Kautilya had enough sense to close her mouth but she saw Renuka swallowing water – the ape did not know how to swim. The power of the water was immense and soon they were ejected out of the drains and into the pit where all the filth of the prison ended up.
Kautilya coughed out water and gasped for air. Once she could breathe she looked around for Renuka, only to find the ape lying lifeless in the filth. Kautilya waded in knee-deep and pulled her up. She wrapped her arms around the ape’s chest and squeezed. Kautilya could not let Renuka die like this. Not after having waited for years to be reunited with her mother.
Suddenly Renuka shuddered and began retching. Kautilya let her go and Renuka collapsed onto her knees. She vomited out a lot of the water she had swallowed, then began wheezing.
“Are you all right?” Kautilya asked.
Renuka nodded. Suddenly she seemed to recall something and began feeling around in the filth.
“What are you doing?” Kautilya asked. “Let’s go. We’ve been found out. Let’s run before they get to us.”
Renuka ignored Kautilya and continued searching.
“What are you looking for, Renuka?” Kautilya demanded. “Let’s go before the guards get here.”
Renuka stood up and held out the amber pendant.
“We need to go,” Kautilya said. She snatched the pendant from Renuka. “We don’t have time.”
“On the contrary.”
It was the voice most Kautilya hated most in all the world. She looked up to see Dhanush standing at the opening of the sewage pit, looking down on her.
“Take your time. We’re in no hurry.”
CHAPTER 26
An Oath To a Friend
Kautilya sat bound to a chair. Dhanush had ordered the guards to wash the filth off her and Renuka. Then they had been brought to a room in the cellars of the prison tower.
The stains on the wall and the broken nails on the ground made it clear to Kautilya what they were in for. It was a torture chamber. Her father had abolished that abhorrent practice but it seemed to have been revived under the new rule.
Renuka was chained to the wall opposite her. Her stoic cheeriness had been replaced by equally stoic resignation. This affected Kautilya more than the fact that they had failed in their escape attempt. She had broken Renuka’s hope.
“I’m sorry,” Kautilya said. “I’m sorry.”
Renuka perked up when she heard Kautilya speak. They had not uttered a word since they’d been caught.
“Sorry?” Renuka asked. “For what?”
Kautilya’s eyes moistened and her voice choked up. “I failed you. I could not fulfil my promise.”
Renuka smiled. “Your plan was so good. We got so far. No one else could have come up with a better plan.”
“And yet,” Kautilya said, “my brothers beat me again.” She breathed in. “I will never beat them.”
“No,” Renuka said, “you are better than all your brothers combined. I know...”
She was interrupted by the prison door clanging open. Several guards walked in, then made way for Dhanush and Hayan.
Dhanush gestured to the guards to leave.
“Dear Sister,” Dhanush said, “you make my life so interesting. You are so much better an adversary than these fools I have to deal with on a daily basis. But I did foresee you doing something of this sort, which is why I had Hayan keep watch on you through the day. He doesn’t sleep, you see.”
Dhanush stood in front of her. “And did you like the new astra? It wasn’t me. Once I became king I ordered Akrama to surrender the Astrashastra. I taught some to Varun. You know how stupid Sameer and Bali are. So there was no luck there.”
Kautilya’s brothers had swapped the white clothes typical of the Shvetas, for black.
Dhanush noticed her studying his new attire. “The Raptors are Shveta no more, Sister. We are now Shyama, so we updated our attire as well.”
Kautilya spat. Changing their attire did not change their family. They had still murdered their own father.
Dhanush sighed. “It pains us to see you so antagonistic towards us, Kautilya. You are a strategic genius. Why do you waste it on a meaningless vendetta?”
“Meaningless?” Kautilya said. “Do you think the death of our father is meaningless?”
“He was a fool,” Dhanush said. “Look what he did at the swayamvar. Do you think the priests would have listened to reason? Do you think the people would have listened to reason? He just gave the Lohithas a chance to do what they have always wanted to do: take the throne. He put all of us at risk.
