Bradan sat on a rock, breathing hard. He closed his eyes. The nine Siddhars were back where they belonged. That meant that the world must have been restored to balance and, more importantly for him, Melcorka was undoubtedly back to normal. Now he had to feed her up, get her back to full strength, and regain Catriona. He had had enough of this place with its rakshasas and slavers and Siddhars, however intelligent and knowledgeable the latter might be.
'Who is that woman?' Kosala had bound up the wound in his side and was pressing leaves on the gash in his face.
'That is Melcorka,' Bradan said.
Kosala shook his head. 'No. I've seen Melcorka these past few days. She is an imbecile, a woman without a brain. That must be her double.'
'You are wrong.' Bradan shook his head. 'A demon cursed Melcorka and reduced her to the shell you saw. The Siddhars must have managed to lift the curse. The world is back in balance again.'
Kosala hefted his sword. 'I will help your Melcorka.' His grin reopened his facial wound so that blood dribbled down his chin. 'She is a woman I could learn to like.'
'She's mine,' Bradan said.
Kosala spun his sword around his hand, threw it in the air and caught it again. 'A woman like that would prefer a warrior to a man who only wants to wander.'
'Go and help her if you wish,' Bradan said. 'You still cannot have her.' He swayed, as the mental trauma and physical exhaustion of the past weeks caught up with him once more. The rocks seemed to rise up toward him as he slumped down. The sound of the rapids and the calls of birds were the only things he heard.
* * *
Bradan woke to find the nine Siddhars surrounding him, serene and unsmiling. The atmosphere of tranquillity was so overwhelming that he had no desire to be anywhere else. He smiled up to them.
'He needs information,' one of the Siddhars said.
'He is not yet ready,' said another.
Bradan wished to remain in this place of peace and wisdom forever. There was no lust here, no desire for power or conquest, no overriding ambition for material gain, no hidden motivation to dominate or control. There was only acceptance, wisdom and a connection with Creation that Bradan did not fully understand.
'Bradan.' The Siddhars spoke as one unit. 'With our reunion, the world is more whole, yet there is more danger.'
'There is always danger,' Bradan said.
'We cannot tell him all…' The voices shifted within Bradan's mind. He tried to listen, to pick out the words and phrases that could help him, yet he knew that if he opened his mind to everything that was there, madness would consume him. His brain could not yet digest this vast volume of knowledge, although he knew that each encounter and experience helped it to expand.
One voice stood out amongst the rest. 'Tell him what he needs to know. Tell him what he needs to know, or the rakshasas will be victorious despite all we can do.'
'The war between Good and Evil is fought on two levels.' The words were clear in Bradan's mind. 'It is fought on the spiritual level and the physical level.'
'I understand that,' Bradan said.
'You and Melcorka are the two levels,' the voices said, 'although the links are shared and the elements mixed.'
'I do not understand.' Bradan tried to grasp the concept. He could see the truths floating around his head, yet, when he reached for them, the words and the wisdom slipped from his grasp, leaving him only a residue, a rump of knowledge where he needed the entirety.
'You both have a measure of the spiritual.' The voice was patient. 'And you both have a measure of the physical.'
Bradan heard another voice speak. 'These two do not have enough of either to defeat the rakshasa. They need help.'
'Time is short,' a third voice said. 'The rakshasas are at the gate. We must close the great gate before it is too late.'
Bradan felt the new urgency around him. The Siddhars were worried about something. 'Tell me!' Bradan said. 'Tell me what we must do!'
The words came in a babbling rush, as if the Siddhars were too busy to explain correctly.
'Use the steel from the west bathed in the water from the north to defeat the evil from the south when the sun sets in the east.'
'What? What does that mean? The sun never sets in the east. The sun can never set in the east! Tell me!'
Bradan sat up with a jerk. He was on the slope of a hill with the sun hot on his face and birds chattering around him. Monkeys were playing in the copse of trees nearby. Chaturi sat at his left side, with Melcorka on his right. Nearby, Kosala lounged, sharpening his sword and singing a soft song.
'Where am I?' Bradan asked.
'You are safe.' Chaturi pushed him back down. 'You are safe, and Melcorka is safe. The world is in balance.'
