'The catapults and the boom are close together, Jasweer. We can destroy them all together.'
'Show us, Kosala,' Jasweer ordered.
Kosala glanced at Melcorka as if asking her permission. 'Are you coming with us, Melcorka?'
'There is no need for the woman.' Kulothunga struck a dramatic pose. 'I am here.'
'I'll come along anyway,' Melcorka said.
Jasweer grunted. 'Don't get in my way, landswoman.'
With Jasweer in charge and Kulothunga and the marines disposing of any defenders foolish enough to make a stand, Melcorka found she had little to do.
'Burn these,' Jasweer ordered, and the marines set fire to the catapults. Jasweer watched, with her hands on her hips and her head tilted to one side. 'Good. Where is this giant bow I have heard so much about?'
'Over there, Captain.' Kosala pointed.
'Destroy it.' Jasweer watched as her marines dismantled the mechanism and set fire to the timber. She stood erect among the wreaths of smoke, a sea-woman equally at home on land. 'Find me the chain boom.'
'Over here.' Kosala led her to a vast drum, around which was coiled a chain, each link of which could encompass a man's forearm.
'It's completely unguarded.' Melcorka looked around. 'The captain of Kalipuram deserves a good hanging.'
'Marines!' Jasweer shouted. 'Destroy this thing, detach the chain and throw it into the sea.'
Melcorka nodded. 'That is best. It seems as if we have captured this fort.'
'Thanks to you, Melcorka.' Kosala laid a hand on her arm. 'You are not like any woman I have met before.'
Melcorka allowed Kosala's hand to rest where it was. 'I am what I am. It was Jasweer's Sharks who did the important part.' She noticed Kulothunga watching. 'And Kulothunga, I suppose. He has the makings of a reasonable warrior.'
'I led the assault,' Kulothunga reminded her.
Kosala smiled, shaking his head. He spoke only to Melcorka. 'You fascinate me,' Kosala said simply. 'I would do anything for you.'
'No, Kosala,' Melcorka said. 'Thank you for the compliment, but there is no future between us, except in friendship or as fellow warriors.'
'We would be a formidable combination,' Kosala said.
'We are already a formidable combination.' Melcorka removed Kosala's hand. He did not resist.
'If you ever grow tired of Bradan,' Kosala said, 'or if you find the rakshasas have killed him, I will be here for you.'
'Thank you, Kosala.' Melcorka cleaned the blood from her blade. 'I cannot think of a better man.' She ignored Kulothunga's glare.
'We have conquered Kalipuram,' Kosala said. 'Only because of you, Melcorka.'
Melcorka looked around, frowning. The conquest of Kalipuram had been too easy. 'There is something wrong, Kosala. The garrison hardly fought. These were not the men who defended this island last time, or who defended Rajgana Fort. The Thiruzha are up to something.'
'You may well be right.' Shoving Kosala aside, Kulothunga turned over the body of the last man he had killed. 'Look at this fellow. He must be fifty if he is a day, much too old to be a front-line warrior. While this man here…' he lifted the head of the next corpse, 'I doubt if he is twelve years old. He has not even started to grow his moustache yet.'
'Why put second-rate soldiers in a frontline fort when you know the enemy is coming?' Melcorka asked.
'You put your less valuable men in forward positions when you are preparing a trap,' Kosala said. 'The Thiruzhas have got something ugly in store for us.'
'I agree,' Kulothunga said.
Jasweer was breathing heavily. 'Our duty was to capture the fort and clear the way for the fleet. We did our duty.'
'I came here to look for Bradan,' Melcorka said.
'You don't need Bradan when I am here.' Kulothunga puffed out his chest. 'You need a warrior, not a man with a stick who is probably already dead.'
'Bradan is a brave man,' Kosala said quietly. 'He does not deserve your insults.' He stepped in front of Melcorka as if to defend her.
'When you children have stopped bickering,' Jasweer said quietly, 'you can perhaps welcome Rajaraja. He is approaching now.'
Melcorka stamped her feet. 'Good,' she said. 'The sooner we get into the city, the better.'
* * *
Leaving a company of marines to garrison Kalipuram, Rajaraja anchored his fleet just out of range of the catapults of Kollchi. Ahead of them, the surviving Thiruzha vessels were pulled up on the horseshoe-shaped beach, while smoke drifted from the battlements as the defenders prepared to resist. A fitful breeze fluttered the blue and yellow flag of Thiruzha above the city.
'I want your ideas and input again, gentlemen.' Rajaraja sat in a carved chair on the quarterdeck of his royal yacht. 'The enemy will expect us to attack. Do we launch our assault now, or starve them out?'
'We should attack,' Kulothunga said. 'The longer we wait, the more warriors the Thiruzhas can gather and the more we will lose from disease and accidents. One swift, glorious assault will gain us the town.' He smiled. 'Think of the booty, gentlemen. Think of the women, think of the stories that will resonate for centuries.'
'They will expect us to attack,' Rajaraja said. 'They do not know of our artillery. We will teach them how powerful we are and hope they surrender before we have the casualties an assault would bring.'
'I need to search for Bradan before Dhraji kills him,' Melcorka said.
Rajaraja shook his head. 'I am sorry, Melcorka. I appreciate your bravery in helping us capture Kalipuram, but I will not alter my strategy for one man.'
Melcorka stiffened. 'I need to search for Bradan,' she repeated, without a change in her tone. 'Your strategy is your affair, Your Majesty. Up until now, our aims have coincided. Now, they diverge. Your priority is to capture the city. My priority is to rescue Bradan.'
'By now,' Kulothunga said, 'Bradan might be dead. There could be nobody to rescue.'
'I'll take that chance.'
Kulothunga gave a mocking bow. 'I rather thought that you would.'
Something in Kulothunga's voice made Melcorka shiver. She stared at him, wondering what he had in mind.
Kulothunga openly gazed
