The Secret Of The Warrior

Namdeo stared at the trembling figure of Hiten with ill-concealed disgust. His predecessor Fahim (may he rot in hell) was a crafty fool but he got assassinated and the post of the head of internal affairs fell empty. When Namdeo was appointed as the head of the internal affairs, he was delighted to obtain the post but he soon realized that he was just a glorified clerk. Halim was his boss but he generally left him alone. Namdeo's powers were curtailed and many of his subordinates bypassed him to make direct reports to Rasika who was the right hand person of Halim. The king was busy with his own shenanigans and didn't care much for internal affairs. Omar was the one Namdeo was mortally scared of. Omar was the king's cousin and his best friend. He wanted to take over Fahim's role but the king gave Halim the extra responsibility. It made Omar hopping mad. Some months later Halim requested the king to give him an assistant to handle the internal affairs. Omar did not agree to report to Halim. He wanted to report to the king directly but the king did not want to insult Halim by taking away the powers that he had himself conferred upon Halim. Thus Namdeo was chosen for the role. When Namdeo found out about his diminished powers, he was left very upset. He now wanted to prove his worth to his subordinates. He just wanted to get their respect and for that he was ready to go to any lengths. He had been told that Omar did not like Jayesh, the Queen's aide so he decided to bring down Jayesh and get in the good books of Omar. Towards that end, he visited the prison of Kakime for he had heard that Jayesh was the kingpin of a scam where he took money to get sentences of prisoners reduced for some fees. When he entered the prison compound, he found the entire prison compound to be in a state of uproar. By and by he found out that some hours back, a small troupe of soldiers led by an elite soldier was headed to the village of Vasin when they were attacked by the bandits. The leader of the bandits engaged the elite soldier and killed him. Then the bandits murdered a civilian and then went away but the surviving soldiers managed to capture the spy working for the bandits. The spy turned out to be Hiten who had not yet turned nineteen years. Namdeo decided to interrogate the spy.

“Where are you from?” He decided to put the young man at ease.

“Vasin,” Hiten's voice trembled. He had been roughed up by the soldiers and looked to be in a bad state.

“So did you inform Raka about the troupe movements?” Namdeo came to the point.

“Raka died yesterday,” Hiten replied. Namdeo was astonished.

“But I was told that it was Raka who killed the elite soldier,” the head of internal affairs asked Hiten.

“It is Barun who took on the name of Raka,” Hiten replied.

“That does not make sense,” Namdeo protested. He was now losing his patience. “Tell me everything and don't hide anything from me,” he asked Hiten in a what he thought was a threatening tone but in reality it made his voice whinier and nasal.

“I have already told everything,” Hiten whined.

“Not to me!” Namdeo said in a loud voice. It made Hiten wince. He had already been thrashed twice that day and he didn't want another beating.

Namdeo took some deep breaths to calm himself. It was clear that the young man seated on the floor was scared and hurt. He needed the young man to talk freely.

“Tell me more about Barun,” Namdeo asked Hiten after a couple moments of silence. “Did he really kill Raka? That's amazing. How well do you know Barun?”

“I have knows Barun since he was a kid,” Hiten said. Namdeo seemed aggrieved but he did not complain. The life story of Barun came out in spurts and bursts.

The very first memory of Hiten of Barun was that of a skinny eight years old kid who was carried in the arms of his mother Sulekha who brought him to Hiten's room. She told Hiten that his cousin was going to stay with them from that day onward. Barun was the only son of Sulekha's eldest brother. The chief of the bandits, Raka, had murdered Barun's father. Much to the surprise of everyone, Raka had then decreed that no one in the village of Vasin was to take the name of Barun's father.

“Why would he do that?” Namdeo was surprised. “Raka was a criminal but he was a honorable criminal. I have never seen him behave this petulantly ever.”

“Long time back,” Hiten responded, “Barun's father defeated Raka.”

“That's a surprise,” Namdeo couldn't believe his ears. “Raka used to take on elite soldiers directly. I have never heard that any soldier could even dislodge the sword from Raka's hand and you tell me that Barun's father defeated Raka.”

“Raka was not alone that day,” Hiten smirked. “He took along four bandits to capture Trishal uncle but Trishal uncle defeated all of them.”

“Trishal?”

“Barun's father's name.”

“You are taking his name now,” Namdeo mockingly accused Hiten who smiled shyly in response. Namdeo was getting across to the young spy. He just had to keep Hiten talking.

“Raka is dead,” Hiten said. “Barun killed him. Ever since he had learnt that Raka had killed his father, he wanted to defeat Raka. But you see, when we were kids, we were actually quite fans of the bandits and we looked up to their leader.”

Namdeo was visibly shocked. A child becoming a fan of his father's murderer was totally unheard of. He soon learnt that Sulekha, Hiten's mother, wanted to adopt Barun as her own child and she did not want Barun to grow embittered or perpetually angry. She told Barun that his father died in an accident. Little Barun trusted Sulekha completely. He grew up with Hiten, studying scriptures and learning music and poetry. The two kids played together and their favourite game was to become bandits. Around that time they learnt of the daring escape of Raka from the maze prison of Alkagiri. No one who had been imprisoned in that prison had managed to walk out alive but Raka found a way through the underground maze. It made him a sensation throughout the kingdom. Barun and Hiten were totally smitten by the leader of the bandits.

“We wanted to follow on his footsteps,” Hiten said. “Barun felt that the bandits were the freest of all people, that they could do whatever they wanted to. Barun loved riding and he loved the wind on his face rustling his hair. As a bandit, he wanted to ride hard and to visit new places. He believed that the leader of the bandits was the true king of the land. As their true king, he wrote decrees, intervened in their fights, fought off corrupt elite soldiers and kept peace in the land and all the time he got to ride as much as he wanted to.”

“Why did no one tell the truth to the poor kid?” Namdeo was horrified.

“People were forbidden to even take the name of Barun's father,” Hiten shrugged. “Ma kept a sharp eye on the people we met. Barun's uncle, Manna, tried his hardest to meet Barun but Ma always foiled his plans.”

“What about Barun's mother?”

“She hated Barun,” Hiten spoke in a low voice. “

“What for?”

