Tara turned to answer when she heard a terrified scream. She turned back. A hyena had leaped onto Raani's chest and had pinned her to the ground. Mouth wide open, it lunged at her throat. Tara raced to Raani and kicked the hyena, feeling her toe buzz with pain as it connected with its head. The animal flew off Raani with a squeal. Tara pulled Raani to her feet and dragged her toward the boat, ignoring her cries of pain. Ananth was already in it. He stood tall with his bow and his last arrow at the ready.
Zarku and the hyenas raced up to the water's edge.
Kabir reached out for Raani and pulled her over the side and into the boat. Now only Tara and Vayu were on shore. A hyena leaped for Vayu and dug its teeth into his heel. Vayu howled. He kicked out, trying to hold the boat, which was dragging him deeper into the water. The brute held on tight and Vayu roared with pain. Blood poured from his foot, staining the water red. It frothed and churned as Vayu tried to shake the beast off, but his efforts grew weaker with each passing moment. The current tugged at the boat and Vayu tugged back, digging his feet deeper into the sand. He was losing the battle.
“Move out of the way, Tara,” yelled Ananth. “I'll take care of Zarku once and for all.”
Ananth aimed his arrow straight at Zarku. At her brother who stood watching the spectacle calmly. Tara saw his face, the smiling black eyes, and the familiar mop of curly hair. She looked back at Ananth, saw his arm tense as he drew back the arrow. Tara ran into the water and knocked him off balance. The arrow flew off the mark and landed a few feet away at the water's edge.
“What the hell did you do that for?” snarled Ananth, sitting up. “It was my only chance and now we've lost it. Are you completely mad?”
“Shut up,” yelled Tara. “For once, just shut up and let me do what I have to.”
Tara walked back to shore. “Call off the hyena,” she told Zarku in a voice that was hers yet curiously detached. “Now.”
Zarku stared at her steadily for a moment. She met his gaze calmly. He snapped his fingers and the hyena let go of Vayu's foot and trotted back to him. The water around Vayu's feet was a deep red. She saw him struggle to hold the boat, tears shining in his eyes. Zarku and his hyenas had injured one more of her friends and he wouldn't stop. Not until he got what he wanted. She saw that so very clearly now.
Tara walked up to Vayu. “Get into the boat,” she said. “I'll follow. The hyenas won't harm me. You heard Zarku.”
“Are you sure â” Vayu started to say.
“Go!” she almost screamed. “
Please go
.”
She snatched the rope from his hands. The current tugged at the rope viciously, almost wrenching her arms out of their sockets. The rope slid, burning her palms. She looped it around her clenched fists, gasping as it bit into her flesh. She dug her heels into the sand, her arms aching with the strain, and held on.
She watched Vayu limp to the boat. The vessel was getting heavier by the minute, almost impossible to hold.
The rope slid some more and her palms were on fire, her knuckles raw where the rope chafed against it. She gritted her teeth and leaned back until Vayu was safely inside. From the boat, four anxious faces looked at her.
“Let go of the rope, Tara, and swim to us,” yelled Ananth. “I'll use the oars to slow us down.”
Tara gazed at her friends. She had put them through so much. Kabir, his eyes bright with fever, was but a shell of the lithe performer she had seen at the fair just a few days ago. Raani's white face shone through the gloom, a grimace plastered on it. Ananth was gaunt and haggard.
And Vayu, who would not be able to walk until his foot healed. They had all endured so much!
But now they had a chance of surviving. She let go off the rope. Immediately the boat shot into the current, moving rapidly away from the shore. She stood still watching it.
“Tara, swim!” said Raani. “You've got to come with us. We're not leaving you behind.”
The boat floated to the middle of the stream and was caught up in the main current. It moved faster.
She saw Ananth stand up, readying himself to jump overboard.
“No, Ananth,” she called out. “Stay there!”
He stopped. “Either you swim to us or I'm coming to get you,” he said. Already it was getting difficult to hear him.
