The laughter continued. Melcorka swung again, cutting through the tall stakes on which the torches stood, felling them, so they rolled and spat on the filthy slabs of the floor. Lifting this final remaining torch with her left hand, Melcorka peered into the smoky dark.
'Who is there?'
The echo of her voice slowly faded.
'Bradan!' Melcorka paced through the dungeons, pushing open doors, staring into the stinking cells. Some held chained captives who looked up with terrified eyes; others held decomposing bodies, or peeled skeletons that had once been living human beings. Some cells were empty except for rusted chains and a seething mass of insects.
There was no sign of Bradan.
In the last dungeon, a tall man glared up as Melcorka pushed open the door. 'You may as well kill me, you thing!'
'I know that voice.' Melcorka could not conceal her surprise. 'Kulothunga! How in Shiva's name did they capture you?'
'Melcorka? Have you joined the rakshasa? Or are you a rakshasa that looks like Melcorka?' Kulothunga sat up, grabbed a handful of chain and swung it. 'Come on and try me!'
'No, Kulothunga, I am real. Is there a way out of these chains?'
'There is a catch, out of my reach.' Kulothunga said. 'Over there by the door.'
'I see it.' Melcorka wrestled with the bolt and pushed it open.
Kulothunga's chains fell open. Naked as a baby, he stood up, stretched and groaned. 'How long have I been a prisoner?'
'Not long,' Melcorka said. 'I spoke to you only yesterday.'
'Yesterday?' Kulothunga had lost a great deal of weight, his cheeks were sunken and a weeks-old beard covered his face. 'I've been here for days!'
'In the name!' Melcorka shook her head. 'When did the rakshasas capture you?'
'When I fought the monster in the sea,' Kulothunga said.
'As far back as that?' Melcorka thought of the times she had spoken to Kulothunga since. 'A rakshasa has taken your place. Your amorous advances were not real then.' She grunted. 'I was quite flattered.'
'What?' Kulothunga looked puzzled.
'Never mind.' Melcorka pushed the thought away. 'I am searching for Bradan. The rakshasas took him as well.'
'I have not seen him,' Kulothunga said. 'I've seen nobody except the jailers.'
'Bradan might be dead by now.'
At first, Melcorka did not see the man who spoke. The voice came from beyond the circle of light her torch created. 'Who said that?'
'I did, Melcorka.' Kosala stood four-square and unafraid in the centre of the dungeons.
'How did you get in here?'
'I followed you,' Kosala said. 'I would follow you anywhere and everywhere, Melcorka.'
'So here we are,' Melcorka said. 'Three warriors together within the heart of Dhraji's realm, and neither of us can kill the rakshasa.'
'I tried and failed,' Kulothunga said.
'As did I. Kosala, tell me what you know about Bradan.' Melcorka did not comment on Kosala's bravery or loyalty. She would address both qualities later.
'The rakshasas no longer need him.' Blood dripped from Kosala's sword onto the stone slabs. 'You killed his rakshasa image, so Dhraji can no longer use his body.'
'Where do you think he is?' Melcorka tried to cut through the explanations.
'The rakshasas will have taken him to the great square,' Kosala said. 'Bradan will be kissing the feet of an elephant any time now.'
'Kissing the elephant's feet!' Melcorka was running before Kosala finished speaking. Bounding up the stairs three at a time, she did not respond to the challenge of the single Thiruzha warrior, but pushed past without a word. She heard Kosala dealing with the man as she raced through the corridors of the palace and into the streets outside.
The humid heat of late afternoon greeted her, accompanied by the stinks and noise of the city. Melcorka ignored the occasional rock that crashed down from the bombardment that she had all but forgotten. The squabble between Thiruzha and the Chola Empire was no longer her concern. Only Bradan mattered.
'I am no good to anybody like this.' Kulothunga had followed. He looked down at himself. 'A naked man with no weapon is no threat to the rakshasas.'
'Where will your sword be?' Melcorka asked.
'I will find a sword,' Kulothunga replied at once. 'I'll join you later.' Turning away, he slipped back inside the palace.
'Somebody will kill him, for sure,' Kosala said.
'He's big enough and ugly enough to look after himself,' Melcorka said. 'I must find Bradan.'
Melcorka had left by the nearest door, emerging into an unfamiliar part of the city. People thronged the narrow streets, or peered out from the small, barred windows of the houses. 'You!' She grabbed the nearest man. 'Which way is the great square?'
The man goggled at her through big brown eyes, unable to say anything. Melcorka pushed him away in disgust. 'Anybody!' She raised her voice. 'Which way is it to the great square?'
'Melcorka!' Kosala touched her arm. 'This way!' He led on, turning every few moments to ensure that Melcorka kept up. 'We may be too late.'
The square opened up before them, lined with soldiers, while the citizens watched and waited in near silence. Even as Melcorka approached, a rock smashed down, crushing three people in the crowd. Once the initial yells and screams died down, the remainder shuffled over the smeared copses as if nothing had happened. They stared toward the central space.
'This is surreal,' Melcorka said.
'Welcome to the world of the rakshasa,' Kosala said. 'Welcome to a world of never-ending suffering and pain. Welcome to a land bereft of hope, where life is a torment and death a gateway to darkness.'
'Where is Bradan? Melcorka balanced Defender on her right shoulder. 'Where is my man?'
She did not have to look far. A blare of trumpets battered her ears, and a squad of Thiruzha warriors pushed aside one section of the crowd. Melcorka did not see where the elephants came from. One moment the centre of the square was empty, the next, the animals were there.
Three elephants walked in line abreast, with the sun glinting on the metal spikes that covered their