It turned out that when Trishal's wife conceived, she was told that she was carrying twins but then after some months one of the foetus was absorbed by the other foetus. The healer told her that the unfortunate event was not quite rare but she began to hate the surviving foetus. She did not kill Barun growing in her womb but she hated him and after birth, she generally liked to keep away from the little murderer. When Trishal was murdered, she dropped Barun at Sulekha's house and skipped town. No one knew her fate. She simply disappeared from her son's life.

Hiten had been a lonely child and Barun's company made him very happy. They played together and learnt music together. Sulekha taught her two children that love and compassion were more suited for an enriching life than the empty pursuit of violence and murder. Barun turned away from the weapons refusing to even pick a sword but it made Manna very angry. Manna was the youngest brother of Trishal. He was the only one who tried his best to keep Trishal's memories alive. He wanted his nephew to kill Raka to avenge his father's murder. When he could not make Sulekha agree to allow Barun weapons training, he complained to the village head. Raka heard of the ruckus and he sent a message to the village head to allow the young Barun all sorts of training. The last line of his message stated his intention to kill the son of Trishal once the child was of age. Even then Sulekha persisted in keeping Barun away from weapons. Manna bribed the panchayat members to give him the custody of the child whose life was in danger from Raka. Sulekha was left very upset at the decree and she challenged it in the local court where after two hearings the decision was given in the favour of Manna. It was devastating for Sulekha who fell violently sick and took almost six months to recover. Hiten could never forget his mother's torment and he never forgave Manna for it.

Barun was taken to his ancestral house in the village of Sarais where his father, Trishal, had grown up. Manna believed that staying in the ancestral house would make Barun bond with his father's memories and then Barun could be exhorted to avenge his father's death. Barun hated his uncle's family and grew up to be a sullen, angry teenager. His temper tantrums were not received kindly by his aunt. Manna never intervened in the ego battles between his wife and Barun. He did not stop his two sons from assaulting Barun. Whenever he would get a chance to preach at Barun, he would ask his nephew to become stronger so that he could fight back. Barun took his advice to heart and channelized his anger to bodybuilding and sword fighting. His dedication to become stronger soon showed its effect. By the age of 17 years, Barun became taller and wider than almost all the young men in his village. He used his strength to bully the kids and got into the ugly habit of entering into scraps on a daily basis. He beat his own cousins brutally and warned them to not cross his path. Manna tried to save his children but discovered that Barun did not respect him enough to not hit him back. Things came to such a pass that Barun became a stranger in Manna's house. He began to take out his anger and frustration on other children and was apprehended twice by the guards for creating a ruckus in the village.

“A strange rumour began to spread about Barun,” Hiten told Namdeo who listened intently to the harrowing tale. “The kids older than Barun began to lose their fights to Barun. They said that Barun fought as if he had the stamina of two children inside him. They said that Barun ran faster than them because he had access to the power of two children. They said that Barun had more stamina than themselves because Barun's brother lived inside him and helped Barun.”

“What a load of bullshit!” Namdeo cried out.

“But they believed in the silly stories,” Hiten said. “They began to avoid him and he became a loner choosing to roam the village alone.”

Barun's infamy spread across the adjoining villages and reached the ears of Sulekha who could not believe her ears. For her, Barun never grew older than 12 years old when he was a chubby kid with a shy smile. When Barun turned 18 years old, he immediately applied for a severance of his ties with his uncle Manna who was very glad to let go. Manna had been physically assaulted once when he tried to rebuke Barun and ever since then he steered clear of his nephew. For him, Barun had become a deadly stranger who lived in his house but who did not respect him at all. So when Barun requested for the severance of his ties so that he could live alone, Manna showed unreasonable alacrity to hand Barun his freedom. The very first thing Barun did on getting the separation order was to burn all his clothes that he had received from his uncle. Then he pissed at the doorsteps of his uncle's house and informed Manna that he would never ever return to that house. With that final insolent act, Barun left his uncle's house and went to Vasin meet Sulekha.

Sulekha wept tears of joy on the safe return of her adopted son. Her own son Hiten had become taller and stronger too but he was no match to the towering figure of Barun. Sulekha had heard of Barun's temper tantrums but she was pleasantly surprised at her nephew's politeness. On the second day of his visit, Barun and Hiten sat on the balcony overlooking the mango orchard. It was a hot summer day but the evening had brought a welcome drop of temperature. The cuckoos were singing amidst the branches of the mango trees and Barun's heart ached for his lost childhood. Hiten could sense that his cousin Barun was down in dumps and he suggested a hunt to make his cousin and long lost brother happy. Barun gave his approval and Hiten began to make plans for the next day hunt.

“Where did you go for the hunt?” Namdeo asked Hiten.

“To the woods south of Vasin,” Hiten replied. “But we never entered the woods. The plan never materialized.”

“You are lying to me now,” Namdeo snarled.

“No,” Hiten replied calmly. “We headed out yesterday morning for the hunt but I never intended to participate in a hunting expedition. My plan was to get Barun killed.”

Namdeo was shocked at the turn of the story. “Explain me please!”

“That night my mother told me a strange story. But first we need to talk about Manna uncle.”

“What about him?”

“Manna was angry with Barun for insulting him publicly,” Hiten said. “Barun was not aware of it though.”