“This is what I had to do all along,” said Tara. “If only I'd seen it earlier, I would have spared you all a lot of pain. I'm so sorry.”
“I can't let you do this alone, Tara.” She thought she heard a tinge of anger in his voice. “I thought we were in this together ⦠the fist ⦠remember?”
“If you really want to do something for me, get everyone back to Morni and send Prabala. I'll be waiting. Send my grandfather to help me ⦔
By this time the boat was farther downstream. She wasn't sure if he had heard her. But now it didn't matter any more.
Zarku stood beside her quietly. She ignored him, watching the boat hurtle away, her hands clenched at her sides. She raised her right hand, staring at her fist. She unfurled it and waved goodbye.
Zarku slipped his hand into hers and she shuddered. She tried not to close her eyes this time. She did not want to see the real him.
I'm standing at the water's
edge with my brother
, she told herself.
That's all. My baby
brother, Suraj
.
She watched until the boat melted away into darkness. Then she walked hand in hand with Zarku, back into the forest she had spent two days trying to escape.
T
he
white dome of the temple rose up high above the treetops in decayed splendor. A fire burned brightly at the entrance, illuminating the large figure of Kali hunched close to it. She was staring into the forest.
Tara was numb inside from exhaustion, pain, and, most of all, fear of what lay in store for her. When she had run from this place two days ago, she had never dreamed she would return. Alone. Her friends gone, it felt like someone had taken her clothes away, and left her to face the harsh elements, naked.
“Welcome,
welcome
,” said Kali. “I knew you would return.”
Tara stared at her with as much contempt as she could muster. It had no effect.
“Of course she had to return,” said Zarku. “She was always the wise one. Ahhh, Tara. If only you'd seen the light earlier, we could avoided all this drama. But I enjoyed our little game, so no complaints.”
“What are you going to do with me?” asked Tara.
“Something exciting,” said Zarku. “But I really don't have time to explain all this right now. Kali, take her away and meet me behind the temple.”
Kali led her back to the room and slammed the door shut.
Tara crawled to a corner and slumped down. If she closed her eyes she could still believe her friends were with her. The fragrance of their last meal still lingered in the air. She curled up into a tight little ball and let the tears flow. Tears she had been holding back so long that she thought she would choke. She cried for Suraj, whom she might not live to see, for her friends, whom she missed, for her parents who must be worried sick about them, and for herself â doomed to die a painful death. She had made the choice to see this through on her own. And once again she was very afraid.
The room was so dark; she could see nothing around her. Only what was in her heart and mind and it was so troubling that she tossed and turned on the hard floor, praying for sleep.
She sat up suddenly. Why? Why was she making this so hard on herself? All she had to do was join Zarku. She'd be powerful, too. She wouldn't kill as he was wont to do, but she would command respect from everyone. And in return for joining him, she would ask that Suraj be spared. Sadia, too. They would return home safely even if she didn't.
The next moment she fell back on the ground, pounding the floor with her fist. This was insane. Zarku was evil; she had stayed back to fight him, destroy him.
Not join him. And she had to be strong enough to do this all alone.
You're not alone, Tara. I am with you
.
For as long as
you need me
.
Tara did not bother to look around this time. There was no one around her and yet she was hearing a voice in her head. A voice that did not belong to her. She laughed. What a time to be going mad!
Overhead, the skies burst open in a deafening clap of thunder. Rain pelted down and a few drops splattered Tara's face from the window high in the wall. She stood up and moved closer. The rainwater cooled her burning skin.
The door crashed open and Zarku strode in, holding a lantern. “Time to move.”
“It's still dark and it's raining. Why now? Where are we going?”
“ENOUGH with the questions,” said Zarku. “I've let your friends escape. What is the first thing they're going to do? Get the villagers and storm this place,” he said. “I'm not going to wait around for that to happen.
Start walking.”
“Where is Sadia?” said Tara. “Take me to her, right now, or I'm not moving.”
