She opened her eyes. The monster loomed in her vision, everything else fading away before the target. The arrow in her hand vibrated with power.
“Kreem,” she whispered thebija akshara, the seedword, and let the arrow fly.Thebija aksharawas a source word, a powerful sound uttered at the beginning of a spell ormantrathat imbued it with strength and focus.
The arrow flew with a shrill whistle, cutting sharply through the gusts of wind, unwavering in its flight.
Halfway to its intended target, golden lines appeared along the arrowhead and shaft as it enlarged to the size of a spear.
The seed word had activated the powerful spell inscribed on the arrow, waking it up from dormancy, turning the arrow into a weapon of power.
It hurtled through the air, speeding like a ray of light in the darkness of the storm and embedded itself with a sickening sound deeply into the flesh of the monster, right between its eyes.
A high-pitched scream came from the monster, succumbing to the spell on the arrow. Lines of light split the monster, tearing it into bits. It slowly crumbled into the ocean, inking it black in its death.
* * *
“What’s happening?” asked Shota, looking around as the scream continued echoing around the cave.
“The other creatures…they are dying too,” said Billadev, slowly turning in a circle.
Explosions rocked the chamber, raining bits of gore, rock, and inky blood, as the other monsters hiding in the shadows were similarly overcome, though no arrow was fired.
“I told you,” said Girish calmly. “The princess doesn’t need our help. We are safe now.”
Shota shook off his state of stupefaction and went forward, calling for men to help search for Veer.
Billadev gazed up at the promontory. Chandra was still there, standing with her head bowed, her expression blank, the bow at her side smoking slightly.
With one arrow, she had destroyed all the monsters.
He was beginning to understand why Shota gave her a respectful berth and why Veer was so fascinated by her, despite their history.
The storm calmed to desultory gusts of wind, and the water levels in the cave, if not lower than before, were at least less choppy.
Chandra climbed down from her perch and strode toward the goddess statue.
On one edge of the island, they found Veer slumped, unconscious. He was deathly pale. The search parties had found him just in the nick of time, clinging to a wet rock, fighting against the current to avoid being swept into the sea.
Shota rummaged around in his satchel and brought out an unassuming grayish-green rock and placed it on the largest of the wounds, a linear row of sucker injuries. The surrounding flesh was slightly blue gray, but at least the wounds had stopped bleeding.
As soon as he placed the rock on each wound, they closed, the skin repairing itself to leave behind scarred skin.
“What is that?” asked Girish.
“A healing stone,” answered Billadev.
“Oh. A healing talisman,” remarked Girish. “Those are very common. But I haven’t seen one work so fast.”
“This isn’t a common fake one you get at those street magicians or folk-healers. This stone is no ordinary talisman. It contains the healing energies of Princess Vireni, Veer’s sister. Because of their family affinity, Veer has always healed faster than others.”
* * *
A groan came from Veer, and he blinked his eyes open. Chandra let out her breath in a whoosh and sent a silent thanks to the goddess.
Her emotions were still locked in a deep freeze, and she only felt the echoes of relief, but the thaw was coming, and she knew she would soon be drowning in guilt.
“How are you feeling?” asked Shota, helping Veer to a sitting position.
“Like I’d reached the last level of hell and came back,” he wheezed, then stiffened. “The monster—”
