Her frown deepened. “That’s about as clear as mud, Guruji.”
He gave her a half smile. “I’m aware, Sameera. I see you as my granddaughter, and I swear I’ll never get you into trouble. I ask you to stay because it’s necessary…” He paused. “Who knows it might benefit Rajgarh.”
“You’re talking in riddles again, Guruji.” Sameera made her final move and leaned back in her chair.
“Checkmate,” she said.
“Would you look at that, I seemed to have lost.” He smiled ruefully but his eyes reflected a quiet satisfaction. “So, what do you say, Sameera? Will you stay?”
Sameera had the unnerving feeling that Guruji had deliberately thrown the game. He had played halfway through before she took over. He probably knew about the odds, but for some reason, he had decided to let her win. He was devious, but her instincts about people were never wrong. She knew that whatever happened, Guruji was a man of his word and had his own code of honor. The princess trusted him implicitly, but even without that reminder, he had kept Chandra and Kalpana’s secret when he didn’t need to.
Sameera sighed and then said, “I shall stay as you request, Guruji, but only if I am not needed back in Rajgarh.”
Chapter 36: The Yaksha
Chandra hadn’t needed the warning Veer had given her. One look into his transformed red-rimmed eyes and she read her death. This beast, or whatever it was that took over Veer’s body, wanted her dead. She took off running and her sudden flight was an impetus for the creature to give her chase.
Twigs snapped underfoot, leaves slapped their wide palms into Chandra’s face, momentarily blinding her, but she had Veer’s machete out and cleared most of the big obstacles in her path.
She looked behind and was dismayed to realize that although she lost sight of Veer, she had left him a wide trail of destroyed foliage to follow her. Hunt her.
It was a terrifying word to even contemplate, but that’s what was happening. The look in his eyes just before she took off had told her he wouldn’t rest until he had her in his claws.
She couldn’t see him now, but she heard him distantly. The roars and guttural growls like that of a hungry beast.
She sheathed her machete and veered off the self-created path and tried to think of a way they could come out of this disaster alive. She crouched low and went through the undergrowth trying not to make too much noise, hoping her plain brown clothes would help camouflage better in the shadows created by the massive treetops.
She kept a steady lookout for him as she reached a hoary old neem tree, whose height was unrivaled by the other trees, and began climbing it for a better vantage point, using her short knife to prevent track marks.
The forest darkened further as the sun went westering. The sounds from Veer’s rampage had lessened considerably in the past hour. Maybe he was tiring, thought Chandrasena with hope, but she couldn’t discount the possibility that the beast was probably just waiting to out-exhaust her.
Fortunately, she was able to climb from one tree to another, as if traveling on an uneven, treacherous green highway. Sturdy vines provided enough leverage to cross any gaps that came during her journey.
But then a patch of pale night-blooming flowers sprung alive, narrowly missing her face, instead feasting on a passing gnat, heralding the arrival of night with all its new challenges. It made her aware of other immediate problems, shelter, foremost among them.
During her daytime journey, she had managed to avoid any hostile animals. Emphasis on hostile.
She had come across the odd black leopard-jaguar napping in the branches of the tree, but they just stared at her with interest and didn’t do anything to impede her progress. From her experience with wild animals in the woods of Amaravathi, she knew predators rarely tolerated the presence of another straying into their territory.
After seeing the lack of animals when they had initially woken up in the Dandakaranya, she now couldn’t seem to take a step without coming across these odd creatures that seemed to be a weird mix of many animal species. It was beyond puzzling.
She almost got the sense that Veer wasn’t supposed to see the animals, and now that he wasn’t with her, the spell had been lifted.
But who knew what these animals were like—if they reallywereanimals? She couldn’t forget the human cry made by the rabbit when Veer had squelched it under his foot, the one and only time she had looked back when she was running from him.
Nor could she unsee the human arm separated from the torso that lay in the middle of a wide path of destruction made by Veer’s bold course through the forest. No, they definitely were not animals. They were…something she had no name for.
She stopped for a minute on the branches of a sturdy saman tree and weighed her options. Unlike the weird animals, the vegetation appeared normal. She didn’t dare eat anything, but that had to change as well. She was hungry and thirsty from her sprint.
Water wasn’t a problem; she saw many minor brooks and even a shallow pool that served as a watering spot for several animals. It was the not knowing that made her anxious—whether anything in this place was worth eating or drinking without falling susceptible to whatever ailment afflicted Veer.
Tiredness sapped the strength from her muscles, pooling in her feet that had only a brief rest since the day started. It was the adrenaline rush of immediate danger that propelled her, but now she was coming down from it and was aware of the numerous aches and pains.
It was fortunate she had her weapons, but it was a cold comfort to know that even they wouldn’t be of much help should she engage in combat with Veer.
Their earlier sparring sessions, for which she was thankful now, taught her a few tricks but also told her how much he had been holding back. In terms of brute strength and hand combat, she had no hope of matching Veer, much less the beast he had become.
She had never felt so helpless. The day had only gotten worse from the time they found themselves separated from their friends, in the middle of the magical heart of Dandakaranya.
