The War of the Grail

by Geoffrey Wilson

  Elizabeth.

  He sat up with a jolt. He was still lying in the ruins and everything looked the same as before. The sky was still overcast, the rotting buildings were still standing. However, what he noticed the most was the silence. He heard no shouts, muskets or gunfire. For a moment, he even thought he might have imagined the whole battle.

  But then he saw a centipede lying nearby. It was completely still, a line of smoke rising from it. He picked up a stone and threw it at the creature. The beast crumbled apart into metal fragments.

  He looked up then and spotted Elizabeth stumbling through the rubble as if in a daze. She was dishevelled, and no longer glowing, but she appeared unharmed.

  He leapt to his feet and staggered across to her. Her eyes flickered when she saw him. She gave a little sob and fell into his arms.

  Jack blinked back tears and held her tight. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes.’ Her voice was cracked.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I don’t know. I think … I think I used the power.’ She stepped away from him. Her eyes were focusing now and she seemed more aware of her surroundings. ‘Where’s Cecily?’

  Jack felt the blood run from his face. He didn’t want to find out what had happened to his granddaughter, but he had to.

  He turned and saw the giant avatar towering over the ruins ahead of him. But there was something odd about the beast. It was completely motionless. It held its claw up in order to strike but was keeping it poised, hanging in the air.

  Saleem cowered beneath the creature, still holding his musket at the ready. Cecily lay swaddled in a blanket at his feet.

  Elizabeth gasped and rushed towards her child. But she only went a few paces before the avatar gave a deep groan. This was followed by the sound of scraping iron. A metal plate fell from the beast’s abdomen and clanked on the ground. Then another plate tumbled off, along with several stalks. Finally, the raised claw dropped off its arm and clattered on the earth.

  Saleem jumped as the claw struck the ground, grasped Cecily and dashed out of the way.

  Now the whole avatar collapsed, fragmenting into chunks of metal armour that fell off, a piece at a time, making a series of groans and creaks. Finally, the beast was nothing more than a pile of iron with a trace of smoke coiling up from it. The fire in its centre had gone out.

  Elizabeth ran across to Saleem and Cecily. Jack hobbled after her as quickly as he could.

  Saleem was gaunt, covered in dust and shaking slightly. But he was alive. And Cecily lay gurgling in his arms, reaching up with her tiny hands to grasp her mother. Elizabeth stifled a sob and swept the infant into her arms.

  Jack grinned at Saleem. ‘You did well.’

  Saleem swallowed and nodded, seemingly so shocked he’d lost his voice.

  Someone gave a moan nearby. Jack scanned the area and spotted something moving in the broken ironwork that was all that remained of the avatar.

  Christ. Was someone trapped underneath all that? Had there been someone else nearby when the creature fell apart?

  He scrambled through the broken legs, claws and armour-plating. The metal was still warm when he touched it and the heat pressed against his face as he got near to what had once been the innards of the beast.

  And then he saw a figure, a man, completely naked and lying in the midst of the wreckage. He was Indian, and short and slightly flabby.

  Jack froze when he realised that he recognised the man.

  It was General Vadula.

  Jack sank to his knees. He’d seen many pictures of Vadula. The man before him had to be the general, or someone who looked exactly like him.

  The man was covered in brass tubes and pistons. And as Jack looked more closely, he saw that these weren’t merely surrounding Vadula, they were in fact piercing his skin in many places, jutting into his neck, legs, arms and abdomen. And yet these injuries weren’t drawing blood. The skin seemed to have healed around the metal, as if the wounds had occurred a long time ago.

  And finally it dawned on Jack. Vadula hadn’t been near to the creature, or underneath it. He’d been inside it. Joined to it. Combined with it. Bound to it. And, no doubt, controlling it all along.

  Jack had always thought there was something strange about this avatar. It had seemed far more intelligent than any he’d come across before. Now he knew the truth.