Zarku stepped up to her suddenly and gave her a hard slap that sent her tumbling to the floor. Her cheek smarted and her ears rang as she sat there, stunned. The yellow glow of the lantern illuminated the face she had once loved and which now had an ugly sneer on it.
“If you ever speak to me like that again, I won't let you get away with just a slap. I am
Zarku
and you will treat me with respect even if I am in this pathetic form.”
Tara glowered at him, cupping her stinging cheek. She sniffed hard, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
“Poor Tara,” he said. “Does it hurt a lot? I'm
so
sorry
.”
His eyes glittered malevolently and she saw him clearly now, with eyes wide open. But whatever he had in mind, she would not give in without a fight. He was in for a huge surprise. But first she had to find out
his
surprise for her!
“Are you going to tell me what special plan you have for me?” said Tara.
“I wondered when you'd ask me that question,” said Zarku. “I would be delighted to tell you.”
Tara pressed her back against the crumbling stone wall and clasped her knees to her chest. At last she would know how she was going to die. Strangely at this moment she was not scared, only curious.
“You see, I made a deal with Kubera, the Lord of the Underworld,” said Zarku. “If I were to sacrifice the life of the person responsible for vanquishing me the last time, he would give me a new and more powerful body to inhabit. By killing you I would prove myself worthy of it.” He examined his body, an expression of deep loathing on his face. “I can't wait to rid myself of this horrible form! There is so little I can do with it.”
“How did you manage to possess my brother?” said Tara.
Zarku, who had been pacing the floor, stopped in front of her. “When you're stuck in an urn in the middle of a forest, hovering between life and death, you meet interesting spirits who tell you useful things. Tara, you have no idea how many things I have learned hanging between the world of the dead and the living.”
Tara looked at him in revulsion. He was so triumphant in his knowledge, so secure that he would win, even if it meant destroying an innocent person in the process.
“Why Suraj? You could have possessed anyone.”
“Silly question, Tara. Would you have come into the forest to rescue just anyone?”
“When you leave Suraj's body, he won't be harmed, will he?”
“Not if all goes well,” said Zarku. “It all depends on how well you co-operate. If you distract me with your pathetic attempts at bravery, who knows, a small part of me might remain inside your brother forever.”
Tara shuddered involuntarily. Something nagged her, a wisp of a thought. The more she tried to grasp at it, the more elusive it became. Something about what Zarku had just said, but what was it?
“Penny for your thoughts, Tara?”
“You're a ruthless monster and I will try my best to see that you suffer.”
“Remember, Tara. Your brother's well-being deâpends entirely on you. If you act smart it could cost your brother his life. Or his sanity.”
What would it be like to live with Suraj, knowing that a bit of that evil monster was still in him? But Zarku was talking of sacrifices. That meant she would not live to see Suraj restored to his former self, hug him as she used to, hear him call out her name.
Once again tears pricked her eyes. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
“There, there,” said Zarku. “It is such an honour to give up your life so that I, the greatest healer in all of India, can live. I could have chosen anyone, but I chose
you
. You should be proud.”
“How is this sacrifice going to happen?” asked Tara.
“Tonight there is no moon and tomorrow a new moon will reappear,” said Zarku. “The perfect night for a ⦠shall we call it a little
ritual
. Tomorrow I, too, will be reborn â a new and powerful man.”
“And whereâ¦where ⦔ said Tara. The words stuck in her throat and she swallowed before she could speak again. “Where will this happen?”
“In the heart of the Shivalik range â the place where
Lord Kubera first gave me my powers. I'm glad I'll get a chance to show it to you because it is so dear to my heart. Once again the Lord will reward me and this time, I will not fail him.”
“So how do you plan to kill me?” Even though the words rolled off her tongue, they terrified her.
“And spoil the surprise?” said Zarku. “No, Tara. I want you to think of all the possible ways I could kill you while we march toward our destination. That will be your punishment for killing my companion and giving me such grief. Think of the worst thing that could happen to you and then multiply that by a thousand.”