Will this work? Karnan nervously glanced at the playing children. Three girls and two boys, all under six or seven, played tic-tac-toe near the roots of an old banyan. Their giggles reverberated through the deserted alley, painting its withered walls alive. Their attire wasn't shabby like his, but it wasn't affluent either.
Good. Karnan thought. Being poor, these children might not shun him like the others.
Are you going to approach or not? Shri sounded annoyed.
Karnan exhaled and walked towards the children. "Hello, little ones!" he announced with a welcoming grin. "Want to see something good?"
The kids turned to him all at once. They looked at each other, murmuring amongst themselves.
A girl with curly ponytails stepped out. She pointed at him, "Aren't you the cripple of the Owl clan?"
Karnan winced at her words. Like sharp knives, they shredded his heart. If it had been a grown-up, he'd have replied in kind. But this was a child and a possible source of promotion for his future business at that. He widened his smile. "Yes, I am. Little lady. But,"
Her tiny yet shrill tone spoke before he could finish, "My Maa says to keep away from you. You are ill."
Karnan clenched his fist from slapping the molars out of this obnoxious girl.
"Shri!" he called. There was no sense in talking any further.
Here I come! Shri jumped out from behind the cemetery gate. Tail wagging and eyes relaxed, she strolled with her head cocked high.
Gasps came from the children. Karnan flashed a smug smile. The rude girl had her jaw slackened in surprise.
Yes, yes. Get charmed by her. For you, girl, I will be charging the highest.
"Meet Shri." He said in a pompous tone. Imitating the performers who used to visit during the winter festivals. "Shri is a wolf. The rarest of the rarest, as we all know. That there are no wolves left on the continent of Viren."
Breaths sighed in awe. Little minds smitten as if caught in a spell. Karnan continued, forcing in a sneer. "Shri, can you please jump for us?"
Shri, who had begun to circle the children, stopped on his command and sprang, vaulting over the dumbstruck heads to land near him. The girl jumped with joy. "Can I, can I, can I," she enlarged her eyes, "touch her? Once?"
Karnan was awaiting this. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Sure, why not, little lady. It will cost you one silver for a touch."
Her face brightened with shock, "whaaat! One silver?"
"Yes! For a mere silver. I will allow you to touch and squeeze her fur, too!" Hearing about the squeezing part made her tremble with excitement. Though the other kids looked forlorn. They were the ones who had felt the absence of coin and wouldn't spend such an amount on something so frivolous.
The girl took out a gleaming silver coin and proffered it to him. "Sir. Please take this."
Karnan was about to lunge for the coin; it was more than enough to cover food for a few days at least. But, stopped. Instead, he crossed his arms and displayed two of his fingers, "Why don't we make a better deal?"
The girl frowned. "New deal?"
Karnan replied, waving both fingers at her, "Yes! Give me two silvers. And I let you play with her for an hour."
She froze. Clasping the coin. "Stay here," she said before suddenly turning and bolting off. Certainly, to get the other silver. Karnan smiled after her. He turned to the others gathered there. "Want to play with Shri?"
Confused, they glanced at each other's faces. He added, "We have got time until she is back. After that, I will start charging. So, till then," raising his brow, he showed the widest of grins, "it's free."
Hours slipped by under laughter and joy. The girl didn't return much to his pleasure. The children ran, danced and rode Shri till exhaustion claimed them and one by one they bid farewell. But not without a promise to meet again. Karnan leaned against the old tree, gazing at the sky through the leaves of green and grey. Birds now chirped from the thick branches, and squirrels chased after them in vain. The tree was no longer a part of any solitude. Sounds of people chatting, coughing and arguing came from the same street he had deemed as derelict.
None of these signatures of life had he caught before playing with the children, before he had smiled genuinely. Perhaps the world was nothing but a mirror reflecting his feelings, and his reality depended on him more than anyone else.
You seem happy. Shri said from across him. She lay on her side, still panting.
"Yes, I am. But not like you. You had way more fun than the children," he said.
Slowly, she shut her eyes and rolled over her back, exposing her belly. Yes. It has been ages since I laughed so much. But we didn't get any coin.
"We will. These children will tell about us to the rest of the city. For now, we only need to find a good place to perform."
As you wish. Master.
Karnan guffawed. The day wasn't as bad as he had earlier judged it to be. He now had a way, a path to earn back his name and pursue those who had wronged him. He'd-
Shri sprang all of a sudden. She crouched, baring her canines. Something's not right. We need to leave.
