaned open at sunup and he pressed inside eagerly.

‘Where do you think you are going? Give your name.’

Nonplussed, Saahas quickly gathered his wits. ‘Khanjji. My name is Khanjji.’

The guard looked at the wooden leg and snickered, ‘Very appropriate,’ and entered the name in a register. ‘What work can you do?’

‘I am strong, sir. Try me with anything.’

Waving him inside, the guard instructed, ‘Make your way to the temple site. There is plenty of work there.’