Barun was angry at being snatched away from the loving home of his adoptive mother and took it out on everyone around him culminating in the very public severance of his ties with his uncle's family. For Barun, the act of pissing on the front door of his uncle's house was a final display of his repressed anger and after pulling off the abominable act, Barun was done. He had no more rage burning in his bosom. He now sought peace and love. He never cared for his uncle and he didn't even think twice on the public humiliation that he had heaped on his family name. He had heard of the tales of valour of his grandfather and of his father. He had met people who had been saved by the brave deeds of his ancestors. His uncle Manna wanted him to become another great soldier whose tales would be narrated by poets and troubadours but his forceful snatching of the little Barun from Sulekha caused irreparable damage to the psyche of the little kid. Manna was aware that he did wrong to Barun but he still believed that only he could mould Barun into a fearsome warrior. He knew that his sister Sulekha would make Barun a wishy-washy youngster who would never be able to fulfill his destiny. He knew that Barun would lash out at him for taking him forcibly away from Sulekha but he was willing to become the villain of his nephew's story if by doing so he could push Barun to become a warrior. His wife made matters worse by pushing away little Barun and his sons, buoyed by their mother's taunts, never accepted Barun as their own brother. Barun was consigned to sleep alone in his room. Manna heard Barun cry himself to sleep many times and the sound of his nephew's sobs broke his heart but Manna could not sway his own wife to accept Barun as their own child. He held himself guilty for stealing the childhood of his nephew but took solace in the fact that Barun showed interest in weapons training. That was his ultimate objective. He wanted Barun to follow Trishal's footsteps. He wanted Barun to become strong enough to avenge Trishal's murder. The more Barun became better at being a warrior, the more he pushed his uncle away from him. During a mock battle, Barun beat Manna's eldest son so badly that for two days Manna believed that he had lost his first born. Manna's wife cursed Barun for his brutality but Manna did not reproach his nephew even once. When Barun finally applied for a severance of his ties with his uncle, Manna felt relieved. He just wanted Barun to be happy wherever he chose to live. He gladly signed on the separation deed but then Barun decided to rub his uncle's nose in the ground by pissing on the front door of their ancestral house that had housed brave warriors. It was an insult to the chequered past of his ancestors. It should have warranted Manna to challenge Barun for a duel unto death but Manna did not do so. His sons cowered inside the house. Barun's cruel laughter burned in Manna's memories forever. He could not bring himself to forgive Barun and approached the village headsman to plot Barun's downfall. Manna wanted Barun to die for his crime. Nothing less could assuage his rage but no one in his village was ready to fight Barun. In desperation, Manna sought out Raka's help. Manna had trained Barun to kill Raka and now he sought Raka's help to kill his nephew. The bizarre turn of the events made Raka laugh so much his nose started to bleed.

“This was what we learnt from Raka when we met him yesterday,” Hiten said. “I just thought you should know of it before I tell you about what my mother told me.”

That was Barun's second night at Sulekha's house when the plan for organizing a hunt was made. Oblivious of the threat to his life from Raka whose help Manna had bought, Barun slept peacefully. Hiten lay next to his cousin's bed, waiting for sleep to descend on him when he felt a tug on his arm. It was his mother who put a finger to her lips to warn her son to not make any sound. Alarmed by her strange behaviour, Hiten got up from his bed and followed her to her room where his father sat awaiting them. His father, Damu, had an annoying habit of drinking cups of mead before his dinner and Hiten was reminded of his father's drunkenness when he sat next to his father.

“What is it now?” Damu could hardly keep himself awake. He had consumed two pots of the freshly brewed mead and his head now felt heavy and his senses were dull. He just wanted to curl up and close his eyes but his wife seemed very perturbed. Her restlessness made him want to keep his eyes open though his eyelids got heavier by the minute.

“Barun,” Sulekha wrung her hands.

“What did he do now?” Hiten complained. He used to love Barun as his own brother when they were kids but then he was snatched away from them and he forgot all about his cousin till the time he returned all buffed up and carrying a stinking reputation of being a hothead and of a troublemaker.

“It's not the lad's fault,” Sulekha muttered.

“Come to the point, Sulu,” Damu slurred leaving Hiten scandalized. Propriety demanded that his father should never use his mother's name while people were around them but once Damu got drunk the social gaffes committed by him kept on piling up.

“Pari's brother called today,” Sulekha said. “He recognized Barun and was left shocked that we are harbouring a criminal in our house.”

Pari was Hiren's betrothed and their marriage was about to be solemnized in one month.

“A criminal?” Hiten echoed it. Damu forced his eyes open. The words uttered by his wife and his son were no longer making any sense to him.

“That's what he said,” Sulekha shook her head. “I have heard that Barun got involved in many fracas but I never thought that he would be branded a criminal.”

“Jethu is an idiot,” Hiten did not have a good opinion about his would-be-brother-in-law.

“He might be an idiot,” Sulekha sniffed, “but he told me that they would not want to associate themselves with us if we continue to harbour criminals.”

“Barun might be quick to temper,” Hiten said, “but I don't think he is a criminal. He could never become a bandit for he hates them terribly. He wants to kill them to avenge his father's death.”

Sulekha hid her ashen face from her son. She shuddered once. No one knew about the exact circumstances behind Barun's father's death till now but it was high time her son learnt the truth.

“If they develop cold feet,” Sulekha spoke slowly, “and cancel the wedding, we would get a lot of flak for it. We would lose face. We can't afford to lose this alliance.” She caught hold of her son's hand. “I need you to do something for us. For your home. For your family. I want you to promise that you will do what I ask you to do.”

Hiten was surprised. He had never seen his mother cajole him like this. “Just tell me what I have to do and it will be done,” he promised her.

“Kill Barun tomorrow,” Sulekha managed to utter the dreaded words. Hiten was shocked and he dropped his mother's hand.

“Kill him or better get him killed,” Sulekha implored her son who stared at his mother's face with a sullen expression.

“No way,” Hiten whispered in amazement. He stared at his mother's face and felt as if he were staring at a stranger's face. How could his mother ask him to kill his own cousin, his adopted brother?

“There is no other way,” Sulekha said.

“But why kill him?” Hiten sounded very unhappy. “Why can't we send him away? Like far away. Really far away?”

Damu suddenly toppled over and could not bring himself to get up again. He began snoring softly immediately and so his wife and his son left him alone.

“Look here, my son,” Sulekha sighed. “I didn't want to tell you this shameful story but it will be better if you hear it from me. It is a miracle that you have not heard rumours about it.”

“Is it about Barun's father's death?” Hiten murmured.

“So you have heard of it?” Sulekha sneered. “What do you know about it?”

Hiten stayed silent.

“What is it, boy?” Sulekha's tone became stern. Hiten looked up sharply at his mother. Whenever his mother addressed him as 'boy', he knew he was in trouble.

“Not much,” Hiten managed to speak. “Only that the bandits got inside help.”

“That is pretty correct,” Sulekha exhaled loudly. “No one takes Barun's father's name anymore. The leader of the bandits had decreed it. No one dares to challenge him. But before Barun was born, everyone in and around this village had heard of Trishal. He was the strongest among all men, the bravest among them all. He was once challenged by five bandits and he fought all of them and managed to trump them all.”

“Alone?” Hiten was amazed.