“I had no choice, Kautilya. I had to finish him then and there.”
Kautilya was silent. It was true. Chandra would never be forgiven for meddling in a sacred ritual. But he had meant it when he said he would not let even the gods harm his daughter.
“He did it to protect me,” Kautilya said. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have jumped into the arena.”
Dhanush sighed. “Yes, you’re right. You shouldn’t have.”
“But,” Kautilya said, “we were a pride. We were lions together. No one could have defeated us if we stood together. You should have stood by our father no matter what. Before your duty as a king is your duty as a son.”
“I disagree,” Dhanush said. “Duty to one’s nation is above all else. Tell me now, Kautilya. Will you join me? Or will you continue to defy me?”
Kautilya laughed. “Defy you? Defiance is the least of it, Dhanush. I mean to ruin you and whatever you build.”
“Do you really?” Dhanush asked.
“Yes,” Kautilya said. “I will forever be a thorn in your side.”
Dhanush shook his head. He turned to Hayan. “Hayan, as we discussed.”
Hayan nodded. He pulled out a pair of steel gauntlets. At their fingertips were large curved talons.
“He calls it Peeda,” Dhanush said. “It means suffering, so a very apt name.”
So that was what Dhanush meant to do. He hoped that torturing her would change her mind. But had he forgotten what she was like? No amount of pain could make Kautilya give in.
Hayan sharpened the talons with a grinding stone. Then he walked towards her.
She began to breathe deeply. She would not give in.
“I had hoped it would not come to this,” Dhanush said, “but you left me no choice, Kautilya.”
Kautilya shut her eyes. She would not yield.
“Open your eyes, Kautilya,” Dhanush said. “You should be able to face the consequences of standing against me.” He grabbed her face. “Open your eyes.”
Kautilya opened her eyes defiantly. Yes, she would face him while he tried to break her. Her stare bored into his. But he was not in front of her. He was behind her.
In front of Kautilya was Hayan, standing next to Renuka.
Dhanush grinned. “Excellent. Let’s begin, Hayan.”
A loud scream reverberated around the room. But it was not Kautilya’s.
Hayan had plunged the talons into Renuka’s chest.
“No,” Kautilya cried, “not her!” She tried to break her shackles. “Not her!”
Hayan began pulling Renuka’s flesh apart. She screamed louder.
Kautilya wailed. “Please don’t, Dhanush! Torture me, not her. She has nothing to do with it. The escape was my idea.”
The screams continued to get louder. Kautilya could not bear to see her friend suffer.
“She’s blind, you scum,” Kautilya said. “Let her go!”
The flesh of Renuka’s chest tore wide enough for Kautilya to see her heart beating wildly inside. She thrashed helplessly.
“Let her go!” Kautilya wailed. “I’ll do anything for you.”
Dhanush raised his hand and Hayan stopped. Renuka’s screams changed to weak whimpering.
“I’ll do anything,” Kautilya
said. “Command me as you please.” She bowed her head. Tears streamed down her cheek. “Just let her go.”
Dhanush sighed. He hugged the weeping Kautilya from behind. “Kautilya,” he said, “I hoped you would understand me.”
Kautilya sobbed. It did not matter if she couldn’t avenge her father. She couldn’t bear to see her only friend suffer.
“I hoped you would understand me,” Dhanush said, “but you still don’t.”
Kautilya raised her head. But she had complied. She had agreed to serve him.
“See, Kautilya,” Dhanush said, “this pity is your flaw. Moments ago you were ready to kill me no matter the cost. But then your resolve was broken at the sight of an ape in pain. What is the use of all that brilliance if you are not strong?
“I want you to be strong, Kautilya. I don’t want you to be my slave. I want you to be my right hand. I want your brilliance as my weapon as I lead the humans to their rightful place besides the demigods.”
“I am human,” Kautilya said. “I feel others’ pain.”