'No,' Bradan said. 'There is still work to be done. We have to use the steel from the west bathed in the water from the north to defeat the evil from the south when the sun sets in the east.'
'Oh? What does that mean?' Melcorka was chewing on a piece of fruit, with juice dribbling down her chin. Although she had washed and her hair shone like varnished ebony, her face was gaunt, there were dark shadows around her eyes, and her frame was skeletal thin.
'I hoped it might mean something to Chaturi.' Bradan faced Melcorka. 'Are you back, Mel?'
'I am back.' Melcorka finished her fruit and started on another. She glanced down at herself. 'I am a walking skeleton, with so little strength that I can hardly walk, let alone lift Defender, but I am back.'
'The way you have eaten since the Siddhas balanced the world,' Chaturi said, 'it won't be long until you are as fat as a pig.'
Bradan struggled to sit up. His gaze did not stray from Melcorka's face. 'I was a little concerned.'
Chaturi gave a barking laugh. 'He worried about you constantly, Melcorka. He bullied and harassed us into taking care of you every waking minute and dreamed about you when he was asleep.'
Bradan filled the awkward silence with an attempt at humour. 'I needed her sword.'
'Now, about this woman you were seeing when I was gone…' Melcorka inched closer, still chewing. 'Tell me about her.'
'I had little choice in the matter,' Bradan said. 'And she was a rakshasa, not a woman.'
'So you say,' Melcorka said. 'I will speak to her later, rakshasa, woman or whatever she pretends to be.' She touched his arm. 'Chaturi told me what you have done.' She said no more. Both knew that there was no need for either of them to say more. Words did not matter.
'How did it feel, Mel? When you were gone?'
Melcorka considered. 'I am not sure,' she said. 'At first, in the immediate aftermath of the curse, it didn't feel like anything. I knew I was not quite myself, yet without anything definite. I felt very aggressive, as if I wished to fight everybody and everything. After that, I seemed to float away. I could see you and hear you. I knew what you were saying and doing, without being able to respond. I knew what I wanted to say.' She shrugged. 'I just could not say the words.'
'You should have wasted away and died weeks ago,' Chaturi said. 'That sort of curse kills slowly and terribly. After this length of time, even the Siddhars should not have been able to get you back. You are a strong woman.'
Kosala stepped up. 'She is a warrior. I have never seen any woman fight as she did. I would be proud to have a woman like you, Melcorka.'
'Thank you, Kosala,' Melcorka touched his arm. 'Coming from a noted champion such as you, these words mean a lot.'
Bradan sat further up. 'I thought I might never get you back.'
'If it had been anybody else except you, Brad, I might have stayed in that place forever, not quite alive and not quite dead. I won't forget what you did.'
'So you forgive me the other woman, then?'
Melcorka laughed. 'I did not say that. I have to think what to do to you.' She touched the hilt of Defender. 'I have business to finish with this Dhraji, rakshasa, demon, witch or rani. I have red words to say to her with a tongue of steel. Now,' Melcorka looked up, 'I need more food.'
They ate b
eside a copse of trees on the side of the sacred mountain, with the air warm and the high green slopes of the Ghats spreading before them. 'I'm glad you've found your appetite,' Bradan said, grinning as he watched Melcorka eat everything that was put before her.
'Are you going to finish that?' She pointed to a slice of fish that Bradan had been saving for last. 'No? Then it must be for me.' Smiling, she lifted it. 'I need to keep my strength up.'
'As Chaturi said, you'll soon be as fat as a pig,' Bradan told her. 'It's good to have you back, Mel.'
'You'll soon have all of me back.' Melcorka slapped her stomach and grinned. 'Not a human twig!'
'If you two love-birds can stop cooing,' Chaturi said, 'we can talk about something more serious than the shape of Melcorka's belly.'
'Maybe more serious,' Bradan said, 'but not as interesting.'
'We were a fraction too late,' Chaturi said. 'We succeeded in getting the nine Siddhars together, but not before at least one more rakshasa entered our world.'
Melcorka sighed. 'Your delay was my fault. If you had not tried to help me, you might have been faster with the Siddhars.' She glanced at Bradan. 'If Bradan agrees, we will stay in this Bharata Khanda and help remove these rakshasas.'