“Alone!” Sulekha reiterated. “I was the proudest sister that day when Trishal dragged the bandits to the village. Two of the bandits survived the onslaught and they were the ones who spoke of the great battle. Trishal never spoke of his exploits. He was very humble. But the bandits sang praises of their opponent. One of the survivors was Raka, the one who later became the leader of the bandits and the one who finally killed Trishal. I saw him twice. The first time when I saw him he was all tied up and getting dragged behind Trishal's horse. The second time was when he came to our house.”

“What for?” Hiten was surprised.

“Your father's life was in danger,” Sulekha looked lovingly at Damu's sleeping face. “Raka promised to us that he would protect his life.”

“I am totally confused now,” Hiten protested. “Your brother Trishal was the strongest, the bravest of them all and yet you sought Raka's help to protect Babuji's life. Why?”

“Because it was Trishal who had taken a vow to kill your father,” Sulekha said in a dejected manner.

Hiten stared at his mother with a blank expression. “Why?” was all he could mutter.

“Trishal didn't want me to marry Damu,” Sulekha wiped off tears from her eyes. Every time she was reminded of the events of those terrible days, she could not control her tears.

“Why?” It seemed Hiten was capable of uttering one word only.

“Trishal wanted me to marry Shashank,” Sulekha's voice broke once but then she controlled it with effort. “I did not like Shashank at all. He was boastful and used to laugh really loudly. We used to call him 'chota Ravan' for the way he used to laugh. He was very brave. He accompanied Trishal in some of his forays to kill the bandits and everyone who went with them praised his bravery. But I did not like him. I liked Damu. He spoke softly in such a dream like voice. He loved poetry. He loved reading epics and whenever he would tell me stories from the epics I just never wanted him to stop speaking.”

Hiten did not want to listen to his parent's love story and so he cleared his throat once. It was enough for his mother to chuckle.

“I won't tell you more,” she said and Hiten exhaled loudly in relief.

“In any case,” she went back to her story, “my refusal to marry Shashank caused Trishal to lose his temper on me. It was the very first time he raised his hand on me and I haven't still forgiven him for it. How dare he think of me as a commodity, to be given to whosoever he deemed worthy? Every time I think of it, I bristle. So I eloped with Damu and came to his house but Damu's father was left terrified. He knew that Trishal would never forgive my rash act and that Damu's life was in great danger. So he sought help from his friends but none among them wanted to stand up to Trishal. You see, my brave brother had become a bully. I never thought of him in that light but the way people cowered at the prospect of squaring off against Trishal made me feel bad for them. Someone suggested hiring bandits to protect us. Damu's father sent feelers to Raka who arrived late that night. He quoted an absurd price for the job. Damu's father had to agree to his terms. Then Raka made a strange request. He told us that he was willing to forego half of the agreed upon amount if he could get some information about Trishal. I was brought to the living room where I hid behind the flimsy curtain. Raka sat on the diwan and kept looking at the floor where my feet would rest. He never once tried to sneak a look at me. He asked me about Trishal's habit of worshipping the rising sun. Trishal always kept a sword on his person but when he would worship the rising sun, his sword would lie with his clothes. Once he was done offering water to the rising sun, he would get dressed and pick up his sword. He never bathed alone and kept his comrades around him so that no one could pull off a sneak attack at him. Trishal was no fool. I told everything that I knew about Trishal's rituals to Raka who listened carefully to me. He asked me some questions and then left. I did not know why he sought that information from me or how he was going to use it. I went to sleep and when I woke up next morning, the household was abuzz with the news that Raka had killed Trishal. Damu's family were celebrating the death of my brave brother. I just froze up. I had managed to get a husband of my liking but at the great cost of losing my eldest brother. That is why when I got a chance to adopt Barun, I thought I had got a chance to make amends. I wanted to keep him away from the weapons and to make him a gentle man who would love his fellow beings. But then Manna had to intervene. He was only two years junior to me and we never got along. He had heard the rumours about how Raka was hired by Damu's father to kill Trishal and he created a scene here. Barun was snatched from me and the next time I see him, he is a splitting image of his father. I mean, even Trishal was not so strong as Barun is. He is far more accomplished at wielding a sword too. Barun nurses hatred in his bosom. I can sense it every time I watch him move about. He does not realize it but his bitterness and rage are ill-concealed. There is no doubt that he would murder people and become a bigger bully than Trishal ever was. Imagine how upset he would become if he got to learn about our family's involvement in his father's death! Do you think he would come here to discuss things with us? Or do you think he would kill all of us in his blood lust?”

Hiten agreed with his mother's prognosis and promised her that he would do the needful the next day itself. His mother told him that two bandits would be waiting for them in the rest house next to the forest south of Vasin. She had sent a request for help to Raka some hours back and she received the answer to her prayers shortly before she called Hiten for the conference.

Barun found Hiten to be waiting for him at the breakfast table. Over the sumptuous curry and 'paranthas' they discussed the nitty-gritty of the trip. Hiten let him know that he had asked two of his men to accompany them and they were going to join them near the forest. Barun was under the belief that only he and Hiten would venture in the forest but then he shrugged and let it slide. After all, the more the merrier!

The forest was about eleven miles from Hiten's house. They rode early and made good time in reaching the rest house that was located right on the edge of the forest. Barun had been warned about the rest house that the bandits loved to frequent it and he knew that Hiten liked to avoid the bandits like a plague so he was very surprised when they made their way to the rest house. They tethered their horses outside and entered the big room on the ground floor. The room was crowded with boisterous people who were all either shouting or singing. The smell of toddy and sweat of the men repulsed the two young men. Barun noticed the stack of coins on the tables and understood that the rest house was just a front for a gambling house. He did not like the ambiance of the place and his hackles were raised. He had personally dealt with the frustrated anger of the people who had lost a lot in the gambling house and knew to steer clear of them for there was no fun in bashing up drunks.

Hiten looked around carefully to identify the bandits who were to masquerade as his friends. The bandits were supposed to wait in the rest house and that was why he made his way to it but now that he stood amidst the querulous voices and boastful cries of the gamblers and the drunkards, he felt a knot of fear forming in his guts. He did not like the place at all. The awful smell of alcohol and fried foods made his stomach churn. If he were alone and had stumbled in such a den, he would have turned around and made a beeline to the exit but Barun stood just behind him and he had promised his mother that he would get Barun killed that day and he could not think of quitting when he had made his way to the rest house. His eyes were suddenly caught by a table in the corner where two men sat drinking. One of them was waving to him. Hiten carefully made his way towards them. A rogue tried to accost Hiten but when he saw that Hiten was making his way to the corner table, he backed off immediately.

