Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness (30 page)

“He would have killed me if I hadn’t killed him first.”

“He was afraid. He didn’t understand. And you didn’t give him the chance.”

There is a long cut down her shoulder. Reggie adjusts his glasses to have a closer look. “This I will need to stitch.”

“Be my guest.” Parvati turns in her chair. “What does it matter who he was? He was just a peasant. India’s filled with them.”

“He was a man. He breathed the same air as you. Trod the same earth.” Reggie heats the needle in the flame of the candle. “He worked hard and fed his family and slept under the stars hoping for a better life. A life you have denied him.”

“So his life was worth more than mine? I am a demon after all. I am evil.”

“Who am I to judge who is good or evil?” Reggie bites his lips as he threads the needle. His eyesight grows poorer every year. “I cannot see into your heart.”

Parvati shifts so she can glance over her shoulder. “You are different from the rest.”

“The rest?”

“Yes. I’ve known you from before, and will no doubt know you in the future. You’ve been great warriors, great kings. This version of you is new.”

“I’ve fought. I found it a waste of time and effort.”

Parvati laughs and it sounds bright in the gloomy room. Reggie smiles. “You should laugh more often.”

“I’ve missed you,” says Parvati simply.

“Child, you have never met me.”

Parvati shrugs. “You never remember. That’s the curse of being the Eternal Warrior.”

“Eternal Warrior? You have me mistaken for someone else.”

“No. You are he. In this life a healer. That’s good. I wonder why.” Parvati flexes her arm slightly. “You are good at what you do.”

“I’ve had enough practice.”

“In many wars?”

Reggie nods. “Too many. And they have all been pointless and tragic and I learned only one thing: no man’s life is greater than another’s.”

Ash woke. Lakshmi lay asleep beside him, a rag doll curled up under her chin. An oil lamp sent waving shadows over the cavern wall.

Reggie is wrong
, he thought. You could judge whether a person was good or evil. You didn’t need to look into their hearts, just measure their deeds.

Sure, it would be nice to live in a world where everyone could love one another, but that world didn’t exist. He doubted there was a world like that in any timeline, in any universe.

Sometimes killing was all there was.

What would Reggie do here? Open the gates and let the rakshasas in? Give them tea and cake and hope everyone would just get along?

Ash got up silently, so as not to wake Lakshmi. He passed by other sleepers. He stepped carefully over the incumbent bodies and the snoring men, their arms draped protectively over their families. Most had their weapons lying alongside, ready to be snatched up at a moment’s notice. They’d fallen into the pattern of their enemy, resting during the day, fighting at night.

Ash followed the breeze to a cave mouth high up on the cliff. Someone sat on the ledge overlooking the city.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.

“I’ve been waiting,” said Parvati.

A sun, a huge blood-red drop, settled its lower edge upon the horizon. Its reflection stirred upon the waters of the Arabian Sea and its beams were cut by the skeletal ship frames beached and abandoned on the shore. Campfires sparkled upon the beach and from a thousand patches of Kampani as the shadows lengthened. Drums beat in the distance and conch horns bellowed, still faint and distant.

“The city’s waking,” said Parvati. “They’ll come when the last rays fade from the sky.”

Ash sat down beside her so his heels dangled a hundred metres above the rocks.

“We’ll be ready,” said Ash.

“We’ll be as ready as we can, but we aren’t enough. Two patrols haven’t come back and the guards on the southern tunnel are gone.”

“What happened to them?”

“Killed or run off, who knows? The result’s the same.” She continued to look out over to the setting sun. “Why did you come, Ash?”

“Where else would I go?”

“We’re going to die here. Tonight. You do know that, don’t you?”

“I’ve fought against worse odds. Thermopylae, for instance.”

“You died there too.” She made a face. “Actually, I think I might have been responsible. I was fighting for the Persians. It was a confusing time for me.”

“What about Troy? We were on the same side in Troy.”

“Yes, the losing side.”

Ash frowned. “I see a theme developing here.”

“You’re the Eternal Warrior. You’re not the sort to die peacefully in your bed.”

“You would have thought that with all this experience I’d be better at surviving.”

“Sometimes survival isn’t the point.” She looked at him and she had tears in her eyes. “I’ve really liked being here with you.”