Chaturi shook her head. 'You cannot, Melcorka. Although you are a skilled warrior with a fine sword, you cannot kill them. No mortal blade can kill a rakshasa.'
Melcorka tapped the hilt of Defender. 'My sword was not made by mortal hands. The People of Peace made Defender. She is a thousand years old and absorbs all the skill and cunning of each warrior who wields her. Calgagus, Arthur, Bridei Mac Bili and Angus MacFergus are only some of the warriors who have held her.'
'I do not know these names,' Chaturi said.
'There is no reason why you should,' Melcorka replied. 'They come from Alba, my country, many thousands of miles to the north and west of here. Calgagus fought the Romans; Arthur fought the invading Angles and Saxons; Bridei led the Picts to a famous victory over invading Angles at Dunnichen; Angus MacFergus was a great Pictish leader.' Melcorka smoothed her hand over Defender's hilt, enjoying the sensation of power. 'I am not immortal. I am only the latest in a sequence of warriors chosen to carry this sword. I can be killed in battle, or I will die of disease or old age, and then Defender will pass to somebody else and somebody after that, until the days of swordplay are over.'
'May I touch your sword?' Chaturi asked.
Melcorka passed Defender over.
'I can feel nothing.' Chaturi sounded sceptical. Brushing against Melcorka, Kosala also reached forward and put a hand on the hilt of Defender.
Kosala looked disappointed. 'I also feel nothing.'
'If Defender chose you, then you would feel a thrill of power that heightens your senses, increases your vision and hearing, and quickens your reflexes, so you move and think faster.' Melcorka was smiling as she spoke. 'With Defender, I am a good warrior. Without her, I am not. I'm really a bit clumsy,' she said, 'and I do love to eat sweet things. I might even put on too much weight!' When she slapped her bony right hip, even Chaturi joined in her laughter.
'Did you choose the sword's name?'
'I chose her name. Every owner of this sword, if indeed we own her and she does not own us, chooses whatever name they think best. For instance, Arthur broke his first sword, Caliburn, in a fight. Only then did this sword think him suitable to be chosen. Some versions of the old tale call her Caledfwlch, others say she is Excalibur or Cut-steel. Some say that Arthur drew her from a stone, others say a lady rose from a lake to hand her over.'
'Which is true?' Chaturi seemed interested.
'Maybe one of the legends is true, perhaps neither. I do not know.' Melcorka accepted Defender back and slid her into the scabbard. 'I had to climb a sea-stack to gain her, and she came with certain rules. I cannot use Defender for an evil purpose, or wield her in revenge.' Melcorka patted the hilt. 'She is a force for good, if killing can ever be good.'
'Killing rakshasas must be good.' Chaturi steered the conversation back to the main subject.
'I have things to straighten out with Dhraji,' Melcorka reminded her, 'so I have to be careful that I fight her for the correct reason and not for revenge.'
'A human female is only its shape in this realm,' Chaturi said. 'A rakshasa can assume any form it wishes, on land and at sea.'
'I am not concerned about her other shapes,' Melcorka said. 'I am more concerned with the female form it used with Bradan.'
Chaturi frowned. 'I see. What do you intend doing now?'
'I will escort you and your people back to the coast near to Ceylon,' Melcorka said, 'and then I will attend to Dhraji and her pirates of Thiruzha.'
'You did not understand me, Melcorka,' Chaturi said. 'Dhraji is only one of the demons. There are others. They could turn up anywhere, in human form or otherwise.'
'Well,' Melcorka shrugged, 'if they come, they come. I'm sure that Defender will take care of herself.'
'I hope you are right, Melcorka,' Chaturi said, but Melcorka saw the shadow of doubt that crossed her face.
Chapter Fifteen
The Singhalese filed into their boats, with a warm wind from the north ready to ease them toward their island of Ceylon.
'You will be safe now,' Melcorka said. 'You are nearly home. Just keep clear of Thiruzha raiding parties in future.' She raised her voice and stamped her feet on the ground. 'Come, Bradan, we have work to do.'
'Are you sure you must leave us?' Chaturi asked. 'You are welcome to stay with us as long as you like.'