  Vadula was still breathing, but he appeared weak and unaware even of where he was. His eyes focused on Jack for a moment. He seemed to be trying to speak, but there was a tube stuck in his mouth. As Jack watched, the life drained out of him and he gave a final sigh.

  Jack checked for a pulse. But he already knew Vadula was dead.

  PART FIVE

  34

  By the time Jack, Elizabeth and Saleem made it back to the Folly Brook camp, all those in the fortress who’d survived the attack were celebrating. Despite their exhaustion, thirst and hunger, people were managing to sing and dance. Because, although many had died, many too had lived, and they’d expelled the enemy from their walls.

  The crusade was still alive.

  As he’d limped across the ruins, Jack had heard snatches of stories from people. It seemed that suddenly all the avatars attacking the fort had died and crumbled apart. Jack could tell this was true, because he spotted numerous broken centipedes scattered across the ground. Furthermore, the enemy siddhas – sorcerers, as the rebels called them – had stopped using their devastating powers. Disorientated, afraid and without any clear leader, the army troops had faced a fierce attack from the rebels and had fled, despite their far greater numbers. They’d retreated down the hill and rejoined the forces that still encircled the fortress.

  The army hadn’t left. The siege continued. But at least the immediate battle had been won.

  Godwin had survived, as had Mary, Saleem’s family and many of the inhabitants of Folly Brook. But many had also died in the fighting. Half the apprentices had been killed defending the east wall, and around thirty other villagers had been slain as they fought either at one of the walls or around the ruined palace, where they’d faced a stiff struggle against the centipedes.

  The apprentices also reported something strange to Jack. They’d noticed that their powers had all waned, despite the fact that several were certain they still had a plentiful supply of sattva.

  As odd as it seemed, it was beginning to look to Jack as though neither powers nor avatars would work within the fortress any longer. And he could only think that had something to do with whatever it was Elizabeth had unleashed in the courtyard.

  Finally, Godwin ushered Jack into the ruined palace and over to the small chamber that had been serving as the temporary hospital. Eight villagers lay in there now, newly injured in the fighting, as well as Sonali.

  She was alive. Just.

  Jack crouched beside her and took her hand. She felt hot, far too hot, and the sweat beaded on her forehead. Her eyes were glued shut, but when Jack whispered to her, she managed to open them. With what seemed a great effort, she lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile.

  ‘Are you all right, Father?’ Elizabeth walked into the roofless chamber near the centre of the palace.

  Jack had been standing here for the past fifteen minutes, staring up at the clouded sky. Kanvar had meditated in this spot just days ago. It seemed as though years had passed in that time.

  Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘I’m fine. Just thinking.’

  Elizabeth stepped closer. ‘I’m sure she’ll live. She’s strong.’

  He lowered his gaze. ‘Sonali, you mean?’

  Elizabeth nodded.

  ‘We can only pray for her.’ He stared back at the sky. ‘And the dead.’ In his mind, he went through a roll-call of those who’d passed away over the last few days: Kanvar, Mark, the other apprentices and villagers, and even Henry.

  Elizabeth looked down. ‘I still don’t understand what happened to me.’

  ‘Neither do I.’

  ‘I think I got the p
ower to work. The power of the Grail.’

  ‘Something happened, that’s for sure.’

  ‘It was strange. I was trying to keep the necklace in my mind, like you said. It was easy. I’ve seen it so much. But nothing happened. I thought I must be getting it wrong, but then I heard that big creature.’

  ‘The avatar?’

  ‘Yes. And when I stood up, I saw Saleem and Cecily.’ Her eyes went moist and her bottom lip trembled. ‘I wanted to run across to them. I didn’t know what I could do, but I wanted to do something. But then I chose not to go. Can you believe that?’ She stared at Jack. ‘I decided not to fight for my own child. I decided to stay where I was and keep trying the Grail.’

  Jack shook his head. ‘You thought that if you could use the power, you would save Cecily.’

