Page 91 of The Burning Mountain
Vihari was able to pluck the key piece embedded on top of its monstrous head before the body sank into the depths of the ocean.
Sudden silence reigned, apart from the low rumble of the sky and the roar of the sea.
“Glad that’s over,” breathed one of the deckhands, heaving his bloodstained axe across his shoulders.
Virat sent another column of lightning into the ocean. If anything, it was stronger than before. He seemed to have forgotten the fight was over and exhilaration showed on his face as he continued to draw power.
“Virat, stop. We’re done.” Veer’s shout jerked him out of the trance. He blinked, as if bewildered at the loss of power and seemed to become aware of his surroundings.
“I apologize. I think I got carried away. Is anyone hurt?”
“It’s fine,” said Veer shortly. He tilted his head up and stretched his hand. Vihari alighted there, back to his usual size of a normal kite. He dropped the key piece into Veer’s hand.
Veer’s fingers closed around it, satisfaction thrumming in his blood. One step closer to completing the Lotus Key.
“Uh, pardon the interruption, but I think we ought to hurry back to Sumedh,” said their captain. He glared mistrustfully at Virat, his eyes on the fingers that had turned necrotic from the use of magic. “The last lightning was pretty intense. We are in for some bad weather. Truly bad weather, not something generated by magic. We need to find a port soon.”
43
THE INDIAN LUTE
“Are you sure there is no fixing it?” asked Billadev morosely, stroking the remains of the broken Indian lute in his lap.
They were near the top of the thundering falls, their voices oddly distorted by the rumble of the water as it danced, skipped, and fell headlong onto the steep rocks.
“I liked thisveena.” Billadev inspected the two halves, which were barely held together, by the strings that ran through its long neck. The main resonating chamber, which was a large gourd-shaped object, had a crack running through it. “Even if I didn’t get to hear you play it much, Princess.”
“You aren’t missing out, really,” she said ruefully, peering down the falls with caution. Cold spray misted her face. “My musical prowess leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate your gesture, but I’m not very proficient.”
Chandra took out the crushed beads from a fold in heruttariya. She stared at the broken fragments and whispered, “How do they know about my powers?”
There was no doubt in her mind that the captain deliberately destroyed the beads in an effort to render her helpless. And theyachieved their goal. Yesterday, she tried to access her powers and, predictably, without the presence of those beads, failed miserably. Her one connection to her goddess was gone.
There was a huge absence in her chest where she previously felt the presence of the divine.
Billadev shrugged uncomfortably. “Veer must have mentioned it to his uncle. They are close.”
She nodded in preoccupied fashion and held her hand under the icy waters of the falls, letting the strong flow sweep away the remnants of the holy beads. She was angry but didn’t know who she was angrier at—King Pourava, who tarred her with the brush of mistrust; the captain, for being a brute; or Veer, for revealing her secrets—or herself for not paying enough attention when her precious items were smashed right in front of her.
She kept her hand under the water for a long time until her fingers turned stiff and numb, appreciating the commiserating silence from Billadev.
She finally sighed and turned to him. “Give me the lute now. We can let the waters take it too. This is as good a place as any to say goodbye.”
“But…I can have it repaired,” he protested, holding it up and away. “I think.”
“Doesn’t matter, it won’t sound the same. Once broken, the musical instruments can’t be repaired into their exact original state.”
“I wish I could wring the captain’s neck,” growled Billadev under his breath. She heard the tinge of sadness beneath the gruff words and sighed. Even now, she could feel the suspicious stares of the guards, who stood just beyond the narrow landing, like needle pricks along her back.
Billadev held up the lute to the sunlight again. “The little girl who I bought this from said that fortune would bless me if Ipurchased it. I knew I was being played, but I still went ahead and paid for it.”
Chandra smiled. Billadev, contrary to his physical appearance, had a soft heart.
Her smile faded as she stared at the lute.
Held up like that against the background of the stones of the waterfall, she noticed a vague resemblance between the frets on theveenaand the pillars of the waterfall.
True, the frets on the lute were laid horizontally on the long bridge that connected the two resonating chambers of the instrument, but they had the same markings as that of the pillars—gouges that were necessary for the strings to stay in place without budging.