Barun noticed it all with interest. He could sense that Hiten had never met the two guys they were about to meet for Hiten did not show a relief on finding his friends in an unfriendly place. Moreover Hiten moved with leaden steps. Barun had seen his cousin walk that way many times. Hiten used that kind of forced walk only when he knew that he was going to face music for his mischief. Barun wondered why Hiten lied to him about his two friends who would accompany them for the hunt for the men waiting for them were aged and definitely not young. He walked two steps behind Hiten and gave the two men seated on the table a good look over. The man on the far right stared at Barun with a blank expression. He was very good looking and the thin, pencil moustache on his face suited him to a T. The person seated next to him had a broad face and he had covered it with facial hair. His broad forehead and the thick fop of hair worked to highlight his bright eyes. He was the only one who stood up when Hiten reached the table. He towered over Hiten easily. He gave a tap on Hiten's right shoulder and gestured to him to seat himself. He stared at Barun with admiring eyes.

“You must be Barun,” he offered his hand to Barun who shook it firmly. The man tightened his grip on Barun's hand and a smile sprang on his lips easily. He had crow's feet near his eyes. When he smiled, he managed to look younger. He then raised his left hand up in the air so that the sleeve dropped back exposing his hand. There was a huge lightning bolt tattooed on it. Raka made a fist of his left palm and turned his hand so that Barun could see the tattoo clearly. When Barun did not react, the man smirked and introduced himself. “My name is Raka.”

Barun's face turned hard. He hated the name Raka for he knew that it was Raka, the leader of the bandits, who had killed his father. Raka, who held Barun's hand tightly, kept smiling kindly. Barun glanced once at Raka's companion and then looked Raka in his eyes.

“Are you the leader of the bandits?” He asked Raka fearlessly.

“This indomitable spirit is what I really admire,” Raka let Barun's hand go. “You know very well that you have walked into a lion's den and yet your voice doesn't waver and you don't hesitate in challenging me. Just like your father! You are his splitting image, you know that, right? You are even better looking than Trishal.”

“Don't take his name!” Barun growled. It made Raka chuckle.

“Why not?” Raka's tone was gentle and it looked as if he was having lots of fun. “He was a great warrior. Very strong. Very brave.”

“You killed him!” Barun's voice rose. He jerked his hand off Raka's grip. Instantly Raka's companion jumped to his feet. Raka called to him, “Wait, Gora!”. It made Gora stop though his hand was right atop the hilt of his sword. Hiten's legs shook wildly and he was glad that he was seated.

“I murdered him,” Raka replied in an even voice. “I have never hidden that fact. Your father defeated me when I tried to go one on one with him. I could not even give a proper blow to him. He was nimble, really swift on his feet. I have not seen a fighter like him again. And trust me! I have seen many. Heck! I have fought with elite soldiers and I have killed them in a fair fight. But Trishal was something else. I have heard about your exploits, Barun, and I have always wanted to see you in action. I really need to know if you are an adept swordsman. I have no idea why I have this desire but the thought has kept me awake at nights. Suppose Trishal's son turned out to be exactly like his father! Then what will I do? Will I be able to challenge the son to a fair fight? Or should I just get the son ambushed and get him killed? I can't tell you how these thoughts tormented me. I couldn't beat Trishal then but ever since then I have learnt new tricks. I have trained hard. I have pushed my muscles and sinews to their breaking point. Trishal never faced this version of me and yet when I thought about his son I wavered. I asked myself what was I scared of. Was I scared of losing a fight? I don't like to boast but it is true that ever since I killed Trishal, I have not lost a single battle. So then why was I so scared of facing a young boy? WHY?”

Raka screamed out the last 'why' so loudly that the entire gambling house was stunned into silence. Gora gave them a death glare and gestured to them to continue with their activities. Immediately a bustle of whispers rose from their tables. They pretended to be busy with their games but everyone of them had eyes only for Raka and his young opponent.

“There is only one way to find it out,” Barun stared at Raka with unmitigated hatred. “Come outside and have a duel with me.”

“We can do that, can't we?” Raka smirked. “But what is at stake? What do you plan to lose?”

“My life,” Barun said hotly. “If I can't defeat you, then you will have to kill me for I will keep coming at you. If you cut off my legs, I will crawl on the ground to stab you in your legs. If you cut off my hands, I will grab the sword in my mouth and swing it around.”

Hiten shuddered at the venom that dripped from Barun's tone. Raka's companion could no longer hold himself back.

“Let me fight him,” he cried out. Raka did not want to take his eyes off Barun's enraged face. He mentioned that he could see that Barun hated him from his very core. He went on a harangue for some moments when he spoke about his past experiences. He had hurt many people and had seen varying degrees of hatred and fear on their faces. The very first time he had seen his victim's hatred in his eyes, it had left him very disturbed. Over the years he had begun to expect to see hatred and fear in the eyes of his victims and he began to enjoy the feeling of helplessness that his victims suffered from. When he had stabbed Trishal and stood over the bloodied, mutilated body of his sworn enemy, he got this strange desire to see how Trishal felt while taking his dying breaths. So Raka knelt beside Trishal and looked into his eyes, expecting to see the same hatred and fear in them but he was left disappointed. Trishal's eyes were full of compassion and he looked peaceful. It was as if Raka had freed Trishal from his earthly bondage. Raka could never forget Trishal's eyes. He mentioned that Barun's eyes were exactly similar to his father. The hatred that Raka had sought in the dying eyes of Trishal was very much alive in the eyes of Barun and the extent of it excited Raka. He had expected Barun to hate him and he was looking forward to staring at his young victim's eyes but the rage and the hatred in Barun's eyes were unparalleled.

“It seems as if you have regressed to a more animal like form,” Raka taunted Barun. “The way your breathing has become laboured, it reminds me of the time when I had to face an enraged bull. And yet, I want to check first if you have reached the pinnacle of your training. I want to kill you when you are truly at the top of your skills. I don't want anyone to accuse me of killing a young man who had not properly learnt to use a sword. Well, there is only one way to check how good you are. Defeat Gora first and then we will see.”

