'There's an army approaching.' Bradan said. 'From the west. Thiruzhas.'
'Melt into the trees,' Kosala said. 'There are too few of us to face an army, especially with Rajgana so close.' When he fingered the hilt of his sword, Bradan knew the Singhalese warrior longed to throw himself into a fight with the Thiruzhas. Melcorka had that same look whenever she grasped Defender.
The Singhalese took cover in the forest, burrowing behind the trees and bushes until they had virtually vanished. The sound of marching increased; small pebbles rattled on the ground and alarmed birds exploded from the trees. Monkeys shrieked and gibbered as they gathered in curious clusters in the topmost branches.
'There they are.' Kosala pointed to the west.
Dhraji had come in style. Perched in her howdah, she led an array of twenty war elephants with spikes around their legs, iron on their tusks and archers sitting on their backs. Behind the elephants rode troop after troop of cavalry, followed by five companies of archers and spearmen, fresh from their successful defence of Kollchi.
'That is a formidable force,' Bradan said.
'The Chola army will have to fight hard to force the pass.' Kosala's fist wrapped around the hilt of his sword. 'If only I had more men. With just fifty, I could create a diversion on this side of Rajgana.'
'You and Melcorka will get along famously,' Bradan said. 'Once she is better.'
Kosala looked at Melcorka who lay smiling at the monkeys, grunted and shook his head. 'A simpleton will not be any use in a battle.'
'She's no simpleton.' Bradan looked up at the Siddhar swinging in his cage and wondered how he could possibly get him free. As long as the Thiruzha held Rajgana, Machaendranathar was doomed to captivity. Everything depended on the skill of the Chola commander.
Bradan watched as Bhim made his dispositions. He set his spearmen in solid phalanxes along the road and among the woodland on either side, with blocks of archers positioned amongst them. He sent another company of archers to the Chola side of the pass, together with the bulk of his horsemen, presumably so they could skirmish with any Chola army or disrupt their advance.
The marchers' dust settled. The Thiruzha army settled in its positions, with some playing musical instruments, others singing or cooking. Flies clouded around while hunting birds circled above, waiting for the dead they sensed would come.
It was Kosala who first felt the approach of the Chola army. 'Here they come,' he said. 'It's two hours past noon, about four hours to sunset. That leaves time for a short battle.'
'Let's hope for a decisive Chola victory,' Bradan said.
'It's in Shiva's hands,' Chaturi said.
From the Singhalese position halfway up the hillside, Bradan could see both sides of the pass and the rolling cloud of dust that marked the advance of the Chola army. Bhim was equally alert and sent two squadrons of cavalry forward, the men yelling shrilly and waving swords and lances in their excitement.
'Shiva, grant success to the Chola,' Chaturi prayed.
'They're coming fast.' Kosala gripped his sword. A few moments later, they heard the cries and screams above the hammer of marching feet.
'They've made contact.' Bradan held Melcorka's hand.
'Now we wait and hope,' Chaturi said. 'If the Chola win, then we can rescue Machaendranathar and begin to restore some balance. If Bhim's Thiruzha win, then may Shiva and all the gods help us.'
'The Chola have halted,' Bradan said, as the trembling stopped and the dust created by thousands of marching feet settled down. As the air cleared, Bradan could see what was happening on the further side of the pass.
The Thiruzha cavalry returned, some wounded, and with a dozen empty saddles. They were laughing as if satisfied with a good job done.
'Oh, dear Lord.' Bradan gripped Melcorka's hand tighter.
The Chola had halted five hundred yards short of Rajgana. For every man that Bhim had, the Chola Empire had ten, with fifty war elephants standing in line amidst regiments of cavalry and infantry. The reflection of the sun on spear-points and swords, helmets and shields dazzled the watchers.
'What force can stand against so many?' Bradan asked. 'It makes the armies of Alba and the Norse seem puny in comparison.'
'Our hope is constant in Chola,' Chaturi said.
A horn blared out, and then another and another, echoing back and forth from the surrounding hills. War drums began their insistent rap-a-tap-tap, driving men to battle as flags fluttered and snapped above the dust and the helmets of thousands of warriors. In response, the defenders of Rajgana hoisted the yellow leopard of Thiruzha.
'The Cholas are advancing,' Bradan said.
'And Bhim's men are retreating.' Chaturi did not sound elated as the Thiruzha forward force withdrew through the narrows beside the fort.
The Chola general sent in his elephants first, massive battering rams to try and force the pass. They moved ponderously, great grey monsters with spiked trunks and steel-reinforced tusks, offensive weapons whose feet clumped down slowly, steadily, inexorably toward the western side of the pass. At first, nothing happened, and then the defenders of Rajgana began to fire. A torrent of arrows poured down from both forts, so the elephants soon resembled grey hedgehogs with the number of arrows that were embedded in their thick hides.
'It's not stopping them,' Kosala said. 'They're still coming on!'
The archers altered their targets, aiming at the howdahs from which the Chola warriors were firing back. Now the arrows whistled down on them, wiping out the archers and the mahouts on all three of the leading elephants in minutes. With the mahouts dead, there was nobody to guide the animals; they veered from side to side, slowing the advance.
Bhim shouted an order, the horns blared, and a company of infantry rushed out from the western side of the pass, thrusting long spears at the elephants. Trumpeting in pain and fear, the beasts reared up, with Thiruzha spear-points penetrating their mouths and the tender underside of their
