Melcorka Of Alba

by Malcolm Archibald

  The black-and-white image had gone. 'I was wondering how you would like Alba,' Bradan said. 'It is cooler than here, with winters of snow and sleet and winds that can blow the roofs off houses.'

  'I've never seen snow,' Dhraji said.

  'It's cold and white,' Bradan began, just as the catapults fired again. Bhim had loaded half with rocks and half with something else; things that writhed and screamed as they soared through the air, to plummet on and around the Chola ships.

  'Oh, look!' Dhraji laughed out loud. 'Bhim is letting his prisoners go!'

  It was true. Bhim had loaded the Chola prisoners onto the catapults and fired them against the Chola fleet. That action seemed to sting the Chola admiral into action, for his ships suddenly surged forward towards the beach.

  'They're going to attack!' Dhraji shouted. 'Now we'll see how good they really are!'

  Bradan could only watch as the Chola ships raced for the walls of Kollchi. The Thiruzha catapults fired again, hurling rocks and fireballs through the now-darkening sky, with one Chola ship set ablaze and another broken in half. The artillery only stopped when the Chola fleet was under the arc of their rocks and closing on the walls.

  Most of the population of Kollchi seemed to be waiting to repel the attack, women as well as men, with archers firing non-stop and the rest throwing spears, stones and anything else they could find. Bradan saw a group of women emptying a cauldron of boiling oil onto the Chola warriors and another group throw pots and burning cloth on them.

  That black-and-white mist was back, hovering a few feet from him, fluttering like a bird above the parapet. What are you?

  The Cholas thrust ladders against the wall and clambered up, with Thiruzha archers picking them off in dozens while spearmen and swordsmen waited on the top. One brave Chola warrior reached the battlements, felling three of the defenders, before a female thrust a spear into his belly and slowly pushed him backwards. Other women joined in, until the man was balanced on the parapet, roaring defiance and spurting blood.

  'Oh, there's a brave man,' Dhraji said. 'He would make an excellent slave if he could be tamed.' She smiled and licked her lips. 'What fun the taming would be!'

  An archer fired at the Chola warrior, and then another. Under the impact of two arrows, he toppled slowly backwards, still slashing with his sword. His ladder followed a few seconds later.

  Despite all the effort and bravery, the Chola attack ebbed back, with the defenders standing on top of the battlements to fire arrows and hurl missiles at the retreating warriors.

  'Now!' Bhim rasped through his speaking-trumpet. Horns immediately blared out across Kollchi, their sound filling the air until the city gates crashed open. A squadron of horsemen poured from each gate, to harry the disorganised Chola warriors. The angle of the walls impaired Bradan's vision so he could not see details of the battle, only the Chola's surge back to the ships. He heard a rising cry of triumph from the ranks of the Thiruzhas and the defending archers fired non-stop. Chola warriors were falling fast, with a few dozen raising their hands in surrender as the Thiruzha horsemen slashed and stabbed and whooped in delight.

  One by one, and then in a great clump, the Chola ships put back out to sea, with the Thiruzha horsemen riding into the shallows to hack and slash at them. Only a few desperate Chola warriors turned to fight. When the Cholas' spears struck down some of the horsemen, Bhim ordered his horns to sound again, recalling the cavalry.

  Once again, the catapults and that massive bow fired on the Chola ships, turning their retreat into a panicked rout, which the defenders of Kollchi intensified as they surged from the gates. Attacked on all sides, the discipline of the Chola fleet completely broke.

  The horns sounded again, three sharp blasts followed by one long one, and the Thiruzha seamen poured out of the city, passing the panting cavalrymen as they re-launched their ships.

  'With the boom up, the Chola ships only have one channel to squeeze through,' Dhraji said. 'There won't be many going home. We'll harass them until dark, catch the stragglers and create so much panic that the Cholas will never return to this coast again.'

  'There is still the Chola army advancing on the eastern frontier,' Bradan reminded her.

  'I anticipated that it would take a week to defeat the Chola fleet.' Dhraji sounded smug. 'It has taken only two days.' Her smile wrapped around Bradan like the tentacles of the monster from the sea. 'We have time for other things, Bradan.'

  * * *

  When Bradan woke in the morning, Dhraji was gone. For the first time since his enslavement, he lay alone in the vast bed. Shadows striped the room as the moon glowed above the Ghats.