Barun was disappointed. “Scared much?” He tried to goad Raka who used his right hand to dust off the sleeve of his left hand.

“Beat him first,” Raka said to Barun. “Defeat Gora and then we will have our duel.”

“Gladly,” Barun did not even look at Gora. His eyes were fixed on Raka. He was the ultimate prize for Barun. Nothing else mattered.

All of them walked outside of the rest house. The gamblers and drunkards dropped their acts and filed outside to watch the duel between Barun and Gora. They chatted loudly that Gora was an accomplished swordsman who could go toe to toe with elite soldiers. They had never seen Barun in action and were under the belief that the duel would be a short one that would go in favour of Gora.

“What's at stake?” Someone among them asked when Barun and Gora squared off each other.

“Their lives!” Raka announced. Immediately a hush fell over the crowd. Raka and Hiten stood a bit away from the crowd. Hiten felt sick at the sight of his young cousin facing off a deadly killer but he was glad that he was not the one tasked to kill Barun.

Gora was the one who went on attack first. His quick thrusts seemed to overwhelm Barun who tried his hardest to protect himself from the jabs and the stabs of Gora's sword. Raka watched the duel intently. For the first few minutes of the duel, it was Gora all the way. Barun began to bleed from the various nicks and cuts that Gora's swiftly moving sword delivered on his body. Gora had been keeping his distance from Barun but when he saw his opponent bleeding, he became complacent and made the mistake of venturing in the striking range of Barun. When Barun swung his sword with all his might, Gora saw it coming from afar but he realized in that instant that he was not going to step away from harm and he tried to stop the blow using his body weight but he failed miserably in that ploy. Barun's superior strength caused Gora to be knocked off his feet. By the time Gora found his balance, his enemy's sword was run through his torso. The burning pain caused Gora to swing wildly. Barun sidestepped Gora's blow and ran his sword through Gora's torso again. The two blows were enough to throw Gora face down on the ground. Barun watched Gora for some moments but when he saw blood coming out of Gora's mouth he stepped back. The duel was over.

“Interesting,” Raka did not even try to help his fallen comrade. “You trust in your strength a lot more that your father did. You father would never let his opponent hurt him but you deliberately let Gora hurt you so that he could be drawn closer to you. Very clever!”

“Shut up!” Barun bellowed at him. “Man up and take out your sword now.”

“You really want to me to fight you in that state?” Raka was astonished. “Do you have a death wish or something? I would like to fight you when you are properly healed. I must say that you are an accomplished swordsman and killing you would give me immense satisfaction but I want my victory to be unblemished. Let no one comment that I beat you because Gora's blows had softened you up.” Raka turned towards Hiten “I will fight him in three days. You can rest here or you can return after three days. I will be waiting for you here.” He gestured to Hiten to take Barun away.

“Come at me, you coward!” Barun bellowed. “You can't beat me. I will kill you here.”

Raka's eyes flashed. His hand slid to the hilt of his sword. Hiten tried to intervene but he got a cracking kick from Barun on his chest that sent him flying towards the crowd of the onlookers.

“What did you call me, you wretch?” Raka growled.

“A coward,” Barun screamed. “I called you a blathering coward.”

“You will eat dirt today,” Raka dragged his sword out.

Barun was the one who threw himself at him. Raka nimbly stepped away from Barun's angry blows. For almost 20 minutes, Barun attacked relentlessly. Raka had been using a sword for more than twenty years and he had a lot of experience in holding off the challenge of an angry opponent. He knew that sooner than later the opponent would tire himself out and then Raka could take them down easily. He waited patiently for Barun's anger to be overpowered by his tiredness and then a suitable opportunity would present itself for him to give a crushing blow to Barun. However Barun made him run around in circles and many times Barun outguessed Raka's attempts to avoid his blows and every such time he managed to give a blow to Raka though inevitably he would get a cut or a nick from Raka too. Time ticked by slowly. Raka, plagued by his opponent's relentless attacks and hurting from the the multiple blows that he had suffered from Barun's terrible blade, began to get impatient. Raka had managed to hurt Barun more than Gora but they were not enough to make Barun's movements sluggish. Barun should have got tired sooner for he was swinging his sword constantly but he kept on his attacks and Raka began to get hurried in his evasive maneuvers.

The crowd of the onlookers were blessed with the display of a terrific fight. Some among them had witnessed a close fight between Raka and an elite soldier some months ago but even they believed that the fight unfolding in front of their eyes was of a completely different nature. The young opponent would not get tired attacking and Raka seemed to be getting more and more flustered by the passing second. The spectators debated among them whether they dared to help Raka by distracting Barun but then they got scared at the thought of a raging Raka berating them for giving him a victory in such despicable manner. Raka could have got all of them killed if he got angry and so the onlookers watched the duel silently. They did not intervene when Barun's swinging sword finally managed to give a deep gash across Raka's torso. They did gasp loudly when Barun managed to push Raka away so violently that Raka lost his balance. At long last when Barun managed to slice Raka's throat and a rivulet of blood began to pour out from the wound, the spectators were stunned into silence.

Raka staggered back. He tried to staunch the blood flow from the wound on his throat with his left hand and his sleeve once again fell down revealing his lightning bolt tattoo.

“Am I fighting one of you?” His voice sounded strange. “Or are there really two of you?”

Barun took a deep breath and then renewed his attack on Raka who now seemed desperate to avoid the blows from Barun's blade that kept on hammering him. When Barun finally decapitated Raka, the spectators panicked. The leader of the bandits lay dead before their eyes. They began to scream and shout. Some among them wanted to attack and kill Barun while others cried out to them to run away. Barun was so tired from his twin battles that he sank to his knees. He did not have enough strength to fight off the dastardly onlookers. He watched sullenly as some of the spectators advanced upon him. Suddenly Gora came in between them. Gora, bleeding heavily from his wounds, stood over Barun to protect him. The cowardly onlookers did not have the guts to fight a bandit. They dropped their weapons and ran away leaving behind the duelists and one lonely spectator. When Gora sat down heavily on the ground, Hiten saw his opportunity and took out his dagger stealthily.

