by Samit Basu
She brought bow and arrow together and aimed at Kirin.
Then she stopped, surprised.
People reacted in different ways when Red Pearl pointed arrows at them. Some looked terrified, others fell to the ground and begged, the more foolish ones attacked…
She had never seen anyone look unconcerned before.
Unconcerned wasn’t it. He seemed… distracted. He wasn’t even looking at her.
Kirin’s eyes stared into nothingness. And then he saw…
The servants of Danh-Gem will find you, Kirin, you will not even have to look for them, they will hunt you.
He saw the large black shape silhouetted in the tree, he saw the huge black arm set arrow to bow, he felt the tension as the bowstring was drawn back…
‘Behind you!’ he yelled.
‘Oh, please,’ said Red Pearl.
And suddenly there was a black arrow in her back. She stumbled, and almost fell, grasping Kirin to maintain her balance.
Then Red Pearl reared up on her hind legs, spinning around and fitting an arrow to her own bow in a blur. Before she could release it, a second arrow streaked down from the tree, aimed with deadly precision, striking her injured wrist. She dropped the bow with a cry and reached for the knife in a loose sheath bound across her bare waist, but she was a trained member of the Silver Phalanx and she knew she was dead even before the third arrow pierced her heart.
She sank to her knees, breathing heavily.
‘Who is it that shoots me in the back, like a coward, without even issuing a challenge?’ she called.
The huge black shape flew out of the tree and landed in front of her. There was a ring as a sword was drawn.
‘My name is Bali,’ said Bali, and his blade swung in a flashing arc.
A few birds flew out of a nearby tree, screeching.
Red Pearl’s body fell to the ground softly. Her head rolled once, twice, and then lay still in the soft mud.
Kirin felt a surge of pure hate streaking from his head to his fingers, as raw ravian power crackled and tingled in his hands. He suddenly knew that he wouldn’t need a weapon…
When they do come, you must control your anger and work with them.
He stopped, and let his hand fall limply to his side.
‘You can thank me later,’ said Bali. ‘Where is the pashan-lord?’
Spikes came out of the cave, claws out, head down, prepared to strike. He had never looked more menacing.
‘No, Spikes,’ said Kirin, raising his hand, trying not to look at Red Pearl. He felt anger, deep and terrible anger, welling up inside him. He had to do something…
Remember – if you fail, he will conquer all, for he will be more terrible and powerful than ever before.
But he couldn’t let Red Pearl die unavenged…
A time will come later, I promise you, when you will have the power to decide whether they live or die.
‘What do you want?’ he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
Bali said nothing. He picked up Red Pearl, and Kirin marveled at his strength as he threw her inside the cave like a sack.
Then he bowed, and said ‘I apologize for the rather uncouth introduction. I am Bali, king of the vanars of Vrihataranya. I need your help, Spikes, and yours, Kirin.’
‘How do you know my name?’ Kirin burst out.
Bali smiled, revealing glittering white fangs. ‘We have a few common friends,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘You can come out now, it’s safe,’ called Bali. A green creature crawled out from behind a tree and smiled uncertainly at them. Kirin gasped.
‘Hooba?’
‘Es elweys,’ grinned the asur.
‘But how…’
‘Let me explain,’ said Bali.
Suddenly there was a sound of a horn blowing in the forest, and the distant sound of hooves.
‘Curses!’ roared Bali. ‘The man-horses followed us!’
He turned to face Kirin.
‘I am sure you know what I want,’ he said in a low, urgent voice, ‘and you know you must help me. Together, we can raise the Rakshas. I would have explained everything, but we have no time. The man-horses will be here any moment. We should move north, fast.’
He gathered Hooba up on his shoulder.
‘We must go now,’ he said, and sprang up on a tree.
You must control your anger and work with them. Win them over, no matter how much hatred they arouse in you.
‘Get the bag, Spikes,’ said Kirin. He looked at Red Pearl’s body, lying in the cave. Your death will not be in vain, he promised her.
