She looked up at Shiva. ‘This fool is lucky the axe was sharp and clean. The blood loss and infection from a wound like this can be fatal.’

‘I don’t think the cleanliness or sharpness was an accident,’ whispered Bhagirath. ‘He made it so. He knew what he was doing.’

Parvateshwar continued to stare at Parshuram, stunned.

Who is this strange man?

Shiva had not uttered a word so far. He just kept looking at Parshuram, his face devoid of any expression. His eyes narrowed hard.

‘What do we do with him, My Lord?’ asked Parvateshwar.

‘We use him,’ suggested Bhagirath. ‘Our ship will take up to six months to repair. We can’t stay here for that long. I say we carry Parshuram in one of our cutters to the closest Branga outpost and hand him over. We’ll use the leverage of handing over the most wanted criminal in Branga to wrangle a ship from them. They’ll force the medicine out of him and we get our path to the Nagas.’

Shiva didn’t say anything. He continued to stare at Parshuram.

Parvateshwar didn’t like Bhagirath’s solution. But he also knew it was the most practical thing to do. He looked at Shiva. ‘My Lord?’

‘We’re not handing him over to the Brangas,’ said Shiva.

‘My Lord?’ cried Bhagirath, shocked.

Shiva looked at Bhagirath. ‘We’re not.’

‘But My Lord, how do we get to the Nagas? We have sworn to get the medicines to the Brangas.’

‘Parshuram will give us the medicines. I’ll ask him when he is conscious.’

‘But, My Lord,’ continued Bhagirath. ‘He’s a criminal. He will not help unless he is coerced. I admit he has made a sacrifice. But we need a ship to get out of here.’

‘I know.’

Bhagirath continued to stare at Shiva. Then he turned towards Parvateshwar. The Meluhan General gestured to the Ayodhya Prince to be quiet.

But Bhagirath would have none of it. What the Neelkanth was suggesting was not practical. ‘Please forgive me for saying it again, My Lord. But the only practical way to get a ship is by letting the Brangas get their hands on him. And that’s not the only reason to do so. Parshuram is a criminal, a mass murderer. Why shouldn’t we surrender him to suffer the righteous Branga justice?’

‘Because I said so.’

Saying this, Shiva walked out. Bhagirath kept staring at Parvateshwar, not saying a word.

Parshuram’s eyes opened slightly. He smiled faintly. And then went back to sleep.

As the second prahar came to a close, the sun shone brightly, right over head.

The Branga and Kashi soldiers had been hard at work, with Vishwadyumna having taken charge. Kaavas didn’t seem to mind following orders from the capable Branga. The Branga travelling doctor had tended to all the wounded. They were all on the road to recovery. The dead had been cremated in the Icchawar village ground. While nobody expected the few remaining lionesses and the liger to return back to the village, for abundant precaution, the soldiers had dug ditches around the village. Temporary quarters had been erected for both Branga as well as Kashi soldiers in the school building. The villagers had been commandeered to arrange the food supplies.

The villagers, though rejoicing at the decimation of the pride, stayed warily at a distance, carrying out the tasks assigned to them by Vishwadyumna. Their mortal fear of the Nagas, despite the fact that their lives had just been saved by them, kept them suppressed.

The cleaner’s children, however, seemed to delight in playing with Kali. They pulled her hair, jumped on her and laughed uproariously every time she pretended to get angry.

‘Children!’ spoke their mother sternly. They turned and ran towards her, holding on to her dhoti. The cleaner’s wife spoke to Kali. ‘My apologies for this, Your Highness. They will not disturb you.’

In the presence of an adult Kali’s demeanour became serious once again. She merely nodded wordlessly.

She turned to her right to find Ganesh sleeping with his head on Sati’s lap, his face a picture of bliss. His wounds had been dressed. The doctor was especially worried about the mutilation caused by the lioness on Ganesh’s leg. It had been cleaned and bandaged tight.

Sati looked up at Kali and smiled. She held her sister’s hand.

Kali smiled softly. ‘I’ve never seen him sleep so peacefully.’

Sati smiled and lovingly ran her hand along Ganesh’s face. ‘I must thank you for taking care of him for so long.’

‘It was my duty.’

‘Yes, but not everyone honours their duty. Thank you.’

‘Actually, it was my pleasure as well!’

Sati smiled. ‘I can’t imagine how tough life must have been for you. I will make it up to you. I promise.’

Kali frowned slightly, but kept quiet.

Sati looked up once again as a thought struck her. ‘You had said something about father. Are you sure? He is weak. But he loves his family dearly. I can’t imagine him consciously hurting any of us.’

Kali’s face hardened. Suddenly, they were disturbed by a noise from Ganesh. Sati looked down at her son.

Ganesh was pouting. ‘I’m hungry!’

Sati raised her eyebrows and burst out laughing. She kissed Ganesh gently on his forehead. ‘Let me see what I can rustle up.’

As Sati walked away, Kali turned to Ganesh, about to scold him for his behaviour. But Ganesh himself was up in a flash. ‘You will not tell her, Mausi.’

‘What?’ asked Kali.

‘You will not tell her.’

‘She’s not stupid, you know. She will figure it out.’

‘That she may. But she will not find out from you.’

‘She deserves the truth. Why shouldn’t she know?’

‘Because some truths can only cause pain, Mausi. They’re best left buried.’

‘My Lord,’ whispered Parshuram.

Shiva, Parvateshwar and Bhagirath were huddled together around him in the tiny tent. It was the last hour of the third prahar. The sun was sinking into the horizon, turning the sludgy Madhumati waters orange-brown. Divodas and his team had already started working on repairing the ship. It was a daunting task.

‘What is it, Parshuram?’ asked Shiva. ‘Why did you want to meet me?’

Parshuram closed his eyes, gathering strength. ‘I will have one of my people give the secrets of the Naga medicine to the Brangas, My Lord. We will help them. We will take them to Mount Mahendra in Kaling from where we get the stabilising agent for the medicine.’

Shiva smiled. ‘Thank you.’

‘You don’t need to thank me, My Lord. This is what you want. Doing your bidding is my honour.’

Shiva nodded.

‘You also need a ship,’ said Parshuram.

Bhagirath perked up.

‘I have a large ship of my own,’ said Parshuram, before turning to Parvateshwar. ‘Give me some of your men, brave General. I will tell them where it is. They can sail it here and we can leave.’

A surprised Parvateshwar smiled, looking at Shiva.

Shiva nodded. The bandit looked tired. Shiva bent down, touching Parshuram on his shoulder. ‘You need to rest. We can talk later.’

‘One more thing, My Lord,’ said Parshuram, insistent. ‘The Brangas are only a conduit.’