“Do you think I don’t?” Dhanush said. “Do you think I did not feel the same pain you did when I watched my father die? It broke my heart. But the difference between you and me is that. I don’t let my compassion cloud my judgement.
“You have to learn to be that way, Kautilya. I made you the warrior you are today. If I need to do more to make you stronger, I will.”
Kautilya was confused. What was he talking about? What did he intend to do?
“Hayan,” Dhanush said, “make sure that our sister sees the limits of pain when you are done.”
“Dhanush, no,” Kautilya said. “Please don’t.” She tried to break free from her bonds.
Dhanush turned away. “I’m sorry, Sister. Maybe one day you will see... I’m doing this to make you what you should be.”
“I will do what it takes, Dhanush,” Kautilya said. “Just not like this.”
“He is right, Kautilya,” Renuka said.
Kautilya gasped.
“Be strong. Be resolute,” she said. “Because you will need it when you make this scum suffer the way he’s made us suffer.”
Tears blurred Kautilya’s eyes. How was Renuka talking? How was she holding on when Kautilya herself could not?
“You have to learn to be like my mother,” Renuka said. “You have to do whatever it takes even if it hurts the ones you love.”
Dhanush laughed, then sighed. “An ape has better sense than you, Kautilya.” He turned to Hayan. “But make sure this ape does not insult me again.”
Hayan nodded. He thrust his claws into Renuka’s mouth and with one jerk ripped out her tongue.
CHAPTER 27
Meet The Squad
Kautilya lay in the cold, hard-floored cell. They had put her in isolation after her escape attempt. She was in a different prison too.
There were no windows, no bedrolls and no cellmates. They did not let her out for food and no one was allowed to visit her.
Her only company was the damselfly trapped in the blue amber pendant. She would spend hours staring at it. Sometimes she spoke to it as well.
A metal plate clanked in through the gap under the cell door. “Food,” a raspy voice rudely announced. Kautilya turned to see her usual fare of cold gruel and lentils. She had not eaten since Renuka’s torture. She planned to die in prison and become a martyr.
Then a second metal plate slid in beside the first. Kautilya wondered if it was an accident or if they wanted to tempt her to eat by giving her more food.
Then the key turned in the cell door – and a moment later it was flung open.
“Kautilya?” a gentle voice said.
Kautilya scrambled to her feet. “Who are you?”
It was a demigod, of about Kautilya’s age. Her hair was white and her eyes were almost emerald green. She smiled at Kautilya, revealing her perfect line of teeth.
“Greetings, Princess Kautilya,” the girl said. “My name is Saira. My friend and I are here to break you out of prison.”
“Who are you?” Kautilya asked.
“The Free Squad,” Saira said. “We work for Yama.”
Why did he want to break her out of prison?
“What about the guards?” Kautilya asked.
“We’ll take care of them,” Saira said. She pulled her cloak aside and revealed a pair of swords. “We’ll try to avoid them but we may still have to fight our way through. Nina, I found her,” she called softly.
Kautilya turned to see a chubby yakshi – a dwarven race that dwelled in the hills beyond Bharat.
“All right, Saira,” Nina said. “Let’s go.”
Kautilya tried to stand up but she could not.
Saira ran to her, “Hmmm … You are emaciated. How long have you been starving yourself?” The demigod placed a hand on her stomach.
Kautilya felt a warmth begin to spread in her body from where Saira had placed her hand. She tried to move away.
“Sshhh…” Saira said, “Relax, I am healing you.”
Kautilya felt the strength return to her body. In some time she was able to stand back up.
“Ready to leave?” Saira asked.
Kautilya nodded.
The three ran out of the cell and up a long stairway that led out of the prison. Kautilya noticed that Nina had a large shield on her back and a small sword in her hand. It was a good combination for someone who was so short.
Nina bade them halt. “Soldiers incoming,” she said.
