Kali turned and held Ganesh.

‘But traditionally only the youngest child can perform the mother’s last rites,’ said Veerini to Shiva. ‘If there is anyone who can challenge that tradition, it is you.’

‘I don’t give a damn about that tradition,’ said Shiva. ‘If Sati wanted it, then it will be done.’

‘I’ll tell Kartik as well,’ said Veerini. ‘I’ve been told he’s at the Tamra platform.’

Shiva nodded silently before looking back towards the building where Sati’s body lay entombed in ice.

Veerini stepped forward to embrace Shiva. He held his mother-in-law lightly.

‘Try to find some peace, Shiva,’ said Veerini. ‘It’s what Sati would have wanted.’

‘Have you been able to find peace?’

Veerini smiled wanly.

‘We will only find peace now when we meet Sati again,’ said Shiva.

‘She was a great woman. Any mother would be proud to have a daughter like her.’

Shiva kept quiet, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Veerini held Shiva’s hand. ‘I have to tell you this. She could have been alive. When she found out about the conspiracy, she was in Devagiri, in our palace. She could have chosen to stay out of it. But she fought her way out of the city and rushed into the battle to save Nandi and her other bodyguards. And she did save many. She died a brave, honourable, warrior’s death, fighting and challenging her opponents till her last breath. It was the kind of death she always wished for herself; that any warrior wishes for himself.’

Shiva’s eyes welled up again. ‘Sati set very high standards for herself.’

Veerini smiled sadly.

Shiva took a deep breath. He needed to focus on the Pashupatiastra. He folded his hands together into a polite Namaste. ‘I should...’

‘Of course,’ said Veerini. ‘I understand.’

Shiva bent and touched his mother-in-law’s feet. She touched his head gently and blessed him. He turned and walked back to supervise the work on the weapon. This was the only thing that stopped his spirit from imploding.

Veerini turned and embraced her daughter Kali and grandson Ganesh.

‘I have been unfair to the both of you,’ said Veerini.

‘No you haven’t, maa,’ said Kali. ‘It was father who committed the sins. Not you.’

‘But I failed in my duty as a mother. I should have abandoned my husband when he refused to accept you.’

Kali shook her head. ‘You had your duty as a wife as well.’

‘It is not a wife’s duty to support her husband in his misdeeds. In fact, a good wife corrects her husband when he is wrong, even if she has to ram it down his throat.’

‘I don’t think he would have listened, naani,’ said Ganesh to his grandmother, ‘no matter how hard you tried. That man is...’

Veerini looked at her grandson as Ganesh checked himself from insulting his grandfather to her face. She noticed his eyes. They weren’t calm and detached, like they had been the last time she had met him. They were full of rage; repressed fury over his mother’s death.

‘Naani, if you will excuse me. I need to work on the tower.’

‘Of course, my child.’

Ganesh bent down, touched his grandmother’s feet and walked back to Tara.

‘Maa, wait for a bit and Ganesh will take you to our ship,’ said Kali. ‘You can stay there till this is over and then return with us to Panchavati. It would be so wonderful to have you in my home, even if it is a hundred years after it was meant to be. Having you with us will help us all cope with our grief and the vacuum left behind by Sati.’

Veerini smiled and embraced Kali. ‘I’ll have to wait for my next birth to live in your home, my child.’

Kali was taken aback. ‘Maa! You don’t have to be punished for that old goat’s crimes! You will not return to Devagiri!’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Kali. I’m the Queen of Meluha. When Devagiri dies, so shall I.’

‘Of course not!’ cried Kali. ‘There’s no reason...’

‘Would you leave Panchavati on the day of its destruction?’

Kali was stumped. But the Naga queen was not one who gave in easily. ‘That’s a hypothetical question, maa. What is important is that...’

‘What is important, my child,’ interrupted Veerini, ‘is the identity of the man who helped your father execute the conspiracy. Many of the conspirators have escaped, as have the assassins. They will not die here tomorrow. You need to find them. You need to punish them.’

Chapter 50

Saving a Legacy

The sun had long set across the western horizon. Kartik, Gopal and Bhagirath were stationed at the far corner of the Tamra platform. Neither the other two Devagiri platforms nor Shiva’s army encampment had a clear view of this area. It was the best place for Kartik to carry out his mission.

Twenty Branga soldiers from the command of Divodas, who had become fanatically loyal to Kartik after the Battle of Bal-Atibal Kund, were with him. These soldiers held on tightly to a rope, gently allowing it to roll away from them at a gradual pace. Divodas worked along with them. The rope was attached to a pulley that had been rigged on top of the Tamra platform wall. Circling the pulley, the rope went down to where it had been tied to a wooden cage, which could carry ten Brahmins at a time. Ten of them, together with their books and essential equipment, were descending towards Kartik’s refuge. Secrecy was essential, for it was forbidden to remove any knowledge of the Somras from the city, the penalty being death.

As a failsafe, another rope had been tied to the wooden cage. This particular rope was also circled around a pulley that was rigged onto the fort wall. But the grasping end of this rope was in the hands of Suryavanshi soldiers at the top of the platform. They were being supervised by Parvateshwar. Both groups of soldiers worked in tandem to release their end of the ropes at the same pace, so that the cage could descend gently to the ground. The angle of the wall made it impossible for Parvateshwar to look over and judge the movement of the wooden cage as well as its distance from the ground. And if the Suryavanshis holding the rope on top did not synchronise their movement with Divodas’ team below, it could lead to the cage becoming unbalanced, resulting in a possible accident.

To prevent this from happening, Bhagirath had been made to stand at a distance, far enough to be able to view both Divodas’ team as well as the Suryavanshis above. The new moon helped aid Bhagirath’s vision. His task was to keep whistling the way birds do, but in a steady rhythm, till the wooden cage touched the ground. He played the role of a time-keeper, setting the pace for the movements of the soldiers.

Kartik whirled around when Bhagirath’s whistling stopped. Divodas and his team had not paused but continued releasing the rope at the same pace. The Suryavanshis on top of the fort walls however, used to following orders, had instantly come to a halt when Bhagirath stopped whistling. Immediately, the wooden cage became unbalanced and tilted heavily to one side.

‘Stop!’ hissed Kartik.

Divodas and his team stopped. The cage containing ten Brahmins of the Somras factory remained suspended dangerously in the air. To the admiration of Gopal, the Brahmins in the cage remained quiet despite the possibility of falling to their death. Any sharp noise would have alerted others to what was going on.