  ‘No.’ A tear bled down Elizabeth’s face. ‘I thought Cecily would die. But I still chose to stay and try. Just in case there was some chance …’ Elizabeth wiped the tear away from her cheek. ‘The strange thing is, after I made that choice, suddenly the necklace in my head seemed to glow very brightly. And then it felt like everything, the whole world, was spinning around me.’

  ‘You did the right thing. You did save Cecily, after all.’

  ‘But I thought I would fail.’

  Jack gripped her shoulder to comfort her. But now thoughts were rolling around in his mind. It was indeed strange that the yantra had worked for Elizabeth after she gave up on Cecily.

  Giving up. Abandoning. Leaving behind.

  Could that be the secret? Could that be what he’d been missing?

  He’d been able to use his special ability four times. Four times he’d been able to use the power to overcome the law of karma. Each time he’d thought of the Great Yantra. But he’d also learnt there had to be more to it than that. There’d been some other ingredient that had allowed him to use the power.

  And when he thought about it, hadn’t he made some sort of sacrifice each time he’d broken the law? Three of those times he’d been near death and just clinging on to life. And each time, he remembered now, he’d given up. He’d decided to stop fighting and accept his fate. He’d been prepared to give up on life itself.

  And the fourth time, the time when he’d broken the law of karma while staring at the pool where Sonali used to have her morning wash? What had he given up then?

  Of course, it had been Sonali herself. She’d travelled back to Dorsetshire and he’d accepted that she was gone and that he would never see her again.

  His eyes widened and he muttered, ‘That’s it.’

  Elizabeth frowned. ‘What?’

  He stepped away from her and limped back and forth on his wounded foot. For a moment, he felt like Kanvar, lost in his own world of thoughts. ‘It’s about leaving the material world. I should have seen it before. To use the Great Yantra you have to give up the material world. Give it up fully.’ He stopped and looked back at Elizabeth. ‘Jhala taught me that to use any yantra you have to move beyond the material world, see it for the illusion it really is. This Great Yantra, the Grail, is the same, just more so. We cling to the material world. We think it’s all there is. But if we can stop clinging, then we can move closer to the spirit realm. When you gave up Cecily, you gave up something important to you. The most important thing to you. That was the secret all along.’

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘I reckon so. If Kanvar were here, he’d be able to tell us. But it makes sense. It all fits.’

  Saleem appeared in the entryway. He’d cleaned the dust off his face, but he still looked exhausted and pale. ‘You’d better come to the wall, Jack.’

  Jack felt a tremor of nerves. Could the enemy be starting another attack already? ‘What is it?’

  ‘A white flag. The army have sent out a white flag.’

  Jack stood up on the east wall and stared through his spyglass. Down on the heath, in the middle of the plains, were six figures on horseback, one of whom was holding a white flag on a pole.

  So, it was true. The enemy wanted to talk again. This was surprising. Their leaders might be dead, but there were still thousands of them encircling the hills – and they could request much greater numbers of troops, should they need them. They could still crush the rebels eventually, or simply wait for them to die of thirst and starvation.

  Jack studied the faces of the riders, searching for any sign that might give away their intentions.

  And then he froze. He couldn’t stop his lips curling into a smile.

  One of the men on horseback was Captain Rao.

  Jack rode across the plains, holding a makeshift white flag high above his head. The mare had somehow survived the battle, the centipedes, and the lack of food and water. She seemed as strong as ever.

  He drew to a halt beside the riders. Rao gave a small shout of delight and swung himself down from his horse. Jack dismounted and Rao embraced him, patting him on the back.

  Rao stepped away and put his hands on his hips, looking Jack up and down. ‘Praise be to the Innocent Lord that you’re safe. When I got here and heard there’d been a battle, I feared the worst.’

  Jack grinned. ‘I’m not dead quite yet. But what are you doing here?’

  Rao frowned quizzically. ‘The treaty, of course. You remember?’

  ‘Aye. I remember. I didn’t know whether to believe it or not.’

  Rao drew a sheet of paper from his satchel. ‘This is a summary. I got the message at Leintwardine two days ago. I came as quickly as I could.’

  ‘So, you Rajthanans want to make peace? Now?’