She had only finished her sentence when Karnan saw a figure standing at the centre of the street. How did he appear out of thin air? The figure walked towards them. Shadows had it enshrouded, like a cloak. As it came near, the shadows began to swirl at the heart, gradually unveiling the man hidden beneath the blackness. Rajuma came into light as the whirlpool assimilated into his chest.
"You?" Karnan yelled. Unable to believe that Rajuma could wield such an eerie and powerful art.
Rajuma scratched his head. "Err, I was also asked to kill you and take her. Once you awaken her. I see that's done. So, err, die."
"What?"
Karnan! Shri's panicked scream hit him just as Rajuma unleashed his prana. Black darts came for him. Instincts took over. Karnan flipped backwards. The darts hissed inches above his forehead. The banyan's trunk went up in flames. Karnan rolled away. Shri jumped in between him and Rajuma, who simply shrugged. More such darts took shape over his shoulders.
Run! I will stall him! Shri shouted and pounced at Rajuma. His darts parted safely around Shri and came for him. Karnan ducked and rolled as the ground exploded.
Rajuma swerved left, avoiding Shri's attack. Dozens of darts again formed behind him. Karnan's ears rang, maybe bled. His vision was clouded, and when the darts whooshed at him. He was too close to even lift a finger.
Shri jumped before him.
No! His mind shrieked. The projectiles hit her. She was thrown back. Her body skidded over the pebbled ground, leaving a trail of dust and blood.
"Oops," Rajuma said, his attention fixed on Shri.
Karnan summoned light into his chakra. A sphere formed. He sprinted towards the distracted man. He was full of openings. A single strike to his core was what he needed. Heat strike, although not strong in offence, was very potent in disturbing prana flow in the chakra. Even a few seconds were enough to get Shri and escape.
Rajuma smirked. He backhanded his heat strike. Karnan's stomach caved in with the punch that came next. He was flung a few feet up into the air. He bit his tongue and slapped his left palm over Rajuma's head.
The heat shot through his skull, and his eyes rolled up into the sockets. He had assumed that Karnan's first strike was the actual one. Master Sha's combat basics number one. Never assume anything about your opponent.
He and Rajuma together slammed into the ground. Karnan rose. Pain blared through his entire body. He stumbled towards Shri. She lay near the broken gate.
Karnan bent to pick her. A deafening laughter came from behind. The tree was ablaze in fierce flames, and smoke curled from it. A silhouette rose from inside the smoke. It grew taller, shoulders widened, and the hair changed shape. From within the billowing fumes, a man emerged. He was wearing Rajuma's vest and half trousers. Scars ran amok on his clean-shaven face, and he was missing his left ear.
The man cackled. "Finally, freedom. That boy's shape was suffocating." He stretched his back and neck and popped his knuckles.
Karnan tried to pick Shri and tumbled down because of her weight. He then began to drag her into the gates of the cemetery. His chest hurt and wheezed with every breath. All his joints had turned stiff as stones, and each step sent shockwaves into his body.
Leave me. Shri said weakly. Save yourself.
"No," Karnan said. He wasn't letting her die today. Never. He focused on his chakra, trying to form one more sphere. The faint light from the star mixed with the prana that he breathed. An orb fizzled into existence. Karnan strained, trying to maintain the power. However, his chakra was unable to contain the sphere. It poofed.
Curse you. Curse you. You pathetic star. Give me something, anything here. I can't lose Shri. Give me something!
The man was now inside the cemetery and a few meters away from him. "Farewell, boy. I promise this will be painless," he laughed as tiny finger-sized black darts formed above his shoulders.
Karnan put himself before Shri. The darts finished forming and came for him. He balled both fists and witnessed his death with tearful eyes. The darts stopped a few inches before his face and dropped to the ground. As though they had hit some invisible barrier.
The assassin frowned. He created more darts and sent them his way. They fell, too.
The man now looked angry. "What art is this, boy?" he bellowed.
Karnan shook his head in confusion. He had no hand in this barrier whatsoever. But, how did it come to be? Was it Shri? He turned to look at her. She had gone still.
Panic rose in waves as he checked her body for signs of life. No, no! Shri, wake up. Wake up!
He opened her mouth and placed his arm inside it. She didn't take in his prana. Behind him, the man screamed with anger as another volley of his darts failed. He heard a blade being unsheathed. Karnan closed both eyes.
Oh Heavens. Please, help me this once. Please, I beg you.
Footfalls reached him from behind. The blade swung down.