A time will come later, I promise you, when you will have the power to decide whether they live or die.
And Red Pearl had come out, exposing herself to Bali’s arrows, only because she trusted him…
‘Hurry!’ called Bali.
Spikes and Kirin emerged from the cave. Kirin slung the bag with the book in it over his shoulder.
The horns of the centaurs rang out again, louder and closer. Hooves thundered through the Centaur Forests.
‘Follow me,’ said Bali, and streaked off, a black blur skimming from branch to branch, Hooba bobbing wildly on his shoulder.
Kirin looked at him, then at Spikes. Spikes shrugged his stone shoulders. Then they both took a deep breath, and began to run.
Chapter Three
Bolvudis village, Griffinmonth 12th, 10 p.m.
Muwi-visions acted in 4, Number of times called beautiful many (strange, never happened before, anyway it must be my smart new clothes), Temptation to get out of same smart new clothes and back into old rags severe, New spells learnt 2, Number of times worried about Kirin many, Attraction for Asvin 6/10, Magic 8/10.
Another good day. I love Bolvudis – this whole Muwi-vision business is brilliant. I never knew I could act before, but I’m getting offers left and right. Then again, it’s probably because the imps think we’re all actors, and I’m the Badshah’s daughter after all. But it’s huge fun. I’ve never ever really thought about clothes before, and the costumes they make here are amazing. Of course, they’ll never get me to paint my face or put kohl around my eyes. Or wear jewellery, for that matter. I mean, at some point spellbinders have to draw the line.
Wonder what Kirin is doing. Very worried about him, actually, but he can take care of himself, and Spikes can take care of anyone who attacks them, so I suppose he must be all right. I hope Red Pearl finds him. I wish he’d told me why he had to go. Anyway, no point thinking about that, as I tell myself about once an hour. Which reminds me, I have to get the loose sheets I scribbled in for the last few days and stick them into this book. I’ll die if Asvin finds them floating around.
Oh, Asvin, (melodramatic sigh) I don’t think anything can ever happen between us. And I’ll tell you why. It’s because you’re so caught up in the idea of being a hero that you can’t love a damsel unless she’s in distress. You can’t accept the fact that I’m a lot smarter than you, and could probably beat you in a fight as well. And I won’t make my eyes go big, or swoon, or whisper ‘My Hero!’ in a pretty, high voice. I won’t wander around naked singing in forests. I won’t put myself in danger so you can rescue me and feel you’ve won me. I will flirt with you relentlessly, though, because you’re unbearably nice and good-looking and your broad shoulders tell me you’ll be an excellent hunter-gatherer and protector of our seventeen children. And every nice girl loves a hero, especially a hero with such a nice... There I go again. Why o why must you take yourself so seriously?
Never mind. It’s just a little attraction. And speaking of little attractions, I cornered Amloki a few days ago and asked him why he’d been avoiding me. To my complete astonishment, he went all red and muttered something about the demands of his art. Now I knew he was acting in Muwi-visions – why, only the other day I saw him in a horse-hair beard and a doublet stuffed with feathers, pretending to be a vaman – but that didn’t explain why he would disappear whenever I was around and shuffle his fee
t embarrassedly whenever I pulled him out of his hiding-place. So I told him to tell me the truth and he said he had thought, before, that he was in love with me.
‘I took care not to laugh at the funny little fellow, or say that it was obviously impossible because he’s a khudran and about as high as my waist. I told him instead that it would complicate matters, wouldn’t it, if we went on quests together – so I was sorry but it could never be. He said he knew, and that was why he was plunging himself into his work, and acting in at least a dozen Muwi-visions. He said it had happened before, and he knew he shouldn’t be drawn to human women but he was so far from home, and very lonely, and I could do magic tricks and everything. And he knew he wasn’t really in love with me, and it was perfectly all right now, and he was very sorry. The poor, sweet little thing. I gave him a huge hug and kissed him, and he went brick red and practically ran. I haven’t seen him since, though the imps have all been telling me he’s rapidly becoming a big star. Anyway, I don’t think he should come on quests with us. He’s really smart and knows a lot, but being small and nice isn’t going to get you anywhere with an asur, or a vanar. And he’s done a lot of work already. I think he should just settle down and be an actor now. He can do all the vaman roles – they’ll never get vamans to act.