  'Where's Her Majesty?' Bradan asked the guard who still lolled outside the room.

  'She has gone on her own business.' Used to Bradan, the guard was offhand. She barely spared him a glance.

  'Will she be back soon?'

  'I do not inquire into the Rani's business.' The guard was older than most, perhaps thirty, Bradan estimated, with tiny crows' feet around her eyes and a small scar disfiguring her mouth.

  'You've been in the palace for some time, haven't you?' Bradan asked.

  'Yes.' The guard was not inclined to talk. Her scar writhed around her lips with every short phrase.

  'You are fortunate, working for the Rani.' If the guard reported the conversation to the Rani, she might as well have something ingratiating to say.

  'We all are, even you, her slave.' The guard regarded Bradan much as she would look at something unpleasant in which she had trodden. 'You've already lasted longer than most.' Her smile taunted him. 'I hope you don't expect to live much longer.'

  'I'll live until it's my time to die,' Bradan said. 'Does the Rani often go wandering in the night? I can't remember her ever doing it before.'

  'When she wishes to.' The guard scanned Bradan up and down and gave a scornful smile. 'She leaves her chamber when she tires of her current slave.'

  'I'll go and look for her,' Bradan said. 'I don't like the thought of her wandering around alone in the dark.'

  'You're a naïve sort of fool, aren't you?' The guard stepped aside. 'My job is to keep people from attacking the Rani, not to prevent lunatic slaves from getting killed.'

  When he stepped away from Dhraji's chamber, Bradan felt as if shackles had been removed from his limbs. He took a deep breath and hurried down the carpeted corridor, found a flight of stairs and moved downwards as fast as he could. Melcorka – I'm coming to see you. Trying to remember the route from his previous visit, Bradan took a few wrong turnings, ended up in the kitchen where cooks were toiling in unbelievable heat and continued downward.

  That black-and-white haze was back, forming in front of him as if trying to pass on a message.

  'What are you?' Bradan asked. 'I know you're not unfriendly. Who are you? Are you trying to help?'

  For a moment, the haze nearly formed into something tangible. Bradan saw a flash of orange amidst the black-and-white, before the shape faded away and he stood in a bleak chamber of bare stone walls.

  'Hey! You!' Bradan accosted a passing servant. 'I have a message from the Rani. Which way are the dungeons?'

  The servant goggled at Bradan. 'You're Dhraji's foreign slave. You shouldn't be here.' He started in sudden alarm and salaamed. 'Is the Rani with you?'

  'I know what I am and no, she's not,' Bradan said. 'Which way are the dungeons?'

  The servant indicated a plain wooden doorway. 'Through there and follow the steps.' Bradan could feel the servant watching as he opened the door. 'Get used to the dungeons,' the servant called out. 'The Rani's last two bed-slaves are still there, waiting for you!'

  The atmosphere chilled immediately Bradan began the descent. Small torches spread faint light, sufficient to see the stairs and no more. Bradan followed the stairs, walking slowly and carefully on steps that were slippery with slime. He came to an arched wooden door, turned an iron handle and pushed; the door led to yet more stairs, descending down and down into a dark mist. Lifting the neare
st torch, Bradan coughed and stepped on, cautiously, slowly, hearing his sandals rustling on damp straw.

  'Who in Shiva's name are you?' The voice boomed from the surrounding dark as a bulky figure emerged from a semi-hidden door.

  'Bradan the Wanderer.' Bradan lifted the torch so the jailer could see his face. 'Come to see the foreign woman.'

  'Are you still alive?' The jailer sounded genuinely surprised. 'You've lasted a long time. I thought the Rani would have made you kiss the elephant's feet days ago.'

  'I'm still alive,' Bradan said. 'Take me to the foreign woman.'

  'You're too late,' the jailer said.

  'Too late? What do you mean, too late?'

  'She's dead.' The jailer spoke without emotion.

  Chapter Nine

  'Dead? Bradan stared at the jailer in disbelief. 'When? How?' He grabbed the wall for support as all the strength drained from his legs. Melcorka can't be dead. She's too vital, too alive.

  The jailer grinned. 'In about two minutes' time. Do you want to watch?'

  'You said she is dead,' Bradan said.

