Shri wheezed feebly. Her white coat was dusty and spotted with black patches of dried blood. Her wounds had healed from taking his prana, but her soul had taken quite the beating. But she'd recover with a day's rest, was what Amitabh had said, without explaining anything further.
A handsome man in his mid-forties, with thin, angular eyebrows and piercing grey eyes. He lounged in the right-hand corner. The topmost floor, which had looked like a closet, was far less accommodating than he had thought. Amitabh had bent his knees, yet his shoes poked Karnan's thigh. Shri slept at a hand's span straight across him, near the entrance.
A single oculus dug into the left side wall for ventilation was itself blocked by the adjacent house. But, apart from the smothering suffocation, the room could be called livable. The floor was carpeted and the walls painted in bizarre hues, questioning Vanu's tastes, but he preferred this over the black interiors of the inn.
The inn!
Karnan yanked up to sit all of a sudden. Captain Amitabh had his spear ready. "What's the matter? See anyone?" he hissed.
Karnan shook his head and said, "Nothing, I was reminded of a debt. Nothing to worry."
Amitabh clicked his lips. He rested his spear down. "Next time. Remind yourself in silence."
Karnan was tired of holding back retorts. So, this time, he unleashed it with all the bitterness he had, "I know you don't like me and that's fine. I have grown accustomed to seeing the true nature of people lately," he breathed.
The captain cocked an eyebrow. He asked in an amused tone, "What is my true nature?"
Karnan paused to think. Criticising a senior was against a celestial artist's conduct. Then why did these rules fail when he was mocked and abhorred? In the last few days, he had reached an epiphany. Regulations and chivalry never applied to the strong. All those were but an armour, a weight that the weak had to bear, to avoid pain.
"You are no different than those who don't bat an eye before hurting the weak," he snapped.
Amitabh chuckled dryly, infuriating Karnan even more. His eyes drifted towards the tiny circular hole made at the top of the wall straight across him. Karnan leaned a bit to his right to see. A cuckoo nested inside the oculus; she sat on her eggs. The house blocking the ventilation had protected the bird and her brood from predators and nature.
Amitabh said at last. "Our worth is never weighed by what we can or cannot do. Not everyone is born equal."
"What is a worthy life if not spent on service towards your family?" Karnan replied.
Amitabh threw him a curious glance and took a swig from his bottle, which he had stolen from the cabinet. "I don't like you, not due to your weakness. But because you accepted it, and whatever this family thing you just said," he waved his arm up and down at him.
"Easy to talk when having a powerful celestial behind you. Your elemental powers gave you up, senior." Karnan stretched the honorific mockingly.
Amitabh grunted and brushed a long strand of his jet-black hair off his face. Eyes closed, he lifted the bottle and, in a single session, emptied it. Veins popped in both scleras like rivulets, yet, when he spoke, his speech wasn't slurred. "My element is ice. True. But, that doesn't come from the nines."
Karnan scowled. Even though the captain seemed to be within the bounds of his consciousness. It was just that, an imagined sense of control, as unreal as was the flight of fishes.
Amitabh continued without receiving a reaction. "My celestial is a tiny subset of Jupiter. It's called Europa, an icy world, hidden from view by the storm giant itself."
Karnan stopped lounging against the wall and sat straight. Downstairs, the guests had arrived. Tables were being banged and, at times, thrown. Ceramics shattered, and quarrels broke into fights with profanities that could even stir the dead.
"My celestial, even though being part of the house of Jupiter was largely ignored due to it being hidden by its parent planet. Very less of its light reaches us. Just like yours."
Karnan's heart skipped a beat. He was lost in the spell that the captain weaved. Was it an illusion? It could be nothing more than the ramblings of a drunken man. Still, he wanted to hear. Even if it all were a lie, he'd listen to it.
"Then how did you become this strong?" he asked, voice trembling.
Amitabh's eyes swung towards Shri. "Because of her."
Karnan stared at him in confusion. His fists balled tight, he didn't know how viciously he was shaking.
Amitabh took a good look at him. His cold eyes looked soft and kind. He sighed and said. "Shri is not just an ancient wolf. She is one of the founders of Celestial Arts. She has written numerous works on enriching one's prana and chakra. As long as you have her. You have a way."
You have a way.
The cuckoo cooed with short pauses. Her voice was like honey spreading on the tongue. Feeble calls accompanied her, keening insistently.
"Her eggs have hatched," Amitabh commented.
You have a way.
Karnan bowed before Amitabh. The captain was taken aback. Karnan spoke with much reverence this time, "This one is grateful for your guidance. I seek forgiveness for my earlier transgressions."
He waved him away with a frown. "Stop buttering me with your southern manners. I am still furious over what your incapability did to her," he gestured at Shri before speaking again. "She eats prana. But when it comes to battle, she uses her life force. Twice she used it today to save you. I can't tell how many years she sacrificed today. And from what I know, she hasn't many left to spare either."