“Raka never told you about his stake,” Gora whispered hoarsely to Barun who sat on his knees beside him. “He told me that if he lost his battle to you, he wanted you to become the leader of the bandits. All our comrades are waiting in our hideout. They know of the stake and they await the winner of the duel.”

Hiten advanced slowly towards Barun who sat in a dazed manner.

“Leader of the bandits?” Barun managed to mutter.

“What else can you do?” Gora was in a lot of pain. “Your uncle plots for your murder. Your adoptive mother wants you dead. Both of them had approached Raka. Once they learn that Raka is dead, they will seek the help of the next leader of the bandits. But if you become the leader of the bandits, they will have to seek the help of the elite soldiers but we know how to beat them. There is nothing left for you in that so called civilized world. But if you choose to become our leader, you will get our respect and our admiration. You will get to fight elite soldiers. You will get to live life on your own terms. You will form true bonds of friendship and brotherhood.”

Hiten had managed to reach behind Barun. All that he needed to do was to stab his cousin in the nape. There was nothing that Barun could do to stop him. Hiten steeled himself for the murderous blow but then he could not bring himself to do so. He sat down heavily on the ground and broke down in tears.

“Would you all forgive me for killing your beloved leader?” Barun ignored Hiten. Gora threw out some blood from his mouth.

“They will,” Gora managed to whisper. “That is what Raka wanted them to do. They respected him. They will do whatever to honor their fallen leader.” He stared at Barun summoning up the very last vestiges of his strength. His end was nigh but he needed to know the answer. “Would you...” He managed to say. Barun nodded. “I would.”

Gora sighed in relief and told him to take out a bugle from Raka's belt and to blow it. When the bugle was finally blown, a couple of bulges were sounded in answer. Gora vomited some blood and then died. After about ten minutes, the bandits came trundling towards them. There were at least 20 of them. They descended from their horses and spent some time checking the dead bodies of their fallen comrades. Then one of them approached Barun cautiously and confirmed from him about the two duels. There was no sign of any cowardly wound on the bodies of Raka or Gora and that was enough for them to accept that the duels were fought fairly. They asked Barun about his decision and once Barun confirmed that he would lead them, they saluted him, kissed his hand and anointed him their leader.

“So Barun is their new leader,” Namdeo sighed. “An eighteen-year-old kid with no battle experience! That's rich!”

“They addressed him as Raka,” Hiten replied.

“Why?” Namdeo could not comprehend it. Hiten shrugged. He was equally confounded by the turn of the events.

“So then why didn't Barun kill you?” Namdeo asked Hiten who hung his head in shame.

“He told me that Barun I knew was dead,” Hiten replied in a low voice. “He told me to return to my family and to never cross his path ever again. He told me that he would burn Manna's house down and kill his family. Then he went away with the bandits. I should have returned home but I decided to warn Manna uncle. I stayed in his house last night. He ran to the village head to seek his help but no one wanted to fight against the bandits so today morning he took his family and left for the city Kakime to seek the help of an elite soldier. I was headed back home when I was kidnapped by some bandits. They thrashed me badly for warning Manna uncle. They asked me about Manna uncle's plans and I told them everything I knew but even then they beat me badly. Then they pushed me in a ditch and rode away. I managed to drag myself on the road. There I was standing all bruised and battered on a lonely stretch of the road leading to Vasin trying to trudge home when Manna and the troupe of soldiers accompanying him found me. While I was explaining my predicament to them, the bandits attacked us. Barun fought single-handedly with the elite soldier and killed him. After the elite soldier's death, the remainder of the soldiers scampered away. I hid from Barun because I was scared of him. Manna uncle tried to run away but Barun caught up to him and then killed him. I could not help Manna uncle. Then the bandits went away. The soldiers returned and they assumed that it was me who had brought the bandits to them, that I was some sort of a spy for the bandits. They beat me badly while I kept on protesting my innocence. Then they dragged me to this prison and locked me here. I keep telling everyone that I was just the wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place. Have some mercy on me, sire! I just want to go home.” Hiten then broke down. The past two days had been simply disastrous for him and he could hold it together no longer.

“Well,” Namdeo cleared his throat. “It seems that you have had some really awful experiences these past two days. Let us just say that this is all your punishment for not fulfulling the promise that you made to your mother. If you would have killed Barun, then you could have returned home victorious. Gora was already on his dying breaths. You could have easily outrun him. But you hesitated and your one moment of hesitation caused the deaths of an elite soldier and of your uncle. Do you understand now why doing the right thing at the right time is so necessary? Barun's death would have saved two lives but you spared him and now he has decided to become the leader of the bandits and no one knows how many people he would kill. In any case, now that you are here, do one job for me. If you do it, then I will personally make sure that you return home safely.”

“What do I need to do?” Hiten's voice trembled.

“Check the prisoners' records,” Namdeo took out a paper from his pocket. “Some prisoners were transferred from Alkagiri to Kakime. I need to know why they were transferred from the most secure prison to this awful place? Do you know anything about the Alkagiri prison? It is basically a maze. There are prison cells littered across the maze path so that one who truly knows the path can access any prisoner's cell or even find his way out but those who are ignorant about it would spend years going from one prison cell to another. It sounds fun, right? But navigating a maze in utter darkness is madness. You don't know whether you are coming or whether you are going. It is a harrowing feeling of being totally lost. And then add to it the strange sounds that snakes, rats, and other animals make while they slither in the ankle-deep water or run on the surrounding walls. Furthermore, the water that you are forcing your body to touch has been left undisturbed for years and the stench is so powerful that a healthy person would get knocked out within an hour. It is impossible to get out of that prison. The prison cells are never locked in there. The prisoners are more than welcome to find a way out. So far many have tried and all of them died but only one among them was able to get out. Do you know who? Of course, you do! It was your childhood hero, Raka, the leader of the bandits. He must have got some sort of inside help for he figured out a way to the exit where his team waited for him. They created a huge disturbance at the gate even while Raka was making his way out of the maze and in the ensuing confusion, Raka made his great escape. But he didn't walk outside alone. He took along with him some spies of Abitsar. Then Halim put his team to track these freed spies and a long game of cat and mouse was played. Eventually, Halim was able to find out who helped Raka and the spies of Abitsar escape from the prison of Alkagiri. He never shared that information with us so I am still in the dark about it. Now I have to find out the identity of that man.”

