The Queen turned towards him and nodded. Getting up slowly, she put the mask back on her face. ‘I’ve received a report that she has left Kashi and is riding towards Icchawar.’

The Naga breathed deeply. He rose slowly and put the mask back on his face.

‘She rides with only forty soldiers.’

The Naga’s breathing picked up pace. At a distance, Vishwadyumna was sitting quietly with a hundred Branga soldiers. This could be the moment. Capturing her in a teeming city of two hundred thousand was well nigh impossible. The remoteness of Icchawar improved the odds dramatically. And they finally had the advantage of numbers. The Naga slowly brought his breathing back to normal. Trying to keep his voice calm, he whispered, ‘That is good news.’

The Queen smiled and patted the Naga gently on his shoulder. ‘Don’t be nervous, my child. You are not alone. I am with you. Every step of the way.’

The Naga nodded. His eyes narrowed.

It was just the beginning of the second prahar when Sati rode into Icchawar at the head of her platoon, with Kaavas by her side. She was shocked to see a massive pyre at the far end of the village. She rode hard, followed by her men.

A man rushed up, breathless and panic-stricken, waving. ‘Please leave! Please leave!’

Sati ignored him and kept riding up to the giant pyre.

‘You cannot ignore me! I am the Headman of Icchawar!’

Sati noticed the faces of the villagers. Every single one had terror writ large on his face.

‘Things have only gotten worse since you people came!’ shouted the Headman.

Sati noticed the Brahmin who had just finished the puja at the pyre, praying for the safety of the departed souls. He was the only one who seemed to be in control.

Sati rode up to him. ‘Where are the Kashi soldiers?’

The Brahmin pointed at the giant pyre. ‘In there.’

‘All twenty of them?’ asked a stunned Sati.

The Brahmin nodded. ‘They were killed by the lions last night. Just like our villagers here, your soldiers didn’t know what they were doing.’

Sati looked around the pyre. It was an open area, a little outside the village, which opened straight into the forest. To the far left were some blankets and the remnants of a camp fire. There was blood all over that area.

‘Did they sleep here?’ asked Sati in horror.

The Brahmin nodded.

‘This is a suicide zone with man-eating lions around! Why in Lord Ram’s name did they sleep here at night?’

The Brahmin looked at the Headman.

‘It was their decision!’ said the Headman defensively.

‘Don’t lie,’ said the Brahmin. ‘It wasn’t solely their decision.’

‘Don’t you dare call me a liar, Suryaksh!’ said the Headman. ‘I told them their presence in any house only attracts the lions and leads to deaths. The decision to not stay in any house was their own!’

‘You actually think the lions are interested only in the soldiers?’ asked Suryaksh. ‘You are wrong.’

Sati had stopped listening. She was surveying the area where the Kashi soldiers had been killed. Despite the immense amounts of blood and gore, she could clearly make out the tracks of some lions and maybe lionesses. There were at least seven distinct marks. The information they had was clearly wrong. She turned around and growled. ‘How many lions are here?’

‘Two,’ said the Headman. ‘We’ve never seen more than two lions. The third lion was killed in a trap.’

Sati ignored him and looked at Suryaksh. The Brahmin responded, ‘Judging from the tracks, at least five to seven.’

Sati nodded. Suryaksh was the only one who appeared to know what he was talking about. Turning towards the village, Sati told Suryaksh, ‘Come with me.’

Seven. That means five lionesses at least. A standard pride. But counting the one that died, there were three lions in this pride? That is strange. There is usually just one adult male in a pride. Something isn’t right!

‘He is smarter than we have been told,’ said Shiva. ‘Every ruse we have tried for weeks has failed.’

The sun was directly overhead. The ship was anchored close to a beach. Due to the heavy silt it carried, which settled and turned into natural dams, the Madhumati kept changing course all the time. The result was that there were many recently formed sandbanks along the current course of the river. These were areas clear of vegetation, which afforded enough open space for a fierce battle to be fought. Shiva had held the ship close to one such beach, firing arrows into the trees, hoping Parshuram would be goaded into coming out in the open. The plan had not succeeded so far.

‘Yes, My Lord,’ agreed Parvateshwar. ‘He will not be provoked into attacking out of blind hatred.’

Shiva stared hard at the river bank.

‘I think it is the ship,’ said Parvateshwar.

‘Yes, he cannot judge how many men we have.’

Parvateshwar agreed. ‘My Lord, we have to take more risks to lure him out.’

‘I have a plan,’ Shiva whispered softly. ‘Further ahead is another beach. I plan to go ashore with a hundred men. Once I’ve taken the soldiers deep inside the forest, the ship should turn back, giving Parshuram the impression that there is dissension in the ranks. That the vessel is deserting us and departing for Branga. I’ll continue into the jungle and flush him out onto the beach. When I have him there, I’ll send out a fire arrow as a signal.’

‘Then Bhagirath can quickly get the ship over there, pull down the cutters and land on the beach with four hundred men, overwhelming them. Just two key things to remember, My Lord. They must be with their backs to the river. So that they can’t escape when the cutters arrive. And of course, the ship must not depend only on the sails, but rowers as well. Speed will be of the essence.’

Shiva smiled. ‘Exactly. Just one more thing. It will not be us on the beach. Only me. I need you on the ship.’

‘My Lord!’ cried Parvateshwar. ‘I cannot let you take that risk.’

‘Parvateshwar, I will lure the bastard out. But I need you watching my back. If the cutters don’t come on time, we will be slaughtered. We will be trying to capture, not kill. He will show no such restraint.’

‘But My Lord...’ said Parvateshwar.

‘I have decided, Parvateshwar. I need you on the ship. I can trust only you. Tomorrow is the day.’

‘This is where we’ll camp,’ said Sati, pointing to the school building, the only unoccupied structure in Icchawar. It had no doors and could not be barricaded against the lions. But it had a terrace, with one defendable flight of stairs leading up.

It was halfway through the third prahar. Nightfall, the favourite time for lions to attack, was just a few hours away. The villagers had all retired and barricaded themselves inside their homes. The massacre of the Kashi soldiers the night before had shaken all of them. Perhaps the Headman was right they thought. The presence of the Kashi soldiers was bad luck.

The Headman walked behind Sati, trailed by Suryaksh. ‘You must leave. The presence of the foreigners is angering the spirits.’

Sati ignored him and turned to Kaavas. ‘Station our men on the terrace. Pull the horses up as well.’

Kaavas nodded and rushed to carry out the orders.