For the umpteenth time, though, Veer wondered what King Amarendra had been thinking, when he hid the key pieces in such hard to access locations. He had to know that they would require retrieval in the future.
In the flat land a short distance from the temple, a fathoms deep circular depression spread across a couple of miles. Threebamboo towers were constructed roughly at the points of a triangle in this deep basin, each tower fitted with a pulley system.
A flat platform made of wood waited, already hooked to this three-pulley system.
The ceremony was deemed complete once the idol placed on this platform took a dip in the three-river confluence and emerged once the solar eclipse broke.
Water from the River Narmada had already turned the land around the basin into a mud-soaked moat. Yet more water continued to stream as the sedate Tripti made an oxbow turn to reach the basin.
A cheer rose from the people as the monsoon-swollen Pravani broke its natural embankments. It streamed into the basin, reflecting the pure blueness of the sky to meet the red-tinted tributary of the Narmada and the earth-brown waters of the fertile Tripti.
A brilliant multihued whirlpool formed in the center of the basin as the waters of the three primary rivers of Saptavarsha met, swirled, and the confluence completed itself.
Water levels rose rapidly. People were corralled into safe areas enclosed by wooden fences that were erected on the banks.
Shota made his way toward Veer and whispered in his ear. Their men were inside. Now all that was left was for the idol to be purified and taken back to the temple and then they could strike.
The procession had reached its end at the wooden platform. The idol was lowered from the elephant, and after the requisite rituals, was mounted on the platform. Turmeric, flowers and sandalwood paste adorned the statue. Inlaid precious stones on the statue glinted in the sunlight.
The ropes creaked and the platform, with its heavy statue, moved to the center of the confluence, directly above the whirlpool.
Abruptly, gloom descended on the plains, accompanied by the cacophony of confusion from the birds in flight as they lost their directional compass.
The eclipse had started.
The head priest gave the signal—a solitary note from the ceremonial conch. The platform lowered slowly, the ropes controlling the descent of the idol.
Veer watched Chandra in the crowd, Sameera and Matangi beside her, their hands raised in prayer along with the rest of the devotees.
Chapter 25: The Unexpected Halt to the Ritual
The earth gave a warning rumble. The weather changed abruptly. Thunderclouds raced past the horizon to mushroom overhead, crackling ominously with electrical current.
The wind picked up, swirling stray bits of hay, flattening the standing crops and bending the palm trees almost double. A stinging rain threw its pincers into the crowd.
The statue halted its descent, the devotees looked around in frightened confusion. Toward the north, beyond the flat plains, was a great monolith, standing like a silent spectator.
A lone figure of a man stood on the flat top of the monolith, like a black speck against the dull sky. Even from this distance, Veer saw the figure raise a palm to the sky.
Lightning sizzled. Thunder boomed.
A great bolt of lightning had stuck one of the tallest structures in the plains, the pulleys. The wooden structure caught fire easily. The burning pulley teetered lazily before crashing into the crowd.
Screams rent the air as the devotees ran in panic, crashing into one another. The temple security guards called for order, their voices lost in the clamor of the panicking crowd.
Veer scanned the area, breathing a sigh of relief when he spotted Chandra safe at a distance, away from the crash. Although she was still too close to the other two bamboo pulley structures.
He also noticed Maruthi’s sister—what was her name again?—tugging at Chandra’s arm, trying to get her to budge but she wasn’t cooperating, her eyes glued to the still figure standing on the monolith. She finally moved when Sameera spoke into her ear, seeing common sense and retreating to safety.
Veer’s relief was short lived as he glanced back at the monolith, eyes narrowed. What were the odds of running across a weather mage? And why was he here, now, of all times and places. It was too much of a coincidence for it tonotbe about the idol. And the key piece.
Veer’s eyes glinted yellow and Vihari answered, the kite making his swift way toward the monolith.
Cries from a different direction distracted Veer’s attention there. The men manning the pulleys were working frantically to stabilize the platform with the statue. But it was a losing battle; without the third system to balance, the platform tipped.
The heavy idol slipped and plummeted into the whirlpool. The assembled devotees and priests beat their heads, moaning their misfortune.
Aradatta stood on a flat rock at the edge of the confluence, past the safety barricade, deep in conversation with the village chief and Agrani. At his signal, several of his men waded into the waters with ropes encircling their waists, linking their arms, forming a human chain.
