'Hurry!' Kosala shouted at them. 'Get out, find the Thiruzha guards and kill them.' He watched the slaves pass in a stinking rush of bewildered, naked humanity. 'Poor, deluded fools. They won't last a minute.' Lifting the guard's spear, he shoved it into the hands of the nearest man. 'Here, take this.'
Melcorka stood at the entrance, her hope fading as the chamber emptied. She grabbed a few of the slaves, asking them the same question. 'Have you seen a fair-skinned stranger?'
They stared at her in bewilderment, shook their heads and wriggled free.
Melcorka swore softly. 'Bradan, where are you?'
'Dhraji may be holding him in the dungeons of Kollchi,' Kosala said. 'If he's there, we'll only find him if we take the city, which we can't do unless we capture this island.'
'You're right.' Melcorka heard the rising noise as the slaves erupted into the fort. 'Lead me to this guardhouse.' She drew Defender. 'Let us kill.'
They ran from the dungeons, pushing aside any slaves that lingered in their path.
'This way.' Kosala led Melcorka up a narrow flight of stairs. 'The slaves will go up the broad steps and the garrison will meet them there. This is the officers' route.'
Melcorka grunted. 'I thought these stairs were better kept. Even rakshasas have a class system.' She heard footsteps ahead, saw the flicker of torches and motioned Kosala to stop.
The group of officers were half-dressed and only half awake. Melcorka killed the first two before the remainder realised what was happening. She watched Kosala slice the third man's head clean off and finished the fourth with a neat thrust to the chest. Stepping over the jumbled bodies, Melcorka continued upward. 'How far?'
'Three more flights of stairs,' Kosala said.
The noise was increasing as the slaves attacked the now-waking garrison. Another group of officers rushed down the narrow stairs, this time with their swords ready. Melcorka had to fight harder to dispose of them.
'They are learning,' she said.
'This way.' Kosala bounded ahead.
They met more guards now, singly, or in squads rushing to see what all the noise was, and Kosala disposed of them with Melcorka guarding his back. Only one spearman gave serious opposition as he thrust at Kosala from a higher position. Kosala sliced through his spear, grabbed hold of the broken shaft and pulled him down for Melcorka to kill.
'We fight well together.' Kosala scampered light-footed up a final flight of stairs and halted before a closed door. 'It's always barred on the inside.'
'Knock politely and demand access,' Melcorka suggested. 'Pretend you're an officer. Your accent is far better than mine.'
Kosala rapped loudly on the door. 'Open up! It's the commander!'
There was a pause before a voice replied. 'Which commander?'
'Don't be impertinent! Open this door or you'll be kissing the elephant's foot before the day is out.'
Melcorka heard the rumble of wood as the beam was withdrawn. 'The voice of authority,' she said. 'That's the downfall of rigid discipline. People lose the ability to think for themselves.'
The second the door inched open, Melcorka shoved it as hard as she could and ran in, sword swinging. The room was larger than she had expected, with about thirty men in various stages of readiness. The first two stepped back in surprise, so she killed them with a single sweep of her sword and launched herself in an attack on the others, with Kosala following her.
After only a few moments, it became obvious that the guardhouse garrison had no stomach for a fight. Some immediately fled, others begged for quarter and only a few dared to face Melcorka and Kosala sword-to-sword.
'They're running,' Kosala said, as the remnants of the garrison crowded out of the door. He shouted after them. 'Fight me! Fight me so I can kill you!'
'Never mind them,' Melcorka said. 'Let them go and bolt the door. Keep the Thiruzhas out until we can raise the gate.'
While Kosala banged shut the door and slammed the beam into place, Melcorka surveyed the mechanism for raising the Seagate. 'This looks simple enough,' she said. 'We haul on these levers and they wind the chain around that drum and draw the gate back from the opening.'
Kosala grunted. 'There are only two of us and that thing was designed for at least six. We should have kept some of the Thiruzhas to help us. See how they like being slaves for a change'
'Too late now.' Melcorka took hold of the closest lever. 'Come on, Kosala.' She pulled, with no effect. The drum did not shift.
'Jump on it,' Kosala suggested.
That did not work, either. The drum remained static. Melcorka cursed. 'I'll not be beaten now,' she said. 'Try again.'
They pulled, straining with effort but the lever remained stiffly static, the drum immobile. Melcorka swore loudly, in Gaelic, Tamil and Singhalese.
Kosala smiled. 'You do have a temper, don't you, Melcorka? Life with you would be full of interest.'
Before Melcorka could reply, something crashed against the door.
'Kill them!' a score of voices shouted. 'Kill the Thiruzhas!'
'Shiva has sent us help.' Melcorka said. 'Some of the slaves have arrived.'
Kosala grinned. 'I hope we can convince them that we are not Thiruzhan.' He raised his voice to a shout. 'Who's there? We are the people who freed you!'
'Kill the Thiruzhas!' The chant came from outside the door, accompanied by a steady crashing as the slaves tried to break down the door. 'Kill the Thiruzhas!'
'I doubt if they will listen to reason,' Kosala said. 'Join me, Melcorka. Let them know we are on their side.' He shouted again: 'Kill the Thiruzhas!' Removing the beam, Kosala eased the door open a crack. 'Kill the Thiruzhas!'
A horde of slaves poured in, some blood-smeared, some carrying swords or makeshift weapons, and all frantic-eyed with the lust for vengeance.
'Welcome, lads and lassies,' Melcorka greeted them calmly. 'Could you lend a hand here, please?' She indicated the lever for the drum. 'We're trying to open the Seagate to let the Chola fleet in.'
When