  'In all but name.' The jailer nodded. 'Bhim sent the order just a few moments ago. “Kill the useless,” Bhim said, “to make room for officer prisoners of war from the Chola Empire.” '

  Bradan tried a deep breath but the foul air caught in his throat, so he gagged and nearly threw up. He thought quickly. 'You just want the space, then?'

  The jailer shrugged. 'Yes.'

  'I'll take her away,' Bradan said. 'Give her to me.'

  'The Raja gave an order. If I let her go, I'll be given to the elephants, or be food for the leopard, or go swimming with…'

  'Go swimming with what?' Bradan asked. 'With that great monster that everybody denies seeing?'

  The jailer looked away. 'I'm going to kill the foreign woman.'

  Bradan pressed again. 'What is that great monster?'

  'Don't be naïve. Now, get out of my way and let me do my job.' The jailer stepped back through the door and returned holding a heavy club. The length of a man's arm, it was studded with iron knobs and must have weighed fourteen pounds.

  'Make it quick,' Bradan said. 'Please.'

  The jailer sighed. 'I'll make it quick.' He hefted the club. 'I'll use this heavy one.'

  'I want to make sure it is quick,' Bradan said.

  'You can watch.' The jailer was magnanimous. 'Your own death won't be so quick when Dhraji gets rid of you. It never has been for her ex-lovers.' Unlocking the door to Melcorka's dungeon, he pushed in, with Bradan at his back.

  Melcorka lay as Bradan had last seen her, filthy, stinking and vacant-eyed, chained to the far wall. She looked up when the jailer and Bradan entered.

  'Hello, Mel.' Bradan spoke in the Tamil language so that the jailer could understand him. 'I've come to say goodbye.'

  'One minute only.' The jailer lifted his club. 'I haven't got all day to waste on one blasted prisoner.'

  Kneeling at Melcorka's side, Bradan held up the torch. Melcorka smiled up at him. Nobody's killing my Mel. For an instant, Bradan saw the shimmering black-and-white presence again, fluttering between Melcorka and the jailer, and then he thrust his torch hard into the jailer's face. 'You're not killing Melcorka!'

  Letting out a high-pitched scream, the jailer clutched at his face. As the club fell to the floor, Bradan grabbed it, smashing it as hard as he could on the jailer's head. He hit again and again until the jailer lay prone with his skull smashed and his blood soaking into the filthy straw. Mice ran toward the body, fearless in this abode of suffering.

  Melcorka watched with a look of wonderment in her eyes. 'Why did you do that?'

  'Come on, Mel, I'm getting you out of here.' Circumstances had taken control. Bradan had not intended to kill the jailer and rescue Melcorka. He had intended making sure she was safe and later persuading Dhraji to release her.

  'Where are we going?' Melcorka asked.

  'I have no idea.' Bradan knew he had probably only extended Melcorka's life for a few moments, or at most a couple of hours, while forfeiting his own, for Dhraji and Bhim would both wish him dead now. Kneeling beside Melcorka, he examined her chains. He had hoped for a simple catch, but they were securely locked. Bradan cursed in frustration when a quick check of the jailer found nothing. Where would the jailer keep his keys? Presumably in that chamber from where he obtained the club.

  'I'll be back in a minute, Mel,' Bradan promised, adding a foolish, 'don't go away' as he lifted his still-spluttering torch and ran into the dark.

  Disorientated in the vast, echoing chambers, Bradan tried a few wrong doors before he saw the black-and-white shimmer hovering outside a familiar entrance and he arrived at the jailer's abode. Luckily, the door was open; he pushed in and stopped. He had expected a bare place of horror. Instead, he entered a room where tapestries decorated the walls, and a statue of Shiva stood on a small altar. A kitten purred on a silken cushion while a brass kettle sat in the corner. More important was the bunch of keys that hung from a hook beside a short whip and a bunch of aromatic flowers.

  Grabbing the keys, Bradan ran back outside, with the torchlight pushing back the horrors of the darkness. Melcorka was sitting beside the body of the jailer, with the black-and-white shimmer a few yards away.

  'The man's hurt,' Melcorka said. 'He was a nice man. He brought me food.'

  'Let's get you out of here.' One by one, Bradan tried the keys until there was a sharp click and the shackles around Melcorka's ankles sprang open.

  She giggled and lifted her legs in the air. 'Look!'