“What do I need to search for in the files?” Hiten asked.

“Good question,” Namdeo chuckled. “If someone is so dangerous that he has to be kept in Alkagiri prison, then why will he be moved to this prison where security is so lax? I mean, look around you. It is people like you who are brought here, people who don't hold any kind of threat to us. This place is not suitable for any prisoner deemed worthy of being detained in Alkagiri prison. So you will help me in finding out about those prisoners who were brought here from Alkagiri. You will be taken to a room of prison records. There are about seven thousand records there. Go through them and find me the relevant records.”

Hiten spent the next five days cooped up in the room of the records where he went through the records of the prisoners. He had to read every file to find out if he were transferred from Alkagiri prison. Then on the fifth day, he found the file for Vrinde. The file had only three pages in it. The first page enumerated the various crimes and transgressions committed by Vrinde. The second page was about how contrite the prisoner was and how keen he was to make amends and how he was a fit case to be released back into the society for he has truly reformed. It was mentioned that the prisoner could be moved to the less secure Kakime's prison as his behaviour had been exemplary. The third page was the permission letter granted by Jayesh in the name of the Queen. The letter stated that Vrinde was to be kept in an isolated cell for a period of ten days and then returned back to the Alkagiri prison.

Hiten picked up the file of Vrinde and pushing back all the other files he called out to the guard posted at the door to let Namdeo know that he had found one relevant file. He had some time to kill before Namdeo returned so he began to read Vrinde's file. When Vrinde was transferred to the Kakime prison, his personal appearance had been written down. It mentioned that Vrinde liked to keep his hair long and to hide his face in beard and whiskers but that his eyes were quite sharp and that there were crow's feet under his eyes. When Hiten read that there was a scar like a lighting bolt on Vrinde's left hand, Hiten realized that it was Raka who had been transferred to Kakime under the name of Vrinde. While he was staring blankly at the open page, Namdeo walked in.

He listened to what Hiten had to say and was left intrigued at the involvement of Jayesh, the Queen's aide, in Vrinde's transfer.

“So you believe it was Raka?” He asked Hiten.

“Yes,” Hiten replied. “The one who is now dead. Barun killed him.”

“Raka was brought here from Alkagiri prison,” Namdeo chewed his lips, “but I don't understand why. It happened two months before his infamous prison break from Alkagiri prison. He was brought here and then sent back but they used the name Vrinde to smuggle him here. Instead of escaping from this prison, Raka agreed to go back to Alkagiri prison from where he made his daring prison break.”

“He also took out some spies from Abitsar,” Hiten pointed out.

“That's it,” Namdeo thumped on the file once. “He was called here to get instructions from Jayesh. He must have been taught the path used by the guards to get out of the maze. But he didn't go out alone. He took along with him some spies from Abitsar. This is a fit case for treason. Jayesh was a party to it. He can't evade responsibility for his crime.”

Namdeo was thrilled to the bits. He had finally found a damning piece of evidence against Jayesh. He would be able to win Omar's confidence with it. He was so busy daydreaming that he did not hear the guard's death moan outside the room. Hiten heard it clear as the day and with a cry he sprang away from Namdeo to hug the far away wall. His strange reaction made Namdeo turn around to look towards the door and he noticed a young man enter the room with slow, measured steps. His sword dripped blood as he advanced towards Namdeo.

“I heard it all,” he spoke softly. “Hand over the document to me. I don't want blood on it.”

“Barun, please don't kill him,” Hiten cried out.

Namdeo, staring at the young face of the leader of the bandits, blinked as if he wanted to wake up from a nightmare. He meekly handed the file to Barun who rolled it and stuffed it in his satchel.

“What are you doing here?” Namdeo finally got the courage to ask Barun.

“Well,” Barun smiled impishly, “I heard that my cousin was being illegally detained here so I decided to raid the prison. We killed the guards and we have freed all the prisoners. Hiten has not been formally arrested so there is no record for his detention. He could walk out of the prison and go back home and no one would be any wiser. But then I heard your secret discussion. I have no idea of what you were going to do with this information but I don't trust you. Any man who believes that he can keep an innocent man as his own personal slave cannot be trusted.”

“No, please, you have got it all wrong!” Namdeo protested. His palms had begun to sweat. He knew he was in grave danger.

“Give me one good reason behind Hiten's detention,” Barun raised his sword.

“I wanted his help,” Namdeo's legs trembled.

“Wrong answer,” Barun's sword fell upon Namdeo's head and cleaved it killing him.

Barun turned to face Hiten. “Your mother asked me for help in finding you,” Barun smirked. “Even though I had told them to avoid me like a plague, she had to seek me for no one else was willing to help her. Now that I am Raka, I had to act like him. So I made her pay for the job. It was good money for an easy job. Now leave before I lose my cool and smite you dead too.”

Hiten scampered out of the room and dashed out of the premises of the prison where a raging fire consumed everything in its path. The dead bodies of the guards littered the compound but Hiten kept running hard. He was finally going home. That was all that mattered to him.

“Why did you get that file?” Samir asked Barun. He was much older than Raka but he was bound by his word to accept the young man as his leader.

“It seems something to be of great value,” Barun got on his horse. “The name of the Queen's aide figured prominently. Once I figure this out, we will pay a visit to him.” He didn't tell Samir that his brother told him to do so. He had never told anyone about his brother who lived inside him. For a long time, his brother had stayed silent but when Manna dragged him to the ancestral house and left him all alone, his brother woke up and connected with him to keep him company. He wept at night in relief that his brother had his back. When he got tired of exercising, his brother would lend him a hand. When he got tired of running, his brother would run for him. When he got tired of all the beatings, his brother would take some blows for him. Together they were unstoppable. Together they were going to rule the land.

“Or we will make him come to us,” Samir added.

Samir's remark made Barun smile. Jayesh might be the Queen's aide but he would have to kowtow to the real king. Barun made his horse trot. He was not scared of running into any soldier. He had finally found peace even if it meant a life on the run along with the hateful bandits. He felt the wind on his face and in his hair and thought, “A life fit for a king!” He smiled broadly and spurred on his horse. His brother smiled approvingly.