  ‘Al-Saxony is in flames. Another uprising has started in the Napoli Caliphate. The whole of Europe is teetering on the brink. The Maharaja wants a deal with England. Immediately.’

  ‘England would be a protectorate?’

  ‘That is the offer.’ Rao waved the piece of paper. ‘Is the Earl of Shropshire still alive?’

  ‘He is.’

  Rao handed across the page. ‘Get him to sign this, and the army will withdraw from Shropshire. I give you my word on that. The Maharaja has agreed for me to start by negotiating peace in Shropshire. We’ll get the rest of the earls and the regent to sign after that.’

  ‘The earls must decide who’ll be regent. The Earl of Norfolk has to go.’

  ‘That is acceptable.’ Rao pressed the piece of paper into Jack’s hand. ‘But you must get this signed first.’

  Jack took the page. ‘I’ll talk to the earl. I’ll do my best. In the meantime, we have many wounded, including Sonali. She took a bullet in the stomach.’

  Rao drew his breath in sharply. ‘Ah. That is bad news. Send the injured down here. They can go to the hospital tent.’

  ‘The army would do that? For traitors?’

  ‘So long as you get that piece of paper signed, anything is possible. Do that, and I’ll have no problem getting them all treatment.’

  ‘Right. We need water too.’

  ‘I can send some up.’

  Jack took a deep breath. It was hard to believe it, but it seemed the battle – and indeed, the whole crusade – could finally be over. ‘Right, then. I’d better get back up there.’

  Rao scratched his nose. ‘Before you go, the army siddhas wanted me to ask you a couple of questions.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘General Vadula is missing.’

  ‘He’s dead.’ Jack gestured towards the fortress. ‘Up there.’

  ‘Ah. That is as everyone suspected. We request that you send the body down for cremation.’

  Jack nodded. ‘I’ll do it. He was inside that thing. That avatar.’

  ‘Yes, I believe that is so. It’s a very strange story. It’s been a secret up until now, but the siddhas told me just an hour ago. It seems he was in possession of some great power.’

  ‘The Great Yantra?’

  ‘Something like that. Not my field, as you know. But Vadula had become more powerful than he’d ever been before, and some of the siddhas seem to think it had gone to his head. He�
��d gone a bit mad in the past few months, they say. In the end, he decided to use his new powers to create that avatar and seal himself inside it. No one has ever heard of anything like it, but there it is.’

  ‘He was inside it all the time? From a few months ago?’

  ‘I believe so.’

  ‘That avatar was prowling around north Shropshire even before the army got here.’

  ‘Yes, it seems he’d gone quite mad. He was no longer himself, they say. He’d become as much a machine as a man. He was no longer even commanding his troops. The other generals had taken over. It was all kept secret, though, until now.’

  ‘That is a strange story.’

  ‘Indeed.’ Rao cleared his throat. ‘The siddhas also instructed me to ask you about a light they saw up on the hill during the battle. It was as bright as the sun, they said. After that, all their powers stopped working. Do you know anything about that?’

  ‘A little. I don’t understand it all, but I have a few theories. Can I speak to these siddhas?’

  ‘If we make peace, I’m sure it can be arranged.’

  ‘Good. I’ll tell them what I know. I have a few questions for them myself.’

  ‘Very well. Just get the agreement signed, Jack. And then all this will be over.’

  ‘Can we trust them?’ Sir Levin asked.

  Jack stood with his hands behind his back in the Earl of Shropshire’s residency. The earl was, as always, slumped in his chair. The courtyard was littered with spent round shot, shell fragments and burnt ivy leaves. Many of the walls had been reduced to rubble and cracks fanned across the paving stones.

  ‘I believe we can trust them,’ Jack said. ‘The negotiator is a friend of mine. He wouldn’t betray us. I’m certain of that.’

  The earl took a wheezy breath and examined the sheet of paper Jack had handed to him. ‘We have little alternative. We are weak. Many of us are dying. I cannot see how we could withstand another assault.’