  Bradan nodded. 'You'll feel strange with that weight off your ankles. It will take time to get used to it again.' He tried the same key with the lock around her wrists, swore softly when it did not fit and tried another, glancing over his shoulder at every sound. I asked too many people where the dungeons were. Dhraji will have no difficulty tracing me.

  'Got it!' The key clicked in the lock and the manacles around Melcorka's wrists sprang open. 'Can you stand?'

  Melcorka rubbed her wrists and ankles. 'Yes.' She swayed on her feet. 'I can't walk,' she said.

  'I'll carry you.' After weeks of little food, Melcorka was as light and weak as a child. Bradan slipped her over his shoulder and stepped out of the dungeon. He heard the rattle of chains from the dungeons all around him, swore and placed Melcorka on the ground again. 'Don't run away,' he said. 'I won't be long.' The more prisoners that were loose, the more difficult it would be for Dhraji and Bhim to round them all up.

  Lifting the keys, Bradan tried three before he found one to fit the nearest lock. The first prisoner within the dungeon cringed away when his door opened and stared in astonishment as Bradan unlocked his chains. The second man was a slight, dark-skinned youth with huge eyes and a body so thin that Bradan could count each one of his ribs.

  'Thank you,' the youth said softly, rubbing at his ankles. Bradan saw the tracks of tears down his filthy face.

  'Here,' Bradan threw him the key. 'Free the rest.' Returning to Melcorka, he balanced her over his left shoulder, lifted his now sadly depleted torch and hurried for the entrance.

  'Wait!' The slender youth had already freed another man and passed on the key. 'Not that way!'

  Bradan hesitated. 'Is there another way?'

  'Yes, if you can swim. Can you swim?'

  'I can swim.' Bradan glanced at Melcorka. 'Mel can't, in her condition.'

  'Then you'll have to leave her,' the youth said.

  'Never.' Bradan was aware of that shapeless black-and-white mass hovering at the periphery of his vision. 'I'll carry her, wherever it is.'

  'She'll slow us down.' The youth's voice rose, as if in panic.

  'Lead on,' Bradan said. 'Melcorka and I stay together.'

  Glancing at Melcorka, the youth scurried in the opposite direction to the door. He hesitated at the heavily barred door to a cell that was apart from the others. 'We could free Dhraji,' he said.

  Bradan stared at him. 'What do you mean, free her? She's the la
st person I want down here.'

  'Dhraji is in there. We could free her. The woman, the thing taking her place, is not the real Dhraji.' The youth was babbling, looking all around in case Thiruzha guards flooded in to arrest him. 'She is a demon, a rakshasa, which has taken Dhraji's place. The real Dhraji is in there,' he indicated the door again. 'The rakshasas can only take somebody's shape and face as long as that person is alive.'

  Bradan fought the rush of horror that threatened to overcome him. He had been living with a demon for weeks, a rakshasa, as these people called it. In a flash of insight, Bradan thought of the multi-armed monster that appeared when Dhraji had fallen into the water. Dhraji had vanished, the monster had appeared; the monster vanished and Dhraji reappeared.

  Dear God! Was that monster Dhraji's real shape? There was something else: had Dhraji not said she would live forever? I had thought that mere vanity at the time. Now, I am not so sure. There's no time to think of that now. I'll worry about it later.

  Stepping forward, Bradan tried the door. While all the other dungeons had only been bolted or had the key in the lock, this dungeon's door was securely locked, with two massive iron bolts across the front and three locks. 'Where is the key?'

  The youth shook his head. 'I do not know. I thought the jailer might hold it, but none of these fit.' He held up the bunch that Bradan had handed him.

  Bradan shook his head and came to a decision. 'My priority is in getting Melcorka away safely. I don't have the time to wrestle with doors. Take me away.'

  'This way.' The youth led Bradan through the dungeons, ducked under a low stone arch and nearly slid down a sloping stone platform to a circular hole. Bradan heard the gurgle and roar of fast-moving water.

  'This is where the jailer throws the dead, or those that the rakshasa no longer requires,' the youth said.

  'Where does it lead?'

  The youth shook his head. 'I don't know. Maybe it leads out to sea. As long as it is away from here, I don't care.' He looked up. 'We might drown.'

  'We might,' Bradan agreed.

  'I'll go first.' The youth jumped in without another word.