Anyway, that’s more than enough about Amloki.
My father’s still busy with his tele-vision spell. He promised he’d teach me how to do it, it’s simply amazing. But it’ll take time to learn. He really is the greatest spellbinder in the world – I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as he is. I wish he would stop for some time, though, and teach me a little more. It’s all very well, seeing through the eyes of seagulls or other animals while you lie in the comfort of your own hut, but it tends to make the conversation a little one-sided. And Irik and Stivin must be thoroughly tired by now, because they’ve been flying over the Centaur Forests looking for Kirin for a week.
When I told him about Kirin, I swore him to secrecy too. He wasn’t angry – he said he quite understood me not being able to tell anyone before, and that he was glad I understood how some secrets had to be kept, regardless of personal cost. I wonder what life-altering revelation he’s going to subject me to in the future.
He was glad I told him, because the Civilian was quite concerned. It turns out the Civilian and my father send flying scarabs to each other all the time, and that this whole quest had been planned long ago. And there were two people in the last few years who were brought to Bolvudis because the Civilian suspected they might be Simoqin’s hero, but they both died. Which is why so many people have been brought to take care of Asvin, myself included. And Asvin isn’t supposed to know about the other two.
Father was very excited when I told him how Kirin made moongold glow and could move objects with his mind. He agreed that the moongold alone proved Kirin was a ravian. But he was really worried when I told him about Spikes, and said that vanars and crows were looking for a pashan who was the son of Danh-Gem’s bodyguard, who would help them raise Danh-Gem. And they think it’s Spikes. That’s too strange for words. Why is he Kirin’s friend, then? He would have killed Kirin long ago, because he knows Kirin’s a ravian. Unless Spikes doesn’t know who he really is. Very complicated.
Father seemed most puzzled when he heard that Spikes had brought Kirin to Kol. And when I told him that Kirin was Narak the Demon-hunter’s son and had a book that had told him he was supposed to kill Danh-Gem, my father got really excited and started writing to the Civilian at once. He told me that the Civilian would tell no one, except possibly the Silver Dagger. He said it seemed like Simoqin and Narak’s rivalry had not ended with princess Isara.
We talked about how their different ways of preparing for Danh-Gem’s return fitted everything the books said about them – one operating in the dark, in secret, and the other with humans, spellbinders, and a beautiful, mysterious prophecy that gave hope to the whole world. Well, the whole not-crazy-about-Danh-Gem world, anyway.
He said it was imperative that we find Kirin and bring him here. If Spikes was the pashan that the vanars were looking for, and Kirin didn’t know who Spikes really was, it could be really dangerous for him. I didn’t agree. I said Spikes would never harm Kirin, and if it was indeed a coincidence that the pashan who is supposed to raise Danh-Gem and the ravian who is supposed to kill him are together, which seems impossible, then it’s best that we do not meddle. Narak had always been scornful about humans, and obviously Narak’s plan, whatever it is, shouldn’t be tampered with. I think Kirin should be left alone, to do whatever he is doing. But obviously my father, who knows neither Kirin nor Spikes, did not agree with that. But he did accept that it was a great thing that there was a ravian in the world, that his presence could only make the enemies of Danh-Gem stronger and possibly explain the rise in magic over the last few years.
He said that because of this new information, the Civilian would probably send the Silver Dagger after Kirin and Spikes, to follow them and find out what the vanars were doing. I thought that was quite a good idea, actually. But how come father knows what the Silver Dagger might do? How close is he to the Civilian? The whole thing is very confusing, and I still think we should all leave it alone and trust Kirin. If the book is telling the truth – and it probably is, since Kirin would never have left without the proof he was looking for – then I think we should concentrate on Asvin and hope for the best.