The barrier, and when she had slammed the assassin. Karnan had guessed as much. But, using her life force? Her very soul? He took in the sight of her heaving body, lying in pain.
"I want to be strong," he said, staring at Amitabh. "Stronger than anyone else. So strong that, I-" he gave her another look. "We won't be hurt. Ever."
And my clan will take me back.
Nayaka Amitabh's lips parted ever so slightly in a display of emotion that Karnan could tell was an event of absolute rarity, instantly returning to his usual deadpan expression. He took out another bottle of sparkling red wine from the inner pocket of his long coat and unscrewed it. He proffered it to him. "Drink. You will feel better."
Karnan hesitated. He had once tried ale on Ravim's insistence; the aftermath had been ghastly. He shook his head, "I apologise. I can't drink this."
Amitabh leaned forward and thrust the bottle into his palms. "Consider this an apology from your side for ruining my day."
Karnan exhaled a weary sigh. Only a single sip, nothing more. He raised the wine to drink. It was fruity, with a freshness that called for another sip. He paused to check if his head had begun to spin. He felt normal and took the second sip. Again, it felt refreshingly good with no dizziness. Emboldened, he took another, then another and again a large swig, which he had told himself would be the last, only to take another huge chug.
Suddenly, the bottle slipped from his grasp, much to his dismay. It was in the captain's hand now, and he was looking at the red swirling wine. Less than half remained, and he didn't look pleased.
Karnan excused himself with bows and apologies to the shocked man and spiralled down the stairs to the tavern on the ground floor.
He swung the door to the bar. A plate flew and broke over the top of the doorframe, right above him. The place was a battlefield of broken glass and pottery. Rough-looking men punched, rolled and thrashed like siblings. Vanu had his face buried in his palms behind the counter. A group of ladies, still donning their maid long skirts, drank from their pitchers in the corner nearest to the rickety door leading out of the tavern.
The weirder part wasn't the chaos. But, his calm. He was like a mountain overlooking a storm. Oddly, that was so against his nature. He gave it no further thought and strode in. An empty chair was left undisturbed to his immediate left. He claimed it. With a grin plastered over his face, he watched the brawl. Spoons, bowls and food rained around him. Men swore. Teeth were punched out, and noses were bent. But, he sat there with all the urgency of a sloth.
After a good while. Fighting stalled, opponents embraced, and guffaws hollered, threatening to shake down the building itself. Candles lit from a chandelier and their flickering glow strangely soothed him. His feet tingled, and his face flushed with heat. Yet, unlike his last drink with Ravim, his vision wasn't blurred.
"Sing! Sing! We want a song!" suddenly, the crowd yelled. All eyes were on him.
Karnan puckered his forehead. Why were they harassing him all of a sudden?
"Lute! The lute! Play us the lute!"
"And sing!"
Lute! Where was the lute? Ahh, the lute! Leaned against the chair's right leg was an old lute. It's wood dry, and the strings rusted. He picked it. Last time he had picked a lute, the patriarch had caned his knuckles till they were white. A celestial warrior had no space for weakness, he had said. He plucked the bottom string, and the instrument answered with a throaty welcome. Like wine for his ears.
Didn't know you knew music. Shri spoke.
Ravim forced me to learn some songs on the lute. He said. Though that wasn't entirely true. He had wanted to learn; he loved to sing, to play, and his friend knew it well enough. Karnan recalled Ravim's anger when he had told him of the patriarch's decree and his willingness to obey it.
The patriarch isn't here. Shri repeated what his heart yearned for.
Karnan shut his eyes. Cradling the neck, he formed a minor chord and strummed. The thing was off tune a bit. Not that he cared. He made a major chord and stroked again and flowed into a simple rhythm. Minor, major, major, minor, major and again minor. The sound ebbed and flowed, his feet caught the tempo, and he opened his throat.
The song was called 'A maiden's wish'. Nina's favourite. Karnan sang; the lute had become an extension of his hands, and, like having a mind of its own, seemed to play itself. He was lost, his senses wandering like a lost lily in the song's highs and lows. His nerves pulsed, and he could no longer hear himself. He didn't know if he was playing the right way or not. He simply wanted to be.
When the song reached its end. He slowed, the lyrics stretching like a string until his voice gradually faded and his chest released a lamentful sigh.
Silence took over from him. He opened his eyes. The room felt more than home, warm and inviting with a peace that shattered his fears. He felt free.
Claps, slow and loud, came from above. Vanu's mouth hung open. His guests looked as awed as he. They murmured, threw surprised glances; men cried while the women winked. The once rambunctious tavern had been tamed with some words strung into a melody.
You should do this more often. Said Shri. She sounded proud.
Thanks. I have a request.
Yes?
Can you help me become strong?
She laughed. The crowd looked uneasily at the ceiling. Karnan didn't blame them. Anyone would lose their marbles hearing a wolf howl from above.
Strong! She sneered. Boy, I can turn you into an Emperor if you want.