The battle was short and fierce. The Chandravanshi soldiers fought viciously but were outnumbered. As Bhabravya expected, they turned in no time and retreated fast.

‘After them,’ yelled Bhabravya. ‘Kill them all.’

The Arishtanemi dashed behind their captain in pursuit of the retreating Chandravanshis. Most of them did not hear Shiva cry out loud. ‘No! Stay here. Don’t chase them.’

By the time some of the Arishtanemi heard Shiva’s order, a majority had already left, chasing the Chandravanshis. Shiva was left in the clearing with Sati, Nandi and just twenty—five soldiers. Shiva turned back towards the side of the road leading to Devagiri — the direction from which the crack of the twig had come.

He turned again to look at the remaining Arishtanemi. Pointing towards his back, he spoke with a voice that was both steady and calm, ‘This is where the actual attack will come from. Get into a tight formation in fours, facing that direction. Keep the princess in the middle. We will have to hold them back for about five or ten minutes. The other Arishtanemi will return when they realise there are no Chandravanshis to fight in that direction.’

The Arishtanemi looked at Shiva and nodded. They were batde-hardened men. They liked nothing more than a clearheaded and calm leader who knew exactiy what he was doing. They quickly got into the formation ordered by Shiva and waited.

Then the real attack began. Forty Chandravanshi soldiers led by a hooded figure emerged from the trees, walking slowly towards the Suryavanshi caravan. The outnumbered

Arishtanemi remained stationary, waiting for their enemy to come to them.

‘Surrender the princess to us and we will leave,’ said the hooded figure. ‘We want no unnecessary bloodshed.’

The same joker from the Brahma temple? He ‘s got a strange costume, but he fights well.

‘We don’t want any bloodshed either,’ said Shiva. ‘Leave quietly and we promise not to kill you.’

‘You’re the one who’s looking at death in the face, barbarian,’ said the hooded figure, conveying anger through his posture rather than his voice, which remained eerily composed.

Shiva noticed the brown-turbaned officer look impatiently at the hooded figure. He clearly wanted to attack fast and get this over with.

Dissension in the ranks?

‘The only face I’m looking at is a stupid festival mask. And it’s soon going to be shoved down your pathetic little throat! Also tell that brainless lieutenant of yours that he shouldn’t give battle plans away.’

The hooded figure remained calm. Not turning to look at Vishwadyumna.

Damn! This man is good.

‘This is the last warning, barbarian,’ repeated the hooded figure. ‘Hand her over right now’

Sati suddenly turned towards the carriage as she realised something, shouting, ‘Mother! The new emergency conch shell close to the front grill. Blow it now!’

A loud plea for help emitted from the carriage. Bhabravya and his men had been summoned. The hooded figure cursed as he realised his advantage had been taken away. He had very little time to complete his operation. The other Suryavanshis would be back soon. ‘Charge!’

The Arishtanemi stayed in position.

‘Steady,’ said Shiva. ‘Wait for them. All you have to do is buy time. Keep the princess safe. Our friends will be back soon.’

As the Chandravanshis came closer, Sati suddenly broke through the cordon and attacked the hooded figure. Sati’s surprise attack slowed the charge of the Chandravanshis. The Arishtanemi had no choice. They charged at the Chandravanshis like vicious tigers.

Shiva moved quickly to protect the right flank of Sati as an advancing Vishwadyumna got dangerously close to her. Vishwadyumna swung his sword to force Shiva out of his way. However, the speed of Shiva’s advance left Vishwadyumna unbalanced. Shiva easily parried the blow and pushed Vishwadyumna back with his shield. Nandi meanwhile moved rapidly to the left of Sati to block the Chandravanshis trying to charge down that side.

In the meantime, Sati was attacking the hooded figure with fierce blows. The hooded figure, however, seemed intent to defend himself and was not striking back. He wanted her alive and unharmed.

Shiva cut Vishwadyumna savagely across the shoulder that had been exposed when he was pushed back. Grimacing, Vishwadyumna brought his shield up to fend off another attack from Shiva. With the same movement, Vishwadyumna brought his sword arm up to thrust at Shiva’s torso. Shiva quickly pulled his shield in to protect himself. But not quickly enough. Vishwadyumna was able to slash Shiva’s chest. Stepping back and jumping to his right, Shiva brought his sword swifdy down in a brutal jab. While Vishwadyumna prompdy brought his shield up to block the attack, Shiva’s unorthodox move unsettled him. He staggered back realising that Shiva was an excellent swordsman. It was going to be a hard and long duel.

Nandi had already brought down one Chandravanshi soldier who had broken a law of combat of never attacking below the waist and cut Nandi’s thigh. Bleeding profusely, Nandi was ferociously battling another soldier who had attacked him from the left. The Chandravanshi brought his shield down hard on Nandi’s injured leg, making him stagger and fall. The Chandravanshi thought he had his man. Raising his sword high with both his hands, he was about to bring it down to finish the job but he suddenly arched forward, as if a brutal force had pounded him from the back. As he fell, Nandi saw a knife buried deep in the Chandravanshi’s back. Looking up, he saw Shiva’s left arm continue down in a smooth arc from the release of the dagger. With his right hand, Shiva brought his sword up to block a vicious cut from Vishwadyumna. As Nandi stumbled back to his feet, Shiva reached behind to pull his shield in front again.

The hooded figure knew they were taking too long. The other Arishtanemi would be back soon. He tried to go behind Sati, to club her on the back of the head and knock her unconscious but she was too quick. She moved swifdy to the left to face her enemy again. Taking a knife out of her angvastram folds with her left hand, she slashed outwards to cut deep across the hooded figure’s immense stomach. The knife sliced through the robe but its effect was broken by the armour.

And then with a resounding roar, Bhabravya and the other Arishtanemi rushed back to fight alongside their mates.

Seeing themselves vastly outnumbered, the hooded figure had no choice. He ordered his soldiers to retreat. Shiva stopped Bhabravya from chasing the Chandravanshis once again.

‘Let them go, brave Bhabravya,’ said Shiva. ‘We will have other chances to get them. Right now the primary objective is to protect the royal family’

Bhabravya looked at Shiva with admiration for the way this foreigner fought, not the blue throat of which he was unaware. He nodded politely. ‘It makes sense, foreigner.’

Bhabravya quickly formed the Arishtanemi soldiers into a tight perimeter and pulled the wounded within. Dead bodies were not touched. At least three Arishtanemi lost their lives while nine Chandravanshi bodies lay in the clearing. The last one had taken his own life since he was too wounded to escape. Better to meet one’s maker rather than fall alive in enemy hands and reveal secrets. Bhabravya ordered his soldiers to stay low and keep their shields in front for protection against any arrows. And they waited so till the rescue party arrived.

‘My God,’ cried an anxious Daksha as he hugged Sati tight.