'Thank you, Chaturi.' Bradan salaamed. 'I am not yet ready to settle down, and Melcorka has a mission to fulfil.'
'In times of war, the enemies of our enemies are our friends,' Melcorka said. 'We are going into the Chola Empire.'
'They are a great people,' Chaturi said. 'They might welcome you, or they might kill you.'
Melcorka nodded. 'That is true of any empire.'
'Are you sure you wish to visit the Cholas alone?' Kosala half-drew his sword. 'Another warrior might be useful, Melcorka.'
'Your people will need your sword if the Thiruzha come again.' Melcorka touched Kosala's arm. 'I thank you for your offer and your companionship. I have decided to get rid of this Dhraji creature. I might be victorious and I might not. She, or it, has a large and well-led army and Raja Bhim is undoubtedly a good tactician. Bradan has informed me of his skills.' Melcorka chewed on a hunk of pork as she spoke. 'Dhraji and Bhim have already defeated the Cholas in at least two encounters. I aim to ensure that the Cholas are successful next time.'
'One sword, even a magic sword, will not make much difference.' Chaturi said. 'Stay with us and welcome.'
'Perhaps Defender will kill a rakshasa, perhaps she will not,' Melcorka said. 'I can only try. I chose the warrior's path that may end in glory, or a sordid death in a ditch. Either one or the other may be my destiny.'
'And Bradan?' Chaturi answered her question before anybody else could speak. 'Bradan's destiny is to wander until he finds his truth, whatever that may be.' She smiled, with wisdom in her eyes. 'Perhaps he has already found it.'
Bradan looked confused. 'I am sure I would know if I did.'
'Perhaps your destiny, wandering man, is to be with Melcorka.' Chaturi handed over a small bag. 'There is sufficient gold in there to buy horses for your journey. It is a long distance to Thanjavur.'
'Thank you.' Bradan salaamed again, much to Kosala's amusement. He glanced at Melcorka. 'Perhaps that crazy woman is my destiny. I do not know.'
Melcorka gave a little bow. 'We will bid you farewell here, Chaturi.'
'May Shiva go with you,' Chaturi said, 'and whatever god you worship.'
'And may Shiva be with you,' Melcorka replied and turned away. She heard movement behind her and knew that Kosala was watching. She wondered if he would settle in Ceylon or follow the warrior's path. Well, he was a grown man and had to make a choice. His destiny lay at the end of a road, as did hers.
* * *
'Whoeve
r runs this Empire knows what he is doing.' Bradan tapped his staff on the flank of his horse. It was not the rowan staff that he had carried halfway across the world, but it was serviceable enough to support his weight.
'It's like Fidach,' Melcorka said, 'but on a much larger scale.'
Each road was marked out and well maintained, with smooth surfaces, marking-stones giving directions, and rest-houses for weary travellers. The villages were neat and orderly, governed by the headman and a local council. Farmers diligently worked the fields, and the animals looked sleek and healthy.
'A lot of nations could learn from this Chola,' Melcorka said.
Bradan fondled his horse's ears. 'We've ridden for three days across the Empire without seeing a single soldier or warrior. Nobody has threatened us or demanded tax or bribes to cross their land. This is one of the best-run countries we have ever visited, Mel.' He looked around at the fields and villages between the swathes of forest. 'They do like their temples to Shiva, though.'
'Their architecture puts anything we have to shame.' Melcorka nodded ahead. 'Here's another temple coming up now.'
As she always did, Melcorka stopped to admire the sheer scale of the temple, with its myriad carvings of unfamiliar gods. 'Any nation that has the skill to build a temple like this is far in advance of Alba.'
They saw their first soldiers the next day, a small troop of horsemen who trotted up to them as they passed between two copses of trees.
'Good day, travellers.' The captain saluted them with a smile on his face. 'Are you journeying far?'
'Good day, Captain,' Melcorka replied. 'We are riding to your capital city of Thanjavur to seek an audience with Rajaraja, the Emperor.'
The captain surveyed them, curious more than unfriendly. 'You are strangers in these parts,' he said, 'yet you speak our language.'
Melcorka Of Alba Page 19