Ash put his palm to her cheek and wiped the tear away. “We’ll meet again. Reincarnation has its benefits.”

“But you and I won’t be the same. I knew you as Rama. As Ashoka, as a gladiator, and many others. This one, you …” she poked his chest, “… is my favourite. You know what I mean.”

“More than Rama?”

“Rama? Everyone loved Rama. How could you not? He was perfect. But you know how most felt in his presence? Unworthy. How could you measure up to what he was?”

“So you’re saying I’m not perfect?” Ash clutched his chest. “Now you’ve really hurt my feelings.”

“Oh, just shut up, Ash.” Parvati bit her lip, gazed at him with her eyes narrowed and filled with doubt. “There is so much I want to say to you, but it would take a lifetime to say it. I wish I had a lifetime to be with you. All these centuries and yet it all comes down to this, a few moments beneath a dying sun.”

Ash’s heart beat hard and his breath held in his throat. He’d said things to Rani, things he should have said to Parvati. His lips were so dry. He didn’t want her to say any more, but he wanted, hoped, desperately, she’d say the things he couldn’t find the right words for, speak for both of them.

C’mon, Ash. Just tell her.

A horn blasted out below. The sun had dropped beneath the sea and the last of its red light faded from caressing the clouds, letting them turn black.

Cries rose from the dark city, and drums and howls and screams. Torches danced and whirled in feverish exaltation.

Ash got up as he heard footsteps approach.

Ashoka stood at the cave mouth, bow in hand. He pointed towards Kampani. “We’re needed below.” Then he turned and left.

Ash brushed the dust from his trousers. His head was spinning with what Parvati had just said. How could he answer? If anyone felt unworthy, it was him. He should go after Ashoka.

“Wait, Ash.” Parvati stood beside him. She took his hand and pressed it against her cheek, her eyes closed.

If there was a moment he wanted to last for ever, this was it. Ash felt the warmth of her skin against his and watched the strands of her hair gently drift in the breeze.

Parvati kissed the back of his hand, then let it go. What else was there to say? Nothing.

More and more burning torches joined the vast star field gathering across the city. Thousands of spots of light approached the cliffs. Dark wings swooped overhead, heralded by brutish, coarse shrieks and cries. Banners made of flayed skins flapped on frames of bone.

The demon nations marched to war.

“P
arvati and I will hold the main gates,” said Rani. “You and Ashoka are to protect the people within the caverns. The rakshasas will creep in from every opening and crevasse. Then they’ll make smash and grabs from the tunnels. Spiders and scorpions will form the vanguard.”

“Why?” asked Ash.

“They can get into the smallest places and are poisonous. They’ll cause a lot of mayhem very quickly. But they’ll try to take control of the bigger tunnels to allow the other, larger predators in. Once that happens …”

“All bets are off,” said Parvati. “Save who you can. There are some fishing boats hidden in a cove about ten miles north along the coast. Try to get as far from here as possible.

Ash was confused. “Why haven’t we loaded people up on them already?”

Parvati sighed. “There aren’t enough, Ash. And who would stay and be left behind? Look around you. There are so many families here and we’ve only boats enough for a hundred, maybe not even that.”

Rani nodded. “We fight until there is no hope.”

“There’s always hope,” said Ashoka.

Parvati looked at the men gathered in the cavern. They wore armour, carried their weapons and torches, gripping them so hard their knuckles were bone white. Every face, every eye, held fear, dread and determination. They were fighting for their loved ones, their friends, their families. Ash knew every one of them would fight to the bitter end.

“Follow me,” said Parvati. She looked back at Ash. “Goodbye, Ash.”

Ash forced a smile, trying to look as casual as he could. “See you later.”

Arms and armour rattled and clanged as the troops, roughly half the warriors present, tramped out behind the two demon princesses. The rest looked to Ash and Ashoka.

Ash wasn’t wearing any armour. He’d been trained in Kalari-payit and that meant being fast and flexible. He had two weapons, his katar and a sword, both newly sharpened.

Ashoka drew out the golden arrow.

Ash took a deep breath. “You ready?”

Ashoka didn’t respond. He just turned the arrow around and around between his fingers.

