Page 26 of The Burning Mountain
“I had no idea you had such strong feelings about needlework. May I see the shawl?” Veer asked gently, taking the garment. He spread it out in a tiny patch of moonlight, right by the planter. Misshapen animals edged the multihued, checkered garment.
“It’s not that bad,” he said diplomatically after a beat.
Chandra snorted in disagreement. “Please, don’t spare me any criticism. I heard enough from Kalpana and my tutors. Princesses are made to learn about a wide variety of subjects.Unfortunately, I have a lamentable lack of patience needed to master this skill.”
“It doesn’t look like it could be any sort of clue,” said Veer, gazing at the misshapen animals.
Chandra sighed. “That idea occurred to me, especially as these animals are part of thepanch-pashuthrone, but I have been racking my brain in vain and no idea strikes me how this could be a clue. Maybe it’s just a shawl she wanted me to make.”
Chandra folded the shawl carefully and draped it over her forearm, notwithstanding her earlier intentions regarding the offending garment.
“What do you think we should do, Princess?” asked Veer after a while. “Should we continue to place trust in a woman who seems to be playing her own game?”
“Er…why are you asking me?” she asked.
“Why are you so surprised? I asked for your opinion before.”
Chandra pretended to think about it, her hand on her chin. “When, exactly? All I remember were autocratic commands that you demand I follow.”
Veer squinted at her, but his smile had a rueful edge to it. “Fine. I’ll admit you do occasionally have good insight. However, in this instance, you are the only person who has been able to speak to Namata Devi face-to-face. So whatever you tell me about her, I trust your judgment.”
“I think her original intent was to help us,” Chandra said, caressing the shawl’s rich weave. “If she is really a prisoner, she could be incapable of communicating with us, even if she wants to.”
She gazed up at the scudding clouds. The waxing moon provided little light, but the stars shone diamond bright. The orange glow of the torches in the courtyard seemed far away. The gentle wind blew, and the thick scent of thechampakdanced toward her once again.
“On the surface, Namata Devi’s actions seem to say otherwise,” said Chandra, catching a branch more securely and lifting the yellow-white flower to her nose. “She is willing to abdicate her position as regent to marry a man that would crown her a queen. She has refused to aid the people standing behind the ex-queen, her own sister. Though she had agreed to help us with the key piece, she hasn’t given us the cipher. Taken together, it puts her in a damning light. But…”
“But?” prompted Veer.
Chandra faced him, willing him to understand her deduction, no matter how strange it sounded. “Veer, she takesMoringaleaves ground to a paste every day.”
“So what? My mother takes it too. It’s a well-known remedy for arthritis.”
She gave him a small smile of surprise. “Didn’t expect you to know that, but it’s true. And presumably that’s what she says she uses it for.”
“But you don’t think that.”
“No.” Her smile faded. “In the doses she takes, it is a strong abortifacient.”
Veer fell silent, his face carved into a shocked stillness.
“So you see, Namata Devi may have agreed to wed Naga Bhairava’s eldest son, but she has no intention of having any issue that would stake a claim to the throne in competition with Prince Aditya. She may be willing to give up her status as regent, but she hasn’t forgotten her duty. In her own way, she is loyal and honorable, and I would stake my life on it.”
12
THE GIRIDAH FORT
Giridah Fort was once full of bustling activity. The original construction had a tower at each of its four corners and a wall that connected all of them. After many wars, only one tower at the eastern edge survived along with patchy remnants of the wall.
This eastern tower, because of its relative isolation and its distance from the capital, was later used as a prison.
Something awful had happened two months ago. The tower full of people—prisoners and guards alike—had died a gruesome death. The wails and unearthly shrieks had lasted for almost a week before falling silent, starting the rumors that the place was haunted. People stopped going there. Guards refused to work, not even on the pain of death, and gradually the decrepit tower fell into an even greater ruin.
Veer and Shota stood partially behind a clump of bushes, watching the tower. No one stood guard at the entrance.
If Veer didn’t know for sure Aditya was there, he wouldn’t have believed it to be true. For such a high-profile prisoner, there was an abysmal lack of security. And whoeverwas reportedly posted here, couldn’t be bothered to keep a continuous guard.
Shota had made discreet inquiries at the nearby village and discovered the guard had been absent due to illness for over a week, and they could find no one else who would agree to be stationed there.
