Page 9 of The Burning Mountain
From all the facts they could gather, it seemed like the weirdly shaped key piece was worn as a pendant around Prince Aditya’s neck, as portraits of the royal family had revealed. Andtheir previous servants confirmed that the prince never removed the family heirloom once it was gifted to him on his fifth birthday. But since Aditya’s disappearance and reported shelter with the Resistance, no one knew what became of it. It was reasonable to suspect it was still with him.
And then, there were the faintest whispers that the current rulers had captured Aditya and were holding him prisoner.
In the current political climate, where no news was very reliable, Shota gave marked credence to this particular bit of information. Veer didn’t dispute him. As the spymaster of Rajgarh, Shota had his hand on the pulse of the latest news, maintaining a network of loyal people who delivered him the latest gossip and that included people they had planted as spies in the other kingdoms of Saptavarsha. Rajgarh wasn’t alone in this. The tradition of spying on your neighbors was a well-practiced custom among the kingdoms, though none would openly admit to it.
But the long and short of it was they needed to meet the leader of this Resistance. If only because it would bring them to Gauri Devi and hopefully Aditya too.
Veer made his way toward the town. The dirt roads led to more organized paved streets as he moved into the interior of the city, taking care to keep himself away from the thoroughfares.
The sun still beat down mercilessly, but Veer knew that in an hour, the heat would dissipate into the even temperatures of dusk.
An occasionalthwackof a whip was an unexpected addition to Veer’s memory of the city. He didn’t remember the punishment gallows from the last time he was here. Or the regular guard patrols. The steadyclompof hundreds of pedestrian feet, the loud voices of the street hawkers, and theshrill voices of bargaining women faded into the background of his mind as Veer pondered their situation.
Things in Thianvelli were different from a few months ago, when Veer visited this city in search of a person who could wield the Lotus Key, before accepting defeat and moving on to his second option in Amaravathi. What had begun as whispers of dissent then, was now whipping itself into the beginnings of a civil war.
As if things were not already complicated, an engagement was announced a few days ago between Namata Devi and Nandiketu.
The new government seemed determined to snuff any suspects that were allied to this new resistance movement and came down hard on the populace. The atmosphere of suspicion hung like a dirty smog on everyone’s minds.
From the conversations Veer caught, and the rumors he picked up, it seemed on the surface, life went on as usual, but it was only hiding the rot underneath. Corruption was rampant, brutal taxation and misuse of authority failed to endear the new rulers to the residents, leading to a general distrust and dissatisfaction.
It didn’t make their job of finding the key piece any easier.
Veer stepped into the street that led to the public guesthouse they were currently staying in. His instincts blared out a warning and he abruptly changed course to a narrower street. He was too experienced in espionage to not know that he was being followed.
The hit to the back of his head would have been strong enough to take him out had he been less wary. Veer pretended to slump from what was instead only a glancing blow. His assailants…was it three? No…four people hoisted him by the armpits and ankles onto something flat. The slap of the whip and the pungent smell mixed with the earthiness of the graintold him it was likely a bullock cart that was used to transport harvest. They bound him, hand and foot, and then slipped a blindfold over his eyes and covered his body with what felt like a rough blanket.
The cart lurched into motion.
Veer opened his senses to Vihari. The capital of Thianvelli rose before him like a map and he spotted the unobtrusive cart quietly making its way through.
Only one person drove the cart; the rest of his kidnappers followed along at a safe distance, their lowered faces obscured by dark clothing, keeping to the shadows and cleverly avoiding the guard patrols.
They reached the outskirts of the city, where they paid a guard to look the other way and then bundled Veer atop a horse. They were now leaving the city behind, moving swiftly to the hills that rose beyond. The terrain changed from flat, dusty land to a rocky scrub.
They finally stopped at a nondescript place. A crevasse wide enough to admit a man opened before them on the ground.
“Wouldyou like us to apply a salve to your head wound?” asked a man with a gray beard. After being dragged through the chasm, Veer was made to walk for a length of time across yet more interconnected passageways until they reached this place. It wasn’t exactly a cave, but more like a stony dwelling, judging by the amount of rock he found everywhere. Wooden pillars and beams stretched across the ceiling, more functional than decorative.
The answer clicked suddenly. Of course. This was a mine. An abandoned one by the looks of it.
Veer grunted a refusal.
“As you wish,” said the man. “We have no reason to cause you harm or undue pain—if you answer some of our questions.”
Veer tested his bonds and found his hands tied securely to his chair. They had already searched him thoroughly and removed the weapons he had stashed about his person. The metal file he usually carried was taken as well.
“You won’t escape out of here easily, if that’s what you were wondering,” said a burly man who stood guard beside the gray beard.
Veer cataloged the number of men stationed in the rocky chamber. His interrogator—the gray-bearded man, was rather long in the tooth, his face lined with deep wrinkles giving it a perpetual frown.
“What questions do you have for me?” asked Veer.
The bearded man drew out parchment paper and spread it across the basic wooden table in front of him. Veer recognized it as one of the drawings of the key piece he had been distributing.
“This trinket…why do you seek it? How do you know about it?”
“What is it to you, old man?” asked Veer, wondering if he was looking at the leader of the Resistance or maybe one of his lackeys.