“Savage is coming, Ashoka. I know he is. This is the end, and he’ll want to witness it. He’ll want to see us die and will want to gloat.”

“And I’ll take him with this.” He raised the golden arrow.

“No matter what, that’s to be saved for Savage. The Kali-aastra is the only thing that can take him out. Understand?”

Ashoka nodded. “Understood.”

“It all comes down to you tonight, I’m afraid,” said Ash. “We both know that.”

“You’re the Kali-aastra too,” said Ashoka.

“Not any more. It’s not awakened. The last time I awakened it I had to sacrifice myself. I’m not sure that trick will work twice.”

Ashoka nodded, and turned to his men. “We’ll take the upper levels.”

Ash watched him leave. So confident, so inspiring. No wonder they thought Rama walked among them. With a man like that fighting beside you, you might believe you could beat anyone: man, demon, even god.

More horns echoed from the distance. The men with him looked around the cavern, trying to work out which direction the sound was coming from. It didn’t matter. It was coming, and that was all they needed to know.

Ash drew his sword and turned to his people. “I feel I should have some speech prepared or something. I don’t, sorry. I’ve fought since the day man first picked up a rock. I’ve fought for every cause there’s been. Freedom. Tyranny. For glory. For gold. For a patch of earth. It’s all rubbish.” He tested the blade. Someone had taken a lot of care making it very, very sharp. “Just think of your wife’s touch, your child’s smile, your mother’s kiss. These are the only things worth fighting for, worth dying for. You’ll see sights that’ll turn your guts, make you shake, make you want to flee. Fear is natural, but you must stand fast. Think of them, and you’ll find the courage to challenge the gods.” He settled the sword in his hand. “Come with me.”

He tried to summon faces to his mind. He had fleeting thoughts of his parents, of Lucky, the family he loved. But one face came clearest of all, the one person he’d fought for throughout the ages.

Parvati.

T
otal war. No respite. No quarter. No pity, compassion, humanity. Ash fought until his sword broke, his katar was blunted, and then he picked up rocks. Everything was a blur. He fought until his body was a mass of pain, muscles exhausted, skin cut and bleeding.

That was the only way to fight demons.

He watched men torn from limb to limb, their heads severed from their necks, organs ripped out by claw and fang. The rakshasas were deformed monstrosities, walking nightmares of chaos, half glimpsed in the firelight of the tunnels and caves. Spiderish
things
scuttled across the ceilings, tangling their victims in webs and reeling them away into the dark. Wolves stalked the chambers, fresh blood on their snouts. Vast waves of rats scurried through the passages, squeezing and overwhelming the fleeing refugees, consuming them with thousands of bites.

There was a cluster of men with him now. They paused, catching their breath, trying to work out which way to run, whose screams to follow. Ash trod on a discarded blade, a single flat slice of steel with one edge sharpened and cloth wrapped around the end for a handle. Sweat turned to steam on his burning, feverish skin. The caves became a furnace, filled with hot, stale air. He’d gathered refugees, wedged them between his men for their protection.

“Time to break for those boats,” he said to no one in particular. He patted the nearest man on the back; his name was Nabeel, he thought. “Make for the lower levels and come out via one of the caves down there. Then stay close to the cliffs and you should be able to make your way to the boats. Understood?” He waited. The man didn’t move. “Well, go on then.”

“You’re not coming?”

“What? And miss all this fun?” said Ash. “Good luck.” He slapped the man on the back and set off in the other direction.

Where were the others?

Ash wove through the dark tunnels. Sounds of fighting trembled from down paths, through rents in the rock, out of secret chambers. He moved steadily upwards, towards the main gates. The tunnels widened and the bodies piled up.

No sign of Savage. He’d been so sure he’d be here, coordinating the battle, watching it unfold. But perhaps he was so sure of victory he couldn’t be bothered to witness it.

Ash was going to die without any chance of revenge. That angered him.

Claws struck rock and a pair of yellow eyes shone ahead of him. The creature hissed and in the dimness Ash saw black scales flex as it tensed its legs. Then it charged, a giant lizard, low to the ground, thrashing its tail from side to side, long red tongue darting between its jaws.