Immortals of Meluha

viciously, inflicting a deep wound across the shepherd’s torso. As the shepherd fell back,
another attacker moved in from the right. He swung from a distance. Not too smart a move, as
it would merely have inflicted a surface nick. Shiva stepped back to avoid the swing and
brought his sword down in a smooth action to dig deep into the attacker ’s thigh. Screaming in
agony, this attacker too fell back As another attacker joined in the fight from the left, Shiva
realised that this was indeed a very strange assault.
The attackers seemed to know what they were doing. They seemed to be good warriors.
But they also seemed to be in a bizarre dance of avoidance. They did not appear to want to kill.
Merely injure. It was because they held themselves in check that they were being beaten back
very easily. Shiva parried off another attack from the left and pushed his sword viciously into
the man’s shoulder. The man screamed in pain as Shiva pushed him off the blade with his left
hand. Slowly, but surely, the attackers were being worn out. They were suffering too many
injuries to seriously carry on the assault for long.
Suddenly a giant of a man ran in from behind the trees carrying swords in both hands. The
man was cloaked in a black hooded robe from head to toe while his face was hidden by a black
mask, shaped exactly like a human face. The only visible parts of his body were his large
impassive almond-shaped eyes and strong fleshy hands. He charged upon Shiva and the lady
as he barked an order to his men. He was too large to battle with agility. But he compensated
for his slow pace with his unusually skilled arms. Shiva registered from the corner of his eye
that the other attackers were picking up the injured and withdrawing. The hooded figure was
fighting a brilliant rearguard action as his men retreated.
Shiva realised that the man’s hood would impair his side vision. That was a weakness that
could be exploited. Moving to the left, Shiva swung ferociously, hoping to peg him back so that
the lady could finish the job from the other side. But his opponent was up to the challenge. As
he stepped slightly back, he deflected Shiva’s swing with a deft move of his right hand. Shiva
noticed a leather band on the hooded figure’s right wrist. It had a sharp symbol on it. Shiva
swung his sword back but the hooded figure moved aside effordessly to avoid the blow. He
pushed back a brutal flanking attack from the lady with his left hand. He was keeping just
enough distance from Shiva and the lady to defend himself while at the same time keeping them
engaged in combat.
All of a sudden the hooded figure disengaged from the battle and stepped back. He began
to tread backwards as he continued to point both his swords ahead, one at Shiva and the other
at the lady. His men had all disappeared into the trees. As he reached a safe distance, he
turned and ran behind his men. Shiva considered chasing him but almost immediately decided
against it. He might just rush into an ambush.
Shiva turned to the lady warrior and inquired, ‘Are you alright?’
‘Yes I am,’ ‘she nodded before asking with a sombre expression. Are you injured?’
‘Nothing serious. I’ll survive!’ he grinned.
In the meantime, Krittika came running down the temple steps and asked breathlessly, ‘My
lady. Are you alright?’
‘Yes I am,’ she answered. ‘Thanks to this foreigner here.’
Krittika turned to Shiva and said, ‘Thank you very much. You have helped a very important
woman.’
Shiva did not seem to be listening though. He continued to stare at Krittika’s mistress as if
he were possessed. Krittika struggled to conceal a smile.