“Halt, intruders!” a guard demanded. As expected, almost a dozen guards were lining up along the stairwell. The first one chuckled when he saw Saira and Nina. “Are the two of you going to rescue the princess? How pathetic.”
“Who you calling pathetic?” Nina said. She and Saira took a stance in front of Kautilya.
“I’ll take care of this,” Saira said. She pulled out two crescent daggers.
Before the guards could attack, Saira was already among them. She slashed across the thighs of the two guards, moving faster than any human.
Saira possessed the speed of a demigod warrior. She ducked and dodged around the guards’ sword attacks. Her daggers weaved in and out as she incapacitated one after another, apparently making sure that she did not hit any vital spots.
With a final swing, she took care of the last remaining guard.
“That was just one of us!” Nina screamed at the fallen guards. The exit from the prison was clear.
Saira turned to Kautilya. “Let’s go, princess. We have to make it out of here.”
Soon they were outside, and Kautilya breathed in the fresh air. It tasted wonderful after so long in the dank prison.
Saira pointed to the forests that surrounded the tower. “We just have to make it there. Friends await us,” she said.
Kautilya asked, “Why are you doing this?”
Saira smiled. “I don’t know. I just do as I’m told.”
Suddenly her eyes widened and she pushed Kautilya down before grabbing an arrow out of the air.
Nina leapt in front of them, the giant shield in her hands. Several arrows hit the shield, leaving Kautilya untouched.
“Are you all right?” Saira demanded.
Prison guards began to surround them. The two warriors had their swords drawn.
Suddenly two of the guards screamed and collapsed. A new being had now come in between the women and the guards.
He turned his head towards them. His eyes lingered on Kautilya a while.
At first, he had seemed like a human of Kautilya’s age. His hair was blond like the demigods’ – but he had the red eyes and pointed ears of a rakshasa, an island-dwelling race of blood-thirsty demons. He was lean but muscular.
“Demon!” a guard screamed.
The being turned to the guards. “A demon? Yes, I am a creature
who craves the blood of humans. It seems you have a quarrel with my cohort. Well, if you pick a fight with them then you pick a fight with me.”
He spread out his arms and curled his fingers into the shape of a claw. Kautilya recognised it as a mudra. Only asura were known to use them in combat. What was this creature?
“Picking a fight with me,” the being said, “is a quick path to the next birth.”
“Close your eyes,” Saira said. “Ādi can be very brutal.”
Kautilya did not close her eyes. She focused on the mad brutality that unfolded in front of her. If Saira had unleashed a dance of swords on the guards then Ādi released a storm of fury. Blood sprayed across the fields, and chilling screams as human flesh was torn asunder and bones cracked. Unlike Saira, Ādi did not hesitate in killing the guards.
By the end, it was hard to believe that the corpses on the ground had once been living human beings.
Ādi smiled mischievously.
Saira shook her head. “You are a savage, Ādi.”
“Only for you,” Ādi said. He leapt and embraced Saira. As he hugged her, he studied Kautilya.
“All right, lovebirds,” Nina said, “you can do your twisted romantic antics later. Yama must be waiting.”
“I have been,” a voice said from the shadows.
Kautilya turned to see Yama standing there.
“Welcome, Kautilya,” he said. “Welcome to the rebellion.”
CHAPTER 28
Journey To The Citadel
After their escape, the group hid in an ox cart. It carried them through the forest and beyond the borders of Bharat.
Once dawn broke the caravan reached the edge of the Dandaka Forest. The squad got off, Yama paid the cart driver and they entered the forest.
Kautilya observed the scenery around them as the party walked along in silence. She had never been this deep into the Dandaka forests. The landscape was a riotous collection of strange trees and shrubbery. Vines with multihued flowers and mushrooms of all sorts of shapes grew on the trees. No part of the forest was silent. Bird chirps, mosquito buzzing, frog croaks and unholy hissing noises came together in an intense forest cacophony.
The Epic of Kautilya : Born To Be King Page 12