Road to Home

  I left Vakkanam and rode through the salt pans, where mounds of crystal salt gleamed at the edges of the fields. The sun was fierce, and hardly anyone was working under the heat. I slipped my throwing knife into the cloth bag, tied it securely to the saddle, and continued toward Chakra.

  A heavy stone struck the back of my head. My fingers came away wet with blood, and the world faded as I slipped into unconsciousness.

  Hours later, I woke up slung over the side of Thelan, hands tied behind my back and legs bound. My vision was blurred, but the terrain had changed—the path was now rocky. Two men with spear shafts walked ahead, two behind.

  The one bringing up the rear, a short, thick man with a heavy moustache, noticed my eyes open and shouted, “He’s conscious!”

  The man leading the group untied my legs and shoved me off Thelan. My face hit the dirt first. I coughed, struggled to my feet, hands still bound.

  The moustached man pushed me from behind.

  “Walk.”

  My sight was clearing slowly. A strip of cloth had been tied around my head to stem the bleeding. I turned to the moustached man.

  “Who are you? Where are you taking me?”

  All four laughed.

  The moustached man kicked me in the back. I stumbled but stayed upright.

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  “We should have killed him on the spot for what he did,” he growled to the others.

  “This is a waste of time, brother.”

  The tallest of them, walking just ahead of me, wore a red shawl over his face and carried a long spear shaft. Sharp eyebrows framed his eyes. He turned and glared.

  “Enough. Tie him to that tree.”

  They dragged me to a tree and bound me tight. The tall man removed his shawl, revealing his face. He stepped close and slapped me hard. Tears shone in his eyes as he slapped me again.

  I stood there, confused.

  “You look like dacoits. You’ve got the wrong man. Let me go now, and I’ll spare your lives.”

  He seized my throat and stared into my eyes.

  “No, we have the right man, Adhiyavan.”

  He flung Sikala’s scroll—a painted likeness of me—into my face.

  I smiled, realising these were yet another band of hired killers sent by the cowardly Sathyera.

  The tall man stepped back.

  “Is this how our sister smiled when you killed her?”

  “Sister?”

  I frowned.

  The moustached man roared,

  “He’s forgotten Hagathi! Let’s avenge her!”

  I spat blood.

  “So you’re Hagathi’s brothers? At least she died fighting bravely—unlike you cowards. Untie me and face me like warriors.”

  The moustached man shoved the others aside, drew a dagger, and drove it deep into my right thigh.

  “Now fight us.”

  He cut me loose from the tree.

  I collapsed onto the carpet of fallen leaves, then forced myself upright. The dagger remained buried in my thigh.

  The moustached man kicked me from behind. I dropped to one knee, then rose again. He kicked once more; I held my ground and turned. Fear flickered in his eyes.

  Two spear shafts pressed against my throat—one held by the tall man, the other by his brother. I circled slowly, keeping open ground behind me, avoiding the tree. In a single motion I seized both shafts and wrenched them upward.

  Blood pulsed from my thigh; the pain was overwhelming. I had to end this quickly.

  I jerked the spears up and down, forcing one man to loosen his grip, inching closer all the while. My gaze flicked to the fourth man, who stood farther off, holding Thelan’s reins.

  I sensed the moustached man charging from behind. I twisted hard, shoving the two spearmen left. The moustached man tripped and crashed among them.

  In that instant of chaos, I yanked one spear free and drove it through the tall man’s chest. Shock widened the second brother’s eyes; I tore his spear away and opened his throat.

  Finally, I plunged the shaft into the moustached man’s neck.

  The fourth man drew a long sword and pressed it to Thelan’s throat. Thelan reared and snorted, making it hard for him to hold steady.

  I ripped the dagger from my thigh and hurled it. It buried itself in the man’s skull.

  Limping heavily, I freed Thelan, mounted, and whispered, “Save me.”

  I bound my thigh tightly with the cloth strip and slipped once more into darkness.

  When I woke, I stared in astonishment.

  “Gupa! How did you…?”