I always liked the stories about Narak better, though.
The very day I told him, a week ago now, my father showed me what tele-vision is about. He called Irik and Stivin, did a couple of very complicated mudras, fed them some fish and then they flew away. He lay back on his cot, eyes staring into nothing, and told me he could talk to me, but he was seeing with their eyes. I talked to him for a while, but he wasn’t replying, so I went away.
Then three days ago he told me that there was some kind of powerful cloaking magic in the Centaur Forests, and they had not been able to see Kirin or Spikes, because his vision had grown really clouded over a part of the southern Centaur Forests, which was probably where Kirin was. But Stivin saw three vanars moving into it. My father tried to look harder, but tele-vision is a great strain, and he’s developed it only recently, so he couldn’t. Not over so much distance, anyway. What was the vanar doing? I’m very worried. What, for that matter, are Kirin and Spikes doing in the Centaur Forests? And how quickly can the Dagger get there?
As for the problem controlling the birds, I suggested that he use a bug of some kind – after all, they’re smaller, so it would hurt less, and no one would notice them – I mean, why would a seagull be wandering around in the Centaur Forests anyway. Father was really happy with me, and very enthusiastic about the idea. He said the tele-vision bug would probably remove the need for spies some day, if the idea worked. And if the bug can be controlled over sufficiently long distances. It would probably make sense to use flying insects, but finding insects capable of really long-range flight will be difficult. But it’s worth looking into–anyway, it might not even work on insects, father said the spell would need considerable modifications, but we should definitely try. Why, if we could see through the eyes of trained bugs, we could find out all about Xi’en and Artaxerxia – especially what their secret sorcerer’s schools have been up to all these years…
Asvin is coming this way. That’s it for now.
Chapter Four
They had run for a day without a pause, and then Kirin could run no more. He had collapsed on the ground, breathing in huge, ragged gulps, while Spikes stood and watched and Bali glared down from a tree. Then Spikes had picked him up, and Bali and Spikes had run through the night and the next day and night, silently, swiftly. They ran northwards and eastwards, and the ground was sloping steadily upwards and getting rockier – Spikes no longer left footprints, and whoever followed them would not be able to run at full gallop.
A few hours after they had started running, the sound of the pounding hooves of the centaurs had g
rown softer, and the blasts of their horns more remote, moving westwards.
Later Bali had explained that he had brought two other vanars with him, and instructed them to kill the first centaur that approached and then move westwards, to draw pursuit away from him. Which was why, he said, Red Pearl’s body probably had not even been discovered.
But at dawn on the second day, they had heard the sounds of many horns blowing loudly and fiercely, and being answered by horns in all directions. Far in the distance, they had seen a cloud of burning arrows flying into the sky. And then the Battle-Drum of the centaurs had started beating.
They had stopped running at the first beat of the Great Drum, which tore the sky apart and sent every bird in the forest flying into the sky. For centuries, the Drum of the Centaurs had struck fear into the hearts of enemies – the Centaur Forests had never been conquered by invaders. Long and deep the Drum rolled, and they had started running again, spurred on by images of strong centaurs, long hair flowing in the wind, streaking through the forest with bright spears in their hands and bows slung on their backs. Every half-hour the Drum would beat once, in a great doom that echoed from end to end of the Centaur forests, from the Mountains of Harmony in the east to the Bleakwood in the west.
The beats of the Drum followed them, until, at midnight on the second night, there were two quick, thundering beats, a roll, and then silence. The centaurs had caught and killed Bali’s soldiers at the edge of the Bleakwood. Bali and Spikes ran on, Hooba and Kirin clutching on to them desperately as night turned into dawn. The Centaur Forests were green and dense, and they crossed many little streams that gushed from the hills and ran southwards, towards the ocean. Finally they came to one wider than most, and they ran along its western bank until they reached a roaring waterfall that plummeted from a sheer rock-face into churning white rapids below. These, though they did not know it, were the Dawn Falls, where the centaurs and the Psomedean humans had made peace years ago.
